MT Dance Prac

Since I had much time to burn till the 5.00 JC talk commenced, I went for MT Dance Prac straight after PE. Chose to perform with the basketball and had Brian, my OG mate and Jenny in my group. It was a good choice cus I'm a psychomotor moron as mentioned in a long ago entry, and the ball group had the easiest moves to pull off. You can't exactly twirl a ball unlike with a floorball stick. The music was the adrenalin-rushing Mortal Combat! Techno to get all of us into the aggro KILL mood =). In the final scene, chaos descends as the dancers pair up to attack each other. several mock tussles with Zheng Jie over his tennis racket. I hope I can remember all my steps by Wed.
The Gryphon Programme about sports injuries and sportsmanship while largely soporific, possessed several illuminating moments. People left right up and down of me were in various states of unattentiveness. I lost count of the books, notes, tutorials I splayed in plain sight of the teachers on the tables. If they had to catch all those who were doing other things, 3/4 of the group would get into hot soup, me included =P. Oh well, RJ students never did like long talks ;)

Overslept

ARGH!!! I can be such a pig when it comes to sleeping. Slept at 3.30, woke at 5 for a moment and promptly went back to sleep. Awoke again at EIGHT THIRTY and there wasn't much of a point in going to Clementi to fence for an hour. That's two missed Friday trainings in a row!!! RAWR

Novices Teams

Joanna, Charmaine and me clinched Gold for teams! Its really essential to focus on catching up the points instead or brooding about those that were lost and thankfully, I didn't have much chasing to do. Despite our 42-45 win over RGS, I still have doubt over my anchorman skills cus some of the points, especially the final counterattack, were iffy :S. Looking back, the Romanian guy wasn't that anal, just had this "My call is final" unfriendly aura. Then again, he almost carded me for not shaking hands after I won the first bout. I sincerely hope the three of us can keep fencing for as long as we are interested (I'm being realistic here =)). I remember there was a point (pun not intended) when I screwed up and the RGS anchor score 2 pts in a row to level the score 43-43. Almost the entire RJC bunch who was present yelled "FLORENCE!!!" in unison. Lol. David said every batch invariably gave him a heart attack for the final team bouts :P. Faii exhibited his powerfulMany, many thanks to all those who came to support and gave me the much needed encouragement and advice. I would not have acheived anything without you guys.
I need to wash my equipment more often but its so tough to get it to dry when training days are consecutive. The foilists were trying hard not to laugh when they saw me spraying my equipment with Nivea deodarant.
I wish I could have gone to support Bern, the Blade Club person and all my other fencing mates but there were many matches held concurrently =(. Some of us went for dinner at the nearby hawker center where Bern made delightful dinner conversation and sent Reub and Darren into peals of laughter. I knew they would get along famously =P. Went back to Clementi Sports Hall for some mass photo-whoring session with our trophies. Darren's Israel gang came over to visit him; so nice rit? All of us, Darren most of all, were kinda hyper after prize presentation. Took loads of stupid videos, cracked and cringed at the many lewd references, Charmaine mimicries and jokes that were made.
Dinner with Reub and Darren at Sumo House since Darren was still hungry. I think we must have annoyed those running it as we took up 3 seats, ordered really lttle, spilled one cup of green tea. After that excitement, I broke the chair leg (time to lose weight:( ) and best of all...
(Minutes after the cleaner came to mpp the floor)

Florence: I still don't get how it happened, did someone kick the table or something? (unconsciously kicks table)
*green tea spills*
*Reuben cracks up*
Darren: FLORENCE!!!

But dinner from then on, was uneventful and relatively dry =).

GP Debates

I would hate to be arguing with Suat. Her solid conviction in her stand, wild gesticulations, already commanding voice that tapered to a crescendo and red-faced exertion was enough to send our class into fits of laughter. By the end of the crossfire, only Suat and Jay were left to defend their viewpoints. The rest of us debaters bade a hasty retreat and joined the audience in their amusement. It was like watching Taiwanese parliament, the difference being in GP lesson. Jeremy was totally for his stand and showed it with his grave intonations, precise hand gestures, and fervent tries to engage the audience. In fact, he was so good I think he could have persuaded a desert nomad to buy ice-skates. As for me, I merely stood up and rattled off my speech with the paper covering my face. So, despite the amount of preparation put in, I don't think many people understood what I was intending to put across. Me included =P. Jay did a great job through helping the underprepared JunHow and Pam beef up their scant points and to their credit, they tried their best. Trust the ex-debater to set things right!
The opposition, composed of Amelia, Jeremy, Sut and Phil, won the debate, which was commendable because the motion "In order for Singapore to progress, we should not restricted by strict adherence to democracy, rather what really matters is good governance" highly favored the proposition. On a happier note, immunity from being a debater for the next round!

