1. Do you see (married) couple walking far apart, with the man in front and the woman AT LEAST 10metres behind, every single time they go out? This happens in my house. You will see the woman criticizing every Sunday’s lunch that the man cooks. You will see the woman nagging and pin-pointing at most of the things that the man does, mostly reasonable. Though the criticisms come with valid reasons, there could be more tolerance and acceptance. On the other hand, you see how insensitive, how unintelligent the man works. The woman wants to buy something, yet the man doesn't ask what she wants to buy and just stands outside the shop waiting. He doesn't try to understand what the woman wants. I have to stand a moderate distance between the two people whenever we go out, so as not to be too far away from the man, yet don’t let the woman feel that she is left far behind. With a higher EQ brother around, my load is often lessened by a lot. BUT, as he is going to move out really soon, I will have to handle this myself and the house will be a lot duller. FUCK. Where got such husband and wife one?! “I smile, but in my mind, I think KNNBCCB.” I seriously loathe such situations. I promise this will not happen to me next time, provided I do get married.

2. I completely have no idea what happened. All of a sudden, you choose to retaliate and caught me all by surprise. I have really thought all these have ceased to happen a month ago when the course started. No appetite, deciding to sit away from me, like WTH, I swear I have not done anything since the end of advance alley. Siao! Not being able to be friends, does not necessarily mean we have to be head-on enemies. 做不成朋友，是否一定要成为敌人？

3. I do wish to celebrate your birthday for you but because of circumstances, I can’t. I so wanted to show my concern when you weren’t feeling good, when you lost your stuff but because of circumstances, I can’t. I have to show my concern through a fourth party. Ridiculous. Times at the Driving Circuit were much better because I feel so much less stressed without the presence of that freak.

4. After much commotion, we have come to a conclusion that apart from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), SAF has the largest number of morons, retarded idiots and crazy patients. Sembawang Camp, Supply and Transport Centre so happen to accommodate most of them. The system was alright and yet, certain morons choose to incur public wrath upon themselves. Good job! You guys have successfully done it! Even if you have to prove to the officers and SSM that you guys are indeed DOING SOMETHING, can you guys choose some other alternatives, instead of traveling all the way from Sembawang to Kaki Bukit to make life difficult for 300 people??? RETARDED MORONS!!!

5. A 33-hour weekend, inclusive of traveling, sleeping, meal time, is simply too freaking short for me to accomplish anything. This is an incentive for anyone to pass the driving test as soon as possible. But having to part with the peers is a disincentive.

I think driving is fun, but definitely not driving military vehicles. How I wish I can get a civilian license now! Giving way to all vehicles, keeping left permanently, obstructing traffic behind you due to slow speed, checking mirrors ONE MILLION TIMES, getting all sweaty and drenched after a short drive is all not fun at all.

Though almost every single NSF has been complaining about how serving NS is wasting our time, I do think that there is/are benefit(s). The characteristics of people around me in my usual social circle don’t really deviate that much. Having to be in this course for the past 4 months and ongoing, I do observe a lot of different characters and human behaviour. There is this AC guy whom I am pretty interested in understanding all this while (not that kind of “interested”) since months ago. He did something which intrigued me even more now. I get to know some nice ITE people who totally don’t look like they were from ITE. I get to know how different poly is from JC. Pardon my ignorance. Anyway, I think my Transport Supervisors course mates are really nice. On top of that, I also get to see how ridiculous some “people” can get, for example, contributing to noise pollution 24/7/365, shitting and not flushing, dirtying their own living environment extensively, shamefully disgracing themselves and without any self-awareness, etc, etc. It gives me an insight to people from almost all walks of life.

Can you imagine having all the toilet seaters unable to be flushed, from storey 1 to storey 5 of the STC building? WOW! What’s more amazing is that some retarded freaks still choose to do their businesses in those toilets! You guys deserve a tap on your back. I do understand why Warrant Ravi calls STC a SEMBAWANG ZOO. After some discussion, we came to a conclusion that SAF will benefit more by firing some enciks to hire more toilet cleaners and repairers. You will be able to hire THREE CLEANERS by firing ONE ENCIK, for eg: MOUSTACHE BLACKIE, the condemned staff and more to go. Isn’t this great?
 

