I invited a few friends from Suzhou, China to come along. When I ringed the restaurant at 1pm to make a table reservation for 4 dining at 7:3opm, a waitress with the Malaysian Chinese accent answered my call.

She lacks basic telephone etiquette, and kept asking me “Huh? What ah ah ah ah?” and I had to repeat to her several times that “my surname is Ma” before she finally got it right.

This is only the beginning of the nightmare. When we reached the restaurant at 1 Liang Seah Street #01-05/06 at about 7:20pm, I informed a waiter that I’m Mr Ma who has already booked a table for 4 dining at 7:30pm.

But the waiter wearing spectacles and with the local Chinese accent simply asked us to stand outside and wait, as all tables were occupied. This has left us puzzled: Since reservation has already been made, how come they didn’t save the table for us? What, then, is a reservation for?

His explanation in Mandarin was unsatisfactory: “Because many customers book tables, but in the end never turn up.”

How could he ill-treat customers this way just because of some other customer’s “no-show”? If the restaurant does not entertain reservations but operates on a first-come, first-served basis when it comes to seating, they could at least inform customers earlier. Does this restaurant value integrity at all?

Just then, a waitress tapped my left arm and said rudely in Mandarin, “Let me pass through!” Is it so difficult for her to say “Excuse me”?

I had been a very loyal customer who patronized this restaurant quite a few times with my friends this year. Besides, I made phone reservations each time prior to my visit but didn’t encounter any issue.

We were only seated at about 7:45pm, in the non-air-conditioned area outside the restaurant. It was ridiculous, indeed extremely embarrassing to stand outside and wait for a good 20 minutes with my guests for the seats I’ve already booked. There was no apology in any form from the restaurant. This has been my last time patronizing this restaurant and I shall boycott this restaurant from now on.

“中国风重庆烤鱼”：预订的席位也可以不翼而飞

写这篇文章是为了投诉我昨天在“中国风·重庆烤鱼（武吉士分店）”的糟糕经历。

我请了苏州的朋友一起去吃重庆烤鱼。下午1点我致电餐厅预订傍晚7点半的4个席位时，一位操着马来西亚华人口音的服务生接了电话。

她连最基本的电话礼仪都不懂，一直问我”什么？什么啊、啊、啊的？“ 结果我向她重复了N次，她才听明白：我姓马。

这只是噩梦的开始。

我们于傍晚7：20分左右来到了位于1 Liang Seah Street #01-05/06的这家餐馆后，我立即通知一位男服务生：我是马先生，预定了7点半的4个席位。

但这位戴眼镜、操着新加坡本地华语口音的男服务生竟然让我们都站在外面等，因为没有空的桌子了。这让我们百思不得其解：不是已经预订了席位了吗？为什么他们没有给我们留桌子？那么，预约又是来干什么的？

他用华语作出的解释难以让人满意：”因为很多人订了位，结果都没来。”

岂有此理！仅仅因为某些顾客预订了席位到最后又不出现就用这么卑鄙的手段来惩罚其他顾客？如果这家餐厅不接受预订席位而是采取“先到先得”策略，那至少应该通知顾客一声吧。我很怀疑，这家餐馆把“诚信”二字放在眼里了吗？

就在这时，另一女服务生拍了拍我的左臂，粗鲁地用华语告诉我：“让我过去！” 难道说一句“Excuse me!”（不好意思，请让我过去）会死啊？

我曾是这家餐馆的忠实顾客，今年还和朋友们光顾过好几次，而且每次都是打电话预订了席位的，之前从未出现任何问题。

到了7:45分左右，我们几位才被安排在餐馆外面没有空调的区域就座。为了已经预订好的桌子，陪着朋友一起站着等上20分钟，实在是太荒唐、太难为情了。而且，餐馆方面没有通过任何形式向我们道歉。这是我最后一次光顾这家餐馆了，从今天起我将坚决抵制这家餐馆。

It was coincidental, indeed unfortunate that this year’s Navy Open House ‘clashed’ into the week of mourning for the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, that all flags on the warships in Changi Naval Base were flown at half mast, evoking the solemn mood.

