1. Lotteries have been called a tax on the poor. Ultimately at only a dollar or two a ticket, anyone can play the lotteries. However, many people become addicted to buying tickets and they can cause family/marital problems. Discuss this topic with a parent and get their view on lotteries and specifically lotteries in Singapore . Include at least one quote from an adult, one quote or reference from either an NPR presentation or YouTube video in your discussion. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words in length and you must either support lotteries or condemn them.

This is the answer:

Lotteries to a lot of people especially the poor is hope. By paying a dollar or two, one gets the hope to have big dreams eg. big houses and cars. Of course, in reality lottery buying is a form of gambling, in a legal way

Lotteries come in different names such as Singapore Pool, 4-Digits, Toto, etc. In whatever name, it's still gambling and it is done on a few times a week basis. On numerous occasions, grandma mentioned to me that her friends during her young days used a big chunk of money to pay off their lottery debts when they received their monthly pay as most of them purchased through illegal bookies. That was easily 40 years ago and this it is still happening to this very day. It may not be the same people (as all her friend are old and retired) but the scenario is still the same.

During drawing days, all the lottery outlets are packed with people rushing to put in their bet. Most of the time, these punters have a long list for the counter clerks and these punters pay by the hundreds of dollars. Surely, this type of addiction put a toll on their family members as they have less to spend on their essential items. This is especially true in a poor family as the family members are the one compromising.

My grandmother had once stroked a six-digit number of money. But then, she bought no properties. Still, until now, we are just living normally, no more, no less. But still, I believe that we got to put our nose to the grindstone in order to get success.

Favourite poet and poems

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor€”
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Langston Hughes was a dark skin American, his life in America was not as good as the whites. His poems perfectly described his poor life in America. He wanted to commit suicide for many reasons, but ended up not dying. His relationship with his father was bad, Hughes once convinced his father to provide money for his study in Columbia University. Hughes later said that, prior to arriving in Mexico again: “I had been thinking about my father and his strange dislike of his own people. I didn't understand it, because I was a Negro, and I liked Negroes very much.”

Hughes worked various odd jobs, such as poet, columnist, dramatist, essayist, writer and so on. Langston Hughes was a great American writer. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes stressed the importance of a racial consciousness and cultural nationalism devoid of self-hate that united people of African descent and Africa across the globe and encouraged pride in their own diverse black folk culture and black aesthetic.

While in grammar school in Lincoln, Illinois, Hughes was elected class poet. Hughes stated in retrospect he thought it was because of the stereotype that African Americans have rhythm. "I was a victim of a stereotype. There were only two of us Negro kids in the whole class and our English teacher was always stressing the importance of rhythm in poetry. Well, everyone knows — except us — that all Negroes have rhythm, so they elected me as class poet." During high school in Cleveland, Ohio, he wrote for the school newspaper, edited the yearbook, and began to write his first short stories, poetry, and dramatic plays. His first piece of jazz poetry, "'When Sue Wears Red", was written while he was still in high school. It was during this time that he discovered his love of books. From this early period in his life, Hughes would cite as influences on his poetry the American poets Paul Laurence Dunbar and Carl Sandburg.

Langston Hughes was a very straightforward man who spoke his mind when needed to. He could express himself, his life very clearly onto his poems. He did not regard other people’s views towards him. He wanted to speak blatantly.
Langston Hughes’s poems always had a meaning behind a poem; he always had a reason for writing it. His poems went beyond just plain writing; he wrote poems to show his opinion towards a particular subject.
Langston Hughes was a brave and great man that influenced others to follow his footsteps. His contributions to poetry would never be forgotten.

cited from:http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/langston_hughes

Figurative Language in Poetry

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.


1. How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?
Hyperbole: I rise
Simile: like hopes springing high
2. Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.
I like the poem because it is wonderfully structured. The poem rhymes very well and it is very meaningful, it shows us the strong persistence of the author and that is where it is somewhat touching. Besides, although the poem is long, it is very easy to be understood. She also tells us that even though she may be defamed by someone, she will also remain persistent. The surrounding gives her the courage as said in the poem “Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides, just like hopes springing high, still I'll rise.” The poem is indeed good, it teaches us to be persistent as well as describing to us the beauty of nature.

