Friday, May 13, 2005
Of Results and Rodents
This week, I received (as well as the rest of my class) my progress report from my civics tutor. Before I continue, I must first introduce you to this little piece of paper. This dreaded document is handed to students after every major test or exam, and it details how well (or how badly) you have progressed so far (hence the name). Listed on the paper are a student's exam results, attendance level, conduct, civics tutor's comments and occasionally, the principal's as well. For this blog post, only the first item is of importance.When I first came down last year, I knew nothing about A-Levels Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. As for Economics, the lecturer/tutor I had in my previous college was lousy and spoke too softly for our own good, so you can assume that I'm illiterate except in Production Possibility Curves and Elasticities. Anyway, during the June holidays, I decided against returning home so that I can (hopefully) study for the Common Test that came immediately after that. However, due to my (now failed) attempt at picking up basketball and an ungodly amount of slacking and hanging out, I didn't really do well for the test.
Alright, I'm just kidding.
In fact, I screwed the bloody thing up really, really, REALLY badly;
Yup, you saw it right. I didn't pass a single A-level paper. Granted, I haven't wisened up to Singapore's expectations yet (it was so much easier to score back at home, and I missed half a year's worth of work), but wait till you see what I got for end-year;
A 'whoopping' improvement from an F to a D for Chemistry, and a one grade promotion for GP. Heck, I knew that I wasn't going to score, but actually performing so terribly felt like getting kicked in the nuts by a kangaroo. I banked too much on Chemistry back then because I liked Organic Chemistry, but a slew of careless mistakes and cascading calculation errors (or error-brought-forward) made me lose a lot of marks...
It was bad enough to bring me into a depression phase of two weeks, of which I spent by skipping every lecture to read Dune novels, Sherlock Holmes stories and Oscar Wilde's works in the library (looking back, it was quite a productive depression phase, but anyway...). To make matters worse, my scholarship, and even my promotion to JC2 were on the line. I needed one AO-level and two A-level passes to prevent the horror of being retained. I only had one A-level pass in Chemistry. As for my scholarship, even conditional renewal seemed like a distant prospect... So, I waited ominously for both the principal and MOE to tell me that I'm a dreadful student and scholar and then to order me to leave the country.
Well, they did tell me that I'm a dreadful student and scholar, but miraculously, I was allowed to stay.
So I mugged, and here's what I got this year;
Not too bad, I think. Of course, in comparison to certain other second-intake scholars *cough* Gideon Ho *cough*, that's lousy, but for now, I guess I'll just have to push myself even harder. Whenever my mom asks me what am I going to do about my results, I just shrug and say, "Study harder lor".
And now it's time for the anti-climactic, half-assed conclusion to my so-called inspirational success story (at least for now...). If a slacker like me can improve, I'm sure you guys can do wonders too. Mug!
Now... Why is the word 'Rodent' in the title? That's because on last Thursday morning, my roommate Alexander Yap killed a rat in the pantry which unfortunately happened to be stuck inside an empty rubbish bin; this good friend of mine poured hot water until the poor little creature died from scalding and drowning.
Should've taken a picture...
Anyway, a relative of the deceased, seeking vengeance, invaded our room sometime over the weekend and sabotaged our supplies. Here's an amatuer photograph of the aftermath;
In light of the attacks, the members of room F-1/10 have declared an all out war against all pests which plague the ground storey of the hostel block, be they mammal, insect or mollusc. Steps to prevent further attacks by our enemies have been taken; our borders will be closed and secured at certain hours of the day and our Baygon cans have been mobilised. Our arsenal has also been improved by the purchase of salt from our ally, the prosperous (though at times avaricious) NTUC Fairprice, in order to battle the evil snail forces. Wish us well for our campaign to purify our lands from the unwanteds! We shall not be humiliated by the lesser beings any longer! Onward to victory!
*Ahem* Got carried away there. But I have to admit, that was kinda fun.
