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ok, so today is vesak day. you know. the second public holiday in this month. the first is labour day, which is on the first day of this month.

by right, on this day every year, I am supposed to visit the monastery my aunts work in. but unfortunately, I have some academic concerns this year that prevented me from doing so.

I am engulfed by some form of tests on both the start and end of this month, kinda unfair considering even the adults are resting, much less the rest of those people not stuck in a graduating year.

tomorrow:

some test for heredity, the only biology topic that is so like maths. I wonder how the rest of the class blazes through them. they are already excitedly shouting the answers out, depriving me of any chance of thought when I am only beginning to read the question.

social studies too. on the entire theme of growth of nations (industry, healthcare, education, population, housing). this is the easiest to study for, with the systematic organisation, but the most to study as well thanks to its sheer length. I am uhh... nearly done with industries. zz.

and there is the very irritating study plan. I have no idea what to include. which subjects to study for daily? or chapters? or a detailed time plan?

ugh.

IMAGESHACK IS PISSING ME OFF.

you can see the blog is in a totally ugly state. we cannot forget to thank imageshack for this.

all my previous photologs are gone with the wind as well with the failure of their darned server.

I am obviously very lazy to make any changes to the skin for the moment, so I am browsing on blogskins "Hottest Skins" for a quick getaway.

unfortunately the top few skins seemed to be more for girls than anything else and I gave up searching after a while.

I may do something about it though. and I got many posts backlogged at the moment, including three photologs (I suppose).

CAN SOMEONE RECOMMEND ME A GOOD HOST WITH EASY THUMBNAILING OF PICTURES FOR BLOGS AND HAS A GALLERY FOR MANAGEMENT, PLEASE?

wah, very sian hor? a series of Mid Year posts. people are saying its boring already.

actually all these MYE post is for personal reference only la. so you all are not obliged to actually go read them.

nevermind la, exciting posts (I think) coming your way, once I am happy enough to go get the stupid pictures hosted. a photolog is a lot of work okay.

maybe I will go do some Chronicles of Antnia thing. I took some pretty macro pictures... of ants. hey, they are not easy to capture okay. they run at the speed of light compared to the time that camera of mine takes to focus on some object.

then maybe another candid series. but then that seems kinda bad to do hor. I see if I can do a small one or something. confirm wont crack your LCD screen(s) one. (or CRT monitor if you are still stuck with that)

hey where am I going? this is supposed to be a result review! okay enough OT.


==

okay, by now all results for MYE are released. with no A Maths, I finally managed to achieve something, that is nearly impossible last year, of no failure.

but still, the results are not exactly very beautiful. I am one mark (OR LESS!) to hitting the next grade in two instances, and this is what happened to both my C6 subjects (E Maths and... surprise! surprise! Combined Humanities).

I think I will do it subject by subject la. easier.


Chinese:

I almost threw my table for this one. I got 74.7! after much bloodshed (actually its just some adding of marks due to marking errors), I got an A1 finally. low A1 though.

the compo went somewhat out of point since we usually need to support the hypothesis if it is backed by a professional study. if I did that, in yeo's words, it would had been an A1 for that. letter is kinda disappointing though because I went out of point (again) for one of my reasoning and is marked down for that.

the paper 2 this time round is one of my better ones at 50.5. if I can maintain this in O Levels, I would be safe.


English:

first time did so badly in letter-writing. must at least tell me what I lack ma. I am writing my usual way and I got 13. and I have no idea why. may need to ask methias. the compo is manageable though, after all I am writing what I had always written.
the comprehension is kind of expected though. didnt really have time to check. summary is the shocking one rather. everyone got rather high for that. think is methias' lenient marking as usual.

B4 for this subject. low B4.


Combined Humanities:

SS is a total diasaster. mainly because my SBQ this time round was really bad (really gotta polish up skills) and SEQ isnt much better either since I failed to hit the point they want. and so I got owned for it.

History is much better. thank god for the easier SEQ that let me get 19. SBQ isnt much better, for me at least.

worst CH paper to date at yet another high C6. lol. it is supposed to be a difficult paper, but what happened to my humanities?


Geography

it is quite a saving grace that I didnt fail obscenely despite not studying for agriculture. in fact, I managed a B3 thanks to the extra 1 mark I spotted as well as my surprisingly good weathering (question 4) answer.

next time, if I started preparation earlier, I would die and make sure I prepared for agriculture as well. settlements questions are just too ambiguous and it may be really hard to achieve what is needed.

in Gerald's words: "this result is a bit far from what I saw in your common tests. there is a bit of overconfidence in content, especially for the human geography component. the 2-2 choice is good, but maybe you want to review your topic selection. you are one of those who will get A1 in O Levels, so make sure you work hard for it."


