Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Just a Note part 2
it's the time for remembrance again. i guess it's good that i have not woken up late at night just to pen this..
shall we all make it this sunday 10am? let's see..
shall we all make it this sunday 10am? let's see..
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Council Reunion 2008
Great evening. Long-live Speedy Gonzalez!
I hope it won't be too long before our next gathering.
I hope it won't be too long before our next gathering.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thoughts on Euro
So finally, Spain has erased 44 years of heartache to clinch the European Championships in style, courtesy of a Fernando Torres goal.
Except for this morning's final, I haven't watched a single match at the just-over Euro2008 (I don't have a TV, and the final match was watched at a friend's house). Do I miss all the action? Sadly, not much. I can still have a daily dosage of football action on the internet and in newspapers, and still have my sleep.
Call it aging, or change of priorities, or a stronger allegiance to club football (to be more specific, Liverpool), international matches that used to have me pumping with excitement no longer can defeat the lure of the sleeping bug, except when it comes to the Champions League or Premier League games that involve Liverpool.
I can still remember 2005, the year Liverpool last won the Champions League, I was so excited after the game that I went to have breakfast in the rainy aftermath at around 6am in a near-deserted hawker centre and tasted buns so fresh and hot that the cheese literally melted in my mouth.
That was one of the sweetest breakfast I've ever tasted, not only because Liverpool won, but also because during the 120 minutes my friends and I were cheering and exchanging SMS messages, we've stopped worrying about work, the next promotion, the next instalment, and to become boys again.
Except for this morning's final, I haven't watched a single match at the just-over Euro2008 (I don't have a TV, and the final match was watched at a friend's house). Do I miss all the action? Sadly, not much. I can still have a daily dosage of football action on the internet and in newspapers, and still have my sleep.
Call it aging, or change of priorities, or a stronger allegiance to club football (to be more specific, Liverpool), international matches that used to have me pumping with excitement no longer can defeat the lure of the sleeping bug, except when it comes to the Champions League or Premier League games that involve Liverpool.
I can still remember 2005, the year Liverpool last won the Champions League, I was so excited after the game that I went to have breakfast in the rainy aftermath at around 6am in a near-deserted hawker centre and tasted buns so fresh and hot that the cheese literally melted in my mouth.
That was one of the sweetest breakfast I've ever tasted, not only because Liverpool won, but also because during the 120 minutes my friends and I were cheering and exchanging SMS messages, we've stopped worrying about work, the next promotion, the next instalment, and to become boys again.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Losing a Part of Me
Somehow this image of Cherian George (the ST journalist) on TV, telling the audience that where he was at now, which was under an expressway flyover (looked like PIE to me, hehe), was where his old house once stood, just kept playing in my head. It was an image that brought out sadness and a sense of resignation. For a country that prides itself to have catapulted from third world to first in 30 years, we have, in the process of economic advancement, sacrificed much of our heritage. Buildings, landmarks, language, culture...
放眼世界，心系祖国 was the slogan used not too long ago, to encourage our people towards globalisation, to go far beyond our shores to make our mark (i.e. make money), but to forge strong ties with our motherland. I have always agreed with hubby that patriotic ties towards one's country have to be forged through one's feelings towards the country, rooted by 人，景，物 (people, scenery/surroundings, tangible things). Except for the first (but even people come with an 'expiry date'), the things and surroundings in Singapore are always changing.
Today marks the day that I officially lose a part of me, my 景，物. It is the flat that I have lived for a good 26 years (and for my parents, 33 years) before I got married and got my own flat. The land where my parents' flat sits on was 'acquired' by the government two years back, i.e. en-bloc, so my parents have no choice but to move out of the flat where they have lived a good part of their lives and raised all their four children. All because this block of flat sits on prime land, and the land would most probably be used for some private housing project which will bring in the MONEY. For the sake of economic development, my fellow Singaporeans. Or else we will never be a step ahead of our neighbours...
I come from a humble, lower-middle class family. My precious flat was a humble 3-room flat, and it cost my parents $13,000 then, in 1975. My flat has always been overcrowded, for as long as I could remember. For the first 10 years of my life, the flat was occupied by my parents, my younger brother and I, my maternal grandmother, my uncle (mum's brother), and my cousin (a young lady who was taken in by my grandmother when she was very young). 7 people living in a 3-room flat, happily. :-) Then my uncle got married, and grandma and cousin moved in with him. At about the same time, my mum gave birth to my 2nd brother and youngest sister. 7-3+2=6.
