Mrs. Neoh's a great teacher + other crappish stuff

hihi...
havent been posting on my blog 4 a long time... so it was quite dead... all becuz of the piles of homwork i have... this monday i have to hand in geog project... fri i have to hand in ERP, Chi. Website... and thur there is a Maths CCT!!! AHHH!!! Not to mention all those small homework like history worksheet or maths worksheet...
Well, it was quite a nice week though... Tue we had a HARD jap test which i think im gonna just pass... then, thur we had an Eng CCT which i think i also did wuite badly... I forgot the name of the festival and 3 of the conspirators... bah... ok... but fri was much better when we had geog quiz and Maths TA.. think i did quite well for them... Friday also marked the day Stefan will leave us... he has definitely been a great friend and i wish him all the best in USA...
And there will be the electives for the special 3 day camp... i think my first choice will be pet rocket and maths problems... next choice will be Maths 3D figures and eng trip... Yup... i think that will be quite fun...
Then there is also the choosing of subjects for Sec 3... I think I'll be taking 11 subjects, namely Research Education, Social Studies, Maths, A Maths, Chinese, English (all compulsory), bio, chem, phy, history and jap... Yup... that will add up to 30 hr of lesson per week, same as now... it will be tough taking triple sci but i hope i will succeed...
On sat we had oral comm rehearsal... it wasnt really as successful as we would have wanted it to be with a few ppl not coming and ppl too occupied with hp games or MP3 players... well, we still managed to take the videos and i think we look cool!!! hahaha.... I really apologise to all that i shouted at during this practice cuz i was really pissed off... I couldnt control the class... aiyah... im such a bad leader... im onli a thinker... Jaryl makes a much better leader and thats why i nominated him as prefect... i nominated aaron at first, but he didnt want to be a prefect, so i changed to jaryl... hahaha...
Im also enjoying history classes now... i no longer have to hit myself to keep myself awake... haha... all thanks to Mrs. Neoh adding the videos to the class... MRS. NEOH, U R A GREAT TEACHER!!!
talking about that, i think thats the exact reason why im choosing history instead of geog... I always wanted to take geog in sec 1... now im thinking otherwise... i always thot history was all about memmorising stuff... well, im wrong!! haha... as Mrs. Neoh so accurately pointed out, its about the mind and the heart, and i think it is thru history that we learn our EQ which i so badly need... hahahaha... i think its history which taught me forgiveness... hahaha... YAY!!! GO HISTORY!!! hahaha...
Well, I think I'll continue taking jap next year although it will ddefinitely pull my grades down... I think jap is a very interesting subject and after listening to jaryl saeing he regretted so much quitting 3rd lang, i think I will have to continue it... hahaha... how strange can life be... every tue and thu, i always think: NO!!! GOT THIRD LANG... Sian... But on mon, wed and fri, I'll be thinking: YAY!!! IM LEARNING ONE MORE LANG... SO FUN!!! hahaha... a bit ironic? but thats the truth... I really want to do well in jap... if there is one thing i will benefit from jap, its perseverance... yes... i think thats my biggest benefit from jap so far... I've wanted to quit since sec 1 june, but im still inside the best class of the level, doing fairly well for my exams though not as gd as last year... It's really an achievement...
And next sun I'll be going to Hsinghai CO Concert... haha... will be meeting my old "friend", Dewei-son... hahahaha... flashback to pri sch... A PLAN, B PLAN, C PLAN... hahahahaha... P6 was my best year to me... it really was... to seat in front of "dewei" and behind "Max-son Chin" and beside "FOOL Shi Hao" is really great... adding to that grp is clement and amos... Yay... and together, we made a great grp... hahahaha... it was really fun... especially max with his jokes, SH with his smile and dewei with his sacarstic remarks... hahahaha...
i also cant wait for next year when Michael finally comes back... finally, we can be 5 again... haha... since P4 or 5, the family went from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2... then, now its coming back... Sam isnt living in hostel anymore so its back to 3... dad's coming back from HK so its 4 and mike's coming back from US next year and its 5!!! hahaha... YAY!!!
I also think i shld use my camera more often... haha... I love keeping memories and camera will be one of the ways to do so... I'll try to bring along my camera every time i go out next time... haha...
Oh... and RICO is going to have a concert in nov i think... It will be a swan song for the sec 4s as a practice for SYF for the others... Tics are starting to be sold now and you can book your tics with any RICO member... RiWeiqi is also as normal... nothing much happening except i think the sec 1s are improving and Ernest and KY are skipping prac too much... ok... its for a valid reason, CCA... but, u still need to prac...
and 2dae i beat yi feng again... he is one of the better players in HCI and im so happy beat him, this time fair and square... last time i won him, he made some careless errors, this time, i made the error but still beat him!! hahaha... tyty... well, it was onli by 3 seeds though so nothing much to boast about... haha...
today at jiang, we had bian lun (debate)... Wanen, Yunhui, Mark and Gilbert were all very impressive... Wanen especially... i really admire the way she speaks chinese so fluently... NO!!! I must improve my chinese... my reading is so bad i cant stand it myself... NO!!! haha...
Yar.. i think thats all lah.. haha... crapped enough already... have to go slp liao... damn tired 2dae especially after thinking so much at weiqi... yup... so BYE...

