Double Day Awesomeness : Part 2

IF YOU HAVE STILL NOT READ PART 1, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS FIRST. SCROLL DOWN AND YOU WILL SEE PART 1....

It had to be one of the most epic things that Prodigy (my group of friends) have done. It had to be one of a kind, something never attempted before by us and never usually seen by people. It had to be one of the most memorable days of our lives.

I started planning this about 2 weeks ago. The idea just came out of no where. The initial blueprint was quite simple. Tim, Eong Wei, Thaven, Eric, Dirvik, Sarivin and I were supposed to watch The Dark Knight Rises on the 21st of July. My plan was constructed surrounding this fact.

Tim and Eong Wei's birthday was on July the 17th and 7th respectively. I was planning to hold a double birthday celebration for them after the movie. During lunch after the movie, Sarivin was supposed to say that he was going to the toilet but then he would be going to the cake shop to get the cake and then we were supposed to celebrate their birthdays before having lunch.

The idea was a little exciting at first but I felt that it wasn't good enough to be epic. A few days later, another idea struck me. This was crazy and risky at the same time. There were so many things to take into consideration. But, we are Prodigy because we do crazy stuff.

I called my friends to explain their roles for that day. Eong Wei had bought 3 tickets for Row I and 4 tickets for Row J. Thaven was supposed to convince Eong Wei so that Eong Wei would sit in the Row I with him. And he was supposed to convince Eong Wei to convince Tim to sit in the same row. I suggested that Thaven try to convince Eong Wei by saying that they 3 were the ones who were really interested in the movie so they should sit in Row I so that there would be no disturbances from the others.

I also called up Dirvik and Eric to discuss a few things. Sarivin was supposed to act like he was coming late that day. The plan was that he had to buy the cake and keep it with him. He was supposed to SMS me saying that he will be late so that I can wait for him outside while the others go in so that they won't miss even a single part tof the movie. And I was going to say that I don't mind waiting outside for Sarivin as I'm not that interested in the movie.

And once Sarivin joined me, I was supposed to pass the cake to the person sitting at the highest row in the cinema to keep the cake for us. Once the movie was over, we were going to get the cake from the people from the highest row and celebrate their birthday.

A week later, another friend, Janus decided to join us. However, he could only get a seat far away from us as he bought the ticket much later. It was perfect because I was confident that I could convince him to exchange seats. And his birthday is on July 23rd. So, it was going to be a triple birthday celebration. Sounds like a nice sweet plan but almost everything went wrong.

On that day, all of us were supposed to take the train to Sunway Pyramid except Sarivin. Sunway Pyramid because we wanted to watch the movie in IMAX and except Sarivin because he was supposed to buy the cake. Eong Wei kept on asking me why Sarivin didn't take the train and I had to tell him that it was more convenient for Sarivin to drive. I sent Sarivin a message and even called him but he wasn't picking up.

The train ride was fun. We were joking around as were pretty happy to be together again. I tried calling Sarivin a few times but he was still not answering. I was feeling nervous because the whole plan depended on him. And that's when I realized that we had no Plan B.

We got off the train and took a bus to Sunway Pyramid. I started to try and convince Janus to let me have his ticket but he was a tough nut to crack. I tried telling him that I owed him one for not inviting him earlier but he just didn't want to let me sit alone. Ok, that was one problem. But even worse was that Sarivin, who was supposed to bring the cake, was still not answering the calls.

The movie was supposed to start at 11.45. At 11.30, still no reply from Sarivin. Eric suggested that we buy a cake ourselves in Sunway Pyramid. We were starting to think that Sarivin might have forgotten about the movie and was still sleeping at home. I was cursing him because the plan was about to fail. I just didn't know how to prevent the 3 birthday boys from figuring out our plan. I knew what I was going to do next was going to be awkward but I was keeping my fingers crossed.

We walked as a group to the entrance of the cinema. As soon as the person at the entrance tore a section of our tickets off, I told Eong Wei that I needed to go to the toilet. Then he told me why not I go to the one inside the cinema. Then I told him that I needed to buy popcorn as well. He got quite angry because of 2 reasons. First, he didn't want me to miss the movie. Second, he was thinking that I was going to wait for Sarivin whom we were all pissed off with.

