Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!! Did all of you have a Happy Chinese New Year regardless of your race? One thing I like about Chinese New Year is all the Red Packets that I can get when visiting $.$ so as you should know I am a Chinese. One of the Chinese traditions is to have a reunion dinner with your relatives at home, at a restaurant or some place simple on the Eve of Chinese New Year. Above are some pictures of the must have dish during the reunion dinner, Yu Sheng. At any eating place, the shop should be selling the Yu Sheng during Chinese New Year. The Yu Sheng is usually the 1st dish to be eaten then followed by 7-9 dishes as it is believed to be auspicious. The shop worker will add certain ingredients and 4 worded Chinese phrases which are of special meaning. Then the families who are eating will use chopsticks to mix the noodles, crackers, edible raw fish and other ingredients together. On the very day of Chinese New Year, one family will eat together. I usually eat a steamboat meal for Chinese New Year. How about you? How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

NCC Camp STEEL

Basically this is what Camp STEEL stands for : Standards

Tenacity

Emotional Intelligence

Energy

Leadership

I went to Camp STEEL just this Monday and Tuesday. There were quite a few activities. An obstacle course, Paint ball fight, Army Daze movie and rappelling (like abseiling). The obstacle course consists of a ramp and then sliding down a pole, high wall, leopard crawling, going up 2 poles on all fours, crawling through tires, rope climbing, walking on balancing logs, climb over a net and then swinging over water on a rope. Be careful when doing the rope climbing, my friend got a terrible rope burn on his hands. all the pictures above except the bottom are pictures of the obstacle course. These were taken by other people as cameras are not allowed into the Amoy Quee Camp where I had Camp STEEL. Here is the website: http://www.ncc.org.sg/ncc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=149

By the way, the picture at the bottom is a rappelling training only to show how to rappel correctly and what commands are used when rappelling. The rappelling station is about 4-stories high.

We slept in bunks and some people did not get to bathe as it was lights-out and there were only 2 toilets available... Luckily it was only 2 days 1 night so it didn't stink that badly.

Here are the 7 NCC core values every cadet should know: Care, Responsibility, Discipline, Leadership, Uprightness, Loyalty, Adventurous.

We didn't watch finish the Army Daze... so sad.

The Paint ball fight was the best even though it was a short game. There were 6 teams and it would be a 1v1 fight for a capture the flag kind of thing. Each team only played 1 round. The paint when just hit you will be yellow but after a while it will turn grey and unnoticeable. The armor is very important. If you get hit by a paint ball where there is no armor, prepare for a swelling bruise.

That was one of the best camp I had except from the one in my primary school when I camped at the Underwater World. At least the food at Camp STEEL was good. Thanks to all ICs, OIC, PCs, APCs, S1, S4, instructors and all those who prepared the camp.

My Talent

My talent is being able to play the guitar. I am currently taking a classical guitar course at Yamaha. I just started learning to play guitar last year. I enjoy playing the classical guitar as it feels soothing and I am able to let my troubles slip away. My class comprises of students from other schools who are the same age as me. I am going to take my guitar exam soon and I feel nervous as it is my first time. Even though I am not able to master the songs, I feel ready to take the exam and I hope to be able to pass the exam as it costs $95.

Movie Review

This review is on 'Matilda'. Matilda is the main character of the show. The second most important charecters are Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey and Lavender. Miss Trunchbull is the egomaniac of the show. She loves to torture children and says that it is good exercise. Miss Honey is the good guy, or should I say woman, who helps Matilda along the way as Matilda discovers her powers and amazing talents. Lavender is Matilda's best friend and shows encouragement for her most of the time. Lavender is also the one who started the revolt against Miss Trunchbull.

The show starts with Matilda being a cleverer student than the others in his class. She is, however, neglected by her parents who don't even know her age. They think she is just some dumb kid in the house. When Matilda starts going to school, she discovers she has the powers to move things without touching them. She discovered her powers during a lesson with Miss Trunchbull.

Miss Honey is the favourite teacher of all the students and Miss Trunchl is despised and feared throughout the whole school. They have good reason to fear her as anyone who messes with The Trunchbull gets swung around and around and then gets shot into the air. Students have been known to fly up to 10 feet.

This movie is good relaxation for anyone who likes comedies or excitement. So if you want to de-stress, go and try to watch the movie 'Matilda'.

Book Review

My favourite book is more of a series. The series is called Pendragon and if you have read my previous posts, you will know that I mentioned it. The book is more of a fantasy. It tells of a story of a boy, Pendragon, who is a 'Traveller'. Travellers travel through time, space and worlds called Territories, trying to save the galaxy from a demon named Saint Dane. Pendragon has two friends Mark and Courtney who are his friends and acolytes. Acolytes help Travellers as they travel to other territories.

I feel that the book is full of action and adventure. It is truly well-planned by the author D.J. MacHale. The story starts out with Bobby Pendragon's Uncle Press telling him that he is a Traveller. Pendragon is then taken away from his home on second Earth to a new territory of Denduron. Starting form there, Pendragon experiences adventures beyond his wildest imagination.

From basketball expert, he becomes a young adult who has seen many deaths, monsters, and Goodness-knows-what. Pendragon is an epic series of adventures beyond your imagination, those who love fantasies and adventure, this book is for you.


To quote 'Cool-Reads', "A hit with me from the start. Another Bobby Pendragon adventure is exactly what I need to read after a bad day at school."

So, quickly get the Ten Books of Pendragon. List of book 1-10: Book 1:The Merchant of Death Book 2:The Lost City of Faar Book 3:The Never War Book 4:The Reality Bug Book 5:Black Water Book6:The Rivers of Zadaa Book 7:The Quillian Games Book 8:The pilgrims of Rayne Book 9:Raven Rise Book 10:The Soldiers of Halla

You will not regret having read the series!

I Like Reading

Except for some school books, I enjoy reading books as a hobby. I love reading so much that I can hardly stop reading to do my homework and I get scolded. I will go to the library every week to borrow a book or I will go bored. I don't mind reading the same story twice if its interesting.

What kind of books do I like you wonder? I like fiction, fantasies, sci-fi, comics, manga and some classics. Some examples of books are: Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Fablehaven, Pendragon, Asterix and Bone. However, I find The Lord of The Rings boring as I find the action not so pronounced throughout the whole series.

Some reasons that I read books are because the books seem to surround me in mysterious and magical experiences(or when I'm bored). I can read about the wonders of human achievements, experiences and history. All books have either same or different views or descriptions of a subject. For example in Artemis Fowl Fairies are described to be human-sized while in Fablehaven fairies are described to be minute sized.

Books are objects which allow us to read stories either fictional or real. Some even share the experiences and opinions of long gone writers. Others are written for the entertainment of other people. I, myself usually read books for the entertainment. I recommend you to read more books, then, you can understand how interesting it can be and it may even become your hobby! May you enjoy yourself reading books!

videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OObHcJqKZM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQfcexQeEiA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsW3CjegbQ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLgr7NDD5mw