*.* Good Friday *.*
25 March 2005: Good Friday
Today the speaker in church talked not just about the death of Christ, but he also explained to us why it was so significant. For us now, we celebrate Good Friday because it was through this act that we were all saved. But during the time of Jesus, the cross was something everyone didn't want to be associated with. The jewish knew that cruxifiction on the cross was the greatest and worst punishment for only the worst criminals. In fact, the death sentence in our country would be nothing compared to what went on then... Let me try to recall some of the facts...
Cruxifiction didn't focus on just the death of a criminal. It was about giving them the greatest torture and pain before they died. It was very physical. Let's think about the torture Jesus went through. Besides being spat at (that was probably already the most tame), he was ridiculed when the romans purposely put on a purple cloak on him (colour of royalty), gave him a staff (kings of that time usually had a staff with them) and put a crown of thorns on his head (and I mean, really really sharp thorns, not fake ones). The people then purposely shouted something like "Hail, the king of the jews" before they used the same staff to whack him over and over again. If this wasn't enough, he was also struck in the face brutally, and they hit his head very hard, driving the thorns into his body and causing as much damage as they could. Oh, and their fun hadn't stopped. Jesus was whipped repeatedly too, but the whips had nails attached to them. If you imagine, if you pierce someone with a nail and want to remove it again quickly so that you can pierce him a second time, you would inevitable drag the nail inside the body and cause very deep wounds. That's what happened to Jesus. Because he was whipped over and over again, the nails bore severe wounds on his body.
Criminals who were to be crucified had to bear the burden of carrying the very cross they would be hung on, and because the Jewish considered Jerusalem too holy to execute criminals, they did it outside the city walls, but at a place where it was bustling with activity so that people would come and make fun of the criminals or scorn them. However, Jesus was beaten up so badly that night, that he had absolutely not enough strength to carry his cross. He just kept continuing to bleed and suffer immense pain. Outside the walls of Jerusalem, the cross was laid on the ground, and Jesus was laid on top of it. His arms were stretched out to the max, before the Roman soldiers drove long nails through his hands and into the wooden cross. If this was all that they did, Jesus' flesh would probably have been ripped off and he would have dropped from the cross, maybe still alive. But the Romans didn't want him to be let off so easily. They had everything carefully crafted. The tied his feet onto the cross as well and added a wooden piece in the centre so that the criminal could not get off the cross, but had to hang there and endure all the torture before they finally died. The horrific scene is probably very well shown in The Passion of Christ. It was probably the closest you can get to see how Jesus really died.
Here comes the powerful message. Hanging on the cross and enduring countless amounts of pain, a crucified criminal would usually curse and swear at the Romans who did this to them. All they would think of is the poor state they were in, and how unfair it was to themsleves. But, when Jesus went through this experience, there was no cursing, no swearing, and yes, at that moment, because every sin that was committed by every man and every sin that was to be committed was placed on Jesus, God had left Jesus to bear everything, all the sin and shame, all the pain and torture. Yet the first words Jesus said was, "forgive them Lord, for they do not know what they are doing"? How could he say that? Here they were, inflicting on Him pain that is probably beyond anything any human can bear, and he was thinking of them? He wanted to forgive them? And the other people he thought about was his mother, Mary. Imagine him in complete agony, and yet he wanted to make sure that his mother was well taken care of before he died. He entrusted her to one of his followers, John.
The final moments: The moment Jesus had taken upom himself everything, and paid the full price for the salvation of all of us, he said "it is finished" and God took him back. Jesus' physical body hung dead, but he was finally back with God agian...However, this is not the end, If the story of Christ ended here, he would just have been a great hero of many people in the past. What makes him God? Why is he any different from the "main character" of other religions? That's the Easter story :).......
Me blogged @ | 11:02 PM
*.* nothing much *.*
Won't write much...but had church today. That rocked! :) Happy Birthday Joan!!!!!!! muahaha...you're 17! Wah! The party was great :) Hope you enjoyed it...
Can't wait for sunday again! And the bbq on Saturday... Anyone not from BFEC wants to go?
It's this saturday at 4pm at East Coast Park pit 58....
