[T.C]

World's Strongest Dad

2007-01-16T08:04:00.000-08:00

Strongest Dad in the World
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Work nights to pay for their text messaging.
Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I stink.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in
marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair
but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him
112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was
strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged
and unable to control his limbs.
``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told
him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an
institution.''But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's
eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the
engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything
to help the by communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told.``There's
nothing going on in his brain.''"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They
did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up
with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a
switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.
First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was
paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him,
Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more
than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.
``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two
weeks.'' That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were
running,it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence
changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as
often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were
ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race
official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite
a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the
massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race
officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the
qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?'' How's a guy who
never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he
was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick
tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour
Ironmans in Hawaii. Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No
way,'' he says.Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets
seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston
Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best
time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world
record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be
held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
`No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the
Century.'' And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago
he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his
arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one
doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a
way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care)and works in Boston,and
Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find
ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in
some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That
night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give
him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sits in the
chair and I push him once.''

2007-01-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

once a tc, always a tc.
im sure everyone agrees with me
everyone have fun with As (cept qk of cos)

[T.C]abdiel.

tc chalet

2006-12-15T22:40:00.000-08:00

tc chalet from 26/12/06 to 28/12/06
time and place yet to be confirmed
please be prepared to pay up to 30 dollars per head.

anyway these are the names of the ppl who are invited and have yet to confirm if you are coming :
ben tay
christian
delvin
keda
max
qi kai
theodore
wee meng
wei qiang
xin an
xing wei
yee hsu
ying chuan
yuanzu

all those who's names are here please message nigel asap to tell if you're coming or not. everyone is invited for both nights this time .

[T.C] abdiel.

The Singapore Dream

2006-11-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hello Hello. i got this rather interesting email one day and i felt that i should share this with you guys. It's rather long though so it might take some time to read. But it's worth the time though, kinda makes you think about what you want for yourself. One more year and we would most likely be in the jungles learning how to eat creepy crawlies and firing blanks at each other so i guess this article is quite apt. ENJOY READING :D!

Food For Thought Yummies!!

[T.C] Xing Wei
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How living in New York has illuminated for us the difference between the Singaporean Dream and the Singaporean Plan

By Colin Goh & Joyceln Woo Yen Yen

Former lawyer turned writer/cartoonist Colin Goh and educator Joyceln Woo
are married and have been living in New York for the past three years.

COLIN & JOYCELN: We fell in love and in June 1998, we got married - trueSingaporean style. The studio photography, the clothes, church, thedinnerand the hundred of guests that we had never met before. What happened to usafter that was not so typically Singaporean. Here are our stories.

JOYCELN: As a child, I could never sleep the night before the first dayofschool. The night before my first day of teaching was no different. I didn't know what to expect but I knew that I was going to help kidslearn,be the best teacher, and make a difference.

At my first staff meeting, the principal screened an image familiar toallnew schoolteachers - the Prism. Like a magical crystal ball, the Prism toldmany things. It could predict how well students entering secondary schoolwith 4 subjects at PSLE would do for the 'O' levels. With the Prism, wecould evaluate each student's potential grade in literature based on his/her PSLE grades and then tell if our school had "added value" to thechild's education.

Looking into the Prism, the principal announced that while she wasconcerned about the various aspects of development - Intellectual, Aesthetic, Moral, and Physical -

"This year, our school will focus on theIntellectual."

By this, she meant that as teachers, we should all ensure that we stretched the potential of the students so that they performed "better than expected" at the 'O' levels. I noticed in the subsequent years that we never decided to focus on any other aspect of development. There was never an Aesthetic, Moral or Physical year.The conversations in the staff room educated me considerably about theconcerns of teachers.

"Oh, I heard you bought the new condo in Bukit Batok, that's a good investment…"

"So which piano school are you sending your child to now?"

"Do you want to go buy diamonds with us, we are going to buy diamonds this afternoon."

In my naïveté, this came as a shock. Why weren't teachers talking about helping students learn or improving instruction? And when they WERE talking about improving instruction, it was invariably:

"So what questions do you think will come out for this year's 'O'levels?"

"Yes! Yes! I spotted the right questions!"

"You have to make sure your students write 5 'compositions' and do 5'comprehensions' this semester."

And when questions were asked, the answer was inevitably "Can't change.That's what the principal wants to see." The culture in the staff room was a mix of different groups:· the Tai-Tais, women who had married well-off husbands, and who admired,respected and competed with each other for their Ferragamo shoes and LouisVuitton bags.· the few unmarried men who were mothered by the Tai-Tais as they wereregarded as "good" men (i.e. hardworking and honest) but ironicallyinsufficiently compelling marriage material (for why on earth would a functioning, virile, desirable man become a teacher?).· the married men who usually lived in HDB flats (unlike the Tai-Tais andtheir non-teacher husbands), who generally kept to themselves.· the older single women who were diligent in ensuring that all forms are handed in on time and helping students who need extra help get thepreferred grades. They were usually more conservatively (and cheaply)dressed, and did not generally interact socially with the Tai-Tais.· the expatriate teachers who were generally avoided by the otherteachersand not expected to do very much because they either could not be trustedto do the work, were too difficult to communicate with, or were too troublesome to work with. And when they got together, they made plain their disdain for Singapore and its school system of which they were a part.

Stereotypical as it may sound, those I'd met had invariably come to Singapore either to heal from a broken marriage (in which case, getting involved with a local woman usually came with the package), or had fled an unsuccessful career so they could return home and say, "I spent a few years in the Orient."· And the young teachers, bright-eyed and bushytailed, who believed they could make a difference, and who usually started out immensely popular withthe students. They organized extra activities which they were not required to do, sat with students for long hours when they had problems, and generally tried to innovate with teaching. The Tai-Tais usually tried to match make the young single female teachers with single men they knew, but never the single male teachers. Seasoned teachers generally sat back and placed bets on when the neophytes would eventually burn out.I didn't know a single lazy teacher - everyone was extremely hardworking, taking work home, often physically running around as they hurried to different parts of the school.

The teachers hardly had time to rest andreflect. It was as if we had been trained to work hard, but not to think. What unites Secondary 4 teachers is the common goal of ensuring their students score well in the 'O' levels - preferably better in the subject that they teach rather than in another subject. Success is defined largely in terms of how many As produced in their class.I remember one year distinctly - the school had done well in history andthe Sec 4 history teacher was jumping up and down in glee, like she hadwona war. On the other hand, the students hadn't done as well in literature and the teacher was walking around with her head down, wishing that the bulletin board with the results didn't place the teacher's name next to the results of each class. While everyone congratulated the history teacher on doing well in spotting the right questions, we all didn't know what to say to the literature teacher. We sort of patted her shoulder as if someone had died.

And for non-Sec 4 teachers, our overriding concern was assigning the required number of tests and exercises and grading them. Each semester,all our students had to submit binders containing their completed and graded assignments. And each semester, the teachers would spend several days of class time ensuring that the students had everything in place, as the submission of completed binders were a factor in a teacher's evaluation. The binders would disappear for months because it would take the Head of Department that long to go through the binders and count how many assignments had been completed. It didn't seem to matter if the teacher had taken 5 minutes to grade each composition or 30 minutes to make sure that the students received meaningful feedback. What was important was that the assignments were there.I felt both angry and guilty that my idealism constantly came up against somany artificial obstacles. I felt that the obsession with book keeping and papering over any mistakes, real or perceived, allowed neither time norspace for innovation. Further, the mania to deliver standardized results trumped the notion of harnessing individual potential, of the teachers and the students.Worse, I felt I could not raise these issues. There was a culture of silence.

