101 words in a sentence without punctuation?

On that hot summer afternoon of the weekend the scorching sun was burning the grounds of Earth and caused everyone in the busy Orchard Road to rush to shopping centres where there is good air conditioner which refreshes everyone and gets them relaxed while they are in the shopping centre where they look around as they shop for groceries and all sorts of interesting merchandise which are of high quality and price which isn’t surprising for busy districts like Orchard which is crowded everyday with people from all walks of life shopping in such a well developed place with much enthusiasm.

Do you think same-sex marriages would ever be legalised in Singapore?

I do not think same sex marrianges would ever be legalised in Singapore. This is because of the elder's objections and the situation in Singapore, pride, and also the government's efforts to educate the public on sex education.

In Singapore, most of the citizens are made up of Chinese. The Chinese are very particular about their descendents carrying on the family line and also particular about the tradition of the Chinese as well as their ancestors. The elders surely would not accept same sex marriages amongst their descendents due to the shame that would be brought to their family and the damage in tradition. Amongst the Chinese, it is always important to have a decent daughter-in-law or a filial son-in-law who will look after the parents and treat their spouse well with politeness and courtesy. There are cases where the elders would even threaten to break off the ties with their descendant if the descendant insists on getting married to a person of the same gender. Situations would vary, but it would not be easy surviving with just one's spouse and being rejected by family. And thus they would be discouraged to being involved in a same-sex marriage and thus same-sex marriage would less likely be legalised in Singapore. Furthermore, I am sure other races in Singapore have their own tradition and pride.
Singapore faces a low birthrate which is lower than its deathrate. However, its increasing population is due to the entering of foreign talent. And thus, due to the constant need to get foreign talent to enter the country to increase the productivity of Singapore's economy, the number of Singaporeans would decrease and foreigners would eventually dominate Singapore's population and economy. I am certain that the government would not want this to happen. Since the decreasing birth rate is already such a challenge to Singapore, I doubt that the government would legalise same sex marriages as same sex couples will not conceive and would not be capable of helping to solve the birthrate problem.

It would be difficult for couples of the same gender to get married. After all, the normal marrianges involve a male and a female. And by getting involved in same sex marrianges, people might despise them and marginalise them, hence shames the family of the two individuals. Because it would bring shame to the family, family members of the individuals might most likely reject very vehemently and would not allow the marriange to take place. Because of all these reasons of pressure and stress, it would be highly unlikely that same sex marriages would ever be legalised. Furthermore, since a young age, sex education has been taught to school children, so as to ensure they would not take the wrong path. There are specialists who go to primary and secondary schools to talk about sex education and there have also been engaging educational videos to educate children.

Since the government has spent money and effort in educating the future generations about sex education, it is unlikely that the government would be thinking of legalising same sex marriages in Singapore.
In my opinion, I personally feel that same-sex marriages should not be legalised. How does it even make sense for two people of the same gender to get married. Just look at a simple marriage again--- a male and a female get married, they care for each other, they have children, and on weekends they bring their children along with them to visit their parent's house and have a nice dinner. But same-sex marriages would bring great pain to not just the couple themselves, but the people around them. They would make people lose trust in them, and they would have no friends, no family to depend on. They would lead a lonely life with no pride. It doesn't make sense to sacrifice all the happiness an average person would have and go for a life which would keep the couple sad for the rest of their lives. Most people live for happiness. They live so that they can be happy experiencing things around them. But what is the point of it if all the happiness is gone? What is the point of only finding some happiness in each other? So if same-sex marriage is legalised, many people might take the wrong path in life.

