Hello people out there,

now having been abandoning my blog for quite some time now and its really rusty. Its now the last week of the June holidays and its nearing the O' levels, well, I am studying but sometime I just get distracted, but I shall give it my best. The holidays have not been that eventful but at least I exercise regularly now. Add Maths prelim papers are a challenge but suddenly I have this urge to Major in Mathematics. Its not bad actually, quite a intriguing field of study. I strongly believe that anyone can achieve anything, so I like to keep my mind open. Well that is all for now

Bye.

Talk about being inactive

Hey, surprise, I am blogging. Why? I have that little bit of free time in my hands now. So why am I blogging in my free time? Well, blogging actually is a bit educational. One of the best way to improve English is to

1. Read

2. Write

So I am writing now. If you have noticed I do not use any internet slangs in my blogs, maybe I have but either I do not remember or its really minimal. Also, for those who do not know, I do not really type very fast. So this is a way for me to improve my typing speed.

The chinese new year is here, so HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR to everyone.

Everyone is school and I have a two day break from school. This time has to used wisely, have a break but do not forget to study.

I have a lot of stuff to do. Then again, I must have fun, but how do I have fun, that is a question I have to ponder on. Anyone have any ideas, feel free to tell me.

I have not read a book in a three weeks, that for me atleast, is a VERY long time. Last book I read that kept me riveted was Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. He was the man who wrote the best selling book - the da Vinci code - Digital Fortress was his first book by the way and it is well written. It was one of the books I chewed through in one day ( I DID NOT literally chew the book) Before I continue, I would just like to say, a writer is cannot be solely judged by critics. Each one is a storyteller and each has his or her own story. It is a personal choice whether one likes a book or not. If you like it, good, carry on reading, if not, put it down and pick up another one. Furthermore, being the avid reader I am, I have been through a lot of different writing styles. And I have a few interesting questions on grammar.

1. The use of single quotes ( ',' ) and double quotes ( " , " ). A quick look at ' Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary ' told me that single quotation marks are used in British English and double quotations are used in American English.

Authors who use single quotations marks to punctuate direct speech.

1. J.K. Rowling (British)

2. H.G. Wells (British)

3.Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(British)

4.Dan Brown(American)

5.Clive Cussler(American)

6. Agatha Christie(British)

Authors who use double quotation marks to punctuate direct speech.

1. Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish)

2. Lewis Carroll(British)

3.Paulo Coelho(Brazilian)

4.Carlo Collodi(Italian)

5. Christopher Paolini(American)

I understand this represents a very small proportion of writers. And I am assuming that the publishers publish the manuscripts exactly. So there seems to be a good mix. I also wonder if authors use single quotes because its easier to type.( You have to press SHIFT + single quote button) to type double quotes on a modern keyboard.

Well the real question though, is why do we, in Singapore, use double quotes, when we are a country that uses British English.

Well, it really does not matter. It is a interesting topic to think about though. And makes for a exciting blogging topic.

Until Next Time

Bhalaji

Its been a month since I came back, but I think I will now blog about New Zealand, It was a fantastic trip, and of the two (New Zealand and Japan) the more interesting one (in terms of the activities). The New Zealand trip was full of fun and hands on activites, we got to examine a river, calculating its speed, discharge and things like, things that you cannot really of in the confines of a classroom. Really, learning in the great outdoors does make things stick to your head a lot faster and better. I mean, sure, one can learn everything in a textbook and regurgitate it in their test and exams. Then again put them in a practical situation and they are just going to look at you with a ridiculous look on their faces. Now thats a real test.

We visited the Green Bay High School, my partner was Luke ( and his last name was NOT Skywalker) their schools are rather simple in face but the people there are really friendly. I went through Chemistry, Graphics and PE with my partner.

After that we moved on to Rotorua which due to the sulphur down there smelt like rotten eggs. My favourite activity in Rotorua was the Zorb. I was actually the first one to go (with Issac), it feels like being put in a huge washing machine and just being tumbled around.

Another thing I enjoyed in New Zealand is that I celebrated my Birthday there, The teachers actually got a cake and all and two other people shared my Birthday (Maverick and Ryan) the day was 1 November 2009

Just came back from the 2D1N leadership course. If i were to sum it up in one word, i would say that it is fantastic, yes a bit boring but it was fun, especially the game called traffic jam which is a bit too complicated for me to describe here. After I came back i had almost no rest, i just had a bath and a quick meal then it was off shopping with my mother(i have a cousin coming form the USA tomorrow). i have 4 test to study for next week. I will study for them, i have gotten more serious about my studies now.

I think that the temasek acapella group is amazing, there are serious good. I heard them sing on the cd i got at the leadership course.I think should try it, its amazing how they make music with their voices.

Have been busy lately, its only two weeks since the school reopened and so many people are falling sick, 1 from my class even came down with H1N1 (not going to mention names). i just hope that these people get well soon. Have been listening to 'heal the world' by the late michael jackson (very catchy song) here is the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt3NKilGqeE&feature=related

30 june 2009

Hi guys it me, i know its been a long time since a my first post but here i am, today is the second day of school after the june holidays. Today was a normal day except that i had farewell dance practice with my np squadmates today , i guess we did progress a bit in our dance sequence, i am not going to reveal the song though. I still have my E-maths homework to do but hopefully i can finish it today