10S101 Class Chalet 2012

Secret War Journal[8 January 2012][Long post]

Actually, I am not sure if this is the last one but it sure felt it was the last one. O.o

The Original Plan

I guess there is no harm to tell you what I had planned at first. Pei Shi’s and Debbie’s birthday presents were way overdue since last year.

But! Before you jump into conclusions, we had bought the presents. We just needed an opportunity to pass to them with all the stakeholders present, to be fair.

Actually, we just wanted to witness their reaction when they open the presents. :p

With the class chalet, the opportunity presented itself, well sort of. Since Laura’s birthday recently came too, Pei Shi was planning to pass Laura’s present before the Class Chalet. Covertly, we were planning to pass to Debbie and Pei Shi their presents then too.

---

Or so we thought,

Lai Yin was… I guess not used to such stuff. So the plan failed. We had only a few minutes to concoct another plan which I would leave the details for later. Hahas! :)

---

What actually happened…?

Then came another setback, this one rather hilarious too. :p

Laura overslept. Pei Shi must be pissed because that was the whole point of the meet-up – to pass her birthday presents. Hahas!

For a moment, I thought her phone died because her phone was unavailable and she was not aware of the gathering point. Thankfully (ironic as it sounds), she was sleeping and did not turn on her phone.

Since we thought we are going to be the latest for the Class Chalet, we told Laura to meet up somewhere nearer to the Class Chalet.

--

While we head towards the new meeting point, let me spend some time to describe to you the wrapper for Laura’s birthday present.

Why? You might ask. Well, it is very… unique. :p

The wrapper is made of paper (duh?!) and it is brown in color. Nothing special yet? Well, that’s the point! It is a simple paper bag, think take-away paper bags in Burger King. Hahas, a novel idea I tell you (in a certain accent)!

--

We met Laura on a bus stop where a shuttle bus would bring us to our destination. Upon meeting her, we passed her our present for her. Unfortunately, she did not wish to open her present in our presence. Thus, I was not able to witness her reactions to the presents we bought for her.

The journey on the Shuttle Bus was a blur for me because I sort of fell asleep on the bus, being tired these days. Hahas.

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So it begins…

Oh does it? I would think that at this point of time, after much beating about the bushes, as a reader, you would be wondering if I was just trying to be funny and just sprouting random nonsense just to delay the climax of the day.

Well, sorry to disappoint (or amuse) you but all these events really occurred on that day. Such is life. :)

Arriving at the chalet, we expected ourselves to be one of the latest group to arrive. Much to most of our surprise, there was only… Bryan.

Yep, only Bryan. That is because he was tasked to check into the place at the designated time. Guess that made him the earliest to arrive, by default.

That is…interesting. Nevertheless, it provided me some time to explore the place somewhat undisturbed due to the lack of people in the vicinity. (*insert evil laughter*)

Oh, did I mention that the moment we arrived at that place, it started to rain? Queer, isn’t it?

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False start? No more,

Alright, I would stop torturing you (and myself from the excessive typing) by letting the pictures do the talking from this point! :)

Starting the BBQ!

Pei Shi and me doing a silly face (can't believe Debbie caught this on camera but I think it's hilarious!)

So I got bored and went to take some pictures with Timothy. Say cheese!

I have no idea why this picture is so small!!! >.<

--
Ah, so the group pictures had come streaming in, enjoy! (And all our candid pictures too...)

---

At around 9:30, it was getting late for some of us as we all had work tomorrow.

Laura's father was nice to bring us to a populated area for the rest of us to flag a taxi. Thank you! :)
It took some time but we managed to flag a taxi and I guess everyone was already tired from the Chalet and needed a rest for a packed tomorrow. :)

Me? I had a rather candid conversation with the taxi driver. I think he found it awkward to talk to me in front of my other friends as he talked a while before going silent when the rest boarded the taxi. Nevertheless, I gained some insight from him through our short conversation. Hahas!

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"As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round." - Ben Hogan

Let's Talk NTU 2012

Secret War Journal[7 January 2012]

“A” Levels results are coming soon, I am getting nervous. This coming Monday would be the release of “O” Levels results. Somehow, that made me worries about my “A” Levels results. Hahas!

Well, I guess it is soon time for reality to kick in and start thinking about the future!

One of the few talks I managed to find time to attend was the session conducted by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) named “Let’s Talk NTU 2012”.

How I knew about such an event? NTU sent us a letter to all of us to raise awareness as well as the flood of emails by Brightspark to inform us of such an event. It was quite irritating later on because all the contents are essentially the same thing but I guess the organizers were worried that no one would attend their talks.

For today’s event, I would be attending the talk with Debbie, Cynthia, Laura, and Pei Shi.

