A twisted perspective

whacked out

2009-11-23T08:24:00.002+08:00

This is GRR-ace, doing her part on revealing her twisted perspective on life ;)

Yesterday, me and Nicole (Nicole and I?) went to Risen Christ Church for Nat's and Rock's confirmation. I went for Nicole's too, so I can do a bit of comparison here. :) Well, Nicole's class was a smaller group - like 30-40 people but there were 110 confirmants in Nat's church. There was less comrade spirit in Risen Christ, as you could tell from afar that St. Mike's really bonded together. But in Risen Christ, there were pockets of people who you could tell were really touched by an angel and really might just go out into the world and changed things. Like maybe actually becoming a priest or nun or missionary. But overall both confirmations were really sweet^^

Mine's on 5th Dec! Be there :)

2009-11-16T12:41:00.001+08:00

:D SUP!

this is nicole here, baddd grace ain't here to post cos she has band ( i think) so here i am y'all to post! and revive this veryyy dead blog.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS PEOPLE OF THE WORLD!

ahahahah. actually i have nothing to say, wait for grace to come back :)

stay tuned ( music plays)

2009-09-28T21:22:00.002+08:00

Surprised aren't you> that i'm here blogging on a school day about nothing in particular.

Well, thought it was high time this blog was revived. I wanted to say, YOU GO GIRL to Nicolette wherever you are :) I think you really are so awesome, i cannot find a better word to describe it.

I wish we could have had more time as friends! Promise me you'll remember me :D

Okay. enough of that. on to the serious stuff like EXAMS!

it's coming closer,,,,, and there's no way to stop it. but we can do something to prepare our fields to receive the rain, GRACE are you listening to this? I'm quoting that movie (:

all the fish in the ocean are better than all the stars in the sky, specially for my best pal, Grace Adam. :) ( hint hint)

nicole <3

Term 3 Week 3

2009-07-15T19:07:00.002+08:00

Upcoming tests:
1. Chinese 'O' levels in Week 4 for Nicole
2. Malay mock exams every Friday for Grace
3. E Math Test in Week 4
4. A Math Test in Week 5

POTASSIUM CHLORIDE FOR POISON. :( SODIUM WHATEVER-IDE. We're learning so many poisons in school (unintentionally of course).

Dissected a heart. :D I ripped it open. It's easier and less gruesome than you think.

WHILE HANNAH AHEM MONTANA is already writing her BIOGRAPHY when she's only SIXTEEN =.='

Sorry, I'm ranting on the downs and downs and ups and downs of life (in order).

GRR-ace

2009-06-23T13:09:00.001+08:00

it's sort of therapeutic playing scrabble by yourself and sipping mixed fruit juice on a hot day.

okay, so term 3's coming and with that means homework and the old adage, less time, less sleep = no enjoyment.

nobody seems toread this blog anymore anyway :D

off to fb. sorry for short post

June 2009

2009-06-11T17:52:00.005+08:00

Blogger is very annoying sometimes because whenever you go to the 'create' page, this pop-up comes along and announces there's been a problem with Internet Explorer. But the genius (me) has found a solution to this problem - ignore the pop-up. Haha! Whoever said 'ignorance is bliss' has been right for once.

Anyway, as nick-ole mentioned in the tagboard, this blog has indeed been in a coma. But the genius (me again) has decided to revive it with a cheerful post about random boredness. I'm here to promote, or condemn, the Hannah Montana Movie as well as the book 'Adrian Mole'. Everyone knows the first, no one knows the latter. Oh well. Too bad.

So... there's been mixed reviews about the Hannah Montana movie. I don't know - I don't really like most of her songs. I mean, c'mon - The Fly On The Wall? What's the big deal with that? I guess the movie is a big step in her career. She'll forever be known as Hannah Montana now though. I wonder whether it's a good thing. Look at Daniel Radcliffe; he's trying so hard not to be Harry Potter. Honestly, if Miley ever comments when she's older 'I want to be known as someone other than Hannah Montana', I'm going to roll my eyes.