E Maths:

a subject I used to flunk very often. with the miraculous appearence of Divine Loci, Goddess Transformation, Master Cumulative Frequency and Buddha Probability, I can finally pass.

I looked at my paper 1 and my algebraic manipulations and indices are as weak as ever. need some good practice on that I think.

paper 2... okay it is difficult. everyone agrees. but many passed. not me. but good thing I did okay enough in paper 1 to cushion the impact.

a high C6. nearly C5 in fact. zz.


Chemistry:

another subject I am so used to failing. this is the first time I passed, since the paper is pretty easy, and I seen some of the questions in tuition already.

for a paper of this standard, a low C5 is considered underperforming.


Biology:

this is a more difficult than normal paper pitched at a standard above O Levels, and I got a low B4 for it.

it would have been a B3 if I bothered to take a look at Heredity though. haha.


==

I think this is all for review la. very tired already. some more gotta go take a look at a junior's blog that seemed to be having some problem. see you soon.

the mid year examination for this year has finally concluded. it isnt really an entire stretch, more like three separate weeks, which actually makes things easier.

once again I did not post daily since I cut down a large part of my usage of computers. it is also because I spent most of the time studying outside home, so I do not exactly face the computer daily.

==

Examnometer: 0 days (as of today)
Quakometer - E Maths: 7.0
Quakometer - Chemistry: 7.5
Quakometer - Biology: 7.0

==

E Maths paper 1:

this is really simple. everyone agrees. as long as I did not make much careless mistakes, I should do well. it might be because it is set by tan hwee ping. or maybe paper 1 is just too hard to make things difficult.

E Maths paper 2:

E Maths this year is like yin and yang. they contrast each other totally. paper 2 is set by margaret loh, and again, everyone agrees that the paper isnt easy. in fact it is rather difficult. I have a feeling I wont pass this, but must wish for the best mah, just nice pass can liao.

==

chemistry SPA:

really simple after all. there are only 5 possible kinds if experiments with Speed of Reaction anyway. and mrs yeo gave a pretty simple answer key. nothing to worry about for this, except I used ice cubes also, which by right must have drained the water out so wont affect temperature. what a small detail. zz.

chemistry paper 2:

it is quite simple actually. I can do nearly all questions, but the strict marking criteria will surely kill me off. happens all the time. hope to pass chemistry for the first time, but I am quite undecided how this will turn out.

chemistry paper 1:

it seems kind of difficult at first glance. but after going back and going through the questions and options again, you will realise that it is actually pretty simple. should pass no matter what.

==

biology SPA:

manageable. though they introduced more twist than that in chemistry. should have taken a closer look at the catalase solution experiment procedures. zz.

biology paper 2:

tougher than normal. guess soh li yan had enough of people saying her papers are too simple and is trying to do something different this time round. should still pass though.

biology paper 1:

the questions are mostly not from ten year series, a great difference compared to the past. they are also tougher than normal, just like paper 2.

a thought also occured to me. soh li yan had been setting papers for the major biology exams so far. is ng-tan slacking? hmm...

==

ok now for the entire examination in review.

I think I said this many times already, but it is the first time I spent most time studying outside of home. it is indeed slightly slower, but at least the pressure isnt as intense.

in fact, since labour day, I have spent nearly every day at either the Jurong Regional Library or some other random place. now that I think back, I am mighty impressed how I studied in these places.

I think I would maintain this for prelims and O Levels. it is more conducive after all. you would also be less tempted to play the computer or just lie down and rest. I dont read the comics too, so that leaves only the occasional fooling around to hinder my progress.

this time round, the examinations are not packed that closely for me, and I find that strangely comforting, allowing me to study at a healthier pace. if only all exams can be arranged like this. fat hope.

as for the difficulty of the papers, I would say I find them slightly above average. it is not as if I can do all the questions with relative ease, but I managed to answer more than 80% of what is asked usually, which is not too bad already.

one bad thing about the scores computation this year is it is based only on the mid year results. makes me wonder why I study so hard for common tests for.

there is a chance I may fail geography, E Maths and even chemistry (depending on how strict they mark) but I really really hope that this would not happen. while I think I deserved it if I failed geography, it would also be some kind of blow to me, considering my performance in geog has always been fine.

guess this is long enough to end the entire exam seasons smoothly.

the full schedule for this year's O Levels is annouced and is available online through SEAB.

before you rush forward and click on the link and get overwhelmed by whatever you see on the screen, you might wanna see the condensed version I had done.

