Don't Watch That Coffin!

Before I say anything, I want to warn you guys --

Don't watch "The Coffin"! It's not a horror movie!

I felt like I kena scam today. The trailer made it look like some horror movie but it's actually some kind of an abstract movie. You won't enjoy it unless you take time to appreciate the cinematography of the movie (which means the filming angles, the beautiful sets. Technical stuff).

Today was a rather eventful day for me. I can say that I've been out the whole day. There was OP rehearsal in the morning (which made me panic because I realized there's still tons of stuff to be done). After OP, some of the people of my class wanted to catch a movie. The girls wanted to watch a movie directly after the OP rehearsal, while the guys want to watch in the evening. Actually, I really wanted to follow the guys but if I followed them then I wouldn't be able to go for Ryan's class at night (and I already promsed Hui Hua to meet him earlier). Urgh. >.<>sexy cool actually. He filmed the choreo today, so I'll post the video here once he uploads it.

Anyway, had dinner with Hui Hua after that. We had a very interesting conversation. Got to know him better too. I realized Hui Hua is a very humble and interesting person. Anyway, I think Ryan's class interested him enough to male him come again next week. I think. Okay, fine, I wish. It's nice to have a friend to accompany you for a class, especially for such an advanced class. Relieves some of the tension and pressure. Anyway, I think today was a small step in building a healthy friendship with HH. Maybe I'll ask him to choreo something with me. Heh.

Anyway, getting kinda late. I still have PW meeting tomorrow. Sigh. Got to go.

Last Day Of School

Things to do/look forward to during the holidays:

1. Class outing @ East Coast Park
   
2. OG outing!!!
3. Comlete holiday assignments >.<
4. Study for SAT
5. Dance, dance, dance!
6. Exercise more
7. Mix music
8. Choreo something with someone (probably Nic. Tay but I'm still open to others =))
9. Hanging out with friends
10. Do something crazy (like jumping off a building getting drunk, overnight but not sleeping etc.)
11. Do something for the seniors
    
12. Play games
    
13. OSchool Recital (Can't wait)
    
14. Last but not least -- Go home

Wow, actually I have more to add, but I can't think of them for the moment. Looks like my holidays will be quite packed, which is good. Sometimes when I have too much time during the holdays, I'll be sssssssssooooooooo freaking bored that I'll drop dead and die. Okay, not die, but just lie there and grow fat. Seriously.

Today was the last day of school -- supposedly. Ironically, most people still need to go to school in the next few days for OP rehersals. And I don't really feel like there's the holiday mood.

I still couldn't really believe that my JC1 school year is almost ending. Once the OP is over, then we would be considered to be J2s already. A senior. Time sure flies when you're having fun. I really like the JC life that I lead now. For once, I don't dread going to school. There are so many things going on in the school, be it gossips, scandals, activities, or lessons, that I think one year of JC life totally pawns my whole Sec1-Sec4 life. I have alot of fond memories in JC while not many of them in high school.

So much have happened within one year, and sometimes I got to remind myself that it has only been a year. Perhaps its because of the fast pace that we haven't felt like the end of JC1 is approaching. Like a runner whos running too fast that he only realizes the finish line was crossed moments later. It will take time for ppl to realize that the honeymoon year is over. Like Andre said today, the message has not yet "sunk in".

Uncertain of what the future holds, I can only look forward to next year with a mixture of pleasure and worry.

Anyway, tomorrow is Thursday, so that means there's Ryan's Lyrical Hip Hop class. Managed to persuade Hui Hua to go. Looking forward to it too.

It's getting late. So I think I shall stop here for now

Scream'08!

Yesterday night was definitely one of the funnest nights I have in Hwa Chong! To think I would have almost miss it!

Hanging Out @ Marina Square
Anyway, yesterday I had a PW meeting with my groupmates to do the Oral Presntation slides. Left around 2pm to meet up with Tse Young at Marina Square (it turns out we were on the same bus anyway). Although technically I do go out often, but usually I go out either to dance or to do PW. Haven't really went out and hang out with my buddies for quite long, that's why I'm glad to be hanging out with Tse Young.

We used to go out and catch movies (along with the other Malaysian Scholars), buy stuff, play Magic: the Gathering (yes, we both played, and we still do) or just hang out. Anyway, we went to Marina Square to walk around and buy stuff.

We were searching for earphones (since he lost his and mine went haywire). I'm quite satisfied with my new Sony In-Ear Earphones. It's my first in-ear earphones and I like how it cancels out all the surrounding noises. Just you and the music. And you can hear the bass and beats clearly, perfect for any dancer. Afterthat, we had KFC before heading back to school.

Scream'08!
Actually, I didn't want to go back to school. I was having quite a bad flu so I just wanted to get back to the boarding school and hit the sacks. But when the bus reached the JC bus stop, I have this feeling that I should go down with Tse Young. Ironically, both of us didn't want to go for Scream, at first. We head to the PE studio to test out the new cable that TY bought (the old one in the studio was faulty). Initially, only Wilson and Tack Kian was there, but more and more of the Bboys came to the studio.

Then Si Quan suggested that we go and watch the movies that were being shown at the central plaza. So everyone, save for TY, head to the central plaza to watch "The Eye". Scream'08 is definitely a couple's event. Since none of us have a girlfriend, we just sat in a row and huddled together.

