monkeycrap's Diaryland Diary
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so touch the key and take the ring, but all must understand, that if the heart but hesitate, the dog shall bite thy hand.
So, as a sort of a final meet up before he leaves for his graduation trip, PK and I decided to take a retrogression trip into the grounds of our secondary school and JC, to satisfy our recollective-ah-pek tendencies.
It's hard to believe that it was 9 years ago that I, as a pudgy rotund young punk, first stepped into the hallowed halls of the ACS(I) Tan Chin Tuan Auditorium not knowing what to expect. And here I am, 9 years later, a pudgy rotund not-so-young punk with white hair. I expected the school to have undergone some upgrading, maybe a new block or paint job in the course of these years, but little did I expect them to buy over the land of our neighbours, or ex-neighbours rather, UWC. But of course, we're rich, when there's a lack of space, we don't try to make space, we buy it. So, yes, ladies and gentlemen, space.
We used to invade UWC's privacy by shouting at them from our classroom windows. Guess we got bored and decided to invade them instead. And convert their cricket field into an astro turf soccer field.
Any ordinary secondary school student would be envious of the amenities, but not me. The new place felt, well, cold and sterile. Too prim and proper. Unfamiliar environment I guess. Which is why I headed back to the more familiar realms.
Of flag raising, pledge taking and thoughts of the day.
You know where to find me should I happen to not turn up for assembly. Glad to know it's still in roughly the same condition from 9 years ago, with toilet paper everywhere (read: stuck on the ceiling) but in the holder.
Where I spent 1 great year with a bunch of great people. This room defined my secondary school life.
The brass instrument store. Where slacktionals took place. Another place that defined secondary school life.
It's interesting how the teachers take awhile to remember you, trying to conjure mental images to fit the facial familiarity, while the canteen aunties seem to have no problem doing so at all. Maybe people leave a greater impression when previous dealings involved a direct transaction of cold hard cash. Guess that's why lounge hostesses remember names so well. Never mind.
After lunch in the extended wing of the original 'student activity centre', which in case some of you don't know, is our masterful, interpretive exegesis of what would more commonly be known as a canteen, we headed back to ACJC. It still retained the small, cosy atmosphere, which is good I guess. No major changes, except for a new, tall block (under construction) along Dover Close East, looming precariously over Fairfield and threatening to plunge it into eternal darkness after it's done.
Those non-airconditioned classrooms on a blazingly sticky Thursday afternoon. Where the concepts of Hess's Law, radioactivity and chinese proverbs were force-fed to us by the monotonous drone emanating from the equally restless tutors, which seemed to get more and more distant with every shut-open-shut of the eyelid.
Walked round the canteen, to the place we called the 'void deck', where we went to enjoy short breaks (and shorter skirts). Also managed to talk to some teachers along the way, where conversations, for some reason, seemed to circle around my $40 bedok south salon hairjob.
Chemistry teacher: W..Wah.. Jasper...You're now more...ah...ah..fashionable ah...more..cool ah...good good...
Me: It's just the hair.
CT: But..But outward appearance is portrayal of inside! So what did you do, what caused you to change your attitude?
Me: It's just the hair.
CT: But..But outward appearance is portrayal of inside! So what did you do, what caused you to change your attitude?
Me: It's just the hair.
(repeat ad infinitum till lift door opens)
Econs teacher:(To PK)Hey!! How have you been? Wow, you cut your hair! (Turns to me) And yours, yours is like...(waves hands over head frantically)...POOM!! Hahaha.
Me: Hahahahaha. (Sigh.) Hahahahaha.
GP Teacher: JASPER??!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?
Me: Nah, just figured that I'll be entering the working world in 2 years time, where I'd be, you know, long sleeved shirt, side parting and all, so yeah, just something different for the next 2 years.
GPT: You gave me such a shock peeking through the classroom window.
(after more conversation...)
Me: In some ways, I kinda found GP fun.
GPT: Yeah, me too. But apparently your class didn't. But your class was dysfunctional anyway so yeah.
Me: Oh man. Were we, like, the worst class you'd ever encountered?
GPT: Most probably. Yeah.
Me: Oh man. So do you still have recurring nightmares, thanks to us?
GPT: I've learnt to deal with it over the years.
Me: Oh man. We were that bad huh. Maybe I should apologize on everybody's behalf.
GPT: Yeah. Maybe you should, GP Rep.
Maths Teacher: Hi.
Me: How are you?
MT: Very very very tired.
Me: Still teaching maths, still doing the same stuff, still seating same place in the office?
MT: Yeah, you know la, I'm the kind of person, you plant me somewhere, I'll just stay there and grow roots.
Naturally, we made the compulsory pilgrimage to Holland V for a coffee chill out laptop usage session (I've been having a kopious number of these sessions during the course of this hols, think I'm addicted to coffee culture) where we immersed in random blah-blahings.
PK: I guess if you look at nature and all, guys were programmed to throughout the course of life to want to have relationships. To have, you know, desires and all, in order to fill the blanks.
Me: Guess you're right. Either we fill blanks or shoot blanks.
PK: WHAT??!
Me: Maybe it's in nature to want to go round and procreate. You know, like animals and plants, all anyhow spread their seeds far and wide.
PK: You know that's an excuse for having flings right.
Me: Yeah, yeah I do.
PK: Have fun during student exchange then.
Me: WHAT??!
Enjoy your trip, PK. Don't get lost in the Australian outback or kidnapped by a wombat. See you in a year's time.
11:11 a.m. - 2007-07-09
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