We never had a sofa in the living room, not till 10 years later, I think. I remember the black-and-white TV set which had this set of sliding doors to protect the TV screen, and two huge speaker panels on either side of the screen. It was littered with stickers, I remembered. Stickers that my brother and I got from snacks we bought, like Kaka and Twisties. Hahahaha! We did have a huge dining table where the whole family gathers for makan, where my brother and I played games like 'house', 'library' under it, played table tennis on it (no joke), and where we did homework on.
I have never had the luxury of my own room... erm, do the maths and you will understand why. But we could always devise ways to mark out our 'territory', and maintain privacy (to the best of our ability!) whilst living under one roof. One bookshelf will be sub-divided amongst us -- ok I get the top 2 shelves, bro gets the other 2, the last one is for public usage. The same goes for our wardrobe, our cabinets, the reading table, etc.
There were hardly any secrets in the family... I mean, it was kind of hard to have secrets when there's just so much space between one another at any one time. So I could be on the phone embroiled in a heated quarrel with my friend/boyfriend, and the rest of the family would try to stay as quiet as possible, and try as hard as they can to pretend that they cannot hear what was being said. Hahahaha, those were the days.
People have always commented that my family is a really close-knit one. Well, if anything, space (the lack of it, to be exact) definitely plays an important role in making us close-knit! Wonderful memories of my childhood, my adolescence... would have loved to document more, like having the whole of my sec 4 class come over my humble abode for a song practice coz the church we were supposed to go to was out of bounds, and the nearest house with a piano was mine!?!?
Well, whatever it is, today is the last day I set my eyes on the dear old flat. The heart still aches, and it will continue to till the memories of it fade, together with the people who have once called it home.
Wretched,
A.
放眼世界，心系祖国 was the slogan used not too long ago, to encourage our people towards globalisation, to go far beyond our shores to make our mark (i.e. make money), but to forge strong ties with our motherland. I have always agreed with hubby that patriotic ties towards one's country have to be forged through one's feelings towards the country, rooted by 人，景，物 (people, scenery/surroundings, tangible things). Except for the first (but even people come with an 'expiry date'), the things and surroundings in Singapore are always changing.
Today marks the day that I officially lose a part of me, my 景，物. It is the flat that I have lived for a good 26 years (and for my parents, 33 years) before I got married and got my own flat. The land where my parents' flat sits on was 'acquired' by the government two years back, i.e. en-bloc, so my parents have no choice but to move out of the flat where they have lived a good part of their lives and raised all their four children. All because this block of flat sits on prime land, and the land would most probably be used for some private housing project which will bring in the MONEY. For the sake of economic development, my fellow Singaporeans. Or else we will never be a step ahead of our neighbours...
I come from a humble, lower-middle class family. My precious flat was a humble 3-room flat, and it cost my parents $13,000 then, in 1975. My flat has always been overcrowded, for as long as I could remember. For the first 10 years of my life, the flat was occupied by my parents, my younger brother and I, my maternal grandmother, my uncle (mum's brother), and my cousin (a young lady who was taken in by my grandmother when she was very young). 7 people living in a 3-room flat, happily. :-) Then my uncle got married, and grandma and cousin moved in with him. At about the same time, my mum gave birth to my 2nd brother and youngest sister. 7-3+2=6.
We never had a sofa in the living room, not till 10 years later, I think. I remember the black-and-white TV set which had this set of sliding doors to protect the TV screen, and two huge speaker panels on either side of the screen. It was littered with stickers, I remembered. Stickers that my brother and I got from snacks we bought, like Kaka and Twisties. Hahahaha! We did have a huge dining table where the whole family gathers for makan, where my brother and I played games like 'house', 'library' under it, played table tennis on it (no joke), and where we did homework on.
I have never had the luxury of my own room... erm, do the maths and you will understand why. But we could always devise ways to mark out our 'territory', and maintain privacy (to the best of our ability!) whilst living under one roof. One bookshelf will be sub-divided amongst us -- ok I get the top 2 shelves, bro gets the other 2, the last one is for public usage. The same goes for our wardrobe, our cabinets, the reading table, etc.
