Screencapture from:
Seoul Dream Series Official Website

So basically, they’re having a Youtube contest, with the top prize being a free trip to Seoul (flight and accommodation for 4 nights) and a chance to meet some of the popular Kpop stars.

Here I was, getting excited, when I read the entry details. Right at the beginning they say: “Simply show off your talent…”

…And I just stare, absolutely stumped. That confuddlement fades easily enough, only to be replaced by utter depression.

Talent?! What talent?!

(Please note that it is somewhere around this time that I begin to realise that any hopes of meeting DBSK or Girls Generation have been completely shattered.)

Do I have a talent? Um…

Writing? Writing’s a talent, isn’t it? I’ve been doing it practically my whole life anyway, so I’ve got to be somewhat good at it right? Or at the very least, competent? But… No, not really.

There’s always going to be someone better, of course. In Singapore, one can do one’s best and with effort and a bit of luck, anything’s possible. But worldwide? With thousands, hundreds of thousands of other people who’ve lived entirely different lives with different drives and motivations and inborn talent– Is it possible for hard work to get anywhere?

Usually, I’d have something optimistic or something at least approaching insightful to say, but right now I’m completely stumped. What do I define as a talent? Is it something you’re born with? If you’re not born with it, does that mean you can’t go past a certain level- despite any effort- as just anyone with an inborn talent can do with barely any effort? 

…It’s depressing. And I really want to be able to give an answer… So look out for that!

Haha, till then, here’s to my attempts at finding my talent. I kinda hope I find it too.

So I was reading Jiahui’s entry below about Racial Harmony Day and also looking through a couple of my very embarrassing secondary school pictures that we took during Racial Harmony Day and 2 very random things struck me.

1. The costume that is most popular amongst girls during Racial Harmony would definitely be the Indian Sari followed by the Baju Kurung. A check with my girlfriends and the answer I got from most of them was that both are the most convenient costumes and it’s very weather friendly.

Okay I understand the weather friendly part but convenience and Saris don’t match because as far as I know, you need to twirl alot of cloth around yourself and you need to tie it at random points. Hahaha.

2. Time has passed so fast, it’s been a good 4 years since I left secondary school and I haven’t celebrated Racial Harmony in 4 years, but just a few days ago my friend was telling me that he spotted people in ethnic costumes walking around school that I remembered all about Racial Harmony Day.

Racial Harmony also reminded me that August 9 is drawing nearing and that means National Day is coming very soon! I somehow realized that the older I get, the more patriotic I am. So far, I’ve been religiously staying home every National Day to watch the National Day parade since I am always too late in balloting for the tickets. And somehow I miss the National Day celebrations in school because everyone gets to go to school in their home clothes for a change and just sing National Day songs that I once thought were corny, now I think they’re just very.. retro! So until National Day comes and goes, treasure the days leading up to it (:

Did anyone else think today’s weather was insanely hot? Because it was SWELTERING this afternoon, I swear. I walked from one side of the campus to the other, and I was seriously dying even though I was wearing only a t-shirt and shorts. Imagine my surprise when I saw many, many people around school today dressed in FULL national costume! I remember thinking they were INSANE. Baju kurungs and cheongsams in this heat!? OH MY GOD.

It was only after much later that I realised that they weren’t just wearing it for fun, but that today was actually Racial Harmony Day! Seriously, did you even know that? After not celebrating it for like two years, it completely slipped my mind. No wonder everyone was dressed up so specially today! It’s really too bad I didn’t get to take any photos though (I know, I know, what was I thinking!). All the pretty costumes and colours!!! What a shame.

sec 3 racial harmony day!

Seeing everyone in their costumes made me kind of miss the Racial Harmony Day celebrations we used to have in secondary school. I loved dressing up, haha, as you can see from the picture on the left. We actually really bothered that year… Haha. I remember spending one entire afternoon with my friend down at Arab Street/Haji Lane, scouring costume stores for suitable costumes (she ended up with a hanbok, I took a kimono). Man, it truly was srs bsns last time - renting that outfit cost me almost $50! But it was worth it, having fun taking photos and acting out-of-sorts for a day. Ah, secondary school life! I miss it. Sorry, I looked super gross in that picture (it’s an awful picture anyway - terrible quality!) so I blacked my face out. I’m vain, so sue me!

Yes, you may use those special days as a chance to play hooky and fake ’sick’ (oh please, don’t pretend you don’t do this.. I did this a lot myself, oops), but after you leave school, you’ll just realise how much fun those times were! Dressing up with friends, going to your school hall (or wherever) for a concert or some corny performances/skits about loving everyone and living in peace and, well, harmony… Appreciate it while you can! Really.

