Hello!

Yesterday was my VERY LAST PAPER. Yes, my time in Ngee Ann, graduation day aside, is officially over! I almost can't believe how fast these three years went, how much I learnt during the entire time and how much fun (and difficulties too... *cough*) I had.

yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! (no idea what cartoon this is)

To be honest, I don't remember a lot of what I did here, especially in year 1, but there were many things that stood out and modules I enjoyed. I appreciated how being in a course like Mass Communication exposed me to so many different things, although I had grievances regarding some modules I didn't want to take, yet I had to. I guess it helped me learn something, although I would say I'm not really good in  Won't mention any names here (ha ha), but lets just say I've never been writing theses or working the consoles. Buttons scare me!

But on the flipside, I really enjoyed my advertising module, although the projects were tough, especially when we're working for real clients. It was fun doing up a whole ad campaign, printing everything out and seeing the whole thing laid out in front of you. It wasn't available when I applied for NP, but the new Advertising and PR course is perfect if you're interested in that kind of thing. If only I were a little younger!

If I were to say I regretted anything, it would be that I didn't manage my time better! Common complaint I know, but so true. I thought I'd learnt to handle things better, but you kind of don't. Hahaha, just remember to always x 10 study ahead of time and do not try to cram everything in your mind the night before. I've had enough of starting at 10pm and staying up all night just trying to cram everything in - and I'm serious when I say "starting" because most of the time I begin with zero knowledge of the topic. :P Also, just a tip for you guys out there interested in photography: if you want to take Photojournalism, ALWAYS put it as your first choice.

Since I'm done with exams, I wanna vent: Isn't it annoying when you study and memorise as much as you can, and you look at the paper and EVERYTHING you just studied either 1) didn't come out, or 2) came out but you forgot everything in your panic/joy?! HAPPENED TO ME ENOUGH.

Man. It seems like just yesterday when I came to Ngee Ann for the very first time, and now school's out! I'm tired and need rest (after my more-than-36-hour staying awake marathon). I'm off to enjoy my first free day as a not-student! See you on the other side!

Hi!

You know i was just thinking, time really flies.. waaaaaaaaaaay faster than the speed of light. Ok no, maybe not. Pardon my irrelevance, I'm going abit woozy from studying for the exams! So anyway, I took some time away from the exam mugging and headed down to the Marina Bay Floating Platform just a few days ago! This is like a yearly ritual for me during the CNY season :D And this fellow below... is always there!

Okay no, I shan't call him fellow and pay him all due respect since he is the God of Wealth! Yeah, I went to River Hongbao! It's pretty cool actually because I used to think that it'll be filled with boring stuff that wouldn't stir any of my interests but when I got dragged there a few years back, i was in awe!

W.Y Photos

There were so many different rides, from the carousels to vikings, I would've tried if not for my immense fear of fast rides and heights.

Basically it's a combi of funfair rides plus huge displays of the zodiac signs so.. it's quite an eye-opener because next to each zodiac sign, you actually get to see your luck for the year! I was obviously rushing to check out the year of the snake! Apparently my luck this year isn't too bad, plus I get good job opportunities too! Sooooo, here's hoping this will be a good year!

Hahaha, I went on the last day so the place was practically packed, see those people looking up around the photo? They were actually trying to catch this gold strips that the God of Wealth statue was "producing". It was quite funny because I saw some people using their umbrellas to catch hold of the gold strips. OKAY FINE, I was also guilty of chasing after the flying gold strips which were impossible to catch! There was this aunty that almost swiped my face because she was so into it. Hahaha.

I loveeeeeee it, can't wait for River Hongbao 2011! I shall end off with the most tourist-y photo of me! :D Also, tell me if you were at river angbao. What did you like about it? Perhaps next time we can go together! :D Bye!

If you haven’t caught Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief yet, you should! I just watched it yesterday, and I found myself laughing at a lot of the humourous parts in the movie. In short, Percy Jackson = pretty awesome movie.

Well, if you don’t know the story, basically, Percy Jackson finds out he’s a demigod born of Poseidon (the god of sea), and that he’s been accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt. So he has to convince Zeus that he’s innocent, or a war between the gods will be started. /o\ *oh noes*

I haz a lightning bolt. Be scared, mortal, or I will smite you down.