I knew he was angry with me but I had to do it. Then, Dirvik decided to follow me so that I would buy my stuff and be on time for the movie as Eong Wei knows Dirvik wouldn't want to miss any part of the movie. Then, Eric volunteered to follow me as a replacement for Dirvik as he had watched the movie the previous day. And so, we started off on our unexpected and unplanned Plan B.

We went looking for a cake shop. It was quite difficult to find a cake shop as we didn't know the names of any cake shops except Secret Recipe. We found Secret Recipe after asking around and bought a cheese cake. We rushed back to the cinema and I had to convince to person at the entrance to allow us to take the cake in. And then, Sarivin sent me a message saying that he had  forgotten that we were supposed to watch the movie today. How easy of him to say that.

As planned earlier, I was supposed to pass on the cake to the random person sitting in the highest row. So, after Eric went in, I sneaked it and asked the person at the highest row, Row L, to keep the cake for me. I was quite pissed off when the person said he didn't want to keep the cake for me. I mean, there's no harm and he just had to hold it or put it down without crushing it. I had no choice but to leave the cake at the back of the cinema.

I went to my seat hoping that everything would be fine. And, everyone wasn't sitting according to plan. So, I was a little nervous. But, the movie kept my mind off the cake as it was just plain awesome. I loved the scenes and the villain's acting was super good. As the movie was nearing the end, I knew the time had come.

As soon as the movie ended, I ran back to the back of the cinema to get the cake. Thank goodness it wasn't crushed. I wanted to curse that guy who refused to keep the cake but I didn't want to spoil the occasion. I brought the cake to our seats and Dirvik lit up the candle.

Tim, Eong Wei and Janus were totally caught off by surprise. We started singing the birthday song for them. Quite a number of other people in the cinema sang along with us. After the song, almost everyone in the cinema clapped as the three of them blew the flame on the candles. They cut the cake and then we made our way out of the cinema. Sarivin joined us for lunch after the movie.

This occasion was special because The Dark Knight Rises was THE movie of the year and to do it at a time when everyone is in a happy mood after the wonderful movie was just the perfect setting. I sighed in relief as my plan worked although it didn't really go exactly to plan.

I regard my friends very highly because they have been with me during my happy and sad times. They were the main reason I really enjoyed my school life. And without them, my life wouldn't be the same now.

They have done a lot for me in the past and I've always wanted to give something back to them. Paying back my unending debt to them wasn't in my mind when I was planning this surprise but I was just happy to have played a bigger part in their happiness on this awesome day......

P.S. If you had realized, the blogger used his friends' names in this blog post, something which he rarely does. He wishes to dedicate this blog post to his wonderful friends. He also wishes to thank his friends who had helped him in organizing the surprise birthday celebration.......

Double Day Awesomeness : Part 1

Friday's in college are the worst. My class starts at 9 and ends at 1 with no break in between. Usually on Fridays, I'll be waiting for the classes to end so that I can have lunch. But on this particular day, things were a little different.

Well, the South Australian Matriculation Student Council and WHACKY (a charity club) organised the Heart Rock Carnival. It was a carnival of music and games for students of Taylor's College, Subang Jaya. The organizers had been trying to sell their coupons for the carnival during the last 2 weeks.

I had been approached a few times to buy the tickets. However, I didn't want to buy because I really didn't know what was the carnival all about at that time. I thought it was going to be like some boring canteen day. Now when I look back, I think that I should have bought the tickets because the money was going to charity and I had a lot of fun that day.

I was making my way down a flight of stairs that particular Friday (yesterday) when I heard a very familiar sound. As the song reached it's chorus, I realized that it was 'Thunder" by Boys Like Girls, the song my friend Tim and I performed in school, during Form 2. The best part was that the song was being performed by students.

After lunch, I had to meet my class teacher to ask about a few things. After our discussion, she asked me whether I was going to join the carnival and I said no because I still wasn't sure what was really interesting about the carnival. What I didn't know at that time was about the next couple of hours of crazy entertainment.