Adrian Mole is a completely narcissic book and if you ever want to have a good laugh at a poor moron, and cheer yourself up, it's a good book. Look for it under 'Sue Townsend'.

Okay... That's all for now. Maybe I'll post tomorrow. :D

grr-ACE

2009-01-01T14:54:00.002+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

2009 is finally here! the countdown wasn't too entertaining, but it sure was festive. happy new year to anyone i haven't passed on the greeting to! This year is going to be a hard one. We all know it don't we? With mounting debts and the looming financial crisis, it doesn't sound like a good start to a brand new year. But who says you can't be happy? :D

I attended New Year's Eve mass yesterday. :) It was highly spiritual for me. The chapel was packed but we managed to squeeze a seat in front. Out of the blue, the priest asked us to pass the mike around and say something that we were thankful for. It was heartwarming to hear people of all ages and races voicing their thanksgiving. actually, when you stop and think, you feel really grateful that you're alive, that you're even able to go to church. it's the little things we take for granted isn't it? when we complain again and again about the weather being hot, we don't thank God for not sending us a blizzard or a thunderstorm, when we complain about school, we don't thank God for giving us the chance to educate ourselves. I admit, and I think all of us are guilty too of complaning, about everything in general when we should be thanking God.

the slideshow was really meaningful. :) I think this new year, let's offer up thanks.

love,
nicole ( i signed off! ^^)

2008-12-27T20:10:00.002+08:00

Prince of Tennis is so cool! :) I feel inspired to take up tennis! I think I'll look like a total idiot compared to the imaginary heroes in the series though. But I shall not give up hoping! I've officially finished 164 episodes. I've spent about 4100 minutes in front of the computer then, or 68 hours of my holidays. Heh. I don't regret it though. If I don't finish the series, I'll seriously want to watch it next year and believe me, that is not good. Good thing I practically only have OVA left. Welcome 2009!

grace

A Long Post :D

2008-12-17T16:46:00.005+08:00

I am BACK at blogger.com :) You can rejoice now! After all, isn't that what this Advent week is about? The first week of advent was hope, that the birth of Jesus will be near. Then, the second week of advent was peace. I think that it's very meaningful because when we have hope, we almost always have fights.

Like in a project, after we hope that it'll be great, there will be some minor mishaps along the way and we'll start snapping and arguing with each other. Isn't it great that after you have hope, nobody fights but everyone hopes equally ferverently and works towards a common goal? That's why it's religion is meaningful, it's not preach this, preach that, it's giving you a gentle nudge to tell you which way to go :) Haha, okay. Now the third week of Advent is JOY! Joy that Christmas is near. Yeah, just plain joy. Joy that the project will be nearing soon. And joy that I am back at blogger. :D

Ok, I shall give a brief review of the VJC concert on 12th December Not So Silent Night. Some background; the 25th of December is usually called Silent Night. So one of the band members in VJC back in the 1990s suggested to have the annual concert on the 24th, calling it Not So Silent Night. Now, it's pushed back further due to practical reasons (christmas parties, majority now overseas at christmas), it still hasn't lost an ounce of spirit :)

The concert was AWESOME. If you attended Faith, Hope & Love Pt , this one is one level higher in professionalism. However you spell that word. (if it exists.) Their tone and musicality were awesome! My favourite song? Their rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars. It was so beautiful! Jazzing up the rhythm so it's sometimes fast, making it soothing at times, it's like you're actually escalating to the stars in the song! Haha, climax? When they switched off all the lights and the VJC people took out their handphones and waved them left, right, left. The glow from their handphones were like the stars and this was received with applause and laughter and even a few others fishing for their own handphones to follow. :)

And the really COOL skit! I KNOW I recorded it but it went missing. Hmm. It's damn cool, that's all I can say. :D

There were sec 4s from all over Singapore and VJC 1 students performing. I love my sec 4 seniors the best :) Haha. The conductor, Mr Tan, had a video and a song performed at the end and it was really great. This line: sometimes you tell jokes so cold you make the band room freeze (something like that) produced several chuckles. Haha.

Ok, to sum it up, COME FOR MORE BAND CONCERTS! :) You'll definitely enjoy it. But I can tell you this, no matter how awesome you think they are, the people in the band playing is having ten times more fun than you, playing their hearts and souls out.

