UGH... I WISH RIGHT NOW THAT THEY WILL CANCEL THE PROMOS!! [closed eyes, hands together, wish upon a star...] Yar right. Fat hope.

Studying for promos can be fun. Seriously. You can jump and swing around while memorising all your Geography details; you can rejoice and tap dance while appreciating prose/poetry. It's FUN as long as you perceive it to be FUN. Of course, minus the nagging thought that you think you're going to fail. Minus the thoughts that you think the paper is going to be really tough. And minus the absurd thought that you're going to be squashed flat by a chicken nugget before you enter the exam hall.

I've decided. If I fail my promos and I face the prospect of being retained, I shall quit school and go be a bus ticket inspector. Seriously, they have the best job in the world. They get to ride on buses all day long and all they have to do is just hold the black hand-held card-reader and go around the bus collecting people's EZ-Link cards. And the best thing is? They get to see whatever goofy photos on the cards!! Okay at least for the students only, but still it's worth it! Imagine all that sniggers they get to ENJOY just by inspecting goofy faces on cards!! And they don't have to choose what to wear everyday because they've got a uniform and if people are sleeping, they get to poke the person awake!!

And while I'm still self-deluding myself, allow me to go study for my Economics.

Yesterday's GP Promo Paper was 50% tough and 50% manageable. 50% manageable: Essay writing was easy. "The environment is there for us to exploit, not conserve. To what extent do you agree?" Well that's good, considering that I've been studying environment since don't-know-when... Yup, no points for guessing what my stand was... 50% tough: Compre was really nuts. I was sleepy/drowsy, and the passage (about gossip and media and whatever) was nonsensical.

But on the brighter side, I had 4 missed calls while I was in the classroom doing my paper. Shows how popular I am. Haha, okay too egoistical. Anyway, I called one of the callers back and guess what? It was the Singapore Writers Festival people who called to tell me that MY HAIKU WAS AMONG THE TOP TEN!! And they're mailing me a $50 Kinokuniya voucher. WHEE! And after GP Paper, a few of us went up to the Art Room to see the newly-borned kittens. There were 2 of them, and they were so tiny and mewing constantly and totally furry!! Gosh I wanted to kidnap them and bring them home, but I think my mum will freak. Dash.

Cell group time yesterday night was quite tense. If you still suck at Practical Criticism, you wouldn't have trouble picking out the tension last night. Anyway, what needs to be done must be done. Thanks Della for initiating all these, and rest assured that the whole cell group will give support fully, where necessary...

Received Joel's greeting card today. Silly boy, he got my address wrong, so my neighbour had to deliver it to me. But the surprise was "surprising"... Yurong's card had "study hard and don't be a retainer if not you'll be in someone else's mouth"... HAHAHAHAHAHA!! WHAT A LAME THING TO SAY!! Oh I have a funny inkling that it's going to be on Jaslyn's blog. Blooiee.

Oh no my blog entry structure is weird. BAD STUFF -> GOOD STUFF -> BAD STUFF -> GOOD STUFF. Okay here's the final BAD STUFF: Caught a flu bug. Been sniffing the whole day, nose leakage (call a plumber), and I just took one of those small flu pills that will knock you out in one hour's time.

AARGH I'VE GOT GP PROMOS IN ANOTHER 15 HOURS!! Oh gosh that will signal the start of PROMOS!! Crap. Time flew. Time really flew. Last I could remember I thought I was still in first three months and May Ee was saying that "Promos is sooo faaarr awaaayy..." Nahh before I knew it I'm here, 15 hours away from GP paper. It's weird how time always seem to go so slowly, but if you look back you'll be astounded at the speed that time has passed.

Just watched LOST. 6 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Directing!! I like Locke he's such a compelling character... Right now I'm still looking for statistics and sources to supplement my content knowledge. Wanna do the environment question if possible, so all my research now are Greenlinky...

Skipped most of the lessons in school today. Put it plainly: I was in no mood for lessons. Ended up studying in the library for the whole morning, then went for Maths lecture which everyone skipped but I went (how ironic), then Project Work and Econs was mostly self-study too. And we sang songs in class! Kai Jie brought his "My Heart Will Go On" piano scores, so I ended up strumming it on guitar and the girls formed a mini-choir and recorded the entire song on the lap-top... Sounds good heh...

I WANT TO EAT BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER. Bah I need to Star-D (see Sheng-De's blog) now first... And having fun with Nutseed is such a funny activity.

I'm mugging. All kinds of mugs.

