Haven't been blogging for quite a while..Haha! I remember mentioning something about Emmanuel's concert last time. Well, Emmanuel danced very well. In fact, I was shocked at his performance. He had done a so-called preview a few days before and I felt that his performance was not really good. But on the day, he danced very well. It was to the rhythm and he stood out from all his classmates. His teacher even asked my mum to send him for dance classes. The song for his item was the best of the lot. It sounded hip and exciting, I think it woke the whole audience up! Many of the parents were tapping their feet to the rhythm of the song. His class, Canaan, had the most unique performances. You see, each class is supposed to do two items - one in english and the other in chinese (this is the tradition since I was studying there many years ago). Usually, the teachers just pick the people for each item and sometimes people get selected for both. But his class chose to put all the boys in the english item and all the girls in the chinese item. The effect was different, unique and appealing to the audience (or at least it was to me). Before the show, there was a video clip showing the graduating classes and each kid was supposed to say what he or she liked most about the school and what he or she missed most about the school. My brother was very quiet and only when his friend nudged him did he speak. He said he liked everything about the school and he will miss the teachers the most. Haha!

After the concert we went to have dinner at Jack's Place before going home.

On Sunday, we all went to Changi airport to send my dad off. He is going to Coppenhagen, Denmark. He will be back for a week before flying off to Australia and back another week before flying off to Korea with us. By the way, my maid is staying!!! Hip Hip Hooray! Today I'm supposed to be having CDP in school, but I'm having a fever so I'm staying at home. My aunty is grumbling that I don't pack my stuff so I can't blog anymore. I have to pack that awful pile of books and worksheets that have been there since the promos.

Hey!!! I'm back from school. Everything's over. PW is over!!! I finished my oral presentation already. I hope I will do relatively well..haha! Well, my oral presentation assessors were very nice. One of them was my harmo teacher:) The other class had a group whose member didn't come today and hence my group became the 2nd group. We finished real fast and I was so happy. Then we had to wait outside Rm 1322 while Marie submitted the pw GPF. Then my stupid EoM material was around 64 pages, and she had to write the page number on all of the pages. I feel so bad...I shouldn't have printed so many pages. Then they all went to McDonald's for breakfast and I came home because my aunty had food for me.

I feel so full after lunch. I feel as though I'm bursting at the seams..Haha:) I guess I'll never be able to lose weight. I really love my hamsters so much! Pesty is drinking water as this very moment and Roundy is scratching himself. Ahhhh....they are so CUTE!!!!! I know I must sound really crazy, always going on and on about how cute my hamsters are. But I can't help it. They are just too cute for me. My brothers and aunty are getting tired of me and my obsession with my hamsters.

Hmm...I feel so free. This feeling of not having to meet any deadlines, of being able to sit and watch the world go by is really great. Truely! I have not had such a feeling since the "O"s ended last year. But piano lessons this evening really spoil the whole thing. I really don't hate the piano, in fact I like playing the piano very much. However, it gets so impossible not to hate it when your mum nags at you every few minutes to play the piano. It's not as if I'm going to turn into some genius like Mozart or Beethoven. My piano teacher's teacher (a.k.a "师公") has this concert at the end of the year and Jean encouraged me to go for it. I hate it! I have the phobia of public-speaking, this fear applies to public performances too! Well anyway, I'm so lucky it's all cancelled. I don't have to perform at least. Haha! I'm not sure if the concert is still on, but I'm definitely sure I don't have a part to play in it. I haven't done my piano theory homework. Neither have I practised my exam pieces. This is so great! I shall have to tell Jean I didn't do anything again. I feel so "malu" everytime I have to tell her this. I never handed in anything late before to my previous teacher, Sharon. I practised all my pieces very well too. But this time I really seem to be very busy. I don't have any time at all for piano. So I'm ready to face the music later. *sigH*

Tomorrow Emmanuel has his annual concert. I just deleted all the pics in my digi cam. I shall keep myself occupied by taking some really great shots tomorrow. Not that my photographic skills have ever been commendable though; my photos usually end up as unintelligible blots of colours. But as the chinese saying goes "失败乃成功之母", so I shall keep trying. I believe someday I shall be able to take great photos. Yeah!

