Tuesday, January 26, 2010
To take apart and put together, or not to.
There are some things that can only be enjoyed when you are alone. What are some? Let’s just say that driving can’t be enjoyed when you are contesting for the wheel with somebody who is in the passenger’s seat.
Obviously, I am under the legal age for driving, so that is an example that doesn’t apply to me. What applies to me is what I just did. Which is totally reformat my memory card for my hand phone, and then piece together all the files I had once long ago.
To start “adjusting” your files on your piece of electronic wizardry, you need to get to know your own gadget. Which in my case is a Nokia 5320. I learnt the hard way that you have to understand where your gadget keeps it’s things. To cut a long story short, my photographs no longer exist. (Which is why I am unable to post any pictures.)
If you want to see the long string of IT jargon that I sifted through to dismember my memory, you can’t. Basically, all you do is just methodically edit files, create new folders, drag and drop… And keep a cool head.
There are things that you do just for the sake of doing, and this is one of them. The end result at the end of it all is definitely well worth it. To know that you are able to take apart and piece back your own gadget is quite a nice thing, as it strengthens your “bond” with whatever that inanimate object you possess, and somehow makes that gadget more “yours”.
somebody wrote this at [7:56 PM]
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CCA - MOE's compulsory gift to students. We all love you for it.
Co-corricular activities were introduced by the Ministry of Education to enhance social interaction, leadership, healthy recreation, self-discipline and self-confidence. Yes. I think that the Ministry of Education has done a great job of doing so.
I have the good fortune of belonging to a uniformed group, namely, the National Police Cadet Corps. I would sincerely like to thank the Ministry of Education (MOE) for allowing such a thing to be created. In fact, I sincerely believe that the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) have definitely implemented the values of healthy recreation very well, in addition to self-discipline. From my relatively brief time inside it so far, I firmly believe that my health and disclipline has been greatly improved.
Let's talk about today. There is a place in East Coast Park known as the Road Safety Park, where dedicated people belonging to NPCC occasionally go to supervise the bright minds of the future generation of Singapore about Road Safety. I had the fortune to be part of the "road marshalls" today.
I would like to add a brief note here - in uniformed groups, there is a very common practice, very commonly known as "knocking down". I think anybody who has had the fortune to listen to the loving seniors of NPCC implementing their discipline regime will be greatly enlightened on what it means.
To cut a long story short, at the Park, my friends and I showed very little discipline, by apparently not being quick and responsive enough, and by not doing our "drills" properly. Such a grave and serious error deserved a severe enough judgement, and though we were saved further embarrassment by being punished in front of the people whom we were marshalling, we were swiftly dealt with a small dishing of the aforementioned activity.
Such an enlightening circumstance! I'm pretty sure that my friends and I have had such an enriching experience, and have improved with the iron rod of discipline. We are indeed more self-disciplined and healthy.
somebody wrote this at [7:45 PM]
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Birthdays.
“Birthday” is defined as anniversary of the day somebody is born.
Okay. Now what I’d like to ask is why is it so special? What makes the day somebody is born so special? I turned 14 yesterday. So?
Seriously, were our ancestors out of ideas for things to celebrate, that they just had to celebrate the day some guy managed to survive another 365-odd days after his birth? Well, apart from the presents, good food, and noisy parties, (all three of which I opted not to have) what is so special about a birthday?
Personally, birthday parties of the present age have totally missed the point of having a birthday. The whole point is meant to celebrate the individuality and uniqueness of the unique individual, right? If it is up to the “lucky” person himself to throw a birthday party for his friends, doesn’t that defeat the purpose? And how does playing games, eating food, and talking the usual nonsense make an individual unique?
If a birthday is just an anniversary, then why not celebrate a birthday every month? Or to make matters better, every day? Or maybe every hour? (That would be nice, wouldn’t it?) I don’t understand why it has to be every year. You can wish me a happy 5114th birthday today. I wouldn’t mind. It’s all on how you look at it, right?