It was quite funny to watch ppl's reaction to the movie, especially girls. If one girl screams, it will trigger a chain reaction where all the girls will scream. It was damn funny. Some of the ppl fake a scream just to make all the girls scream. And I'm quite surprised to see some of the Bboys scared out of their wits. Heh. xD

Since none of us have tickets for the Haunted Trail, we decided to go for the Haunted Maze instead. Let me tell you that many of the dancers' reputation went down the drain after we went for the maze. The pairings were as follows:

Hui Hua - Jon Neo
Shen Hong - Jia Han
Me - Wilson
Tse Young - Tack Kian
Si Quan - Pao Pao

There were many anecdotes about the whole experience. The scariest part about the maze must be the first "obstacle". When you walk into the maze, the first thing you see is this girl in white robe with long hair along the staricase, in other words, the traditional female ghost in Ju-On (which is acted by Sherry this time). The door behind you is closed and the only way to go is forward. It's the shittiest feeling in the world because you know that the "ghost" is a person but you can't help feeling worried. To make things worse, you can only go forward. Like Wilson said, it was totally "mind-fuck".

"Mind-fuck: The process whereby something (an event or a happening) that attempts to screw up your brain and fuck your brains out"

My partner was Wilson, and he was totally terrified by the scares and he was trembling. I will admit that I was quite scared too, but I could do nothing else but go forward. After I got out of the maze, the bunch of bboys ran past Wilson and came to hug me. I was going "Huh?", then Jia Han read out an SMS from John Quek, which says "J2 Wilson hugging Wilfred along the maze" (something like that, can't really remember). I went "WTF". He must have gotten a good laugh.

But the funniest must have been Pao Pao and Si Quan. Let me remind you that Si Quan and Pao Pao are quite afraid of scary stuff. Pao Pao was hugging onto Si Quan along the whole way too. It was damn funny.

After scary the living daylights out of ourselves, we went back to the central plaza to watch "The Shutter". I think the Shutter is possibly the scariest movie I have ever watched. Some of the bboys totally turned their backs during the scary parts. Hui Hua was going: "I tell you ah, don't touch me ah!" I was laughing like shit from that one.

Overall, I think the 35th Students Council have done a great job for Scream'08! Attendance wise, it wasn't that succesful; quality-wise, it was well-done. Props to the 35th! The make-up, the costumes, the setting; everything was great. They even off-ed the central plaza lights so the whole school seems spooky.

I really had lots of fun last night. I think the ppl you hang out with really matters alot in influencing the "fun-ness" that you would have. I'm glad that the dancers were there. They are always a fun and crazy bunch to hang out with.

I think that'sall for tonight. Today's recital practice was quite pathetic, since very few ppl came (and Daniel went overseas). Don't wanna talk about it.

So till then -- may you scream and be "mind-fucked".

"Told You So"

Today was a big relief, I must say. My teacher mentor (the one in-charge of scholars) helped me calculate my scores and told me that I most likely be able to keep my scholarship. Though she said that it's not confirmed at this point in time, but most likely I'll pass the criteria. Apparently, GP plays a large role too. Poor PRCs but it's not like I'm crying for them . She said that if I were to be put on probation or have my scholarship removed, I would be receiving a call within these few days. Let's hope the call doesn't come.

Naturally, I feel damn happy to hear the news, so I head over to the PE Studio and danced like there's no tomorrow. PE studio was totally crowded today. The MAD Hip Hop division was having self prac in the studio, while the bboys were playing cards in the middle of the studio before heading over to Esplanade. Today was the first time I saw the Hip Hop division having self prac in the PE studio. Quite surprising, I must say. And I get to see some of Shah's (the Hip Hop instructor of MAD) choreo put in action. Personally, I think his choreo are not hard to catch and they looked quite nice.

Had lots of fun dancing with the Hip Hoppers. They can be quite a crazy bunch at times. I especially liked one of Shah's choreo to "Oh Timbaland", which he fused tutting elements into Hip Hop, and Vanessa kindly taught me the choreo. In return, I taught her Ryan's Lyrical Hip Hop choreo that I've learnt yesterday. I needed the revision anyway. She can catch Ryan's choreo quite fast, which impressed me alot. I know my steps aren't that "clean" and "sharp" yet, so I hope I didn't teach her too much of my "sloppiness", so to say. And I totally addicted to Ryan's choreo.

I did try persuading Hui Hua and Samuel to go for Ryan's open class next week. Hope they can join me. I'm quite curious to know how fast and clean can they catch Ryan's choreo. I think they will surely like his choreo.

Had dinner with some of the Hip Hoppers at Coronation Plaza before heading back to the boarding school. I'm feeling damn tired now. I think I'm going to sleep soon, but I haven't finished my part for the OP. Shit. I guess I just got to do tomorrow morning before meeting up with my groupmates. And I think that means I won't be able to go to OSchool tomorrow. T.T I really want to attend Ann Tan's Open Class.

That's all for today. Gotta go rest.

Ryan's Lyrical

Today, I went for Ryan's Lyrical Hip Hop open class for the first time. Since I haven't attended any open classes for close to 2 weeks, I decided to head over to OSchool and join Ryan's class in the spur of the moment. My body was itching to learn something new. But I actually got more than what I bargained for.