25/5 Home-Based Learning Task 2

1.In this poem, the point of view is by a bystander witnessing the conflict and sadness."There are children in the darkness". The writer is writing from the point of view of a bystander. He is not the child who is suffering, nor is it his friend who is suffering. "Could we simply light a candle." The writer describes the children generally, he is not related to them in anyway. Thus he is writing from the point of view of a bystander who wants to step out and help the children.
2. The poem lets us imagine what is the difference between "darkness" and "light". If there is light, they would have a chance, to be taught how to read, to be taught how to dance, to learn how to fight. There would be chalk and blackboards in their lives, they would grow up. But in darkness, there is nothing, but sufferring. Their lives would be sacrificed. In darkness, war shall consume them, pour their blood, tear their flesh, and take their lives away. There is indeed a great difference between darkness and light, it is a matter of life and death for the children.
3. Language/Diction
The poet uses literary devices to emphasize the critical and unfair situation the children were in. In the poem, the poet conveys a message to his readers, to think, if they could actually be spared from the darkness and evil. The poet constantly repeats "Could We" at certain parts of the poem, which causes the reader to think if they could actually do something for the children, to bring their lives out of darkness, and shine.
4. Personal Response
This poem has made me feel extremely fortunate, because in Singapore, it is quite peaceful, and I was not born yet during the war. I am fortunate to not go through all the torture, to live in fear everyday of losing my life anytime. If I were one of those children, I would not be here writing, but already rotted beneath the ground.

25/5 Home-Based Learning Task 1

The poem "Children in the Darkness" was written in the year 2009, during Christmas by Henry M Bechtold when he was in his hotel room during his stay at Saigon. The poet was inspired by the photo of a young boy carrying an automatic rifle going to war in the news. The poet was actually planning to write a poem about girls that are being ill- treated by men when they work in the park. But he wrote another poem, Children in the darkness. The conflict is that young boys are going to war instead of young men and sacrificing their future, and are unable to fight for theirs lives. At such a young age, they are so innocent, yet they have to be subjected to such treatment. It is said that there are over millions of children that have been used in the war or dragged into with their parents. They are usually used as nurses, spies. They are in charge if guarding resources, general camps, drumboys, and worst of all, infantries soldiers who are put at the front line to test out for enemy mines. Children are treated as nearly useless people in the war. They are given high risks task as they are of low value, and are low-skilled. Those children do not have the opportunity to study, to grow up to be inteligent and have a bright future. They have not a single chance, no one spares a thought for them, they cannot learn, but only get consumed by war, and their lives are wasted just like that.



"There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light

There are children in the darkness

Who someone will teach to fight



Chalk and blackboards will not be

To this door there is no key

From this life they can not flee

And these children are not free



Could we simply light a candle

Could we give them half a chance

Could we teach them how to read

Could we teach them how to dance



Or will a war consume them

Their body and their soul

Will their life and blood be poured

Down some endless thirsty hole



Back into the darkness

From which there is no flight

Back into the darkness

Into which there shines no light

"


http://www.scribd.com/doc/31962195/Children-in-the-Darkness#

The Drive to explore space and outer solar system is still an important human endeavor. Do you agree?

Yes I do, it is indeed important to explore the space and our solar system. We never know what awaits us, and that is why there is discovery. We explore to discover, to confirm our misconceptions and renew our knowledge. Perhaps we do not discover anything now, but we cannot rule out the possibility that there would be changes and appearances in outer space in the years to come. Maybe there is a little portal in outer space, which leads to the outer solar system of another planet. Or perhaps there is a hidden place in other planets like Mars and Pluto where foreign organisms live. That is why we need to constantly explore space and the outer solar system to correct our misconceptions.

Making NS mandatory develops Singaporean boys into men. Do you agree?

I agree that making NS mandatory develops Singaporean boys into men. Not every one of them would want to attend National Service. However, they must remember that "Life is not a bed of roses". They do not always get what they want and desire, and that there are certain things which they have to learn to accept. Some of the Singaporean boys have not experienced hardship, and it is time they start to learn how to go through hardship, to do physical training, to cope, and not complain. National Service can equip them with skills which can last them for a lifetime. Through various group activities, Singaporean boys would understand the importance of hardship and that every person in a team is important, and that each team member needs to have a sense of belonging to the team, to take responsibility, and be a man, to be responsible for his own actions. When they are exhausted after all the activities and they might not have enough food or the food looks disgusting, they have to accept the fact that life is not always smooth-sailing, and we should not be picky with food, and live through such times. If they do not learn how to do so, when they face downfalls in their lives, they might be unable to accept the fact that they do not enjoy the luxury of the possessions and privileges they once had, and might do foolish things which would harm themselves. National Service would therefore help Singaporean boys to be more responsible, to be physically stronger, and equip them with skills which would last them for a life time, and thus NS develops Singaporen boys into men.