I started to make my way back home when I heard one of the bands performing a really nice song. I sent a message to my friend who loved music to come join me on the first floor where the view of the carnival was clear. I don't know how or why but I just got sucked up into the carnival atmosphere.

I was truly enjoying myself listening to my favourite songs such as American Idiot and Welcome to The Black Parade. I had not heard these songs for some time and hearing them being played live was just awesome.

There were other really 'eye-catching' performances as well. By that, I actually meant hot dance performances from hot girls. Believe me, they were really hot and I'm sure all the boys loved it. It wasn't something that I could appreciate but they were somehow seductive. A few friends of mine were really excited. It was kinda fun to watch because we don't always get to watch these things.

The main highlights of the carnival were performances by our very own Malaysian bands. I got to see An Honest Mistake and Once Upon A Time There Was A Sausage Named Bob perform live. I was pretty excited to see them as I've never been to a music concert so far and the atmosphere at that time was like the concerts I sometimes watch on television.

Once Upon A Time There Was  Sausage Named Bob were jamming to the max at maximum volume. Some of the teachers were also following the music. That band were even giving out free CDs to students who wanted them.

I, who was supposed to go back at 2 after lunch only left my college at 5. I reached back home late and tired and a satisfied person. I just felt like lying down and relaxing. However, things took an unexpected twist.

My mum's friend called a few minutes after I reached home. She said that she had a free ticket  for the Queens Park Rangers vs Kelantan match which was scheduled for 9.15. So, I quickly took my bath and excruciatingly stuffed dinner into my mouth which had ulcers.

Two hours later, I was in the Shah Alam Stadium watching QPR control the match and while they battered Kelantan 5-0. It was nice to get a chance to watch Barclay's Premier League players in action but I have to admit that the match was kinda boring. They was no excitement at all.

I reached home feeling so tired and sleepy. I enjoyed my day but I seriously needed a rest. I laid my head down on the pillow not knowing about twists and turn I was going to experience the next day.....

So Far So Good

Orientation week was over and it was back to doing the same stuff that all students have to do in school or colleges-studying. It had been 7 months since I actually studied anything. So, getting back to school work was a little drag at first.

Here, in my new college, we study quite differently compared to school. In school, we always start off with textbooks and then notes. However, here, we start off with notes and then books. The assistant principle asked us to take a month to decide what books we want. But in my case, since I'm a scholar, I can't really choose as the books will be provided.

Many things are done online here. And my iPad comes in very handy. For example, during some classes when I don't have enough time to copy down the notes, I just snap a picture of the notes and go back home and to write it again. Some of my teachers also post the notes and exercise in or online portal. So, with the campus fully Wi-Fi-ed, I can access them anywhere.

My Physics lecturer has not come in so far. He's off somewhere and is only coming during week 2. His replacements during week 1 were contrasting in nature. One lecturer was really boring as he was old and was pretty much used to the old teaching style. Another was slightly younger and that was a little less boring. Another teacher was even younger and her class was the best so far. Last week was quite an insight into how much teaching has progressed during the years.

For Chemistry, I've got quite a good teacher. The subject is pretty interesting as well. The teacher decided to start off from where we left off in Form 5 to refresh our memory before going deeper. So, I didn't really feel like I was in  whole new world.

My Mathematics teacher is the most awesome one so far. He left a very good impression on me on our first day with him. He's jovial and makes tonnes of jokes to keep us awake in his classes. According to him, Further Mathematics students find Mathematics too easy. I have to agree, but partially, because some of the questions are quite tricky. I really think my classmates and I are going to have a great one-and-a-half years studying Mathematics.

Now, for Further Mathematics. Some people think that I'm crazy to take this subject. To be honest, I think I love the subject for the same reason I used to love Additional Mathematics in school. It's a little difficult and takes time to understand. Like during my first class, my teacher gave us a general formula with about 13 unknowns as constants. It sounds crazy but I'm quite OK at it now. For that exact reason, I used to like Add Maths and now Further Maths.

My Further Maths lecturer is also my Mentor. A mentor is someone who monitors our personal development plan and advises us on certain things. A personal development plan is something like a plan for our future, like planning where we want to go after A-Levels and what course should we pursue according to our interest. My PDP session is starting this week.

