The 5 posts are done !

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Something Unusual That Happened That Day

I wouldn't say that this was unusual as I occasionally experience this. Maybe it would be unusual if I hadn't found out what it was and that it wasn't only me who have experience these weird phenomenas. Only after watching a TV show (who says it has nothing to do with learning!) I learnt what I was that creepy feeling was.

Déjà vu , if you do not know is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as though an event has already happened or has happened in the recent past), although the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain. (check wiki if you want the full article). Suddenly, you will realise that you have experienced this before just that you do not know how to explain it. If not even one person has had this, I would really get goosebumps and freak out. Please say you have =).


Today , I realised that it was happening to me when I saw a scene of a car crash while I was taking bus 55. The exact likeness of the the scenes kind of made my hair stand. Then, the memories came back to me. I vividly remembered what I had seen , maybe a week ago? It's hard to remember the exact time of the happening when you don't know it will happen again. I was seated at the same seat, right at the back and on the left side. Usually, when I experience these events, I am alone and they were simple. Walking down the corridor in my house and unlocking the doors to my house; they may seem insignificant as I do these actions daily but it is the likeness of these events that actually scares me. I occasionally get scenes of events that include me and other parties but those are really seldom.

So, back to the present. The car crash was also as what I had seen in my vision (it feels weird to say vision; makes me feel like a prophet or psychic). 2 cars had collided in a head-on crash at the junction of Eunos Primary. Black smoke was erupting from both their bonnets and an ambulance was parked next to the site. The cars looked more like scrap metal in a junkyard. 3 men and a small child were being being stretchered into the ambulance. I could not look at the damage caused by accidents and turned back into the bus. Already knowing what I was experiencing, it was no longer a surprise and I rested my head on the window and thought about the events.

I wondered what the surprise was in life when I could see these events beforehand. When you think that you are the only one in the world doing that weird something, you will feel relieved when you see others like you. On a lighter note, there are some funny things that you do which makes you feel like you are the odd one out. If you have a Facebook account, you can check the 'Random' Groups and you are bound to find some actions that you thought only you did. You will be quite surprised by what you find.

However, I do not feel that alone. I remembered clearly in Primary 5, a teacher asked the class about their déjà vu experiences , there were many different accounts , even from the teacher himself! It was then that I realised that many other people have come across these events.

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Something that happened in school

Today was one of those ' lazy ' days . From the moment i woke up till now when I'm still typing this, I feel tired for some unknown reason.

At 5.30am, I woke up to the sound of my phone alarm. I lazily flipped it open and pressed the 'Turn Off' button, all the while my eyes were still shut (I am familiar with my phone's buttons).I tried to get up but my body would not comply and I fell back into a slumber for another half an hour. A cold towel on my face woke me up instantly and I was forced to get up by my nagging mother. Realising how late I was for school , I prepared my bag in a flash and ran off to the car.

The school day was long and tiring. I had to force my eyes open so that I would not drift off to sleep. Now I know how Kenneth feels. Lessons went by slowly and my brain could not absorb as much information as usual. The recess bell went and in my mind I was jumping with joy even though I could not really express that in my actions. I lay my head down to rest (for once I skipped soccer for sleep!) but the feeling of being idle was short-lived. The 35 minutes of idling shot by,unlike the time in lessons. Why does time fly when you are having fun ( it wasn't really fun, but it was a break for my mind). How I wished school did not start so early in the morning and instead near afternoon! More time to rest, and not to mention that we have a few extra precious hours to finish up half-done homework. Late night shows and soccer matches would not interfere with how sleep. Now who wouldn't want that!

Today, everything except recess =) was a total bore. All I wanted was to sleep, sleep and sleep. When we were younger, we never wanted to go to bed, but now, we cherish every second of it...

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A special moment I enjoyed with my family

Whew! Just finished my ' 5-course' dinner at my grandmother's house! Usually Sunday gatherings there were ordinary, with dinner that consisted of home cooked food and some of my mother's specialities. However, since everyone had been busy for the last 3 Sundays, this would be the first gathering of the year! Of course we had to have 5-star restaurant grade food!

