Complacency

Everyday we meet people who are complacent. Even the government was complacent. This led me to think about the Mas Selamat case. In his escape, so many people were affected. Even the common commuters travelling along the Causeway were affected. Who is to blame?

The goverment?

Or the erred guards?

Which one of them? Think about it. Did the goverment take too little action to maintain the detention centre? Or was it the guards who did not take too much attention on Mas Selamat?

Actually, in my own opinion, I think that both sides were complacent. The government thought that Singapore was a very reputable place for good security.Hence, they thought that enough has been made to keep the prisioners 'safe' inside the camps. However, did anyone of the ministers thought that some terrorist could actually escape through the toilet? And did the guards not pay much attention to him because they thought that the security was too good for Mas Selamat to escape? Please comment as this is no laughing matter and over lives could still be in danger under the escape of Mas Selamat. Nobody knows when would he appear again...

A Story II

(continued) However, two vigilant policemen passed by block 452. They saw a lift going up the block to the highest level and saw a shadow appear. Who was it? Why was the person there in such a deep night? Without hesitation and having the same thoughts, they ran to the lift and boarded up. When they reached the 16th floor, they saw slowly but carefully. They hunted when... bingo! The murderer was hiding between the flowerpots. Of course, he got arrested.

This is a story told by general Teo when I went to the Police Heritage Centre yesterday. The background information is this: There were a few continuous burglary near the bungalows of Dunearn Road. Hence, Sergeant Boo Tiang Huat tried to comb the area in the middle of the night. He and his companion saw a suspicious-looking men walking around the Newton Food Court. Hence, they ordered the men to empty the contents inside his huge haversack. However, he fished out an axe and chopped Boo's neck! Hence, he died instantly and was given the gallantry award by the president. This is just an example of a policeman who was willing to risk his life serving the nation. The main objective of this journey is to educate us about Total Defence Day and let us know the important role of a policeman in our society. We should follow their example and serve the country when we grow up, i.e. serving in National Service etc. It was therefore a meaningful and at the same time interactive and fun trip. I hope that there would more of such trips in future.

A Story

BOO was axed. Axed terribly. The axe could not even get out of his neck. Terrified, horrified, petrified were the murderer's emotions. He ran. Ran as fast as he could. HELP, he thought, I am so not going to be caught by the police. He ran to block 768 and went to the topmost floor. Where should I hide, he thought again, AH there is the place! Behind the flowerpots. No one will see me. Hehe...

Meanwhile, Boo's companion was in a shock. Witnessing a murder taking place! How terrifying was that! However, he immediately fished out his walkie-talkie and said," SOS! SOS! Back-up needed... ..." He waited and waited. They came finally. RUN LIKE THE WIND! GONE WITH THE WIND! They combed the whole Newton and Dunearn area. But to no avail. However... (to be continued...)

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. How did it come about? I have done a little bit of research on it. Please see below.

(Saint) Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The day was originally a pagan festival that was renamed after two Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

One of the version of the origin of Valentine's Day is:

It was said that Claudius II banned young men from marrying as he felt that unmarried men could become wonderful soldiers. A priest named Valentine secretly helped a couple hold a wedding ceremony. It was said that Valentine was killed by the emperor for not listening to his law. Valentine died in AD269 14th February. Hence, 14th February is named Valentine's Day in remebrance of Valentine.

There are many more sayings of Valentine's Day. Personally, I do not celebrate this festive day as I believe that in such a young age, we should not be involved in such affairs. However, we can use this day to say a 'thank you' to our parents for giving us so much of their love and kindness. Happy Valentine's Day!

acknowledgements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_day

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%83%85%E4%BA%BA%E8%8A%82

Flowers for Algernon

5. Should science be used to artificially improve someone's intelligence or external appearance?

As a christian myself, I totally disagree with this act. This is "playing god" and defying against Him. When god created us, He thought that everything he did was perfect and did not regret anything. Everyone is special and we should not change ourselves just to blend in with the others. That is all as this is a stub and not the 'official' question I would want to answer.