Online Lesson 8(Term 2)

June 6 ,1944.

The Landing In Normandy.
The Bloodiest Battle In France

Dear Diary,
Here I am, in a hospital, with other soldiers, with our wounds being treated by nurses. Today was probably the worst day of the war. After today, I have come to learn one thing, and that is, the sea is a scary place.
We were on a boat, rowing hard for our lives. Out of a sudden, numerous bullets came flying in our direction. I was lucky to be sitting in the middle of the boat. To survive, I fell onto the ground of the boat, and acted as if I was shot. After a while, our boat capsized and my fellow soldiers jumped off the boat. I followed them, and swum to shore. Never did I realise, that I was shot in my leg as I jumped into the sea. By now, looking around, I only see half of my fellow soldiers left. I thought that the other half of them have most probably drowned, unable to swim to shore due to the pain from their wounds. We began digging into the sand, hoping to dig a tunnel and get away from all these violence. Most of our equipment were gone by now, either damaged, or lost as we struggled to swim to shore. I am left without a gun, or my helmet, just my armour. Luckily we were able to reach the hospital safely without getting spotted by our enemies. Probably because we removed our soldier clothing.
Sometimes I wonder, when would all these violence end. I have had enough of this. Today, my best friend, John, passed away because he lost too much blood. While Kenny drowned while swimming to shore. We 3 were childhood friends. I knew both of them since primary school. To think, we were seperated by the war. Now I am left without friends, or family. Dear diary, please tell me that tomorrow would be a better day, where I see some hope in my life.
It is getting late, good night diary.

Yours sincerely,
The One Who Keeps You By His Side

Blog Writing 3/5/2011

In my opinion, I think that the poster of National Solidarity Party(NSP) displays the sense of teamwork more effectively. The picture of each party member are arranged in the form of the 5 stars in the national flag and all pictures are of equal size. This could also represent their commitment and love for Singapore as a team. However, in poster of the Marine Parade GRC, Goh Chok Tong's picture is bigger. And this does not display teamwork very effectively although we all know Goh Chok Tong is a famous leader. The poster seems to be showing that Goh Chok Tong is the only important group member, and all other group members are not important.

How has technology helped my learning?

Technology has helped me to discuss subject matters more conveniently and to extend my sources which can be used for my learning. Now in secondary two, we have to bring our laptops to school on certain days for online lessons. By doing so, I can search for information online while doing assignments which can help me to learn more. A useful tool is Google. I use it to search for information online, and it recommends various different websites which might be related to what I am searching for. By browsing through the various websites, I get to know many people's opinion regarding the topic and I can analyse it and get a better understanding of it. This helps me in my assignment, because I have a good grasp of the topic, Before laptops were being used during lessons, discussion was always inconvenient. We had to move our chairs to someone's table and sometimes it is difficult to hear what our group member is saying because of other groups' commotions. But now, there is Facebook, and we can discuss easily just by creating a group and using Facebook chat. Not just Google and Facebook, there are many other applications in technology which has enhanced my learning experience!

Online Lesson #7

In the back of a truck, there seems to be unconscious soldiers resting and sleeping all over the place. Some are dying, some fear for their survival. There are some who are hugging their rifles. The back of the truck is in a total mess. The helmets, the armour, the guns, the equipment are left all over the place. On every soldier, there are few wounds, wrapped up with white cloth. Every person's face on the truck looks expressionless. They seem to be having peace in their slumber. It seems that the truck of soldiers are on enemy's ground. In the background, there trees in the surrounding, which might suggest that the vehicle was parked in a forest.
But there is one man in the whole truck who is conscious. He is reaching out for the side of the truck, with a worried look on his face. He seems to be lifting himself up to look at the surroundings. Perhaps he is looking out for enemies. Perhaps he is curious about where he is in. Perhaps he is planning to escape.
In my opinion, I think this photo tells a story. A story of one man amongst all the soldiers who is struggling to escape, to go home. I somehow feel that most of the soldiers are dead, because there are some who are covered by equipment and are laying on top of one another. But yet, there is this man in the left hand side of the picture who seems to be in the position of a person who is sleeping. In the foreground of the picture, there is this unconscious soldier who is hugging onto his rifle, it touches me, because the way he hugs it is as though that rifle is his life, it is as though that rife is his last hope of survival, his last hope of defence.

