220 or 398?

D: Is your enthalpy change 220 or 398?
Me: 220 la.. WHY?
Y: It's 398! Confirm, isn't it just product minus reactant?
D: Yeah lor... yours wrong la.
J: NO, i'm very sure it's 220.
Y: OK let's vote, ok, 4 people here say 398, only you two say it's 220.
J: No, i ask Hu already, his answer is 220 too.
Y: OK lor, so you guys 3 votes.
Me: No! that's different, Hu's answer stands for 5 votes! [Hu is the smartest guy I know]

...

D: Your answer for the type of reaction, nucleophilic substitution then what? I put elimination.
Me: Mine's decomposition.
D: What, decomposition?
F: i put hydrolysis!

... The next one generated the most debate!

D: So was your tyre deflated?
Me: Yeah, i put deflate because pressure difference higher what.
Fe: No, it's not deflated! I calculate already, the pressure difference is lower.
Y: Pressure difference must be at least 7 bars leh.
D: What 7 bars la? Internal pressure of tyre must not exceed 8 bar, is totally not talking about pressure difference!
Y: Then why would they [Cambridge] state that internal pressure of tyre must not exceed 8 bars? They put for fun meh?
D: No! it's talking about 2 different things. One is about tyre and the other is about pressure difference. IF u think about it, which aeroplane will carry inflated tyres???

OK, enough already. So now you know how geeks talk. The above 'conversation', to put it mildly, took place right after our Chemistry Paper 2. 10 points to you if you know what's enthalpy change!

For econs, there was this essay qn: Discuss whether Singapore is among the countries with the most to gain from globalisation. [25 marks]

I'm pretty sure no one in singapore did that question unless you didn't study at all or are a gungho genius. Why gungho genius? Because even geniuses wouldn't do that qn! Interestingly, out of the 6 questions given, of which 3 must be done, 3 was relatively easier than the 3 other more difficult ones. Hmm, maybe Cambridge is testing our ability to choose questions.

My First Movie Review

I watched the Bee Movie yesterday! Here's my opinion:

A funny movie, but not roaringly hilarious. I like the bright colours. If you're looking for a light-hearted, good moral story with a cheesy ending that would only be able to melt a 5-yr-old's heart, Bee Movie would be great for you. It started out NICE, as in it really seemed original, but kinda spiraled downwards after that. I'm still looking for my next 'Finding Nemo'!! It was the first animation that made me fall in love with Pixar but there was never a movie like it after Finding Nemo. [expectations is higher now what.] Nevertheless, Bee Movie was a good reprieve from exams for me, exactly what i needed; A hearty, no-brainer show.

p.s. Bee Movie was by Dreamworks, not Pixar, that might explain some.

Playing the piano again

I'm starting to practise this romantic Christmas piano piece called In the Bleak Midwinter. Oh man, i looove the melody. If you play it without feeling, it sounds horrible. To be able to ring out it's soul, you need to put in your heart, and boy, it's tiring! So far, i've halfway into page 2. The emo-ish, tricky intro is killing my fingers. Looks like I've got to cut my nails, but i can't bear to! They're starting to grow nicely and I wanna paint them after my A levels. :(

The music piece keeps ringing in my head. Music, the language of the world..

Makan makan

There was an informal leaders' meeting, just zone 3B, at Pris' house last Friday. It was a blast.. because Jake and Jon were blasting our ears away. Food: satay, bbq wing, stingray.. and more. All on Pris' tab, thanks Pris!

Only Andrina's missing, she wanted to stay home and study.

My highly respected cousin, Ant.

The pretty ladieeeeeeeees. There was certainly lotsa laughter around.

This should be the photograph of the night.

There are a lot more photos, but it's so troublesome uploading them. I've only got the patience for these few. Hey, I've got A levels. Haha.

Not someone's rose yet

An excerpt from The Little Prince -

' "You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you - the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses : because it is she that I have watered ; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe ; because it is she that i have sheltered behind the screen ; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three we have saved to become butterflies) ; because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose."

The little prince was speaking to a rose bush, wherein lied many many beautiful roses who surprised him because he had believed his rose was the only unique one in all universe. Although he felt deceived at first, he then went on to learn a great lesson in life, that he loved his rose because he had spent so much time on her. The moving speech he gave to the other roses really gave me insight into what having a relationship with someone you love was like.

Go and read The Little Prince. It's really a long parable on life.

it's getting hotter

"Who says you can't change the world?"

With respect to global-warming, the energy crises, pollution, will we ever change our ways/habits so that we can change the world? Tell your mothers to bring a cloth bag when they go NTUC, 2 if need be! I get quite incensed when i see youth-alivers take plastic bags to carry their bread bought from Garden near church. Will you die if carry the bun in your hand? Reuse paper that is printed only on one side. And if the paper has outlived its use, good gracious, walk to the recycling bin and dump them there. One more thing, stop buying bottled water!!! Why get bottled water when you can get it at home for it virtually free? Plus manufactured plastic bottles are non-biodegradable. [oh yes, i know they've come up with biodegradable ones, but i hardly believe they'll come to singapore]

And those vampire electricals like your handphone and laptop charger, UNPLUG THEM! or turn the switch off.

Now, who says you can't change the world?

ggr, bbr

The Prime Minister of Cambodia just severed ties with his lesbian daughter, just after she got a wife for herself. THEN, he also, in his statement to the press, said that we should not discriminate gays. What a hypocrite!

A friend from cedar asked me to be her girlfriend once, that was 3-4 years ago. Out of my curiosity, i started asking her about her past relationships and i think i got to know too much.

A lot of my Christian friends like to label gays as crazy or in dire need of counselling. And on the other side, gays themselves assert they are as human as anyone and were 'born that way'. I read the essay part of Time mag, in which the author laments how gays are not daring enough to be in major roles of films and movies. I was going, 'Huuuh?'

I'm still in the midst of finding a way to be tactful yet clear about my stand on homosexuality. But as i ponder, there's really only 2 options, to be a sympathizer or a straight-forward legalist. Blend the two and you'll be confused.