Accept What Is And Every Moment Is The Best

2009-07-14T17:04:00.000+08:00

The sun is going to rise from the other side!!! I HAVE MOVED MY BLOG!!!

2009-07-06T16:03:00.001+08:00

What my birth date says about me:

Your Life

At first glance, people think you are quiet type of person. Actually you are cheerful, but conditionally. You will show your joyful character only in good mood. One the other and, when you are moody, no one would dare to be around. Because of your emotion fluctuation and frank character, some find you hard to be around.

Your Love

You hardly show your feeling towards opposite sex no matter how much you like him/her. Your partner also has similar character so affairs often take quite a while to flourish. Time tells it all. Your sincerity makes you very attractive.

Your birthday on the 18th day of the month suggests than you are one who can work well with a group, but still remain someone who needs to maintain individual identity. There is a humanistic or philanthropic approach to business circumstances in which you find yourself. You may have good executive abilities, as you are very much the organizer and administrator. You are broad-minded, tolerant and generous, a compassionate person that can inspire others with imaginative ideas. Some of your feelings may be expressed, but even more of them are apt to be repressed. There is a lot of drama in your personality and in the way you express yourself to others.

Very true...

Slacking,
Sean

2009-07-04T23:26:00.005+08:00

4 things that will make me a happy man right now:

1) Able to recite from memory all Organic Chemistry reactions, mechanisms, reagents and conditions

2) Able to recall all formulae and SOPs required for Math

3) Able to remember all the causes, cures and consequences for Economic problems

4) To retain all content and procedures needed for Biology

I seem to have forgotten how to smile,
Sean

2009-06-30T23:01:00.003+08:00

Today's not a good day for me. Did 1 Bio e-assessment and I got disconnected after finishing the last question.

1 Chem e-assessment and laptop hanged on me.
So I tried another Chem e-assessment and did all the way to the last question before I realised my Mother went to switch off the plug connected to my modem.

So I wasted my energy stressing over the 90 questions I did which went down to the gutter.

And I'm stressing even more now since after doing 3 e-assessments, I've completed 0 assessments and not even getting to see my mistakes.

Stop fing around with me man,
Sean

2009-06-29T23:00:00.000+08:00

I'm very stressed.

Argh,
Sean

2009-06-22T23:55:00.003+08:00

Quoted from Elevating the Arts in School, NYTimes.com:

"Research shows that students who study the arts outperform their peers who do not. Increasingly, controlled studies reveal a powerful positive relationship between study in the arts and other academic subjects, attitudes and behaviors. Perhaps more important, the arts also teach discipline and creativity, arguably the skills most needed for workers in a global economy."

Well-written. Splendid...

Sean

2009-06-22T20:04:00.005+08:00

As promised, the photo of the Haagen-Dasz ice-cream cake:

Seriously, the more I look at my own photos, the more I agree with what my mum said; I look very troubled. I think it's true. There's something hidden behind my smile. Bleah. I roughly know what it is, but I can't put it into words.

Oh and a few days ago my mum walked past and said that I'm muscular. LOL! Wah my brother said that to me a few months ago and now my mum. Is my Dad going to be the next to make a comment on this fallacy? Heh.

Honestly speaking, I hadn't keep up with a good and consistent workout schedule for almost half a year already. Perhaps the daily dose of Bar-Barians wanna-be pull-ups (which I fail horribly trying to imitate) helped to maintain my form and whatever puny pectoral muscles I have. And oh my, there's something wrong with my Nike+!!!! I stopped running halfway on one day last week to drink water, and when I continued running the stupid thing didn't record the pace and distance. And and, the screen also have a bit of problem. Wah lao.

Seriously I'll go for a Polar GPS Training watch next time.

Joel found a 16-weeks resistance training schedule and asked me for advice. I might give it a shot too after CT2s. Problem is that I need resistance bands. Haiyo, wasted $30 last time on a pair of gloves and skipping ropes. Impulsive buying -_- BUT, resistance bands are really something worth the investment =) Hi Aaron, do you have resistance bands to lend me?

Hmm. Slack a bit more then I'll go back to mugging. Maths a little bit behind now. Keep going guys!

Opportunity clocks,
Sean

2009-06-18T15:32:00.007+08:00

618 – Lǐ Yuān became Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty in China.

1264 – The Parliament of Ireland met at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.

1815 – War of the Seventh Coalition: Napoléon Bonaparte fought and lost his final battle, the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium.

1858 – Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on evolution, which prompted Darwin to publish his theory.

1940 – World War II: Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces, made an appeal to the French people following the fall of France to Nazi Germany, rallying them to support the Resistance.

1979 – The United States and the Soviet Union signed the SALT II treaty, placing specific limits on each side's stock of nuclear weapons.

1991 - Birth of Lim Liang Hui in East Shore Hospital at 08:49am (GMT +08:00), scientist at work with the heart and soul of an artist. Born not to win competitions but his own goals and aspirations, not to hurt people but to impact positively as many as possible.

I'm am OLD! From today onwards, I'm not supposed to be childish, naive, kiddy, boy-ish, rowdy, rash and immature. Need to be more gentlemanly, mature and manly. Lol. Whatever. The manly part, I'll leave it to MINDEF.

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday with Amos, LinWei, Eunice and Mel. They got me a bicycle (photo frame) with a photo which we all took together in the intermission of Majestia, which you can see from my older post. Anyway, wanted to watch Drag Me To Hell but changed to Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, apparently a half-star movie, after lunch. But I thought it was ok haha, maybe because I'm a guy that's why. Babes, Boobs and Sex. Standard...

They got me a cake which was quite big for the 5 of us. Attempted to push the cake while I was eating onto my face but I think they 下不了手 lah. But I won't be so nice when it comes to your birthdays muahahahhaa. Other photos with Mel.

Thanks friends (sounds a bit like Eunice), I had a fun day out with you all. Hope you enjoyed lunch and the movie. Ask me out to celebrate your birthdays next time ok?

At night I went to Joel's chalet because his birthday is a day before mine. Went with some of the bandits and we got a gigantic card for Joel. How we wrote on the card? Lol please don't ask. A bit weird because everybody there were from AHS. So we seem to be quite anti-social lah. Nvm, Joel happy can already =)

Today we went to Haagen-Dazs today to get my cake. Ultra sinful. But the chocolate netting was cracked when we got it, so they compensated us by giving us free single scoops of ice-cream ;) So yup, top layer's STRAWBERRY JAM, upper layer is COOKIES AND CREAM, and lower layer is BELGIAN CHOCOLATE. Ooh lala~! Pictures in my brother's 12.1 pixels camera, will post it when I get them.

And now, back to mugging.

Bleahx,

Sean

2009-06-11T22:34:00.003+08:00

JTS was fun, so much better than the one we did for our seniors last year. Oopsie.

The games arh, woah, damn manly one, except for the Pass The Cock 2 lol.

1st Game
Steal The Flag game?? Each of us had a towel to be tucked in to our shorts and were supposed to steal other people's while protecting our own. Wah when Suzanna said "Ok tie the towel at your private parts" we were like WHAT?! Aiyah, I stuffed it down there anyway and I thought it was quite helpful as no one would dare to come and snatch. But NO. Wah round 1 Hidhir just charged at me and just grab lah. -_- The game was quite chaotic with girls cat-fighting with each other and guys screaming and ramming into each other trying to get the towels lol.

2nd Game
Pass The Cock 2, the J1 rendition of the TAE's PTC at STJ (I realised, a lot of code-words). 2 people supposed to hold a banana with our mouths and hold 2 fruits below it to run and do things, so it looks like, yea, the title suggests it all. Aiyah, 1st round I broke the banana and smashed it accidentally already -_- so, just heck care and chiong with the banana in my hand lol.

3rd Game
Human Fooseball. The J1s borrowed the wooden poles from ODAC and wah lao, this is the worst game to play can, my arms are still red and biceps still sore from the game. It's damn tiring lah, holding the poles under my arms and trying to get the football. Cannot make it.

Last Game
Tug of war. We lost immediately. Ended up skipping with the ropes.

The J1s took their revenge for STJ by throwing soya sauce bombs at the J2s. I saw them grabbing bags and bags of black liquid during the J1 vs J2 nonsense and I knew I just had to run LOL. Ran with some girls to hide while my batch got bombed by the J1s. And we re-appeared after they are done =) How smart.

Took a shower at the public showers. Been to the medical check-up already so less shy about it lol. The girls arh, totally fake. Screaming at us bathing topless, saying very disgusting and yet their eyes were still looking into our direction. Tsk, got newer tactic or not? After showering, we went back to eat at the chalet and chat and talk and gossip and blah blah. And so many people found out about the $20 incident, wah my reputation really gone.

At night we had this haunted house walk (the J1s putting up all the scary things in the chalet, blindfold and turned off the lights to scare us). Me, Alexa and Charmaine went first. Very funny lah, they screamed like there's no tomorrow but it wasn't that scary what. Got people touch my legs then I just randomly jammed my legs to the front and shouted "COME SMELL MY LEG LAH, TOUCH TOUCH TOUCH" HAHHAHA!!!! But it was really fun hehe.

Teachers and conductors came with more food and talked. Bidded LT farewell because he is flying back to US already.

Midnight, mostly the J2s stayed with a couple of J1s and IP. Went to buy drinks with Iggy and decided to stay out and talk about our feelings. Aiyah, some heart-to-heart talk cum talk-cock session. 2 hours sia from 2am to 4+. I think we became like brothers overnight lol. Talk until got police come to record our particulars zz. Then the rest came at 4+ and we went to Macs to eat (bleah, I was really famished).

Slacked to morning before I packed and came home to sleep.

-----

Went to school early to study with Amos today. Not bad, I had a few chapters down today. Goodie. Did Yasso 800s again today but really cannot lah, 2.8km in 16 mins. I decided I'll build up my foundations first before trying anything fanciful.

I'm damn shag now. Tomorrow I'm going to shop with my mum :D

Oh, and I bet the Exco is going to get killed by TAE this Saturday for Urban Hike. I went into a sex shop last year to buy a condom, wonder what they'll make me do this year...

Doubted myself to begin with,
Sean

2009-06-08T17:57:00.005+08:00

How I just love this quote:

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."

- Abraham Lincoln

Yasso 800s. Do not try it unless you exercise on a regular basis, or if you are from sport that require a lot of running. I got killed by it...

Finally,

Sean

2009-06-05T23:12:00.002+08:00

And my aim really is just to remain in the VJC Scholarship Programme.

I believe they're gonna kick people out after CT2s.

F man.

F FOR FOCUS LAH!
Sean

2009-06-03T15:08:00.003+08:00

I was randomly reading the Articles from the LiveSTRONG page and I found this article. Pretty thought-provoking for those who love to exercise. The links are up and I summarised a little bit about the article.

Drawbacks Of Aerobic Exercise and How To Prevent Them, Part 1:

1. Oxidative Stress

2. Elevated Cortisol Production

3. Lowered Testosterone and HGH Levels
This is, as suggested by the author, a form of chemical castration for men. Oooh, interesting.

4. Increased Appetite and Binge Eating Patterns

5. Excessive Muscular Fatigue

6. Conversion of Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers to Slow-Twitch

7. Burns a Relatively Small Amount of Calories vs. Time Spent

8. Overuse Injuries to the Feet, Ankles and Knees
This may be made worse by wearing shoes with high shock-resistant technology (I suppose) that prevents pain even after muscular overuse. Dangerous.

9. Shortening (Deformation) of Muscle Tissue From Repetitive Mid-range (Partial Range) Movements

10. Adrenal Burnout

Drawbacks Of Aerobic Exercise and How To Prevent Them, Part 2:

Basically, the author advocates a balanced workout of all kinds, ranging from aerobic to anaerobic with a lot of rests in between workouts. Workout difficulties should run from extremely intensed to extremely easy. He debunked the misunderstood idea of struggling through a consistent workout plan as it may deteriorate your fitness level instead of improving it. So in a nut-shell, do:

1. Maintain Aerobic Heart-Rates at 75% of maximum

2. Fluctuate Stress and Rest Cycles

3. Cross-Train

4. Rest to actually allow body to become fit

Today I went to CMPB for my NS Medical Check-up. Well, I got A grades for everything but since I didn't have my report for my elbow dislocation and also I asked to do an X-Ray for my lumbar vertebrae because I've been experiencing lower-back aches for half a year already, I'm currently pending at D. Will need to go back again. Sian...

I know, this year doesn't seem like a good year for my health.

Besides, there's another anomalous observation that I've made which isn't very convenient for me to say here.

Ah, time to go. I need to turn into a mugger soon.

I welcome all doubters,
Sean

2009-05-29T16:47:00.001+08:00

ST apologises to Dr William Tan for LYING and PUBLICISING his non-existent illness

Phew, it's all nonsense,
Sean

2009-05-27T21:47:00.005+08:00

Yep yep so almost every duties are down and over for me.

Last week there was a More Than Stats Day, which was something that the college's CIC worked with an organisation to bring about awareness of the prevalence of cancer in Singapore. 25% of the college were to wear black to signify that 1 out of 4 Singaporeans die of cancer each year. However I thought that the message and mission of this project wasn't effectively brought out to the Victorians who participated in it because I observed that more of them were happy and excited that they can wear a black T-shirt to college instead of their uniform than they empathise with the cancer patients and be horrified by the numbers. Actually when I walked around the college I was quite amazed by the proportion of "cancer patients". Maybe I mistook some of the students' wearing black jackets/sweaters as those participants as well. Oh well.

But anyway, Amos and the members of the 'Sisterhood' gave me a black LiveSTRONG shirt to wear for that day. Well actually Amos was the one who bought it and wanted to give me for my birthday which still has some time to come. The other time he said he'll give it to me for the Stats day I just went O.O WOOOHOOO! Lol. Seriously brother (and sisters, if you girls insist), I damn 感动 lah. The shirt is damn nice just it's damn small.

Now now the other time I posted a photo taken with Dora and for one whole week people just pestered me about her, I wonder what new things you all will come up with after seeing this:

Brother!

Next up is Majestia last Saturday. The 2 weeks leading up to it was HELL since I had Strings concert the week before Majestia, and practiced everyday on the week of Majestia and reaching home at 11pm earliest every night + Exco things and concert planning stuff. Morning go to college, first thing is chiong to band room and sleep until assembly starts. After assembly chiong to tutorial to sleep. Haha. Horrible.

I guess the concert turned out pretty well. But as a last concert for ME, it totally sucked. 30 minutes before the start of the concert, I realised that I misplaced my pouch which consists of my tuner, mouthpiece, reeds and ligature. It's like losing your helmet, shoes and tights even you have your road bike with you. So I panicked like * because this has never happened to me before and it shouldn't have happened. Couldn't find it like 15 minutes before the start of the concert, so I chiong to take a spare, unbranded mouthpiece and a new reed and I chiong to get used to them. It's like taking out a brand-new, entry-level road bike with not-so-good pedals to a race. In the end I sounded like shit and occasionally sounded like a very good sec 1, although to many untrained ears I sound decent. Unforgettable last concert. Wah then after concert Min Yang gave me a helium balloon, and it flew away like 15 minutes later, and a few cards were lost but all which I managed to find back today after band clean-up today. Wee. Disgusting day.

Yep my close friends who came to support me. They're a huge reason that keeps me going in school. Hang on to this friendship =)

Yesterday I went with tandas gang and my own clique to TM to watch Night at the Museum because got full day. Wah I actually wanted to go home and bathe first because I was drenched by my sweat by 9am but no, all the girls made so much noise -.- Then slack slack slack until lunch then home. Yep.

Well, I seriously need to start to study for my CT2s. At the rate I'm going, I predict E/DDEE for my CT2s lol.

I have every reason to study,

Sean

2009-05-17T16:52:00.005+08:00

Last Thursday went to watch Symphony of Voices. Very nice performance put up by the choir. The experience was transcendental and to think of it, it's so amazing for a college choir to squeeze into a top ranking by the World Choir Games because they're not professionals. Simply amazing. You know, I bought this $31 seat and it was so bad =( A lot of chattering at the back during the concert and the people taking photos at the back were quite irritating because their shuttle noise level was quite high. AND this is the worse part; this person sitted somewhere close to me ripped open his/her crumpler like twice while the choir was singing and this guy behind me took out his keys during the performance too, for what?! Rahh! *Pulling my hair*

Sadly I have to say that there's still a long way for Singapore to reach her ideal state of respectful concert etiquette...

Personally I my favourites are Hana and The Phantom Waltz, other than the walking on stage and the 'dancing' which were pretty distracting. Very good blending and the peaks in their dynamics were just perfect and magically. You know, when the choir slur up their notes it's so clean and light that you just want to float up from your seats lol.

After the performance met up with Dora to give her the Tigger that she hugged to sleep =) Actually I kind of demanded her to hug it to sleep because I chiong-ed to buy it!! Haha.

Yesterday was Strings From The Silver Screen and I was hoping that we won't break down at the tempo changes like we always did during rehearsals. Luckily we didn't and a lot of the audience thought the concert was good (although the wind players made quite a lot of mistakes). Maybe because they could relate to the pieces we performed.

Took a bit of photos here and there after concert before going to Parkway for supper with the bandits.

Dora was so hyped up that she can hold my clarinet -_-

And Dora's friend whom I don't know LOL. She wanted to take picture with me because she thinks my conducting is nice. Hehe thanks thanks xD

Wah I didn't know the Strings conductor Mr Yang is a member of the SSO until yesterday lah. The picture is not sharp but someone else took another picture so I think it'll be better.
Can you believe it, I ate Macs yesterday night oh no. Diet and lifestyle going off-track.. Then talk until like 1am before cabbing home.

And today.. I just slacked the whole day since 11am =( Bad bad bad... YouTube-ing all the time. You know, I will never get tired listening to this. It's just so amazing.

Tchaikovsky's Overture 1812

I NEED TO START FOCUSING!
Sean

2009-05-11T22:58:00.007+08:00

Yay we finished our Majestia promotional video! It's a spoof of some car advertisement. I think it's Avante or something.

Fun,
Sean

2009-05-10T23:54:00.006+08:00

Ok it seems like the fire on the forums has died down a little bit. That's great :D

So now I've 2 concerts to prepare for and so many homework piling up. Supposed to jog today but guess what, I didn't. Geez. NAPFA!!!

