Might & Magic - SUTD Orientation 2013

12.5.13

5 months had passed and I am back in Singapore for my uni. I was so excited and worried at the same time because I had no idea how school is like and how the people are like. Especially as I was from RJ, I was even more worried that the name "Raffles" would bring much unwanted gossips behind my back. Not that I am not proud of  Raffles, but the fact that Rafflesians have always received much prejudicce and stereotype from other communities is undeniable.

But the three days (or 4 days) of orientation had told me that my worry was quite unnecessary.

This group of people (3 OGLs + 9 fellow OGMs) was the most enthusiastic, most awesome, most amazing people I have met in these few years in Singapore. They treated me just like everybody else, ignoring the fact that I am not a Singaporean and was from Raffles. This reminds me of my first day in RI, when I was worried that the Singaporean classmates would ostracize me for being a Malaysian, of which the worry turned out to be unnecessary, too. And their enthusiasm had bonded us closely together, which impressed not only our OGLs, but also the House Head. In the morning, we were still strangers in the company of silence, but when night fell, we could talk about almost everything as though we had known each other for quite a while. In all the activities, be it Station Games, Wet Games, Amazing Race, Mass Dance or Night Games, we put in all our enthusiasm and creativity to make this once-in-a-lifetime event enjoyable and definitely memorable. Special mention to Hui Shan's "Bottle Band" (refers to how she played music with just bare hands and a bottle - the one Anna Kendrick played with a cup in Pitch Perfect) which in my opinion bonded us faster and closer than anything else. It had become an OG thing within a day with fellow OGMs and even OGLs addicted to it. If all 10 of us are gonna be OGLs next year, this is gonna be a batch thing for the next batch to come.

To quote from one of our OGLs: "... I didn't expect you guys to be that insane and you all surprised me on wet games day. When it reached amazing race day you guys were so comfortable with one another that you all fed off each others' energies and created awesome stuff -" or the most awkward stuff that we hope not to do again in our life "- which we'll always remember each other for." Of course I am not gonna forget the videos we made on that day. Sorry, MR10! You have been taken over by Kratos as he awesomest OG.

Geraldine, Kenickie, Edward, another group of OGLs (apart from Lin Wen, Eunice and Jon) who have inspired me. Hopefully I can be an OGL next year and inspire my OGMs as I was inspired.

Red Raiders - Kratos!



ps1: The Head of SUTD is so cool! He is old but he knows how to talk to the young. No wonder all the students love him. I think I am starting to love this school, too, as I love RJ.

ps2: Orientation Finale Party @ Sentosa, this was probably the first time I stayed on the dance floor for the entire event. 53A is really awesome!

Less Than A Month Away From Entering Uni

Just got back from attending my sis's wedding ceremony in Singapore two days ago. Haha when I first heard that he was going to propose to her, I really got pretty shocked. Haha I didn't really expect it. But now think about it, she is around the age of getting married too. Can't wait for too long eh.

And that made me wonder when am I gonna get a girlfriend :P I was thinking that I will get married when I am 25 so that the generation gap between my kids and I won't be too big. But the thing is I don't even have a girlfriend now (probably not gonna get one any sooner haha) and why the hell am I thinking of getting married. True that whenever I see couples I would get itchy and think maybe I should get one soon, but to be honest, I am pretty sure that I am still not ready yet eh haha.. Like I still feel that having a girlfriend is troublesome and I will have to spend a lot of time with her which I can possibly spend it on other stuff. So I guess I am not ready yet. Hmmm but when will the time come? :P

Attended POP (Passing Out Parade) on last Saturday. Seeing that all my friends had completed their BMT, I felt really happy for them. And somehow I felt kinda touched too, I wonder why? Hmmm maybe I got affected by the movie made by Jack Neo - Ah Boys To Men. His movies are always so touching and making me cry. I wonder if that's what would happen in the army and whether they do make close friendships. I hope they do.

Met my Sec 4 classmates the next day for lunch. Haven't met them for ages and I really missed them. They have ever been so nice to me since the first day I started school in RI, always taking care of me. I felt really blessed that our friendship never wavered even after 4 years (in which there was this one year that we didn't meet up at all). I wonder why sometimes I just feel that they are being too nice to me and I don't deserve such treatment. Talked to a friend of mine about this and we both came to the conclusion that I have been thinking too much. Maybe I am being too socially awkward that's why.

People always said that the gatherings after their enlistment would always be full of convo about the army, and those who are not gonna enlist (like the girls) would be extremely bored because they have not a single idea what the army boys are talking about. Hmmm it just got 2/3 correct. During the gathering, the two of them who have enlisted kept sharing their BMT experience with the rest of us, I kinda didn't understand some part of it, especially all the short forms, but I find the stories very interesting and exciting. I guess if not because I have the excuse not to serve NS, I would enjoy the army experience too.

