Sunday, October 31, 2004

Yawn. Skipped amaths to study with marcus yesterday. Went funan after that. Then had tea at coffee club at wisma with Cheryl and Johannes. Not much going on in life nowadays.

---

Emaths is a really boring subject. Getting the A1, however easy it may seem, is tricky. Some things to watch out for:

1) Study your angle properties and trigo. These are normally the most difficult questions, and can catch you off-guard is you become overconfident.

2) Take a good look at the probability questions. I got overconfident, and lost 2 easy marks in the prelims. It does count for alot, since I hear the A1 mark for this year is 96%, though it's probably crap comng from Dimitra.

3) Read the question. Often where most people make careless mistakes. This may include probability(where one ball is replaced blah blah), Angle properties(Read the angle correctly) and other stupid questions.

4) Get your s.f right. Not much here, really. But in Emaths, if they don't penalize people on small things, everyone would be getting full marks. So, in paper 1, leave everything to exact figures, or fractions. paper 2 SHOULD have instructions on the front, so follow those. Also, if they tell you to take pi as 3.14, take pi as 3.14. I tried to be clever before. Now I have to try being stupid.

---

Coming soon : English tips from an English pro-wannabe.

---

Meteor: pronounced "Mee-tee-yor" or "Mee-tee-yer"?

Friday, October 29, 2004

Nothing much been's going on my life as of late, so there's not much to be blogging about. Seriously. My life right now is about as blank as Mr Phua's face. For those who don't know him, think of the paper you use to photocopy stuff on.

---

With the O's coming, there's been nothing much to do outside of studying. Damn. Hate exams. Even more worrying than the exams is what I'll do after they're over. It's the period of time where I should be slacking, but since I've become so accustomed to mugging I lose the ability to do about everything else. Life is cruel.

---

Finished a bunch of english papers outof boredom today. Sigh. Next is Chinese, then Emaths, then History. First week looks pretty slack for me, since I have another humanity subject. Still, full steam ahead with a jacket, since it does promise to be pretty cold since we'll be doing the Os in an air-con room. And those who aren't, don't get jealous. I wanted to do it in a hall, dammit.

---

One thing I haven't figured out yet: How do you pronounce "yuy"?

-Wilfred. Stupid.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Heh...just woke up. Pulled another Iron Man last night. Well, at least I crammed some SS into my head. I tried to cram all, but I probably forgot half by now. I must be getting old.

---

Went ACJC open house yesterday. Not too bad, actually. But the fact that I can't take long MRT rides plus the knowledge that I'll be friendless should I be stupid and decide to go there would mean that I probably will not go there. Still, the people there seem very well-to-do. So, if a financial crisis rises up, I just might go there for 3 months. AC still can't compare to VJ or TJ though.

Saw some RI people there too. Wonder what the hell they were doing there, the same way I wondered why Wilbur went to MJ open house. Not only did I manage to eavesdrop in on the physics practical question, I also realized that Rafflesians are on a completely different world from Victorians. For one, the particular bunch I happened to listen in on were actually against moderation, because "we can't benefit from it". What selfish assholes. Another thing was that they were making jokes that nobody else but them could understand. Sheesh. While Victorians think of going to a linkin park concert, Rafflesians buy tickets to the esplanade to watch musicals in langauages that the average Singaporean fails to understand. When asked about linkin park though, a blank is drawn from the rafflesian's face, a blank blanker that blanko on a blanket.

One more thing I found out on my trip there was that ACS isn't a very kind place. A friend I know from there got 9 points for his prelims and yet is unable to go to ACJC. Apparently, their principle actually writes letters to the principal of ACJC telling him NOT to accept some people into ACJC, citing reasons such as listening to death metal(which actually happened to be limp bizkit), being satannic(yeah right) and discipline problems(such as coming to school late more than x times a year). Which means there are better chance for completely unrelated people to get in.

---

Will be going to school in the morning tomorrow to study, as well as pester Miss Tang for hints. Anybody who wants to join me feel free to come. More heads are better as far as heckling people is concerned.