Tell me if you are dying to go k? You're most welcome to join us :)
Me blogged @ | 11:06 PM
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
a beautiful bunch of lilies...for someone special
Me blogged @ | 9:04 PM
*.* Lily *.*
hmm...I think a lot of you who saw a comment on my tagboard from Soon Ann would not exactly understand what he meant. I'd like to share this, even though I already shared it in SSS today, because I think it's important...
On Friday, also the same day that I eccentrically blogged so much, I received an sms that night from my community group (CG) leader from the meta camp that I attended end of last year that something had happened to one of fellow members. I was talking to stephanie at that time, and I thought that maybe Lily (the affected member) was warded or something. But then the 2nd sms came.
Lily had committed suicide that morning and was DEAD.
I was shocked. Flustered. And I didn't know what to do. I guess my direct sign of response was... I burst out crying...and I had to end any conversation from everyone except some of my CG members. That night, I was totally unstable and in a horrid state of shock. I went around the house in a total blur, and multitudes of questions formed inside the puny head of mind. Why did God allow this to happen? Where was He? Why did she choose to jump? Why didn't she find strength in God since she's a Christian?
On Saturday, things didn't seem to be any better in my emotional world. I went for a choir workshop totally distracted, and easily irritated by many things in my surroundings. The only person I told was the president, because I needed a reason for not giving my best during the workshop. Fortunately, my choir didn't have to sing in the end. Saved by the grace of God :) Straight after that, the sec 4 choir people had CCA CIP...we had to go to Owen Road to perform for old folks and help them bring donated stuff to their rooms. But when we started the rehearsals and everyone was dancing happily, I realised that I couldn't take it. How could I be joyful and bring joy to others when I was feeling so horrible? Instead, I kind of broke down. They asked me to go home first, but I stayed to watch them instead. After all, the wake was to be at Kallang later.
After the CIP finally ended, I took a train down to the library to get the books for my project research. I guess that was one way to get my mind of what I was actually feeling inside. I read the resource books for a while before heading to Kallang. At the station later, I met up with some of my CG members: Deborah, Faith and Yong Zhi. We then took a bus down to her house. From the time I received the news of her death, to the time I arrived at the location of her wake, I lived in total denial. I kept thinking, maybe they were lying to me. Maybe this was just some cruel joke they were playing on me. But when I got to her block, things hit me right in the face. There was to be no more denial, no more lying to myself. Everything was true. A tear- stricken Soon Ann greeted us, and brought us before her coffin. The photograph of her looked to happy, so innocent, and she was smiling so cheerfully, just like the time when I first met her. After writing a message in a book for her, I was asked if I wanted to see her face. I have never attended any wake as far as I can remember, but bracing myself, I eventually stepped forward and look at her enbalmed face. The angelic beauty and peacefulness that her face showed struck me so hard. Why wasn't her actual life like that? What drove her so hard that it could make her do something so foolish?
I sat down with my CG and I think we really had a good talk that night. They helped me understand a lot of the things I didn't understand. To many, Christianity is a religion. But it's not. It's a relationship with God, and this is the only lifeline that's making me hold on to this life. Without God, I would probably have done what she did by now. Honestly. And I think that's what Lily forgot during the last days of her life. The depth in her relationship with God had probably become a lot shallower, and that made her gave in to a huge lie; that there was no purpose for her to live on. Why did God allow this to happen? Where was He? Guess what? He was right beside her. He allowed it because he gave us choices to make. He never programmed us to become robots that only do as they are commanded. I believe God's heart was shattered when she decided to take her life. But, He is an Almighty God. And He will take something bad and turn it around into something good. How? We shall see in the future :)......
I just want to encourage everyone, whether you believe in God, or you think He is the most evil thing in the world, this same God loves you. And everything that you go through is allowed because he has plans for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. The suicide rate in Singapore is escalating so drastically. People decide to end their earthly problems by taking their lives, and lives of others, but what happens after that? The biggest problem starts. I can admit and proclaim, I NEED GOD. Without Him, I'm nothing. Absolutely nothing. And my final hope and wish (should I die in time to come) is that all my friends would realise that God loves them, and just accept Him as their friend and savior as well. But the choice is still yours. Just as God didn't make us robots, I would never force anyone to beilieve. But I know I need God. And so do all of my Christian friends. We have the most beautiful relationship we can ever have. We're all brothers and sisters in Christ :) That's really, really great!