I don't know what I shall do tomorrow.

I really love my hamsters. They are so cute. I can spend hours just staring at them and watching them move around. They are just so cute; fat with shiny coats of fur. They move around on their short and small legs. Oh...I just love them so much. I promised myself that tommorow when I come back after oral presentation, I shall spend my whole day staring at them. This is what I call enjoyment; this is life!

Anyway, today is just a day away from my oral presentation exam. Yes! Just a day away! And here I am slacking around the whole day. I feel the fear, I feel that horrible feeling of butterflies in my stomach. But I just can't get myself to practise my speech. My speech is only 3.55 mins. It's too short. Mr Phang says the assessor will not have time to assess me. Christabel says her teacher told her class that you are just depriving yourself if you have too short a speech. Look, I really added in a lot of stuff after the previous two timings of 3.50 mins. So funny...I added in so much stuff and yet it was only 5 secs faster. My friends say I spoke too fast during Friday's rehearsal; must really thank them for their feedback..or else I wouldn't know where I went wrong. But I really can't control my speed of talking, I'm just so nervous and jittery when I stand in front of everyone. I shall go and practise my speech immediately after I type this. I'd better, or else tomorrow I'll really regret.

Anyway, I started watching the show "To Catch the Uncatchable" again. I really like that show. It's funny, humourous and interesting.

Well, my maid has still not confirmed whether she is leaving. I really hope she doesn't. I mean she's worked for my family for 5 years...I'm quite close to her; we share our problems and I always talked to her about stuff. I really hope that she doesn't leave. *sOBs*

Last year, after my "O"s, my family went on a holiday to Perth, Australia. It was a great trip and we all enjoyed ourselves. I really hate myself for having this phobia of heights. I really wanted to try sandboarding at the Pinancles. But I took a look and the slope and backed out. I watched my brothers whooshing down the slope and totally enjoying themselves. They trudged up the sand slopes later, dragging their boards along. Their faces were flushed with excitment and I'm definitely sure they enjoyed themselves. Too bad for poor old me and my stupid fear of heights. During that time I was having a sore throat and I had to take medicine along the whole course of the trip. I had to look around for water at petrol station and grocery stalls along the way as I got thirsty very quickly. On the whole, I enjoyed myself though. This was the best holiday I ever had, honestly. Let me post some photos which I took.

Emmanuel at Tree Top Walk in Albany

Christmas Pageant

Swan Valley Wagon Trails

Sunset at Albany

The Natural Bridge

Whoa...can't upload too many. My computer is very slow today. I think its because my aunty is using the Internet connection too. Haha...I hope that my trip to Korea this year will be as fruitful and as enjoyable as my trip to Perth last year.

I'd better go and practise my oral presentation now. Must remember to project voice, speak slowly, not shift my weight from one foot to the other, not to use my hands to play with my shirt buttons and most importantly to remain CALM and CONFIDENT!!!!

I pray and hope that everything will turn out well tomorrow. Then everything will be over and I can really take a break.

Oh no! I turn around and see that horrible pile of books and worksheets that have been there since the promos. I have to pack all that rubbish... and I must return Angie's stuff to her. I musn't make empty promises to people. I turn again and see the horrible file. The one that contains all that deadful holiday assignments. Oh why can't the school just give us a break?! School is already stressful enough. The holidays don't seem to be better anyway. *siGH*

Nevermind! I shall take everything a step at a time. Finish oral presentation tommorrow first. REST, RELAX and ENJOY first. Then think about all this stuff.