I managed to borrow the A clarinet today and I practiced it for 1 hour. Sound like shit ok. Then push until my abdomen area suan lah. I'll use a soft reed on this instrument and my Bb barrel. The chadash can go to my Bb for the time being :D So I practiced the allegro part so many times, and still got a lot of work to do. It's such an exposed part so I must play it well and shine on stage haha. But it should be fine for tomorrow's rehearsal.

We're finally going to smell the 1st movement of Windscapes on Wednesday's practice. Should go fine since it's a slow movement. Quite excited for it. I think our concert programme is quite good leh. But I won't release everything here lah. Or else damn spoiler for you who's coming to watch me... Ok watch us.

Actually I know my blog is being stalked by a lot of people. People from VJC... From VJCSB also... And more recently by people from other bands because they want to know how a VJCSB member feels after SYF. AND to hope that they can get our recording. But anyway, unless you are a friend of mine, find some other people.

So you want to know how I feel? I can tell you, SYF was great. Everything was pretty familiar other than the place we're performing and now that we don't have Mars bars to chew and swallow after tuning. This time I had Alpen, which is some god-like wholegrain energy bar which is damn tasty. Backstage we heard SAJC and they sound gooooood. I was fingering my notes with them and I unconsciously blew into my instrument. Oops. But anyway it was kind of a weird feeling to me. Because I know that I was so close to be sitting with them and performing with them. Haiyah weird feelings.

When I walked on-stage from backstage, it felt like I was walking into Carnegie Hall because of the colour of the lightings and the stage. Lol. Then played Overture 2. Was damn happy that I managed to get the texture that I wanted for figure F and sounded pretty in tune. Overture 2 was performed with a light heart for me because I like it a lot and it was such a joy playing it. Right after the set I just started thinking of the angsty-ness of Windscapes. It was damn exciting to perform it lah. Then during my rests I looked at the judges and I saw them flipping the pages everywhere (as expected!) which was pretty amusing. I know I know, I was supposed to focus but.. It was just too tempting to look at their reactions!! Yay throughout the piece I thought I performed well, just that I tongued the Bb during the solo too harshly and I almost cracked while holding my top G. But never crack lah which is a good thing.

After the performance I was very happy. There definitely was PERFORMANCE. Something that is beyond awards and medals. I've conquered Windscapes and I treasure it more than the medal. We could possibly have performed and interpreted Overture 2 the most wonderful way ever and the feeling is like you wanna fly to the sky like that. Light and float-ish feeling. Nice. Yes Overture 2 is the piece which so many of you described as 'the Disney piece'.

Then take pictures already.

I tell you, this picture is really nice lah haha!

This one's taken with Desmond who really really helped us a lot over the past 4 months. Wah scary leh. SYF preparation 4 months only ~_~

St pats section juniors + Bryan in SAJC. Couldn't find Crosby. It's a strange picture. I seem to really 'stand out' of the picture..

Secretly, I'm hoping that we'll make it to PN because I heard it's going to be held in Esplanade. Chances are high because we did something ground-breaking. But again, VJC played for the last PN... Brrr...

Hmm I realised I forgot to take picture with JiaHao lol. Oh well.

When Lawrence Seow said "Band number 14, Victoria Junior College. Gold (Fullstop)", I was quite at peace with myself. Afterall I told myself to focus on the performance factor when I started the preparation for SYF, because I always believe that in music, a good performance will always take care of things that follow after it. And I still believe so. Therefore, no emotional struggles inside and I was happy for the Band. There's more to awards in performances. There's more to music beyond SYF. Work for that. Good music is for life.

Alright I'm off to bed. Cheers everyone!

Yawn,
Sean

2009-05-07T22:18:00.004+08:00

Some quotes from the forum of sgbandfusion.com:

"Vjc's trumpet section was really good. Precision was impressive. Definitely something i would never forget."

"VJC... I liked their overture, it's sooo nice... And their choice piece is so controversial but they managed to play it well."

"Today's MY choice was VJC and only one band. Overture was well controlled with natural and reasonable interpretation. Choice piece was most avant garde music of the whole SYF i guess and they managed to play really well."

"Very soloistic, daring and musical solos in vj's choice piece."

"I thought SA's El Camino was very clean and nice and VJ's version of Overture 2 was impressive, much more obvious choice for the GWH..."

Affirmation from the audience is all we wanted. Seriously I heard our recording and we sound DAMN GOOD can! So happy :D Gold is the new GwH for SYF'09 =) Yay end of competitive performances. Focus on Majestia now... Make more music man. Photos are up on FB. Lazy to post here.

We MADE MUSIC!
Sean

2009-05-03T15:55:00.004+08:00

Click images for a better view

Come for Majestia!

Sean

2009-04-30T22:12:00.003+08:00

I was talking to LT through facebook and he told me that the 1st swine flu case has hit Indiana. Hopefully his whole family is safe and sound.

Yup, so he asked me how everyone's doing. Quite ok, I said. I know he want us to deliver our performance. Hmm, I didn't tell him about GTC's decision to half the size of the parts for SYF though. Actually it kind of defeats the purpose of SYF but I guess it's a necessary evil, since the complaints that everyone make will only cause an effect on the next SYF. So RCC it shall be, with its stupendous hall acoustics - for soloists.

How time flies. Only 6 days to SYF! How exciting man. I haven't heard how the downsized band sound like because I needed time off to rest from (normal, non-swine or avian DNA) influenza infection, but I believe it will sound gorgeous in RCC because of the 1.5s resonance. I took the woodwinds on Tuesday but I was quite disappointed by a lot of things. Perhaps their mistakes merely got covered up by other people. Or maybe I didn't do enough. Geez I dunno. All I know is as long as you make it a point to question and practice smart, you'll show results. What we can do now is only to clear up as much parts as we can, though I honestly don't think everything can be solved by 7th May. We had kind of missed the opportunity to. But who knows, maybe the downsized band can deliver? And yet again, experience tells me that if you can't do it now, you won't be able do it then.

I realise I'm going towards the shadows.

Might as well. VJC's performing arts hadn't done well up to now. Every group is under-performing compared to their last SYF, with the exception of the choir. Both the band and choir are actually standing precariously since we're moving towards avant garde. Will the judges appreciate our works? Hmm. And our sports are doing (un)surprisingly well up to now. Yay for them. Different fundamental ways of working. If they can, I don't see why we can't.

It's always a myth that sports is always more tiring than performing arts group. Hello out there to all uninformed people, it's not! It's equally as bad. Athletes get muscle aches, we get them too at our cheeks and around our mouth. They can still walk, but we can't settle our embouchure when they get tired. Athletes run a lot which is oh-so-tiring. Try blowing for 4, 6 bars to keep up with the phrasing. Or until you get an inflammed trachea like I did back in sec 2. The most agonising feeling.

During my SYF with St. Pat's I could already say that we're there long before we go on stage. It's whatever above the stupid GwH that we're aiming for. Like presentation night, uh, close imitation of the Berlin Philharmonic Orch, what else, indulge and make every thing so perfect. But then again, I don't think we are THAT bad lah. Maybe I'm just a perfectionist in music =/

Why am I getting so pessimistic now?!?!

So I was saying, the aim for perfection. Transcendence above the physical things (*cough, GwH) is actually what we should be working right out from the start. Why is everyone so crazed up about awards anyway. Yup it's important but I dunno how to say it. In St. Pat's we just don't want it that much, it's like we're-there-already feeling. I just want to go up on stage during SYF (not All Singapore Band COMPETITION) to perform. That's all. Perform is a very big word to use but I choose to use it. Sometimes I just can't wait to finish this SYF so that I won't have anymore competitive performances to perform for. It's kinda stressful and numbs sensations.

Let's not do it for VJC,
Let's not do it for our other friends in college,
Let's not do it for that horrendous-looking piece of metal on wood.

Do it for music.
Do it for an awesome performance.
Most importantly, do it for yourself. (it's your last SYF by the way, not unless you're planning to retain)

Perform, not play.

Even if you do play...

Play the music, not the instrument,
Sean

Haiyoh, what's up with me today?

2009-04-21T21:19:00.002+08:00

I performed on this very stage!!!

YouTube Symphony Orchestra at Carnegia Hall (Act 2)

Don't stop making music,
Sean

2009-04-15T22:58:00.004+08:00

Yay I found back whatever I was typing yesterday.

Hello everyone. Haven't updated for a long time.

Recently I've been really busy. Immersing myself with fun and work at the same time, since this is the last term I can really slack, fool around and contribute my most for the Band. I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic with the girls a few weeks ago yay. It was such a funny show! Laughed until I teared lol. I suggested pool sometime and hopefully we'll go and play.

Um.. Then there was Exco interview which was generally quite disappointing. Oh well. Wah the entire interview took like 12 hours to complete. Like from 2+ to 8pm for 2 days. By 10pm I want to go and sleep already. Too demanding for my brains. Eh, it's not that my brain cannot take it, it's because I focus on every single applicant no matter how small the posts they're running for :)
Next, I've been to 2 strings practices already and I enjoyed myself a lot. The people there are enthusiastic and everything feels so nice. Like yesterday we ran through Pirates, there was this damn nice feeling though we didn't play it very nicely. Immerse and enjoy man. But then I sometimes doubt that I'll be able to tahan the entire concert. Since it's only me and WeiJie playing the clarinet, it's solo work all the way. Cannot slack at all the damn long notes. Oh oh we're playing Sabre Dance (woohoo). The bad news? I can't tongue the altissimo E in quavers at 184 atm LOL! Will over-tone to top A. Sian. Aiyah all in all it's fun lah.

Band practices are so strange and weird but I sort of adjusted myself to the cultural shift already. Ok lah not exactly a cultural shift. Maybe just a paradigm shift. Windscapes is definitely a tough piece but in all things we do, we should strive to go beyond ourselves isn't it? Every time you listen to the piece you gain new ideas and some new, wild things just pops up in your head. You slowly understand and feel that you're in control of everything, you only can like it more and more and not get sick of it. There is depth to this artistic piece but the Band must learn to be more imaginative ~_~! Stretch. Perform. We will be able to do it in the next 20 days. This is a piece of acquired taste. Unlike all the safe safe pieces.

So I'm so busy with Band Band and more Band, I'm starting to not cope in school already. This is BAD! Rahh. It's like I reach home very late, and after I bathe and get myself comfortable, it's my usual time to sleep liao. At most I read a bit of my notes and didn't even touch my tutorials. What's best is (digress) I'm slowly reverting back to my old diet omg when I'm not even physically active as I should be. More fried stuff and potato chips coming in omg omg omg wth I need to stop. ANYWAY, ya lah. I can't concentrate in school too because Band matters and issues and nonsense keep running through my mind. Dunno why but it's so stressful.

I went to watch the dance SYF today. They did a clean job man. Really respect the dancers and their instructor who made the first step to tell everyone that they really should move on with the conventional 'nice-nice' dances. VJ's dance was some abstract thing which to me was very angsty, wild and bondage type, for SYF!! Lol I dunno why bondage but it feels that way. Throughout the performance I was really at the edge of my sit lah and I think they succeeded in connecting with the audience, though their item is weird to a lot of people. But I somehow could appreciate it. Go avant gaurde. Next is choir's and our turn to bring in something new to the Arts scene in Singapore.

Lately I've been so unconscious - the spiritual way. You know, I'm struggling to follow and stay awake in school and I feel so lethargic all the time (I realised I sort of repeated this). At night before I sleep Overture 2 and Windscapes just compulsively run in my mind, exactly like how Rhapsody kept playing and playing in my mind 2 years back. The good news is that I actually know that I'm unconscious, which actually means I'm conscious and I need to start to be the watcher. It's so hard to do it though. Band things and issues keep popping up in my head suddenly when I'm eating, going through lectures, on the bus, when I'm bathing, etc. I talked to the Band yesterday but I dunno if I was talking sense. But there was an effort made to push everyone. Seriously this term is the most tiring term in JC life lah. Tests almost every week, plus everyone is trying to cover as much topics as possible and with competitions and SYFs. I know, however, at the end when I step down I'll feel happy for I've given whatever I can give. The more you give the happier you become. I just hope that 50% of my motivation in looking forward to school will continue to encourage one another along the way. Yep, that 50% is my friends. That includes you, if you're from VJC.

Something random happened just now when I was applying cream to all those uncountable number of acne distributed evenly (I guess I studied too hardcore-ly) on my upper body, my brother walked past and commented that I'm quite muscular. LOLOLOLOL yes go on and laugh, because I laughed too. I thought I looked like a stick when I'm bare. What nonsense can -_- Muscular my ass lah.

Ok this weekend is going to be hell for me. Saturday Band exchange at HC and need to mug for mock bio spa and actual chem spa on Monday and not to forget Genetics lecture test in that week too.

You have the freedom to express,
Sean

2009-04-03T23:20:00.002+08:00

人之所以痛苦，在于追求错误的东西。

如果你不给自己烦恼，别人也永远不可能给你烦恼。因为你自己的内心，你放不下。

好好的管教你自己，不要管别人。

你随时要认命，因为你是人。

这个世界本来就是痛苦的，没有例外的。

你什么时候放下，什么时候就没有烦恼。

每一种创伤，都是一种成熟。

当你烦恼的时候，你就要告诉你自己，这一切都是假的，你烦恼什么？

根本不必回头去看咒骂你的人是谁，如果有一条疯狗咬你一口，难道你也要趴下去反咬他一口吗？

忌妒别人，不会给自己增加任何的好处。忌妒别人，也不可能减少别人的成就。

永远不要浪费你的一分一秒，去想任何你不喜欢的人。

得不到的东西，我们会一直以为他是美好的，那是因为你对他了解太少，没有时间与他相处在一起。当有一天，你深入了解后，你会发现原不是你想像中的那么美好。

这个世间只有圆滑，没有圆满的。

不要刻意去猜测他人的想法，如果你没有智慧与经验的正确判断，通常都会有错误的。

你要感谢告诉你缺点的人。

时间总会过去的，让时间流走你的烦恼吧！

不要因为小小的争执，远离了你至亲的好友，也不要因为小小的怨恨，忘记了别人的大恩。

感谢上苍我所拥有的，感谢上苍我所没有的。

当你手中抓住一件东西不放时，你只能拥有这件东西，如果你肯放手，你就有机会选择别的。人的心若死执自己的观念，不肯放下，那么他的智慧也只能达到某种程度而已。

如果你能够平平安安的渡过一天，那就是一种福气了。多少人在今天已经见不到明天的太阳，多少人在今天已经成了残废，多少人在今天已经失去了自由，多少人在今天已经家破人亡。

恶口永远不要出自于我们的口中，不管他有多坏，有多恶。你愈骂他，你的心就被污染了，你要想，他就是你的善知识。

你不要常常觉得自己很委曲，你应该要想，他对我这样已经很好了，这就是修行的功夫。

世界原本就不是属于你，因此你用不着抛弃，要抛弃的是一切的执著。万物皆为我所用，但非我所属。

学会用理解的，欣赏的眼光去看对方，而不是以自以为是的关心去管对方。

成熟的人不问过去；聪明的人不问现在；豁达的人不问未来。

发光并非太阳的专利，你也可以发光。

你可以用爱得到全世界，你也可以用恨失去全世界。

爱的力量大到可以使人忘记一切，却又小到连一粒嫉妒的沙石也不能容纳。

人总是珍惜未得到的，而遗忘了所拥有的。

如你想要拥有完美无暇的友谊，可能一辈子找不到朋友。

You know when I read every single statement, it felt as if almost every thing it said 说穿我的心. But it kinda came at the right time. I shouldn't be so worried about this and that, and I should forgive myself and others. Well, this coincidentally summarises very simply what The Power of Now advocates. So I believe this text is written by someone or a group of highly enlightened people. After I read this I just keep thinking of a lot of things lah. Like how fortunate I am already, compared to other people.

Yay I finally finished reading that book. Reviewed the past chapters to remind myself what I've learned and the applications I can use to access the Now. I feel a lot more peaceful after reading the book and I like it as when I read through, the more I understand what the author is talking about. At first I couldn't understand a single thing he was saying. Now I do. Now I finally started No Limits: The Will to Succeed by Michael Phelps.

After this I'm considering to pick up Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes by Mark J. Penn. See how things go la. Maybe I'll find a more interesting book.

是时候看开一点了吧！
Sean

2009-03-29T17:21:00.003+08:00

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?

When you ask
How are you?
Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done,
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You'd better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'?

You'd better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift...
Thrown away.

Life is not a race,
Do take it slower,
Hear the music

Before the song is over.

---------------------------------------------------------------

After not touching my exercise mat for more than 2 months, I finally dragged myself to set it up and do something on it. And realise how much stamina I've lost.

4 x 50 various Floor-crunches
2 x 20 Modified Supermans
25 Push-ups

and I'm enervated. Wah lao.

Cannot take it sia,
Sean

2009-03-26T00:05:00.002+08:00

I received this email today:

Very Shocking.....

This is a real story of a young college girl who passed away last month in Pasir Ris.

Her name was Priya. She was hit by a truck.

She was working in a call center. She had a boy friend named Shankar.

Both of them were true lovers. They always talked on the phone.

You would never find her without handphone. In fact she also changed her cell connection from M-One to Starhub, so that both of them can be on the same network, and save on the cost. She used to spend half of the day talking with shankar. Priya's family knew about their relationship. . Shankar was very close to Priya's family as well. (Just imagine their love).

Before she passed away she always told her friends 'If I pass away please burn me with my handphone' she also said the same thing to her parents.

After her death, people couldn’t carry her body, A lot of them tried to do so, but still can't.. Everybody had tried to carry the body, the results were the same.

Eventually, they called a person known to one of their neighbours, who can speak with the soul of dead person and who was a friend of her father.

He took a stick and started speaking to himself slowly..

After a few minutes, he said 'this girl misses something here.' Then her friends told that person about her intentions to burn her with her phone. He then opened the grave box and placed her phone and sim card inside the casket. After that they tried to carry the body. It was then moved easily and they then carried her into the van.

All of us were shocked. Priya's parents did not inform Shankar that Priya had passed away..