I guess it is without doubt after the talks and the word-of-mouth that NTU is excellent in the Business and Accountancy Degree. The direct honors program is also another plus for the Nanyang Business School. (Note that all courses in NTU offer this program too) Hmm, perhaps I would enroll in that school should I decide to undertake a business degree. Hahas!

Apart from meeting many friends during the events and understanding the various courses a little better, there is nothing much to note for the talk.

But dang, I am still undecided on which course I should gun for! (if I score well, that is) Any ideas?

P.S: There is another exact same talk on the 28 Jan 2012. Feel free to see for yourself then!

Intern Union -- IDA

Secret War Journal[3 January 2012 - 6 January 2012]
Another week has passed! I hope this is a short post because I have a lot of things to write about, hahas!

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New Interns

As mentioned earlier, Wen Rui and Johnston had officially started work as Intern here from this week onwards. :)

This brings the total number of Meridian Junior College Students working as Intern to 4. With that many of us around in there (relatively), we could form our own student union in there! Hahas!

I am just worried that our mentors would think we are distracting each other. Let's hope not. I would like to think with more of us around, we could help each other in terms of moral support and improving each other's skills.

Helping each other in specific work may be more difficult, given the sensitive nature of our work. (Especially mine?) But I still believe there are ways to improve each other's work without needing to disclose too much information. (After all, I live with secrets everyday and I still get things in done in the real world.)
--
Wen Rui seems to be the busiest among us right now. However, I believe I would be much more busy than her in the near future once my side shift into high gear. :)

Johnston's first week seems similar to Joan's and mine. In addition, his mentor seems as friendly as mine. Wohoo! We must be lucky. :)

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MPS

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of Singapore, I am back training as a case-writer!

This week, there are more volunteers than ever!  I am not sure it was due to one week break than everyone had but wow, the room was filled with volunteers! Voluntarism in Singapore is indeed rising, for this particular activity anyways. Hahas!

It is a really much more enriching an experience than typing, I feel that I get to know how's the sentiment like on the ground and the various issues that people experience.

You should volunteer too! ;)

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"Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it." - Henry David Thoreau

2011: For Friends

Secret War Journal[2011][Long Post]

Ah, the last days of 2011 approaches.

What does it mean? It means that it is time to bid our good-byes.

This year, I decided that I shall call it the Year of Friendship.

Indeed, my friends. This year is dedicated to all who I deem as friends. There aren’t many, I know but know that each of you count. Numbers mean nothing to me.

After all, there is no point in claiming many as friends when you know at the back of your head that they are plotting your downfall.

Why this year, you may ask.

This year had been hella tough year. Family was not of much help (as usual). Of course, tolerating certain people also did not help much but I am glad that you people were there for me.

Some days when the days are cloudy and dark, you provide light to show me the way.

Some days when the days are bursting with tears, you provide shelter from its pounding droplets.

Some days when the days are beaming with sunlight, you would be there to bask in it.

In short, thank you for being there for me. :)

--

"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely." - Pam Brown

--

Of special mention are the following people:

1.      Johnston

Thank you, my best friend. For being there, when I feel down. For being there, when I feel sick and tired of humanity. For being there, when I feel that there is no point in staying in this place. For being there, when I am at a loss of what to do next.

Thank you for making the effort to re-connect me to the world when I lost touch to the outside world.

2.      Emelia

Your cheerful self reminded me of my past, in a good way. I am happy that despite having fewer opportunities to meet up in person, we were still able to keep in contact via new media. :) Your efforts in making those cards and greetings did not go unnoticed. Thank you! ;)

3.      Marcus and Keller

Thank you both for setting aside time to go out with me for varying reasons. I do acknowledge that it takes some effort and patience to allocate a portion of your free time to go out. Unfortunately, you two sometimes became targets of wicked tongue when we meet because I am often in a foul mood this year. I’m sorry and can only hope for your understanding. I really appreciate how the both of you tolerated shit from me and kept our friendship alive. Thank you.

Keller and I should remain in contact either via Facebook or via mobile. :)

4.      Qi Xiang and Meldon

My bubbly friend, Qi Xiang who had, perhaps ironically, made the best group of friends during his two year in Junior College between Keller, him and I. Sometimes, I envy his life though most of the time I wonder why (often ending up in much hilarious results)

Meldon, Qi Xiang and I actually have some common interests which I believe had ensured hours of talking (which may had distracted our studies slightly this year)

Still, it was fun talking to them and I really enjoyed the conversations a lot. Not to mention, the laughter coming from those. ;)

--

I’m not really sure why but somehow I felt that staying in touch with everyone could start to prove to be difficult. Here’s my analysis on who I would likely to stay in touch after this year: (maybe you would notice a trend…)

Primary School Friends:

Johnston – I’m sure we would remain in contact after all these ordeals. :)

Emelia – Similarly, I doubt we will lose contact. :)

Marcus – Based on past experience, I believe Marcus will also take effort to stay in contact. :)

Jia Xin – Staying in touch with her may prove to be difficult in the coming years since there is little opportunity to meet up. However, I like how we are open to the idea of planning meet-ups. ;)

?? ??? – Highly unlikely to meet you again. Sigh. Promises are just too powerful.

