holiday

examinations finally ended. time for a good break. time to meet up with old friends and do some

catching up with each other. there's a couple of activites or courses that i need to attend during this hol. got to make good use of this 1-month holiday and complete some things i have promised or set to do as well.

1. 'you are the apple of my eye' with my pess classmates
2. pess class outing at sentosa + bowling session
3. first aid course
4. service learning project
5. read 'The Slap'
6. first prawning session at bishan

7. visit fish farm with cousins
8. standard chartered marathon
9. IPPT
10. swim and run regularly
11. play badminton
12. organise a gathering for anderson badminton team (gift exchange)
13. meet up with fellow primary school classmates
14. look through algebra textbook
15. visit kids and staff at carecorner
16. meet up with my army friends
17. buy a nice double-deck bed frame
18. use the $30 denizen voucher i won
19. meet up with my section (my 1st batch of recruits)
20. go sing song at teoheng (sembawang shopping centre)
21. attend inter-hall games and inter-school games
22. sitex 2011

23. watch some of the movies which i missed previously (eg. johnny english reborn)

that's all i can think of so far. right now, i shall read 'the slap'. i mentioned this book on 20 may 2011. just nice i noticed that my roomie has this book, so i borrowed from him for this holiday. enjoying the peaceful home-alone session with some music and a cup of hot milo. ahhh... life's great.

times are hard

"trying to make it work but man these times are hard"

the past 2, 3 weeks were the hardest times i have been through for this semester. exam, quiz, class test, assignment and essay all at one go. i have been staying in hall over the weekend to finish up my assignment and to study for exams. i'm relieved that the hectic period is already over. final term exam's taking place this week and next week. 2 papers down and 2 more to go.

it's a sad thing that sometimes, results/grades don't reflect how much effort you have put in to study and learn what you need to. that's life and it's never fair. but still, i'll just do my best and whatever i can. hopefully everything will turn out fine.

Welcome Home - Radical Face

there's something special about this song that makes me want to listen to it over and over again. i just keep on replaying it.

Welcome Home - Radical Face (video)

Sleep don't visit, so I choke on sun
And the days blur into one
And the backs of my eyes hum with things I've never done
Sheets are swaying from an old clothesline
Like a row of captured ghosts over old dead grass
Was never much but we've made the most
Welcome home

Ships are launching from my chest
Some have names but most do not
If you find one, please let me know what piece I've lost
Peel the scars from off my back
I don't need them anymore
You can throw them out or keep them in your mason jars
I've come home

All my nightmares escaped my head
Bar the door, please don't let them in
You were never supposed to leave
Now my head's splitting at the seams
And I don't know if I can

overcoming my fear

another chance to overcome my fear. i must not let history repeat itself.

For The First Time - The Script

She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart
While I'm drinking jack all alone in my local bar
And we don't know how
How we got in to this mad situation
Only doing things out of frustration
Trying to make it work but man these times are hard

She needs me now but I can't seem to find a time
I've got a new job now on the unemployment line,
And we don't know how
How we got into this mess is it gods test
Someone help us cause we're doing our best
Trying to make it work but man these times are hard

But we're gonna start by
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Saying things we haven't for a while
A while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time

She's in line at the door
With her head held high
While I just lost my job but
Didn't lose my pride
But we both know how
How we're gonna make it work when it hurts
When you pick yourself up
You get kicked to the dirt
Trying to make it work but man these times are hard

But we're gonna start by
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Doing things we haven't for a while
A while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time

Drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Saying thing we haven't for a while
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

The Script - For The First Time (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)

working hard

9:33pm

i went for a run. saw these 3 bangladeshi workers painting the bus-stop.

10:27pm

i was on my way home from the run. the 3 bangladeshi workers still working hard painting the bus-stop. some thoughts went through my mind. often, we like to make fun of these bangladeshi workers because they are employed to do jobs which probably not many singaporeans would want to. they sometimes work in the wee hours when everyone is sleeping soundly as well. let's imagine that these bangladeshi workers arent around for a week, how would our lives be? honestly, we ought to thank them and recognise their effort in contributing to our society.

seeing the 3 bangladeshi workers working hard at this hour, i felt a little guilty since i have been slacking at times when i should be studying hard. let this be a lesson learnt and serves as a reminder for me to work hard as well.

tomorrow is the start of PSLE. i wish the children from carecorner and yishun student service centre (SHG) all the best. i know all of you have spent a lot of time preparing for this exam. give it your best and i'm sure everything will go smoothly! 加油!