After 2 weeks Shankar called Priya's mom.....

Shankar :.....'Aunty, I'm coming home today. Cook something nice for me.
Don't tell Priya that I'm coming home today, I wanna surprise her.'

Her mother replied..... 'You come home first, I wanna tell you something very important.'
After he came, they told him the truth about Priya.

Shankar thinks that they were playing a fool. He was laughing and said 'don't try to fool me - tell Priya to come out, i have a gift for her. Please stop this nonsense'.

Then they show him the original death certificate to him. They gave him proof to make him believe. (Shankar started to sweat) He said... 'Its not true. We spoke yesterday.. She still calls me.

Shankar was shaking.

Suddenly, Shankar's phone rang.. 'see this is from Priya, see this....' he showed the phone to priya's family. all of them told him to answer. he talked using the loudspeaker mode.
All of them heard his conversation.

Loud and clear, no cross lines, no humming.

It is the actual voice of Priya & there is no way others could use her sim card since it is nailed inside the grave box.

They were so shocked and asked for the same person's (who can speak with the soul of dead person) help again. He brought his master to solve this matter.

He & his master worked for 5 hours.

Then they discovered one thing which really shocked them....

Starhub has the best coverage
'Wherever you go, our network follows!!!'

OH MY GOSH!!! I felt like slapping the person who sent this to me can. Wasted 3 minutes of my life *';...;'* Should have expected it coming. Look at the underlined text above. LOL!

Anyway I've decided to play for VJ Strings. My last term to do what I want to do, so I should just do what I want to do =)

Woohoo!
Sean

2009-03-24T19:37:00.001+08:00

Lance Armstrong crashes in 17 years and breaks collar-bone. Bleah.

My heart is healthy,
Sean

2009-03-20T22:36:00.003+08:00

Transcription of Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 by Maurice Ravel

Too bad the flute solo from the Pantomime section isn't transcribed over. Hee, I still prefer the orchestral version. The tamborine player at 5:18 very lol.

Pseudoholidays,
Sean

2009-03-18T22:53:00.003+08:00

"Behind every success stands a person who gave you the boost you needed"

My holidays thus far has not been a holiday, neither will it become like holidays. Everyday I'm busy with something but they're productive things and I chose to do it. Well, probably I sacrificed my recovery time but on the account that I gained some new insights.

Hmm, so it has finally come unto me. I'm finally thinking twice about taking Medicine and I'm actually quite surprised by this sudden realisation. This isn't all that bad after all, because the final decision I will be making in a year's time and things I say during my interview would be more well thought through, better decided and most importantly, speak of who I really am. 6 really long years, getting myself screwed upside down by surgeons, mugging like hell while my counterparts are having their semesteral breaks, etc. And then in the end they earn 2x as much as I do when they join the workforce. Money doesn't really matter, but I'm told that it does, just that I haven't come to realisation. Like me not realising what medicine REALLY is about until quite recently, or at least I think I realised it.

Do I really know what I'm in for?
Do I want to do this for the rest of my life?
Will I be happy with extremely irregular work hours?
Who am I?
Why the hell do I want to take Medicine?

And the most basic question, yet the most important question of all,

What do I really want?

...

...

...

...

...

I would be better off worrying about A levels first.

I know some of the answers myself. But you know, it's really difficult to put them into words. Try out the last question and you'll know what I mean. Actually I don't exactly know what made me falter with my decision, but I think it's because I saw the really lousy side of it. Haha, come on, which career doesn't have its weak points? Brrr.

On the other hand, I think Band practices are getting really great. The breathing and theatre exercises had tremendously (and unconsciously) helped us to improve ourselves. Our pieces are finally sounding good! Yay! Still need to take care of a lot of minor details but I'm sure we'll be able to do it. We gotta sound fantastic by 18 April so we'll be able to put up a good show during the exchange. Yup.

To end off this post, I'll quote some things from The Power of Now:

All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.

Wake up. Get out of your mind. Be present.

Forgive yourself... The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.

Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have at this moment... I am not getting any answer because if is impossible to have a problem when your attention is fully in the Now.

When you accept what is, every piece of meat - every moment - is the best. That is enlightenment.

Be the peace you are,
Sean

2009-03-12T19:09:00.006+08:00

Ok an update for the past week.

Monday - GP and Economics

Not too badly done I think. Did "The purpose of technology is to simplify our lives but it is failing". Wanted to do "Marriage has to be redefined in the modern society" but then I thought I'm better prepared for the former. P2 was quite ok lah. Should be able to pass my GP.

Econs was pretty tough. Couldn't understand question wants. Even if I could I didn't have much to write. All in all, I would rather sit for another GP exam.

Tuesday - Biology

A lot of careless mistakes. The most stupid one was where I assumed a meiotic division process for a root tip. Lol, how can root tips have sex? Oh well. Joel said we wouldn't know what happens underground. But I was really glad that there were only 5 structured questions so I didn't need to rush like mad like promos.

Wednesday - Mathematics

Whatever. Luckily I happened to have an extra GC to lend to Sijie.

Today - Chemistry

I couldn't do the entire thing on kinetics in structured T_T but nevermind lah. I think I did decently for the organic part.

Hmm. Since my dream of getting 7 straight As for A levels is ~~dashed~~ by chinese, I shall go for 6 As! As much as I would like to think that there was a computational error, there's nothing I can do already. How could I ever have gotten a merit for oral?! Not especially when I know that some people who will never ever be able to converse half as good as me in chinese got a distinction. Rahh. What's more is that I know the effort I put in should have gotten me that A. Sian. As I always emphasised, the process matters more than the outcome, I'll just live by that. Maybe on the exam day there was a minor slip-off. Wah PW better not be B or else I might just jump out of my window.

Ok I wasn't serious. It's not worth it.

I feel so much better after saying what's in my mind.

Today I went with some of the band peeps for lunch at Delifrance and after that we just talked cock for 2 hours lol. Was quite fun to laugh the shit out of myself after all the stress from CT1. We talked about movies to Pokemon and Digimon (don't know why we ended up here), soccer to the 'perfect', hot hunks and babes in college. A lot of other random things too for 2 whole hours. How fun.

Tomorrow's VOG and I think I'm playing golf with Aaron and Calvin. Wee~ so fun!

Need to start exercising,
Sean

2009-02-27T14:49:00.005+08:00

Optimism.

7 good things that happened to me today:

1. I went crashing on asphalt in college, not at ECP
2. I didn't break or fracture part of my body
3. I fell on my palms, knees and elbow instead of my face
4. A lot people asked about me which really comforted and touched me
5. I improved by over 200 positions
6. Bio SPA ended yesterday
7. Know that CT's not starting this coming Monday

You know, at the main gate of the college I was sprinting like siao even though I was damn tired. I was actually quite amazed that I could sprint that fast as I flew towards the finish. Well I did fly, literally; I overtook this guy who then started sprinting to catch up with me. I guess he wanted to cross the line before I do, so he ran alongside me and suddenly cut in my line of motion, wanting to block me. And ya I wasn't expecting that so I tripped on his legs and I went flying out and rubbing myself on the road. Could hear the crowd go "Oooooohh!", see my specs fly out and TYH in his yellow shirt, and the next thing I know is that I was crawling to a sitting position. And I just sat there lol.

The guy helped me up but I was quite bloody already and apologised lah but then he continued to cross the finish line and I just had to walk to the ambulance by myself. Wah lao got so many teachers and people there they see like nothing happened like that -.-

Actually I thought I should have reached out for that guy's shorts and pull them down when I tripped to punish him for foul play. Ah what a waste. Now I look as if I rode motorcycle and I kenna accident like that lah.

Gotta thank Ci Hui and An An (I know you 2 are reading) for accompanying me to Parkway for lunch and followed me to buy my dressing and irrigation solutions. Wah you know the irrigating the wound is damn painful. But I gotta tahan. Z.

Thankful,
Sean

2009-02-26T22:58:00.004+08:00

20 things you didn't know about Sean:

1. Used to have a mohawk hairstyle
2. Secretly wants to be a triathlete
3. Owns a NewUrbanMale.com shirt that reads 'Everyone loves an Asian girl'
4. Sleeps on a queen-sized bed
5. Enjoys the pain from his bracers every time they're tightened
6. Owns a few T-shirts that are nearly tight-fit
7. Was rowdy like kcuf in secondary school
8. Like verbal fights
9. He's got abs :D (still under construction)
10. Looks calm but very intensed with his thoughts
11. Admire pianists
12. Dislike the 'sports aura' in college
13. Has a big
14. Not as smart as you think he is
15. Owns a 21" desktop screen
16. Shaved the hair on his arm before (LOL!)
17. Dislocated his left elbow before
18. Love muscle aches
19. Likes strawberry and think that pink isn't THAT gay after all
20. Gets turned off completely when girls whine or act cute

Ok I seriously bet you didn't know no. 3, 16 and 20.

Today was Chem and Bio SPA Skill A and woohoo I managed to complete both on time. I guess it was quite a clean job, except that my hand-writing was horrendous for Bio.

These few days I'm super off-focus and I don't know why! Like today, I was free after 1pm and up to now I only done a few maths questions like WTH. Shit man I gotta stay on track.

Tomorrow's X-country and I am not excited at all. Maybe tomorrow at the starting line I'll feel higher lah.

Pop,
Sean

2009-02-20T18:08:00.010+08:00

I went back for follow-up 2 days ago and my doctor don't have high blood pressure already. It's still quite suspicious because my blood pressure is always 'a cut above the rest' and on that day my systolic reading was 139. Aiyah but since he said no then no lah. Those few months of hard work in abstaining from unhealthy food and forcing myself to lift my ass off my chair to exercise paid off. So I shall continue to do so, hopefully for the rest of my life. Well of course I think it's only fair to my taste buds if I eat them sometimes just to reward myself before I die.

The doctor said that the tests I did showed that I have no enlargements for my heart, no clots anywhere near the heart and my valves are all working perfectly fine. Have 60% heart activity which is pretty normal and the TMX was done very well because I "managed to run past 10 minutes". He said all the pain that I experience maybe due to muscle ache or at worse some lung problem because he don't suspect a major cardiac issue. HOWEVER, my ECG showed positivity for Ischaemia (restriction in the blood supply generally due to factors of the blood vessels which may lead to tissue hypoxia or anoxia) but he said this could be due to the inherent errors the test have. Cardiac Ischaemia (there are several other types of Ischaemia) causes chest pains when blood supply to the heart tissues are reduced known as Angina Pectoris.

So he wrote me a referal letter to the National Heart Centre for a MIBI Stress Test on the 3rd of March. MIBI stands for 2-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile which is the radioactive substance which will be injected into my blood vessel. As it travels around my entire body, they will get stuck in my healthy, active muscle tissues. If I have Coronary Artery Disease or Myocardial Infarction then some the tissues would not be able to trap the MIBI. Pictures of my heart during it's rest and stress period will be taken by a Gamma Camera. Half a day will be spent doing this test. Sigh.

2-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile

Oh my look at this beautiful compound!!! It's gonna run in my blood soon. Don't worry (not as if any of you are), the radioactivity that I'm exposed is less than that from an angiogram.

Enough of all these chim stuff. Recently I've been feeling very tired due to lack of sleep on top of increased usage of my brain. Sometimes I'm struggling to stay awake in college. This definitely sucks... But academic life is still like quite slack in college. We're not bombed by tests. Not yet, at least. Aiyah, weekends will be used to pay my sleep debt.

Oh yea I pulled out of the NYLF participant selections. Decided that I'll do myself more good mugging for CT2s. Besides, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN BUY WITH $6,000????? *Hint* Round and round and more rounds we go....

That's all folks,

Sean

2009-02-14T22:12:00.003+08:00

Half my day spent in college today. Rarhh that means less time for me to study. Desmond took us for masterclass today and he said I sound good :D Probably because I was playing in the classroom and everything sounded very rounded. But whatever it is that was a boost that I needed.

The NYLF costs in total S$5767.50 (accurate as of 13 Feb, without extra charge from money changer) oh my freaking shit. I didn't know the US dollar strengthened so much already =_= I want to go for it can. But it's held in mid June which will interrupt my CT2 mugging. Tsk I don't think the money is the main concern because I can pay $1,500 myself, then maybe my parents $2,000 and I find the $2200+ from willing sponsors. It's true that going for this won't bring me to YLL, and I WILL need 4A's to get in. So do the benefits outweigh the costs by at least a few folds?

Hmm but I heck lah, I gave my name already. See if I even get nominated in the first place. All the applicants got so many A's and the college is only picking 5 to 10 people. Pick me then I'll see if I still want to change my mind. CT2 very important...

Ok tomorrow meeting JH to cut hair then study. And I can finally go and buy my innerwear.

3 weeks to CT1.

Mug really smart,
Sean

2009-02-07T21:27:00.009+08:00

Tadah. Today's the Safari Zoo Run. Not as exciting as SCSM 08 but actually it felt more intimidating for me because I see all the runners like damn hiong one. There were 3 categories that runners can choose to be in ourselves, Elite Runners, Runners and Fun Runners. Lol I chose Runners lah duh. Actually I even considered the Fun Runners because I see the Runners' physique I stress already.

The elites were flagged off first. Then 10 minutes later we're flagged off. By the time I crossed the start line, I already saw one elite running back-.- That's like half the journey already. The starting part got a bit of jam here and there. I tell you it's not an easy run actually because almost the entire part of run is inclined. Pretty demanding to the legs and I almost fell because there weren't enough space and the runners/walkers were blocking..

But I become one of them later lah. After 4km my heart started aching, to the extent I had to stop and walk. Walked for 5 minutes like that it still hurts and I just gave up on the race already. Since I was at the Zoo part of the run, I just lepah-ed around, look at the animals and take photos. Lol. Eh not me only ok got a lot of runners did that when they can complete the run with a good timing.

I love these otters. Cute to the max sia.

The otter area is actually near the finish and starting point. Then when I decided it's time for me to cross the line, I just saw so many people running all over the place and I ran in the wrong direction. Malu sia. Then must squeeze through the the people then run through the finish line. Don't ask me for the time. Very screwed-up.

More pictures taken when I strolled down the run (of course with runners overtaking me like free).

Yay finish line-.-" 6.2km.

After that I just camped near the milo van and spammed like 6 cups of milo.

Hehe I had to take this picture. I think it belongs to one of the volunteers. Quite nice right.

Lalala. 17 Feb I'll get my heart report. Can complain to the doctor that I still experience heart and chest problems. Sigh.

Fitness is a state of mind,

Sean

2009-02-06T22:10:00.007+08:00

I was browsing my old photos and I found this! The old cute and fat Sean (the one in the middle). Cute right, chubby chubby one. Wah freaking fat lah -_-

And compare with this picture AnAn took today at today's picnic at ECP. Damn skinny sia. Hehe, sorry I just had to find one taken with Scott even though she's not mine.

Another one with me hogging on to her:

Today was a very free-and-easy day. Morning everyone ate breakfast at Macs (excluding me, I drank only iced milo) then got our bikes from Kit Runner. Then cycle cycle. Some of us attempted to teach Wei Jie how to ride a bicycle but apparently I pushed him to the floor from his bike LOL. Oops. Stopped at the beach to lepah a bit. Screamed at the sea and it felt damn liberating haha. I'm not gonna tell you what I yelled ;)

Took over LinWei's bike since it had a problem then we headed back to return them. Mistake mistake mistake... Not after sprinting on a road. That stupid bike got problem one and it was so hard to pedal sia. By the time I reached the shop the rest wait for dunno how long already. Made me felt so tired and crampy somemore. Supposed to save energy for tomorrow's run one leh.

The rest played bitchball. Ok beach-ball, after cycling and not wanting to risk a pair of sore thighs, I just watched at the side. After that ate Subway then chiong-ed home to bathe and go for dental.

Wah damn funny. Today Dr Ong's greeting to me was:

"Wah Liang Hui what happened to you? Why are you so black?"

Haha. Too long never do drills under the sun is like that one lah. A bit of sun then cannot take it already.

Well during my journey to and fro Orchard, I was reading The Power of Now. I think it really works, at least for those part that I can comprehend. Was trying and trying to follow what the author says to be intensely present then amazing when I left the MRT at Eunos, I kind of got it and I felt very full (er, not stomach full but full as a person) and despite the very rushed, anxious aura from the people who just finished working, I was able to enjoy those noises and the silence between these noises. I was just totally present. My mind wasn't thinking of anything at all. Even though I saw people, cars, cats, everthing, I didn't judge or label them and they just went right through me. I just accepted without resistance what I saw and heard.

And as I walked through the crowded hawker centre, I was me, just deeply present. No compulsive thoughts. Other than a guy slipping behind me that caused me to turn to look and losing the consciousness in me for a few seconds. Just very alert and in the Now. However when I reached the bus-stop I lost all these again. Bleh. But that 5 minutes were really great, feeling the inner peace and stillness, connecting to the inner body. Very happy feeling because there weren't problems, emotions and resistance from my mind.

Tonight before I sleep I shall attempt the drill to connecting with the inner body again. All for the sake of feeling happier, feel more present, and getting enlightened.

Run run run,
Sean

2009-02-03T18:52:00.003+08:00

Boo. I got 2 more skin-tears on my left hand. No pull-ups for another week -_-

School has been slack these 2 days because of orientation. But I love it because I can use the time to study and catch up with things.

Today I went running (finally lah) and my Nike+ said I ran 3.24km. Since it's not accurate, I think I probably ran about 3.6km in 20 minutes. Safari Zoo Run is 6.2km that means the fastest I'll take is 40 minutes LOL. What pathetic shit is that. But who cares, since I had almost no training at all for the run. Go there see animals lah.

After the run I had a cup of soya bean drink (high in proteins) and a wholegrain bar (high in fibre) to make up for the loss. I'm still feeling hungry but dinner's starting soon =)

I'll mug tonight. Woo hoo~

I WANT BACK THE SPACIOUS VJC!
Sean

2009-01-29T23:04:00.003+08:00

Got a strong urge to come and blog, even though I am halfway through my Econs CSQ... Nevermind, halfway through the last part already.