Does caffeine have beneficial or harmful effects on the body?

In my opinion, caffeine has beneficial effects on the body. Caffeine protects us against diseases, it is nutritious and lastly, it helps us to stay alert and awake when we need to do burn the midnight oil to do work.

Caffeine reduces the chance of getting Parkinson's disease and protect us against Alzheimer's disease. Studies have shown that drinking coffee regularly significantly reduces a person's chance of getting Parkinson's disease, and reduces the build up of destructive plaque in our brains. This shows that caffeine can help us stay healthy and prevent us from falling ill.

Caffeine also has various nutrients which are beneficial to our body. Recent research has proven that it is rich in antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging. The anti-oxidants in caffeine thus helps to keep our body in good health and condition. It benefits our body and is a form of vitamin.

Lastly, caffeine helps to keep us awake when we need to do work. Let me give you an example. Once, when I was in Secondary 1, I had to rush out a load of work, but the time was already reaching midnight. A full cup of coffee helped me to stay alert and awake, and thus I was able to complete my work by the time I had to set off for school. This shows that coffee indirectly helps us to finish our heavy workload in time.

In conclusion, caffeine is something which everyone would need in one way or another. It is beneficial to our body and helps us to finish our heavy workload when we need to burn the midnight oil

Towerhill Workshop reflections

Today I attended the Towerhill workshop in my school's Kong Chian Library after school. I realied that I had learnt quite a lot of things from the editors of the book. Initially the editors thought of naming the book “Parnassus”, the home of Greek Muses on a hilltop, as well a the home of music, poetry, learning. However, they thought that it would be too difficult to comprehend for the non-literary group of people. The book contains poems by our very own students, most of which are our seniors few years back. The cover page has a black and white theme, which the editors said was chosen because it looks elegant. And I do agree with them, I feel that the drawing in the front page also contributes to its elegance. The font used is just normal magazine font.

The book is split into 2 sections. The first section being about traditional elements and culture. While the second section i about the new era about the progression of the future. The editors also feel that the book is a progression from past to present, showing how Hwa Chong students' writing has improved over the years and that the clock on the front page is a symbolism for it.

I learnt from the editors that we can get our inspiration for writing from our surroundings. I am sure that there are many things around us that we are unsatisfied with. We can express our feelings through the form of poetry and literature. The editors also mentioned that "writing is to express, and not impress". I agree with him, because whenever I feel upset and emotional, I turn to literature and writing for an outlet for release. They also said that as we practise writing, we will know what works and what does not. They mentioned that many people have this personal fear of being mocked at when other people look at their writing. I think that it might show that the writer is not putting all his effort when writing, thus he or she is afraid that other people would despise the writing. If sometimes we have tried out best, but yet still get laughed at by others, perhaps it shows that our writing has room for improvement. We can look at criticism in a positive way, that it is a platform for improvement.

Each book is sold for 10 dollars. All proceeds collected from selling the book would go to helping Japan's crisis. During the Q & A session at the end of the talk, a Sec 4 student asked why couldn't each Hwa Chong student have a copy of it for free. The editors said that people usually treasure it more when they use their money to buy the book. I have come across incidents where classmates actually throw their Newsweek magazine about, and not appreciate it. So if we use our own money, I think that we should be able to feel the "pinch" and not "throw" our money away.

Phew! That was a quick but enriching experience for me!

Expository Writing - Do we still need heroes?

