Ryan's Web

The 3rd And Final Day Of My Camp

2006-10-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 7.30am, and had bread and sausages for breakfast. At 8.30am, we had our Sunday School. We also acted out a skit on Joshua, Caleb and Rahab.

Then, we had some other games at the park. In the first game, we had to spin around for about 10 times (with your head down) before throwing a water bomb into the pail. I could only throw in 2 water bombs, in 3 tries.

The second game was like a rope course. You had to climb up some ropes, climb on the net, and climb down again. The girls in my group was terribly slow, and my friends all became impatient with them.

The third game was called "Rope in Shirt". You put a rope into your sleeve, and out from your pants. You kept doing this, passing the rope to other people. The first group to finish 'threading' the rope through the whole group would win. The challenge was that you had to do this with your group, which had 10 people, and one 3m string.

After that, we ate our lunch in the pavillion and played football. Using my ball, of course. However, not long after, it began to rain heavily, until 3.15pm. As a result, we stayed in the pavillion for a long time. However, we just walked back to church at 2.45pm, when it was still raining. (I can still remember how 'flooded' it was. The water was up to my ankles!) By then, the whole pavillion had water in it. We walked back, drenched and soaked.

Once we reached church, we went to bathe. As usual, there was a movie on in the hall. We then cleaned our rooms, before preparing for Talent Nite for the last time.

Then, something terrible happened! I fell sick! I could not prepare for Talent Nite. At 6.30pm, I went to the doctor. Then I ate my porridge as fast as possible, before rushing back to church.

I acted as Naaman's servant in the end, because they had thought I would not come, thus making another person Naaman.

It was fun, anyway.

Oh Yes! The camp song goes like this:

Woo Hoo
If I believe it, I can receive it
Open my eyes and heart and pray
If I believe it, I can receive it
Taking a hold of the truth today

Higher, I'm flying higher with you
Stronger, I'm getting stronger, it's true
Deeper, deeper in love with you

Woo hoo Woo Hoo x 2
(Repeat whole song)

2nd Day Of My Camp

2006-10-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 7am. We had our morning stretches at the church carpark. At 7.45am, we had a morning devotion.

15 minutes later, we had bread and eggs for breakfast. We then had a singing session for 30 minutes, until 9am. After that, we had another devotional on Nehemiah, a Bible character.

We had a group discussion on Nehemiah for 15 minutes in our air-conditioned room.

At 10am, we played a game called 'LOST". We (the groups) were supposed to go to all parts of Singapore, and answer some questions. My group only managed to go to Lakeside, Dover, Jurong East, Tiong Bahru, Raffles City and Woodlands. We even had our McDonald's lunch at Tiong Bahru.

At 2.30pm, we came back to church, and washed up and watched a movie, before preparing for Talent Nite. At Talent Nite, we had to set out a skit. Our skit was on Naaman, of course. I was going to act a Naaman. We rehearsed our lines, and throught of the props we could bring for the skit. It was all so exciting!

At 4.30pm, we then went to Singapore Expo to watch a concert. The journey itself was fun. We kept telling each other jokes, and sing silly songs. We had our chicken rice there too!

At 10pm, when the concert had ended, we went back to church. We had instant noodles for supper.

We then had a group devotion, before we went to sleep. But we did not sleep, of course. we played badminton (with my ball), and kept on rolling around the floor, until...

Until the teacher came in and shouted, "GO AND SLEEP NOW!!" Typical of a teacher.

Nevertheless, I still could not wait for tomorrow, the last day of my camp.

添保漫画

2006-10-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

看了早报漫画后，

我喜欢添保漫画。这是因为他的人物又可爱，只有两只小点当眼睛。漫画的内容也很有趣，告诉我们新家坡喜欢和不喜欢的东西。
我喜欢的其中一个漫画是 14/1/2000的房事。这是因为他说新家坡人年轻时，会喜欢更大的屋子，因为你会有孩子。但是，你老时，就要一间更小的屋子，因为孩子以经长大离开家了。而且，你还要走很长的路，才能到另外一间房子.

梁宇轩 (18)
5I 3月12日

我找回一件心爱的东西

2006-10-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

你曾弄失过你心爱的东西吗? 我曾经弄失过。每当想起这件事，我就会对自己感到十分生气。事情是这样发生的… …

“铃… …”放学时间到了。

“再见林老师，谢谢林老师。”我们说完了之后，就一窝蜂地跑出课室。

我向食物的摊位飞一般地跑去了。我都还没吃早餐，肚子早已饿得里咕噜地叫着。

我跑到了最爱吃的薯条摊位，买了两盘的薯条。正好，我就发现我跑下楼梯时，忘记把我的钱包拿下来！

薯条还在摊位主人的手里，我就跑回课室，希望能找回我心爱的钱包。那个钱包是我六岁的生日礼物。钱包里有四十块钱，许多的卡和我两步时的照片。

我在书包里找来找去，总是找不到钱包。我在课室里找钱包，还是找不到。我的泪水在眼眶里打滚，但是我没放弃，继续寻找我的钱包。

我找了二十分种了，但是还没找到钱包。我在椅子上坐了下来，让豆大的眼泪滚出来。

突然，我记得了。休息时，我和朋友在玩耍。玩的时候，我的钱包就掉了出来。我的朋友顽皮，把我的钱包踢进女生厕所。当然，在朋友前面，我不敢进去女生厕所拿回钱包。

我跑到女生厕所，看看周围，就悄悄地跑进去。刚好，林老师就在里面洗手。我看到了她，就拿了钱包，害羞地跑出去。

我跑回去薯条摊位，买了我的薯条。

幸好，老师没有告诉同学们那个事情。

每当我看着心爱的钱包时，就会觉得十分害羞。我发誓再也不要这么粗心了！

一次出丑的经历

2006-10-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

想起了这件事，我便觉得自己太爱炫耀了，才会得意忘形。这个出丑的经历就是这样发生的。。。。。。

那时，我年纪小，不知道"小心使得万年船’的意思。

我在电视上，每天都看到溜滑板的广告。渐渐的，我就想要当溜滑板高手。

因为这样，所以我要爸爸给我买溜滑板。

爸爸终于买了。我感到兴高彩烈，不停地感谢爸爸。

有一天，爸爸要去巴刹买鱼。我也想去，因为我要大家看我的溜滑板本领。爸爸答应让我去。我也带溜滑板去。

我们到了巴刹。巴刹很多人，很吵。我不管，和爸爸去鱼摊。爸爸让我在附近的公园去溜滑板。我想在巴刹里溜滑板，因为这样，我就能让很多人看我的表演。趁我爸爸不注意时，我跑到鱼摊。我想，鱼摊这么多人，爸爸不会看到我的。

我滑来滑去，不小心撞了装鱼的桶！鱼全都倒出来，我满脸通红。我想逃跑。没想到，我撞到滑溜溜的鱼，也滑倒了。“啪！”一声，我痛得大哭起来。我觉得很痛，也对自己好爱炫耀而觉得惭愧。

爸爸看到了，很失望。他骂了我一顿。而且，他也罚我洗厕所。“你不应该在公共地方溜滑板。如果你不小心，弄别人受伤呢？那是危险的哟！以后，你应该守规则，在公园里溜滑板。”我听了爸爸的话，觉得他的话很有道理。

虽然这件事己过了很久，但是想起那件事时，我就觉得很不好意思。

1st Day of My Camp

2006-10-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

In the June Holidays, I had a camp. It was organised by my church. It was very fun too! I am going to talk about it now...

1st day, 9th June 2006
We had to arrive at church at 8am to register. After that, we were grouped. My group's name was Naaman. (By the way, Naaman is a character in the Bible.) I got to know many new friends!

Then, we had a SingSpiration period, followed by an icebreaker. (Icebreakers are games let everyone knows each other better.)

We then went to visit AVA. AVA is a place where food is processed before going to the markets. They also take care of animals.

After 3 hrs 15 mins of visiting, we went back to have lunch (vegetables, chicken, bla bla bla.)

At 2pm, we learnt about a Bible character, Gideon. Then we had a discussion on what we learnt from the lesson.

At 3.15pm, we had our tea break. After 30 min, when everything finished eating already, we had our own free time. (Don't tell anyone. We played volleyball with the ball I brought. But the teachers did not allow that...)

After our free time, which was 45 minutes, we had wet games.

In the wet games, we played games that involved water. One of the games was 'Attack'! You had to throw water bombs at the other groups' leaders, and destroy their newspaper shield.

We played for 2 hours, until it was 6.30pm. We then went to shower. (You could also watch a movie in the hall while waiting for your turn.)

At 7.30pm, it ws our dinner time. We had curry chicken rice and some fruits! I ate a lot of curry chicken, so my group got 4 plates of curry chicken, plus 2 bowls of the curry!

After eating for half an hour, we then rested for a while, before having our night games. In this night game, my group had to find many pieces of d picture, and 'jigsaw' it back.

At 9.30pm, we then had a short group discussion and our supper.

At 10.30pm, we went to our rooms, and slept. However, we did not sleep. We kept on playing volleyball, and kept rolling around the whole room in our sleeping bags. Until 1.30pm.

It was so fun!

Playing Piano

2006-10-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

I started playing the piano when I was 9 in August. I started from beginner's grade. At that level, playing piano was so easy. They wanted you to play 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. But now, at 11 years old, I am playing - what grade? Grade 3? No. Grade 6!!

At Grade 6, much more is expected of you. You have exams, scales, sight-reading and theory exams. The songs, of course, are much more difficult in Grade 6.

Now that it is 2006, my mother cannot help me in any area of the exams. She says that she has forgotten all about piano, and the syllabus has changed drastically.

Piano is only one of my hobbies. I like soccer and other things too.

How I got to know about piano lessons

When I was Primary 3. I was interested, so interested that I even called my friends to help me learn piano. They taught me some things. In the end, my mother signed me up for piano lessons. I was excited.

Changing music teachers

When I started learning piano, it was at Cristofori, a music school. However, when I was nearly 10, I was still in Grade 1. (Then, I was already playing Grade 4 pieces.) So, my parents signed up for another music school - Motivate Music School.

In March 2006, I had my practical exams. I got a distinction! So I skipped to Grade 6. However....

We changed schools after that, because they did not inform us about registration dates for the exams, so we had to wait for 6 more months before I could take the exams. (I thought it was my fault too, because I forgot to ask about the dates.)

Anyway, I now have a private teacher, who teaches me at home.

I think it is better, because:

- I feel better at home, playing on my own piano, in my own room.
- My mother knows everything about what my teacher says to me. Even the compliments I get...
- I can go to toilet and drink water at home easily.

See you at my website again!

Schedule for 2006 - after today

2006-10-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Let me just talk about my daily schedule after today (9th October). Some exams, but also some Fun!

Exam (sigh...)
There is English and Chinese Oral, which has already passed. Then there is an English listening test, and an English Composition Exam. (I'm not really good at writing, so I am worried.)

13th Oct 2006
- There is Chinese writing exam. (I hate Chinese, but that's not surprising. Almost everyone hates Chinese)
- There is a Chinese listening test. By the way, listening tests are tests that test your listening skill and your memory. It is something like this: They read our a passage, and you answer the questions (Quite easy, so not to worry.)

26th Oct 2006
- There is a Science examination. A boring pen-paper test, not the practical exam we had last time.
- There is the Chinese main paper, where you answer comprehension, etc. In Chinese :(

27th October 2006
There is our Social Studies exam. They will be testing on "Man and Environment", "Climate Changes" and "Laws". It should be easy...

30th October 2006
There will be an English main paper.

31st October 2006
There is a Math paper. They will be testing on everything that we have learnt.

1st November 2006
End of exams!! Freedom!!!

Now, this is my "fun" part of the schedule:

20th October 2006
We will be playing National Treasure 5, a math war game. To solve the challenges, we have to use what we have learnt in Math to solve. It will be fun... and difficult.

27th to 30th November 2006
I will be going on a Chalet at A'Famosa, a chalet.

1st to 5th December 2005
I will be going on a camp at Malacca.

8th December 2006
My birthday!

9th to 14th Decemeber 2006
I will be going to Australia for a vacation! (So fun!)

As you can see, it is a very eventful period.

Memorizing Things And Its Techniques

2006-10-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

Memorising things is very important in our lives. Take mutiplication tables as an example. You cannot call your mother in (during the examination) to help you with multiplication, can you? Or look at shopping lists. It would be better to remember the shopping list, so that you can finish shopping quickly. Spelling words. Remembering that you have homework to do. These things all need memorizing.