For all Christians, quiet time is not for anyone else's sake but ours. If we don't renew our minds every day, we will be in danger of taking in lies and believing them. Also, The Great Commision isn't just there to sound very chim. We must act on it if we want to see our beloved friends forever. People need the Lord. Don't wait till someone close to you dies before you realise that time is crucial. It's running out. What will be you next move?
Me blogged @ | 11:11 PM
*.* I'm back! *.*
I'm back! Whee! haha...doubt any of you missed me, but anyway, I had a great time there :) And just in case any of you ask me...yes, I know how to be lady-like now...BUT, if I'm like that every day, it'll be very fake...so I'll be demure at the appropriate time...haha
Well, the photos haven't been developed yet, and i didn't bring digi cam, but I might post some photos up here next time...maybe...haha...ok now I shall update on the events that took place from Wednesday till today...
Wednesday.
We assembled in the school hall and then boarded the bus, heading towards Downtown East. We got to the place at about 9+ then assembled in the main place for us: the D'Marquee! We put down our bags and then gathered at the front to wait for other classes to arrive. In the meantime, different people, mainly teachers, were taking the cordless mikes and singing(don't even think about it... I didn't sing...of course). I came to one conclusion after that...only some people can sing. Some were very scary...really.
When everyone finally got there, our briefing began. Most of the day activities had the classes split into 2 groups, odd and even. I'm in 401, so I guess yyou can tell where we landed up. Anyway, for my group, we started with the indoor games first. Each class was split into 3 groups to play 3 games. The winner would be determined at the end when all the scores were added up. I went with the mini soccer group...wah! I think it's worse then soccer. With a much smaller space, things got very violent sometimes, and the ball went out of court super easily. I was the goalkeeper for 2/3 of the matches I played. I think my stress level went up to 90%...haha...about 8 people cramming up towards you and trying to get the ball into the goal in such a small "field" is no joke. Good thing I saved the goals :) except one.
After the games, the classes had no clue who had won yet, because it was hard to know every class' score and hence know who won. We proceeded for lunch first at the Begonia Terrace. Wah! The really gave us massive amounts of buffet, very nice food. My class was serving that day, so we controlled our temptations in gobbling down the food straight from the trays, while serving the odd classes the food. The even classes were still having their make-up workshop in the ballroom...After lunch, we went back to the D'Marquee to practise for our dance competition. Tiring 30min of it, then the teachers called us back to assemble. Results time. 3rd prize went past. 2nd prize went past. 1st prize: 401???!!!! huh? That was our first reaction...haha...none of us thought we would win. In fact, we thought we did quite badly. Later on, though, we found out from our teacher that we were actually leading by quite a large margin...yay :) Well done 401!
When the even classes joined us after their lunch, we were told to go to the ballroom for our workshop. haha...I actually took down notes..so guai1 :) but I won't put them here lah. Just briefly say what we covered.
1. We basically cleaned everything (so troublesome!) hands, face...then mustput toner and moiseturiser. Aiyo...these 4 things took more than 1/2 hour already
2. We determined the colour of our skin, and that matched the za(sponsor for the programme) products. We then applied the foundation to our face. Technique: girls should know, I think. Guys? Don't need to know...haha
3. We moved on to eye make-up. We had to use the brow pencil to make ours into the "perfect eyebrows" (facilitator said mine were nice already, so I escaped from drawing a lot. Yay!), curl our eyelashes(it's very very very difficult and scary. Ah! But your eyes look a lot bigger and brighter after this), use mascara to make the eyelashes longer/have more volume (another very difficult thing to do...trust me), and eyeshadow for the eyesocket and brow bone.
4. The next thing we did was using rouge to add colour to our cheeks. Must first find the apple of our cheeks then spread outwards. So ma fan...
5. Lastly, to end it off, we used lip gloss...got some very interesting colours like blue...heh...but yes, must be demure...so I settled for the normal pink...
