Monday, October 26, 2009

FOSH day two ------> I did not mess up

Yup Yups today's the second day of FOSH!!! So, starting the day, went to the street soccer court. My consortium has one match today and even if we win... well we would still lose in the number of points because of yesterday's two horribly outrageously disastrous matches. But that does NOT mean that we have a reason to slack in the match. We will own our opponents!

Well, my team mates and I reached the soccer court and guess what? Our captain was not in sight. Helpful. Wonder why... Probably demoralized after yesterday's matches? Well, anyway, we have no choice but to go without our captain and well, got our co-captain instead. So, we have a tactic: Defend and strike back. Basically, we put up a extreme pro defense and try to tire the opposing team out. Then, we would counter attack with a stronger attack force by substituting all other players into a stronger attacking team. So, we changed from a team with two pro defenders and two strikers into one average defender and 3 super aggressive attackers. With that, we were able to score the goal at around the 7th or 8th minute of the 10 minute game.

Besides that, I did NOT mess up this time. I managed to save every ball rammed at me (WOO HOO!). I can even remember one rather cool save. The striker from the opposing team was closing in. He was just right outside the red area of the court. At his position, he is able to score from any direction, which meant that he could get pass me easily. I don't know what came over me, but I jumped and slide-tackled the ball from his legs. From inside the red area! LOLS.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

FOSH -----> I messed it up

Today's the first day of FOSH (festival of sports and health), and basically, it is a day where there are inter-consortium games and sports like soccer for instance. Well, why am I talking about such a thing? It is because I messed it up big time.

I am in the street soccer team, goalkeeper and I messed up. I caused the team to lose the entire match. 2-1. Epic fail. And who let in the two goals? Well who do you think? Me.

I could see the striker of the opposing team dribble the ball past my team mates and he was getting closer. Before he tried to score, I misjudged the direction in which he was going to score and well... jumped in the wrong direction. So basically I screwed that up.

Another instance where I screwed up. The ball was rammed straight at my face. The striker was so close and the shot was so powerful that I was...afraid of the ball. Kinda scary to have a ball rammed straight at you. I tried to block it but it simply hit my hand and went OVER it... man...

I can't believe I totally messed up. It is not that I did not save any goals but I was not on form today. ARRGGHHHH!!!! I doubt I would be playing in tomorrow's match due to my immense-screwing-up-so-badly-it-was-so-immense-I-could-not-believe-it goalkeeping today. If we do not win tomorrow's 2 matches, then my consortium would probably end up waaaay at the bottom of the list. WE CANNOT LOSE!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

CIP

Giving out flyers informing residents of a recycling drive... wonderful way to spend a nice boring Saturday don't you think? Well, I wouldn't think say that it was TOTALLY boring but I couldn't say it was too interesting either.

Well, one thing about the flats in Lavender, they were OLD. And I mean very old. I would launch into a full page of nonsensical describing crap but I bet none of you would want that would you?

Also, a lot of the units were confiscated units. No joke, they all had letters from the HDB pasted on them. The entire flat was very old and... I would say eerie. MAN, some of the units had RED paint splattered over their doors and for some reason, one unit had GREEN paint. Wonder why.

And I wouldn't say that the residents there were friendly. Most opened the door, saw us in our uniform and "WHAM" goes the door as it slammed in our face. Oh, it was so nice to meet the oh-so-friendly residents in Lavender.

Dogs. Another irritating animal to encounter when you try to go door-to-door and try to introduce yourself and talk about a flyer. Usually, you knock the door, and a dog comes barking like it was...well..barking mad. Soon all of the neighbours on the level would look at you like you were trying to break into the house. Kinda embarrassing actually when they look at you so awkwardly. What I really dislike are the units with open doors and a dog. Had a dog bark into your ear before? Well, I have and that was when I really realised how loud they can be...

Well, I thought my experiences were bad. I encountered dogs and the like. My other friends encountered nutters.