Sometimes, you might tend to forget - your dictation - for example. On the day of the test, you do not know what to write in dictation. To remember these things, you need to have memorization techniques. Some of them might not be familiar to you...

Memorizing Techniques
I used to join Mindchamps, a class where you learn all kinds of memorization methods. Below are some useful techniques.

1. TV (Trigger vision)
TV, or trigger vision, needs you to underline keywords in a passage / sentence. For example, in this sentence "She dropped her ring in the sand", I think the keywords are "ring" and "sand", so I underline them. Then I try visualizing a ring droppinng into sand.

Key point: See the pictures in your mind as you say the sentence and try to act our the words. Also join the pictures that you draw together.

2. SOS (Secrets of Summarizing)
Underline key ideas and make notes while you read a passage. Then, make an idea web.

3. UFO
You use this technique for words which you have to remember. Let's take the word 'menageries'. Now, take one syllable. 'Men', maybe. (This is the 'sound' part) Then form a picture of some men. Then, find the definition of the word. 'Menageries' means 'a display cage of wild animals'. (the 'definition' part) Form a picture of animals in a cage. Now combine both, you might visualise a man riding a lion in a cage.

Nowadays, I use UFO for spelling lists, and SOS to revise my work. It is very useful. The say, 'Less is More' is definitely true!

Application
Below is a passage, and you can try using those three methods on it! Here goes:

"Let us say we could enlarge an average virus, the smallest of all microbes, to the size of a baseball.

An average bacterium would then be the size of the pitcher's mound.

Then one of the millions of cells that make up our body would be the size of the ball park."

Please write in the 'Comments' and tell me what you think about these techniques!

Amazing Australian Animals

2006-10-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

Australia, I think, is the 2nd biggest island in the world. (I'm not sure. Some say it is the biggest, while other say it is the 2nd biggest.) The fact that it is cut off from the rest of the world means that many unusal animals live there, and only there. Read on to find out more...

Belows are some special animals that live in Australia todays. Some come from other continents and from sailors. Others have always lived there. (I will include pictures, don't worry!)

1. Dromedaries
There are about 500,000 wild dromedaries in Autralia. (By the way, dromedaries are camels.) They were brought over in the 19th century to explore the vast island.

2. Kangaroos
These are the largest Marsupials in existence today. They are pretty well adapted to Australia's desert climate. There are 45 kangaroo species. By the way, a marsupial carries their babies in the stomach. The babies stay in the pouch until they are about 1 year old.

Kangaroos have huge legs that are of the same length as their body length (excluding the tail). These legs are Z-shaped, and have powerful muscles. Their legs can also stretch like springs! Male kangaroos can jump 9 cm. I mean 9 m... They can even reach a speed of 60 km/hour to get away from their predators.

In a group of kangaroos, only one kangaroo gets to mate with the females. That one is the strongest. To find our who's the strongest, they have a boxing match. They even kick each other in the stomach!

3. Rabbits and Foxes
They are brought in by sailors.

4. Emus
Emus are the 2nd largest bird today. It is 1.8 m tall and weighs about 40 kg. It can run at about50 km/hour. Males sit on their eggs to keep them warm.

5. Bandicoots
They look like rabbits, but they are actually related to marsupials.

6. Reptiles
The Thorny Devil has many thorns on its body. It eats ants. About 15 cm long, it is harmless to humans.

The perentie, or the giant monitor lizard, is the biggest lizard in the world. It is - 7m long! - and it eats snakes, mammals and even emus.

**END**

Now, for extinct animals (that are special / cool) in Australia:

1. Marsupial Lions
They were 1.7m long, and were the largest carnivorous marsupials. They hunted giant kangaroos and giant wombats. They disappeared at around 30,000 years ago.

2. Giant Wombats
They were the largest marsupial ever known, at 3m and 2.5 tons. This slow herbivore was extinct at about 50,000 years ago.

Australia is so exciting!

Skit - Spongebob Squarepants

2006-10-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

On September (xx/09/06), we (my brother and I) stayed overnight at my grandmother's house - for 4 days. However, the 2nd night was especially fun, because we held a Campfire Night!

First, we did a skit. Then, we went to the toilet and played - Bathroom Fight! To play bathroom fight, you would go to the bathroom, and fight. Throw soap, spray each other, clipping each other's noses with pegs, anything that was fun. (Tell you something. We played Bathroom Fight for - 20 minutes!)

Now I am going to tell you our script for the skit we performed!

Script

(1st scene)

Me: (Brother and I are in bedroom) Tonight, we will be holding a Campfire Night...
Brother (YB): A what?
Me: Quiet. As I have said, we are going to have Campfire Night. And, for the first item, we are going to have a skit!
YB: Yeh, and the title of our skit is... SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!
Me: I'm acting as... never mind, you'll find out later.

(2nd scene)
YB: (outside room, then walk in)(Whispering)Heh, Ryan, wake up! It's eight-thirty already. nine o'clock show - Spongebob, remember? (louder) Ryan!
Me: (Still sleeping and snoring)
YB: (shakes me continuously) Hey, wake up, fat pig!
Me: (Yawn) Huh?
YB: SPONGEBOB!
Me: Huh? Oh, ok. But let me I go to toilet to brush my teeth first, ok?
YB: Ok, but be quick!

(3rd scene)
YB: (comes in, after waiting for 20 minutes) Hey, what are you doing? Still sleeping?
Me: (Snoring , and brusing face and ears)
Me: (suddenly wake up) Huh?
YB: Why are there so much makeup in your face? Come out quickly. I need to use the toilet too.
Me: Ok. (Yawn)

(4th scene)
YB: (comes out of toilet) What are you doing on the floor?
Me: (Sleeping on the floor, then suddenly wake up) Huh? Oh
Me: (Walk to toilet again)

(5th scene)
Me: (still inside toilet, with head "stuck" in toilet bowl) (Wet hair while you are in the toilet, just before "dunking" yourself in the toilet bowl)
YB: (comes into the toilet to check) Hey, what are you doing, huh? Are you thirsty? Come out! Now!
Me: (stick our head) OK, coming...
YB: Why is your head so wet?
Me: Uh-oh, I must have slept too 'deeply'

(6th scene)
YB: (Both of us are already out) Never mind, let's just go and watch the show now.

(TV show has ended already)
Me: Why do you wake me up?
YB: You... (pointing finger at me) You... (sighs) Fine. Go back to sleep.
Me: (Yawn)

**END**

See? Sometimes, going to your grandmother's house is sometimes fun, especially if you have your brother going with you too!

Ode to Chinatown - a Poem

2006-10-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

A noisy, busy place of folklore,
That was how Chinatown began
Hokkiens, Cantonese and many others came to Singapore,
In search of a new hope in this land.

Our forefathers arrived before Sir Raffles,
Many found hardships were commonplace.
Diligent work presided over waffle,
And Eu Tong Sen turned Chinatown into a bustling place.

Chinatown was a flurry of activity,
Each day was ‘The Day That Never Ends’.
People rushed along with buffaloes carrying water aplenty ,
This was how ‘Niu Che Shui began, my friends.

Talents from each dialect group became talk of the town,
Hokkien and ‘Hokkien Mee’; and
Hainanese and ‘Hainanese Chicken rice’.
Many dialect groups infused Chinatown
With the talents in their lives!

Regardless of language and religion,
Different dialect groups were close as one.
To build Chinatown into an icon,
Better then how it had begun!

Chinatown has many of Singapore’s pioneers:
Ann Siang, Eu Tong Sen and Tan Tock Seng.
Their achievements in Chinatown also glorified Singapore;
There are even landmarks named after them!

As for you, kids of this generation,
Be like these pioneers: smart with admirable character.
Together, we strive for a better Singapore,
For ‘The Best Is Yet To Be’!!! ;)

***REFLECTIONS***

(to be included)

Review on: Eulogy for the late Mr. Rajaratnam, the former president of Singapore

2006-10-07T01:41:00.000-07:00

This is a reflection on the eulogy MM Lee had given during Mr. Rajaratnam’s funeral. I hope that the reader will walk away with an impression of our hardworking forefathers. I hope that they will follow the examples of our forefathers.

Mr. Rajaratnam was described as ‘a man of honour, with great moral courage, a man of generous heart, and a man of character’.

Shared Vision
Mr. Rajaratnam was a very capable man. Together with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (MM Lee), he has built our nation so well that it has become the world-class Singapore today. He worked alongside MM Lee to build Singapore and solve major issues together. Although they did not always see eye-to-eye, they were partners who depended on each other and driven by a common vision to build Singapore into a strong nation.

Mr. Rajaratnam was a contributor to the founding of PAP (People’s Association Party), the ruling party we have today, together with Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Kenny Bryne and MM Lee. He also made a weekly called The Rakyat, or The People. However, it closed down shortly after because he lost his savings in the business. One of the most known things we can remember him by is the National Pledge that we say everyday. It was an act of faith on his part to write the Pledge to demonstrate and encourage others to share the vision and commitment he had of Singapore.

Pressing on Values
When he encountered frustrating situations, he would just stay calm, and think of a solution without hesitation or fear. When he encountered difficult problems, he would not give up on solving it, but endured through it. One of the examples was the Pledge. He wrote the Pledge after two communal riots occurred between the races. Even in times of chaos, he never showed fear, although he must have been angry. He endured through the happenings, and even saw it as an opportunity to write the National Pledge to reinforce the need for multi-racial harmony and solidarity of the nation. As one people, we should not give up in times of chaos, too.

Mr. Rajaratnam made his good friend, MM Lee, feel reassured of the critical policy decisions that they had jointly made. He made people around him confident, because of his achievements and character.

Bold and courageous
We have a lot to learn from Mr. Rajaratnam. He possessed a ‘never give up’ attitude that few people had. He never gave up even in a riot. He never said, “Let us forget about it.” He would not say, “There’s nothing we can do about it anyway.” He would not let continuing riots defeat him. In MM Lee’s own words, his most lastly memory of Mr. Rajaratnam was the latter’s courage. Mr. Rajaratnam had the guts and rallies the rest on in adversity. When he felt that something was wrong, he wrote down those feelings and the aspirations he would want future generation to follow. He believed that Singaporeans had the power to change the bad to good.

Long Live Singapore
Nation-building is also not easy, even to Mr. Rajaratnam. You have to stop riots and all the other chaos, and make the people believe in you. I am convinced that a harmonious communal living environment is more important than a wealthy country. Even if Singapore were to have many rich resources like oil and agriculture, we will not have peace if there are no healthy relationships among the various races and respect for different religious beliefs.

If Singaporeans are not at peace with one another, we will fight with one another and our wealth will be depleted by the fights. Over time, we will become more prone to attacks by other countries since we are a small nation weakened further by differences among the people.

Apart from racial harmony, Singapore also needs to maintain and upgrade its modernity or the country will lose out in many areas. This is especially so in the business area. Businesses need to make good things and provide services that overseas markets will need and want to buy. We should sell them to markets that are less developed than us, so that they can also learn from Singapore and become stronger nations.

Conclusion
Even though Mr. Rajaratnam has passed away, we can still remember him. One of the examples is to follow Mr. Rajaratnam’s aspiration for us, to unite together, regardless of race and religion. We can also work hard in everything we do, just like what Mr. Rajaratnam had done, and not give up in difficult times.

Younger government leaders should learn from Mr. S. Rajaratnam’s ways. They should have the ‘never say die’ attitude and not give up in times of trouble. They should have the determination to build strong bonds within the population and ensure racial harmony in Singapore.

I am sure that every Singaporean can live up to Mr. Rajaratnam’s expectations of us, and continue in his ways. Together, we can build Singapore to a stronger nation than any other nation!

***REFLECTIONS***

I selected this piece of work because this was a recent issue, so I could remember the facts well. That meant that I did not need to do too much research. It also had a lot of values (leadership, integrity, hardworking) in it.

I created this piece of work because through doing it, I can understand the actions of a leader. That is important to me because I want to become someone like him in the future. If I become a leader, I need to have those values that Mr. Rajaratnam had, so that I can command and rule the people well.

As I wrote the eulogy on Mr. S. Rajaratnam, I learnt some strengths and weaknesses about myself. I would like to share these as well what I have learnt from this exercise.

ü MY Strengths

About the portfolio style I chose
I had a newspaper as a guide; it was easy for me to find information.

It was a review; I like doing reviews.

About the review I wrote
· I divided them into sections, making it easier to read.

· I included my insights.

About myself
· I am good at writing reviews.

About the topic itself
· This topic on Mr. Rajaratnam was a recent event (since he passed away recently), I could write about it easily.

