some reflections

Just decided to share this video with you guys.

Last night my dad cried. he cried over this video. at first he came into my room and muttered something which sounded incoherent to me.

i was thinking, dad can you go away, i'm listening to barack obama on youtube.

then he started to get emotional. he said he watched some video and he cried over it. then he started to explain to me what the video is all about but i couldnt get him cos he was speaking real soft and i was only listening with one ear with the other ear (in earphones) analysing the words of obama.

but he started to get emotional i was a bit worried. in fact quite worried. but couldnt do anything abt it.

i've only seen my dad cry once before in my whole entire life. that was at my grandma's funeral. dominant male type. 'crying are for wimps' type of male creature. so when he started to get soggy and red in the sockets i was worried.

i'm the type of person who gets freaked out when someone gets emotional. which i why i freaked out when i read about myself somewhere. i freaked out when my sis cried. or when my mum cries. or when my friend cries. damn freaked out. can't we laugh instead?

so that's the video which made my dad cry. well, i would say the video is not bad.
1.can you imagine yourself when you're like old? and then probably you'll forget your wonderful friends who you have around you now? You wun meet them everyday anymore. There will be no more school, each of you will walk different paths.

2.the video is quite good in the sense that it's quite real. one construction worker, one chef, one henpecked husband and the main character finally meeting after so long. shit it's really quite touching la.

3. my dad probably cried cos he was once a musician and he probably misses his old friends. well dad, go call them up and ask them out for a drink or smthg.

4.I really cannot imagine a reunion in 15 years time. but i am not going to live in the future, or the past. i'm loving the present and everyone should too.

--------

Anyway just now had a good chat with a few friends online. Havent been online since dunno when. But feels so good to see the orange light blinking furiously at the bottom of the screen. hahaha. and feels good to have good convos :)

Not going to talk much. Just remember - be it 15 years, 30 years whatever, we will always be good friends... and we will have a reunion. many reunions of course.

In my predictions i did not predict my own future. Gen sam, with his usual authority, questioned:

Gen sam: why didnt you? If you cant predict yourself how can you predict your own future?
HC: cos i can observe others but i cant observe myself you _____head
Gen sam: -.-' you fackier
HC: you expect me to observe myself in the mirror all day long meh? you ___ head.

Sometimes I ask myself why i have a friend like samuel soh chih yuan. Since the day i met him i tot he had some circuits wrong up there. But honestly speaking i think he is a good man, just like all my buddies.

I wrote that samuel will be a henpecked husband but i actually meant that he will be a doting husband and loving father. hahahah. sounds incredible at this moment. He may be rude most of the time, and also quite slack at most times, and so obsessed with gym and reproduction that sometimes he's quite irritating. he's also very liberal with his language and his hand gestures. soemtimes i wish i could gag samuel and tie yix up. those 2 can drive you nuts.

but look at what he has done for the people around him.

for me, he took up thingsyoucando public relations which was the most demanding job in my opinion. he sacrificed.

he bakes cakes. some girls these days cant even enter the kitchen without contributing massively to global warming yet our dear samuel, aspiring general of the armed forces of the republic of singapore bakes cakes.

he does not boast. other than boasting about the size of his organs (which is still unprovened), he does not boast. quite amazing for a man.

he has the ability to make ppl around him happy. not many ppl can. ppl either emo to you or look gloomy all day long or appear too serious all too often but dear samuel acts stupid all day long to make ppl smile.

he is not overly competitive. in rj, we all too often see ppl being too competitive, setting high expectations of themselves and wanting to win win win. in the end, they just lose out, even if they win. samuel just wants to be himself. thats why i love playing risk with samuel. he never suans me if i am losing. he just asks me to do soemthing obscene that's all. he'll never go suanning ppl over how little soldiers you have left.

anway, nice convo with you samuel. good night, and good luck. and you're welcome.

What Chewy said

2 weeks ago, chewy told me something. Apparently he is a love guru or some sort. and he spends lots of time observing couples. He like some database for couples in RJ. He claims to know most RJ J2 couples.

And he told me very interestingly over dinner, that for most RJ couples, the girl is better looking than the guy. Key word here is most.

Now of course this may sound insulting to the guys and flattering to the girls. Hahahah. But being the impartial newpaper that prides itsef on searching for the deeper secret behind trends, Veritas Post brings you an exclusive interview with GU, a well-known sociologist to some. HC reports.

VP: Does the statement hold any truth at all?
GU: Apparently, it is true to some extent... I would say around 70% of couples can be classified under this statement. Of the remaining 30%, 15% would be that the guy is hotter, and the last 15% would be that the couple is generally recognised as being of equal hotness, so to speak.

VP: Wow... that clearly means something. Is this trend only applicable to RJC?
GU: Well, I cannot comment on this because of lack of observation of other couples outside RJ.