Everyone was chatting and catching up with their work and school lives. Me and my cousins were playing some soccer while the others were playing Monopoly City, the newest edition. I had wanted a set but I felt that I had long outgrown the stage of board games. Sports was the activity for my age group now. Especially for an active boy like me, who has little time to play sports nowadays, I enjoyed the feeling of sweating out my stress.

The moment it hit 7pm, everyone was called to eat at the large glass table. There was roasted duck of the highest quality, a steamed fish which was fresh bought from the market and my favourite, chilli crab! Immediately, I dug in and scooped out large portions of fish and I took a gigantic pincer from the crab. Everything was excellent and I could not have asked for more. In a matter of minutes, the whole family had finished the food and there were some desserts.

After that I left the table to take a walk outside the terrace house. It was quiet and the atmosphere was suitable for me to reflect on how fortunate I was to be able to have such good food. I don't really see that many more Sunday gatherings anymore as the whole family getting busier with studies and work , not to mention that my grandmother is already very old and she is the reason why we have the gatherings. I really hope that we could have more of these family activities as they give us a break from the hectic schedule in life.

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A moment spent alone doing something I enjoyed.

As you can see from the style of my blog, I actually prefer being alone. Some might call me "emo" . I hardly talk in class but in the company of my close friends, I am very lively and humourous, like a glow in the darkness.

My 'alone time' is usually after school when I have plenty of time before I jump on a bus home. My sanctuary would be the band room on the 3rd floor of VS. Often, I go there to play my instrument the trumpet. The band majors wanted everyone to do at least 4 hours of practice per week. As you can see, my schedule is pretty hectic. I have to go for band 5 times a week , if I'm willing to stay longer every day, maybe 4. Many people groaned when they heard this. However, I don't treat it like it is compulsory practice, playing on my instrument is more of a stress reliever than a chore.

The trumpet is a brass instrument and it sounds bright and lively. People think of fanfare and royal castles when they hear this instrument but that was in medieval times. Nowadays, it is used in jazz and classical music. That was just a summary, I wouldn't want to copy and paste the whole wiki page here. Obviously my trumpet is not as shiny as the one in the picture as it is passed down from my seniors. They always said that older is better and mine looked like it had been burnt (or that was what they said). I am always ask why my trumpet looks old but I usually shrug it off.


Many people think that being in the band means lots of practice but I don't feel that way. Whenever I play the trumpet, I feel elated inside. Especially, when the room is almost empty with just a few other members practising, I am able to listen to the sound of my own playing. Even though I know that my tone is not really that bright and sparkling, I still think that the music I make sounds good. I specifically enjoy playing pieces that are modern and fun to listen to, they are already starting to replace my pop songs on radio ! Exams are here! (not really) when I get those dreaded thoughts of the questions on 'INSANE' difficulty level and the endless train of questions, I immediately get stressed out. The only thing that can possibly relax me is playing computer but that wouldn't really do any good( EXAMS???) except to rot my brains ( I still play them just not during exams of course!). So I turn to music for remedy, pop songs are good but I prefer MAKING my own music. It gives me a better feeling than just listening to others. I would visit the band room during the exam period regularly to relieve my stress. After all, it stills counts as practice.

My cousins all thought I joined the wrong CCA but they were wrong. I really appreciate the time I am able to spend alone playing my trumpet alone in the band room and nothing thye say would change my opinion. Right now, my wish to have my own trumpet at home would not be that feasible. They cost around $5000! Besides, my neighbours would be complaining to town council if I were to ever play the trumpet at home! Still, I will hold on to that wish to get an instrument that keeps me company when I'm alone.

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Something unusual that happened that day.

Ordinary to you, unusual to me.


I think I've gained good karma today. For once i actually helped a total stranger. Some of you kind people would think that it's not really very unusual. You help anyone who calls for assistance. You feel proud and good for your deeds. I finally can understand that feeling.