· The topic was quite straightforward, so I did not need to spend too much time to understand it.

· There were many values that could be found inside, so it was easier to write.

ü MY Weaknesses

About the portfolio style I chose
· I had to write according to the subject, unlike a journal. I needed to be factual, and less personal.

· It was difficult to think of extra information, because a lot of information was found in the news article. I solved that problem by paraphrasing some parts and then weaved in my insights.

· Since it was a reflection on someone, I could not write in 1st person point-of-view. This was bad, as I write easily in 1st person point-of-view. As a result, I made a lot of point-of-view mistakes. [like?? Good to state one example]

About the review I wrote
· I tended to use present tense, instead of past tense, especially with the events that Mr S Rajaratnam took part in the past.

About the topic itself
· I was not related to him, so it was difficult for me to write about his opinions.

ü What I have learned
I have learnt that when writing a reflection on someone, I must write in 3rd person point-of-view. I should not write in 1st person point-of-view. I have also learnt that writing reflections about another person is not easy. I have also learnt that leaders like Mr. Rajaratnam always have the never-give-up attitude and strong moral values.

I remembered about point-of-view mistakes, so I corrected them. I also corrected the time-specific tense errors. I often used present tense in my work. As this was a eulogy, so I had to write in past tense.

This piece was not an experiment for me, as I did the same portfolio style for my portfolio project in P4.

This piece of work (compared to the previous draft) is better. It does not have tense and point-of-view errors. Compared to a similar piece of work done earlier, there is more originality because I added my insights to this piece of work.

Thank you, reader, for reading through this piece of work!!!

Must We Fight? - another portfolio assignment

2006-10-07T01:35:00.001-07:00

I have chosen to analyse present-day issue based on a letter published in the Straits Times newspaper. By doing this, not only can I find many S.S. values inside, I can also learn about Singapore and its current happenings. This can also tell me about how Singaporeans react to a certain situation, like in chaos or happier times.

I have chosen a letter written by a member of the public. It is entitled 'Barrage of responses – only in online forum' under the main heading of 'Let’s talk about FEE HIKES'. This appeared in YouthInk, a Monday feature in the Straits Times. YouthInk is a forum that reviews and let young readers air their views about current affairs that affect them. In this instance, I hope my analysis to this letter I have chosen help the reader of my portfolio become aware of the things that matter to youths (soon I will be) and the rationale behind their views.

`Let’s talk about FEE HIKES’
A fee hike means there is a fee increase for a certain service. In this case, a group of people who have to use the service want to protest against the party that increases the fees. One of the ways to protest is to wear coloured ‘White elephant’ T-shirts like those worn by a group of schoolgirls when they protested against the delayed opening of Buangkok MRT station. They wanted to convey the message that the MRT station existed for no purpose if it could not better serve Buangkok residents’ transportation needs. Another way to protest is the use of violence. One of the examples is by creating a riot as in the earlier days when Singapore had inter-racial disputes.

The protest that was not to be
In one of the most recent incidents, NUS introduced a 3 percent fee increase across all faculties. This means the entire NUS student population and the students’ parents/guardians were affected. In addition, there had already been a few fee hikes over the last few years. A movement was started to band the student community to protest against the NUS authorities. However, because few people joined in the protest and the protest demonstrations fizzled out as soon as it began. Youths from NUS wrote to YouthInk about what they felt about this outcome. The underlying point among these writers was that there were too many people sitting on the fence.

There were many who only talk about their unhappiness while waiting for others to act for them. In his letter “Barrage of responses – only in online forum”, Eisen Teo as an NUS freshman, lamented that the strong emotions at online forums did not match those on the NUS campus. He was bewildered how the student community did not even bother to follow through with the proposed protest actions, including the “black T-shirt” campaign. The strong voices of protest online did not find its match on the campus, where Eisen’s fellow students were described as being meek and seemingly cannot be bothered.

Should we protest?
Even though we might not like a certain thing, we should not protest in an ugly manner. We can share our opinion in a more respectful manner. At school, we can tell the teachers that we feel that there is a better solution to something, or we can tell them calmly that most people do not like the teachers’ ways. In this manner, it will not make anyone unhappy, and we can still get what we want or agree to something in between. We must uphold justice and not have barbarians in the country that we live in. in other words, we can win not only by actions, but we can also win through words. I feel that words make a powerful bargaining tool, and once a peaceful solution is agreed upon, we can then act to honour the agreement.

They should have told their principal about what they thought about the fee raise, and have it solved the more amicable way. This would have been more constructive and given NUS a chance to explain its position.

Lessons learnt from history
In the earlier days of Singapore, we had many riots whenever people among different races were unhappy. If we had continued to be like that, our country will have many protest demonstrations and riots around and we would not be what we are today. That is why the late Mr. Rajaratnam wrote the pledge for all Singaporeans to remind us to value harmony with fellow human beings. If Singapore is not harmonious, it will break up. Therefore, we should teach pupils of the future generation to do the right thing and respect differences, so that we can have harmony!
In present Singapore, we can still apply these values. We should neither give up nor resort to antagonism in times of difficulty. We should have harmony among neighbours … in fact, with everyone. We should, most importantly, continue to strive for what we want in a way that can help others see our aspirations. Better still, we should aim to win them over! :-)

***REFLECTIONS***

I selected this piece of work because I could find many good values to share with you, the reader. The other reason was that this issue was fairly recent, and involved students, so I could identify with it more easily . I wanted to learn how Singaporeans reacted to present-day situations. I found out that when something did not happen the way they like, they would protest. This was just like the Buangkok affair that involved President Thaksin.

As part of writing about ”Must We Fight?”, I learnt some strengths and weaknesses about myself. I would like to share these as well what I have learnt from this exercise.

ü MY Strengths

About the portfolio style I chose
· It was a review, and I like reviews.
· It was easier to express the values, compared to other styles like ‘poems’.
· It was easier to write my feelings too, compared to poems.

About the story I made
· I divided them into parts, making it easier for me to analyse and for my raeders to understand.
· I included a lot of my own insights. This demonstrates that I am developing more and more of my own views about things that happen around me. I also find that I critically review information presented to me, rather than take everything at face value.

About myself
· I like writing reviews; I am good at it.

About the topic itself
· The topic was quite straightforward, so I did not need to spend time to understand it.
· There were many values inside that I could identify with.

MY Weaknesses

About the story I made
· I tended to write in present tense, instead of past tense.
About the topic itself
· It would have been easier to write if I were involved in that protest. I could have described and expressed better the protest and what the students were trying to do.
What I have learned
I have learned that reviews should always be written in past tense. I have also learnt that Singaporeans do not like to protest through violence, but they prefer to do it online. Being online allows Singaporeans to remain anonymous (e.g. use of pseudonyms instead of using real name) and not attract too much unwanted attention.

This piece of work was not an experiment for me. I did a similar piece of work in my P4 portfolio. If I had more time, I would have talked more about what I thought of Eisen’s words (on the NUS students).

I got stuck when I did not know what to add on after the ‘The protest that was not to be’ part. Luckily, I remembered about adding my personal insights.

Thank-you reader, for reading through my work!!!

Must We Fight? - another portfolio assignment

2006-10-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

The Nazi War - a War Journal (imaginary)

2006-10-07T01:24:00.000-07:00

Note: This was my journal as a 10-year-old Jew living in Poland in 1940 during the Nazi invasion. I lived in one of the unheated houses in the cluttered squatters. Scores of poster lined the streets and lampposts: "Youth Serves the Führer. All 10-year-olds into the Hitler Youth." For countries invaded by Nazi Germany, membership in the Hitler Youth had become mandatory since 1936.

Only my mother and younger brother were staying with me in the house. My father has joined some underground troops to fight the Germans. Poverty during the war has left us with little. Homes were raided and the treasured possessions I had left with were the few family photos. Since there are many frequent raids carried out by the Germans, we have dug an underground ‘spy-box’. That is the place where we hide during raids.

Day 1, 3rd January, Wednesday. I see snow crystals on the window panes
Some of our neighbours have been hiding in our house. Our house has some secret underground exits. I heard the Reichezts had their exits raided by the Germans one day. I hope this won’t happen to ours… Ah, I am so lucky to have lived through the past week. These must be the worst months of my life so far. Provided I live through all these and if I don’t, ‘bang’ goes the gun and I’m dead. You don’t need to worry about dying or when you will die anymore. Anyway, thank God we are still here, although I always have this fear that I may eventually not hear from Dad….

Well, at least something ‘good’ happened last week. My father sent me a telegram to say that the Germans were temporarily delayed. The Polish had cut off one of the bridges which was above the water. They did not have boats prepared at that point of time. I thought that they would be sensible enough to send boats here. Instead, the Germans brought materials from their reinforcement supplies to build the bridge. It took them a few days to build the bridge back. It was a funny-looking bridge, made of wood. Well, at least it delayed them for some time.

Today, the Germans have just finished building the bridge. I heard they charged across to the opposite river bank since they wanted to catch up with lost time. I thought that the bridge would have broken under their heavy stomping. It didn’t break, however. Once they reached the other side of the river, they massacred all the Jews they could find. Luckily, my family was at the eastern part of Poland, while the Germans were at the west. I am still very furious about what had happened today. They should not have attacked us because we had every right to stop them from coming and this is our country! They were the ones who started the war, not us. Well, only for now. I am resolute my father and his troops will turn in victory for Poland soon.

If only the Germans would stop their attack. If we had made some peace treaty with them, then life could have been much nicer. I would rather have peace than to live in fear during a war like that. Without conflicts and fights, we will all be at peace, and fights will not happen. Before the Germans invaded us, we could go out freely. Although we knew Jews weren’t really welcomed outside Poland, we were safe at home. However, that has all changed. Nobody trust us and we trust no one. We keep a very low profile, for we are among the few Jewish families living in this neighbourhood. We want our dad back and see us alive!

Day 2, 4th January, Thursday. Rainy.
When it comes to Hitler, he is actually quite a charismatic man. He was able to persuade and convince the Germans to join him, and fight against other countries to win fame and land. All he used was just words. On top of that, he also threatened them that if they did not follow him, they would get killed. However, he is still a man with charisma. Too bad he committed his life to something that was bad for him.

Nevertheless, I am still very worried for my father, with very little hope for him. I feel that I should have been a better boy to him before the war, before he went to fight. I should not have quarreled with my father when I wanted to eat at my friend’s place, instead of the usual food I eat at home everyday. I wish I had a time machine to do that.

My mother has decided to meet up with the other Jewish neighbours at the underground ‘spy-box’ at about 10 o’clock tonight. They have to discuss some things, like how to communicate more often with their husbands, and about finding new hiding places, after what had happened today…

There was a surprise house raid. The one that I was nearly killed in, if not for my sheer luck. Fortunately, my family was close to the ‘spy-box’, and could hide in there in the nick of time.

One of my neighbours’ houses was raided by German soldiers, and I was there at that point in time. We were playing with some empty bullet shells that my friend and I had collected. We were playing, when suddenly someone shouted ‘Heil Hitler’ outside the house. The people tried crashing down our door with bayonets, and succeeded. My neighbour had already run to his ‘spy-box’. I was trying desperately to keep all the bullet shells because they were the memories of my friends. Once the soldiers crashed in, they saw me, but they didn’t care about me. After they had fired into their air, they grabbed me by the shoulders. One of them tried shooting me, but there were no more bullets left in the gun! They muttered something under their breath, and then stomped out of the house without me. Phew. What a lucky escape. I’m a Jew, I’m supposed to die, yet I lived. My life must have been spared for some reason unknown to me.

I think that Hitler should have been taught some values when he was young, like kindness and thoughtfulness for others. If he had spared a thought for us, Germany would not be in war with us and the countries around us. Jews or not, aren’t we all human and my dad used to say that all humans should be equal since they are fed on the same diet of rice and live on the same earth.

I miss my dad. I miss the days before the Germans invaded our country. We used to help one another and share food and supplies with neighbours, Jews and non-Jews alike. We did not judge people by their race or religion. Now, every household is short on something yet nobody wants to help one another. Now, each person would rather hold on and not lose even what little he has…

Day 3, 5th January. Friday, Misty, to the extent that I cannot see anything.
Yippee! I lived through yesterday. I could have been killed in the raid. I feel happy to live to this day. I received a letter from my father delivered to our house too! The messenger must have risked his life to make such a delivery and I am eternally grateful to this unknown person.