So I was talking to Gabriel on the phone awhile ago about Band things. Performances, JC1s, SYF, Presentation Night, everything. And it struck me that my management skills have deteriorated (self-analysis) after leaving St. Pat's -0- Why why tell me why~? Maybe because I'm too concentrated with my studies. Which also means that I didn't balance my time properly. Hoho.

Sorry that my blog content hasn't been of good quality lately. Can't find quality things to talk about and also don't feel like blogging.

Hmm, finally said 'Hi' to Adriel (Hi again, if you're reading) on Wednesday. Just happened by chance I happened to walk in the canteen and he was sitting alone.

And I said 'Hi' to Kevin today too (Hi again, if you reading, but quite unlikely). Not bad, he can recognise me. It's just scary when I stand in front of him shaking his hand. It's as if he can crush my hand with his hand. He's a cool guy though, but I think it's the last time I'll see him LOL!

Ok I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just typing whatever that comes to my mind.

My whole body's aching after I did those astounding (and surprising) 15 kipping pull-ups one-shot yesterday. It's not the usual muscle aches, but it's like I-pulled-something-by-accident kind of pain. Probably the signs of over-training are kicking in already. Strength, core, stability, running all in a few days. Tsk tsk.

The feeling of finally getting the hang of the kipping pull-ups is ECSTATIC man :D , although that burst of strength caused me to tear 1cm x 1cm of my skin. Well it's nothing much already, just extremely painful. It's a blessing in disguise, because I would continue to train and not listen to my body if I didn't tear my skin. So, no training until next monday.

Enough of me on the computer. Time to finish up my CSQ. Did nothing for the whole of today except this. Bad bad.

Because I'm Living Strong,
Sean

2009-01-24T15:52:00.004+08:00

Experts say you have a strong sense of who you are and you are confident about your opinions. While the feelings of others matter, you can skillfully acknowledge their point of view, without sacrificing your own. This indicates a strong sense of self, according to personality tests. You generally strive for harmony in your relationships without losing who you are – which therapists say is a healthy approach to finding lasting happiness.

Week 3's ending. Time flies so fast arh. School's still quite slack at the moment but I started some revision so at least I don't waste my time. I dunno why in college I always feel very sleepy even though I always managed to clock at least 6 hours of sleep everyday. Why why why?

Hmm yesterday we celebrated CNY. Actually the performances all quite nice and well-organised. I liked Wu Shu the most, hehe. Supported Si Jie by buying cookies from the tennis girls' booth as well. After the performances we lao yu sheng but then when our class lao ah, all the things drop on my hand then that completely turned me off. LOL. At the end I didn't join in the mass dance (though I really wanted to because it's fun) because I don't want to start perspiring and be disgusted by the slimy cream I applied to my body.

When the celebrations are all over.. We had TAEco meeting which was very boring then had lunch at Aston's.

Crosby invited the batch to his house yesterday evening for gathering and dinner then stayover. It was fun to see some of my batchmates since we haven't seen each other for a long time already. Played mahjong and discussed about band music, had steak (oh dear) which was quite delicious.

Well that's the end of the good part.

When I called home to ask if I could stay there for the night my mum just went "No." In my mind I thought she was just kidding because usually she will say something like "can I say no?" but she went on and said "You don't have a house is it, huh? Why must stayover at other people's house, huh? (I tried to reason out with her over here) No, no 'why cannot's I want you to come home. No means no. Your father also wants you home." Argh. Ok lah a bit irritating but I didn't argue with her anymore. I just stayed on for like 2 more hours though my mood's a bit like spoilt already. Left at 11:30 and reached home at 11:59; I didn't stayover at his house.

Today my mum asked me who stayed over and I told her my 'long-time-no-see friends'. She said "No reasons to stayover is there? I don't like my children to stayover at other people's house. I didn't allow your brother to stayover when he was a teen and now you cannot stay also, you are still small." And obviously as a Singaporean science student who has been quite well-trained by the education system here, I just had to find out WHY. "No whys. Because no means no. This is home rule."

...

I just cannot accept what she told me. Firstly, that is not a reason at all. Secondly, the Lim family did not, in the first place, have any well-established home rules to speak of. Thirdly, Crosby's parents ASKED us to stayover and I believe that we're not, in any way, disturbing them.

Obviously I grew up to be sensible enough to stfu to whatever they say. I know I've done no wrong. I dunno why I'm making a big fuss over this lah. But it's not because I cannot stayover at my friend's house, but more of them being unreasonable that I'm concerned of.

Yes I'm angry. But The Power of Now says that your emotions are body reactions to your mind. So I need to watch this emotion and disidentify myself with it, to avoid becoming 'anger' itself. Exist in the Now and everything will be fine.

Sigh,
Sean

2009-01-19T23:07:00.002+08:00

Went to NYP for the Health Sciences Immersion Camp. Nothing special in the camp though a group actually got a chance to take an X-ray of their hand and keep the film!!! Dang. Nevermind, at least I prevented some of the ionised particles from having a chance to manipulate my chromosomal gene sequences that might be a potential spark-off to an early cancer development. Ok I just anyhow whack one. I pretty much enjoyed the 2-hour talk given by the graduates and working professionals as they gave me an all-rounded perspective into the Allied Health Science profession. The last speaker talked about human touch and I think it was the thing that made me perk up all of a sudden and caused me to have my mind settled in what choose for a Post-A's education. I think I'm more than 70% sure that NYP will be one of the top choices when I apply for Uni. Of course this might be an impulsive decision, so I'll still take my time to think slowly.

Hmm I collected my Safari-Zoo run package on that day. The website says I will be entitled a goodie bag with sponsored items but then there's only the shirt and bib inside that environmentally-friendy pack. Whatever lah. The good news is that my mum LOVES that bag and I'll give it to her so she can go do her grocery shopping with it and do her part to save the Earth.

Managed to squeeze in a run on Saturday in the late afternoon. Was a lousy run. But hey, at least I managed to run and be healthier. 3 weeks for me to regain my form, if there was even form in the first place.

Oh my shit. Today I bought this ice-cream bar from college and it is damn small, I think only 10cm in length. Wah lao, I took a bite then I see the nutritional information then I almost wanted to faint. It said 10g of fat per bar. WTH?! The most unhealthy thing I ate in the past few weeks. Kao. Next time I am NOT going to eat ANY ice-cream from college already. Or at least I will look at the fat content first before buying.

Chiong-ed home after Exco meeting to do my favourite abs exercises :D:D! I finally did reverse crunch (the correct way) but went for 3 sets (each set = 3 different crunches as many as possible within 30s for each type) only because I didn't do them for 2 weeks. Woohoo. Actually abdominal exercises can do a lot a lot a lot one. See I did 3 sets of 3 different crunches and the average number of crunches I do for each type is 20. So 20 x 3 x 3 = 180 crunches already. Then the usual planks after the crunches and balancing with 2 x 20 lower back raises. Settled all these in 20 minutes then charge up by eating wholegrain cereals. Don't know how they will help but heck lah.

Er ok maybe that's all for now. I'm still enjoying the start of J2 =)

Learn the notes when you practise, forget the notes when you perform,
Sean

2009-01-16T21:35:00.001+08:00

It's coming.

There is something I want really bad,

Sean

2009-01-15T12:35:00.003+08:00

School has been fun this few days. Still have a lot of spill-over holiday homework to complete though. But I'm pretty happy that at least life is organised and has a meaning now. I just can't stand not doing anything.

Blogging in college now. Supposed to be carrying out GP research but aiyah...

Anyway I just came back from CGH after my Echocardiography. The feeling of the US scanner gliding about my chest was disgusting, squirmish and ticklish. Ok maybe gliding is not a very apt word but that's how I felt. Haha. You know when the technologist press the scanner hard into my side and at the area directly below my sternum, I was like wah, damn pain lah. Not that the procedure is painful, it's just that my abs and lats are still aching. Oh but seriously when she press into the middle area it was horrible because it's hard to breathe due to the pressure.

At the end I asked her about me and she said "There's not much problem but the doctor will have to speak to you." A very suspicious reply indeed.

Ok. That's all for now. Will be back to see the doctor next month for the result analysis.

Beliefs affect your behaviour,
Sean

2009-01-09T21:48:00.002+08:00

Today went back to CGH to remove the BP machine. Then got ready for the treadmill.

I completed the test at stage 5 under 13 minutes. So fast lah. I tell you, stage 5 is REALLY tiring ok. The doctor saw no abnormalities other than one heartbeat that peaked extremely high but he said it can be normal.

Stage 1
Speed: 4.48km/h, Inclination: 10%

.
.
.
.
.

Stage 5
Speed: 28.8km/h, Inclination: 18%

Omg freaking tiring on stage 5. Good thing he stopped after 1 minute since I already hit my maximum target heart rate. Or else must continue then my legs confirm numb and get asthma attack liao. The machine took my blood pressure on I think every 2nd minute of each stage. Haha my blood pressure shot up to 217/65 on stage 5. It's amazing how sturdy your blood vessels are...

Strange thing my heart didn't hurt today. Maybe it's because the doctor didn't straight away let me pia the running.

Today's practice was fun. Technical building using Singaporean Folk Song Suite then O2. Sight-reading was fun too. Oh yea~ I managed to play.... more than 25% correctly LOL. Even if I'm wrong I wouldn't know because everybody's parts are unique anyway -_-

Rah... This year will be so hectic for me.

Organised chaos,
Sean

2009-01-08T18:30:00.014+08:00

Just came back from dental appointment. In the morning I went to CGH to attach the blood pressure monitor. It will record my BP every 30 minutes, and 1 hour after 11pm. Tomorrow need to go back to return it then do a stress test.

Hmm here's how it looks like. Get ready for an eyesore, I know my body isn't well-chiselled but that's not the point...

Very obvious if I'm wearing a T-shirt but not so with buttoned shirt.

OK STOP STARING AT ME ALREADY.

So my systolic readings are 130-ish mm/Hg (normal systolic is 120mm/Hg or slightly less) which is good. A vast improvement since I found out that I have HBP which was 150/90 thanks to running and exercising. Oh yes and eating healthily. And w000000t my heart rate reads 68 which is 19 bpm closer to my goal... and 30 bpm away from where I started out!

Afternoon had dental appointment. I think the doc never put the wire ending well but I don't feel like going back just to squeeze the wire in. Maybe I'll attempt squeezing it in myself later.

Saw Christopher when I came home and he asked me when I'm going to join PhilWinds -_- So noob how to join. I heard he went to NAFA so his engineering course is on hold now... Aiyah he'll do fine.

Oh class chalet was quite ok lah. Free and easy. Although we didn't have much activities but it felt very good just to be with all of them after such a long time. It was fun on the night when we went to see all the trans at Changi Village. Actually they look damn hot from far, but if you see their faces upclose and when they open their mouths and start talking... You can vomit one.
Went to OCH at 2am with Suren, Anders and Sijie. Hehe. Quite exciting.

So I haven't been running for more than a week. Tomorrow's stress test will be running on the treadmill until "extreme breathlessness or heart attack occurs" . Something good to look forward to will be the running.

Before I forget, we finally got our choice piece for SYF. It really really shocked me because I didn't expected it to be that difficult. If I'm not wrong, it's a grade 6. The hardest I've ever played was La Forza Del Destino and I barely scraped it through the concert. This one is worse. It's like something only NAFA or PhilWinds will perform. But I think it will be enjoyable and to our benefit preparing for it since I've never tried such a repertoire before. Also, the Band scene in Singapore needs more exposure to this kind of music.

Before you go, check this site too ;)

New reeds please,
Sean

2009-01-01T21:36:00.004+08:00

I didn't know my blog is such a popular place for people to come. Should I feel honoured? Haha.

I vaguely remembered some of the 2008 resolutions that I've set. Let's see...

Read all Dan Brown books

Such a lame resolution-.- In the end I only read The Da Vinci Code. Lol.

Be as good as Ivan

Not quite there yet. I think I didn't improve technically this year because of the lack of practise, but in the musical sense, I've definitely matured.

Cope really well in JC

Ah... Can cope lah. But I doubt coped REALLY WELL last year.

Get promoted to year 2 with good results

Yes promoted but not with the results that I was looking for.

Turn over a new leaf

O.O? Ok this one is tricky... Actually I've changed a lot, mostly for the better I think. Dunno lah!

Get Edusave Scholarship 2008

Nope. But I got Good Progress Award... The system probably screwed up because I only improved by 1 rank point since MYE.

So what do I want this year? Ok I should make more sensible resolutions right... So here goes:

Read and
Cope really well for Year 2
Spend more time with my family
Improve my relationship with my Dad
More sleep, less stress
Successfully treat my skin and cardiovascular problems
Straight As for A Levels
Internship at ESH after A Levels
Enjoy the preparation of SYF and put up a good performance on that day
Live a healthier lifestyle, exercise more
Run a 10km under 1 hour
Use the computer less

A lot sia -_-

But since I've posted this here, it means everyone will be looking forward to seeing those things happen, including me. Now I'll have an incentive to work toward those goals.

Ok, Happy New Year.. A Levels is in 10 months' time...

Mug smart,
Sean

2008-12-30T16:35:00.003+08:00

Ok this the last post of the year. Won't be blogging tomorrow because I'll be at Matthias' house to countdown... I don't sound very excited right? Of course, when school's starting and I'm still slacking away with my work. I realised that I kind of wasted my holidays because I didn't study as I had planned to -.- This means that I'll have to struggle with at least the start of year 2 already.

So a sum-up post...

Been looking at my archives and I'm quite glad to see that I don't talkx like dish anymorex ^.^! Now THAT is a sign of maturing (or ageing, up to your interpretation). My blog has been more goodboy-friendly because you see less 4-letter words and vulgarities which is good. Less complains to what happens in my daily life like what I used to do in sec 4 where a made so much noise and getting myself so stressed out over Band. Hmm maybe that was a long-term cause to my high BP. I've come to a realisation that IMAGE is very important because that's the 1st impression you give people. Anyone can read my blog, like you, people whom I've had friction with and is still having friction with... They'll be so happy (like I am to him) when they see my life turned upside down through my blog. And in conclusion, I'm glad to say that I was able to, in most of the times, keep my composure. In college, in the public, this blog, through my voice, etc.

I've experienced so much failures this year. Failures written black on white, imaginary failures, perfectionist failures, relationship failures, NAPFA failures and the list goes on. But I've stumbled on a famous quote that goes something like: "Failure is a gift that will open more doors for you to unlock all your potentials." Hmm. And since then I've looked at failures as lessons. Different failures to teach different lessons. Oh did I mention perfectionist above? You know why perfectionists never achieve what they want? Well even if they do, they aren't exactly happy. I wasn't happy throughout the year. There's no perfection in reality, not even in math. They can't define infinity so they just dump a sign in. No answer to anything divide by 0 (at least not to my knowledge). So many signs used as substitutes to the imperfections of math because many things just can't be defined. Perfectionists aren't happy because they want perfection, even though they already have things way beyond the ordinary, which life can't promise them. I've learned to be less or a perfectionist as the months went by and to accept failures. Nope, I'm not saying that I'll just let failures come to me or I won't do my best, but I'll learn to say "Yes I have failed. Now how to not commit this failure again?" and also "I've done my best. I deserve what I got." Keep climbing upwards, though.

I found myself having less companionship this year. Perhaps what Maestro said was right, the older you get, the less friends you have. But here's the catch; I don't feel lonely when I don't have lots of friends or am not going out a lot with people. Maybe afterall I AM an introvert. To me, I'd rather have a handful of really close and true friends to having many many ordinary friends. You'll probably frown or scold me after reading this: I have to admit that many ordinary friends come and go in your lives. Even all these fun people you find in VJC, VJCSB, etc. I may not even recognise you on the streets 10 years from now. So I choose to invest my time with my close friends (yes you JiaHao, Lynette and Amos) and my family. Of course, since fun and games are a complete waste of time, I'll stay at home and workout/study. Perhaps these can explain why many a times I choose to turn down outing invitations. You may say that because ordinary friends come and go, that's why we must treasure all the time we have with them while we can. Heh, sorry but I think I can put my time to more beneficial places.. Like improving my health. Go on, call me an anti-social/weird/lonely but I don't give a damn =) . My family can EASILY be put at a higher priority than my friends because they saw me grow from a zygote (not literally, duh) to now, a young adult. They were the people who saw me through the crises I've experienced. Now that my parents are ageing... I find more reasons to love them the way they loved me since I was still a toddler.

This year has also opened up opportunities for me and made me realise what else I like to do other than music. Through feeling fab'! I learned to rollerblade and ice-skate (which I think will come in handy tomorrow). Hmm.. Also watched TdF and found out how exciting road cycling is. OMG. It's kinda funny; TdF led me to LIVESTRONG.com which I had an avenue to change my lifestyle and make me exercise regularly to tackle my hypertension. It also made me interested in Triathlons because they're SOOOOOO exciting and satisfying if you can complete one, and that NAPFA failure which triggered my love for running and fitness. I took part in the SCSM which I didn't even think of joining and it was a great experience. Ah not to forget the performance in Carnegie's Isaac-Stern Auditorium and Esplanade Concer Hall (wee~ my 3rd time) this year. And the hospital attachment.

Well what to say, getting myself opened up to things have indeed benefitted me a lot. Not really opening up to God yet, I'm not ready. But anyway, this year has been really great. A lot of lessons learned, milestones set, discoveries, lifestyle changes, attitude changes but I can still be very firm and stubborn in what I want. That's the ol' Sean... 2008 passed really quick. Actually, I think every year does pass quickly too so seize the moment. My regrets this year must not exist at the end of 2009. Hopefully yours too.

So, have a great start to 2009 and may it be a smoother ride for you.

Give a pat on your shoulder, you read the whole post!

Still thinking,
Sean

2008-12-27T23:31:00.007+08:00

Made some editions to my sidebar. Updated favourite sites, links and want-list. My Nike+ Mini looks cool eh? Of course, an average pace of 8'01"/km is definitely not cool... The other day I bought a faulty Nike+. Had scratches on the screen and can't connect to the sensor. Heng heng I spoilt it by accident, so I went back to replace a new one. And I am SO sure they sold me an old Nike+ because there weren't protective stickers and all. Then I told the cashier that I sian diao when I saw 'Made in China' but I regret it afterwards, because the lady who was taking a new Nike+ for me is from China and her face immediately change colour. Then I was like SHIT and just stfu and quickly take my new Nike+ and scurried off the shop.