Confessions of a game addict

I am a game addict. I love to play video games, computer games and even phone games. I always spend my time playing games and let time passes meaninglessly. My mother always scolds me but I never listen to her. For me, time passes really fast. My studies are bad and I never change. I cannot resist from playing games and always rush to finish my homework and assignments the last minute. As a result, my works are never acceptable. My teachers always have a bad impression in me.

When test period is coming, I will be sitting motionlessly, holding a book, pretending to study. Actually, I am thinking of games and cannot focus well. Whenever I receive my test paper, I will look at it, totally blank, do not know how to answer. I do not dare to look at my test marks, I will hide it somewhere that my parents could not find.

I do know that this a bad habit, I hope I can turn over a new leaf.

My favorite character in Village By The Sea

My favorite character in Village By The Sea is Hari. He has to take over his father's role as a care-giver and earn money for his family.He has to stop school and work in order to earn money. Life is very tough for him as a twelve year old kid. After many difficulties he faced in his hometown, Thul, he went to Bombay for a better life. With the help of his friends there, Jagu and Mr Panwallah, he was able to earn money more easily than Thul.

He worked very hard there and didn’t have a proper shelter for him. He even have to sleep in the park and the policeman guarded him at night. He is not very used to Bombay as it is an urban area. He is not comfortable with the large amount of cars travelling to and fro every day.

When he felt homesick, Mr Panwallah will comfort him. He even taught Hari the skill of mending watch that gives him an advantage of earning more money in future. After earning enough money to support his family, he came back to his hometown. He planned to run a watch mending shop and own a poultry farm.

The part I like in Village By The Sea

Village By The Sea is a book describing about the rural life of an Indian family. The part I like most in this story is when Hari's father turned over a new leaf and stopped his bad habit of drinking. The story starts with a poor Indian family which the mother is ill and the father is a drinker. The son, Hari, and the daughter, Lila, had to take over their parents' role and stopped school. Having an ill mother and two younger sisters to take care, life is not easy for Lila as well as Hari, having to earn money to support the family.

The change happens when Hari went to Bombay for a better life. The mother became more ill and the situation is getting worse. This is when the father turns over a new leaf. After the mother is recovered and Hari earned enough amount of money, the family members lived together happily.

I rather be the city rat than the country rat.

I rather be the city rat than the country rat, this is because city has more leisure compared to the dull and boring countryside. We can have better communication systems than the countryside. We can do a lot of things like surfing the Internet, watch movie, communicate through the phone and so on.

Educational level in the city is better than in the countryside. We can have more varieties of food in the city. There are better homes to stay than the old and fragile houses in the countryside. City is well-developed than countryside so that cars will be able to travel easier on the broad and flat road compared to the narrow and unstable aisle for cars. Business opportunities are more than the countryside as more services are needed to run the city. Less people will be jobless and more people will be successful in their carrier.

Lastly, I would want to add in that although city is better than the countryside, city comes from the countryside after years of development.

Longest holiday

This is the longest holiday. It is two weeks more than Malaysia's holiday. But whether we used the holiday wisely or not, depends. Before the holiday, many teachers told us to use the time to buck up weak subjects, are we doing that?

Holiday is too long, I prefer short holidays every month, or else, nothing to do. Time passes really fast, a blink of the eye and two weeks is over, everyday slack, play facebook games, I believe most of them are like that.

Few days ago, I went overnight in my grandmother's house for three days. And I played PS2 with my uncle. It is almost once in a blue moon staying overnight there. It is nice there, more things to play.

This holiday is not very useful for me, only makes me even more slack. Do you agree?

