Journey's End...

Honours' Day was last Wednesday, the borderline separating the portion of the year that would be spent academically, and that which would not. Before that Wednesday, teachers scrambled as much hints and tips as they could into the remaining hours left to count down; after that Wednesday, the Series of Great Battle begins.

Battles so terrifying, people had cried minutes before the first fire ignites.

Battles so exhausting, men have collapsed out of breath just footsteps away from the battlefield.

But most importantly, battles so important, our futures depend on the final outcome.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. This war I share with you is none other than the Final Year Examinations. *climatic maestro*

But now that it's Hari Raya Haji, it really does feel like a seize-fire in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly so quiet, so peaceful. So now that I have time to relax, I'm just lazing around, taking a stroll in the park (and in Singapore, walking around your neigbourhood already qualifies as 'taking a stroll in the park'), and touching up on any parts of Advance Maths and History I haven't touched yet. And I still can't type out my post on Multi-Genre Music Appreciation, not enough time.

Oh, and I also updated a whole lot of pictures up on Facebook, as well as brozed through the photos of others' albums. Speaking of pictures, I might as well take this opportunity to archive a little on what happened during the F1 Singapore Grand Prix Finals which I attended last Sunday in pictures, can't I? Here's a brisk walk down memory avenue...

Ah, yes. Alex Loong, the only Malaysian F1 Racer up to date, giving us comments on what racing life is like (sry I couldn't get a clearer picture). He was part of a pre-race dinner programme laid out for us by Julius Bar, the bank that gave us the tickets to watch. After dinner (and some wine *hiccup*), we walked our way to the stands and took our seats an hour or less before the show began.
The Singapore Flyer towering above the circuit.
That's me.
And that's dad.
Cars from the old days parading along the track.

Oooh, Lewis Hamilton.
A parade of nations.
With Singapore walking alongside the F1 flags.
More pit-stops.
Even Austin powers came to watch the race.
Pit crews rushing onto the track to give finishing touches to the cars.
Pit crew setting up the pit stops for the race.
Only minutes to the race...
Chaotic pit crew on the track.
Fr those who can't see, PM Lee looking around the track, with representatives escorting him and answering his questions.
Singing the National Anthem.
Pit crew rushing off the tracks as the cars rev' up their engines (Man second from left starting to put on his ear plugs)
Race cars moving up to their starting positions.
Uh-oh, yellow flag. (safety car deployed)
Ah, yeah. Pit crew bringing back the hose yanked out earlier by a Ferrari. It was quite hilarious watching it from the grandstands: you see these cars zooming past you, then all of a sudden there's this obviously-slower pit crew chasing one of the cars. I tell you, the crowd was roaring with applause and laughter, which later died down when we realized what exactly happened.

However, of all the events I've had the privilege of going to, I've never seen as many middle-fingers pointed out in anywhere else than in here. But don't worry, it only happened because a couple of drunk Caucasian men were annoying the rest of the crowd by singing random songs in their language very loudly and very out of tune; even though the vehicles could easily drown out their voices, the both of them were nevertheless still annoying once the motors were an earshot away.

Man, I pitied the individual crowd usher who had to deal with the angry crowd by himself (he looked rather pathetic with the panicked smile on his face I assumed he was trying to use to calm the people down with). But I guess the sight of two full sections turning straight towards the drunk men sobered them proper, since we never heard their voices again for the rest of the race.

And eventually, the race concluded with Alonso as first, and with Hamilton at 3rd place (darn). Poor thing for Ferrari, though. Their two best drivers ended up crashing (the latter crash just 4 laps away from finishing), while the last car ended off at, what, 13th or 14th place? And with almost half of the crowd was wearing red (including red), many of us had to hide our caps and shout, "Viva Espana!"

Yeah, but when it all ended and the vehicles were parked back into their pits and the prize ceremony commenced and the champagne was shaken and poured over the crowd, my dad and I decided we better leave so I can sleep early for Language Arts and Core Maths tomorrow...

...after a few more photos on the tracks!
Me on the track directly in front of the Singapore Flyer.
My dad and I posing close to the last turn on the track (the rubber was still fresh and sticky, even my pants got a little stained)
View of the starting line, the crowd mostly condensed towards where the prize ceremony was.
Me running along the track.
Oooh, one of the damaged cars. ('Do-do you have a 1st aid kit handy?')
Another broken car (as evident by the missing right rear tire).
Policemen holding hands to stop us from moving any further.
Another pose with the tracks.
These dots are the rubber that the burning hot tires leave behind as they run along the tracks (now you know why they need to change their tires often).
Ouch, road kill. This critter was a fat moth the size of my palm, and compressed to the thickness of an average ball-point pen.
Posing with the safety car.
Hey, even Mediacorp artiste were present to watch the race (but I was too tired to ask them if I could pose with them, so I carried on walking).
Also having special passes to exit the race via River Taxi under Julius Bar, my dad and I sailed away from the crowded gates and into the relatively quiet hands of Clarke Quay (where we spent another 15 minutes searching for the MRT station to take us back to Orchard Road, where my dad parked the car). Here was a final shot of the tracks.

And that sums it up, I guess. All the best for the remianing half of the exams, fellow people-who-take-the-same-exam-schedule-as-me! Isaiah 55:8-13!!! God bless y'all!!!