So instead of wishing when I blew out the candles, I made myself promises instead. These promises made my heart murmur with a new purpose, my head giddy with delight and my senses hum in anticipation. The realization that there is no fate but what we make is altogether a beautiful and terrifying notion. What will we do with the stretch of years we have left that we call Life? What will we achieve? Old enough to be responsible for the choices we make, we are now artists, adding our own strokes of paint to what is to become a grand masterpiece. Nobody can tell us exactly how they want it drawn. Brush to canvas, this seems simple enough for some but not for a great many others. We are afraid that we will screw up, some do not know where to start and then there are those who feel that they have done themselves in so badly that nothing could salvage the situation 

I have felt like this alot in the all too recent past. I am not used to all these doubts and flaws my new, weird and wondrous experiences have brought me. Whatever happened to that girl who knew only sunshine and was self-assured? Who is that monster in the mirror, in my head? Sometimes I feel too bipolar to be me. Having no sense of direction is no fun but having no sense of self is even more dangerous. You spin out of control, withdrawn and lost in your own shell. You fall helpless, in a haze and before you know it, regret, shame and a flagging self-esteem is all you will have for company.   

I have come close to feeling that way, and I don’t believe that I am the only one. It is an ugly feeling and I will always remember it. I do not want my 17th year and onwards to be like this. I want to stop tasting its fetid breath on my tongue and feel it squirm and claw at my insides. I want to discover who I am today and how I will be different tomorrow. Above all, I want to be free, to see the colours and be unbridled in my painting. I may not fufill these promises in a year or even in a decade, but I would have been brave and because of that, I will go unafraid and proud.

Remember, you can write whatever you want in it (within reason, of course, and no slandering or badmouthing whatsoever) and feel free to express yourself! The best entries will be scanned and posted on Twitter and here on the blog.

Spread the love!

——-

Only great minds can read this

This is weird, but interesting!

If you can raed this, you hvae a

sgtrane mnid too

Can you raed this? Olny 55

plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod

aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was

rdanieg. The phaonmneal

pweor of the hmuan mnid,

aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at

Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it

dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr

the ltteres in a word are, the

olny iproamtnt tihng is that the

frsit and last ltteer be in the

rghit pclae. The rset can be a

taotl mses and you can still

raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This

is bcuseae the huamn mnid

deos not raed ervey lteter by

istlef, but the word as a wlohe.

Azanmig huh? Yaeh and we

awlyas tghuhot slpeling was

ipmorantt!

So, fellow victorians, you thought that your tests and exams were extremely difficult, and disappointed with your poor performance? Felt as though you are an idiot?

Well, think again You are better than what you think, so continue to strive hard!

Now VJC Subjectif has just the thing, Project 10 Journals!

10 black journal books will be placed around school at specific, undisclosed locations. Any Victorian or teacher can pick one up and bring it with them to decorate, draw, and express himself. Do remember to put them back where you found it, however.

The most creative pages will be scanned and put on this blog. There are attractive prizes to be won as well!

Watch out, because 10 Journals will be coming your way NEXT WEEK 2 August!

More info will be sent to your VJ Gmail and the locations will be released via Twitter and on this blog as well so do check back for updates soon!

On to the real topic of this post: 23.4FM.

It was so good, you could even compare it to one of SCPA’s talent competitions from MTV’s Taking The Stage.

Firstly, a disclaimer: I won’t be going into too much detail about the actual performances, because did you know that you can actually watch these on YouTube? Not all the videos are up yet, but hopefully they will be eventually, and those of you who weren’t lucky enough to be there on the actual night can check this out! You can also check out Flickr! Credits go to Infocomm Club for the footage and Photosoc for the very clear photos!

So.

If I were to pick one word to describe Musicfest, it would be… (actually, it’s more of an expression?) whoa.

I had no idea. How was I to know (being a J1) that it was such a huge event? That we would have a guest of honour from the School of Music & The Arts? That the booklet would be so official-looking and so, so pretty? That we would have sponsors like NEWURBANMALE and CATHAY??

I’d heard of how big a night it was going to be, and I’d heard that people would dress up for it. (I came in school uniform, by the way.) Plus, the fact that we had to ballot to get tickets was a major clue.

But in the end, it was the whole sponsors thing that really had me going, whoa.

Musicfest opened with a guest performance by Thomas Yeo and David Ho, resident VJCSB percussionists, who are both extremely pro/imba drummers and funny:

Thomas: Can you play what I play?
David: No no no, can you play what I play?
(This goes on for some time, until, in conclusion..)
Thomas: Let’s play.

(I heard there were girls who were disappointed when they found out that one of them was rumoured to be attached. xD )

Anyway, the night looked promising, really it did.

Hold on. Are you waiting for a “But..” ?

There is no but.

It was pretty AWESOME. Fullstop.

After the guest performance by the two afore-mentioned drummers, it was on to the actual competition, beginning with the Vocal Solo category – Natalie, Eugene and Peijia in that order. (Endy, a fourth competitor, was unwell and therefore unable to make it. ) All three were amazing singers, of course, but in the end there is only one official winner, and that was Eugene, who played guitar and sang at the same time (FYI, not that easy).