City Of Blinding Lights - U2

source: http://weheartit.com/entry/9264157

City Of Blinding Lights - U2

The more you see, the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Neon heart day-glow eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They're advertising in the skies
For people like us

And I miss you when you're not around
I'm getting ready to leave the ground

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Don't look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs purple irises
The camera can't see

I've seen you walk unafraid
I've seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

And I miss you when you're not around
I'm getting ready to leave the ground

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Time...time...time...time...time
Won't leave me as I am
But time won't take the boy out of this man

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

The more you know, the less you feel
Some pray for others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel
luckily

老朋友

it has been quite some time since school started. life's getting a little busier with lectures, tutorials, readings, meetings... it may be a little tiring, but everything is going smoothly with a little help and support here and there from my friends/classmates. i have been appointed by some of my peers as the class rep and am honoured to be given this role. i cant guarantee that i can be a good class rep but am willing to give my best. thank you to all those who believe in me. two more weeks to Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon. time to run more often but before i do that, i might need to go see doctor tmr morning and hopefully there's nothing wrong with my body.

uni life is not just about making new friends and studying hard, but also meeting up with old friends. friends whom you havent seen for a long time, friends whom you know since primary school, friends whom you can have a heart-to-heart talk with. i'm glad to have such friends around me. most importantly, 在交新朋友的当儿, 别忘了认识已久的老朋友. i shall end this post here with '朋友(friends)' by 周华健 and this one goes out to all my friends.

first to Bata(m), then to school

had a short 2 days 1 night holiday at Batam over the weekend just before school started on the following mon (25 july 2011). probably there will be more of such short weekend getaway in the future to take a break from the busy life that we are leading. it feels good to slow down the pace of your life and relax once in a while.

school started last week with all the orientation talks. it's quite inconvenient to travel from yishun to NTU/NIE, especially during peak hours when getting onto the train is a problem. but still, i have to get used to this as i'll be travelling often. i attended the physical education and sports science (PESS) freshman orientation camp last weekend. it was awesome! i was in orientaion group (OG) 7 and our group name is Khoo Swee Chiow. wondering who he is? click here to find out more. although the camp last only 2 days 1 night, i thoroughly enjoyed it. i'm fortunate to meet everyone in my OG. without them, the camp wouldnt have been so fun. we did amazing race around the west area on saturday night, running from one checkpoint to another. climbed a 40-storey HDB flat at clementi. i hope that everyone will still keep in contact and we probably will be seeing each other around in NIE. PESS, proud to be!

i'm currently typing this blog entry in my hall at NTU. going to spend my first night here today. met my room mate in the evening before i left for dinner at jurong point. he's also from PESS too! just that he's doing a Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme while i'm doing a Degree one. i'm glad that we have something in common. that's all for now. i'm going to take a look at my timetable for semester 1 before i go to sleep. going for an early morning run tmr, up and down the slopes of NTU (provided that i can wake up in the morning). hahaha.

a busy week.

i ended my work at the student care centre last fri, 15 july. saying farewell to the staff and children whom i had spent about 5 months with is never easy. i wish to thank everyone for the happy memories i had during the short stay at the student care centre. wonderful memories of the children who never fail to brighten up my day. and also the nicknames that they have given me. mr豆, 豆老师 ( 黑豆, 白豆, 红豆... depending on the colour of the shirt i'm wearing for the day), ah 飘, 黑人老师, mr tohfu... hahaha. although i have left, i'll definitely be back at the centre again to visit everyone soon.

a short one week break before school starts. the only thing left to do for the admission to nie is the e-matriculation which can be done only after 22 july. submitted my hall application this morning and hopefully the result of the application will be made known to me soon. went to pulau ubin yesterday with some army friends to cycle. not many people around since it's a weekday. saw some people coming back to the mainland with bags of durians. they seriously made their 5-dollars trip (2.50 for the one wat ferry) worthwhile. hahaha. talking about pulau ubin, i am now goggling about stories regarding the island. german girl shrine, history of pulau ubin... shall end my post now to read the interesting stories which i have found and also to find out more about batam since i going there this coming weekend.

远方亲戚的拜访

the nie admission package from vital.org finally arrived. enclosed in the package are the information about the teacher training agreement signing session and admission to nie, some documents to be submitted back to nie, orientation camps and hall application. looking for a roommate at the moment, but it's so hard to find one at this point of time.

some relatives from china came over these few weeks. had a family gathering at my uncle's house yesterday night. many relatives, both the closer ones and distant ones, attended the buffet. photo taking session at the end as the relatives from china wanted to bring back some nice photos and memories they had here. it was like a mini press conference with a flurry of camera flashes. hahaha. one more gathering next weekend as my cousin has moved to her new house. another round of good food and great time with the relatives.

