1.618 The Divine Proportion

Go to: www.aldershorst.wordpress.com

Okay. I've decided to change blog domain to adlershorst.wordpress.com

For those who still frequent my blog i have shifted.

Hope i wont change domain again.

So there.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early.

He arrives precisely when he means to.

-Gandalf the Grey

I have thought about this long and hard.

Sometimes, principles have to give way to rice bowls; I suppose this is the inevitably fact of life.

Maybe it's for the longer road, to live and fight another day.

Maybe it's sad to bend my back against my will, but in this dog eat dog world, every buck earned counts.

To quote Gen. MacArthur, his famous speech, in which he said "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".

Yes. I shall return. Maybe not now. I shall retreat quietly and discreetly, by nightfall, it shall disappear into the night.

I wish my halls resonate with laughter and joy and happiness,
And may we speak freely with open hearts and not fear the listening walls.
Yet i lament our actions do not fit the words we speak,
For we turn and toss and never feel at ease.

So there, and let us ride into the sunset, for glory and into death.

I went to "Qiu Qian" when i was in Hong Kong at Wong Tai Shan.

Both qians were middle, neither here nor there.

So there.

Seen enough to last me a lifetime.

Why are we stressing over PROM?

Shouldn't it be a day where we can relax and enjoy our friends' company?

We are stressing over what shirt to wear, what shoes to heel, what blazer/coat to get.

Doesn't all these peripheral stuff masks the prom itself?

Ohwell.I think we should just go and enjoy ourselves, the atmosphere, the company, the booze but no hanky panky.

So there.

Some day(which i think is quite soon), my left knee's gonna give way and i'm gonna tear my ligament and be a pai kar(lame) like HL.

Sucks.

So there.

I played soccer at the field near my house. Actually my teammates aren't exactly strangers 'cos i played with them before.

Anyway, we won 2-1, courtesy of two headers i scored.

The first one in the picture is the second goal i scored. It was from a corner and in order to shake off my defender, i ran forward, backwards, forwards and then backwards and when the cross came in, the ball eluded the defenders in front of me and i got a free header and i powered it into the right side of the goal.

The goal's kinda small, think it's at most 5metres wide.

And the second one in the picture is the first goal i scored. Actually i "kopped"(steal) from my teammate as he sent in a deep looping cross. The ball floated over the keeper as i predicted and i just rushed in at the far post and guide the ball into the net.

Haha. Kinda weird right? For those who know me i'm only 1.64m short tall and how can someone with this height score headers?! My friend called it luck but i think, it's about positioning and anticipation and a bit of telepathy with your teammate.

It's all about everyone with a common purpose in a concerted effort. It didnt matter who scored, though this "Ah Beng"(cos he looks like one and i cant rmb his name) declared the Man of the Match is me but seriously, without the good crosses, or the defenders plugging at the back doing the dirty work, my goals wouldnt have made any difference, for that, i salute them.

Haha i think i just earned myself a 'contract' 'cos this guy, Jeremy, asked for my number. Think he will msged me to ask me go down to play if they are. Whoohoo!!

I'm tired.

So there.

With great irony comes great responsibility.

I know it's all bitching and whining and there's really not much we can do about it; if we could, someone would have done something.

But if I can raise awareness about it, to let more people know what's actually going on and not be ignorant of things, i suppose i have serve my purpose.

It's a long struggle, starting from now.

So there.

P.S. LZ you should know.

I had my Firefly Scholarship interview this morning and viola, Hugo was there as well with the same timeslot as me for the interview.

Anyway, the interview went quite fine. I wasnt jittery at all. Must be the pre-interview conversation i struck up with two RJC girls that were scheduled for the 9.30am interview. It's kinda strange: i don't know either of them beforehand but because one of them was wearing the RJ uniform, i know for sure it's "own people" there. When the safety net was established, the very simple and basic question was to ask the other girl whether she's from RJ as well. And so, the ice was broken.

Even though i was the one trying very hard to keep the conversation going by asking stupid questions like which class are they from and what CCAs etc. Not very chatty girls.

The interview turned out fine, or at least i couod say something for each of the question posed to me. One question pertaining to my 2'U's was kinda shocking but i managed to give a rather reasonable answer by saying that i hadn't had enough time to prepare for it at that point in time(during prelims) and there, two Us to show.

On hindsight, i think i shot myself in the feet by saying that i'm unlikely to get 4As because Biology is likely to get B. Well, it's true. I left each paper feeling a bit not here nor there and even though there's the bell-curve, it's hard for me to say for sure i would get straight As(hai, no long straight As student).

