if you picked a random thursday morning, stopped time, and restarted it 7 days later on an early thursday morning, you'd get something akin to what i've experienced...
its just as what cheryl described it to me early this morning in the cab back to our homes in serangoon - its been exactly a week, but its as if we haven't lost any time or were gone at all, especially since the whole level of us went at the same time...
but more so for my class, the wonderful ppl of five.nine.chronicles...
its like we've been in this bubble, taken away from the technologically-dependent, internet-driven world that we take for granted to live in another country where no one exists but the 22 of us (excluding 2 guardians of the gates of hell and one lemming (chun wui's label, not mine))
and i have had the best week of this year, and we're not even half way through it yet...

reading my classmates' blogs that have been updated, the posts have been reminiscent, dwelling more on the significance of the emotions the trip has left us rather than the events of the trip itself, and in the sense there is some truth in that - how we feel about it is way more important than it...
but i'll blog it for memory's sake, just like i do for every trip... its a preservation thing i'll look back on with smiles...

i gave the rugby final on wednesday the 23rd a miss only because i'd successfully cleared all the assignments due pre-oep early that morning, so i spent the time packing and watching heroes/american idol instead...
like everyone else, i was ecstatically excited, and i really could not wait to get to the airport on thursday...
so 12 hours later i met the rest of the class at gate 11 of terminal 2...
while checking in, two unfortunate things happened -
1) joash lost his class hoodie
2) lex was delayed coz of some moe fault
was chatting to sean in pre-u sem about it for most of the time before boarding...
while waiting to board, i witnessed for the first time the successful solving of a rubic's cube by cielo... and this would be a regular occurrence through the rest of the trip...
the flight itself was pretty boring... me/joash/johnchris chose the worst seats, so couldn't play cards..
there isn't a discernible difference between silkair's economy class seats and those on the budget liner i sat on going to phuket 6 months back, only that there was food and drinks, and the flight was unusually longer at 1 hour 40 mins...
upon landing, we emerged in the sunlight of phuket to the sight of a bus that would be our transport for the next 7 days...
and the first thing i said to daryl was - my gosh, its a mobile brothel!
and like i told mel/cielo before getting darren to snap pics of it, the bus really gave a whole new meaning to what we know of pimp my ride...
the whole thing was red with pink curtains and a dragon motif, and was 2 storeys tall...
but it was quite comfortable, and i slept most of the way to the nature resort, our first of 3 accommodations...
gerald, the class jet-lagged sleeper, found it humourous to take a video of everyone sleeping just so he could say "hah, i win!" at the end of it... x)

upon arriving at our destination, we stepped out of the bus' air-conditioned comfort not knowing it would be another 50 hours or so before we experienced aircon comfort again...
the nature resort emphasized more on nature than resort, and there were tonnes of trees, unknown crawling/flying thingys and a spirit home (it was on the map of the place, not sure what spirits it was home to though)...
standing in line to get my key, johnchris behind me commented that survivor could have been filmed there...
i also say...

it was definitely the worst of the 3 lodgings we'd experience, but it was fun in the way that each hut was so open that we could literally shout up or down the hill to find ppl or arrange where the night's meeting/party would be...
i was in no.21...
played a few rounds of 10-player heart attack, the first of countless noisy affairs...
after taking a few shots of the place, we met for a short briefing at the lobby hut, where i saw a shirt that said Hot Dirty Builders for the first time and knew that i would buy it no matter what...
and that's exactly what we were gonna be for the next 2 days...
after the briefing, we went to a nearby restaurant for dinner...
the food through the entire trip wasn't particularly great... it was really singaporean chinese all the way through, and i'm not sure if that was intentional... if i want thai food i'l stick with my 5102 and 5106 and thai express...
it wasn't bad by any standards, but there just wasn't one instance where i sat up and said "wow, that's good stuff"...
whatever the case, the restaurant was hardly as interesting at getting there...
the entire class piled into 2 pickup trucks that would be our primary means of transport to and from the construction site, and as low-tech as it was, it was really really fun...
getting back to the tvc, i popped by gerald/joash's room for the prayer meeting, a commitment that a few of us made for the duration of the trip...
it was really cool, knowing that there were christians in class that were united in the same purpose...
the rest of the night was spent at another room (can't remember whose at the moment), but most of us had an early night...

