Having to be born with skin colour a tad darker than Chinese, and having facial features that are a tad different from the large eyed Indians, people often mistake me for a Muslim. Now, this might not be a bad thing for some of you guys, but to me, it has been something that I have a difficult time trying to adapt to.
Before you start jumping to conclusions and begin accusing me of being a racist, let me first tell you that I am in no way against the Muslims and their religion.
It is just that every time Ramadhan approaches, I cringe in fear of being judged by some people. No, it is not because of the 'Mat and Minah' stereotypes that I get, but because of how I have to hide whenever I eat or hide my tattoo during this month.
Why, you say? Well, as mentioned earlier, many have assumed that I am a Muslim and often glare at me when I head out to head to eat before 'Itfar' or the time for breaking fast. I know most might think of not giving a damn to these people because obviously their assumptions of me being a Muslim is wrong. However, ignoring is not really blissful in this situation. This is because I have been hit with an umbrella by an elderly lady while I was having an ice cream at the bus stop. People have also come up to me and scolded me, accusing me of not having any dignity by eating in public when I am supposed to fast.
However, I have to admit, that this year was not as bad as I thought it would be because I spent most of my time at home. However, I was called an 'Anak Sial', 'Idiot child', and a pig all because I was caught having some candy, and I wore pants that had my tattoo showing, and also because of my piercings, I think. It does not really matter much to me anymore, because I have long forgiven you accusers, for the sake of humanity :)
After all, Hari Raya is about forgiving and repenting right? Anyways, here is just a little note to wish all my Muslim friends, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!
Have a blast reminiscing the past, forgiving each other, and filling your bellies with loads and loads of goodies!
Here's an awesome Petronas video to end this post. Enjoy!
I think this is the best quiz ever. I've done it in FaceBook. And every time I sign into Facebook, I would click on this quiz to read it over and over again. Ah... The nostalgia of my secondary school days; of all the awesome people and things I met and did back then.
I'm not proud of some things that I did, but I sure am glad that it did happen, for it changed me as a whole being.
I'll paste it here! It's really long, but here goes..
If you enjoyed your high school years, you'll do it. If you have nothing else to do, you'll do it. If you're here to read the questions/answers and pretend to hate to do it, deep down you'll still do it.
This tag is so fun because the answers can go on and on. Read if you miss your high school years
Bio Data
1) Which school did you go to? . Woodlands Ring Secondary School.
2) What classes were you in? . 1e3, 2e3, 3e3, 4e3. Yes, the threes loves me so.
3) What was/were your favourite lesson(s)? . My favourite were Literature, Art, Science and History. That was back in Secondary 1 &2. I only loved English at Sec 4.
4) If you could remember, what time was your recess? .I can't really remember even though I was really excited for recess every single day back then.
5) List down your favourite food/snacks. . I loved stall 7's food. The vendors there were really nice too! Other than that, I'll have my Pokka green tea and maybe Apollo.
Style
1) Did you have a nickname way back in high school? . It was really sickening back then because almost everyone (even some close friends) had difficulty pronouncing my name. Some called me Kat, some called me Keth, some called me Catherine even though there was a Catherine just two classes away, some called me Katelin, literally Kat - te -lin, and the list goes on.
2) How did you wear your socks? . I always wore ankle socks but it wasn't necessarily below ankles. I find it really retarded to see people who pull their socks just to make it look short.
3) Have you been suspended due to the way you put on your uniform? . Yes, back when I was in lower Secondary. I was, how Syuh and Malek puts it, Scary. But I become more mature, and finally knew how to dress proper for school when I was in Upper Sec.
4) Were you given plenty of reminders about your appearance? . Yeah, when I was in lower sec. I was often reminded about my colourful guitar strings/ traffic light (ear sticks). And then there were the untucked shirts, short skirts, lace in shirt, and horrible torn and tattered shoes. Oh, and there was the light brown hair which got me into trouble every single day in lower sec.
5) Who did you look up to when you were in high school? - When I was in Sec 1, I looked up to Mr. Bruce because I felt that he was a pretty much laidback person but with a bag full of sarcasm. He was like Singapore’s version of Dr. House, minus the doctor part. Then when I was in Sec 2, I looked up to Mdm Anisah. She may seem like a goofy, weird and crazy teacher but what she went through was really tough. And despite all that, she always had a smile on her face. Now that was someone I admire. Then finally when I was in Sec 4, it was Mrs Raj who got my admiration. She was always the “talk of the town” because of the way she looks and stuff. But her lessons were nothing near the word boring. She had sarcasm, loads of general knowledge, and loads of experience. And she was always willing to lend a hand if we asked for it.
Punishment
1) Name one memorable scene where you were punished in front of the whole class. . I was always punished for the wrong reasons. There was once where I was punished because I laughed at a teacher who was scolding the class. I couldn’t help it, because his face was really funny. He pouted! And from then, everytime he scolded the class, he would ask me “Kethlyn, very funny is it?” even when I wasn’t laughing. Then there were this other time, like syuh said, where we used the leftover of someone’s correction tape, and made a spider web of death around our tables and chairs. A teacher tripped on it, and threatened to send us to the Principal.
