has it sunk in that i debated for the last time in sec school under the banner of acsi last night?
nope, not in the very least...
what i do noe is, i'm disappointed, quite steeply disappointed...
i was telling some of my classmates/schoolmates, i'm the most stoic, as paul says, most pragmatic, and i'm not typically affected by wins and losses...
if you ask my OM teammate, andrew wang, at the awards ceremony in Maryland, 2004, when they announced we were second in the world, everyone simply exploded... the first thought that crossed my mind was: who the heck beat us to world champions and why weren't we better, damn we shoulda got the gold... (it was the team from kentucky btw)
and of the 3 of us, i think i've been hit least, not because of anything, but just because...
but the reason i've been affected is because, when i see my teammates, i feel for them...
for paul and sam chan's tears, i cannot but share their pain...
for sam, for the duties and responsibilities as president and our captain...
i dunno how i'll feel in a few days time, although i'll probably be drowned in books...
i do know that its probably not gonna be smile-worthy for a while...

what's left now are memories, and there are so many individuals who are in them...
josh hiew, my senior and friend...
joan, my coach...
sean, my teammate and classmate...
my direct seniors once/twice removed: michael, josh hoe, auggie, sam chan, april, joseph, kal...
the BCs team - sam chan, lloyd, adwyn, david, paul... i hope you learn, train, develop to be debaters that far outshine your seniors...
the y-14 team - edmond, max, kegan...
sebastian - my friend from goodness knows how long, and the loyal supporter/encourager we don't deserve...
sam, paul: i'm truly blessed to be part of this team... dun be too down yeah?

my classmates who came down, those who messsaged... daniel, yew jin, mervyn, clarence... wesley (for the tie =))
miche, pet, elisa...
the regulars, jim, szu yong, johannes...
bryan, val (my heartiest congrats, top5!), long time debater pals...
weige, (&darius who came afterwards, thanks for the cd!), it was such a joy to remember the debates we had together, and to take the plaque with you...
the many teachers that came to offer their regards...


so here we go
lets show them how to live
accept the pain, always forgive
watch the sun go down, learn the sound of following all that is complete

a second place victory,
john.

in about 8 hours time, we would be taking our place on stage, paul in the middle, sam at the right, me at the end, for our last debate...
a swansong, a finale, a grand exuent...
Team C as an opposition in the finals of JGs '06...
Team C...
i would never have believed that that moniker we conjured up at the reading room in january 2003 would be a name, a true name for a team, a true team of debaters, and a a team of true friends...
Cheam, Chu, Caines...
our first debate together - THW ban smoking... our first real prep together, and prep we did, even on a Sunday, and that set the momentum for the next four years...
as i tell my juniors, watch debates... and watch we did in sec 1, josh's debates, lucas' debates and many many more..
then we debated...
the selections for the meth cup team positions, and i was so blessed to be given the opportunity to be a reserve alongside sam on the winning team of 2003 with josh/mike/adi...
the new year came with new competitions... we didn't get to debate at the srjcs, but it was a blessing in disguise - more time to prep for the inaugural youth-14s....
i remember having to skip the prelim rounds to compete at the OM national finals, but it was so great to go back to sam's place with news of victory and to receive news of a 4th-place break...
then the quarts against rg, the semis against ri in the big LT coz there were too many spectators with the temperamental lighting and big balloon...
and the finals against cat high - a first victory, and from then on, i'd know i'd never wanna lose that feeling ever...
but lose it i did... the defeat at the meth cup 2004 was, in most senses, the "last" debate together as Team C, and what better would the motion be than THW ban smoking..
and it was off to njcip in 2005...
new teammates, new club, new division...
each week, as we would win each of the 5 rounds to the b div finals, i'd quickly find out if sam/paul/sean won their rounds as well... and win they did, and into the a div finals...
to weige and darius: my gratitude for being the champion njip team...
and a week later, the sec 3 ac team were crowned champions as well...
that was the point i knew i'd most likely go back to ac...
debating in the vjs, with and unexpected semi win to face ri in the finals...
one of our better debates, and a justified defeat...
then it was 2006, and training has not ceased till today...
lost two rounds at vcs, but that was probably the spark we needed to train even harder...
scraped a win at jg round 1...
and then the motion for round 2... the round we put in the most hours in for, the most argument over, and still a defeat...
another scraped win at round 3, and we broke 4th, just as we did in y-14s...
the quarts and semis were narrow, and here we are today, at the finals...
Team C at the finals, in our last debate, representating acsi...



sam & paul - thanks.

john.

it was definitely an... interesting birthday 16th birthday yesterday...
in continuation from the rain check i took on sunday, i continued feeling ill, so stayed home...
(at this point, i gotta apologise to all the church ppl who were planning the surprise: so so sorry yeah? and thanks btw!)
slept for 16plus hours in total, without doing much besides the ISO poster...
it turned out fab! yay me and my early venture to poster connection at peace centre today...
but back on yesterday:
thanks to those who messaged!
and to sean and yew jin for the book and the pumpkin! x)

finals in two days...
and i realised that, before the midyear's, i only have ONE (ONE!!!!!!!) real lesson left, which is LA(B) tomorrow, coz ISO is first period and i have chinese free... argh!!!!
it dawned on me last night while i was deciding what to bring to school, and i was beflummoxed at the books i realised i could leave at home for self-study already...
for the past 3 years, i've started studying for major exams either 2 or 3 weeks prior, but this time round, its 4 days (FOUR DAYS!!!!!!)
so yeah, i'm kinda panick-ey...

let love in,
john.

got the motion on friday, did some premliminary prep after sam & paul finished they're photoshoot for the school mag...
did some more yesterday morning at sam's place before going to acjc for the brit council env debates...
go sec3s!
they're into the quarts, broke 4th against acjc...
its next sat, after finals...
finals: ahh so close!
one week of finely balancing debate/studies... its good we have time off from school for a few days...
it'll be 4 days to the midyears straight after finals, 96 hours of pure unadulterated mugging...
the after the last a math paper, its 14 days to chinese Os...
then RMUN from 7th june, and then the question of debate camp... i'm just a bit too stressed out to think about it too much now, but keep in view...

