} how far we've come

today is POETS day, so im celebrating it by featuring a Poem. it is by Robert Frost, who is popular for the 'road less traveled' poem. i read his biography while searching for poems, and he is actually quite interesting:

For a brief spell after getting married, Robert and Elinor spent time at Harvard but Robert left after 2 years to start a poultry farm. Robert would make several efforts to run farms throughout his life, but rarely with much financial success.

aha. I feel closer to him already, because I also harbour a secret desire of having a (potato) farm. of course, I also harbour secret dreams of being in a band, having a salon/cafe, a chocolate empire, being a chef, a streetside artist, and most recently, a real estate ZILLIONAIRE (after playing Build-A-Lot from yahoo games). so im not sure how alike our interests are, actually. but anyway, today's poem:

I Could Give All To Time

To Time it never seems that he is brave
To set himself against the peaks of snow
To lay them level with the running wave,
Nor is he overjoyed when they lie low,
But only grave, contemplative and grave.

What now is inland shall be ocean isle,
Then eddies playing round a sunken reef
Like the curl at the corner of a smile;
And I could share Time's lack of joy or grief
At such a planetary change of style.

I could give all to Time except - except
What I myself have held. But why declare
The things forbidden that while the Customs slept
I have crossed to Safety with? For I am There,
And what I would not part with I have kept.

..not going to attempt to interpret it, much less understand all of it, cos i will just embarrass myself. but I like the first 2 lines of the 3rd stanza. it sounds nice. it seems like the narrator cant let go of certain things? memories, maybe. not sure about this. but anyway, i guess that makes it appropriate to post the grad nite pics, and about the end of jc life, in general.

(the beautiful venue, including a partial, accidental close-up of 3 heads: janice's, her classmate's and weijun's)

some weeks ago, i wrote about the things that i hate about njc. now im going to write about the things that i do like about it, and jc life in general... or some of them, at least, cos with this kind of thing one is always bound to accidentally leave things out.

first of all, i like that before anything else started during grad nite, we had that tribute to Mr Loh, and that moment of silence. i liked that the moment of silence was really silent, and not full of murmurs or whispers or anything like that. and the tribute on the school website, the messages... how the news spread like wildfire through simple word of mouth and how everyone so readily offered their sorrow, comfort and condolences.

i like enrichment week. poorly executed somewhat, but a good idea, and im sorry for those who find the idea stupid. i guess it is also partly the school's fault for making it look like it is a joke, by not following through with collecting the cards and everything. cant expect people to respect your idea if you yourself dont believe in it...

i like that people dont pretend. other schools can have their kicks calling njcians muggers and whatnots, but you know what? we may be muggers, but we know it. we dont pretend to be anything else we're not. anyway, i doubt that most njcians really study any more than an average person would before a major exam.

i like the teachers, or the ones who bother to come to class at least. (*cough* malay class...) haha. maybe im just lucky, but i have had teachers who are interesting and also very caring towards the class, especially in my j2 year... so im very grateful. =)

and...yea. i like the people at njc. though not everyone will read this, but i dont care and i'll write this anyway.

(no photo cos no gradnite pic & too lazy to scan the class photo...sorry)

06S11... as i mentioned in my previous entry, im not very close to you all, but im still grateful to have known all of you with your interesting personalities. classes have become more livened up thanks to all the jokes from you guys and also the teachers... =) needless to say, i slept in class a lot less in j2 than in j1. haha. thank you. thanks especially to tuckwen and catrin, the 2 class reps for 2 years. though your efforts to unite & liven up the class were not always met with good response, yet you always stayed cheerful & enthu, so i respect that a lot. and han ern as well - to say that you are an enthu house capt would be an understatement, haha, and although im probably one of the most unenthu house member ever, i also respect you for your efforts and hard work for the house. and to the rest... thank you to those who gave those encouraging notes before prelims & A's, really helped a lot. =) running out of words to say so, just..thank you, and good luck in everything you do, really.

(the best pw group that im lucky to have worked with)

NJ087 - all four of you, thanks for the memories, the good times, the laughs. thanks for not killing yourselves before OP. (haha =).) you guys were like my only link to the class during my j1 weird-timetable year, (except during maths class but i think i spent most of it sleeping anyway) and the times i've shared with you all are some of the best i have had in jc. thank you for making pw more fun than i could have ever thought possible, and for...enlightening me about the mandarin language? haha. i may never learn chinese but i will always have a long-lasting appreciation of it and the culture, and i will always remember our speak mandarin campaign ideas. =P
again, i wish you guys the best in everything.

(part of the most rocking ensemble that produced the most beautiful & heartfelt music)

njc guit ensemble - i think i have written so many thankyou notes to guitar members that i have run out of things to say. but just to reinforce all of it: guit concert was amazing (our 4-people g3 rocked! haha), syf was amazing (understatement of the year). i am very very grateful that, on the day of cca carnival, someone (didnt even see the face properly) crossed my path as i was going home and asked me if i would like to sign up for guitar ensemble. and im glad to have known EACH and EVERY one of you, although im not talkative enough to express it. =P but im really grateful for all the times spent together, the conversations shared, no matter how many or how long or how short. the music we played.
especially to those i've grown closer to - thank you for being a friend. (sounds like the Golden Girls song..)
also wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do next, be it music-related or not.

(sorry no photos again cos too lazy to resize/upload any more pics =X)

the random people i've gotten to know that don't fall under any of the above categories - thank you for making life in jc so much more colourful. especially to those i met and got to know in my j1 year, when i really had no fixed class or clique to stick to, thanks for offering your friendship, and just being nice. sometimes just seeing you people around in school brightens my day. =) thank you for that, and i also wish you all the best in everything. (goodness, my vocab is really limited.)

(running out of steam here, but i have to persevere! haha.)

anne marie - thanks for being that brudder and friend that i can always count on having in nj. =) your notes of encouragement really cheered me up at my lowest times (before syf, etc) and ... just seeing you around in school brightens up my day, too! (again, limited vocab..sigh...) you are an amazing amazing friend and person. thank you, and God bless you always...!

and finally, anita & yingri - thank you for being there for me always, literally, because most of the time i spent in school was spent with you two. =P haha. but seriously, i will miss the two of you a lot. actually i already miss you two a lot haha. anyway, thank you so much for being there, and for being great friends. looking forward to that trip and doing a lot of our favourite activity: EATING! =P hahaha.

ok, that was tiring. i think i will stay off blogging for a while. (which is good because there are a lot of other things im supposed to be doing...) happy poets day everyone.

2007-12-07, 3:52 p.m..
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