It has been 6 weeks since I last stayed in. I guess this driving course is the “toughest” period ever since I graduated from BMT. The transport supervisor was not even as tough as the life now, even though there were the so-called “field camp”. But I guess I shouldn’t complain so much since there are more people having worse life in camp (though there are equally a large number of clerks from HC). The change in bunk dynamic and personnel around me has also inevitably reduced the level of happiness I used to enjoy in the past. It was my fault nevertheless. I just yearn for this course to end as soon as possible.

Today, I paid 17 bucks to attend a pretty nice open-air kbox session at the floating platform. I had the chance to sing the unique songs which won’t usually appear on kbox or top-one screens and got to sing along with thousands of dear aunties and uncles. We should never bear the stereotype that only youngsters can go high. The elderly and aunties in particular can go hyper too, waving the sticks and shaking their bodies with music. We should see such vitality and vibrancy in more of our elderly, instead of the gloomy faces and scenes at the void decks and kopitiam, waiting to collect CPF and worrying about the time to retire.

Listening to those Chinese oldies and being able to sing 70 – 80% of them was a satisfying experience, and a nostalgic one, bringing back faint images of how I sat in the car listening to 95.8FM in the past. For now, this radio station is no longer in my listening list. 883, 933 and 1003 have replaced the station of oldies.

I like the songs by 邓丽君 and her voice in particular. But I love 新谣 even more. 《小人物的心声》 is an apt description of who I am. 《关怀方式》 never fails to touch my heart and brings back the blurred image of 方老师（陈汉伟） and 朱茵 with the 七月歌台 in the background. I really hope to watch 《七月俏佳人》 again. With 陈洁仪 being my favourite local singer all the while and the few memorable songs by 许美静, I don’t find why we shouldn’t be proud of our local products (apart from 潘嘉丽 and 郭美美).
 

结婚了。希望我能早日有个外甥。

在南大校园里举行的这个仪式，简单，却又是隆重。简单，在于场地布置仅用了数粒气球，再加上数张桌椅。隆重，是因为这仪式对每一对新人来说象征了人生的转捩点，是一个新的起跑点。我衷心地祝福。

在那短暂的几分钟里，我的内心固然是带着丝丝喜悦的。结束后，一切的情感都归零。心情，郁闷。思绪，混乱。我仍然逃不出，忘不了那个天天缠绕着我的困局。

我害怕book in. 我固然讨厌那些SAF天天在白养的“老不死”，但他们并不止于有那个能力使我感到害怕。试问人又怎么会害怕苍蝇呢？我从来不曾想过竟有人有那个能力使我感到畏惧。1+1=???。两个人加起来的影响力，居然是无限量大的。我的胃口、心情、思绪、精力、集中力都完完全全取决于他们的存在。

或许是这期间的生活实在是太悠闲不过，脑子开始失控地胡思乱想。我是那个典型的青春期少年。我珍惜友情，渴望爱情。在许多聪明人眼中，这想法是幼稚的、无稽的、愚蠢的。年轻人就该好好利用青春的本钱去闯，去拼，去打天下。我呢，我从未想过要怎么怎么追名逐利，在事业上怎么怎么成功。我只渴望过平凡人的生活。

“伤心的不会去挤人潮，以凸显自己的落寂；开心当然不介意热闹，恨不得全天下都看见。”--- 摘自《联合早报 – 走在无路可走的路上》

Hello Singaporeans…

Don’t complain if no locals want to work at coffee shops for long hours and still expect people to serve you.

Don’t complain if you want your skyscrapers if no locals will ever build them.

Don’t criticize PRCs and Bangla for not knowing how to queue if you yourself don’t understand what the meanings of these few instructions are: “PLEASE GIVE WAY TO ALIGHTING PASSENGERS BEFORE BOARDING”, “PLEASE MOVE TO THE CENTRE OF THE CAR” and “PLEASE MOVE TO THE REAR OF THE BUS”.

Don’t claim that non-citizens have low productivity when some locals have EVEN LOWER ones.

