Words, names

It was a dark and stormy night.

Okay, it wasn't really a dark and stormy night, but it was raining that day. Cos I was feeling kinda bored, so I dug out some of my old spelling books (as well as my brother's). And I perked up instantly! Some of the misspellings were really hilarious.

Excerpts from my brother's spelling book

Panch bolce - Phone booth

Soldrens - Soldiers

Rossted - Roasted

Enmy - Enemy

Anbulce- Ambulance

Ulgy - Ugly

And the most hilarious one.... Wotter botter- Water bottle

Excerpts from my spelling book

Balooon -Balloon

Brike - Brick

Foood centre - Food centre

juicecy - juicy

suddy - suddenly (OMG)

exaxarate - exaggerate

Andandand..... nessssessarry - necessary (I was laughing like crazy, how could I make such a mistake? I mean one look at it and it is obviously wrong, lols)

P.s. Guess what? The word inclement means

1) Tempestuous (as in stormy, like inclement weather)

2) Unmerciful, harsh, opposite of clemency

Anyway, Clement is an adjective, someone who is inclined to be merciful. Hahaha. Hows that for nice :D Was the name of many saints.

So then I went on to find the meaning of names in 2F (English only) :D Read on!

Eve- (French, Biblical)

Hebrew meaning of 'to live' or 'to breathe'. Has negative connotations as a result of the Garden of Eden incident, (yada yada... -.-lll Like that was my fault!) Hence rarely used. Revived the usage only in late 20th century. Negative form of Evangeline and Eva, etc etc.

Chantal- (French, Dutch)

'Stony', commonly associated with 'song'

Frederica- (Pourtugese)

Feminine form of Frederick, meaning peaceful ruler o.O

Astrid- (Scandinavian, German, French)

Derived from some word I cannot type out here -.- Meaning: 'god' and 'beautiful'

Pearlyn's name had no definition -.- But it's supposedly an extension of Pearl, which means 'health' and 'wealth' AND is also a masculine name heehee

Phoebe- (Greek, Biblical, Latin)

Means 'bright and pure'. Was a Titan in greek mythology. Phoebe is also one of Saturn's moons.

Noelle- (French)

Feminine form of Noel. Means 'Christmas' in French. In Middle Ages was used for children born on Xmas Day.

Stiffany- Nothing found. Combination of Stephanie and Tiffany?

Jasmine- (French)

Derived from Persian name Yasmin. From the english word for the climbing plant, with fragrant flowers. No real meaning.

Aeres- Not found, probably related to Aries(Roman) or Ares(Greek) Both have violent associations ._.

Amanda- (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Scandinavian, Dutch, German, Finnish, Late Roman)

Surprising not used during Middle Ages. Means 'lovable, worthy of love'. Came into regular use only in 19th Century and female form of Amandus.

Clement- (English) Above.

Paul- (French, Biblical, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Romanian)

Means 'small' or 'humble' in Latin. Wrote much of the New Testament. Many artists, saints and philosophers have this name.

Joseph- (French, Biblical, German)

Means 'he will add'. Was a popular name in Spain and Italy as it was associated with Saint Joseph. This was the name of the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin also shared this name (gulp! that sounds familiar... who is Stalin? Smth to do with Russia?)

Richie- (English)

Diminutive of Richard, meaning 'brave power' and 'rule'

Jonathan- (Biblical, German, Dutch, Scandinavian)

Hebrew meaning of 'Yahweh has given' Anyway, Yahweh is a name of a hebrew god. Because it was considered blasphemous to utter the name of God it was only written and never spoken. This resulted to it being lost over time (Yahweh, not Jonathan). Also means 'to become'

'Kay that's it :D

Sundays rule!

Yay! Bowling :):):):):):):):)

Not too bad today I guess, I got a strike and a spare. But I was so horribly careless in my fourth and 5th frame that I practically wasted the strike! (3rd frame- X; 4th frame --; 5th frame; -1) Could have killed myself over my stupid mistake... In the end my points ended up... not as high as I hoped. Okay, I got 87. Happy? I was hoping to go over 100 T-T

I think now it's becoming some sort of ritual, every Sunday we've been going bowling IF we all finish our homework. Pa Pa is always threatening to cancel our bowling trips but I think he's secretly happy we get to bowl since he's really into bowling himself; what with his own shoes and glove and socks... (actually I don't get the point about the socks, but if he's happy, fine) Pa Pa didn't do too well today cos he let Di Di play for the last four sets, so I beat him. But didn't feel like a big winner cos he wasn't really playing. Leave it to him to spoil my good mood -.- lll