I also didn’t win the ballots for both the guided tour of frigate and the ship cruise. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed myself. I managed to go for a fast craft utilities ride, of which no balloting is required. Though the duration is much shorter than the 2-hour ship cruise around Singapore, I believe the fast craft utilities ride is definitely more thrilling. I was standing in the fast craft throughout the journey with my Canon EOS 500D taking pictures and HD videos, and the fast craft was shaky most of the time due to powerful sea wind and waves.

Some of my friends who did not manage to go to the Navy Open House 2010 have asked me about my experience there. I see the NOH as a rich cousin of the Air Force Open House but a poor cousin of the Army Open House. Whilst the NOH is ‘richer’ than the AFOH in terms of the number of hands-on opportunities, it is ‘poorer’ than the AOH in terms of the variety of weaponry displayed. In fact, the NOH appeared to be more like a family carnival than a real military event! Introducing fun games pleased children, the military elements in this open house were also eroded. Nevertheless, I still acknowledge that the organising committee has put in effort to make this year’s NOH possible.

2010新加坡海军开放日

这是我首次前往新加坡共和国海军部队开放日参观。之前去过陆军和空军的开放日，但就是没有去过海军的开放日。结果，我对海军越来越感兴趣了。

今年的海军开放日的举办时间很不巧地与开国元勋吴庆瑞博士去世后为期一周的全国哀悼期撞上了，所以在樟宜海军基地看到的所有国旗、军旗都降了半旗，让人感到一丝伤感。

我也没被抽中参加军舰环岛一日游和护卫舰的指导游览。不过，我玩得还是很开心的。由于无需抽奖，我很容易地就坐上了工程快艇在樟宜海军基地兜风了一圈。虽然游览时间比长达两小时的环绕新加坡岛的军舰观光要短许多，但我相信工程快艇一定更为刺激。从头到尾我都站在船板上，手握着我的Canon EOS 500D拍摄照片和高清视频。由于风浪比较大，所以快艇一直在摇晃。

有几位没有去成今年海军开放日的朋友问我，今年的海军开放日搞得怎么样。我觉得今年的海军开放日比空军开放日要好，但比陆军开放日差一些。海军开放日比空军开放日有了更多让观众亲身体验各种武器的机会，但在武器种类和数量上还是比不过陆军开放日。此外，今年的海军开放日搞得更像是一场家庭嘉年华，而不是一场真正的军事盛事。开放日配备了一些供儿童玩耍的趣味游戏虽然给小朋友们带来了快乐，但开放日的军事元素也就同时侵蚀了。不管怎样，我还是能看得出，组委会是下了功夫力争把此次海军开放日办得精彩的。

If you are in China and cannot see the above Flickr slideshow, you can also check out the photos on RenRen.com.

如果你身在中国大陆，而且无法看到上面的Flickr幻灯放映，也可在人人网上查看照片。

以下是本人在海军开放日现场拍摄的高清视频：

Performance by Singapore Armed Forces Band | 新加坡武装部队军乐队现场演奏

PLAY VIDEO: YouTube | 中国网络电视台

Fast Craft Utilities Ride | 亲身体验乘坐工程快艇之快感

PLAY VIDEO: YouTube | 中国网络电视台

Naval Sea Display | 海军模拟反恐海战表演

PLAY VIDEO: YouTube | 中国网络电视台

• Presentation of Singapore 2010 uniforms for the first YOG
• Carnival featuring Olympic Sports and more
• Celebration Concert featuring gravity-defying Parkour act and heart-thumping drum beats
• Music by Singapore Idols – Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza, and pop rock and indie band, Electrico
• Appearance of Singapore 2010 Mascots, Lyo and Merly
• Sale of limited edition Singapore 2010 Merchandise and Souvenirs

I brought my Canon EOS 500D along, busy taking photographs and videos. Many reporters were there, and I was very surprised, indeed glad to find two reporters from China Central Television (CCTV) as well. This shows the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games is gradually attracting attention from Mainland Chinese media, so much so that the national TV network has decided to send reporters to Singapore to cover this inaugural historic event.