day 2 dawned early at about 6 local time (7 singapore), and breakfast was brief before we pick-up trucked to nam khem, the construction site of 52 houses...
after applying sun block. insect repellent and work gloves, we split ourselves into a few groups to tackle different tasks...
me/gabriel/jim/songyeong/matthew would become the go-to crew for roof tile lifting, and in the span of the morning, we moved 4 roofs, or a total of 588 tiles that weighed slightly over 4kg each...
it was assembly-line style, from ground level to 2nd level through an open window (or the space where a window would soon be), a skill that ould come in useful the rest of our time there...
lunch was at a nearby restaurant, and i sat with cielo/gabriel/matthew, along with a dog named Dog, a regular companion for the 2 days we lunched there...
then it was back to the work site, where we became part of an extensive clean up process the villagers had embarked upon...
the funniest part of it was trying to break up cement heaps that had dried up on the ground with a hammer, and the funniest moment of the day had to be cheryl/jim/mel/chunwui/me taking a pic with one hugeass rock we successfully broke off the ground...
but after that we were asked to go help construct a dam, and the shovelling involved was definitely the most tiring part of all the work i did there...
soon after it was back to tvc, dinner at the same restaurant, a visit to the supermarket that would come to love us for the ridiculous amounts of baht we spent on snacks there, and then back to tvc again...
played cards with gabriel/shaoxiong/matthew at johnchris' room before the prayer meeting at joash's, then it was a bitch session (one of many during the trip) at cheryl/mel's room, before we decided it was too close to youknowwho's room, so we moved down to 23/22, can't remember which... it was a hilarious night of random songs, lex skits and trying to prepare a song for gerald's birthday on saturday, which we had to cover up as a song to sing while constructing instead... x)

day 3 was early as usual, breakfast with the fighting cats and then back to nam khem...
helped mai/mel with cement mixing before going on painting duty, which wasn't back-breaking, but extremely dirty...
my shoes were without a doubt the dirtiest in the entire class after those 2 days...
at lunch i sat with daryl/mel/cielo, the ppl whom i had talked to for most of lunch the day before, then 2 hours of cleanup with mel/johnchris/mai before our stint as constuction workers ended...
like what jim said on the first day there - "my mother told me that if i didn't study hard, i'd end up as a constuction worker... now i study hard and go to acsi, i still become a construction worker"
but it was tonnes of fun at certain points, and just before we turned in our gloves, signed our names and took a final group shot, we were all lazing at a particular house, sitting on planks and just chatting, a completely unplanned gathering that, to me at least, holds alota significance...
just before that, we engaged in the only task that involved the majority of the class - moving about 450 bricks between 3 houses (the brick throwing by cielo/cheryl was really funny), and from where i see it, it really made the class work as one, and it was a bonding experience i look back on with contentment... =)

the ride away from nam khem was hilarious, with alota random songs and other shit...
we stopped for ice-cream on the way to our next hotel, and when we got off at the khao lak orchid beach resort, waving bye to the rest of the volunteers was bittersweet...
those ppl are the ones with heart, working tirelessly even as we were dying after only 2 days...
my prayers go out to them and the good work they have chosen...

we were greeted at the resort by a banner that exclaimed "Welcome volunteers of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)", and that was the tone that was set for the next 4 days and 3 nights we would spend there...
if what we had been staying in for the last 2 nights was hell, then we had just stepped into heaven...
the place was amazingly luxurious, and the rooms were really really spacious, but the best part of it all was that every facility that was available was completely our's, as there were only 4 other rooms in the entire hotel that were occupied, and those guests were hardly around at all...
having the entire beack to yourself is a feeling that i won't soon forget, being able to scream yourself silly without other ppl looking at you like some nutcase...
while some of the class played volleyball, me/daryl/darren/mel lazed on the deck chairs before going to beach 'cos of the arrival of a certain lemming...
mel and i found a spot deep enough in the water not to get cut by the extremely sharp corals that had been washed up, and it was not long before the rest of the class joined us...
we spent most of the time burying gerald in the sand, but that led to a rather unfortunate loss of a ring (metaphorically) that we would spent hours both on the beack, the pool and our rooms talking about and trying to solve...
played monkey in the pool with mel/joash/jim/elliot/gerald/cielo before going for dinner at the hotel restaurant...
our plans for gerald's surprise cake thingy kinda didn't succeed, but it was fun nonetheless...
what happened was that we had planned to gather at cheryl's room to wait for the cake to come, then get gerald to his own room and wait for what he would think is another prayer meeting, and then we'd surprise him with the cake...
but in the end, while we were lighting the candles outside his room, he came out looking for the prayer meeting ppl, and after a split second of shock, we just burst out in happy birthday...
but funnier still was what happened while we were waiting for the cake...
cheryl's room received a call which mel picked up...
mel was like hello, and the person at the other line went hello as well, and this back-and-forth thing continued for some time, so mel concluded that it must be a prank caller, so she enquired with all the gusto of a prank call victim -
"are you a creepy stalker who is going to kill us and paint the room red with our blood?"
and then she seemed to collapse and passed the phone to me, and when i answered, i found out that it was just the cake delivery guy confirming our order, so i was like yes you can bring it now...
ONLY mel is able to accuse our cake guy of being a Psycho-esque killer... x)
cheryl/cielo/gerald told us they were going to the beack to star gaze, which really worried their roommates mel and joash, so elliot/me stayed behind to keep them company...
played 3 games of 7-slot poker with elliot (i won 2) before going out just before midnight to find them...
in the end they had heeded our cautioning and only went to the field to star gaze...