There were hardly any secrets in the family... I mean, it was kind of hard to have secrets when there's just so much space between one another at any one time. So I could be on the phone embroiled in a heated quarrel with my friend/boyfriend, and the rest of the family would try to stay as quiet as possible, and try as hard as they can to pretend that they cannot hear what was being said. Hahahaha, those were the days.
People have always commented that my family is a really close-knit one. Well, if anything, space (the lack of it, to be exact) definitely plays an important role in making us close-knit! Wonderful memories of my childhood, my adolescence... would have loved to document more, like having the whole of my sec 4 class come over my humble abode for a song practice coz the church we were supposed to go to was out of bounds, and the nearest house with a piano was mine!?!?
Well, whatever it is, today is the last day I set my eyes on the dear old flat. The heart still aches, and it will continue to till the memories of it fade, together with the people who have once called it home.
Wretched,
A.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Children See, Children Do
responding to some older posts ...................
children see, children do
children see, children do
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Council Reunion 2008 - 17 May Updates
Yup, it's here again! :D
From: Council Reunion 2008
From: Council Reunion 2008
Dear Former Councillors and Council Teachers
The ticket ordering deadline is on the 31st of May. This leaves you about 2 more weeks to order your tickets, if you have not done so already! The details of the event are:
Date: 2nd August 2008
Time: Registration at 5:30; seating by 6:45pm
Venue: Hwa Chong Institution [College Section] Air Conditioned Multi-Purpose Hall
Ticket price: $50, student discount of $25 [applicable for current JC/university students]
Deadline: 31st May, 2008, midnight.
We have received very unenthusiastic response from the teachers. Teachers, please book your tickets today! You're not required to form a table as there will be a teacher's table. We hope that former councillors can help to persuade their respective teachers to come, as we are certain that their presence will make a huge difference!
If you don't already know, we are also tracking down the composers and choreographers of various songs, dances or cheers which have become part and parcel of the Hwa Chong school culture and council culture all these years. If you, or someone you might know, were involved in the composition or choreography of any of these, please let us know. It would be a great honour to have the creator of every song or dance to lead generations of councillors in what has become so integral to our council experience!
College Mass Dances:
- I've Got My Mind Set On You
- Beechwood
- Together in Electric Dreams
- Wild Wild West
- Time of Your Life
Council Dances:
- Speedy Gonzales
- Black Cat
- Give It To Me
College Songs:
- 唱一首华初的歌
- 心旅
- 情真情深
- 也是深情
- 只为那爱我愿
- 当你孤单你会想起谁: [this was an adaptation from a commercial song, but we'd like to find who initiated it and added the extra lines]
- 细水长流: [commercial song]
- Never Forget: This is a new [English!] song composed by a non-councillor, but the recent batches will sing and introduce it to everyone
Council Songs:
- 黄城 [Official Council Song]
Council Cheers
- Ai Bi Mai Bi
- Makan cheer
If you remember any other mass dances or songs that were once upon a time part of the Hwa Chong college spirit, we welcome you to share them with us!
Current ticket sales:
- 1st – 10
- 3rd - 2 tables
- 6th - 1.5 tables
- 7th – 30
- 8th/9th - = 25
- 10th - 22
- 11th – 27
- 13th - 1 table
- 19th – 17
- 25th – 17
- 27th - 25
- 34th – 42
We're aiming for at least 1 table per batch, and there will be a prize for the greatest batch turnout from each decade. Probably the biggest gathering of councillors in the world - Will YOU be there?
Other things that YOU can be part of:
1. Photos and memorabilia
2. Performers for the evening
3. Advertisers for the programme booklet
More information can be found at www.councilreunion08.webs.com. Please email ticketing.councilreuion08@gmail.com for ticketing enquiries and councireunion08@gmail.com for general enquiries.
Council Reunion 2008 Organising Committee
Monday, May 5, 2008
5 May Update from the Reunion organizers
19th SC has 17 people going... :D
From: "Council Reunion 2008"
Subject: Council Reunion 2008 - 5 May Updates
Dear Former Councillors and Council Teachers
Contents of this email update:
- Collection of photos/archives
- Advertising in our programme booklet
- Ticket sales deadline 31st May
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. We want your memories!
In an attempt to add to the spirit of the reunion, we are trying to collect a wide variety of photos of councillors or council events over the years. We are also planning a display of Hwa Chong memorabilia, so if you have an ancient t-shirt, publication, MAF centerpiece or anything related to council, we would very much like to loan it from you for the evening.
