REGRETS.

[Now before you think this is about me regretting going to RJ for the first 3months, it isn't, fortunately/unfortunately].

The first 2 hours of the week started on a high, okay and this time I shan't elaborate on it, since everyone who knows about it knows what happened, and everyone who doesn't care about it doesn't need to waste time on it. Haha.

Now this post is not on a happy note.
During the week, I have done plenty of reflecting, during the [very short] bus rides to/from school, during QT [short too.....sigh], when I'm in the toilet, be it bathing, brushing teeth, and all else. In RJC, there are so many programmes on offer for us students. And so many programmes that I'm interested in joining. There's ISLE, which is some service learning programme which allows us to get exposed to the poorer countries in the region and undertake projects there. There are so many Research Electives. In particular the materials science and photonics ones appeal to me. And then, there's Science Research Programme [SRP]. I had so much time to think, yet only recently have I realised that research is the one area that I want to pursue, for the near future at least. Yes, I know it is boring to most, but hey, what's accounting and banking then?

And so, while I check up all more info. on these programmes, I start to regret. Regret that I didn't spent my time in secondary school fruitfully. That I spent so many afternoons playing computer games. That I never signed up for much CIP programmes, that I never signed up for any research attachment programmes. That I dropped Japanese when so many people out there desperately want to learn it. That I didn't take French. That I never took the time to think hard about my future, only until I wanted to get a scholarship for a university. Now it is so difficult to sign up for research electives as so many people are interested in them. And then, SRP, is tough indeed. Apparently they are only selecting 120 students for RMMs, after which only 80 odd will be able to do the proper SRP thing [from the whole Singapore btw]. And boy would experience in research help here. Oh well, next week 'll just have to try my luck at the aptitude test.

And then there's soccer. Trainings are like 3x3hrs a week. I don't know if I can handle it.
I guess I'll fruitfully spend the next few days prioritising and thinking about my future.
At least now, there's God to guide the way.
That, is another regret. Not knowing him sooner.
So please, heed this message and let Him guide your way too!

I want to thank everyone who has spent time to talk to me about my predicament, [if it even is one, really],be it in school, on the phone or on MSN, which I have been spending too much of my time on. You've all helped me lots, my dear friends. Thank God for you guys.

I'm not sad, really. Just regretful. The week in RJC has been great. The tutorials, the lectures, hell, even sex ed. was fun. And STJ [seniors-treat-juniors] on Friday was very successful indeed, got to know alot of people from 07S06N, [my class is 08 btw], and the pizza was great. I'm definitely looking forward to more of em'!

And then, meeting the 2/4 peeps once again was great as well. Although we didn't get to talk much much [yes 2 words intended], it's still good that we are 'sticking in touch'. [sticking together + keeping in tough]. And I sure hope that Philip will come to RJC!

Haha, I don't know why but this entry is something like a Jose Mourinho interview - frank and honest, but always finding positives. Oh well, I'll end the entry by giving a big shout to all you man u fans out there [just can't resist it], that ARSENAL DID THE DOUBLE ON YOU GUYS THIS SEASON, and that they are still UNBEATEN AT THE EMIRATES STADIUM, all thanks to van Persie's and Henry's late goals which turned defeat into victory!! and mind you, doesn't Rooney's goal celebration [which looked as if he had won Mr Universe] look oh so stupid now? lol.

heh. and now for some much needed rest before training tomorrow.

Full timetable has kicked in this week.
And surprisingly, mine isn't bad at all.
1510 on Mon and Fri, and best of all 1230 on Thur. wow.
And there are friends who end at 1730....gosh, my heart goes out to you guys.

Hmmm, guess science students are all very happy as most of their lectures are in LT 1, i.e. center court. i.e. slacker LT. Only my physics is in LT2 which is the neither big nor small one and econs is in 5 which is very small, sigh.
And classrooms are weird indeed. The air cons can't be switched off. And the 23 deg. is equivalent to airport / library kind of air con. zzz. Well, at least I'm thankful that classrms are all on lvl 4 which LT1 can be entered from.

Teachers are all wonderful man. My chem teacher is soooo much better than the previous one. And apart from maths they're all friendly and approachable. that's good.

The class is good too! Fairly even gender ratio, the boys are great. girls are fab. as well. aha.
Have been feeling sleepy whenever I attend lectures after 11....man, guess my body needs time to adjust to changes.

Today's CHEM lecture was interesting indeed. Mr Lee totally reached boiling point and it was scary man. With THAT look of his and his continually blinking eyes. Either way, it sure woke me up. Before that GP was fun too, "George Bush is in deep shit". and "Western culture corrupting our Confucius values".
Okay, better be careful blogging from now too esp. when Rafflesians have such a reputation in blogging. [dawn yang? wee shu min? ].