4july was youth day. i went to cisco centre with bernard to take photo for the public service smart card. the guy at the photo booth was terribly rude, with a bad attitude. from his 'black' face, you can see he was in a bad mood. i was asked to sit down in front of the camera. queuing behind me was a malay guy. he asked the officer some questions regarding the type of card to make. the officer was irritated and raised his voice at the helpless guy, which i felt there wasnt a need to. before i could tell him that i was ready, he just simply said 'done'. my photo was taken without him informing me at all. thinking about the incident now, i still feel angry about it. should have asked for his name and lodge a complaint about his lousy attitude.

we then headed down to redhill/queenstown area to hunt for good food for lunch as we were going to queensway shopping centre. i remembered watching '老字号' on channel 8 recommending claypot rice at ABC brickworks food centre. yuan yuan claypot rice! hahaha. we alighted at redhill mrt and navigated our way to the food centre. on the way there, we realised alighting at queenstown mrt would be nearer and indeed, we spent quite some time walking under the hot sun. managed to try the claypot rice. i particularly like the diced chicken. it was tenderly soft. there are a lot of good food at the food centre. shall go there again to hunt for more good food.

是你 决定我的伤心

last week, the students taught me how to play 跳棋 (direct translation: jumping chess). it's not the usual one which i used to play with the pieces being eaten while moving diagonally. in 跳棋, the pieces can move in all directions except backwards and the aim of the game is to get all your pieces to the other side of the board. none of the pieces will be 'eaten' throughout the game. the children were quite surprised that i have not heard of it before. hahaha.

i was out with bernard, justin and hongkai yesterday. we had lunch at Chong Boon Market and Food Centre. bak kut teh, sesame oil chicken, curry stingray and apple juice. totally awesome. we then headed to katong shopping centre for our 3h singing session at teo heng karaoke. had a lot of fun and laughter. the song '是你决定我的伤心' is now stuck in my head, partly because the way justin and hongkai sang it was very hilarious. had dinner at upper thomson. bak chor mee (Meng Kitchen) and beancurd (Rochor Beancurd House). a great saturday.

:D

i passed the physical proficiency test! the email came this afternoon after i attended the appointment briefing at MOE in the morning. happy and relieved. i was informed by the officer this morning that i still need to attend another Teacher Training Agreement signing session during one of the coming saturdays with two sureties whom i have yet to find. currently, i'm still waiting for the arrival of the admission package which will provide more details on admission into NIE, matriculation number, hall application and probably orientation camp. photo taking (cisco centre) on 4 july and medical appointment (raffles hospital)on 12 july.

june, a month filled with happiness and laughter? yes, definitely (despite the fact that i just cut my hair 30 mins ago and look like a noob now). laughter from the students when i return to the studentcare centre tmr morning i guess. hahaha.

To Be With You - Mr.Big

To Be With You - Mr.Big (video)

Hold on little girl
Show me what he's done to you
Stand up little girl
A broken heart can't be that bad
When it's through, it's through
Fate will twist the both of you
So come on baby come on over
Let me be the one to show you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

Build up your confidence
So you can be on top for once
wake up, who cares about
Little boys that talk too much
I've seen it all go down
Your game of love was all rained out
So come on baby, come on over
Let me be the one to hold you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

Why be alone when we can be together baby
You can make my life worthwhile
And I can make you start to smile

When it's through, it's through
Fate will twist the both of you
So come on baby come on over
Let me be the one to show you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

Just to be the next to be with you

mizuno mt faber 2011

Tag ID: 3630
Name: Toh Yong Yuan
Category: Open Men
Nett Timing: 0:56:11
Offical Timing: 0:57:07
Position: 185 / 1121

i'm quite happy with the timing for my maiden mt faber run. more running events coming up next. Singapore Bay Run/Army Half Marathon 2011 and Standard Chartered Marathon 2011.

最后的考验

And so the long awaited letter from MOE came. i've been offered a place in BSc (Education) (PE) (Secondary). really happy to receive this good news. however, it's not finalised yet. i will be attending the physical proficiency test which has been scheduled on this coming friday, 24 june. this test is a must for those who want to teach PE or have been offered to teach PE. another problem is that i am required to do an online acceptance for the course through the online acceptance portal which i cant log in to. called NTU this afternoon and was informed to drop them an email to notify them that i will be accepting the course offer instead as the portal is under some administrative problems. sent an email to them just now, but still feeling a bit worried.

i'm looking forward to 24 june and hopefully everything will turn out well for me, especially the gymnastic test. during these few days, i will be practising headstand to prepare myself for the big day.

