Chinese name.

Well, I do not really know the significance of my Chinese name. But I know that my Chinese name contains the Chinese word "citizens". And my surname means something like "To contribute to the people, bring happiness, prosperity..." Perhaps my grandfather who gave me this name wanted me to do something for the people around me, most probably, he wanted me to bring happiness and do something for the people. Currently, I do not consider these Chinese characters as part of my identity. And that is because I feel that I am not mature enough to do what I think is expected of me.
Most of the chinese have meanings behind their names which their grandparents/ancestors hope they would live up to. In our everyday lives when we write our chinese names on chinese worksheets during lessons, very few of us actually stop to look over our chinese names, very few of us are curious about the meanings of our chinese names.
But if we pause for a while, to look at our chinese names, and find out the meanings, perhaps it could contribute to our identity. The reason why we got our chinese names is because we are expected to be of good character.

Favorite memory of Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year itself is a wonderful memory. There is no particular favorite memory of Chinese New Year. It is simply wonderful whenever you hear joyful Chinese New Year songs as you walk down the street. Every year, my family goes back to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur to visit our relatives there. It is simply wonderful, joyful, and happy to exchange red packets and see all your relatives again. Usually, we visit each other and exchange red packets in the day, and have our reunion dinner in the evening, before going to one of our relatives' house at night to play poker card games(e.g. Russian Poker, etc,.) Chinese New Year is a happy event, so, I don't have any particular favorite memory of Chinese New Year, but it is the favorite memory of each year. Perhaps what would make any Chinese New Year more interesting to me is my relatives' presence. In the past few years, my paternal granddad, one of my paternal grandaunts, and one of my paternal granduncles left this world. And my maternal granddad left even before I could see him. If there is any, I think my favorite memory of Chinese New Year was the time where more relatives were around. I really miss the times when they were all around, and the times when I saw them smiling widely and wishing each other a Happy Chinese New Year.

LA Online Lesson #2(Part 2)

1. Think about how an individual's identity is shaped. What factors have led to the formation of your own identity?

I feel that an individual's identity is shaped with what they know about themselves. What I think is that my identity came about by what I think about myself, what I know about myself, and not what others think of us. And that is because we know who we are, others don't. We may be a different person from what people think we are. We know our intentions, our thinking. Well, I admit that others’ impression of us are important because we communicate with people and the world, and the way they look at us is important. However, sometimes, in special circumstances, others misunderstand us and thus think badly of us.

2. Search for three images (that are not a photograph of you) that you feel represent your identity.

First image from the bottom: I feel that in life, we come across many difficulties. And along this tough journey of life, very often people get the wrong impression of us. But, we will clutch our chest, deep in our hearts we know,"They do not know who I am, they got the wrong impression. But, one thing i know, I know who I am. I know I am not who they think I am. I have to hang in there and get on with life. I have to do something to change their bad impression of me, if I don’t, I have to live with it."

Second image from the bottom: Not everybody really understands us, and we never tell anyone everything about ourselves(that is why the mouth in the picture is sealed). Sometimes, we keep things to ourselves, we keep our feelings to ourselves. When people insult us, we don’t feel good, we might feel like punching or slapping their faces but we might just keep silent. No one knows.

Third Image from the bottom: When things in life gets tough, when we face difficulties, when we are in dilemmas, we need an outlet for release, we need silence, we need to be alone, we need time to sort out our feelings, and think about how to get on with life. We need to get back on our feet. And that is why the place in the picture looks silent and lonely.

Online Lesson #2(Part 1)

In my opinion, I think that the whole class was responsible for Margot's treatment. Whenever such things happen, not only is the person who caused hurt who is in the wrong, the by-standers are wrong too(if there were any). In this story, they were immature and childish to lock Margot up, they were responsible for not caring for her. Margot did not do anything wrong neither did she hurt them. She just had a strong desire to see the Sun. She wanted to know how the Sun is like. Is it a sin to have such a strong longing for what she desires? The classmates were wrong to suggest locking her up, they were wrong for locking her up, and the others were also in the wrong because they did not stop the others in their actions. In life, each and everyone of us have our desires and dreams. We all want to have a chance to pursue them. We all want to do what we want to do. That’s obvious, who doesn’t? Obviously, every single person in Margot’s class had their own dreams, desires, wishes... It is just that everybody knows Margot’s wish/desire! But didn’t they know Margot has hers’ too? The class did not think, if Margot were to come in the way or them pursuing their dreams, how would they feel? Perhaps they should have a taste of it to know how feels like.