And there's also the question about GST hike and i was very negative about it. Lucky it's not the PSC scholarship, if not my name confirm blacklisted. Then again, if PSC really ask me the same question, i doubt i have the right mind to shift my answer to suit the question.

The rest of the question were kinda of a formality, pertaining to my school life and it got a bit mundane but i guess, we have to go through it.

Yay! I did not stutter nor did i swallow words. Guess that's an improvement considering i swallowed words for my PW presentation but then again, this was a one to one interview so i need not raise my voice and also, it was conducted in a small room so i need not be loud.

On the positive side, i guess i did okay, or at least better than i thought i would be. Handed in one copy of my CVs as well, hopefully it goes into good use.
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Anyway, on the issue of straight As. Since when did we harvest the idea of being in the Raffles schools directly translates to straight As?

I know it has been the case of us(not wanting to sound arrogant or please dont misread) but since when was it bestowed upon us? Like a mandate?

Our predecessors have worked hard for their results and so should we. We should never take it for granted that we are at the top because of the brand-name itself.

Arrogance breeds complacency and we should never let either take root.

It saddens me to see Raffles being commercialised. We see Raffles Medical Group, Raffles this Raffles that, as though Raffles is a commodity. I have nothing against using Raffles as a name, but can the subject live up to the name? That's what i worry about.

I walked along Bras Basah Road today with TRE and past the wold St. Joseph Institution there. The building has the grandeur and archaic atmosphere in it that i feel, is extremely lacking in RI.

Where has our history gone?

The old Bras Basah complex is no longer there and i have no idea what the purpose of the school building at Grange Road. And the current one at One Raffles Institution Lane is undergoing extremely extreme makeover.

We have a new buidling erected 7 storeys tall and the main block of RI is being sledgehammered. The whole place is in a mess. The admin block is being smashed upside down, the floors are dusty, wonders where the headmaster's office is but i think it's not within the school compound because of the noise and dust, the level one classrooms facing the astro are nonexistent and $#%^T$#%#$#!@#, the Rafflesian plague at the atrium is coated with a white layer of dust!!!

What the hell. Shouldnt someone go clean it?

I mean, i will clean it if i'm allowed to but the plague is two storeys high and kinda huge and i will die cleaning it alone. But still, has the dust blinded us and the noise deafed us?

The school crest is not just any crest, it's from Raffles.

What has all the propaganda(oops) about Raffles gone to when we can't even keep the crest clean? What's the use of reciting the Rafflesian Principle when we can't get the basics done. It's sad to see RI in such a sorry state.

As a sec1 student entering RI, i will no longer be in awe but rather, wondering why the place resembles what we see from Iraq.

All will be gone to waste if we do not live, eat, breathe like a Rafflesian.

So there.

Time to take in a deep breath and plan what i should do with my remaining free time until i get conscripted into the volunteer corps.

So there.

There's something mentioned abt changing the Chinese syllabus to "fit" the needs of our children.

Since when things have been the other way round? Shouldn't WE be the ones working harder in order to improve our standard of chinese? Whatever happened to China being the next impetus in the economy and we should be the ones jumping on this running train in order to stay at the nose of the economy?

Maybe desperate times calls for desperate measures.

But must the language stoop down so low?

Sad.

Ironically, we are rather fluent in certain Hokkien vocabulary, and this is true even with those 'bananas'(a.k.a. Chinese but eat sleep live in English).

Then again, i've lost touch with Chinese as well. Guess it isnt a necessity in our pragmatic-oriented society anymore.

So there.

My blunder: it's goods and service tax and not government service tax. Oh god, what a difference it makes.

Must me wonder how come i had that notion in the first place.

So there.

I saw a group of white birds flew away at Bishan park as the sun set while studying for AgriBiotech and suddenly, i felt at peace.

I heard the trains rumbling by and the shouts by the guys playing at the field even though i was across the canal.

The cat, who was on the pillar ledge behind me, narrowed its eyes at me when i turned around.

I felt serene.

So there.

Two years ago, government service tax goods and service tax was raised to 3-4%, then yesterday, PM Lee dropped the bomb that GST is going to be raised to 7%.

My god, if they are going to raise the GST every other year, why not do it in one shot and keep it there?

I supposed THEY know that by raising the GST, it's the lower-income group that is going to suffer because they already dont have much money to spend and with the increased in tax, they are going to pay more for what seemed to actually cost lesser.

Doesnt make sense. Or does it?

Then the government says that they will implement policies to help the lower-income group to tide over this tough increase in GST for the long-term. Shouldn't that be the case all the time, even without the increase in GST?

I mean, you don't donate and help people in need(handicapped, underprivileged, sick and aged) when they already near the end but rather, you do it continuously and ever-readily. If we were to help only when it is urgent, would it be too late?