The end result? I did take a photo with friends lah, but prob won't post here...haha...maybe some church people will see...The whole workshop lasted a whopping 3 hours! Aiyo...haha
After both groups had finished their activities, we finally got to check in. I was originally rooming with 3 classmates, but 2 of them were notified of the tournament at the last minute, so another person from another class came instead (there was supposed to be 2, but one, who spent about $200 on the formal dinner stuff, fell sick and couldn't come) So my final room mates were Phei Qi and Alexandra. However, Phei Qi had to leave that day for quite long because she was umpiring the tennis Nationals finals round. That left me and Alexandra for more than half the day. We hit off quite well lah...so no problem :)
That night, it was Indian night. You'd probably think that, as a Chinese school, we'd be quite put off. haha...you're not just wrong, but super wrong if you thought that way. I think most of us had a spectacular time eating Indian food on banana leaves with our hands and the correct eating method (only right hand, mainly 1st 3 fingers, palm cannot touch food, must be very elegant and demure). Later on, the teachers wowed us with their fashion parade. Some dressed up really nicely in saris. Looked nice :) Then the crazy part came. Spontaneous dancing...to Bollywood songs. They played different Bollywood movies for us (the dancing parts) and everyone was free to follow. I think we all danced for 1 hour straight. Super crazy...haha...but the Bollywood movies are really cool. Watched 2 of them last year...very nice...
After the whole dancing affair...we had a mini class dance rehearsal and then finally proceeded back to the room for bedtime. I went over to some other rooms for some crazy stuff for a while first, then my whole room really super guai1 and went to sleep at about 10.45pm...the next day had a lot of things lah. Needed to rest:)
Ok...this is super long. I'll put the rest on the entry below.
Me blogged @ | 9:30 AM
*.* I'm back! part 2 *.*
Thursday.
I woke up at 6. Fortunately my room mates aren't like steph and joce...haha...they could actually wake up:) My whole room was ready way before roll call...so we kind of slacked and waited till later. Then I went over to other rooms to give people a wake up call...
Later we went back to the Begonia Terrace for breakfast....
(separate from day 2)
Hurts break our heart
Hope seems to fade...
But those who hold on to the hope that
HE has given them
Will not only find comfort
But have the wounds completely
Healed :)
After my class went crazy when we won the games on Wednesday, Helen rushed over to hug me. Then after dinner that day, since I took very little and she ate very fast, she dragged me into the D'Marquee, where there was no one except a very cool PA person who was playing with tonnes of disco and stage lights. She asked me to help her with some dance steps and then since there was very good acoustics in there (lovely echo if you project your voice), we started doing rubbish. While she was quoting shakespeare (my knowledge is nearly zero), I did sound effects (yes, I know. Very silly. But that's me :P) We went outside to the main en trance of the D'Marquee as well, and I think I said really dumb stuff like,"The moon is round! But hark! Where is the moon?" Shucks, I think she really couldn't take it. Laughed and laughed...and she still remembers that quote till today.
...Day 2 again
After breakfast, it was back to the dance rehearsals before the actual programmes started. Wah...scolded and scolded yet again. But must just control lor...because our leaders really want maximum quality...
Today's programme for the odd classes began with the feminine workshop. It was deportment day. All of us had to bring our heels (the ones we were to wear that night) and a hardcover book into the room. The whole session, honestly was quite draggy (and the trainer still said it was very short...haha), but we did learn how to sit down, stand up from sitting down, walk (on the ground and up and down the stairs), as well as a lady-like standing position (11 o' clock and 2 o'clock position)... Later we also touched on dining etiquette and stuff.
Yes, the 3 hours+ spent in there was exhausting, but we finally got to break for lunch. Once again, it was dance rehearsals after that. After everyone had gathered back, we were to proceed for our station games at Pasir Ris Park. Please note that this was close to 1pm. We had different games...I don't think we did very well...but who cares? haha...when we came back, there was prize presentation...we didn't win, but we were still crazy, so that was fine:) Everyone was forced to go for the tea-break, but we came back soon after for the allocated time for.....make a guess....yes, dance rehearsals....haha...wah! I can't count how many times we were screamed at in total, but we rehearsed with the music twice after those without music, then went back to our rooms to get ready for the formal night.