Patrick

My weakness...

hihi... One strength I have found in myself over the past few years is the ability to know what are my strengths and weaknesses (how ironic)... And one of these weaknesses that I have is my inabilty to do work without the presence of others... I dunno why... But I just find it so difficult... I really cant do work without others beside me... And these others must be either my friends or siblings... Someone who is around my age... Yea... I really dunno why i have this problem... But it has definitely affected my work... When I have ppl beside me, I can talk while I work, and suddenly, I work so fast that I surprise myself... But, once that person is gone, I cant do anything... I mean, i can still do work, but the efficiency drops alarmingly... Suddenly, I cant do anything... I have this simple Maths qn in front of me but i take 10 min to solve it... I wonder what kind of problem this is, but i definitely have to solve it... AND FAST... ive been losing sleep becuz of it... If onli someone were beside me when I do my work... I really need someone to be beside me... Dunno why... but i juz need him... mayb im not independent and i need ppl to be beside me b4 i can do work... I really dont noe the reason behind this... But ever since Mike left for america and Sam left for the hostel, I have found it hard to concentrate... I really need someone to be beside me... AHHHH!!! Ive tried using MSN as a replacement but its juz different... If u have a person beside u... doesnt neccesarily need to be facing u either... juz beside u.... then ur work efficiency rises... AHHHH!!! I need someone... Someone to be beside me when I do my work...

Cutie (Stressed)

SP Weiqi and HOMEWORK

hihi...
Feeling really pissed... SP held this competition that was supposed to start at 1, but it didnt start even at 3+... We got SO pissed off that even Shi Hao agreed to withdraw from the competition... Even HCI withdrew, i think... Aiyah... that comp is the worst i have ever joint... Last year was also bad, but not THAT bad... it started 1 hr late... this year, they onli started registering the participants at 3... So, we withdrew and we went to jurong to watch movie!!! Pirates of the Carribean... It was quite a nice movie except that i sometimes didnt understand it cuz i forgot the 1st part of the show liao.... haha...

Well, following that, my homework list is piling up... I HATE HOMEWORK... haha... everyone does... but... juz to show how serious it is... here is the schedule for week 5...

Homework to be handed in on week 5 except for website n oral comm...
Maths – WS + Test
Sci – Website + Assignment
History – TB
Geog – Project + Test
Eng – Journal + ERP + Mask + CCT + The Day
Chi – Website (Week 6) + Compo
Jap – CA4...
Oral Comm – Script + Rehearsal (Week 6 Mon)

And here is how i plan to do my homework
Sun – 1 poem + Compo + Bio + Mask + Journal + The Day + TB + Jap Test + Maths WS
Mon – 630 – JAP TEST + 1 poem
Tue – 630 – geog project + Maths TA
Wed – 530 – CCT
Thur – 630 – Geog project + 1 poem + Geog Test
Fri – 630

And here are the upcoming stuff...
Chi CCT – Week 6
Chi Website
Eng. Drama
Oral Comm
Maths CCT
Sci CCT
Hsinghai CO Concert

So, as u can see, I dont really have much sleeping time do I?? Well, im used to it lah... haha...

And moving on...
I dont noe y... but my heart feels so HEAVY recently... haha... sounds so faked up rite?? but its real... its really heavy... dont really noe y either... mayb becuz of the loads of homework or the jap test... jap is interesting... but SO STRESSFUL (esp. exams)... I thot of quitting it since sec 1 june... but i still havent quit... aiyah... juz feel so uncomfortable...

Well, thats part of life isnt it...