VP: Can you provide us with some explantion behind this mind-baffling trend?
GU: Well, let's assume that there are 100 students in RJ. Of which there are 50 guys and 50 girls. Let's split each gender into 5 categories, namely, scalding hot, warm, average, cold and freezing. What I suppose is happening in RJ is that the scalding hot girl pairs up with a warm guy, or say, a warm girl pairs up with an average guy. we seldom see a scalding hot girl pairing up with a freezing guy. So this means that the difference is quite subtle, and there is nothing to be worried about. The girls are not disadvantaged in any way.

VP: Well, why can't the scalding hot girls get the scalding hot guys then?
GU: One word... security. Girls prefer to be secure. Hence they would rather hook up with a less hot guy, so as to ensure the full fidelity of the guy towards her.

VP: Why are the hot guys able to attract the scalding hot girls then?
GU: Guys tend to look on the outside (physical). They are slightly more superficial. Girls, meanwhile, find themselves undeniably attracted to the other points of the guys, which might be humour, coolness, intelligence, style, rebelliousness, those kinda stuff, etc.

VP: Are you saying that girls don't have these values?
GU: Hold it man, I am not sexist! Girls have different values of course. E.g. politeness, courteousy, smartness, etc. But the problem lies with that guys tend to look more to the physical.

VP: If your explanation is true, does this mean that the freezing girls are doomed to a lifetime of singlehood?
GU: Of course not. Some guys like to look towards the inner beauty. But of course, the freezing girls shouldnt expect to hook up with a scalding hot guy.

VP: What about the scalding hot guys? Do they stand a chance with the girls since very few of the girls would dare to hook up with them?
GU: Well... They obviously will score with any girls that they want. Imagine you are a warm or scalding hot girl. If a scalding hot guy is interested in you, you'll not resist him right? Hence you'll feel flattered, and secure.In this case the guy will be able to score the girl. If, however, the scalding hot guy does not do the approach, it may be difficult for him, because most girls would not dare to approach him.

VP: I see. Thank you, professor, for your enlightening words of wisdom. Any last words?
GU: You're welcome. I would advise students to study hard and not engage themselves in these things all day long. Just mind your own business.

As the famed sociologist has said, it's good to mind our own business. No examples have been used.

HC's predictions

while I was taking my shower, i thought of something to blog about.

I'm gonna predict what my classmates and some of my friends will be in 15 years time. Why 15 years? cos one of my teachers recently told me to meet him/her in 15 years time... so i'm using 15 years.

In 15 years time, i can imagine ___ to be____ (please do not take this too personally or seriously, it's just for fun)

(in order of class photo)
1. Siti - director of some voluntary welfare organisation
2. navene - siti's colleague
3. wang jue - renowned food critique
4. jukhuan - high ranking civil servant
5. kristle - golf coach
6. grace - chemistry teacher
7. parvati - lawyer
8. goh tian - human rights think-tank researcher
9. lei ping - manager
10. joanne - full-time mother
11. chia ying - accountant
12. jayne - prada fashion designer
13. xue wei - magazine editor
14. wei xian - assessment book writer
15. ronald - politician
16.HC - ( )
17. mark yeow - dentist
18. muhd - police detective
19. sam yong - sports coach
20. yix - population planner
21. sam soh - henpecked stay-at-home dad (part-time fhm magazine contributor)
22. nigel - stock investor
23. gabby - history teacher
24. yong jing - dating agency director
25. zhuang - manager or bartender
26. fransisco - urban planner
27. jerome - poet
28. clara - tai tai or engineer

phew

wah shiok.





finally after one week of sitting at my desk, feeding myself to female mozzies lusting after my fresh blood, finally the JC2 CT1 is over!





Immediately after the stupid physics paper i went to j8 to have a good meal with gabby, with the rest of the boys staying back in school to gym. -.-"





after lunch straight away went home to slack... first thing i did was of course to turn on my comp and open my flight sim X dexule edition and start playing.





at first I got a shock of my life, cos my $65 joystick wasnt working... Barely 8 months with me then spoil already? Wa lao, sian man. Went to my shelf and ransacked it, finding the stupid invoice which had the retailer's number on it. Then went to find for the stupid phone which was missing!?!? thats the problem with cordless phones.





After all that trouble, i decided (very smartly) unplug the hardware and reinsert it back into the usb... then it worked! Yea man! Although i felt very stupid going through the trouble but in the end, what matters is that i can finally play my flight sim X DE.





Hahahhah!





So, I tried out a couple of missions, which included one which i proudly did using a learjet at Sydney. The graphics quite realistic, of course, since FSX takes up 15gb ofspace, and I could see the famous monuments of the australian city immediately. Sydney Opera House and the bridge adjacent to it, and many towers of the city. Of course Captian Hu Ching flying the learjet completed the mission, managing land safely at Kingsford Smith Intl Airport with plenty of room left on the runway.

