I know I've written about this subject so many times already, and it's really of no use if I continue writing about it, but really — life has just been so terribly demanding. At the same time, I'm also in the midst of coming to terms with a lot of circumstances I would otherwise not accept if I had a choice. I believe I'm really going through a season in my adolescence where I'm just steadily embracing radical changes in terms how I look at things, how I value relationships, as well as what I expect from them. And as of now, from where I stand, I can say that I'm really looking at a clearer view now. I've grown to become more open-minded at the very least, and less sensitive and touchy-feely about a lot of things.
On another note, I guess February has also been good to me so far, as measured by how long I'm able to keep myself 'afloat' each day in the month. I'm less tired now, and although there's still a long way to go, I guess I'm making progress towards an on-task lifestyle as well. It's a promise I made to myself, to do something useful about my studies every night, regardless of whether I come back lazy from school or exhausted from training. It's hard, but what matters is that I'm still trying.
On top of a general reflection about the period I've been away from this place, I guess I should also delve into some details I find good to remember. Generally the late-January-to-mid-February period has been a rather quiet one when it came to my social life, and although I'm still hanging out, I guess I'm doing it less enthusiastically now. But I believe it's a good change. Personally I wouldn't want to get too attached this year, there's greater things that need more of my attention.
I'll start off with 28 January, yet another one of those CNY visiting days. This time I went to my distant aunt's place at Hougang. Her family keeps a very furry and well-fed cat, and I had much fun admiring it! It looks beautiful.
I would love to keep a cat or a dog in the future if possible. :)
The following day was 人日, a special day in the 15 days of CNY which celebrates the Chinese race, I guess. Apparently that day's considered as everyone's birthday. A tradition of 人日 is, of course, yusheng! Headed off to the Chinese restaurant at Paramount Hotel after church with my family to celebrate the special day. Gotta love Chinese food :)
In the evening we hosted a couple of relatives for a few rounds of mahjong, and for dinner I had some really good takeaway Chinese cze char. I was seriously so well-fed that day!
It was back to school for me the next day; the JAE results for those who completed their 'O' Levels last year was also released that day. Glad to see quite a lot of people appealing to Temasek, though there was still the usual group filling in forms to get themselves into 'better' places. There was also a list of the names of all the incoming J1 students outside the auditorium, and all of us spent quite a lot of time trying to see if any of our juniors got admitted into the college. The more extreme ones went as far as looking up the names on Facebook to see if there were any pretty juniors coming their way, rofl what creepers. xD
Tuesday was the start of Orientation, and the entire school got completely hyped up. Looking back I kinda regret my decision to give the OGL interview a miss, everything seemed so fun! I was still involved in the events though, as I was one of the many Station Masters running the Orientation games. Gave classes a miss on Thursday & Friday as a result.
On Tuesday evening, I followed Michelle, Sheryl & Kaiyuan to NEX for a quick dinner with them before Sheryl & Kaiyuan left for tuition in this Graffiti Cafe place with a lot of hilarious writings on the walls:
So my station on Thursday was in the hall, so all of us spent the entire day there doing almost nothing. But I'd rather do nothing than go for class actually, heh. Was with with the girls from the first & back rows and Daryl.
Friday was a much more happening day for the SMs. Was stationed at the sports complex this time, and we had to carry out the game 4 times without much rest in between, so it was quite a challenge for all of us. Didn't have any classmates with me this time, was quite happy about that in a way since I was able to meet new people. For some strange reason I was really enthusiastic that day, joining the OGLs in their cheers and jumping and prancing around, hahaha. At the end of everything, OGs came over to our station to give us a couple of SM cheers, and of course, I participated heartily. ;)
In the evening I was up for a sermon in church with clinical psychologist Dr Robi Sonderegger, and I have to say, he's such a gifted and charismatic speaker. :) Because I was bound for the city anyway, I dropped by Mass Dance @ Suntec (one of the major Orientation activities) with Rashid before I left for service. Brought back a lot of memories for me! Though things have really changed since, Orientation remains one of my outstanding memories of TJ.
The next Monday was an especially rushed one. Our class was supposed to be in charge of this 'Let's Get Talking' current affairs notice board below one of the lecture theatres in school for the week, and because then Orientation just ended, there were very little people helping out with the research. Stayed up till quite late the night before to help poor Jeanette compile and organise all the information, and the next day all of us found ourselves hastily assembling the board during one of our breaks. I have to say, we did quite a good job, save the weak Blu-Tack we used which caused the whole thing to come loose later in the week, hahaha.
We chose the hotly debated issue of ACTA, and though it appears to be quite the boring issue, with so many stakeholders and opinions involved, it's actually pretty interesting to know about... I guess.
Looking back, the week which followed was a rather terrible one... lol. There was the PDP (a fancy term used in my school for CCA) exhibition after school on Wednesday, and honestly it was kind of a waste of time for me, I didn't get to do much, or rather, I didn't feel like it. Headed off to the pool at ITE College East after that for training; it was a more fulfilling session because the weather that day was so freaking hot.
But I'm happy to say that Friday night broke the chain of mundane events! :) Met up with a couple of secondary school friends in school and we went down to Parkway Parade around the time the sun set, which also made the school a beautiful spectacle:
Got my brother's birthday present from the Smiggle store at Parkway, after which we headed down to Old Airport Road together for a good dinner and time of catch-up (something we probably won't get to do again in a long while). Of course, when one goes to Old Airport Road, he has to get his own stash of soy beancurd, and we did exactly that, heh. :)
The next day, my family celebrated my brother's birthday in advance with a seafood lunch at East Coast Lagoon. Went to church in the evening and met Huiyen's distant cousin who never realised she has been going to the same church as him for the past, what? 3 years? Hahaha. Tried my best to accommodate him and make things less awkward, along with a classmate Xiaoshi only recently brought along, Sheryl. Hopefully things will become more natural as time passes.
On another note, Saturday's service commemorated Valentine's Day with a drama production, and Ailin was one of the leading actresses who took the stage! I was really blown away at her fast progress, she did really well. :) Can't wait to see what's ahead for her in the drama ministry.
Sunday was my brother's big day, and also the day before mom left for Shenzhen on a work trip. Had a simple celebration at home with a delicious ice-cream cake from Swensen's:
And I guess that wraps up all the highlights during the time I was away! Though there were certainly more, but I just don't have the patience to remember every single one of them in great detail. This week's gonna be a physically trying one, with the annual Road Run on Friday. I'm participating competitively, so let's all hope that I'll bring back some good news and victories. ;) Apart from that, let me cross my fingers and hope for a good later-half-of-the-week ahead.
Need to hit the books now, I'll probably come back again, but chances are it won't be too soon. But I believe I'll eventually make it a point to write.
