Thursday, January 28, 2010

Post 5 out of 5- Inconsiderate man

This is the final official post of the 5 posts required for my English CA assignment. Today, we continued learning more on the blood vessels in our body and learned some new phrases in during Chinese lesson. Next up, we had lessons with the magnanimous Mr. Hamilton, who voluntarily gave us some good vocabulary. Then, we did some reading and progressed further in to the comprehension package. We then continued my group's assessment of the library during the OPW period.

After school, I headed to a hawker centre to have my lunch. I decided to buy chicken rice before find a seat. I went to a stall ( I will now say the stall's name ) and ordered a plate of chicken rice and requested that the chicken be skinless ( learned from Mr. Gabriel ). The stout stall owner did not look up from the counter but he took out a plate of rice and started slicing chicken. Thinking that he did not hear what I said, I repeated my order, this time louder. To my utmost surprise, not only did the portly stall owner not look up, he sliced off the chicken skin and threw it with force into the rubbish bin, making a pretty loud noise, To make things worse, he sort of slammed the plate of chicken rice on the counter. Finally, to add the icing on the 'cake', the owner said in a rude voice "Two fifty" I felt that he disdained me and felt insulted. However, I felt that the matter was inconsequential and decided against ticking off the stall owner. I paid the money and went to find a seat.

In my opinion, I feel that stall owners, regardless of the customer's race or religion, should treat customers fairly and not discriminate them. Regardless of how unlucky their day is, they still have to serve the customers with a cheery smile so that the customers will not be affected by your mood. I also feel that when you smile and be optimistic, your troubles will be gone within a matter of time.However, when you frown, you will affect other people's mood as well. Stall owners should be kind and friendly to their customers in order for them to keep coming back for more. If I were the inconsiderate chicken rice stall owner, I would definitely feel contrite, but never mind, let bygones be bygones.

This brings me to the end of another post. Goodbye to all!


Monday, January 25, 2010

Post 4 out of 5- An irony

Good Day to all. The title says it all. Today was supposed to be a fun-filled day but for me, I met with an unfortunate incident. Don't you call that an irony?

The first lesson of the day was character education. We had to come up with ideas to raise money for the unfortunate. Under the 'guidance' of our Peer Support Leaders, my group managed to come up with the idea to wash people's cars to raise funds for the needy.

Next up was Biology and Mathematics where we learned more about the subject respectively. They never fail to intrigue me because one topic is connected to another and another... the line never ends!

Up next was the feared, the hated... Home Economics, where we all had to continue sewing a bear. I must say, at the beginning of my first year at VS, I wan't an avid fan of Home Economics. However, under the composed and calm guidance of my two Home Economics teachers, I have come to accept that Home Economics is part of life and that we all have to learn sewing and cooking so that we can apply it in our daily lives.

Come to think of it, my primary school has teachers that are pugnacious and impatient, always shouting at their students when they did something wrong. This is quite the opposite at VS. Some teachers in my old primary school were also mendacious, but for a good cause. For example, my primary six form teacher always lied that her other students are well behaved and very attentive, which my classmates and I soon found out. She said that all was to make us improve.

Now, back to today's events, I left the classroom at about 1.15p.m. to go for National Education training. A group of 20 students(including me), hurriedly ate our lunch and proceeded to the venue, making it just on time. The venue was a LAN shop called H.I.G.H. It is located opposite Roxy square and beside Katong shopping centre. The atmosphere in the big room gave me a modern feeling and makes one feel as if they had stepped into the future of the cyberworld. We took our seats and completed 3 very 'useful' mundane missions in the game called VBS2 ( Virtual Battlespace 2) After the boring training missions, we organized a match and played to our hearts' content.( Well, at least for the first round) The graphics were quite low and it was totally different from other first person shooter games so it puts even the most experienced players to the same level as the beginner players.

After the first round, complaints started ringing because the computer was a bit laggy. Not long after , the fun started to die down and people started killing their own teammates. All of a sudden, I felt very cold and asked my friends if they felt cold. They simply shook their head and continued gaming. To make things worse, my throat hurt whenever I swallowed saliva and when I drank water, my ears will feel as if someone stuffed their fingers into it. I rushed straight for home after the training and here I am, writing my fourth post.

In my opinion, I feel that first person shooter games gives one the chance to experience firsthand how it feels like on a battlefield. However, if the real battlefield is like VBS2 ,I certainly would not want to be invovled or get stuck in it! When the need arises, we have to get the courage to fight in the name of our country. Now, that brings to the end of another post. This is a sick Brandon, signing off~


Virtual Battlespace 2

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Post 3 out of 5- Sunday today, but writing on Friday's events


Sorry to all. This 3rd post was supposed to be on Friday but due to to some technical difficulties, it could only be done today. Today's post will be on what happened on Friday.

Well, at first, I thought that Friday will just be another mundane day... CCA and lessons. To kick start the day, just after morning assembly, it started to drizzle. Then, it was time for Literature lesson. When we found out that Mr. Daniel Tan did not come to school today, the whole class grew very rowdy(except for maybe Gabriel, who was rushing through his Literature homework)and inevitably, a teacher was attracted to the noise. This time, it was not Mr. Chia but Mr. Maran, whom in my opinion was a brusque man, that stepped into the class. What happened next turned out to change my opinion of the head of pupil development English teacher completely. I think the whole class(if not me) were(was) expecting a long lecture but to my utmost surprise, his way of speaking is just like my 'charismatic' form teacher, Mr. Hamilton( he likes to tell jokes) and it suggests that he is a patient and benign man.