If I were one of the school children, I would stand up for Margot. When they were about to lock her up, I would go forth and stop them. I would make them think:
Did Margot do any wrong?
Is it her fault that she has such a strong longing to see the Sun?
Does she deserve this type of treatment?
If they were her, how would they feel?
Margot is a human too! She has feelings, she has dreams, she has wishes! Don’t they have dreams, feelings, and wishes too? Can’t they spare a thought for her and be more mature? They should put themselves into others’ skin(s).

If they insist on locking her up, I would unlock her secretly later. Because I feel that she does not deserve such treatment, she is innocent! And just like every other child, she has the right to see the Sun. I would hope that they are influenced by my actions and stop bullying her and learn how to care for her and get along with her.

Projects Day

In Projects Day last year, I had to collaborate intensely with 3 group members to create a project. As time went by, I learnt that, in a group, there needs to be teamwork, various talents and abilities, etc,.
At that time, we were Secondary 1 students and did not really know each other well. After we formed our group and submitted the namelist for our project, I realised that I could not seem to get along with any of the group members. Well, I will tell you about the most important person, the group leader.

NJS(Group leader): We trusted him to be the group leader. He seemed to be responsible, but I had got it all wrong. When we went to the library to borrow a laptop to do work, the first thing I saw him do was to check a Facebook game, Mousehunt. He did not really do any work. As a leader, he was supposed to lead, and not be led. In group discussions, there will be many distractions, but it is the job of the group leader to bring the group back to the main topic. There is this saying: Leaders lead their people to where they want to be, great leaders lead their people to where they ought to be but not necessarily the place where they want to be. Group discussions in our group was mostly held in one of the library cubicles where we can practise presenting. A usual group meeting/discussion starts with one or two members arriving at the library and borrowing a laptop, then proceeding to Facebook to play games like Backyard Monsters, Mousehunt, Ghost Trappers, etc,. Then another group member arrives and watches them play the games and starts commenting. Standing by the side, I try to ask them to get down to work,but they seem too engrossed in their games and game discussion to hear me. 1 hour is wasted, when they finally switched off their games, we have to set up the projector. Typical comments:
“**** it! I forgot to save the file last night!”
“I forgot to bring my thumbdrive!”
“Sorry, this is the old file...”
“Here is the new powerpoint slides of mine.”
Guess what? The “new” powerpoint slides done by my project member was just horrible. Everything was back to square one. The background was light blue, the words were in bright yellow, he uses “copy-and-paste”, I see paragraphs in our powerpoint slides! All the advice our seniors gave us, fell on deaf ears. Our group leader could not do anything about that group member who finished the “new” powerpoint slides. I’ll get straight to the point. Our group leader has no control or power over his group members.
BSYH(2nd group member): He is a pretty violent student, and during our group meetings, most of the time he is sitting in a corner either playing games on his handphone or on a laptop borrowed from the library. When the three of us tries to get him to get more focussed, he beats us up and says that we have no right to get him to do so. So, perhaps we shall not allocate him to do any work, just play a minor part in the presentation. Well, his eyes were simply glued to the screen. During Preliminary Rounds, he was not able to present fluently as he wasn’t too familiar with our presentation procedure.
OYK(3rd group member): He was the tallest in the group amongst us 4. He was the quietest in our group and he always looked tired, and exhausted, Singaporeans would call it “sian”. Whenever we ask him to do some work, his reply,”Sian la, fail la!”
Justin(Me): Well, in Secondary One, I would call myself demanding. I was not the group leader yet I was the person who gets the members to work most of the time. Perhaps it was because of my hunger to do well in the project(sorry for sounding arrogant here). I wanted to be able to do well in Independent Studies. I have to admit I am not a muscular person, and BSYH always had a hold over me. Well, perhaps that was what caused the group to not be able to do well. Sigh...

My group members made me stay up till midnight most of the time to see the work(powerpoint slides) which they had done. But when I received their work, things were back at square one. They did not listen to what the seniors had advised us to do. It was all wrong.

I learnt that in a team, we must all have similar views, know how to accept people's ideas, if the whole group wants to slack, they slack together. If they want to commit their all to it. They do it together. Group members also must be able to communicate and get along. Perhaps the lesson learnt is to choose my group members earlier and not wait till the last minute. That time in Secondary 1, I waited till the last minute to choose my group members, thus I had not much of a choice. If we want to do a/the project with the people we can get along well with, we need to start early. It has to be done.