In my room, I was the first to bathe so I came out, dried my hair, and then changed into my gown. Don't ask me how I changed when my other room mate was bathing. It's quite obvious. Anyway, I waited for everyone to change, then we started our make-up together. Foundation first...then eyeshadow...wait. I was thinking, should I put mascara? Do I dare to? haha...in the end, I did lah. My eye lashes were still a little curled from the day before, so should be ok. Aiyo...I had to redo the mascara for my left eye 4 times because I'm right-handed, so it's very hard to do for the left eye. The mascara would either smudge because I blinked or it would get onto my inner eyelid. Terrible leh...tears would naturally start coming out because very painful then everything would smudge and have to wash and redo. Good thing I only had to do once for right eye. For eyeshadow, I chose blue and purple to match my black gown...rouge (pink lah..haha) and then lip stick and lip gloss. I looked...okay...I think. Then I had to do my hair. I really didn't know what to do with it. My neck was burnt from the afternoon's super hot sun, so I couldn't take everything off my shoulders, my scalp was also burnt so I had to change the parting, and my hands were burnt...In the end, I decided to keep it vey simple. I just took some hair, did some loop to it, and then added this silver flower to it. The rest just fell naturally. It was already 15 minutes to roll call, so I added a little simple jewelery on top of everything...a necklace and bracelet. Yup, I was done :)
Oh yes, I forgot to mention. Reason why I didn't complain a lot about the burns is because I'm still thankful that we played in the afternoon. The rules for one station for the classes that played in the morning were different, and a lot of people got injured. Someone I know, Chia Ming, had a deep cut on her face because of that, and she had to go and get it stitched up. I think that was the end of the camp for her. No formal dinner. No dance competition. :'(
I went to other rooms to visit...they were not finished at all...so I helped as much as possible. I got a shock when I entered Helen's room, first because she screamed when she saw me, "Ah! So pretty!" and secondly, because of her costume...haha...I don't know how to describe it. She was truly different from everybody. I'll try to post her pic here...haha...I must say, that every single one of my classmates looked absolutely beautiful. Some were extremely elegant, some looked very sweet, and others, exotic. We proceeded to the D'Marquee, where it was already transformed to a spectacular ballroom (that's why the PA guy was testing all the lights :P) It was as though I was entering this super high class gathering. Hundreds of people I once knew as Nanyang girls were transformed into beauty queens, and I really did come to the conclusion after everything, that we have a lot of potential models. So many people were stunning. I think the happiest people in that room were the male waitors...haha...they can deny it, but watching from their faces, they were checking out, ok fine, looking at the girls with awe :) I think at least 2 or 3 thousand photos were taken even before the programme started. Wow! haha...We even took photos with our teachers:)
Later on, we were invited to take our seats and the programme commenced officially. The waitors and waitresses then brought out the salad. Hmm...quite nice:) We then had table games and all...the rest of the food...soup: cream of mushroom, main course: grilled chicken with hashbrown and vegetables, dessert: strawberry mousse with thinly sliced, triangular shaped kueh lapis on it, a cke underneath and a chocolate leaf, topped with chocolate sauce. Cool :) literally...Between eating and all, there was also a fashion parade for all classes. We had to apply what we had learnt over the past 2 days, as well as the 2 pre-camp workshops, and parade on stage as a class. Heh heh heh...I didn't trip :) Some people did, though. Poor thing...
After the emcees said goodbye, I think that's when the night really began. With music blasting in the background, thousands of photos were taken again. People grabbed the mikes to call their classmates, ex-classmates, cca mates, and even OBS watchmates from last year to go and take photos. If that wasn't enough, I'd like to warn you of something. Never put girls in the ballroom alone. The dancing went really crazy. Gown or no gown, we were just dancing and dancing and dancing...funny dances...haha...Remarkable! Nobody even ripped their dresses. Conclusion: we're crazy! In a very good way...haha...
At about 11+, I was very tired already, so I went back with my room mates. Soon, the teachers chased the rest back too. But who was ready to sleep? Not yet, anyway:) I went around talking to people first, before finally changing and then packing 80% of my luggage. My room slept at about 12.30....
Today.