Book Review

Book Title: The Last Lecture
Author: Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
ISBN: 978 0 340 97773 6
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Why I choose this book?
This book was highly recommended by the Star newspaper. I could not resist from buying after reading the “Introduction”. As a parent myself, I could not imagine how I could spend my short remaining time on earth with my child. The quotation by the author, Randy Pausch that reads “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand” is so apt to us as we deal with our daily challenges.
The book is easy to read and it is presented in a lighthearted manner despite being shadowed by the reality of dying.

What this book is about?
This book is about a speech delivered by a 47-year old university professor who was dying of terminal pancreatic cancer. Professor Randy Paush gave his last lecture which is part of a yearly series at Carnegie Mellon University. It is a tradition where hypothetically faculty members are asked to deliver a final speech to their student before dying. It is a time where both speaker and listeners would reflect upon what matters most in their lives. Ironically, it was indeed Professor Pausch’s last lecture as he was told by his oncologist he had three to six months to live.
His speech was about how he fulfilled his childhood dreams and the lessons learned along the way that helped to shape who he was. The book is full of stories and related with much humour and simplicity. He also addressed his struggles with cancer and the challenges he faced where he solved with creative solutions. He ensured all his loved ones were mentioned in the book and how each of them enriched his life.

Reflections
If I am face to face with the reality of death, could I do what Professor Randy Pausch did? That is to live out the short remaining days on earth with such grit.
The author said “Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less time than you think” is a reminder that life has its expiry and it may be sooner than we expect. We should value each day and not procrastinate in order not to regret on our dying bed.
He has quoted many clichés and the most inspiring is from the Roman philosopher Seneca who said that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” We should be well prepared for the things we want so badly in order to turn it into reality when the chance comes.
No doubt the book was written for his three young children for whom the professor had recorded all his fatherly advice that he would not be around to give personally. Professor Pausch‘s advice is so universal in its wisdom, those of us who eavesdropped benefitted equally.

Free Time

This is almost the end of term 2! This term is the shortest but yet the busiest term, I have went back to Malaysia for four times since the start of this term until now, week 9.

On top of that, we have many extra tests compared to term 1. Class tests have been added to our burden. And the tests starts from week 4 until week 8, which lasted for a month. Just imagine we secondary 1 students have to handle such great burden compared to primary 6, just one year ago, had tests for at most a week.

Almost all my test results have been distributed, and they are okay (acceptable). And now, we have to focus on our project work which, if lucky, lasts you for a year. It consists of more than ten categories which you have to choose one of them as well as a project mentor. Besides, we must meet up with your mentor constantly.

Two more weeks and I can go back to Malaysia for a month. But then, Malaysian scholars (sec 1s) have to go for health checkup and take injections. Hope it is not as painful as I expect.

Term 2

Time flies and its now term two! There is only a one-week holiday before this term. In this week, not much had happened.

The only thing that happened is before the holiday. We had a camp for all sec 1s. The camp was held in Sarimbun camp. The camp lasted for three days and two nights.

We have team building between our classmates. We played many outdoor games. I don’t quite get used to the live. We have to prepare our own utensils and plates for the meals.

Besides, our sleeping place is only a simple hut that consists only a fan and a few lights. There is a public toilet that is for all of us, so the toilet will surely be fully occupied when bathing time comes.

A new term starts again, I think all of us will be very busy as it is middle of the year.

Chelsea

Have you watched the match between Chelsea and Portsmouth? Chelsea had won the match by 1-0. This time, Chelsea’s Ivorian striker Didier Drogba scored a goal in the 79th minute. This had helped Chelsea to close the gap on leaders Manchester United to just four points.

But then, Manchester United gained three points back after winning the match between Manchester United and Newcastle United by 2-1.

Thanks to Bosingwa’s cross, even the defender, Campbell, failed to deal with his cross and fell to the Ivorian at the far post. And, instinctively, he fired the ball low into the bottom right hand corner to break Portsmouth’s resistance.

Chelsea will also not maintain the lead without the great defense of Petr Cech, the Czech goalkeeper. He had saved a lot of shots which denied Portsmouth’s opportunity of scoring even one goal.