My father told me about a boy called Farcjserhagane, a 20-year-old German soldier. He parachuted down from the enemy plane to Poland. However, there were some Polish soldiers patrolling that area, and caught Farcjserhagane. He was disarmed, and sent to the war camp. Some of them were shouting ‘KILL HIM’ while some shouted ‘GIVE US INFORMATION ABOUT THE GERMAN CAMP AND STRATEGIES!’

However, there was a group of soldiers who stood out and shouted, “Stop it! If you were caught by the enemy, would you want to be killed or tortured?”

The whole group fell silent. They muttered something under their breath and released Farcjserhagane.

I am very amazed by what that group of soldiers had done to save a live. It took them courage to stand out and speak up against their own people, even a whole group of people who were of higher rank than him.

Through my father’s letter, I saw the humane side of people who would put aside differences and give others a second chance. My dad had always told us that every one deserves equal access to all opportunities in life because “we are all fed on the same rice grains”.

To put aside our differences in war times as such requires people to have “big hearts”, and stand up to the true test of integrity, thoughtfulness and discernment. You have to put yourself in another person’s shoes, and spare a thought for the consequences of your action. Also, you can’t right a wrong with another wrong. The more people we fight and kill in the war does not justify having the war to begin with, let alone ending it sooner...

Day 4, 6th January. Saturday. Sunny, hope it is a good omen.
After the ‘surprise’ I had at my neighbour’s house on Friday, I have decided not to meet at her house, but at the spy-box of my house. We never really liked to go to the spy-box because it was dark, stuffy and SMELLY. It’s never really been cleaned out and has become very damp with the cold winter. It was pitch black inside. However, we’ve been in there often enough since the war started, so we’ve developed a better sense of directions within the spy-box. We had the faintest possible light from a small candle and played all afternoon. We played with my collection including bullet shells, broken knife hilts and some broken rifle parts found in the woods some time back.
In our make-believe game, the bullet shells were tokens. If you won in a round, you will get one bullet shell, until there are no more shells left. The game went like this: you had to aim at your opponent. You would then throw one of the knife hilts you had at the opponent. The broken rifle parts were for hand-to-hand combat, or for tripping people.

This game gave us the feeling of the soldiers at the battlefield. We learnt how to fend off blows and react in a faster way. The game trained our reflexes, and we imagined ourselves being ready to fight for Poland when the need arises.

Well, no raids today. Peaceful. Days like this I wish for harmony to arrive soon too.

Day 5, 7th January. Sunday. Breezy with sun. Hope it continues like this.
Ah, this has been an eventful day, unlike yesterday.

My neighbour invited me to a gathering at an underground attic one kilometre away from our house. We met some friends along the way, and brought them with us to the gathering. For safety reasons, different batches of people kept a safe distance from one another to avoid arousing suspicion.

The few I knew who joined the gathering were: Rezteich, Gaezjex, Zdejonsiw and Tywhersd (we are all Jews). I found out later it was a Christian gathering, and they were all singing praises and hymns. They could not hold the gathering in public because this was not allowed during Hitler’s reign.

Our leading pastor was a man called Rezseight. He told us the story of Paul and Silas, two characters in the Bible. He told us how the two of them continued to pray and sing praises to God while in prison. They were jailed for being zealous for the Lord and the authorities tried to set them up and have them thrown into prison. The story encouraged me greatly because I felt that we (especially us being Jews) are like prisoners of war; we do not know our fate. The example of Paul and Silas made me realize that they continue to look to God for help and He created a miracle when the chains broke and Paul and Silas were freed.

After his preaching, Rezseight passed some papers to us. They were not in good condition. I looked at the paper, and realised they were torn from the Bible. I learnt that they were torn because if anyone is caught with a whole Bible, the German soldiers would kill him. Hence, Bibles had to be smuggled, disguised and hidden in their shirts or socks.

I think God must have been watching over us today. If we had been spotted, we would have died in the infamous gas chambers.

The fellowship was a peaceful one and Rezseight ended it with benediction for all. Rezseight also explained that although God is a God of love, he has allowed good and bad things to happen, including the present war. He said wars are realization of the prophecies in the Bible. He also said that Christians should not have to fear death because God has promised them eternal life. It is more important that our soul does not die with our bodies. I will tell my brother and mother more when I get home.

I will pray to God and ask that the opposing countries can make peace. I hope God will bring my father home soon, so that he wouldn’t be fighting undercover or at the frontline anymore.

***REFLECTIONS***

I selected this piece of work because I could act as one of the Jews in ‘The Nazi War’ journal. This was because I knew the topic pretty well. I knew how a Jew at that time would have felt and reacted to different risks and situations. I also knew about the history of the Nazi War fairly well, so I did not have to spend too much time to research on the topic. However, the main reason I chose this piece of work was that I could relate my ‘The Nazi War’ journal to many values I have learnt.

I wanted to create this piece of work for my portfolio because I wanted to share how life was like then, and how I would have felt. As I wrote this story, I felt like a bird, trapped in a cage and tortured. Not only does the prisoner not have freedom, he also gets tortured – physically and mentally. I also wanted to show how one war could lead to another, because each losing country would want revenge on the winning country and this becomes a vicious cycle.

As I wrote the journal on “The Nazi War”, I learnt some strengths and weaknesses about myself. I would like to share these as well what I have learnt from this exercise.

ü MY Strengths

About the portfolio style I chose
· I could write in the 1st person point of view. I like it because I am good in writing from this perspective.
· I could write about anything I wanted, because I was writing a journal and could express almost feelings and thoughts I wanted.

About the story I made up
· I could generate interesting ideas for the story. For example, the story about Farcjserhagane was one of them.
· I included my opinions and thoughts. This made my account original.

About myself
· I could act as one of the Jews in ‘The Nazi War’ journal. As I knew the topic pretty well, I could effectively put myself in his shoes. I knew how a Jew at that time would have felt and reacted to different risks and situations

About the topic itself
· I also knew about the history of the topic on Nazi War fairly well, so I did not have to spend too much time to research on the Nazi War.
· I could relate my ‘The Nazi War’ journal to the social studies values I have learnt very well.

ü MY Weaknesses

About the portfolio style I chose
§ In this journal style, I tended to go off the point from The Nazi War into story-telling of one’s childhood.
§ This was an old-time event, so there were no such things as Gameboys, Xbox or fast food. A few times, I have accidentally included those stuff into the story. I think it was I have taken modern technology and luxuries for granted.

About the story I made
· As I said, I tended to include hi-tech electronic and luxurious stuff as part of my day-to-day account .

About myself
· I tended to make point-of-view errors. I think that happened because I did not go through the war myself. Writing the journal would have been easier if I had lived through the war, and I would have been spontaneiouso in my writing. J
· I did not plan properly on how my journal would end, so
· The original draft of my journal was way too long.
· Therefore, it took me a very long time to correct it.

About the topic itself
· It was quite difficult to write about the good side of Hitler, because he is known more for being a bad person.

ü What I have learned
I should plan to start with and write a shorter journal in my next attempt. Even though writing a long story might make it look better, a longer story will mean: spending more time to write and edit it, and potentially mean more mistakes or erroneous assumptions with facts that I may not be able to verify.

When I plan, I should think of how the story would end too. Better still, to begin with an end in mind. Without an ending in mind, I could be going round and round in circles. As there is a time limit to the project completion, I will then run a high risk of ending my story abruptly. Also, I should not write off point, as it will cause digression of the story. I should also remember not to include stuff that were never invented then, as that would make the story’s facts wrong.

I decided to improve and revise the parts which contained wrong information, like the part where I said about ‘Xbox’. I also revised the grammar mistakes, like tenses. I also revised parts where I used the wrong description words. (E.g. when I said that Hitler was a good leader, it sounded as if I was on Hitler’s side) This was wrong because in the story, the Jews were against Hitler. When I revised it, I used ‘charismatic’. That word did not make me sound as if I was a “betrayer”.

It was the first time I wrote journals in a portfolio assignment. I guessed that when I write journals, they tended to become long, and would usually means ‘more mistakes’. However, I could express my feelings better in such a journal.

If I had more time to complete this piece of work, I would have taken the opportunity to use better words to describe my views more aptly too.

I discovered that I was a naturally good writer, and I could organize very well. I discovered that I could make my story interesting easily, without having to think much.

The second draft is surely better than the first. The second draft has fewer time mistakes (Xbox in the past?) and fewer grammar mistakes.

Thank-you reader, for reading my portfolio and I hope you enjoy it!!!

Coolies' Clubs - a Composition

2006-10-05T01:46:00.001-07:00

I had been selected to join the Gifted Education Programme (GEP)! My parents were blabbering about it, as though I had won the ‘Cleanest Room in the World’ contest. Having the cleanest room is near impossible for me because little habits like throwing my clothes around would have disqualified me. Anyway, my friends were elated aboutfor my successful enrolment into the GEP. However, I was not really excited by the fact that I was going to transfer to a different school that offered the GEP. I wanted to stay with my friends.

It was my first day at the new school. I got to know my friends a little bit, and I got scolded for putting a dead earthworm on her my form teacher’s chair. It was only for a little fun. I also got to know a club known as “The Coolies”. As soon as I heard it, I decided to join the club. I took it as a good opportunity to know my classmates better. The club was going to start its activities the next day.

That afternoon, I decided to tell Mum about the club. “Clubs are good. I joined a club last time, when I was at your age. I got to know a lot of my friends better, and I still keep in touch with some of them. You still remember the time you went to the ‘Lend-a-hand Club’? It was fun, right?”

I nodded vigourously.

The next day, after school (which I thought boring), the club members went to one of the classrooms to hold our meeting. The leader was Martin, someone from my class. He gave out some crumpled sheets of paper. This was printed on each sheet:

“These are the rules of the club:
“Everyone will listen to the leaders of the club.
“No one will talk about Christianity, unless you want to criticize it.
“On the day of the protest, no one is to leave school for any reason.
“No one will question anything the leaders have said.
“Christians are not allowed to join this club.”

I looked at my paper. What’s the protest? I looked at everyone else around me. No one seemed to be shocked by the rules. No one, except me. I gasped with horror, and show a horrified look. Martin show saw my horrified look, so he asked me, “Yes, Ryan? Do you have problems with the rules? If not, let’s continue.”

I quickly muttered ‘no problem’. If I had blurted out to the rest what I was thinking, they would have laughed at me and despised me. Still, I was very confused. I had always thought that a club had to have fun in it, like the previous club I had joined in my previous school. The club that I had joined before was for the students in the school to know and help one another in homework and other stuff. I remembered the birthday party that had been held for me. I remembered the drinks and pizza we had at the party. I remembered the games we had. I even remembered the keychain and storybook which were given to me on my birthday. I had also tied the keychain to the zip of my bag. I squeezed the orange rugby ball-keychain tightly.

When the rest finished reading the rules, Martin started to ask who the Christians were. I looked around. No hands were raised. However, before I realised it, I had raised mine. I was too quick. Why did you raise your hands, Ryan? Think of an excuse now, Ryan. Think.

Martin walked to me and kicked me on the back. He then dragged me out like a corpse. Without hesitation, I shouted at him and gave the excuse that I had actually wanted to go to the toilet. Martin then allowed me to join the club again.

I sat on the toilet, thinking: Good job, Ryan, for tricking Martin. I did not know what to do. I wished that the ground could swallow me up, and I also felt like crying. I did not know what to do: to continue with the club or stop joining it. Finally, I made up my mind. I decided to stop being a club member. Christianity is my faith, I will stand by it.

At once, I decided to quit the club. I went back to the classroom. I walked in, and kicked Martin hard on the shin. Everybody gasped in horror. Martin clenched his fists and told me grimly, “If nobody was here, I would have boxed you up. Tomorrow, you better look out for my fist, dog.”

I tried to be defiant, and shouted with a sarcastic salute, “Yes, sir.” Some of the club members gasped, others laughed.

“Defiance will not get you anywhere. Watch out tomorrow. As for now, you’re fired from this club!” Martin shouted. Suddenly he stood up, and slapped me hard on the cheek.

“You don’t need to fire me, I have already quitquitted!” I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the classroom. As I walked back home, I thought of my actions.. I began to regret the fact that I had kicked Martin on the shin. I began to regret the fact that I had acted defiantly. Tomorrow will not be a good day after all. However, it was no use crying over spilled milk. Rubbing my sore cheek, I walked briskly till I reached home.

The next day, I went to school with a homemade Nninchaku to defend myself, just like how the Stegosaurus defends itself from the Tyrannosaurus Rex. When I went to school the next day, I looked around cautiously True enough, he jumped out from his hiding place and tried to box hit me. Fortunately for me, I had the ninchaku in my hands, so I used it to whack Martin’s hand, even before he could box me. I took out my ninchaku, and whacked him hard even before he could hit me. Martin then ran away, howling in pain. Fortunately, he did not whine to the teacher about this incident; I think his pride and possibly sense of guilt must have stopped him from doing that.