He used the song "Told You So" from Jesse McCartney's newest album for the open class. After warming up for 20 minutes (Ryan has a reputation of conducting very long warm ups. When he took over Daniel's class the other time, he spent 40 minutes on warm ups), he started teaching us the choreo.

Never in my life I learnt such a hard choreo. I attended Ann Tan's lyrical hip hop class before and I was barely able to follow her speedy choreo; but Ryan's choreo made Ann Tan's classes seem like a mass dance. Ryan likes to fill a beat interval with a lot of moves. The moves are often fast, subtle and hard to be "clean" when first learnt. And the choreo demands good control of the execution--you must be able to be hard when needed and soft at times, which is charateristic of lyrical hip hop.

Naturally, with such a hard choreo, I made myself looked like a sticking sore thumb in the class. I didn't have much trouble with the first few 8-beats, but everything started to crumble when nearing the 5th 8-beat. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he thought the moves damn fast. He covered like 4 or 5 8-beats within 40 minutes. The best part is that the stretched the lesson to 1 and a half hours. I counted that he taught like 7 or 8 8-beats within 1 hour and 10 minutes. Totally crazy and tiring. It made Daniel's Recital practice looked like child's play.

I saw quite a few of my Recital mates in Ryan's class. Quite surprising. And also some familiar faces, like HR's Melvin. Joey and Miss Chen (which is my PE teacher). Hui Xian was there too because she attended the earlier Reggae course. Thanks for waiting for 1 and a half hours BTW!

Went to have Subway with Hui Xian after class. Actually, I kinda miss my dancemates since I haven't seen some of them for weeks already. Can't wait to have another gathering with them. Ie-Ching was sms-ing me and telling me how she missed them. Heh. >.< Hui Xian also said the same thing.

So I think I'm definitely going for Ryan's open class again next week and try not to make an ass of myself. I think I shall go to practise his choreo tomorrow.

Capricon

I was in a happy mood today, largely because my group has finally finished the whole Written Report! =) We spend countless hours fine-tuning our WR, from standardizing the format, to grammar checks, to adding in pictures, to reorganizing the appendices. Everytime we seemed to be done with the WR, there's bound to be something that was overlooked. Not this time (I hope). This would be the last time we'll be editing our WR, since we have perfected it as much as we could. I'm quite happy with the end result. Once again, I'm thankful for having great groupmates.Oh yeah, I finally gotten my hands on Jay Chou's new album "Capricon" (魔杰座). Borrowed it from a senior. I really enjoyed this album. Frankly speaking, this album is way better than "On The Run" (我很忙). When I listened the new album for the first time, I already fell in love with about 6 songs (給我一首歌的時間;花海;魔術先生;說好的幸福呢;蘭亭序; 稻香) out of the total 11. It's totally dope! I am glad that Jay Chou is finally reverting back to his usual style. Quite impressed by his new songs.

Since the album "七里香", I have been a fan of Jay Chou. His music is always fresh and experimental, but I like his emo songs the most. He was the first Chinese musician that I started listening too, and since then, I started listening to Chinese songs. Some ppl might find it surprising that I actually listen to Chinese songs, especially my parents when they first found out too.

I admire Jay Chou for his outstanding musicality. He can proficiently play many musical instruments, for which the piano is the one that Jay Chou is most famous for; he composes the melody and rhythm for his songs, except for the occasional outsourcing; he can fuse different genres of music into a style that is unique to him. For those reasons, I hold a great respect for him.

For my whole childhood, up till Primary 6, I would prefer to listen to English songs only. Occasionally some Malay (more surprising eh?) and Chinese songs, but these are not that often. Then when I came to Singapore, my roommates exposed me to Jay Chou's music, and I was instantly hooked. Slowly, I shifted my music preferrence to Chinese music. When I as in Sec 3 and 4, I would only listen to Chinese music. Once I started to learn hip-hop dance, I started listening to English music again. I realized that I missed out on alot of dope English songs when I was exploring Chinese music. As for now, my music preferrence is balanced between English and Chinese songs.

The future of both the Chinese and English music industry seems promising. Lin Jun Jie (affectionately known as JJ Lin) just released his album, Sixology. I heard from Tack Kian that it might be even better than Jay Chou's album. Can't wait to get my hands on JJ Lin's new songs too.

Anyway, Friday is the big day for all scholars. MOE is meeting us in school to brief us on our scholarship status. I heard from my friends that Jia Jun is put on probation by the MOE, and his results are almost like mine. So I guess that it's quite likely that I will get to keep my scholarship, but I might be put on probation too. Fuck MOE, man. This will be damn stressful, and I have the feeling that I will be under alot of stress from the MOE next year.

Unfortunately, I know that some of my friends will lose their scholarships as of this coming Friday. One of them have already found a place to rent in anticipation of the bad news. The other one is not doing anything much and I think he deserved it anyway, since he didn't put in much effort for Promos. As for some of the scholars who got quite a few As, they are feeling very relaxed now.

Actually, I do feel sorry for my friend whose scholarship will be revoked. He has put in a lot of effort as compared to his classmate, who goes on a "one-day-work-week" and is a member of the "famous" Wu Ge Ren band (I'm not saying who, because you know who you are), but his scholarship will still be withdrawn. My friend totally doesn't deserve this fate.