Hehehe... havent lost my touch after abstaining from playing for months! Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder...

After sydney (which of course will be having earth hour in one weeks time, everyone please support this small act of symbolism, turn off your lights and all other electrical appliance on next saturday's night), i took some flights at my favourite airport in Hong Kong, one of my favourite cities, then at Hawaii, before trying out a helicopter mission and failing it... stupid helicopters... damn difficult to fly.

Anyway back to some reflections on the CTs... today during physics could not concentrate much at all... firstly because I was sitting right at the back of the sem room, and the teachers like to take strolls there... you think their footprints are very light is it?

secondly, there is the construction of the mrt or whatever going on near the sem room, making hell lot of noise, distracting everyone.

thirdly, i was fascinated by TGF, his antics seriously amazes me, and i spent at least 3 minutes looking at him. Even when i'm trying to recall some equations i will look up and see him. Funny guy.

fourth, was listening to the muttons of 987 last night, and unfortunately the song 'me love' by sean kingston kept running around my head.

fifth, the stupid lift makes a lot of noise.

sixth, the door keep opening and closing.

anyway, no use complaining. cos even with these kind of distractions, ronald chan will still own it (he's in the same room), so it's the person that counts. i'm noob, yea, so what huh?

going to blog more later... most likely not going to sleep much... got many ideas to blog about tonight... so stay tuned (if you're tuned in in the first place)

got some RJ stories to publish, and got some theories to share, and of course, some personal thoughts to tell you guys!

March hols

is not really a holiday for J2s.

Am now eating lunch, taking a break from notes.

I dun really hate mugging or school, just that i question the fundamental purpose behind this.

I am going to found a new branch of academic study called social logic when i am of age.

And i recently thought of some new ideas, which I am going to put into my new books 'The Intangibles of Life' and 'Student Politics'. (probably to be written during NS days).

Ok just finished lunch.

Back to the notes.

Do you why Marx wrote what he wrote?

because we live in a world that is truly unfair.

midnights with HC will take place during one earth camp, specially for j1s only.

Busy week ahead.

A New Year, A New Record

"Our publicity worked. No spammage of black and white posters hanging around the school. No waste of paper. Just recycling bins and toilet posters reminding ppl to swtich off the lights when they are done."

The Chairperson of Raffles One Earth has just informed Veritas Post that One Earth has recruited 127 new j1s this year, and 3 new j2s, bring the total strength of One Earth to 127 + 29 = 156 total members.

Sending a resounding statement to news agencies including Veritas Post, the Chairperson of Raffles One Earth, HC, also mentioned that One Earth's "unique publicity turned out extremely well. We have proceeded from eradicating ignorance of the student population to generating support and enthusiasm from students and teachers."

"We pasted our logo on recycling bins. We pasted about 100 A3 sized posters in the toilet, without even mentioning our club's name. We put 3 huge recycling bins right smack in the canteen. Who on Earth will ever do that if we don't?"

Indeed, HC's bold rhetoric cannot be considered as sweeping claims. Back by testimonials from teachers and students alike, indeed, we can see that Raffles One Earth is in the midst of gaining more recognition and prominence within and outside RJC, indicating a sign of good things to come. Within RJC, we hear the Dean of Student Development expressing her "pleasant surprise" when she saw the toilet light posters.

Very soon, the massive campaign ThingsYouCanDo will also bring the attention of environmental issues to secondary school students all around Singapore. From Dunman High School to Boon Lay Secondary, tens of thousands of youths around Singapore will join hands and be empowered to protect Mother Earth through '7 Easy Green Habits'.

Nevertheless, HC expressed much frustration when confronted with news that even SOME (next issue: Why are some teachers still ignorant of popular trends? Are they truly so deeply engaded in their textbooks that they cannot seem to absorb social happenings? A Professor speaks to us) teachers (supposedly spreaders of knowledge, professors of wisdom) were not even aware that Raffles One Earth exists. HC says, in a defiant yet calm manner,"It is not our fault that ignorance still exists in the far corners of society. We believe that what we are doing will convert even the most thick headed skulls into greener beings. We are eradicating ignorance here." HC added that he will be meeting this particular teacher over coffee to have a chat.

HC added that he wishes to thank all his friends for their support. His friends who are OGLs brought their J1s to his booth, while some of his friends and EXCO helped out in the preparation of the booth. "Everyone chipped in in one way or another, and for that Raffles One Earth is deeply grateful for", HC said.

HC ended with one last statement to all of us. Speaking with a hoarse voice after an exhasutive day with his usual passion, the fiery youth expressed his views firmly, "The time for environmental issues has come. It's time for competent leadership to rise."