I thought a simple way to shut out people like us (the so-called flyer-givers) would be to slam the door in their face. Apparently, they met a guy who tried talking to the wall to chase them away. Wow, not bad really. He just kept talking and ranting AND screaming at the wall as if he was angry at someone who was well, the colour of the background. Really, was that necessary just to chase someone away?



Bored in and out, nothing else I can say

Well, usual day, nothing much happening, apologies for the not-posting-anything-useful-but-actually-nothing-at-all posts. Seriously, the exams are over, the hols are not here, and this is, in my opinion, the most boring period of the year. Just lagging and slacking around at home, is that all one can do? Its when all of your teachers start trying to get you occupied with random stuff to keep you occupied (honestly speaking, it doesn't).

I'm quite sure NO ONE would want to know my cliche life, I mean, how interesting can "I woke up at 6am and slept at 11pm" be? All I know is that if I can't find something to keep me occupied, else, well, dunno what I would do. so this is the end of my cliche post...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Bored.. and out...

Er... Well, I would really appreciate it if SOMEone could help me think of an idea for a post cos' honestly, I am drained of ideas. Not even a single idea of what to write next. Suggestions?

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

CIP

Hi all,
Well recently, 3 days ago in fact, the CMCs of every class has to go for this CIP. It is to give out flyers to the residents living around Taman Jurong. Well, basically it is to inform them about an upcoming newspaper collection which is on this coming Friday. This newspaper collection is basically supposed to be our "National Day Celebration", not that it is much. All the proceeds for this collection is supposed to go to the Taman Jurong CC.

Well at first, my father could not really find the CC. I mean, it is not as if there was a big sign saying " I am the Taman Jurong CC" or something like that. So after half an hour of circling round practically the entire of Taman Jurong, we finally found the place. Many of my school mates were already there. So after a long wait (not sure why it took so long as I was playing my PSP) it was time to give out flyers to the residents living around there. Since the next class, 1P2, was quarantined, we had to take over their role and instead of a total of 6 blocks, we had to take on a total of 12 (NOT FAIR!) blocks. Since there were six CMC members in our group, we split the job into three groups, two people for 4 blocks. I was paired up with the welfare secretary Nicholas Hong (d0tarocks.blogspot.com) and MAN! There was a lot of work to be done.

I can't really remember what blocks we went to, all I remember about the blocks, were that they were H-U-G-E. So many units, so little time (3hrs). So, we went to every door and knocked twice (Good morning sir/madam, here is a flyer to inform you of next week's newspaper collection). If no one's in, well, lucky us. All we had to do was to drop a flyer into their front gates and NEXT UNIT.

Quite a lot of people were out, considering the fact that it was a Saturday morning, although it could be that they were simply pretending to be out. I could have sworn that I heard footsteps coming to the door before leaving again. =(

I also lost count of how many times I got greeted with a dog bark. Well, I guess they just hate poor little Hwa Chong students walking around knocking on doors and giving out flyers...(Just joking... really...).

After completing our second block, we realised this: ALMOST OUT OF TIME AND FLYERS!!! After getting a stock-up from Lester (our supervisor), we instead of knocking twice, reduced to one set of knocks per unit. At the last block. We were already out of time. In desperation, well, we sort of like just dropping the flyers into every unit we saw. I know it wasn't the right way to do things but... we WERE out of time...

After the CIP, I felt really beat, honestly, and guess what? I still had to rush for tuition.

I felt that it is a really enriching experience, for the simple fact that I never went for a trip like this in my life. I have experience how it is like to give out flyers. Such a new experience... How I wish ther is more of it. I have enjoyed the trip. =)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Suggestions?

Eh... Any suggestions for songs? You know... any new songs that I can put on my blog?