==

I had addressed each of the papers in a less cryptic way and only included things that concerned the Secondary 4 Express batch of CWSS.

this basically means it is probably all that you had to know. the link is at the end of this post for those of you who refuse to trust me. and to think I shared the link with you, ungrateful person.

==

for those who thought I made a dumb mistake in choosing science papers marked with a SPA behind [5056 PHYSICS (SPA), 5066 CHEMISTRY (SPA) and 5099 BIOLOGY (SPA)], take note the SPA simply meant it is the version of the paper without a O Level practical, which are offered by [5052 PHYSICS, 5068 CHEMISTRY and 5093 BIOLOGY].

oh, and for your information, 2172 HISTORY is different from our history elective. the history we are taking is actually 2190/03 COMBINED HUMANITIES, so it isnt a mistake too.

the timetable follows below.

==

Mon 28 May, 2007

0830 to 1030 - MT Paper 1

1132/01 MALAY
1142/01 TAMIL
1162/01 CHINESE

1100 to 1230 - MT Paper 2

1132/02 MALAY
1142/02 TAMIL
1162/02 CHINESE

--

Thu 28 Jun, 2007 to Thu 12 Jul, 2007

1415 Onwards - MT Oral

1132/03 MALAY ORAL
1142/03 TAMIL ORAL
1162/03 CHINESE ORAL

--

Mon 16 Jul, 2007

1430 to 1535 - MT Listening
1630 to 1730 - ML/TL Listening

1132/03 MALAY
1142/03 TAMIL
1162/03 CHINESE

--

Mon 13 Aug, 2007 to Fri 24 Aug, 2007

1415 - EL Oral
1127/03 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

--

Mon 22 Oct, 2007

1430 to 1630 - A Maths Paper 1
4018/01 ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS

--

Tue 23 Oct, 2007

1430 to 1630 - A Maths Paper 2
4018/02 ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS

1430 to 1530 - Economics Paper 1
2284/01 ECONOMICS

1600 to 1800 - Economics Paper 2
2284/02 ECONOMICS

--

Wed 24 Oct, 2007

1430 to 1615 - Pure Chemistry Paper 2
5066/02 CHEMISTRY (SPA)

--

Thu 25 Oct, 2007

1430 to 1645 - Geography Paper 2
2234/02 GEOGRAPHY

--

Fri 26 Oct, 2007

1430 to 1600 - Combined Humanities - History
2190/03 COMBINED HUMANITIES

--

Mon 29 Oct, 2007

0800 to 0945 - English Paper 1
1127/01 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1015 to 1155 - English Paper 2
1127/02 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1400 to 1600 - E Maths Paper 1
4017/01 MATHEMATICS

--

Tue 30 Oct, 2007

0800 to 1030 - E Maths Paper 2
4017/02 MATHEMATICS

--

Wed 31 Oct, 2007

0800 to 1000 - MT/HMT Paper 1

1111/01 HIGHER CHINESE
1131/01 HIGHER MALAY
1132/01 MALAY
1141/01 HIGHER TAMIL
1142/01 TAMIL
1162/01 CHINESE

1030 to 1200 - MT Paper 2

1132/02 MALAY
1142/02 TAMIL
1162/02 CHINESE

1030 to 1230 - HMT Paper 2

1111/02 HIGHER CHINESE
1131/02 HIGHER MALAY
1141/02 HIGHER TAMIL

--

Fri 02 Nov, 2007

0800 to 0945 - Pure Physics Paper 2
5056/02 PHYSICS (SPA)

--

Mon 05 Nov, 2007

0800 to 0930 - Combined Humanities - Social Studies
2190/01 COMBINED HUMANITIES

1400 to 1545 - Pure Biology Paper 2
5099/02 BIOLOGY (SPA)

--

Wed 07 Nov, 2007

0800 to 0915 - Geography Paper 1
2234/01 GEOGRAPHY

--

Mon 12 Nov, 2007

1400 to 1500 - Pure Chemistry Paper 1
5066/01 CHEMISTRY (SPA)

1530 to 1630 - Pure Physics Paper 1
5056/01 PHYSICS (SPA)

--

Tue 13 Nov, 2007

0930 to 1030 - Pure Biology Paper 1
5099/01 BIOLOGY (SPA)

--

Clashes:

there will be three major clashes for our school. Oct 23rd, Nov 5th and Nov 11th.

the 23/10 clash is the worst, with Economics paper 1 and 2 and A Maths paper 2 timings overlapping each other. I believe the school have to contact MOE to make arrangements. lets see.

the 5/11 clash is worse, considering it is SS clashing with Biology paper 2. it is a slight improvement I guess, considering it used to clash with Geography paper 2 instead.

the 12/11 one isnt that bad. it is just Chemistry and Physics paper 1 on the same day. and those pesky 4/2 to 4/4 people get to end their exams one day earlier than us for this!

