{ Till the end. }"

Monday, August 16, 2010 - Sunday 15th august :

Yesterday, I went to the suntek city convention centre to watch the YOG fencing event with my sec 1 fencing friends. The school had sent us there to watch the event and we all got free tickets and a free bus pass. We met at the macdonalds at 11.30 am at suntek. We had breakfast and then went up.The security was very tight. The had metal detectors and scanners. It is just like in the airport. Many policemen were patrolling the area too. They were armed with guns and looked fierce.

When we cleared the checks, it was already 12.15pm. The event had already started. We were issued wristbands in case we had to leave and enter the venue again. We watched as a singapore fencer lost to another fencer. However both of them were very skilled. After a hour and a half, we went out as there was a break. We went out for lunch and ate at a place selling waffles. We had nice waffles for lunch. Then, we went back. Soon, the event started again. This time, Singapore won the Korean fencer and China fencer. Everyone were cheering very loudly. We were all very happy.

However, to our dismay, Singapore was kicked out in the Semi-Finals. She lost the world no.3 russian fencer named Alekseeva. When Singapore lost, many spectators left.The place became much quieter. However, after awile, the men's sabre event started. As a sabre match was very fast. Within 30 minutes, the event went into the semi-finals. We had a short break and bought snacks from the vendor outside. Then we went back in and continued watching. At 8pm the events ended and we all went out. I bought another snack as i was not as hungry and took the train home.

Today was very tiring but enjoyable. I learnt alot from the professional fencers. Especially in the sabre as i fence the sabre. I really enjoyed watching the YOG fencing event.

||Damien || blogged at [4:59 PM]*

Friday, August 13, 2010 - friday 13 august :

Yesterday, i had my math test. I had revised a lot during the four day holiday. Before the test, i was quite nervous, but i was confident that i could do it. However, when i received the test paper,i got was very shocked.The first question was already a challenging question. I had to use more than 10 minutes for the first question, which consists of a a,b,c,d,e, parts.I also had difficulties on the next few questions. I was completely caught off guard. When i thought i had prepared enough, there were actually more things that i did not know. After the paper, i did not have time to finish the last question. I was very sad, but i told myself that I had to work harder for the history test which was on the next period. Luckily, the history test was not too bad and I think i did pretty well in the history test.

||Damien || blogged at [4:12 PM]*

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - Tuesday 10th august. :

Yesterday was national day, which was a public holiday. In the morning my family woke up early and went to east coast park to cycle. We first went to the MacDonald there and had our breakfast. After filling up our stomachs, we went to the bicycle rental shop and rented four bicycles. We started riding as we only had 2 hours. We rode while admiring the view. It was great feeling the cool breeze blowing against my face. We came across many different attractions. There was a jetty and we went there to take a look. There were many people there fishing. After awile we continued and cycling.

After cycling for an hour, we were exhausted and decided to take a break along the beach. Luckily, there were a few empty benches and we took a break there, enjoying the beautiful sea view. After resting for around 15 minutes, we decided to return. On the way back, i met my classmate Jiong Wei. He was also cycling. After saying hi i continued riding back. Soon we reached the rental shop but there was still some time left. We decided to make full use of the time and thus we cycled to the other direction. After awile, we came across a light house. We went up the stairs to the top to admire the sea view. After 5 minutes we went back and returned our bicycles.

I felt that this trip was very enjoyable and exciting. It also bonded me and my family together. If i had the chance, i would definetly go back there again.

||Damien || blogged at [11:55 AM]*

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 - Wednesday-august 4th :

Today, i had my Infocomp Studies test. I only started preparing for the test two days before which is on Monday. As i had CCA on tuesday, i could only do some revision at night and thus i did not feel confident for the test. Today morning, when i was at school, i hurriedly did some final revision with my friends. Although i knew what was to be tested and i knew the knew what the following tools and their functions were, i still felt a bit nervous. During recess, i went to the Poolside restaurant and while eating, revised a bit. After recess was chinese as our Chinese teacher took over the IH period. After that period was the IS test. I was very nervous at first as the test was 30 minutes and we had to answer 50 mcq questions. However, when i attempted the questions, i realised that the test was fairly easy and i knew most of the answers for the questions. At the end of the test, i could finally heave a sigh of relief.

||Damien || blogged at [8:51 PM]*

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - Sabbatical Bidding :

On Wednesday, the bidding for the Term 3 Sabbatical was opened. As soon as I read the SMB message, i immediately went to the bidding page. However, i decided not to bid yet as me and my friends have already decided that we wanted to go to the same sabbatical course. The next day, i discussed with my friends. They all wanted to join badminton. However, the class computer has been locked and requires a password which only teachers know, thus we were unable to bid for sabbatical that morning. We waited till afternoon, but we had to do a project and after that i had my CCA. When i reached home, i turned on the computer and went to the bidding page. I bidded at 9:40 pm. I was very anxious as the deadline was at 11:59. To my relief, when i checked the SMB just now, i was not in the ones in the second round bidding, it was until then did i heaved a sigh of relief .