If you want to know more about the match details, you may proceed to the following URL:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/2008-2009/portsmouth-chelsea-236892.html

Miss Oh Siew May

Have you read about the interesting story about Miss Oh Siew May? There was an article regarding about her past. It was quite interesting and besides, it also has moral values.

First, I would like to tell you that she is actually somehow quite unfortunate. The 38-year-old lady walks with an awkward gait and has a great difficulty speaking. However, without wallowing in her self pity, she was able to climb up Mount Kinabalu in the year of 2005, which is the highest mountain ever in Malaysia! It is also 4095meters above sea level, which makes it one of the highest mountains in South-east Asia.

She had written a book called “Scaling Walls” which she wrote and published with the help of some of her good friends. Her book is so popular that more than 3000 copies from the book’s initial print run of 5000 have been sold. Actually, she had been thinking of writing the book eight years ago.

The purpose of writing the book is to let people understand that being disabled does not mean unable, which I sincerely agree with her. Life is difficult for her, she cannot earn a living easily. Sometimes, people will make fun of her and say nasty things. Some may even avoid her from coming near to them as though she has an infectious disease.

Indeed, there has been a lot of sorrow in her life. It will be endless for me to share her past with you, so please proceed to the following URL to more about her: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090227-125020.html

At last, she wants to tell us that the mindset is very important to achieve a goal, nothing is impossible.

Chelsea

Last Sunday (1st of March), Chelsea won Wigan by 2-1. This makes Chelsea to be the second in the football club ranking instead of Liverpool. It is quite unfortunate for Liverpool to lose to Middlesbrough by 0-2.

However, it is quite a long way to go for Chelsea to overtake Manchester United for they are seven points leading Chelsea.

At the start of the match, both teams played as well. But then, Wigan’s defender Paul Scharner had the first opportunity to shoot. Luckily, the blues goalkeeper Petr Cech made a wonderful save to deny the goal.

Then Ashley Cole did superbly to clear Bramble’s header off. And Terry then somehow managed to clear the follow-up effort from Charles N’Zogbia as he raced back towards his own goal. Both Terry and Alex were cautioned of Wigan’s performance in the opening 20 minutes. But with a Wigan goal scored, the Blues came to live.

Drogba and Mikel took two shots but neither of them scored. It was until Terry put the Blues ahead by scoring an outstanding scissor-kick volley in the 25th minute. This equalized both teams.

Another goal was scored by Lampard in the 90th minute. Balllack crossed the ball to Lampard and, instinctively, he headed the ball into the goal and closed the gap of leader Manchester United to seven points.

If you want to know more about the match, please proceed to the following URL to watch the match:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=53239632

1st of March

Exam period is almost over, only our second mathematics test is left. I am looking forward to the next weekends, as exam period has past by then.

Today, there is nothing much. Two of my roommates went for the photography workshop. A photo taking competition was held. The photos must be taken in the boarding school campus.

Neither of them won. But never mind, there are still five years to go. Most of the winners are the Chinese nationals. The competition ended at about 3p.m. to 4p.m.

Football (English Premier League)

Have you read about the newspaper article about Manchester United versus Blackburn during 22nd of February?

You can read on today's newspaper to check out for the result. I am going to share my opinion after reading the article.

Manchester United won the match by 2-1. I believe hardly anyone in Singapore was able to watch live as the match was played at midnight.

Manchester United is almost untouchable after winning the match. It has seven points more than the second team, Liverpool.

The article is a plot-driven story. It tells us how the football player score goal, being sent off and many other interesting things that occurred during the match. Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal each for Manchester United in the 23rd and59th minute while Santa Cruz scored a goal for Blackburn in the 32ndminute.
The picture shows how Rooney scored in the 23rd minute.





As for Santa Cruz, he fizzled through the United defense and skillfully dribbled past the goalkeeper to score a magnificent goal. The goal put Blackburn back on level terms.

At last, Ronaldo, he scored an excellent free kick goal. The free kick is because Keith Andrews fouled Nani and the free kick was on the edge of the penalty box, giving Ronaldo a greater possibility of scoring a goal.