I've not yet started my Malaysian Studies classes but I think that I'm finally adapting bit by bit to my new life. I try not to think of the fun I used to have in school because college life isn't anywhere close to that. Things are different but I'm willing to stay optimistic. So, so far so good........

The blogger will most probably write blog posts fortnightly due to his busy schedule. Even now, he's typing this blog post with a lot of unfinished Further Maths homework. So, stay put.....=)

First Week In College

Countless offer letters, many calls from various tertiary education institutions. One after another, I had to respond to those calls. And I actually started receiving letters like my dad every day during the holiday. And I'll take a look and most of the times, just put it away.

I got an offer to do a matriculation program in Malacca and Diploma in civil Engineering in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (IPTA). I had applied for 2 scholarships and even got a response from them. The Axiata company didn't want to offer me their scholarship after they knew that I was getting a scholarship from the government. The Ministry of Education of Singapore asked me to go for a test for the Asean Scholarship.

They sound like nice offers but they do have their pros and cons. So, in the end I chose the scholarship from the government, which was the safest choice to make. The government wanted us (scholars) to choose the course that we wanted to do, whether it was matriculation, A-Levels, International Baccalaureate, foundation or Form 6. As soon as the government made their announcement of the Bursary Programme, I knew which choice I would make.

It was like the dawn of a new era. I sat on one of the benches early in the morning on the first day thinking about my new life. How the people and the environment will be so different. No more crazy friends, time to grow up and how I'll have to live differently after this.

I met a few ex-class and school mates before my first day in Taylor's College was about to begin. I got to meet up with my close friends who were studying there as well. The day continued with the orientation programme.

I got my class on the same day. My class teacher seemed like a very nice person. Then, we had an ice-breaking game. All my classmates sat in a circle. Then, one person had to start by saying their own name. Then, the next person had to say his/her name and the name of the first person. Then, the third person would have to say his/her name, followed by the second and first person's name. And it just continued until the last person who had to say his/her name followed by the names of everyone before him/her. That game was fun.

The orientation continued in the Multi-Purpose Hall after that brief ice-breaking session. I really missed school that day. It was an unexplainable feeling that I hated the A-Levels course that I had chosen to take. The teachers were kind of like scaring us about the course.

It was like a culture shock. Things were just so different from school. So many new faces. I had only 3 or so friends taking the same course and on the same intake, something that I'm really not used to as I've always had many friends around me. Questions like "did I make the right choice" and "should I have just taken Form6" kept propping up in my head. I went back home a very unsatisfied and slightly dejected person that day.

Day 2 of orientation was slightly better. We were introduced to the differences that we would face in college compared to school. All I was hearing was stuff like "SPM is over", "you have to study yourself a lot", "you have to be independent" and "They (subjects) will be difficult". It was kinda demotivating listening to stuff like that without friends to crack up a few jokes in between. However, I went back home feeling slightly better that day, for reasons even I don't know.

Day 3 was kinda fun. People from the Student Development Centre had an ice-breaking game for us. It was called the toothpick game. Each on of us got one-third of a stick (which was as thick as a satay stick). We were supposed to find a partner, hold that stick vertically between the thumb and pointer-finger and push it against the stick of your partner to see whose stick breaks first.

Before the "stick war", we had to introduce ourselves and find out more about the partner. So, me being the naughty boy I love to be, wanted to use this opportunity to meet some new hot girls. I already had a target in mind but I was going to just introduce myself to any one of the hot girls. Coincidentally, when I was making my way down the hall the 'target girl' turned around and was facing me.

So, I just introduced myself to her and she did the same in return. We had our "stick war" after that. When one of our sticks broke, both our sticks fell to the ground. We didn't know whose stick actually broke. So, I decided that one hot girls was going to be enough and gave the unbroken stick to her so that she could go and meet other people. The rule was that if your stick broke, you have to get back to your place and the last one standing with the unbroken stick would win. Whatever I did was just for fun as I knew that it was a good chance to get to know people. I knew that I might never even talk to that girl again. So, it was a one-off thing...:P

Day 4 was mainly about university placement and the requirements. Some of the staff  gave speeches about applying for universities and the need to take IELTS or TOEFL. At the end of the day, we had to write a short essay for evaluation by the English Placement Test Centre. My brains were pretty rusty but I still managed to come up with something to write.