the next day dawned a little later at 8 local time, and breakfast was tonnes better at the hotel...
played table tennis with gabriel/john chris/matthew before heading to the orphanage...
personally, i was a little worried because of the severe language barrier, but i needn't have...
if anyone wondered why lex is the noisy character he is, the answer to that question was clearly answered at the orphanage...
he was abso-bloody-lutely brilliant with the kids, and i honestly think we would never have made it through the day so successfully without him and his antics...
the whole day passed by quickly, and i think all of us had alota fun at it as well...
while we were waiting to board the bus, the kids there sang this song of blessing for us, and it was one of those moments where you feel that the simplicity, purity and innocence of the scene was priceless...
we left the place more blessed than whatever we had given them...

before heading to the hotel, we stopped by a few landmarks that remind the thai ppl of the tragedy of december 2004, and seeing the memorial, washed up boats and what not was quite sobering...
'cos it was the global day of prayer, the worship/prayer meeting that sunday night was better attended and focussed on just how fortunate we were compared to these ppl...
went with mel/cielo/gerald/elliot/joash to star gaze again, and lex came later...
unlike the clear sky of the previous, i was conned, and all i could see was a firefly...
and i was eaten alive by mosquitoes the whole hour or so there...

we had hoped that day 5 wouldn't require us to do much heavy lifting or getting dirty anymore, but that was not to be as the jungle trek in the afternoon left many with splinters and the like...
the first half of it wasn't too bad, just lazing on a canoe while a rower rowed us to our lunch destination...
it was novel for the first half an hour or so, with lex/cheryl (chex as they would soon come to be known) providing the necessary entertainment from their canoe...
but after that, the rest of the journey was immensely boring, and mai/me/mel/darren who were in the first 2 canoes just slept most of the way to the restaurant...
food there was pretty good, and there was tonnes of it, with 2 ppl sharing like 8 or so dishes...
and the first of 3 or 4 instances involving on of the ying yang guardians (again, not my label) occurred, over the silliest of things such as talking too loudly... like huh...
we then set off for the hills (literally) to trek some mountain to see some big tree...
the 2km up was really hard, and the ppl in front kept having to wait for the ppl at the rear... john chris and i were like singing s club 7 jingles the last few minutes of the trek, and when we finally arrived at said tree, it was not worth the sweat...
after some camwhoring, we went down the same way, and this time i took up the rear with chunwui/cheryl/elliot...
once back at the hotel, we made for the beaches, where we witnessed the most amaing sunset and a double rainbow...
for half an hour or so we just caught waves as they came in, laughing ourselves silly...
the second of the yingyang occurrences happened shortly after, but the beach and sea were definitely worth it...
and it also led to one of the funniest bitch sessions after that in 222 that turned into another lex skit...
plus we celebrated cielo's 19th by watching her keep the age-old tradition of jumping the number of years you have to grow an inch taller or something like that... x)