Today our warrant finally flew into a rage after so many weeks. Our present strength is never above 50% and some people have been taking MCs for the past 3 weeks. TOTALLY IMBA isn’t it??? Aiyah… But the activities in camp for this month have only been sleeping, reading, talking, psp-ing, mess-ing and day-dreaming. Of course people would rather do all these at home as opposed to in camp. Only 5 or 6 people, out of 30, have so far not taken any fake MCs yet, and I AM ONE OF THEM. =)

Though there is a valid reason for him to get fed up, I still freaking despise this old retarded big-belly abuneh. He takes LIGHTYEARS to process one freaking piece of leave and pops up with stupid comments. I filled up my leave form on Tuesday and it is still not signed yet at this moment. For those applying leave for tomorrow, they waited from 5:30pm till 7:30pm today for this piece of lard to sign their forms. -.- Whenever people enter the office to look for him, before they obtain what they want, this IMBA lard will ask him to do some saigang first, ask a lot of dumb questions, talk some crap, before considering to help the trainee. On top of that, he charged some people with SOL for having SLIGHTLY longer hair.

Don’t you just feel like stuffing some grenade into such mutated freak’s mouth???
 

F: 今天是090909长长久久良辰吉日。还没表白的话赶快抓紧时机！:-)

W: I have no one to confess to… You can confess to your loved one instead.

F: 别骗。你喜欢的人我早知道。

W: Who is it? How come I don’t know myself…

F: 那个人告诉我了。

W: Who is that person then? Please enlighten me.

F: 圣母。

Dotz… No comments. -.-

*** *** ***
 

Wooh! We went to Yishun Fire Station this afternoon for some primary school kind of excursion programme. It’s really like teachers bringing kids out, though the SSM is never a friendly “teacher”. And scoring 9/10 for the CPR and fire safety quiz allowed me to contribute to my household income – a $10 NTUC Voucher! The four of us scored the highest of all, though I didn’t know why so few people scored, since almost everything was in the notes distributed. So nice of the SAF! I thought I could have scored full marks one lo. I bet my answer is correct for the question which was marked wrong, because it wasn’t a difficult first aid question. I WANT MY PRECIOUS FIRST AID SKILLS BACK! :(

*** *** ***
 

I have to constantly remind myself not to be so easily affected by others and be less petty. I have to learn to be more tolerant and accepting from now on. KEEP THIS IN MIND!

*** *** ***
 

I want my appetite back so that I can eat food again! ><
 

I’m currently enjoying my two days of off, after which I’ll still report BACK to Sembawang STC classroom for something to happen. This implies that PSP, reading, iPod, chatting and sleeping will be our primary tasks for now, unless dear enciks plan something for us for this one month until our driving phase starts.

Recalling what happened two months ago, I really hated what was, and is still happening at STC – the lack of discipline, urgency and being disorganized. Being an ordinary human being, I can’t help but to admit that I’ve been integrated into the wonderful culture which I think there is no harm to me. 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 – 事实正是如此。

Furthermore, I really love my bunk mates and I’ll miss all (or in fact a few) of them if I get posted to unit now. We can proudly admit that we are the best syndicate, simply because we are really the obedient ones. When breakfast became OTOT and optional toward the end-of-course, we were the only ones who went to eat that FREE DOGGIE FOOD every morning, while the rest of the course would continue sleeping. We were the ones who did those sai-gang most of the time. We don’t make excessive noise and trouble. And most importantly, no one chao-geng in our bunk. This is in comparison to the LARGE numbers of MCs the rest of the course has produced, with the highest record of 15 Attend-C out of 44 people at one time, with 3 people having 2 week MC and they managed to pass the course. Totally amazing!

Though we are not the happening ones, we had fun in our own world too.

POP was 2 days ago.

I think it was a drastic change in attitude towards NS life after the 8.5 weeks. Thinking back then, I dreaded almost everything though I adapted to life quite quickly and for now, I don’t really mind a few days of outfield.

• I felt that I cannot keep up with the pace for the 4km route march.
• I felt like falling out for the 6km.
• I thought I would collapse after the 8km to CCP3, the field camp site plus pitching and tearing down basha 3 times.
• I really couldn’t take it for 12km to SITEST site and I swear I would have fallen out if my peers and sergeant didn’t help to lift up my field pack. This was the most terrible moment throughout the whole 9 weeks. It was a stupid idea to bring us to see the SPECTACULAR TEKONG HOT SPRING of the size of a bath tub, filled with muddy water. The whole route was in the jungles, walking on rocky and narrow paths, instead of the easier tekong highway.
• The 16km along tekong highway was so much easier after experiencing the 12km, but the sun this time was hot.
• I really thought I would have a hard time for the ULTIMATE test of 24km. In fact, it was actually relatively easier than the 16km. The whole of my dear section 4 walked at the back of the platoon, talking, singing and laughing among ourselves. Oh, and Sergeant Jeffrey joined in too.