Previously, I had taken advantage of my connections with Mainland Chinese media friends from all over the country, informing them about the media accreditation procedures of Singapore 2010 and inviting them to come to Singapore in August. However, the responses I received were utterly disappointing, if not shocking. A female journalist from Chengdu Commercial Daily, for instance, asked me if meals, accommodation and air ticket expenses would be provided for journalists, free-of-charge. Yet another news anchor from a certain provincial satellite channel turned down my invitation politely and told me that “As you know, Chongqing isn’t a city that emphasises sports. Hence, I don’t think our TV station leaders will be willing enough to sponsor us to come to Singapore.”

It was my first time meeting celebrities Taufik, Hady and Electrico face to face. Their spectacular performance was so well-received by fans. ‘Screams’ could always be heard as they performed.

Distinguished guests like Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and SYOGOC officials were also present at the event.

欲了解更多关于2010新加坡青年奥运会的资讯，欢迎上网http://www.singapore2010.sg查询。在首页上”Photo of the Day”处还可以看到我在青奥会倒数整100天0时0分0秒那一瞬间拍摄的摄影作品。此作品昨天被新加坡青年奥运会组委会选定为首张“今日照片”，并刊在青奥会首页上。由于是首张被选中作为“今日照片”的作品，奥组委也将送给我一枚限量版的99天倒数徽章作为纪念。

I was outside ION Orchard at 8:10pm on today to witness this historic, indeed meaningful moment (click the above thumbnail to enlarge the image).

倒数计时：距2010新加坡青年奥运会开幕还有100天0时0分0秒

今晚8:10分，我在ION Orchard门口见证并捕捉下了这个十分富有意义的历史性时刻（点击小图查看大图）。

SINGPEX ‘09 – 新加坡全国邮票展览

本人的邮票展品《天府川渝：近看人文与自然》，参加了2009新加坡全国集邮比赛并获得铜奖后，又于近日参加了2009SINGPEX新加坡全国邮票展览，并获得银铜奖。我衷心感谢所有通过各种方式支持我的朋友们！

Exposición Nacional de Sellos SINGPEX 2009

Mi exposición, fenomenal Naturaleza: La humanidad como un estudio, que participó en el Concurso Nacional de Coleccionar Sellos 2009 y ganó la medalla de bronce, ha participado recientemente en el Exposición Nacional de Sellos SINGPEX 2009 y ganó el premio de Plata Bronce. Un gran agradecimiento a todos los que me han apoyado de una manera o de otra!

Pameran Perangko Nasional Singapura SINGPEX 2009

Pameran saya, Fenomenal Alam: Kemanusiaan sebagai Studi, yang berpartisipasi dalam Kompetisi Pengumpulan Prangko-prangko Nasional 2009 dan memenangkan penghargaan Perunggu, baru-baru ini ikut serta dalam tahun Pameran Perangko Nasional Singapura SINGPEX 2009 dan memenangkan penghargaan Perunggu Perak. Besar terima kasih kepada semua yang telah mendukung saya dalam satu atau lain!

My exhibit is titled “Phenomenal Nature: Humanity as a Study”. It showcases various aspects of China’s abundant Sichuan Basin (that is, Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality) such as flora and fauna, cultural relics and most importantly, giant pandas, through philatelic materials from various countries and regions such as DPR Korea, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

While unwavering support from my friends in Hwa Chong Philatelic Society have definitely encouraged me a lot, credit must also be given to Kia Wee who helped me “refine” the title into such a catchy one. It was a heartwarming moment when Qingqing (who were also in the Spanish class) came down to National Library on 29 August 2009 for the exhibition. On 11 September, I collected my bronze certificate together with Jie Qi at Singapore Philatelic Museum.

2009新加坡全国集邮比赛

2009年新加坡全国集邮比赛由新加坡集邮博物馆主办，并由教育部、新加坡邮政等机构大力支持，是一项旨在广泛推广集邮的活动。今年是我首次参赛，并且获得了个人组的铜奖。

我的参赛作品题目是《天府川渝：近看人文与自然》。顾名思义，在作品中我以四川盆地为切入点，汇集了中国、朝鲜、新加坡、香港等国家和地区的邮品来展示自古以来被称作“天府之国”的四川省和重庆市的方方面面，如：动物和植物、文化遗产以及大熊猫。观众因此有机会能通过各式各样的邮品来认识川渝。