I tested out the Nike+ today and to my excitement, it works! I think I accidentally ran too fast for my 1st 2 laps. My last lap I 'lao hong' already. And my heart started aching at 26 minutes and it was one of the more painful relapses. That forced me to walk for like 3 minutes before chionging my last 150m. If not for my heart, I would have finished running under 30 minutes. Z.

Well yesterday I went to Vivo for Band outing. Ate Subway Club (with extra lettuce) for lunch before heading to the theatre for Bedtime Stories. Movie Spoiler: Skeeto was supposed to manage a hotel as part of an agreement between his late father and Nottingham but NO. Then Skeeto was made to baby-sit his nephews for a week and he realised that the bedtime stories he told and editted by his nephews comes true (in the modern way) in his life. His wish was to own this new hotel that is to be built and to win Nottingham's daughter's heart, and at the last night, he told a story where he fought with his rival in outer space and won, which translates to him winning the management of the hotel. And anyway, he didn't get the girl of his wish. Well I skipped a lot of things but that's the gist of the story.

Look what I've gotten Daniel for the gift exchange? Told him it would be very useful =) I wanted to get the jumbo pack for him but I thought I should spare him.

For dinner I ate some Black Pepper Chicken rice. Not very healthy because I forgot they actually deep-fry the chickens. Oh well. Did a lot of shopping (doesn't sound correct coming from a guy, does it?) for post-x'mas and New Year. 2 shirts, a pair of pants and a pair of sandals all managed to be under $100. Woot. After that it was a boring ride home, having to be sardine-fied in the MRT from City Hall onwards...

Sigh, to my horror, 2008 is going to end real soon and my homework aren't even half-done. Tsk.

Chiong homework,

Sean

2008-12-24T21:40:00.006+08:00

It's Christmas eve and I'm at home. Well, I think I chose to be at home today AND tomorrow because I think I can have better usage of the time to do my homework, workouts, spend time with my parents and perhaps do long tones. Just not really in the mood to go for outings but I'll show my face lah.

I am SO satisfied with my abs workout today because if I didn't remember wrongly, I passed 3 sets of the circuit without much rest in between though it was painful. But I love the pain. I managed to also do 3 sets of normal planks and a set of side with the last set held for over a minute. Yay. Such a good exercise to burn off all the cakes and chicken wings I've been eating. And that 3 McChickens that I ate unwillingly on the day of Variations VI.

The log-cake looks nice right. Haha it tastes good too. Bought it yesterday and now there's only 1 slice left! Oops.

Went to shop at Marina Square yesterday before heading to VCH. Wah I want to buy 2 Nautica pants but don't have my size. Count them unlucky. But maybe there was a purpose behind this. In the end I found myself back at Royal Sporting House staring at the Nike+ SportBand. Salesperson said it costs $100 and because I cannot tahan already, so I just asked for one set. When she scanned the barcode she went, "Oh, there's a 20% discount for this." Happy only. Lol. So I got it for $80. But when I got home I saw that the screen got some scratches and I read 'Made in China' . *Disappointment*

Well, I really enjoyed PY's performance yesterday. Kudos to Kai Tze's solo and Simon's Symphonic Overture oboe solo. I found Kai Tze quite soft but every note is performed with ease and smoothness. Simon's solo was really really good. Sweet tone, dynamics and the intensity of his vibrato is just right. Someone told me that even Pan Yun and Kai Tze told him that they have nothing to teach him already. Power.

Ralph's and WC's Blue Shades solo was hilarious. Not the musically but visually. See Ralph rubbing hands, taking deep breaths and tension tension before the solo. The solo was quite nice lah considered that both are classical players. Then WC tension tension during the solo and then forget to bow before sitting down and shaking his head. Kum Fai and I were quite amused by them. WC thought he screwed up the solo, but hey, it was so much better than the one-bar solo that I cracked during Symphony No. 9 please. It was so quiet then *PIAK*. Sian my reed was too dry =/

There were lots of imperfections in the concert but I guess that was what made it so enjoyable to me. Is Adrian obsessed with speed? Lol. But I think it was really fun. Jia Hao really really missed out a lot man. Had supper with the PY members and got to know a few of them. Heh it's quite a happening Band.

Got people ask me to join PY to take over *cough* someone. I might consider joining their next concert because I heard they're going to play Extreme Makeover (Wah!). See if I can cope with year 2 first then I'll decide.

Hopefully I'll wake up early tomorrow to run to test out my SportBand and to burn off all the fats I've gained. Well I want to gain mass but not fat mass lol.

Merry Christmas to all readers!
Sean

2008-12-21T20:57:00.002+08:00

Band chalet last Thursday. Free and easy. That day was like the most unhealthy day I had this whole year. Morning ate at Macs before watching YesMan. One scene reminded me of my first church experience... Hmm then slack all the way until chalet lor. Cycled and saw a lot of stylo (milo, babeh, yeah~) road bikes! Ate a lot of unhealthy stuff, like 50% carbonated chicken wings and hotdogs. Otak also lah. Some other shit as well.

Went to NSC on Friday morning. Did some fungus test to see if the acne are caused by fungus growth. To my contentment, they're not. When the medical officer learned that I'm allergic to Erythromycin, Doxycycline and Ampiclox, she had to call in a consultant. The consultant's like "Sigh, you are allergic to the most effective and common antibiotics for acne. How leh?" Then for the next 1 minute or 2 I was treated like a scientific specimen that is carefully scrutinised and analysed by the 2 of them. "Hmm yea you see his case is not the serious one.. Have a few nodules here and there...." Kinda weird lah the feeling. In the end he told me to consider the harshest yet most powerful oral medication for my acne, Isotretinoin (did I see this word in Chem Promo P1?), and gave me a leaflet about it to read. I read that it is 'used to treat severe acne that has not responded to other acne medicines.' Need to do blood test to check if I have liver problems and my cholesterol levels before I can start taking. Hmm isotretinoin has also been reported 'to cause serious harm to unborn babies when taken during pregnancy.' That's how strong it is!

In the end they decided to give me topical treatment before taking anything. Now I have 4 freaking things to apply everyday#$%#^$&. For simplicity of the very complex things I have to do; A to be applied on the face in the morning. B to be applied on the face at night. C to be applied to body in the morning. D to be applied to body at night. -_-

Oh oh my mum bought for me the Nike+ LunarTrainer in Running Lab at Velocity. Damn shiok lah. Soft soft one! xD I think the sales person quite happy with me. Go in 15 minutes then settle the shoes. Good service. Explained everything in such great details and they observed the way I run on the treadmill to see if I'm landing evenly. Thank goodness the Trainers fit me because I've been eyeing it for quite some time. Haha. $179 =/

Finally found the place that sells the Nike+ SportBand. It costs $100 though. AND I've checked out AIBI and they do sell adjustable weights that an average set costs for about $100++. A bit expensive leh. Took out $50 from my saving box and I realised that it was the last thing inside! LOL die lah must start saving from scratch again. Got myself 2 shirts from Adidas which 1 was the running T that I've been wanting to buy since October. Happy only. Then another long sleeve from TopMan. It seems that whatever I wanted are not given discounts. $160 gone just like that.

~~$$$~~

Shah told me that I tire out so easily because I'm using reeds that are too soft. Hmm that sentence seems like an irony itself but I think it's quite logical. Too soft reeds means over-controlling with my mouth to get a decent tone. True true true. Should up back to 3.5 but it'll be a little bit hard to start out. Well for the sake of music, I'll sacrifice a bit. Push air until I get used to it. Man, I do want a new mouthpiece. zzz.

I've been busy the past few days with practice and have not been doing my work and exercises. Tomorrow's Alumni concert. Hope it's going to be good...

Hi Amelia I know you're reading, you stalker!
Sean

2008-12-17T20:25:00.002+08:00

Feel the burn in the abs! Ahaha. Sounds sadistic.

Been working my abs for about a month already. Can see vast improvements but I want a flat stomach.. Now my abs looks like it's bulging out. Erm ok not exactly bulging out but it looks weird because my stomach isn't flat.

Just now I did to my 2nd set of bicycle crunches then my abs just gave way. I ended up lying down and not moving at all as it was too painful. It was only 2 minutes 30 seconds into the workout and I had to take a set of breaks. But I stopped at like 4 minutes or so. Switched to planks which weren't exactly a lot better. I dunno why but I just like the muscle tightness and pain. Shiok. I guess I'll take 2 days off for recovery. After that I worked my glutes. Lol no idea why but I just did it anyway.

Hmm yesterday was my post-10k run. I think I ran for slightly less than 5k in 31 minutes. Hit some slopes for fun. My heart started aching at 18 minutes but I just ran on. Geez. But I think the pain slowly faded off after 23 minute or so. I wore the wrist band that Gab and Gil bought for me. For Sean when he runs (wipe sweat) and when he plays O Magnum (wipe tears). Haha cool. But I think having a towel during my runs is more practical...

Ah I suddenly want to buy so many things. HRM, new running shoes, Nike+ Sportband (If I go to Malaysia at the end of the year), weights.

I recalculated my ideal daily calorie intakes from The Daily Plate of LiveSTRONG.com . Aiyer, "Our estimate is that you may consume about 2,479 calories a day to gain 0.5 pounds per week." Maybe everytime after I run I didn't eat enough to make-up for the loss. That's why I'm losing weight? Hmm.

Sian,
Sean

2008-12-14T12:10:00.015+08:00

NSSN'08 is over. Time really flew while preparing for this concert. This 3-hour long concert could easily be the best concert in my life, although it wasn't a note- and rhythm-perfect performance with lots of unexpected problems popping up. It was really a meaningful concert put up by VJCSB. Preparation for this concert was only filled up with fun, joy and laughter, and of course all the inspirations by Maestro. Especially to the piece O Magnum Mysterium. It really is a piece of substance; the more you play it, the more you understand and like it. Just like Music For Prague. Though all the performances back in St. Pat's were of high quality and extreme technicality, they didn't feel as good as this one. Everything was approached with screams and stress. Even alumni.

Something strange happened on the eve of the concert; we were having our rehearsal in the PT and were practising O Magnum Mysterium. Maestro explained to us this piece and really got us to free the soul within us and surrender ourselves to the music. While playing through from top, I did exactly what he said and I just started crying. I have no idea why or how this happened but the feeling was so strong, so powerful and I could do nothing other than to cry for it. It really was an experience that you can die for. Perhaps this was the transcendental experience that Maestro was talking about, the intimacy of sound meeting silence. I thought I saw Clairis cry too. Maybe I was really lucky to be able to experience this at a young age. But if something like this ever happen to you when you perform, and you feel like something is going to come out of your eyes, enjoy that moment which might never occur again in your entire life. Of course, I was a little bit embarassed and sorry that I had kinda disrupted the quiet sections of the piece with me sniffing away.

I am really lucky to be able to learn from one of Singapore's best and very inspiring mentor. Despite of the short time we've spent together, they were quality time and I've gathered a lot from Maestro. As an instructor, he had successfully inspired his students and as a friend, he is sincere. Definitely, his appearance had been integral to me and probably had changed my life and gave me a new perspective towards music. Not sure if I'll still be able to learn under Maestro in the future, but even if there won't be another chance, I have no regrets because I've treasured all the time spent with him.

Lastly, I hope that all the sec 4s had enjoyed your stay in VJCSB and that we have left a deep impression in you. Will hope that most of you can join us next year because you won't find a Band like this elsewhere.

Some of the photos are pretty dark. I'm a photoshop idiot so I can't do anything to them.

Uh.. Sorry about my disgusting look. Kinda forced to make this face-.-

I think I look more natural compared to Daniel haha. Open this up and you get...

NSSN'08 Clarinet Section =)

Spot the redundant people at the background...

Nicholas who came at first just to "kill time"

Maestro and I with O Magnum Mysterium

As you can see from my picture taken in Jan this year, I have lost much weight and yea, gotten much more pimples on my face. True, I think I'm starting to look anorexic. Shall do something about it.

Thanks everyone for making NSSN so wonderful!

Gain weight,

Sean

With Mr Tan life is honestly never a bore
When he tells his jokes, we laugh and we roll on the floor
But sometimes they’re so cold, the room starts to freeze
‘Like stop rushing you Russians!’ over there please
But we’re happy and proud
And we wish he could still stick around

Chorus:
So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be, without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

We still remember the times we've spent in New York City
The fun and the joy, the cheesecakes that were oh so heavn’ly
The sounds at Carnegie that made us go wow
We knew there was something special we shared
That was deep within us
Like the memories… we’ll treasure it all

Chorus

We are so grateful, for all the times we've spent with you
And cause’ you’re leaving we just wanna wish you
All the best, hope that we’ve, made you proud!

So we say
Thank you for the music, the songs we’re singing
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing
Who can live without it, we ask in all honesty
What would life be, without a song or a dance what are we?
So we say thank you for the music
For giving it to us

So we say thank you for the music
For giving it to us

2008-12-09T19:08:00.004+08:00

Morning I woke up with a sore throat, but it went off quite soon. Had some bun with pork filling which I had trouble digging out the fats. Haha, but I drank tea-O which is supposed to 'wash out' all these fatty things.

Left my house for my appointment at CGH. Arrived early so I went to CMU to take my ECG. This time the graphs seem to look different than the one I did previously, maybe they used a different setting. However.... I read 'Abnormal ECG' at the top and above the chart it says 'Unconfirmed'. Looks quite scary leh.

So we went back to clinic C and waited. Appointment was at 09:50am but I only saw my doctor strolling in at 10:20am. Slack sia haha. He said up to now there's nothing serious with me and he will find one day to monitor my blood pressure for 24 hours because he didn't want to label me as hypertensive yet. But all in all the staff acted pretty surprised when I told them I'm 17.

Here are my future appointments...

8 Jan '09: Ambulatory Blood Pressure
They'll be attaching the arm-cuff and tracker to me while I carry out my daily activities. This is to confirm if I have hypertension. Sounds cool. Imagine walking around with a blood pressure monitor. Total duration: 24 hours.

9 Jan '09: TMX (Treadmill)
Go back to remove the monitor. Bring running attire and electrodes will be stuck on my body. I'll be on a treadmill and the pace and inclination will be increased every 3 minutes. Sounds fun. This is to stress my heart and figure out if any abnormalities are observed when my heart exerts excessively. Will increase the pace until extreme breathlessness or until a heart attack occurs (0.01% chance) -_-; Don't worry, there'll be a doctor next to me. Total duration: 45 min.

15 Jan '09: 2Decho
They'll be doing an echocardiography of my heart to see if there are any enlargements. Might be able to hear sounds when my heart pumps. So probably it's like what I heard last time when I visited TTSH's Vascular Diagnostic Lab. Total duration 45min to 1 hour.

Then I'll be going back on 17 Feb '09 for result analysis. Wah next year will be so busy. Dental appointments, Cardio appointments, Derma appointments. Siao liao.

Oh anyway, this sounds quite fun. Distance is roughly 6.2km and I'll be applying once the online application is working again. My mum agreed immediately when I asked her. Hope can see the animals but also must pray that the air will be fresh.

Cheers,
Sean

2008-12-07T23:58:00.011+08:00

Today was a big day to me, like to some other 50 000 people out there who participated in this year's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. Woke up with a mild cold and was coughing away. Of all times to fall sick again.

Gun-fire was delayed by about 10 minutes and this made me lose a whole deal of excitement at the starting line. Thanks lah.

Okay I'll describe my run in kms so you'll be able to feel my run.

1 and 2km: Easy pace, over-taking people and vice versa. Kept to the left most of the time since I know I'll be a slow runner. Body felt very good. Forced myself not to start off too fast. There was a turning point at around 1.5km where so many people took their short-cuts. Wth. Maybe they'll shave off about 30 secs but that's about it. Don't think they'll be too happy when they finish the run anyway. Water station after the turn. Grabbed a cup and sipped as I run. Man, drinking while running is not as easy as it looks haha.

3km: Still feeling good, moderately easy pace. Another water station. Took another cup. The runners who started walking here were a bit irritating as I had to constantly manoeuvre myself to a clear landing to continue running.

4km: Aha, here is when it starts to get a little bit bumpy. For me at least. Turned to the expressway and then up Benjamin Sheares Bridge. The slope was shiok ok. The incline lasted for about 800m. Many runners started to walk which looked very tempting, and I planned previously to walk the slopes. BUT I just focused and ran through the climb, though it was a tad slow =)

5km: A reward! Down the slope we go! This one was fun. Breathing and legs were still ok.

6km: We're at Suntec already. Another water station, another grab. My breathing was starting to get a little heavy. Pace slowed down a bit.

7km: Flat surface, comfortable pace. Mr Wong sms-ed about Philwinds Concert here! Lol. Replied and I concentrated again. The route merged with the 21km over here. Cheered for them. Breathing getting hard and legs getting tired.

8km: All the nonsense started here, unfortunately. My chest (or heart, I can't tell) started aching and left calf got this cramping feeling. Some runners are letting out grunts and weird noises. Bet they're all feeling worn out. Grabbed a cup of 100plus at the water station and trotted slowly. Nearly half of the runners are walking and this was so damn tempting! I wanna keep going. At 8.5km I couldn't take it anymore. Chest was having this sharp pain and my left calf getting tighter. I walked for about 100m and used the time to finish up my 100plus.

9km: Breathing heavily, legs freaking heavy, left calf twitching away. When I saw my watch hit 1 hour my heart just sank =( Well, those people at the side cheering away did help a bit in forcing me to run on. Had to stop at the side for awhile to stretch my left calf before it really does cramp up. By this time I just wanna cross the finish line already. So I didn't care if I had a shit timing. When we're getting close to the finish, the route starts to bottle-neck but there were more people cheering for us. When I saw the 150m sign I was soooo glad that it was going to end. Forced myself all the way. 100m. 50m. Then raised my hands, forced out a smile and slowed down when I crossed the finish line with a timing of 01:13. Saw a runner being carried onto the ambulance, hope he's ok.