I am quite anxious myself. What if MOE went even more nuts and decided to not give any probation at all? What if they are fucked up and want to make this world a fucked up place? Then my scholarship will be gone. And I really, really, really hope it wouldn't come to that.

May the stars be our guide.

Chain Of Memories

I took a long hiatus from blogging (1 week is kinda long for me, considering I used to update once per day) because I didn't really have the mood and time to blog. Although Promos are over, but there's still Project Work to deal with. Literally everyone (okay, fine, almost everyone. I could think of a couple of counter-examples) in my school is trying their best to complete PW, be it Written Report, Oral Presentation or I&R.

PW eats up your life. Everyday, I go to school to sleep, do PW or get my Promo papers back. If you read closely enough, you would notice the lack of dancing. Yup, that's right, I haven't really danced in a week, not even go to OSchool for classes, because of PW.

Furthermore, my overall results now stand at BDD. I haven't gotten back my Econs yet. I think I might be just able to save my scholarship, but that is still uncertain. Add this uncertainty up with the hectic rush to finish PW, then it's not exactly the mood you would want to dance with. Thankfully, my group have managed to finalize the WR, and started work on OP. After tomorrow, I'll know my complete results. Hopefully my mood would have lighten up enough to make me dance without worries.

Just came back from dinner with Casey, Tack Kian, and Wilson not long ago. We had a nice long discussion throughout the whole ordeal, and one of them was what I wanted to blog about. But before I get to that, I would like to admit something that I think not many people know--

I am closer to the J2 dancers than the J1s.

Even when I'm not in the mood for dancing, my legs would automatically walk me to the PE studio. I would just go there to rest (sometimes even to sleep) or fool around with the other dancers. When I get there, I often find the J2s there studying, dancing or resting too. In the hindsight, I realized that what Glenn said was true: to many dancers, the PE studio is like a second home. We eat, sleep, dance and play there. As for the J1s, not many J1s would go to the studio often (by often, I mean more than thrice per week). Over time, I got closer to the J2s than the J1s. But that's not to say I'm not close to the J1s, just that I am relatively closer to the J2s.

I know that their A-Levels are coming very soon, and frankly speaking, I am quite worried for some of the J2s. You know something is wrong if a J2 asks you to help him out with an Organic Chem question, and you could do it. I hope they would do well, and subsequently, I hope I will too. I know it would be a matter of time before we would part ways. They would move on to NS or universities; I would move on to J2 (hopefully, with my scholarship intact). There's not much time till then, so I intend to spend some time with them before farewell.

In all honesty, I think it's actually quite queer that I reluctant to let go of ppl from a club that I am not part of. Ironically, I do not feel anything for my senior class at all. I think the conversations and dancing with the MAD J2s are a big part of my J1 life, and I treasure them.

The dinners at KAP and BTP; the hanging out at PE studio; the late night conversations at Serene; it will end soon. Too soon for comfort, I might say.

And as for today's point of conversation, there was a large part about relationships. I would not go into the rumors and the petty details (to list them here on my blog is equivalent to painting a shooting target on myself), but I was intrigued by the notion of going into a relationship itself.

Some people thinks that they would not want to commit themseles into a relationship because they would rather spend their time upgrading themselves (like improving their skills or learn something) than "wasting time on something that might not work out in the end". That point has some validity in it, I admit, but this comes from a person who has never been in a relationship before. It became quite a heated debate actually.

What that person doesn't know is that, when one is in a relationship, one would feel like one is in a sea of happiness. One would feel like their floating. I know this, because I have been through this myself (surprising to some ppl, eh?) True, why spend time to chase after something that might not work in the end? "But the effort and time is worth it", to put it in Casey's words himself. A person must be in a relationship to understand what I mean.

I was reminded of my past experiences, and I looked back at my memories with a kind of bittersweet sentiment. But what that means was that I was reminded of you. I haven't thought about you in a very long time, so you could say I am over it. I know you won't be reading this, but I still want to say I have moved on. Ever since that night, I have heard of little news of you, and I am glad that you have moved on too. I was the one who suggested it, but don't think I was not hurt in asking for it. Remember that you're the one who forced my hands. I hope you've learn your mistake and not repeat it. And I hope you don't hate me for it. As for me, I think I rather remain single for now. Girls that I like are far and few between, and I think I want to keep it this way -- far. I don't fancy getting hurt again anytime soon.

Moments are not eternal, but the chain of memories is.

The Last Leg

The "holiday mood" that I had after Promos is finally starting to lift. I am quite sian diao by the things I need to do for Project Work. I just completed my I&R, and my group is supposed to finish editing the Written Report (which constitutes a whopping 40% out of the total score) so that we can meet up with Mr Shyam to discuss improvements this Saturday. Which means I possibly would not be able to go to OSchool this coming Saturday. Bummer.

After the WR, we still need to start preparing for Oral Presentation (which also constitutes another 40%). Seems like there's alot of work to be done. Oh yeah, did I mention that this is a graded A-Level Exam?

And I need to clear my demerit points. I still have 12 more points to clear, most of which are due to late coming. 4 points will be cleared once I attend tomorrow's CS session, but I still have to find ways to clear the remaining 8 points if I want to see a nice conduct grade on my report card. All this came when JC1 students are overrun with PW stuff. There's no better time, man.