对我来说，这是一种全新的尝试。能让新加坡公众通过邮票来认识家乡，我感到很高兴。

主办方已于8月29日在国家图书馆举办了展览。9月11日，我和杰麒同学一起到新加坡集邮博物馆领了我们的获奖证书。

此次参赛得到铜奖，我衷心感谢华侨中学集邮学会和所有给予过我支持和鼓励的朋友们！

Concurso Nacional de Coleccionar Sellos 2009

Concurso Nacional de Coleccionar Sellos 2009 (NSCC) fue organizada por el Museo Filatélico de Singapur y con el apoyo de organizaciones como el Ministerio de Educación y Singapore Post a promover todos los aspectos de la filatelia. Esta es la primera vez que participan en NSCC y he recibido el Premio de Bronce en la categoría individual.

Mi exposición se titula “fenomenal Naturaleza: La humanidad como un estudio”. Se presenta diversos aspectos de la abundancia de China Sichuan (es decir, la provincia de Sichuan y la municipalidad de Chongqing), tales como la flora y la fauna, las reliquias culturales y lo más importante, los pandas gigantes, a través de material filatélico de varios países y regiones como la RPD de Corea, China, Singapur y Hong Kong.

Si bien el apoyo incondicional de mis amigos de Hwa Chong Philatelic Society han definitivamente me animó mucho, el crédito también debe darse a Kia Wee que me ayudaron a “refinar” el título en ese pegadizo. Fue un momento conmovedor cuando Qingqing (que también estaban en la clase de español) se redujo a la Biblioteca Nacional el 29 de agosto de 2009 para la exposición. El 11 de septiembre, recogí mi certificado de bronce, junto con Jie Qi en Singapur Museo Filatélico.

Kompetisi Pengumpulan Prangko-prangko Nasional 2009

Kompetisi Pengumpulan Prangko-prangko Nasional 2009 (NSCC) yang diorganisir oleh Singapore Philatelic Museum dan didukung oleh organisasi-organisasi seperti Departemen Pendidikan dan Singapura Posting untuk mempromosikan setiap aspek filateli. Ini adalah pertama kalinya berpartisipasi dalam NSCC dan saya menerima Bronze Award Individu Kategori.

Pameran saya berjudul “Fenomenal Alam: Kemanusiaan sebagai Studi”. Ini menampilkan berbagai aspek yang berlimpah Cina Sichuan Basin (yaitu, Provinsi Sichuan dan Kotamadya Chongqing) seperti flora dan fauna, peninggalan budaya dan yang paling penting, panda raksasa, melalui bahan-bahan berhubung dgn perkumpulan perangko dari berbagai negara dan wilayah seperti DPR Korea, Cina, Singapura dan Hong Kong.

Sementara dukungan yang tak tergoyahkan dari teman-temanku di Hwa Chong Philatelic Society jelas mendorong saya banyak, kredit juga harus diberikan kepada Kia Wee yang membantu saya “mempersempit” judul menjadi begitu menarik satu. Menghangatkan hati itu adalah saat ketika Qingqing (yang juga di kelas Spanyol) datang ke Perpustakaan Nasional di 29 Agustus 2009 untuk pameran. Pada tanggal 11 September, saya mengumpulkan sertifikat perunggu saya bersama dengan Jie Qi di Singapore Philatelic Museum.

9月5日，我和好友骆建宇到今年的新加坡陆军开放日参观。主办方在Boon Lay巴士转换站设有免费巴士接送，我们从那里上车前往Pasir Laba军营。

近年来，新加坡武装部队一直在朝“第三代武装部队”(3rd Generation Army)转型。今年，新加坡武装部队又统一更换了军装。新式数码迷彩由新加坡国防科技部门自主研制，据说可以“救士兵一命”，因为它不仅用途很多，而且图案也为士兵在丛林里的隐藏提供了有利条件。

Appearances can be deceiving.