200 Things Guan You Did Before...
Got this 200 things template thingy from Shuffle's blog... Okay I admit I'm bored hee hee. Things I've done at least once in my life are in bold

001. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
002. Swam with wild dolphins [definitely on the to-do list]
003.Climbed a mountain [Mount Fuji in Japan... didn't reached the summit though]
004. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
005. Been inside the Great Pyramid
006. Held a tarantula [Cobalt Blue Tarantula]
007. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
008. Said "I love you" and meant it
009. Hugged a tree [environmentalist]
010. Done a striptease
011. Bungee jumped
012. Visited Paris
013. Watched a lightning storm at sea
014. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
015. Seen the Northern Lights
016. Gone to a huge sports game
017. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
018. Grown and eaten your own vegetables [let's all go organic!]
019. Touched an iceberg
020. Slept under the stars [done that more times than I could remember...]
021. Changed a baby's diaper
022. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
023. Watched a meteor shower [Leonid meteor shower in 1998]
024. Gotten drunk on champagne
025. Given more than you can afford to charity
026. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
027. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
028. Had a food fight
029. Bet on a winning horse
030. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
031. Asked out a stranger [how about the stranger asked me out?]
032. Had a snowball fight [fake snow from Snow City]
033. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier [with my pants on]
034. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
035. Held a lamb [squiggle wiggle]
036. Enacted a favorite fantasy
037. Taken a midnight skinny dip
038. Taken an ice cold bath
039. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
040. Seen a total eclipse
041. Ridden a roller coaster
042. Hit a home run
043. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days [three weeks worth of studying]
044. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
045. Adopted an accent for an entire day [Indian, Hong Kong, Japanese]
046. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
047. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
048. Had two hard drives for your computer
049. Visited all 50 states
050. Loved your job for all accounts [passion counts]
051. Taken care of someone who was shit-faced [literally...]
052. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
053. Had amazing friends
054. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country [would love to though... kinda exotic]
055. Watched wild whales [another item on the to-do list]
056. Stolen a sign [Do not trespass]
057. Backpacked in Europe
058. Taken a road-trip
059. Rock climbing
060. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
061. Midnight walk on the beach
062. Sky diving
063. Visited Ireland
064. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
065. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them [meaningful]
066. Visited Japan
067. Benchpressed your own weight
068. Milked a cow [somehow i feel embarassed for the cow]
069. Alphabetized your records [attempt at neatness]
070. Pretended to be a superhero [all the time]
071. Sung karaoke
072. Lounged around in bed all day
073. Posed nude in front of strangers
074. Scuba diving
075. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
076. Kissed in the rain
077. Played in the mud
078. Played in the rain
079. Gone to a drive-in theater
080. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
081. Visited the Great Wall of China
082. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog [darn]
083. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
084. Started a business
085. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
086. Toured ancient sites
087. Taken a martial arts class
088. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
089. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
090. Gotten married
091. Been in a movie
092. Crashed a party
093. Loved someone you shouldn't have [yea i shouldn't have...]
094. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy [maybe... haha!]
095. Gotten divorced
096. Had sex at the office
097. Gone without food for 5 days
098. Made cookies from scratch
099. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert" [nature guiding... haha]
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark [i'm anti-sharks-consumption now]
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off [wince]
120. Been on a cruise ship [MV Doulos]
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy [roller stamps]
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. …more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication [sadly only one was published]
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback [hug]
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth [Ginny the cat gave birth to 4 little kittens]
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle [i didn't drive though]
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol [shotgun]
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild [edible ones]
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat [Australia]
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach [scratchy]
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. …and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch [gardening, origami]
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating [crabs]
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language [Guanny's Gibberish]
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

The holiday's came and gone... Somehow I don't feel very accomplished for the whole duration of the week. AARGHH I never do any homework at all... Well I couldn't be bothered to do them anyway, so all I did was to study and revise for my subjects. Didn't bother about Maths either. AARGHH I'm just so apathetic and lethargic towards Maths and homework. AARGHH AARGHH AARGHH...

Had nature-guiding for three days at Pasir Ris Park. Went with GVN's volunteers, some RGS girls and my school's Green Link members and Friends... Mudskippers and crabs and mangrove trees and herbs and spices and kingfishers... Grant is still the same ol' typical sarcastic and vengeful man. RGS girls reminded me of my secondary school guiding days. Got several cuts from some unknown accidents that I don't even know of; I only saw those cuts when I reached home. AARGHH AARGHH AARGHH...