However, for the rest of the day, everyone was all laughing and asking me about why I did not join the club, why I believed in Christ, why I acted so defiantly towards Martin and why I did what I did at the first club meeting. I did not feel like answering any of the barrages of silly questions.

The next morning, I went to school. Everything was normal. However, during the Math class, I kept feeling wet paper pellets hitting my head. Finally, I could not take it. I walked up to the teacher and asked, “Is there something with this classroom? I keep feeling wet paper pellets against my head.”

The Math teacher laughed and ignored me. I still felt the wet paper pellets. I looked around, trying to catch the culprit. However, I could not catch him. Soon, the Math teacher sent me out, claiming that I was disrupting the class with my whines.

Soon, I found out from one of my friends that Martin had actually shot the wet pellets at me during the Math class. He thought it was funny, but I did not think so. I told the teacher what I had heard from my friend. The teacher scolded Martin, and sent him out of class for the whole day!

After that incident, Martin never bullied me again. He also closed down his club because his friends alienated him after he got sent out of class. As a result, nobody attended his club.

Now, I still join clubs, but I will always ask them organizer what the club is about, before joining the club. I did do this, so that I could stop history from repeating itself again.

Adventurous Morning - A Composition

2006-10-05T01:46:00.000-07:00

My house was the famous Manor Terrace, a big and spacious three-storey terrace at 56 Manor Lane in Illinois, the USA. Our porch was decorated with stone lions lining each step. It had one big hall, designed with decorative mistletoe leaves flanking the walls of the living room, and Morris wallpaper that reminded me of the Victorian times

There was also the back garden. It had a pond, where we kept our Koi fish. There were two separate patches of soil too, one for growing flowers, the other for growing vegetables. We even had a water tank built for our six terrapins!

Not far away from my terrace, there was a forest. It was separated from the terrace by a field. My father and I occasionally went there to do some tree-climbing or treasure-hunting. We only played near the field. We never really went deeper into the forest to explore. I often asked my parents to let me go and explore, and they often said yes. However, because of my tightly packed university schedule, I was unable to explore the forest.

It was a cloudy morning, just right for playing soccer. Sinc3e my parents had gone for business trips overseas, so I felt pretty bored. I called up my friends to come and play soccer, and they agreed immediately. I also reminded them to bring their revision notes for the university exam the next afternoon.

At 8 p.m., when my friends had finished revising for their examination, they decided to leave. I bade them goodbye.

I went back to my study to revise one last time for my university exam. At 11 p.m., while I was still burning the midnight oil, I suddenly heard a loud thud at the front gate. Many things began racing in my mind. Are there thieves around? Murderers?

I looked out of the window. I could see a man at the gate. Except for the dark mask that he was wearing, I could not see any other feature under the moonlight. The loud thud must have been him trying to force the door open.

I quickly ran to my room, and took a golf stick. I stood beside the door. I would wait for the thief to break in, and then smash him at the back with the golf stick. I stood there, feeling very excited.

Suddenly, the man just came into our house. I had not even noticed it! Without hesitation, I swung my golf stick full force towards him. He fell down, clutching his private part, groaning and moaning. Oops, I thought. I must have whacked the guy at the wrong place. Nevertheless, I still ran to the phone, and called for the police to come to my house immediately.

Just then, someone grabbed me from behind, unexpectedly. I turned around. It was the masked thief! I swung my golf stick at the thief again. Smash!!! – he fell flat on the floor again, grimacing in pain.

Feeling proud of myself, I just kept standing at the window, hoping for the police to come immediately.

They still had not come. As I was still looking, I suddenly fell down. The thief had kicked me. Instinctively, I grabbed out for the golf stick, which I was holding, just to get another kick. The thief then raised up the golf stick, and was about to whack me, when---

“Alright! The game’s up! Hand your weapons over!” I could hear a man shouting. Feeling a bit relieved, I raised up my head a little bit. I could see two valiant men, dressed in blue. The policemen!!!

I started to raise my head more, but gasped in horror when I heard the thief say, “No, not yet. Currently, I have a hostage in my hands. If anyone of you tries to shoot me, then you’d better say goodbye to this little boy. So, hand your weapons over. Yours, not mine…” The thief then laughed sinisterly.

The policemen handed their guns over to the dark masked thief. “Now, would you care to move out of the way?” the policemen walked out of the way. The thief, still holding the golf club, waving it under me, laughed and said sarcastically, “Thank you.” He then threw the golf stick on the wooden floor.

Looking around, I suddenly saw something. It was shining in the moonlight. The revolver that the police had handed to him! I breathed in deeply, and I grabbed the revolver out from the thief’s pocket. The thief turned around. He looked at me. He took out his other revolver. He pointed it at me and pressed the trigger. I winced, hoping for a miracle.

I looked around. Nothing had happened to me! I looked at the thief. He looked stumped and puzzled. Elated, I quickly passed the revolver I was holding to the police. The thief had no choice, but to surrender to the police.

The police handcuffed the thief, and told me what had happened. “We were also involved in a robbery earlier. We had wasted our bullets there. So, the gun that the thief took out has no bullets!”

We all laughed. The thief just stood there glumly, shaking his head.

After that, the policemen brought the thief to their headquarters.

After thinking about what had really happened earlier, I went back to studying.

I could not wait to tell all my friends about the incident.

Lost in the Forest

2006-10-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

Mark was one who had the interests of a typical boy. Even though he was 14, he had dreams of becoming an explorer. He dreamt of climbing mountains, finding Yetis in jungles and he had many other dreams. He was also often clumsy. Frequently, when he came home from school, he looked like one who had come out from the bin. He always had an excuse for that, like ‘I was catching beetles in the bushes’ and so on. However, Mark’s father did not encourage Mark to explore and be adventurous, so Mark was often reprimanded by his parents.

Daniel was Mark’s father. He was 47. Unlike Mark, he never wanted to look untidy. He was even called ‘Tidy Guy’ by his colleagues. He had gold hair and a thick moustache that resembled Hitler’s. Daniel was a professional pianist.

Bryan was Mark’s older brother. He was the kind of person you would never expect in a boy. He liked playing with Barbie dolls and tea houses. He liked to read and play girly stuff, even at the age of 19. However, he had wanted to be a mechanic when he grew up.

“Dad, can I explore a mountain or forest by myself, please?” Mark asked Daniel, looking up hopefully at him. “Please…”

Daniel looked down at Mark, and sighed. “No, and when I say no, I mean no. Now, get back to your math homework now. Or else…”

Mark hung his head down silently and walked away. He had been trying to persuade Daniel to let him explore a place of his own choice without getting reprimanded. He knew what ‘or else’ meant. He had been hearing the same phrase since the day he had transferred to his new school. He had transferred because he had gotten into a gifted program. His new friends were talking about how brave their fathers were and how they were like their fathers. Since then, Mark had been trying his best to prove himself to his friends that he was brave.

Mark walked to his room and lay down on his bed, gazing up at the ceiling. When would my father let me explore? After five minutes, he went to do his homework, sighing occasionally…

A few weeks later, Mark held a birthday party. There were so many games and so much food. Mark and his friends were enjoying themselves to the fullest. When the birthday cake came, a birthday song was sung and Mark blew the candles out, and muttered a wish. It was a memorable day for Mark.

After everyone had left, Daniel called Mark to his room, and asked Mark, “What was the wish you uttered just now? I will try my best to fulfill that wish, to make your birthday a memorable one.”

Mark hesitated. He did not know whether to speak or not. Finally, he blurted, “I wished for independence. I wished that I could explore the world around me, instead of being forced to stay at home. I want my freedom!” Mark suddenly changed from being happy to angry.

Daniel looked at Mark, and shook his head sadly. “Ok. I promised it, and I will do it. You can go exploring. Just don’t blame me if you get injured or hurt.”

Mark could not believe his ears. Daniel had finally let him explore the forest by himself! He could imagine himself climbing Mount Hengen with his friends. He imagined himself climbing at a faster rate than his friends. He imagined his friends bowing down to him as if he were a god. He imagined himself being carried by his friends on stage. He imagined his friends being his servants.

However, his imagination was spoilt when Daniel laid down the conditions to what Mark could explore. He would be exploring the secluded forest nearby. He would be exploring by himself, and that was a good thing to him. This was not all. He could not boast to his friends about this, or he would be in trouble. This was because Daniel did not want Mark to make a nuisance of himself. He did not want Mark to show off, as that would show that he was not humble.

Still, he could go exploring. He tried to look as happy as he could, although he still looked glum to Daniel.

“Why do you look so upset, Mark? Is there anything wrong?” Daniel looked at Mark grimly.

“No, it’s nothing. I just don’t believe that you would let me have my independence,” Mark said, grinning. Mark knew that his lie would not have made any sense at all, because his looks and expressions had betrayed him. Still, his lie was half-true. Mark was happy about being given independence. He was just angry about the conditions that Daniel had laid down for him.

Daniel put his arm around Mark. He told Mark that boys had to have independence someday.

It was the day of exploring. Mark and his father ran to their car with Mark’s brother, Bryan. His father came because he had to fetch Mark back home after exploring. Mark was not too happy about that. Nevertheless, Mark could hardly contain his excitement, while Bryan was sitting at the back, playing with his newest Barbie doll.

However, the car broke down halfway. Coincidentally, it broke down at the edge of another forest, instead of the intended forest. Daniel called for the mechanic, while Mark ran off into the forest with a notebook for sketching. Mark was elated.

Mark was walking around, looking at the spiders and monkeys. He made sketches of the animals. He even noticed an animal that he had never come across before – the Proboscis Monkey! He also saw many trees in the forest that he had never read of.

Mark was walking along. Suddenly, he tripped over a stone. Or was it a stone? Mark tried to brush off the dirt on him. He could feel twigs and soil. He looked around him. There was darkness. For the first time, he could not see a thing.

After a few seconds, the world around Mark started to brighten. He looked around again. He could see walls around him. The walls were made of sand and mud. He tried to think where he might be. All of a sudden, he gasped in horror. It was a bear pit or a bear trap that he was in!

He shouted for help for a long time. After what seemed like eternity, Mark could hear footsteps somewhere above him. He looked up, and shouted for help again.

The footsteps came closer. Mark was very relieved. This time when he looked up, he saw something that looked like a bear. He shrieked.

The creature looked at him. It growled and crawled away. Mark shivered like jelly. He dared not look up. Suddenly, Mark heard a gunshot. It was followed by a growl, then silence.

Mark could hear footsteps again. This time, he looked up and saw a forest ranger. The ranger took a large, strong stick and hauled Mark out of the bear trap. The ranger could see that Mark’s leg was limped after his fall into the pit.

The forest ranger helped limping Mark back to the car. Mark could see his brother looking at how the mechanic was repairing the car. Daniel was looking at the mechanics fixing the car, with no interest at all. When Mark caught sight of his father, he shouted immediately, “Daddy!”

Daniel looked back, and ran towards Mark. He wanted to know why Mark was in that condition and the forest ranger explained to Daniel.

After the car was fixed, Daniel drove Mark to the hospital as quickly as he could. Mark was nursed back to health after a week’s stay at the hospital.

Mark was not allowed to explore by himself again. Instead, he was allowed to explore with his friends! Well, at least Mark could explore wherever he wanted… Mark began imagining his friends bowing down to him, praying to him, worshipping him again…

Drugged Husband

2006-10-05T01:41:00.000-07:00

Mr. Walter liked keeping all his work stuff in a drawer. When you opened the drawer, you would not expect sheets of paper falling out. Instead, you would see neat stacks of paper, categorized. He always bolted the door, just in case someone came in, and mademake a din. Sometimes, he would even hang the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door.

However, he also had his own disadvantages. He had chosen a wrong group of friends when he was in school. Since then, he had always gone out with his friends, and would come back with the foul-smelling odour in his mouth (he liked smoking), and would also smell of alcohol. Now, his friends had the new ‘fashion’: takingeating drugs. As you can see, Mr. Walter was one who couldwould get influenced by others easily. Within a short period of time, he soon got hooked onto drugs.

Mr. Walter not only became a drug addict. He was also a bank robber. He did so because he lost a lot of money in the jackpotgambling, and had to pay off his debt. However, he was soon caught red-handed by the security policeguards there. He was then handed to the police. Even those friends that were with him all along were disgusted by his behaviour. They said that it was not a gentlemanly behaviour, even though they were not gentlemen themselves. Luckily, an investment company offered to take him as a worker, or else he would have been a beggar on the streets.