Got up slightly later than yesterday, but I wasn't late lah. We brought all ous stuff with us and put them in the D'Marquee while we went to have breakfast for the last time. And this one you must guess...guess what we had after breakfast? Dance rehearsals! haha... but this was very short...because the teachers called us together. It was time for the folk dancing competition. For once, my class wasn't the first to go and present our dance :) But really, most of the class dances were excellent. Very well-prepared and beautiful. The most popular choices for the dances were Irish and Indian dances. For my class, it began with Spannish(tango), then followed by Polish and Irish... And this class performance was spectacular. We made the least mistakes we ever made, and it felt so wonderful:) I remembered all the steps! Whee! Even our leaders were so excited. It truly was the best performance we had done. After sitting down again, we continued watching the rest. They were wonderful too. I came up with my best conclusion: I'm glad I'm not one of the judges...haha...oh ya. The judging criteria: authenticity(dance must reflect a certain culture), how the actions coordinate with the music, rhythm and timing. We also found out later that the judges weren't looking at the people in dance CCAs. They were looking at the rest :) Once everyone had finished dancing, the judges left for a while to decide on the winners, ad each class took turns to say a class cheer :) Then the judges returned and gave the emcees the results. But they still didn't want to tell us. The teachers came to tell us how well we did and they were very pleased and so on...then they finally announced. "The top 3 classes...in no order of merit are...(pause) 401! (screaming and hugging), 403! (more screaming and hugging) and 405!(even more...)" haha... just for your info, 401-406 are IP classes..hope the mainstream classes don't think there's a bias somewhere...My class was really so relieved and happy. I think we must have had oneof the toughest training because the president and vp from modern dance, as well as an excellent chinese dancer were coaching us, and all I can say is, it was worth it:) Thank you Liu Qian, Su Wan and Regina:) You guys were fantastic!
The day ended with the final debrief and feedback forms. The classes then departed one by one back to school and left from there. I was lugging quite heavy stuff, so I took a bus to the mrt station instead, and then changed to a direct bus to home instead of the usual, where I have to walk about another 400m from the terminus. Right now, my body's aching from all the activities and sunburn, I'm tired and a little worn out (I still have choir workshop tomorrow without any practice at all), but I want to thank God for everything. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to go to this camp (the extreme opposite of last year's OBS), teaching me in the way I should go, and giving me wonderful friends, from my class, school, church and other schools. I'm really thankful for every friend that I have :)
To end this off, I'd like to put down a note from my teacher who is really anti-Christ. I asked all my teachers to write something on my camp booklet. What she wrote is probably one of the best compliments I can ever have...
Dear Cherlyn,
Thanks for being one of the few Christians who do justice to the faith.
She who has lost it,
(her name)
Me blogged @ | 9:29 AM
*.* Camp: Day 2 *.*
Today was competition day. We had our song/cheer/mascot competition in the morning after our final rehearsals. Aiyo...very terrible. I'm not supposed to be shouting/screaming before syf competition. I think I really hurt myself by doing so just now :( Anyway, we didn't win, but I think our mascot is cool...haha :) Maybe I'll take a photo and post it here or something when I come back...
Coming up...
Tomorrow: Make-up course, I'll be playing soccer, and I think later on we'll be learning more about the Indian culture or something and then we'll be having Indian dinner (eat with fingers too, I think)
Thursday: Deportment course (practise walking posture in heels and book on head), station games and then formal dinner at night
Friday: packing up, folk dancing competition, and go home.
These are very brief stuff. Don't want to give too many details as of now. Will report more when I come back... hmm..haven't packed yet. Gotta go :)
God bless you:)
Me blogged @ | 10:19 PM
*.* Camp: Day 1 *.*
On your mark, get set, GO!
Yup, today marked the start of our camp. The day began with our wonderful national anthem, pledge and school song. haha...so funny, they didn't have the music for the school song so my choir president had to go up on the platform and sing in the mike a capella with everyone following her. Good thing they chose her instead of a councillor. The councillor would freak out..haha...After that we proceeded to the hall for our briefing. On the way, I passed a letter to my sec 3 junior who was going for OBS to pass to my instructor last year. Sob....I really want to go back to Pulau Ubin for OBS, but they won't let us swop. Oh well...
After the long briefing ended (how ironic), we went back to our respective classrooms and then we taught the class our song/cheer for the competition tomorrow morning. I can't type it here lah. 80% is in chinese...haha...Our mascot is an ice-cube (not the real thing) with a blue moon suspended in the centre made by the AEP people in my class. They are so pro! They finished it in 1 hr and it's beautiful:) Following those rehearsals, since we had some time left before lunch, we carried on with our dance rehearsals. It's super tiring because every move is so fast, but I survived. Yay! We then broke for lunch and later returned to the auditorium for more briefings. This time, it was "setting the standard" for the dance. We were shown 3 dances and the kind of standard that fulfilled the judges criteria. My opinion: unattainable. haha...