In my opinion, we no longer need heroes. And that is because having heroes will make us dependent on them and unable to be independent people. We might also learn the wrong values. And lastly, having heroes will affect our teamwork.
As I was writing this expository essay, I recalled a time when I was in Primary 2. I had a pile of test papers given to me during the exam period. However, I was not doing my work, but was playing my favourite game, Maplestory. My mum asked me,"Justin, why aren't you doing your homework? Do you not know that your mathematics exam is tomorrow? It is already night time! Are you mad?!" I replied,"Mum, I have common sense. You know, there is this thing called heroes? You know, Superman, Batman? During the exam, I think they will possess me and help me do all the questions. Don't worry, mum. I will make sure I get full marks." I am sure this has happened to many other young children before. If there really are heroes, everyone will just dump their work aside, because they know that there will be this "hero" with supernatural powers who will go around doing their work for them. Then everyone would be relying on that "hero" to do their work for them, and not actually using their own ability and talents to their work. We would become irresponsible people who do not use our wits and efforts to overcome difficulties. Thus we should not need heroes anymore because we should be independent people who rely on our own efforts and abilities to do our work and overcome difficulties.
Another reason why we do not need heroes is because we might learn the wrong values from our so-called "heroes". Take defiant students for example. In school, we might be looking up to them as our heroes because they have the courage and bravery to go against teachers and ignore teachers. If we are immature, we might not be able to define what is right, and what is not. We might think that those defiant students are true heroes, and are cool. Therefore immature students would start acting like them, and think,"Since they are so brave, why can't I be as brave? I must prove that I am also capable of being rebellious!" Therefore we do not need heroes because we might not have the maturity to define which hero should we learn to be like.
Lastly, having heroes would affect the importance of teamwork. In a team, there are people with many abilities and talents. And heroes can be just a person with the talents and abilities of everyone. Let's say there is a fire, and it is destroying all the houses down the lane. There are intelligent people who can lead everyone, there are strong people, and there are brave people. The intelligent people can think of the nearest water source, the best way to save the people trapped in the fire. While the strong people can fetch water quickly, and the brave people can go into the burning houses to rescue people. If there is a hero, everyone will not care about communicating well with each other, but just depend on the hero to do everything for them. But if there is no hero, then everyone will have a greater urge to work together as a team to overcome the difficult situation. Therefore having heroes would affect our teamwork.
In conclusion, we no longer need heroes because they would cause us to be irresponsible people, they might bad influence for immature people, and they would affect our teamwork.

Do we still need heroes?

No, we don't. Are you going to ask me,"Then who will save us?"
Well, the answer is quite obvious, and that is, yourself. There is a hero in each and everyone of us. Everyone has different abilities and talents. And when we face a crisis, we must bring out the hero in us in order to help everyone, including ourselves, to overcome the crisis. Not everyone is like Superman or Batman. Superman and Batman are just like people who have all the talents and abilities. But we have to admit that we are ordinary people. We don't have many talents, but we can be outstanding in certain aspects. Let me give you an example:
If there is a raging fire which is spreading throughout the neighbourhood, then the brave ones will go and save the people inside(if there are any at all), and the fast and strong guys will go to collect water or find hoses, and the smart ones will direct people around, to allocate the jobs and think of good strategies(of how to save the people in the burning house in the fastest and safest way, thinking of the nearest water source, etc,.)
Many people usually associate heroes with the word "brave", but that is not the case. In that "raging fire" example, everyone was a hero. The strong and fast people made use of their abilities to help, the smart ones used their knowledge and creativity to ensure the safety of everyone while putting out the fire/saving people.
None of the individuals on earth can be as awesome as Superman, but we can be, if we choose to join forces with each other.