Check out the trailer:

Pretty cool, right? There were lots of cool effects in the movie. Like, Percy controlling the water, the hydras breathing fire and attacking the trio, the boat ride to Hell. And during the boat ride, there was also this stream of human hopes, dreams, wishes that were all lost floating out into somewhere. Probably a dumpster for lost dreams. Oh, and there was a cool phrase too. "All human lives end in suffering and misery." Depressing much, eh? But still, all very cool.

I have a trident. A water trident. Fear me and bow down, mortals!

There were some parts I didn’t like so much, though. Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, seemed kind of weak and dumb in some parts of the movie. Isn’t she supposed to be strong and smart, since Athena’s the goddess of wisdom and strength? Another thing was the pacing. At certain parts the movie seemed to just fly by. It didn’t make sense and it felt as though it was just showing me important plot points. It would have been nicer to go more in depth in certain parts, instead of skimming through. :(

Does my ass look huge? Don't lie to me. Tell me the truth.

But it’s not all so bad. After all, you get to see Pierce Brosnan (Mr. Brunner/Chiron) trotting around as a half human half horse. And Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson) is also very cute! (He's 18! My age! Whipee! *grins*) So it wasn’t hard to watch the movie at all. :D

The best part, though, was the dialogue.

        Mr. Brunner: “Take this to defend yourself. It’s a powerful weapon.”
        Percy: “This is a pen. This. Is. A. Pen!”

So, if you haven’t watched Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief yet, make sure you check it out! As for me, I’m off to find the book series and get started on reading! Have you read the book or the movie or both? Tell me what you think! Cheerios!

Yeah, before you think I fell asleep on the keyboard, I seriously didn't make that up. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, that means "Hello, how are you?" in Na'vi language. If you haven't been living under a stone for the past few months, you'd probably know that this language belongs to the fictional species from James Cameron's 3D spectacular - Avatar.

Ugh I think they look really creepy. How do people find her "sexy"? Like WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.

Before I continue, you ought to know that I thought the movie was lame. There, I said it. Sure, awesome graphics and all that, but this was seriously a case of style over substance. Storyline? What? As my brother says, Avatar is basically a lousier Dances With Wolves... with aliens. It's like a combination of everything director James Cameron has done so far, but with much more hype and aplomb.

If you have lots of time to waste, there is a 20 minute review of the movie by one of the most hilarious and obviously very geeky/into sci-fi/knowledgeable people on youtube. It's worth it. I actually sat through his 70 minute - YES, 70 minute - review of Star Wars. Very well done stuff and actually really interesting, even though I don't remember enough of the movie to really get it. OK end ramble.

Anyway, I'm not really going to talk about the movie in detail because I'm pretty sure most of the world has watched it already ages ago when it first came out on 17 December. Basically, a marine loses his legs and gets sucked into the Avatar programme (where he controls an avatar, like in an RPG or something) because his brother died. At first, he plays double agent and tells the evil military stuff about the Na'vi people, but then he joins the Na'vi, falls in love with the race and that one girl and then CLIMAX!!! Military comes to destroy the Na'vi, big battle ensues, world is saved, they live happily ever after, yay.

If you haven't watched it, you should, at least for the graphics. The storyline isn't anything, but yeah the graphics are worth the money. I just hope it doesn't win the Best Movie Oscar. The Hurt Locker > Avatar, by far.

Let me know what you think of Avatar and leave a comment! :)

GONG XI FA CAI EVERYBAAAAAAAADY! <3

Gosh, time flies huh? Chinese New Year is like over in a matter of days! Hope the angpow collection has been good for you guys (:

Anyway, speaking of cash / money / angpow, it is quite common for students to be working part-time and studying at the same time in poly. Well, the reasons are aplenty actually. Some do it for the extra pocket money, some do it to lessen the financial burden in their families and some do it out of sheer interest or even to kill time.

I am the living example of a WORKING STUDENT!

Well, even before poly started for me, I was already working in a few places, like an automobile company, working the telephones (or they call it telemarketing) and in a child care centre as a teacher-helper. I enjoyed earning my own allowance and in a way, supporting myself. I felt that working helped me gain some form of responsibility and independence.