so the next day i left 210 for the next resort, which lies somewhere in between 2 and 1 in terms of standard...
during breakfast, i told mel that the previous day at the beach, the final wave we caught before leaving knocked my glasses off my face, but considering what was going on at that time, i didn't see it wise to tell anyone, and since no one noticed, i simply slipped on my spare pair and was done with it...
even till now, only she and ted kin (who overheard) know, and that makes 4 of us who've had unfortunate ends to our specs...
the first was darren while shovelling on day 3, then it was ted kin during the trek earlier on day 5, gerald's pair was unexpectedly crushed by cielo while stargazing on day 4, and finally me...
we headed for phuket island after spending 5 days in the thai south so far, and our first port of call was a pier to transfer to a long-tailed boat for a ride to james bond island...
the ride there wasn't too unpleasant, but when we got there, things took a severe turn...
first off, it started to rain, so most of the time we were huddled in some cave...
i got conned of 500baht while buying something, but whatever...
and most of the guys got something akin to the jack johnson-esque necklace john chris was wearing around his neck...

the ride away from the island to a water village restaurant was an adventure in itself...
it was raining like heck, and me/jim/chunwui/joash were like huddled beneath 3 ponchos trying to no drown...
there was lots of crab during lunch, but i was too wet to bother eating or do any shopping after, so just kept jc/tedkin company as they finished the food at their respective tables...
we arrived at our phuket hotel shortly after, played some table tennis/pool, then it was off to another hotel for dinner...
the buffet there was the meal i personally enjoyed most, and i successfully sampled every dish there was, save for the pasta that came in 5 different colours, coz i only discovered it was behind the divider late in the evening...
we shopped at bit at ocean plaza before walking back...
just like at patong last year, the androgyny and promiscuity was not lacking...

after the last prayer meeting, we met at jim's room to watch nightmare on elm's street, and now i know why its a classic slasher flick...
a few of us stayed behind to recap pirates 2 as we were planning to watch at world's end the following night back in singapore...
slept at 2, woke up at 9ish, had breakfast with jim/chunwui, table tennis with matthew, then packed for the airport...
the rest of day 7 was spent on lunch and on the bus to the airport, and the flight back was brief...
oh and spending a collective 4000baht on Dunkin' Donuts, love them to bits...
and one final class pic before we headed home...

cheryl/jc/gerald/cielo/elliot/tedkin/me met at lido to watch pirates 3 at 915...
lex was at dinner with us, but decided not to watch after all, so we had an extra ticket...
had i known we were gonna watch at lido, i would have exchanged my free movie passes for our said tickets, but alas it was not to be...
(instead i went to watch shrek 3 on friday night)
chatted a bit outside shaw before we took 3 separate cabs back...

and so it was the end of phuket '07, a trip i will miss for a long time to come, and a time when five.nine was bonded closer than ever before, and probably ever will be...

but now its 3 weeks to my 4 days of exams, and i have some things to prove to myself that i have not done so since leaving nj...

trip the light fantastic,
jlc(aines).
five.nine.chronicles.(owns)

the american idol finale this year was miles better than last year's and 2004s...
instead of throwing in artistes they could find at last minute or featuring the ones that wanted the most publicity, this year's was what it should be about - past idol winners and finalists, legendary performers and the right amount of allthatjazz...
almost every performance was something to look forward to...
i thought the buildup to sanjaya's performance was hilariously good...
melinda was the only other finalist to get her own set, and it was pretty nice..
jordin and ruben studdard's duet was a perfect example of soul pop...
taylor hicks new single was really fun...
green day's cover of working class hero from the album instant karma was the ubiquitous but extrememly moving think-of-the-world track...
the african children's choir met really good audience response...
clive davis' honouring of chris daughtry, jennifer hudson and carrie underwood showed just how successful this show is...
kelly clarkson looked sufficiently angry through never again...
loved the past idols' medley featuring 2002's kelly, 2003's ruben, 2005's carrie and 2006's taylor...
the top 12 combined performance was a nice end before the results, espeically when they stood on stage with the past 4 idols... really missed 2004's fantasia!
the top 6 guys' set with smokey robinson was amazing...
but they were outsung by the top 6 girls' set with gladys knight...

but my favourite by far was tony bennet's for once in my life..
it was simply sung, had a big ending, and showed why he's the legend he is... i was in awe...

oh and jordin is the new american idol...

like it says on the class blog -
thailand ain't gonna know what hit her...

jlc(aines).

there is no wonder why my 2 favourite shows are HEROES and AMERICAN IDOL...