Next issue: Check out HC's views, frustrations and optism for the future of RJC and One Earth. Exclusively on Veritas Post.

Today

Station games with siang huat was fun... i always feel confortable talking to large groups of people... maybe it's a gift... maybe it's a curse

After school Alex and I did some very daring and bold. There is a rationale behind our actions and we had to take the calculated risk.

Thanks Fransisco once again for your time and dedication.

On the plane

During these 2 months I spent about 45 hours in the air, taking 9 different flights on 3 different airlines.

My first flight was on a KLM B777 (thank goodness for B777s) from Singapore Changi Airport to Amsterdam Schipol Airport, which was a very beautiful airport with lots of shops selling lots of goods which I could not afford. Chocolates - 10 EURO. Parker pens. Cheese. Wooden Clogs. Salami. Cameras. DVDs. Expensive European newspapers (why buy when you can get it on the plane?).

My second was on a KLM Fokker 50 (which seats 50 passengers in a single class) from Amsterdam to Koln-Bonn Airport. The Fokker 50 was a propeller plane with 2 prop jets on its wings. When I embarked the plane, the temp was 0 degrees C. I was freezing, yet the pilot said on the PA, I'm sorry that our heaters are malfunctioning today. We will turn on the engines to keep the temperature comfortable. And so he revved up the propellers, and i smelled kerosene. Was frankly a bit worried but I told myself, it's KLM. Royal Dutch Airline. It's safe. And off we went to Cologne!

When I arrivded at Cologne, I found out my passport was missing! I put it in my back jeans pocket but it's not there anymore! OMG. Was terrified. I searched high and low, checked my pullover pockets, my jeans, my bag, no where to be found! Thankfully I stood up and found out I have been sitting on it all along! Relief man!

My third flight was the same KLM Fokker 50 back to Amsterdam. Watched the beautiful sunset from 20,000 feet. Was gorgeous i tell you. The guy beside me was irritating tho. he was doing something on his laptop and was probably racist.

My fourth was a KLM B777 back to Singapore from Holland. Because I did not sleep the previous night and had a pretty long day (flight's at 9pm), i slep throuhout the flight depsite having a world class entertainment system in front of me. The KLM entertainment is not bad, with good songs and up to date movies (I watched Simpsons and 2 episodes of Heros and lots of comedies on the way to Holland). but due to sheer exhaustion, I just slept. Until the fat flight attendent in the KLM Blue uniform came and put a tray of breakfast in front of me... I ate some breakfast (no mood really, cos I was very very sad that I had to leave my friends from around the world after a week of joy and fun)... and listened to classic Elvis songs. Cant help falling in love, in the ghetto and Bridge over troubled water moved me to tears (well, nearly)... I wanted to whip out my camera to see the photos all over again which was in my jeans pocket but I couldnt... I had to stand up to loosen the pocket and i did not want to stand up because i was sitting right smack in the middle of the centre.

My fifth was a JAL B777 (thnak goodness for B777s, I just love the plane).. I sat beside a Japanese dude who kept asking fro Bi-ru bi-ru from the flight attendent... Luckily he's quite nice to me, and the best thing was that I had the window on the B777! Hahhaah.... 2 noisy Singaporean kids were seated behind me, so I had to adjust the volume of my Die Hard 4.0 movie to ultra loud... Food was good, completely own the KLM food.

no.6 was back from Narita Airport on a JAL b747. Sat on the last last row of the B747 (thankfully window seat again), and the view was fantastic. Food was good, movie was good (Bourne Ultimatum), service was good. Absolutely perfect except that the trip was over :(

I was apprehensive about flight number 7, a Garuda Indonesia B737 flight from Singapore to Jakarta. But the food was good (or I was just extremely hungry)... Turbulent flight but it was quite okish... The couple from France behind me kept talking and talking, but i'm ok... Was thinking about what to present in the conference to eavesdrop...

Number 8- Garuda 747 from Jakarta to Bali. Btw, did I mention that Indonesian Airports are quite cool? Jakarta has this kampong roof like structure which was culturally appealing to me. I slept during the 2 hour transit in Jakarta on the seats... too tired...

Number 9- Garuda 737 from Bali back to Singapore.. Also did not sleep much the night before. Was sitting at the emrgency exit, i read the emergency operating manual at leats 5 times, I could memorise it already. The pkane kept bouncing up and down throughout the flight, and I kept looking out of the window...saw nothing but clouds. Beautiful. Did not eat the food served on board cos I full from the big mac meal which i ate in Denpasar Airport. There was a taiwanese couple (who apprently are Singapore citizens) sitting in front of me and I could sense that there maariage was on the rocks man. Their son is some snobby dude who is only 13, and so the flight attendent told him not to seat at the emergency exit where only 15 year olds and above could be seated at. So he took his ipod from the baggage compartment above and scooted to the bakc of the plane to sit, leaving his parents at the seat in front of me. The father is some grumpy idiot who is very typical Singaporean and likes to complain here complain there. Not cool. Not cool. His wife is ok, luckily did not lie back and give my legs a hard time. Behind me was a bunch of crazy British talkative tourists who keep thinking Batam was Singapore. And the british woman behind me keep pushing against my seat, i wanted to turn around and say something but decided to give Singapore a god image. Aiyah, tolerate a bit and let the Singapore tourism prosper more lor. After all, if I turn back and say something, the women will not come back to Singapore, so whats the point?