Then it was back to long, strenous dance rehearsals again. Practise and practise....getting there already lah. We should be prepared by the time of the real competition. The last hour was spent in the hall. For what? Skin care and beauty products talk by zA. Trust me, I TRIED to stay alert...but couldn't make it towards the end. I think Cheryl or Dotz would have been a lot happier if they were in my place..haha...But we got a lot of free samples today, mainly by Biore and Nivea. We got 1 box of pore packs, 1 bottle of deodorant, 3 anti-acne facial foams, and one whole kit of stuff (facial foam, toner and lotion). That was a lot to bring home. But they're quite cool lah...haha...
Tomorrow: cheer/song competition, mascot competition and more prep for dance competition. Beauty stuff continues on wednesday. We'll be made to try different sorts of make-up and learn how to apply them the correct way....we'll see :)
For those who are not feeling the best in the world, you MUST remember that God is allowing this to happen for a bigger purpose. Look for the big picture :) Trust and obey, for there's no other way... God bless you and have a wonderful day!
Me blogged @ | 11:44 PM
*.* Hello! *.*
Hello! Whee! Finally...he term's coming to an edn. And I don't have lessons next week...haha... On monday and tuesday, we have day camp at school. Different inter-class competitions as well as crazy workshops that teach us how to put on make-up. Yes, it's true. It's camp week next week, and the theme forthe sec 4s is GRACES. We're supposed to learn how to be lad-like, demure, graceful and blah blah blah. Sigh...dresses and make-up included. So 1st 2 days got dy camp in school, and the next 3 will be the residential part. We're going to somewhere in the east, but better not say, lest any of you decide to come and visit...haha
On the 3rd day, I think the main graceful part of the programme is for us to learn how to walk in heels (I already know...for once: choir experiences) as well as walking with good posture. I think what they will make us do is balance a book on our heads, wear high heels and walk up and down the stage. If we drop the book, must do it all over again. I guess this is a time when you'll be really grateful if you're square-headed (pun intended :P) Thursday night, the last night, is supposed to be the big event. So far, we've alsao had workshops on dressing, our body shapes (it was very disturbing to see one of our male teachers hanging around in the auditorium with us and listening so attentively. Gross.), as well as personal hygiene and so on. So on Thursday, after all our "training", we're having a formal night thing. Everyone's supposed to come in gowns and dresses, make-up, heels, with their hair done up and all. Sigh...wish I could cross-dress...haha....but ya, I've got my gown and all, so I just have to get through that night:) It should be fun, I guess :) But for now, we have so much prep to do for the inter-class cheer and song competition (aiyo...this one very troublesome), mascot competition (Ours will be an ice cube with a moon on one of the faces and a number one on the moon. You want to know the significance then ask me personally) and also the folk dance competition (we're doing a Spannish dance that's quite cool but very difficult)...
Anyway, enough about camp. If I survive though all the femininity, then I'll share more after the camp. On wednesday, I met Mark Szto at NUS. Wah...super malu leh. There I was sitting in the bus on my way home at about 7pm, all dazed and super tired, so I was just staring into space. The bus stopped at the central library bus stop in NUS, and before it departed, I sensed a figure walking towards the bus, but obviously I still remained super blur...until someone knocked on the window. I think my eyes almost dropped off my head when I saw him...haha...open too big. But I managed to wave back after my super chi2 dun4ness a the bus drove off again. Lesson learnt: don't be so blur :)
Then yesterday, after dropping off at the terminus to walk home, also at about 7, I saw 2 figures on the pathway leading to the main road at Clementi. I didn't really know what they were doing until I got closer. I said to myself. Oh they're hugging. Fine. But then they broke apart, and then came together again, this time kissing very intimately. At this point, I was practically in front of them, and they were really blocking the path. Haiz...good thing there's grass at the side. Managed to get past them successfully without disturbing my mind too much. Sigh...very brave people. They seemed as though they would never see each other again and that, that was the only place they could express their feelings. Interesting occurrence.
Today, I had choir in the morning. Was late because my level rep told us the wrong time, Sigh... then after that, I don't know know how to put this, but let's just sya the choir was really, really bad. I think our conductor's going to give up on us very soon. She might be on the verge of doing so already. SYF's in a month. Next week theere's no choir because of camp. We only have one more practice with my conductor. Being a sec 4, the greatest pressure is on us. How can we, as seniors, let the choir fall? How can we allow a silver or bronze when this choir has had gold for 12 years running? Is it our fault? I don't know......is it my fault? Maybe...