And le finale for the post (gosh, my posts are never random, are they?), I'll talk about PRINCE OF TENNIS :D :D :D (refer to picture)

Yeah, it's about this 12 year old boy named Ryoma Echizen who is really good at tennis, given that his father is a tennis pro and would have been no. 1 in the world if he hadn't abruptly quit tennis before the important match. He attends Seigaku (a middle school in Tokyo, Japan) after transfering from America. The tennis coach at Seigaku has had her eyes on him since he arrived. There, he beats all the seniors and became a freshman regular, the youngest player on the school team for years. He develops a relationship with all the other regulars and a girl who has a crush on him (which everyone sees except him, thus him being pronounced romantically-challenged). The anime series gets more and more exciting as more tennis matches are played and more interesting techniques and relationships bloom. It's a great series to watch. ;)

That's all for today, folks. Stay tuned in a few days time. :D

gRace

2008-12-12T16:59:00.002+08:00

:D Crazy over "hey juliet" by LMNT <3

Hey juliet came out 3 years ago. ;D I discovered this sort of cheesy song from the boyband era on youtube. It's nice :D According to my standards. I"m quite okay with any type of music but I prefer to stay away from heavy metal and high pitched banshee like wailing which makes you run for cover.

:D I'm here to REVIVE the blog. THE blog. ( I like typing in caps so bear with me) I have an eternal need for the perfect blogskin. Why does it still elude me? It's like playing hide and seek. Am I too fussy? Probably.

I think the world is living in a dream. It doesn't seem real sometimes. Too much Irony, and obvious answers to questions people think about for centuries. It's frustrating. Everyone is complaining and bemoaning the end of the world with regards to global warming, when man caused it himself. It's just payback time. We should have started going green ages ago but man forgot that little but signifiacant fact.

5 things Happy people do - do some people spotting

They find their most golden self.
They design their lives to bring in joy
They avoid "if only" fantasies.
They put best friends first
They allow themselves to be happy

2008-12-05T21:58:00.002+08:00

Here's your favourite autumn girl. I'm putting my hands in my pockets and I think, "Why don't most people enjoy autumn? They go for spring. I don't really adore spring so much - everything is just so green."

Ok, so maybe I don't have much say in the matter given that I've never experienced autumn, or any of the other changes in season for that matter, since Singapore is stuck somewhere between spring and summer. From all the movies or pictures I've seen, I've always imagined this dirty lane, a concrete pavement with brown earth and leaves of gold, red, yellow, orange and brown scattered all over. The trees are either deep auburn red and gold or bare. There's always a gentle cold wind blowing, stirring the leaves. It really is a wonderful and peaceful scene.

No wonder they always take advantage of this kind of scenes - peace - before something tragic happens; aliens landing on earth etc. the world is at it's end etc. etc.

Take advantage of peace while there is tranquility.

You should NEVER feel bored! Always take advantage of life! I went for Church of the Holy Spirit's Youth Conference '08 and eventhough I did not stay till the end, I still feel what we're supposed to do. Bottom line: Live life to the fullest and help others so that they too may live lives they love.

Some ways to spend the holidays:

Get out of the house and into the streets! Breathe in fresh air for goodness sake, not the air-con in your room 24/7!
Go to the SPCA. I got a glimpse of a book today; The Diary of a Medical Inuitive. It's about a women who could feel when a person was sick and could diagnose him or her almost immediately because of their energy fields. She says when you feel miserable, your energy fields are at its lowest so you're more susceptible to get a disease. One way to boost your energy? Love a pet.
Wrap your books. Don't leave it to the last moment.
Pick up a musical instrument! Make it your goal for the month. I shall learn the basics of a guitar by this month etc. etc. Have patience; you'll be making music out of initial cat screeches soon.
Read a book. "My Best Friend's Girl" is good. So is "Ways To Live Forever".
Go to church. Don't neglect your faith!

ETC. ETC.

