Friday, January 28, 2011

A problem I encountered and how I solved it

            I was in Primary 4 when I encountered this problem. That day, it was math lesson. Our teacher brought us up to the school’s math laboratory. All of us were having a fun time during the lesson, playing with the fraction tiles to make different fractions out of all the tiles. To our disappointment, it was time to go back to class very soon. Time really whizzes by when you are having fun.
           
When I stepped out of the lab, at the corner of my eye, I saw a fraction tile on the floor. Some of the more mischievous boys in our class started kicking the fraction tile around and they played with it and eventually kicking it down the stairs. When they stopped playing, I picked up the tile, with the intention of returning it to my teacher. However, the tile was disfigured beyond recognition. My teacher was looming above me the moment I picked it up. He shouted: “Jeremy! Who asked you to take out the fraction tile?! And why did you kick it around!” I was too stunned for words. And I guessed he probably thought that I was guilty so I chose to be silent. Immediately, he dragged me to the staff room and told my form teacher about this incident. My form teacher then informed my parents about what I ‘did’. By then, I knew I was in very big trouble, although I did not do anything. My parents came and gave me a very big scolding without even listening to my explanation. By then, school was already over. I was supposed to write a reflection on why I did ‘that’, how I felt and what I should have done.
           
After returning home, I told my parents the whole truth. They finally understood and called up both my math teacher and my form teacher to explain and apologies. When I went to school the next day, my math teacher apologised to me for the misunderstanding. He also told me that he had disciplined the boys who were responsible accordingly. I was truly glad and relieve that that matter was settled and my name was cleared.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

A moment I spent doing something alone

         Alone time. To some, it’s a time to think, to relax, to unwind or to rejuvenate. Alone time is something we long for, not fear. It inspires us. It rejuvenates us. And it makes us better. Given some time to yourself and told to spend it doing something you love, what would you do?
         Different people enjoy spending their time alone doing different things. As for me, my alone time would be used sitting in front of the computer playing my favourite computer games. Like, Maple Story and WolfTeam. Everyday after getting home from school, I would take my bath, finish up my homework and have my dinner. After that, I would set aside some time to be alone to play the computer games. Every time I play Maple, I would try to find a party quest so that i can gain experience to level up. I also enjoy the cute graphics of Maple. I can also play with my friends if they are online. As for WolfTeam, I just enjoy playing it for I find it thrilling. However, I would seldom get to play WolfTeam as my computer's graphics card is too old to support the game, so when my cousin comes over, it would be like a treat to play with him.
         Most people, especially parents feel strongly against their children playing computer games. They feel that it is a total waste of time and energy. They would want their children to do something more productive and meaningful. I feel that playing computer games are not all bad. However, it is important to exercise discipline and self-control in order not to become a computer addict.
         In my case, whenever I play the computer games, it helps me to relax and unwind after a long and tiring day. I also use it as a form of entertainment. In addition, it  enables me to improve my hand-eye co-ordination (It was published in the papers) when I play the FPS games also known as First Player Shooter (WolfTeam is one of them). I play moderately to ensure that I do not become an addict. In turn, I make more friends (Although I can't trust anyone you meet on the Internet). If not careful, playing computer can spoil ones eye-sight, however, I do take regular vision breaks, so as to minimise this problem.
          I always remember that I may become anti-social and reclusive if I play too much; I may even spoil my relationship with my parents when they try to control the amount of time  I spend on the games. My health may also suffer as I lack exercise and sleep if I play into the wee hours of the night and I will not be alert when I am in school the next day . In this case, I do make a point to shut down before ten o'clock and retire early so that I will be able to concentrate on my studies in school.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A moment spent with my family

A Moment Spent With My Family

(Music Box Museum)

(Tokyo Disneyland)

[Sounkyo(In the mountain tops)]
 
Dosen't it look like a construction site to you? 
*Disclaimer* All of the photos are from the internet as I caould not upload my own from my camera *Disclaimer*

            On my Japan holiday, I have had many experiences. For example, I went to the Music Box Museum at Otaru which displayed ancient music boxes and gramophones dating back to as far as the 18th Century, my trip to Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea and to the mountain tops! However, there is one truly unforgettable one. That is my trip to ‘HELL VALLEY’. It is called Noboribetsu in Japanese which means ‘Hell Valley’ because it is actually a sulfur deposit site where sulfur from under the crust of the earth comes out through holes. At first glance, it seems more of a construction site rather than a scenic tourist spot. Some of the rocks have even been stained a greenish-yellow tone due to the large amounts of sulfur deposited over the years. Another reason why it is called the ‘Hell Valley’ is because of the smell of sulfur. It can be almost unbearable when you first reach that place. However, you will soon get used to the smell. The sulfur smells of rotten eggs. The smell is so strong that even the hotels have to put charcoal in their lifts, corridors and even rooms to absorb the pungent smell. But, this place is not all bad. They have a special hot spring where you can soak yourself in mineral-rich hot spring. This special hot spring is said to have the ability to heal skin conditions such as eczema (Ugh! Imagine all sorts of people with skin conditions soaking in the same water as you. Nasty Thought.). Okay. That’s beside the point. When we went in the entire hot spring was VACANT. My father and I had the whole hot spring to ourselves (Talk about luxury! And of course the females have a different hot spring.). When you first enter, you will feel very uncomfortable as the temperature of the water may be quite a high. However, if you stay in there for a little while longer, you will feel the hot spring helping you to unwind and relax; de-stressing you. When I got out into the cold winter air, I could see myself ‘steaming’ as the weather was so freezing cold (about 3°C) that even normal evaporation will make you seem as if you are boiling. It was a very fun experience for me and my father. After that, my family and I sat down in the dining hall and enjoyed an elaborate Japanese-style 10-course dinner (We had the same thing for breakfast too, just with breakfast food). I think luck was with us on this trip.  On our check out day, the hotel was making Japanese Rice Cakes in the lobby. I got called up to have a hands on experience at it.  I was quite embarrassed I could not balance the giant wooden hammer used to pound the rice mixture. I even accidentally hit the side of the bowl. After that, the PR manager served all of us the rice cakes. I realised that their rice cakes are just our ‘Mua Ji’ in Singapore except that instead of grounded peanuts, they use green tea powder. It was simply delicious. This was sure an unforgettable moment with my family. All of us enjoyed this thoroughly!!