Usually I will complain of having Monday blues every start a brand new week. But today I didn't because... I don't have to go to school. It's great you know, being able to wake up at any time you want and spend the day in any way you like. This is FREEDOM! Anyway, last night, I went to sleep immediately after dinner (which is around 7.30pm) and did not wake up until this 8.30am this morning. Hmm...I think I slept for around 13 hours?! I felt so refreshed after all the late nights I have been having since the promos. I have not had such a nice and deep sleep since a long time ago. I watched some more VCDs today, one of which was the TVB 37th Anniversary celebrations.

After lunch, I typed out my speech for the oral presentation examination. It's coming nearer and nearer. In fact, it's only 2 pathetic days away! I'm so nervous and scared; I hope I will be able to do my best. My group is presenting to two groups from another class and I don't know a single one of them! It's already so scary to present and now I have to make eye-contact with some people who I don't even know. I really pray hard to God that I won't make any mistakes and that everything will go about smoothly.

Then on Thursday, Emmanuel has his annual performance for his kindergarten. We all came from the same kindergarten and they have this annual performance at the end of the year where each class has to put up a performance. Usually it's a dance or song item and everyone has to participate. I remember rather clearly that in my first year in kindergarten, my class put up a play on Snow White. Of course I didn't get any of the main roles like Snow White or the seven dwarfs; I didn't even get the role of the evil witch. I was...just a tree! I remember being clad in brown and green and smiling my largest smile at the audience while I swayed to the music. In my second year, I was the compere for my class. This year is Emmanuel's last year in the kindergarten, so he will be wearing the graduation robes and collecting his certificate during the performance. I think he really put in a lot of effort in practising for his item, hope everything goes well for him!

I really like the tune of this cantonese song. I didn't have the lyrics of the song last time. Thanks to Wei Zi , I have it now. Let me type it out.

《再生花》


怀念你 回忆却恨你 赐我这天地

陪着你 为等告别你 明年桃花飞


Chorus:

葬过花，红过心，忽远又近

我与你看遍烈月密云

你背影是我伤痕

我与你能爱得比风沙更狠

将今心 弥补他心爱 谁知有没有下文

一颗心，多少脚印

谁可证实结伴同行

指天发誓你我若有天可再生

祈求天意别要弄人

谁又会答应再生不爱别人


甜蜜过 而苦也炼过 那里有帮助

投入错 剧本却没错 谁能谈因果

（Repeat Chorus)

This song was sung by Kelly Chan and was used as the theme song for 《再生缘》. The tune is really nice and I think the lyrics are rather meaningful too.

By the way, I think I may not be able to go to Korea at the end of the year. There's a big problem coming up; my maid doesn't want to work for my family anymore. If my mum has to find and teach a new maid, I really don't think we have much time to go for a holiday anymore. Furthermore, my mum says it's not safe to leave a maid that is about to leave alone in the house when we go for holiday. I guess it must be the recent case whereby the maid chopped-up her friend while the employer was on holiday. It must have caused her to feel uneasy. I pray and hope that my maid will continue to stay and work for us for another year before she goes home. Everything will be fine then.

Well, I have to go somewhere later on. I shall lie down and relax for a while before I set out.
Goodbye!

Today's Sunday! I went to school yesterday for another oral presentation rehearsal. After which I went out with Christabel to J8 to buy birthday presents for Hui Min. We spent quite a lot of time wondering around and deciding on what presents to buy. Then we sat down at bread talk and wrote on her birthday card. We felt so bad that we forgot about her birthday. There was just so much things to do, oral presentation and CLAO exams. Luckily, it's just one more step to freedom! I have my oral presentation examination on next wednesday, 9th of November.

Then I went home, watched the Hong Kong drama serial, 《男亲女爱》. It's quite a nice show and humourous at times. Then Clement came over to my grandma's house and we watched a Mr Bean movie. We ordered pizza and KFC for dinner and Isaac came over to join us too. My parents and Emmanuel came around 10.30pm after they watched the sneak preview of the movie, Oliver, at Bugis Junction. They stayed until quite late and we discussed some stuff about the Korea trip.