Heroes Volume 1 ended with an amazing season finale...
after the episode i actually felt breathless, and i had to take 10 minutes to recover before watching the american idol finale...
there are so many awesome things that happened in the episode, but here are some....
sylar doesn't die, and he is sure to return in Volume 2...
the preview of Volume 2, or the last 2 minutes of episode 23, was the very first scene in episode 1, that of hiro looking up at a solar eclipse, but this time we know the context of it...
but it really left me hanging, and i think the motif that plays at the beginning of the episode has some significance that will be revealed in Volume 2... not to mention that strange symbol that nikki has on her shoulder that is on hiro's sword, and is now on a flag of a japanese army in kyoto circa 1671...
i love this show...

this year's american idol finale was pretty good, though i still think seasons 1 to 3 featured the best singers that have yet to be matched...
but nonetheless, jordin has won overwhelmingly, and i love her version of the winner's single...
poor blake, it was a good fight, but its just not enough...

i'll find out the results at 10am tomorrow before heading for phuket...
back in 7 days!

there was a time i packed my dreams away
living in a shell, hiding from myself
there was a time when i was so afraid
thought i reached the end
baby that was then
i am really more than my yesterdays

and i have the courage like never before
i settled for less, now i'm ready for more...

this is my now, and i am really in the moment
as i look around, i can't believe the love i see
my fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubts
that was then,
this is my now...

jlc(aines).

so i've completed all the work i need to before going to phuket and studying for the common tests, and now i'm anxiously awaiting the finale of heroes season 1...

oh and 11 ppl skipped school today...
the only lesson we had was econs, and it was spent watching an inconvenient truth...

how to stop an exploding man,
jlc(aines).

first off, here's a 17TH BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT to darius all the way in the USofA...
hope you had a really great 17th on the 17th of May yeah...
do let me know when you're comin' back!

group 4 project day was kinda odd, in the sense that it was really short in terms of experiment time, but it felt like it was long because of how tiring it was...
in the end our project received good reviews, and all i've got left to do is finish the report that's due on monday...
speaking of monday, its a 12 and a half hour school day devoted to TOK...
which means we end at 9plus...
so i'm not sure if i'm gonna be going to school on tuesday coz of the deadlines i've got to meet...
and wty sent all HL history students an email saying that we shouldn't skip his lesson unless our lives were threatened... like what...

the class hoodies came in yesterday, and they are awesome! the colour and font are absolutely perfect...
melinda exited american idol, so just like last year when elliott yamin didn't make the finale, i wonder how good may 23rd will be...
at least i can watch it in the morning before going to the airport...

i'll be waitin',
jlc(aines).

american idol semifinals today were pretty good, but i totally disagree with what the judges said...
melinda obviously was the best, though i thought the second song, NUTBUSH city limits, was a bit manic...
and the way they styled her hair was just way too out-of-bed for me...
she also forgot the second line of i'm a woman, and it was way too short for a top 3 song...
i really thought she could have milked it more...
but the first song was more than enough to cover up for both those unfortunate songs...
i liked the jazz arrangement of jordin's first song, but didn't think her vocals were anything near good...
the second song was once again a silly choice...
but she did sing the last song, i who have nothing, better than the first time she sang it...
blake's last song was way WAY better than his second, maroon5's this love...
loved the way he ended the song...
but his first, roxanne, should have been sung straight and with the correct counter melody, instead of what he did...
i still can hear dilana's version of it during last year's rockstar: supernova, and that was one heck of a good performance, and this didn't match up...

monday was a bad day, coz history IA was due the following afternoon, so most of us were bleary-eyed the next morning in school from staying up on monday...
and aom didn't collect the work i had completed the previous night, so that really pissed me off...
wtz ALSO didn't levy any penalties for not handing the IA in on tuesday, PLUS he just sent us an email saying that the whole IA could be handed in on 23rd may, so i'm really pissed at that too...
promtness is seriously a lost art, and i will never again bother torturing myself to finish the work for the supposed deadline...
went home on monday by the 74 (i had to check out what the famous 74 gang did on a daily basis) route with patrick/jim/nic (who alighted at dover) and mel/joash/chunwui/darren (who got off along the sunset way route), leaving me to go all the way to bukit timah...
did that today again, but with fewer ppl coz some went off to watch rugby or collect our class hoodies (which i cannot wait to see!)
but took the train route on tuesday with clarence/jim...
and school was called off at 2 today, so stayed in class to watch/help gerald play hearts... x)

3 important things due next week, and then its off to phuket...
iop essay, history IA and chem pract 6

release,
jlc(aines).