Secondary School Friends:

Keller – I have faith that he would take the effort to stay in touch but who knows what may happen in the future? Worse case scenarios, there’s always Facebook :S

Qi Xiang – Meeting up with him always had been hard. Hahas! At least we still can contact each other via Facebook (unless Facebook goes into a downturn, oh no!)

Cynthia – Kind of surprised hearing her coming with a plan to meet up with the rest of the group which I guess warrants her name being placed here. Not bad, much improvement on her part. :p We shall see how much she is determined to get it going. It is not going to be easy, but I think she needs the experience.

Siew Yan – She and I discussed about possible meetups in the future. I’m not really sure it was light talk but I’m pretty serious with what I said – Obviously one would prioritise old friends over bunk-mates during the NS period because the opportunity to meet bunk-mates is so much higher during that period anyways. In my opinion, the real challenge, for me, comes after my national service. I think there could be a potential for a conflict of interests then.

Lai Yin – I guess she will make the effort? Strangely enough, her schedule and mine seems to clash a lot. I guess we have differing definitions of free time and work. *Shrug*

Junior College Mates:

Shereen – Ah, my god-daughter of mine. I trust that her constant worry that we lose contact after National Service would be cause enough for us to stay in contact. She is always afraid I would forget her after NS. Hahas, silly girl.

--

"Never have a companion that casts you in the shade." - Baltasar Gracian

---

And also other things...

2011 was surprising an eventful year. Time to review my wishlist for 2011,
score: 5/8.
Details here.

Dang, not as well as I had hoped for. Still, I guess it can't be helped.

After all, some matters are really not up to me to decide.

Weekends in 2011 were pretty much devoted to housework and judging by how things go, it would be the same for the next year too. Shucks.

Don't get me wrong, doing housework is okay. Demanding people to do housework EVERY DAY borders on insanity.

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Of falsehoods

I decided to pretty much cease writing about my broken family except for really generic stuff that everyone else writes about. The rationale behind is that I realised that those posts are getting quite a number of people worried about me. That is unfortunately not what I want.

So, to have less people getting concerned over such matters, I decided to stop writing about such matters in this journal. Originally, I just write those to calm myself down. I am someone who needs to write some stuff to organise my thoughts else those thoughts would run amok in my brain. (which could make me quite insane at times)

While at one hand I'm saddened by the fact that I had to resort to this on this journal, I guess I would get used to it. After all, I put on a false front everyday.
--

"A half truth, like half a brick, is always more forcible as an argument than a whole one. It carries better." - Stephen Leacock

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Changes for the coming spring,

I decided to abolish some formatting styles for my entries for 2012.

Instead of the usual cyan background header in my entries, I should now adapt a simpler larger font size with bold for my headers (with Georgia), like these in this entry.
I guess most reader would probably exclaim, "Thank goodness, I thought this day would never arrive!"
But I still wish to justify my rationale for using the cyan background for my headers initially. It was to provide for a high level of contrast for easier reading. Of course, at times, that made it look out of place in the entire journal, the harmony of colour seemed broken at some point of time.
Thus, I decided to restore the harmony at the cost of its contrast. Of course, if any of you have a better suggestion, please do tell me and I would consider them.

Another writing technique I am planning to change could be using Microsoft Office Word to write out my entries from now instead of the native engine available online. I believe Office Word would provide me with more options for formatting and more room for creativity. Of course, this means that the underlying code could potentially become more complicated. (But I guess it is not your problem, to speak of hahas!)

For this post, I used Office Word. I would like to say I really enjoyed typing there, as if typing here is not already a joy! Hahas!

Another advantage in using Office Word would be that I could type my entries even when internet is not available. I am not always at places where there is internet, unfortunately, and that had hindered my efforts to write my entries throughout this year.
Of course, there is also an issue of privacy when I am typing the entries. After all, I am not very comfortable with typing my entries in the presence of people, in general.

What about changing the design of this journal, you say?
Hahas! Sorry, I have no plans to change the current just yet. Let's just say my mood when I decided to use this design is still aligned with how I feel like now. :)

Okay, how about removing that irritating cover post that had been there for months? Sorry again, there was a reason in placing it there as it is. Until there are more reasons to remove than leaving it there, it will remain.

One, I do not want certain people to know this journal is updated and well. Second, it is easier to track who is reading my journal and what post they were reading via the URLs visited.
For some inconvenience, I think the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages thus far. So, no not a chance.

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With Love, Leroy

There were, of course, many things that I wished I did not do. Nevertheless, this year was also a year where I felt there was some progress in my long-term goals.