I consider myself to be really fortunate. 02/09 ZULU was less xiong than 01/09. Furthermore, platoon 4 is strongly believed to have enjoyed less regimentation than the other 3 platoons.
 

• Our PC, 2LT Ervyn is a kind soul and doesn’t really punish us, instead talk crap and even went out with us yesterday night.
• Our original PS Sahlan was a freaking monster, though I think he is quite pro in his skills. He eventually stepped down since he is going to ORD really soon.
• Then the NICEST SECTION COMMANDER, aka my sec comm, took over as PS. I think Sergeant Jeffrey is seriously the best commander. He doesn’t really punish us but instead talk to us really really nicely. We played with him the night before POP. Then CSM Suffian knocked us down and even sort of “scolded” Sgt Jeffrey in front of us though Sgt Jeffrey said he didn’t mind us playing with him. How nice is he lor…
• Sgt Qai, the prone roll king is also super nice, even though his PT sessions are a big WOW.
• Sgt Chen Rui… He is very nice, though sometimes too slack and ended up being scolded by other commanders.

Oh… And being in the armskote was a really nice experience, because not everyone can get the chance to enter this sacred place. Furthermore, the entertainment from Sgt Vimal was so enjoyable. He is just so freaking funny.

I am generally okay with all the commanders, except 2LT KK who is very much disliked by my whole platoon. I seriously can’t stand his kaypoh-ness. Hope he can find a new life in his new unit 41 SAR. Sometimes, I find Sgt Daryl kind of irritating too, though I don’t hate him lah. I think the greatest change in perception was towards 2LT Quek, coz I really hated him at the start of BMT. But now, I find him actually quite nice, as long as you don’t step really hard on his toes. Oh, and I find Sgt Lucas quite nice too.

I think my platoon, especially my section is just simply great and fantastic, even though there are some people whom I do not like and I have not told anyone about it. It’s strictly not Jian Hao or Jun Yong, though they are the popular votes.

The BMT experience in general is actually quite enjoyable and I have really learnt quite a lot of stuff, especially with the fact that my physical has shown improvement. (even though I think st. john pumping training under Kai Siong and Jeremy was tougher) Oh, my face complexion has also gotten better at tekong, most probably because we drink a lot of water.

Hopefully, I can get posted to a suitable and nice place after that, be it sispec or unit. Good luck to everyone else who has also just POP!

Finally, the last week of my civilian life is coming to an end and I’m joining so many of you.

It doesn’t excite me at all.

Even though I have said it quite a number of times, I have to repeat that the enlistment date sucks. On both the weekends of the confinement, I will be forced to miss watching Zone Comp and 黄城. Can’t the date be shifted 2 weeks earlier or 2 weeks later??? Zzzzzzzz…. (And I’ll be missing 红星大奖 too! -.-)

For now, I spend 9 to 10 hours sleeping daily and countless of hours watching dramas like 败犬女王、西厢奇缘、太极、古灵精探、珠光宝气 and 完全娱乐 too. Oh, and I spend time on facebook doing quizzes too. Is this considered to be a hedonistic lifestyle?

放下了一個不可能，原本是那麼值得慶賀的一件事。再次遇見，是十分地確定一切已成遙遠的追憶，一切已那麼陌生。可是卻又那麼不幸地再次背起了另一個更不可能。但這更不可能卻又更是那麼的誘人，這值得“欽佩”的人。

看著單無雙、盧卡斯、宋允號、韓佳佳之間的動人故事，聽著靜茹首首動聽的歌曲，又再次流下了那廉價的淚珠。不知是那敗犬故事觸動人心，還是美妙旋律成功地渲染了這悲傷的愛情氛圍？但似乎兩者缺一不可。若是對演員品頭論足，相信楊謹華絕對是那演技最棒的，是故事的靈魂、是高潮、是戲心吸力。（當然，小天，阮經天本身就是吸引力的保證！）若是對靜茹的專輯來個鑑賞，白丁相信這《靜茹&情歌-別再為他流淚》是眾多專輯中最賺人熱淚、最喜愛的一張，似乎找不出一首使我覺得是用以充數的歌曲。 《敗》劇中似乎大量使用靜茹的嗓音以加強感情氛圍，而都用得恰到好處，尤其是這妙不可絕的《情歌》，次次都導致決堤，致使洪水氾濫。

