Get (fed) out of my class...

Thursday, right? Ok then, thanks.

Today starts in the morning, where I brought back the school flag for returning to the Boardroom. But I came way early this time, so when I got there, the door was still locked. Well, at least this gives me an excuse to bring the flag back to class for another half-an-hour or so. And since the guys wanted to play with the flag yesterday, I guess today should be their day.

Got up through the Space Frame staircase, marched quietly behind Junn Kit until we were a few clasroms from our classroom, then marchedbeside him and said, "Hi!". I then let him play around with the flag while he unlocked the classdoor and set up the classroom for the rest of the people who haven't came yet. Kevin Beck also paid a long visit since his classkey's still with someone else and he can't enter the class till he comes.

But onve it was about 7, I recieved a call from Ben Sim askingme to come to the boardroom at 7.15 so as to show the PowerPoint Presentation to him and finalise any mistakes and to correct them. So borrowing JKit's charger, I rushed down with my Tablet, thumbdrive and the school flag to the Boardroom, where I made my 'patriotic' entry in the way I came in, making Ben laugh for a few minutes till he calmed down and we started viewing the slides again.

He told me the real figure we collected from the donations, and I animated it. He also told me where the money's all going, and I animated it too. He also told me that the *Intense Climax* was unnecesary, so I deleted that one. Before we could finish the whole thing, the bell rung and it was time for morning duty, so Ben told me to leave my Tablet (and charger) in the Boardroom and meet back here immediately after Assembly. I agreed and made my way to my duty spot.

But thinking that Mr. Tay's announcements were going to be short after Assembly, I decided to stay in class after Assembly so as to listen to the 'quick' messages before making my way back down to the Boardroom. The big mistake was, Mr. Tay had a lot to say today, so after 5 or 6 things were settled among the class, I quickly asked Mr. Tay for permission to leave and 'settle something with the prefects'. He nodded my head, and I made my dash to the Boardroom in fear that they might have locked up my Tablet along with JKit's charger.

Thankfully, when I arrived at the Boardroom, Ben was still there along with my (and JKit's) stuff! So with only five minutes left to spare, I quickly went through the addings and editings before running the new version of the slides in front of Ben and a few other passeer-bys like Henry and Kevin. Once done, Ben asked me to stay back for a short while after school to help transport the remaining can drinks we didn't sell during the Rugby match to the Boy's Brigade HQ. I agreed, then quickly disassembled my stuff and made the dash back to my class, so as to arrive at the same momment as Sir, who was going to start Spontaneous Maths Equation or something like that. How fortunate of me! Praise the Lord!

After Assembly, Mr. Tay did specify that he wanted to give us more Recess since today's the day in the time-table when we get two halves of a Recess at different times of a day, which is rather inconvenient for any ACS(I)an boy here (Big stomachs, big games, big crazes and so on). So since Mdm Sheela, our Computer Science teacher, was absent for the day, he thought of using a portion of the lesson for Recess, just this once. But then when it was her lesson, a relief teacher came in, so Mr. Tay had to surrender the time to him, requesting him to dismiss us by a period early so we could break it down.

Apparently, this new teacher didn't know how to teach IT and so agreed with the class that if we could 'entertain' him for the next 40 minutes he'd dismiss us on the spot, 20 minutes ahead of our real Recess. Agreeing, we had a chat with him about the recent drowning incident where four teenagers went into a canal in the measures of retrieving a dropped handphone, only to have the rain come in and wash them away to more than 3 kilometers away from their entry point and to have one of the teens drowned.

Wasn't that successful, though, and we ended up with 10 minutes extra of Recess. Better than nothing.

After the ussual baos I'd buy for Thursday Recesses, I went back to class just in time to get my books and files, and only to find out that today was a Practical Test! *Gasp* Well, I wasn't present for yesterday's P Science lesson so I missed out on the announcement that today was a test. Can't blame anyone for not telling me - too late for that already. So I quickly strolled along with the class to the laboratory, along with my prayers, to find Mdm telling us to stay outside for a while while she sets up the equiptment inside. Once done, she told us to sit in index order. Marching into the room three-by-three, we quietly placed our books at the side desks and sat down on our stools with only our pencil boxes to cling onto.

The test was same-ol'-same-ol', in the sense that 1) There was something practical to do (Oh, really?...), and 2) There were questions that required more prior knowledge than your observations. While doing the test, I felt rather honoured that God allowed me to go through this. No, not 'this' refering to 'this-exam-which-is-ripping-my-guts-apart-just-to-answer-a-simple-question', but more of 'this' refering to 'this-priveledge-to-be-educated-in-knowledges-not-many-people-on-other-sides-of-the-world-get-to-learn'. The mere fact that I knew how to handle to fluids in the test tube I was holding gave me pride in God that He'd actually bless me with this wisdom. An honour, indeed. Praise the Lord Almighty! Thanks, God!

