rey's ramblings

I crossed the bridge at 11:18 PM

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Flying on tragic wings

Music: Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Still feeling Shanghai's cold, but I regret coming back to Singapore
though. The sweltering heat and merciless sun shining. Sigh.
Everybody seems to be falling sick from Shanghai's cold. Fell sick
too but luckily enough, I managed to recover before the weekend.

Dang. Should have seen the doctor. Make the school pay for my bills? XD

Anyway, this year's hari raya was better than the last, the latter being
a date which, incidentally, I went to orchard with other people too. Hm.
Still trying to get my precious sleep from the exhausting shanghai trip,
I woke up at 11. (Hmmm jet-lag is really deadly. Especially if there just
happens to be turbulence?) Anyway, managed to drag myself to plaza
singapura with javier. Having a frappucino in starbucks while sharing
OEP experiences. He didn't really have a lot though. Apparently,
kunming was a terribly boring trip with no scandals, surprisingly enough,
although they had only their class teachers and patrick soo. Whereas,
we had like shaun choo, fanny tan along with our class teachers. More
discipline leads to more mischief? Heh, another paradox theory perhaps.

Later, on the 7th floor, I watched the almost 3 hour long Aviator with
ah xian! The movie was a fairly decent biopic with colorful and vibrant
personalities of 1930s Hollywood. The show started to lag past the 2 hour
mark though and at the end, I was a bit confused about the eventual
conclusion of Howard Hughes life. But, after all, brainy flicks tend to attract
more Oscar attention and its already won the Golden Globe for Best Picture.
A strong hint that its likely to sweep the Oscars too. Performances by the
multitude of actors (who were ironically enough, playing Hollywood actors),
many playing cameos like gwen stefani, jude law and willem dafoe were
rather good. Cate Blanchett did Katharine Hepburn quite well, her accent
being a uniquely crafted one. Overall, the movie was pretty entertaining,
his obsessive compulsive disorder later was a bit frightening though. Its
tragic how most geniuses seem to have some trouble with their lives eventually.

Well, the first movie of the year was interesting enough. Dinner after that
was simple but nice. Finally, some western noodles! =)

Everybody seems to like Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Why's it so popular?
Aside from the fairly decent music, I guess its probably because the lyrics
connect with a lot of people our age.

Been a bit busy this week. Homework's starting to pile up now that the
OEP's past. Hopefully I can keep up with the workload! =P

I crossed the bridge at 3:54 PM

Thursday, January 20, 2005

So Similar yet So Different

Music: Brian McFadden - Irish Son

Back from Shanghai since last night! Blog's not dead, just
that i've been away for 7 days and using the internet in
China isn't really what you might consider cheap. Not like
there was time to go online in the first place? Anyway, the
tour was really crazy and chaotic yet there were some really
calming moments where I could enjoy the scenery and the
atmosphere especially in Hangzhou. So we got China Eastern
Airlines which actually wasn't that bad except that we had a
really lousy inflight entertainment system. Ten rows sharing
a projector screening completely unknown and sometimes
weird shows. But after all the flight's only about 5 hours and
sleeping was a good alternative.

I guess most of us in acsi find the overseas educational programme
really boring and a waste of time & energy but just like many other
things, the OEP has its pros and cons. Apart from a few really minor
setbacks, I found this year's OEP to be more fun and interesting than
last year's. By spending 7 days together with the class, I got to know
some people better and although my class teachers were rather harsh
at times, they are really nice people to be honest.

Well, since its faster this way, here's a look on the cities I went to:

Suzhou - Although the city thrived on industry, it was a rather decent
and quiet city. We went to Zhuozhuang which was supposedly China's
version of Venice but the waters were super dirty and we could see
people just openly spitting and pouring things that I didn't want to know
about. The people there were also really desperate and kept coming up
to us for things, even chasing us on certain occasions. Its really sad though
how their lives are confined to such poverty and back-breaking labour.