Thursday, July 2, 2009

E-Learning lesson 3

The casino being built in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and job creator. However, many people have spoken against it.True, building a casino has a lot of advantages. It can create a lot of jobs for people, it can make a lot of money for Singapore. It can help Singapore grow economically. However, with its advantages, comes a lot of disadvantages.Without the casino being built, many people already have an addiction for gambling, whether they are addicted to the casinos in Malaysia, or whether they are addicted to gambling dens anywhere else, they are still addicted to gambling. They would go to great lengths to gamble. Won't building a casino in Singapore make these addictions grow from bad to worse? I went to Genting, Malaysia once. What I saw really shocked me. I saw two parents giving their child A LOT of money to play at the game machines at the ground level while they went off to gamble at the casino. Kind of shocking huh? Imagine that your parents left you alone just so they could gamble their money away. Not very nice, in my opinion.According to certain gamblers, they gamble because they think it is very exciting, it is like "holding one's own fate in their very hands", but come to think of it, even though some people might be lucky enough, they might win big, but to others, luck might not always shine on them. Even if you were to win some money back, most of the time, it moves you back to square one or you end up with less money than before.Also, by building a casino in Singapore, many people will gamble there excessively. By doing so, many problems related to the gambler's family relationship would surface. There would be more divorces, more arguing about money, more petty crimes so as to just be able to gamble for a couple more rounds. Some say, that without the casino, Singapore would be rather "backward", but I feel that by building the casino, it would lead to a lot of problems that would show us as being morally "backward".Hence, to lessen the amount of people gambling excessively, Singapore decided to run "affordability tests" to check if a particular person entering the casino can afford gambling. Those people who are rich would pass the test with "flying colours", but what about the rest of the gamblers? Since they are unable to gamble in the casino, they would probably find some illegal way to gamble, for example, in an illegal gambling den. Then, there would be more crimes and hence, more problems.I feel that if we do not even build the casino, then lesser of these problems would surface.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

E-learning lesson 3...

Well, I was supposed to be posting this on wikispaces but unfortunately, I forgot to request membership with the wikimaster... so I would be posting it here...

The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed



Well, I was supposed to read and analyse the poem and then respond to the question: Think back on our days in primary school. Do you share the same sentiments? What were your memories of those days? Write a poem of no less than 2 stanzas of your days in primary school.


So here it is:

Homework homework
everyday.
It's all about work,
All work no play.

Scolded by teachers,
reprimanded in class,
I do so hope,
it never lasts.

Exams are the worst of all,
torturing us to the core.
Study hard or you will fall,
your teachers will give your parents a call...



I know it ain't very good, but at least I tried...

Monday, June 29, 2009

Favourite Poet

My favourite poet is William Carlos Williams. One thing I admire about him is his determination and love for composing poems. Even as his Williams's health began to decline after a heart attack in 1948 and a series of strokes, but he continued writing up until his death in New Jersey in 1963.

I believe that William Carlos Williams is a very determined writer who really enjoys composing poems. Such love and determination to compose poems is truly amazing. Even though he was having difficulties coping with his health, he still continued writing poems. Without this love and passion for composing poems, or doing anything for that matter, it is difficult to do the best in everything we do. They are one of the most important things that we must have to do the best in everything. They keep us moving despite the obstacles.

Here's one of his poems from Journey To Love titled "Shadows":

Shadows cast by the street light
under the stars,
the head is tilted back,
the long shadow of the legs
presumes a world taken for granted
on which the cricket trills"


The breaks in the poem search out a natural pause spoken in the American idiom that is also reflective of
rhythms found within jazz sounds that also touch upon Sapphic harmony. Williams experimented with different types of lines and eventually found the "stepped triadic line", a long line which is divided into three segments. This line is used in Paterson and in poems like "To Elsie" and "The Ivy Crown." Here again one of Williams' aims is to show the truly American (i.e., opposed to European traditions) rhythm which is unnoticed but present in everyday American language. Stylistically, Williams worked with variations on free-form styles, notably developing and utilising the triadic line as in his lengthy love-poem Asphodel, That Greeny Flower.