---

Man U vs Arsenal tonight. As an Aston Villa supporter, I will be watching this match because it probably will be exciting. If it turns out boring however, I will be holding my history book at my side. Shows how exciting soccer can be at times. That being said, I'm thinking a 1-1 draw, because of Man U's home advantage. The talent in the two squads is more or less equal, even if Man U are abit too reliant on Ronaldo and van Nistelrooy, who looks like a horse. Wayne Rooney and Alan Smith, who resemble different species of dogs, could also play a part. United will be depending on Scorpion king Rio Ferdinand to anchor the defence against the likes of thick-lipped henry, afraid to fly Bergkamp and Jose Antonio Reyes, who looks more like a basketball point-guard than a football forward.

-Wilfred, who has a stiff neck
I have been trying to be Iron Man as of late. Haven't been sleeping much. I think it's because I'm being paranoid. Getting too nervous over nothing. That being said, 3 hours a day seems to be ample for now, so if anybody wants to talk at night, feel free to give me a call.

---

Studying numbs your brain. Or at least it seems that way. Which is why I have some kind of writer's block right now. Still not sleepy though.

-Wilfred, who(embarassingly) does not know how to operate a photocopy machine

Thursday, October 21, 2004

I have engineered my own downfall. Shot myself in the foot. Fell into my own trap. Slipped over my own banana peel. Ok I think that's enough. A picture paints a thousand words. If you looked at my shirt and pants after the prac, you'd know.

Yellow patch on my shirt: Spilt chemicals.
Yellow patch on my pants: also spilt chemicals. And alternative argument could be made that I was so nervous I peed in my pants, in which the degree of nervousness would also be correct.

So incredibly nervous at the start. I read the instruction.

"Pale yellow"

I start pipetting, and I didn't see the pipette filler. So I thought 'aiya no big deal la' and I start sucking the pipette. Not only was it time consuming as it was damn hard to get the correct level, but I sucked the chemical(I believe it was sodium thiosulphate) in my mouth. First time not so bad la...like lemon water. The second was like...well, a lemon. Then I saw the red thing.

As usual, I can't figure out how pale is pale, so I figured I'd keep going until I saw "pale". I did 3 times at first. In all 3, the solution turned colourless before I could find "pale". So i started a 4th time, keeping the reading where the solution tuned colourless(25.6) in mind, so I would know to stop at about 25.4/25.5. So when I reach 24.3, I clip the burette so I could release the rest abit at a time. And what happens? The solution continues flowing,dammit. So, when everyone was starting on their QA, I devise a plan, with Mr Wong watching and the invigilator looking away.

Me:*drop drop*
*show*
Wong:*nonono**pinches twice*
Me:* drop drop*
Wong: *pinches once*
Me:*drop*
Wong:*indes finger meets thumb*

Plan successful.

This was followed by...

Me: *drips abit on tile*
Wong: *wtf stare*

This was so I could compare the colour later.

So, with half an hour left, I rush through the QA in the same way a tornado blows through an african hut, leaving the paper, the chemicals and the table in a mess. When I submitted the paper, no page was spared. Not even the cover. Even the teacher frowned at me. Sigh.

Time to study physics prac.

---

On a lighter note, an informal poll.

Should I take the music off the blog?

Answer on tagboard.

Monday, October 18, 2004

I seem to be falling asleep in the weirdest places as of late.

Saturday: Fell asleep on couch after watching saturday night live, while watching the chelsea v Man City match. Woke up at 6am watching a golf tournament, and wondered if I should go back to sleep.

Friday: Returned home really late. Really really tired. Fell asleep on living room floor, the same way a person falls asleep on the sidewalk when you play The sims. As a joke, brother used marker to draw shape of my body on the floor. Hmmmm. At least he's smart enough to know how to trace, I guess.

Sunday: Studying lit(yes, Studying lit) at 4am when my head decided to give way and crashed on the table. It did not lift itself till 9 this morning. Nose really hurts. Try sleeping face down on a wooden table, in a hard-covered book. On a side note, mum decided not to bug me for today when I told her I spent the night with my face in the book.

Wonder if I'll actually get to sleep on my mattress today. There is, however, Portsmouth v Tottenham at 2.45 later. Might be worth staying up for.