The success of the reunion depends not only on the organisation, but the effort on your part as well to recreate the past and blend it into the present. Please do take the extra step to help us - select the best photos and email them to us, or for those before the digital camera age, scan in those photos, dig up the box from JC days... Please help us make this a night to remember.
We'd very much like photos in soft copy, emailed to councilreunion08@gmail.com. However, if you would like to pass us albums in person, we will gladly arrange to meet you and scan them in. If you have any archives you would kindly share with us, please get in touch and we'll arrange for a time to collect them from you nearer the date.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Advertising in our programme booklet
There will be professionally printed A5 sized programme booklet distributed to every guest at the reunion. If you or your company would like to place an advertisement or have further queries, please get in touch with us at councilreunion08@gmail.com. The charges are as stated:
- Full Page - $600
- Half Page - $300
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Ticket sales
This is also a gentle reminder that tickets for the reunion are currently up for sale. If you are not in touch with your batchmates but still wish to come, just order an individual ticket and we will sort the table arrangements as appropriate. We strongly encourage all teachers to purchase tickets! Your presence will really make a difference
Details are as follows:
Date: 2nd August 2008
Time: Registration at 5:30; seating by 6:45pm
Venue: Hwa Chong Institution [College Section] Air Conditioned Multi-Purpose Hall
Ticket price: $50, student discount of $25 [applicable for current JC/university students]
Deadline: 31st May, 2008, midnight.
Do check out the FAQs for more information, and book tickets at http://www.councilreunion08.webs.com. If you encounter any problems, or have any questions, please do email us at councilreunion08@gmail.com for general enquiries, or at ticketing.councilreunion08@gmail.com for ticketing enquiries. We hope to have your enthusiastic support!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current ticket sales [approximate]:
Batch - No. of tickets
- 1st – 10
- 3rd - 2 tables
- 7th - 30
- 8th/9th - 23
- 11th - 27
- 19th - 17
- 34th - 42
We're aiming for at least 1 table per batch, and there will be a prize for the greatest batch turnout from each decade. Probably the biggest gathering of councillors in the world - Will YOU be there?
The Council Reunion Working Committee
http://www.councilreunion08.webs.com
Monday, April 21, 2008
Wah, they are really very on...
Do we still enjoy performing mass dance? :P
Cheering? :D
Organizing/coordinating events? :D
Carrying furniture and canvassing and reading out morning announcements? :D
Running for elections? :D
Anyways, received another email from the organizers:
---
From: "Council Reunion 2008"
Dear Friends
Thank you for your continued support towards the council reunion! As the date draws nearer, my team and I are excited, yet at the same time anxious, for the success of the event! As such, we have specially selected you to act as a batch representative to liaise with every batch, and hope that you are agreeable to it. Should you like to nominate another of your batchmates to take on this role, then do drop us an email to let us know.
Right now, we earnestly seek your help in contacting former council teachers and inviting them to the reunion. It would be great if you could invite them along, and at the same time email us their names and contact details so that we can add them to our contact list and keep them informed about the event.
We are currently encountering major difficulty in getting in touch with former teachers, so we're counting on you. Please do spare us 5 minutes of your time to reply this email with these contacts! The presence of teachers will certainly make a huge difference to the success of the reunion, so your help would be very much appreciated.
Thank you so much, and looking forward to meeting you at the reunion!
Regards
Glorijoy
32nd HCSC
Council Reunion Committee
www.councilreunion08.webs.com
----------
ps: Any volunteers? :P Anybody still in touch with the teachers? :P :D
----------
ps: Any volunteers? :P Anybody still in touch with the teachers? :P :D
Friday, April 4, 2008
Reunion '08 Updates for 4th April
Hi guys!
Below is an email from the organizers of the reunion (they want to find the choreographer for Speedy Gonzales :P ) Sorry for the any formatting that is lost in translation...
FYI.
From: Council Reunion 2008
Below is an email from the organizers of the reunion (they want to find the choreographer for Speedy Gonzales :P ) Sorry for the any formatting that is lost in translation...
FYI.
From: Council Reunion 2008
Dear Former Councillors
Contents of this email:
1. Inviting YOU to perform!
2. Did YOU chereograph or compose any of the Hwa Chong dances or songs?
3. Ticket sales
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Inviting YOU to perform!
