CLISC= Chung Ling International Student Camp

Right, I will let the photos do the talking first.

Cavorting around town digging for stuff with the souvenir group. (LR) Shih Hui, Christina Yeap, Yin Xuan

Pre-ceremony (LR) Head of English Dep, Chinese teacher, 'chubi' chinese emcee

Opening Ceremony

As I mentioned in a few earlier posts, I was attending Form 6 at Chung Ling to kill time. Coincidentally the 2nd CLISC was to be held in early July, so I hopped into the souvenir, prizes and gifts commitee, temporarily subsituting Shih Hui as he had to attend his sister’s wedding in the states.

The experiences of balancing the constraints of a tight budget and the expectations of foreign participants were nevertheless interesting ones. Luckily unlike last year there was no post-deadline script writing rushes. The closing ceremony’s impromptu segment was a terrible mess though.

Initially, to be honest, I had doubts about the 2nd clisc. It seemed to be mirred in the same ‘overly top-down, overly bureaucratic’ style as last year’s camp.  However the efforts of the other camp facilitators (i admit to playing no part), especially the upper sixers, made the the 2nd clisc a great success, and made me believe again in Chung Ling High School.

Thanks bro for lending the econs textbook. =D

Finally finished it today. Micro/firms seem to be abit shaky. Macro is ok though.
Had too much coffee today =.=

Random answers to random questions that pop up in my brain for the next 5 minutes:

Where now?
Physics stream, Lower 6, Chung Ling High School
Where to?
International Baccalaureate, Uplands International School, Mid September
What course?
Focusing on possible future entry into economics major.
What about science?
Received JPA offer to do pure science in US, but decided to stick to Axiata’s econs offer in the end.
What the hell?
The road not taken I guess. Tough call, but one that I dont regret.
What about research?
A genuine interest which I dont know whether it will stand the test of time.
What events coming up?
Volunteer work during holidays. clisc. NRC.
What happened to your SAT?
Improved my score by 10 points. Wow. Zzz.
When?
July 12, August 12, Sept 1. =)
What song are you listening to now?
Reflections. Mulan ._.

Sleep.

April, in photos.

In the US. 10 day camp. Got invited. Not going. lol.

Axiata-Celcom. Noise ._.

Aeroline. Seat 8A during every single trip. lmao.

Kindle. Dead kindle.

Kenny Rogers. Apparently they think half chicken = Quarter + Quarter

Shih

Jf

Ting Feng

Water

=) <3

April. Saccharine-like.
(phone pics, so do pardon the quality)

The ‘awkward silence’ moment that I have been getting a lot these few weeks during nerd camps.

Others (new acquaintances) : Hey David, what did you get for SPM?

Me: 7A+

- Awkward silence + apologetic glances-

Me: Erm, you all?

- Awkward silence – again

Others (1): Saya 11A+ kut. Sye ambil accounts la.

Others (2): I got 9A+, only.

Others (3): 10A+. Hopefully can get JPA la. Haha.

Nerd camps indeed. Almost everyone wears a tie 24/7. Everyone knows their sejarah inside out. Everyone does their written assignments on time (except me. I tend to fall asleep). Everyone treads a fine line between healthy competition and kiasu-ness. Z.

And oh, the final round of Axiata’s Young Talent Search is on the coming tuesday. lol.

Heavy footsteps
rushing up stairs,
closing gap.
Momentary euphoria,
concomitant anguish.
Glass and steel,
metronomous pace,
yawning chasm.


Messy table,
shreds of paper.
Scattered thread,
clock winded back.
Scribbles in book,
evoking pangs.

Swirling memories,
rising and ebbing.
Painful,
purgatory, rending, decapitating, liquid ice
soul shredding, agony, aching, harrowing
but hurtful not,
never.

T

When something is malfunctioning at the fundamental level, it’s time to take a good look at the whole issue. I am not trying to be cliche here and say something along the lines of ‘that-famous-guy-did-it-so-it-works-and-I-should-do-it-too’, but reading about Tiger Wood’s second major swing change in his carrier proved to be insightful.

his swing changes are grounded in the fundamentals of the game. When Tiger makes an adjustment, it’s to fix a tendency he has that strays from those basics.

Recent events (SAT, SPM, and some other smaller issues) have made me realise that I have to take a hard-look at the way I write. My sometimes overly florid style of writing: the pairing of magniloquence word choice with verbose, complicated sentence structures has to be overhauled.

With clear, cogent communication becoming ever more important after leaving high school, I guess it’s time for me to return to the basics of English and start anew.

NB: HAHA has a new meaning today. HA! =)

Crappy results that are in between nowhere. =.=

I only got an A for English. Wow =.= Maybe I should blog in Bahasa Melayu.

Can you imagine only 1 person getting A+ for the whole center? Thats like 1/160. =.=

Now they are frigging telling me that it all depends on your luck and the invigilator that marks your center. Zzz.

I found a job. Yes, literally. After spending January on SAT, February on pure-uber slacking, I vowed do something more meaningful in March.

There was the possibility of working as an IT or adminstration intern, but frankly I didnt want to work from 9 to 5 everyday. However an opportunity presented itself, and as of the past 3 weeks I have been doing volunteer work at the Little Sisters of the Poor!

LSP is a catholic charity old folks home just behind my old school, Chung Ling, and most people (CL students that is) should have a vague idea of the huge pink/orange building with 3 meter high walls. When the idea of volunteering at an old folks home surfaced, my first impression was ‘crap, dont tel me they expect me to talk to old people, make their beds, and wash their clothes’. However after working there, I must say it was welcome surprise to find my initial perceptions incorrect.

On my first day of work I was assinged to front desk work as a receptionist. After a quick hands on by another volunteer and Sister Lucie who is in charge of front-desk operations, I was good to go. My responsibilities and onuses include:

• Taking and forwarding calls
• Giving directions, responding to walk in enquiries
• Handling registrations
• Receiving donations
• Filling up LSP paperwork

If you have happened to call LSP for the past 3 weeks you would have been greeted with a cheerful (Ha!) “Hello. Little Sisters of the Poor. How can I help you?”

Well, its a rather sedentary job, and when there is not much action I just read my kindle and do paperwork or simply ‘jaga pintu’. During lunch time I also help to serve food for the residents and also have my own lunch. Mind you I am eating the same chow as the residents, but well, it aint that bad.

To sum things up, doing volunteer work in a charity home has been a really eye-opening experience. It feels like I have opened a door and walked into a totally new world which I never knew to exist. A microworld where time dilates slowly, where the passing of time necessitates a moving on of schedules, and nothing more. A realm where the present and future are no different from the past. Every day feet shuffle, foot steps are taken, but in what direction does this slow march head to?

Nevertheless, I enjoy working there. The easy smiles, the uplifting mood and the tranquil environemnt never fails to calm the jitters of the mind. If one takes things day by day, task by task, the eventuality disappears. Just like my previous post on life and death I guess. Sorry for the befeftment of photos, maybe next time. And oh, I am giving a 12 year old kid maths and chinese tuition foc. Lol!

ps for posting this late =/