If you constantly watch this abbrieviation, you’ll love this next part: SYTYCD. Being unable to dance myself No, you know what? Even if I could dance, I’d still be awed. All three performances were mind-blowing. Like, seriously. Fan of Michael Jackson? Catch O.M.G. Want to see super-cool dancers mirroring each other’s moves? Watch Mirage. And are you a fan of love stories (I am! xD)? Be blown away by the super, super, super sweet performance by M.A.D.

So, more singing: Vocal Group. If you like Phantom of the Opera-esque songs, you’ll like Arioso. If you like more mainstream music like Chris Brown and Britney Spears, you’ll like His Excuse. And if you like Backstreet Boys (I know people regard them as their guilty pleasure. Go on, don’t deny it!), then you’ll like OMG! We ate dinosaurs. But in the end you know you can’t deny that all three groups have got talent.
 
Intermission. Cue the toilet rush-hour.
 
We return to our seats, all relieved and contented. xD And need I mention how funny the emcees, Andrea and Rish, were? Anyone who went will tell you that they were.
 
Andrea: Can Justin Bieber sing?
Rish: Huh? How is that possible?
Andrea: Are we gonna get a full day?
Rish: HUH? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??

In between the hilarious music videos by HouseComm ‘09 (Accidentally In Love! ), GEEnius (SNSD!) and ODAC (JUSTIN BIEBER! Sorry, that was just to annoy anyone who dislikes him. I personally have nothing against him.), with HouseComm retaining the first-place title they won last year, was the highly-anticipated bands segment.
 
Bands opened with Sandy’s An Actress!, who sang Billie Jean + Mercy (and eventually won first place!), followed by The Zebra Joy Ride, who did Paramore’s Misery Business, followed by Defying Gravity, who sang Flyleaf’s All Around Me. To be honest, I thought all 3 bands were pretty darn amazing. Do you know how hard it is to coordinate with so many other members, while playing difficult songs??
Okay, there were sliiiight problems with the sound, but you still have to give it to the PA crew – I mean, come on, look at all the work they did! Just to give us audience members a rocking night!
 
And then the competition was over. But the night wasn’t!
 
We were graced by two more guest performances – the teachers, who sang Hey Soul Sister by Train, and the extremely mysterious group of ninjas. I can’t stop thinking about their very amusing headgear.
 
Finally, it came to the prize presentation ceremony.
 
Everyone won something, because in case I didn’t make it clear enough, everyone was awesome and everyone was a winner. To get into the finals is already a big deal, because only 3 or 4 groups/people are selected for each category, and frankly, I didn’t know VJ could produce so many and such talented people. GO VJC! (*chants: FULL-DAY-FULL-DAY-FULL-DAY…*)
 
One can only hope to have the courage to try out next year.

One of the highlights of the event was the launching of the Canon EOS Academy Portal, where students and teachers across Singapore can share photographs and exchange tips on taking the best photographs.

Video SLRs were also introduced during the event, where lucky participants got to try their hands at taking videos with SLRs in a workshop conducted by Mr Yeo Wee Han, a local photo-videographer from Canon. Filming with SLRs is definitely a different experience than filming with video cameras, as the participants got to find out and experience firsthand.

If  you had been there, you would have had been treated to the sight of cars such as a BMW and a Lamborghini parked in VJC’s bus bay, where shutterbugs were eagerly taking photographs of the shiny cars and the people milling around the cars were oohing and aahing at sleekness of the cars.

Events are never complete without freebies, and excluding the Canon goodie bag that every participant got, stations were set up where photographers could print out an A4 print of one of their photos. There were also free cleaning services for photographers with Canon SLRs. Fantastic prizes were also given away in the lucky draw – 2 lucky students walked away with a Crumpler camera bag each.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience for newbies and old hands alike. Kudos to Photosoc and Canon for providing students and teachers from all over Singapore such an eye-opening experience, and we hope to see a VJC-Canon Exposé IV in VJC next year!

The barbed wire fences line the perimeter of the compound. A pristine white two-level box is detached from the main building. Its sterile look resembles that of gas chambers. The pungent smell of toxins and chemicals contained within are vestiges of some forgotten massacre. It is dictated that 12:45 is the magic number in which no captive should leave the restricted area.

One might question the presence of escape routes. There are, indeed but chances are slim. The only unscreened areas are grossly red and scream “Keep away!”  The bars are deliberately built diagonal, much to the amusement of those who witness people sliding leftwards. Another incentive to pass pull-ups for NAPFA.

Yes, this is the modern day version of a concentration camp with high security.