Physical Proficiency Test, a test which i cannot fail, a test which i must not fail.

everyday's full of surprises

friday started out well as i slowly made my way to work. it was a delight seeing the p1 and p2 kids playing masak masak happily under the void deck with mats laid on the ground while walking to the student care centre (beta) after alighting from the bus at marsiling. upon seeing me, several kids greeted me with a loud 'MR TOHHH'. they immediately served me a breakfast set and i pretended to drink the coffee and eat the food. kids are bundles of joy, arent they? later during the day in the afternoon, we had our 2nd cooking lesson during this june holiday for the upper primary children. they made pizza this time round. last week was sushi making. these cooking lessons brought back memories of the fun time i had during home economics lessons back in the secondary school days. 多想回到童年的时光啊!

mizuno mt faber run 2011 took place this morning. took a cab down to bukit merah view with lejun as the train wasnt operating yet when we left house at about 5+am. i left my shoebag in the taxi and almost couldnt join the run. luckily we managed to contacted the taxi driver and got back my shoebag. met 1WO Chandran while waiting for the run to start. the run started at about 7.30am. a brand new experience, a brand new running route. the run was still ok, with some uphill and downhill challenges. the moment you reached the top of mt faber where the jewel box is located, you know you are almost done with the tough part of the run. nice view from the hilltop. saw one of the p2 kids and her family after finishing the run and i mingled with her mum. her dad was the one running, not the p2 kid. the event ended with a lucky draw, but i wasnt any of the lucky ones though. visited queensway shopping centre and i bought a pair of sneakers and running tights. we then proceeded to PC show 2011 at suntec city to see see look look. ran into joozhi, thomas foo and jian he. it was time to take a train home in the late afternoon and i realised that my ezlink card was missing. i had no choice but to purchase the standard ticket. everyday is full of surprises, be it pleasant or unpleasant and that's what make life interesting.

$3 for 2 soft toys

端午节

happy 端午节, also known as dragon boat festival. do read about this festival here if you have no idea what it is about.

i went to yishun safra to attend a wedding dinner on saturday night. good to see all the relatives present, catching up with each other enthusiastically. 那晚的婚宴，最漂亮的是新娘，最帅的就是新郎，而最开心的不只是他们俩，还有双方的家人、亲戚和好友们。衷心祝福这对新人百年好和！

had lunch with bernard and lejun on sunday afternoon as bernard was going on a holiday. he flew off to taiwan this afternoon. went to angmokio to meet my badminton team mates in the late afternoon as we are having dinner together at the same zichar stall where we louhei-ed for the past few years. a few of them couldnt make it. some of us then made our way to yishun safra after the dinner for bowling. if i remember correctly, the last time i bowled was when i was still in secondary school. played 'spot the difference' at the game machine. with some one-dollar coins left, i took out 3bucks to play the claw crane and caught 2 soft toys. hahaha. they are now sitting on my table staring at me.

went for the interview at moe today. it was still ok. i dont have much comment on it. hoping that everything will proceed smoothly after attending today's interview. hurried back home, changed and went to yishun safra for a swim. yes, yishun safra again. my whole body's aching as i kept doing cartwheel on sunday, and so i swam only for a while this afternoon. alright. that's all for now. feeling a little hungry. time for another bazhang (rice dumpling)! (:

smile like the sun

june, a month filled with happiness and laughter?

Smile - Uncle Kracker

You're better then the best
I'm lucky just to linger in your light
Cooler than the flip side
of my pillow, that's right

Completely unaware
Nothing can compare to where you send me
Let me know that it's ok
Yeah it's ok
And the moments when my good times start to fade

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Even when you're gone
Somehow you come along
Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack
and just like that
You steal away the rain
and just like that

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Don't know how I lived without you
Cause every time that I get around you
I see the best of me inside your eyes
You make me smile

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed
Sing like bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Oh, you make me smile
Oh, you make me smile

雨过天晴

finally, after two years, i am granted an interview. :D this could be the only chance for me to pursue my passion in teaching, in becoming a teacher. this is the last chance.

was out the whole day on saturday. went for work in the morning. had lunch at mcdonald, celebrating teck hock's 12th birthday with a few other volunteers. he was so shy as he was the only kid present. hahaha. we went for Supervised Homework Group programme after the small birthday treat. had the birthday song singing and cake cutting session together with the rest of the children. watched the kids play captain's ball. my squirrels lost to the other two groups and they were quite disappointed. but still, i know they had tried their best. dont be disheartened squirrels, i'm proud of all of youuu! met up with lejun after that. my stomach felt a little painful. thought it's because of hunger. took bus to thomson road and ate 928 ampang yong tau foo. then took bus again to novena velocity to collect mizuno mt faber run racepack. stomach getting more painful and i felt dizzy, wanted to vomit. collected the racepack and tahan-ed a bit, walking around to look at shoes. took a cab home in the end. totally drained, mentally and physically. took medicine and slept for a while. woke up around 11 and vomited. terrible night.

spent half the day sleeping on sun. feeling quite weak. didnt do anything much today. wont be going for work tmr too. hopefully i'll be feeling better tmr. this weekend was the sundown marathon. congrats to all those who completed the run. 'sleep can wait. beat the sunrise.' but for me, it's 'sleep cannot wait. beaten by the sunrise.' what a weekend!