2 days to 16

someone to watch over me,
john.

i didn't get much work done last nite, besides finishing my ISO... =)
its probably the 8th or 9th time i've printed it since starting on it last year, which probably amounts to about 150 sheets of paper... but whatever the case, its over!

had to make up for my lack of productivity by working doubly hard today, but still didn't finish as much as i hoped...
i simply worked through chinese, a math, chem and c math without even getting up from my chair, which is really rare... clarence sitting at the back allows me to ask him for help... x)
didn't get to present my LA(B) IOP coz weng ngai took really really long, so gonna do it after school tomorrow...

went for lunch at dover market with yew jin/sean/clarence/jit yew...
ate chicken rice at a hawker centre for the second time this month...
though jit yew left at around 4 for cello, we stayed and talked till 530, a total of 2 1/2 hours...
thanks yew jin for the lift!
took the nel back with clarence, discussing different school personalities etc...

read this week's 8 days to see the ad for njc ip open house on saturday!

have to finish POD tonite, what a whore chore...

ace's gone, though his performance was really good...
so who's your final 3?

it had to be you,
john.

let me feel, i don't care if i break down...
let me fall, even if i hit the ground...
and if i cry a little, die a little, at least i know i lived...

6 days more to 16! x)
american idol tonight was the best this season..
everyone did a fantastic job, i dun actually want anyone to leave...
kellie screwed up a bit, but she looked stunning, so that's a saving factor..
my fav: paris bennett with "the foolish things"...

had chinese oral today...
the passage was simple, and i dun think its representative of the level of the O level paper...

its gonna be thursday again...

and nothing's changed at all...
john.

On the 25th of April:-
ANZAC Day (Australia, New Zealand)
Carnation Revolution commemorated in Portugal (National Holiday)
Festa della Liberazione, (Italy), annual commemoration to mark the liberation of Italy at the end of the Second World War.
Faroe Islands - National Flag Day
Swaziland - National Flag Day
Easter Sunday - 1886, 1943, 2038. In the Gregorian Calendar 25th April is the latest date on which Easter Sunday can fall (22nd March is the earliest)
Feast day of St Mark
Rastafari movement - Celebration of Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica
Roman Empire - Robigalia in honor of Robigus
Official Red Hat Society day
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, falls on April 25 in 2006.

and this year, my 16TH!!!!
its 9 days away, and i'm really excited...
it falls in a rather inopportune time period of exams and stuff, but still...
3 days before jg finals...

spent today decadently lounging/laughing in sam's place with the musks...
but school's tomorrow, so that's a bummer...

sweet sixteen?
john.

The top 7 contestants remain...
Elliot, Kellie, Katherine, Chris, Paris, Ace & Taylor...
strange that mandisa isn't up there with them, so i'm definitely rooting for elliot and katherine to be at the finale...

Queen night was not too bad, pretty catchy actually...
watched the results show at sam's place coz we were there training with the year5s...


stayed over at sam's place last friday night after the semis with josh...
finals in 2 weeks...
played for easter camp worship with josh/pet/jake/shaun/tiff...
there were about 15 campers, give or take a few...
surprised that they actually went on with it...

there's too much to study, its almost annoying...

how's your work pile?

hips don't lie,
john.

so we've come to the finals again...
a true blessing by any account, and all we have is thanks...
a three week lull till the 28th...

the heat of the exams kicked in this week...
went out with javier and yew jin for lunch today, and we lamented the inopportune time at which so many shows have come out, but with so little time to enjoy them...

album recommendations for the month:
Teddy Geiger -Underage Thinking
Pink - I'm Not Dead

stupid girls,
john

the time has come to stand for all we believe in
so i for one am gonna give my praise to YOU!

its been such a chore, sticking to my resolution to follow my stipulated routine for the next 8 weeks... but its all for a good cause... x)
the DA tea to close off dep'05 was pretty fun, though only rachel, aaron, fahd and i were there from intermediate...
went for dinner with pet, sam, jake, adriel, joannatng, nat and veen at food republic wisma before cabbing to mg for expresso - awaken your senses...
most performances were good, some were ok, others quite painful, but it was one of the most relaxing nights i had in a long time...
the entire duration of the concert was spent laughing like mad at anything and everything, mainly coz of veen and nat's antics, random shouting in the auditorium, pet's hilarious comments & the multitude of candid moments on stage, not forgetting the lookalikes we spotted...
the guy sitting next to nat on the aisle was probably flippin' mad, coz he was filming the performances, only to be interrupted by our outbursts of madness... x)
anyways, thanks deb for inviting us, and your dance was really fun! "marry me zai!"

week 3, semis, challenges...

everlasting, Your love will shine when all else fades

john