• I am nearer to completing one of my promises.
• I felt the presence of my old self, like finally.
• I met my grandaunt, another recollection of my past.

One day, I will return to my old life and leave this pathetic life that I live now. I am working towards it, watch me.
--
With 2011 coming to a close, I realised there were also quite a number of misses, namely:

1. The inability to stay in contact with some people
2. Unable to find time to meet up with cousins during weekends which puts me in a bad mood some days because I miss them :(
3. The inability to spend time with myself and re-connect to my own world
4. The inability to have the time to pursue my goals
5. The inability to express myself due to physical constraints

I still sleep with much sorrow each day. This cannot last. Let's hope it ends this year.
What is this sadness that weighs me down? It is of loss. It is of denial. I feel so cold, where is the warmth in this world?
--

"A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts." - Harold MacMillan

IDA -- It begins

Secret War Journal[December 2011]
Yep, I had officially started my internship! Wohoo!

Unfortunately, I cannot discuss much details of my work publicly because of certain sensitive information. While I can't disclose to you information about my work, I would share with you events that happened during this period of time, that are non-work related of course. :)
--
This post would be mostly introducing my job and it's environment. :)

So where do I work? I work in a cool building situated in Mapletree Business City. The security there is pretty advanced AKA cool. :)

I am not sure about the security about the other buildings but my workplace should be one of the coolest! =D

I'm on the 9th floor! Find me if you have access to that floor! :)

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My Colleagues

I would try to introduce most of the people I met during my internship. Of course, my period of internship is short so I am unable to give much comment on them. (I am after all, more concerned of my weaknesses. :P)

1. Joan, fellow MJC-ian. She is sitting opposite my workstation. She is from another team though we are both in the same division. :)
2. Joycelyn (I hope I spelled your name correctly), a polytechnic graduate, probably leaving on 9 January. She often joins Joan and I for lunch for the past few weeks.
3. Xiao Zhou, MJC Junior. He completed his internship on 23 December.
4. Terence, my mentor. He's a great guy who wants me to learn as much as I can during my internship. Preliminary, I believe I would enjoy learning from him. :)
5. Kiranjit, also my mentor. She is very efficient and I think it would be great to learn from her. ;)
6. Jenny, she is very quick in thinking. I feel inferior at how fast I can think of critical questions on the sport. Wow.
7. Sophia, sort of Joan's mentor as well. She's a nice lady and I foresee working with her for some of my projects. :)
8. Melvin, it is fun to have him in meetings but I think he's really busy now too.
9. Johnston, my best friend. Joining us next year.
10. Others who I really have no idea how to spell as of now. Sorry.

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A Visit

Before I end off this post, (yes I know it is really short but I am running out of time. ): I would like to share a particular event about a visit by Yan Mae, our friend.

One day, Yan Mae visited us during lunch time as she happened to be nearby.

During our conversations, I realised Yan Mae was also helping out at the Meet-the-PAP sessions and is actually a member of Young PAP. She is helping out at in Bedok while I'm helping out at the Pasir Ris. She was interested to helping out at Pasir Ris instead.
I encourage her to, since the place is nearer to her place of residence but we also need to take into consideration the consequences of changing wards. After all, it is not very nice to just pack up and help out at another place (sorry for being a sentimental guy). But I guess in the long run, it would be easier for her to help out at Pasir Ris instead. :)

Yan Mae, being Yan Mae, still teased me the moment we met. Tsk tsk. Nevertheless, I was sure we all had a great time when she visited us, not many would bother to visit us when we are working. It really takes some effort and I appreciate it. Thank you. :)

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"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." - George Washington

Christmas 2011

Secret War Journal[25 December 2011]

Hohoho! Merry Christmas!
Tis the season of giving!

Yep, I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas Eve parties! Today is Christmas, do enjoy yourselves as well! :)


--
I put off my current typing of my three posts for this impromptu post. Don't worry, I'm working hard on those three posts! Hope I can publish them all soon! Ciaos! =)

P.S.: I just finished one! Two more to go! Wohoo!

Korean BBQ

Secret War Journal[10 December 2011]
Ah, what better to celebrate the end of examinations but with a nice and tasty meal?

Yep, and that's what happened. :)

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Joining us for this outing would be organiser Cynthia with fellow 4D-ians, Eunice, Jie Sheng, Siew Yan, and Wei Ting.
Clarissa joined us after the meal. :)

But before joining them for dinner however, I met up with Meldon to conduct some trading. Then again, this is not really a trade because both items are technically mine. Hahas.

It was a rather smooth transaction since we were rather clear on what we are doing.

---

Fast forward and we have all gathered at City Square mall, going towards the restaurant Korean BBQ. :)

In case any of you are wondering why we chose to go so far to enjoy a meal of Korean BBQ, it is because Cynthia's sister is working there so well.... we could pay her a visit in the mean time too. :p

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Food! Sorry, I meant 음식!

