Something unusual that happened that day...

During the December holidays last year, we took a trip to Malacca to visit some friends and relatives for the Christmas season. We decided to stay there for a week so that we could also visit some of the other states in the country as well. We set off on a sunny morning to beat the jam at the Causeway Link that connects Singapore to Malaysia.

When we arrived at Malacca, the burning ball of fire in the sky was scorching hot, blazing down on us. We managed to tour around the city, shopping at the big malls there, finding the best offers we could buy. We went sightseeing in Malacca for two days, visiting the historical places like Christ Church and St John's Fort.

On the third day, the day we planned to go to Penang, it was raining cats and dogs. Within an hour, the city was flooded with water up to the knee-level. Many of the pedestrians who wore long pants had them folded up to prevent them getting wet but to no avail. Even those with umbrellas and raincoats were drenched because of the heavy downpour. The fields in the rural area became massive lakes. It was impossible to drive around town as we were frantically helping our relatives to drain as much water from their houses as possible. However, our efforts bore no fruit. We heard that large areas of Malaysia were struck with the same unfortunate disaster too. 

Our trip was a disaster due to the flood. Our plans did not materialise and we set off for home once the floods subsided. It was a lousy holiday but the flood opened my eyes to the tragedy that it could cause.

A moment spent alone doing something I enjoyed...

My parents were at a wedding dinner and there was no one at home… I ate my dinner slowly as there was nothing to do. Hmm… What should I do, considering I have finished all my homework? Then, the shiny plastic wrapping of a book caught my eye. It was the book I've bought during the December holidays. I started reading it, lying on the bed, stomach down.

“Piper decided to jump off the roof. It wasn't a rash decision on her part. This was her plan—climb to the top of the roof, pick up speed by running from one end all the way to the other. Jump off. Finally, and most importantly, don’t fall. She didn't make plans in the event she did fall, because if you jump off the roof of your house and land on your head, you really don’t need any plans from that point on. Even Piper knew that. So that’s what she did. She jumped clean off her roof. But before we get to what happens next, you’ll probably need to know a thing or two about a thing or two…” –page 1, The Girl Who Could Fly

When I finished reading the whole book, I was thinking, “Wow! It was really good! I hope there would be a sequel…” Why is this book so good, you ask? Well, you know Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga? This was what she said…

“It’s the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-men. I was smiling the whole time (except for the part where I cried)… Prepare to have your heart warmed.” –Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga

So, if this book could make her feel emotional, this would probably make you feel it too. (Unless you have no feelings, then I have nothing to say.)

This book IS a definite must-read and I would recommend it to everyone.

Synopsis 

Piper McCloud lives with her normal ma and pa on a normal farm in normal Lowland County. But Piper isn’t your normal girl. Ever since Piper was a baby, she’s been able to hover a few feet off the ground, and if the people of Lowland County knew she could fly, they would have something to say about it. So, it only seems best that Piper be sent away to I.N.S.A.N.E., the top secret school for children with extraordinary abilities like hers. Her new friends have powers like telekinesis, X-ray vision, and the ability to create their own weather. Piper likes her new life at school, but soon, she realises things aren’t as they seem. Now, the school she was sent to for her own protection might be the most dangerous place she’s ever been.

Something that took place at school...

Today is Tuesday, which means that today we had Physical Education (P.E. for short). It was after Science class. We changed into our P.E. attire, also known as the “bumble bee” shirt in Victoria School.

The monitors led the class down to the Indoor Sports Hall to wait for our P.E. teacher, Mr. Lee. When he arrived, we were instructed to split into two groups. I was in the second group which meant that I had to play soccer first. Since my group had a slight disadvantage compared to the opposing team, I had a feeling in my gut that our team would lose… Still, our team battled as hard as we could, since Victorians are ultimately a Gentleman, Professional and a Sportsman. In the end, the score was 3-0. (Obviously we lost...)

Up next was the 100m run, which the passing timing was about 15s. As the previous group had only 5 people who passed, it was obvious that we were going to be very bad at this event… The first runners were Jun Wei and Sean. When the all- important red flag went down, they were already off in a flash. Unexpectedly, Jun Wei was managing to keep up with the pace, although Sean was clearly the more athletically inclined of the two. After that, it was me and Marc’s turn. Off we go, running as fast as our legs could take us. Nearing the ending point, I saw Marc’s shadow getting closer, taunting me with every step I took. “Whoa!” Suddenly I fell, rolling once on the hard and coarse tiles, grazing my elbow on the way… Mr. Lee asked Marc to bring me to the General Office, where the kind lady treated my wound.