Next up was Mother Tongue and PE-Theory respectively. After recess, we continued on Algebraic expressions and learnt three new formulas. I must say, that algebra is a little tricky sometimes. After maths, was history, where we watched youtube videos about the histoy of Singapore and of course, to let us unwind a little, some funny video about the ERP thing.

At 2.15p.m., I trudged(although it was only a short distance) with my heavy bag to the ampitheatre and got assembled for CCA ( my CCA is NCC Land). Well that day turned from electrifying to just a little sizzling. We just did drills, had physical training and then played soccer.( which was quite rare)

Come to think of it, I feel that my seniors in NCC have build up my discipline. They have also taught me the correct way to do drills, and did not make a big fuss about small things. However, when we hear the 'bomb ticking' from our staff sergeant/ sergeants the whole platoon brushes up their drills and try to avoid getting knocked down(do push ups). As our platoon goes through thick and thin as one, we have bonded very well and this is another reason we can thank our seniors for. At the start of life at VS, the thought of 'NCC' sort of made think that it was boring and I was morose when I could not appeal out of the CCA. Now, I think of NCC as fun and every week, we sort of look forward to gritting our teeth and enduring through drills and physical training and be rewarded by bring able to play games.

That is all everyone. The third post is done. Well, I guess I will be writing again tomorrow since I still have two more posts to go. Till then, bye~

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Post 2 out of 5- Table Tennis


Hello everyone... once again. Well, today nothing much happened during lessons today. . Learned some new stuff in Biology, did some project work during HMT, filed up some english paper and of course the amazing OPW lesson in the IT lab.
After school, i went to play table tennis with my classmates. When there was about four of us left, i continued playing and playing, training my weak backhand. However, when there was a chance to smack, i would just seize the opportunity and try to get the crucial points and half the time, the ball will go out of bounds . Not long after, my classmates have discovered my style of playing and stepped back counter my smash. The counterattack, which is usually fast and also has spin to it, will always catch me off guard and cause me to hit the ball out, causing me points.

When i was playing a match, all of a sudden, i don't know why, i had a brainwave. When there was a chance to smack the ball, i resisted the urge and tried as hard as i could to hit lightly. That proved to work well and it 'stunned' my opponent. From then on , i smack at random times so that my opponent could not figure out the pattern.

Come to think of it, i feel that i have improved drastically since i first started playing table tennis. I remember vaguely that i used to served super high balls and i would get defeated even when my opponents did not take me seriously. In one way or another, i felt that table tennis has helped me to be more patient towards other people. I used to be very stubborn and grew impatient easily. For example, in my first year in VS, there were always long queues in front of the chicken rice stall. I tried queuing to buy the delicious ( seriously, it tastes fantastic) chicken rice but after 5 minutes, I grew very impatient and left the queue. The same concept applies for table tennis. If i keep attacking and smacking, the ball may go out, giving the opponent some easy points. From this experience, I realised that the crux to winning in table tennis is to be patient and not to be too aggressive. Sometimes, it is good for you to smack, sometimes it is not. Well, that brings me to the end of another post. See ya all next time!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Post 1 out of 5- Swimming Day !

Hi everyone. This is the first official of the 5 posts that is to be graded. Today, like all other Sundays, was the " Swimming Day ". I had to endure 1hr 15mins ( 15 mins warm-up so quite slack ) of pure torture from my coach. I had to wear pajamas( with an extra t-shirt inside), which according to my coach, who help GREATLY if i happen to be stuck in the middle of the sea with clothes on. It was also to train me for our Gold Star Swimming Test. He instructed us to swim laps and clocked our times when i finished.

Like every other lesson, I was EXHAUSTED and panting as if i was chased by a mad dog after the laps. Well... i must say that my timing wasn't just as good as last week, where i clocked a record time of 2min and 28seconds, my best timing this week was 2min 34seconds only. However, my coach, who was a very optimistic guy, did not reprimand me but instead motivated and encouraged me to do better. That made me feel more confident, and i will try to better my best record and gun for the gold star award in June or September.

Well, swimming has taught me quite a number of lessons. First of all, it has taught me to be determined. In order for me to get good swimming times, when i am swimming, i have learnt to be focused and concentrate on improving my timing. It, for some weird reason, has been my source of motivation when i am struggling for air yet trying to swim faster in the water. Swimming has also taught me to never be daunted by the tasks ahead and to be confident. For example, during my Gold Swimming Test last year, i thought that i could not finish all the laps within the given 40minutes time. I pictured myself failing and watching the other participants pass with flying colours. I even considered withdrawing from the test! However, during my pre-test training, my coach tested me and i passed with about 8 minutes to spare! From then on i picked up my confidence, trained super hard for the test and eventually passed. I felt like i was on cloud nine when i found out that i has passed the test.



Well, that's the end of my first post. I'm signing off now~ Bye~~~~

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Start of CA1 Grading of 5 posts

Hello, i just added some songs and polls into my blog. Yesterday was the start of the English CA1 grading of the posts on the blog. It stands for 50% of my school's CA man!!!! We got until 28 Jan to do it and each post has to be at least 250 words long... We have to do a sort of reflective post about things that happened on that particular day. So to all that visit my blog, no weird comments on the comment box Please!! Thx!

Monday, January 11, 2010