Thursday
finally got to meet vincent mah who gladly accpeted my custom job to do and inlay the truss rod cover. he actually told me alot about maestro and their dirty trade secrets. im not getting a maestro anymore, for what is advertised is not exactly true. dont want to waste half a grand. back to the truss rod cover, its gonna take 2 weeks. so for now, the gibson is sort of naked.

Friday
start and end of part 1 of bt2. general paper. well, for the essay, i prepared for science&tech, environment and education by reading the vjc publication called 'kaleidoscope'. hope i will do well for the esasy. then comes the paper 2 that talks about solitude, the tv, the internet and loneliness. i wasnt exactly that sure what the whole passage was about in a deeper level. aq was full of rubbish, just try to write something and link everything back. im surprised i wrote 2pages for aq.

met the other 14ocip peeps after gp for lunch at taka's seoul garden. waited for 1whole hour before we finally managed to get in. john got to sit alone with the girls, while angus, kx peter and i sit separately. over lunch, peter took something out from his bag. its this red box that has fried/cooked/? worms in it. i've never have or wanted anything to do with such stuff, be it over food or not. they are disgusting, dirty and probably scary too. as usual, worms go with flowers. i shall not talk much about that.

S02's farewell bbq/party at ecp was good. i think this would be the last time we get together with the 2 miss tan-s and miss huang. as usual, with dixon and kishen, there was lots of laughter. as usual, the teachers were joking with us too. its really hard to describe how i felt, but i know its a good feeling.

Saturday
met george for lunch at 10 at tampines when i had my breakfast at 9.30 at home. so early, gotta meet some people who dont know what is punctuality at changi at 1130. got there with joleen, berakah, sakinah and george somewhat on time, if not we were early. so we walked around changi point and went to the hawker centre to look for the exco and miss choo.

this was what sk sent me the night before. "hi~tmr plz meet @11, changi jetty. we will hv lunch before gg over. if youre not hvg lunch, come @1130." this is the important part. look at the meeting time. 1230, we are still at changi jetty, waiting for people to come. even miss choo was late, 1140 she's still eating. punctuality? i think its a forgotten virtue.

had a whole hot long day of dry run for the upcoming june camp at p.ubin. all group leaders and assistants need to be there as we had to pretend to be the j1s and play the games under the 1pm sun. most games were actually played before, at least i did. and maybe alexia and boon ling. mann just used quite a number of games from the ocip camp last year, just that now you play them on ubin. thanks to ocip, i know the how effective deet repellents are. i used my 3M deet repellent while many others used those that prints "deet-free". i think the ocip peeps should know the difference at the end of the day (: dinner with the weirdest setting ever. im not gonna comment about anything here. for the very few times, im that quiet over a meal.

part2 of the dry run was like the camp last year, just that its more chill and fun. set off in the evening, and got back to the jetty in complete darkness. the games were pretty alright, as usual i have to since im a gl. got back to changi only at 11. how nice to spend the whole of saturday getting pissed, tired, dirty and smelly. from all the walking and walking and walking, the effects of the patella-femoral pain syndrome thing is back again in my right knee. its no joke, this time its very very painful. maybe book an appointment at cgh sports medicine again this month, i dont like this feeling.

sis is gone for 22 days eurip. alone at home most of the time except on sundays. i have a survival plan in mind.

Sunday
whitsunday thanksgiving combined service at 8.30. how great a timing from all the torture yesterday. im now tired, 3quarters dead and the pain in my right knee just feels more painful. i hate to rely on drugs and guards, but i think this time i'll have no choice.

in this world, its the few people i love and those who love me keep me going and fighting.

been abit busier than usual for this week so far, with the physics spa finally over on tues. im starting to forget about the spa stuff already, about whats this and whats that. its over, and the 20% of my chemistry and physics grades are fixed already. the 80% will be up to these remaining few months.

speaking of physics, today's miss huang's last official lesson with my class.