What an unfortunate day! L

A problem I encountered and how I solved/managed it...

The principal of Victoria School announced that the GCE ‘O’ Level results of the class of 2010 was very close to the target made by the whole Secondary 4 cohort. Thus, to celebrate this event, we were given a half day on the 17^th of January.

As Chinese New Year was just around the corner, my classmate Jonathan suggested that we should all stay back to decorate the classroom to transform it into a place with the “Chinese New Year atmosphere”. So, last Friday, everyone was reminded to bring a pack of red packets and/or a piece of Chinese New Year décor and/or red paper (for the Muslim boys). We pondered over the matter but we could not find any ways to decorate the class.

Imagine if Chinese New Year was over. All the decorations would be stripped down!  So, I took on the task of creating a decoration that would last for the whole year. Over the weekend, an idea struck my mind. I was thinking about origami cranes as I had some hanging in my bedroom. We could hang those in the class! They symbolise my classmates, striving hard to fly high to reach their goals and dreams…

I quickly rushed to the computer, printing out the words “LET’S REACH UP FOR THE SKY”. After searching every nook and cranny, I finally found the origami paper my grandaunt gave to me. My intention was to ask everyone to fold at least one crane to make it more meaningful.

It was the day of our decoration work, which was our half day. Our English teacher, Mr Maran, was not around so we were assigned some work to do by the relief teacher. As some of the more hardworking ones finished the work beforehand, we had 35 minutes of free time. The teacher then allowed the people who had finished the work to start decorating. We all split into two different groups, one folding the red packets into lanterns and one folding the cranes. In my group, there were only a few people (around 8) so things were being done pretty slowly. But thankfully, after the first try almost everyone could fold it independently so it became much faster. (Sadly, I did not complete the goal of asking everyone to fold at least one crane as some people were just too uncooperative… They were sitting there doing their own things. How unenthusiastic!)

The bell rang, signalling that the last period was over. Zoom! In a flash, our numbers dwindled to a mere 10. Still, we went on, in high hopes that we will finish the decoration by today. Finally, at 2.15pm, we finished decorating the classroom. Our half day became a full day and we were totally worn out. At last, the classroom looked fantastic! Not only had we solved the problem and finished the class decorations, we worked together as a team, bonding us together as one.

A special moment I enjoyed with my family...

On the last September holiday, my mother took a day off to bring me to fetch my father from the airport. But, we were shocked when we saw the news... "And now, we will bring to you the weather forecast of Japan. It seems like there will be a typhoon reaching Tokyo!" My father's trip was delayed until midnight so we did not have the chance to go to the airport to fetch him. Hence, we changed to another plan instead.

The destination became the lovely island, Sentosa. We bought tickets at Vivocity and took the Monorail there to get into Sentosa Island. We alighted at the Beach Station and went for dinner at Sakae Sushi. I ordered a ton of sushi as I was as hungry as a wolf. 

After wolfing down any last pieces of the scrumptious meal, we went to purchase tickets to take the Luge ride. Each of us got ourselves a helmet and we took the chair lift up the hill. Since the chair lift was just a simple chair and a safety bar suspended in mid-air, my brother was afraid that he would fall off. He was just wasting his time... The view was simply breath-taking! 

We then waited in line for our turn to ride the Luge down the hill. The instructors taught us how to control the vehicle. After "passing" the small test the instructors gave, they will chop a stamp on your hand to show that you know how to drive the luge. It also acts like a “fast pass”, letting you skip the instructions, should you choose to ride the Luge again. As the Luge’s slogan says “Once is not enough.”

It was very exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping as the surroundings were dark and spooky. Fortunately, there were colourful and sparkling lights lighting up our way down the hill. Although I rode the Luge many times before, this was the first time I played it at night. This was really fun! I remembered speeding down the slope, wind whipping against my face. Near the end of the ride, a blinding flash greeted us, taking our picture, capturing the memories for years to come...

We went home happily after purchasing the photos... I feel that the tickets price was reasonable as the fun was worth it. This was definitely the best way to end the day.