Me blogged @ | 10:08 PM
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
*.* another day... *.*
It's just another day
Life's wasting away
The rain is falling, the skies are grey
My mood is unstable
I feel like I'm unable
To control myself anymore.
Where is my hope?
Where is my joy?
Lost, Vanished, Gone.
What is left for me?
What can I hold onto?
Nothing, practically nothing.
A spiritual high
It comes and goes
As though it never came
I mustn't slip
Into so many lies
The predator prowls on...
He sneaks up on me
Grabs my weakest spot
Tosses me till I'm almost done for
Who then, will rescue me?
Who then, will take me out of my misery?
Whose battle is this?
It's God's.
Why surrender myself to the prince
When it is the King who reigns?
Why subject myself to torture
When the battle has already been won?
Amnesia.
I forget.
Every day.
My root in sin is held fast
My heart pulls away from
God, who loves me.
Why?
Why can't I trust every day?
Why can't I be a warrior?
Why can't I find joy?
Why can't I share God's love?
Or did I also forget that
I can?
For God so loved the world
that He gave his one and only Son.
That whoever believes in Him shall not perish
But have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world
But to save the world through Him.
A lasting promise.
A lasting hope.
A lasting joy.
A lasting love.
A lasting gift.
The prize for our faith.
I will take up my cross
Put on the full armour of God
Stand at the frontline
Of the deadliest battle
For the victory is ours
And the battle is the Lord's.
Even youths grow tired and weary
And young men stumble and fall
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength
They will soar on wings like eagles
The will run and not grow weary
They will walk and not be faint.
It's just another day
Come what may
Lord, this is all I pray
Take me, mould me, use me, fill me
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
Till the end of this race.
I will be victorious.
Me blogged @ | 3:17 PM
Perhaps I'm bored, of maybe it's just the kind of assignments our teachers are giving us nowadays (haha...blame it all on the teachers), but anyway, following my physics assignment (see previous entry), this is my biology one. It is a petition from the hair erector muscle in our skin to the brain.
Brief intro: The hair erector muscle helps in regulating temperature in hairy animals. When the temperature of the surroundings is high, the hair erector muscle relaxes and the hairs on your skin lie pretty flat. However, when it's really cold, the brain sends a signal to the muscle to contract. When this happens, your hairs will "stand on ends", which means they will stand up very straight. Because there is a lot of hair, air is trapped within these hairs. Air is a poor conductor of heat, so when heat is conducted out of your body when it goes through vasodilation (that occurs when your body temperature is lower than the surrounding. More blood is allowed to flow through so that you will lose more heat), the air between the hairs will prevent too much heat from being lost in the surroundings, therefore keeping you warm. Okay, enough of chunky info. "Enjoy".
Oh Brainy One,
Ever since I signed the contract with you before winter, I have been contracting so much every day that felt I could become the world's greatest contractor that ever existed. This humble deed of mine had no other motive or intention than to keep thy brain warm and working at close to optimum temperature. Throughout winter, I've worked long and hard to make the hairs on the skin stand up straight (I know that the teachers hate it when they slouch), and I've never rested as long as you received signals from the sense receptors that felt the cold temperatures and sent the instruction to me to contract. My contract will be ending soon, and I really want to relax from all this contracting. I don't ask for any reward or a special prize, but this summer, I hope to be able to relax all the time. I need a vacation break. Before I really do break down…Relaxing instead of contracting during the summer would really be a relaxing experience for me. Besides, making the hairs stand erect would only trap more air and cause a person to be hotter in an already temperate time of the year. Relax, I'll definitely be back on task when the temperatures are down in the dumps again, or when they are in low spirits.
I've checked with my colleagues, namely the blood vessels near the skin surface, the sweat glands, ducts and pores, the temperature receptors and even the adipose tissues, asking them for their opinion as to whether they would be able to cope with the regulation of temperature if I go on a vacation. It was extremely touching to know that all of them supported me in my decision. I really hope you, divine Brain, will approve of this little request of mine too. I will definitely fulfill my contract and go on contracting when the time is right.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Erector
Hair erector muscle
The body
If you find that rubbishy, that's normal :) I only hope Mr. Tan won't faint when he grades it...haha...
Got to study for physics test for tomorrow. Bye! God bless and see you soon.
Me blogged @ | 4:21 PM