Comic Strip Part 2(Do look at Part 1 too)

1. Why did you choose these particular different pictures or background(s)?

I chose these different pictures and backgrounds so as to give the feeling that this is the breaktime/lunchtime of a school. I think that when we draw, we need to make the setting and the time obvious so that people who see/read it would know what is going on.

2. How do these images contribute to your narrative elements (plot, setting, characterization, etc.)?

The comic takes place during the childrens' breaktime. In the 1st scene, one of the characters are reading a book while another character approached him to have a chat. Furthermore, there is a tree and some flowers nearby. I feel that the buildings look similar enough to certain schools and that the characters' actions and behaviour is similar to what many do during recess time.

3. How did you make use of the different narrative elements to contribute to the theme you have chosen?

Well, in my comic strips, characterization played a major part in bringing out the message. Some prominent ones include the Negroes and the "white" kid who approached his friend who has reading the book. Basic characterization. The "white" kid has some what of a loose mouth, and he does not mind what comes out his mouth. He just shoots whatever he wants to say. And the Negroes in my comic strip are extremely sensitive and have a strong sense of pride. My Theme is Racism/Prejudice. With these characters and their behaviour, conflict occurs more easily.

Part 1 of Comic Strip (The Theme is Prejudice/Racism)

Reflection on my comic strip can be found in the next post(Part 2 of Comic Strip)

The Most Valuable Thing I learnt in 2010

Hi guys, today I will be writing about the most valuable thing i learnt in 2010.
In my opinion, I think that unseen poetry is the most valuable thing i learnt in 2010. In 2010, we did few things in that year:
-Comprehension
-Unseen Poetry
-Composition
-Literature
-Etc,.
Before I learnt literature in secondary school, I thought of poetry is just crap(I'm sorry I have to be honest here), and I guess that was because I did not know how to appreciate the art of poetry, and that I did not know how to appreciate and understand poetry. But in 2010, our LA teacher taught us Unseen Poetry, and I realised that poetry is actually a beautiful art. And when you know how to appreciate and understand it, it is truly enlightening.

My Favourite Book

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5647132-necropolis

My Favourite Book is Necropolis, currently the latest book of the series "The Power of Five" One of the main reasons I like the book is because of the author, Anthony Horowitz. Anthony Horowitz is a good writer and the way he writes really keeps his readers in a world of their own, in the world of his book, he has a good writing technique. And the way he ends each chapter and book really leaves the reader deep in thought long after the book is closed. And he is able to describe the settings(imagery) in such an impressive way that his readers are able to see and imagine the settings. There is tension in the story and there is excitement most of the time when you read the book. Even when I lay in bed at night, I am still left thinking about his stories, in my mind, I still can see one of the “Old Ones” from the series “The Power of Five” flying and walking around, I can imagine the scenes, I feel my heartbeat increase! When I think about Anthony Horowitz’s stories, I can feel myself being part of the story.
Well, I am not a very enthusiastic reader, i have read less than 70 books in my life and Enid Blyton and Anthony Horowitz were the writers who were able to capture my attention and interest in reading. :D

What I have learnt this year.

So far this year, I felt that my understanding of Language Arts has changed, it is now deeper than before. Initially, I thought Language Arts was all about comprehension, grammar, etc,. But now we have learnt more! I am no longer so narrow minded! I have learnt about poems and limericks, which are one of the main things i have learnt in this term. It has been a wonderful experience writing them and reading them. It feels nice to make use of your imagination. I like reading short stories too. In the previous terms, we have concentrated on stories like "Village by the Sea", and "Ten Short Stories". It was greatly enjoyed as i find life stories very interesting and fun to read, it beats reading about politics! Grades are not all which matters in school. There is no point if we memorise everything, get good grades, and forget about it. What mattters at the end of the day is that we remember what our teacher has taught us and know how to make use of the skills in our daily life.

Three Or So (2)

Is that child in the snapshot me?
That little girl in the woollen dress
By a broken door in a tiny yard
She's shy and laughing and ready to run
And shielding her eyes from the morning sun.