So after my 3 trips, I returned (for good) to my bed in my home. Home Sweet Home. I love my home, and my room and my bed.

No hotel can beat my home. No hotel bed can beat my bed.

My mum also came back from Taiwan on Xmas eve, and my sis from Kathmandu, Nepal, more recently. My sister kept her poor father and mother and brother waiting outside for her while she shops for perfumes and cosmetics inside! We waited 2 hours already for you cos your flight was delayed! Thankfully she bought lots of stuff for me so i'm not complaining:)

What a long post... Sigh.. I better go plant trees to offset my carbon emissions already...

2007

I had wanted to write a long long post about 2007, but decided otherwise.

If you want to hear about issues, go yahoo and search bush, iran, iraq, saddam, terrorists, nuclear, natural disasters, ... or you may just type shit and all these stuff will appear immediately.

Of course, there's a lot to talk about climate change as well, but well, international herald tribute writes better than me.

2007 for me was a good year. and I will tell you why. now.

Because in 2007, i gained something very extremely important and valuable... and that's perspective.

Yea, i know, you must be thinking, what the hell is this idiot writing here? What is perspective?

Yea yea yea, you'ld rather think about that cute boy or cute girl in the opposite class... Oh I saw him this morning! ooh ohh!

Yea yea yea, you'ld rather think about Jay Chou is coming to town! And pawn off your mother's wedding ring to afford the tickets to his show...

Yea yea yea, some say Halo 3 is the most important thing in 2007. Or cry over Vista...

And of corse, there are some real important decisions to make throughout the year... Should I watch Book of Secrets or I Am Legend? Oh my... what an important decision.

Of course, none of the above matter much to me. For me, it's How on Earth did Man Utd lose to West Ham last night? And how on Earth did Ronald miss that penalty? And why on Earth did Fergie play Flectcher instead of Anderson?

And tyco chelsea just won against newcastle. crap.

Anyway, there's so much to cheer about in 2007!

Firstly, I was kicked out of ISLE back at the start of the year. Thank you hor, Mr Seah, for kicking me out of your prestigious prgramme. I am eternally grateful to you for giving me the chance to go to Germany (where I met great friends from around the world, 16 other countries, to be exact), to go to Japan (where I made friends with RJC students and managed to catch an idea of what university life overseas is about, and visit Disneyland (for the fifth time i am saying OMG that place is just fantastic, and i just love disneyland), and to go to Bali for an evironmental conference where i made more friends from around South East Asia. Of course, Germany and Bali really motivated me and gave me resolve.

So Thank you for kicking me out of your wonderful programme! (no offence to students to participated, just that sometimes, the adults p*** me off.)

And of course I am very very grateful to the wonderful (this time, I actually mean it) corporations, organisations, government and indviduals who nominated, recommended, selected, and sponsored me to go for these trips! Without these 3 trips, I would probably not gained the most important thing this year, which is 'perspective'.

Secondly, I found out that RJC is not as bad as it seems afterall...

The percentage of irritating people as cmpared to the entire student population is merely about 50%, which was way-off the initial estimation by me (80%)...

and although the school is really an institute where time-wasting, useless protocol observance and bureaucratic measures rank really really high (perhaps second only to governments), there is also lots of good stuff in the school. Stuff like what?

1. RISK, where i always enjoy seeing myself get thrashed or thrashing others
2. Drama and gossip(not performed by Raffles Players)
3. Celebrations (there's always something to celebrate, no matter what)
4. Sleeping during lectures (which I will try to not practice next year, it's one of my resolutions)
5. PW (it's finally over!)
6. Ice tea (better not be affected by inflation, i'm warning you, stall 2 auntie)
7. Opportunities (Ok this one's really true, this school is a place of opportunities)

As I flip back my calender before recycling it, there's actually not much stuff la... sometimes there are tests, sometimes SPA, sometimes Inter House Championship stuff, and a whole lot of events and celebrations.

But there's one thing that p*** me off. Mr Hodge said, guys, we want you to help the poorer students in the school who cannot afford the school fees. Yes sir! THEN WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU WILLING TO SPEND $30,000 ON NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS? AND OH YA, BEFORE I FORGET, THERE'S ALSO TAKE 5! Oh my oh my? Where is the love, indeed...