So when school started, I contemplated whether or not to work whilst studying. After all, the school timetable doesn't have a fixed starting and ending time say from 9am to 3pm daily. There were days I ended as early as 11am so I was thinking, "Hey! Why not work while studying right?" I was apprehensive at first because I was afraid it might affect my studies, and that I might be exhausted after work and not have time for school. But it turns out, all I needed was to look for a job with flexible timing!

I got my first job as a waitress in MINT cafe at the MINT Museum of Toys. The hours were flexible and all I had to do was submit my available schedule for the week and tada!

I'm in my final year of school now and I've changed 2 jobs so far but I've actually been coping really well for the past 3 years. I guess when it comes to working part-time whilst studying, it's all about right time management and discipline. Yes it might be a little tiring at times, but as long as you know your own limits, you can actually pull through. Working whilst studying has taught me to be more independent and self-sufficient. In addition, I've also learnt the importance of managing my time properly because when I don't, I know I'm the one who will ultimately suffer!

So you guys out there who are thinking of keeping your holiday jobs, why not right? :D You will survive!

PS: If you have any thoughts about working while studying, why not leave a comment and let me know what you think?

Hello tweeps! How has your Chinese New Year been going? Hope you’ve been collecting lots of ang pow and enjoying yourselves just like I am! And for those of you not celebrating CNY, I hope you’ve been chilling out and enjoying this little mini-holiday! :)

But the exams are coming up soon, so here are my top 5 tips for you to stay on top of your game for the upcoming exams!

Tip #1: Take good care of your body!

Your body is the most important weapon you have in your battle against the exams, so make sure you drink lots of water and keep yourself hydrated. Take good care of your body, and don’t put it through stressful stuff like staying up all night or eating lots of junk food!

Tip #2: Take mini breaks while studying!

There’re two purposes to this tip. When you’ve been dedicatedly studying your lecture notes without rest, you strain your eyes, which isn’t good for them. Not only that, it’s been proven that you will remember more at the beginning and the end of your study session, than in the middle of them. See the diagrams below (which I took from my old copy of an Adam Khoo book - I was kind of a self-help reader back when I was young):

Look at how much lesser you remember when you have a never-ending study break! Not only that, wouldn't you get tired and bored if you were stuck at the table for such a long period? I know I would. (PS: The only exception to the never-ending study thing is Hermione Granger, who is a fictional character. Bleah.)

And just look at how you can keep your recall rate higher! Hehehehe.

So it only makes sense to keep your study sessions about 20-30 minutes long, and take a 5-minute break before coming back refreshed to tackle the notes again! :)

Tip #3: Don’t just memorise, understand your material!

Nowadays, the key to doing well in your exams is to understand your material in and out, because often the exams will ask you to demonstrate your understanding by applying it to a situation. So things are no longer as easy as memorizing the facts; now you’ve got to understand them well and know the process of how you came to that answer!

Tip #4: Get a good night’s sleep!

Don’t pull an all-nighter and try to cram last minute studying! This is a futile strategy, because while you may have gained some extra study time, it won’t help much when you’re groggy and unable to concentrate due to a lack of sleep. Instead, sleep well and you’ll see the difference when your mind is alert and refreshed!

Tip #5: Be prepared!

Being a procrastinator myself, I tend to put off doing things right until the last minute. Don’t be like me! Instead, you should prepare your important writing stuff like your pens, paper, calculator (if necessary) and whatever you might need for the exam!

(Photo: © Jenny Rollo)

If you prepare these important things, you’ll find that you won’t panic or rush, because you’ve already got them all safely stuck in your bag. You can head out without worrying that you’re missing anything!

PS: Don’t forget that you need to bring your student ID card for identification when you enter the exam hall!

And that’s it! Now I’m off to study for my own upcoming exams, so good luck people! Study hard and smart! :)

Firstly, Happy Chinese New Year to all my Chinese friends! (: Hope the angbao collection and friendly gambling are going gooood.

Anyway, I embarked on another adventure recently. Last Friday, in fact.

So I was wondering aloud to myself: what's there to do in Singapore when it's 35 degrees outside and I would start melting the moment I step out into the sun? Well, stay indoors, of course. I was hiding from the heat in my air-conditioned classroom while watching youtube videos when I came across ice skating videos. I asked my friend beside me, "Hey, do you wanna ice skate?" What I really meant was, "Hey, do you know how to ice skate, cos I don't!" BUT we decided that we were going to go try it, and make a fool of ourselves! At least we'd be out of the sun, plus we got to laugh at ourselves, so everybody wins!