Actually, I am still happy that I was able to finish this run. At least I ran more than 95% of the time which was longer than I had ever done so. Removed my Championchip and took my medal.

Met up with Amos and then it was where I got to meet Nicholas and Natasha. Cool.

Grabbed some drinks and went to cheer on the rest of the runners and trying to spot Sharon. When we saw her we screamed like some mad dog for her ok. Well, all in all it was a great experience and I'm glad that I actually signed up for the run. Who would have thought that I'll be able to run a 10k?

I guess to me the timing isn't important for now. What's more important is that I had developed a sense of liking towards running and built up an exercise routine. I couldn't even run 2.4 properly last time. Haha. This is my maiden race but it won't be my last. I plan to run a few more 10ks before moving on to 21, a sprint tri then a full marathon. See how things go la...

After the race I rushed home to sleep. Was developing a fever already, but luckily I still had some pills. Took them and slept. Went for Philwinds concert in the evening. They sound, as usual, fabulous. Only didn't like most of the entrances of the trumpets cause I thought they sounded too cracky. Upper horns slightly off-tune too. Solo saxophone was great! Good technique, great tone. I dunno if it's my block ears or what, but his altissimo ranges sounded a little bit thin for my liking. All in all, a concert worth shouting a "Bravo!"

Okay... Such a long post. I deserve a long sleep too. See ya guys!

An achievement,

Sean

2008-12-05T21:03:00.005+08:00

Wah I've been so busy!!! I'll be busy all the way up till NSSN and even after that. To make things worse I'm not even halfway through my homework and haven't start my revision yet. Lol whatever man, too busy with Band.

No wonder Daniel want to pass me some of his things to do. If not he'll go crazy. I'm going siao with what I have already lah. Everything I just delegate to everyone and hope that they'll do a good job.

I went to collect my race pack this afternoon and the mood is like quite exciting already. Can't wait for the actual day! Though I'm a little bit nervous as well. Visualise crossing the finish line happily and easily. Right.

My race bib. I guess I'm one of the last who registered.

Ok, back to work...

It's coming!
Sean

2008-12-01T21:10:00.005+08:00

Sectionals today. Supposed to start at 10am but dragged until 10:30am. VJC like don't have good places to have sectionals. Was like shouting at the section cuz the canteen was too noisy. Hopefully they didn't think I was very fierce. Hehe, I'm very nice one =)

After sectionals we ate at Han's Cafe. I did my best to order a healthy meal. Ordered Spagetti with Chicken. Uh actually they have vegetarian dishes but I didn't want. Ultimately it didn't turn out to be as healthy as I thought. The chicken was grilled. Heh, next time eat pasta don't order salmon or chicken already. Should order some shroom and corn pasta.

Took a photo after eating without Charmaine, Alexa and Yan Yao.

From left: Claire, Laura, Dionne (aka Alexa The 2nd), Me, Yi Xiang, Gabriel, Junzhe, Matthias, Nicholas, Lee Guan.

Well as you can see, my section is boomed with TKGS and VS people (Hello sec 4s I know you are reading this). Why only 2 schools. Tsk tsk. But not too bad a thing either.

Benjamin took a photo of me while waiting for alumni to start. Yuck, such a weird embouchure. For those who still remember Quan Li from last year's NSSN, you can spot him playing the horn at the back.

Anyway, ran 35 minutes today. I think ran for only about 5km+. Was so pissed off with the weather because it rained and stopped like every other 10 minutes. Rehydrated and ate some oatmeal crackers after the run.

This weeks is going to be busy. What's new?

Busy busy,
Sean

2008-11-24T22:44:00.003+08:00

Exco meeting from 10.30am to 12pm. Then kind of got pulled by them to eat at Aston's. Didn't really want to because everything's like grilled, fried and whatever unhealthy nonsense you can think of. But I had no choice so I ordered the most healthy one that I can find, which was Salmon Spaghetti. However it's still not very healthy because I think they grilled the salmon. Rou Hui's was quite healthy because there were many broccoli (is that how you spell it?) and carrots, though the fish is grilled. Haha.

A lot of people have been asking (or rather, complaining) me about my unusual choice for super uber healthy food. Well, I have no choice if I want to live past my 30s. Hypertension at the age of 17. What the hell? What's next, hypertensive heart disease? So yes, if you dine out with me next time, pardon me everytime you hear me say, "No grilled, fried and no fast food" because this sentence will already rule out all the delicious things.

Had sectionals at 2pm. Haha the sec 4s are pretty good on the whole. Completed Children's March today and they sound reasonably good after such a long break from playing. Oh and Dionne is so Alexa. Ok that's kinda out of the point. After sectionals I went to run (oh hell yea!) with Gabriel, Wei Jian, Alyssa, Gillian, Nicholas and another sec 4 guy. I think his name is Springsfield. Cool name huh?

My goodness can, I ran 6k with Gab and Nick and it was such a difficult run. Ran to the lagoon then my mucus started flowing out again. So half the time I was sniffing away and I ended up having stitches-.- Total time about 40mins inclusive of 5-10min walks. Such a hard run today. But I'm still glad that I managed to cover 6km after not running for so long. Let's hope that a miracle would happen on 7 Dec.

Alright I think I'll only be going back to St Pat's on Thursday with Ralph and Nicholas (Panda) for alumni. Maybe I'll buy some tidbits for Bryan and company who are currently stuck in the band camp.

I deserve a good rest,
Sean

2008-11-23T17:11:00.003+08:00

NO! I feel SO SAD =(

I thought I was finally going to run today... But it started raining at around 4pm. Then it kind of abated to just mere rain drops at like 5pm and I thought I'll be able to run at 5:30pm. And what the hell, it just started to rain 5 minutes ago again! Piece of shit. The sky blacker than my face now. Idiot.

Wah laoooo my training was going uphill one until I caught the stupid cold which left me out of action for 2 bloody weeks. And the race day is in 2 bloody weeks' time as well. I'm seriously back to square one already. I feel so SADDDDDDDD. What if what if what if on that day I don't complete the run just because I screwed up my last few runs? Wah lao so sad lah.

Argh, I'm going to bring my PE attire to college tomorrow. Gabriel better run with me. Actually, he don't run also nevermind but I need to run. Run. Run.

Alumni practice was pretty disgusting yesterday. Felt very draggy and Meroy said 'F***' like at least 50 times can. And I hate it when he screams "GIVE ME MORE EXPRESSION? THIS PART SUPPOSED TO BE VERY SAD RIGHT?" wtf. Like that how can express?

Anyway, last night A called me at 12am to bitch to me about Z. Then B and C called later and all like bitchfest about Z lah-.- I ended up sleeping at 2:45am. Heh so sorry, this one seriously cannot reveal names. Because I'm kinda stuck between ABC and Z.

I shall do some core work soon. SO SAD.

Square one,
Sean

2008-11-20T11:35:00.004+08:00

SCSM is in 17 days' time and I have not run for almost 2 weeks because of my cold. Damn this sucks.

Yesterday was tune-in and I think generally it was a success. Just that my group didn't get to play 2 games because of time contraints. Or am I just prude? *cough* But I think the sec 4s enjoyed themselves quite a bit.

Was on YouTube a few days back and I found this video that was uploaded last year. Well, just laugh a bit if you have't been because of work:

Ok. Here's something more intelligent. It's Oprah Winfrey's 2008 commencement address at Stanford University:

Cough,
Sean

2008-11-14T17:30:00.004+08:00

This week had been really a week well spent.

I went to MINDS at Clementi for CIP on Tuesday. I now have another perspective on life. That very day made me question this verse in the Bible (and I know it's not good to do that): You are fearfully and wonderfully made. When I look at the clients, I don't think it applies to them. Also I am, for the clients, angry at people who waste themselves, waste their lives and waste their bodies. These people, unlike the clients, are 100% sane, do not suffer from cerebral palsy, not epileptic and are in no way intellectually disabled. So you see for yourself, life is really unfair. We really should be thankful of our body and that we can do, think, see, write, speak and feel things for ourselves.

Don't cry when you lost your shoes because there are people who don't have legs.

Then came the very much anticipated attachment to TTSH. Actually, I didn't enjoy myself very much because I went there with a mind to do something. It was more like an excursion (or at least what I think most of the people had in their minds) than an attachment. However, it was an eye-opener for me because we were allowed to enter "Staff Access" areas in different departments. Just to highlight the departments, in chronological order, that I went: Diagnostic Radiology, Animal Lab, Respiratory Lung Function Lab, Endoscopy Centre, Urology Centre, P&O and Podiatry, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy.

Not going to say what we did there because I don't think we're allowed to disclose anything. But at the feedback session I made a big fuss about the radiographers working with the CT scans. Had the impression that they didn't like our presence, maybe because we're hindering their work. But so arrogant for what -.-? Well, the respiratory lab technologists were really nice and so are the physio- and occupational therapists.

Haha then yesterday I followed Amos to L&T at Tampines to get his helmet (CHEH). I wasn't extremely excited about it than I used to be maybe because I know I'm just going to to window shop. But hey, I saw a few Cannondales and a Pinarello =) They look completely different when they're hung and when they're on ground. Saw Ivan and Chow at central.

Oh oh when I alighted the bus on my way home, I saw this uncle on a Trek Tri-bike. Then my body just turn and I kept staring at it because he overtook me and it was such a close-up view. Black and white. Cool to the max. Had a strong urge to shout "Nice Trek!" but nah, pretty embarrassing and not safe for him since he was crossing the road.

There's this write-up for the pieces that we're going to perform for NSSN. Tougher than I thought. Also finished reading The Last Lecture. I find myself quoting from the book whenever I can, haha. Same like me quoting from Tuesdays With Morrie whenever I have a chance a few years back.

Anyway, I found this soundtrack on YouTube. Name is Sanctus, sung by Libera Boys Choir. They're really, really great.

I thought Vienna Boys Choir is amazing until I heard Libera. Wah listen to the Eb > G > Bb > C. It's hair-raising man!

Went to buy my reeds after lunch today. Oh man, they increased the price can -_- It was $36 last year, but just now I spent $50 on the very same brand, type and strength. wth...

Anyway, I caught a cold. I think it's because I slept directly below the air-con yesterday but my mum insisted that I got it from the hospital. Oh well... This is not ok. I really wanted to run just now but I should just listen to my body.

Haha this is such a long post. Gonna work out my core now.

Leaky nose,
Sean

2008-11-10T18:20:00.003+08:00

PW is officially over today. Went to college in the morning to file and submit GPF. Woohoo.

Walked Lynette home with my umbrella because she doesn't have one. No, don't think wrong, people.

Hmm then went to St. Pat's to take the section. Well I was the substitute for Desmond lah -_- They were supposed to have masterclass with him. Oh well. A look at the size of the section is already worrying. Lets take a look:

SYF 2007
1 Eb/Third
2 Firsts
4 Seconds
3 Thirds
1 Alto
1 Bass
1 Contra-Bass

SYF 2009
1 Eb
1 First
2 Seconds
2 Thirds
1 Bass
1 Third/Contra-Bass (within the piece)

And the best part is that 1 second and 1 third players are newly transferred sec 2 players from Horn. Sigh. With their choice piece, it's gonna be even harder because like Rhapsody, it's so woodwind-heavy. Well, maybe slightly less than that. It's going to be hard to even scrape a gold next year. Maybe I'll go down more often to help out.

Just now I went to run. And I surprised myself; I ran for 45 minutes non-stop! O.O" The last time I ran was 36 minutes. I ran from Kaki Bukit to almost the reservoir already. Happy happy.

And I finally got The Last Lecture from the college's bookshop. $10 ahaha.

Runner's high. Not.
Sean

2008-11-09T22:09:00.002+08:00

Today my family ate at Thai Village at Orchard to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Never eat at Thai Village for a few years already. Wah, really, the food are great. But eat somemore get high cholesterol and higher blood pressure....

Had one a bowl of shark's fins to myself. This alone is like $60 sia -_- My brother's treat. Then bee hoon crab, claypot cockfish (spelt like this?), some vegetables and seafood fried rice. I think all these cost him a bomb.

When we walked past House of Condoms, I pointed to it and told my mum I went in before to buy a condom. Lol. And she went like ?_?

Should run tomorrow afternoon. I'm starting to slack.

Till then,
Sean

2008-11-07T21:58:00.008+08:00

Alas! PW is somewhat over! What's left for me is I&R but it is about 90% complete, just touching up and all.

No major screw-ups for OP, though I paused awkwardly for 5 seconds because I suddenly couldn't remember what I wanted to say. Same thing for Q&A. Well, hopefully the hardwork that the class had put in over this year would pay off.

Today the most of the class went to eat at PastaMania. Even Amos joined us. Miracle sia. But in the end I think only about 10 of us went to watch Quantum of Solace. I don't really like it. I'll give it 3.5/5. Casino Royale was way better than this one. Not much of the usual Bond hot bed scenes either.

Lol ignore the date. I just took it from a random website. Well, Althea thinks that Craig's blue eyes are hot. Ok lah, quite nice, but I think they reinforced it in the movie.

Gabriel's gonna kill me for pangseh-ing them today. Bleah.

Band practices are finally going to resume tomorrow. Then CIP at Hospice Care Association then rush down for alumni practice.

Next week's going to be busier. CIP at MINDS on Tues, attachment with Tan Tock Seng on Wed and Thurs, data entry at National Cancer Centre on Fri. Plus devotion of about 2 hours each day for revision. Quite a meaningful week.

Alright, time to slack.

Rejoice,

Sean

2008-11-03T22:29:00.004+08:00

Was at PP Isetan Nike section on Saturday and I saw Armstrong's advertisement. And duh, I took a photo:

And take a look at this ad. Poor wheels.

ANYWAY, today I was supposed to run in college to see how far I can manage. But little did I know that I'll have a road bike at my disposal for an hour (only an hour due to rain) =) Exciting eh. Well, excitement comes with a price, now my sit-bones hurt and it's painful when ***i**. Yes. You'll guess that word anyway. Well well well... I should be mentally prepared for the worst on 7 Dec.

I just changed my phone's screen-saver and I started laughing at it. Lol it's not meant to be that way....

I want to own a road bike badly,
Sean

2008-10-30T18:50:00.003+08:00

Wow today's paper was tough!

Hopefully still can get A. Did Q2 for P1 and P2 was quite disastrous for me...

The only nice parts for P1 were the introductory and concluding paragraphs, lol, so that's how bad it was. I was quite happy for my ending though:

老人又在一次被拒绝了。

他叹了气而低了头。

我低了头而叹了气。

我伫立在床边遥望天空，我心中突然一片璀璨，因为我早已澄清了，就像黑天中忽明忽暗的星星一样灿烂。

Something like that. Hopefully it can pull up my P1 marks.

Went to the dentist's today and the doctor, yet again, changed my wire to the thicker one. Then I told him to check my metal bands because one of them broke. Haha.

And he went:

"Woah, power crunch? Bit on chicken bones?"

And his assistant quickly followed up:

"Exam stress syndrome har?"

Lol so funny. Then the doc added 2 ligature wires on my upper teeth and introduced the elastics/elastins to me. So I'm supposed to wear them 24/7 and change to a new set every 12 hours. Now I only taste latex =(

I went to Nike at Wheelock to check out the price for Nike LunarTrainers. I don't mind the colour actually. But it costs $200 -.-

Here's a picture of the shoe...Hmm I'll see how.

Recover leg recover...

Sean

2008-10-29T18:17:00.003+08:00

Calf strains caused me to lose 2 running days. Stupid legs.

But I didn't waste these few days. Did quite a bit of core, upper chest and back strengthening exercises. Did some dynamic stretching to keep my legs flexible as well. Runner's World got great videos on toning abs and other good exercises to keep you fit. Check 'em out.

While I was watching one of the video, a pop-up from the website urged me to do a survey:

Would you like this survey?
Yes

1. What is your age?
Below 18.

Thank you but you are not suitable to take this survey.

....
---

-_- What the hell. Ok I'm going to do some leg raisers now before I go off to do some of my last preparations for Chinese tomorrow.

All the best,
Sean

2008-10-27T09:42:00.002+08:00

The route for Le Tour de France 2009 is out!! :D I'm a bit slow, because it came out 5 days ago. Haha. Exciting.

I injured my legs while skipping yesterday and my calf muscles still hurt today. I missed my run today because of this. Man, it's enough to make me miss another run day =(

I keep getting injured... Are they trying to tell me something? Hmm... Ok hopefully it'll be gone by wednesday because if I go on like this I can forget about my 10k.

Maybe I should run on the college's track sometimes.

Right I should go and mug chinese now. I'm so glad I'm taking H1 in JC because I learnt so much things that I would have otherwise and have a wonderful teacher.

Something I saw on WeekendToday: When life throws you lehmans, made lemonade. Oh, did I mention it's an advertisement by Subaru? Persuasive ads...

Mug,
Sean

2008-10-24T21:47:00.002+08:00

Today's OP workshop was fun. I guess I stunned the class when my pictures appeared in the slides. Hoho. The old me.

Need to memorise my script since there is one now.

Today's the last chinese lesson of the year. Mdm Lee made bookmarks and wrote personalised words of encouragement for all of us! So 感动 leh..

Though A Level MTL is in less than a week's time, I still don't feel the urgency to study. Come on start it.

I missed my running today because OP ended late. Uh, actually it's not a good excuse. I'll run tomorrow morning. I think I'll try to up the distance by about 500m. Oh man, hope my heart doesn't give me any problems.

Wheels wheels,
Sean

2008-10-20T21:39:00.003+08:00

THIS IS SO HILARIOUS!

Lin Wei got the shock of her life when reading through our WR and preparing for OP...

And this is what she saw:

However, I found this extremely funny, though it is our actual WR. LOL.

How on Earth could we have missed it? AHAHHA!@!~!@#!# Well, the assessors are gonna go "Huh?" when they read this... And I can imagine our ST's face when he look through our WR lah. Hehe..

Well at least they didn't type "Seannie, we deleted that pricey thingy!"

Kaoz. They can drop dead from laughing.

Skip,
Sean

2008-10-18T22:28:00.003+08:00

I'm diagnosed with hypertension =( 150mm Hg/90mm Hg

But looking at things from another side, at least I have no abnormal thyroid activity.