the past 3 days have been really fun, but its a guilty pleasure coz there's an unfinished history mock IA with my name on it lying on my desk that i've been trying to ignore since coming home on friday...
but i dun think i can for much longer, so i shall finish it after this blog post...

school on friday was like any other friday week b - pretty darn useless...
chinese was a free period, chem test was the only constructive thing, and 40mins econs never does much for anyone...
PE was free, and we decided not to do the carwash thingy coz 1 car wasn't really worth the effort...
instead, we spent the time playing darren's Nintendo Wii, which is super fun...
especially the tennis game...
deon/sean crashed our class to have a hand at that and Wii bowling as well...
played a few rounds of cards (the official between-class past time)
then left to train the y14 team with sean/paul...
most of the time after was spent photowhoring as per paul's usual reaction to iSight/Photobooth...
had worship practice at night...

training on sat with paul/andrew/tanu was at the NUS law fact...
had lunch with paul/andrew after at prince coronation (haven't been there since the nj days) and caught up on the latest happenings in our level (which are a great deal by any measure)
met weige on the way there...
went to town to do get josh's 19th and sher's 17th birthday presents...
but on the way i picked up some stuff for myself as well (you never seem to be able to shop without buying something for yourself it seems) like a new laptop holder...

went home for a quick change (and a game of dota with elendrus/xinquan), then it was off to the golden landmark hotel which is really quite uluated for josh's surprise party..
the party per se wasn't really a surprise, coz his church had already planned to have it after the eagles' conference..
the surprise element was in me/sam/adriel/jake being there...
and it worked =)
the northern indian cuisine wasn't really my type of food, but it was thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless...
the view was really nice, especially of the imposing gotham-esque buidling, and the welcome change from the bollywood pop they were playing when we came to the r&b/hiphop tracks...
didn't go with jake/adriel back to sam's place to stay coz had worship at 730 in the morning...

lunched with jake/adriel/sam/rachh/sher for at seoul garden for sher's birthday today...
didn't join them for spiderman 3 after coz of the time i needed to get some work done before week 9 imposes itself on me...
did get one game of daytona in before that though...

yeap, so that's the end of week 8, and i'm really glad its over and done...
just 10 days to phuket, and i'm looking forward to that simply because it means i would have had to finish all this work by then...

you're a loaded gun,
jlc(aines).

Blake Lewis - You Give Love(Studio ver.)
Uploaded by Blakergirl

i chanced upon the studio version of BLAKE LEWIS' bon jovi night performance, and it is amazing!!
cannot wait for the season 6 album to come out...

HEROES is the best show right now, hands down...
my goodness the cliffhanger at the end was really cool, but i went to check the sneak preview for epi22, and peter didn't explode, so yeap...
he seems to be having a really nice chat with ted sprague and matt parkman while claire and HRG catch up...
and the "walker" tracking system is uber cool, coz it refers to molly walker, the human "cerebro"...
i cannot wait for the last 2 chapters to be out, though i know i'll be left hanging, desperately waiting for season 2... x)

1x22 - landslide,
jlc(aines).

this post is all about my decision to take english A1 -
i kinda decided that it'd be the subject of ranting for this post because of the ongoing mock IOPs in strand 2 classes nowadays, and its really kinda made me think...

first off, today was an exceptionally good day for IOPs..
my classmates are totally beginning to see what's gonna get them the 25marks and above after watching the first few (poor us, the highest was only 23), and some have been exceptional...
i thought things really kicked in during ted kin's presentation, which i personally feel was technically the most sound so far.. and i totally agree with what mr connor said after our second class today, that his was the presentation that most resembled a well-developed main IOP...
nic was really rehearsed, but in a way that is absolutely flluent...
its best to listen to him with your eyes closed or staring at something redundant, coz you fully concentrate on the dynamics of what he's saying...
but i reckon the presentation that most surprised me was by far and beyond gerald's...
coz when gerald's normally speaking, particularly when he's excited, he's got this really cute (ok maybe cute isn't the most appropriate description given the circumstances, but just imagine an excited hamster, or something - in a good way of course!) way of stuttering before finishing whatever it is he's saying...
but if he was nervous (which i definitely think he wasn't in the least), there was no trace...
the entire presentation flowed flawlessly, and i finally realized why he's an RMUN alumnus (i was never in his council in '06)
and it reminded me of how some debaters speak, which is an extremely good thing...
if i were bjc i would have given him 5 for language and 10 for presentation, seriously...
but the 26 was miles ahead of what i got already, so yeah...