---

Went to school briefly today. I think I'll go study again tomorrow. No more crap from now on. Only the best nonsense and the best results will be coming from me.

---

Went VJ, MJ and TJ open houses. MJ is the only realistic choice for now, but I hear that the place is not very kind if you do stay on. Very easy to get kicked out, I hear. TJ is a long shot, while VJ would require me to reach through mists, sift through sands and peer through depths to find the ultimate appeal letter that will allow me to force myself in. To think all Ciping has to do is show his face. I wonder if they'll accept good singers =)

I probably wasted my time anyhow. All people do at open houses is tell you about how good the school is instead of telling us what kind of student should join. So I'll make my choice when I get my results. Wait talk so much nonsense then end up with 20 points or even worse. Now that would be bad.

-Wilfred

Saturday, October 16, 2004

On the 15 th of October, my life as a Victorian ended as the class of 2004 graduated in true Victorian style.

---

Things started going screwy when we realized that Mason and Jeremy, our beloved monitors, had returned the classroom key to Ms Ng. So we sang the national anthem at the corridor. Perhaps sang isn't the right word. Hollered is a more suitable description. Lungs defalted, diaphrams shook and mouths moved as we roared the anthem and pledge. Den later Mr Maran came and asked why got so much noise. So we told him we sang at the corridor. He nodded his head, slapped me on the shoulder and said, "must be you la!" I grinned. Well, it was quite true.

<

Friday, October 15, 2004

Righto. With all the complaining going around lately, I have decided to stop talking crap about the school or talking crap about the people talking crap about the school, mainly because a) the whining has finally stopped and denys has gotten his points, b) the printing fees situation seems to have died down and c) A half day is really not a big deal. Also because I'm just plain lazy to go on arguing on a pointless case.

---

Singapore Idol today. And for once, Jerry did put up a decent performance, complete with new facial expressions and a lot more crowfeet-style smiling. He just looked so incerdibly happy to still be around. I still used his performance as time to check out the other channels though. A great pity there's nothing else to compete with Idol for ratings at the 8pm timeslot. Christopher is now the weakest performer. All he does is smile and shriek into the microphone. And Taufik is still good.

-Wilfred, lacking inspiration

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Lots of people have been putting the school down recently. The sec 4s have been complaining about the half-day being put on a monday, a day when we do not have to go to school anyway. You complain about going to track & field and not being able to enjoy its benefits. Think of it this way. We have teachers like crazy wong, pink ernie and of course miss tang. These are teachers who will not hesitate to use the slots vacated by the other teachers for lessons of their own. So lessons would still take place anyway. Also, even if they did not take place, the free 1.5 hours isn't going to do much good. Seriously. If you study, you're just replacing lesson with study time. If you slack, you lose valuable lesson time. If you blog, good for you then.

Then there's the complaints about printing fees. While it is somewhat expensive, and we( including myself) agree on the fact that foul play is occurring *coughembezzlecough*, we're just going to have to deal with it instead of continually whining. Apparently, someone is following the example set by George W. Bush in transparency. So who are we to question the teachings of the most powerful man in the world?

Which is followed by complaints on over or under moderation. It's no big deal to me if the school wants to give undeserving trashbags the chance to go to a lousy jc for 3 months and settle nicely into ITE. But people seem to be making a mountain out of this molehill. Some compare it to tkgs' moderation, while some claim that moderating undermines the effort of the good students. Ironically, the guy who complained about under moderation got somewhere around 7 points anyway. And to anyone who complains about overmoderation, you probably got a single digit score, so keep quiet and sit in your corner cuddling your textbook.

Which precedes the complaints about CCA grades. While I, too, am pissed, I must admit that I only did two years worth of working, while not giving two hoots about my cca in the latter two years. So I'm fine with my grade, and it's time to move on towards the impending O levels. Somebody has been complaining endlessly about a CCA which was dissolved when he was sec2, which he feels he deserves a point in. He most certainly does not. Why? Because he was not committed to it in the first place, and was only a committee member due to the small number of people in the CCA, and yet he feels he deserves it. Though I must admit, if I got one point added through ELDDS, I wouldn't complain, but I wouldn't go around bitching, whining and pretty much making noise over that one point. On a side note, I myself have been marching in numerous parades but to be honest, in not one of them did I feel I should have been there. I have also MC'ed a few events, but that was fun. I should not be awarded points for fun, though I still would not mind. And besides, no amount of complaining is going to surmount for anything if the goddamn HOD of CCA does not check the school forum. So if you have anything to say, just go to him and say it instead of irritating the people around you with complaints. The world has enough noise already.