However, I've made a referral to CGH for a cardiologist because things just doesn't feel right. First appointment on 9 dec. That's after SCSM o.o" Now I want to run also scared leh. Tsk...

At the rate I'm going, I'll end up in PES E lah -.-

Anyway, I went to NUSWS's Da Capo yesterday with almost the entire band. Overall, it was good given that they only had 10 rehearsals to prepare for the concert. Hmm, there were many exposed parts that were out of tune within the sections though. 1st trumpeters were good, but they tend to overpush and crack all over the place. Other than that, it was great.

Actually I went to the concert only for the last piece. Haha. Extreme Makeover by Johan de Meij, which is a melodic metamorphoses of a few of Tchaikovsky's works. It was much better than I've expected=) But it's an extremely tough piece to perform, nevertheless.

Well, something for you to ponder over... I chanced upon this article on oxbridge interview questions to filter the good and the great applicants to their school. One of the interview questions asked by Faculty of Medicine, Cambridge, was "If you were a grapefruit, would you rather be seedless or non-seedless?" Totally unrelated can.

I'll be running again tomorrow morning. Sigh, I'm still at like 3km-ish. How to make it for the 10km leh? Hmm...

Seedless or non-seedless?
Sean

2008-10-15T23:41:00.008+08:00

Hurray!

We finally submitted our WR today. Although there were hiccups during the printing yesterday, our group wasn't daunted by it. We still managed to salvage the printing thanks to Ci Hui :)

Obviously, like everyone else, we hope that our WR will bring our group an A. Well we know that the effort we've put in is definitely an A* grade, but it will depend if the assessors are convinced by us. Anyway, WR, make your way to the library ya...

Anyway, I was browsing through Amos' group's WR this morning and I saw a minor error. But it isn't important since it's just an appendix item so no worries! Well, the 2 of us had a good laugh over it today. Haha.

Even if you offer me your bunk, I won't want to eat it ;)

Just kidding...

Ok to end off this post, I'll do some advertising for NSSN at the end of this year:

Credits go to Gillian for designing this!

If you said Majestia was too expensive, you'll have to find another excuse to miss this one =)

That's all folks,
Sean

2008-10-14T14:38:00.003+08:00

Long time since I've last blogged. Now I'm blogging and surfing the net in college.

Somehow I managed to hack into VJC's wireless network :D

Anyway, I've been pretty busy these few days with Chinese programme and PW. I'm supposed to be doing my WR which is due tomorrow but ... Oh well, my groupmates are doing it. Hehe...

Got sunburnt from the band outing at Sentosa last Saturday. Wah so long never get sunburnt. Cool. Then after dinner we played some Chop Chilli game, laughed like shit.

Hmm waiting for my blood test is like waiting for 'O' Levels, but not exciting at all. Somehow I just feel that I won't see a negative test report. Ah, but I hope it's the other way round. As usual, I still experience palpitations a few times everyday. Better be nothing serious.

Thursday. I'll be getting the report on Thursday. Give me the best results I can ever ask for.

PW-ing,
Sean

2008-10-06T22:11:00.005+08:00

My promo grades at a glance: DDEE -_- It's worse than my MYE which was harder.

I'm just so so so disappointed at myself for messing this up. It really was a good opportunity to raise the overall grades. But I messed it all up.

I'm disappointed, not because I did not win everyone (this is a stupid reason to get upset over). I'm disappointed, not because I did not get all the A's I want.

I'm disappointed, because I know my tutors are disappointed with my results.

I'm disappointed, because I know I could have achieved so much better, really.

I'm disappointed, because I feel that I've let down my tutors.

I am one of the minority whose results have deteriorated. All I wanted was to have improvements with each test/exam, but I didn't get it. And it definitely sucks to see people jumping for joy when my results are like shit. Have I set my targets too idealistically? But I have been studying loyally.

I asked myself if I had done my best for the exams. I couldn't answer the question. Because if I really gave in my all, I don't think I'll get so frustrated over my grades. I haven't told my parents about my results though they asked about it. Actually only my mum asked. My dad? Heh, whatever. All I told her was I messed it up. And she went like "Aiyah still in year 1 what", and this is what she ALWAYS say when I tell her about some bad results or what. How many year 1s do I have? I don't want to have more than 1.

Not gonna blame anyone, but myself. For not paying attention in lectures, fooling around in tutorials, for not taking good care of myself that I fell sick during the exam period.

Seriously, I'm going to study through the holidays. I think I should save my ass first, before caring about other things. But anyway, congrats to Amelia for jumping from S to A in math and Garrett for managing to cling on to your A in Bio.

What is stopping me from getting what I really want?

My mum doesn't want me to buy a bicycle. She came to me and started telling me off, when I was already not a good mood. But I didn't "retaliate" because I've learnt that "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." She came to me with my POSB book and told me that I haven't deposited in a long time and obviously (again) I told her I'm saving up for a bike. Then she went "You save that one whole stack of money just to buy a bike? We don't want you to cycle, we want you to drive. NS that time I'll get you to learn to drive and the fees will go up to thousands and you have to save for it. Why bother cycling on the road and get all so sweaty and endanger yourself? Besides, you must save up for your Uni fees. Later you waste your money, buy a bike and also all the helmet lah what lah what lah like you want to go for some competition like that. Be like your brother, look at cars more, not at those stupid bicycles. Just go to ECP and rent a bicycle lah! 1 hour how much only, $3? $4? Let them earn the money lah. And also when you ......"

Of course, words are harsh, compounded that I feel dekcuf enough already, I just didn't say anything. But I think I may just go down to the bank to deposit that $650 for good, to appease her. And maybe just forget about buying one, but I'll keep up with all the tours and stuff.

The higher you want to climb, the harder you are going to fall.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHH!!!
Sean

2008-10-05T09:24:00.005+08:00

I've been to 3 VJC openhouses in my life. 2006, 2007 and 2008.

If you think this year's openhouse was a blast, then you've probably haven't been blasted at by a real good openhouse. In my opinion, this year's openhouse was the worse that I've ever been at. Marc's year was, to me, the best. Noisy, happening, lively, fun, crazy, high, everything. Everybody were out to grab any passers-by along the perimeter of VJC to enter the college that year. It wasn't uncommon to hear "Welcome to VJC!" from literally every part of the college. This year's was quite quiet and less happening so it was a little bit disappointing to me, but I've expected it to be like this.

Maybe it's because everyone only had 1 week to touch-up and do any last minute things for the openhouse since promos just ended.

Or maybe the VJ spirit is dying down. Even Mr Wong feels that way.

Oh why am I complaining about this -.-?

Whatever happened outside the Concourse, I'm not very sure. But all I know was that the Band really rocked down the whole Concourse =) Though it was loud, but it managed to draw attention from a lot of people to come and really, it was, in my opinion, a good source of excitement and all for them. Most importantly, we had lots of fun and I believe that the passers-by who stopped involuntarily to listen and watch enjoyed themselves too!

Ah, this thought came into my mind on the night prior to the openhouse; I saw the conductor of the Hawaii batch of VJCSB conducting the band at the bus bay on '06 and I saw Jia Wei conduct the band last year. Little did I know that I would be the one to conduct the Band this year at the openhouse. It was like a dream ok. Where do I come from? Those openhouses provided like temporary fantasies to me only. So this feeling is like kinda weird...

Well, I enjoyed conducting Orpheus In The Underworld. So fun, haha.

ANYWAY, the college brought in 2 sets of F1 simulators. Before I forget to say, this year's openhouse theme is Va Va Victoria Vroom!. I think it's because of the recent F1 Night Race. So, I paid $2 to drive (supposedly) 2 laps LOL! It was a good experience. Surround sound and the whole seat will vibrate as you drive. BUT it was so embarassing for me ok. I thought the steering wheel is like normal car's, can turn more than 1 round. So I like spin spin spin without realising that it doesn't work. And I brought in my Daytona habit; SLAM THE ACCELATOR! Mistake. BIG mistake. It doesn't work that way either LOL. It's like a real F1 or any other car, gotta accelerate slowly. Wah lao in the end I kept on spinning lol. Until the instructor like, "Haiz, I restart lah. You start from beginning again." Hoho.

The best part is that everyone was watching at the canteen. Malu can. I'm like a road hazard. Rofl!

But he restarted at my second lap, so in total I paid $2 for 3.5 laps. Hehe. Not TOOO bad lah. Fastest lap 1:17, average timing.. Chester topped the board by getting 0:52 -_-;

And this car, I dunno what it is though I liked the sound of the engine roaring. But I think I prefer the clicking sounds of drivetrains more....

This morning started my 1st day for the 10km run. Oh man I took 21 minutes to run 3 rounds wah KAO! But I dunno if 1 round got 1.2km or not. At least I managed to force myself to finish these rounds. Did some krunches 25-25. Then 6 chin-ups. So long never exercise. Can feel the inertia..

Ok time to start on WR. Slacked too long already. 10 days to final submission. GOGO!

Run like an animal,
Sean

2008-10-02T21:48:00.006+08:00

I received this mail from Justin. It's a nice and simple read, but all so true:

A Message by George Carlin [Edit: I removed some redundant things]:

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways ,but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.

We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Good stuff? =)

Keep Trek of your time,

Sean

2008-09-30T22:14:00.002+08:00

Today went to college in the morning to do design the live ad for openhouse. Sian, spent the whole morning pasting the poster then in the end our time slot changed. -_-

Anyway, Dr Ong changed my wire to a thicker one. Muahaha. I'll probably feel the pain tomorrow.

Then went to Borders at Wheelock Place. Spent like 1 hour there because I was glued to the Sports section. Wow, all the cycling books I browsed mentioned Lance Armstrong. Can't wait to get my own bike.

Catched The House Bunny with the Exco this evening. Lol I think it's a chick flick. Yes, it should be a chick flick. Quite funny. I laughed from the start to the end of the movie and the girls are so pretty (after the extreme makeover). If you're someone who likes jokes and some bits of sexual humour, then perhaps this movie is for you.

Tomorrow PW meeting. Going to watch The Days. Apparently Jia Hao told me that my senior is acting as second lead in it. COOL. Haha.

Hmm recently played a lot of WarCraft can. I better stop at the start of the next week. DOTA DOTA DOTA HERE I COME!

Temporary holiday,
Sean

2008-09-28T15:49:00.005+08:00

I'm feeling really really really bored.

Everyone's out partyin' after promos but I'm stuck at home reading chinese. Ok lah, Friday and Saturday were spent fruitfully playing WarCraft -_-! Damn, the last time I opened the game was in June last year hoho. But it was quite fun lah.

No running for me today because I just recovered from fever. And my enthusiasm for road cycling? It's dying down.

A little bit.

JUST a little bit.

It's because I get so damn high and excited about being able to go and cycle, and from watching all those videos but at the end of the day I'll end up failing to tame this obession a single bit. This feeling is horrible. Like, what's the point? I don't have a bike. And obviously, my Mum isn't supportive of me saving up for a bicycle that "What?! So expensive?! Get real and save up for your Uni lecture notes/text books lah. Oh and people are dying (almost) every now and then because of those banglah lorry drivers! They don't have license to driving lorries. You better wait for the government to build the cycling pathways and don't cycle on the road." Will that ever happen -.-? Even if it does happen, I think I'll be in my 30s already. And I would have given up on cycling by then.

Probably my Dad and Bro would agree with her. Hello I'm 17 this year.

On a lighter note, I got $600 already. I get $280 each month, and I'll try to spend at most $80-$100, by mid-December I should be able to save up to $1000. But I'll have to set aside $50 for a new box of reeds =(

I read in Jia Hao's (Hello, if you're reading this) blog that he found a job at Marina Square that pays $5/h. Wah lao that is very good pay ok?! He asked if I am interested but I turned him down O.O I'm crazy. If you work for 5 hours a day for a week, you get $5 x 5 x 5 = $125. Oh my 天!

Enough whining. Gotta go and read chinese.

Internal struggle,
Sean

2008-09-26T13:37:00.003+08:00

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

I got owned by the Bio paper. It's too difficult. The last time I felt so disgusted by my bio was... never?

Skipped a lot of questions. Didn't complete paper. Spent 15 minutes on a 20m essay question lmao essay fail already. GG. Then I learned from Matthew that they took a lot of MCQ questions from their past years' Prelim P1 -_-

I saw some people who got very worked up after the paper and they almost teared loh. Like some of the top bio students. What a nice way to end the promos (excluding chinese)... The sky cried for us just now.

Had so many major hiccups for this exam. So bad can.

Yay I shall go and catch some sleep. Good day readers...

Yawn,
Sean

2008-09-25T13:08:00.003+08:00

My fever came back towards the last hour of Math today =(

Today's Math paper wasn't difficult but then I didn't perform well lah.

Laugh 1: I couldn't prove a 2m differentiation equation.

Laugh 2: I "forgot" how to split this 2m fraction into its partial fractions. In the end I threw away the whole 7m question.

Laugh 3: Put wrong sign for equation of circle's constant. In the end all the time spent drawing the transformation were all wasted. Um that's like 5m?

Laugh 4: I couldn't integrate tan^3(X). What the heck... 3m down.

Laugh 5: I couldn't conjecture a formula for the sequence. 2m. Dots.

Lol. -_-

Wah lao eh,
Sean

2008-09-24T12:12:00.002+08:00

I've got a fever, it's hot and it can't be stop ...

Try sitting for promos with a fever and sore throat.

Especially VJ's Chemistry. Oh my..

Boo fever go away,
Sean

2008-09-22T17:14:00.004+08:00

Woo hoo! I'm so freaking excited and high about promos.

Tomorrow's the start of promo proper :D:D

Dunno why since sec 4 I'm always so excited to go for exams!

Omg I'm so turned on by the thought of beating everyone in my CT, but Sharon will own us anyway.

Come promos, I'm gonna take you down.

Yay,
Sean

2008-09-22T09:22:00.006+08:00

La Vuelta is OVER!!! =(

Alberto Contador is the overall winner of the tour. He must be damn happy lah because he won all the 3 Grand Tours within 15 months. However, he missed his chance of making history because of the doping allegations; to win all 3 GT in the same year. Next year would be hard because Lance Armstrong (and apparently, Floyd Landis) is coming back. Nonetheless, it's a job well done!

Lance Armstrong in TdF 2009. Omg it will be SO exciting to watch. Hoho!

His classic pose

Now that all the action is over, I shall concentrate on my promos.

Exciting exciting,
Sean

2008-09-20T11:49:00.014+08:00

Today marks the first day of me 'doping' =O

10 pills that will last me to the end of the promos. The doctor said I have to start taking 3 days before my papers. Wah, by Tuesday my blood would be saturated with this stuff. If there's a blood test for drugs ah, I'll be the first one to get caught. Just a side note, I'm not taking it due to erectile dysfunction or what, although there is evidence that it can help improve that situation. Just in case you guys get the wrong idea =)

Intellectual dope?

I was studying peacefully few days back and was distracted by a sudden movement I saw from the corner of my eyes. Sia la, this foreign work was setting up the elevator-carrier thingy because they need to wash our building for re-painting. I took a photo of him from my living room. Wanted a front view but so funny right, so I made do with a back-view xD but he still turned over and looked at me.

Man, it's so dangerous! Mind you, I stay on the 16th floor.

Was chatting to Martin on MSN. About how we slacked during Chinese back in school, disturbing Jennifer Lopez (An ex male teacher. Internal joke lah) and making so much noise in class. So fun can. Probably I'll never experience this kind of 'open-ness' anywhere else. Haha.

If you are considering to taking Medicine in the UK Universities, you might wanna take a look at the past year sample BMAT papers here. Some of the questions are like... O.O, but of course, Section 3 would be challenging.

My favourite stage so far of the Vuelta a Espana is Stage 18. Lots of attack and high average speed throughout the race. Exciting. But apparently I can't put the video here =(
Anyway, I think Alberto Contador will be the winner this year.

Enough slacking, I should go and study now.

Mug mug,
Sean

2008-09-19T18:18:00.005+08:00

Wah I'm getting sick of studying. What have I done today?

Read some graph-drawing techniques. That's all...

Spent 1 hour on YouTube, another at togoparts.com

Seriously, I'm starting to lose the push to study! And I haven't finished reading through my syllabus. Besides, I used this study break to change my blogskin. That's how bored I am ok -_- Heavily updated my links and a lot of stuff at the side board. Decided to use back Blogger's default skins.. Simplicity is beauty.

Owning a road bike is SO SO SO expensive ok. I'm even thinking of selling my iPod to raise money. Geez.

Oh take a look at the mechanisms behind the Large Hadron Collider. SO DAMN COOL OK! But I think it's pretty dangerous leh.

Cool sial. What if you put your hand into the tunnel at the final stage of the experiment? LOL!

Ah this documentary on the LHC is a must-watch! See how excited the scientists are. haha.

"Vacuum is a substance." Interesting. Aiyoh, I think I'm obsessed with the LHC...

Anyway I figured out that I screwed my official Bio SPA. I drew a graph with a positive gradient because I stupidly started with 100 at the origin. Omg so stupid. There goes my theory too. And probably my skill D -.-; And my A.

Ok seriously. I'm feeling EXTREMELY SIAN!

Sian to the max,
Sean

2008-09-18T13:12:00.008+08:00

Hoho. GP exam today and I was strangely excited for Paper 1.

I guessed last-minute stuffing of information into my brains worked out fine this time?

I did "Artists have a greater impact on the world than scientists do. To what extent do you agree?" Actually, I wanted to attempt "Do the media unite or divide people?" but looking at how much I have prepared with regards to science, I decided to do the former instead.

Some points I discussed was that Artists used paintings, music and literature as a form of propaganda which was evident in Hitler's Nazi Germany and under Stalin's iron fist that caused turmoil within the nation and between nations.

I also talked about Arts as a means of escapism, an avenue for people to seek solace. Art is possible the only medium whereby "freedom of expression" prevails and is symbolic to the sense of religion. I referred to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and how he cleverly tweaked facts and beliefs of religious paintings like The Last Supper that caused an uproar in contemporary society.

Hmm on the other hand, I discussed the power of genetic modifications that scientists have recently discovered and how people can "be their own God", looking from detractors' point. Preventing potential heritable diseases and favouring specific phenotypes are some examples I gave.

