My rant on the SPM mandarin subject.

The SPM Mandarin subject is infamous for it's difficulty in scoring an A.
Why so?
Oh, I don't know,
Maybe Chinese people just love to give their us Chinese a hard time.

Sure, few decades ago,
It's almost impossible to get an A for most of the subjects,
Getting straight A's would be the work of a prodigy.

But in the current situation,
It isn't hard to score A for all the subjects,
Except for Mandarin.

And it's gradually becoming tougher.

I don't see the point in making Mandarin tough,
It's not even a main subject,
But it's so much harder in comparison.

The Mandarin paper consists of a lot of Classical/Literary Chinese,
i.e. 文言文，古文，名句精华, etc
You don't see other language subjects having classical language as a big part of the paper.

In fact,
Not understanding those components DOESN'T make one 'bad' in that language.
So why emphasise on that so much?

A lot of teachers couldn't really teach this specific component of the language.
So how are we gonna study for it?
Reading?
Without guidance?
How?

Language is something that requires time,
And consistent practice,
But to study a language (referring to Classical Chinese) that we don't frequently use in our daily lives USE AT ALL is just ...

I just hate the fact that the Mandarin paper has these,
Even the modern part is tougher than other languages,
But at least it's understandable,
And for that, I could blame myself for the lack of reading.

Even if I read Chinese papers daily,
Read all sorts of contemporary Mandarin novels,
I'll still have the same level of understanding for Classical Chinese.

It's just ... unfair /=

Teacher mentioned that we are the future for the Mandarin subject.

Fact is,
If I'm still in Malaysia,
I wouldn't encourage my child to take that subject.

-Kritz

*cough* *sniff* *cough* *sniff*

Random post.
I don't really know when someone posts a comment on one of my posts,
So once in a while,
I'll go check ... to see if there might be some comment that I didn't see.
Surprises me, sometimes.

* * *

Been having coughs and cold .. or is it flu?
For the past week.
Probably because I've been deprived of sleep?

Finally had my rest today.
Last Saturday was robbed by the school's replacement class,
And Sunday was due to the fact that I had to go for the 6 hour theory class for driving.

* * *

Supposedly,
My family and I had to go back to my mom's hometown today.
Then my cousin called up to tell us to come another time ... due to something.
So I immediately signed up for the 10 hour seminar on Sunday.

THEN SUDDENLY,
My aunt called and told us to go back again.

Crap =.=

After much ... reasoning,
My dad allowed me to stay at home,
So here I am,
Alone at home.

It's not that I don't want to see my relatives,
It's just that I REALLY NEED A REST.
Why can't adults accept the fact that I'm dying already,
With all my time dedicated to doing a student's duty.

* * *

Been watching American Idol.
Can NEVER catch it on TV,
So I had to download them.
After 8 season,
I finally could watch the entire season 9.

My favourite guest judge so far is Katy Perry!
I now have newfound respect for her,
Mainly because of her attitude. xD

* * *

With time allocated for homework,
Watching American Idol,
And other miscellaneous stuff,
I wonder when could I start revising form 4 syllabus.

At some point,
I felt that all 3 science subjects are in fact,
Very very interesting.

Even history, a little.

Maybe it's the side effects of not having enough slumber ...

I wish I could just sit down,
Without the burden of having to do other school related stuff,
And just enjoy studying.

Sigh.

* * *

I read in the recent Reader's Digest,
That multitaskers suffer from the lack of concentration.
That never occurred to me before,
But it's true,
I can't never spend a full hour doing homework.

Juggling between homework, MSN, iTunes, Plurk and Facebook DAILY,
I hope the consequences aren't too harsh D:

* * *

There's this girl,
That I really can't handle.

Okay, that sounded like I'm trying to tackle her =.=

What I'm trying to say is I find it hard to be around this girl.

OKAY THAT SOUNDED WRONG AS WELL.

Put it this way,
I can never cooperate with her in anything because of her terrible attitude.
I'm not judging or anything,
That's wrong.

But I just can't stand her.
Argh.

I'm trying not to hate or dislike her,
Because that ain't healthy ...

BUT IT'S HARD.

* * *

Oh well,
Time to go back to my pile of homework.

-Kritz

Kiasu

*huffs and puffs and blows the dust away*

Okay.
I admit I am kiasu person D:

Not that I despise losing to others,
I just don't want to ... lose out.

Okay, not in all situations.

The situation I'm referring to here is that seminar I'm going this Sunday,
A crazy 10-hour Malay Language Score A blah blah seminar.

Oh well /=


Other than that,
I'm done with my 6 hour car theory thing!
Woohoo!


And I feel like quitting Biology at Meridian ...

And I have to decide whether to change to the earlier class for History ...