Dunman Secondary School
Class 4 Section D 2006

So one day after school I decided to hop on to a 61 to Ikea Queenstown and bought a few boxes (IKEA SAAAAAALEEE???) to help me somehow wrestle my room into some semblance of tidiness.

Initially, I thought about how this week’s post will be about the awesome Queenstown area (no, seriously, do you know how cheap you can get perfectly fashionable, serviceable clothes from the outlet stores at Anchorpoint?) but while cleaning up my room I found that photo up there.

It’s been three years. That was taken a couple of months before my ‘O’ Levels, and omg. Pimples. Fat, oily face. Bad hair. Unfashionable clothes. (Well, I wasn’t skinny enough to look nice in the school uniform, unfortunately.)

Looking back on this, I know I’ve changed quite a bit mentally, I’ve grown up, experienced life and all that important stuff blah blah blah, but all I can really gush over is how much better my skin is now.

Call me vain, I say I’m being honest.

Coming to Ngee Ann, where the fashion scene is as diverse as anything you’ll see in Orchard Road or Bugis Street, I learnt to experiment with what I wore, and honestly, I think I have my own sense of style now, however… unique (roflmao, “unique“).

With gym facilities available, and having to walk up a ridiculous amount of steps up the hill to the FMS building, I think I might’ve actually slimmed down a bit. (Either that or the fact that I’m always too busy to eat! >_<)

More importantly, my skiiiiiiin. Omg, seriously, my skin. My pimples are gone (sadly, all that frantic popping has left me with a few scars D:) and I think I have to thank my own state of mind for that. Somehow, I guess I’m less stressed. Of course, there are still projects, weeks where I break out like mad while trying not to die before the deadline arrives, but otherwise, I’ve gotten used enough to poly life that I’m quite relaxed.

Drinking water regularly helps too, of course.

But no, really, even though I’m constantly in one project or two (or five!!), and I should be shriveling up from the stress, I’ve realized that I’m actually having quite a bit of fun here, regardless. Maybe it’s the masochistic tendencies one quickly builds up in first year, but running around libraries, running for group meetings, running around looking for open printing shops, running to the submission box, staying overnight at the loft to chiong projects… Wait a bleeping minute.

…Now I know where that extra 5kg went, eh?

So who else is excited for Harry Potter? I KNOW I AM!

I have to admit though, I’ve never actually read the Harry Potter books, and I have no idea what’s going to happen in this movie other than what my friends have already told me. I’m purely a movie fan. But not much of one too, haha, the third movie was my first and I only watched the first two last year. BUT don’t maul me yet, all you Harry Potter fanatics! I was banned from any of these kinds of “magical” books/movies because they were, for lack of a better word, “bad”. It’s tough living with conservatives.

But, hey, if the Vatican says it’s the best, who’s to argue?

Watching the Harry Potter movies have become somewhat of a tradition with some of my friends and I though… Unfortunately, this year, one of them is in Australia, so there’s a chance I may not be watching it anytime soon. Yes, for the sake of tradition, I just may abstain from watching the movie until I make my way to Australia in August or September. HAVE COURAGE, JH.

I’ve been reading a lot about it on ONTD, the best (and only) celeb gossip site worth reading, and IT ALL SOUNDS REALLY EXCITING (although I really hate their choice for Lavender Brown; isn’t she supposed to be really cute?) and everyone around me keeps buzzing about it and ahhhhhh it’s so hard to resist. BUT I’M GOING TO TRY MY BEST.

One of my friends has already watched it (SHE WENT TO THE PREMIERE OMG?) and she has declared it AWESOME! Although, SPOILER ALERT (but not really), it’s apparently less action and more drama (censors seem to disagree though, as they’ve rated the film PG due to “scary images, some violence, language, and mild sensuality”, HAHAHA). Oh, and no Ralph Fiennes! Whaaaat.

OK, I think I’ll just go hideaway from the Harry Potter world for now and just try to avoid -everything- so I won’t get tempted to break my promise. Wish me luck!

I was so busy this week with work that was piling up like mad that my friends had to come down to Ngee Ann just to meet me for dinner. Ok so I was also being lazy and uncooperative but I’ve got lovely friends who would willing come down to Ngee Ann for dinner because Makan Place, the newest canteen in NP is seriously the place to have dinner because the food there is not only good but it’s cheap!! I can go on and on and on about the food in there, I wouldn’t even mind if my classroom was inside makan place.

