Tag: School life

Drama Llama!

I didn’t know what I was putting myself into when I agreed to join this year’s drama competition. Let it be known that I’ve never watched, much less perform in, a drama. Hence, this is where my curiosity stepped in, mentally encouraging my conscience to “try out this shiny new thing!”, and so I did.

Introducing Rebecca Black Team/Team Friday! *

*Why the Rebecca Black-inspired name? BLAME JANNANEE. Because of her random bursts into Friday during practices, which often leads to a group sing-along.

Best director: Sasha Inez

Best drama mates: Aiman/Salami, Leea, Anum, Aina, Lutong, Sangeeta, Trish, Elis, Colleen, Anith, Kak Chah, Kak Massy and Jannanee.

Practice started the same time school holidays did. It went on every day, morning to evening, and although it was exhausting, the fun we had during and after these practices compensated for the vacation I never had during the holidays.

Fast forward the practices (because I’m lacking the creative juices in that department) to the 15th of June, the district-level drama competition, hosted by none other than our school. Some of the schools taking part in said competition were: Convent, KSAH, Keat Hwa, Agama Kedah, Teknik, Al-Bhukary, Sultanah Bahiyah etc. When it was our turn to perform, I had the worst jitters ever and had to beg for sweets from Farah, small bread pieces from Janet and water from Sangeeta because it was a barren wasteland down in the pit of my stomach.

After our performance ended, we took our seats and watched the other schools’ performances.

Aiman’s description of what happened pretty much sums up all of my feelings. “So okay, I watched other schools performed and they were good. And then, Convent came along. Gobsmacked. It was so good I almost cried.” Yes, they were truly so very good and it brought tears to my eyes. I looked around and saw mirrored expressions in the whole hall. And then it was Kolej’s turn and I laughed throughout their performance until my jaws got sore. I know we weren’t that bad and although I’ve been trying to be an ‘Optimism! Optimism!’ person, after watching those two drama performances, I knew all hopes of bagging the champion title was out the window.

I was right. Convent won the competition…but we came in second! And that was already good enough for me. Who cares who wins or loses as long as you have fun, right? Nah, not being a sour grape here. They really did deserve to win, and I had my fun; it was a win-win situation.

To everyone: You guys did great and deserve more than just a pat on your backs! You guys should be mighty proud of yourselves for doing something not everyone has the guts to do.

To the Asma drama team: Thank you guys for being awesome and just being the best drama mates a drama-newbie could ever ask for. And of course, thank you Sasha for being an amazing director, despite what you think of yourself. Managing fourteen rowdy and crazy teenagers must have been a hell of a task. You’re like a supermom. B-)

More photos here.

I’d imagined this post to be more interesting than it is, but it’s almost midnight and I have an assignment left to procrastinate over so, sorry.

PMR- Fifth (and Last) Day

Let me start off by saying today stretched on longer than any other day. Mandarin paper 2 was first and I spent too much time on the 2nd section. The long essay was okay, but we’ll see. Paper 1 was terrible, terrible, terrible. Oh well, Joey is going to have to keep to her promise and take me out to dinner once news come out I won’t get an A in Mandarin.

Anyway, after first paper we had a cake brought in for Shi Qian and we sang her a song and ate cake with kiwi toppings.

The end of PMR means time to make plans so

GOODBYE PMR

Charizard I choose you!

PMR- Third Day

I had a terrible dream last night, and long story short, I dreamt that I lost everyone I love and it was horrible, so I woke up feeling pretty bad.

I realised I haven’t really described in detail how PMR is carried out. I arrive at school at around 7.20am every morning, then catch a few cramming minutes at the canteen, where everyone is gathered before entering the school hall. The first paper is usually 8.10am so all of us queue up according to classes right at the very front of the canteen with Teacher Zarina trying to get us to shut up and the principal gives a speech thereafter. Then, we make way to the school hall.

Not gonna lie, I look forward to enter the school hall every time. It’s air conditioned, and for the first time in my three years of schooling in Asma School, I actually felt cold wearing my prefect uniform.

Science paper 1 was easy, I finished it very quickly.

After that we had an hour plus long break, and out of nowhere, I started to weep, but tried to pass it off as a runny nose. I didn’t know where this came from. I wasn’t mad, but I ignored my friends and felt hot-tempered. I just felt really, really sad and awful so I was quiet the whole time.

Science paper 2 was completely out of the syllabus, very unlike the format we had during out trial and previous exams, so, many freaked out and said it was really difficult, but to be honest I thought it was pretty okay, and that my answers made sense, syllabus or not so why wouldn’t they accept it?

Science paper 2 ended at 12pm, and we had lunch, rest, and studied until 2pm, where we were gathered once again before entering the hall. History started at 2.30pm and it was fairly easy too. I realised I’ve been very lax when sitting for my papers. Not really bothering to check again and again, convinced that I’ll manage to scrape a simple A anyway.

It’s Thursday and we’re on a break on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (we resume on Monday and Tuesday) which makes me slightly happy. Dad says I can get a day off today so I’m probably going to cut out some lyrics or make a collage later.

PS. Happy birthday, Shi Qian!

PMR- Second Day

Second day of PMR. (Woooo) Today was slightly more relaxed because it was only English and Geography.

JJ and Ean asked people Geography questions today. It seemed much more funnier now that I wasn’t flipping with wretched nerves on the ride to school.