Ok, Mr Hodge, you are a good principal and I will miss you, but i still cannot understand why are you willing to spend spend spend like that? Do you know that 30,000 means you can give 1,000 bucks to 30 deserving students?

But no, you choose instead to entrust the tax money of my papa and mama to a group of wise leaders called student councilors (no offence, really) to blow it away! In 3 hours, the money is gone! Oh....my.....money!

Yes yes, the performance was good. take 5 was wonderful. But to students who need to give tuition after school to pay for their lunch the next day, 1,000 bucks is better.

Which is why One Earth is commited to helping these folks. the proceeds of our MEGA jumble sale will be 100% directed to helping RJC students in need. We believe in social responsibility, heljng not just to protect Earth and it's finite resources, but making sure that people benefit from it as well.

Happy 2008! (Note, there's free breakfast on the first day of school! )

I am very much grateful to all of you

Things are turning out fine for me. Slowly but surely, there is progress. With response from schools getting better and Samuel working harder than ever to pull in more schools, I am quietly confident that Thingsyoucando! will create history in Singapore as the first youth-led major initiative that advocates action and awareness at the same time. Even Primary Schools and Special Schools are joining hands with us to make this project a success.

Yesterday was a tiring day. Together with Zi Jian (Film Soc vice chair) and Ming Quan (Alchemy Club chair) we worked 7 hours straight, skipping lunch, and pausing only for toilet breaks and the occasional chat, to produce the backbone of the Thingsyoucando slides and the complete production of the trailer. The trailer has been a long story. When I flew back from Bali, I immediately sent an email to Zi Jian, persuading him to produce the trailer for Thingsyoucando!... I alone cannot do much... But Thingsyoucando is a beauty in itself. With zero funding (as yet), minimal advice from RJC, we still managed to pull through to today. Why?

The answer is... friends.

Without friends I am nothing. I am useless. But with the support of Alex Goh and his talented team of artists, we produced the posters. With the support of Zi Jian, we produced the trailer. With the help of Samuel, we managed to contact all the schools in Singapore. With the support of Calvin, we will produce the video. With the support of Arun, Ming Quan, Muhd, Nick, Thingsyoucando held firm. With the support of WWF (Singapore), NEA, SEC, ECO, and even CNA we found support and advice. With the support of an MP, Dr. Fatimah Lateef, we found hope. With the support of my overseas friends, in particular Renzo and Anthony, I found encouragement. With the support of my family members, I found strength.

Without the support of my friends, Thingsyoucando would never have been born.

The Thingsyoucando! report, Conversation for Conversation pre-planning report and the Hu Ching 2007 Year End Review will be published next week on my blog.

Thank you so much. Hu Ching is not perfect, and never will be, but he loves all his friends.

And he is grateful to all.

RJC is indeed a place of talents.

Announcement

Hey guys, gals, everyone who knows me.

Just wanna inform you that I am still alive and that this blog is still functioning. I seriously dun know if anyone still reads this blog but I really dun have time to blog these days.

I just came back from 2 overseas trips, where I had a lot of fun and thoroughly had so much fun and learnt so much. I will be going overseas again next week from sunday 9th to wed 12th, this time to Bali, Indonesia, where I'll be a delegate for Singapore for the South East Asian Youth Environmental Network (SEA YEN) held in conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC). This time this trip is very formal, very serious and I am excited. We're going to attend 3 full days of discussion and conference with youth delegates from South East Asia and we will produce a charter to be presented at the Framework Convention through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

I have recently posted photos of my Germany and Japan trip on my facebook, please click on the link you see on the link list if you want to see more.

I am also very occupied with Things You Can Do!, which is, as you know, my environmental project. In addition, I am also planning ahead for One Earth activities which are the putting up of school toilet posters in partnership with council, the setting up of 11 more recycling bins around the school in partnership with Estate office, giving advice to IHC games next year, the planning of Conversation for Conservation, and the Jumble Sale and Earth Week.

As you can see I am very busy, I havent touched my homework and I'm a bit worried that I may have to spend Christmas stuck at my desk, alone, studying and revising and doing all these stuff.

I am afraid that I have no time to be an OGL. I have decided that should I become OGL, I would be a burden to my fellow OGLs which is why i rejected the offer. I hope you undertand you know who you are. On the other hand I will still perform my duties as a registration officer for Oteam because this is my responsibility and I will not run away. Even if I have to hide alone next year along school term to mug in the toilet I will not run away from the things I should do.

This is also the reason why I had to disappoint my juniors for declining your invitation for me to perform for that special concert. I simply had no time but I will still attend the concert as an audience because I would like to clap for you guys.

After returning from Bali I will focus on my One Earth stuff and my academic work, which remain my main priorities.