I honestly wanted to post a picture of my lunch, which was chicken rice that I am currently obsessed with but.. I keep forgetting it and I just keep finishing up my food before remember but there, check out my very cleanly wiped out box and oh before I forget, the milo at Makan Place is one of my favourite because it doesn’t have the metallic taste that some Milos have. Trust me, the Milo addict here knows it very very well!

Okay, I’m heading off to Makan Place now for lunch. More photos of my food next time.

Get ready for a change of pace…
Image reblogged from PaperTissue

I remember receiving my ‘O’ Level results three years ago, and being ecstatic that my grades would be enough to get me into the course I wanted since my primary school teacher recommended it.

Now, fast forward 3 years back to the present, and I’m faced with another decision, seemingly more complicated than the last. So, university huh? Are you staying in Singapore or going overseas? Singapore? Ah, so are you going to NTU or NUS? What course are you taking? Isn’t it better to go overseas? But studying in America’s expensive, are you going to work first? What about scholarships? …And so on and so forth.

To be honest i’m still not sure. I’ve narrowed down my choices, (pros and cons lists are blu-tacked to my bedroom walls) but multiple paths still stretch out before me and I’m still as confused as ever, while my trepidation only seems to increase. In short, it’s all become a massive headache.

When lost, confused, or otherwise in pain, I turn to my mother for advice. So, buoyed with hope and an imminent solution to my little conundrum, I cheerfully pose the question. Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: So mum, about after I graduate…
Mum: (Doesn’t look up from cooking) What about it?
Me: Well, I know that when I went into Mass Comm, I wanted to be a journalist, but things have changed and I was thinking, well, there are many things that I want to do–
Mum: Just do what you want. It’s your choice, just make sure you don’t regret it.

…Helpful, eh?

No, really. At first, I thought “Walau, be more concerned la!” but after thinking about it, her advice (as usual) was actually the best she could give.

After all, whose life is it? Whose future is it? If I go up and take Accounting, who’s going to be an accountant in the future? Thinking about it, I picked my current course because I liked it, why does choosing my University course have to be any different?

Hello bello jello everyone!

So I shall start this entry without a title in mind because I simply don’t have any off the back of my head right now. Anyway, this is my very first entry in here so I figured I ought to start off by introducing myself, I’m gonna try with a few lines and you figure out the rest when you follow this blog!

Hello again, I’m Germaine and I am erratic and quirky at random moments. I have a short attention span and sometimes I forget the things that I said an hour or so ago, but thankfully it doesn’t happen too often. When it comes to music, I’m very much a mainstream “Britney, Christina, Pussycat Dolls” kinda person. I love taking photos but I’m always worrying about my teeth being too small ): A little fact about me that shocks everyone would be that I have never taken any soft drinks in my life, thats right, no Coke no Sprite no 7up nada, I only drink milo, water and only chocolate based drinks!

Okay I think I’ve been digressing too much! Anyway, the past week have been really really busy but I managed to sneak in a meet up with one of my best friends, Attica / Atiqah / Atiq / Virginia, she goes by so many names I don’t know which one.

So yup, thats Atiq, the one hiding behind the book. We always have this weekly meetups just to catch up and whine about everything else and just this week we needed to get an ice-cream fix so I met her at Holland Village and we went to…

Every single time I go over to Holland Village, I will end up in Cold Rock cos I love the ice cream there and we get to pick and mix and that makes me happy. So Atiq and I went there and got our ice-cream fix and sat for hours talking. I have a huge weakness for Holland Village because you can just sit there and have HTHT (heart to heart talks!) with your friends plus the ambience is awesome!

Holland V is really convenient to head to after I’m done with school because all I have to do is just hop onto 61 and I’ll be there, right near my favourite ice cream shop in 15 minutes! :P 
Okay I shall leave you guys with our faces, more updates the next time! (: (:

HEY GUYS.

Basically this blog is for us to update you guys about NP and all it’s activities, annnnd this is the first post of the whole blog… it’s quite unnerving, haha. So I should probably introduce myself even though I really really hate doing it because, like, how on earth am I supposed to summarise my entire person in 2 or 3 sentences?