Oh well /=

-Kritz

What are the odds?

When you finish your homework, like LOADS of it, and teacher doesn't really differentiate those who did and those who didn't. And in the end, everything's the same.

When you DON'T finish your homework, well, mainly because you spent too much time finishing the previous one, the teacher SUDDENLY takes notice, making it SUCH A BIG DEAL.

Apparently, when you don't finish your homework, like once, you are IRRESPONSIBLE, A BAD EXAMPLE, A BURDEN TO OTHERS, blah blah blah.

I'm not saying that my actions were correct. I knew for my dismissal of certain homework would result in such consequences, but why wouldn't the world cut me some slack.

Then again, I'm clearly aware that the world is a cruel place and slacks aren't meant to be cut.

It's just not fair that SOMEONE could do whatever they want, yet expect more from others.

Seriously.


Oh by the way, I said the ikrar for the first time in my secondary school life.


And I found out yet again that something you expect to be good will turn out bad, whereas something you have no expectations off would surprise you.

End of rant.

Now more homework to attend to.

=.=

-Kritz

17! For the first time.

Happy belated birthday to ... me :D

Okay ... I think most of the stuff I wanted to blog about is already lost.
Celebrated my birthday at home,
With cake :D

Became the president of the Archery and Chinese Society.
Rank for BSMM still pending /=

Cleaned up the magazine room, lol.

Won something from MTV Swag!!
It started with Blake's craze for Lady Gaga,
And her Fame Monster.

While searching for alternatives to obtain the album without spending any cash,
While he was stalking some radio station day and night,
I stumbled upon MTV ASIA's site.

Then, I saw the contest to win this DIVA HAMPER.
I just entered the swag code : Diva,
Which I didn't actually see on MTV channel,
I just assumed that was the correct word, lol.

Then this mail came :

Hi,
Congratulations! You’ve Swagged yourself a Diva Hamper with the following CDs
Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
Rihanna - Rated R
Mariah Carey - Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Miley Cyrus - The Time of Our Lives

And I thought it was one of those scam mails,
Being a little skeptic,
But then again,
The mail had my number and address correct.

Oh well,
At least I won something,
Although not something I really want =.=

Too bad none of my friends are crazy fans of these people,
Or else I would've just gave them the CD.

I guess I'll have to sell them or something ... lol.

I feel so motivated to join more contests now xD
Too bad the one with Daughtry's Leave This Town didn't work /=

EDIT : I ALMOST FORGOT!

-Kritz

Movies!

1 week of school ended and I've already watched 2 movies with my dad :D
What a great way to start a new year.

First movie - Cirque Du Freak: Vampire's Assistant.
I was a fan of Darren Shan's vampire saga series,
And sorta made my dad read all 12 books as well.
We wanted to see the movie,
Even though it might not be a good one.


Indeed, it wasn't any amazing movie.
Had to go all the way to Mid Valley to catch this movie,
Since it wasn't available in IOI Mall.

Didn't like Darren,
But Mr. Crepsley turned out to be not bad.
At first I wasn't too happy with this actor portraying Mr. Crepsley,
Turned out to be good after all.



Next was Sherlock Holmes!


LOVED IT.
I loved the whole settings,
The British accents,
The fashion at that point of time.
Plot wise, not bad.
A lot of twist and turns,
The way all detective stories should be.

Makes me wanna grab some Sherlock Holmes books.



Oh, and here's a list of movies I've watched during the holidays.
Just in case I'm not gonna write anything,
I'll just list them here ... for ... fun.

*according to the sequence I downloaded, because I couldn't remember which movie I watched first*

1. The Ugly Truth (2009)
2. Gamer (2009)
   
3. I Love You, Man (2009)
4. My Sister's Keeper (2009)
   
5. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
   
6. You've Got Mail (1998)
   
7. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
   
8. Cast Away (2000)
   
9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
   
10. Love Happens (2009)
    
11. Die Hard (1988)
    
12. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
    
13. Forrest Gump (1994)
    
14. Philadelphia (1993)
    

*other movies that I have yet to watch, but already downloaded*

1. The Terminal (2004)
   
2. The Green Mile (1999)
   
3. The Notebook (2004)
   
4. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

Whoa, 18 movies o_o
8/18 starring Tom Hanks, lol.
Amazing actor.

Quite a few of them are 'classics', in the top 250 IMDb list.
My favourite among them would probably be ... a lot of them. D:

'The Ugly Truth' was ... okay. Average

I didn't like 'Gamer'.

'I Love You, Man' was ... okay? I really don't know what to say about this.

'My Sister's Keeper' was tear-jerking.

'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball' was ... well, a cartoon.