我对新式迷彩的隐藏效果是深有体会的。早在7月下旬我们学校组织前往见习军官学校(Officer Cadet School)参观时，一位身着新式迷彩军服的士兵藏在树丛中；另一位士兵则挑战我们班的同学，看有谁能辨认出他藏在哪里。结果全班二十来人硬是无一人辨认出了他的位置。由此可见，这种新式迷彩军服的隐藏效果有多么好。

这次参观陆军开放日，我和骆建宇都带了相机拍照，后来再把自己拍的照片发给了对方。以下是我们二人共同拍摄的照片，经过我精挑细选后上传到网上供大家欣赏。为了达到震撼的效果，我还对一些图片进行了后期编辑，希望大家喜欢。为了方便大家看图，请点击小图查看大图幻灯，并使用电脑键盘上的左右方位键换片。

这次陆军开放日活动实在是太丰富了，我们从早上10点一直参观到下午5、6点左右，都没有机会去战斗世界(Battle World)去体验一下实战，因为排队的人实在是太多了，连站在那里的士兵都劝我们别排队受罪。此外，由于长时间行走在烈日下，我的胳膊和脸都被晒坏了，虽然没脱皮，但直到今天情况才有所好转，因此我也不便再去Pasir Laba Camp排队体验实战了。

不过没关系，既然我在新加坡已经有过很多次实弹与模拟实弹射击的经验，而且今年7月底我在见习军官学校也亲身体参与了一次简短的突击战，所以虽然错过了这次机会，也不是很遗憾。

除了照片，我还拍了一些视频供大家欣赏，大家可以在下面的播放列表中播放。我在播放列表中增添了两个新加坡陆军在电视上投放的广告，播放列表里排在最后的开放日那个广告里有战斗世界的一点片段，供大家欣赏。如果你现在不在中国，可以点YouTube的链接，这样不仅画质很清晰，而且音质也比较好。

我本来想用高清摄像机记录这些精彩画面，但现在还没购买高清摄像设备，技术条件很受限，只能用我的数码相机拍摄视频，大家就只好将就一下了。下一次新加坡武装部队举办开放日时，我应该就能给大家带来高清视听享受了。

电视广告似乎是新加坡武装部队品牌营销的一部分，而这无疑是一种富有创意的招募士官的方式。也许有些观众会认为新加坡武装部队的电视广告拍的有点夸张，但观众如果亲自到新加坡陆军开放日参观了的话，就会发现新加坡军方并没有在宣传上夸大其词，还能感受到新加坡武装部队超强的战斗力。

这又让我想起了前段时间看到一位台湾网友@wenli在网上贴出的一张台湾空军招募海报，看了让人忍俊不禁：台湾空军竟“登陆月球”，连“陆军军官学校”也被搬到了月球上。台湾军方很明显就是在打肿脸充胖子，而这种不务实的宣传又能达到什么效果呢？实事求是才是硬道理。

点击观看视频：
2009新加坡陆军开放日(CCTV) | Army Open House 2009 (YouTube)

全部视频以及大部分照片由我拍摄。我用我自己的相机并借用随行的Jonathan同学单反机拍摄照片，这个相册里也有一些是Jonathan拍摄的。在本帖里我不把所有视频和照片都发上来，只把精华视频发了上来，希望大家喜欢。

视频播放列表地址:
CCTV
http://video.cctv.com/opus/playlist/832103.html
YouTube（高画质）
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=35F35A846AA4042F

如果你在海外，建议用YouTube那个链接观看，画质和音质都比较好。如果你在国内，因为YouTube被封了，所以只能用CCTV那个链接观看。

大家可以一边欣赏照片，一边观看视频，这样尽可能地＂身临其境＂，一定会很震撼。

I finally received my high school testimonial yesterday, after the Higher Chinese O Level paper ended. Yay! The following is a a brief but quite accurate account of my 4 years in high school:

HIGH SCHOOL TESTIMONIAL FOR MA HUAQING

Huaqing joined Hwa Chong Institution in January 2005 and was among the pioneer batch students in the Integrated Programme.

Huaqing demonstrates his flair in the languages and he writes well in both English and Chinese. He has keen interest in social studies and the humanities subjects. In April 2008, Huaqing became China’s national hero of a sort, by successfully making the BBC apologize to China for its fabricated news report about the Olympic Torch Relay in London. In recognition of his efforts, he was widely praised by Chinese netizens and even the Chinese media such as Chengdu TV Station, People’s Daily and China Central Television. 