My experiences are not about bad principals or teachers in particular. It is about ways of being and seeing that represent to me, the Singapore legacy that I have inherited. The principals and teachers that I talked about are not to blame individually - it is just so difficult to be and to see otherwise in the busy-ness, routines, and duties of our everyday lives.I decided to leave to pursue graduate studies. Teacher education inSingapore is tilted more to the vocational than the intellectual and I wanted the space, time and knowledge to help me articulate and frame what I was thinking and feeling.

On a more pragmatic level, I knew that nobodytook the feelings of groundling teachers seriously and that people would probably listen to me more if I had a doctorate. I was disappointed, but still hopeful.

COLIN: I remember my first visit to New York. I had just graduated in lawfrom University College London, and had several months before I was scheduled to take the English bar exams. Where most of my friends hadchosen to do attachments with Singaporean law firms with the prudent aimofacclimatizing themselves with the career-to-come, I was paralysed with a single, terrible thought:

"These are the last few months I'll ever have to indulge my youthful passions."

In an impulsive moment, and much to my parents' annoyance, I blew every last cent I had and wangled myself a place in a cartooning course at Manhattan's School of Visual Art. I had been cartooning for The New Paper for several years by then (my comic strip The Concrete Jungle continuestorun in their august pages), but had no formal training. I chose Manhattan because it was supposed to be the cynosure of thecreative world, and most important of all, where Marvel and DC Comics had their headquarters. Where else would one study cartooning but in Spiderman's territory?Those few months were the most mind-blowing of my life. By day, I was either sequestered in a musty studio sketching Brazilian women or wandering the varied New York neighbourhoods. By night, I hung out with the other residents of the international hostel I was staying at - a diverse crowd of students from Argentina to Kazakhstan and everywhere in between. I had always thought Singapore to be a model of diversity and cosmopolitan progress, but over countless milkshake-fueled discussions in East Village hangouts, I felt like the proverbial mountain tortoise. It was also the first time I began to question the path I was about totake. I was meeting people who were taking chances and simply following thedictates of their passion, whether it was art, dance or securities.I had studied law largely because it was often cited it as the next bestthing after medicine, which I knew I'd be awful at. Besides, SM Lee was a lawyer. What better endorsement could a Singaporean have? Despite being a published cartoonist and writer by then, I never thought about a careerin the arts. It was a completely non existent option.What was worse was that my parents never forced me into law. I just read their minds, I guess. Besides, all my friends seemed to be doing it too.It was the Singaporean Dream.I also remember in my first year in law school, my parents telling me about SM Lee's now seminal "If I were an undergraduate" speech, where he told JC students that were he a student now, he would not study law; he would be an engineer, join the civil service, then obtain an MBA and there after enter the private sector. SM Lee had switched from Coke to Pepsi. There was a NewDream.

For a moment, I thought, well, if I'm yesterday's man, I might as well deviate from the path altogether. However, that year, the Singapore government decided it had too many lawyers and restricted the number of recognized overseas law schools. A rumour began spreading amongst the legal undergrad community that it wouldn't be long before they didn't recognize British qualifications altogether. We had to hurry and enter the Singaporeworkforce as soon as possible, before we were shut out. (As we now know,the rumour was unfounded, and Singapore now admits it needs morelawyers.)Nevertheless, out of prudence, I shelved any thought of changing fields and became a barrister, then an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.I joined a large law firm, again largely because it was commonly believedthat it was good to bloody oneself in the trenches of the giants. I practiced shipping law, again an extremely prudent choice, what with ourbeing the world's busiest port. Further, it was perceived as exciting because shipping lawyers often had to go out to sea to arrest ships. (In truth, arresting ships is not vastly different from what loansharks do when they hang pig's heads on debtors' doors.)I had a decent, almost enviable, income. I had to keep telling myself that,because the lifestyle was neither decent nor enviable. Clients called me at 2 am in the morning. The High Court Registry nicknamed me "Mr. 5 O'Clock" because I regularly filed papers right under the guillotine, never of my own volition. My only pleasure was catching up on industry gossip while waiting in line to argue before the court registrars.There was not a single Chinese New Year holiday where I would not find myself in the office. My parents only caught fleeting glimpses of me early in the morning when I rushed to work, or late at night, when I stumbled in,surly and mentally exhausted. I saw Joyceln, then simply my girlfriend,for a few precious, stolen hours on Sundays.But I had the job, and more important, the income. They brought me a measure of social acceptability. Parents' friends would nod approvingly,non-lawyer friends would remark how much lower their salaries were. I made enough to afford membership in a club I never had time to step into, and for season parking in town. I had credit cards and designer ties. I could share war stories about work that might have seemed glamourous to non-lawyer friends, weaned as they were on a diet of Ally McBeal. I was in the secure embrace of the Singaporean Dream.

My epiphany came as I was descending the gangway of a very large oiltanker. At a height of ten storeys or more, the gangway abruptly slipped its moorings and fell several feet. I found myself in mid air for several terrifying seconds. Luckily the crew managed to secure it again. As I retrieved my dropped manhood, I saw bits of the vessel fall into the sea below. If I had not held tight to the chains, I would be dead.When I told my colleagues about it, no one batted an eyelid. It was simply one of the hazards of the job, like the long hours and the symbolic fellating of clients. Some even quipped, "Who says law isn't exciting?"But working late that night in the stale air of my office, surrounded by musty documents and lit by the sickly iridescence of my computer monitor, I knew I had to get out.My brush with death made me reflect on my life, as I suppose all encounters with the reaper must do. I realized I was unhappy. Not weeping-and-gnashing-of-teeth unhappy, just that dull ache of uninspiration. Yet, on paper, I should have been completely content.My conviction was reinforced when I passed my boss's office and saw her toiling away. Much more senior, she was still keeping the crazy hours of a junior lawyer. She had a brilliant mind, equity in a giant and prestigious firm and a sizeable income, but I realized that I didn't aspire to her lifestyle. And she was by no means unique. If I did not aspire to be my boss, then what was the point? My life stretched before my eyes, and I did not want to take another step in its direction.I then made a classic Singaporean evaluation: if I'm going to suffer,then by god, I'll suffer for more money. I figured American lawyers make the most money, so that's where I'll go. I decided the fastest way to do thiswould be to do a one year Master's degree, preferably in an Ivy League university, since it would provide me ingress into the American market.I spoke to Joyceln, and told her that the only place I wanted to go was NewYork, because I wanted to recapture a little of that energy I had felt years ago. Despite some reservations (New York has a not whollyundeservedreputation), we both applied to Columbia University, New York's only IvyLeague university. Miraculously, we were both accepted.We quit our jobs, got married, emptied our bank accounts and left immediately.

JOYCELN: When applying to do my doctorate at Columbia's famous Teachers College, I spoke to several professors at the only education institution in Singapore to find out about possible financial support. I had intended to study curriculum and technology, and felt my experience teaching as well as a stint designing educational software in an IT firm would be valuable.

However, the door was abruptly slammed in my face when I was told over the phone,

"If you are not in computer science, and not a first classgraduate,there is nothing we need to talk about."

