To Zanarkand // Final Fantasy X // VOCALOID2

Sounds creepy haha.

prelim results

Everybody dreads the prelim results. Many people's fears came true. Umbrellas and Sunshine seem to be the words to describe many miserable souls. It was expected, wasn't it? No?

Fine. I'm not one of them. Let's keep it quick. I have 3 As out of the 5 subjects I take (4 H2s). Physics, Chemistry, and most shockingly, Economics. I expected to deliver the goods with physics, but not at such a good score that I was ahead of the main pack by about 5 marks (only the great Han was higher by about 2). Chemistry was simply amazing. I told everyone I got 23/40 for Paper 1 MCQ and still managed to get an A. Chem tuition does work wonders (if you know how to deliver the goods) :D. I still wonder whether I'm going to get split into a different tutorial/lecture class because AC sorts Chem students via the Paper 1 score. Economics left me stupefied. The class pestered the King to reveal our Econ scores during the tutorial. She said the first is as usual, Han, then second, Me, third, a long list.... (ok, good news, did she mention me?) Then she said that this class has 2As, 10Bs... Did she say only 2As? Omg, I got an A. I was stymied by how I got an A. That was impossible. The CA mark on the visualiser said S, a low B for Term Exams, and of all things, A for prelims. It was there, in black and white, as clear as day. S to A, in extreme circumstances of an exam in which I had hardly any prior practice. For the 2nd time today, I was 2nd in class for a subject.

The rest of the subjects were darn horrible relative to the 3 As. Maths was a D. It was really bad. GP was like a freak accident. I got an E, which I seemed to realise as lower than the class average (ok, at least higher than half the level). I was expecting C or more, even though no one else in the cohort had an A (am I right?).

Everyone thinks I must be ownage to get 3As based on raw score. Actually, I'm damn sad about the performance with my GP (not with Maths, I'm ok with that kind of grade because I never practised it at all after the Swss trip). The subject I usually can't perform well in exams came back to haunt me. In class, I'm much better, and I don't know why I can't do the same in the exam hall. I'm sad because I did badly in the most important subject of all and I know I can do a lot better.

Overall, SA1 had its worst-ever performance. We probably lost our dominance in Maths and the Sciences. I'm the only one (other than Han) to get 3 H2 As based on raw scores, which shows how poorly we did as a class.

Maybe we should all go on a 1 week trip to Switzerland /Austria before the A levels and see if that works.

prelims

Prelims aren't over yet. However, all there's left is the multiple choice papers for Chem and Physics. Which means all I need is a four-sided dice and a pencil. Hmm, I could probably make do with a calculator and a rubber (not condom).

As everyone seems to suggest, my standards are pretty high. Ok, yes. But when I say fail, I don't mean a B because I would be failing almost all of my subjects. I mean not a proper pass. Therefore, S and U means fail! Get a life, everyone, I'm not that good. I'm simply an average in 2SA1, which is just another top class. (ok, i'm getting ironic -.-)

In any after-prelim thoughts before the results, predictions (without final moderation) are sure to be important. Here are mine:

General Paper was ok. In the sense that at least a B is possible.

Economics is what I would call a variable subject. Anything can happen. Paper 2 was a miracle because I had never ever done 3 essays in a row for Econs with 5 sides each and yet I managed to complete them on time. Given my new found confidence in the subject, my grade could probably range anywhere from A - C.

Maths was simply I don't know what to say. Paper 1 was simply terrible at first sight. I totally screwed up the paper to the point that at least 40 marks was lost without doing. To prove to myself that my pure maths wasn't so screwed up, I went home and did the paper and to my surprise, I managed to savage 19 marks in the first page of the paper. I got lazy to do the rest because I had to study my other subjects. Paper 2 wasn't too bad. The MI question seemed impossible so left it blank. A host of small mistakes I discovered after going through the paper in my mind probably sapped off a few marks. The statistics section was mainly challenging but all solvable. My mind actually could work. A good prediction for paper 2 is anything between 80 - 89 marks. En route to B... yes. A seems a distance away (unless I'm so lucky to get 55 and 85 to make 140). Perhaps after moderation?