Graphic Novel Talk

On Monday, I attended a talk at Kong Chian Library hosted by Mr Jason Lundberg, and Dave Chua(writer) and Koh Hong Teng(artist). They discussed their adaptation of Dave's prize-winning 1997 novel Gone Case from a prose novel to a graphic novel format.
To start with, I attended this talk because I found that the graphic novel talk should be interesting. I have to admit that I am a great fan of comics, and I feel that it is not easy adapting a prose novel into a graphic novel format. Furthermore, they did it in a little group of 2, which was quite impressive. Thus I attended the talk to know more about their adaptation.
According to Mr Koh Hong Teng, at the time when he met Dave, Mr Koh was looking for a local writer, and when he read Dave's book, he found that it was interesting, and worth investing his time in co-operating with Dave. On the other hand, Dave found Koh's artwork quite impressive and local. After some discussion, both agreed not to go for a text-heavy book. In the process, Koh said his artwork was inspired by the things he saw in the HDB estate, and decided to incorporate it into his drawings. There was a scene which he drew that depicted a kid having fun at a game arcade with his mother standing behind him. The background was quite colourful and included many different interesting toys which could be won. After Mr Lundberg asked Mr Koh regarding that picture/scene, Koh said that those toys were actually stuffed toys he used to own.

The first thing I learn was the strength of a team. No matter how small a team is, it is strong if each person has different talents and abilities and their various abilities can come in great use for their project. Before this, I used to think a team was good as long as there were many people and the work was split. But when I listened to the talk, I realised how important was the abilities of various team members, the respect for each other's abilities and trust. When Koh and Dave met, Dave found Koh's artwork good and suitable for they were supposed to do and Koh liked Dave's book. Respect is very important, as well as trust. There was respect for each other's abilities, work and talents between Dave and Koh, and they were able to work together because they know, and they trust that it is worth it working with each other. If we think it is impossible, Dave and Koh have already proven, that the size of the team is not important. What is important is mutual trust and respect, and the ability to work together and make use of the talents they had. During the talk, they also spoke of how they had to plan the project... about setting a timeline and deadline, and planning how much time they would give themselves for each phase of adapting the comic. I learnt that when we do something. We must be able to see the end of the project, and to plan our steps to our goal, and not just do it aimlessly. Because if we have no aim, we will never achieve what we want to.
The next thing I learn was about Koh's inspiration to draw. Well, to put it simply, Koh was inspired by his surroundings. I used to think that inspiration is just nonsense, and we should just draw simple stuff, use stickmans, and just put things simply. But when I looked at certain pictures and scenes in the adapted graphic novel, I actually found that his drawings had many things and details inside, and that it seemed quite real. The colour, the details, that every space on the paper was made full use of. On the way home after the talk, I thought back, and I came to realise, that when we draw something, let's take a gangster's bedroom for instance, we should think about what it is like, we should imagine it. Because when we draw, it would be better for it to look like what it is supposed to look like, to make it look more realistic. What is the point of drawing a gangster's room when all we put inside is just a bed? One thing we know for sure is that it is not a ganster's room. Because, at least there will be a cupboard, scratches on the floor(maybe from the sharp weapons), and little parts in the picture showing some wine bottles and sharp weapons beneath his bed. It is about making things real.
I heard that when Dave wrote the novel, he wanted to take a break from his stressful work, and he chose to write about certain things around him. When we write, most of us would have a message we would want to convey, something we want our reader to ponder about, or to let our reader know something. Let's say I write about murders. Perhaps I want to tell my reader abotu this cruel world where no place is safe, or about cruel reality, to show the bad sides of the world. There should be a motive when we write.

In conclusion, this graphic novel talk has taught me many new things, which I would never forget, and I have also learnt things which I would never learn by reading textbooks. It was a fresh experience.

A comic I have read recently

Comics... COMICS?! Oh yes! It was just few days ago that I was reading "Garfield" in the library! I find that "Garfield" comics are entertaining, and Garfield is cute and funny. I like the nice artwork in the comic, which plays a major role in entertaining its readers. There is wide variety in the drawing, which includes expression, the detail in terms of physical appearance for characters, and the background. I read the book for both the writing and art. And that is because I believe comics aren't anything without art, or writing. I would recommend the book to young children. "Garfield" has been popular with people from all ages and all walks of life. Children would surely enjoy reading "Garfield", it might be their first exposure to literature and it is good that they enjoy it.