---

Speaking of noise, I'm going to start practicing my vocals soon, just for fun. So if anyone wants to join me or help me seek training, give me a signal.

---

On another note, my sense of humour reached a high for the first time in a long while. Exam stress might be ~taking its toll on me, she said goodbye~ *ahem* Definately having an effect on my brain.

-Wilfred, who likes to believe he has an elvis-like voice

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Next week will be my last 5 days in Victoria School. Pretty sad to be leaving the school. I will treasure those final days like no other. It seems like only yesterday when I showed up at Victoria School, a blur boy who didn't know much about anything and everything. Now I'm leaving Victoria School as .... well, a blur teenager who (still) dosen't know much about anything and everything. That being said, I've taken alot from my stay in Victoria School. Had some high points, some low points, made lots of friends and a few enemies. Lots of great moments, and lots of embarassing moments too. People in VS should know. Will be singing the Victorian Anthem on Monday. Will probably shout my throat sore. Not good for my Singapore Idol hopes(omg ego ego), but don't care right now.

---

That being said, all I really did was slide through my first 3 years at Victoria School. Just edged my way into VS. scraped into an 8-subject combination with a score of 60.3. If the benchmark was 65, I would have gotten 65.3. That pretty sums up the nature of my lower sec life. Was pretty much a homework-copying slacker. Sec 2 was pretty fun though, with lots of trouble makers in my class, such as dimitra, shaun and who could forget the now-somewhere-else Ghafoor. The days of Wahid Prata will be remembered.

---

Sec 3 was pretty much a disaster for me. Was the first time I saw my grades slip tremendously, with 40 points as my all-time high. Couldn't understand a single thing in amaths class. Couldn't be bother in Chemistry class. Did my own thing in Lit class. Hated History. Chinese was a pretty slack and extemely boring class. English was pretty much my saving grace. Fail physics too, despite trying pretty hard. Remembered my rock-bottom grades in Sec 3.

EL- B4
CL- C5
EM- B4
AM- F9
PH- D7
CH- F9
HI-E8
LI- B3

L1R5- 32. And that was probably the best grade of the year.

Outside of that, I got kicked out of the RC committee because of 1 minute of rudeness. Lesson learnt: Don't cross the boss. Got pretty much kicked around like shit after that. Quit at the end of Sec 3, because of my studies and also because I couldn't stand RC at the time. Still hate the guts some people inside, though that has faded somewhat, I still try to avoid some people.

On 31st december, I told myself: The only way you can go is up. I got tuition for amaths, physics and chem.

---

And now I awaken from my 3.5-year long slumber. I draw the curtains of deceit, delusion and depression and bathe in the warmth of the world around me. Damn. Singapore is too hot.

Sometime during July( I think), I was watching a pool match on ESPN. Tony Drago was kicking some Malaysian guy's butt. Before he hit in the final ball to seal the match, the commentator said something which stuck in my mind, and would later become the midset I adopted for the prelims.

There are two ways you can do something well. Either you do it like it means everything, or you do it like it means nothing.



Friday, October 08, 2004

Righto. Firstly, the comp is down again, which means I'm stuck with 56k again. damn.

---

History moderation of 8 marks now means that I have pulled my l1r5 down further to 15. If Ms Tang decides that I have put in enough effort to get another mark, that will pull it further to 14, enough for me to (hopefully) slide into TJC's arts stream, where I can join their anime club whoopee. Ms Tang, If you're reading this, I have been tirelessly working on my physics so that I can achieve the distinction for the O levels. But first, you will have to boost my ego my pushing my grade to a B3 so that I will have the confidence to go from strength to strength and continue to pour my Heart and Soul into my physics in hopes of getting an A1.