It must have happened on the 25th. Unlike other days, when Mrs. Walter would have made the strong tea that Mr. Walter loved, todaythat day was different. It was completely different. Mr. Walter offered to make his own coffee and meals. He said, with a cheerful grin on his face, that he wanted to let Mrs. Walter have a rest.

However, when he made his own coffeetea, he made the teacoffee weaker, and added a bag of powder into it. Holding the cup, with excitement written all over his face, he walk-ran to his ‘office’ and poured the burning hot mixture into his throat. You see, Mr. Walter had decided to work from home. If he worked from his workplace, few people would have liked him, because of the crime that he had committed. If the people were really hostile towards him, he would feel frightened, and would not do his work well. After drinking the mixture, he made one more cup and drank it. After that, he went back to his work. The powder that he had eatentaken made him feel drowsy, with hallucinations happening in his head.

When he finished the powder, he called his friends and asked them for more of the powder. The friends did not treat him very well, as Mr. Walter could see. Nevertheless, they still gave him the powder on another night.

Mrs. Walter had not seen her husband for a long time, exceptsince when he came out to make his meals. Mrs. Walter wanted to know what had happened to him. She felt worried for Mr. Walter.

Tip-toeing, she opened the door quietly, and glanced around the room quickly. There, she saw Mr. Walter. He had his head down on the desk, with the telephone hanging from the desk to the floor. Mrs. Walter walked slowly towards her husband’s drawer. She opened it. She took out everything she could find.

“Pencils, cigarettes, beer caps, papers, and… what’s this?” she whispered to herself. She took the bag of powder stuff up, and saw the label there. ‘MEXICAN BLACK TARXTC’, it said in fine print. ‘XTC’. At once she knew that it was heroinecstasy. ‘Mexican black tarXTC’ was another nameword for heroin. She gasped, not in horror, but in astonishment. How could he do it without telling me, she thought with a grim and quizzical look on her face. She shook Mr. Walter up, and asked him what that powder was.

“What’s this? Eraser shavings? I don’t think so. It looks more like ecstasy to me… Come on, give up. I will not stick up for this.” Mrs. Walter asked her husband.

Mr. Walter looked at Mrs. Walter and begged for mercy. However, Mrs. Walter did not stick up for this. Mr. Walter was brought to the judge, where he revealed his companions: Mark, Jonny and Gowy. They had no choice, but to go to the electrocution chair. Mr. Walter had really made a wrong choice of friends… No wonder he did not want me to make his meals. What a cheek! He’s really kept it in the dark. Ah! That’s what I’ll do, she thought, with a mischievous grin and a twinkle in her eyes.

She took out a dead beetle in their garden, and placed in the drawer. She knew the man she thought was the bravest of all would shriek in horror on seeing a beetle.

One hour later, Mr. Walter woke up. He decided to eat more of the heroin, to make him feel high. He did not know that heroin was making him sleepy. He thought that he was just tired. He opened the drawer eagerly, but shrieked, with his fist clenched, “Mrs. Veronica Walter! How could you have --”

“Oh yeah. And what was the powder in your drawer. Eraser shavings? No, I don’t think so. Heroin seems more likely.” Mrs. Walter answered back, with a smirk. She ran to Mr. Walter’s ‘office’. She looked at him smugly.

“Err… well… actually, err… yes…” Mr. Walter made a clean breast of it. He looked away slowly. “Can you please don’t tell the police? I will turn over a new leaf…” he looked at his wife with his best-boy-in-the-world look, with fear in his eyes.

Mrs. Walter thought for a while, but she had already decided to send Mr. Walter to the police. She sent him to the police, and the judge gave him the death penalty. Mr. Walter then revealed his friends. He had Hobson’s choice, together with his friends, went to the electrocution chair. Mr. Walter had really made the wrong choice of friends...

Only a Prank??? - a Composition

2006-10-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

Many teachers disliked Frank. ‘Go Out!’ was commonly shouted in the class. This all happened because of Frank’s mischievous behaviour. Everyday, the class would have someone screaming or shrieking. This would always follow shouts from the teacher. Despite several warnings, Frank still kept his mischievous behaviour and refused to turn over a new leaf. Frank was also looked down by his teachers as he always brought the class average marks down.

Jessie, Frank’s classmate, was the opposite of Frank. She always topped the class in exams and everyone wanted to be in her group. She was diligent and the teachers nicknamed her ‘the role model’. However, she acted more like a boy in her actions – her classmates often called her ‘tomboy’.

It was another normal, boring day for Frank. The teacher had called him out of the class as usual, and even held him back for detention. It was only a prank, Frank thought. Still, Frank tried to think how he had changed from a diligent boy to a mischievous one now. Frank sat down near the steps, trying to recall what had happened to him five years ago.

He was only eight years old then. His classmates had been playing some ‘Truth or Dare’ game. Somehow, with a stroke of bad luck, he had to take up a dare. He had to put a pin on his former teacher’s seat. At first, he had tried to say no, but his friends taunted him. Not wanting to be called ‘coward’ again, he did it. Luckily, he had gotten away with it. After that, he picked up courage to do more pranks. This year was not a lucky year for him. The teachers somehow had a camera behind their heads!

Frank was still deep in his thoughts, laughing to himself, when he suddenly felt a kick on his back. He jolted and saw his friend, Tim. Frank glared at him, and kicked him back.

Tim asked Frank, “Aren’t you coming? You know, that group project?”

Frank tried to recall what the group project was about, and finally remembered. After his detention was over, he walked to Jessie’s house by himself. She was their team-mate.

When they reached Jessie’s house, Jessie and Tim had already started on the group project. Since nobody paid much notice to his presence, Frank merely sat there and built castles in the air. After two hours, the team finished the group project. As Tim was hungry, he went out to buy some food.

Once Tim had gone out, Frank asked Jessie, “You want to play a prank on Tim? Don’t be a chicken…”

Jessie looked at Frank, she did not reply. Frank asked her again, but she remained silent. Finally, Frank grinned and said, “You have two choices. Either you play a prank on Tim, or you get into trouble. When I tell your father about the incident, you know…” Frank laughed a little.

Jessie suddenly looked up. I should not have told him about this. Stupid me.. She remembered what had happened that day, when she stole money from her teacher. She did not know whether to be Frank’s accomplice, or get the cane. She thought hard and finally decided to play the prank on Tim. (the motive for stealing will revealed later) (I included that part before)

After Jessie agreed, Frank smiled and said, “Ok. Now, you fill that bucket with water,” Frank pointed to the bucket at the door, “fill that and get me a length of rope. Also get me a ladder. I will do the rest, don’t worry,”

Jessie nodded. Taking the bucket, she ran to the bathroom. After that, she got the rope and ladder from the storeroom, and gave it to Frank. Frank took the rope and tied it to the bucket of water. He then tied the other end of the rope to the hook on the door ceiling He propped up the ladder and after much heaving he managed to keep the door ajar, and put the bucket of water on top. “When Tim opens the door, the water would…” Frank left it hanging there, with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Knock! came a sound. Jessie and Frank sat at the table, trying not to laugh. They could hear Tim shouting and cheering for something. Tim was about to open the door. “Hi guys, I’ve just—“

SPLASH! Tim slipped and shouted, “What’s this? Is—“Tim went unconscious. Even Jessie’s dog got frightened by the noise and leapt away, barking.

Frank looked at Jessie, and laughed out loud. He soon stopped when he saw something on Tim’s face. It was blood! Frank went over hurriedly to Tim and shook him hard. Oh no, what have I done? Frank wished that he had not done the prank.

Frank nudged Jessie. “We got to go now!!! I’m not taking the blame for this… I don’t care if you get into trouble… Bye,” Frank was about to run out of the door, but SPLASH (when the bucket was tipped over, the water spilled, thus creating a puddle, resulting in the SPLASH) again. Frank slipped and fell onto Tim. “No…”

Jessie did not know what to do. If I run for the bedroom, I will get trapped there, because I can’t go anywhere else. If I run for the door… maybe. I could try that. She ran out.

Just then, Jessie’s parents came back from work. Jessie froze at her spot. Jessie’s parents came in and saw Frank and Tim lying on the floor. “What happened to them? You’re going to be held responsible for that…”

Jessie trembled as she blurted out what had happened. She also admitted to stealing the teacher’s money, because she needed a file and textbook.

Luckily, the blood on Tim’s face was only caused by a bruise and eventually healed with a scar after a while. However, Jessie had to pay up for the stolen money, and she also got caned by her parents.
Since that incident, Frank had become a better boy. He did not play any more pranks. He did not want history to repeat itself...

Broken Thermometers- a Composition

2006-10-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

Richard and Gregory were brothers. Richard was twelve years old, and Gregory was seven years old. They went to the same school, ate the same food, and even dressed the same way. Richard and Gregory were more like twins. Only their personalities were different.

Richard was a boy who did not want anyone to disturb him, especially if he was doing his work. If you disturbed him, he would either shout at you or drop what he was holding. He liked to work indoors, preferably in a room with soundproof walls. He had shortcomings too. He always laughed at others when they were losing, and the teacher would detain him after school. He liked to pass negative remarks about other people and had to stay back after school to complete the work he could not complete during class time.

Gregory was the opposite of Richard. Gregory was affable and liked making friends, and he loved crowded places. He was a boy who always asked questions to clarify his doubts. He always stayed calm in frustrating situations. He was the kind of boy that was straightforward. If he did something wrong, he would admit it, unlike his brother, Richard. He liked jabbing people in the stomach to surprise them.

Richard stayed back after school, as usual. He had to finish the science experiment with some other friends, because he had been taking his classmates’ thermometers away from their setups.

However, the detention that day was longer than usual. Richard’s mother and brother, as usual, were waiting for Richard outside the school gate. Richard’s mother was getting impatient. She asked Gregory to go to Richard’s class, and see what was happening. Gregory obeyed his mother instantly.

Gregory went up to Richard’s class. He found Richard conducting an experiment. Richard looks very glum, Gregory thought. Maybe I should surprise him. Gregory went up to Richard, and poked him in the stomach. Richard jumped up in surprise. Gregory poked him again in the stomach. This time, Richard accidentally dropped his thermometer on the table. The thermometer was broken. Richard looked at the table. He then looked at Gregory. He looked at the thermometer again. He face turned beetroot red. He clenched his fists. He shouted to his brother, “Look at what you have done! You are really a bad egg. A good-for-nothing.”

Gregory looked scared. He clasped his hands tightly. He did not know what to do or say. Finally, he apologized to Richard. Gregory explained to his brother that he was only livening things up. Richard, however, did not accept his brother’s apology.

Being straightforward and true to his honest self, Gregory decided to tell the teacher about the broken thermometer. Richard thought about it. Hmm… maybe not. I’ll get into more trouble this way! Richard knew that the teacher would want to scold him, because he was not well-liked by teachers.

Richard pleaded with Gregory not to tell the teacher about the broken thermometer. Gregory, however, ignored his brother’s pleas. He told the teacher about the broken thermometer. He explained what had happened. The teacher looked at Gregory who looked like someone who bravely embraced the truth.

The teacher called Richard out. Richard peeked out from the behind the classroom door. He muttered something under his breath, and came out. He did not look pleased at all.

The teacher asked Gregory what he would do to compensate. After discussing with their mother about the situation, Gregory decided to do the household chores at home and earn money to compensate for the thermometer. The teacher also agreed to that.

Richard and Gregory looked at each other in relief. Both of them were thinking, at least we didn’t get caned or anything. The boys walked home happily with their mother, and Gregory already made plans for washing the toilet and cleaning the laundry.

The Surprise Party - a Composition

2006-10-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

“No, and when I say no, I mean NO. Now, get back to your work. Stop thinking about your stupid party.” Mum was annoyed with the request I made, or rather, I had always made, since the beginning of the school year. Sigh. When would Mum ever say okay to the ‘stupid thing’ I said? Since my mum had asked me to do my work, I went back to my room to complete it.

The party would be held by Mark, an old friend at my previous school, before I switched to my current school.

When I finished doing my homework, I went to my mother’s room. I asked her why I could not go to Mark’s party. She explained, with her hands on my shoulders, “I don’t want you to go, because you might get hurt, not just physically, but also psychologically. You might be watching some violent movie, and mimic the characters in it. Remember what happened two years ago?”