From misc

the supposed 1 and 1/2 hour lesson was shortened by alot, but theres only 5 peeps including me in class today. she even suggested that we'll go play wii together after the lesson. personally, i feel that miss huang is more than a great teacher. in class, she often talks about stuff outside of physics to entertain us, and usually explains the concepts in such a way that the class can understand well. except for that short period of time last year when she blew her top, and wouldn't joke with us for quite afew lessons. she has that aura around her that makes people who do not know her step aside. in fact, she's actually a very nice person. which teacher would be so cool to add you as a friend on facebook? or maybe talk about some j1s in class then start laughing? these one and a half year as So2's physics and probably favourite teacher have been a worthwhile moment for my class and maybe her too. i think im not only gonna miss her, but also her lessons. the class would feel the same way too i guess. have a great time at moe (:

the dumpling festival should be round the corner, i dont know when exactly is it. i just know that it means there will be rice dumplings at home! together with my aunts, my mum helped to prepare, wrap and cook about a hundred rice dumplings. these are the best stuff, it has the taste of home that you couldn't buy. its a diminishing skill and i think it might just be lost someday. if you were to drop by my place for whatever reason, you'll get to try it if i haven't finish them.

still on food, went to celebrate mum's 51st birthday at the ever wonderful pine court on the 35th floor at Meritus Mandarin. the food was good as usual, spent an hour plus at the restaurant talking and eating. spent a total of about $200 for 4, expensive but i felt it was well worth the money. some pics to look at if you're hungry.

From pine court

From pine court

From pine court

From pine court

i think i might just be getting abit into customising my stuff. im gonna get the truss rod cover on the gibson replaced or rather customised. rather than the "Standard" on plastic, im gonna get my name, cut out from mother-of-pearl, and inlayed on a piece of wood. this will add a personal touch to the les paul, and make it different from other standards out there. but its gonna be quite expensive. $50 for the cover and $10 per letter. given that it's handmade, im getting it this week and should be done soon.
in order from top to bottom:
1: thats the truss rod cover
2: the gibson logo, an example of mother-of-pearl.
3: the headstock face, look at how the mop shines!
4: back of headstock; tuners.
5: my favourite pickup position, rhythm!
6: the knobs
7: thats what beneath the truss rod cover. the nut there will actually change the feel of the neck and intonation.
8: the "Standard" truss rod cover

From Gibson

From Gibson

From Gibson

From Gibson

From Gibson

From Gibson

From Gibson

From Gibson

the pub comm's efforts have finally paid off. the 6 signups last week really gave us a scare. till olivia sent me this "Congrats friends, we have juniors to torment during the selection camp. latest numbers are 120. Good job (:" relieved we dont have to change our plans and worry about the number of signups anymore. just wait for the camp.

im looking forward to friday, GP paper in the morning, woohoo! ocip lunch outing, farewell at ecp for ms huang and ms tan jiaqi, start of the mugging month. sometimes, when life just gets a little crazier than usual, alcohol helps.

From Drop Box

im gonna get more of this in different flavours.

A test of true Christian love: Do you help those who can't help you in return?
have a good day and see you around(:

SIX

if you get 6 for L1R5, good for you. in fact, thats very good.
but you get 6 ocip signups after 1 week of publicity, what went so terribly wrong?i want to know to.



on a sidenote, cheer up (:

its been a crazy week. more to come in the next. and i think gibson's website is rubbish. have a nice day and a good weekend.

this is bad. in fact, going from bad to worse. got a bit bored from the 2 skill A assesments that will happen on wednesday and friday for physics and chem respectively.

so, i went to take a look at facebook. people who really know me well dont know me in my quiz, though its cool that miss huangkexin and miss tanjiaqi are my friends. if you read this space, you should know me better than what the quiz results show, i know it. (but i really dont like jason mraz and i used to play rugby for a year plus then got bored of it). now, i really think that facebook is lame, complicated, boring and time-eating. it may just eat all my As away. i will not visit it ever again in a few weeks. maybe not that long, but not anytime soon.