Anyway, it's like tripping someone and then say, sorry, can i help you up and treat your wound? Okay, maybe that's not a good analogy.

I suppose the political watchers are right, the bad news only comes after the General Election and never before. It's like never giving the citizens a chance to air their views and parley with the political parties present on what their concerns are and what do they(citizens) think that the incumbent government can do for them.

Aren't many heads better than a few?

When was the last time the whole nation(Singapore) had a say in a directive that could affect(not even potentially) their lifes?

It was the Referendum back in 1962. That's even before the post-65ers were born.

(*)Despite saying this and that, we are still a nanny state. Face it, we are allowed to hold the milk bottle because mummy's holding it and supporting it, what we are doing is just directing the milk into our mouths. If you try to stand up for and on your own, who knows what will happen? Maybe Jeyeratnam can enlighten you on that. You see, the elderly always have a wealth of experience that the young can drawn upon, that's why we have our evergreen Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Ahh. See la, i should be mugging for physics and now, i'm jeopardising my future. Oh, so bleak so bleak.

So there.

P.S. Note the full stops in (*). Don't get it, nevermind.

The weather's excellent now. Cool and serene.

It will be great if i could open that bottle of wine that i have and have nice long sips, to feel the warmth coursing down my throat and the aroma filling my lungs.

And i can read my book as i fall into unconsciousness.

Ahh.

IF.

So there.

It's weird. Even i feel thinking about what i think i want.

I want to settle now. Kinda early eh?

I want to get a house in the suburbans, not too far from everywhere and most importantly, a nice backyard where the evening sun basks upon and a front porch that the morning sun can seep into.

And if possible, have my closest friends live around me, maybe next block or just down the street. Then during the weekends we can have breakfast together or maybe a good chat over coffee after dinner.

We know each other as though there isnt any secrets between us; we know each other inside out and down to the nuances each of us have or had.

I want to have kids and when they are in the infancy stage they shall be my children and when they are in puberty, i shall be their friend and when i'm old, i shall be their children's grandfather.

And i will be godfather to some.

Maybe every other weekend, i will catch up with my outer circle of friends, seeing how they are doing and if they need my help.

I think i have to have some influence and power eh?

I have to learn to open up, to talk to my parents and relatives more.
It seems as though studies have drained me of my time to talk to them.

I think i need quite a bit of money to upkeep myself too, judging from the big house i want to have.

I want to have kids when i still have the energy, not when i'm gonna hit 40 and chuck my kids to my parents or childcare centres to take care of. Though inevitably, due to work, i may have to.

Ironically, some of the above are actually achieveable now, just that i have to study for the "greater good" in the future.

Ahh.everything here seems to be jumbled up left right center.
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I once swear to myself that i will not go into politics because of it's nature in Singapore. Ironically, i'm very likely to do political science in university. And IF i go UK to further my studies, i will do PPE(Politics, Philosophy, Economics).

Maybe i will go into social work, giving advice to people. Consultant? Counsellor?

I dont know.

The future seems so cloudy; and after i thought i settled some(like parts of uni apps), there seems to be more fog even though i'm clearing them as fast as i can. One thing's for certain, i've to serve two years of community service from january onwards.

On a side note, i remember doing a GP compre which said something about George W. Bush asking Americans to do two years of comm service in their lifetime. Haha. We Singaporeans have better you to that.

Anyway, i'm quite sure i wont die penniless or just another other person who kicked the bucket.

Death shall come to me when my time is due and i hope that before i'm six feet under, i did my part.

So there.

Recently, Times(i think so, if not the list that my CT rep sent me) published a list of top 200 universities in the world and lo behold, NUS is ranked 19th. Excellent for a university which doesnt have lush greenery, waterfalls, and of course, the cold weather.

That set me thinking: what if JCs also have ranking? Wait, i mean ranking that is determined by student evaluation, peer evaluation and so on, criteria set by independent study groups and and the final results, independent of any institution.

Then now we will have a ranking that is not just based on academia, but also intangible criteria like teacher-student support, environment of the school(eg whether the school is plagued by foul air on every 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar), the food available in school, its accessibilty, travelling time between classrooms, lab facilities, cleanliness of toilets and also whether its handicapped friendly etc ect.

Won't that be great?

Then idle-minded students like me when i was in RI would have a tougher choice in deciding which JC to enrol into, something which i took for granted. Not that i made an unwise decision.

If a new set of criteria is implemented, instead of whether a school is value-added(what does this mean anyway?more privileges for the same price paid?), or is it SAP, or whether it has integrated(no need to study for Os) programme?