==

for me the only clash is on the 5th. I kind of expected it already, considering how biology has been clashing with something else on a yearly basis. well, at least this time it is before SS, which is quite a significant improvement from geography in terms of brain cells killed.

there is also a long day on 29th October, English Paper 1, 2 then E Maths Paper 1, ending at 4pm. I think it should be alright. after all, it is only paper 1, right?

as to how I felt about the entire thing, perhaps it isnt as bad as I imagined. I am literally taking one paper every day except for two days, and even then it isnt as if I have exams every day. so yeah, all is good.

oh, before I forget, the link. you decide if you still need it.

Further Reading: here and here

ok I am back at it again.

technically it isnt TV, since my television set now has got some major problem and produces a screeching sound similar to that of white noise together with a chaota smell. I am not joking about this.

so nowadays I watch TV on computer. I think it is their way of telling me to concentrate on the exams instead. but I guess a little wouldnt hurt. I think.

==

with Project SuperStar 2 ending only in January this year, Campus SuperStar 2 will be making its way to TV on May 28that 8pm.

I am doing some reading and research on who exactly the top 20 are (I am kinda ulu on this kind of info), the links are on top at further reading in case you are interested.

and boy was I impressed. this year seem to got a lot of jing bao stuff to talk about leh. so we do it blow by blow la.

==

of course we start this article with chiobus la. it will be really weird if I started with guys intead. anyway the final guy starring in this post will be of interesting origin.

how well are the vocals of this year's contestants still remains a mystery, mainly because I havent been watching TV and the show havent really started anyway. I am usually a bad judge of singing too. people think they sound like shit I might find them alright. so yeah.

as for looks, hmm... lets just say it is slightly better than last time round? aiya start with group shots first. dont know how else to begin



ok now you seen all the female contestants. lets pick out a few to talk about.



this is Lin Jia Jun of Raffles Girls Secondary. elite peepur.



in the group photo she is second from left in a white sweater with green stripes.



she is 16 this year. guess it means she is sec 4. got chance wor. no la, I not referring to myself. I mean others who is uh... more needy.

she seem to be among the nicer ones in the entire lot. to me la. but then my taste everytime quite different one (some even say I low standard wor~) so I dont know.



here is another one. this is Keely Wee of Victoria JC, the school of fine voices. or so I heard. 5th from left in group photo



this one JC liao. no hope liao. sorry people.



one last one. Seah Hui Xian, 15, CHIJ Katong Convent. satisfies zhepeng's criteria very well, since he wants to have a convent girlfriend.

2nd from right in group photo. most shu nu looking among all contestants I guess.

sorry la. no more photos left liao. blame mediacock. just have this final group photo to wrap this segment up.



==

next up involves a guy and a girl.







they are Wilson and Amy, both 16, from Catholic High and Hwa Chong International (the boarding school la. rich taiwanese ok.) respectively.

I quote the website (with amendments):

Throughout the preparation session in the make-up room, Amy seemed to be on pretty close terms with fellow contestant Wilson Thong. The others also tell us secretly that the two are always next to each other wherever the group goes. It definitely looks like something is happening between the two. What do they have to say?

Wilson: “I’m really close to everyone,” he said with a smile. “She is my closest female friend… she is one of the girls who talk to the guys and mix around with them more, unlike some other girls who stay away from the guys and don’t really talk much.”

Amy: “Many people think we’re together, but it’s not really that. We just get along very well, our personalities are very similar. We talk a lot but I’m very friendly. We would sometimes chat about past relationships.”

they are really good... well... buddies you know. see.



I would think twice before putting my hands over a girl's shoulder unless I really know her that well. especially now when you see how far his hand reaches over. and look where his finger is pointing. lol.

==

ok, final one.