Perhaps spurred by anger, I worked like a demon at Teachers College and earned several academic awards, including a doctoral research fellowship which covered both tuition and a stipend, and came unencumbered by any bond, moral or otherwise. The myopia with which I had been treated hadironically turned out to be a blessing. I even met with our Education Minister when he visited Teachers College.Of the questions he asked me, two stood out: "When are you going back to Singapore?" and "When are you going to have babies?" It hit me that I hadnever spoken to the Minister when I was teaching in Singapore. I wondered:

am I valuable to the country only after I leave?

COLIN: Armed with a Masters from Columbia Law School and the grandiosetitle of "Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar" which Columbia had over-generously bestowed upon me, and having passed the New York bar exams, I knocked on the doors of some of the largest law firms in the world.I recall one battery of interviews being carried out in a large hotel,where prospective lawyers would shuttle in and out of the rooms, eachoccupied by interviewers from the firms.

A fellow prospector asked me,"Which other profession requires you toshuttle from hotel room to hotel room?"

"Prostitution," I remarked, and we both laughed.

It proved a prophetic statement, for when touring the offices of prospective firms, instead of feeling pumped, I felt horrified by the all-too familiar office layout, the mounds of paper spilling onto thefloor, the designer suits thrown over the backs of chairs.

The last straw came when a partner of one Midtown firm patted me on the back and said, "I think you'd be perfect to help work on our port projectout in Saudi Arabia!"

It suddenly hit me that I was not embarking on real change at all. I was merely rearranging the furniture. Like a good little boy, I had made all the pragmatic, sensible decisions… and it was about to push me into the abyss. I was still trying to achieve the Singaporean Dream, except overseas, and on a larger scale. Well, not exactly…It was then that I understood the difference between the Singaporean Dreamand the Singaporean Plan. And what is the difference?I suppose the Dream has to be one of searching for peace and the liberty to conduct one's life as one sees fit.That's probably what my ancestors sought when they left China: the governments of the Ming and Manchu were ruthlessly restrictive ofcross-border commerce, the life blood of my ethnic Hokkien and Teochew forbears.And no doubt it was the Dream, fueled by hard work and courage, that has made Singapore the indisputable commercial success it is today. And ourstory is a wonderful one: the Little Island That Could.However, invariably once people attain success, they start to canonize the steps they took to achievement. This is how Dreams become Plans, and howone hegemony replaces another: the search for peace and liberty becomes get into a good school, then a good university, then a stable job, then buy property and stock. The problem is, then what?There is nothing inherently unique about the Singaporean Dream.

The American Dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is substantially the same. (And especially in the upper middle class, the American Dream is fast becoming a Plan too: prep school, Ivy League, WallStreet.) But what to me gives America more hope is that they still celebrate mavericks; they may never find happiness, but their liberty to pursue it is sacred.My experience in Singapore was, however, very different. There were always people telling you what and how you should do things, and imposing penalties for deviation. There were 'right' schools, 'right' professions, 'right' strategies.Of course there are those who would argue that ultimately, the choice is one's own and that there is nothing to prevent one from doing what he orshe wants in Singapore. After all, isn't it one's fault for caving in to peer pressure? I would humbly submit that while theoretically true, such an argument betrays an ignorance of the combined workings of hegemony and power.The issue is how expansive the reigning ideology is. In Singapore, the dominant view is to do whatever works (whatever that may be, and regardless of who it worked for). In New York (I won't pretend that America is homogeneous), the prevailing view is that everyone should find what makes him or herself unique, and capitalize on that.Manhattan is smaller than Singapore, yet there is space for both WallStreet Wizards and Alphabet City Shamans to coexist. Despite occasional border skirmishes, there is recognition that the city would be a lot poorer if everyone marched to the same drum.An overly romantic myth? Perhaps. But that such a myth could persist in a hostile and cynical environment like New York, was encouraging to me. And anyway, the 'fulfillment' promised by the Singapore Plan was equally illusory. In a competition of myths, I chose the one that gave the most altitude to one's passions over the one that indulged one's fears.

JOYCELN: I think the most striking thing about New York is that so many people here are in transition. They don't know where they are going to be or what they are going to be doing in 6 months' time. But they are all working towards their individual dreams, in their own individual way, and not according to some mandated blueprint or destination.The receptionist in my building is also an actor. I recently met a waitress who was a graduate student in philosophy. I have classmates who are not only still at work, but who also shoot films whenever they can.Until New York, I didn't know I could be poor and still volunteer to help others who are more needy than me - not tomorrow, or next year, or when my income reaches a certain level, but today.I now tutor the children in my neighborhood who need help but can't afford to pay. I didn't know how great it feels to be able to write, and express my anger, worries, and joys. I didn't know that if I am dissatisfied by policies, I can get together with others to express it.Just last week, there was a public school that was boycotting a state-mandated test because the test was taking away precious instructional time. What a novel idea! I didn't know I was not alone, that there are other Singaporeans who think like I do, who want to make a difference butwho are afraid and are so used to being silent.

COLIN: The insidiousness is this: in adhering to the Singaporean Plan, Iwas acting pragmatically, but ultimately, dishonestly.As late as the interlude between pupilage and practice, I had written a play that was performed for the Singapore Arts Festival Fringe, for whichthe British Council had sponsored me to attend the Royal Court Theatre inLondon's prestigious theatre school. Further, throughout my years of practice, I also managed to continue cartooning The Concrete Jungle.WhileI enjoyed writing and drawing, never for a second did I think this mightbea career. Worse, I felt compelled to downgrade their importance in my life.First was money, then pleasure. It was simply un-Singaporean to think onecould get pleasure without money, or that working should be pleasurable.But now I refuse to postpone my dreams any further, and shelve them under some misguided notion of pragmatism. How often was I told as a child by my elders, "wait till you grow up," "wait till after exams", "wait till after you graduate". I do not desire to wait until I retire. I might not make it that far. I refuse to be a walking mid-life crisis in the making.But living one's dreams is difficult because it is a lone undertaking.There is no such thing as shared dreams; they are personal creatures. And while my peers are making partner and buying cars, I live in rented student accommodation and scatter my work to the ocean of publications, hoping for a bite. Thus far, I have only been published a couple of times, far from being enough to pay the rent. Yet I do not feel despair. Trite as it may sound, I recognize that life is about the journey, and not the destination.

JOYCELN: In Singapore, a considerable amount of talk in education has beenabout continuing to be competitive in the global marketplace. Singapore seems to have done well in this respect - we have consistently come infirst in the International Math and Science Study.But in tandem with the fear of losing out on notional global competitiveness is the willingness of many educators, policy-makers, andparents to "train" the young to delay their dreams, desires and play forafuture goal, to "wait till after you finish your homework," to "wait till after the exams" while at the same time plying them with material bribes.On the global front, it is ironic that the US is trying to emphasizeacademic standards while Japan, who also finished in the top ranks of the International Math and Science Study, is trying to cut down on thecurriculum to allow more time for play. Both cite global competitiveness as their reason for doing so. One wonders as a country, whether we are listening to the everyday experiences of our own children, parents andteachers, or simply responding to some speculative construction of whatisneeded to be competitive.Can anyone say for sure what's needed? Only a few months ago, countries cried out for schools to produce more dotcommers. A look at the roller coaster line that is the NASDAQ should be cause for circumspection.There are signs that children in Singapore are straining under this ethos.Recent newspapers reports have reported that parents are spending an inordinate amount of money and time to send their children for after-school tuition so that they can achieve better results; scoring high marks in tests and exams have been found to be a top concern for students; theaverage 10 year-old has been found to spend 6 hours in school and up to 8hours on homework and tuition each day, and, students have been reported to experience physical reactions such as diarrhoea and asthma attacks during or just before exams. Is this education, or child labor? Has scoring wellin tests become the reason for tests themselves? How do teachers, parents,and teachers begin to imagine our lives differently?

