A moment spent with my family

My parents own a Canadian 241 Pizza outlet in Bedok Reservoir. The outlet has been around for about 4 and a half years, and counting. The shop opens everyday, rain or shine from 9.30 in the morning til 10.30 at night.  On Saturdays, the opening hours is slightly longer as the shop closes at 11 at night.

Me and my brother help out in the shop during the holidays or during the weekends. I can say that our Saturday nights are "lost" to the helping out of this shop.

Anyways, I can say that when my brother and I help out at the shop, it is our family quality time together as most of the time there is only the four of us, my brother, my mum and dad and I in the shop. Not only is it family fun, it also increases the family closeness of the family. Usually, my brother and I spend about 3 to 4 hours helping out at the shop every Saturday. Sometimes when it is really busy, we have to work long hours, which may even total up to 6 to 7 hours.

I enjoy spending this moment with my family and I cherish it alot.

However, sometimes, because of this, I can barely finish my homework due to my CCAs on Fridays and Saturdays.  However, I feel that it is alright as I am just playing my part as a role of a family member. I hope that this can help ease the burdens of my parents.

Something that took place in school

Last Wednesday, I was queueing up to buy food from the Chicken Rice stall during recess in the school canteen, when something took place.

I saw two Secondary 2 boys wrestling each other in the middle of the canteen. They were creating a big din and caused many stares. Many people who had bought their food could not go to their seats as these two boys were blocking their path. The wrestle got more rough and loud screeches of their shoes on the canteen floor could be heard. Many students watched in horror as they are afraid that these two boys may knock and  injure them because they were quite big-sized whereas others just ignored them and continue with their meals.

As for me, I just waited at my queue. I could not wait to order my chicken rice to eat as I was famished.

Just as the wrestling was about to get heated, the Operations Manager, Mr Chia, who was in the vicinity, immediately approached the boys and took control of the situation. He reprimanded the two boys severely. As I was afraid that I would be misunderstood and thought to be caught in the fight, I quickly left the scene after ordering my Chicken Rice.

In the end, I found out that the cause wrestle was because one of the boys did not want to lend the other boy some money to buy food. I laughed at it because I thought that it is quite lame and it was not worth all the reprimanding.

Something unusual that happened that day

Something unusual happened on Friday, which two days ago.

I was at Bedok Interchange waiting for my bus to arrive, as the bus route from my school to my house requires a transfer of bus there, when an old man approached me. As he was speaking in fluent Hokkien, I totally could not understand him. I tried responding in Chinese, but to no avail. However, I could somewhat tell that he was trying to ask for directions. After awhile, the old man got quite agitated and confused because I could not understand him. If he were to flare up, I would be so angry because it is totally not my fault that I cannot understand him. I thought ; why are old people so rude nowadays?

Luckily, at this moment, a man in his thirties, heard our conversation and immediately offered to help. Even though the old man was quite rude to him, however, in a very kind manner,  the young man asked what the old man wanted. Not only did he tell the old man the correct directions, he also guided the man to the correct bus stop. Eventually, the old man had a complete change of attitude for the young man and thanked the young man profusely for helping him.

After this incident, I realised that there are still many kind souls out there in Singapore. I am sure that if we lend a helping hand to one another, the society will be much better and we will all live happily and safely.

A problem I encountered and how I solved it

Recently, I felt like quitting Concert Band as my Co-Curriculum Activity as it was very very very VERY tiring.

Last year, I really enjoyed Concert Band and I was very enthusiastic about it. But this year, things have changed.

This year, Band has become more tiring and more demanding. I don't know if it is because I am one year older now, which means that I have to be more responsible or is it because the Singapore Youth Festival is upcoming in April. There is also an assessment (something like an exam) on the second week of February and the fourth week of February. I am really really really REALLY tired and I need a break.

But, if I were to quit band, all my CCA points (which is about 15) and previous achievements will go to a waste and would be washed down the drain. This would means that my previous year of hard work will just disappear in a split second.

Luckily, my seniors and the teachers-in-charge talked me out of it. After approaching them, they told me about the negative effects of quitting band, on how hard is it to get an A2 if I were to join another CCA, on how much fun I would miss out if I were to leave band and how much time I would have wasted if I were to quit Band. They also told me how hard is it to get into another CCA. They also said that after the SYF (Singapore Youth Festival) is over, things will be more relaxed and not as strenuous as it is now. My parents also told me that I could not just give up so easily in a fit of rage.

In the end, I have decided to stay in Concert Band. Never ever ever ever give up!

A moment spent alone doing something I enjoyed

A moment spent alone? In the lives of a secondary school student in one of the top schools in Singapore, that rarely happens.

Anyway, I have a very hectic schedule nowadays in my secondary school life, mainly due to my Co-curricular Activites (CCAs) and my Regional Studies Programme (RSP). My CCA is Concert Band and I play the flute in it. I spend a lot of time there as the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) is coming and a lot of pressure is put on us. Which is why I have barely and time to myself.

My schedule is basically waking up at 6 in the morning to prepare for school. School ends at about 4 plus in the afternoon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, whereas on Wednesdays and Fridays, school ends at about 6.30pm due to my band practices. It is a 45minute ride home if I take the bus. When I reach home, I immediately take a shower and eat my dinner, which leaves me left with about two to three hours to do my school work and study.

In other words, I have no free time during the weekdays.

Anyway, I spend my time alone doing something I enjoy like surfing the net, like watching youtube videos or playing Maplestory. Playing Maplestory has been my favourite pastime since young and I still do it every weekends, provided that I have the time to do so.

Even though playing computer games is not good for our results, I feel that it is fine as long as you do not get addicted and play long hours everyday.

I enjoy playing Maplestory because first of all, my friends and classmates are playing it. Playing a game alone may not be that fun, but when you are playing in groups, that's where games start to get exciting. That's what's friends are for. I don't play during the weekdays as I have no free time to myself in the weekdays. My time management is decent, so I can get to play Maplestory during the weekends.

I feel that managing our time is very important for us and we all have to do it. I feel that as long as one can manage his time very well, he will certainly succeed in life.

Thoughts on Blogging

I feel that blogging is a fun hobby for most people, and they enjoy it. They see it as a enjoyable pastime and do it almost everyday. These people also use blogging to express their feelings and share their pain or happiness online. However, on the other hand, some people dislike blogging. This is probably due to the fact that the lives of us Singaporeans are very hectic and we barely have any free time. Most of them just play computer games or watch television shows during their free time, hence, they do not have the time.

As for myself, I don't really like to blog either. However, I don't mind doing it. To be honest, nothing much happens in my daily life, which means that I have nothing much to blog about.

Even though blogging is a very fun daily activity, we still have to be careful on what we post online. Some comments that we post may spark arguements. It can also be dangerous and we have to be careful as we blog.

If we put too much personal information and we may get tracked down. Some people who are very childish, post very negative comments on others posts' on purpose and they find it entertaining.

We should also be careful of what we post. Make sure that your posts are not racist, vulgar, or very offending. However, blogging is still quite safe and I feel that it is pretty much harmless.

In conclusion, I feel that blogging is a fun, enjoyable pastime but we have to still be careful about what we blog on.