《情歌》– 梁靜茹

时光是琥珀 泪一滴滴被反锁
情书再不朽 也磨成沙漏
青春的上游 白云飞走苍狗与海鸥
闪过的念头 潺潺的溜走

命运好幽默 让爱的人都沉默
一整个宇宙 换一颗红豆
回忆如困兽 寂寞太久而渐渐温柔
放开了拳头 反而更自由

慢动作 缱绻胶卷 重播默片 定格一瞬间
我们在 告别的演唱会 说好不再见

你写给我 我的第一首歌
你和我 十指紧扣 默写前奏
可是那然后呢
还好我有 我这一首情歌
轻轻的 轻轻哼着 哭着笑着
我的 天长地久


命运好幽默 让爱的人都沉默
一整个宇宙 换一颗红豆
回忆如困兽 寂寞太久而渐渐温柔
放开了拳头 反而更自由

长镜头 越拉越远 越来越远 事隔好几年
我们在 怀念的演唱会 礼貌的吻别

你写给我 我的第一首歌
你和我 十指紧扣 默写前奏
可是那然后呢
还好我有 我这一首情歌
轻轻的 轻轻哼着 哭着笑着
我的 天长地久

陪我唱歌 清唱你的情歌
舍不得 短短副歌 心还热着
也该告一段落
还好我有 我下一首情歌
生命宛如 静静的 相拥的河
永远 天长地久

Why has my teaching internship ended??? It’s rather boring to stay at home. The feeling of being in school with the vibrant school atmosphere is just too nice, especially when I can see the cute students. HAHAHA

Now, I am still tied down to this 成语 practices that I have to prepare. I’m now left with around 20 more to go and I will finish everything! 20 more 造句 for me is quite fast actually, considering I have done 167 sentences previously. I just hope these practices won’t go to waste and Mr. Seow will use them or else I will be damn pissed. Actually, I am still thinking of doing some collection of newspaper articles just like our GP Issues and Ideas.

I am wondering what made me love NNHS so much within such a short period of 9 weeks. Quite amazing… My dear 204 made me a video and some personalized heart-shaped cards from each of them. It’s really quite touching and lovely of this bunch of kids. I think I’m quite fortunate to not teach in HCI because I am rather sure that HCI kids won’t show such great appreciation to a mere intern teacher. If I happen to teach back in HCI, I think the reasons may be as follow: my attachment with the architecture, the various school songs, hci*St.J or simply the emotional attachment. I don’t really like to teach in such an elitist school. (Correct me if I have the wrong perception of my alma-mater.)

A few people whom I will like to thank:

1)     林珮诗老师 for being mentor and teaching me quite a lot of stuff (But sometimes she’s really quite scary, especially when she has just blasted students.)

2)     204 (A very nice class and there’re a few good friends made too.)

3)     林煜辉 (My relief teacher friend who has helped me A LOT and taught me a lot of things too.)

4)     Mr. BennyNgYY, Mr. KieuCY (Both of them are TCHS and HCJC seniors and both graduated from Peking Uni. Benny has really opened up my vision and inspired me to look at things from many new perspectives. He was also once a friend of Mr. Jeffrey Hong.

5)     Others include 林华龙主任、王建平老师、梁丽萍老师、符淑华老师、萧裕泉老师、王杰辉老师、黄惠心老师、郑冕老师、刘凌风老师、蔡一飞老师、丁娟老师

6)     Edwin and Kennard too!

There are 2 teachers in the department whom I didn’t thank simply because I have a super bad impression of them or rather, I have a strong negative feeling towards them.

Maybe after ORD 23 months later, I will apply for relief teaching and go back there again. It’s really a pleasant experience!

I just went to watch Slumdog Millionaire in the evening and I really think it is quite a nice film. Usually, if I watch a film in the late afternoon or evening in a cinema, I will fall asleep for certain parts if I were really tired. BUT this Indian film made me stay awake throughout the 120 minutes. It was an eye-opener for me to catch a glimpse of how Incredible India is. (I know I am ignorant.) I don’t understand why the film is rated as NC16 due to it containing coarse language because I don’t find anything coarse. However, there were gory scenes and bloody moments. Those parts are yucky. The little Jamal is cute and the adult Latika is pretty. Anyway, for your information, the scene where the brother died in the bathroom triggered the tears of some people. I don’t understand why…

Just as what Szuan says, she wants to influence the next generation of primary school kids to develop an interest in the Chinese language. Likewise, this is my long term aim. But my ambition is not as great. I just hope that I can neutralize the “hatred” among people towards the language. Sounds naive, isn’t it? I know some of you must be laughing at me or giving me that despise look.