Fencing Trials

Gah...my muscles still feel kinda achy from Clementi training. I should have stretched out instead of going home straight. Anyway...
Today, we held fencing trials for the J1s. Seriously imba gender ratio, roughly 4 guys to every girl. The J1 batch seems a lot fitter than we were >_<; I was going around looking at the scores of some of the girls and their scores were on the whole better than mine. But then again, we were more lax with the standards.
David gave us a debrief and told us all that we fenced very well, never mind the loss of the double golds. Must get gold for teams to make up for it although I can't say I relish the prosepct of being anchorwoman. As a reprieve from fencing, we and some of the J1s played a thrilling, adrenalin-rushing game of netball. My school uniform hampered my movements somewhat but it was still fun as hell running about the hall, scoring close goals and attempting to block the guys. I could feel the sweat soakig my uniform after a few minutes. Fencing camp games is so gonna be as fun as this or more still! On my part, shall collaborate with Darren to make the night walk as freaky as can be... Hehe =P

Novices Fencing Championships

Where seeds of dreams are born, wither and at last, die...
Where the tree of possibilities and its infinites what-ifs and maybes blossom into cold reality...
Where I clinched the bronze...

I want to extend a big thank you to my coach, David, for his guidance before the competition and during it. I'm really sorry we couldn't clinch the gold medal for him, thereby breaking his glittering (literally, haha) quadruple gold record. All the more the reason to fight for the gold medal frot eams =). I also want to thank my team-mates and all those who offered comfort, support and advice. It was morale-boosting and gave me the confidence to last to the semi-finals. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't be there all of you guys, and for that, I apologise.
I think I speak for us all, when I say all of us tried our best
On a positive note, training at Clementi begins tomorrow.

Pan's Labyrinth

Tragically poignant and touching, it had me tearing as the surreal tale went inexorably towards the bittersweet end. I won't go into many details about the plot, considering the reveiws pretty much laid it bare, or spoil it here. The haunting score at the beginning of the film set the dark and depressing mood, which remained for the rest of the film. The transistion from certain scenes, especially torture ones, was a litte choppy, because there were some bits cut to give the film an NC-16 rating. I suppose it would be rated R-21 otherwise O_O, but the violent imagery, while not gratituous, still had me wincing and squirming in my seat, so I was glad for it.
Btw, the Pale Man with his stigmata eyes is one of the most frightening and memorable monsters I've ever seen on film... *shudder*

In the lift

It's things like these which make me think I should keep my mouth in check. But sometimes, the retort on the brink of my lips just can't resist being let out.
Me, CT and Shu Yi were rushing for the lift and it almsot shut on us when Mr Lee held it open. When we shuffled further into the cramped lift, I must have swung by bag quite vigorously for a Caucasian teacher complained about it. Here's a brief transcript...

Him: You should really watch where you're swinging that bag
Me: Oh... Sorry
Him: It was rather hard
Me: ...sorry
Him: I treasure my kidneys you know
Me:...Doesn't everyone have two kidneys..?

Mr Lee burst into laughter and looked away so no-one would realise. CT and Shu Yi glanced down in a bid to stifle their giggles while the rest of the teachers and guys in the lift grinned.

He: It felt like a ton of bricks

I didn't meant to be intentionally sassy but I truly didn't smack him with my heavy bag on purpose. Perhaps a better rejoinder would have been "Well, it just shows how much notes RJ is giving the students these days."

Fencing training was relatively slack as usual; attacking and defending drills followed by a crap session with David, possibly to help us relax before the BIG DAY. David told us to go there and enjoy ourselves, never mind the final tally of medals O_O. I must must must get at least a medal for JX, David, RJC and myself! Due to the drizzle outside, we planned to have a maggie mee party but the 7-11 was closed, ironically enough, before seven. So we headed to the bus-stop and that was when the Murphy's Law decided to come into play. The bus came really late and we had no seats. There was a terrible jam that caused the bus to inch forward. We all got exasperated and chose to walk along RI when some vehicle came and SPLASHED the whole bunch of us. JX got the brunt of it though. While walking, the self-same merrily whizzed past us as the jam finally cleared. And on the stretch of pavement to J8, the drizzle began to intensify into a moderate shower. Not exactly a brilliant evening for us huh?
David and Zhi Hua joined us for dinner at Pastamania, and together we ate...pasta (duh)! My seafood dish was super filling and I still feel a tad bloated even now. Darren and me finished one and a half bottles of cheese by dumping spoons and spoons of it onto our food. By 8.40, all the guys had gone,leaving me and Joanna to chat about random stuff. Her dad offered me a lift (lift again!) home which I thankfully accepted. Try lugging some 4kg bag home on a rainy day after a long MRT journey... Tomorrow, Pan's Labyrinth! I can barely wait...