Im also trying to find ppl to go with me for Hsinghai CO concert... Performers i noe r BL, janice n Kweky... But no one seems to be interested... BAH... not even the sec 1 daji ppl wanna go... Ok... thats partly becuz BL is performing n every1 in RICO HATES BL... hahaha... aiyah... juz wanna find ppl to pei2 wo3 qu4... So boring loh... I hate going for concerts on my own... aiyah...

OK... Time to rush off... Got millions of homework left to be done... so BYE for now...

Cutie

RICO daji - BONDING

hihi...
Ever since joining RICO, I have been thinking of ways and means to improve the CCA... In the first year, I couldn't do much except following BL's instructions... Playing this instrument that instrument... Well, in Sec 2 it didnt change much... Lionel became SL and everyone noes how unpredictable Lionel is... Sometimes, especially on big occasions, he keeps his cool and perform and lead... I must admit his leadership is admirable... But uring normal prac, he's a bit slack unlike BL... and as Mr. Ngoh said, an SL must be able to play brilliantly... Well, not much of a choice too rite? Im sure Victor or Darren can become SL... haha.. I mean they are quite pro in percussion but i dont think they take prac or concerts seriously... Especially victor... SO once again, I couldnt do much to help CO except do my part in CO...

However, I would be sec 3 next year and I think it is the rite time to start contributing back to CO... I have always thot of ways to improve it both in the musical part and the "fun-ness" part... Easier said then done though... Therefore, from Sec 2, I started to observe other COs... Why were they better than us? What made them different and so much better? (Not exaggarating)... Well, I first compared RICO to RJCO... RJCO according to BL is also not very gd... But, after training with them once, i could see the huge difference between them and us... They were much quieter during prac unlike us... I started to find the reason... And if im not mistaken, it lies in both the discipline of the members and the feirceness of the conductor... Dont mistake me... Im not saeing that conductors must be fierce... But, I juz think yang pei xian is a bit too kind... I have NEVER EVER seen or heard him raise his voice... I really admire his ability to control himself, to tell himself that he does not need to scold to get the ppl's attention... But sometimes, its juz a must to take action... Sometimes I feel guilty when I find myself not listening to wat he saes... But it has become a sort of tradition in RICO hasnt it? that everything that the conductor said is not noted down? So the solution? A fiercer conductor? To me, thats not the solution... To me, the solution lies instead with the discipline of the students... Maybe we can ask the SLs to check the student's scores everyweek to check that they have noted down everything that the conductor has said from dynamics to rhythm and carry out small punishments to those who miss out on these notes?? Maybe... But, it will definitely take skill to ask ppl like Thomas to take out a pen and write the notes down... haha... jkjk... Rewind to what Mr. Ngoh said b4... He said that ACS band, which he used to teach, was so quiet whenever there was prac that they could even hear the air-con's noise... Well, im not sure whether its true, but it is definitely an achievement... That would be the ideal situation isnt it??

Then, in May 2006, I started to get to noe RGCO daji and began to compare them with RICO daji... Once again, I could observe a whole lot of differences... The most important of them is "bonding". RGCOdaji was SO BONDED... and thats not exaggeration... They stay back after prac together cuz they dont want to leave... They go out together... They go for concerts when someone in the section is performing... THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN RICO... Once again, I started to ask myself for the reasons... I thot it could be becuz of DeViL... Well, that is undeniable... I used to stay back for 1 hr too either practicing or playing after prac but after DeViL joint daji, Ive stopped... They even scare the sec 1s and i really pity them... As much as i can, i try to spend as much time as i can with them so that at least they will not be influenced by DeViL... Every dazu, whenever there is break, i juz go out and spend time with them... teaching them... It was rather fun actually... They are a fun batch... That at least made DeViL stay away from them... I cant imagine wat they would be like if DeViL had done "it".. haha... I cant seem to find a solution for this though... I mean i cant force the sec 1s to stay back after sectionals to prac can I?? haha... well, it will depend on how much they really commit to CO... I really hope that RIdaji can bond juz like RGdaji... I really admire RGdaji... Janice once said that it was cuz the seniors were not strict so the sec 1s climb over their heads... Well, i have to agree with that... But it definitely takes more than that to be able to bond a group of ppl... How they did that, i really dont noe... I juz hope that I can succeed in at least bringing RIdaji together as a group and not individuals as it was this year... Yes... "Bonding" is the term... I hope RIdaji will be able to bond... Den onli can we really succeed as a section and as a group...