Xu Bin, 18, Woodlands Ring Secondary School. at this point you should be like OMFG TZE HOCK MENTIONED A GUY IN TEH BLOG HEZ TURNING GH3Y OR SOMETHING!!!1111

of course got reason la. take a look at his neck.



it looks like a love bite, hor? thats not the only reason for the controversy.

he had a girlfriend. or maybe an ex-girlfriend. heard they broke up according to research conducted at Mediacock Forums.

the girlfriend is celeste chong. (http://www.celestechong.com). go take a look at her blog and you would understand why is it so controversial already. no need look far. see the background and her youtube video can liao.

==

ok I am wasting way too much time on this. must conclude already. off to E Maths. good luck to everyone with their exams!

languages and humanities examinations came and went. my supposed specialties now over. this leaves mathematics and sciences for next wednesday to friday.

lets start with this week's events instead. this is probably the first time I studied examinations in such different settings.

==

on labour day, I studied at McDonalds. this is a really huge change. the airconditioning is not bad, and I had company to study with me, making things less boring and lonely.

for wednesday and thursday, I spent my time at the library with people like kenneth, desmond and zhepeng. studying there is slightly more effective. while the rest seem more interested at playing games on phones, it is much quieter and well, there is still company.

studying outside is really not bad. I wont feel the kind of loneliness welling up inside me when studying at home. materials also go down more easily.

the speed of study is easily affected by the surrondings though, especially with all the people and devices around. but I have to admit it beats studying at home any day, especially for heavy content subjects.

==

for something which I have usually done well in, the humanities exams this time round are a good wake up call for me.

the standards of the papers may not have changed much (maybe except SBQ and trying out some new form of human geography questions), but I am quite challenged.

must be the complacency in me. this time round I admit that I spent too little time on geography (a bit over a day maybe? a bit on wed, most on thu and fri early morning [2am]). thus I cannot cover agriculture in time or the damage this time round would be significantly reduced.

so if I only barely pass or even *touch wood* fail geography, I would accept it. not so much for combined humanities though, even if the SBQ is hard, the SEQ ought to save me. failing both humanities will be kind of a big blow to me.

==

next week are the sciences and E Maths. chemistry and E Maths (with sec 3 stuff) are now my worst subjects, so I shall take a good look at them with the four days I have and not waste it away.

I hope I can have some kind of breakthrough and finally pass chemistry, but I know it is simply not possible within such a short time unless I start studying like a dog right now. and even then, I would just end up deserting E Maths and Biology, which is really, really dangerous.

good luck to those taking Additional Mathematics. leong setting one of the papers. strive hard and improve the 1.7 MSG of last year or something =). I really mean it this time la, not being sarcastic.

==

oh, I am also working on converting parts of some posts into drafts, especially those more private ones. the supposedly entertaining SBQ looking expose I wrote would be gone. actually it should be by the time anyone reads this.

it is seriously very bad integrity to just write others' stuff out for entertainment now that I think about it. drafts will help me preserve things in a more authentic form anyway.

did not use my computer this past few days, so I consolidated both posts into this.

damn, I simply dont have enough ideas to come up with a proper name. quakometer is less stupid sounding after all. nevermind.

==

Examnometer (as of today): 7 days
Quakometer (CH): 7.5
Quakometer (Geog): 6.0

==

Combined Humanities - SS

SEQ is relatively simple. did the one on diplomacy and deterrence. just a bit worried on the ASEAN part. don't know if the points I provided would go well.

SBQ is a total disaster. everyone agrees that these are one of the most difficult source-based questions ever appearing on tests to date. the questions are tricky and ask for unobvious things that takes a lot of thinking.

Combined Humanities - History

SEQ of this needs even lesser attention. the class predicted everything correctly. chapter 2, 5 and 9 came out. (China 1911-1937, WWII in Europe, China to Death of Mao). so I can practically do any question. did the WWII in Europe one anyway.

SBQ of this is less tricky and challenging, but still harder than normal. guess the school is testing the thinking this time round?

Geography Paper 1

still not that bad. managed to do physical geography with relative ease despite not studying for it. the mapwork is okay too. but I think I had some careless mistakes here and there. but this is nowhere as bad as paper 2.

Geography Paper 2

the real biggie. the physical geography questions are no doubt pretty easy, but the human geography ones really made me stumble.

the questions are really those that do not ask directly and there are a few times I wonder what the heck exactly should I write.

what is worse is I did not study agriculture, which is a really straightforward question that requires speed in writing, which I am okay with.

I am forced to do two questions for populations and settlements. both 6 and 7 have their own goods and bads. I am just worried I did not give what they asked for. which seems quite likely seeing what people have discussed.

==

discussion continues next post. this is strictly for exams reflections after all.