Here's another poem by him:

By the road to the contagious hospital
under the surge of the blue
mottled clouds driven from the
northeast-a cold wind. Beyond, the
waste of broad, muddy fields
brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen
patches of standing water
the scattering of tall trees
All along the road the reddish
purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
stuff of bushes and small trees
with dead, brown leaves under them
leafless vines-
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
dazed spring approaches-
They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind-
Now the grass, tomorrow
the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
One by one objects are defined-
It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf
But now the stark dignity of
entrance-Still, the profound change
has come upon them: rooted, they
grip down and begin to awaken


And another:

The Archer is wake!
The Swan is flying!
Gold against blue
An Arrow is lying.
There is hunting in heaven—
Sleep safe till tomorrow.
The Bears are abroad!
The Eagle is screaming!
Gold against blue
Their eyes are gleaming!
Sleep!
Sleep safe till tomorrow.
The Sisters lie
With their arms intertwining;
Gold against blue
Their hair is shining!
The Serpent writhes!
Orion is listening!
Gold against blue
His sword is glistening!
Sleep!
There is hunting in heaven—
Sleep safe till tomorrow.

All these info is taken from
http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19912
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carlos_Williams

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Favourite Poem

Very Early Spring by Katherine Mansfield

The fields are snowbound no longer;
There are little blue lakes and flags of tenderest green.
The snow has been caught up into the sky--
So many white clouds--
and the blue of the sky is cold.
Now the sun walks in the forest,
He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers;
They shiver, and wake from slumber.
Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls.
Yet is the forest full of the sound of tears....
A wind dances over the fields.
Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter,
Yet the little blue lakes tremble
And the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver.



There are several ways in which figurative language is used in this poem.

Personification:
1."Now the sun waiks into the forest"
2."He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers"
3."Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls"

These sentences from the poem are personifications of the Sun. It is most probably used to compare more closely how the Sun behaves and acts, and also to make the poem more lively.

4."They shiver, and wake from slumber"
5."A wind dances over the fields"
6."Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter"
7."Yet the little blue lakes tremble and the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver"

These are several more instances where personification is used in the poem. It gives the poem a more lively feature to it as the reader is able further visualise what is happening in the story. It gives the unmoving objects like the grass and the trees a character and it is more life-like.

What I like about the poem:
The poem, in my opinion, is a very interesting poem. The poet uses a lot of personification in the poem and hence, gives it a very lively feature to it. Such excellent use of personification gives the poem a very lively and realistic appearence where the reader is able to visualise what is really happening in the poem. By changing the actions of nature into the actions of a certain "person" (for example, changing the rippling of the lakes into the trembling of the lakes), the poet has given each of the unmoving objects the qualities of a person, and hence, changed the view of what we think of those unmoving objects. How the poet uses personification to more closely how the Sun behaves is also rather amazing.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

How do you who your friends are?

Firstly, let us all ask ourselves, what is friendship? What are true and fake friends?

Well, Friendship is a special bond between two or more people. It is a bond that we are able to treasure and cherish. Friends take care of each other when in trouble. Friends are usually people who share common goals and interests, and care about each other's mental growth. A friend usually wants you to be sucessful in life.

It can take many forms, from helping out your friend when he is having trouble to "borrowing" homework from each other (not to mention occasionally playing tricks on each other).

However, even friendship is split into two parts: True and Fake friends. Like I said before, a true friend would want to see how you progress in life, and wants you to be successful in life. A true friend would want tohelp each other out of the goodness of his or her heart. Even if you exceed him in terms of success, instead of mourning over how unsuccessful he or she is, a true friend would congratulate and encourage you to do even better (they mean it). A true friend would not pout and throw a fit just because you got higher marks than he did in a science test.
No, a true friend does none of that. A true friend would try his or her best to help you despite the difficulty. Basically, a tru friend puts you before himself.

Compared to true friends, fake friends differ by quite a lot. Fake friends are people who stick with you and become your "friend" only till you no longer any use to him. Either that, or you just gained some temporary popularity. A fake friend would try to help you unless it does not benefit him or her. He would not stiick around and share the blame with you. For example you rammed a soccer ball and it toppled and broke a few flowerpots, he would not stick around and share the blame, even if he did cause part of it. All you would see him do is run for his life. Heartless huh?