Given the 9 weeks to experiment whatever I want, I think I am a COMPLETE failure. I suppose so. I don’t think I have achieved anything, neither am I a successful “teacher”. I didn’t have the skills to exercise my soft approach. I am very willing to offer my help but too bad, people did not express any interest in accepting my aid. On top of that, not being a full time teacher restricts many of my actions and I know I can’t transform thoughts into action. I could have been much harsher if I were allowed greater autonomy. Up till now, out of the six pieces of homework, only ONE piece has a total submission was exceeds 30 when the total class population is 40. The submission rate for the other homework never hits 30. Bear in mind that this is a SAP school and these students are totally not stupid. They are smart people!

On a positive note, some people such as ZJ are actually quite mature in the train of thoughts. Perhaps, this may be due to what she has seen and also her background. A sec 2 student who can actually understand how I feel.

Although I have not contributed a lot throughout the 9 weeks, I have undoubtedly benefited a lot from this experience, a real eye-opener. It motivated me further to enter this graveyard of education. I seriously don’t know if there will be any regrets.

On a side note, I am kind of getting frustrated or rather irritated by my mum to some extent. OH please ask the same question over and over again! Don’t tell me that you don’t get my hints at all. Since half a year ago, I have been facing questions and comments such as “What are you going to study?”, “Study Chinese very restricted one leh…”, “Are you sure you won’t regret if you become a teacher?”, “Go study other subjects in university lah…”, blah blah blah. If I prepare school work till quite late, then you will say “Be teacher so tiring, need to prepare until so late, quit the internship lah.” I was like @#$%^&*! Please tell me to do such a thing. I think that is quite ridiculous please. I believe you do understand the meaning of “silence means consent”. Having gone through the internship and starting to apply for MOE, you still continue to ask the same old questions. WAH! There is a limit to my tolerance one kay… I know it’s all for my own good but still… …

http://rjc.edu.sg/new/news1.asp?nid=247

Rafflesians raise the bar again with stellar performances by Class of 2008

1. A total of 1292 students at RI (JC) sat for the 2008 ‘A´ level Examinations. This is the 2nd cohort of students offering the revised ‘A´ level curriculum introduced in 2006. Both students from the Raffles Integrated Programme (72%) and students who joined the college after the ´O´ levels (28%) did exceptionally well.

2. 918 (3 in 4) students scored distinctions in at least 3 content subjects. 647 students (1 in 2) scored distinctions in at least four content subjects.

3. In addition, 650 candidates sat for H3 subjects. Of these, 513 scored Distinction and Merit grades. H3 subjects, also called ‘Higher Advanced´ subjects, are typically offered by highly-able students and provide opportunities for students to explore advanced content beyond the standard A-level curriculum.

New National Records

4. 4 students offered 13 units of study, above the norm of 10 to 12 units prescribed by the Revised ‘A´ level Curriculum. Soh Ming Quan, Milashini Nambiar, Wang Yong Jin and Audrye Wong Yunqi have broken the record in terms of outstanding academic achievement in the ‘A´ level examinations. These students have also demonstrated all-round excellence in terms of character, leadership and participation in a wide range of co-curricular activities. Ming Quan, Yong Jin and Milashini had distinctions in all their subjects.

5. The college swept a record 9 out of the 10 medals awarded by the Institute of Physics. These awards are given to the top performers in the ‘A´ level Physics Examination.

6. The college also achieved a record number of distinctions in General Paper. This year, 691 students (57%) scored distinctions in the subject.

7. A record number of 421 students (1 in 3 in cohort) achieved a perfect University Admission Score. The University Admission Score is computed based on a maximum score of 90 points, and takes into account General Paper or Knowledge and Inquiry, Project Work, 3 H2 and 1 H1 content subjects.