Physics Papers 2 and 3 were like easy peasy. A is confirmed given that my dice works properly for the MCQ.

Chemistry Papers 2 and 3 were easy. A is also confirmed (if dice too works properly).

The bottom line is the predicted grades for the A levels. If I obtain all at least Bs after moderation, definitely, my predicted grades is straight As. I get a feeling that even if anyone in my class obtains a C for any subject, they could probably push the predicted grades to A. So, there's nothing to worry about. YAY!

olympics!

So many things have happened over the last few months: Swiss trip, Prelims, Olympics... So finally I'm back to say that I'm back. -.-

Let's skip the Swiss trip for the moment because it's seriously a wols matter. Olympics first.

This Beijing Olympics 2008 clashed with prelims. The kok said this: "Olympics comes every four years, prelims is every year also have. Of course I would choose Olympics." Forgive his incoherent style of thinking. It so happened that prelims started when Olympics started and Olympics ended when prelims ended. So what to do? Definitely I had to watch the Olympics!

As everyone knows, the opening ceremony was spectacular. Brilliant fireworks that even the commentator said that only the Chinese could do it. Synchronised performers on the ground executing precise manoeuvres. They painted and literally painted scenes of Chinese culture. Flying acrobats added in a touch of surrealism. No one could forget Li Ning flying through the circumference of the Bird's Nest and lighting the symbolic Olympic cauldron.

Ok, the next day was Singapore's National Day. After watching the previous day's performance, I felt that the show segment really paled in comparison. For some consolation, the only part of the show that could match up to the Beijing one is that of the Soka performance. Ok, based on relative amount of money spent and the time spent to rehearse, the NDP is better! Yay. :D

Over the next few days, China dominated the medal standings. The Chinese diving was absolutely owned. The boyish looking Chinese weightlifters owned too. In the end, they earned 51 gold medals. It seems like gold medals is damn easy to get. On the other end of the spectrum, Singapore can only manage a Women's table tennis silver. To us, a single medal seems like gold + platinum. After all, gold medals are actually near impossible, with China taking them all. (yong ye and all the chinese scholars in acjc are cheering -.-)

This Olympics came the great Michael Phelps, with 8 gold medals. I did watch the 7th one on a Saturday morning at 10.10am. It was like he was lagging behind Cavic all the time. Then Cavic was gliding towards the finish line. Then Phelps raised his arms at the last moment and with a great swipe he put them forward to touch the electronic board first. I was stunned. Wtf, how in the world he win with a 100th of a second margin of victory. Ok, the shark deserved it. After that win, he was sure to be in the history books.

Usain Bolt is just the ultimate. How in the world he broke 2 world records for the sprint double in a single Olympics? And I like that he's a media man. That simply makes people talk about him.

I call this the greatest Olympics ever. Because 3 things happened that could only happen once in a blue moon: Singapore's Silver, Phelps and Bolt. Of course, the wonderful spectacle put up by China, which continued to the closing ceremony. Looks like London has a hard job. Thinking of London, if I got into a British university, I would probably be there in 2012. That sounds great. Ok, I'm going to try to apply for a university there after prelims or A levels.

I also call this the greatest Olympics for slip-ups and athletes looking their most unglam. The media coverage is so insane that you can have weird and sick stuff happening. So click here to see lots of unglam moments. Sure roflmao one.

acjc concert band presents...

ACJC Concert Band presents again!!!

Muse ~ a night to remember ~

When: 6 July Sunday
Time: 5.00pm
Where: Singapore Conference Hall
Tickets: $10 n $15

Pieces played:
Symphonic Metamorphosis ~ on the theme of Saint-Saens' Third "Organ" Symphony ~
Armenian Dances
Charming Asia
and lots more!

Catch us before we fly to Switzerland for Competition!

Edusaveable for ACJC students.

ACJC Concert Band presents again again!!

Special ACJC Band CD!

~ A Legacy of Musical Excellence ~

Always wondered why recording is not allowed in the concert hall?
Always wanted ACJC’s recordings though recording not allowed?
Always thought your recording is of low quality?