GP turned out to be better than than standard english lessons.
Oh well, it's been a tiring week, but the weekend is one to savor. Gonna celebrate my sis's birthday, and i got her a pair of 'furry' slippers for wearing at home, lol. Congrats man, she's going the opposite way of me. And that's good for the family.

Then of course, there's the football! It's grand slam weekend the sequel, with Liverpool v Chelsea on saturday and then on sunday its Arsenal v Man United, the battle of the two teams in the EPL who play sexy football. And, I won't be pissed if Arsenal lose their first match at the Emirates to some skillful play by roon/ ronaldo, just as long as it isn't a dive again.

Okay, I'll keep it relatively short.
Lately quite a few people have been having personal problems, be it having to make a choice, finding it hard to fit in or lacking self-confidence. Know it sounds so general, and it's not just you I'm talking about, it's also you, you, you, you, and you. You could be any one of the 'you's, or anyone else. <---------zzz
Well, if only you all have the lyrics to our class of 2008 batch song You're Not Alone, then I'm sure it would help.
Most importantly, remember that we're not alone, that there's always someone walking with us, someone guiding us, be it in the form of some extremely sociable person, someone who calls you once in awhile, someone who initiates IM conversations, OR, that feeling inside you that prompts you on what to do next.

The last 3 lines of the Raffles anthem,
With one voice let us Pray,
Auspicium Melioris Aevi,
With God to guide the way.
Is meaningful indeed.

Wow, it's been yet another pretty crazy week, but I guess it's all downhill from here on, with full timetable starting next week. Surprisingly my latest day ends at 1510 hrs, which I think is not that compared to other JCs. MAYBE it's because RJ has more efficient timetable planners. =p

Oh well, lets see. Monday was the end of orientation, o nite.
Tues-wed-thur-fri had lectures only, so had plenty of free slots in between.
Oh yeah and friday had BB house party, and we, or the 8 or 9 of us at least, decided to crash HCI's o nite.

What sucked was the unrelenting rain. Which meant that we would be wet on the way. Stupid 157 either broke down or what, refused to come for like half an hour, so we settled on 156 which took a longer route. Either way, arrived slightly after 8, remarkably managed to get past security at the entrance, perhaps it was cos Sherry had a hwa chong shirt to deceive whoever it was.
But anyway, there's this interesting fact about sound systems. Apparently, HCI's is too soft, while NJ's is too loud. RJ? Course it has problems too, in fact its too much echo.
So, after successfully getting into HCI's campus, many of the students were like starring at us like for a couple of extra seconds, but we creatively invented some funny hwa chong cheers, and the Mao Zedong version of RJ's anthem. There were like so many chinese songs to sing, but we just followed along to the best that we could, and the fun part was joining the 'trains' and running through the whole hall, which, had no air con. And forget Buckle Buckley, we were cheering for our green 'counterparts' ATHENA! lol.

Was able to meet Weelic, Sher, weiting and meijun there. Also, amazingly, met Wan Qian Ling, the long-lost ***** who pinched me 347562345 times during the 5B/6B days at Pei Chun, and who kept arguing with a certain Fei Peng. lol.

After that walked 2km or so in the rain to Civics Plaza, with that same high feeling. Ended up reaching home at 12 that day.
This morning went to cca open house, and apart from the many classmates there, met teachers too. Junjie, Lin Hai and I were 'lucky' enough to witness probably the last 'Wrath of Chan' moment we'll see. Of course we had a short chat, while also chatted with Mrs Lim and Mr yong. oh, most certainly not patricia. Had to rush to service in a cab after that but thank God we made it on time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the songs albeit feeling a lil sleepy during the sermon. Man, should I resort to coffee again?

Lastly, there's this quote to describe some special moments in life where you're simply feeling so high. It's called 'better than SEX'. yes.
And in the past week, I've had this feeling twice.









Firstly, when Arsenal totally thumped Liverpool at their backyard for the 2nd time in 4days, with the youngsters, without Henry.










And of course, the finale to O' nite! In fact, can even see part of the school motto in the background on closer inspection. Okay, I know Hwa Chong had their own version called 'turbo-charged', but heck, that high feeling that night in the open air was simply stunning. So much so, it HAS to be better than sex.
DEFINITELY.

As I miss yet another service, I felt that sense of guilt within me.
That I haven't been growing much in my faith towards Him. In the past few days, where I've been exhausted after orientation, I haven't spent much time with Him, as I usually do, as I would have liked to. However, I have this testimony to further swing the battle within me that God is indeed real.