The committee has been working hard to plan an exciting programme for the council reunion. If you would like to perform, or nominate a fellow councillor to perform, please do get in touch with us! It could be a song/dance, stand-up comedy or a short sketch, a musical performance by a band you have set up... anything! We're counting on the enthusiasm of councillors to present a fantastic programme for everyone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Did YOU choreograph or compose any of the Hwa Chong dances or songs?
What's a reunion without a walk down memory lane? We hope to be able to track down the composers and choreographers of various songs, dances or cheers which have become part and parcel of the Hwa Chong school culture and council culture all these years. If you, or someone you might know, were involved in the composition or choreography of any of these, please let us know. It would be a great honour to have the creator of every song or dance to lead generations of councillors in what has become so integral to our council experience!
College Mass Dances:
I've Got My Mind Set On You
Beechwood
Together in Electric Dreams
Wild Wild West
Time of Your Life
Council Dance:
Speedy Gonzales
College Songs:
唱一首华初的歌
心旅
情真情深
也是深情
只为那爱我愿
当你孤单你会想起谁: [this was an adaptation from a commercial song, but we'd like to find who initiated it and added the extra lines]
细水长流: [commercial song]
Never Forget: This is a new [English!] song composed by a non-councillor, but the recent batches will sing and introduce it to everyone.
Council Songs:
黄城 [Official Council Song]
Council Cheer
Ai Bi Mai Bi
Makan cheer
If you remember any other mass dances or songs that were once upon a time part of the Hwa Chong college spirit, we welcome you to share them with us!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Ticket sales
This is also a gentle reminder that tickets for the reunion are currently up for sale.
Details are as follows:
Date: 2nd August 2008
Time: Registration at 5:30; seating by 6:45pm
Venue: Hwa Chong Institution [College Section] Air Conditioned Multi-Purpose Hall
Ticket price: $50, student discount of $25 [applicable for current JC/university students]
Deadline: 31st May, 2008, midnight.
Do check out the FAQs for more information, and book tickets at http://www.councilreunion08.webs.com. If you encounter any problems, or have any questions, please do email us at councilreunion08@gmail.com for general enquiries, or at ticketing.councilreunion08@gmail.com for ticketing enquiries. We hope to have your enthusiastic support!
Current ticket sales [approximate]:
1st batch - 1 table
4th batch - 2 tables
7th batch - 3 tables
8th/9th batch - 2.5 tables
11th batch - 3 tables
19th batch - 2 tables
We're aiming for at least 1 table per batch, and there will be a prize for the greatest batch turnout from each decade. Will YOU be there?
In addition, the 34th Council invites all former councillors to the annual ELECO Campfire 2008 to celebrate the induction of the 35th Council. It will be held on Saturday, 5th April at 7:30pm at the Central Plaza of the College Section. We will be around should you have any questions!
The Council Reunion Working Committee
http://www.councilreunion08.webs.com
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Reunion?
Hi, I hope you all get to read this, considering the current state of inactivity here. Anyway, I was told that there's going to be a reunion thing for HJC councillors. Wonder if you all will be interested? I know that 19th SC has formed a table. Details here:
http://www.freewebs.com/councilreunion08/index.htm
http://www.freewebs.com/councilreunion08/index.htm
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Kite Runner
Read the book about a year ago.
Re-read about a couple of months ago before the launching of the movie on 31 Jan 08.
We were moved by the story. Still a good movie despite it has ommitted quite a significant amount of details from the book.
Re-read about a couple of months ago before the launching of the movie on 31 Jan 08.
We were moved by the story. Still a good movie despite it has ommitted quite a significant amount of details from the book.
F.A.M.I.LY.
Juz finishing watching I NOT STUPID 2.
It is a good show despite some deliberate humor.
A couple of dialogues that somehow resonates within me.
"I was born in a violent environment..... I just don't know how to love"
"Your father loves you very much, he just don't know how to love u"
"complete the idiom, SENG1 DUO1....", Student replied " NI2 GU1 SHAO3"
Parenting...... tough job.
It is a good show despite some deliberate humor.
A couple of dialogues that somehow resonates within me.
"I was born in a violent environment..... I just don't know how to love"
"Your father loves you very much, he just don't know how to love u"
"complete the idiom, SENG1 DUO1....", Student replied " NI2 GU1 SHAO3"
Parenting...... tough job.
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