Fret not!
Here’s you chance to get the recordings at the very worth it price of 2 CDs for only $20!
It’s your one and only chance to purchase these CDs!
Not sold in public, but through ACJC’s band members only!

Disc 1:
1. Carmina Burana Mvmt. 13 Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi ~ by Carl Orff
2. Hunchback of the Notre Dame ~ Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz arr. Calvin Custer
3. Fantasy Variations ~ Niccolo Paganini arr. James Barnes
4. October ~ Eric Whiteacre
5. Turandot ~ Giacomo Puccini arr. Toshio Mashima
6. A Movement for Rosa ~ Mark Camphouse
7. Symphonic Overture ~ James Barnes

Disc 2:
Star Wars Trilogy ~ John Williams arr. Donald Hunsberger
1. i. The Imperial March
2. ii. Princess Leia’s Theme
3. iii. The Battle in the Forest
4. iv. Yoda’s Theme
v. Star Wars (Main Theme)
5. Highlights from “Chess” ~ Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson arr. Johan de Meij
6. The Phantom of th Opera ~ Andrew Lloyd Webber arr. Johan de Meij
7. Festive Overture ~ Dmitri Shostakovich trans. Donald Hunsberger
8. Overture 1812 ~ Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky trans. Mayhew L. Lake

Remastered by Rolton Productions

Alright, I koped this from Gerdine's blog, who koped from Enjia's blog.

h3 exam

NTU H3 Contemporary Physics. The worst ever H3 course ever, has ended. YAY! (note the two "ever"s.)

I've suffered much; I've went through lectures to recover hours of sleep, I've been taught somebody's PhD thesis, I've went out of tutorials with nothing gained, I've been through the depths of tunneling, I've seen the potential of a brain cell, I've witnessed a resonated particle, I've been pressured by a beam of light, I've resisted the lure of magnetization, I've oriented my state of spin en pointe.

Passons à l'examen H3.

Prof. AS: Welcome to hell. Prof. WL and I have come to make hell for you in this pathetic lecture theatre in NJC. WL says that all you pathetique people are going to fail. He also told me to tell all of you, "Do you understand?"

Shaun: YES! (enthusiastically)

On the paper, there was printed at the back in big bold letters: Do Not Turn Over The Paper Until You Are Told To Do So. But who cares? I flipped it over anyway. I looked at the questions, horror of horrors. MRI, K+ ion cell potential!!!one1! X.X I saw death in the eye. It stared at me for a long while. I turned away and looked at Shaun on the left. He was petrified, and I knocked him hard, but he remained a stone, a far cry from his enthusiasm just seconds ago.

Prof. AS: You are given 3 hours. You may begin (your journey through hell).

I scanned through the paper. 2nd page: p-n junction for rectification and tunneling diode, JFET. 3rd page: RKKY interactions (huh? what? X.X) 4th page: Energies of particles and bond energies. 5th page: Electron in a nanowire, fabricate it. 6th page: SET.

Me: 3 hours! Are you kidding, Prof. AS?! I looked at the paper and I know that I can't finish all 8 questions in 3 hours! And what the hell is this RKKY?!

Prof. AS: You noob. Choose 2 from the last 3 questions! Anyway 3 hours is nothing. I've seen my average student finishing his honours year paper in 2 hours. RKKY? What the hell is that?

Prof. AS came over to my seat and took my paper to see what is RKKY all about.

Prof. AS: Ah! So it is about the GMR. It won last year's Nobel prize you tard. RKKY? Oh, it's simply one minute part of Prof. WL's PhD thesis. If you don't get it, why are you here?

I thought Prof. WL was merely showing us his amazing 200 page thesis in the lecture theatre the other day. It turned out that he was testing us on it. Me stoned and gave Prof. AS a -.- .

Prof. AS: Well, this is hell. So live with it.

Shaun: Hey Prof. AS, what in the world is this? I've never seen it before. (shouting)

Prof AS walks towards him and takes his paper to examine.

Prof. AS: Of course you've never seen it, because you never asked what in the hell is this.

Shaun thought that it was lame and gaves him a wtf face.