I remembered the time when I was watching the ‘Superman’ movie. I had tried to ‘fly’ down from my house. Luckily, my father came just in time to forestall the act . Ever since, my father stopped me from watching superhero-type movies. While I was still deep in my thoughts, my mum suddenly surprised me with what she said.

“Well, I suppose you can go, but with some conditions. Unless you follow my conditions, you will not be able to go to your friend’s party.” She let out a long sigh.

As for me, I could not believe my ears! I was elated! “What are the conditions?” I asked her anxiously and excitedly. I could imagine myself playing some ball games, which formed much of Mark’s leisure time; I would be in front of the television, watching ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’; and I would be devouring all the chips I wanted, with soft drinks gassing in my mouth. I could almost picture all that happening right away!

However, my imagination was erased off my mind when she spelt out the conditions. I was limited to playing ball games. I would be also be sitting at Mark’s study room, reading some storybooks that I would be bringing. At lunch time, instead of eating chips and having the fizzy drinks I wanted, I would be eating some buns and milk prepared from home. I was half-happy with Mum letting me go to the party, but I was also half-angry with Mum for making me the odd-one-out among my friends. It is just not cool to be different from my peers and not able to do what I had wanted to do.

I tried not to show a glum face to mum, but my tone of speaking revealed it to her. “Why do you look so unhappy?” she enquired.

“Nothing, I just don’t believe that you would let me go to the party.” I lied. I knew that my lie wouldn’t have made sense, because my tone and possibly my expression could well have betrayed my thoughts. Anyway, never mind, I thought. I went forward to my mum, and gave her a bear hug.

Finally it was the day of Mark’s party. After school, I was supposed to meet my friends at Mark’s house, and the partying would take place in the backyard of his house. We played soccer first. It was very exciting, and it made me more alert. We also played basketball, tennis, squash and other ball games.

After we had our fun, we proceeded to watch the movie, ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’. However, I could not watch the movie, because it was too violent. Besides, my mother had alerted Mark’s mum about the do’s and don’ts I had to adhere to. I had no choice but to read my storybooks while the rest glued their eyes on the TV screen in the living room.

However, when I was about to stand up and leave the living room, Mark noticed me. He pulled me back down to the sofa, and asked me where I was going. I tried to be nonchalant, but he asked me again. This time, I looked slightly embarrassed.

I told them that I had to read my storybooks, because I was not allowed to watch any violent movie. Mark released me from his grip. I started to proceed to the study room. Some of them were calling me ‘nerd’ and, before I reached the room. Tears started streaming down my face. How I wished the ground would swallow me up.

After 2 hours, I quietly walked back to the living room. They had already started eating chips and pizza with soft drinks on the table. Sigh. I hesitantly walked into the room. I took out my bun and milk and ate quietly. Some of the boys called me a baby, because I was drinking milk. Milk was for babies, Mark’s classmates had always chanted when they saw someone drinking milk.

When I finished my food and drink, I sprinted back home. I was crying, angry with my mum. Whatever it was, this was all Mum’s fault. I felt like crushing her with my hands, or do anything that could teach her a lesson.

When I reached home, I rushed into my mother’s room, and started blaming her for what had happened. While I was still blaming her, she asked me what movie they had watched. I told her the movie title, and she laughed loudly. She called me to take out all the books she had put into the bag for me to read.

I took them out, and the titles of the books were: ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’, ‘The Red-Headed League’, and … surprise! … ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’! I could not believe my eyes! She had actually packed the unabridged version of the story, and I did not even see it!

I did not even bother about the issue with the bland food she made me eat. I was so delighted! I immediately dashed off to read the book.. Yippee!

However, when it comes to those friends I met at Mark’s house, I had left a very bad impression in their minds. Instead of thinking about me as a ‘math prodigy’, which I was once known to be, they might just think I am a ‘nerdy baby’. They would never knew the truth about how I felt …

An Exposition on Nancy Farmer's A Girl Named Disaster

2006-10-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Nancy Farmer is an acclaimed children’s author. She has written many books for teenagers, like The Ear, the Eye and the Arm and The House of the Scorpion. Some of her books have won awards like the Newbery Honor Award.

A Girl Named Disaster talks about Nhamo, an orphan who is constantly picked on by her wicked aunt. Even though she is not the oldest in the family, Nhamo still has to do all the backbreaking work, like gathering firewood. Desperate to get out of her hardships, Nhamo decides to escape from the Mozambique village for an adventure.

In A Girl Named Disaster, one of the issues that I am strongly against is the idea of ‘slavery’, where Nhamo has to obey and do everything that her aunt Chipo commands her to do.
The institution of slavery is as old as civilization. Many nations and empires were built by the muscles of slaves.
In ancient civilization, slaves were usually war captives. People have found many reasons to prove that slavery is OK. Slaves were usually considered of a different rank in society compared to their owners. They might belong to a different race or country. Based on all these, slave owners felt they could deny their slaves basic human rights. Despite efforts to abolish slavery, it still exists today. It has been reported widely that some 27 million people worldwide are forced to work as laborers.
What makes slavery sinful is not just the torturing part. Slaves get few rights. Because of that, masters could even decide to kill their slaves, regardless of whether it is reasonable or not. For instance until now, many Americans still recognize themselves superior over the Africans.
I have a few reasons to justify why it is crucial to put an end to slavery and its wicked deeds.
Firstly, this wickedness should be banned in all countries, because it is morally wrong. If this idea of slavery still continues, then there will be more slaves in the future, resulting in more sinfulness, as it says in Leviticus 25:39: "If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave.". The Bible clearly states that slavery is not to be allowed.

Even though slavery has been banned in countries, Africans will surely remember the times of their ancestors, where more than 15 million Africans were sold to America as slaves. There will surely be people who continue to smuggle illegal immigrants for slavery.

Even if slavery were to be completely stamped out in the future, never will the Africans forget the slave trade and hardships of their ancestors.

The point is: Once we have done something wrong, we can prevent it from happening any further, but it will be impossible to cure the damage it has caused.

Secondly, this wicked act should be banned in every country, because slavery only makes us lazier and lazier. If we continue having slaves, then ‘ordinary’ humans will eventually becoming lazier than slaves.

If we do become lazier than slaves, aren’t we worse than slaves? Even slaves will then be better than us. If we put ourselves into the slaves’ shoes, we will find out that what we force them to do is very backbreaking work that we would not want to do ourselves.

If we need to have slaves, we should treat them as modern-day domestic helpers, where they can earn money and share equal rights as the general public.

Finally, we should abolish slavery because every human’s rights are to be respected. If murder is wrong, what makes torture right? Our sinful attitude just goes to show that we do not care about equal rights, but we care more about our greed and wants. Just as what the United Nations has said, Considering that all human beings are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement to discrimination. Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture; we should let slaves have equal rights with everyone else.

As you can see, this is why we should abolish the slave trade that Nhamo also experiences (in a way) in A Girl Named Disaster.

Acknowledgements
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section9.shtml

http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/slavery/world.html

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm

School - Exposition

2006-10-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

I think school is important for us, and belows are three reasons why school education is curcial in the building of good nation.

Firstly, school is important, because we need to have good education. Without good education, we will not be clever, and thus, will not have any scholars to represent out nation. Without scholars, our country will not have any political leaders, resulting in chaos.

However, when we say education, we also need to include sports, music and other non-academic talents. Without those, our country will not be famous for anything, except for the fact that they have nerds who study too much. Take Singapore, for example. My country (Singapore) does not really focus on sports and other fields, except for education and economies. Has Singapore ever really had any achievements in sports? No. Even in soccer's FIFA rankings, we are ranked 106th in the world. If Singapore does not start focusing on those areas, I am afraid that Singapore will slowly become a lousier country. I do not even think that my country's SM Goh Chok Tong's wish for soccer to get into the World Cup by 2010 - will ever come true.

Secondly, we need to have school so that there will be educated people who keep the country in order. Without education, the economical factor will 'die' and job recession will be higher.

This point can be elaborated - by Singapore's action. In the early years of independence where schools were not compulsory, Singapore was in chaos. Few people could lead the country. There were many riots and bad acts. However, when education became compulsory, there was less chaos, as more prople could lead the country, and be good role models to their children.

Thirdly, schools are also needed, so that - surprises! - more people will have jobs, and that children will be occupied... :) :) :)

If you can, reply to me in the comments. Tell me what you like AND hate about schooling!

Imagination

2006-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am at the fair, riding purple horses with wings. I am steering them very well. 'Swoosh' goes the air as the horses gallop through the air. After five minutes, I go back onto the ground, on a bed of roses, with chips, soft drinks and trophies all around me. Suddenly, I hear a man shouting my name. I cannot believe it. I have to go on stage to 'receive my prize'. I walk towards the man excitedly. A MILLION DOLLARS! I do not believe it! Off I go, riding on my prize horse.

I am riding to the North Pole, with my new friends - soaring albatrosses with hats from their journey. I reach the North Pole! I see Santa Claus, who welcome me warmly. He treats me - to a bath of constantly flowing honey and chocolate. I jump in. I quickly drink and slurp up all the chocolate honey. Hmm..., seems to be never-ending.

I gallop and fly on, to my new house. Wow! Where is this place? I ask the albatrosses.

"Dictionpolis," they chirp simultaneously. Dictionpolis? I have never studied that in my Social Studies. Never mind. The next moment, I suddenly feel very weightless. My feet are off the ground! No, wait. I look around. The albatrosses are using something - psychic, maybe - to lift me off the ground!

On and on I float - to a castle. My house? I cannot believe it! A horse that is made of gold, roofs of sapphire, ruby, amethyst, onyx, emerald and silver, with windows made of crystal!

I walk further in. I see another short flight of steps. The albatrosses tell me, gurgling, "What you walked through is only the garden!" Wow!

Lining the steps are stone lions and gargoyles. I walk up, and open the ruby-studded door. And I find a -

Sapphire door??? I open that door, I pass through as many doors as there are kinds of minerals. Iron doors, zhajkyz0148 doors (never heard of it), I finally reach. Wow! The walls - are actually made of mirrors! I focus my mind on the walls, and bingo! The atoms of the walls rearrange itself, forming a goblet!

I walk to the end of the hall (which is 143 metres), and enter the next room. It looks familiar. Yes! The roman baths! But that can't be my bathroom... it's too big...

I run past, feeling very excited. I run into the library. The lights are produced from firefly, and from pieces of the sun. This is incredible!

I open one of the books. The title reads - "The Mystery Of---"

"Wake up! Study for your Social Studies exam!" I suddenly wake up, finding myself in an old-fashioned study.

The next day, the teacher revises some things with us. Suddenly, she turns to me and asks, "Ok Ryan, name one place where you like going, and why?"

"Dictionpolis..." I mutter dreamily.

Everyone laughs. I feel embarrassed and sheepish.

Sometimes, brains has limits. You never know when you cannot take so much imagining. Especially when your mother interrupts you suddenly, you can never go back to dreamland... ever again.

Eye Relaxation And Myopia

2006-10-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

Myopia is an eye disease. If you get myopia, it means that you cannot see things clearly. Spectacles are often used to magnify and make the thing that you are looking at clearer.

Myopia is only one type of eye disorders. Glaucoma and far-sightedness are other types of eye disorders. By the way, if you have myopia, you can only see near things clearly. For far-sighted people, they can only see far things clearly. Most old people have far-sightedness.

People have tried an arsenal of things to cure their myopia. Examples are like eye exercise machines or pinhold glasses. My mother wants me to wear pinhole glasses, so that I can see things clearly (light get focused), and exercise my eyes at the same time.

Eye exercises are also done - you know, all those boring massaging stuff? However, eye exercises only exercise your cilliary muscle, not cure myopia.

I also have myopia, but wear CRT lenses - hard lenses that you wear at night, take out in the morning. It 'pushes' the eyeball 'back', making it clearer.

At first, I felt that it was very uncomfortable, but I have gotten used to it now.

I wish I was never myopic... :(

Terrapins and Fish Farms...

2006-10-04T00:33:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, 21st September 2006, my classmates and I went on a field trip to Singapore’s Qian Hu Fish Farm, ranked as the best fish farm in Southeast Asia.

We saw many types of fish, like the tiger barb, selling at S$1. what was the most eye-catching place in the Fish Farm was, I think, the House Of Arowana, or the ‘dragon fish’.

At the gallery, we saw many big Arowana in some tanks. They all lived in an air-conditioning room! I also saw 2 fish, which had no price tag on their tanks. Those fish, our tour guide said, are worth 50, 000 dollars.