We also went to this industrial park which was in collaboration with
Singapore and there were a lot of international companies there producing
things like semiconductors and other electronic stuff which surprised me
because I initially thought Suzhou was industrial in the sense of like polluted
air and poisonous chemical-producing plants but that wasn't the case though.
Suzhou's hotel was the only one that had MTV(!) , HBO(!) and other cable
channels so in my opinion it's actually quite good. They also had this outdoor
balcony but I didn't go out for too long because it was so cold! =P

Hangzhou - Went to this tea plantation in the middle of a valley, where I
felt cheated of my money 'cause the tea I bought was so expensive! But it
was supposedly one of the best brands in China although the way they
packaged it was quite crazy and erm... not very clean. We also went on a
cruise at Westlake which was, in my opinion, one of the best places we
went to throughout the trip. Despite the stupid wind which kept blowing
into my face, the lake was really beautiful and calm. The water was really
clean for some reason. And the guide kept talking about all those weird
legends and myths which I didn't actually bother to listen to. =P We also
shopped at this Chinatown-like(erm....) street but I didn't really buy much
except this pair of binoculars which I got at a cheaper price than david the
panda bear-guy! XD Anyway we also went to this orphanage but we didn't
do much in the end because there was a lack of time. Sigh.

Oriental Greenboat - Which if you're wondering isn't a city lah. But we stayed
there one night and we did all sorts of team-building activites which our class
didn't really do too well in the night but the bridge obstacles the next day were
much better. There was also an aircraft carrier in the middle of this small lake
which was really stupid but the Chinese communists just do about anything.

Shanghai - Finally, we reached the pearl of the orient or whatever its supposed
to be. Standing on The Bund was very cold but cool also because you could see
both Old and New Shanghai at the same time. They must have overdone the
light-up though because it looked a bit too flashy. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower
looks like a fishball stick! Wait actually it looks more like some futuristic rocket.
Shanghai's architecture is quite okay though. Shopping at nanjing and xiangyang
lu was a blast. Didn't buy a lot at nanjing because the prices there are just about
the same as Singapore's. The fastfood is really cheap though. A McChicken at
5 yuan is really worth it!

Xiangyang lu's a different case. Bought quite a lot of stuff. In fact, the only thing
I felt that I got cheated or like paid too much was the sunglasses. The other things
were all like 75% bargained off! Bargaining is really unscrupulous but super fun on
the other hand. Tried not to speak too much english because we didn't want the
shopkeepers to think that we were illiterate because then they might not relent for
cheaper prices. Haha, I think I must have made a few shopkeepers unhappy but so
did a lot of other people and that's the whole point of it anyway. Bought this nice
crystal vase and some fake but still decent nike dri-fit t-shirts. Thanks bryan
and daniel for the fun we had dropping the prices like crap! =)

On the whole trip was enjoyable. A few scandals here and there that delayed the
programme but those sort of things are almost unavoidable. We had fried rice, egg
omelette, super-oily food and soft drinks on every meal which im going to refrain
from for the next week or so, lol. XP Running a flu and cough now from the blasted
cold weather, (which tragically, DIDNT SNOW) hope it gets better..

Back to school on monday then! =)

I crossed the bridge at 7:27 PM

Saturday, January 08, 2005

The New versus The Old

Music: Jesse McCartney - Beautiful Soul

Just barely a week into school for the new year!

A bit of adjustments here and there and being in the
same school, its inevitable to see both the new and the
old at the same time I guess. But you know, I would
never regret that decision to leave. Sure, there are
always good and bad factors to every decision one might
make in life, but its always up to the individual anyway.

Any previous transgressions or mistakes I might have made
in the past are now going to be left behind for good and you
know what? This year is going to be different. Not different
friends, not different tastes, not a different look, not different
characteristics, but a different direction on life. Simply putting
God before everything in life and doing what matters most
and not solely for the moment.

