Total Defense Day

Today is Total Defense Day, meaning, in the case of this year, that anyone in a UYO has to appear in school in full uniform. For once, I bothered to do all the starching and other random stuffs. Andrew will have comments to say, I predict. So let me explain why. Back at ACS Primary, Total Defense Day was a pretty important event in the school calendar, so I was very shocked to find it accorded no attention at ACS Independent. But I still think its important anyway, so that's why I did all that stuff.

I've misplaced my beret, which I find extremely annoying. We were given the option to come with our cap instead, but anyway I called Zhi En and asked if I could borrow the one from the room. So I waited outside the room for him to come with the key. 

Lee Zheng came first and he had the key. We talked for a while about stuff. Turns out he was demoing Hazmat gear during the Total Defense presentation. He was going Sentosa with his class for IB orientation later. Lucky guy. I was going to have Chinese common test. I wish we had more time to talk a little more. I wish we had spent more time together since we first met. :( Damn regret.

The beret did not have a cap badge, so nevermind I was going to use a cap instead. Then I had to go and rush off to find Mr Alex Ng to get my SGT epaulettes along with some other people. He was, as predicted, fashionably late. 

Total Defense presentations were pretty short. Just a couple of videos. And an NCDCC presentation about Hazmat. Take that NCC! We did something for Total Defense Day :) Sadly Daniel did the slides and speaking. Awful. Couldn't he have the creativity to at least create his own cover slide. And why, of everything to use the awful Powerpoint? I hate that program, I hate that word, and I hate the company and people who created it. Sorry PC people. 

Chinese common test was okay, I think I will pass but not do well. Couldn't remember the blasted kuan shu word, so lost one mark for not writing shu.

Rest of the day was boring, except for Chemistry and Chinese. This is what Ivy Goh wears:

The Ivy Goh Spring/Summer Collection

"White"

Labcoat top + IKEA HEDDA RUTA curtains, SGD 39.99 for 2

"Old"

Large teabag + Umbrella fabric

Her ting xie was once again postponed when someone rubbed it off the board. Oh yea, and she doesn't tell you when she wants you to give out books. She just puts in near you and walks away.

Chemistry had lots of cool experiments. Precipitates and solubility in alkaline solutions. The colors were mesmerizing.

Panel discussion after-school means that I miss NCDCC. I was actually looking forward to this one, because we were supposed to be teaching year 2s. The panel discussion was boring and the presentations plain ugly. I did ask one question:

"Speaker's corner has been written off as a failure in many publications. Why do you think this is so? What do you think holds people back from using it? Or is the idea fundamentally flawed?"

It didn't get answered. The panelists skipped it even after the moderator approved it. Later Mr Ang said that the minute he heard it he knew they couldn't answer it. Lolz :) Then I asked why did they skip it. And he said "because they are panelists." Lolz :)

I didn't attend the reception cuz they were so many people and I wanted to, for once, go for NCDCC. Then I found five things.

1. I am teaching year 1s not 2s. Meaning including Eth and Steven.

2. I missed IPP test. Meaning I have to arrange a makeup time.

3. I am not in the March SNCO course. Disappointment. Hope hope hope etc. that I am in the June one.

4. The Lee Zheng, Daniel, David, and Zhi En were not around. Meaning year 3s were in charge.

5. Some Year 2s were laughing (and being really crude) when they were being pumped. So they were screwed real bad. They were forced to run round the IB block. Which I find mean. And a few of then ended up doing a lot a lot of push ups. And worse still someone went and spilt year 2s up and punished half, and left the other half alone. Which both achieves nothing and makes innocent people in the former half feel unfairly ostracized. Come on, what happened to the All for One and One for All?

Later one, I knocked all of them down for a few of them still being really really in your face rude. And at the end of the whole thing, Mr Lawrence Yong told JonTang that we were too hard on the year 2s. Actually I feel sorry for them, that just because of one or two people, other innocent people get into a hell lot of trouble for no reason. I think that disregarding the All for One rule was the worst thing that was done today though. I'm not gonna point fingers here, but I think that the year 3s need a post-mortem meeting.

I feel really sorry for the year 2s, regret knocking them down, and guilty that I wasn't there to watch out for the year 2s, not least my year 2 friends.