2) How many times did you skip class? What were you doing? . Skipping class was like a regular thing when I was in Lower Sec. My attendance was really bad in secondary school, that I was threatened a few times that if I didn’t go to school, I wouldn’t pass that year.
3) Give one scene where you escaped from being caught/punished. . I don’t think I escaped any. I was always scolded by my form teacher. But it was really fun, especially with the crew of friends who did those nonsensical stuff with me.
4) Did you vandalize any school property? . Oh…Vandalizing the tables and chairs with markers and correction fluid. Cutting the tables or scratching them with penknives. Taking out the screws of the table and chairs so that my classmates would fall when they sat on it. Making a hole in the wall, putting glitter glue on the OHP (it was really funny when my teacher switched it on, because the screen showed glitter all over. He was pissed and he stared at me throughout the period, while slowly peeling the glitter glue off of the projecting thingy). Throwing wet tissue on the ceiling of the toilets, classic. And sticking double sided tape on the teacher’s chair (a teacher actually sat on it, and it didn’t help with the fact that he was already pissed). Oh, and I even pasted a sticker-card of my brother’s tattoo shop on one of the walls (I hope he doesn’t kill me when he sees this).
5) Did you ever make any teacher cry? . As lame or idiotic as I may be back then, I hated it whenever someone cried. But I think my Chinese class made two Chinese teachers cry, because they couldn’t take the fact that we were a bunch of people who did not like Chinese lessons and were all ready to give up.
1) Who was your favourite teacher? . Mrs Raj, and Mdm Anisah
2) Describe your DM. . He was nice to my parents, but I think he was trying to hard to fit in with the students.
3) Who was the funniest/weirdest/loudest teacher? . Mr. Ben. He was loud, crazy and damn bloody fit.
Social Circle
1) Were you popular back then? . In a bad way, maybe. But I hate the word popular, and the people who try to be. This is Singapore, for crying out loud. Not some “90210” series.
2) Were you in a big group of boys/girls or small ones? . My school has this weird thing about cliques. I don’t have one, I just hang around with a bunch of friends here and there.
3) Who were your best friends? . Let’s not call them best friends shall we? My partners in crime were people like Raudah, Syuh, Shera, Aainaa, Wan Teng, Colin, Liyana, Alex, Wei Cheow, Jeanice and the canteen people I sit with every day. And definitely the volleyball team. Well, I not only have good friends in school, I have ones out of school too, so let’s not leave them out eh. Yiling, Cheryl, Weiting, Wenya, Lixin, Serene, Lena, Xueping, and so on. I hope there’s no hard feelings eh, if I had to name everyone, the list would go on and on and on.
4) Did you and your friends have nicknames? . There was one with Shera called the R.E investigations. It was created just for laughs. Other than that, no.
5) What were your favourite memories of you and your friends? . I have loads of them. And most of them were punishments (refer to no.4 in punishments). I know this is really mean, but this was actually one of my memorable moments. Well, as usual, I brought sweets to school and Malek wanted one. I wanted to throw one at him but feared that it would hit Yi Qian, who was beside him. So we gave warnings and so on. And then I threw it, and it hit Catherine, hard on the face. And poor her, was minding her own business, paying attention in History Class. Then there were the times where we had birthday bashes, and Syuh’s brother tied all ou bags together. Oh, and the part where we always headed to the mama shop to buy all the Asam before tutorials started. And definitely the times where we sneaked out of class to buy food. Raudah was definitely the best person who always sneaked in and out without anyone knowing. And the funniest one was when Liyana got stuck while climbing a pillar inbetween the toilet cubicles. And one time Alex and I pissed a Physics teacher off when he asked “who created Magnets?” And the both of us shouted “Magneto!” And the KFC moments, the late talks of ghosts and stuff like that.
Okay, I should stop talking now.
Co-curricular Activities
1) What type of CCA were you in? . Volleyball
2) What did you have to bring to your CCA? . Waterbottle, Kneepads, long socks, a lot of hairclips, volleyball shoes, and face towel.
3) What did your CCA required you to do? .Well, basically to play volleyball. We had to learn the various skills, like how to receive right, set right, spike right, and land right.
4) Got injured? . Yeah, spraining ankles were the common thing for me. I got bruises here and there when I didn’t land right. And I even fractured my ankle once when I landed on a ball after spiking.
1) Who was your first crush? . I was too busy getting into trouble to have a crush.
2) Are you in good terms with your last crush? . Blah.
3) Did you ever have a relationship with anyone in your high school? . Nope. Well, I had way better things to do than to land myself into complicated Love.
4) Have you ever made out in school? . Nope.
Closing Ceremony
1) How did high school changed you? . Well, from Lower Sec to Upper Sec, I became more mature as a person. There were various activities that taught me to speak up for myself, to have confidence in myself, and definitely to fight for what is right. High school showed me how screwed some people could be based on racial views and so on, and from there, I learnt how to pick friends who had my back when I needed them, unlike those bastards who always used harsh racial terms whenever they were at the losing end.