I've forgotten the dress, and the colour of it
I've forgotten who took the photograph
I've forgotten the little girl, three or so
She's someone else now, to be wondered at
With my mother's eyes and my own child's hair
And my brother's smile, but the child who's there-----
The real soul of her------- fled long ago
To the alley-way where she mustn't go
Through the broken door in that tiny yard

In this poem, the figurative language I think is used includes:
1. Imagery(Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses)
2. Alliteration
3.Personification

The poem describes the girl... who is now gone.
"Is that child in the snapshot me?
That little girl in the woollen dress
By a broken door in a tiny yard
She's shy and laughing and ready to run
And shielding her eyes from the morning sun."
Describes how innocent the author was when she was a little kid.
"I've forgotten the dress, and the colour of it
I've forgotten who took the photograph
I've forgotten the little girl, three or so
She's someone else now, to be wondered at
With my mother's eyes and my own child's hair
And my brother's smile, but the child who's there-----
The real soul of her------- fled long ago
To the alley-way where she mustn't go
Through the broken door in that tiny yard"
Describes the sadness of knowing that the girl is no longer the same, in other words, has grown up.

I can see that in the poem, the girl is described first, before more details about her is revealed. The poem is in systematic order and allows the reader to understand the poem easily.

Reading the poem again, I think the poem is about a girl who has grown up and realises that she is no longer herself. She can hardly remember some things about an old photo, and she feels sad.

In this poem, I think the persona is speaking. It is probably for the public to read. I can sense that this poem is sincere.

The poet might feel sad while writing this poem.

It is probably organized in the way it is so that it is easy to understand. Just like introducing the characters then the plot.

The effect of the previous sentences is to highlight to everyone to treasure their childhood.

In conclusion, I think that in writing this poem, the poet hoped to let the public know that they should cherish their childhood, how they were when they were a child. The innocence, because they will definitely miss it when they grow up.

The Begging Mapler- How I was inspired.

How was I inspired to write this limerick?It is an interesting question. I have a classmate by the name of Zhang Yijia. He is an interesting person to be around. Sometime back, our class was doing beach-cleaning on a weekend. After picking 264 cigarette buds, we were resting and speaking about equipment in the game " Maplestory". We boarded the bus back to school together with the rest of the class. On the way back, our form teacher received a call from the form teacher of annother class, saying that a bag was left behind at the area our class was occupying. After a while, Yijia realised that the bag left behind belonged to him. Then he whispered to me," Luckily I did not leave my Illbi and Steely throwing stars behind". The throwing stars were referring to a sort of ammunition in the game. An incident as simple as this inspired me to write the limerick " The Begging Mapler".

Listening to Sounds

I heard the owls hooting in the dark.
I heard the sheep bleating beyond the hill.
I heard the wolves howling forlornly.
I heard the sparrows chirping in their nests.
I heard the dogs barking at strangers.
I heard the horses neigh at each other.
I heard the bulls bellow in anger.
I heard the bees buzzing in annoyance.
I heard the frogs croaking in the wells.
I heard the mice squeaking in fear.
I heard the roosters greeting the day with a cock-a-doodle-doo.
I heard the turkeys yelping away.
I heard the pigeons cooing continuously.
I heard the ducks quacking in excitement.
I heard the pigs grunting amonst themselves.
I heard the cats purring in sadness...

The Begging Mapler.

There was a Mapler named Peso
Who went running and begging for mesos
And moved with a quiver
To find with a shiver
He has dropped his bag of mesos.

"Three or So"

Is that child in the snapshot me?
That little girl in the woollen dress
By a broken door in a tiny yard
She's shy and laughing and ready to run
And shielding her eyes from the morning sun.

I've forgotten the dress, and the colour of it
I've forgotten who took the photograph
I've forgotten the little girl, three or so
She's someone else now, to be wondered at
With my mother's eyes and my own child's hair
And my brother's smile, but the child who's there-----
The real soul of her------- fled long ago
To the alley-way where she mustn't go
Through the broken door in that tiny yard

Things that struck me:
1. When I first read this poem, what attracted my attention was the idea. I totally agree with the writer of this poem as I miss my childhood too.
2. I was struck by the writer's description. The writer's description is good and it has managed to get me to imagine the scence.
3. This poem sounds sad, which suits my preference of poems. It truly made me feel sad.
4. Just like me, the writer does not seem to be able to recognise her childhood self.
Sometimes I wonder how a person like me could be such a person when I was a little kid.
5. This 3 sentences attracted me the most are:
I've forgotten the dress, and the colour of it
I've forgotten who took the photograph
I've forgotten the little girl, three or so

It attracted me the most mainly because the word "forgotten" was repeated thrice.
6. The writer has successfully illustrated what a typical kid is like. Or rather, how we were when we were a little kid. The writer managed to instill the feelings and emotions into me, the reader.