If you want to view the highlights of this exciting match, you can visit the following URL: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=52779169

17th of February

Today is very hot. So I am quite fired up to write some words. Last Thursday (9th of February), the sec 1 students went to the Singapore Discovery Centre. I learned how to do business as we played a game like Monopoly but it is more advanced. We started with a credit card containing $1000. The banker will then in charged of the player’s money in the credit card. The special thing is that the price of the properties in the game is not consistent. It will always increase and decrease to make the game more challenging.

I also learned how to extinguish a fire as there were a few fire fighters to teach us the way. At last, there was a quiz about Total Defense Day.

Exam period still not ended yet. I was so pressured that I did not kick football for almost two weeks. I will wait until exam period is over and I will continue kicking football.

Tests

There will be tests starting from 10th of February. I've studied some of the subjects. I hope I can get an A for every subject, especially some of my stronger subjects.

The exam period will last for three weeks. So, it is quite impossible for me to fail the tests. Anyway, I won't be writting too much as tests are coming soon.

2nd of February

Today is a very busy day. I didn’t have enough time to kick football. My school ended at 1:20p.m today and the Malaysian scholars (there are 28 of us) have to attend the Supplementary English Language Program (SELP) after the forty minutes lunch. The lesson was quite relaxing as it was our first lesson and our teacher, Mr. Jeffery Lim, is a very entertaining teacher.

Then, it was 3:20p.m and we Malaysian scholars have to wait for another forty minutes before our next lesson, Malay Special Program. The lesson took two periods and it was 5:20 p.m. This busy day will always happen every Monday.

1st of February

Today is a very interesting day for me. My friends and I kicked football. We kicked for about four hours. It was twelve noon when the football game ended. We had our lunch and rested.

Then, we went swimming at three. The chill in the swimming pool made us swam one hour only. After that, we took a bath and one of my friends decided to go to the Coronation Plaza to shop. We joined him and went there by foot. Along the journey, we went to 7Eleven to buy a drink.

Firstly, we went to Fair Price to shop for goodies our parents wouldn't buy for us. We bought some ham, salman, sushi and so on. The food was absolutely good. We can never find such food in our boarding school. After that, we went up to the second level of Coronation Plaza and searched for any bookshop. Unfortunately, the bookshop was closed. Then we went to the bubble tea shop and bought a cup of bubble tea. The taste was unique and good. Time was getting late and we went back by bus. We had our ez.link card so the bus fee was cheaper.

We reached there and saw our seniors kicking football. We watched them kick for a while and had our dinner. Dinner was not enough, so we cooked ham to eat. It was so good that we didn't leave a tiny piece of meat on the plate.