And I also went to RELC to register for SAT test. For those who do not know, SAT tests your Mathematics, Critical Thinking (English Comprehension in other words), and Essay Writing. It costs an exorbitant amount of money to sit for. The SAT score is needed for application to US universities, and can be included for application to other universities too.

My test date is set to be December 6th, 2 days before the OSchool Recital. I figured that since I have nothing to do during the holidays other than attending recital practices, I might as well sit for the test now when I have the time to prepare for it. Although it might be a little early, but I sure don't intend to put myself in the position where I am studying for both A levels and SAT at the same time.

It's kinda funny actually. I haven't even got back my Promo results and here I am, thinking about universities already. My scholarship depends on the Promo results, which will be given back throughout these 2 weeks. I heard from Mrs Koh that about 30% of the cohort got A/B for Maths, and about as many got S/U. That's quite scary. I sure hope I'm in the former group, or at least, in between. Hey, but it doesn't hurt to look ahead and plan for the future. I really hope I could get to an US or an UK university. Preferably US, especially LA or New York, where the dance scene is vibrant.

The holiday spell is finally lifting. Got to prepare for the last leg of the year. Here we go.....again.

Dance to Inspire, Inspire to Dance

Today's recital practise finally felt like it's taking shape. And yes, to the ppl who asked, this is technically my first "official" recital practice (I "joined" last week). Daniel have finished teaching the main choreo for the first song (err, i'm not really sure whether there will be a second song, but I hope there is. =) ), and he gave everyone their respective roles and formation today. We quickly revised the choreo and then it was rehearsing of the formation all the way.

Personally, I think the item is looking good at where it stands now. I could not give too many details of the whole item, but the intro gives off this very creepy "graveyard" like feeling with minions and everything. Totally cool. If you want to see more, then I guess you'll just have to watch the recital yourself. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

And I feel very happy today because after weeks of practice, it seems that the effort paid off. Everyone has a role to play in the item, and the item is taking shape perfectly. I can sense the teamwork and energy in the whole thing. And made a bunch of friends too. This is totally what dancing should be like.

I have this video to share with you guys out there. Dancers or non-dancers, it doesn't matter, because to quote from Eddie Uehara himself, "dancing is the hidden language of the soul". Anobody can dance, it's just a matter of effort. I watched this beautiful video on youtube. You guys MUST take a look at it. I can assure you you'll find it meaningful. It's the most beautiful video I have ever watched.

"Dance to inspire, Inspire to dance" by Eddie Uehara

(Note to Diana: this is the updated version of the video in your iPod)

I shall end off by showing the quotes from video itself.

Dance Quotes (from the video):

How can you say you've taken the trouble to live when you won't even try to dance?

Dance.....is music made visible

Dance is the world's most famous metaphor

Dance is silent poetry

Dance is the mother of all arts

Dance is the hidden language of the soul

Dancers are athletes of God

Nothing is more revealing than dancing

Dancing is dreaming with your feet

Dance to express, not to impress

Dance first, think later. It's the natural order

Dance like nobody's watching

Let the music move your body

All it takes is to convince your mind to move your body

No one can arrive from being talented alone. Work trangresses talent.

To touch, to move, to inspire. That's the true gift of dance

Inspired? I know I did from watching the video. The video is just.........an amazing grace. It doesn't matter whether you're a beginner or a professional; a ballerina, a moderner, a hip-hopper, a bboy, a popper, a locker; as long as you take the effort to move your body to the music, even just a little, then you're a dancer. And I'm proud to be one.

Ma' Brithday

Before I move on, I want to say-

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Apparently, I am not the only one in my class sharing the same birthday.

Anyway, I woke up today feeling great. I knew that today was going to be a bright day for me, so my mood was great all day. I went for An An's Hip Hop I Open Class today. I think I am really starting to like her groove. And her choreo today was relatively simpler than last week's. She realized that many of Daniel's students are not comfortable with her style and standard, because she was like asking the whole class "was it(the choreo) easier than last week's?" And considering she only taught me thrice, she amazingly remembers my name and called on me to film the routine.

Then we had lunch before heading back to OSchool again. Diana has Recital Practise....... for the first time since 2 weeks. I spent my time teaching Nik the An An's choreo and watching dance videos on Diana's iPod. It was then I discovered Lyle Beniga.

Lyly Beniga is totally dope. Just take a look at his videos and you'll see how freaking sick he is (I mean that in a good way). He's so clean and his choreos all rock. Especially his choreo to "Nike Boots". I can't believe that he can hit the beats so fast and yet so clean. Check out the video:

He took a few years to reach that standard. I wonder whether I could reach that within the same timespan. He's definitely one of my favourite dancers, along with Napoleon and Tabitha, Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Nick Demoura and Tony Czars. I really hope that I could at least reach that standard someday. Hopefully not too long into the future.

Anyway, had dinner at the same place where Daniel tried to kill us with excessive food brought us for dinner the other time, with Nik and Diana.

I am really touched by some of my friend's messages wishing me happy birthday. Some ppl who I totally didn't expect a wish from did wish me. Amazing how life works. Anyway, I want to thank the following ppl who took their time to wish me happy birthday today:

Shen Hong, Chuan Khim, Wang Yi, Andre, Kelly, Diana, Nik, Brian, Calvin Sim, Tse Young, Kenn Siang, Ningxin, Tan Chuen, Jia Yun, Jason, Zhi Yang, Valerie, Meng Yu, Hui Wei, Xian You, Che Jian, Shang Yong, and last but not least, my family.