2) Sing one verse of your school song. . Gosh, I actually had to sit and think for a long time. Wait, wait, I know it. “Like butterflies from cocoons we unfold”
3) What was your favourite question? . Every single day, it would be the same In an annoyed voice: “What he talking?” “Who got sweet?” “Now what time?” “I’m hungry, when’s recess?” “How many more periods to recess?” “What’s after this?” To Chow Jun Rong who always sleeps, “are you sleeping?”
4) Who/what will you remember from your high school? . The teachers who never gave up on me. The teachers who didn’t care what I did in the past, and would treat me no different from the other kids. Friends, and unfortunately, enemies. Hahah. Everyone! Including the toilet cleaners, like Mdm Diana who works in the zoo now (I saw her!) , and even the stall vendors.
5) Any memories you will not forget. . How much trouble I got into back in school. And definitely my friends who were with me throughout. Oh, and this time where the principal told me to tuck in my shirt and not go for the volleyball tournament to go support (I was in my crutches) and I threw my bag at her feet. Wah lao, damn attitude lah! Hahah. But she was damn shocked that I did it.
Okay, I'm done now. A little update on my schedule. Yesterday, I caught a movie with Syuh and Jeanice. We wanted to watch "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Buttons" but the slots that we wanted mysteriously dissapeared. Hahhah. We caught "He's not that into you" instead. It was a pretty neat show. I think I'll give it a 7 out of 10. But I think they did way too much for a PG rated show. Heh.
Oh and remember, I talked about the glowing nail polish in one of the previous post? Well, I found it! And I bought orange and light green (Syuh and I called it the original colour, but Jeanice insisted that it was LIME green). I've yet to do it on my nails. Instead, I met my brother my guinea pig, yes again. Hahah!
And after 'charging' it, it freakin' GLOWED! hahah! My brother has a glow in the dark thumb now.
Goodbye 2008. Thank God you're finally gone. You've been the suckiest year ever.
I must say that 2008 did allow me to have some fun like
Having a closer bond with my class; Achievers of 2008.
Having great friends
There are of course many others whose photos isn't here. But you must understand, I'm not a photo kind of person, and I do regret it alot. But you're loved just as much as them (above). People like my volleyball teammates, coach, Ms Janay Lim, Ms Lynn Choo, Mr Soh, Mr Ben, Mdm Su, Ms Serene, Ms Lim Hui Qi, Ms Toh, Mdm Yap, Mr Fan, Mr Ni, Mdm Timah, Mr Kheng, Mdm Dzarina, Syuhada, Raudah, mak nenek Jeanice, Jia Min and so on . Like I said, there are many others who aren't named here. If I did name all of you, this post would never end.
Like being able to attend and win events like a "Youth Blogger Finalist" and being able to catch movies with the Big Time Bloggers of Singapore.
I am really appreciative for all these things. But time and again, I can't help but feel that "Someone up there" is testing me. Sometimes I feel so fed up that tears just flow in frustration. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to sound all emo, nor do I want anyone's sympathy. This isn't a post of a attention seeking girl who uses stress to claim attention. Heck no.
Well, I haven't been very happy ever since I lost my companion of 11 years. Yup, my dog. Well, it hit me real darn hard. Having to cradle her while she slowly fade in and out of consciousness, with a bloody nose, on Christmas Eve last year. Then to only see her slowly fade away at home this year. I thought she would last longer. But I was wrong.
Losing my dog wasn't the only f*cked up thing that happen. There were many incidents where I almost lost my Life due to many reckless drivers. Impatient ones as well.
Then I almost did not make it on my studies, I only passed two subjects in my Prelims. Really disappointing, but it was mainly because of my health, which leads to another point.
I found out that I was suffering from stress due to problems at home. I also found out that I have high blood pressure, and would often have headaches, unless I can reduce my stress. And to make things worst, I am allergic to Panadol.
Well, I must say, that depression did hit me hard this year. With the constant misunderstandings in school, with teachers and friends. Then there are those at home. Sometimes it feels really sickening to be placed in situations where there is no where to turn to.
I wouldn't mind listening to my friend's problems and of course, to help them solve it. But time and again, I wondered "why am I helping them when I can't even solve mine?".
Maybe it sounds selfish. But I have turned down anyone who needs someone to talk to. I always try my best to make them smile again. But sometimes it hurts to much, to do something for someone and not feel appreciated. Am I caring for the wrong people? Or am I doing it all wrong? I have no idea. But what I do know is that It sucks.
Oh well, at least I still have my family, and a roof under my head.
Well, I don't really do New Year Resolutions nor Birthday wishes. But this year's a new year, so what the heck.
For my new year resolution:
I want my family to not worry about money matters.
I want everyone to be in the pink of health.
I want to make it to the course of my choice :Child Psychology
I want to be happier
I want to be able to play volleyball with my team again.
Well the new year has finally arrived. And all I want to say is:
To my family and my true friends, those who have been by my side when I needed you most, Thank you so much and I do love you!
To those whom I have insulted or did things to hurt you, I am truly sorry. Please do forgive me.