So have a great December, k? I fully expect happy faces next month at school :)

-grace

2008-12-04T14:39:00.002+08:00

:) Been thinking about life. and watching tv. we all live our own lives. we all think of ourselves. ( not all,) and we rarely think of the repurcussions of our actions. as long as we feel okay, nothing matters right? Wrong, that's called being selfish. You can't make conclusions about someone based on your first impression, you have to understand the person. It's very easy to brand people otherwise.

Trust is very important. The world lacks it. If you don't trust a person, what kind of friendship is that? And then there's always the thin line between simply saying "Hi" and a deep friendship. It sort of puzzles me. How you can be so servile to some people but dismiss others without a glance. How hypocritical.

:D Christmas songs are nice. Especially the older more vintage ones. :) I love Mariah Carey 's songs especially. Maybe I'm too used to listening to her. How to have a cheap christmas? Buy yourself a nice CD and eat some fruitcake. ahh, bliss ^^

I don't want a lot for Christmas.
I don't care about presents under the Christmas tree. :D

;D In an increasingly materialistic world, it's hard to find people who truly value life. Everywhere I go, I see ads. According to a study, we see an average of 1 million in a year. :) And lots of junkmail and flyers in the mail of course. Toys R Us , KFC etc.

Rainy weather recently. I hope it rains on Christmas, I love the cool fresh air. :) If we can't ghave snow, rain should be a good substitute. The chocolates I brought back from Europe is very sweet! ;D My indulgence. Marzipan with toffee. Gooeey Sweet :D

santa claus won't make me happy.
:D just knowing i have great friends will.

2008-11-30T15:53:00.004+08:00

The Topic To Talk Today

Faith, Hope & Love Concert Pt. II

Yesterday's Faith, Hope & Love Concert was a blast! It was a continuation from yesteryear's concert; Faith Hope & Love. The 2007 one was put on by St. Margaret's and us, CHIJ Secondary Toa Payoh. This year, the concert became co-educational with Catholic High School joining us to make the concert a success!

We had practice in the afternoon - one after another. All 3 schools had two segments - the main band performing (they're the seniors; sec 2s, 3s, and Alumni) and the junior band performing (they're the sec 1s who just joined this year). So practice was really difficult as we had to be on time and be vigilant since any lagging would cause the whole afternoon to drag. In the end, we managed to have an hour for dinner and change.

At the end, I felt really lousy because it was a long afternoon and everyone started to snap at each other because they were tired from a vigorous practice and bored from just sitting down while the other schools practiced.

Not to mention everyone had mixed feelings since this is our last concert with Mr Leonard Tan, our conductor. We were looking forward to the concert but it was our last goodbye, so everyone hated and loved the concert passionately; wanting to play for Mr Tan and yet hating to as it will be a confirmation that yes, it is the last practice with him.

But after dinner, everyone was energised and ready to play. The concert went on smoothly and the music was beautiful. If I had to describe each school; it'll be this way.

St Marg's was FAITH, a beautiful and passionate sound. They played a song with equal parts of sadness in the chorale and such joy and happiness in the finale that they did an excellent job of stirring up the audience to give them an echoing round of applause. Their Christmas song proclaimed their faith in God and how they responded to Mr Tan also showed their faith in the conductor to respect him and appreciate his times with them.

Catholic High is HOPE, a loud sound which woke everyone up. Their songs; A Postcard From Singapore and an Irish Rasphody made everyone sit up straight. The Singapore song had a simple tune of Geylang Simpaku Geylang and yet, I could not imagine an old Malay man singing it in Kampong Glam. It was not traditional, it transformed into an elegant sound of grace and shouted hope, as even while they played, you could feel their energy and zest to bring happiness to everyone, to bring joy, to show their appreciation for the conductor, like bringing hope to the world that; hey, it's not the end of the world, it's just another chapter of life.

And last, CHIJ Concert Band was LOVE. As we played, I could see everyone moving to the music. The message was passed everywhere; every note we play; semiquaver or whatever; we played it with love. Each song was dedicated to special somebodys, each song was delivered with all our heart, all our soul, with one mind to make the concert the best for Mr Tan. Shenandoah was a beautiful prayer, that Shannen and Nicolette will be better. I don't know how to describe the feeling.