COLIN: I think it is important not to wholly discredit the SingaporePlan.It worked for some and may yet work for others. However, it is also true that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and that it is always an error to confuse what is with what ought to be.

JOYCELN: Consider these 2 stories. Which is closer to yours?You wake up everyday and work from Monday to Friday, and often, Saturday too. If you finish work early, you and your partner go to your parents'place for dinner and see your child for a few hours. If you work late,youbuy a packet of char kway teow from the hawker centre but eat it at home because it's too warm to eat there. You're not crazy about the job butyouknow that if you keep at it, you can afford a car in 3 years' time, and in 5 years' time, buy a condo close to the primary school you want to send your kid to. Your conversations with people are either for the purpose of networking, work, or for familial obligations you cannot avoid. On weekends, you play golf with your friends at your country club or watch a movie with your partner. Once a year, you go on a ten day vacation to NewYork, London, or Paris, and when your children are big enough,Disneyland.Alternatively, you wake up and you have no idea what is going to happen today, tomorrow, 6 months or a year later. Ironically, because of this uncertainty, all possibilities exist for you. You can be the Prime Minister of Singapore, you can make a movie, you can cook a meal you have never cooked before, eat at a place you have never eaten before, you can coloryour hair red, you can skip instead of walk, you can volunteer at the school you have always wanted to volunteer at, you can write a book, or you can have a baby even though you don't have a maid. You have conversations with people who set your heart palpitating and your mind on fire. Your week day is not so different from your weekend because everyday you are thinking, creating, and more important, imagining.Most of us recognize the first story and its pursuit of the 5 Cs of "cash,condo, car, country club, credit card."

It is the Plan, which imposes a conclusion on you, and you work in order to make all the pieces fit. A busstop advertisement I saw recently said it best: "We spend all our youth chasing money, and when we attain it, we spend all our money chasing youth."A Dream, on the other hand, carries you on its wings to worlds that yourheart and mind have never known.

COLIN: My fault was accepting that the Plan would naturally work for me.One doesn't have to accept a legacy one inherits. I was complicit in my unhappiness. I did not question enough, whether it was my elders, thegovernment, newspapers, consultants, whatever. I foolishly let others make up my mind for me. I rather fear I am not alone in this folly.If there is any blame to be laid, it is the upholding of a compliant,unquestioning culture; that some people should never be challenged because of age, status or whatever. It is not solely the establishment's fault; allpolitical parties are entitled to play politics. But it is wholly our faultfor not fighting for what we believe in.

COLIN & JOYCELN: Criticism and disagreement is not treason, and our words emanate as much from our dissatisfaction with, as our love for Singapore.We simply believe that we are more than our legacy. This is the dream ofimmigrants everywhere, whether they arrive in Singapore or on Ellis Island.

Some pics of that wonderful night :D

2006-10-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Some wonderful fun the guys had at Fish & Co wheellock place without me. i guess it wasnt as fun without me there.. sigh.. haHAHa.. i think the picture is going to get cut off.. so sorry to the people that got cut off.. thoussand apologies...

[T.C] Xing Wei

HABBY HABBY!

2006-10-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

okay first post! i'm proud to announce that i'm the only tc taking supp paper and tc's sole representative in this exclusive paper for the academically not-so-inclined. let's cross our fingers and hope i own the rest of the candidates imbaly! i'm still learning graphs currently, with 18 days to go this is getting exciting. but a true tc never gives up. i think a distinction will be suffice to secure my promotion to JC2.

life's been great hahahaha. HABBY HABBY! ok most of the tc's are busy raxing at the moment i think i got all the towers in middle lane down already, moving on to rax now. so if everything goes well and i don't get pwned i'll go and take on roshan soon (roshan drops cheese!). maphack is bloody useful although i don't use it. gooiyuanzu celebrated his 17th birthday two days ago i think he was quite HABBY. HABBY BIRTHDAY GOOI!

WGL is going on it's annual tour of paragon soon. Delvin will be our guest vip (very important pauper) it's free and there are no more tickets so sorry people, and of course there's the tc chalet i don't know when but no more deluxe room this time. so in the meantime ENJOY LIFE PEOPLE! wish you all the best in repaying debts, pwning roshan etc. i'll see you soon!

[T.C] wong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YZ!!!

2006-10-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

yesterday was GOOI YUANZU's bday. went to fish and co and it was quite funny . anyway HAPPY BIRTHDAY yz :)
and good luck to all t-c members playing in the 10s later.

[T.C] abdiel.

back in business

2006-10-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

yeah this is good shit. haha everyone blogging. thanks to Xing Wei for the revival. yes benteoh is always up when is he ever down? (focus on the bulge at benteoh's pants) haha mr teoh ask me to blog so here i am lo. congrats delvin and qk for whatever u all are doing. rjc and cjc promos are OVER :D congrats to the cjc people and one freakin extra, rjc boy - tan xing wei. HAHAA. these few day been going to have dinner with some e t.c people at bt timah. yeah its kinda nice. i think we should do this over. now that hols are near, woohoooooooo get ready to go crazy people.
i still don't get the ur " whole lot of explicit shit" got ghost. HUH? wtf that's so damn random.

[T.C] Jeremy

Hi Too!

2006-09-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

When tc is up, ben teoh is down. HOW? Looks like everyone is enjoying life after promos (even ac and cept a couple of us) There is nothing to say, the day she left. Truly. Congrats to veen and wong who have made positive progress, unlike me, banging into walls and pillars. Thankfully, the devotion aura tc has provided me has kept me alive from my charging. I dunno man. I might jus play hum from now on. Hopefully wont become gay! Cant wait for tc dinner and chalet! Still got chalet right?!?!? Ben teoh is tc through and through. Therefore even when ben teoh is down he is still up, cos tc is always up and i mean always! HAHA and all those ppl who think i will retain better watch out cos i jus might not do that. Im walking on thin ice man. Like nigel said ' Where got so lucky one? ' I really hope not. May God bless tc!

[T.C] Bent

the blog is alive !!!

2006-09-30T00:18:00.000-07:00

after many months of silence, the tc blog finally comes alive again :) and thats a good thing . ok and i was thinking after everyone finishes promos (only ac left actually, the vj boy not counted cos he's a puffer) we have another t.c dinner like the one at carnivore or something. and from now we should have d&d sessions every sunday night at beauty world lanlab, starting TOMORROW.

[T.C] abdiel.

Hi

2006-09-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hello there. My first post here too, so let's hope I get it right.