Thank you for staying with me if you're still reading this.

See you soon :)

Hey everyone!

I just got back from Germnay yesterday but unfortunately will not be able to distribute the gifts and share the phots now cos I'll be flying off again tml, this time to Japan....

I met lots of ppl there and miss them very much now....

Everyone is so friendly!

See you soon guys and gals in Singapore! I will be back soon...! I will miss you'all!

Hello from Cologne, Germany!

Hey everyone,

Here is Germany, after 14 hours of flight.

I'm safe and sound, the keyboard is very hard to type cos its for german users! Look at this ÄÄÖÖÖ cool huh?

Time to go...

I'm leaving for a week to Cologne and Leverkusen, Germany, then will be back for a weekend, before flying off to Tokyo, Japan.

During this time from 17th to 24th, then 26th to 3rd, I will be away, but there will be internet where I am going so communications should not be a problem, just perhaps a little slow. Email me: fabienrules@hotmail.com.

I have already informed samuel, ming quan, alex, muhd and kephren of ECO about thingsyoucando! and I trust them fully to handle everything better than me.

I am very sorry that I was unable to help out the j1 booklet team because of my schedule and some unexpected events but please understand the former was the reason why I chose programmes and why I wanted registration.

Everything is in place now, finally, and I can leave without worries.

The environment

The press these days have been focusing a lot on the environment. It is indeed comforting that more people are being more aware of the climate change crisis and global warming.

Just a few hours it was reported in the news that Police officers in Thailand have embarked on a new plan to recycle used cooking oil. By handing out tanks to hawkers, restuarants and households, used cooking oil will then be collected and recycled into fuel for powering Police cars. A simple project that saves up to SGD$10,000,000 (ok i think its the figure. I heard it in the Chinese news and I'm not very sure I caught the figure properly but i think its S$1o million. Anyway the thing is they saved a lot of money, and conserved a precious resource - fuel)

It was reported in time a few months ago that Sultana High School in San Bernardino, California, USA, managed to cut its annual energy bill by US$100,000 by promoting basic conservation techniques like shutting off lights and equipment when not in use. Imagine, how many flag days is needed to raise this figure? How many fund raising items need to be sold to raise this figure? How many busking days are needed to raise this figure?

WILL HUMANS BE ENLIGHTENED?

RJC is a large consumer of energy and electricity. Here we are, organising so many fund raising events, CIP activities, so many fund raising here and there, but do you realise that by closing the doors and windows when air con is on, setting it to more than 25 degree Celsius, turning off toilet lights, switching off classroom lights, you save possibly much much more than you can raise?

Imagine that we can save SGD$50,000 a year at RJC. It is not impossible you know.

Can you imagine how much more money the school can give your CCA or you? Can you imagine giving this money to financially deserving students?

Can you imagine that we can actually give this money to build your so called student's den or to fund your national day ceremony at school?

Raffles One Earth does not have many fund raising activities. But we urge people to conserve, and by conserving, we save!

Currently, Raffles One Earth has partnered the 27th Students' Council to bring forth the environmental message in school. Very soon, you will see posters appearing behind the door of every single toilet in school to remind you to switch off the lights after use. Toilet lights (and fans) can be switched off anytime, especially during after school hours. We made sure that the posters are of the highest aesthetic standards and quality.

We are working very hard, negotiating with the estate office and a private company to bring more recycling bins to school, especially in the canteen. A metal can recycled saves the energy required to light a lamp for 3.5 hours. Recycling trays meant specially for paper will be placed in every tutorial room, and they will be cleared frequently.

When the new principal comes into office, I will try to push environmental issues in school up her agenda. With the support of the school administration, i believe that RJ can and will become a greener institution.

We are also planning an IHC game next year. A special committee of dedicated members have been selected to plan and organise the IHC game. I cannot disclose much but I can say that it's gonna be quite BIG, definitely.

Thingsyoucando! will bring forth the environmental message to over 100,000 youths next year. The speakers have been set, the PR department is working very hard (right samuel?) together with ECO Singapore's PR side, the Slides and Scripts are planning the content of the talks, the Research and Design team are working very creatively on their posters, the trailer crew, thinking of ideas and putting them into film.

Earth Week next year will be something BIG as well. In fact, if the council admin and teacher do not disrupt our plans, you will see a major coordinated effort to tie in the IHC game together with Earth Week.

Also, a major conference will be held next year5 in RJC as well, brigning together the leadership of green clubs all over singapore. These youths leaders will come together to share ideas on how to make this isalnd even greener. I believe that if adults do not wish to take the lead, we youths have to step up and take the initiative to show that how things should be done. Conversation for Conservation will be held on April 22nd.

EC networking session will also be continued next year, in partnership with NEA. The J1s will be responsible for EC networking.