BONDING IS THE KEY...

Patrick

Qiuping + Inter-house Weiqi

hihi...
I juz did a reflection on the Qiuping Cup (An Annual Weiqi competition)... haha... its LONG... happy reading...

Ah! At last, the Qiuping Cup has finished. Finally, I can rest my mind a bit from Weiqi, can’t I? Well, to me it was certainly “exciting” and “eye-opening”. I did better than last year by getting an individual 5th (didn’t get anything last year) and team 2nd (3rd last year). It was definitely an achievement. Looking back now, I could not believe my luck. I hadn’t been training much Weiqi recently due to the piles of homework and exams I had. Ok... But that’s for the later part. Let’s go in chronological order. Ok... I was sick on Friday, down with coughs, so I didn’t go for the RICO Camp. AHAHAHAHA... Well, I was fresh an well on Saturday and we met at Yio Chu Kang MRT station. There, we had a team briefing or what I call the VERY VERY motivational speech by Shi Hao. Haha... He talked about the fact that our team was actually very strong. He talked about Yang asking who we had in our team. Shi Hao said he didn’t reveal his careds... haha... And then I asked him to stop his English translation without noticing that Viet did not understand Chinese... ahhaha... sorry Viet... Well, now to the match... The first match, I faced Goh Huan or something like that... haha... She went with me for the Shanghai Weiqi trip and I forgot her name... haha... Well, the first match went well, although I had a few scares too. Then, when we had a very big da jie and I thought this was her biggest chance to win me... she tou zi... haha... I also don’t know why... haha... But, well, I immediately kept the seeds before she said she wanted to continue haha... Heaved a sigh of relief... Then to my second match... Against this HCI guy who knew me but I didn’t know him... haha... lol... Well, that match went well too... And I killed his whole piece... YAY!!! Haha... Then the third match I came up against Qi Xu... I still remember last year I won him in Qiuping by a few seeds. This year, I didn’t know why I wasn’t thinking properly and so I lost to him by a lot... haha... The teacher said I had a big chance of winning him after I hate his whole jiao + a bit of bian... But I thought I was losing so I anyhow attack his di4 and died... haha... So, I lost... Hm... Yup... So second day, I went up against this RGS girl... At first, I sat on the wrong table and faced another RGS girl first. It was only after the match ended and I knew I had won that I realised I was sitting on the wrong table... haha... so pai sei... haha... So went to the other table to face another RGS girl... She was much stronger and I only had 30 min instead of 45 min because of my mistake of sitting on the wrong table... haha... Well... still managed to beat her because she made a few mistakes... haha... I only realise now that my kai ju is very bad and can only rely on my opponent’s mistakes to win them... haha... This is again shown in the next two matches... The next match I faced Ernest, who hasn’t played Weiqi for at least 6 months... Still very strong though... He was winning me or should I say thrashing when he made one mistake... From that mistake, he didn’t kill me and the match was very close ever since. I saw him move a few wrong or should I say smaller guan zi... and I punished him by winning him only by a few seeds... Think around 5... haha... Till now, he’s still very pissed with me... Then, the next match was the hardest one I had in the competition... I faced Goh Bin from HCI... Though he isn’t really the strongest in HCI, I felt this immense pressure on me right from the start as I had to beat him... He only started learning Weiqi when he was P5... and I just couldn’t lose to him... As normal, I fell back in the kai ju... And the desperate me went to da ru in his big wai shi... haha... I knew I was losing from then... Yup... So, I managed to escape my da ru seed but he had also attacked my land on the way.. So I knew I was still losing... Then came the big risk... I knew that if I lian my daru seed back, he would be able to go into my land, and I would lose... So, I took the risk... I saved my entire land and let him duan my da ru seed... It had now become a chang long2 and I knew if it died, it would be a thrashing... I spent 10 min thinking how to save this chang long, and finally it paid off... I killed 4 of his seeds and huo2ed.... haha... well... However, I knew I was still losing... Luckily in guan zi, he did’nt take the bigger ones and I managed to grab them... haha... And I won him by 9 seeds... haha... Though I must state also that I was only left with 2 min of my time... Phew... haha... Well, from then on, I was very relaxed as I knew I had achieved the “5 wins I had aimed for”. The next match I faced xiao mo from HCI and I lost to him without much fight... haha... Probably because I was exhausted from the last game and the fact that xiao mo is pro... Well, so ended the 7 games and we had the prize presentation... I got individual 5th, HB got individual 6th and Ernest individual 7th... haha... I beat them