Check out their menu! Okay, you can't really since you're not there physically.

All right, I would try to describe to you verbally (if the picture above hadn't already). Hahas.
Frankly, I do not frequent korean restaurants very often. (Which many already knew, apparently, hahas)

Thus, personally, I was rather confused when I was presented the menu on its navigation. I know it is a korean restaurant and all and so it would write their menu in korean but really, it did not help me a lot since I read the Korean words before reading the english translations. (A big mistake, I admit but hey, everyone reads top-to-down, left-to-right. -,-)

By the time I recover, I figured it would be so much more efficient if we just communicate with the restaurant staff serving us instead of reading off the menu.

So in the end, I hardly touch the menu throughout the menu, not very useful in my opinion. Maybe it would be more useful for korean-fanatics but for causal diners like me, just order your food the posh way, from the staff. ;)

We ordered two hotpots and here we go!

Feeling hungry already? Go down there yourself and savour the food! :P

And we went home after the meal. ^^

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Just joking! :)

For those who were sharp that I forementioned that Clarissa joined us the meal and cried foul. Good job! :)
How could we head home straight away the moment she arrived? That wouldn't had made sense. :P

See? Even Jie Sheng couldn't believe that we went home straight after our dinner. :D
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So what did we do? Window Shopping and spam group photos! :p

Yep! Christmas is nearing! Bought your christmas presents yet? :)
--
Alright! It is getting late, it's 11pm+ now! Time to sleep! :)

Not immediately hahas! Tsk tsk, Eunice's tired already, time to go!

P.S.: Eunice wasn't really tired, she was just pranked by us. Hahas! Evil us.

---

Credits: Bao Lin, Siew Yan and Wei Ting for the pictures. More photos at Facebook, if you can find me (that is). :p

All in a week's work.

Secret War Journal[6 December 2011]
Ah, it had been such a long time since I last posted. Some would had thought this Journal was discarded while I moved on to some other places.

Well, readers, you would be glad to know that this Journal is still being maintained and well. :)


I apologise for the lack of update for the past few days since the end of A levels but I was sorta busy finishing all my unfininshed drafts. I'm happy to say I had published them all though some entries I had to cut real short due to time constraints. (An increasing number of people had been complaining that this Journal was getting forgotten so I had to rush, no? :)

Alright! Ladies and Gentlemen, back to the intent of this post! =)

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This marks the beginning of my busy weeks for my Post-A Levels vacation. First up, I went to Johnston's house today! :)

Unlike the past few visits to his house, I was noticeably later than usual. This was mainly due to me sleeping late last night and not being able to sleep well. (Yes, I also believe I should not had done so.)

Nevertheless, I played quite a large number of games today! :)

Upon reaching their house, we played monopoly since Emelia had been dying to play with us since the end of our major examinations.

Long story short, Johnston pwned all of us by being the only player who owned a complete set. Hahas!
--
We also played a few rounds of Cluedo!

I reckon today was the closest to the official rules I had ever played for Cluedo. One day I would play to the official rules, it would be really fun, not to mention more challenging. :)
--
We also played Monopoly Deal!

--
And finally, we finished the whole of Halo 3 Campaign! At last, I am updated with the Halo Lore. Hahas!

As a whole, I had a lot of fun at their house. =D

Post A Levels Wishlist w/ Comments

Secret War Journal[December 2011 - March 2011]

1. Complete IDA Internship
2. Pass NAPFA
3. Buy a pair of Leather Shoes
4. Buy a pair of Vans Shoes
5. Play one match of Starcraft 2 FFA with friends
6. Play one match of Starcraft 2 Team battle with friends
7. Read "Economics in Public Policies"
8. Read "Dance with Dragons"
9. Pay Respect to/Visit Mum
10. Visit Grandparents-in-law
11. Score well for A Levels

---

Updated 8 April 2012
Score: 8/11

Oh well, I could say it is not too bad. While it is sad that I was not able to read finish the Economics book, I had fun reading it. Most of the stuff above had already been covered in other posts so I shall not repeat.

I am quite glad that I was able to play a few rounds of Starcraft 2 with like-minded people. It was really a lot of fun. Sadly, I no longer have the privilege to play them now. No matter, I will play again some time in the future.

Post A Levels

Secret War Journal[2 December 2011]
What's the difference from A Levels Period to now?

Frankly, there ain't much difference.

When... would the time come where I finally not worry about everything, you and me.
When would I not need to worry about trivial matters?

When, when when?

I am sick. I am sick of thinking about so many things and not being able to do anything significant about it...

What does your Birthday Month tell you?