RJ class gathering that night, I almost couldn't meet my class if not for the timely appearance of two of my classmates. Not a single person was at the meeting point and my phone was being problematic - I couldn't call out and apparently my friends couldn't reach me either. It was quite a long while since the back row people all met up, missed them much too. It was quite an enjoyable dinner except that one of the girls was not used to me wearing an earring and I was forced to take it off. Haha I guess none of my friends are used to it. Maybe I will just not wear it whenever my RI friends are around, so that they could still have their original impression of me :P

So soon, this long holiday is coming to an end. I will be leaving for Singapore for my uni life in less than a month time. And my sessions with my players are left with .. 10? Was hoping that before I leave I can see some improvement in them, but I guess this kind of things takes time and the time I spent with them is really not enough. Was thinking that maybe I could do part time coaching in Singapore too so that I can get some pocket money besides the allowance. But .. hmmmmmmmm maybe not :P Just a thought. I probably will be a waiter somewhere ..

Excited for uni. Wish I get awesome apartment mates!

One and A Half Month Away from the Start of Uni

It is 20 March. It is about one and a half month away from the start of my uni life! Kinda looking forward to it. Hope I can blend in well with the others.

And that means I still have one and a half more month of being a coach! Oh yea forgot to tell yall that I didn't take up the job as a waiter at the restaurant because it takes away 95% of my time. Every day working from 12pm to 10pm and only have a day off every fortnight. True that the pay is quite high, but ... nahhhh. I kinda prefer what I am doing now: being a coach for 4 days a week, the rest of the time going back for state training. 

Being a coach really isn't that easy, what with having to know what are the strengths and weaknesses of the players and provide training plans accordingly. Worse still, during a match a coach has to be quick enough to  spot the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents within 11 points. To be honest, I suck at this. Those who don't know me well might think that I am super pro, but the truth is, I am just pro at fighting for every single shot. I am unable to coach my players on how to play in a match. Somehow, I only get better at observing the opponents when I am THE ONE in the court playing. Sooooo ... while I enjoy the time now, some part of me actually want to escape from this job.

While my time of being a coach is short (about 20 more sessions?), I do hope that my players will improve at least that little bit before I leave for Singapore again. Didn't think about it that much before, but now I understand why some coaches want to boast to others about how good their players are, how their trainings are effective, how the players improve a lot after joining their training etc etc. Well, I guess this is something that one will only understand if he has been a coach before.

OK that's all for now.

A's results were out

So.... After 3 months of waiting, A's results were out!

I am not going to tell you what results I got here, I am just going to say that the results were just what I wanted (though I expected it to be that tiny bit better) because it just met the minimum conditions for me to be guaranteed a scholarship (Y)

While I got the results I wanted, some of my friends weren't so lucky. Seeing some of them crying, and I didn't know what could I do. Trying to tell them not to be sad would just make others think that I was there to gloat. While not doing anything ... I just didn't feel right about it. My friends suggested me that it would be best to just be there for them, that's more important than any words that I could say. I guess this would be easier for me? Since I am awkward and not good in comforting others. I just realised that when my best friend was really sad about his result, I wasn't really there for him. Sigh, guess in my journey of becoming a true friend, I still have a long way to go. :(

Back to the scholarship. I actually wanted to try for other scholarships but after checking out the websites, the scholarships either are for Singaporean Citizens and PRs only or have difficult selection processes. Sigh I gave up... Well it wasn't a bad thing to have the ASEAN scholarship, at least I don't have to worry about the tuition fees.

Right. So 5 days in the island, got the results and some stuff from my juniors, I am now back in Malaysia.

ps: ran in heavy rain today, didn't know that the rain could be so strong that I couldn't even see properly.. definitely a different experience haha.

Chinese New Year （除夕---初五）

Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fatt Cai!

Time flies! It's been 2 months since grad night. And you know what? A-level results are coming out in about half a month! I am starting to be worried now I think about it.

Anyway, this year's CNY was slightly different from previous years'. We actually spent 3D2N (CNY eve, 初一,初二) at the Pangkor Island! This was so not like my dad, who'd rather spend the day at home sleeping or watching TV during a holiday. Well I guess he had no choice but to follow since my aunt suggested it and it was an extended family thing. (And as expected, my dad started to rant after the trip about how not worth it were the meals, how expensive was the stuff etc etc ...... Not that he spent any money haha.) Not that we did a lot of activities there except playing in the sea, doing archery, kayak-ing and maybe walking along the beach trying to catch sight of exotic creatures, but it was considered fun la. It was, to me, a "once-in-a-lifetime" thing haha (this was the first time I stepped onto a Malaysian island after 20 years of being a Malaysian even though there are so many of them in Malaysia.)

After the trip, I visited my grandma in Taiping. Gambled and won RM 8 haha. Then I visited my coach, Mr Lim, together with some of the players whom I used to train with.

