La semaine du defi.
Bonjour.
Some of the groups are all-Singaporean, while some of the non-Singaporeans have inserted themselves among the locals. Good. Everyone’s got their own groups. But there’s no doubt that my challenge week group is the most diverse of all. Cool. There’s a Filipino, a Sri Lankan, two Malaysians, a Singaporean, and a Nigerian. Swanky. It’s the most ideal grouping ever among the grade 11s. It clearly lives up to the school’s value of Internationalism. Nice. But I have come to the realization that it is because of this diversity which made it hard to arrive at any magnanimous unanimous agreement among us.
All of us in the group are very close friends. I resign myselft to the fact that I belong to this circle, this clique, although I would want, as much as possible, to cut the circle. I don’t really like the idea that I am being inclusive. That’s why I try to mingle around and enjoy the company of other good friends every now and then. Just like a freelancer in search of different job prospects.
I hope that challenge week will be worthwhile, after all the money that has been extravagantly spent for THE hotel. Personally, I don’t see the need to stay there. It is such a waste of money. And dude, we are going for CHALLENGE WEEK. NOT SPA WEEK.
And the recent happenings in Phuket, they just simply add to all the excitement about going there.
United Nations.
1 x Filipino
1 x Indonesian
2 x Singaporeans
1 x Malaysian
1 x Norwegian
1 x Nigerian
Finally.
17 August to 23 August 2008. This week was simply crazy.
I am so glad it’s over.
Anyway, this is so cool.
From bushy to bushless.
BEFORE
AFTER
No, no.
I’m not selling skin whitening lotion.
I had my head shaved for a good cause.
Saves money for shampoo and barber costs.
But, actually, I haven’t collected donations yet.
I’m going to start soon.
Jack Sparrow. or The Joker.
When I discovered in today’s ToK lesson that History can be described as a cycle of events, I began to think of what would I become in the future. Would I live in the future to recreate the horrors of the World Wars, or instigate a hunger strike like what Gandhi did? Or would I live to follow the footsteps of the great economists of today? Would I live to relive the glorious days of the Philippines, to rekindle stellar economic growth and fuel the pursuit for peace and prosperity, like what Magsaysay did?
Or would I live to reincarnate the life of a simple, unknown man, who lived on less that a dollar a day, who lived in the rubbish mountains of Payatas; fed his children with toyo and asin, and if fortunate enough, with galunggong and talbos ng kamote every single day; who barely had the chance to own a decent house; whose plans of going to school to learn how to write his name remained forever as a dream?
If history was a cycle of events, then there is no point knowing about it. We just have to anticipate the future – our fate- for it has already been pre-destined, that one of us might achieve all the glory and power, while some of us might live under hardships and turmoil. Why bother at the first place? Your menu has already been decided. You just have to wait for it to be served.
Anyway, enough of crapping. Time for tag blogs!!
1. What is the relationship of you with him/her?
A discombobulated give and take relationship, where money is the quintessence of every topic and discussion.
2. Your 5 impressions towards him/her?
a) cute
b) extrovert on the outside
c) introvert on the inside
d) many people think that the person is intelligent but he isn’t
e) lazy, utterly lazy
3. The most memorable thing he/she has done for you?
Been with me all this time.
4. The most memorable thing he/she has said to you?
Jia you!!
5. If he/she becomes your lover, you will..
It’s impossible.
6. If he/she becomes your enemy, you will..
Oh, this is possible. Very interesting. A possible war of thoughts and ideas.
7. If he/she becomes your lover, he/she has to improve on..
Cannot lah
8. If he/she becomes your enemy, the reason is..
Schizophrenia.
9. The most desirable thing to do for him/her is?
To sleep early every single day.
10. The overall impression of him/her is..
He’s very eccentric, but people nonetheless view his eccentricity as part of his normality as a person.
11. How do you think the people around you will feel about you?
I dunno?
12. The character for you for yourself is?
i love the camera lens.
13. On contrary, the character you hate of yourself is?
Like everyone else. LAZY.
14. The most ideal person you want to be is?
Jack Sparrow. or The Joker.
15. For the people who care about and likes you, say something about them.
I LOVE you guys. (:
Ten people to tag.
1. Candice
2. Ryan Lim
3. Danusha
4. Baby Kangaroo
5. Chris Sien
6. John Ooi
7. Nicolette
8. Jose
9. Weijie
10. Amanda Bassey-Duke (although she doesn’t have a blog, but I don’t care)
Who is number 2 having a relationship with?
Ooooh I know I know.. haha (:
Is number 3 a male of a female?
FEmale.. I suppose. She wears a bra. And she wears a skirt to school.
If number 7 and 10 were together would it be a good thing?
No way.
How about number 5 and 8?
Sexy.
What is number 1 studying about?
GP! hahaMaths, Econs, PA, Business, MUET. For STPM.
When was the last time you had a chat with them?