CCA Feste

Just my luck to have 5 rounds of conditioning during PE before fencing for demonstration later. Everything went really smoothly; except that I got slightly annoyed at JX cus he was quite adamant that I fence, despite knowing that I was lethargic. On hindsight, which is 20/20 btw, it was for my own good. The bouts didn't exactly do much for my confidence for Novices though; I lost my bouts against Sun Lu (9-10) and Darren (13-15) by a close margin. After fencing, I went around trying to explain to the curious J1s the concept of fencing and the details of school trainings. Joanna actually managed to get ONE HUNDRED people to sign up, thus fufilling David's impossible request. And 100 people signing up, means about 50 turning up for trials, hence answering Mr Teo's prayers. Lol. Charmaine's star power certainly helped to entice many J1 guys =P. Clearly, joining storyline for Orientation is a direct pathway to instant fame and popularity. If you're as cute as Charmaine that is =P.

Fencing Fun!

Spent 3 hours travelling to Juliana's Salle from home because I took the wrong bus from RJ but the time I spent there made it all worthwhile. First thing, my equipment was subjected to weapons check, and as a outstanding testament to the durability of China made goods, my mask and lame both failed. MISERABLY.
Sun Lu, Joanna, Darren, Reub, Charmaine, JX, Faii and a guest celebrity, Nellicia were present. I fenced Nellicia and lost 6-15, fenced Joanna and won 15-13, fenced Charmaine and won 15-8. Same old stupid mistakes again...think I need to take things easy on the piste so I can carry out those moves. I admire Nellicia's solid footwork and powerful attack. Tried Henry's newly invented pseudo-foil with Darren and had such a great time. It basically a long oval piece of foam with some wiring and mechanism that emits a beep everytime the tip touches metal. Henry's a genius!
Instead of paying for the usage of piste, we opted to do some housework instead. But before that, I did parry riposte and footwork drills with Joanna while the guys were GLUED to the Xbox. JX and Faii took turns playing the piano melodiously as I listened. In another corner, Joanna and Charmaine were practising the Orientation Batch Dance. Then, the California pizza came and we shared a few jokes of an insulting nature over dinner. After that, the guys went straight back to the Xbox (duh!).
Reub left around 9 and we, or rather the guys, set about to do the housework. I attempted to be useful but there really wasn't much else I could do and in the meanwhile, Joanna took 4 videos of Darren and JX mopping the floor. She got them so "incensed" that they shoved the mops in her face and rubbed the dirty cleaner against her legs. My comment on the kinkiness of JX's action almost earned me the same treatment as her, but I sprayed him with detergent =P. Later, we went to the toilet to wash the bucket and the nasty JX did a number on me by spraying the unsuspecting helpful me with water as I was walking over to help him with the "faulty" water hose. I grabbed an umbrella lying nearby, trying to ram him with it, but chose to abort the attempt =).
Took the bus home with Joanna and alighted at the same bus-stop. Had a brief lively conversation that culminated in me almost missing 960 (extreme bad luck with public transport today).
I really, really am glad for the company of my fencing mates, who brighten my life with their numerous sparkles of wit and everything else :).

Some videos of our antics...