There used to be FUJI ice palace at Jurong east but the mall got closed down for renovation, (pity, since it's so near school) so off we went to the other side of the planet. Kallang Ice World. Finding the place was kinda tricky, as it's at the relatively new mall, Kallang Leisure Park. So I gathered my courage and money and we headed down!

The price is 13 bucks for 2 hours, and 3.50 for rental of the skates. If you bring your own socks and gloves, you can save some money not buying from them!

So this is the picture of my lovely skates (which I took 15 minutes just to put on and tie the laces tight). This was taken when I entered the rink for the first time.

And so I stood proudly, and thought to myself, "Eh, not so bad, at least I can balance!"

But then reality stuck. Balancing was easy. But once I moved my feet?

Yes I nearly fell! But it was loads of fun, the first hour was spent getting to know the ice better (that means falling on my behind a grand total of 4 painful times). And the next hour?  I was as good as a pro, and with the cold air against my face, my aching feet was the last thing on my mind! (Note to self: Do not get loose skates!)

The rink at Kallang is much newer, but Jurong East's one was slightly bigger. For those of you who are interested, and especially if you want to head there after school from Ngee Ann, Jurong East's Fuji ice palace is set to open in June this year again (:

There were many small kids who were whizzing by me, almost as if to mock me, but it was all good fun! I'm talking about 4,5 year olds, if you look closely at the picture below, you can actually spot these tiny ones!

Check out the kid in blue! )=

Hahaha so after the sobering moment when I realized that I'll never be an ice skating genius, I resorted to slowly skating around the edges and keeping close to the walls. It was good fun though, and the mall has bowling, ice skating, and a theatre as well. The only downer is that it's pretty hard to get to, but the walk to the mrt station was welcome, especially after the dinner I had :/

So here's to another adventure in Singapore, this is your sporty Shaun signing out! (:

Last Sunday, I went to the Esplanade to watch The xx and Florence + the Machine live. IT WAS AWESOME. You may have read the article in Life! the other day about the concert, and I swear the writer was so obviously biased towards The xx. Sure, Florence was a little screechy. But just a little! She was such a sweetheart anyway. Anyway, I was totally expecting something like this video, at least for one song, but no, it turned out just to be two separate concerts the whole time. BUT IT WAS STILL GOOD. Although I WAS hoping for a little collaborative encore or something.

Romy (the girl) has the most beautiful voice ever

I think my camera has issues with bass sounds, which accounts for all the noise at bass/beat-heavy moments. Stupid D90! I had a pretty sucky seat because I bought the cheapest ticket (and at over $60, it's not really that cheap either) but at least I remembered to bring the correct lens this time round, so I got some... decent... pictures. I'm an idiot, though, because I hadn't charged my camera before going, so I only had one bar of battery left and had to ration my camera usage. AND it shut off on me halfway through recording Florence's Cosmic Love. >[

At least I managed to film my favourite song of hers - Drumming Song:

If you liked this, you HAVE to check out her epic music video! I was half-expecting her to throw off her caftan and dance in her bodysuit, just like in the video, but it didn't happen. It would have made for quite an exciting show though!

I will admit that Florence did go a little off during her performance, but I felt that her energy and how nice she was to her fans really made up for everything. Like at the end of the clip, she even goes and talks to people in the front row! Isn't she sweet? She borrowed someone's camera and took polaroids of the crowd and everything. And her voice is surprisingly sweet considering her powerful singing and her height (she's an Amazon I swear!). I wish I'd spent more on front row tickets but with all the good concerts this year, I couldn't! Sigh.

The xx, on the other hand, seemed way more reserved when they performed and hardly interacted at all, but their performance was impeccable and I am in love with Romy's voice. I didn't take these videos, but you should listen to Crystalised (when Romy starts singing, it's like magic - okay sorry total girl voice crush here. Not that Ollie - the other singer - isn't great too... he is! But Romy is <3) and Night Time and, well, seriously everything! They're a great band.

Man, I know I say this every time, but the concerts just keep getting better and better. I can't wait for my next one! March, come quick!