For my birthday, I opted to just simply eat out with my family. I mean, why bother making such a big fuss over a relatively trivial occasion? A simple 30 minutes bus ride took me to Suntec City. Have you heard of Sizzler™? It's a great place to eat steak and salad. It's not everday that you get to enjoy good old well-done beef steak dripping with great taste with baked potatoes, right? (I believe that if you can afford to do so, you can afford to sponsor me for quite a few things. Get me that iMac for starters.)
Even though I went there with my family to enjoy the food, sometimes it isn't all about food. Sometimes it's just about how you enjoy your time with your family doing something you all like. Sometimes it's just about how you enjoy the warmth and love you get when you finally get together with your family once again. Sometimes it's just about your family.
somebody wrote this at [4:04 PM]
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Cruelty to animals
What does it mean to be cruel to animals? Does it necessarily mean to have to be cruel to such extent that for example, you dip a dog into a pot of boiling water? Or can it just mean that you squash ants under your feet for fun?
The former is obviously taking cruelty to a obviously overly serious extent. But will the latter be considered serious?
Sometimes, I wish that words be defined more clearly in the dictionary. For example, the word “animal” means “living organisms with independent movement”, which can mean anything from a single-celled organism to a fellow human being. Does that mean that a scientist poking around an amoeba under a microscope is committing a deed worthy of his being sent off to the SPCA? I’m pretty sure the answer is an obvious “Yes”. Of course. We all know and believe that.
Just today, in my class 2A, which is located on the 4th floor, a swarm of ants crawled out of their nest behind the electric socket, and swiftly dismembered an innocent dead fly. And obviously, a gigantic swarm of black ants will draw attention. A couple of overreacting people drowned the ants a little unnecessarily with an overdose of water. To put it more simply, we needed to mop up the floor after we were done. Did you know how fast ants could move when their safety is threatened? I know now – 3 metres a second.
If you want to call the SPCA now, I’ll gladly give you their hotline number, but I don’t have it memorised. Darn.
somebody wrote this at [8:21 PM]
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
When you screw up in life, sometimes you just got to force yourself back up
How many people out there in the world have cheated at least once in their life, whether in school or in life? At a conservative guess, I'd say 100%. Just a few billion.
"To err is human, to forgive divine"
Sometimes, you just find that no matter how hard you want to resist temptation, for some reason, you just can't help yourself. You give into it.
A classroom is one of the most taxing environments in the world, especially mentally. Grown men who have no problem facing down a rifle butt still think twice before engaging a test paper in mortal combat in the classroom. Part of the reason is because of the environment the inhabitants create is extremely hostile to the sane man. In a pragmatic society, students in Singapore are forced to compare and contrast their various results, in all manners of tests, whether big or small. And I am forced to admit that I have been drawn into this way of thinking.
It is contagious.
I cheated today for my Chinese test. If I hadn't been caught, I'd have no idea how many more times I'd do so just to get the marks I'll require to get into sec3. Or to be eligible for alternative education paths. While I feel guilty enough about my own actions, what I would like to highlight is the fact that while I was the only one caught, I was not the only one who happened to be cheating for such a small test. I name no names, but it seriously is disappointing to know that apart from yourself, your environment has also been severely corrupted.
Perhaps if society today relaxed its competitiveness in so-called better schools, people would have a better chance of developing their morals. Will this "kiasu"-ness ever be removed from society in general, particularly here in Singapore? We may never know.
somebody wrote this at [5:38 PM]
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A Post to Start a Blog, and Therefore Not Supposed to be Graded.
Greetings, fellow earthlings who are reading this.
Well, I presume that since this blog is apparently haunted by two certain species of humans known as "teachers" and "students", and that this blog is meant for a certain activity known as the CA1, I obviously must write with as good a mastery of the English language possible as I can muster.
somebody wrote this at [7:50 PM]
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