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Something unusual that happened that day

I was in Hokkaido, Japan for holiday last month. We were driving leisurely from Hakodate to Otaru. It was drizzling as usual (winter is known to be a wet season). We passed by some wind farms (the ones where they have giant fan-like structures in the ocean to harness the wind energy to generate electricity). It was awesome! We stopped by the road side and took pictures of it. It was very peaceful as we were cruising along the coastal area. We even drove through a 3.8km long tunnel called the Raiden Tunnel. We were in the tunnel for quite a long time before we actually saw light. At that time, the temperature was about 2°C and I was really hoping it would actually fall to 0°C or less so I could experience snow.

We finally reached Otaru and just as I was deep in thoughts, the unexpected happened!

It snowed (NOT)!! It HAILED!! At first, I did not realise that it was hailing. However, I started to hear tiny clattering sound on the car. I wound down the window, only to find hail falling all over me. The hail could be seen very clearly as I was wearing a black winter coat. I had never seen hail before although I have seen snow a few times. I was ecstatic! Event though the temperature was almost freezing, I kept the windows down the whole time until the hail stopped. Then, it started raining. 

As I did not know how hail is form, I ask my father. He told me that hail is frozen rain that falls from the sky. When the temperature at the top of the clouds is low, water droplets that are carried to the top freeze. The air movement inside the clouds is able to carry the frozen droplets up and down the clouds many times. Every time the droplet rises, a new layer of ice forms on it. This process will keep repeating itself until the clouds can no longer bear the weight of the droplets and the droplets will fall as hailstones.

However, this was not all. The next morning, when we travelled to Sapporo,  my wish came true. As we stepped out of the hotel, it started snowing. It was unbelievable. We were totally thrilled !! That was also the day that we were going back to Singapore. I feel I am truly blessed to have witnessed both hail and snow in one vacation.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Something that took place in school

It started out as a good day with PE lesson as the third period of the day. I was really looking forward to PE as we were going to do the soccer module that day. After warming up by running a round around the school field, we did some drills and started the match. To my disappointment, our group was named ‘Beaver’ (sounds like Bieber to me, how lame). Anyways, when we got down to the match, the first team we versused was…hmm, I can’t really remember, but we drew 0-0. However, the next match was an epic one. We had to versus Jarryl’s group. We had pretty much given up hope when we realised that we were going to versus them. But, we were not discouraged. We gave our best shot at it and to our surprise, we won the match with a score of 0-1. It was a lucky goal as the keeper was off-guard when Oliver shot the ball. For the rest of the time, we managed to play for time and won! Our next match was the most unforgettable one, and it was for a bad reason. All was going well until we let in a goal. We got one ball in to the goal too. That was where both teams had decided to give their best and try and win the match. Just as the ball was passed from Darryl to Marcus, I was about to ram the ball to the other side when Marcus suddenly jumped infront of the ball. I accidently kicked his leg. Both of us were in pain. I thought I was done for with the look Marcus gave me, but thanks to someone who mediated, we shoke hands and forgave each other. 

~The End~

Thursday, January 6, 2011

My Thoughts About Blogging

         Hello, this is my very first time blogging. I think that blogging is not just to share with people about our daily activities but also to express your feelings on happened. Blogging is used for lots of stuff but most people also use their blogs as their personal journals too. I had also seen people using their blogs and anonymity to cyber-bully other people. I think that is wrong and we should not do that. Blogging can be a very interesting experience if you are able to use it correctly. 
        The most appealing side of blogging is money which seems to be as easy as clicking few buttons of mouse.However, I for one does not think it is that easy. Many people would start blogging to try and earn a quick buck, but it is not that easy. Before the money can start rolling in, you have to make your blog popular so that many people will start going to your blog and see it as a place to put up their ads.
         Another reason can also be that people would like to share their knowledge on a certain topic with other people. Apart from these, people can also look for jobs using their blogs and it can also help employers look for people to hire during/not during recessions.
         Although blogging may seem all good, there still is a darker side to blogging ; if you post too many pictures of yourself onto the web, people may stalk you and the circumstances may turn from bad to worse, so when you are blogging, you should always be aware of what you post. Also, make sure that you do not post anything that is racist or religionist, etc...

                                                           Happy Blogging ~ I Blogging(NOT)