Reminiscences *

2003-03-26 11:17 p.m.

Flashback. A literary device found in Ishiguro's an Artist of the Floating World. Why am I mentioning this? Because although school's out for one week I got to keep my brain filled with quotes from this novel and Sylvia Plath's Ariel. Mr Dio may change the paper across the week to give us another scare. Got to ace this one. Come let me bring you through the events of the last few weeks....

8th of March 2003. Supposed to have entered for the NTU debates. Instead Chih Hung, me, and Nicholas were at the nice little campus near ACS(I)--NUS for the Chancellor's Challenge Shield competition. NJ sent at least four teams, ours, the geography students, and 2 teams of councillors. Should have joined council, they get the best of everything. Anyway, we went there semi prepared with Ms Ng's "I want the $600." floating in my mind. Not so much that I was the team leader, but we didn't really know what to prepare for. (Well, if Chih Hung, Wee Jian, Nick, Deborah and Amandae bothered to mug for the NE quiz, we should have worked for this quiz right? No, wrong the two are completely different.)

So it started super late. Nick was complaining about the organisation. don't blame him he was forced into this by Mr Chan-- simply because we could think of any other "well read" history student and A04 being the humans class, naturally Chih Hung picked someone he could work with. The others didn't even seem interested, even Lucas( head of S cube). Nicks a good guy to work with anyway. He answered all the sports and geography related questions, Chih Hung tackled the funny ones( in my view) and I took those like "Mata Hari's the name of a..." and "Whose the new South Korean PM?"--needed help in spelling him full name. Yeah. Guess what our team name was? Never got the chance to create one like the geog kids who called themselves MNC--Marianne, Nazri and Clarissa. Instead they told us your name's NJ humanities. Oh so touched. Must have been Ms Ng's creation. Chih Hung told me afterwards--"Your elevated you now. Your now a temporary Humanities kid". HAH. HAR.

Second Round. Didn't expect to get in but found we got 360 points which wasn't that bad.Only NJ team to enter in the second round. Met Tong Kai or the infamous FABIAN and said "I don't know you". Ha! He didn't get it. Second round was about wagering and guessing. Hardly any world affairs all local issues. Wagered high really high, low and lost because we could not answer any thing then wagered all. Must learn how to play jeopardy eh?

Marianne was the only one to stay behind. Wonderful girl, considering she wasn't that enthusiastic about it intially. CH and me, we like blurting out stuff on Hans Blix and Iraq to her on the bus to NUS. Still, she makes a wonderful companion at all times. Great friends with A04 but that's another story...

Ate Laksa after that, nothing much sat and talked about nonsense with CH. it was an eye opener despite the disappointment

That's what I remember from week9 term 1. Other stuff? Oh yes, this week was hell week. Ms C gave us the most complex A&C essays to attempt, the best Hard Times passage to PC. Mr Whitby's stuff was more than a brain drain. Luke complained to me that he spent 30 minutes goggling at the drama piece. Ah well, must hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Econs' test. Mugged super hard for Inflation. then half way through my MCQ, my calculator failed me. Talk about science and technology being a menace. Next hour--heard "Can't take my eyes off you" form the field. Deborah must have been having a whale of a time while we were racking our brains try to remeber theory of Income and Employment.

Maths and History. place the two on the same day, super mugging the night before. Mr Lo gave us (how should I put it) challenging questions but as for P2...I don't want to mention it.

Small past events that interest me:

Louisa's constant phrase during lit lectures--" That seats for Ruo Hui."

Nick coming into GP class once and asking me, "you want to join me in the toilet?"

Lucas hugging and sleeping on his famous brown pillow. Always wanted a feel of it but never got close.

Grace saving my plate of chicken rice form the birds. "I shifted it over here, they were about to peck it". How sweet of you.

Chih Hung's constant queries over nonsensical issues.

Amandae's questions in GP.

Wee Jian's idiosyncratic behaviour during debate.

Oh, found some quotable quotes form my lit texts that you may or may not want to use in essays:

"He ploughed her and she cropped"--Enobarbus speech in ACT 2 Scene 2. Antony and Cleopatra.

"That the little puss can get small good out of such companionship"--Mr Bounderby, referring to Louisa Gradgrind ( Hard Times,Book the first, chapter 7)

"Eyes to the Horizon!…No time for cowardly talking! Japan must go forward"--An Artist of the floating world.

"Herr God, Herr Lucifer, beware"--Lady Lazarus, Ariel.

Now back to the present.Time to remeber all of Ishiguro and Plath.

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