THE EXAMS ARE OVER BABY CLAP YOUR HANDS AND BLOW YOUR NOSE HAHAHAHA. Except for those of you not in cj and rj or those who haven't finished h1. BUT ANYWAY, life's a NIGGER. WOOHOOO shiok. So shiok that Qikai and me had dates today =D
Yeah so in an an attempt to digress, I shall talk about the highly anticipated AC fight. HAHA first of all, props to the rightful winner of the POORNESS and POOREST BASTARD ALIVE award, Mr Lin Jia Xiang, Max. I was actually quite surprised that Max would get into arranged fights like this, but nonetheless that's what one does when he's the not-so-proud winner of the POOREST BASTARD ALIVE award and death seems like a safe heaven to protect him from the loansharks and the bacteria and tax collectors. So yeah now we are hoping that you'll get expelled Max, so that you'll be back in cj where you belong. Our benevolence would get you a nice pair of Bata school shoes, which would look snappy with your complementary third hand school uniform. Second hand if you're lucky.

Heh so enough with the truth about Max and let's move on to what we are gonna do very soon when all of us are done with promos. How about weekly DnD or just chillouting frequently. I really hope that TC will stay this tight. Stay cool and all the best!
[T.C]VEEEN

T.C

2006-09-28T07:57:00.000-07:00

We call it TC
Because there are no words
To express 4 years immaculate
Yet downright absurd

[T.C] Christian

Comforting words

2006-09-28T07:13:00.001-07:00

T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
haha. the blogs funny
[T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
i mean the whole idea of it is quite pleasant
[T.C] says:
of friends posting random things?
[T.C] says:
what idea?
[T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
of a group of friends having a blog to share stuff, for smth to look at and smile
[T.C] says:
hahaha
[T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
even tho everyone's in diff schs and stuff
[T.C] says:
yupyup!
[T.C] says:
real cool!
[T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
yeah sounds a tad too sentimental tho
[T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
hahaha
[T.C] says:
aHAHaha
[T.C] christian - the moon crashed into the sun at midnight says:
ugh, gay. well

yuy just some words of encouragement out there from the main man himself!! CHRISTIAN TEO IN THE HOUSE!! KEEP IT ALIVE GUYS!!

[T.C] Xing Wei

life in a screwed up school

2006-09-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Sup [T.C]ers

My first time blogging for tc and only coz Xing Wei let me so you all can thank him :).

So much has been happening at AC now and I'm sure you all have heard about the exciting life that we have been living this past week. AC is really living up to its reputation as being a happening school. Sigh sometimes I feel that I really shouldn't have left CJ then I wouldn't be in all these shit. Bloody hell I think everyone is just looking at us now in a different light without really understanding why we did what we did and its damn unfair to us. Shit I should have listened to jeremy, nigel and delvin. They said "what makes you think you will do well if you go to AC". Yeah now come to think of it, I dunno. AIYA WTF LA screw this. KNN YOUR MOTHER CB INSIDE GOT GHOST LA. Sorry just some random swearing. I think what [T.C] has taught about life is applicable here. "No matter what shit life throws at you, theres always [T.C]" :D

Ciaoz

[T.C] Nick

EXAM STRESS!!

2006-09-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

hello hello!! hello to everyone out there taking exams!! Promos can officially kiss my BIG FAT ASS. hopefully i dun get retained. Anyway this is a random post.. and here's a joke to keep all talk-cockers out there STRESS-FREE.

one day the teacher went into class and said.
those u think ur stupid
pls stand up
then aft a few mins..lil john stood up
thn the teacher said..
so lil john..u think ur stupid?
guess what he said?
er... he said "what???"
nope..
he said:" i jus dont want u to be standing alone"
ouch!

didnt really think it was funny.. but yea.. hope it helps in the distressing.. for those who really cant take it.. pls dun take your life.. CALL THIS NUMBER INSTEAD

The PSLE hotline (1800-7277753) is open to parents on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 9pm.
Students can call anytime from now till October 10 from 3pm to 9pm.

DOTA DOTA DOTA DOTA DOTA

[T.C] Xing Wei

2006-09-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

YES YES!!! i FINALLY GOT IT!!! I POSTED A PICTURE!!!

HERE you go mr POOR.. a wonderful picture of yourself!!

Beautifully Stated

2006-08-24T05:18:00.000-07:00

Beautifully stated

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end,be afraid that it will never begin.

~anonymous~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DELVIN!!

2006-07-30T10:24:00.001-07:00

just felt like posting some pictures onto the blog.. our INAUGURAL PICTURE!! wohooo!! Happy birthday!! Stay POOR!!!

afternoon delight

2006-06-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

good afternoon fellow TCers.
this is my first time blogging, not only here, but in my whole life, so its a great leap for me. haha.
being in vjc has put me at even a greater distance from all you guys, but i think im still tighter with some of you than i am with even some people in my own class in vj.

anyway, in explanation why vj over cj, it was more of a convenience and logical decision, tho some days i really really ponder abt it, and thinking i'd me much happier over in cj. but i guess, i'll survive the next two years, and see most of you guys in NS.

i havent caught up with most of you lately, cept late night msn talks, or a really random meet up for 15 minutes in town, or helping you with your PI or GP essay even though we are not in the same school anymore. i swear, ever since ive been in vj, town is like a haven. everytime i step there nowadays, hopefully at least once a fortnight, it just brings a familiar smile. vj people tend to like to hang out at suntec city for some strange reason, i still have yet to comprehend. maybe its that mega water thing.
they also go to parkway parade a lot, for me its more like a lunch stop. but the food there at the food court is grossly overpriced. teh ping for 1.50??

i guess the best part of vj is its proximity to the beach. round the back of the school and an overheadbridge away. something people like jyeo would appreciate =) its really neat, esp if you've got like smth on in sch in the evening and long break inbtwn, its nice to go there and chill. at the marine cove, which is by the beach, there's macs, gelare, coffee bean i think, and hell load of other eateries as well as cheating husbands and their china/indon mistresses. common features of such cheating couples : an ah pek in mid 40s, dressed as if he's going to work. mistress is obviously young enough to be his daughter. the man normally has a wedding ring whilst the woman doesn't. the woman appears very shy whilst the man just looks like a cheekopeh. they like to play with their handphones and take pictures of each other. so in the near future, when you are married, you can either cheat on your wife there, or find your cheating wife there.

as for the people in vj. i hope none of them reads this. well thankfully im in the arts fac. science fac people all look the same to me, i really cant recognise. even in the arts fac i have problems, and at orientation when they were introducing themselves, woah, all "chee cheong fun" dont know what names. there's this particular person i take the bus with sometimes and we'd talk, but i only knew her name 3 months later, cuz the name was printed on the bag. haha. in my OG, some of them didn't talk to me much, then the minute they found out i was chinese (with common reactions such as: huh really? i thought you were malay! or i dont believe, ni ke yi jiang hua yu ma?), i suddenly was their good friend.
people in vj also like to mass dance and cheer.
my cheering knowledge for the first 3 months encompassed,
A: YO VJC!
B: WASSUP!
A: YO VJC!
B: WASSUP!
-then utter silence- (cuz once i attempted miserably to lead the cheer)

i have now come to learn its followed by,
A: we're gonna stamp them down, fight the ground.
(replies) give me a V-I-C-T-O-R-I-A.

or actually, maybe not. but its something to the same extent or another.
and mass dancing, i know half of one, i think.

lessons! i take literature, math(ugh), german and theatre studies. lits okay tho i personally strongly dislike one teacher. german's aye, math never fails to make me think about my meaningless existence spent trying to decipher the crpytic language mathematicians call numbers and their apparent amazing qualities such as sketching graphs. wow. simply astonishing. unless my pay slip in the future is in binomial form, i highly doubt the binomial theorem will be doing me much good. theatre studies is good fun but bleeding time consuming. my first two weeks this hols were completely consumed by it. you meet a great deal of interesting people in it and all sorts of people. from guys who dont quite appreciate the fairer sex, girls who beleive they can get married and tell their husbands they dont want sex, because they believe their love will pull them thru (haha, right), cross dressing enthusiasts and last but not least, bitches, from both sexes. but its a real fun subject tho quite hard to score for now.

okay. that's enough for now, i need to run off to get smth.
for that emo picture above, i suggest the tagline:
I can be your superman.