And on the 14th of February, the few of us of class of 2005 from Yuh Hua - Joon Keat, Klinsmann, Pui Kar, Yan Jun, Oi Yeng, Sook Nyan, Ai Ying and I - and Ren Cong went to visit Mrs Kiang. It's been years since I last saw her and I was really glad that she was in the pink of health. We reminisced our good old times in Yuh Hua as well as caught up with each other. It was really a good noon time spent.

After that, the few of us - Joon Keat, Klinsmann, Yan Jun, Oi Yeng, Sook Nyan and I - together with Klinsmann's brother, Nigel, and his friend went to watch "A Good Day to Die Hard". Now think about it, I remembered that I was quite close to Nigel when we were in lower primary. We used to share the same school bus I think, with a really fierce female driver. Then after he moved house, we never saw each other again until this day. Haha it's been around 11 years! This Valentine's Day is still a Foreveralone Day for me as usual, but at least I get to spend this awesome day with all these people who are my best childhood memories and who really made my day. :)

Getting "Things-that-cannot-be-done-while-you-are-in-school" Done

The first day of Chinese New Year is just three days away! And my cousins whom I have not been seeing for two years are coming tonight :) Really missed them. I was offered the admission to SUTD and I accepted it without a second thought; the deadline for me to accept the offer was wayyyyyy before I have the chance to apply for other unis anyway. Feeling excited to enroll in this uni.

So ... finally I have get my ear pierced! I have always wanted to pierce my ear since last year but I didn't get the chance to do it due to various reasons. And yesterday when my friend jio-ed me to go for a new haircut for the new year, I "suggested" to him to get a piercing afterward.

How funny it was when the auntie of the shop asked which side did I want to pierce. When I said I would like to pierce my left ear, she jokingly asked, "Are you sure you want to pierce your left ear? Not the right one arh?" My friend was smiling at the side and both of knew exactly what she was thinking. I couldn't believe that she thought we are gays! My friend's mom joked afterwards that we should have played along and held our hands when we left the shop!! XD

Both my parents didn't say much about my new haircut and piercing but my second uncle wasn't really pleased with my new haircut. He said "mata" (police) will catch me (O_O) ... Hmmm my new haircut isn't really that bad to make me look like a gangster honestly. Most people out there have their hair cut like this too! Well whatever just don't get into trouble haha.

It is really not that bad la "mata" is not gonna catch me HAHA

After Graduation and Before Uni Admission

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. Well time flies eh some much had happened.. After leaving the confinement of RIB, hobo-ing at different friends' houses for that one week, feeling touched receiving the card from my OG before I left for Malaysia, and after KY and Rayner came over to Ipoh for a one-week holiday, finally I had to start some work over here to earn some pocket money.

Started with helping my dad's friend to coach some kids badminton. Not an easy job eh.. the kids are just ... sigh. Haha I have said it earlier that I am not good at kids eh and I just don't really like coaching/teaching. But lucky there are some older players who are quite good and willing to train. And things got better after a few training sessions. At least now there are some chitchat with the players haha. At first I found it slightly awkward because there are some 15~16-year-old players and being about this age how am I gonna coach them. But after some thinking the sudden realisation dawned on me: I am no longer the kid who was still studying, enjoying school life and getting troubled over schoolwork. I have already passed that age and I am 20 now.. When I was around 15~16, they were just primary school kids! Sigh old liao..

Anyway, tried to go back for state training. Nah really old liao; a few more sets of pick-shuttle and my hamstring ached like some dog.. Couldn't walk properly for the next few days after the footwork. And some of my juniors are already taking over me. During a training session when we took turn to play 5 points against each other, Ai Ying approached me and told me that "A few years back you were always the only one staying in the court, now you keep waiting outside the court for your turn".. Sad, but how true! I am no longer that steelman 4 years ago!

SUTD called two weeks ago asking me to go for an admission interview. I didn't know that it would be so soon. Anyway, I went back to Singapore one Monday morning, preparing the required documents and meeting some of my friends and juniors in school. The interview didn't go very well (hmmm...) but I hope it was still okay. :/ I really hate interview :/ SUTD called again just yesterday but my Singapore's number has been suspended, so I will have to call back this coming Monday. I wonder why is SUTD calling me? I hope it is a good news: they called to tell me that I am accepted! Finger cross x_x

Oh yea so far I am only working during weekends (occasionally some days during weekdays) and I am planning to get another job.. Haha when we were studying, we always wished for more holidays; and when we have finally graduated and are free, we always wish for things to do.. Free time isn't that tempting afterall eh haha. So far I heard that my mom's friend's sister is looking for waiters or cashiers in her restaurant and apparently my mom asked ( or maybe my mom's friend asked, anyway not important) if I can work there. Can start anytime because there are days off during CNY. Well, my dad was thinking that maybe I could work at the company where he worked before he retired (but till now he still hasn't asked the boss eh -_-) so still need to wait for him to nod his head before I can start working at the restaurant.

Okay guess that's it for now.