It was a tiring day and i dragged my heavy feet down the steps of the cool, air-conditioned bus. Down inside, I was reluctant to leave the comfort zone and into the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun. My bag was weighing me down as I ascended the staircase of the overhead bridge. Just a few hours ago, the class had ran an 800m sprint/ run (depending on the person himself) and the lactic acid was already building up inside my thighs. Homework was on my mind at that time, thinking about the stacks or rather amount of projects I had to type out took my mind off the ache but introduced another kind of pain. You know, homework???


So I continued down the bridge and at the bottom lay a thin, lanky man. His chin was unshaven and his cheekbones were visible through his sagging skin. The shirt and shorts he were wearing were covered with mud. He wasn't a typical beggar who begged out of their sheer lazyness. Both his arms ended at a stump just above the elbow. Bruises covered his lower legs and I noticed one of his teeth were missing. Immediately , a mixture of feelings overcame me. Who would actually beat a poor , handicapped man? First I was angry , then symphathy after that I felt awkward. Well who wouldn't, I was staring at him for about a minute or so while I was stuck in my thoughts and emotions. A shove from behind broke me out of my trance. A defiant-looking teenager sneered at me and sauntered off , headphones still stuck in his elf-like ears. I reached into my pocket and opened up my wallet, there were two dog-eared $2 notes inside. They were meant for my lunch but my hunger could wait. Right now, I wanted to help the poor guy out. Being the miser (fine, kind of then) that I was, I parted with the money with a heavy heart. Much to my surprise, he smiled , a genuine one, and said a warm "Thank You" ( it was hard to make out what he was saying due to cracked voice ) that was filled with gratitude.Before leaving , I left him a bottle of water and waved goodbye.


My $4 had not gone just to charity. I had just experienced the true joy of giving. I just learnt that small things bring great joy.

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Peer Evaluation

So... This is my first "real" post. This will be for the EL peer evaluation as stated in the title.

Today wasn't average or good. It was bad... It started off with me leaving for my band practice at 8am. Luckily my father had decided to do me a favour and drive me to school. I had slept at about 11.30pm yesterday. I doubt i could have woken up in time. So I arrived outside the gates and strolled in, I still had about 5 minutes to reach the band room on the 3rd floor.Immediately I heard the familiar sounds of the band room. After I had unpacked my instrument (look at the ABOUT ME section), I warmed up abit .Time passed by quickly and half an hour was up. The Junior Leader shouted for us to fall in. All the sounds seized and everyone put down their instruments to fall into formation. Unfortunately for me, I tripped over an instrument ( I shall not say which XD ) and knocked it of the stand.I panicked as the clang was loud and obvious and someone was bound to hear it but nobody seemed to notice other than the 2 people next to me. They were from my batch so they decided not to say anything. After all, we do not really sabotage each other. Well, not for Marvin an irritating guy. He kept threatening to sell me out after that .Setting up took about 15 minutes and we got down to playing pieces after warm ups. As always, our conductor Mr.Tan got angry at us for not practising our solo parts. My senior did not get scolded but others did.Lunch was at 11+am. The queue was already snaking when I reached the canteen. Why cant they just open more stalls on weekends arghh! Even when I was eating, Marvin the irritating guy kept giggling and gesturing. I finished my meal quickly and went up again to practise for the remainder of the time which was a measly 10 minutes. Practice started again and after playing a few notes, we had to stop and wait, and wait, an wait. One of the sections were not performing well and Mr. Tan constantly reminded them of the techniques and other important things. Time crawled by and finally it was our turn to play ( FINALLY!!!). Guess what, i dropped my slide on the floor and no one else was playing at that time.It slipped out when I was about to play ( I should really get those screws to hold the slides in). I was sure that my section leader had heard it but he decided to stay silent. Two accidents in a day! What bad luck. I guess the day was bad but I was lucky that I did not get killed pumping . Lucky but bad day...So the rest of the day turned out okay. Although I dont think I would forget about today for quite awhile.

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