Speaking about homework, I need to go early to qiong my homework because I can't concentrate at home, obviously. Was woken up this morning at 8am by Yong Yong screaming along to the theme song of Doraemon. Great! Actually, since I usually wake up around 8.30 on weekends, it wasn't such a big deal, but I was annoyed all the same. Went for Chemistry tuition not long after. Might fail the test they set today- it was impromptu, and I totally forgot all about metallic bonding and giant crystal lattices and polarised stuff, I can't remember what. Might have heard it in Chemistry class last week... And then a girl sitting beside me borrowed my textbook to use the periodic table but instead to copy!!! Grrgh, it wasn't even hers.

Homework...

"I have homework for every subject!" I complain. Then, I look at all my other friends. Hey- they're complaining about the immense workload too! What a coincidence! Okay, I was being sarcastic. But it doesn't change the fact that we all have tons of homework! I could rant about the amount of work we have here, but I'll keep this post short- I still haven't finished more than a third of my homework -.- lll

LOUD.LOUDER.LOUDEST.

I'm still missing 2F! Obviously... We spent 2 years together. I'd rather not go all emo on this post... and I'm trying not to let any tears fall as I write... must not let my facade fall... keep up this happy front... but I just couldn't help it last Friday night, I started tearing up (luckily my sister was asleep). I felt really pathetic crying silently on my own, huddling under my blanket cuddling up to a soft toy (Yes I know I was being childish, confiding in a soft toy) but I seriously couldn't stop for some reason and everything I'd been holding back just came out. I'm not big on expressing feelings so it was a relief to get everything off my chest. I can't even confide in someone for fear they'll laugh at me and think I'm going senile. I think everyone feels that way sometime or the other, do they? Or is it just me? It's at these times I wish my soft toy could talk back to me. I couldn't even cry out loud for fear of arousing the attention of my parents, y'know.....? My left eye got seriously swollen from all the self-conscious rubbing and I only dared to post this because my eye is much better, Thank You Very Much.

.....that's enough for today. Stop it. 'Kay. I'm done here. Back to the happy me everyone sees. If you want to know why I don't let my true feelings show, it's because I hate it when people see me crying or anything and go, oh she's crying/oh she's laughing like crazy- must be another of those typical teenage crazy girls. I'm not one of those people. And I never want to be.

My class has a lot of noisy people. I swear I've been going deaf, and I have evidence to prove it. Di Di was asking me if I wanted peas in my soup and I thought he said "Please pass the soup." Speaking of mishearing incidents, today LA lesson was hilarious (or at least the incident was)! Ms Teo made us all stand up and say something from the passage about beauty and stuff, and Ming Sheng said

"The people in the school all bulimic". Or something along those lines. And Ms Teo heard "The people in the school all bully me" HAHAHAHA!!! I nearly died laughing. Of course it wasn't as loud as some people (won't say whom, to save their face) but loud enough. Anyway Ms Teo finally got the idea after he repeated it like five-six times (wah fail), and also after everyone explained it to her. Nearly fell off my seat o.O

Yay... School (tests, tests, tests... T-T)

Miss 2F!

I have just realised what the teachers meant when they said Years 1 and 2 were 'Honeymoon' years. And to think I complained about the workload in Year 2! On hindsight, that was nothing compared to the truckloads of worksheets I have to complete sitting in my file.

And so many colour-coded files! White plastic for Math(whatever you say, it's NOT maths)! Black ringed for LA! 2 pale-pinkish ones for Chemistry (for what exactly I've forgotten). Pale blue plastic one (oops, TWO plastic files) for Chinese, one for composition i guess and the other for everything else. And I have no idea what the purple and green ring files are for. I suppose one is for Geography and the other for Physics, since those are the only subjects without files. Why does Geog need such a big one -.-lll

Physics is mentally, physically and emotionally draining. Just take a look at our class... If you're not groaning at the super-long string of numbers that make absolutely no sense at all except to the boring teacher, you're probably lolling on the table in effort to stay awake (unsuccessfully) or you're asleep already. Maybe, just maybe, if you're one of those hardworking types you could be sitting upright (not without effort, of course) and feverishly copying down now so the teacher won't call on you later. And I bet Jun Jie is inwardly cursing now for ending up sitting with me again. And righhhht at the front! Some people have all the luck (or not, as in our case). Better not to sit in the front row at all.

