ok, so this post is waay overdue, but I meant to post it up last week. Haven’t had the time to edit it..
Anyway, before I get into that.. it’s goodie bag day again today. Exam Welfare Package they call it.. we were supposed to get one last semester too but somehow, ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’ we didn’t get any.. this sem’s one sponsored by the SDU I think.. other than the round of useful stuff like notepads, writing pads, pens, sticky pads, tape, NEWater, instant ice-tea mix and stuff.. we got some Date-O-Meter thing.. it’s one of those silly liquid crystal thermometer thing that changes colour from black to brown to green and blue when you place your thumb over it. Apparently it tells you if you’re good to go for a date or not. Haha.. how silly.. waste of tax payers’ money.
some of the stuff in the goodie bag, i think the most useful thing would be the 2 writing pads. hah..
So anyway, last Saturday was like some excursion. Beeps just got her bonus *shh..* and she needed to de-stress.. so being the nice brother that I am, I accompanied her Bishan. Had a hearty meal and got me a new pair of shoes too.. all thanks to her. =) then we met ben and he bought us bubble tea.. that was my Saturday Excursion.. didn’t need spend a single cent. =) you don’t get to do these kinda stuff often nowadays..
The bulk of Sunday was spent at the Asian Civilizations Museum with dar. It was some Red festival thing, so you just needed to wear red and you’re allowed to go in free.. so cool right? There were some really interesting exhibitions especially this new part which featured a new discovery made in china. They call it the Mystery Man from China’s Lost Age, stating that it’s some ‘most important archeological find in the 20th century China’. But well, sadly, they don’t allow any photography of the artifacts. Ok, so they actually allow it, but I’m not allowed to publish them anywhere ‘including websites’.. baah.
Alright, so much about what went on inside, on the outside it was quite spectacular too.. other than the fact that almost everything was red, they had little booths for balloon sculpting and hand-painting and also a stage. There was this guy sharing how to use the i-forgot-what-it’s-called. Some drum-like thing that the middle-eastern people use. And along with him, there was a belly dancer! How cool! That's the first time i get to watch a bellydancing act live! The whole set was quite well done, they managed to engage the audience and allowed the kids to play and beat along on the drums. Entertaining..
that's the bellydancer.. she defines the word 'vibrate'.. 
LEFT: They also invited those who were interested to go on stage and join in the impromptu dance. Quite cool, espcially the little boy on the extreme right..RIGHT: dar with one of the opera people.. they had a session where they showed how they dressed and applied the make-up to the opera singers.. from scratch..
There was also a ‘bian-lian’ (literally translated as ‘face-changing’) performance too. Where the fella on stage would change his mask really quickly. I’ve seen it on tv and it’s nice to be able to watch it in person, just that well.. it wasn’t really well done. The troope that the ACM employed didn’t really do justice to the whole bian-lian performance art. Maybe they had a tight budget. I mean.. I DID go in free after all..
Oh, and i got to watch TMNT . It’s a pity they didn’t feature the theme song. Haha, otherwise it would really be nostalgic. On that note, I remember reading somewhere on the net about an article that lists quite some stuff that would be nostalgic to people of my generation (and in Singapore, since this blog is probably read by non-singaporeans too).. been looking around for quite sometime, and then, out of the blue, I got an email and it’s exactly wat I’m looking for.. enjoy the read!
Nostalgia..
To those of you born in the 1970s or 1980s, take a trip down memory lane...
You grew up watching He-man, MASK, Transformers, Silver Hawk and Mickey Mouse. Not to forget Ninja Turtles, Care bears, My Little Pony and Smurfs too...
You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in Primary school during recess time. You will squat by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brush your teeth with a coloured mug. The teachers said you must brush each side 10 times too.
You know what SBC stands for.
You pay 40 cents for Chocolate or Strawberry MILK every week in class.
You watch a very popular Malay dubbed Japanese drama on RTM1 about schoolgirls who possess powerful skills in volleyball called Meoro Attack.
You find your friends with pagers and handphones cool in Secondary school.