If this is the case, then every school won't just have the academic side to dwell into, but the overall aesthetic nature of the school must be looked into. I've a feeling this means more work for the respective teachers and principals but well, they(teachers) want the students to be better right? Right?

Anyway, still on the evaluation thing, if only we could give appraisals to our beloved teachers. I mean, instead of that teacher award thing that MOE present to outstanding every year(i've a feeling my facts are wrong so correct me) through students sending in application forms, why not let us evaluate our teachers? Granted that will be spam, as long as we sieve through the haystack paperstack, i'm sure there will be constructive negative comments. Ahh, maybe then the teachers who deserve the additional annual increments will be rightly rewarded and those who, in the students' perspectives, aren't doing enough for them, have to buck up and teach the students better(fragment sentence, consider revising).

Ahh. Maybe this will (%$#%@^@%#$%^!$^#$!#$$$%$!%#$^$$#$!@$)

Damn, there are just some things i can't say, if you wanna know, can always find me on msn.=]

If the school's annual results improved(a.k.a. Os and As), they can accumulate brownie points that allow them to have additional grants to improve their school or maybe, request a particular excellent teacher to join their school. How about that?

Hmm.i'm out of ideas already. Maybe when i'm not under duress(like now i have to study for GP) i can think more clearly.

So there.

Disclaimer: i'm not attacking anyone, which i'm quite afraid to do so because of what i've seen and heard recently which may endanger my life if i do so, so take this commentary with some doses of salt and vinegar.

Recently, Times(i think so, if not the list that my CT rep sent me) published a list of top 200 universities in the world and lo behold, NUS is ranked 19th. Excellent for a university which doesnt have lush greenery, waterfalls, and of course, the cold weather.

That set me thinking: what if JCs also have ranking? Wait, i mean ranking that is determined by student evaluation, peer evaluation and so on, criteria set by independent study groups and and the final results, independent of any institution.

Then now we will have a ranking that is not just based on academia, but also intangible criteria like teacher-student support, environment of the school(eg whether the school is plagued by foul air on every 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar), the food available in school, its accessibilty, travelling time between classrooms, lab facilities, cleanliness of toilets and also whether its handicapped friendly etc ect.

Won't that be great?

Then idle-minded students like me when i was in RI would have a tougher choice in deciding which JC to enrol into, something which i took for granted. Not that i made an unwise decision.

If a new set of criteria is implemented, instead of whether a school is value-added(what does this mean anyway?more privileges for the same price paid?), or is it SAP, or whether it has integrated(no need to study for Os) programme?

If this is the case, then every school won't just have the academic side to dwell into, but the overall aesthetic nature of the school must be looked into. I've a feeling this means more work for the respective teachers and principals but well, they(teachers) want the students to be better right? Right?

Anyway, still on the evaluation thing, if only we could give appraisals to our beloved teachers. I mean, instead of that teacher award thing that MOE present to outstanding every year(i've a feeling my facts are wrong so correct me) through students sending in application forms, why not let us evaluate our teachers? Granted that will be spam, as long as we sieve through the haystack paperstack, i'm sure there will be constructive negative comments. Ahh, maybe then the teachers who deserve the additional annual increments will be rightly rewarded and those who, in the students' perspectives, aren't doing enough for them, have to buck up and teach the students better(fragment sentence, consider revising).

Ahh. Maybe this will (%$#%@^@%#$%^!$^#$!#$$$%$!%#$^$$#$!@$)

Damn, there are just some things i can't say, if you wanna know, can always find me on msn.=]

If the school's annual results improved(a.k.a. Os and As), they can accumulate brownie points that allow them to have additional grants to improve their school or maybe, request a particular excellent teacher to join their school. How about that?

Hmm.i'm out of ideas already. Maybe when i'm not under duress(like now i have to study for GP) i can think more clearly.

So there.

Disclaimer: i'm not attacking anyone, which i'm quite afraid to do so because of what i've seen and heard recently which may endanger my life if i do so, so take this commentary with some doses of salt and vinegar.

It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences-Aristotle

The reason why mrbrown connects with the populace much better than those parliamentary short screenings that i used to see after the Channel 5 news?

Not to say that mrbrown and affliated is uneducated, i never meant that.

Then we can knock on the "Mee Siam Mai Hum" or is it "Mee Siam Mai Hiam"?

I honestly have no idea 'cos i didnt watch the Nat Day rally.

Short, simple, sweet.

I wonder what attracts those who went for the rallies held by the opposition parties.

Nvm.i have no time for idle political ranting because of As.

Missed quite alot of good stuff because of studying too, like the Singapore Biennial.

So there.