all... HAHA... Well, I thought I was quite lucky because I didn’t face FCC or xun kang, unlike HB and Ernest... YAY!!! Haha... Well, so after the prize presentation, we took photos and had a debrief by Shi Hao... He said that we had to use the online resources to improve on our Weiqi which is what I am trying to do right now... Have been going on KGS for the past 3 days... haha... But I know it will take more than this to improve my Weiqi... It takes determination and persistence which is what I have learnt from this Qiuping 2006... The biggest takeaway... Determination and persistence... This was shown by me in the Goh Bin match when I knew I had to persist to be able to win him... And I could tell that he didn’t persist from his face as he didn’t really think before moving... He did try thinking but I could tell he didn’t really cared to count... I thought that match... I won him not by my skills, but by my determination to win... and that is what I have taken away from this Qiuping... Winning in Weiqi is not all about skills... It’s about the determination and patience to sit down and think... This is what I really think the sec1s should learn... I know that for the last 4 matches, I was always the last to finish... I know my brain was about to explode... But, I persisted... I knew, if i thought more, I would win somehow... Like in Ernest’s match... I knew it was going to be hard to beat him... But after his 1 wrong move... I took the opportunity, got as much land as I could... and won... Like in goh Bin’s match, I knew I had more determination and persistence than him... I knew I could win... I was thinking for 10 min and he was staring at other ppl’s matches... I knew that I could beat him through determination even if my skills were not as gd as him... and yes I did... the biggest takeaway from Qiuping... determination, persistence, patience, and the willingness to sit down and think of your every move... That’s what I’ve taken away and I hope the Sec 1s will also learn this... This after seeing them playing at such quick speeds during training sessions... It’s not about the no. of matches you play which make you better in weiqi, its the amount of time you take to think about it... thinking about the possible moves, the possible attacks, the possible defences, the biggest place on the board... Even guan zi... Its about the willingness to sit down and calculate the value of each one of them, whether you will get a xian shou from it, whether your opponent will get a xian shou from it... Its about that... The skills I think we already have enough... Now is the time to start sitting down and thinking about your every move... I hope the Sec 1s will really learn this... Because it was with this that I won Ernest and Goh Bin... Even though I have to admit my Weiqi skills are definitely not as gd as them both... Not trying to say that Goh Bin and Ernest do not have persistence and determination... I think that Ernest definitely has both... Even more than me... I’m also not trying to say that I have a lot of persistence and determination... I’m just trying to suggest that now that we know we have enough skills, its time we sit down and think of every move we play, and not just get it over and done with like what I sometimes do during Weiqi training... Just anyhow play and see what happens... Because I dont think that that’s what Weiqi is about... Weiqi is about the thinking process... Thinking about each and every move you play... whether there is a better move... which move is more important or carries a highr value etc... Its this which makes up the beauty of Weiqi... I suggest that from now on, we play Weiqi not with a limited amount of time, but with a minimal amount of time to think of every move... Though this may not seem logical, I surely think its the way to go...

Yup... Thats the end of the Reflection... HAHA... Have u gone blind yet?? Well, I also recently participated in the RI Inter-house Weiqi Competition... It was a nice experience though it was a bit screwed cuz there were only 11-12 ppl participating.. HAHA... Well, it still takes talent and skills to win the competition... AND I DID IT... <<<>>> Hullett won 1st for inter-house weiqi with me winning all 4 games n my junior winning 3... YAY... Managed to beat Jia Hong, Yi Heng n Hong Bo though I must sae I was quite lucky too... haha... Well, my junior did well too... Losing out to Alan onli by time... So, the standings were: Hullett 7, Bayley 6, Buckley 4, Moor 2, Morrison 1... However, u have to give credit to Moor... They onli had Yi Heng in the team n he was a sec 1... I was rather impressed with him as he managed to beat Jia Hong and make Buckley losing one point, thus making Buckley second and Hullett first instead of a joint first... Must really thank him... haha...

Well, thats all for now... Another weiqi competition coming up on sat/sun... Hope i have the luck and concentration to see me through... haha...

Patrick

Yay... NEW BLOG...

hihi...
Yayee... I juz created my first ever blog... Haha... Yup... Well, nothing much to write 2dae... Yea... So bye... haha...

Patrick