Wow, what a long list. I'm sorry if I left out anyone. But thanks alot to these ppl who wished me. You guys really made my day.

Well, i'm quite satisfied with my birthday. And tomorrow will be Shen Hong's. Heh. "Little Brother". Lol. Joking joking. Don't come and burn me. Haha.

Well, got to go. May your birthday be as pleasant as mine. =)

The Open House

Open House 2008
I really had lots of fun during the Open House today. Frankly speaking, the open house is more like a CCA exhibition. But I had lots of fun today nevertheless.

I woke up late again today, and I reached school just a few mintues too late to make it for flag raising. Since I do not have a CCA, that means I'm not involved in the Open House whatsoever. Was laming around with Wang Yi before we decided to head to Serene Centre to have breakfast. It was great able to speak to him like last time.

Went back to school around 10am plus, which was just in time to watch the Malay Dance performance. Then it was Chinese Dance, followed by MAD's performance. Their performance was entertaining, as usual.

But I find the Fac Dance item (s) even more entertaining, actually. Watching some of the ppl forgetting steps in the middle of the performance can be quite a funny experience. I saw Ningxin dancing with Jia Yun too. Frankly speaking, I think my beloved class CT Rep can dance the fac dance well, if he didn't keep forgetting. And I swear I saw his partner, Ningxin, laughing at him during the performance. Haha. =)

Anyway, after watching the Mass Dance, I head to the PE Studio. Tack Kian was there, as per normal (as weird as it may sound, most dancers consider the PE studio a second home, me included). Aileen and Ningxin were there too. Finally got to understand why Aileen is the head of Modern Dance. Heh. Danced till 3pm, then went back to Central Plaza to watch the performances again. Then went back to the PE studio about 4.30 pm again.

Oh yeah, and the "How to be a BBoy" video shown at the MAD booth was totally imba. I respect Shen Hong and Si Quan for acting in such a spastic way in the video. Totally funny and dope.

The Cypher
Alot ppl came and went, and by the time it's nightfall, there were only a few ppl left. Me, Anzai, Tse Young, Vern Zhiang, Andre, and Anthony. Someone suggested a 6 person cypher, which got me really nervous actually. Before this, I have never ever cyphered in my whole life. And I was nervous because I think my footwork cannot make it. Turns out, the anxiety only worsened my already pathetic footwork. Though my toprock was better than my footwork, but I felt that I wasn't expressing my full potential.

Funnily, though I didn't do well for the cypher, I felt as though I finally got a taste of what bboying is like. The adrendalin rush, the attention and everything else. And I finally undertood how important footwork is in a set. I think I shall focus on footwork too from now on.

The cypher made me want to put more effort into bboying. Seriously. Most of the time, if I were in the PE Studio, I would be practising Hip Hop stuff and freestyle. I don't really give bboy my best effort. That will change after today. It's all about foundation and style.

Speaking about style, some of the seniors (especially Tack Kian and Nic. Tay) told me that when I dance Hip Hop, there's this certain unique style that I exude. But strangely, whenever I look into the mirror and do Hip Hop, I don't really feel as though I have a certain style. Totally weird. Hmm.... One thing's for sure though, I can feel my Hip Hop vocabulary of moves expanding rapidly. The problem lies in connecting the moves and freestyle when necessary. Bleh.

Anyway, tomorrow's my big day. Turning 17. It sounds old, really. And I'm spending my birthday dancing, and hanging out with my dancemates tomorrow. Whoo. Can't wait. And Shen Hong's birthday right after mine. Then it will be Tse Young's on 15th. Wonder what I should get him. And I think I shouldn't be bad and ask Shen Hong to call me "Ko Ko" (Big brother in chinese). Haha. xP

Anyway, that's all for today. Till then, when I will be blogging about how I spend my birthday.

All That (Street) Jazz

The past 2 days was very fun for me! Haven't felt so alive since the start of Promos. The past 2 days was sabbatical days, and as I've said before, my sabbats this time was Street Jazz!

I remembered hearing rumors that Studio Wu opened a branch over at SMU, which is directly opposite of OSchool (obviously to increase competition between the 2). But the last thing I expected was having a sabbatical course at the new branch! When I saw the address for the venue, I instantly guessed that it was held at the new branch. Turns out I was right.

During these 2 days, the sabbaticals started at 9.30 a.m, though we were supposed to be there by 9 a.m. Apparently, New School Hip Hop and Street Jazz were conducted at the same place. During the first day, I arrived there to see that many MAD ppl were there, especially the bboys. Other than them, I also know most of the ppl there. So this sabbatical is also more enjoyable because I'm dancing with my friends! Chuan Khim, Dominic, Wang Yi, and Jason were also in the Street Jazz sabbat.

The sabbatical itself was 6 hours each day! We danced from 9.30am to 12.30pm, had an hour lunch time, then continued till 4.30pm. Damn tiring, but damn shuang. It's like taking 6 Open Classes in one day.

Our instructor was Sheila. I think she's a damn good instructor. She really takes her time to teach us the techniques and helped us clean them up. And she's a really good dancer too! Her hip movements are damn good! But she can get pissed off at times when she feel that some ppl are not putting enough effort, but that rarely happens. Although she was having a very, very bad sorethroat (she lost her voice completely today), she still persevered and teached us seriously.