But here goes: HELLO, my name is Jiahui (I really need to think of a Christian name) and I love movies of all kinds (self-professed film nerd) except silly ones like Epic Movie (but I’ll watch them anyway), cannot live without my music (Elliott Smith, Crystal Castles, David Bowie, Asobi Seksu, Slowdive, Daft Punk and Mos Def are some of my all-time favourites<3), prefer comics to actual books (I do make exceptions for, say, Haruki Murakami - yeah I’m one of those people - but Batman and Watchmen FTW), am a console game nerd, make music mixes, wish I could afford all the brands I love (CDG anyone?), don’t like most foods but can eat sushi for days without getting sick of it, dabble in design and art and film photography, aspire to learn french and spanish and japanese and maybe icelandic one day, hate chocolate and mayonnaise and people who walk too slowly and talk too much, use internet acronyms to the point that it gets annoying, am addicted to celebrity gossip, love concerts and traveling and money and shopping, am a little neurotic and ADHD, and my life is about as interesting as a pet rock. Nice to meet you all.

So anyway the point of this entry is to let you all in on this exciting little event NP holds every year for secondary school students all over the nation called POLY EXPERIENCE:

It’s a 3-day (Wednesday, yesterday and another one today!) long event that’s happening all over campus to let secondary students come in and basically experience poly life for a couple of hours. I’d never been to this event before (even though it happened when I was in secondary school myself, oops), so I thought I’d just check it out even if it isn’t completely relevant to me right now.

It’s too bad I missed all the activities happening in the Convention Centre though… Would have loved to see all the awesome performances by NP’s own CCA groups (NRA, Magnum Force and Barracuda!), but at least I got to join a few tours! Only the ones for the School of Film & Media Studies though because I didn’t have time for the rest, but I’m sure they were fun.

Going around the building again really brought back memories of year 1 and 2… rushing radio projects in the production rooms, doing TV production in year 2 (and having to deal with guests and lights and cameras - it’s not all that glamourous, really), memories of the 50 million projects we had to do ALL AT ONCE, etc. STRESSFUL LIKE HELL, but kind of fun too, when you look back at it. I mean, how many people can say they’ve hosted their own radio show, or helped create a TV talk show?

Another awesome thing was the new rooms on the first floor that everyone got to go into. Most students can’t even enter (it’s for the advertising and pr people I think), so it was really exciting. The decor inside is so pretty! All the lights and everything - I took a picture:

Right?? Haha, okay, I know, that’s a truly awful picture. Too bad I only had a really shitty phone camera (even though it says “5.0 megapixels, it seems more like 2 or 3), so it couldn’t capture the real ambience of the place. I would have brought my DSLR but it’s HUGE and heavy and I’m a lazy person.

Poly Experience is a good way to just have a feel of what Ngee Ann’s like, but if you missed it this time round, don’t worry! In November, we’ll be having this event called RED CAMP, which is like a bigger and improved version of Poly Experience. You get to go to ALL the schools here and check everything out, it’s pretty awesome really. And there are even themes and things. I’ve never taken part myself but I heard it’s tons and tons of fun. Be sure to keep November 17-19 free!

Hi, I’m Adrianna, also known as ADR (pronounced in separate letters: “EY-DEE-ARR…”). To put it mildly, I like living in my own world.

I absolutely adore sweets, and will go a fair way to taste something new. I’m particularly fond of millefeuilles, cinnamon rolls and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Following the list of Things-I-Love-To-Stuff-My-Face-With is salmon sashimi, beef intestine soup, Korean spicy rice cakes and black pepper crab.

Music-wise, I’m completely tone-deaf, and the only musical instrument I can play (with random bursts of poot-poot-PEEEET!!!) is the recorder, sry2say. But I love listening to almost anything! Currently though, I have particular love for Korean pop (DBSK, Epik High, 2ne1, SNSD, Clazziquai, 2PM, anyone??) and Classical music (choral and opera pieces in particular).

I go off on tangents, my thought processes go off in at least three different directions and spiral into a hundred other unrelated topics in the span of a minute, I feel colours- no, really, blue is uncomfortably furry and suffocating- I’m a spelling nazi, I abuse commas, I make at least twelve bulleted lists a day in an effort to hold myself together and to keep a semblance of sanity.

I stress out about stressing out a lot.

No, really, this is one of the biggest issues in my life. I feel that I stress out too much, and this stresses me out, and I really need to learn to relax. My friends have been attempting to teach me how to ’stone’ but I’ve never picked up the art of staring blankly at walls.

I love looking smart, I love weird artsy stuff, I write poetry but I don’t like showing it to people because they might think I’m an overly sentimental sap. I like reading manga, because it’s updated way more often than anime, and the drawings are usually better. (Psst, for what it’s worth, I’m an INFJ )