so as you might have imagined, i'm in a state of absolute depression from all this...
seeing so many incredible, merited presentations, and then (naturally) comparing them to myself does little in the way of improving my self esteem for the real IOP...
and as an extension, my decision to take english A1 at higher level...
i know syeo told me that i could do well in it, but the IOPs haven't really reflected that, and i'm worried...
when i think about the work i'm gonna have to put in to get my desired grade, i'm really apprehensive...

something must be said about the merits of rehearsing and doing a presentation fresh...
i'm trying to find a way to not only sound like i've worked my arse off for it, but also add that fresh vibe to it not to seem like i'm regurgitating a memorised script...
its very much like what i try to bring to every debate as a speaker - the prepared part discussed during prep, and the new things i think about to add to the elaboration as i stand up there...

i think i've sufficiently kicked myself and internally yelled at myself for not performing up to expectations, and wondering why it is that all my experience in speaking, both argumentatively and academically, flew out the window on my birthday (my mock IOP day as well, coincidentally) this year...

but you live and learn...
i'm questioning my choice of doing GOST for the real thing, but i really think i have the most material for that...
hopefully HOPEFULLY it works out...
i need to get that kick out of english again from scoring what i know (or i think i know) i can...

the same applies to my dismal debating career this year...
during PC, we were writing an evaluation of ourselves (basically something like at the end of term 1 so that our CT/PCT, (who don't teach our class a single subject) can write an intelligent remark for our term reports...
and under CCA achievements, i realized i've only been a "semi-finalist" and "participant" in the 2 competitions i've taken part in so far...
i really need to feel that excitement again, but that really hinges on how well i improve over the next 2 months...
i've really been relying on auggie too much, who's been absolutely consistent...
the only bright side of it is that i think (or i hope at least) i've broken out of that rut/plateau i fell in after last year...
from what i can see from the previous training, i think i'm goin' in the right direction...

if there was any highlight of today it was, surprisingly, TOK...
i spent 80minutes just writing a reflection (it's really just an essay, with small words like "i think" thrown in for effect) on the emotions as a way of knowing...
i didn't turn to the TOK text or notes to structure it as i usually do (it's a safe option that gets marks), but just wrote as i felt, and i'm glad i had inspiration, though i can't quite pinpoint the source...
it turned out to be a rather funny little piece, and i'm almost done with it, but if i can bring myself to type it out, i'll post it here...
i hope it still gets me marks though...

finally, lakisha exited american idol today, and the semifinalists are pretty good...
i still am not a fan of jordin, and am hoping for her to exit next...

give it to me,
jlc(aines).

idol tonight was pretty underwhelming, considering its the quarter finals...
i'm hoping for it to be a semifinal with jordin, blake and melinda...

gave softball a miss to look for resources for my history IA...
went with nic/mel/patrick/darren, daryl came along later...
some point13 ppl were there as well...

finally got my 9 compensation tickets from shaw, so not sure if i wanna go to lido to watch something or other...

stayin' alive,
jlc(aines).

post #555

i made a list on sunday of the stuff i need to complete by this week, and concluded that it necessitated taking some time off from school to get it done...
math portfolio trial
IOP proposal
EE proposal
history IA
study for math, chem and english tests

so took the main school day off today (tuesday week b - no history, so its the wisest choice given the circumstances)
went at 3plus for the english test...
chose poetry over prose, coz halfway through the prose passage at shields and breasts, i think i lost it...

and there's a new best BEST song out on iTunes: Timbaland featuring One Republic - Apologise
its got the most amazing vibe, i'm in shock (no pun intended)

presents shock value,
jlc(aines).

a correction to my previous post -
NEVER STOP was planetshaker's 28 December 2006 release, just 12 months after PICK IT UP...
SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD, recorded in January 2007, should be in stores soon, can't wait for that...

Saviour King,
jlc(aines).

so on friday when i was talking to jake/tiff about new music, they tsk-ed at my torrent downloading activities (and subsequently tiff asked for me to email the best damn thing to her, so it wasn't much of a tsk really)
but here's my caveat - i DO buy the albums once they come out...
the purpose of me downloading torrents is coz music premieres in aussie/theUSofA way before singapore, and i've always prided myself in not only knowing the dates of album releases, but being able to listen and give my own comments on them, and i can't do that if they're not out in stores here right? =)
but like i said, i'm not a bad person...
i've contributed to the Christian music industry all my life, and i make it a point to buy the CDs once they're out...
and in continuing this practice, i got 2 out of 3 of this year's releases today - Hillsong United's ALL OF THE ABOVE (i really wanted the DVD) and Planetshaker's NEVER STOP (i admit that i didn't know this was gonna be out so soon, and i had only just finished thoroughly listening to 2006's Pick It Up)

desperate for all You are,
jlc(aines).

TGIF (or saturday, coz its like 130 in the morning)
and its comforting to know there's no school to wake up for tomorrow...
after the disappointment of this week, i'm just looking forward to next week, OEP and whatever else may/june have to offer...

math lesson reminded me again why i'm not taking HL maths - a 7pointer A-math student doing SL math really is a gift... x)
then it was chem, break and history pract period...
stayed back to cut the leow/seow (patrick/nick) cake, then training after dunno how long...
spent some time talking to sean/paul/andrew about council before going off to meet the jyc'05 comm at suntec for dinner coz jane's back from aussie...

waited at macs for about an hour and a large pack of fries, some shopping for jane's little brother, then dinner at this beepo jap joint that's very similar to ajisen ramen...
food wasn't bad, though sher/jake were dying for ordering really spicy 2-chilli dishes..
more shopping, chatting with jane about the most random things while in carrefour and at the food court, then took a train back with sher...

watched the final 2 episodes of the janice dickenson show (season 2) , and its really a lot bitchier than antm/projrunway...
quite fun!

probably gonna use the 9 compensated tickets to watch bridge to terebithia or something, gotta consult FIRST mag this month...

que hiciste,
jlc(aines).

phil and chris left american idol this week, and its a real loss...
3 divas and a beatboxer left...

i was ultra jittery the entire day in anticipation of the history test, but in the end i shouldn't have worried nor studied so freakishly hard...
the question could have been tackled using the knowledge from term 1!
felt so cheated...

pe was ok, passed two more stations, only the runs left...

during pc, we watched the ib band and choir perform, and i really enjoyed that...
and then it began to spiral...
presentation after boring presentation that lasted till 5!
promptness is a lost art in thsi school, what with all the be-punctual-be-early talk, these things never end on time...
when rach/nirms were walking out, they both commented that i looked dead...
and that was exactly how i felt after that dreary hour...
at least the rest of the day went well, selling chun wui's eclaires with the class...

might be going for dinner with jane and the jyc comm gang of '05 tomorrow...

como ama una mujer,
jlc(aines).

american idol 6 had its best night tonight...
loved every performance, and i had no idea i could like bon jovi songs so much!
my fav had to be blake's amazing rearrangement of You Give Love A Bad Name...
based on the strength of the performances tonight, and from what the judges said, the 2 that should be eliminated tomorrow are chris and jordin, though that will hardly be a reality... i'm more for phil and someone else, hopefully not melinda or blake...

High School Musical: The Concert - not a bad album, but they replaced Zac Efron with Drew Seeley (the guy who sang on the cheetah girls 2 soundtrack), probably an up and coming disney channel star they're trying to push...
his voice is kinda better, but zac is still miles better looking and fits the roll of musical jock more...

based on a true story,
jlc(aines).

the only thing i regret about this whole council experience is not knowing the feeling of getting in...
i was nervous when they were calling out the names that when they breezed past .9 to .10, my heart literally sank...
its not like i've not had that winning feeling, but rather, i've never quite felt individual achievement, something i did completely alone and saw the results of...

went out for a post-birthday celebration with the ex .11 gang...
lunch at fish & co, then spiderman 3..
the movie wasn't bad, but a rather horrid experience led to the whole thing being spoilt...
i shan't elaborate coz its depressing, but suffice to say my complaints have yielded to 9 free movie passes valid for the month of may... i guess i'll get the same gang for another movie or something..
dinner at thai express with clarence/elendrus/xinquan, then home to do my chinese oral script and study for econs test...
both went ok today, though the worst studying is to come tonight...
behold, the whole-book-on-Russia history test...

at least math portfolio deadline is pushed to tuesday, and hopefully i can get an extension on my history IA sources thing so i have the weekend to go to the library..
and that way i can catch up on sleep tomorrow after school...

another side,
jlc(aines).