We did warm ups and learnt jazz techniques for 3 whole hours! It was damn tiring on the legs. But I think I've really learnt alot through the sabbatical, and I got a sense of what jazz and street jazz is like. I've picked up some new techniques to add to my dance vocabulary too!

We also learnt a choreo of about 12 8-beats too! Sheila taught us damn fast and incorporated some of the jazz techniques into it. Then we were split into groups to perform, and also create 4 more 8-beats on our own. My group had 8 ppl in it, and all of them were guys. Males were a minority in the sabbatical, so we all grouped together.

After hours of practising, we were all told to perform in our groups during the last hour of our sabbatical. Sheila invited the teachers-in-charge to come and watch us. Apparetly, they weren't the only one who got invited. The ppl from the sabbatical next door, New School Hip Hop, all crammed into the studio too to watch us. It was quite pressuring actually, with all the ppl (especially the MAd ppl) watching and everything.

We were the last group to perform. Although there were some screw ups here and there, I think we did quite well, considering that most of the ppl in our group never danced before.

Me and Chuan Khim did a puppeteering part to fill one of the 8-beats. I was inspired by the "Bleeding Love" Choreo on SYTYCD, so I decided to create a choreo that involves Chuan Khim "puppeting" me. Although I went slightly faster during the performance, I think the crowd loved it anyway. They were cheering like mad after we finished performing. And the MAD bboys were all cheering "Chuan Khim!". Personally, I think it was damn freaking cool to pull it off with Chuan Khim. (Ego, ego. Heh.)

The roar of the crowds further reminded me why I couldn't wait till OSchool Recital. I can't wait to finish learning the choreo and performed it on the stage with my beloved dancemates. When you hear a crowd cheer, you really felt as though you have did your best to entertain them. I like that feeling. Especially if the crowd is big, which OSchool Recital will surely have.

Overall, the sabbatical was very worth the time. I wouldn't mind doing this for 5 straight days, like high school sabbaticals are, but too bad JC sabbaticals only have 2 days. I really admire Sheila for her effort. I'll definitely learn Street Jazz from her again next time, when I feel that I have learnt alot for Hip Hop.

Till then, may you indulge in all that (street) jazz.

Future Sight

It's been a really long time since I last blogged. With Promos in the last 2 weeks, there wasn't much time to do anything else for that matter. Since I haven't blogged for so long, I have tons and tons of stuff to blog about, especially about the future. But before I get to that, let me fill you guys up with an update of the happenings within the past 2 weeks. This is going to be a really, really, really long post.

Without further ado-

Time's Up: Promos
Promos was easily the most excrutiating exam I have ever took. GP(General paper) was the first paper and I managed to finish the essay, but I didn't finish the last comprehension question, which is a mini-essay. Econs was on the next day, and I didn't finish writing the essays, again. Chemistry was next, and threw away about 9 marks because -- yes, you've guessed it-- I didn't finish again.

Math was possibly the worst case of marks-losing. I have done quite a few past year Promo papers and frankly speaking, those were easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. But I got a shock of my lfe after looking at this year's paper -- It made the past year papers look like primary school math. I left about 25 marks blank, partly because I dunno how to do, and some of it is I didn't have time to finish. Damn it.

It seems like I always couldn't do the papers fast enough. Everytime the examiner announce "Time's up! Stop writing!", I haven't finish the papers. So during the next year's block test, I will finish all of my papers.

Geog was the last paper to be taken. This was the first time I was prepared for a Geog exam, actually. Keeping in mind that I must finish writing, I chiong-ed like crazy during the exam. Geog was unexpectedly easier than I thought. I was expecting some killer questions, but there were none. When the time was up, I was practically grinning away. I turned back and looked at Melissa. And she was grinning too. When I walked out of the classroom, I felt like a gigantic boulder was lifted of my chest. Naturally, I ran to the PE studio.

Sadly, I calculated that none of my subjects can get an overall A, due tot he screwing up of the Block tests. Hopefully I could get an average of C so that I can keep my scholarship. But what's done is done, so I can only hope for the best.

The Time Is Now: Post-Promos
The end of Promos means that I can do whatever I want now. I am replaying FF7: Crisis Core on my PSP now; I have read Eoin Colfer's latest Artemis Fowl book, and I am reading Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel; I can sleep 8 hours a day (finally); I am eagerly following season 3 of Heroes; last but not least, that means I can dance as often as I want!

Finally I can focus on my passion. I have lots to train up, especially on my bboying. But I also look forward to practise hip-hop stuff.

The end of Promos signalled te start of a very laxing timetable for the following weeks of school. Tomorrow is FOS (Festival of Sports), since I didn't partipate in any event, that means I am slacking (or dancing. hmm...) for the whole day. The following 2 days are sabbaticals, which is street jazz for me, which = to more dance! Whoo! Can't wait! Then Open House on Friday.

The next day, 11th October, would be my birthday! Time sure flies. I am about to be 17. And 17 sounds old. -.- Can't wait to celebrate it with my friends and dancemates!