After the test, a few made-by-Faraaz accidents and a wet desks, our class was dismissed for the second Half-Recess, which was 20 minutes only so I found no point going down again to eat/drink/walk. Instead, I stayed in class and re-drew the drawings I made on the side of the whiteboard. For those who aren't in my class, this drawing I made early this week, which was the forth drawing I've done this term, is of a pirate ship half sunken and being dragged further down by a set of tentacles.

I fitted it snug in the middle of the announcements so it didn't distract anything, and just like the other three drawings (1st was a Roman courtyard, 2nd was an European seadock with ship and sailor and 3rd was a departure terminal signboard complete with names of people leaving the class within lessons) I expected this one to be erased away for more announcements to be put in its place. But apparently, it's somehow ended up 'so beautiful that no one dares to rub it off'. So since I still had lots of time, I decided to erase the present drawing, rub out the expired announcements, add in the new ones and draw back the ship on top of the entire structure.

For those who can't tell, I drew the picture in dedication to the up-coming movie, Pirates of the Carribean : At World's End. I know, the Kraken was only in the previous movie (PotC : Dead Man's Chest). But that's the only related thing I could draw! I mean, how'd you expect me to draw a whirlpool with two ships inside firing at each other using something as thick as a whiteboard marker?

And if you're wondering why I'd draw PotC instead of other movies that are coming around the corner like Spider-man III, Shrek III, or even not draw a movie theme and do something else altogether, well here's my reason. I love ships! From as modern as the Battleship, to as primitive as Le Général Français. From as pleasing as a Star Cruise, to as tragic as the Titanic. Show me a minature model of a ship, and I can spend seconds, if not minutes, just staring at the designs on deck and at hull. Yank out a railing, give me a minute and I can point out to you where the part came from.

That's one of the reasons why I'm enjoying Canoeing (A k2 with ruberr-band going at 70% can simulate the Black Pearl's crashing into waves very well!) and also why I ussually unbutton my labcoat while walking back to the classroom after practicals (feels so much like a Captain's trench coat). And if you notice carefully, even my style of walking symbolises paddling! And so PotC is a movie I highly regard, since it does involve pirate ships, and sail ships of the Colonialization Era are the boats I highly regard the most!

So back to drawing, I signed off my drawing with the date '25 May', the date PotC was going to show in theatres.

Or so I thought.

Shil walked past while I signed it off, and he commented that it wasn't actually May 25th, but instead somewhere in early June. I was shocked at that comment, and started debating back my evidences to show it was May and not June. After a 5-minute debate, I ended of my final attack with the words, "... Then I can't watch it on my birthday!" before leaving for Mother Tongue.

Indeed, my birthday's within the range of the theatre screening, IF the show starts on 25 MAY. If it showed in June, then the only movie I could celebrate my b-day with would be Shrek the Third, which apparently screens exactly on my birthday, May 31. I also like Shrek and I love the humour present in the show, but my love for ships is something I'd like to settle on my b-day, as it'll make it that bit more special. But if Shil's right, I guess it'll only be the BBQ...

Speaking on the topic of my b-day, I've been planning my party for some time now and I've decided that for the first time in 6 years, (*heavy breathing*), I will invite my friends for a b-day party. I've never done this in a long time, and at the age of 14 I'm not sure if I'd do a good job as a host. True, my last party at P2 was a smashing success complete with +50 people attending (Classmates, relatives, ect.), tonnes of games and even a 25-cm tall puff cake with little astronauts and a NASA flag on the top (Later that evening, I found out one of my presents was a toy spaceship). But that was years ago - things aren't as childish as they were back then.

So the (so-far) comfirmed details are the following:

Date: 31 May (Duh...)
Time: 12ish, I guess?
People Invited: Just classmates this year. Other people who find out can join along, I guess. But I'm not used to hosting parties, so I think I'd keep the numbers small this time. Besides, it's a Tuesday, so Canoeing Training is on - Just before I leave for the bus stop home, I'd say it's my birthday and walk off. Whether they chase me, sing me a 'Happy Birthday!' song or just ignore, it's their choice. Oh, and God! I'm definitely inviting God! God's gonna be there anyway, so He doesn't need a reminder, hee hee...
Events: Well, there are two main events I'm going to propose to my parents;
-1) Movie
~Afternoon movie at Lido, most likely.
~With lunch there, and having both parents just a 7-minute walk/7-minute bus ride away (Dad/Mom respectively), I guess it's convenient enough.
~But the only problem is just the movie itself. If Shil's correct in saying PotC is in June, I might as well cancel this section since I know that a good portion of my friends wouldn't like to watch an ogre inherit the throne of Far Far Away.