Speaking of true friends, I have one friend who really cared for me. When I injured my ankle, he did not just turn away and ask me to get up myself. Instead he went up to me and helped me up. Whenever I had problems with my homework, he would never hesitate to help and teach me the best he can. We cared for each other a lot, and went through a lot together. That was my most true and best friend I ever had.

What is beauty?

What is it? Well, beauty has several meanings, and what you think of it depends on several factors. Of course, what it means depends on your view of beauty to begin with.

Some might say that beauty is shown on the outside. So, many people would find ways to make themselves more good-looking, using up tonnes of money just to make themselves look better. Well, many people think like that, especially the media for example the newspapers. If someone from an ordinary neighbourhood school helps up an old lady who fell on the streets, well, at most he gets a "thank-you" from the lady in return. However, it is a whole different story if it were a famous singer like Jay Chou or Nicholas Teo, they would probably be on the news the next day, with praises splashed on the front page. Big difference huh?

In my opinion, inner beauty is waaaaaay better than external beauty. Imagine you have a friend. He is a hot shot in school and very popular. Sadly, he is empty on the inside. For example, he is an arrogant brat, does not care about others feelings, and does not even help his friends when they are in trouble. Not much of a friend to me. If you are beautiful on the outside, you may have friends for a while, but soon those friends would realise you do not care about them, and probably ditch you sooner or later. A person ugly on the inside, might as well be ugly on the out side as well, since inner beauty should come before external beauty.

Also, beauty depends on your mood. If you happen to have you money stolen or lost something very precious to you, you would probably be very sad and angry then. Even if you saw some really majestic piece of art made by a famous artist, you would think that that was the most disgusting piece of artwork you ever saw. However, if you passed a test with flying colours or something, you would be over the moon then and would probably think that your little brother's crayon work is the best in the world.

So, make your life better! Smile more! Be HAPPY!!!

If you could eliminate one emotion from the world, would you? Which one? Why?

Almost everyone has different views about this question. Different people would want to eliminate different emotions for different reasons. For example, some sadistic people would want to eliminate happiness from the world so that everyone would be as sad as he or she is. Or, it could be that others would want to eliminate sadness from the world, so the world would be free of sad people, and everyone can just enjoy themselves.

Some very "top wanted to be eliminated" emotion would be frustration and anger. For example, if you have worked very hard for the past ten years and never received a promotion or even a pay raise, you would be very disappointed. However, if some greenhorn just got employed and within the month he already got promoted, how would you feel? Angry, am I correct? That would be the time you felt that this anger and frustration should be eliminated so you can concentrate on your work. Hence, this shows that the question is extremely open-ended.

If I had the power to eliminate one emotion from the world, I would not. I believe that these emotions have both a good and bad thing about them and that they are a part of our lives.
If you were to eliminate sadness from the world, then everyone will be very happy, however, that makes you the same as everyone else, and that there would be no significannce in being happy, since you would be happy for every single thing you do, making you sad in the end.

No one likes jealousy, yet it can also be a good thing to be jealous of somebody. If you are jealous of someone, it means you look up to the person. Also, we would want to outshadow that certain someone. Hence, jealousy can drive us to do the best of everything we do. It is the same with frustration. It also forces a you to do the best you can, so that you can end your frustration.

Just as a person needs two hands to clap, one emotion cannot exist without each other. All emotions should be appreciated. There cannot be satisfaction without frustration. Happiness is also the fruit of sadness. Without these emotions, HOW CAN WE EXPRESS OURSELVES???

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Book Review on "The Dream Merchant"

"The Dream Merchant" by Isabel Hoving

Twelve year old Joshua Cope is contacted by a corporation called Gippart International one day late at night. Joshua and his friend, Bhasvar (Baz) Patel go to Gippart and meet Max Herbert, a talent scout. Josh is sent into a dreamworld to sell products. But dreams also come with nightmares...
Umaya, the collective dream of everyone at that point in time, is caught between dreams and reality. Josh, Baz and a fellow associate Teresa cannot get out of the dream-world, where time is running backwards due to a Gippart employee attempting to break into real time rather than dream-time. Along his adventure, Josh meets his dead twin sister Jericho, who has been attempting to get in contact with him for 350 years. But with Jericho comes Lucide, a guardian who makes sure that no one crosses the borders of life and death.