took the gibson out for some squealing session, just playing around with the pinch harmonics actually. the gibson still sounds better, and im not gonna get that old les paul. gave it a thought and felt that its just not worth the money. i have better use for that half a grand.

tomorrow will be evelyn's last day serving as a mentor in the college. wish her good luck for her teaching career and its been great knowing her as a friend. sometimes when my life change too fast or when people keep coming in and out of my life, i get tired of these changes and dont really care, unless they have a huge impact on me. i like the way things are going now, comfortable with it but im not sure for how long more will this last.

giving school a miss tomorrow. dont want to waste my time for useless lectures. i shall complete part of phase 1 of the A-hunt.

finally made it to the saturday service at asc yesterday. cuifen jie, skg and everyone else still look the same. im so glad im back there to be with them for service. although the speaker wasn't that dynamic, he talked about something really important-we need communication to keep a family intact. it really made me think about speaking to my parents about life, and sharing with them about how i feel about certain things. both are working and home usually quite late, except for that 20min every morning in the car i'll see dad. and probably during the weekends. now that sis is waiting for her graduation and staying at home all day, i can't imagine how would life be without her to talk to me.

catching up with some friends, life has also been busy of late for them, tied down by studies too. like me, they are all looking forward to the mid-term rest. but i seem to have alot of stuff planned for this june, but at the end of the day will still be back to mugging at home at my table. sis will be off to europe till 21stjune from 30thmay, im gonna die at home. bukit bt2 will just be another hill before Mount A'-level.

sometimes, its hard to say how i feel. the deeper the feeling is, the more confidence you need to get all those words phrased nicely then out of the mouth. you'll need heaps of sincerity to get the whole idea across, which im still short of now and i cant find them. help me if you can, its much appreciated. im gonna muster all the confidence that i have.

Where words fail, music speaks.

-hans christian anderson

indicators

sometimes, falling sick just indicates that you need a good rest. this is terrible and i hate this feeling.

its now 11th may. not too late to start waking up and well, study. but some things seem to be waiting for me to get done, the only obstacle left is getting the whole idea of it across, which also happens to be the hardest. if this one step goes wrong, it will simply lead to a domino effect and all else will fail.

gonna get some more work done. only God sees the heart.

alright, cab-ed home after service. it was raining so heavily all of a sudden. irritating, hate rain in the morning especially when im outside of home. its about a month more to the student camp, hope this year's camp will be good, looking forward to the paw night.

i fell in love with this super old guitar yesterday at guitar workshop. i think thats what you call love at first sight. francis said he could give me a good price for that 30year old beaten up memphis les paul thats made in japan in the mid-70s. cherry sunburst, lots of scratches and knocks here and there and lacquer cracks. its too painful to see my gibson get all these, so might as well get a aged one. the tone is superb, i think thats the selling point of such old guitars. gonna get it next weekend if i manage to get rid of the washburn.

long weekend, a good study break. we dont have much time left, its now approaching mid-may. about 5 more months to go, hang in there. its gonna be over soon.

God's work is done by those who pray.

i've been in a rather good mood this week, and hope this will go on. everything seems to be in place for the moment. and i've been liking this song again.

Love is Only a Feeling-The Darkness
The first flush of youth was upon you when our eyes first met
And I knew that to you and into your life
I had to get
I felt light-headed at the touch of this stranger's hand
An assault my defences systematically failed to withstand

'Cos you came at a time
When the pursuit of one true love in which to fall
Was the be all and end all

Love is only a feeling(Drifting away)
When I'm in your arms I start believing(It's here to stay)
But love is only a feeling
Anyway

The state of elation that this unison of hearts achieved
I had seen, I had touched, I had tasted and I truly believed

That the light of my life
Would tear a hole right through each cloud that scudded by
Just to beam on you and I

Love is only a feeling(Drifting away)
When I'm in your arms I start believing(It's here to stay)
But love is only a feeling
Anyway, anyway
Love is only a feeling(Drifting away)
And we've got to stop ourselves believing(It's here to stay)
'Cos love is only a feeling
Anyway.


have a good weekend(:

power of prayer

school's good today. or maybe not. wasted time during pe, chem lecture was super boring, gp as usual and miss huang on mc. spend more time at home to study for everything i need to and anything i could. gonna buck up and aim for that 70points. hope it wont be too far away.

people around me are starting to face troubles in their lives. but i think sharing this verse would be nice, and hope it does help(: keep praying and believing.