-2) BBQ
~Evening BBQ at the BBQ pit just under my block. (Or maybe a whole-day event if there's no movie)
~Supplies within the reach of footsteps, this is way convenient and controllable for me to handle.
~What to bring? Swimming trunks [+ goggles] (There's a pool here - Wan'na race?), sports gear if you like (I've got a tennis court, a basketball court, a table tennis room, a badminton field, jogging tracks and Bukit Timah Hill's just 5 minutes away, so Hiking is also fine), GAMES (I'm open for surprizes), any snacks you think you'd like to share with the others, a patient heart (because the host might lag a bit in his hosting) and a joyful heart!!!
~Presents? Who needs them? Just come and have fun till the badgers come home! (Where did the cows go?...)

So now that I've got my proposals lined up and ready for firing at my Mom and Dad, all that's left now is the part I fear the most.

Asking my classmates if they'd like to come in the first place.

Someone's gotta do it, and I'm gonna be the host, but I've now lost the courage to step up to a classmate and ask just the simple question of, "Hey, wanna come over to my place on my b-day?". It's just that simple, yet I can't seem to do it yet. And I've got to do it quick, since the BBQ Pit reservations ussually require a month's advance in booking. May the Lord my God be with me!...

Anyway, for CL'B', we tried out typing essays using our Tablet PCs, and it was rather interesting how technology's this advance now these days. Got a few more sentences to go now...

After that was ePOD, where my group presented our presentation on the philosophy behind the movie, Matrix Reloaded. (Wait a minute. How many movies have I just typed into this post?) The presentation had none of my animations for once, since I had to attend to other stuff like the Food 4 Thought Presentation and cheering, which take up a lot of time. So All I could do for the guys was just to summarise the points they researched on, and to talk about a quote in the movie (The quote was the part where the different Smiths came into the scene to fight Neo, and it was interesting saying it in unison with my group - sounded freaky but still interesting.).

For once in my working days, I felt I didn't really contruibute much into the project. May God bless my group members for their efforts! Just like in Ecclesiastes 9:10a, it says, "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might..." So I shall strive for better projects to come, WITH the help of God Himself.

Once dismissed, I was asked by Kirby if I could accompany him home, since we both take the same buses until Chestnut. I agreed after telling him I had to stay back for a few minutes to help transport the drinks (remember?). He also agreed and followed me out to the corridoor, where JKit and Tim asked if I could join them for Lunch. Knowing the timings that ussually happen during Lunch with them guys, I also agreed to them. So Kirby and I joined them to eat a short Lunch together.

Once we found a good table, we placed our bags along the chairs and went off to buy our stuff. I went to buy baos, which were rather fast to order, and made my way back to the table, which was expectedly empty now since the rest of the guys were waiting for their pasta. Right on time, I thought to myself, as I rested the paperbag of baos against my school bag before runnig off to the Boardroom. I then grabbed the three cartons of drinks under a shelf, leaving behind a note telling Ben I din't need back-up now.

Making my route pass the SAC, I checked the table to find Tim and Kirby chatting away, which was also just as planned. I then stared straigh tat the table while walking in attempt to capture their attention. And in a matter of seconds, I caught it. They stared at me in surprise, and I smiled back like as if nothing odd was happening. With a glass wall between us, I quietly faked a stumble while walking to represent myself saying, "SOMEBODY COME HERE ALREADY!!! MY FINGERS WON'T HOLD ANY SOONER!!!" Kirby then came out and helped me with a carton, giving me enough strength to re-adjust my grip on the cartons I was holding.

After returning the cartons, Kirby and I walked back to the SAC and met up with Tim and JKit. We then had a short meal and strong chat before leaving for home(s).

Once at home, I did some work, only to find my Chinese Tution teacher at the door a few hours later. And just in time too. You see, tomorrow's White Space was going to replace lessons Next Tuesday, meaning I'd have remedial for PE coincidentally. So this would overlap my tution and thus I wanted to postpone the tution. But today, Morriel wasgoing to have tution with my teacher, so now I could also ask her if I could have tution after Morriel, of which she agreed to. Now that that's settled, things should run smoothy tomorrow.

Or would it?