last week, Singapore dragon boat sport lost 5 young members due to an accident in Cambodia. After reading through reports about this accident and the comments from their families and friends, i feel sad and sympathesize with their loss and it also evokes memories of what happened 3 months when i lost one of my closest friends. May these 5 dragon boat rowers rest in peace, knowing that they have lived their life to the fullest and may the bereaved family members and friends be able to live strong and overcome the most difficult period in their lives.

29th Nov 2007

Happy Birthday to you, Si Qiu. How have you been? Are you still doing lotsa running? im sure you still do and you must have been enjoying yourself just as you do when you were alive. im sorry that till today, i still havent really accept the fact that you arent around any more. Mebbe its just me, too emotional and too unrealistic. i will be completing my exchange programme in Berkeley in less than 1 month's time and will be going back to Perth for my last semester next March. I dont know whether will i still be mentally strong enough to run along matilda bay cos im afraid that memories of us running along the bay will evoke my mind. please give me the strength to do so. Your sudden passing has taught me an invaluable lesson of learning to treasure my close ones and friends and i thank you for that. would like to say that even though your life is short, you have certainly touched my people's hearts especially mine and i will never ever forget you. Below is the lyrics of 朋友, which is your favourite song and i would like to dedicate to you.

这些年一个人 风也过雨也走

有过泪有过错 还记得坚持甚麽

真爱过才会懂 会寂寞会回首

终有梦终有你在心中

朋友一生一起走 那些日子不再有

一句话一辈子 一生情一杯酒

朋友不曾孤单过 一声朋友你会懂

还有伤还有痛 还要走还有我

In memory of Ho Si Qiu ( 29-11-1981 --26 -08-2007)

Si Qiu, the time now is 28th Aug 2007, 10.02pm california time ( 29th Aug 2007, 1.02pm singapore time), in about 2 hrs time, a state funeral will be held for you at Mandai.


Si Qiu, im sorry to tell you that im still in a state of shock and grief. i will never ever forget that day when i heard of your passing from Agnes. You were so young, kind and have a bright future ahead for you.

Si Qiu, im so sorry that im not able to attend your funeral as im currently on an exchange program in US, I hope you wouldnt mind.

Bro, i will always remember that you are one of the very few people who encourage me to go on this student exchange to US as you say that it will be an enriching experience.

I still remember that time during one of our weekly runs, when i mentioned to you that i do not know how to write the personal statement for this student exchange, you readily gave me a helping hand by suggesting wat points can be included in this essay.

Bro, thank you very much for your help and encouragement in this matter, if not, i dun tink i will have the chance to go on this student exchange.

Bro, you have always been an excellent role model to me. You excelled in your studies, running, soccer and have touched so many people's lives. I am really impressed by your never-say-die attitude towards life and how disciplined you were during our hostel days. No matter how late you sleep at night, you will always wake up early in the morning at 8am for breakfast and running/study, very few pple can be as disciplined as you in our hostel.

Bro, im very sure that many of your friends will agree with me that you have always treat people with sincerity and love. You will always lent a helping hand to anyone in need and will never brat about your many achievements. i will always remember that during your last semester in UWA, even though you were busy preparing your thesis, you will greet me with a smile in your room and try to help me in my sch work.

Bro, i will also miss the times we had our runs along Matilda Bay. Even though im a slowier runner than you are, you will willingly pace me during those runs. Bro, i will also miss the days playing with you in the social league (you as the defender and me as the goalkeeper) and our soccer session on saturdays.

Bro, i really regret not knowing you more as a person and not informing you that im leaving for US for my student exchange. i guess its because i always think that you will always be there for me, unfortunately, this is no longer true now. i have learnt a painful lesson for not treasuring someone who matters alot to me.

Bro, i will like to let you know that even though you are no longer with us physically, however, we will forever remember you as a warrior, a gentleman, a sportsman and a scholar. I am very honoured to have you as a friend and i will miss you deeply. Rest in peace, Si Qiu, till we meet again.

How i know you like her very much

You think about her so much, you forgot your damned password to log on to Blogger

Best Wishes

Not to you, but to RJ. Think he has touched down in California and is currently staying in a hotel. Peektures wanted!

10 reasons why I know I like her:

1. When I almost damaged my laptop, the 1st thing I worried about was losing the few precious pictures I had of her.

2. I am always excited when I see her on msn.

3. I am always excited when we speak on the phone.

4. I can speak with her for more than 3 hours on the phone.

5. I bother to wake up early in the morning just to go to uni to send her CV for vetting.

6. I dont mind helping her re-do her CVs and cover letters to speed up her job application process.

7. I sms her as quickly as possible upon knowing that I qualified for student exchange at UC Berkeley.

8. I am always excited when I received her sms.

9. I am willing to pick up my courage to go all the way to HK to tell her the 3 most impt words.

10. I am always very glad that she is willing to share her joy and happiness with me.

I need to stop slacking immediately aarrgghhhhh!!!!!!