Dance the Time Away
Daniel's An An's Open Class
Daniel's Open Class was replaced by An An on Saturday, because Daniel pulled his left thigh muscle. That gotta hurt. When I reached OSchool, I was surprised to see MAD ppl there. 6 MAD ppl -- Regina, Jia Hong, Chiew Lin, Shi Qi, Samuel, and Chit Yin -- came for Daniel's Open Class. Quite remarkable, actually. It's the first time since I saw so many MAD ppl at OSchool.

Anyway, back to the Open Class. An An took over and I'm starting to appreciate her groove. I finally start to take a liking for it. And I like her choreo alot! Maybe I would go for her Open Classes some day.....

And then it was --

Hip Hop 3 Course
It was the last day of the course. Daniel, despite his injury, continued to teach us. He made us revise the routine and then split us into 2 groups to film us down. It was a very funny experience because alot of funny things happened.

My group, Group 1, was the first to be filmed, then it was Group 2's turn to be filmed. during the filming of Group 2, the girl who was standing in front forgot her steps halfway, so she stood there for a while, before going down to the floor and crawl away. It was hillarious, really. Because she acted as though she was invisible. Daniel was laughing like mad.

So they reshoot the routine. This time, Huixian's head hit someone's leg when she laid back, and she let out a loud "Ouch!". It was obviously caught on tape, so they need to reshoot it. Again, Daniel was laughing like mad again.

Then they reshoot it again. This time, Diana was too near to the wall, so she could not lay back. Apparently, 3rd time is not as charming as it was hoped to be.

Then Daniel selected 4 ppl to film. It was not until after the filming then Daniel turned to the back and yelled:"Oh, I forgot about you!", with a finger pointing at me. At first, I thought he was referring to someone else, so I looked to my sides. When I turned my head in front, everyone's eyes were on me. -.-'''

Then we took a group photo. I will post it up, along with the videos, as soon as I got it.

OSchool Recital
The practice today was joined by 3 new ppl: Farah, Kelvin, and another girl. All of whom were in the Hip Hop 3 course. Apparently, Daniel asked them to join the recital. They really deserved to be in the recital because they are really good, IMO. They pick up the steps very quickly.

And Daniel did a very nice intro today. I really like the waving parts.

But the real reason I am blogging about the recital is this:

I FINALLY GOT INTO THE RECITAL! WHOO!

It was another funny story actually. For those ppl who didn't know, Daniel allowed me to join the practise, but he didn't say whether I can join the Recital. I have been meaning to ask him for a few weeks. But everytime, I could not muster the courage to ask him. But quite alot of ppl encouraged me to ask him, like Rina, Nik, Hui Wen, and a few more. After much persuasion, I gave in, and I pluck up my courage to ask him -- sort of.

Me and Nik walked followed Daniel into the elevator. Then the following happened:

Daniel: (he looked at the both of us) You guys got something to ask ah.
Me: (turn to Nik) See, he knows. (then I banged my head on to the wall) Daniel, err...... (then I started looking down to the floor)
Nik: He has been wanting to ask you for a really long time.
Me: (take a look at Daniel then down to the floor) I know it would be quite unfair and selfish of me, but I want to know err.......
Daniel: You want to join the Hip Hop Recital ah? (then he gave me a suspicious look, and this is when Nik was looking the other way to preent himself from bursting out laughing. Talking bout support.)
Me: Yeah. Can I?
Daniel: (after a moment) Yeah, sure. But you must cherish this chance ah. If you back out halfway then I come and whack you.
Me: (nodding my head furiously)
Nik: (laughing like hell)

That's basically how I got into the Recital. My heart was bursting with joy when he said yes. When he left, I was jumping for joy, while Nik was laughing like mad. So if you happened to be in town today, you might see 2 retards on the pavement, one jumping like crazy; and the other one laughing like mad.

But this actually showed that Daniel knew all along that I wanted to join the Recital. Like Nik said, maybe he wanted me to ask him. When he said "I forgot about you" during the course, I guess he was hinting to me. But I am glad I asked him today. It added to my "post-exam mood". And Nik was trying to make me sound like I'm confessing my love for Daniel, that's why he couldn't contain himself.

Anyway, I'm damn happy that I get to perform in the Recital along with my other dancemates. The Oschool Recital will not be like the Change concert I took part during May. It will not be a concert where singing is the main performance and dancers are just calefares. The OSchool Recital will be a full-fledged dance concert with dance and nothing else. For the first time, I am taking the centrestage, along with my other dancemates. It will be a truly unforgettable experience. I can't wait for it. Even now, a few hours after I have asked Daniel, I can't stop smiling to myself. I wonder whether all this is just a dream. As I'm typing this, I am still smiling from the joy.

The Times Ahead
As I've said, the next few days are looking to be eventful. They say the night is darkest before the dawn. If it's true, then the dawn must have already arrived. As much as I hope the dawn to be ever-lasting, I don't think it will be. The time ahead is set to be full of challenges. I have PW Written Report, I&R, and Oral Presentation to prepare for. And I have decided to take the SAT test in December, right before the OSchool Recital.

I have thought alot about my future education lately, with Juinn Lin talking about the universities choices and all, and I have decided that I want to go overseas to study. Hopefully. And if I am going to the US, which will be my first choice, I am going to need to take the SAT test. Since I have alot of free time during November to prepare for the test, I might as well take it in December.

I still have alot of things to blog about, but I think I shall stop here for now. Like I said, it's a really, really, really long post. Well, till then -- may you see your future.