Another one is on answering the many "whys" about origin of life. Started talking about the Human Genome Project and more recently, the start-up of the Large Hadron Collider and how they help us understand more of the homo sapiens (the human species) and proving theories that lie behind the hypothesised Big Bang and the mysteries of the dark matter. I wanted to talk about how the LHC is safe because of Hawking Radiation, but nah cause I thought I would go out of point.

The Large Hadron Collider

Ended off by stressing the need to recognise that Art and Science have a symbiotic relationship and people should not ask if, indeed, "Artists have a greater impact on the world than scientists do" en route to the betterment of the future of Mother Earth's inhabitants. Uh, something like that.

It's a pity that I didn't bring in technology. Oh well..

Heh Paper 2 wasn't good at all. Passages about contemporary women and men; chick and lad literature. I never read such books before but I guess chick lit is pretty degrading to women.

I thought I read "tour de force" as "tour de france" LOL! Had to re-read those 3 words a few times to assure myself that, yes, it's "tour de force". What's wrong man haha..

And I saw the words alpha male. *Cough*. Sneaky arh, you are everywhere. HAH! Ok internal joke..

Hopefully I can do decently for P1 and pass P2 so that I can get better than I got for MYE.

Ok, shall go and have my fix of cycling on velonews.tv .

Such a long post,

Sean

2008-09-13T20:35:00.004+08:00

Hello.

I'm starting to feel sian already. Didn't really feel like talking for the past week. Sometimes want to be alone. I dunno why leh -_- And I think this is bad.

I remember going to ECP after Sec 2 Promos to scream and swear at the sea. Felt so shiok! I'm going to do that after promos...

Bio and Chem mock SPA results were horrible, and next week's the official one. Hmm, I'm sure I can do it on the actual days =)

I went for my Bro's graduation ceremony yesterday at Ritz Carlton. Woah, the hotel is damn high class can. And the refreshments were delicious =D~ Wah lao, I missed my brother when he went up to receive his cert. I was getting ready to take photo then I realised he's walking down the stage already. Stupid me. They could have gotten someone better at English to read out all the names. The most 'memorable' one was "...From the Fuhcowtee(Faculty) of..." and I was like =O .The graduate address wasn't exceptionally inspiring either.

Well, not say I'm blaming the lady who mispronounced my bro's name that caused me to miss him. But seriously, she and the guy before him spoke with weird accents and not-so-accurate pronounciations. Ok I should stop complaining because I don't speak very good English either. Let's hope that Thomas took a photo of him shall we? On a lighter note, great work to all who received your degrees yesterday, and Dr James Gomez for achieving his Doctorate in Philosophy (I hope I didn't get this wrong). Haha.

Ah I did this Wet Footprint test just now and I think I AM over-pronating a little bit. Maybe this is why I'm getting shin splints. How ah? I'm going to run tomorrow again to de-stress. Hopefully the problem doesn't come back =/

Talking about de-stress; I went to the doctor's to get gut-fortification pills today. All these exam stress and nonsense giving me stomachaches lah. The doctor also introduced me this sulbutiamine drug that supposedly will relieve me from intellectual fatigue and improve concentration. She said there won't be withdrawal symptoms. I'll try it out lah and if it really works out well for me, I may get this again for my prelims and A's. But then again, it feels a bit like doping for an exam -_-;

My Dad and Bro watching soccer match now. Liverpool against Man U. Both of them say Liverpool has little chance of winning. Lol we'll see how true that is later.

Meanwhile, I don't think I can focus on studying with their occasional shouts and sighs. Probably I'll turn in early tonight.

That's all folks,
Sean

2008-09-06T14:53:00.007+08:00

This was what happened after I got sick from all the mugging. Went to YouTube and started watching lame things like this:

Argh!! Can't really see the right side of things in my blog - literally. I should change my skin soon. But actually, it's pretty cool ahhah.

How tempting. Of course the 10km one lah. The HM and FM route looks disgusting. Lol or you can choose to sign up for the Kids' Dash, 750m xD ! Ok not very funny...

What's stopping me?

Back to mugging,
Sean

2008-09-05T12:06:00.002+08:00

Holy SHIT! It's Friday!

BOOOoOooOoo.....

I'm EXTREMELY distracted these 2 days.

I woke up at 8am today and it's 12pm now. What have I done?

PROTEINS OMG.

4 Hours on that chapter. ONLY. Shit shit shit...

BOOOooo DISTRACTIONS!
Sean

2008-09-02T19:19:00.005+08:00

Oh my God -.-

I dreamt about cycling and running yesterday night. What the hell's wrong with me...

Sheesh, I ran today again but for a pathetic 16 minutes. Shin splint again. AGAIN! I think should rest awhile before I start running again. But it'll be hard, cuz running is just so addictive...

Today was pretty bad. I think there's a micro-crack in my tibia because it hurt a bit when I rubbed one part of the bone. And my muscles were painful, stiff and sore. Yes pain is good, but not this kind of pain ;O

I think I better rest... Until Friday :D:D

Hmm I found this bike shop at Ubi. I think I saw 2 road bikes. Only 2 lah please -_- and they look as if they were there for aeons. I'm still looking for the one OPPOSITE my house. Sian cannot find it. Omg take a look at this TT bike. Although I don't understand half of what he's saying when he give the intro of the bike, the bike is still damn nice O.O . Ok I managed to catch 'Jet/Jack-foil set-up' and 'Ultra aerodynamic'. Something like that? And dunno what bar lah.

Lol cheap thrills.

Ok, then here are some of the spastic photos our class took last Thursday. Enjoy...

Studying is soooooooo fun.

Sean

2008-08-31T19:45:00.002+08:00

I finally started mugging! And I'm happy of it.

Let's see..
Math did a bit of differentiation,
Chem did atomic structure, gases, chemical bonding, stoichiometry,
Econs did central problems, DS analysis, income inequality, govt failure.

Yay I started, but I still feel that I'm not going fast enough. I'm planning to complete half of the syllabus within the one-week break. Wee~!

Going to start Bio later. Waha!

Anyway, these 2 days... The planes zooming around the airspace above my area are giving me headaches. The RSAF Air Show lah. Really really loud. Tsk, The Paya Lebar airbase is so close to me house? Cycle-able distance from my house. Ok lah, walk-able distance. Can even see the planes take off and land! That's how close it is to my house -.-

Heh, I got over my chem results. It's nothing lah. Thanks if you are one of those who comforted me in college. Actually, comforting me doesn't really help. Next time see me emo, just leave me be.

Study mood,
Sean

2008-08-28T22:12:00.001+08:00

Don't Give Up, You Are Loved by Josh Groban:

The time is here. It's either do or die.

Just fuck it,
Sean

2008-08-23T15:21:00.002+08:00

Ever wondered why China's table tennis national players are so good?
I was reading The Newpaper this morning and I found out why...

They choose 96 players (I'm not sure if they do this on a yearly basis) to train them in sports school. These 96 players are the cream of the crop in their entire population. Then these talents are then put to harsher trainings and they compete overseas to see who are worthy enough to represent their country. "The best will be retained and those who do not meet the mark are discarded." Hoho.

They only rest 12 days each year o.o"

Look at the last paragraph. Power pack lah. So hardcore.

Do you know why now?

Photos taken from The Newpaper, 23/8/08

Lethargic,

Sean

2008-08-22T23:58:00.002+08:00

ARGH! The past week had been a hectic and stressful one for me. Not to mention that it wasn't a very pleasant one.

My mock Bio SPA wasn't good at all. I misread the question =( It's a freaking change in [substrate] and not [enzyme] lah. But it's over now.

Chemistry test? roflmaozedong. I felt that I was sitting in the LT of a wrong JC doing a wrong paper. I felt damn freaking stupid. That's how bad it was for me. The questions aren't exactly hard, but I just can't start them properly. Sucky, but it's over now.

Economics Progress Test. MAY BE the best (of the very bad) progress test I've done this year. I still didn't complete my essay. Too much things to write in the given time. Structure of my essay was like roflmaozedong. But you know what? It's over now.

Today was mock Chem SPA. My calculated heat evolved was the same as my heat of neutralisation or something like that wth. Then I managed to only come up with 4 sources of error. Bad bad. But it's over now.

Proteomics today was quite interesting. Chemical equilibrium, titration of amino acids and bases. Manageable. The tutor is kinda funny.

And guess what? I haven't started my revision (not counting those topics I revised for the tests), something I planned to start 2 weeks ago. Olympics are gonna be over soon. I can start REAL SOON.

I realised that these few weeks I've been doing very little things with a hell lot of time. I think chronic fatigue is coming after me. I must maintain!

The final sprint,
Sean

2008-08-15T18:45:00.005+08:00

Hello. Was walking around college and saw these. Haha pretty funny lah. They should make more of this =)

Then went to canteen after lessons to watch the table tennis match. All hog the seats for a good view!

Quite exciting.. Often hearing this when someone wins a set:

Ok I'm done for today.

A bad feeling,

Sean

2008-08-12T18:20:00.005+08:00

Hoho this is my 200th post since I started blogging 2 years ago. Time flies eh?

Goodie, Dr William Tan came to our college today to give us a talk. Man, I didn't take proper note of the title of his talk. But it's something about getting what we want in life. I think?

Just to share with you some of the quotes from his talk. He definitely took some of them off books and literature he read before but they're still good, classic sayings that we should know. As you read through, just spend some time reflecting on your actions. Maybe you need to re-recognise your dreams.

"We set our own limitations."

"Recognise what you don't have but maximise what you have."

"Take 100% responsibility for your life."

"Think bigger than you've ever thought before. [Think RI]."

"Doesn't matter where you come from, but how you spend your time there."

"Challenge your limiting mindsets."

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."

"You can be rejected but be undefeated."

"Passion is the answer."

"Imagination is fired by obstacles."

"Push the boundaries and going the extra mile. Keep stretching."

"Be consistent with your efforts, treasure all opportunities."

Hmm actually a lot of the things he said was repeated from what he said last year at St. Pat's. But he's still very inspiring lah. It's so cool that he'll even go to my secondary school. Haha Brother Nicholas must have really good contacts...

But damn, I wanted to take a photo with Dr Tan. I guessed I missed my chance again.

The Olympics fever is on in college! The plasma screen is on at the Olympics channel and you won't be surprised to find a group of students crowding underneath it to watch all the exciting action in Beijing. Oh and not forgetting the occasional cheers that you can hear everytime some athlete does extremely well. Or girls ogling Michael Phelp's six-packs? I dunno.

Ah I found this damn stylo-milo picture in my folder. Carlos Sastre. I think it was taken some time ago:

Bah, I need to cycle! I'm so dead. I think I really got hooked up by cycling. Thanks lah.

A fetish for wheels,

Sean

2008-08-09T20:09:00.006+08:00

Happy National Day to all! =)

Today was a pretty slack day. Watched Weightlifting 48kg Women and Road Cycling Men. The Chinese lady broke the Olympic record, lifting a weight of 117kg, more than twice her own weight! And wow Samuel Sanchez from Spain won the race. 245km, 6 hours 23min. OMG I almost watched the entire thing can?! Luckily I managed to do some tutorial questions and a LITTLE bit of revision. I was still quite distracted though.

Sanchez celebrating his victory..

Hmm I realised that there's a bike shop next to my house that sell Scott bikes. I think this one is decent but it costs $729 and don't have drop-handlebars..

I shall keep my options open and search for cheaper ones.

Yesterday Eunice, Shearen, Linwei and I still went cycling at ECP. Well, I expected the response from the class to be crappy. Not everyone enjoys cycling. And yea, I don't care if you are from S39 and you are reading this.

Took this somewhere at/near Changi Beach.

Finally satisfied (temporarily) my hunger for a ride. The wind blowing against my head and chionging down the path; This feeling is good.

I really should stop procrastinating,

Sean

2008-08-07T19:27:00.005+08:00

Hello people. I guess it's time for me to update.

Last Saturday I met up with 4E1'07 at the Shamrock Cove for Weng's farewell bbq. He left this morning for ShangHai to do his IB. He said he'll be doing something like psychology. Cool. But damn, I forgot to bid him bon voyage this morning T_T Nvm.. It's the thought that counts.

Took these photos with my phone. I screwed up the class photo by trying to adjust the contrast and all =( but still can make out which guy is me. Heh.

And this is how St. Pat's really look like at night. Photos are uneditted.

The old parade square.

The parade square outside the Band room where many tearing, shouting, crying, screaming, screwing, running, push-ups, duck-walks, fighting, bleeding, last parades.. happened.

Hmm then did anything special happened on Monday and Tuesday? Don't know. Shan't wreck my brain trying to think lah. We learnt about Domains and Modules for Proteomics, and I think we'll be moving into structures in the next lesson. Exciting.

Oh Nie Jiao's birthday fell on Tuesday. I almost forgot to take her with the cake until someone reminded me LOL! Shit.

Economics article critique. Sian --;

Yesterday was Feelin' Fab! and I literally skated the whole day. Rollerblading in the morning and ice-skating in the afternoon. Hah fun fun but fell down like how many times. So I actually woke up today feeling pain all over my body. Feel quite shiok lah, the suan-ness. Yay so I learned a new skill :D:D However, I think I'll still stick to cycling. Recently there were nothing much of cycling happening around me, since the end of TdF other than talking about it with some people. This is so.. not right.

Today was really bad. I had a hard time getting my mum to sign the consent form for me to donate blood and she finally signed it like last week. I was so mentally-prepared for the donation, but they disallow donation from donors who had fever in the last 3 weeks. Freak! I recovered from fever last week. I felt damn shitty lah. Poor Zan, she waited for more than 2 hours (yes, the response from the college was overwhelming) just to hear from the nurse "Sorry Miss, your vein is too small for the donation" or something along that line. Quite sad =(

Eunice couldn't donate too cause of some.. reasons.

Ya lah then went for bio and econs tutorial. And Amos came out with a pink bandage. What an attention-philic... shit (=D HI AMOS I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS!). Aww just kidding yea! :D Pink is nice. LOL.

Came back from some talk organised by Medical Society. Quite thought-provoking, making us to rethink of our purpose in life. Hmm.

Tomorrow's National Day celebration and probably cycling with my class at ECP. But I think I won't be able to cycle cuz my back and legs are still aching badly since this morning. Sucks.

Right, though quite paradoxical, I really gotta start studying.. Yes.

It's really about the process,
Sean

2008-08-01T18:33:00.003+08:00

Things are getting very busy for me. But there won't be band practice for the next 2 weeks, so I think it kind of acts as a buffer.
Right, I'll just keep things short and sweet here.

Recently got a new phone. Sony Ericsson c902. The resolution of the camera 5.0 mega-pixel :D

Mrs Koh is MIA so we got this relief teacher who coughs quite a bit. He's gonna have his vocal cords injured if he continue to 'shout' .

Oh and I didn't do well for my 2.4 again. Sucks.

Today Mr C told me that our fanfare on College Day was great. And he... I think I'll stop here.

I think the students taking Proteomics are making me feel intimidated. We have yet to reach the 'meat' of the topic but the quality of their answers to tutorial questions are so zohmygod much better than mine.

Somehow I got this weird feeling that if I don't go for the econs and chem remedials, I'll not score well for Promos and I won't be able to continue taking Proteomics. Hai.. And yes, it's already August and promos are coming in about 6 weeks' time. Some of my friends already started revision and yet they are complaining that others are much ahead of them. Oh shit.

I must start studying!
Sean

2008-07-28T19:12:00.004+08:00

Carlos Sastre is the overall winner of Le Tour de France 2008 :D

Team CSC WOOOO~!~~

=( The Tour has ended for 2008. Wait till the next year... No time to blog. Gotta chiong WR!

What's next?
Sean

2008-07-25T22:34:00.003+08:00

Ah, let's reminisce the good old times. This was performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado. Pianist: Mikhail Pletnev. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, it's about 23 minutes long. It's really worth your time so enjoy:

1st Part:

2nd Part:

3rd Part:

A true masterpiece by Rachmaninov,
Sean

2008-07-22T17:53:00.002+08:00

Mark Cavendish pulled out of Le Tour de France for Beijing Olympics. :O
Perhaps I should stop predicting who will win because it seems like they're getting out of the tour one by one lol. Hmm.. Maybe Cadel Evans or Alejandro Valverde?

Ah thank god the baby cat didn't die in our car engine. According to my mum, they couldn't find it when they conducted the cat-hunt. I supposed it dropped out of the engine on my way to college. ~_~ Not very assuring either, though I know at least it's not heated to death by us. Why didn't I try harder to stop my dad? I felt SO BAD in college thinking about it...

Went to the dentist's today. Changed the wire to a thicker one. Wahah so it's gonna be more painful, more shiok. Ok I know I sound quite sadistic... Then the nurse said my package is $4000. What? That time they say $3500 one lor. Cheat my feelings.

I feel very insecure these few days leh. Like something's gonna happen to me or what. Like I'm not going to cope well in college. Scary. Talking about this... I suddenly realised that my Chem SPA is on this Friday. Thanks lah Lin Wei -_-

Sad man, TdF is ending in about a week's time T_T! Why does it feel like it's so fast?

Gruelling,
Sean

2008-07-20T09:40:00.009+08:00

Oh yes I finally ran.

Today was a pretty good run I guess.. I ran a longer route. So it's about 3+ rounds for 25 minutes. Walked an additional 5 minutes. Damn pain man :D~

Then sit-ups and chin-ups all those. I thought I saw abs when I was bathing LOL. Ok good it's coming out xD

Yesterday's alumni band practice was so-so lah. Very few people came down but can still make up a band. And I think we sound quite good lah. It's been a while since I last heard a decent band sound, with powerful horns and cornets, not forgetting quality wind players. This year's repertoire really looks exciting :D Maybe except that we'll be playing Machu Picchu. I'll be playing it for one year lah.

Ok, maybe Mark Cavendish will win. Haha he is so disgustingly good.

This picture was taken few months back in the Three Days of De Panne race. I think.

Yeah, stop doping, assholes.

Right gotta go and do my tutorials. Have PW meeting in the afternoon. Thats all folks!

Pain is indeed very good,

Sean