Well, as every year passes, its important to reflect on the people
that have been there throughout so here they are in no order of
importance:

2.12-2.13-2.14 // Well, its been a very eventful year with many
ups and downs throughout. Although it hasn't exactly been a very
good year of sorts, I hope that you all can continue to have a great
time in the GEP for 2005 and 2006. Don't overwork yourselves! =)

youth! // Hey its been a great year! Had so much fun hanging out
with you guys and getting to know God better! Joel, for your hilarious
observations and speculations on the surrounding environment, keep
up the witty banter! Charisse! For being the ultimate singaporean girl!
=D And all the encouragement that you've given. Esther! For being easy
to talk and share about Christ and other problems that I've faced. Thanks
for the Singapore Idol tickets! Marcus! The all-round slacker but also the
smartest, thanks for all the crazy antics and your stunningly great knowledge
of the Bible! =P Also, thanks to vanessa, serene, cheryl, jonathan and chris!
Hope you guys continue to have faith in God and keep walking with Him!

S.L.C. // Hey you guys, thanks for all the fun we had in boarding, all the lame
games, rubbish-talking and the interesting insights on life after school! Ben,
Elvin, Gareth, Porky and Shadrach. Hope you all find your own paths in life! =)

natalie! // ah xian! you've been such a great friend throughout the year
despite your really really hectic schedule! thanks for being my fellow movie
discussion partner and really getting invovled in all those crazy sneak-in
plans! you've also been really supportive of almost everything I've done
and its already been more than 2 years since we got to know each other!
hope you won't have a too chaotic 2005 and keep having fun, yeah? =))

javier! // haha its been only half a year but we are able to talk about
everything under the sun! and on certain occasions, even more than that!
thanks for all the advice on food and music! its really funny how our tastes
are so similar(except for good charlotte =X)! thanks for all the times we
went shopping and eating during the holidays! hope this year you'll fit in to
your new class and continue to attempt reaching that goal of a simple life!(:

ian // you've been really honest about yourself and thats quite a rare thing
we see nowadays in people. thanks for being able to talk to at school and
also for all the rather spontaneous fun! hope being a pomelo is still fun!

the rest of the lim clan // basically you all have been a group of fun people
and although are rather different, share a lot of common interests. thanks
derek, sean and tim for being great people to get to know.

sean // hey its only been a short while but you've been really fun to talk to!
thanks for taking time off for christmas shopping yeah? hope 2005 will be
a great year for you as you start your IP and continue debating and being
a prefect. (which I know is rather demanding =P)

john caines // hey thanks for all the great shopping experiences! also for
the interesting talk about shopping, the music industry and matters of
school. despite having a busy schedule, hope you can still find time off to
go shopping in 2005. Maybe the school holidays? And once again, good
luck and all the best in NJC!

sarah & joanne // haha there isn't much to say. although we haven't
been talked much for the last half year, I know you two are still friends
and hope we won't forget each other in the future, yeah?

I hope I didn't forget anybody! If I did, I'm sorry! Haha but most
importantly I hope you all realise friendship is one of the most important
things in life and most of all, to keep true to oneself! =))

I crossed the bridge at 5:07 PM

Saturday, January 01, 2005

The Next New Year

Music: Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone

A Happy New Year to everyone! Well-wishes for the year
2005 and may your resolution be fulfilled, although, I hardly
ever fulfill mine X) Anyway, as we enter the new year with
all these political, humanitarian, economical problems going
on, we must be reminded of the turmoil outside of Singapore
and that we're indeed a really well-sheltered country. Let's
just hope that Singapore will continue to be blessed and that
we'll continue to strive to do our best in our lives.

Aha, the motivational speech is now over.

Well, got something to ponder on... What is it that just makes
the New Year, or a New Year Day special? Have we humans
actually got our calendar right? Is it really the new year or
just another day? Well, my answer to the question, is that the
New Year Day just serves as a turning point for us to reflect
on the past 365 days and prepare to do the best for the next.

Anyway, have a great weekend just before school reopens! =)

I crossed the bridge at 6:46 PM

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