I have came to a conclusion: For the good of their children's mental well-being, parents should make their child's name as typical and un-interesting as possible. If your name is one of those atypical types, good for you. You have creative parents. But if you wish to keep a low profile in school, I'd advise you to have those chinese names. Teachers just skim over those. Of course, if your name is in the middle, you have a higher chance of being the 'lucky' one to answer the question. I don't know why, but they just love people in the middle. Okay, so remember to name your child accordingly next time. It would save them a lot of stress if you give them a boring name like Tom, Dick or Harry.... Waaaait. Actually, you'd better not. Those names are so uncommon now. Name your child Edward- it's the most popular name now, apparently.

P.s. If your name is Jonathan, you don't stand a chance. You are most likely to be called up. It's true- studies has shown that people named Jonathan are more likely to be called up than any other name, even though it is one of the most common names in the world (my contact list can prove it, I know SIX Jonathans, and three of them have the surname Ong). Weird, eh? So whatever you do, don't name your child Jonathan.

P.s.s. I thought the reunion on Friday was an epic failure, even though I was happy to see everyone again. No offense, but I think everyone thought so too.

Must read poems...

By Shel Silverstein

The little boy and the old man

Messy room

Where the sidewalk ends (must read!!)

Homework- Pop culture (epic FAIL)

After reading many links and many futile attempts at searching for Singapore pop culture, I am forced to conclude along with so many others- yes, Singapore is a boring society. Those who pride themselves in the mundane will gladly take root in boring 'ol Singapore. Peaceful, yes. Boring? Definitely.

Those who are not convinced, I invite you to type in 'pop culture' into the search box at google. Thousands of links sprout up, along with pictures. Now, erase that away. This time, add 'Singapore' in front and you'll be amazed. Thousands of links have been reduced to few hundreds. Pictures are sadly lacking, and most are completely irrelevant. Is Jay Chou part of of Singapore's pop culture? The fans, maybe. Otherwise...

Have a short read-up on how boring Singapore can be, then.

http://www.singapore-window.org/sw04/041003st.htm

http://www.littlespeck.com/content/economy/CTrendsEconomy-050424.htm

On a lighter note, perhaps this will bring hope for us.

http://carolcooper.org/scene/singapore-99.php

Saw a lot of cosplaying links... Is that part of Singapore culture? Do you think we can incorporate that into our own? Hmm... I sure hope so. It would be nice if Singapore could also be known for good cosplaying. =D

I (We) am/are doomed

I just realised that maybe I could die before this year is up.

One misdeed= Very, very stern warning

2nd or 3rd time= Call parents (or detention)

4th= Detention

5th time= Suspension! *the horror!!!*

6th= EXPELLED. Not kidding.

This goes for any misdeed. You could be expelled for being late, people. I don't believe it. I miss Ms Ek and 2F and the old campus...

I am too horrified to say anything. I shall do my homework before they can accuse me of doing anything wrong. We're kept on our toes now. Cross the line and... suffer the consequences.

3G... Why?!

No matter how much I try, I just cannot bring myself to... *sigh* like my new class.

What about class bonding? You may chastise me. Okay, everyone is really friendly and all, but the fact remains I feel a bit out-of-it-all. I miss 2F, I do... And I mean I can't keep running between classes to look for my friends. I really wonder how I actually bonded with my former class.

Saw Miss Foo today at the bus stop :D The bus was so crowded, she couldn't manage to get onto 174. I squeezed in and barely made it up (was hanging onto railings with fingertips).

The games today weren't very fun. I really appreciate what the SCs did for all of us and their efforts really showed, but I think it would be more fun with those simple games like entanglement, vampire(maybe too dangerous), poisonball(fisherman) and/or netball(yesyesyesplsplspls)!

On the way back after a very lonnnnnng and tirinnnnng day, met Joseph on 174. Both of us was just as surprised to see each other get off at the same bus stop -.- lll Turns out he lives only two blocks away *shock* (I don't even need to cross a road or anything) I mean, how can two people who live in such close proximity with each other not even chance upon each other at least once? *double shock* Maybe he doesn't venture out at all...? Bet he just stays home and read books on World War I, II, III (wait, not yet). He says that he'd rather not tell anyone where he lives, so nobody knows where he stays. So antisocial. But who am I to criticise? I was pretty moody and unfriendly today, I think... I'll try to be nicer tomorrow. I promise! Really.

