Class 4C 2001 gathering at Carlyx Green

had a class gathering with 4C from the batch of 2001, my very first batch of graduating class. they are 22 years old already!! hmm... think i am really old. for some, it's the first time i am seeing them since 2001.

Used to joked that some of them will eventually end up selling pirated vcd or be the gang leader of changi prison. none of my prophecy actually came true (better stick to bluff my way thru' teaching instead of becoming a palm reader), yet felt so happy for them. lawyer-to-be, businessman-to-be, chemical engineer-to-be... wah... all going to be so successful, unlike myself!

shame to alter pre-u admission exercise??

a joel tng was complaining (note that the word complaining is being used, not feedback!) that the pre-u admission exercise will be scraped from next year onwards, meaning there is only one intake in jc, rather than the two now. (straits time 10th january 2008)

he is asking for time to experiment with different cca and find forte, gauge subject combinations, familiarise with campus, take time to adjust changes in education system... can the young please stop complaining about all these small changes?

experimenting with cca - after knowing yourself for 17 years, you still don't know what interests you? after 17 years, you still need 3 months to find your forte?! i won't be surprised if he don't even know what his favourite food is, what is his favourite movie, what is his favourite drink. he'll ask for 3 months to explore before giving his answer!

familiarise with campus - how big can a campus be that you need 3 months to explore? trying to find dark corners so that one can bring the opposite sex and erm...?? or find the shortest route out of the school to catch the first bus home? ridiculous!

take time to adjust changes - 3 months to adjust changes? only singapore students are requesting for 3 months to adjust changes! such practise is not carried out in other nations. are the young spoilt or what??

Thank you, Class of '07

7th jan is a big day for the class of '07 - the release of IBDP results. even though i knew the full results on 5th jan, it's great to see the happy faces of everyone in the auditorium. some came back with crew cut, some taller (some still as short *daniel*), some fatter - but everyone came back with a huge smile on their face. it's been a memorable 2 years, lots of anxiety (while waiting for the ib results), anger (when ben and jin en skipped pc lesson), depression (horrible mid-year results), fun (writing poor when auggie scored 48/50 for tests), laughter (tying up jeremy in leather suits with whip), love/hate relationship (feng ze's look at my face, do i give a damn comment), "mood swings" (throwing CAS files into the dustbin) and many more...

it's not easy to be the pioneer batch of ib students. there are lots of expectations and demands. but i think everyone (almost everyone) did their part. thanks for all the memories...

augustin, khing, han, phang, su, yunyi, byron, kia hua, hammie, michelle, tim seow, rayan, marcus, daniel, darren, reuben 'cannot-make-it' ong, justin 'baker' lin, jit, keat, ashvin, jeremy 'tie-him-up' ee, keith, kenneth, shahir, gerald, hansheng, luke, felicia, jason, milton, jonathan, greg, bloke, matthias, yar tun, regine, daryl, jin en, timothy, kang di, cheryl, beth, dml, gn, amelia, jemma, hannah, brendan, sam chan, ian, TP, sher shern, mel yeo, dilys, daniel tay, yeo '45 pointer' yao wen, lee may, ben chia, chris cheong, josh loke, bryan chung, pong, pern yi, juin shiong, nat wong, shyna-rongxin-huimin 'where to shop and where to go high tea', anna, tim chang, kevin 'cannot read his handwriting' tan, kenneth tay, van, collin 'when-is-he-going-to-jump' ho....

backlane of the buzzing shenzhen

had the honor of visiting the sleepy, dirty, almost god forsaken backlane of shenzhen. the atmosphere is really contrasting. one end, you see all the skyscrapers, men in suits, louis vutton boutique etc. at the other end, you see picking up unfinished food from the rubbish bin, stuffing them into their mouth.

a cinema at the backlane of gang xia train station:

it reminded me of the cinema i went to when i was a kid. rats running around, people eating sunflower seeds and throwing the shells on the floor. movie of the day: the miserable life of a factory girl (loosely translated). i shall not go into detail how miserable the girl's life is... erm... haha... just let your imagination run while, all you dirty fellows! pay $0.80 and you can watch all the 4 shows showing on that day. for couples watching the show, this particular cinema offers "couple seat" as well.

Relaxing end to 2007...

a bit late but it was a good break during the december holiday. not much travelling, out of money... so had to settle for hong kong and shenzhen where i have FREE LODGING! yes, that's how cheapo i am, i go for anything that is free...

flight from singapore to hong kong was at 6.40am but i reached the airport really really early, could not sleep la... too excited? maybe...

arranged to meet a colleague and her friend in hong kong to go shopping and eating. was also there to look at some of the christmas deco. some of the deco are really nice but mostly quite old fashioned ones, like those you will find in the old old old plaza singapura kind.

christmas deco at times square: