As I tried to figure why it is I gravitate towards my blog even when I'm supposed to be on a well-intended hiatus, I realized it really is out of both habit and a need for some form of regularity in spite of the fact that the IB exams are anything but regular. So here are some of my thoughts which I find are best crystallized when penned down, be they articulations of great profoundness, or simply memories which are of the same, if not greater, value. 

1) The SATs were a little lackluster, but I'm at least minimally content enough to proceed to my Subject Tests in December if I should so choose. 

2) Interviewing for Oxford (and Cambridge I suppose) is one of those harrowing experiences which, as an 18 year-old seems daunting, but on retrospect, whether I am admitted or not, will probably be a good experience to carry with me. I imagine my interviewer writing down what I have long professed, contrary to many a teacher's comment: "John has no reasoning ability". 

3) Reading work that has been produced and creating new pieces are two entirely different things, and any connection between them is at most tenuous. I have found that digesting and internalizing are certainly important in my journey towards my IB exams, but not nearly as significant as writing new work, especially for English A1, that most demanding of subjects. 

4) School at night is perhaps even more enjoyable than school in the day. What few evenings I have spent in the portals of AC have proven to be both productive and endearing at the same time. This is not a new thing for me, but something which will be a lasting memory, considering it is in all likelihood the last experience in school prior to actually taking the exams. 

5) NS, an acronym which I once dreaded, and now am indifferent to, will officially be another phase in my (hopefully long and fruitful) life from January 8th, 2009. My year has embraced the notification of this in an unprecedented manner, and Facebook really does make it feel like a collective experience even before it has begun. I haven't actually joined the "Event" that someone put up, though I have located a few of my year mates and friends who share the same timing, and even more the same date, and even more the same location. My only recollection of anything to do with this is seeing Josh off 22 months ago, and as he gets out a week or so from now, I actually find myself wondering once in a while what my experience of it will be like. These thoughts are, quite fortunately, cut short by a reminder of the vast amounts of content I still need to plough through and the goal of getting a PSC scholarship which I try to keep in mind in the midst of all this academia. 

6) It seems my classmates' knack for getting things is rather quite special. According to Gerald, of the 5 copies of Robyn Lim's Geopolitics of East Asia in the NLB, Song Yeong, Patrick, Justin and I are in possession of a copy each. Yay us indeed. 

It is not so much a scary thought as it is a prospect, an actuality approached with anticipation, hope and the odd quote from my English tutor about being an exam-bashing machine, or something to that effect. 

19 days in retrospect

1. The minute I finished living it up, I had a few days to set my rhythm right. Then my Prelim results arrived, and I found myself languishing uneasily with a score that is all at once the worst and most accurate reflection of how I was feeling right up to the point when I took those papers.

2. The SATs came and went, as did my UK University applications (predicted grades, references, and the odd personal letter).

3. Segueing into the routine is still underway, and I'm pleased to report a positive 4 days lessons that were surprisingly comprehensive when digressions and other annoyances were put aside. Studying was mostly done at home before, after and on days without lessons, apart from today's pleasant few hours in the oh-so-reminiscent library, because of the hours spent there and the concentration of my yearmates around. The History section added to the pleasant aside of studying in school; I loaned out the entire Stephen J. Lee collection, and had quite an enjoyable time reading on bus 147 and Starbucks at Clarke Quay late in the afternoon.

19 days to the eve of it all

My School Journey, 1997-2008

There are innumerable photos online

recounting the final 2 days of school.

My brilliant year, ACIB '08, will see 

no other like us, and that's the way

it should be. Mel's photo of our 

classroom with everyone and everything

removed is perhaps the best representation

of what it felt like leaving yesterday.