Prof. AS: You are asking me about how to use an electron beam lithography system? I thought that you have used it before, haven't you? You two-time silver medalist at the SSEF who co- invented the gecko tape surely know what is this?

Shaun: Are you trying to mock me?

Prof. AS sniffed at Shaun and walked away briskly.

Finally, I finished my first question. The second one seemed horrible. K+ concentrations inside a cell and outside a cell? Huh? Some weird potential difference? Ah, I can use the Nernst equation, the equation I've never used before in my entire life. What was it again? V= ln(Noutside/Ninside)kT/q. Or was it ln(Ninside/Noutside)? Omg. Disaster. Where is the coin? I need to flip! I grabbed my bag and took out my wallet to take a coin.

Prof. AS: Ah yes, you, the RKKY noob. Cheating huh? There! I see your notes sticking out for your bag. Looking through your notes huh?

Me: No lah. I'm just getting a coin to flip.

Prof. AS: Lies. All lies! There isn't any multiple choice question around here. Don't think I don't know what you are thinking, you cunning noob! Well, this is hell after all, so as your punishment, I shall call a banshee to administer 250 whips on your butt. Muhahaha. You got pwned!

Prof. AS accompanied me the stage of the lecture theatre and called a banshee which wielded a bewildering whip with 9 thorny tails. I almost collapsed at the sight. Then, the first whip came in. I cried in pain. The next 248 whips were exponentially more painful. Before the last whip, the banshee set the whip ablaze, then it came down hard on me. Shards of pain went through my butt, and then it felt as if my butt was on fire. Omg, it was literally on fire! My pants were burning! I dropped on the floor and rolled on my butt and that stopped the fire, but the pain became more excruciating. Prof. AS ordered me back to my seat immediately, but I couldn't even get up from the ground.

Prof. AS: You are really asking for it, aren't you? 250 more whips! Thereafter, a taste of a collision with a proton in my particle accelerator. I've never done that on a person before.

250 more whips came. And then Prof. AS's helicopter transported a huge particle accelerator that came crashing through the roof and onto the stage. It was magnificent, just like an oversized donut.

Prof. AS: Ah, yes, my sychrotron, it's tiny but it packs a heavier punch then the colossal ones you see in Europe. I invite you to step into the ring 1 minute after I've turned it on.

Prof. AS turned the particle accelerator on and the machine purred. After a minute, I mustered all my remaining strength and opened a hatch and stepped into the ring.

What happened after that was history.

Disclaimer: Well, you may choose to believe the above story. Or NOT!

On a serious note of B-flat, I thought that the H3 exam turned out quite ok, because I attempted to study and memorise. For those who did not study properly, hmm... gg.

h3 exam is tomorrow

I am studying physics now. So wish me all the best if you are my friend.

Here we go... JFET, MOSFET, SET, RTD, RAWR!!! (ok, the last one is my creation)

science is fun and band

It was a fun morning, walking/running around the botanic gardens with a bunch of retarded kids with boundless energy. Tim Woodcutter ran in front of the pack like a mad dog. The rest simply lagged behind while I had to catch up with the wild boy. When Sofia unexpectedly climbed a gate, I was amazed, because I thought that she was one of the better behaved ones.

The hyper boy in a red shirt called Joe or Jack the Ripper or whatever you call him was leading the group around. He was arrogant, much worst than myself last time. He seemed to know everything. Until he got pwned.. muahhaha. retard. He thought he knew the house with a lot of plants as the Green Pavilion, and which part of green pavilion can you find either of the words Plant House?

Those kids obviously have the most corrupted minds in the world. They said that have watched like all the Final Destination movies and they could describe each gory scene in its full glory. Not to mention, they've probably heard more of the word "fuck" and its derivatives more than me when I was their age. For your information, I didn't know that such a word actually existed until about their age.

When I asked a girl where the other team leaders were when we got back to school, she hesitantly said that they were in the college. After this, I thought, omg, the world is simply falling apart. I kept wondering if the girl met that 'lame' fat boy alone in the rain or my chem teacher before I spoke to her.