They must find the ancient Tembe and fufill Siparti's last promise to his beloved brother, and try to escape back into reality...

1)Lesson learnt

After reading the book, I have learnt about one important thing: Never be greedy.

There were several instances where greed caused Josh Cope to be unable to fufill his goals. For example, Josh tried to steal a dress for Jericho, and ended up fleeing for his life, with a hoard of angered people at his heels. They were forced to escape and take refuge at the next town. This shows that greed can make you a magnet for trouble, and cause you to commit crimes.

There was also the time when they were right in front of the doors of the Tembe, and everyone else were able to go in except for Josh, because of all the things he had stolen from everyone else. He had to drop all of his precious items before he was admitted into the territory of the Tembe, and this shows that Greed weighs us down, with it, we cannot go far and fufill our goals

2)A Different Ending

The piercing sound of the phone could be heard. Josh picked up the phone, curious. "Hey erm... Josh? Baz here. I think we might have a problem. The doors to Umaya has crashed shut! Again!

Well, Gippart needs our help."Baz spluttered into the phone.

Josh thought of the times in Umaya, the endless adventures, the hanging evil, the horrific nightmares and most of all, of Jericho. A harsh smile danced on his lips. "Give me a moment, I will be there as soon as possible......"

He rushed for the door.

I believe that the ending in the book makes the reader feel as if it is the end to the entire adventure in Umaya. I think that there should be something like a cliffhanger or a certain hint that the adventures of Josh Cope and his friends are not over, but far from it. Only then, will there be more excitement in the ending of the story.

3)An exerpt from Josh's point of view

But I had another idea. Once Baz and Teresa hoisted their packs onto their backs, I told them to go on ahead, making it sound as if I had forgotten something, and in a few strides, I arrived at the front of the Buzzard House. Shrugging off my jacket, I grabbed four shortswords from the basket of battlefield debris and ran as fast as I could, shouting for Baz and the others to follow, half expecting shouts behind my very back.

4)Opinion of the ending of the story

I did not like the ending of the story as much as the rest of the story as I felt that Josh's adventures should not end just like that. The ending in the book makes the reader feel as if it is the end to the entire adventure in Umaya. I think that there should be something like a cliffhanger or a certain hint that the adventures of Josh Cope and his friends are not over, but far from it. Only then, will there be more excitement in the ending of the story.

Book Review about "Eragon"

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

The story of "Eragon" is about a young farmboy named Eragon, who found a polished blue stone which turned out to be a dragon egg. The dragon hatchling hence chose him to be a Dragon Rider. Plunged into a perilous new world of destiny, Eragon only had an ancient sword and an old storyteller's advice to guide him through the lands of Alagaesia and defeat the tyrant king Galbatorix...

1)Lesson learnt
It is an intriguing book of excitement and adventure. From reading the book, I have learnt that in life, one very important moral is "determination". Despite the challenges that Eragon faced during his adventures, he never gave up, just striving on and on. Such determination is admirable. In fact, determination is what keeps us going all the way to the end despite the challenges. Without it, many tasks would be impossible to complete. Determination is one the greatest assets we can possess. Determination can bring out the best in us. It is also the tool we use to defeat discouragement, the tool we use to overcome temporary failure to prevent failure from becoming permanent.

How can we succeed if we fall? The countless times Eragon failed, and the countless times he tried again. It was all worthwhile when he finally succeeded. DETERMINATION is what we use to SUCCEED!

2)Comparing two characters in a book

The two characters that I would choose to compare would be Eragon, the determined Dragon Rider and Galbatorix, the evil ruler of Alagaesia. For one, they are completely different in terms of good and evil. Galbatorix is the evil ruler that does not care about most of the ordinary mortals in Alagesia, unlike Eragon, who tries to help whoever needs help.