Top Junior College for Sports in Singapore

8. The Class of 2008 achieved very impressive results in the area of sports and the arts. At the Schools National Sports and Games Competitions last year, the college achieved 19 Gold, 12 Silver and 5 Bronze awards. The following national sportsmen had 6 distinctions for the subjects they took: Jonathan Koh (National Sports Boy of the Year), Sylvester Wee (National Tennis player), Samuel Kang (National Squash Player) and Sandra Go (National Table Tennis player).

9. In addition, in the 2007-8 Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) competitions, the college bagged 9 Gold and Gold with Honours awards.

10. The College is proud of the outstanding achievements attained by the class of 2008. The students have successfully built upon the rich and illustrious Rafflesian tradition for all-round excellence in education. The stellar performances at both the A-level Examinations, the National Sports and Games Competitions as well as the Singapore Youth Festival for the Arts are testimony to the strength of the Raffles Programme in nurturing talent and developing peaks of excellence in both academic and non-academic domains.

Comparison of 2008 performance with that of 2007

Having the mindset of a toddler, I took up this internship which I really looked forward to. Working, or rather teaching in the school for the first few weeks was quite a delightful experience. (I wouldn’t really take a role of a teacher as a “work”. It feels more like a social worker.) Anyway, after some time, as I grow to become a teenager in this profession, pessimism sets in.

A SAP school. The aim of a Specially Assisted Programme school is to nurture students to develop a keen interest and impart traditional Chinese values among students. Idealism. The job will be much easier, PROVIDED that all students do have a keen interest in the subject content. Sadly, life is never perfect. There will of course be students who do not like the subject.

204, a really nice class at times, especially after school, though I do not appreciate some of the attitude. MY personal aim: to help students who dislike the subject to learn to pick out some interest in the subject and related aspects. If not possible, at least to change their mindsets to tend towards being neutral. Given this intelligence of mine, I don’t think I have the capability to do so at my current state. Everyone will agree with me, that this is an arduous task. Sounds impossible, does it?

The majority of the class comes from an English-speaking background. (though not that students nowadays speak and write in perfect English) This is not something that I mind. They key comes from the attitude. The learning attitude of anyone overwrites anything. Making the slightest bit of noise in class does irritate me to some extent but my perception to this is: as long as you know your limits.

What saddens me is when someone sitting right under my nose opens up his textbook and notebook, lies on the chair and stare at me for the whole of an hour. This is something that will really sadden me. This is especially so when I used the really soft-approach to remind you, to encourage you, to personally find time to help you and giving you extra attention as compared to the rest. I do believe that a pass grade, or an even better grade is achievable for you for this upcoming common test, Mr. D. Please don’t make me feel that my efforts have gone to waste.  

Anyway, I think I am more like a friend to them, rather than a teacher. The fierceness in me subsided as quickly as I graduated from Sec4. I can easily be fierce to most people then. But now, I seriously do not know how to be fierce. Occasionally, I will still be stern to the Sec1s and 2s when I go for relief, simply because I do not know the students. BUT when facing this particular class, I don’t know why I can’t stop smiling at them even when they do not perform or say anything funny.

就是这么一班，让我留恋，让我对这所陌生的学校产生了一丝的感情，也是我集体回忆的一部分。我入行之后教的第一班。

One week in Nanhua just zoomed passed. It was neither tiring nor mundane but perhaps this is just the beginning. As time goes by, it may eventually become more tiring but be rest assured that it will not be boring. I am starting to like it more and more.

One of the many reasons why I like this job is probably because of the working environment. I can assure you that the 14 or 15 staff strength in their Chinese department is definitely more united, friendly, approachable, YOUNG and cooperative as compared to BOTH the Chinese department I have seen throughout my six years in my alma mater. Local and foreign teachers can communicate effectively. I see no teachers who will enter classes with few handouts and go back to office. (I think this is only unique to hwachong.) I see no teachers who will exploit students as and when they can. I see a lot of bilingual and IT proficient teachers, both local and foreign. For now, I can safely confirm something. NIE training is IMPORTANT, especially to foreign teachers who lack understanding of Singapore’s education system. So reflect upon yourself HC and stop hiring untrained teachers and PROFESSORS.

NH canteen food is cheaper.

I prefer MOST of the NH Chinese teachers to HC Chinese teachers.

I prefer NH Principal to HC CEO.

NH’s discipline is stricter and most students greet or bow to teachers anywhere in the school compound, regardless of who you are, even relief teachers and interns like me.