The smoke of the insence, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God.
-Revelation 8:4

actually, you see the verse on the side bar on the left hand side of the page, is my favourite verse for a good reason. but sometimes, its just hard to get the courage to ask, to seek and to knock.

mug hard.

Friday

labour day holiday, went out the whole day doing everything that i have not done for a long long time. cycling in the morning to pasir ris park, weather was good and breezy. havent been cycling for quite some time already, about a month but i think its still much more enjoyable than badminton.

From misc

finally got my new phone at the singtel roadshow at taka after lunch. we thought for a while on the car then we decided that we should have japanese food, and avoid any possible pork. you should know the reason. rather expensive, but a very good meal. its called Chikuyotei by the way, on the 4th floor.


go straight to the part later at night. 9plus, sheldon and i were at starbucks, thinking that we should share a drink. so he ordered some dark mocha frap, and we sat down and talked and laughed and drank the coffee. after that few mouthfuls, i couldnt sleep at night. and after staring at the room walls for a few hours, i think that the shade of purple is actually quite pretty. training the next morning at 9, slept at 3, im screwed.


Saturday
training. i knew i was in for something when coach called for a half-hour talk before training starts. think of this analogy: even ronaldo gets sub-ed out during a football match, he has a yellowcard. the manager does what is best for the team as he knows what is good. obviously, he was directing that at me for objecting to his suggestion that i should change my partner to hanyang instead of staying with jeremy, which was what cost us the vjc match. he was quite unhappy with the week's performance.


training was some more fine tuning here and there, to sort out some little issues. last training before monday's match, and i really quite enjoyed it.thankfully i didnt pon this training. but i was yawning away in court. left home again for more badminton training at 6. got home really exhausted.


Sunday
im gonna talk about something really quite funny, but please dont laugh at me. if you all didnt realise, there was this super thunderstorm and heavy rain at about 2am. the thunder was so loud that my room's windows rattled. i was tired from training, but somehow managed to get woken up. i thought it was the end of the world. im really serious, it feels like in those kind of 'end-of-the-world' type of movies.



got some really cute bananas and kiwi from the supermarket. just compare the sizes.

From misc

the kiwi wasnt huge, its the bananas that are tiny. i finished them on sunday itself, good but i dont get the kick from eating things this tiny.

tampines 1, i finally got in there to really look around on sunday. the only thing i remembered was this huge poster for carl's jr. "Some like it long, but we love it thick".its for their new burger i think.

Monday
first thing in the morning, temperature taking. for the first time ever, there are some guidelines for temperature taking. these are the more ridiculous ones.

1. all must be standing up when taking temperature. ?
2. do not sit together, one seat apart at least. its to ensure "social distancing". ?

i know the H1N1/swine flu virus is deadly, but are such measures like the above mentioned useful in preventing the spread of the virus if one of us in the class catches it. think about it. cmon, you put us in a classroom, that wont help.

the last match. we were up against tpjc this time, after losing 3 consecutive matches. finally nailed a win in this tournament, partnered hanyang as i couldnt object to coach's decision this time round. i think it was like quite a bet, but i dont know how i managed to cover hanyang to win in straight sets. it was down to nestor for the decider, when the score was ties at 2-2. straight sets again. sa victorious 3-2. we should have performed even better. but still, its a win!

season is now officially over. really over already. time to put everything aside and start to mug. im starting the A-hunt again, who's joining me?