'You've Got Mail' was light and nice. If it wasn't for that cruise trip I wouldn't have watched so many movies, and I think all of this started with this movie. But watching this a second time might be boring.

'Saving Private Ryan' was NICE, one would wanna watch again.

'Cast Away' could be my favourite, another one that I would wanna watch again. Wilsonnnn~

'Pulp Fiction' was too ... deep for me? It's like Grand Theft Auto in real life, with the cut scenes and everything. Not that I don't understand the movie, but I just don't find black humour that amazing.

'Love Happens' ... not much love happening. Was more like a story of a man finding himself with help from another girl.

'Die Hard', niceeee. Classic action movie I guess.

'Sleepless in Seattle', same main actor and actress as You've Got Mail. I preferred 'You've Got Mail' much more because 'Sleepless in Seattle' seemed stupid to me.

'Forrest Gump'! It's totally like 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', except for the growing younger part, because it was narrative and mainly about flash backs. I might wanna watch this a second time ... maybe.

'Philadelphia', not bad. Much on the reality side. Worldly issue or something like that. Inspiring I guess.


If only the holidays were longer. Sigh.

-Kritz

Rat race.

Yesterday, there was 40 students for the Biology tuition class.
Then today, both Physics and Chemistry classes were fully occupied as well.

It suddenly occurred to me that studying is nothing but a gigantic rat race.

Thousands and thousands of students are studying everyday, dreaming of achieving the best possible grades, in order to get into a good college, or getting scholarships to study abroad.

Everyday, students appear in school early in the morning; later in the evening, they all go to their respective tuition classes to continue studying.

It's suddenly seemed so scary to me.


To top it all, I have to sit for some short exam in tuition next week, and with the results, I'll be allocated into a different class. Amazing, I know. Even tuition centres have exams to differentiate stronger and weaker students.

Studying is such a competitive thing, no matter how much you hate it.

You can say you want to study for yourself, and not compare your results with anyone else. But even so, it IS competitive. Somehow or rather, you're involved in this circle of comparison (did that made sense?!).


Sigh.

I hate competitiveness.

-Kritz

First 2 days of school...

Rained yesterday, YES!! Didn't have to read the school vows in front of the entire student body.

Had loads of homework on the first day. Hate it.

Bought my exercise books after school. After lunch in fact. I went to the restaurant opposite of my school for lunch, and when I was going back, I saw that the book store was still open so I quickly went there. They storekeepers were impatient, probably because it's way over their work time. But then again, I don't see the point of trying to chase me away if you know that I'm gonna buy anyway. =/

Loads of homework today.

Sigh.

Even much more than yesterday.

And my mechanical pencil friggin' broke. The tip just, broke ==
Went to dig out my old mechanical pencil, but guess what? The rubber friggin' melted. It had an awful stench.

I'm tired D:
But I have to do homework.
Sigh.

-Kritz

Last day D:

New year, new beginnings, put everything behind us.

I wish.

I didn't finish my holiday homework. :D I'm so dead, yay~!

And I'm going to embarrass myself in front of the school tomorrow, by reading ikrar (vow).

ps. Thanks to Darren for the free Komsas reference books.
pps. Thanks to Kentze for that chocolate bar that travelled quite some distance.

-Kritz

Happy New Year ~!

*speaks in a monotonous voice*
Yay, new year.

It's taking me forever to think of something to blog about this special event. Happy, I don't see why; sad, well ... not exactly. So it's a new year, with new responsibilities, new priorities, new obstacles. I don't even feel sad that 2009 has just went by ...

I basically feel nothing about the new year, except for the fact that I will be having major exams, the significant one in altering the course of my future unlike the previous 2. Sounds stressful already. So would I finally wake up and realise that I should really start taking things seriously? I really hope so.

New year resolutions, well, I might not go according to plan, like always, but I guess I'll list down some. To study harder, grow spiritually, mentally, waste less time ... blah. I can't believe I'm 17 already, seniors in my secondary school. I don't feel that I'm thinking mature enough as a 17-year-old. And the thought of having to study like crazy is already making me want to go back to 2009. I guess I really hope 2009 wasn't over after all.

Add maths and maths to maintain, 3 science subjects to buck up on, putting more effort in memorising history, writing and reading more of the 3 languages, being more serious about my English literature. I actually thought of taking up bible knowledge again, but I'll probably give up anyway. Not exactly the hardworking type.

Not only that, I'll have to put more thought in deciding which career path should I take. It's been constantly in my mind, but it's so hard to decide. I'm not even sure which subject I'm really interested in, really good in, something that could last forever and not lose interest of. A gigantic milestone in one's life is waiting for me somewhere in the near future.

Sigh.

Happy new year.

-Kritz