Day 5 was the day we were to get our real classes. Many students had opted to change their subject combination. So, timetables had to be changed and some students had to be placed in different classes. I remained in the same class.

I've made quite a number of new friends. They are from all over Malaysia. I even have 2 friends from Korea. I'm sitting right at the back of the class (my preferred peaceful place). It's de ja vu as my friends around me like to converse in Mandarin. I've been used to it since secondary school so I was fine with it. Their quite friendly as well.

There are quite a number of impressive facilities in Taylor's College. There's a University Placement Centre to help students to get information and to apply to universities abroad. There's also a gymnasium (although not very nice), dance studio, music chamber, The Web (Internet cafe) and quiet study rooms. The most impressive thing about the college is that the whole campus has Wi-Fi.

Things started off pretty badly but I think I'm settling in slowly. I usually take time to settle into a new environment. I've still not been able to grasp the idea that I'm all so grown up and have to do so many things differently. My heart still feels a lot warmer when I think of my school life......

End Of My Long Holiday

It was supposed to be a break. But I guess getting away from studies for 7 months sounds more like a holiday away from the responsibilities of the world. Well, you can call it one sweet holiday. don't get the wrong idea though. I didn't just laze around but did lots of stuff that I've always wanted to do.

As I've posted before in this blog, I worked in a car workshop for a month and in the process learned a lot about cars. I didn't manage to learn everything but just some important things about cars. It also increased my hands-on skill by ten folds. More importantly, I learned that in the same field, there can be people with totally opposite characteristics (as in my first compared to my second experience).

I managed to read many books during the 7 months as well. I don't know why but there were quite a number of book fairs last year. So, I managed to get my hands on the Twilight Saga books together with quite a number of books by  famous and not-so-famous authors. Since I was busy with SPM last year, I knew I had to use to the time after SPM to read all the books. Well, I read everything except for the odd sequal books that my mum accidentally bought.

After I stopped watching it in Form 3, I never thought that I would start watching Naruto episodes again. I had already watched all the Naruto episodes but I was way behind in the Naruto Shippuden episodes (when Naruto, the main character, grows up). Since I knew that I was going to have a lot of time during the holidays, I decided to watch the episodes. And currently, I'm just 10 episodes away from the latest episode which is episode 269.

I even managed to hone my cooking skills. I managed to learn how to make pizza. Well, I started off with using bread slices as the base. First, I tried with just mozzarella cheese. Then, I slowly added tomato puree, sliced sausages, mushrooms and onion. I only didn't have the chance to use dough as the base. I even managed to learn how to bake a cake. I baked my first cake-with my mum's help-on Father's Day.

During that time, I also watched many movies. And since I have Astro Beyond and PVR at home, I just recorded the movies which were played during unsuitable times and watched it when I was free. Treasure Island, The 4 old Batman movies, Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The 7th Harry Potter movie and the list goes on and on.

Towards the end of the holiday, I embarked on a new project. I had decided to build my own hurdles, like the ones I used in training. After some online research, I got the measurements and started to draw a sketch of what I was going to build. Then, I bought the PVC pipes and started working. It took me more than a week to build 10 hurdles. It could've taken less time if it wasn't for certain delays. I was totally satisfied with my work once the 'project' was completed.

If there's one thing I regretted during the holiday, I would have to say running. The only thing I had planned to do after my SPM examinations was to train hard. But because of my injury (adductor tendonitis), that was the only thing I couldn't do. Even now, my right adductors are in the process of healing but it has gotten a lot better than last time. Sadly, cycling just didn't satisfy my lust for extreme and aggressive sports.

I might have not be able to run and therefore not been able to have maximum fun, but I'm grateful enough that I did have some fun at least.I learned quite a number of diverse skills which I think will be important in the future. And now, my holiday has come to an end and it's time for me to embark on a new journey in life......