Helllloooooooooooo (:

I've been spending the past few days trying to avoid this day at all cost, I swore if there was a rock I could hide under so this day could pass me by, I would. I could never understand how people would always say that a woman's age is a major secret, as 9 Feb drew nearer and nearer, I finally understood how it felt like to grow older ):

Hahaha, I can't imagine I'm being so sad about growing older but the thing is, this year's gonna be quite a leap for me because I'll turning.......

Yessss, I'm turning 21, and no diamond studded key included. Hitting the big 2 last year was quite.. wow for me. Now I take up more space when I'm filling up the age section of forms because its no longer the slim number 1 digit, it's 2, big and curvy 2. Sooooooooo, I decided to sit down and think and put together a list of what it means to turn 21! Here goes:

1. I am now officially stripped of my teenager title BUT a friend told me that 21 is a whole new "teenage" life.
2. I need to get married in less than 10 years (hahaha, this one really made me laugh)
3. I can now watch R21 movies (alone for now because I have the earliest birthdays out of my bunch of friends)

Ok I only managed to come up with 3 because I guess, I need to live my life in order to find out what turning 21 years old means, so on to something less taxing on the mind, I decided to check out photos of me over the past few years. Hahah.

Let's start with last year during my 20th birthday!

Apart from the slight change in hairstyle, I pretty much look the same I guess...
20 was also the year I had a bad haircut -points above. I couldnt really find my eyes. :D

Okay next on, when I was 17 / 18 years old.

(17 years old was my favourite age because it's my favourite number despite how many of my friends told me it's a very in-between age because you're like staggering back and forth between being legal for NC16 shows and M18 shows.)

Aww, I wish I was still 17 ): haha.

Okay I shall now end off with the best year of my life when I was so young and carefree and did not have the appetite the size of the universe!
Here's 16-year-old Germaine in secondary school :D

Shall stop moping about my age and enjoy being 21! :D

Hi there peeps! My name’s Geraldine Lee and I’ll be taking over Adrianna as your Night Owl!

And that's me in the cap!

So here’s a short intro about me! I’m 18 and currently in my second year of my studies in Mass Communication, aaaaaand I really, really like Tokio Hotel. (^U^)

What? They’re a really awesome band, and I betcha they’ll make it big in Asia. Soon. It’s just a matter of time. Heh. So, besides being insanely crazy over a German band whose name is misleading and makes you think they’re from Japan, well, I like to do these things too!

Like knitting…

(Awesome picture, right? It makes knitting look so un-nerdy. Which it is. Un-nerdy, that is.)

And listening to awesome music and watching lots of TV like Fringe, Heroes, Flashback, Merlin, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, etc... The list just goes on and on!

Alright, so I’m just a regular teenager. :D

~~~

So… the JAE results have recently been released. Mere mention of the name itself makes me think about those good old secondary school days, where everything was much simpler and easier. Heh. I still remember the time when I was nervously pondering my future career path, wondering which diploma I should choose and second-guessing myself, hoping it was the right choice.

Well, eventually, as you can see, I made it to Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and I’m here studying Mass Communication!

It was actually a pretty easy choice for me, I should say. I mean, I’m kind of a worrier, and had already been thinking about whether I should go to Poly or JC when I was only in Secondary 2! It seems kind of extreme when you think about it, for me to be so serious-minded when most others my age back then were busy with anime, manga and stuff.

I was lucky to have a couple of seniors whose advice I trusted, and I also knew that whichever path I did take, I wanted to be able to enjoy myself and pursue something I loved: writing.

So I did a few queries and found out the general consensus was that NP was pretty much the best poly in Singapore for Mass Communication, and voila! My mind was made up.

However, it wasn’t as smooth sailing as it sounds. I still had to persuade my mum (who firmly believes that a JC education can provide a more stable route to university but thank goodness for my dad’s unconditional support!), but I managed to bring her round to my way of thinking eventually!

Heh. And now, after nearly 2 years of study in Mass Comm (and despite the horrible projects and deadlines and oh my GAWD 2 YEARS I can’t believe time has passed by SO FAST!), I’m still certain that I made the right choice. :D

And I believe YOU, my new readers, would have made the right choice. See you in Ngee Ann real soon.