Well, we walked round the botanic gardens, but it was just too easy. Whoever who designed the course the amazing race was uber noob at it. After that experience, you know what, I actually preferred last year's gruelling amazing race. That rocked because you could get really lost to the point that you felt so frustrated, that you could feel all the other groups overtaking you. But that time, my team clinched a rather good position in the end. During this time, omg, we were like just below the average in our ranking. Seriously, the waiting time to do the activities at each station were like really long. Obviously, the solution is to make people really get lost. Another point of criticism to make is that the activities the children did at each station aren't really that beneficial in that they don't learn science. Where were the long worksheets that last year's little people did at each station? Where were the scientific explanations for certain phenomenon that they could have highlighted? Were we having an amazing race for the sake of doing one, but in doing so, leaving out the quintessential component of the camp?

I left those hyperactive kids after lunch in school to the 2 other team leaders from 1sc7, sheng hui and zhenxuan (whatever her name), so as to attend band (I didn't mention band to them cos I knew 1sc7 has quite a few band ppl, in case they go talk crap of me to those ppl lol). Both of them were a far cry for who I had last year as a team leader partner because their children handling skills were like low level, and so they left me in charge of caring for the children and giving instructions for most of the time, which was so unlike last year when I was the opposite.

Anyway band practice was better than the norm, in which I define the norm as a practice in which dr lee is super pissed with us. What's wrong with us? I think mel and pb properly identified the problem. xy? She was indirectly bitching around with other people and talking ill of them at some point, so I rather not listen to some of her crap.

Moving on, I think the band relatively sucks as compared to last time because I know that some of us are always lying to dr lee that we have our intonation charts. Another thing is that we aren't making much progress because a handful of us fail to remember the subtle corrections from the previous practice (in which I emphasize the importance of writing down, in which I know that I am guilty of). Another thing is that some sections are seriously wasting our time in rehearsals, so I advise them to practise more. And if the person next to you is playing the wrong stuff or some solo could be better, please point them out as good music in band is a collective effort. I also don't think everyone knows the meaning of the the five finger ending thingy, because all the time I hear late flutes and late random instruments. Furthermore, everyone should watch dr lee closely because I know it sucks for a conductor to feel as if the band is slipping away from his control and we can all see that he gives a lot of visual cues.

What I thought was amazing about today was that practically everyone stopped playing immediately after dr lee stopped. As I didn't go for the talk at 12pm by the ex-co, so I didn't know anything. But I think it means bigger and better results will be appearing, somehow, after a series of talks, I hope.

struck down update

Alright, rmd did get struck down. aka: was hospitalized.

On Thursday, the last day of school, he came back to class after missing 7 days of school, without caring about his condition in which the doctor gave him a MC that lasts till I think end of the June holidays. His condition: asthma; but he said he doesn't believe it as he never had a hint of an asthma attack before until that fateful day. I thought it was an allergic reaction to something but his story told me otherwise.

That day he was playing soccer in his house (he claims his hdb flat is big enough.. lol). Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, and every breath he tried to take required a lot of effort. He was wheezing, choking, as if someone was strangling him while he was having a bad bout of phlegm (Alright, I'm exaggerating too much -.- , but I ever experienced something similar when I was 10 due to a food allergy.). Immediately, he was admitted to the A&E of some hospital and he was attached to this oxygen mask and probably medicine added to clear his airways. From my previous experience, I was also attached to something like that and so that time, I held my breath and realised that I could hold it much longer... duh!... haha. Rmd was then told to stay in the hospital under observation for 3 days after the attack. After 3 days, he went home and was diagnosed with asthma (he still doesn't believe but that's not important). He was given a long long long mc (for weak lungs) and he stayed at home until Wednesday. He said he did go out to some crowded place and he almost died, owing to his weak lungs. So sad.

Don't worry, he's back in action, and he attended the SMC's Spuntik camp and stayed with everyone else for dinner at sushi tei at holland v. :D

I think last Wednesday, my class' form teacher told that our class was having some bout of bad luck, having people being away from school for long periods of time + a teacher too. He doesn't want it to continue. It eerily reminded me of my previous post. Yeah, I know it sucks for it to continue. But are we sure that we can decide when to stop the Russian Roulette? I highly doubt so.