Internal Sabre Comp

3 hours till the intra-club competiton so I chilled out at the library, alternating from attempting to do maths and chatting with some of my fellow fencer friends. The sabre tournament was rather rushed and despite the 3 pt handicap for pooles, I had 3 victories and 3 losses, conceding all my bouts to the PRCs. On a random note, there was this UBER rich ACS (I) guy who paid 300 bucks for his sabre and 800 bucks for his visor mask!!!
By some stroke of luck, I was ranked sixth and fenced off with Yu Feng. Beat him 15-5, many thank to the 8 point lead for girls. I actually managed 3 one lights on him! Fenced Joanna and beat her 15-13, certainly was a close call :(. Darren and Reuben must be fated to fence each other before the finals and their scores are likewise fated to be incredibly close (15-14 to Reub's favor). Reub did very well and smacked the other guys to a score of 15-4, considering he was having a stomach upset earlier on. I entered the semi-finals and was to fence Faii. Lost 15-12 but was pleasantly surprised to score 4 points. The others said I could have beaten him if I was less static, had bette technique and captalised on his aching back. Faii and Reub didn't fence because Faii's back injury was giving him a really bad time. Guess I should't underestimate myself too much. Confidence has never been one of my strong points. On hindsight, although it is ever perfect, I was frustrated to know I had been making the same mistakes I had been doing drills regularly to rectify. Darren says I need to learn how to keep a cool head under fire so I hope I can get that by Novices. In the mean time, drills, drills, and more drills!

And so it begins

I couldn't sleep for almost 2 hours last night. Tossing and tuning in my bed, occasionally registering the beep that marked the passing of an hour, my mind constantly wandered to those thoughts of him and the trace of bitterness and longing which infuses them makes me feel pathetic. As much as I don't like to admit it, I am jealous and disappointed, although I have no right to be.

Saudade... Maybe part of desiring something is knowing that it is possibly unattainable.

Felt the aftermath of yesterday's insomnia acutely around noon; my knees were actually trembling slightly with exhaustion. School was ok, I didn't bank on lessons to begin immediatly but RJ is RJ afterall. Was glad to meet up with Shu Yi, CT, Wei Lu and Philana and we shared out stories of our holidays over tutorials and recess. Skipped IHC because I was so damn tired; surviving on 2 hours of sleep is a mean feat and I thank Mr Sia for letting us off for PE. I managed to catch a bit of the Orientation storyline without getting caught by the PE teachers. Charmaine REALLY fits the bill of Misa Misa =P!

Blood Diamond

Thousands are killed as war rages for control of the diamond fields.

None of whom has ever seen a diamond.

I caught the sneak preview of "Blood Diamond" with Lestari at J8. The gritty portrayal of the brutality and bloodshed of civil war in Sierra Lone, coupled with the dramatic twists in the story kept my eyes riveted to the screen throughout (have a slight crick in my neck now, got third row seats >_<). The acting was consistently top-notch; sincere enough to lend weight to the plight of the characters when it could have easily degenerated into histronics, given the complex emotional burdens they have. I loved the lines in the movie, from the macabrely humourous jokes to the unflinchingly harsh conclusions of the reality in South Africa. And cool South African accent Leonardo Di Caprio had throughout the whole show mah frens.

Last Day of The Year

Went to Pastamania at Cineleisure for dinner together with Min Li and Nicole. Had a rather nice one hour threeway conversation over Vongole (Clams and Pasta) in cream sauce and garlic bread too. Eating slowly indeed does make you sated faster and as a side bonus, you don't put on as much calories =P. Hung around Hereen to do some window shopping and trying on of bling-bling accessories. I winded up buying a black punk bracelet on a whim; it complemented the rest of my outfit pretty well.
Follwing that, we took the MRT to Esplanade and almost missed our stop. Funny how Raffles City shopping mall is at City Hall MRT. There was a continous stream of people from the MRT all the way to the Esplanade, bringing to mind unpleasant memories of getting stuck in a crowd of foreign workers along Orchard Road. Witnessed a mini-stampede that occured at the mouth of the escalator because it was moving too fast. We had to walk a LOOONG way to reach the Esplanade in a light drizzle and many detours because the roads were cordoned off and some pathways were only for exits.
Due to the swarming mass of humanity at the bayside, we intended to go the rooftop terrace for a picturesque view of all the luminous floating spheres but it was closed for a private function. Caught a glimpse of the fireworks from one of the buildings and felt initially cheated since the display was rather miserable but the grand finale of fireworks, a spectrum of lights dancing across the canvass of black, was truly a spectacular sight to behold. We almost missed the first display of fireworks as we were rushing to one of the cafes for a much-needed ice blended treat. Photowhored lots and like many of the revellers, sprayed foam on unsuspecting individuals. This is one of the rare times when deviant behaviour is grudgingly condoned so we tried our best to play the rebels =P.
Decided to leave after the crowds had largely dispersed and we walked for quite a bit, eventually ending up at Suntec City Starbucks for a rest and some more ice-blended treats. At around 2, Nic called her dad, who very nicely gave all of us a lift back home.
It's been a good year. Relentless Time allows no pause however, so on we move aboard the carousel of Life.