I wrapped Hui Min's birthday present before going to bed.

Well, I woke up quite early today and changed my hamsters' cages the whole of this morning. They seem to be so much happier in their new cages! As I am typing this, suddenly the words of this song came into my mind. It's not a new one, it's one that I used to sing during National Day celebrations since I was in Primary School.

《朋友》


这些年一个人

风也过雨也走

有过泪有过错

还记得坚持什么


真爱过才会懂

会寂寞会回首

终有梦终有你在心中


朋友一生一起走

那些日子不再有

一句话一辈子

一生情一杯酒

朋友不曾孤单过

一声朋友你会懂

还有伤还有痛

还要走还有我

The words of this song speaks of friendship. It's really true. I mean if you meet friends that are really good and care about you, then these friendships will probably last for a lifetime. We really should treasure the friendships that we have built throughout our lives.

Hmm...I think I shall spend the rest of my day testing how I am going to pack my winter clothes into the luggage. It's a bit early, as I will be only flying off in December, but I'm really so excited!
再见！

Hello! Today's a public holiday! However, I seemed to have spent most of my time rotting at home. I watched TV this morning, a Hong Kong Drama Serial entitled "To Catch the Uncatchable" or something like that. Well, I was really a funny show, a good show to be exact. The male and female lead were both humourous! Sadly, the ending was a disappointment. The whole show seemed to be a comedy, but it ended with the male lead dying. *SoBs* The director failed to make a perfect ending to the show. The male lead had just woken up from his coma and was going to get married soon. If the whole show had just stopped here, it would have been great. But, somehow, it wasn't this way. He discovered that the blood clot in his head had moved to some fatal spot, and that he would die any minute. During the taking of their marriage photos, the camera was found to be spoilt. He went to give chase to a pick-pocket (he was a policeman) and died after calling his bride and telling her that he had caught the pick-pocket. He never made it back to take the photos. Such a tragic ending!

Anyway, I spent the rest of the day slacking around and doing nothing much. Oh..and I just finished the packet of nougat my aunty bought. This morning, I had a real big shock. You see, I have six hamsters and I'm totally in love with them. This morning, I went to see my favourites, Roundy and Pesty. Then I heard some strange sounds. I looked at the cage below and found that the sounds were coming from Quail. I was so frightened! My aunty and I brought the cage down and looked at him for a while. He continued making those strange noises that sounded very much like hiccups. We tried to get him to wake up and get up. He ignored us and continued lying on his back. We thought his time had come. Luckily, he got up slowly and moved into the house. We heaved a sigh of relief. My hamsters are really so cute. After a horrible day at school, I can always come home to see them. They eat, sleep and run on the wheel. They have nothing to worry about at all. How I wish I could be like them! If only my life was like that. Here are some pictures of my hamsters:




For the left column, the first hamster is Pesty, below him is Bean and right at the bottom, Quail.
For the right column, the hamster right on top is Roundy, below him is Rabbit and lastly Sappish.

I have a bad phobia of speaking in public. My palms get sweaty, my hands and legs start to shake. Sometimes, my mind even goes blank. The oral presentation examination for project work is coming up soon and the school has organised many rehearsals for us. Tomorrow is my third rehearsal and I still have the horrid feeling of butterflies in my stomach. I hate that feeling. How I wish I was more confident. My mum says it's because I lack confidence. I guess I do.

I have to go now. I want to go out shopping with my aunty. Being stuck indoors too long is unhealthy, I should go out and get some sunshine. Cheerio!

你好！Guten Tag! Today's my first posting. Well, actually I had quite a few postings before this. But I left my blog alone for some months and when I came back....I couldn't find my template let alone any postings! So i re-created (if there's such a word) my blog...and here it is!