Secret War Journal[16 November 2011]
JANUARY
Ambitious and serious
Loves to teach and be taught
Always looking at people's flaws and weaknesses
Likes to criticize
Hardworking and productive
Smart, neat and organized
Sensitive and has deep thoughts
Knows how to make others happy
Quiet unless excited or tensed
Rather reserved
Highly attentive
Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds
Romantic but has difficulties expressing love
Loves children
Homely person
Loyal
Needs to improve Social abilities
Easily jealous
Very Stubborn

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FEBRUARY
Abstract thoughts
Loves reality and abstract
Intelligent and clever
Changing personality
Temperamental
Quiet, shy and humble
Low self esteem
Honest and loyal
Determined to reach goals
Loves freedom
Rebellious when restricted
Loves aggressiveness
Too sensitive and easily hurt
Showing anger easily
Dislike unnecessary things
Loves making friends but rarely shows it
Daring and stubborn
Ambitious
Realizing dreams and hopes
Sharp
Loves entertainment and leisure
Romantic on the inside not outside
Superstitious and ludicrous
Spendthrift
Learns to show emotions

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MARCH
Attractive personality
Affectionate
Shy and reserved Secretive
Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic
Loves peace and serenity
Sensitive to others
Loves to serve others
Not easily angered
Trustworthy
Appreciative and returns kindness
Observant and assesses others
Revengeful
Loves to dream and fantasize
Loves travelling
Loves attention
Hasty decisions in choosing partners
Loves home decors
Musically Talented
Loves special things
Moody

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APRIL
Active and dynamic
Decisive and haste but tends to regret
Attractive and affectionate to oneself
Strong mentality
Loves attention
Diplomatic
Consoling
Friendly and solves people's problems
Brave and fearless
Adventurous
Loving and caring
Suave and generous
Emotional
Aggressive
Hasty
Good memory
Moving
Motivate oneself and the others
Sickness usually of the head and chest

---

MAY
Stubborn and hard-hearted
Strong-willed and highly motivated
Sharp thoughts
Easily angered
Attracts others and loves attention
Deep feelings
Beautiful physically and mentally
Firm Standpoint
Needs no motivation
Easily consoled
Systematic (left brain)
Loves to dream
Strong clairvoyance
Understanding
Sickness usually in the ear and neck
Good imagination
Good physical
Weak breathing
Loves literature and the arts
Loves travelling
Dislike being at home
Restless
Not having many children
Hardworking
High spirited
Spendthrift

---

JUNE
Thinks far with vision
Easily influenced by kindness
Polite and soft-spoken
Having lots of ideas
Sensitive
Active mind
Hesitating
Tends to delay
Choosy and always wants the best
Temperamental
Funny and humorous
Loves to joke
Good debating skills
Talkative
Daydreamer
Friendly
Knows how to make friends
Abiding
Able to show character
Easily hurt
Prone to getting colds
Loves to dress up
Easily bored
Fussy
Seldom shows emotions
Takes time to recover when hurt
Brand conscious
Executive
Stubborn

---

JULY
Fun to be with
Secretive
Difficult to fathom and to be understood
Quiet unless excited or tensed
Takes pride in oneself Has reputation
Easily consoled
Honest
Concerned about people's feelings
Tactful
Friendly
Approachable
Emotional
Temperamental and unpredictable
Moody and easily hurt
Witty and sparkly
Not revengeful
Forgiving but never forgets
Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things
Guides others physically and mentally
Sensitive and forms impressions carefully
Caring and loving
Treats others equally
Strong sense of sympathy
Wary and sharp
Judges people through observations
Hardworking
No difficulties in studying
Loves to be alone
Always broods about the past and the old friends
Likes to be quiet
Homely person
Waits for friends
Never looks for friends
Not aggressive unless provoked
Prone to having stomach and dieting problems
Loves to be loved
Easily hurt but takes long to recover

---

AUGUST
Loves to joke
Attractive
Suave and caring
Brave and fearless
Firm and has leadership qualities
Knows how to console others
Too generous and egoistic
Takes high pride of oneself
Thirsty for praises
Extraordinary spirit
Easily angered
Angry when provoked
Easily jealous
Observant
Careful and cautious
Thinks quickly
Independent thoughts
Loves to lead and to be led
Loves to dream
Talented in the arts, music and defense
Sensitive but not petty
Poor resistance against illnesses
Learns to relax
Hasty and rusty
Romantic
Loving and caring
Loves to make friends

---

SEPTEMBER
Suave and compromising
Careful, cautious and organized
Likes to point out people's mistakes
Likes to criticize
Quiet but able to talk well
Calm and cool
Kind and sympathetic
Concerned and detailed
Trustworthy, loyal and honest
Does work well
Very confident
Sensitive
Thinking
generous
Good memory
Clever and knowledgeable
Loves to look for information
Must control oneself when criticizing
Able to motivate oneself
Understanding
Fun to be around
Secretive
Loves sports, leisure and travelling
Hardly shows emotions
Tends to bottle up feelings
Choosy especially in relationships
Loves wide things
Systematic