---

Went for Amaths tuition on wed. I must have been somewhat sullen-faced when I told him I had an l1r5 of 16, cos he gave me the du lan look after the words came out from my mouth. Sitting with two people who fared worse than me did help me to regain some of my mood though.

---

Received the comfirmation slip for results today. They tell us to sign. But since Ms Tang told me I got a b3 when the paper said 64.0, I simply took a red pen and drew a big round circle around the grade, as well as my l1r5. My cca grade got messed up too. Apparently the department forgot to count the competitions, and all I had was 3 years worth of attendance and 2 points of rank( I didn't show up to get promoted). Oh well.

---

Was watching sg idol last night. Couldn't believe it. Jerry in? Christopher in? David out? What the hell. Just cos he isnt as cute dosent mean he should get out.

On a side note, I am hoping that Maia will just get out of sg idol. Just can't stand her for some reason. The same way I couldn't stand Fantasia. If Leandra, Taufik and Sylvester get voted out, I will stop watching. Those 3 seem like the only ones who had a credible chance of winning outside of David yeo.

To all christians: stop voting for Jerry dammit. Just because he thanked god for getting in. Sheesh.

---

Really need to kick up my gear. Os are coming. Must...get...ready...

-Wilfred, feeling cold.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

In a sudden and shocking turn of events, Wilfred Lau of Secondary 4H has somehow managed to worm his way out of the prelims to emerge with a sickeningly average score of 16. Here is the commentary of the mentally exhausting day, which was preceded by a good 1.5 hours of sleep.

7.50am- Recieved Chinese script. Bombed tremendously, getting a C5. Well, there's always the b4 I kept in my back pocket for O levels. Proceeded to listen to the man with the receding hairline do his thing and talk nonsense.

9.00am- Physics. Looks at paper 2. sees 30/50. Sees practical. sees 18/30. Is that a b4 or is that a b4? As it turns out, it's neither, as my paper 2 section B flopped tremendously, getting 13/30. Even an MCQ score of 26/40 is not enough to save it as I plummet to a C5. Things really need to get better if I'm going to scrape into a jc like I planned.

9.35am- And look up they did. Maggie "the REAlity" Ng walks in, and for once I am grateful for her presence. I get my compre first, and feel like someone just shoved my head into a toilet bowl when I see 34/50. A GODDAMN B3 is not good enough. Then comes paper 1, and I feel like the said toilet bowl was filled with alchohol as I see 46/60. Then I rub my eyes, count the marks, and realize that I should have gotten 47/60. Yay. Add that to 34/40 for Oral, and we have a nicely wrapped A1 package.

10.10am- Mdm "pink" Ernie, ironically dressed in purple, walks into class. I am sullen when I see 59/80 on my paper 1, before I realize that I was in fact holding an A2. I grin. Then paper 2 comes, and I frown. 65/100. The hell? I calculate my score, and it comes up to an agonizing 68 and eight-ninths. Then I go to mdm ernie to check the namelist, and see a 70-A2 against my name. Oh well. If I don't complain, nothing will happen. And I intended to keep it that way.

10.25am- History time. Mr "slackiest feller in the staff room" Thiru herds the flock of students to a deserted classroom. As it turns out, while other people were complaining about how their SS had pulled them down, I was grumbling about how my SS couldn't have beaten my history by more. When I saw a big red 28 with a circle around it on my history paper,I think, aiya, si liao. SS sure fail one. I was kinda shocked when I saw a small red 29 with a circle around it on my SS paper. My 1st reaction was wtf? My 2nd reaction was to actually look at the paper. I realize that I actually managed to get 18/25 for my SBQ, my highest in a long long time. Which means that *flip flip*. My SEQ got 5+6=11. If I had less control over my hands I would have less hair than Maran now. This is the first time I have passed my history in upper sec. Go me. Better yet, there may still be moderation. Not that it'll affect me much though. It would be nice to see a C-free report card.

10.45am- We eat a rather nerve-wracking recess. I listen to my mp3 player like the napster icon that i am.

11.30am-Crazy Wong walks in. And I feel a sinking feeling when I see 23/40 and 43/80 for practical and paper 2 respectively. An abysmal score of 28/40 does help to get me another useless C5. That useless C5 soon becomes a somewhat consoling b4 when he decides to give us bonus marks, which pushes me to 60.37. Wooooo!