If one has been groggily unaware, the people pressing their thumbs to technical gadgets protruding from the walls just outside the 1^st level washrooms, are actually subjects of a scientific experiment to gauge the efficiency of monitoring our every move and confirm our identity. Needless to say, before this was deduced to be so, multiple interpretations arose. My friend thought odd martians were wondering around, fiddling with the electrical impulses in our schools. Alas, they are successful in meddling with the WIFI (or absence of) connection in the concourse and disrupting the abundance of signals that radiate from LT5. Of course, this also explains the screeching siren at approximately 3.31pm, 16/04/10.  Aha! This is also the very reason that enthusiastic people giving out flyers at the school gates dare not intrude into this personal alcove of ours.

At the very least, personal monitoring is accompanied with excellent service. A bright cheery female voice responds with a saccharine voice, overtly thankful for our arrival in schools. After hearing her voice, we melt, why did we even think of the option of ponning?

One feels a sense of surreal reality. True, it is very GATTACCA. Soon, one has to purge oneself of all alien hair to remain aligned to his/her identity.

Ponder on this: “Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us.” – President John F. Kennedy in his speech “Ich bin ein Berliner” on June 26, 1963. Parallel drawn. Will we one day, come to a state of utopia that people would enjoy school and not want to leave? Hmm…

Yes, stop laughing, my timetable is the pits. But hey, you get more out of this college when you stay back a little longer- Jancy’s 6pm announcements for Thaipan orders, the melodies of the Chinese Orchestra and the String Ensemble amalgamated (teehee) within the T Block… and today, I experienced something even more special.

So my class was having History Tutorial and everyone was pretty much struggling to stay awake, as we are wont to do at 3.30pm in the afternoon. We were learning about the Korean War, a devastating war in, well Korea, and our teacher had just gotten to the most crucial part of this whole crisis when…

WHUARWHUARWHUARWHUARWHUAR

(or something to that effect)

An emergency alarm started blaring.

At 3.31pm.

Very loudly.

To provide some context, we were having our class in E13- a History classroom on the first floor of the Electives Hub block which is, well, roughly the size of a T block toilet, I kid you not. But it has its advantages- I once hung out in there during a thunderstorm and it was all peace and tranquility inside. Yes, it is that soundproof.

And right there in E13, that alarm blasted us straight in the face in that WHUARWHUARWHUARWHUARWHUAR fashion.

First, the ‘Fire Drill’ reaction. There was a tone of excitement in everyone’s voice as we speculated, “Fire Drill? Now?” Some of us started packing up casually. Our teacher dismissed it as a false alarm and tried to continue teaching.

Then, the ‘Uh oh’ phase. My classmate interrupted, “What if it could be real?” Imaginations ran wild as the image of a science lab being devoured by flames danced around in our minds. One of us asked our teacher to leave the door open so that we could run out to the parade square if the emergency was a genuine one. Which, to that, I pointed out, “What if the fire started in the parade square?” We heard the people from Guitar Ensemble/ Choir outside panicking mildly. My teacher called the General Office.

Finally, the ‘CHEY!’.

False alarm.

So life went on and we were split into groups for discussions. But E13, being small and cramped and thus echoey, was not a conducive environment… so some of us ventured out.

To be greeted ungraciously by the blaring of the alarm.

MOV01251

The alarm finally died an abrupt and welcome death at 3.37pm, leaving our ears ringing in the aftermath.

And that ends the account of the misbehaving alarm.

To end this post off, allow me to reproduce a (rather cheerful) note on the whiteboard by Miss Goh Hui Hua that may be of concern to some of us (verbatim, may I add):

To users of E13,

Please do not push the vent of the aircon up as this may spoil the aircon. If skinny+cold, wear a jacket for @#$%’s sake. If I catch the idiots who have been doing this, you sit outside the classroom.

Yep. Take note, Victorians!

Recognition, by Carol Ann Duffy

Things get away from one.
I’ve let myself go, I know.
Children? I’ve had three
and I don’t even know them.

I strain to remember a time
when my body felt lighter.
Years. My face is swollen
with regrets. I put powder on,

but it flakes off. I love him,
through habit, but the proof
has evaporated. He gets upset.
I tried to do all the essentials

on one trip. Foolish, yes,
but I was weepy all morning.
Quiche. A blond boy swung me up
in his arms and promised the earth.

You see, this came back to me
as I stood on the scales.
I wept. Shallots. In the window,
creamy ladies held a pose

which left me clogged and old.
The waste. I’d forgotten my purse,
fumbled; the shopgirl gaped at me,
compassionless. Claret. I blushed.

Cheese. Kleenex. It did happen.
I lay in my slip on wet grass,
laughing. Years. I had to rush out,
blind in a hot flush, and bumped

into an anxious, dowdy matron
who touched the cold mirror
and stared at me. Stared
and said I’m sorry sorry sorry.

After it was suggested to the class that “I lay in my slip on wet grass, / laughing.”, one thing led to another and soon EVERYTHING started happening. Sexual innuendos were suddenly unearthed. People started talking about weepy Korean dramas and menopause. Cheese and the dowdy matron obtained sexual significtions. A discussion about alcohol and dessert sprung up. A poem about the indignation of having one’s coloured markers messed up was read out to a rapt audience. People giggled, tittered, screamed, stamped their feet and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was utterly random, as 17-year-olds have a right to be.