Mr Tan said: "I hope the audience are kind and won't clap at the end until we're done". A soft song about peace transformed into a glorious proclamation softly turned into a quiet prayer, where it ended off with a round clarinet sound. It came true - no one dared to breathe or clap until the sound ended. Everyone closed her eyes; our song was done, our hard work paid off, we did it. The audience broke into a round of applause.

Everyone was scared of the technical and musical demands of Little Fugue. It wasn't neat, but everyone concentrated. Tongue every note so it won't get muddy, at the end, grow loud and strong together as we say farewell to Amanda, who leaves for Australia next year. I was really proud, because we came all this way together to play a metronomical piece. Mr Tan liked the piece a lot and we're really glad we managed to play it with him.

Finally, Die Feldermaus! Our song we worked 10000x hard and practiced. With only what, 3 months of seeing the score for the first time, the operetta transformed from a weird sound of piping notes here and there to a fantastic drama. It was a happy song, a strong beginning, like telling the world; IJ IS HERE. A strong beginning, how we're all united.

When it transformed into an emotional piece, everyone was moving like crazy, looking at the conductor as he made expressive movements for us to follow. At the climax, everyone went sort of crazy, making a loud and joyous sound, but it was controlled so it won't get messy. Everyone was concentrating yet enjoying themselves. In the end, when everyone worked up and went fast, I was thinking: "It's the last few bars, oh my god, i can't believe it, i'm going to finish the song" and it did with a great chord.

Argh, everyone stood up at the end, and it was really great. We finished Faith, Hope and Love Pt. II, our farewell concert to Mr Tan. There was a great Farewell video by the 3 schools together and I think I heard sniffles and saw tears. At the end, everyone hugged each other. It wasn't the end of school, where everyone was so incredibly sad. It was happy, everyone did it, we did it together. We persevered, we had faith, we had hope and we poured our love into music.

It was, is and always be an incredible music experience.

- grace, trombone player :)

2008-11-27T12:20:00.002+08:00

:D what an Artistic picture! I got ALL of us in the picture so no complaining! :) I think it looks nice. Multi tasking now. Switching between 4 blogs ( quoted from Grace) as well as instructing my friend in the art of changing template. haha. :) School's out! Hols are in! :( Sadly, so is the economic recession, coupled with the fact that there has been an increasing number of child abuse cases in the UK of late. To top it all off, there's always the shadow of the economic crisis. Man, these are tough as well as more and more inhuman-like times. it's sad but it's life.

:D on the brighter side of things, I think Channel 8 is obsessed with the peranakan culture. while leafing through the Life section, I came across not one but two TV shows dedicated to informing us of the aspects of Peranakan life. One about Food, the other a drama serial set to be likened to some long drawn saga. Yawns.

:D Okay, I'll update another day.

signing off as Dua Chik <3

Happy Endings

2008-11-24T09:56:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone! :D

The holidays are really flying by! Everyone seems to be in the relaxed mood - a big difference from the tense atmosphere in school haha. I hope you're enjoying yourself. I wish we had more outings like when we went out and took crazy pictures at every reflective surface like above. I'm very pro, could capture everyone, okay. Except Natalie wasn't there. I shall post another picture of just Natalie soon^^ haha.

I wonder how everyone will be like in school next year. I think I shall switch to study mode sooner or later and attempt waking up at 6 am so next year I wouldn't go: "WHAT? IT'S NOT 7AM, ISSIT???"

OK, I shall stop my ramblings now - gtg eat breakfast. :D Hugs!

Make sure you go for the IJ Concert Band concert!

Faith, Hope and Love Pt II

Saturday, 29th November 08

7.30pm

Tickets priced at $8

If you're lucky, there might be a ticket left :)

Hugs,
Grace

2008-11-23T21:59:00.000+08:00

HELLO!

Nicole here! :D Cool blog right? Haha. Yes, partly secrets, news and a whole load of stuff is gonna be up here soon! I have lots to do! including clearing my room. I need to re-organise. I can't even find my handphone! :)

LOVE!

Nicole