11.55am- With a score of 21, I really need some really good grades to lift myself to a jc. I feel crestfallen when Limeng announces a b4 for me. Then I pause for a while. wait...a b4 would propel me to a....20 point! I am so happy I shake ciping. Good thing his fan club didnt catch sight of this now, or I would be hearing the voice of the wind as I bleed to death on a random sidewalk. Things start getting better when she announces an 8-mark moderation, which drags my B4 to an A2, and my 20 to an 18.

12.40pm- I am satisfied. A b3 for lit, while not spectacular, does shave another 2 points off my l1r5, rendering whatever history moderation useless, unless it pushes my grade up to a b3. So, in conclusion, here are my results.
EL - A1
EM- A2
AM- A2
Li- B3
Ch-B4
CL- B4( I feel so ashamed, having to use this)
Ph- C5
SS- C5
L1R5- 16 (wheee. Good enough for meridian or tampines I hope)
L1R4- 12
All in all, a good day for me. Just so....sleepy....now....zzzzzz

-Wilzzzzzzzzzz.....................

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Another Long day today.

---

8am- I wake from my slumber, look at the clock, and whisper to myself,

"Oh Shit."

I was supposed to reach school at 8 am for crazy wong's practical, but woke up late because I was blogging. lol.

8.30- Reaches school. Crazy Wong scolds me for a while before I sit down and do a practical with Isa. Rush through the Titration. All I needed was the initial 50cm of liquid on my burette to get 2 readings. I am not wasteful lol. Blazed through the calculation too. After abit of checking, did the QA. Pretty uneventful, except both Isa and myself butchered our papers by spilling blue and yellow solutions on our respective papers.

10.00- finished chem prac, at the same time as everyone else, despite arriving 30 mins late. Played bball under the hot sun. Got slightly sunburnt.Not my lucky day. Scored one 3-pt and one, errr, layup. Goes home to change for tuition. Puts on creative headphones and nods away.

12.45- Reaches tuition, 15 mins late, since Marcus held me back to play a final game. Sat there and thought of the answer. Seems like I know how to do most of the stuff. Still cant do integration for nuts though. Prefer R.V . At least they only can give a few kinds of qn. I prefer RV to a really hard sets question. Drawing triangles is fun.

3.00- Pool time. No form today. Had to use Marcus' and my own combined luck to beat the team of Wilbur ' I'm slow because I calculate angles' Lua and Denys ' Free ball' Tan. Weird. Goes home.

5.00- Reaches home. Slacks for a while. Eat dinner. Fall asleep.

9.30- wake up. Blogs.

-Wilfred, needing some material to put on his blog
Went to eat dinner wif pskl people 2dae. Jo conned us into spending $17 on a buffet which we were forced to leave early because she was feeling cold. Too much iced water, yeah? After that went dunno where to play pool. So funny. Most of us couldnt play for nuts except Justin, who seemed to be rather pro, despite not being 16. One thing I learnt was that I have power, but no aim, much like my basketball. Some say you2 yong3 wu2 mou2. Other than tt, watching the girls attempt to play was rather funny. In total, we probably committed an average of 1 foul every 3 turns. That's how pathetic we were. Felt so ashamed that we left after about 45 mins. Oh, it was late too.

---

Practical with crazy wong later. Still haven't done his homework. Will find someone to help(read:lend) me when I get to school tomorrow.

-Wilfred, on a dose of caffeine

Friday, October 01, 2004

School was such a complete waste of time. skipped chinese today. nobody cared. At least We'll be getting back results on monday. The tension is killing me. its as much as a really small string holding a really big load.

---

I was so bored at school today that I used my calculator to find the longest word I could form with the calculator turned upside down. for example, 1134 gives hell, and 0.1134 gives hello. the longest I found so far is "ghillies" (yes there is such a word) with 53177149. If anyone finds longer than that they get a cookie.

---

Bowling on monday was pretty fun, even if my score was only a little higher than my mid-year l1r5. After than went to play pool. Snuck in. hehe. lost to wenhao though. Dayum.

- Wilfred, still wondering where the $15 goes to