NH students sing our National Anthem much louder than HC students.

NH classrooms and school compound is 100 times cleaner than HC’s.

NH Chinese department seems more practical and down-to-earth.

There is a lift in NH because the building is six-storey high and there are a couple of handicapped students in the school.

BUT, of course there are the merits of HC. I still love TCHS and HCI more!

 

I went back for once in such a long time and the trip made me feel down. VERY disappointing please… NCOs have to be motivated to work before cadets can have the slightest motivation to improve. More scolding and more ‘downs’ won’t really make things work. What’s more important is to know each other well and talk things out. That’s why I prefer motivational speeches which are highly effective in boosting corps morale and this is the key to bonding and performance, not within various squads only, but within the entire corps. As an NCO, if you don’t try your best to give what the cadets need, you yourself are a failure. I believe in setting a good role model because this will command respect. Cadets will learn from you in the future when they become NCOs. Another point to note is that NCOs should never ATTITUDE cadets. Punishment is aimed at making them feel that they are in the wrong or at least do not let them curse NCOs at the end of the day. A strained relationship between NCOs and cadets is the key barrier to improvement. On the other hand, too close a relationship will make it difficult for you to command respect. Last but not least, I hope you will not have the thought of “give up already lah” again. If you say “give up” before even trying to change them, the chance of “winning something” this year is definitely zero. I know all these may sound cliché but this is the truth because I have been through it and so do many of you. After so many years, at least I know that my efforts made years ago are not wasted. At least I earned the acknowledgment that my training was the most fun and interesting out of all. Thank you so much.

Anyway, the zone comp date this year totally sucks. 18 April. (I hope I got it right.)
 

This was the first day of newbie-teacher training at NUS. My instructor is some old man who started his career in teaching since 1956, before Singapore even gained independence. Though in his 70s, his liveliness definitely beats Mdm Yeo hands down. Those powerpoint slides are as boring as usual and I ALMOST ended up dozing off at times, especially early in the morning. The last time I had such an experience was during our dear Mr Leong’s econs lecture I suppose. It was much better after lunch and his personal life stories were relatively much more interesting. I was especially awake when he was trying to communicate some values and examples across but they were largely contradicting with mine. Though I am usually easily swayed and influenced, I do find him quite a good speaker with persuasion skills. BUT I do find his core value rather idealistic. LOVE. We have to LOVE all our students EQUALLY regardless of their behaviour. Both the students and parents are our customers and we have to obey the golden rule in Singapore: CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT. I find this absolutely unacceptable and actually ridiculous to some extent. I can proclaim that 99% of the teachers in Singapore can NEVER practise this and I honestly swear that I do not have the patience and sufficient love to obey this golden rule.

He illustrated with some examples which one includes the name of our school. He believed that teaching in relatively “lousier” schools is comparatively more satisfactory for a DEDICATED teacher because he/she is able to shower the students with more LOVE. The ‘normal’ students usually lack praises and care from teachers and parents so if a teacher manages to touch him, he will remember you for life. LIKE WOW! HOW NOBLE! But how many teachers can actually fulfill that? However, teaching in junior colleges and especially schools like HWA CHONG JUNIOR COLLEGE (it doesn’t exist anymore) is just a matter of fulfilling your job by teaching the subject, not teaching the students (notice the difference). The teachers in our school simply complete their tasks and receive their monthly salary, without much love showered upon the cute little hwachongians like you and me. I can’t prove him wrong, but neither do I agree it wholesale.

You may watch the following film which made my old instructor tear during your leisure time. http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/

I am being deeply touched by 2 people whom I met on Monday and am also really appreciative of Jeremy’s email. I really thank you A LOT. I suddenly felt so overwhelmed with LOVE.

Anyway, I REALLY MISS wearing my brownish school uniform, laughing at my friends and teachers, eye-candying at the class bench, discussing pointless topics during breaks, sitting in LTs and classrooms, whining at our daily mundane routine and all sorts of random stuff. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I miss all my friends and eye candies. I forgot who said this, either Eileen or Xiner: When will the next gathering be? It was rather emotive after hearing that, especially when a fun chalet just ended. Why are so many of you enlisting these few days??? I will miss your online status on MSN. I want to hug all of you! Farewell everyone who is leaving for that tempting island that is welcoming everyone with open arms!