Blog Writing Prompt #9

The last book I read was Point Blank. As usual, I enjoyed the tension in Anthony Horowitz's book, the use of imagery, the excitement, the fear as I read the book. Well... what challenged me was... erm... courage? Or was it about making my life different from others'? It is difficult for me to express this feeling... But as I read the book, I realised how much courage Alex Rider had to explore new things and take risks.
I would recommend it to young teens because Anthony Horowitz's books started getting me to love reading. And that was in Primary Six.
Everytime I read his books, it is always a fresh idea, a fresh scene in my mind, a fresh experience.

Online Lesson Part 2

Thinking of the fun I had playing Maplestory with my classmates, I lay comfortably in my soft and comfortable bed, hugging my bolster, wrapping the blanket around myself, resting in bed comfortably. My eyelids started getting heavy... I started to fall asleep. All of a sudden, I felt the ground shaking vigorously. Few seconds later, my parents swung open my door, telling me,"Get out of your room!"
I immediately jumped out of bed, waiting for further instructions from my parents. I was confused and shocked, who would expect an earthquake to happen in Singapore? I have read about earthquakes before, but I never expected it to happen to me. My dad shouted,"Switch on the television, tune in to the news! NOW!" Breaking out of my daze, I followed his instructions.
"For the first time in history, an earthquake has hit Singapore. Citizens are advised to stay calm and hide beneath a table..."
"A tsunami is approaching Singapore, it is estimated to hit Singapore in approximately 25 minutes. Citizens of Singapore are advised to stay at high places, such as ..."
My dad shouted,"Faster! To the rooftop!"
Two days later...
It was only two nights ago that I was chatting with my best friend happily over the phone, watching television with my family, playing my favorite game.Yesterday, life still seemed so beautiful, so peaceful. But now... everything seems so different. Here I am, with other survivors of the earthquake and tsunami, sitting in a hall of a primary school. Two nights ago, I was still hugging my bolster, wrapped in my blanket, sleeping comfortably in my air-conditioned room. In the shelter, it is so stuffy, so dusty, I can hardly breathe. I shed tears of bitterness. I don't see any familiar faces in the shelter. I have not heard any news of my family members. Suddenly, it seems as though my life has been plunged into darkness... where I feel around... and I don't feel any objects around me... hear anything... or see anything! How am I going to live the rest of my life...

Online Lesson

Dear Survivor ,
I am Justin, your friend from Singapore.I have heard of your unfortunate plight---the destruction of property, the death of some family members and friends. I have had some beloved family members taken away from me before, but you must remember that eventually, there will be a day when we all have to leave this world.You must always remember, that wherever you are, God is always with you, being with you. During the terrifying disaster you went through, I am sure you felt helpless, and afraid. God heard your cries, he felt your pains, he knew you were afraid. And thus he tried to save you, and here you are, amongst the other survivors, in a shelter, living on supplies donated by people from all walks of life, mourning over the loss of family members and crying about how your beautiful lives have been affected, how you all have become homeless.
In life, everybody will encounter extremely difficult situations in one way or another, which makes it seem as if their lives cannot continue, and that their lives are in total darkness. But no, it is not the end, not all is lost. In life, when you face difficulties, you have 2 choices---get back on your feet and be positive, or dwell in self-pity. Stay strong, be patient. The time will come, when there will be opportunities to get back on your feet. We, your friends from other countries, can send money, and supplies to you all. Eat, get back your strength! Fight for what you rightfully deserve.
Yours sincerely,
Justin Foo
Your friend from Singapore

LA Blog Post 12/4/2011

It was Projects Day, there I sat, in Computer Lab 5, being one of the last few groups to present. How bored, I thought. Sitting in a chair, staring into blank space, I was wondering when it would be my turn to present.
After hours of fidgeting, thinking about my games, it was finally my group's turn to present. Amazingly, I did not feel nervous at all. I presented my slides confidently and my group members and I answered questions without many problems. Perhaps it was because my group members and I were adequately prepared. Just like that, Projects Day passed.
I was happy when I found out that I had passed Prelim1, after all, my previous group last year failed.
Thinking back, I thought I should have paid attention to other groups' presentations. Perhaps the next time, I would have to discipline myself.