P.s. I dropped the 'colour' thing because:

1) Hard to read

2) Troublesome

Sorry, stuff here will mostly remain plain ol' black-and-white :D

School!

Yay! School's re-opening at our new campus!

I'm nervous, I know I am, especially if you're going to a NEW class and almost no one you know goes there... I am regretting not taking E. Lit. Just a bit. At least their class doesn't have the 'Too many guys in my class' problem. My class isn't too bad, not till you see 3J. Crazy. 21 guys, 11 girls. The guys can rule for once, cos RV is like 2/3 girls, 1/3 guys (good for us, bad for them)

If you are wondering why my post seems a bit different, that's because technologically-destitute(d) me has discovered the joy of adding colour to my words :D Yeah. Oh, yes I forgot-

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!

(colour added! Now aren't I a genius :D)

I AM SO SORRY

I have promised some people out there I will update my boring posts on my holiday (sad but true, argh) BUT- sorry, you'll just have to wait a while longer, please? *looks at you with pleading eyes* Okay, not gonna get mushy here. By the way I have lost my dictionary. Double whammy! ARGH (again).

I will DIE without my dictionary. Seriously. Currently I have a whole list of words waiting to be unravelled because searching it on wikitionary (is that it?) lags my Apple Mac. And I don't trust something on the World Wide Web. That's my rule #1. Anyway, if someone could consent to help me (I shall swallow my pride and ask you, so PLEASE!) Thank you! Smiles~

quagmire

ardor (oh never mind, thanks Aaron)

capricious

apace (thank you!)

alarum

impregnable/impregnated

infirmities

taciturn/tactiturn (One is USA and the other is Brit English)

incumbent

reprieve

askance (never mind)

negate

acane fetters (is it together or what?)

visceral

niceties (okay, I know now)

sanguine (scarlet, i think)

prolific (okay, nvm)

brusque (is it quick and brief?)

THAT'S ALL FOLKS :D THANK YOU

(if you're wondering what brought on such and onslaught of words, I was re-reading the Inheritance Trilogy for the upteenth time and realised I should really make an effort to understand them instead of skimming over it and understanding it as a vague sentence. I mean, you'll get the idea but I want to learn too :) Thanks guys :D )

P.s. Guess what! I finished reading In the mix and Outsiders. (He-llo? Our Lang Arts textbooks. Not too bad I guess, and there is plenty of great and hard-sounding vocabulary to learn.

In the mix is great, with different types of literature for all to appreciate. But Outsiders is boring for those who don't really reading stuff in code language like poetry. Don't get me wrong, it IS nice, but when it goes about the same thing over and over again, confusing everyone, then what's the point if the reader has no idea what you're talking about? The piped piper one is nice though. But the one about the horseman and the innkeepers daughter is a bit... hmmm. It succeeded in giving me the creeps. Now I hear hoofbeats outside the window. Or maybe it's my rambunctious brother banging on the wall. Hopefully.

Oh, and there's too much violence in Outsiders. Joseph would like that I guess. And the Manga in In the mix would appeal to his disturbing nature. World War II, when Hiroshima was bombed. Was it Fat Man or Little Boy? My social studies isn't all that great, I guess. (Blame my ex-classmate for biting my social studies teacher) It really is shocking... Skin melting on the spot, clothes and glass shards sticking to your skin... Why does the macabre delight so many? I would really like to know. Ah, Reader's Digest has a new vocab list on the Macabre. Check it out! :D

P.s.s. Have I been boring you? Sorry... But I love Lang Arts

So why not take E. Lit? Many people scream at me. Well... I don't know. I just didn't want to go to where all the English geniuses are, or I'd get severely demoralised when I see their rich vocabulary and perfect enunciation and intonation. Call me a coward, then. I'll spend the whole day reading the dictionary to find better words to get back at you. XD Joking! What possessed you to think such an innocent girl like me would do that? Haha.

Oh yes, one more thing. You should seriously try reading the dictionary for leisure. It's very entertaining and can keep you occupied for hours!

Relax. You can stop scrolling down now. This very very very very lonnnnnnnnng post.... Is finally..... Over. *grins*

Am I torturing you, dear reader? Please do come again!