---

OCTOBER
Loves to chat
Loves those who loves him
Loves to takes things at the center
Attractive and suave
Inner and physical beauty
Does not lie or pretend
Sympathetic
Treats friends importantly
Always making friends
Easily hurt but recovers easily
Daydreamer
Opinionated
Does not care of what others think
Emotional
Decisive
Strong clairvoyance
Loves to travel, the arts and literature
Soft-spoken, loving and caring
Romantic
Touchy and easily jealous
Concerned
Loves outdoors
Just and fair
Spendthrift and easily influenced
Easily lose confidence
Loves children

---

NOVEMBER
Has a lot of ideas
Difficult to fathom
Thinks forward
Unique and brilliant
Extraordinary ideas
Sharp thinking
Fine and strong clairvoyance
Can become good doctors
Dynamic in personality
Secretive
Inquisitive
Knows how to dig secrets
Always thinking
Less talkative but amiable
Brave and generous
Patient
Stubborn and hard-hearted
If there is a will, there is a way
Determined
Never give up
Hardly becomes angry unless provoked
Loves to be alone
Thinks differently from others
Sharp-minded
Motivates oneself
Does not appreciate praises
High-spirited
Well-built and tough
Deep love and emotions
Romantic
Uncertain in relationships
Homely
Hardworking
High abilities
Trustworthy
Honest and keeps secrets
Not able to control emotions
Unpredictable

---

DECEMBER
Loyal and generous
Patriotic
Active in games and interactions
Impatient and hasty
Ambitious
Influential in organizations
Fun to be with
Loves to socialize
Loves praises
Loves attention
Loves to be loved
Honest and trustworthy
Not pretending
Short tempered
Changing personality
Not egoistic
Take high pride in oneself
Hates restrictions
Loves to joke
Good sense of humor
Logical

If you love your dad

Secret War Journal[2 October 2011]
t age 8, your dad buys you an ice cream. You thanked him by dripping it all over his lap.
When you were 9 years old, he paid for piano lessons. You thanked him by never even bothering to practice.
When you were 10 years old he drove you all day, from soccer to football to one birthday party after another. You thanked him by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old..............., he took you and your friends to the movies. You thanked him by asking to sit in a different row.
When you were 12 years old, he warned you not to watch certain TV shows. You thanked him by waiting until he left the house.
When you were 13, he suggested a haircut that was in fashion. You thanked him by telling him he had no taste.
When you were 14, he paid for a month away at summer camp. You thanked him by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, he came home from work, looking for a hug. You thanked him by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, he taught you how to drive his car. You thanked him by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, he was expecting an important call. You thanked him by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, he cried at your high school graduation. You thanked him by staying out partying until dawn.
When you were 19, he paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus carried your bags. You thanked him by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.
When you were 25, he helped to pay for your wedding, and he told you how deep he loved you. You thanked him by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 50, he fell ill and needed you to take care of him . You thanked him by reading about the burden parents become to their children. And then, one day, he quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder on YOUR HEART.

Aftermath Prelims

Secret War Journal[30 September 2011]
Really apologise for the lack of long posts recently.

Due to the examinations coming nearer with each living breath, I often find myself hard-pressed to even post a short post nowadays.

I guess you people just have to bear with the shorter posts in the meantime. :)
(I know some of you prefer the shorter posts but forgive me when I write abstract topics because I tend to do that for short posts to relay what I cannot express unless I write longer. :)
--
Well, Prelims just ended a week ago. In case none of you realised, it's been a long time since I wrote about school. It had been duly noted and I would try to write a post-mortem for the examinations, for you and of course, myself.

I figured it would be prefer since the Prelims would be the last major internal school examinations before the real deal. Hahas. It would probably be published next week but keep your fingers crossed, I might have to postpone the publish date if I am unable to type finish my reflections and thoughts. :P
--

Sometimes, I feel as though I just bought it just to put a face onto the people whom I had grown to loathe.

The veil of falsehood, most of the time amuses me, granted but that does not mean it was not masking my feeling of being irritated.

Seriously, they are just testing my patience.

X-Men: First Class

Secret War Journal[24 September 2011]

Finally watched this movie which was highly recommended by Marcus! :)

Movie Plot Summary:

Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-MEN. Written by Twentieth Century Fox

Movie Trailer



Personally, I think the movie was not bad. The development of the characters to the final climax was, in my opinion, relatively rich compared to other firms. I find that unsurprising because after all, that's the focus of the movie. Hahas!

Still, I sometimes find it difficult to relate to the previous scenes when the scene changes in the movie. It could be because I was somewhat slower in interpretation. Still, it could be just me reading too much and finding phantom links to the previous scenes which adds value to the whole storyline. :)

If you ever watched X-Men before, I strongly recommend to watch this. ^^

Value

Secret War Journal[25 September 2011]

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute:
Ask the person who has missed the train, bus or
plane.