Huaqing’s interest in the languages is also evident from being one of the minorities to take up Malay as a third language in MOE Language Centre. Huaqing cherished the opportunity to learn a third language and had achieved an A grade for the subject. He was interviewed by Berita Harian in March 2006 and an article entitled, ‘Pelajar China kuasai Bahasa Melayu’ was published on 14 March 2006. Huaqing was also one of the Young Diplomat Gold Award recipients of the United Nations Association.

Huaqing is very passionate about his hometown, Chengdu. He started an English website to promote various aspects of Chengdu to the world on 6 December 2006.

However, Huaqing lacks the perseverance to strive for certain subject disciplines. He is, nevertheless, a talented student! 

Last night, Kia Wee, Edward, Ivan, Sai Meng, Hong Nan and I met up at Ngee Ann City. Our original plan was to eat buffet at Seoul Garden, since we thought the price of S$18.99 per person is quite affordable. But we were wrong. We were shocked at the various “hidden charges”: GST, service charge, etc., which totalled up to more than S$30 per person. WTF?! Even for air tickets, the new regulation says that the price displayed in advertisements must reflect all the hidden charges you know! I am glad that Kia Wee made a good suggestion: go to the Breeks Cafe just opposite Seoul Garden instead. And it turned out to be a right choice: each one of us spent about S$20 and were full. Here are some of the food we ordered:

During the meal, we talked about a wide range of things: from a certain teacher’s appearance on ChannelNewsAsia today expressing her emotions towards Barack Omaba’s landslide win of the US Presidential elections, to funny jokes happened in school…and many more. I even shared some differences between Putonghua, Sichuan dialect and Chongqing dialect, such as:

When referring to a person boasting about himself, in Putonghua we say 吹牛皮, while in Sichuan dialect we say 冲壳子, and in Chongqing dialect we say 冒皮皮.

When referring to a person talking nonsense, in Putonghua we say 瞎说, while in Sichuan dialect we say 打胡乱说, and in Chongqing dialect we say 丰都城拉二胡（鬼扯）. 

It was a very fun discussion. After the meal, a young lady passing by was kind enough to help us take this photo for future remembrance. I will definitely treasure my friendship with Kia Wee, Edward, Ivan, Sai Meng and Hong Nan, even as we proceed on to JC next year.

The following photos were taken by ourselves: 

Me and Kia Wee

Sai Meng and Me 

 
Me and Edward

 
Me and Hong Nan

 
Me and Ivan: Ivan’s face looks so cute! Haha…

Time flies. I am amused that with the end of yesterday’s Singapore-Cambridge Higher Chinese O Level Paper (the only O Level paper we need to take), 4 years of high school has come to an end. I am also very glad that we have been through many struggles and overcome them together.

I would also like to acknowledge the following people who have brightened up my life throughout the 4 years in High School:

Kia Wee and Edward – for being so encouraging, supportive and caring towards me in difficult times…a friend in need is a friend indeed;

Jing Yi - for being so encouraging and caring and standing so firm together with me in the battle against You-Know-Who;

Zheng Lin - a generous friend so helpful and willing to let me borrow his DVD burner a few times this year; 

Gideon – a humble and interesting soul in 4P; 

Abner and Earnest – for helping me with Maths;

Yin Jiunn and Jiashen – mugging together with me in preparation for tests;

Joel, Bin Hao, Li Wen, Kok Seng, Guo Fei, Ren Xiang, Zhen Yao and Zhe Ren and all other classmates in 4P except You-Know-Who - for making my stay in 4P this year the most enjoyable class experience throughout the 4 years in high school;

Bing Kun - a humble, hardworking and approachable soul and Chemistry PRO;

Xueyan – the very rare but also very kind and understanding person from a class of evil, cold-blooded creatures; 

Larry, Glen, Jordan, Jun De, An Rui, Qiu Lei, Willie, Wilfred, Chin Kiat, Hong De and Zhi Yi – my easy-to-get-along and caring ex-classmates in 2K(2006);

Jie Qi - a helpful, humorous and easygoing Aphelion consortium mate who is obsessed in buses; 

Glendon, Hubert, Bryan Hee, Mark Hee, Aaron Koh, Yi Cheng, Chai Bin and Cai Yong - good friends in Humanities Programme 2007;