List of all those things in the poem that force their attention on me or which catch my interest for some reason.

1. The poem started with a question. It sounded more interesting, like the writer was speaking and not so much of the writer describing everything.
2. "That little girl in the woollen dress
By a broken door in a tiny yard"
Right now, reading the poem, I can imagine how it is like. It is not odd as that is how the typical young girl is like.
3. I share the same sentiments as the writer.
4. "The real soul of her------- fled long ago"
This sentence struck me. I somehow feel that the writer is no longer so innocent.

Self-written Poem

"The Happy Days of the Past"

The scorching hot sun burns the ground
Boys of St. Joseph's Institution Junior does not mind the heat
Looking out to the balding soccer field
Four boys are seen kicking a Nike ball around
I was one of them

Drenched from head to toe
Three of them look at their friend kick the ball
The ball swirled through the air
It started falling back having reached the same level as the 4th floor of any
building

The ball drops, splashing mud onto the khaki shorts of the boys
Laughter can be heard
Those happy days of primary school are over now
Looking back at the beautiful memories
I open my eyes
Fresh pearls of tears flow like a river down my cheeks

Happy times are memorable
However, I have not forgotten
There is an end to all happy times
I close the photo album of beautiful memories
And leave it in a corner of my room
Never to be opened again.

Why I like "If You Forget Me"

You may wonder why I like this poem.
Firstly, let me tell you how it resembles Figurative Language.
In Figurative Language, there are Hyperboles, Personification, Metaphor, Similes, and many more! "Aromas, light, metals,were little boats" is an example of a simile. And "shall stop" is an example of personification.
Moving on to why I like this poem, it is because the poem gives me an opportunity to imagine, with descriptive words and phrases like "wrinkled body of the log" and "crystal moon". The poem is detailed and touching. The sentences which touches me includes: But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine

My Favourite Poem.

Hi People!
If you do not know, I actually have a favourite poem, that is...

If You Forget Me
By Pablo Neruda

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine

Ten Short Stories--- The Way Up to Heaven

Within a jiffy, a man arrived to repair the lift.
Meanwhile, Mrs Foster enjoyed light whisky in a tall glass. Shaking the glass, the ice cubes tinkled against the sides of the glass.
"Madam, the repair is done, but it is unsurprising bright in there," said the repair-man, before picking his tool box up. And bid farewell to Mrs Foster.
"Don't you want your money?" Mrs Foster said politely to the engineer. He collected the payment with both hands from the hands of Mrs Foster.
Getting up, she suspiciously walked towards the lift. She thought: Hmm... what could have gone wrong?
Pressing a button on the side panel, the lift opened. She faced an explosion of light. Covering her eyes with her hand, she slowly opened her eyes, tryiing not to keep them wide open. She walked towards the light, into the lift. Randomly pressing any button, the lift blasted off.
She thought: This is unusual! Since when had there been so many floors in our house? It takes so long! But the lift seems to be travelling at a rapid pace!
To confirm her suspicion, she slowly removed her hands from her face. And she realised what was happening. She was in the sky, blasting off to the middle of nowhere! After 5 minutes, she realised that she was blasted into the universe! In the midst of the planets. She looked around in awe, the astronomical system! Before she managed to finish admiring the planets, she was landed in the middle of nowhere.
Looking around, she shivered and shrieked,"Where is this?! Anyone here?!"
She was surrounded by white clouds. For a while there was no reply, no sign of human life. Then she noticed a vague shape emerging from at least 50 metres away, she strained her eyes to make out the figure...
And she slowly noticed, that the person was Mr. Foster. She ran towards him in an attempt of a hug, but she ran through her husband! Mr Foster shed fresh tears. They missed each other dearly. And then Mrs. Foster said," Dear, why can't I seem to touch you? What happened to you? How did you come here? Where are we?"
Her husband replied," Dear, this is...... Heaven. The lift will disapear and no typical human being from the Earth can touch you. Come, let me bring you to God......"
Mr. Foster grabbed hold of his wife's hand and they ambled together towards a grand wooden door at the far end of the area.
Back in their house on Earth, the driver walked curiously into the lift...