[T.C] Christian
p.s i blogged cuz xw invited me to.

RJC!!!

2006-04-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

HELLO ALL TALK COCKERS!! i am back!! And i am going to blog about RJC. Uh huh..RJC. Bet you guys didnt see that coming, caught you off guard didnt i.

RJC Campus

The school isnt as big as it looks. It has 7 storeys, 6 lecture theatres, PAC, indoor sports hall, multi purpose hall, 8 lane track (not the 3 lane rectangle ones), canteen with 15 stalls (Subway included). Aint that big yar? There is most probably an underground olympic sized swimming pool somewhere that i have yet to stumbled upon. Been hearing some rumours about it, shall go confirm and get back to you guys. Ohhh ya.. And there are the lifts. Yes, lifts! RJ has 3 lifts. No point waiting for the lifts anyway cause they are most likely packed with people. And they really squeeze and fill up the 20 persons capacity. When you squeeze 20 odd hormonally charged boys and girls into a lift funny things are bound to happen. Stories of guys groping girls, girls groping guys, guys groping guys and guys groping themselves. Full of weird people RJC has... That's about it for the school campus...

People

HMMM..What sorta people are there in RJC(thinking out aloud to self)? There are basically 2 types of people in rjc:
1. RI boys
2. RGirls

Firstly, the RI boys. RI boys are surprisingly very decent boys. I thought they were going to be slightly like sji boys, you know with all the dirty jokes and all, but just a little more bastard. But to my UTMOST HORROR they were not. They were quite a decent bunch of people. Straightshooters. SIGH. Miss all those sick dirty jokes. MAX WHERE ARE YOU!!! And i am by no means a sick bastard. Just miss those sick jokes. Hmmm. Dont think i am making sense. And contrary to popular belief they are not bastards. They are very nice people actually.There was once during PE where we had to do 2.4km run and i was like going to die because my stamina like SUPER CRAPPY and all the girls were running pass me. My self esteem dropped to an all time low la and suddenly this BRIGHT light shone from behind and this RI guy, T, decided to run with me and gave me encouragment somemore. It was so touching la, wanted to give him a hug, but decided against it after careful deliberation. And maybe they laugh at different things and have a different way of talk-cocking, but i guess it's alright. Got to learn new ways to anyway. I have learned a lot from my classmates though. There is a softball retard and a badminton retard in my class and BOY can they TALK-COCK [RI style]. And there is this thing the badminton retard does called SPASM-ing which can be quite scary. Once in a while in the midst of an enriching math tutorial class he would break out into an uncontrollable spasm and start kicking over chairs and tables and spout expletives in reference to the genitals or sexual acts. Yup, believe it or not.. it's true damn it! Yup that's about all i have to say about RI boys.. mostly non-informative stuff, but i guess it is fine.

The RGS girl

I have a confession to make. I was very scared of rgs girls during my 4 years in sji. I didnt have any rgs friends that i talked to on a regular basis. Not in person, not on MSN either. I didnt talk to anyone at all!! They just looked too damn intimidating to even start a conversation with and when you do try... GGXX. Their ang moh like sibei ZAI. Fee-liii Faaalaaa fee-lii faalaa.. Catch no ball. But due to the recent predicament of being placed in RJC i am surrounded by rg girls and have no choice but to interact with them. To be honest they are actually quite sane individuals who enjoy a good laugh once in a while. But mind you this girls have DRIVE. Once they have their sights locked onto a particular target, the will grab it with their claws and sink their fangs right into it.Grrrr!!! For example, there is this girl called S and when she was in primary school her friend kept making faces at her by curling up her tongue. You know the trick you do with your tongue where you fold them together. Anyway S was FREAKIN pissed that her friend kept making fun of her cause she couldnt fold her tongue soooooo she forced herself to learn how to fold her tongue. YES!! She learned how to freaking fold her tongue!! BOMB MAN!! And here i was thinking that it was suppose to be a genetic thingy that made you able to curl your tongue. I realised after interacting with these super humans for 3 months how determined they actually were.

That's all folks.. we gotta get christian to blog!! SAVING PRIVATE CHRISTIAN

[T.C] Xing Wei

anyone realise anything?

2006-03-30T04:54:00.000-08:00

ok this blog is dead.
effingggg deadd!
though we still talk a bit. BUT THE COCK IS GONE.
omg ? did the tradition end at sji.

BY THE WAY, latest news:
SAVING private Christian-
Dear T.Cers, we are unable to get christian out of enemy territory and he's stuck in vjc though he had mixed feelings of coming to cjc, christian all the best to you.

He's missing in action and so is xing wei.
the last time i saw xing wei was at rockafella OMG.
christian played pool with us e other time and that was also the last time i saw him.
and even qikai feels that T.C is gone.
BENteoh can testify to that.

EVIDENCE:
[T.C] speak-up says:
i havent seen nigel for 2 days
[T.C] speak-up says:
where's nigel

poor qikai, he seems lost without nigel. and both of them are in cjc! woah wtf?!

[T.C] BenT. says:
its jus becoming a symbol
(referring to the T.C sign)

n congrats 2 nigel for leaving 1t23, but i still got to say my class is quite a nice class, no qualms about that.

how do we keep this place alive. and meet up as a group more oftenly?
PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS.
many thanks - JeremYeo

PAE 1st 3 months

2006-02-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's back again. ok look at the post below mine. i mean the current one now.
the one BEN'S BIRTHDAY! hahaha ok i what i meant was that post was a benteoh publicity stunt. anyway yes HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENT. a few weeks ago. hahaha. benteoh sounds like a celeb down there doesn't he. CELEBRITY! hoho

ok anyway, back to PAE and CJC. fine fine, so CJC isn't the most fun and hip and cool place with GREAT facilities and all but i guess the people here are great. and with THIS coming from ME, as you know "i only have 2 girls in my class", what i've said have to be reliable. right right? Futhermore the sex ratio here is not proportionate *ahem* there's way too many guys, but isn't that the same situation as SJI. so dear talk-cockers in CJC and not in CJC, i have to say i might not want to leave for the time being. so nigel stop coming to me and call me "pang seh kia lah, dun talk to him ah". So yeah the talk-cockers have been meeting up but not as often.. well xing wei's in rjc, christian's in vjc so what can we do yea? ok so i met up with xing wei on one of the thursday, cannot really rmb, BUT its GREAT, y`know wad i mean. he got this really joker friend who's called CHEY-YAO, sorry dunno how to spell but yea who has reasonably good cock-talking skills.

anyway 1st 3 months is slack slack slack all the way. all you muggers pls go get a life. and where the hell did all the 202 pple go to? all dead already ah? maybe we're just the remaining few yeah.