English paper 1 was okay. When I got paper 2 and looked at the title of Section A, I got shocked. It was like primary school all over again, even Soya agrees with me. Five pictures in sequence, and the story was, get this, about a boy called Rahim who found a bag full of cash by the road, and SO, being the honest boy everyone writes him out to be, he takes the bag to the police station and the rest is predictable. The policeman praises him, goes to his school, his principal praised him again… WHY IS EVERYTHING SO BORING?

Literature question asks for a good quality in a character and I chose loyalty in Mr Utterson. This has been the third time all of us have written about loyalty during exams.

I finished Geography paper in 15 minutes I was surprised myself, and it wasn’t only me, Pei Fong finished right after I did. It was a piece of cake.

Science and History tomorrow. Somehow I don’t really want to care anymore.

PMR- First Day

Last night, I closed my eyes at 1.30am, but only slept at 3am because of those darned noises on the roof and my paranoia set me on edge. I thought it was a burglar waiting to crash into my windows any second, I was gripping my phone and contemplating running to my parents’ bedroom if this happens, so I just stared wide eyed at the window, scared as hell, until finally the noises stopped and I got too tired and fell asleep. But in the end it must’ve been some stupid cat or bird and I woke up at 6.45am feeling like my eyelids had dumbbells tied to it.

On the way to school, JJ and Ean were receiving phone calls from people, getting them to translate English sentences into Malay, in conjunction of us 15-year-olds sitting for PMR. (Wooo)

When I reached school, my stomach was flipping worse than ever, and I tried to steal a few minutes of cramming then walked into the hall. The first paper, Malay paper 1, was hard as hell. I felt so frustrated and unmotivated, I didn’t know half the questions in that paper, but I could only ignore it and focus on the next paper. The next paper, Malay paper 2 was far easier than I expected. Normally I would always be the last in the hall/room to finish it but this time I finished the paper with 40 minutes remaining.

Anyway tomorrow is English and Geography, so it’s much more relaxed, only English Lit to worry about. And I had a two hour nap just now so I should be fine for the rest of the day.

Worn Out

God created the human body to withstand certain exertions only, and till today, my body is probably on its way to the junkyard.

It’s been kawad, kawad and kawad these few days, with the approach of Sports Day and all, and I’ve resumed to my daily routine of spending almost twelve hours in school since orchestra practice last month. It doesn’t help that exams are inching nearer than ever and homework is piling up like I don’t know what. Every day I come home, shower, and fall asleep almost immediately. And that’s to saying that I didn’t even touch my homework. A teenager’s life these days… you’d think we were obsessive compulsive workaholics. We’re not. We’re worse than that.

I’ve about just had more than my body can bear at the field during kawad just now. But it doesn’t end there. There’s more tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. And then another week passes by and I feel myself facing the dread of midyear exams and the fact that I’m so left behind. It’s one of the times when time seemed to speed up so very quickly for me I can’t even seem to catch my breath now and then.

If being fifteen and studying in Form Three means never ending torture like this, I don’t know how to continue living my life in peace. I don’t know how you do it, Sasha. This is worse than hell.

The Little Pleasures

It has been quite a busy week ever since homework started piling high on my desk and my organiser was filled with uncrossed tasks to do by the subsequent day. There were school tuitions till four then continuous compulsory sports practice and tuition again late into the night that I almost fall asleep immediately as soon as my head hit the pillows. My calloused thumb’s pain is kicking in again, when it had sunk to the depths of my senses during the holidays. It’s only time when the peer pressure starts kicking in and late nights would play a role in my life. The thought of even opening my laptop seemed absurd, and unlike the phrase ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’, I realise I’m learning to solve my addiction to the Internet and everything in it. Just as long as I don’t lapse back to my previous eight-hour-long stare with my glasses on typing in front of the computer for the whole day, I should be okay.

Even though the starting of this year pretty much means sad sad sad, I managed to let myself enjoy the sporadic yet enjoyable pleasures throughout the week. First there was Chin’s birthday on Tuesday, and we managed to hold a surprise birthday party for her in school. I spent half an hour the previosu night in the middle of finishing my Sejarah notes to prepare a Twilight-themed card for her, which I’m pretty fond of. I inserted the card into two big brown envelopes with the scary-this-is-confidential-stuff look and told Chin it was a letter from the PK concerning PMR details. I really hoped she fell for it, but I doubt it much after my suspicious effort to not laugh out loud. Pei Fong called her mother to get a cake over and we sang a birthday song to Chin in the canteen, much to her horror, and our joy. I thought it was a pretty good party, despite being surrounded by 1/4 of the school’s student body, 1/2 of which we do not know at all.

Also, Theresa lent me My Sister’s Keeper this week too. Boy, was I surprised when Syifa came up the Form Three block stairs and held the book in my face. I was grinning the whole day and coerced myself into finsihing Magyk so I can get a start on the book. Thank you, 3sa. (:

Just yesterday, Thursday, my gang of peeps and I had the most epic and perverse convo at the school porch after school. I won’t say what we were talking about, because it should definitely be censored and rated, but I probably had the best moment of the week ever, laughing till tears were leaking from my eyes.

Thanks to the movie Zombieland, I’m starting to learn to appreciate the little pleasures of my life, no matter how short and brief they may enter my life. I just hope they’ll be enough to compensate for the remaining periods of my life.