1. Via wordpress commentbox, 12 Aug 2008
2. MSN, 12 Aug 2008
3. MSN, 12 Aug 2008
4. In school, 12 Aug 2008
5. Verbal communication, a few minutes ago, 12 Aug 2008
6. Verbal communication, a few hours ago, 12 Aug 2008
7. In school, 12 Aug 2008
8. In school, 12 Aug 2008
9. In school 12 Aug 2008
10. Quick exchange of words, a few hours ago, 12 Aug 2008
Is number 4 single?
single. and available.
Say something about number 6?
My most mature friend. He’s like a father figure. One of the best Malaysians I’ve ever met. Seriously. He loves to crack jokes, he speaks a lot with his circle of friends. Very inquisitive. Emotionally strong. And patient. And VERY, VERY, VERY tolerant. (:
Singapore’s National Day, the Philippines, Beijing Olympics 2008, and Paris Hilton.
Today was SJII’s national day celebration. It was fun!
I must say, the way they celebrate National Day here in Singapore is totally different in the Philippines. Back home, I could hardly see people celebrating and jubilating, or match-making apparel in obeisance to the colours of the flag, or even bothering to sing independence day songs. If anyone did, it would be awkward for him or her to do it all alone in a crowd of unenthusiastic bums. I guess the spirit of independence has died off; in a way, we’ve been doing it for more than 100 years now. Every thing becomes increasingly less interesting over time.
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I totally hate THE TV network now. Seriously. But I’m not bringing my anger to court whatsoever. We support the pursuit for peace and harmony.
Why do they have to flash the effing commercials at the time when the Philippine delegation was to come out in front of that whopping ninety-thousand audience to walk around the insides of that gorgeous metal nest?!? I felt like smashing the TV. I waited so long for them to come out and parade themselves around the track! Then, it just came to me the fact that I actually totally missed that part because the TV station went for a commercial break when ideally, they shouldn’t be. A commercial break at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I didn’t want to see the parade of some small country in the Atlantic or some secluded strip of land in the Pacific, or some minute delegation of countries which I have never even bothered to know about. I wanted to see The Philippines. I don’t care whether one person, two, three, or even six hundred of them Filipinos paraded, I just wanted to see that placard saying “The Philippines”, the name that originated from that Spaniard king who died of syphilis, the name that sometimes I am proud of and sometimes I am not proud of, the name that many foreigners misspell innocently. The name that is The Philippines. and I just wanted to see that beauiful flag, red, blue, white, and yellow, in unison. A Czech Republic flag under the presence of the bright shine of the sun and the dazzling glow of the stars. I wonder how many Filipinos here in Singapore were as outraged as me.
But I must say, Beijing’s done a fantastic opening ceremony. It was amazing! And the Olympic torch! It was.. WOW. Expect lots of smog tomorrow though. The amount of fireworks they used was just overwhelming. The whole sky above the Bird’s Nest was literally covered with the smoke.
*********
Amanda and I had a discussion before about naming nationalities. US people are always referred to as the Americans, Canada people as the Canadians, Germany people as the Germans, France people as French, the Netherlands people as the Dutch, Thailand people as the Thais, Taiwan people as the Taiwanese, China people as the Chinese, Burma people as the Burmese, Vietnam people as the Vietnamese, Japan people as the Japanese.
Rowland: Do you know how we call the people from the Philippines?
Amanda: Ah, I know. Philippinese.
Gosh.
*********
I think by now, probably all of you may have already seen it, but I’ll post it anyway.
Hcaorckoc.
Ok so today is officially Cockroach Day.
I just finished reading Metamorphosis, and my highly powerful imaginative brain has left me with cockroaches crawling and creeping inside my skull. It was such a horrible story that I couldn’t stop imagining cockroaches in great detail; the way its disgusting legs wriggle, the way they leave traces of grime on the floors, walls and ceilings, and the way its head protrudes like an ugly, distorted needle head, pinned over an exoskeletoned living bug, a concoction of slime, dirt, and grime. Argh. It was a nightmare. Maybe Gregor actually looked more like the Roach Coach in the Powerpuff Girls cartoon series? Despite all the disgusting things, the protagonist was so pitiful, there was one moment when I was reading, that I had the urge to cry for all the inhumanity suffered by the poor monstrous cockroach. Inhumanity! How could they do such things to a poor insect?
Which left me reminiscing the old days when I discovered that one of my favourite Filipino songs back then had an unusual, somewhat disturbing and a little bit horrifying music video, which happened to win in the MTV Asia Music Awards.
Da ebolusyon op langweyj.
GK Proposal.
All you need is to listen to a reliable personal recount.
It simply makes you want to join their noble cause.
It wrenches your heart to know your fellowmen are deeply suffering while you are enjoying your life in Singapore.
And it touches your heart to know that there are people who have gone great lengths and sacrifices in order to help others.
I hope that SOME of my classmates will really take interest in this project, because, in my own opinion, it’s worth going for it.
We need student participation.
But more importantly, most importantly, in a school like mine, we need the interest of the parents. You parents are just so hard to convince that the most of the Philippine Islands are SAFE.
Why don’t you go with us in December and see for yourselves. You can chaperon your little kids (:
rowlandanthony
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