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Yes indeed environmentalist/environmental activists/campaigners face a hell lot of setbacks and challenges. In my school alone the pressure to deliver is mounting. Some teachers dun even know that an environmental club exists. If I call them ignorant, would I be rude or honest? Some CCALs have no respect for us. If I dish out some justice, would I be ungentlemenly or valiant? It's time to shout out loud!


And we face a hell of bureaucratic challenges. The authorities who disapprove something so simple, something so beneficial, something so clear, because of... politics? Dammit I'm sick sick sick of politics. Paperwork, totally redundant and time consuming.

Once I remembered li jian and I attended this FOSL workshop and there was a point in time during the workshop when the entire class was listening to me and the teacher mr k debating abt the environmental movement in RJC. Come on man, it's not as if I'm the principal la. Please la... please wake up. You think it's so easy why dun you be an environmentalist yourself? Take some initiative la...

I hate people who argue with me for the sake of arguing. Bloody hell.

It is indeed disappointing to see all these happening but if I were to give up now, or anytime soon, would I be proud to call myself son of my father, father of my sons?


The going is tough but we will not give up.


The nature with most environmentalists are that they are soft hearted, kind and gentle. People tend to exploit these characteristics. I am none of the above. If anyone dares exploit me, hohoho...

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Environmental concerns are for real. Global warming is for real. You think your oil can burn forever? You think the snows on the Swiss Alps will forever be there for you to ski? You think polar bears can swim forever? They need icebergs to rest on. And ice bergs are melting...

Act now. Start with the 7 Easy Green Habits:

1. Reject Plastic Bags. Tell the person behind the counter, "no thank you!"

2. Recycle Paper. Print both sides. Dun throw away paper, put in a tray and recycle the stack of waste paper. Use paper that has already been printed on to do your physics practice.

3. Reusable Stationery. I use only refills.

4. Open that window and use a fan instead of an aircon. If you turn the aircon on, set it at above 25 degree celsius

5. Do not leave the heater on for too long before you take a shower.

6. Turn off your TVs, PCs after use. Standby mode sucks energy from the mains, and money from your pockets. Make sure that little red LED light is not lighted on.

7. Public transport. You only need 45cents for a trip.

Also fill up a 500ml bottle with water and put it into the water tank behind your toilet bowl. It saves you 500ml of water everytime you flush.

It is this simple.

Poster design: Fransisco Chandra, another talented member of 08SO6Q and thingsyoucando!

They say absence make the heart fonder.

Very true indeed.

After close to one year since I left Chinese Orchestral music, I miss it a lot.

I think perhaps I would be unable to perform now, given that I havent touched the zhongruan or sanxian for close to a year already.

Those times...

from sec 1, playing with that tennis ball...

wise words from seniors

mr yeo

malaysia-penang

concerts

syf

malaysia-melaka

bad performances

good performances

sightreading when coming late for practice

getting scolded a million times

talking back to ___

practising till the finger skin turns red and peels

coming back from breaks wet and sweaty

AWOL for CO camp after getting through the bloody auditions (one of the biggest regrets in my life, only 2 people know the true story)

the backstage of SCH

the performing stage of SCH

Practice, diligence, hard work, is key to a successful performance.

December 14th concert: a tribute to mr yeo.

Arrival hall

trying to look retarded...
skinny gangster...lol
Yix, satay please...
at the arrival hall...

And samuel, Head, Public Relations, Thingsyoucando! campaign, at the headquarters of ECO in Bugis, being very professional in an important phone call with a school official.

This is not emo, but rather reflective.

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Being introduced to the theories of Malthus and Structuralist Geography (opposing theories) have perhaps been my most enjoyable experience in academics this year. I have always believed that Structuralist Geography, coupled with enlightened political leadership, education and human ingenuity will one day relieve, and heal the world of pressing issues, which, in my humble opinion, are environmental problems, poverty, disease, and an unequal playing field.

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In hindsight, I am also grateful of the 2 opportunities which I was given.

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I also took the personality test, and I can testify that it is very true. My personality type comprises only 3% of the entire human population, they said. Recommended career choices came as a pleasant surprise.

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I am off to watch Castaway, one of my favourite movies of all time now. It's a fantastic film which showcases the purest essence of human society and love. A classic.

Hey everyone,

Just to inform everyone that I am still in Singapore and that this blog is not out of service. I have enjoyed the class chalet thoroughly despite having to leave at 6 30 with yix the following morning.

I will continue to blog after I become less busy, calm down and recover my emotional health.

Till then,

Thanks everyone for your care and concern.

If I appear quiet or distant or unfriendly or unable to reproduce my humour, may I ask for your understanding and forgiveness.

I have many things on my mind right now. I need to spend more time with my family also.

Some unexpected events have rocked my life but I am positive that Hu Ching will be back.