OH YES since benteoh publicise himself, i think i am gonna do the same, pls go visit my jeryeo.blogspot.com which is currently so freaking dead, but i dun think i'll blog there anymore, I'LL JUST BLOG FOR [T.C]! BUT STILL VISIT IT LA. I GO SEE MY BLOG LIKE SO SIAN no one tagged. like some loner.

anyway is [T.C] gonna run for council? we'll just wait for OUR CELEB BENTEOH TO COME in hahaha. oh yes and all the "---" can enter the benteoh house. the rest of the "-----" can come to the "nigel" and "jeremy" house.

oh wait, what about qikai?
where's our dear rjcian convert.
fairweather rjcian which converted to cjc.

hahaha anyway TC ALL and continue T.CING.

pls post more of your JC experiences here and share, especially those that are not in CJC, you $$##@$!@$ know who you are

Ben's Birthday

2006-01-17T07:49:00.000-08:00

Guess what day today is! You're right... it's my birthday! Yeah! For all the talkcock-ers and non- talkcock-ers who wished me happy birthday, I want to thank you guys... I LOVE YOU ALL.

That's all for now! I will continue blogging tomorrow. Good night! Byebye!

[T.C]Bent

BEN TEOH IS A LAZY BUM. HAAAH.

K-Box WOAH

2005-12-25T20:17:00.001-08:00

hi peeps, jeremy here. ok so i am about to blog la, thanks to that benteoh, msn bug me, sms bug me but o well, its for the good of GROUP! so that this place won't be so dead.

ok so 2days ago, delvin, weemeng, qikai, weiqiang, nigel, yuan zu and i went to k-box(cine) coz no movies were available so.. we went there and sing and go nuts. everyone was so high except one blardi anti-social and dejected qikai. dunno why he so quiet or wad la. BUT YEA WE SING LIKE MAD MAN. ok i think we were shouting. especially when u see weiqiang trying to reach the high notes and his voice went all coarse. it was freaking funny. now i understand why bengs frequent that place. ok no offence guys, esp to the bengs or pple who frequent k-box.

guys i think we shud do more of this when we go to cjc hahaa. oh and for those [T.C]-ers who are not going to cjc, good luck to u guys, its ur LOSS and i mean it. u all don't wanna join the majority at cjc then go ahead to other JCs and suffer. *HAHAHA* this goes out to xing wei and christian teo.

HAPPY BOXING DAY.

quote of the year : "eh i know u most brother one, brother leh"

pls post ur other quotes guys.

Mind Boggling. Boogling?

2005-12-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOSH.. i am so sorry.. this entry is way overdue.. suppose to have finished writing it like last week. I apologise to all talk-cockers out there.

And i would like to apologise for my recent absence from all talk-cock activities. The beach sounded super fun. Sea. Sand. Sun. Super hot babes. SHIOK!!

Now let me explain my absence. While all you monkeys were out having fun, i was busy attending a International Conference on Talk-Cocking. It was attended by the bestest and brightest there was in the world of TALK-COCKING, and trust me they were PROS. I guess by now you guys must be scratching your head and thinking "what the F*** is Xing Wei talking about?"

For 3 days and 2 nights, I was at Praisehaven Church (Salvation Army Bukit Timah) living with a group of 16 twelve year olds. It was a 'Wonderful and Special Camp' (camp name). The camp was organised beacuse at this age they are going through a transitional period where everything for them is about to change. Primary to secondary, 4 subs to 8, kid to teenager... you get it..

Ok, back to the more important stuff. So through my observation over the pass 3 days of this group a girls and boys i made a somewhat saddening discovery.

Let's start with the boys. The boys were quite a handful the manage. They were like a troupe of hungry monkeys looking for bananas. Jumping from one place to the other. They kept climbing onto me as though i had sweets stuck in my hair. And they took every opportunity to challenge me to a fight and of course i took every opportunity to hammer them to a pulp. And mind you, this bunch of boys had an array of 'wonderful' vocabulary too. Ranging from the all the time favourite 1) F*** to the classic ah beng reply to any confrontation 2) Ka ni na bu chao chee bye. This group of guys also indulge in talk-cocking. They are even proer than our founder the the talk-cock guru(jeremy aka The Cock) himself. They can switch from one irrelevent topic to another with such fluidity that would leave lesser mortals like you, SHOCKED, totally dumbfounded. They can even talk-cock with their asses. They can let off gas with such orchesteral precision, in the middle of the night, that it almost sounds melodious. The funny thing is seeing them wake up in the morning wondering why their room stank so much.

As for the girls, the were on a totally different level. The way they carried themselves, you could see that they had more sense and a greater control over their emotions. Even though you could still sense they were still little girls at the end of the day from the questions they asked you. They were still 12 year old girls after all. Any funny examples from the girls? Of course!! There was this session during the camp that was suppose to teach the campers how to handle BGR. For those who not in tuned with youth lingo it stands for Boy-Girl Relationship. The kids were given different scenarios of kids their age having relationship dilemmas:

Jane has been friends with Luke since they were young and they are very close friends. But one day Luke writes a letter to Jane saying how much he likes her and wishes that they can be together. Jane is really confused as to what to do. Because she does not like Luke the same way. She's afraid that if she tells him their friendship will be affected. But if she doesnt tell him he will continue waiting.

So the question posed to each group was what would they do. And one rather pleasant looking girl said, 'Usually i get this sorta letter i just burn it loh'. The group leader was left speechless too. The guys self esttem must have shattered right in his face. I didnt have such experiences when i was 12, maybe cause i was ugly.

What would you have done?? Feel free to air your comments in the chat box.

Anyway, through this camp i learnt to look at things from different perspectives. And trust me there were many different perspectives to look at from especially when there are 12 year olds around. Some funny, some disgusting, some intriguing, others just plain dumb.

Anyway, thanks to all the campers. And my sleeping mates--> yasushi (jap guy), jun hao, luke, shabhan aka fart machine. And all the funny kids from St Andrew's Cathedral City Tweens.

God Bless and have a blessed CHRISTmas
Happy Holidays

[T.C] Xing Wei

aaahhhhhh....sentosa........wat a day

2005-12-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

hello.max here.took me a while to get to the blog-making page.everything's in chinese on my comp.wtf..anyway,first entry like the rest.always a first for everything.hope i dont disappoint.

well,ytd was a fantastic day.an outing to the heavily-fortified island of sentosa.wasnt exactly a solely-[T.C] outing but who cares,17 josephians,so much fun and so much better than the big O like delvin mentioned last time.hahaha..now,where shall i begin....

would a trip to sentosa be complete without a game of beach football?i'd say no.
3/4 of an hour's indulgence in sg's favourite sport under the sun= 3/4 of a day of wat those horny sex-loving japs do
trust me,it was freakin shagged.especially digging ur feet into the uneven sand and pulling them out again.good game for my team.we lost 3-2.i mean..c'mon,having me in the team doesnt mean the team would win.right?like i say,it's a teamsport,everyone plays a part.hahaha.

well,after the game,me,mo and chris stayed behind to slack around while the rest,all 14 of em,went to get drinks for us and themselves.went wading in the water but had to get out cos the sand was really bugging the inner side of my underwear.argh.headed to the showers.one thing i notice on my way there,the gals are hawt,the boys are not.couldnt help but stare at the boys with the hot chicks.wat a mismatch!!!and the gals couldnt help but stare at me,for obvious reasons.could feel my father's pride radiating from within...wahahahah.just kidding.