Flowers for Algernon

3. What makes an ideal human or the ideal life?



Actually, there are many aspects of ideal. Happiness, family, friends, discipline are all factors. The main topic I am going to touch on is happiness as it covers most of the other aspects. Without happiness, how are you going to live your life? Without happiness, how are you going to socialise with people? There is one story that I read before when I was young. It is one of the Mr Men stories. It is, as you may have guessed, Mr Mean. He was a very stingy person and would not even spare someone a coin when he or she needed it. He lived in sadness and had no one to talk to even though some people tried to to him. Finally, one day when he was sleeping, he had a vision that he would be going to be an old and lonely man and would die unnoticed. He was so afraid that he immediately became friendly and became one of the most popular person in town and was never called Mr Mean again. This simple story tells us that we should be kind to each other and thats makes our life more interesting and happier. If we are not happy and not socialise, then we are like Mr Mean. Freinds. If we do not have friends, even virtual ones, then we are living our lives for nothing. We cannot just have our families around us. We need to ourselves with others to know the outside world better and socialise. We might be mad if we do not interact with others. Family is also important. They give us encouragement everytime we need them as they are the closest to us. They are important when we meet failures etc. Orphans find themselves very lonely and have no one to talk to and usually remain lonely for their life. A person without discipline will find it very difficult to things as he or she does not have self-discipline to do things themselves without somebody to look after them. Hence, I think happiness, having friends, family and self-discipline is a an ideal human and can live an ideal life.

Chinese New Year is Over! ):

Chinese new year is over. That means that we must start to study hard and treasure our time. Yesterday was yuan xiao jie and the moon was very round. It is said to be the roundest moon ever seen since 52 years.

Cyclist on Bukit Timah Road Riding Dangerously

Yesterday, when I was going back home from school, I saw a cyclist riding dangerously. He was riding slowly in front of my bus 170. As a result, the bus had to keep to his pace as Bukit Timah Road was very jammed yesterday. If the bus driver had not noticed him, he would have knocked down the cyclist. I think that the cyclist should take care of himself and not put himself and others at risk. I think the government should also create a lane specially for cyclists like other countries such as the States. Cycling not only does not pollute the environment but is also good for one's health. Hence, I think the government should think about it as it is safer for cyclists and others near them.

The Taximan's Story

1. The irony of the story is that the taximan's beloved daughter went to cheat him and went to become a prostitute. That broke the taximan's heart as he had loved her and did not think that this kind of irony would happen to him.

2. The themes are: i. Self-dignity. -- Lay Choo did not demonstrate it.

ii. The abuse of the excuse of school activities. -- Lay Choo said that she had meetings and went to Orchard Road.

iii. Love of father. -- Father loved her daughter--> textual evidence --> he saved money for her to go to university.

iv. Perspective of taximan's family. --> Taximan told his version of story.

v. Irony -- see above

vi. Abuse of love -- Lay Choo did not respect his father who gave her so much love.

3.The story is very realistic as nowadays, students always use the excuse of school activities to go out and gamble, play, shop etc. However, teachers do not know this most of the time. Hence, I believe that the communication and interaction between parents and teachers is very important to prevent such things from happening.

4. I think the taximan is very greedy and and the same time should be sympathised of. He already objected her daughter to become a prostitute. However, now he goes to Elroy Hotel where many of them are there as he wants to earn more money. Hence, he should set a good example for his daughter to follow. At the same time, he is using this money to help his daughter to go to University. However, Lay Choon misuses his love and do the things that is not right for her to do.

5. I agree with his lamenting in some parts and am against other past. I agree with him lamenting about the behaviour and acts of his daughter but am against him lamenting about people bargaining with him. He should be more concerned about his family's well-being instead of complaining about petty matters.

6. I sympathise with the taximan's eldest daughter. She is so obedient and filial towards her parents but does not have good health whereas the second daughter is so unfilial but is healthy and strong. I also sympathise with the teacher as she does not know the condition of students nowadays. Being a teacher, she should know her students the best as they spend half of their time there.

Happy Chinese 牛 Year! (haha)

Today is the day of Man! Happy day! This year's Chinese New year was fabulous! First, we had the half-day celebration which was really wonderful. Firstly, we had an extra day off! (: Secondly, there were wushu, lion dance and many other performances. They were really wonderful and interesting. Next, we went to our former primary schools to see our teachers. It was nice to see my teachers back although they sometimes scold us horribly... They gave us all sorts of advices which were of at least some use to me. (haha)

Then our whole Lim family had renunion dinner at my uncle's place. Everyone was early and this should be the first time in history that that happened. (We were always late.)Then it was Chinese New Year! I slept to about 10 and our family was like OH NO! We are so late today! We reched my grandfather's place at 2. Then we exchanged mandarin oranges. (Actually all the oranges were taken from the same pile. (haha)) We went to take pictures of our entire clan at the park. My uncle, being a photography lover, took many scenes with care and creativity. But suddenly, it turned dark. Then I realised what was happening. There was a solar eclipse today! My family rushed to the science centre to witness the historical moment. It was so beautiful! I hop e there would be another one... (Yes, there would be another one on July 22 but its a school day so...) So this is the end of my happy new year. I am somehow rich and happy. How about you? Au Revoir! (By the way, I am learning french.)