SBS buses used to be non- airconditioned. The bus seats are made of wood and the cushion is red. The big red bell gives a loud "BEEP!" when pressed...
Bus fares barely reached 50 cents.
There are colourful tickets for TIBS buses. The conductor will check for tickets by
using a machine which punches a hole in the ticket.
Envelopes were given to us to donate to Sharity Elephant every Children's Day.
You've probably read Young Generation magazine. You know who's Vinny the little vampire and Acai the constable.
You were there when they first introduced the MRT here. You went for the first ride with your parents and you would kneel on the seat to catch the scenery.
Movie tickets used to cost only $3.50. (if we did watch movies then.)
Gals are fascinated by Strawberry Short Cake and Barbie Dolls.
You learn to laugh like The Count in Sesame Street .
You longed to buy tibits called Kaka (20 cents per pack), and Ding Dang / Tora (50 cents per box), that had a toy in it and it changes every week.
Not forgetting the 15 cents animal crackers and the ring pop, where the lollipop is the
diamond on the ring.
You watched TV2 (also known as Channel 10) cartoons because Channel 5 never had enough cartoons for you.
Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, Famous Five and Secret Seven are
probably the thickest story books you ever thought you have read. Even Sweet Valley High, Malory Towers. And R.S.Stine and Goosebump series were probably the scariest story you ever read.
KFC used to be a high class restaurant that served food in plates and lets you use metal forks and knives.
Catching was the IN thing and ‘twist’ was the magic word.
Your English workbooks were made of some poor quality paper that was smooth and yellow.
There was once the craze over Tamiya cars and toy dispensers where you had to slot in a coin and twist the knob, while your other hand anticipated the toy to appear. 20 cents for colourful rubber balls and 50 cents / 1 dollar for toys in plastic egg shells.
The only computer lessons in school involved funny pixellised characters in 16 colours walking about trying to teach you maths.
Waterbottles were slung around your neck and a must everywhere you go.
Boys loved to play soccer with small plastic balls in the basketball court.
Teng-teng, five stones, chapteh, hentam bola and zero point were all the rage with the girls and boys too...
Science was fun with the balsam and the angsana being the most important plants of our lives, guppies and swordtail being the most important fish.
Who can forget Ahmad, Bala, Sumei and John, eternalized in our minds from the textbooks. Even Mr Wally & Mr. Yakki. What abt Miss Lala? And Zaki and Tini in Malay Textbooks?
We carry out experiments of our own to get yourself badges for being a Young Zoologist/Botanist etc.
Every Children's day and National day you either get coloured caps or pins or pens with 'Happy Children's Day 1993' or files with 'Happy National Day 1994'.
In Primary six you had to play buddy for the younger kids like big sister and brother.
We wear BM2000, BATA, or Pallas shoes.
Your form teacher taught you Maths, Science and English.
The worksheets were made of brown rough paper of poor quality.
You went to school in slippers and a raincoat when it rained, and you find a dry spot in the school to sit down, dry your feet, and wear your dry and warm socks and shoes.
School dismissal time was normally around 1 pm.
There would be spelling tests and mental sums to do almost everyday.
Your friends considered you lucky and rich if your parents gave you $3 or more for pocket money everyday.
You see Wee Kim Wee's face in the school hall.
You freak out when the teacher tells you to line up according to height and hold hands with the corresponding boy or girl.
Boys like to catch fighting spiders. Collecting and battling erasers was a pastime for boys.
Autograph books were loaded with "Best Wishes", "Forget Me Not", and small poems like "Birds fly high, hard to catch. Friend like you, hard to forget".
Class monitors and prefects loved to say "You talk somemore, I write your name ah!"
There were at least 40 people in one class.
Large, colourful schoolbags were carried.
You brought every single book to school, even though there was one thing called the timetable.
How nostalgic.. and oh, it’s April.. quote of the month time! Interestingly, it’s the exam month and the quote for this month is about slacking. How timely.. =)
It's April! Quote of the month.. Utter despair.. heh.
Boring day.. everyone’s out but me.