the rest came back after a while,40 mins later.haha.chilled out before starting on a game of touch.3 teams,winner's out,loser's in.kinda pity yz's team as they were practically stuck on the pitch throughout the entire game.haha.captain's ball in the sea after tt.nigel exhausted himself and opted out of it for awhile,something i can understand.wahahaha.anyway,we saw a malay couple making out in the waters.of all places,in a sea near a bunch of hormonal boys?how kinky is tt?another thing,there were 2 lesbos throwing frisbees and getting intimate in the sea.how blessed i felt to be watching home-made pornos away from the lurking presence of my parents at home.

sadly,it came the time to leave.had lunch at the hawker centre and it was dota at tekka for the ones who were game enough.first up,sji rugby took on others.obviously,with me in the team,sji rugby made easy meat of others.hahaha.(special thanks to wm,wq,yz and mark for being so supportive of me when farming output was poor and i was on a low)second up was a very close one.this time,[T.C],comprising of me,delvin,nigel,bent and qk,took on others.qk was damn funny,he came late for every skirmishes we had with the opponent and nigel was damn pissed with him.hahaha.shall eat humble pies by admitting tt i was quite a feeder during the game.i actually let the creeps kill me near the secret shop area.no enemy heroes,just me and the creeps.my zues was arc-ing them merrily and i was telling delvin how much i was owning.delvin told me i'd better run.next thing i saw was zues being whacked into pieces and qk finishing up from where i left off.wtf..anyway,good game to us.we trimmed their bush,they brazillian-waxed us.ouch..

aight.i guess tt about sums up the day yesterday.there's something irritating my eye,ought to wash it with soap now.hope you've enjoyed wat you read.have a nice day.

[T.C] max

Week of Fun

2005-11-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hi people, im bent and this is my 1st entry.

Xw was 1st nigel was 2nd i am last.. y m i always last hahahahaha

ok this week has been a fun week

why? i dunoo im very tired now bye!!

before i go i gotta tell about wad happened in the recent class chalet which I and XW went to.nigel dint cos he isnt in our class.jereme, one of our founders, was being a pang seh kia and dint go.

btw XW was being a bitch

anw he and mike was walking half naked to the chalet after a game of touch rugby on the beach
a group of girls walk past and this was what happened

A slightly attractive girl in the group that walked past: 'Giggles'

XingWei: wad u laughing at??

girl: walks away...

After i knew about this.. i went ' HAHAHAHA u fat SOB'

k tt wasnt funny...

oh yah another thing, we went night cycling from our chalet to changi village

i almost died because it was a freaking long journey plus we saw a couple of bapos and a naked man.. WTF.. anw while we were reaching "home" it was almost 5 am in the morning, i was tired and stuff blah blah blah and i fell.

NIGEL: wad a loser..

Bent: fuck off and go slp!

did i mention tt im at nigel's hse?? no i dint .. and wq is here too as a TC special guest and im bloody slpy and tired so forgive me for typing this piece of shit thanks!

and BTW nigel's fully naked cept for boxers. GOOD NIGHTS

[T.C]Bent

FUCK PIZZA HUT!!!

2005-11-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

nigel here, making my 1st post
the biggest difference between xing wei and me is xing wei is an idealist while im a realist. (ben is a specialist). ben has a banlist (hur) , i got a playlist, and xw is last but not least.

enough of my words of wisdom. today was another session of kickass dota, at mechmaster bukit timah plaza, with the attitude problem owner. we went to pizza hut for dinner. it was about 15 mins before xing wei let out the inner beast within and started playing with the food again. cheese with chilli and pepsi and chicken soup mixed together. YUMMY :) we started talking cock for another 20 mins before we realised that the food was not coming. we called this indian waitress and told her tt our food has not been here for damn long. she went back and asked her manager , came back to us, smiled to us . this was wad the conversation was like

indian lady "im sorry, but as there is a confusion in the kitchen, there was a delay in processing your order."(with a wide grin on her face)

xing wei " but ppl who came later than us already got their food" (xing wei looking around at the other ppl)
xing wei was thinking tt such was a lame excuse. she think we dumb ah ?

indian lady "wait, i go ask my manager"

we were all getting pissed and started to talk cock.

xing wei " eh nigel, pass this tissue to her"

nigel "who?"

xing wei "tt indian lady"

nigel "huh? why?"

xing wei " tell her to wipe that smile off her face"
(xing wei proceeds to grab qi kai's head and demonstrated how to wipe a smile off a face)

it was quite dumb cos ppl who came later than us got their food so we started coming up with theories of why it was delayed.
i thought, maybe they hired an indian pizza maker. they'd probably think pizza = italian roti prata so they go for job interviews claiming to be expert pizza makers.

imagine a waiter going in the kitchen, wondering wads taking the pizza so long.
then he sees the indian pizza maker flipping pizzas. zzz wtf.

too bad i was the only one who got the joke as the whole table of Talk-Cockers were staring at me as i laughed. maybe xw got it too cos he laughed too, or maybe he was just laughing at me.

we all couldnt tahan so we asked for the bill w/o taking the pizza and they still had the cheek to charge us 26.90 for pepsi and soups. they included service charge. we were thinking "WAD SERVICE? KNN. we were sitting for an hour talking cock"

we're at ben's hse now and we're playing monopoly. it has become so intense that we had no choice but to merge. i and xw and ben and aaron. it was a close matchup but given that ben's "fantastic" dice rolling skills aided us along the way,we won of cos!

aaron is our special guest today.
btw, xing wei is drunk , im still half naked, and ben's a bitch
aaron can fucking play the guitar.

tmr is a new day, but actually, it is today. ok bye

[T.C] abdiel.

bent: They are aslp now and im nt a bitch. yup good night everyone!

AFTER O-LEVELS!!!!!!!!!!

2005-11-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

arh yes!! it is finally over!! wohooo! the day all Talk-Cockers come together to celebrate this momentous occasion. and what better way to do it then a hard core session of kick ass DOTA!! And where else to do kick ass at??? our FAVOURITE indian mall where hardly anyone goes too.. TEKKA!!! now where do i start.. it was such an exciting day..

Let's talk about how benjamin unleashed the inner beast.. and brought about chaos and destruction throughout the land of TEKKA. He grabbed that FATTY rat (aka chester) by the throat and swung him around like a ragged doll. OH man!! what a SIGHT.. tears sweat and GORE... the whole package...

On a lighter note, let us explore the intricacies of human speech. The following dialogue occured during a heated battle between the Allies and Axis during a game of Battlefield 19XX

Act 1 Scene 1
malay boy: fuck sia.. they coming from all directions...

chinese boy: no scared just steady can already!!

malay boy : sia la.... my gun no bullet.. die already

(nigel breaks out into hysterical laughter)

Act 1 Scene 2
chinese boy : oi.. later how you going home arh?

malay boy : dunno leh.. either cab or taxi..

(nigel breaks out into hysterical laughter again)

YUP YUP!! It is jeremy's birthday today.. the founder of Talk-Cock.. he is 16 today..

bent : wah his birdday is one day after Os leh.. wah lao that's like damn pro la
nigel : snores...
me : i rock this world
bent : snores

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONCE AGAIN JEREMY. HAVE FUN IN TAIWAN!!

By the way we are at nigel's house.. nigel's half naked.. i am starting to stink.. and bent is gone..
Btw this is the inaugural post for the T.C
Btw i am Xing Wei
Btw Eddie Gueroro (WWE superstar)
Btw he has passed away

'Internal rest grant onto him, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine on him.
May he rest in peace.
Amen.'

[T.C] Xing Wei