Went down to Jericho on Friday cos they were hosting Settler's Cafe board games. Got a kick with all the games and shouting and having fun, swindling money and everything. Then at night went for the YouthFest which was really good, except that our church youths were probably the most active kids for the night... Came down with a sore throat the next day. AARGHH AARGHH AARGHH...

Dengue fever is affecting everyone. Oh I've decided what my second teaching subject should be if I do become a secondary school teacher. I might take up English on top of Gepgraphy. Initially I thought MATHS, but NAHH... NO WAY... And I want an iPod Shuffle. But I need to save up first. AARGHH AARGHH AARGHH...

The Duck

Behold the duck
It does not cluck.
A cluck it lacks.
It quacks.
It is special fond
Of a puddle or a pond.
When it dines or sups,
It bottoms ups.

-Ogden Nash

Whee hee! Try PC (Practical Criticism) this poem! It's totally AWESOME cos it's about ducks!! Okay maybe to me only. Had to go back to school today because there was a three-hour Literature lecture. The lecture hall's aircon was down, so we ended up at the canteen for lessons... Quite cool eh? But by the first hour I was getting restless. Imagine 3 hours of King Lear!! And not just that... There's three-hour lectures on Monday and Tuesday too. And throughout the three hours I made my decision. I'm going to take a biased stand towards Edmund the sexy bastard for being so contriving and devilishly cunning. WHEE.

Oh I forgot to mention about today. Me and Yurong and Cheryn and Joel were at J8 having lunch, cos we were planning to discuss about fellowship activities and what lame games we could think up of. Met Kat and Daniel, and while walking back to Jericho we were approached by people from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Yep, Cheryn just "uh-oh" and these two guys in their black-and-whites caught up with us, one approached Daniel and another talked to Joel. But somehow Joel was being aloof I think, so the guy (his name's Johnston) walked up beside me and just started chatting... Really friendly, just asking non-related stuff initially before reaching to the specifics of religion and Christianity. Well, Joel already told him that we're all Christians, so Johnston didn't try and insist Mormon ideas into me. Instead we ended up talking about why there are more than 3,500 different denominations of churches all under the wings of Christianity... As we walked along he explained about the Mormon church beliefs, their founder Joseph Smith and other stuff similar to what you would share if you were street-evangelising.

I liked the analogy Johnston gave me. He described Christianity being a big piece of glass. When this glass was dropped (after Christ died and rose again) everybody picked up different shards of the broken glass, and the glass represented qualities like faith, salvation etc. And thus there are the different churches today. What struck me was he didn't force ideas into my head, but rather tried to recognise that as long as our hearts are tuned and true to God, then it doesn't matter if our doctrines differ. In the end, the two guys gave me and Daniel each a Book of Mormon... And the best advice Johnston gave me? Try reading it with a open mind, but whether I'm receptive or not is entirely dependant on my existing faith. Yeah faith... That's a strong word you've got there...

YAY I've got myself a virtual duck! Saw Gerome's hamster and Qiling's hedgehog on their blogs, so I decided maybe I might want to geta virtual pet too... And when they offered a DUCK for adoption, I just can't pass by the chance to not want a DUCK!! But the best bit was I get to dictate what the colour of the DUCK should be. PINK!! Wheee!! Meet Pebbles the Duck. You can make it quack by clicking on it, and it'll flap it's wings.. You can feed it bread (under "more") and make it follow you too!

Teachers' Day yesterday... NJ just have a funny way of making all celebrations depressing. As in, they never try and involve you in meaningful activities (ACES Workout is not meaningful). But still I thought that the concert was quite nicely planned... Nudged Mr Alvin Leong to go for some longest fingernail thingy, and he just stood there on stage, clapping like something was so fascinating when there was nothing... Later we invited him and Ms Lynette Lim for cake in class...

And back at Catholic High, met up with all the usual gang of people, talked to Mrs Pang about my "future prospects if I do become a Geog teacher", then went for prata at our old haunt in Upp Thomson Rd... Kinda amazing how us guys can have so much fun even after not meeting up for so long... Maybe I do miss the Cat High days. I can't tell; I can never quite pin-point the exact feeling when faced with this question.

Suddenly it's September now. The last I checked with my brain, I was still stuck in June. YESH Common Tests seem like yesterday, but that was way back in July. Gosh I need to start focusing on the final quarter of the year. I don't want to be in 06A01. And I wanna do well enough to do Geography 'S'. And my MATHS!! If I don't start being serious about it I'll just fail.

Get someone and ask them to send tingling sensations up your spine... HEE!