To realize the value of one-second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the
Olympics.

Unlike any other

Secret War Journal[21 August 2011]

At first, roughly 3 hours ago, I decided against posting this. But I guess I still end up typing all these out anyways.

See? I'm so feeble-minded. Tsk, tsk. Hahas.

Back to the topic.

Time for me to share a little bit of myself here. It is not very often I do so in such a straight-forward manner (in a relative sense, of course, I do not wish to court death. :) so chances are, this post may 'disappear' in the near future if I decide it's too revealing of personal information.

In my life thus far, yes, I have great moments of joy. Some similar, some rare, some unique.

Perhaps, the most unique of them all would be one particular topic in a conversation between my mother and I. Thinking back of this always brings back fond memories, I remember how I used to smile and feel really good whenever my mother would tell me how she decided on my name. In fact, I think I'm smiling now. Hahas!

The choosing of my name was in no way, accidental. It was a careful decision made by my mother(, and my father I suppose? My dad never tells me these stuff. Maybe we both are just as secretive. :)

Because close to no one else knows the rationale behind my name, it is like a secret between the both of us. I guess those were some of the first few secrets that I get to keep to. I am not sure if you had held one to secrecy before but personally, it feels really great to know something that no one else would ever know. At that point, you would experience first-hand that knowledge is power. Yes, some of you would claim the desire to reveal secrets is too tempting. But I assure you, it is not as hard as it seems to be. I can't explain it in words, you would have to attempt to resist the first time and it would become clear. It is not that difficult. :)
--
People may not know its meaning, I don't mind.
People may not see its significance, I don't mind.
People may not know its impact, I don't mind.

Your reason suffices.
--
We may lose a few battles, but we will not lose the war.
We will continue our struggle, watch over us.
--

Among all other people, my time with my mother was relatively short. But compared to my sister, it is infinitely longer. Even if the time I could spend with you is indeed short, I would have to be content that at least it was sufficiently long to have experienced happy memories of our family time. I have to, because my sister never had this opportunity. My despair would only lead to further despair...

Life has to move on, a king who is hardly sane can't lead. Truly, we live in heartless times

Persevere

Secret War Journal[13 August 2011]

Life in Junior College is boring. Life is hard when you have to force yourself to to study and do nothing else.

Sometimes, I feel like backing out on my promise but I remembered that I won't be where I am today if weren't for you.

I must press on.

--

Give me hope.

Amplifier

Secret War Journal[10 August 2011]

There is this one view about humans. We, humans are essentially, amplifiers of events.

Don't believe?

Ask yourself, in times of recessions, if you are unemployed and having difficulty find a job in these tough times, would you not wish for the existence of a welfare state that could at least sustain you until you finally find a job?

But think about it, maintaining a welfare state is actually costly, however it is argued. This is especially so in economic downturns where money is tight. Relying on welfare states and the increasing unemployment rate would place a heavy burden on the government's coffers. With less money available for them to kick-start the economy once more, our economy may well end up spiralling down.
Talk about a chain reaction, our short-term desires once again got the better of us.


Thankfully, not all is gloomy on this theory. In times of economic boom, I bet most of us would then be (using back the previous example) calling for the end of the welfare state since most of us are employed and it is simply not worth it for the extra taxes to maintain it. Yes, there would be groups who would get the bitter end of the deal but the Government now have more funds to help improve the standard of living in the country. (Infrastructure, healthcare, education, you name it.)

Humans, sometimes we over-react to events, sometimes we end up making things worse, but perhaps that's fundamentally what we are: Tools for the higher beings for a certain purpose.

We just have to avoid getting into sticky situations so that we would not fall into a bottomless pit of disasters.

ARiA, Miku Craze

Secret War Journal[6 August 2011]


Going to start rambling about Hatsune Miku! Those who have no interest in her, feel free to go to other posts! :)

Recently, found this sorta old song sung by her. It's ARiA by Headphone Tokyo. I feel that the lyrics is very meaningful. Listen to the song above!

There is speculation that this song is a sequel to SPiCa, which was also composed by Headphone Tokyo.


As some of you might already be aware, Hatsune Miku has been conducting concert in Japan and soon USA!

In this video, she really looks very lively, compared to some of her other songs performed, in my opinion.


Here are some other Hatsune Miku Videos!

In this song using Hatsune Miku's Dark voice, it really sounds very human!


The Czar shared this, weird song but very catchy!!!

---

"If the King loves music, it is well with the land." ~Mencius

Personality Test

Secret War Journal[23 July 2011]
From http://www.quizbox.com/Personality/test82.aspx

Your view on yourself:

Other people find you very interesting, but you are really hiding your true self. Your friends love you because you are a good listener. They'll probably still love you if you learn to be yourself with them.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.