Back to Memoryland

i went back to maris stella today. its infrastruture is still unchanged, but many teachers have left the school. was quite disappointed at not being able to meet all teachers which i have wanted to meet. Luckily, my trip wasnt wasted as i met mr cham n mr ng. Age has really catch up with mr cham( my sec 1 chinese teacher), now, he has gotten a head of grey hair. he has been a very loyal servant in maris stella, i tink he has taught in maris stella for abt 20 yrs and has seen many batches of students come and go. so it wasnt a surprise that he couldnt recognise me ( i have originally wanted to speak to him). but i still felt a tinge of sadness as one of my most respected teachers has lost forgotten abt me. it goes to show that we shld realli treasure the good times we have with our elders or loved ones so that we will not regret it when they have grown old or have lost memories. mr ng( sec 3 and 4 maths teacher) is still the same old mr ng i have known in my adolescent years. still so jovial and unassuming. i searched high and low for him in the school and finally, i found him in the computer lab attending some video camera course. glad to hear that mrs ng( who concidentally is my jc maths tutor) is posted to a sec sch to pursue bigger roles and assume greater responsibility. all the best to them.

even though i have always criticise maris stella, it was always for her own good as i feel that the school isnt performing up to its potential. today, as i stepped into her gates once again, i still feel a sense of pride as many successful men has passed through her gates. i am still not a successful man yet but i will be one some day. by then , i really hope to contribute back to the school which has accompany me and taught me good values in my formative years. i promise that i will do so and i must do so!

WTF! Maris Stella occupies band 6 of the ranking table!

i know i shld b studying, i really cannot take it anymore but to vent my frustrations in mi blog!

Maris Stella is being placed in the band 6 of the ranking table which implies that she is ranked 38th in Singapore ( im assuming that the 9 top schools which are not offering 'o'levels anymore, will do better than her). if im not wrong, this is her worst ranking since 1993. Even though my batch's l1r5 is similar to last yr's batch, my batch's ranking is 27, which is significantly higher than the 2005 batch. this goes to show that although maris stella is maintaining the standards, this is not enuff as a number of schools, especially neighbourhood schools, are improving at a faster rate.

i believe that students from maris stella have the potential to do better than their current performance. our poor performance could be due to the following factors.

1. the poor leadership of our dear old principal, Brother Anthony Tan. when i was still a student in maris stella, my teachers have been telling me that the principal has often set unrealistic targets for the school and instead of spending money on improving the learning environment and laboratory equipments( bunsen burners, acids used for science experiments), he would rather spend the available resources on Apple computers. im not saying that the expenditure on these computers is useless, im juz highlighting the fact that the money shld be spend on facilities which are benefits students more directly.

2. unmotivated teachers with poor teaching skills. during my 11 years( from pre-primary to secondary) as a marist, im sad to say that i have met very few good teachers in maris stella. this is not surprising as the principal is unable to convince his colleagues of the reasons for his policies, thereby resulting in many teachers who are not willing to work wif him for the cause of maris stella. a case in point can be seen in a number of excellent teachers leaving maris stella for other schools or quiting their jobs. could it be because of the fact that the school management have not taken good care of their welfare? this will forever be a mystery.

3. lacksture students. during my secondary school life in maris stella, im apalled to hear my classmates commenting that they are only aiming to pass their school tests or examinations. it is also a common sight to find my classmates comparing their low marks and simply laugh it off. this really pales in comparison to students in top schools, who are mostly highly motivated to score good marks. arent these marists ashamed of their low marks? wheres their self-worth? if im not wrong, the psle t-score of the 2005 batch is much higher than my batch. therefore, i do not think its too demanding for these students to obtained better 'o' levels results than the 1999 batch of mine. wats wrong wif the attitude of marists? could it be the result of human factors( school management, teachers or parents)? or could it be the result of poor learning environment in maris stella? i tink theres a very high chance that both cases are true.

As an alumni of maris stella high, it saddens mi to find that my juniors arent doing well to their potential. will all due respect to the neighbourhood schools which are ranked above her, maris stella shld be outperforming them instead of being at the same band or even a lower band than them . the school shld really explore the reasons for this consistently poor academic performance and come up with some good measures to prevent the good name of maris stella from being tarnished. wake up maris stella, wake up!