Tuesday night, I prayed that I would have a good night's sleep. Why? It's because there was Arsenal v Charlton live at 4am, and one of my new year's resolution was to lose that 'must-watch-every-match' attitude that I have regarding Arsenal's matches. Mind you, the last live EPL match I've missed was on the 26th of Nov 2005, against Blackburn, because I was at New Zealand. hahaha. Watching every live match has been exciting, but it has also most certainly made me tired. I decided that if it was a big champions league clash, of course I would watch it, but if it was just an ordinary midweek night match, then I'll just miss it. That match was one of them. It's hard to believe, but the last time i tried to miss a 4am live match, I couldn't. That was away to Juve earlier this year, where I was 90% sure we would progress to the next rd. since we'd already won the first leg 2-0. I did not set any alarm, but still woke up at 330 AM. Couldn't fall back asleep for a long time, and had 'no choice' but to watch a dull goaless draw. Of course I was still delighted that we were through to the next round en route to the Paris final. So you see, I'm indeed a slave of football. I hence prayed that I could sleep soundly and miss a live match so I would have more energy for the first day at RJC. And surprise surprise! I was able to resist going to premierleague.com to check the result in the morning, was able to watch the replay at night without knowing the score. And the experience was as good as the watching it live. Arsenal won 4-0 and AT LONG, LONG LAST king Henry is back fit and fresh, he is at his very very best, and we totally blown them away. It would have been 10-0 if not for their 'keeper in fact. Okay enough of the digressing. We'll probably still lose to Liverpool tonight.

But when I said 'God is good. Thank you for giving me this one rare night of peaceful sleep.' after waking up on Wednesday morning. I just knew things would pan out all fine for me, the orientation and all else. And if you the reader didn't know it was me who said that, you probably would think that such a statement was by a very sick person or someone on his/her deathbed. For me, this is a moment of realization I'd never forget.

L' A U D E A M U S@RJC

It's been 3 days of orientation at RJC, and it's been so much fun, rather surprisingly I have to add! Met JJ, Leroy and Lin Hai on Wed morning, and man we felt like we were living in a world of strangers [nothing against Giordano], with all the RI and RGS students roaming around. Btw, the bus ride took no more than 10mins, waiting time is max. 10mins, so it's so convenient for me. Lucky me.

Lucky too, that I got such a good house! Found out that I was in Buckle Buckley house, which is very green-ish. Would have liked the purple and black of HH, but hey, it's lucky to be in the house of the defending champions!

Lucky too, I got such a fantastic OG! As well as name, lol. I was in S''pero [read Es-pero], which although sounded weird, was def. much better than some other grps, such as L'maorofl and L'alang [yucks!], lol. The RI guys, Chester, Mark and the rest were very friendly and spastic, and the girls weren't that bad either. Ours were definitely one of the most enthusiastic OGs.

That was in part, to the wonderful OGLs as well, with Kal and Vania.

So, first day we had territorial games, which we did quite okay I thought, either way we enjoyed ourselves very much, even though I did not bring my shorts. Went for dinner at the food court...reached home pretty early.

Second day, we had mass dance which was great, lol. Also learnt cheers, the batch song, and the college anthem which sounded majestic. Our OGLs were so good [or rich] as to be able to buy us pizza for lunch. We tried planning for O'nite although it was pretty unproductive. Afternoon was station games, and we totally owned. Some games were damn fun, esp. the one having to interlock hands and then use a shoe tied in betw. to kick the freakin' small ball. As the day moved on, we became more and more active, and that winning feeling was really great. We won 4 games and drew 2, hence the lovely word, unbeaten. Sadly, whether it was some injustice or what, BB only managed top 5. [5 houses in all, so it's kinda obvious...]. haha. Went to Yoshi for dinner and crapped for a long long time after that.

Third day had outdoor, or rather out-of-college activities. We were lucky again. Other Ogs had to go to Chinatown, Little India, Holland V, and we were one of the lucky ones who only had to go to yishun. The food stations were interesting, and of course disgusting, esp. the flour ones. We had all but given up hope of reaching back first when we decided to take a bubble-tea break, but heck, at least we contributed points. And BB won for Friday, at last! Was like so on time with the party.

Well, I certainly had fun during these days of orientation, and I'm sure the criticism of Rafflesians only apply to a minority.
One more thing to add.
On thursday, I saw a bit of soccer training, and they continued training in spite of the rain!
And there was this guy that slid across the grass. Now, doing that [sliding across the grass] has been something I've always wanted to do, after Henry did it against Inter Milan I think. yeah. Hopefully if trainings aren't too tough, I might join soccer. After all, gotta improve my strength and stamina so I can be a better midfielder kind of player.

Went back to AND for campfire night, where the rain doused the flames, sadly. But anyway was nice to meet ex-classmates. Every time we part, we bid our farewells, but then we would seemingly meet pretty soon again. Well, just hope that we'll all treasure all the times we have together, as come March, things may become very different indeed.

[edited to make searching via google difficult to find this site]