Also, they are also worlds apart in terms of their loyalty towards their peers and seniors. For example, Eragon was exceedingly loyal to his teacher who taught him magic, Brom, and always tried to help Brom whenever possible, even if Brom kept a lot of secrets from him. Galbatorix however, after being trained by the rest of Dragon Riders, even after exceeding them in power, he killed most of them just to achieve his goals.

3)Rewriting an exerpt in a different point of view

I would like to rewrite an exerpt from the story in Eragon's point of view:

I was starting to doubt whatever Saphira said. It would be such a wild and desperate thing for us to do. Contempt for my indecision rose and a harsh smile danced on my cracked lips. "She's right..."I thought to myself. Nothing mattered to me any more except the act itself. The doing is the thing, I told myself. And what would give me more satisfaction than hunting down the strangers? It was not long before a terrible energy and strength grew within me. It grabbed my emotions and forged them into a solid bar of pure anger with one word stamped on it: REVENGE. My heart pounded as I said with conviction, I will do it.

4)The most interesting part

I feel that the most interesting part of the book is when Saphira is introduced into the story as a dragon hatchling. I enjoyed how they discribed the dragon hatchling, both its appearence and its behavior. No one has seen a real life dragon before, much less observe how it behaves. How Christopher Paolini described the dragon was rather interesting, as the reader is somehow able to visualise how a dragon should really look like. Such ability to picture the characters in the story is amazing.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I am lying. True or False?

"I am lying." If it is true and I am lying, then I am saying something false (that is what a lie is) and if it is false and I am saying something false, then it is true that I am lying. Such a statement is self-contradictory It contradicts itself. Its truth entails its falsity and its falsity entails its truth.
In life, people may also claim something which is opposite to what they claim earlier on, like when I asked whether it is true that I am lying. It may not be that obvious but there is contradiction in that statement.

If I make a statement but leave it totally ambiguous as to how that statement is to be taken, e.g., as a statement of belief, as a question, as a line in a play, as a poetic conceit, as a deliberate lie, etc., then I have omitted a statement about the statement. Ordinarily context supplies the content of the statement about the statement, tells us how the statement is to be taken. But if the context does not, the statement may seem to us "off the wall," crazy.

Well people often do not listen closely to what other people say, they don't digest the speaker's words and hence could be at a disadvantage. So listen carefully!

Exam Results

Hey all,
It has been quite a while since I received my exam results. Well, generally, I believe I have done rather well, since I have reached my expectations for most of my subjects. Guess what? I GO A 1.67 FOR MY MSG!!!!! That is far higher than what I aimed to achieve by mid-year( I only aimed for a 2.2). Quite and improvement, considering the fact that I got 3.33 last term. Quite happy with my results except for my geography. Sadly, I only got a B4 for it. Apparently, I just cannot get all my facts right. Well, all I can do to improve my geography results is to read up. Hmm... Should have revised for my geography...=). Well, even though I have exceeded my expectaions this term, I must work even harder next term, I CANNOT be complacent. It is still the middle of the year with still a long way to go. I cannot SLACK!!!

Happiness

What is happiness? Happiness is a state of mind or feeling such as contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. Happiness is what you feel when you are having fun, when you are enjoying yourself. In my opinion, one can only be happy when he or she shares their joyful emotions with people that are important to you. Even if you were to be a very rich person, if you do not share these joyful emotions or money with people important to you or the needy, it would be pointless as there is no one to accompany you, no one to share your joy.

Imagine when you live in a world where happiness never existed, and that everywhere you go, all you see are the sad and miserable faces hung on everyone’s face? Just like you need two hands to clap, you need more than one person along with you to make happiness. Happiness is when someone is able to have fun along with you, to share your joy, and what makes the world go round.

Many activities lead to happiness, for example, having fun, relaxing etc.

Sometimes, when I have very good news, keeping it bottled up in my mind would not really help me be happy. Sooner or later, this bottled up joy would be turned into frustration and misery. Also, being happy also has its advantages. This might seem obvious - why would you not want to be happy?! But the implications are greater than you might think. Happier people are generally healthier people - not only mentally, but also physically. So you can see than happiness is actually something that is really important, that you might want to increase if you can!! Be Happy!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009