Edmund, Tze Liang, Jun Yi and Heng Yang – friendly Ortus consortium mates;

Zhao Xing – for mugging Maths and Physics with me on MSN in the wee hours;

Andre and Sai Meng – who were my first two friends made in Hwa Chong during the Secondary 1 Orientation;

Hong Nan, Ivan, Benjamin, Cavin and Wei Rong - easygoing and very talented souls (in sciences, music and humanities) in iSpark;

Benny and Wilson – very easy-to-get-along Aphelion consortium mates; 

Kwang Chian and Xiao Heng - for being so helpful and easy to work with in Lit class;

Justin – for taking the same bus 74 every morning with me to school;  

Swee Kiat and Dah Wei – who were my Malay classmates in Sec 2;

Jerrold – who has the same opinion about NCC as me and quitted;

Dominic – well-built waterpolo athlete and ex-classmate in 2K(2006) who never fails to poke me for fun;

Kevin Koh, Kevin Ishak and Wei Ern - for having gone through a period of suffering together with me in NCC a few years back; 

Shi Shuang – for generously helping me with Maths, Chemistry and Physics by letting me borrow her 10 Year Series in Sec 3;

Hewlett, Shi Wei, Lian Joo, Marvin and Rui Yi – for being so understanding and patient with me in those NCC days;

Che Jian – for your invaluable advice and encouragements as a senior; 

Mr Chua Chee Siang – the powerful One/master/guru/coach in tuition;

Mr Yeo Kee Sheng and Mr Eugene Chan - for being very helpful, approachable and responsible TAs to aid us in our learning; 

Mr Hon, Dr Hon, Mrs Ke, Mr Bala, Ms Boey, Mrs Chua, Ms Ang, Mr Samuel Lim, Ms Sunita, Mr Gilbert, Ms Huang Si Jian, Ms Hannah Yeo, Mrs Ann, Ms Te Yoke Ching, Mr Chia, Ms Bian Jiang, Ms Adeline Tan, Mr Nan Zhiguo and many other teachers – for teaching me well and rendering valuable assistance and guidance to me in times of need.

I am staying up very late to write this very memorable post. It is already 4 am now. Looking outside my window, the bird’s eye view of Bishan at night is rather enjoyable, and I felt a little nostalgic. Many lights remain lit, and this scene is quite similiar to what I saw every time on the airplane back to Singapore, as the aircraft prepares to land in Changi Airport.

Yes. I will be flying off to Chengdu on 7 November in the morning, which is going to come to pass about one day later. I have worked hard for one year with the initial intention of enjoying the End-of-Year Holidays to the fullest extent in Chengdu, Chongqing and maybe in Shanghai and Shanxi as well. Now that I am leaving Singapore soon and will only come back in January next year, I somehow miss a lot of people and events.

Indeed, even though the year 2008 had many unfortunate events, I have escaped from many misfortunes. While I will be enjoying my long-awaited holidays in China, I definitely will cherish the fond memories with my friends in this school year.

So, goodbye to all my friends! See you next year! 

On 24th October, me and 5 other good friends of mine went to the La Mei Zi Chongqing Zhengzong Laohuoguowang Hot Pot (Sichuan style steamboat) Restaurant for the 4P Mini Batch Dinner cum Graduation Celebrations.

During the dinner, we discussed many interesting events took place this year in school, and I also filmed a few videos of us eating and chatting. I am glad that everyone enjoyed the dinner, but also felt the deep nostalgia that we will be splitted into different classes again next year, when we enter the College Section. This might be our last gathering as a class. Nevertheless, we will still keep in touch.

We spent S$104 altogether. After the hot pot dinner, we went to Dhoby Ghaut for a random walk so as to help our stomachs digest the food. All ended up playing LAN except me and Yin Jiunn. We took buses home outside Plaza Singapura eventually.

Honestly speaking, classmates from 4P2008 are people I can most get along with throughout the 4 years in High School Section. We have been through many struggles and troubles this year, but have all overcome these obstacles and made our way to JC. I will definitely remember the year 2008 throughout my life, not just because of the Beijing Olympics, but also because it’s my happiest year in High School.

My dear friends, all the best in JC!

View all photos here: