The Chronicles of 2006- Part III

alas, i set foot onto camb. everything seemed surreal; it was the disbelief that something that i had been looking forward since i sent in the application form a year ago had realised. i did not harbour any expectations of the place; i came with an open mind to embrace the new environment.

30th September

- arrived at camb in the morning.

picturesque magdalene when the tree still had green leaves. view from basing.

had helpful cumsa mom and dad to help me settle in. attended the first cookout in camb at churchill.

Fresher's Week

- matriculated after taking a photo in front of the Pepy's library, signing some forms in the buckingham room and attented the matriculation dinner- the first formal in camb.

- attended social activities organized for the freshers

inter-subject sports day at jesus' green

- got lost a couple of times

generally, i was so confused that i was just being dragged around. the way the college bombarded us with information was actually pre-empting what was to come when term starts...

Michaelmas

time past just so fast here that it really doesn't matter which month or week it is.

besides attending lectures, supervisions and practicals, i managed to find time to

- attend a dance audition and failed for the first time.

almost everything in camb is worldclass. except the efficiency of the banks- a month to set up a bank account and FIVE WORKING DAYS to clear a cheque??!

- join the cell group named 'higher ground'

- go to oxford to meet kristin

kristin

suprise! met amy from hc!

with melissa on the stairs outside christchurch's dining hall where a scene of harry potter's taken

me in christchurch's dining hall

- join mandy's dance class

- go sight seeing

graduation in front out senate house

selwyn college, if i'm not mistaken

queen's college

- experience thec hange in season and the 'turning back of time' when the summer time ended on the last sunday of october

leaves on the wall turning red

i turned up in church an hour early for service. upon finding the door locked, i thought they must have implemented the policy to lock out late-comers.

and i couldn't believe the sun set at around 5 pm that day that i kept checking my clock to ensured that it hadn't stopped. i was so unused to the new time that i slept at 7 that day.

nowadays the sun sets at 3.30pm.

view from my window at around 5pm

- see fireworks at midsummer commons on guy fawkes day

yilun, yifan, jit ern, jia yi, jinyang

the best fireworks i have ever seen.

- send my laptop to warwick for repair and wrote 'angry' emails to get it back

- attend a couple of formals

taken during christmas formal with the occupants of basing house: ashok, jinyang, christina, angel. arun

- brace the cold winds and darkness to cycle to west cambridge site for physio supervision every thursday

and

- how can i exclude cookouts? =)

nat sci cookout

magd-queen's cookout

thus, the michaelmas term came to a close. unbelievable, considering the amount of work we had done (or supposed to have done) and how fast time has gone by.

and it's unbelievable too how i have stay awake the entire night, not even dozing off a little, to write this chronicles of 2006 trilogy. i started writing at around 9pm on 23rd dec 2006, and finished at 6.30 am on 24th dec 2006. nine and a half hours to compile an entire year's worth of events, pictures and thoughts!

anyway, it's christmas eve already! have a blesssed christmas! =)

The Chronicles of 2006- Part II

When the university acceptance letter and that long-awaited email from hazel finally came in, life became structured again. Preparation for the next stage of education and life in general was underway.

June

- Outward Bound Singapore

it was a five-day outdoor survival camp on pulau ubin. and i survived all the jungle-trekking, day-long kayaking, abseiling, blind crawling in the tunnel, and walk of faith. i actually cherished every moment!

i think it's mainly due to the wonderful eng soon team that i was in.

eng soon at fish & co

- a series of pre-departure programmes by astar at biopolis

the prep for overseas studies was comprehensive. we had talks on the cultural differences between the US, UK and spore, how to promote spore the tourism board way, basic first aid, the mbti personality profiles ( i am intj), how to handle bgr, and esp how to manage ldr, and the one that we all looked forward to since the start of the programme, a practical class for dining etiquette and cooking.

it was an interesting week getting to know to the fellow astar scholars.

- was baptised.

when i was standing in the line waiting for my turn, i was overwhelmed with gratitude. i thank God for putting me into a christian family such that i got to know Him and His salvation since young.

'Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever'. Psalm 23: 6

amen

July

- trip to cameron highlands

with our guide nash

we had the honour of being the first malaysian group to be led by nash for NIGHT jungle trekking since he started 7 years ago. we still couldn't understand how on earth we had the guts to go into the jungle when it's pitch dark. we didn't even turn back when one of our two torches failed; we went all the way to the top! what bravery! or rather, naivety?

- shuttle to and fro spore for awards presentation day rehearsal

was sabotaged into the dance group by qianyi, who kicked my chair so hard when hazel announced that she could dance! anyway, got to know a bunch of lovely 'choreographers' and 'dancers' . it was a pleasant experience all in all.

- astar awards presentation ceremony

the contemporary 'emo' dance group.

the hip-hop group

my parents who came down to spore especiall for the ceremony

they are always there for support and encouragement. love them always =)

August

- went to sibu to see wai po

at KLIA

- extended family trip to tiara beach, port dickson

all my paternal aunts, uncles and cousins were present. it was like a grand family reunion.

with all my paternal cousins

- learnt how to paint

my favourites

- be a big sister and supervised henry for his piano exams

he's got a high distinction!

September

- preparation for outbound flight

- met up with a lot of old school mates

primary school best friends- xinvy and me

shwu jiun and chooi leng

soo jin, chui yeen, shwu jiun. pik yi's absent

szee mun , jyy mei

yuet chi and pang pang

ms ong and 04S7A

- mines wonderland trip with grandma

- first time to karaoke

singing companions: my brother, ready, joanne

then eventually, the day for departure came

- outbound flight to heathrow, london

my family saw me off from KLIA.

my friends saw me off from changi airport

then i boarded the plane, taking with me the prayers of my family and the church, the well wishes from my friends, the memories of the time spent at home, and the aspirations for the awaiting journey.

The Chronicles of 2006- Part I

These were the months immediately after the two years of race against time to finish that tutorial, to read those lecture notes, to go for that dance rehearsal, to memorise those equations and chemical reactions, to just be a full time student in jc, had ended so abruptly after prom night.

January

- started work at W.A.Lau & Partners
- in university and scholarship application frenzy
- went back to DanzePointe for ballet classes

joined Shangkari, Hwei Jene and Yvonne in Ms Foong's elementary class

- chinese new year! a long cny holiday in 4 years

cousins

February

- passed driving test!
- daniel's farewell- daniel's the first among us to leave for uni

with wanxin, daniel and set

at the klcc where my dear brother escorted me to

- apprehension for A-levels results began to build up.

March

-release of A-Levels results

chinese dance babes

asean dinner at bukit timah market

c6r: fei, pei and mei =)

sjsm youth cell group: weichin, fuxian, ziyang, sarah, adel, shuping

- in university and scholarship application frenzy again- the last round of applications and paperwork.

April

- genting trip.

the beginning of what would be the zy/acp 'entreprise'

the chief logistic officer with the chief psychology officer

the chief financial officer and the chief.. erm.. don't know set's designation

- shuttle to and fro spore for interviews
- acp meetings at ktm KL sentral

we encountered many detours. from the initial target group of lower sec students to focusing on primary school students to doing both in the end; from giving flyers to newspaper interviews for publicity; from setting sky high prices (RM 500) to getting subsidies from PIBG and sponsorship from parents.

the light at the end of the tunnel was dim indeed.

May

- sat for SAT reasoning test

- last lap of zy/acp preparation

(-had a quiet birthday)

- met headmasters/ headmistresses to propose the course. stay till late at set's for rehearsals and compilation of handbook.

the cover of our sweat and tears, or rather, brain juice.

credits to pei yiing who drew all of the 6 cover and chapter dividers

- news from astar

- it all began...

first zy at chong wen
second zy at kepong II, my alma mater

we were deeply encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by the kids.

but the daunting challenges of acp lay ahead...

June

me on energy management

set in banana land! ok, that's my idea

wanxin and einstein

yinhow at the control station

with the kids of acp I

with the kids of acp II

ZY/ACP was the unimaginable project, just as I had been rather skeptical about it in the very beginning. But imagination leads to creation, which in turn leads to realisation. I say, dare to dream!