Days in KL

22nd of January:
My parents came to HCIBS to take me back to KL for the Chinese New Year holidays after school dismissed. My two friends also followed us. Dad called a taxi to take us to the airport. The driver charged $32 for the whole journey. We waited for three hours to board the plane. We spent our time in a café called Asian Delight. The flight took about one hour to reach Kuala Lumpur. When we reached the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), my friend’s mother offered us a ride home. It was midnight when we finally reached home. Although I felt tired, I was delighted to be home again. Home sweet home!
23rd of January:
I woke up late, still feeling tired. I visited my friend, Shaun, who was my ex-primary school classmate. We talked about our lives in Malaysia and Singapore since we went our separate ways. Then, more friends came to join us. They were also my primary school classmates. It was such a blessing to have so many old friends gathering together recollecting our primary school days.
In the evening, my dad took my mom and me to our favorite “Fish Head Noodle Pot” outlet in Jalan Pudu. It is operated by an old couple. The boss whom I dearly call “Fei Bak-Bak” started this eatery some thirty years ago. He always scolds his wife whenever business peaks, for not giving him a helping hand quick enough. In previous years, he would close at least four days before Chinese New Year. However, this year upon my dad’s request that I am only home on the third day prior to Chinese New Year, he agreed to close only after the 28th of the 12th lunar month. The big claypot that they used to serve the fish head noodle was filled to the brim with boiling whitish soup and green vegetable on top. Fei Bak-Bak cooks the best “Fish Head Noodle” in Malaysia.
24th of January:
I went to grandma’s house in the morning. I was ecstatic when grandma told me that her dog (Sam-Sam) had given birth. She has seven puppies. They all resemble Sam-Sam with black spots all over the body. She was busy feeding her babies when I took a peep at her. I had my lunch with my grandma and my uncle (grandma’s son). We had “wantan mee”. After that, I did my computer assignment on self-introduction. After dinner, all my four cousins came, two boys and two girls. I am the eldest of all. Later in the evening, my uncle took me to the night bazaar which the locals call Pasar Malam. There were many people browsing through the rows of stalls selling all kinds of food and consumable items. I really enjoy the festive mood at the Pasar Malam with Chinese New Year song blaring everywhere.
25th of January:
Time flies, it was finally Chinese New Year Eve! My uncle decided that we have our Reunion Lunch at Tenji which is a Japanese buffet restaurant. We had to pay for the meal before we started our feasting. We ate as much as we could in order not to lose anything. I was so full that I had to eat my dinner one hour later than my usual time. I looked forward to the next day because it is Chinese New Year and I can start receiving red packets (ang-pow).
26th of January:
Chinese New Year has arrived. Upon waking up, I wished both my parents “Happy Chinese New Year” and they both gave me an ang-pow. I took my bath and wear my new clothings. We had our breakfast at grandma’s place. Since it is the first day of the lunar year, everyone has to eat vegetarian food. Grandma cooked some very delicious dishes for all of us. I received an ang-pow from her too. My dad took us to his sister’s (my “Goo-ma”) house. She gladly welcomed us and gave me two ang-pows, one from her and another one from her son, my cousin brother who is married. By now, I have received five ang-pows. We went home after partaking many fruits and food at Goo-ma’s place.
My mom and I went to my grandma’s house again in the afternoon. Unfortunately, during the journey a Kancil (a Malaysian car) hit the bumper of my mom’s car. There was a dent on the bumper. Mom quickly called the car repairer to get an estimated cost. She wanted to get compensation from the driver but that young man did not have enough money to pay. Finally, mom settled for half the cost. She will have to pay the other half of the repair cost.
27th of January:
It’s the second day of Chinese New Year. We begin the day with a sumptuous New Year lunch. We started off with “Yee-Sung” which is a combination of seven types of fresh fruits sliced thinly, plum sauce, sesame seed, some crunchy crackers, and of course raw fish slices. This specialty is normally served during Chinese New Year. It was absolutely tasty and very colorful too.

Life in Hwa Chong

I study in Hwa Chong Instituition (HCI) which is an elite school in Singapore. I live in Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School (HCIBS). The way of life in HCIBS is quite new to me, so I need some time to settle in.

During school days, I wake up at six in the morning. After I have had my breakfast, I walk to HCI which is next to HCIBS. After school dismissed, I usually join my friends to play street soccer. We normally stop at six in the evening. Before school began, HCI and HCIBS held orientations for new students like me. This help me to get to know other students and boarders. By now, my friends in HCIBS has grew in numbers which I am very glad. As for my HCI classmates, I still need more time to get to know them.

The boarding school consist of seven halls which is hall A to hall G. Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School is the one of the biggest boarding schools in Singapore. I am proud to be a Hwa Chong student and a HCIBS boarder too.

Chelsea FC

Juliano Belletti and Frank Lampard scored in the final four minutes against their oponent, Stoke City by 2-1. Dedier Drogba was disapointed because he was excluded by his manager, Luiz Felipe Scolary, for the dramatic 2-1 against Stoke.At the 60th minute of the match, Stoke player Rory Delap scored an open goal against Chelsea. Scolary thought that there was no hope for Chelsea, but the defender and the midfielder gave Scolary a great shock when they scored.

The picture (up) shows Lampard after he scored a goal during the injury-time.

Chelsea FC

My interest is playing football.