||Damien || blogged at [6:31 PM]*

Sunday, July 11, 2010 - Badminton :

Yesterday, I went to play badminton with my cousin and my father. At 3pm, we went to the badminton court, which was booked by my father at the chua chu kang stadium. When we got there, it was 3.55. Two man were still playing badminton. We settled down and started to do our warm-up excercises. After 5 minutes, the two man left and we went to play. First i played a warm up game agaisnt my cousin. He was really very good. in the end, i got trashed. Next, we play two games with my father. I teamed up with my cousin to play with my father. Of course, we lost and swapped sides. Next we played another game. This time the score improved from a 21-10 to 21-15. We were elated but we were all very tired and decided to take a break. I took a look at the clock. it was already 4.15 pm. we were all exhausted. after the 10 minute break, i played a game against my cousin. Amazingly, i won. The score was 21-19. It was a close match. I was very happy that a achieved this result. After that match, we retired to the bench and rested, while talking and looking at others play. Once the clock struck 5, we walked back to the car. I had a very happy and enjoyable day yesterday!

||Damien || blogged at [5:19 PM]*

Friday, April 30, 2010 - Animal Farm :

On 23rd april my and my class 1a1 went to the national library board to watch a play entitled "Animal Farm". the play was acted out according to the book that george orwell had written.
the play starts off with the actors in many different uniforms. on was in a army uniform, another in a buisnessman coat. Those characters represented the people involved in the russian revolution.
Then, all the people took off their coats and they dressed like animals.
The next scene was in the farm, where old major was giving his speech.Then, they sang beasts of england.

Three days later Major dies, but the speech gives the more intelligent animals a new outlook on life. The pigs, who are considered the most intelligent animals, instruct the other ones. During the period of preparation two pigs distinguish themselves, Napoleon and Snowball. Napoleon is big, and although he isn't a good speaker, he can assert himself. Snowball is a better speaker, he has a lot of ideas and he is very vivid. Together with another pig called Squealer, who is a very good speaker, they work out the theory of "Animalism". The rebellion starts some months later, when Mr Jones comes home drunk one night and forgets to feed the animals. They break out of the barns and run to the house, where the food is stored. When Mr Jones sees this he takes out his shotgun, but it is too late for him; all the animals fall over him and drive him off the farm. The animals destroy all whips, nose rings, reins, and all other instruments that have been used to suppress them. The same day the animals celebrate their victory with an extra ration of food. The pigs make up the seven commandments, and they write them above the door of the big barn.
They run thus:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill another animal.
7. All animals are equal.

The animals also agree that no animal shall ever enter the farmhouse, and that no animal shall have contact with humans. This commandments are summarised in the simple phrase: "Four legs good, two legs bad". After some time, Jones comes back with some other men from the village to recapture the farm. The animals fight bravely, and they manage to defend the farm. Snowball and Boxer receive medals of honour for defending the farm so bravely. Also Napoleon, who had not fought at all, takes a medal. When Snowball presents his idea to build a windmill, to produce electricity for the other animals, Napoleon calls nine dogs who he had reared in secret. The dogs expelled Snowball from the farm, and Napoleon explains that Snowball was in fact co-operating with Mr Jones. He also explains that Snowball in reality never had a medal of honour, that Snowball was always trying to cover up that he was fighting on the side of Mr Jones. The animals then start building the windmill, and as time passes the working-time goes up, whereas the food rations decline. Although the "common" animals have not enough food, the pigs grow fatter and fatter. They tell the other animals that they need more food, for they are managing the whole farm. Some time later, the pigs explain to the other animals that they have to trade with the neighbouring farms. The animals are very upset, because since the revolution there has been a resolution that no animal shall trade with a human. But the pigs ensure them that there never has been such a resolution, and that this was an evil lie of Snowball. Shortly after this decision the pigs move to the farmhouse. The other animals remember that there is a commandment that forbids sleeping in beds, and so they go to the big barn to look at the commandments. When they arrive there they can't believe their eyes, the fourth commandment has been changed to: "No animal shall sleep in bed with sheets". And the other commandments have also been changed: "No animal shall kill another animal without reason", and "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess". Some months later a heavy storm destroys the windmill, which is nearly finished. Napoleon accuses Snowball of destroying the mill, and he promises a reward to the animal that gets Snowball. The rebuilding of the mill takes two years. Again Jones attacks the farm, and although the animals defend it, the windmill is once again destroyed. The pigs decide to rebuild the mill again, and they cut down the food rations to a minimum. One day Boxer breaks down. He is sold to a butcher, but Napoleon tells the pigs that Boxer has been brought to a hospital where he has died. Three years later, the mill is finally completed. During this time Napoleon deepens the relations with the neighbouring farm, and one day Napoleon even invites the owners of this farm for an inspection. They sit inside the farmhouse and celebrate the efficiency of his farm, where the animals work very hard with a minimum of food. During this celebration, all the other animals meet at the window of the farm, and when they look inside they can't distinguish between man and animal.

||Damien || blogged at [4:17 PM]*