After the one-month long June holidays and the week long home e-learning, I finally returned to school yesterday. After such a long time away from school, going back wasn't easy. There were a lot of things that I forgot to bring. The habits that I had during term 1 and 2 were gone. I had to make new habits.
After three days of schooling, I find that the habits are coming back. I no longer forgetting stuff that I ought to have done or not do. As usual, there were a lot of projects and homework. Besides that, there will be a Project's Day judging next Thursday (getting nervous already). As if that wasn't enough, I will have to finish my history ACE before tomorrow.
Seems like I shouldn't have left it till the last minute. So, I will do my Project Day's project this weekend. Hopefully I will be able to finish the powerpoint slides, web report and script in those two days.
Home e-learning wasn't all that bad. Actually I think it was quite fun. Besides gaining new experience, home e-learning lets you practice on meeting deadlines. We have to submit the first batch of homework (2 subjects) by 10.30 am and the second batch in the afternoon. Sometimes the instructions are quite confusing, but in the end I managed to finish them all.
In view of H1N1 virus, there may be more home e-learning in the future. So I hope that everyone will enjoy it (I definitely will).
School is back!
Please take note....
There seems to be some confusion over whose blog this belong to. So I'll make an introduction of myself. I am Goh Chih-Yang from 1A2. My index number is 5. Thank you and feel free to browse.
Lesson 5: Poetry on Gambling:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-poems-gambling-poem.htm
Go to the website and read the three poems Tom Beatty, The Green Clothes and One-Dollar Gambler. You have to do a brief comparison of each poem to a short story in approximately 100 words. Respond to at least 2 discussion threads below. Do note that you are also to comment on your friends' comments and these will be graded too.
Show how the poem Tom Beatty could be compared to The Rocking Horse Winner . In studying the poem, note that the opera house is really life and when He makes the rules it's either the Lord or perhaps the devil. Beatty suggests that everyone has about 70 years, but Paul in The Rocking Horse Winner had much less time. Explain what Paul's weakness was, how the cards were stacked against him and do you think Paul was lucky not to live to be an old man fumbling the cards, leaden-eyed and whining about his losses?
Paul was too obsessed with winning the gamble that he could not focus on anything else except the races. If Paul did not ‘know’ which horse will win, the odds against him winning were high. On the other hand, if he ‘knew’, he will most likely win. I think Paul is lucky not to live to be an old man cursing his luck and whining about his losses because his chances of winning depends if he ‘knew’ the result. If Paul grew up, his obsession with gambling may confine his life to gambling horse races, just as how Beatty’s opera house was really life. By then, no one can save him anymore.
In The Green Clothes, green is the color of envy, greed and money! This poem is thematically similar to Paper . Even though the poem takes place at a roulette wheel the gamblers from the short story and the poem have similar experiences. Explain how tips, dry lips, and all that was spent in vain could apply to the short story Paper .
The gambler in The Green Clothes was looking to get back for his losses by winning the gamble. He was so focused on winning that all he cared for was the small ball trembling in the circle. He even sacrificed his sleep to gamble. Similarly in Paper, Tay Soon gave his all to buy shares in the stock market. In the end, he spent all of his money for nothing. When the stock market started crashing, he was indecisive to sell his shares. At last, he decided to gamble by not selling his shares. His nervousness and desire for winning the gamble contributed to him suffering an emotional breakdown. Besides losing his money, he also lost his health, and died soon after.
Lesson 4: Theme: Gambling
Three short stories: Catherine Lim's Little Ironies , Paper and Lottery and D.H. Lawrence's The Rocking Horse Winner . http://www.dowse.com/fiction/Lawrence.html
In relation to Paper, you should explain exactly what the title refers to and why it is so significant to gambling, gains on the stock market and ultimately the conclusion of the story.
Tay Soon and Yee Lian who worked hard to earn their forty-eight thousand all put their money into the market shares. They earned a lot of ‘paper gains’ after a few days and could not stop buying more shares. Shortly after the market crashed, and all their profits were lost, Tay Soon suffered an emotional breakdown. Not long after that, he was hospitalized and he died. The paper house that Yee Lian made for him was ‘a delicate framework of wire and thin bamboo strips covered with finely worked paper of a myriad colours’. The paper house was seven feet tall and was made to Yee Lian’s specifications. It was burnt at Tay Soon’s funeral. The title referred to the paper gains and how it turned into a paper house for Tay Soon.
For The Rocking Horse Winner, write a paragraph of 100 words in which you point out who was responsible for Paul's death.
I think the reason for Paul’s death was mainly because of his obsession for luck. After successfully winning some money the money his uncle gave him the first time he gambled, he started to gamble more and more with bigger amounts of money. His mother’s explanation of luck also made him curious about luck and wanted to ‘arrive’ at where luck is. He ‘knew’ the winning horse of most races and won a lot of money. When he stopped ‘knowing’, he was upset and was determined to ‘know’ the result for the next race. His uncle’s and Bassett’s partnership also made him all the more determined. In the end, he had brain fever and died.
Lesson 3: Analyzing & Composing poem
The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa'at
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A's
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed
What are the poet's thoughts? What were his feelings as he think back on these ?The writer probably feels amused at his friend's and his past actions. He also remembers the difficulty of secondary school life.
Think back on our days in Primary School. Do you share the same sentiments? What were your memories of those days? Write a poem of no less than 4 stanzas.
Then I was still in primary school
Joking and fooling around
Teachers chasing students for homework
Happens everyday
When the bell rings
At exactly 1.00 pm
The students will pack
And run from the classroom
Exams and tests come by
All sit in a quiet room
Trying to write something
To tell the teacher I know the answers
After six years of studying
We all will leave this school
Chatted endlessly
Before saying goodbye
My Favourite Poet
My favourite poet is Matthew Arnold (1822-1888). He was an English poet and a cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School and brother to both Tom Arnoold, literary professor, andWilliam Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator.
I think that his poems are interesting and engaging. Here are some of his poems :
Immortality
Foil'd by our fellow-men, depress'd, outworn,
We leave the brutal world to take its way,
And, Patience! in another life, we say
The world shall be thrust down, and we up-borne.
And will not, then, the immortal armies scorn
The world's poor, routed leavings? or will they,
Who fail'd under the heat of this life's day,
Support the fervours of the heavenly morn?
No, no! the energy of life may be
Kept on after the grave, but not begun;
And he who flagg'd not in the earthly strife,
From strength to strength advancing only he,
His soul well-knit, and all his battles won,
Mounts, and that hardly, to eternal life.
Growing Old
What is it to grow old?
Is it to lose the glory of the form,
The lustre of the eye?
Is it for beauty to forego her wreath?
Yes, but not for this alone.
Is it to feel our strength
Not our bloom only, but our strength decay?
Is it to feel each limb
Grow stiffer, every function less exact,
Each nerve more weakly strung?
Yes, this, and more! but not,
Ah, 'tis not what in youth we dreamed 'twould be!
'Tis not to have our life
Mellowed and softened as with sunset-glow,
A golden day's decline!
'Tis not to see the world
As from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,
And heart profoundly stirred;
And weep, and feel the fulness of the past,
The years that are no more!
It is to spend long days
And not once feel that we were ever young.
It is to add, immured
In the hot prison of the present, month
To month with weary pain.
It is to suffer this,
And feel but half, and feebly, what we feel:
Deep in our hidden heart
Festers the dull remembrance of a change,
But no emotion none.
It is last stage of all
When we are frozen up within, and quite
The phantom of ourselves,
To hear the world applaud the hollow ghost
Which blamed the living man.
Dover Beach
The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Ægæan, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Arnold
http://www.love-poems.me.uk/biography_arnold_matthew.htm
They Did Not Expect This
by Vernon Scannell
They did not expect this. Being neither wise nor brave
And wearing only the beauty of youth's season
They took the first turning quite unquestioningly
And walked quickly without looking back even once.
It was of course the wrong turning. First they were nagged
By a small wind that tugged at their clothing like a dog;
Then the rain began and there was no shelter anywhere,
Only the street and the rows of houses stern as soldiers.
Though the blood chilled, the endearing word burnt the tongue.
There were no parks or gardens or public houses:
Midnight settled and the rain paused leaving the city
Enormous and still like a great sleeping seal.
At last they found accommodation in a cold
Furnished room where they quickly learnt to believe in ghosts;
They had their hope stuffed and put on the mantelpiece
But found, after a while, that they did not notice it.
While she spends many hours looking in the bottoms of teacups
He reads much about association football
And waits for the marvellous envelope to fall:
Their eyes are strangers and they rarely speak.
They did not expect this.
How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?
1) By a small wind that tugged at their clothing like a dog
The poet used both personification and simile to describe the wind. These expressions showed that the wind was disturbing the travelers by 'tugging'.
2) Only the street and the rows of houses stern as soldiers.
Simile is used here by the poet to show that the travelers are strangers to the area, seeing the houses as 'stern soldiers'.
3) Midnight settled and the rain paused leaving the city
Personification is used here to show that midnight has come and the rain has stopped.
4) Furnished room where they quickly learnt to believe in ghosts.
Symbolism is used here to show that the room the travelers' room were uncomfortable and tend to give them an uneasiness.
5) Their eyes are strangers and they rarely speak.
Metaphor and symbolism is used here by the poet. Both of these devices show that the travelers were unhappy with their current situation.
Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.
I like this poem because it shows a the difficulty of some people leading a life. The poem starts with a couple arriving at a foreign city. Their arrival was not a good one as it was raining and makes it hard to move around in an unfamiliar place. They only found a place to stay at after the rain has stopped. Even so, the place that they found was not comfortable. I also believe that they were in financial trouble and the 'marvellous envelope' could be their salary. The financial problem could also well be the reason for them ignoring each other.
I like this poem because it shows a the difficulty of some people leading a life. The poem starts with a couple arriving at a foreign city. Their arrival was not a good one as it was raining and makes it hard to move around in an unfamiliar place. They only found a place to stay at after the rain has stopped. Even so, the place that they found was not comfortable. I also believe that they were in financial trouble and the 'marvellous envelope' could be their salary. The financial problem could also well be the reason for them ignoring each other.
(103 words)
The Book that Made an Impact in My Parents' Lives
Once, I asked my mother about the book that impacted her the most. After thinking for a while, she said she once read a book about a Taiwanese boy when she was in primary school. The book was written based on a true story and it was very touching. The title of the book 汪洋中的一条船, or 'He Never Gives Up'.
This book tells of a young boy in Taiwan. When this boy was born, his had crippled legs. As his family was poor, they thought of abandoning him as he was a great burden. However, his mother banished the idea and continued to raise him up.
Because of this physical disability, he cannot walk or run. Everyday, he crawls to school from his home. Even though it was very difficult, he continued to go to school. Sometimes, his friends carried him around on their backs. He moved around like this until he graduated university.
Besides having a hard time in his school years, he had to cope with the pressure of working and adapt to adult life. Because of his determined and hardworking attitude, he finally succeeded and earned a lot of money. He also got married and had a family.
My mother said that she learnt a lot of values from this book. It can also teach us how to face problems and never give up. A movie was also made based on this book and was screened in 1979.
My favourite character in Village by the Sea
My favourite character in Village by the Sea is of course Hari, the main character of the story. I like how he wields the responsibility to support his family. He stopped going to school just to work in the farm and do other jobs to earn a living for his family.
After failing to earn money in Thul, he even went to Bombay himself to find work there. He was also determined to save as much money as possible by not spending his hard-earned money. Besides working hard, he also has a keen interest in learning new skills.
He met an old watchmender who taught him the skills of watchmending. Within a short time, he has mastered the skill and started earning money throught watchmending. Hari was also a kind-hearted person. When he heard of Mr. Panwallah, the watchmender, being sick, he was very worried over him. He took an afternoon off and went to visit the old watchmender.
As can be seen throughout the whole story, he also rarely fights or argues with anybody. He is very independent and hardworking. This is why he is my favourite character in Village by the Sea.
Village by the Sea
During the first few weeks of English lessons, our LA teacher told us to buy a few novels required for our classes. It was then that I first laid my hands on this novel 'Village by the Sea' by Anita Desai. I liked the cover art. It depicted a village in India, which I have never seen before.
As the Term 2 Literature exam nears, I started to read it. It tells of a young boy named Hari, whose father and mother were both incapable of supporting the family due to various reasons. The problem of the dysfunctional family was worsened as Hari's father was violent due to excessive drinking. Besides affecting his health, Hari's father also incurred great debts.
As Hari becomes more confused and angry by the situation, he finally ran off to Bombay in search of jobs and to run away from the unhappy problems at home. In Bombay, he found a job and worked very hard. He also never spent any of his hard-earned money, instead saving them to bring it home. Besides working at a restaurant, he also learned the skill of watchmending. After some time, he finally went back to his home and started a new life. His father was roused from this drinking stupor and apologised for his actions. Hari's mother was also cured after staying in hospital.
The part that I like most in this story was Hari's stay in Bombay. Besides the interesting storyline and turn of events, this part teaches the readers a lot of moral values. Hari's determination to save as much money as he can without himself spending it is a good example. We should all save money and resources and appreciate what we have. Imagine people living in poverty who do not have sufficient food everyday, while we throw our food down the drain just simply because we cannot finish it. Hari is also an independent and hardworking boy, being able to adapt himself to the hard life while working in Bombay.
I recommend this book to readers of any age. This book certainly tells us a lot about industrialization with its effects and also poverty.
England 6-0 Andorra
A routine win for England.. 6-0. Hopefully they will do well after qualifying for FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Their perfect qualification of 7 wins in 7 games really makes people optimistic.
The scorers of the match are as follow:
- Rooney 4
- Lampard 29
- Rooney 39
- Defoe 73
- Defoe 75
- Crouch 80
Rich Real Madrid and Red Crisis
A few days ago, Real Madrid sealed a transfer that shocked the world (at least me). They managed to buy Brazilian international Kaka from AC Milan for £56 million. It was hard to believe. Why did AC Milan sell their playmaker?
As if that was not enough, a few hours ago, I learnt the news that Real Madrid (again) bought Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo for £80 million, which would make Ronaldo the most expensive player in football history.
Just within one week, Real Madrid bought 2 players and it cost them around £136 million!!! Wow... Imagine that amount of money, what could you do with it?
With Real Madrid spending big, Liverpool instead are having some troubles. Rafa Benitez has said that he would not walk out on Liverpool during this times, and with financial problems, cannot buy top-flight players. Hopefully the problems can be solved and Liverpool can win the Premier League next season. :)
IMU Course
Without me knowing, my sisters registered me for a Student Exploratory Workshop at IMU (International Medical University). The workshop lasted for 2 days. It was a chance to learn a lot of new things, particularly in the medical field.
There were 17 participants in the workshop. Besides me, the rest of the participants were at least 15 years of age, some even waiting for universities to accept them! Imagine how scary it was when I first arrived there... Even so, it was fun attending the workshop with them.
The lecturers/professors there talked a lot about career prospectives and what they do in their field. I don't like the career part. It was not suitable for me. The field that most interested me was medical bioscience. But then, the researcher kept on talking about his experiences and giving advices, we all ended up with sore legs standing for over an hour.
Overall, I think the camp was not a waste of time (money probably, it cost RM150). Hopefully in the future there will be similar camps (with reduced cost, of course). I really advise any of you to join this kind of workshops. You most probably won't fall asleep (some do, however).
Holidays!!
Finally, end of Term 2 and the mid-year break starts. After all the hassle of Term 2 class tests and common tests, finally there is some time to relax. Even though it is the holidays, I still cannot slack too long... There are tons of projects that have to be done.. :(
I think my class results are not too bad... 4th in class, but I should be able to do better, need to work harder, get my mind off gaming. But still, I admit I will still be playing computer games this month-long holidays.
This time I will be back in Ipoh until 23 June. I will have to attend St.John day trainings on 24 and 25 June. So scary... Don't know if there will be a first-aid test. Sigh.. I still have to polish my boots (and I remember Staff Seargeant saying each session about 1 hour !!)
After relaxing for some time, I think I will start doing some homework. After that, I will do some ACE projects for Science, Maths and Geography. I like these three subjects. If I have time (probably won't), I may even do some for Malay and History... zzz...
I don't think I will be going anywhere this holidays except KL. Both of my sisters have to get ready for SPM and PMR... Still, my elder sister keeps on persuading my mother to bring them shopping... Is that a sign of stress? Don't think so.. Anyway, happy holidays!!!
Heartbroken result...
It came as a blow during the penultimate weekend of the 2008-09 English Premier League, Manchester United successfully defended their crown. With one match yet to be played, Manchester United is leading second-placed Liverpool by 4 points.
Although it will be impossible for Liverpool to win the Premier League this season, their performance this season will make any Liverpool fan proud. Hopefully, they will be able to win it next season. Even though there will be no crown, Liverpool will at least be in the second place, leading third-placed Chelsea by 3 points and 5 goals.
Online-and-offline-related-things
Last week, I started work on my Online Portfolio. It is an assessment for Infocomm Studies. I had fun doing it as I learnt a lot of things. I used Adoe CS3 software while creating my portfolio. Overall, I was quite satisfied with my work.
Sad news :(
Lol... My blog has been dormant for a long time now... Sorry guys... I have been busy doing projects and school stuff... Anyway, Liverpool lost to Chelsea on aggregate during the quarter-finals clash a few days ago. I was heartbroken.. (lol) Nevertheless, it was a fantastic performance from Liverpool and I am proud of them. They actually managed to lead twice at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea's home ground) at different intervals during the match, once 2-0 and once 4-3. Still, I admit Chelsea is a good team worthy of winning the Champions League this year. I really hope they do so (even though I do not support them, lol). A few days ago, it was the anniversary of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Let us remember the disastrous day and hope it will never happen again.
PS: I don't know why.. but I seem to be "spitting" out a lot of "lol"s... lol..
One day trip
I had a restless night yesterday and so wanted to wake up late this morning. Then, my sister woke me up and reminded me we had a family trip to Penang today. So I forced myself to get out of bed. I slept through most of the journey to Penang.
When I woke up, we were already on the Penang Bridge. Later, we went to Queensbay Mall and shopped there for a while. Then, we had McDonald's for lunch. There was this McValue offer from 12pm to 3pm. When we arrived at the outlet, there was not much customers in it, so we decided to sit down first. Suddenly a few minutes later (aroud 11.55pm), a whole horde of customers appeared inside the outlet. In the end, we had to queue up for around 10 minutes before we get our lunch.
After eating lunch, we went to the famous temple Kek Lok Si as my sister had a project to do. We climbed high and low and took a lot of pictures (most of them just my sister). My father was furious because he had to pay twice just because he parked at two different places. When we arrived at the foot of the hill, we had supper at a famous road-side stall. We had the famous Penang laksa. It was fantastic. Although I have only eaten it twice altogether, I love it! Not only is it tasty, it costs less than RM3!
After finishing the laksa, we decided to head home. My father decided to go back to the mainland by ferry and in the end, we got stuck in a major traffic jam and delayed us for at least 30 minutes. While waiting for the traffic congestion to clear up, I drifted off into dreamland, again. After arriving at the mainland, we had dinner at a fishing village called Sepetang. We had seafood for dinner. It was also very delicious.
At around 9pm, we headed home. Overall, it was a nice trip to Penang. Not only does it allows you to have a relaxing time, it also tightens the bond between family members. I hope there will be more similar family trips in the future.
Term 1 Break
Sec 1 Camp was over (a bit glad), and the Term 1 break starts!!! I returned to Malaysia on Friday (13 Mar) and arrived in my hometown early morning on Saturday. Sunday and Monday I went out with some ex-classmates and friends. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them at Ipoh Parade (a shopping mall) and I definitely will go there again the next term break. Besides interacting with my peers, I also spent a lot of time with my family. It has been a long time since we sat at the same dinner table and so we talked a lot. I also watched football with my father (and was overjoyed when Liverpool thrashed Manchester United 4-1). The result further lifted my spirits (not to mention Liverpool last week's 4-0 romp over Real Madrid). Of course, I cannot just slack this whole week, tons of project work has to be done. Still, overall, this has been a terrific week and there will be more additions (I will be going to Penang this Thursday). I simply love the term breaks.
Crippled but Strong
Today, as I flipped through the newspaper, I saw another interesting article. There was this article about a woman. Miss Oh Siew May, 38 years old, is not a normal person. She is a writer of a book titled "Scaling Walls". The book was an instant hit, with over 3000 out of 5000 copies sold when it was released.
So what was so special about Ms Oh? She is the youngest of five children in her family. Ms.Oh is actually a victim of cerebral palsy. This disease renders her ability to move normally. Unfortunately for her, she is not the only one in her family to suffer from diseases. Various diseases have robbed her of her families and friends. One of her siblings once had a high fever causing the sibling to be mentally impaired. Besides that, her father and one of her friends died due to cancer. Her father succumbed to colon cancer.
The other friend, Lui Ming, who greatly inspired her to do wonderful things, died in 2005 at the age of 44. Lui Ming and her daughter, Aurora encouraged Ms. Oh in many different aspects. They even persuaded Ms. Oh to climb Mt. Kinabalu, which is situated in East Malaysia, and stands at a height of 4095m, making it one of the tallest mountains in South East Asia. Ms.Oh's mother, too suffered from chronic skin disease and had to amputate her right leg.
Despite facing these various setbacks in her life, she continued to work to make money for her family. It was a hard task for her to find jobs, as many companies did not want to hire physically or mentally impaired workers. So, Ms. Oh had no choice but to start a pushcart business at a shopping mall. She had to gave up in 2003 when SARS hit, resulting in drop of customers. After that, she continued to look for jobs.
In the end, she started to write books. After finishing writing the book, she tried to find a company to publish it. Eventually, she found a company. When the date of publishing came nearer and nearer however, the company refused to publish her work as they cannot reach an agreement of contracts. So, her group of motley friends pooled up over $10000 to start a Siew May and Friends publisher and managed to publish Ms.Oh's book in merely 8 weeks.
Ms.Oh has been a great inspiration to me. People can be motivated just by looking at what she has done, even though she is crippled. She had to break more barriers in comparison to a normal human to do what she has done. She is really a determined person. We should emulate what we can from her.
Beckham Disappointment?
There it was. Written in a corner of the sports section. "Impasse as Milan won't pay more than US$3m for Becks". Not really surprised, I read the article.
The character-driven story revolves around David Beckham, about his transfer woes and about his desire to play for England. After his short loan spell at AC Milan, the coaches were impressed and wanted to make the loan a permanent move from LA Galaxy. Still, they were not willing to pay the proposed US$12m from LA Galaxy for the 33-year-old England international.
David Beckham has expressed publicly his desire to remain in Italy to play for AC Milan. Playing with the world's best footballers may well increase his chances to play for the national team. The tug-of-war ended for the time being as the transfer window for the MLS closed. Beckham has to stay at LA Galaxy until the next transfer window opens. There is also a get-out clause in his contract for LA Galaxy for the end of the next MLS season.
The chief of LA Galaxy has been quoted as saying the offer was ridiculous. He pointed out a few reasons as to why he could not sell Beckham, especially at such a cheap price. Among the few reasons were loss of jersey sales, decrease of fans, sponsor compensations and others.
I think that Beckham will not be able to leave LA Galaxy easily. He will be able to leave only when he ends his contract. LA Galaxy seems keen on keeping him for various reasons. As for Beckham, he might feel disappointed that he failed to play for the Italians. This might decrease the chance that he will play for England. He was first loaned to AC Milan to guarantee his fitness for the national team. Now that he is not able to play for AC Milan, the chances may well decrease a lot.
Even though if the two teams reach an agreement to let Beckham transfer to AC Milan now, it will still be too late. The transfer window has been closed as the MLS season kicks off on 22 March. So all Beckham can do now is wait and play as before for LA Galaxy. What else can he do?