Also, those Arowana fish had sucker-mouths in their tanks- a kind of fish that eats organic waste. Those were to keep the water clean and non-polluted.

There was also a terrapin gallery. I badly wanted to buy one, because many classmates bought it, and I wanted to keep them as a pet.

My father did not let me buy any terrapins. However, he let me buy terrapins, but on one condition. You know what?

I have to fold 10 clothes everyday, and write an article everyday.

Sounds like hard work to me, but I agreed to it anyway.

Did you know?
The logo of Qian Hu Fish Farm is a blue and white loach (a type of fish). It cost them more than S$400, 000!!! During those years, Singapore had heavy, torrential downpour. One day, it was so big, that some farms went underwater! Well, the fish farm did get flooded, and…? All the fish swam away!

Model Kits

2006-10-04T00:07:00.000-07:00

‘Model kits’, as my younger brother and I call it, is something like a wooden jigsaw puzzle. Actually, the real name for this interesting ‘jigsaw puzzle’ is ‘Wooden Construction Kit’.

You get many pieces of perforated wood. (BY the way, they are carved into different shapes, to show the parts of the model. The shape of the foot and the hand cannot be the same, right?) You then join AND glue the pieces of wood together using the assembly instructions. You have finished your model kit!

Let us look at an example of the model I have made:

These are the pictures of the Dragon Boat, mouse and Carbine 15 models my brother and I have built.

Let us look at an example of the model I have made:

These are the pictures of the Dragon Boat, mouse and Carbine 15 models my brother and I have built.

Dragon Boat

Mouse

Carbine 15

Now, look at this:

Dragon's eye

You have to glue the eyes on. Similarly, if some of the pieces drop off, you can glue it back.

If you see carefully, you can see how the ear is joined to the head. It is inserted into a pre cut hole.

Now, look at the mouse (again). Do you notice how some pieces overlap? This is how to make the body fatter and not just one piece thin.

You can these toys at toy shops like Toys’R’rus. I can tell you, these are even more fun than jigsaw puzzles!

The Smoking Bill in Singapore

2006-10-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Smoking is a very bad and addictive habit, and smoking can give you diseases like cancer. Some people even die from smoking. When you smoke, not only you suffer, the people around you also suffer. In England, half of all the households have at least one smoker. Unlike adults, the children cannot choose whether to suffer or not - so they will just have to suffer passive smoke.

Passive smoking is when you smell the deadly smoke of the cigarettes (including arsenic). Both kill you. Smoking also kills many people everyday.

Some ways to ban smoking is to impose punishments or fines. Some countries, like Singapore. states that people under 18 are not allowed to buy tobacco-related stuff. If you are under 18 and you smoke, you will be fined $500. If you smoke again, they will give you a $1000 fine.

In some countries, they raise the prices of cigarettes. Some people, however, might split money, and buy a packet to share.

I think that it is good that Singapore has put laws on smoking. This way, we will become a happier, healthier country!

Festive Seasons - Christmas

2006-10-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

Holidays. What comes into your mind? No work and school? Play? Vacation? Happiness? Now think of festive seasons. Not really 'vacations', but in fact, 'more work' comes into my mind.

Nonetherless, festive seasons are still holidays, where you got money or presents from your relatives :) Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas are some of the festive seasons which I enjoy. (Now look at the title. What do you think I am going to say about? Yep. Christmas.)

Christmas is that time of the year for giving and receiving presents. You will often find frantic shoppers in the mall doing last-minutes Christmas shoipping, buying pgifts for their loved ones.

The most famous things associated with Christmas is, I think, Santa Claus and Reindeer (i.e. the fat person who gives people presents, and the animal which Santa Claus rides on).

Even songs and books have been made from Christmas. Have you heard of 'Saint Nicholas' or 'A Chrsitmas Carol' (written by Charles Dickens)? Yep. These are examples of pieces of literature related to Christmas.

When I was 6 years old, I still remembered a church skit, where I had to perform (as a robot) at Christmas. The story was about a girl who has no presents, but her toys explain that Jesus is the biggest present of all. The title? 'The best Gifts of All' !!

Also, Christmas is an important date for Christians, as it is the day where Jesus was born.

A little joke ...
Q: Did you hear about the Christmas Card which never got sent?
A: Sign, you'll never get it ...

:) :) :)

Time Plan

2006-10-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Time plans are grids or tables drawn to show how you intend to use your time. Of course, you have to plan your time wisely, and set your priorities right. If you put 'playing' in front of 'Homework', you are not planning your time wisely!

Below are two timeplans - see if you can spot the 'correct' and 'wrong' timeplans:

TimePlan 1
Come back home .......... 3.00 pm
Play computer game .......... 4.00pm
Do homework .......... 4.10 pm
Watch TV .......... 4.50 pm
Bathe .......... 5.00 pm
Do homework .......... 5.10 pm
Cycling .......... 6.00 pm
Homework .......... rest of the time
Dinner .......... 6.30 pm

TimePlan 2
Come back home .......... 3.00 pm
Bathe .......... 3.10 pm
Do homework .......... 4.10 pm
Play / Watch TV / Cycle .......... rest of the time
Dinner .......... 6.30 pm

Choose the better timeplan: (a) TimePlan 1 (b) TimePlan 2

Which one is it? Yep, it is (b), as the timeplan puts important things first before unimportant things.

So, remember, always put important things in front of unimportant things and PLAN YOUR TIME WISELY!

Quote: "If it takes two minutes to save 30 minutes, then it is 2 minutes well spent." ~ Brian Caswell

Lego Boy

2006-10-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Lego Boy is a very fat boy made out of big Lego. I think the Lego Brand is 'duplo'.

My mother bought the box of Duplo Fat Lego even before I was born. When I was born, I liked to play with Lego. My mother even said that Lego Boy was my favourite toy, and that I liked to suck Lego Boy's head!

How do you think Lego Boy looks like? (-- To include picture of Lego Boy Here --)

Nowadays, I bring Lego Boy to school, and we make some videos of him and even advertisements- 'Buy Lego Boy!'

I have also made little skit using Lego Boy and some other paper figures when I was in Primary 2.

Here are pictures of these figures too: (-- To include pictures --)

Oh yes, and something else.. buy Duplo Fat Lego too!!!

Hay Dairy Farm - Farm of Goats

2006-10-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hay Dairy Farm is in Singapore, in the Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology Park. Is is a farm for goats only. They sell goat milk (for drinking) there and hay (feeding goats).

Introduction
Hay Dairy Farm was created by John Hay in 1995. When he was young, he started a pig farm and duck farm. However, since Singapore needed more land for buildings, so the first farm they tore down were the pig and duck farms. Both affected Mr Hay, and he set up a goat farm.

The goat farm does not sell their meat- chevon- to the market. Instead, when they grow old, Mr John Hay sells them to the NUS - National University of Singapore - for research.

Goat milk is low in lactose, fat and sugar. Since it is alkaline, so you cannot drink goat milk with cow milk (acidic), unless you want diarrhoea!

By the way, the whole farm has 4 workers only, including Mr Hay, who is the vet for the farm's goats.

My Trip
I went to the farm with my classmates. When we reached, we ran into the farm and saw Mr Hay in there, with the workers (who were milking the goats). Mr Hay told us everything - why they trimmed the horns, gestation period, goat's milk, etc etc.

After that, we went to feed the goats. It was very fun! One of the goats nibbled on my finger when I fed him with hay, and another of the billy goats had purple hair!

I liked one of the goats, especially whenever you bleat, it will bleat in response. I even got a video of the goat and its bleating!

Bye!

Mid-Autumn Festival 2006

2006-09-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Some countries celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival - 中秋节, in Chinese. Singapore also celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a very fun festival. Firstly, you get to light lanterns, and walk around playing with the lanterns. You also get to eat mooncakes of different flavours - green tea, orange, mango, durian, mocha, yam, lotus paste, etc or the traditional mooncake.

(There are two types of mooncakes: the traditional, and the snowskin. I like the snowskin mooncakes more.)

Secondly, you also get to go to places with your class (if you are a student, like me) on Mid-Autumn Festival. I remember Mid-Autumn Festival 2005, where my class and I went to a 'factory'. We got to eat many mooncakes and lanterns too!

This year, I am going to eat many flavours of the mooncakes, and play with many lanterns!

By the way, I'm preparing to go to church for a 'MEGA-EATING-MOONCAKES DAY'!!

'Tingkat'

2006-09-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

'Tingkat' is a Malay word. When you order tingkat, the caterer will then deliver the food to your home. Of course, you pay money for their food.

Here, in Singapore, Tingkat has made good profit. However, the food isn't really fantastic. Just some vegetables, meat, potatoes and another side-dish. If you are lucky, you might get paper-wrap chicken. If you are unlucky, you might get brinjal. (This only applies to people who like paper-wrap chicken and hate brinjal, of course. Like me.)

My parents have ordered tingkat (from different caterers) 4 times in 6 years. (That's bad.) We have just started on the dishes of our 4th caterer. Some brocolli, chicken, potatoes and chilli-anchovies, that's all. (By the way, I do not think the food is enough.)

I hope that you will never, ever buy tingkat. I also hope that my mother will cancel tingkat.

That'd be great.

Ryan's Web: Football

2006-09-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ryan's Web: Football: "I just got a new hobby yesterday - cutting out soccer pictures and then pasting them "

Newspapers

2006-09-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Newspapers are information collected on paper (by journaists). In Singapore, newspapers can be ordered. My father orders the newspapers from $22 a month. You can also buy newspapers from shops at 60 cents each.

60 cents x 30 days = $18, so buying newspapers by yourself will be cheaper. However, my father does not want the hassle of buying the newspapers everyday, so he just orders it.

Newspapers are written by journalists. The news is important for us all, because it tells us what is happening in the whole world. It also tells us whether Manchester United has won all their matches or not. :) (By the way, I support Manchester United!)

Television and radios are similar to newspapers. They also give us information about the world around us. However, watching TV is better, because they have things like Spongebob Squarepants, while newspapers do not have that. :)

I like the SPORTS section, especially. I always read that section first. I have also been cutting pictures from the SPORTS section too!

By the way, I will be scanning the soccer pictures for you to see!

Football

2006-09-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

I just got a new hobby yesterday - cutting out soccer pictures and then pasting them in a scrapbook!

I now have pictures of Threrry Henry, Peter Crouch, Cristiano Ronaldo and many more!
I also got some 'favourite footballers'. Below is the list, and why I like them:

1. Peter Crouch (has been on scoring streak for England, is tall)
2. Thierry Henry (cool!) (my friend's favourite player)
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (cool!) (looks cool)
I have a favourite EPL team now - MANCHESTER UNITED! :) I like Man U, because they have Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs. And they have a good goal keeper, Van Der Sar too.

I also like Arsenal, as they have Henry, and LEHMANN as their goalkeeper!
Bye!

Cooking Dinner

2006-09-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

I actually cooked dinner for my brother! Not exactly. I only cooked noodles, soup and some eggs for my brother. The tingkat caterer provided the other dishes (vegetable, meat, etc). But, I still cooked...

Actually, it is quite easy to cook, because all you need is ingredients and utensils and your brain. For me, I look at other people (like my father) cook dishes, before learning.

Here's a question for you: How do you cook and eat soft-boiled eggs?

a) Put eggs in boiling water for about 30 minutes before eating it.

b) Put eggs in water, and boil for 5 minutes.

c) Put eggs in boiling water, wait for about 4 minutes before eating it.

Sorry, boys. (Did you choose any of the above? I did not say "Crack the eggs before eating it." Unless you eat egg shells...)

Anyway, to cook soft boiled eggs, use method (c).

By the way, I cooked the eggs for too long, so it became hard-boiled. Never mind. I still liked it.

To cook noodles, look at instructions on the package. To cook soup, put water and ingredients into pot and boil... until it boils.

Good luck cooking!

Swimming

2006-09-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

I went swimming today. It was very fun!

(We made some water guns- poking holes in bottle caps, and pressing the bottle. We even found a water gun there!)

First, we went to the lazy river, where you would move around the whole pool without even using effort!

Then, we went to the wave-pool, where the pool had waves, pushing you up and down! It was very fun. My brother and I were playing. I acted like Zidane, headbutting my brother. He was Ben Thatcher, elbowing me!

After a while, went on the yellow slides - water slides that were 3 storeys tall! You would lie down in the slides, turn and toss around, before - splashed! - you flew out!After that, we found a water gun, and used it to shoot a lifeguard. At first, he did not notice it, but after that, he saw us and kept looking down to 'keep watch'!

Finally, we bathed, and went back home.

It was very fun!