Assistance for those computers in need
If your computer cannot see the videos or applications, please go to the following websites for an update:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp
Note: These sites are not owned by me. Just a pointer for you.
Tests
Tests, exams, assessments... As students, you will all be familiar with this term. Every student has to undertake exams and such during their schooling days. As for me, my first exam in my High School days will commence next week!!! Can you feel the suspense in the air? Can you hear the increasing heartbeats? Can you see the face of terror on the faces of students? This is the exaggerated negatives effects tests can have on students. Still, tests can have a positive impact on students too, making them study, making them hardworking... So, test is not actually a bad thing. So I suggest all of you who will face tests embrace them with open arms... (though I agree it is a hard thing to do)
School Commences… Again…
After the Chinese New Year holidays (which was relatively short), I ended my days of slacking (I did something meaningful, mind you) and went back to school. Not to say I hate school, I left my house with a heavy heart to attend it. It was interesting (as always), and I did not regret studying in school. Still, I felt… “wrong”… Hard to explain, you know… Now, I have to concentrate in school once again and do well in my studies. I look forward to returning home again, albeit for a while only. Try leaving your house to a faraway place (not for holidays, but for serious stuff), then you may be able to understand the unexplainable feeling. My primary school teacher used to say look positively at things and be happy if possible. Other than that, there is an old saying that laughing can prolong your lifespan. So unleashed the humour in you… Hahahahahaha….
Chinese New Year Begins!!!
Today is what the Chinese (normally the older generation) call 正月初一 (zheng yue chu yi). Translated, it means the first day of the first lunar month, or first day of the new year. It is also commonly known as the Chinese New Year. My family and I went to visit relatives on the “father side”, or relatives related to my father. I enjoyed every moment of it as families and relatives rarely gather together nowadays. They all have work and some even work in places far away. Tomorrow I will visit relatives on the “mother side”. Don’t you think it is interesting? Each year during this festival, we will meet new relatives, but also sadly, we will lose some. So, we must appreciate what we have now and not grieve for it when it is gone. Hope you all have a good festive season. Happy New Year!
PS: If you want to find out more about Chinese New Year, click here.
The most important festival for Chinese
Chinese New Year. The most important festive season for Chinese. Chinese all over the world will return to their hometowns to celebrate it together with their families. Can you imagine the joy given out by this single festival? People will gather and eat the Reunion Dinner, children will get angpaos, families will visit their relatives. During the festival, streets that are normally silent and cold will be buzzling with activities. How a single festival can have such a great impact on the world remains unknown to us. Maybe because Chinese are found all over the world? Who knows? Readers, please give some ideas as to what you think about the Chinese New Year.
Nostalgia
Nostalgia. This word may not be familiar to you all. It is a kind of feeling many people face but do not know what it is called. Often, people have seen feelings like this in movies or dramas. I used to ignore it (as many do) in movies or such. I have never experienced it before. For the first time, I experienced it in life. Leaving home for a faraway place was hard, thinking about the past often made people sad. For the Chinese New Year holidays, I went back home. It was nostalgic. Looking at my hometown and seeing how things have changed in my absence. It was sad looking at how many things I have missed. Still, it was a good experience out there. It made me stronger, more independent. Although it was not a bad experience altogether, I still hope to spend more time in my hometown. I hope that in the future I will never regret anything I do and look positively at the future, so that I will never again feel nostalgic about the past, trying to salvage something.
Naruto Shippuuden
I am a manga fan and I love Naruto. Currently the number of episodes has reached the 400++ mark! If I am not wrong, I think that Naruto started in 1998, either the anime or the manga.
The first book:
Manga total : 431 episodes
Anime total : 311 episodes (I think)
If you are wondering which anime to choose, I suggest Naruto. Though it's a bit violent (fighting and others), it has a lot of moral values that you can learn from. You will not regret it.
First and Last... (I hope)
Today it was a normal Monday like any other. We had classes in school. The bell rang. We had break. The bell rang. We had classes. I goes on and on. Finally, around 1.20 pm, me and my friends were dismissed. We went back to the boarding school (won't tell you which one) and rested for a while. We had school tuition at around 4 pm. I ate lunch and did the necessary stuff (e.g. surf internet, take out books from bag, open pencil case...). A series of unexpected events happened over the next few minutes. In this few minutes, it could play a significant role between "life and death". I was just getting ready to head back to school for tuition. Suddenly, my stomach was grumbling. What could that mean???
a) I was hungry
b) I need to go to toilet (you know what that means)
c) I talked too much while eating
Be honest, readers, which do you think is the real one? Have your answer ready in mind before proceeding. The result is:
a) Not likely, I just had lunch
b) Possible, but what did I ate/drank?
c) Maybe, but I was alone for most of the time while eating my chicken burger
THE ANSWER IS : B
So sad, now I will make a timeframe of what happened:
1.20 pm Dismissal from school
1.30 pm Arrived at room in boarding school, collected assignments to be handed in to teacher
1.40 pm At the main entrance of the boarding school, bought a burger and a can of coffee
1.50 pm Finished my lunch, handed in my assignment to teacher
2.00 pm Arrived at computer room, surf internet
3.00 pm Went back to room, packed books
3.30 pm Relaxed a while
THE MAJOR KEY TO THE WHOLE EVENT HAPPENED HERE
3.50 pm Final check for tuition bag
3.52 pm Almost leaving the room, the stomach grumbles...
3.53 pm Rushed to the toilet (you know what I did)
3.58 pm Exited the toilet, took my bag and rushed to the school
4.02 pm Reaching the entrance of school, suddenly thought that I forgot to bring an assignment
4.06 pm Went back to room and saw that the assignment was actually in my bag
4.10 pm Reached the school, panicked when I forgot where the tuition room was (new to school)
4.23 pm After wandering around the school, finally found the room. (Late for around 20 min.)
4.24 pm Warned by the tuition teacher
As you can see, I was frustrated by the fact that I had the stomach ache at that particular moment and I ran back and forth the boarding school. So, that resulted in me being late. We must also give credit to me being "short-term memory". Ha...ha...ha...ha...
Hope that will be the last time in this new school. It really is inevitable for all people. So I suggest you all plan your time carefully and not do things at the last moment (like me). Good luck
Communication is Important
Communication, as we know, is very important. Nowadays, technology is so advanced that you can communicate with somebody within seconds even though you are a thousand miles apart. With communication devices, (e.g. handphones, laptops, computers) you can easily be connected to the whole world, parents can call their kids, employees can call their employers, housewife can call the bi-hoon stall... You see? It's so important some people will feel uncomfortable when they are not in the presence of their communication devices. So, I also have my own handphone. I am proud to announce that it is the Sony Ericsson W595! Here I have included some links and pictures to information about this phone. It's real nice.
For more information about the phone, kindly refer to the following link:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/w595?lc=en&cc=sg
Please comment on the phone, and its pros and cons. Do tell me if I made a bad selection buying this phone. :)
Burning Passion
Cut my veins open and I bleed Liverpool red. I love Liverpool with a burning passion. That was what Steven Gerrard, captain of Liverpool said in his biography, and it was what I inclined to say, for both of us had similar thoughts for Liverpool. Just simply love it. Nothing else. The desire to see them win was murderous (though not as serious) and the satisfaction in seeing them win was almost ecstatic. The letdown when seeing them lose was depressing (again not so serious), but the passion for it keeps me going and going on until we win. No matter how many hardships we face in our daily life, there will always be a solution, because you'll never walk alone.
The Start of Something Old
Can I say this is the start of something new? No. Surely not. Millions of people have already made their blogs. So how could I say I started all of this? Still, this is something we, I mean, I, should be proud of. Ladies and gentlemen, kindly celebrate this glorious moment with me. Let's hold our drinks (if you have one) high and say,"The Blog." And the celebration ends. This marks the start of my blogging days. Imagine just a few years later, a boy ventures into my blog, and he says, "So this is what our history teacher wanted us to find, a relic, a masterpiece, of history....". Soon, blogs may well be replaced by something newer, better, and more efficient than blogs. Still, I am content with the current state of affairs. Ladies and gentlemen, as I am a newbie, please give me pointers and correct any mistake I make. Thank you.
