A mistake I made by gaming late

Today was one of my most tiring days at school, not because of the subjects but what happened the previous night. This is how my sorry tale unfolds..
On Tuesday, after a long and strenuous day of soccer training, I came home, expecting to relax and play on my Xbox 360. But unfortunately, I was forced (by my parents of course) to finish up my homework and then to retire for the night after that. It was of course the sensible thing to do but, as usual, I was too myopic to see that.
So I sat down diligently after a hearty meal of home-made stuffed crust pizza and garlic bread to did my homework, without giving my parents any hint of the nefarious plan I was hatching of what to do afterwards. Upon completion of the mountain of Math and English homework that I had, it was already about 11.00PM. I pretended to ascend the staircase to my room but the actual fact was that I crouched at the top of the stairs, and waited silently while peering through the railings of the banisters. When my parents finally turned in for the night, I crept down stealthily, turned on the television, inserted my Modern Warfare 2 disc and began playing. Fortunately, one of my friends was also online and we gamed together until about 2.30AM when I heard the jingling of a key in the lock downstairs. This announced the return of my brother from his National Service duties. In a flash, to avoid any ugly confrontation with him, I switched off all the electronic equipment and dashed up to my room where I closed my eyes tight and feigned sleep. He was probably too tired to detect anything amiss; either that or my acting skills were quite commendable. Anyway, I must have fallen into a deep sleep soon after.
The next day, I paid a heavy price for my nocturnal activities: I was a walking wreck, a zombie, at school; groggily I shuffled from class to class, a heavy hammer pounding relentlessly in my head as I attempted to complete my work while taking the occasional catnap whenever I could in class as the teacher was explaining certain Science concepts. Fortunately, he very kindly gave us the permission to take a 20minute nap which I fully utilized and slept throughout. I had never felt more appreciative of a teacher before!
I read somewhere that the man who makes no mistakes makes very little else; that we have to make mistakes to learn and improve. I certainly learnt that it was wrong to stay up so late for such a frivolous activity as gaming. It did me no good the next day. I was fortunate I did not have soccer training again or else I would have been done for.

An unexpected test.

Just after the national anthem ended, we all took our respective seats and listened intently to the principal as he delivered his usual Monday morning address through the PA system. After that we were subjected to a somewhat boring, peer-leader session conducted by our student leaders who informed us of a proposal we had to create to raise funds for charity. Instead of being engaged with the project at hand ( which most students were doing, and probably what I SHOULD have been doing) I was sauntering around the class, trying to figure out if I had completed all the homework which I had absent mindedly forgotten to do the day before.
Suddenly, the bell denoting the next period, Maths, rang shrilly, jolting me immediately out of my thoughts. The next thing I knew everyone was separating their tables into single files as I looked around, puzzled at what was happening.
“Eh what’s going on? Why is everyone moving the tables? I enquired aloud, directing my question at Irfan.
“Are you stupid? Didn’t you remember the class test on congruence and similarity? “he responded.
The words could not have hit me harder than if Irfan had struck my head with an anvil. I normally like surprises which come in the form of presents from my family but a surprise test was a totally different kettle of fish. Moreover, the grade I obtain would be counted towards the final marks for Maths at the end of the year. Panic started to rise in me like a tide but I tried to calm myself down, telling myself it would be alright as I had already studied the topic quite thoroughly. I couldn’t however, shake off my sense of doubt and uncertainty for certain concepts which was starting to seize control of me.
As the teacher distributed the papers, I stared at the questions and realized with indescribable relief that they weren’t that tough. (Fate had decided to be kind to me for a change). They had been covered in my tuition lesson ( as stated in my third blog ) and one of the questions was almost exactly what I had learnt in tuition class. How fortunate I was! Except for one part of the third question, I was confident I had answered all the questions correctly. As I handed up the papers, I beamed, knowing I had done well.
But as I reflect on the test, I realized that I should not leave things like that to chance and be more aware instead of upcoming tests and exams as they would affect my final grade and also, my subject combination at the end of Secondary 2. I have also made it a point to write down details about every test, homework assignment and other important notes in my diary. Now alI I have to do is work at remembering to refer to the diary. (Fate is fickle and changeable so it’s best not to depend on it too much).

Something new I experienced (a new tuition lesson)

The incessant, high pitched ringing of the alarm clock woke me up from my deep sleep this morning as I slowly lumbered out of bed, nearly tripping on the door stopper as I approached the kitchen. The aroma of pancakes and French toast filled my nose as I grabbed a ceramic plate from the drawers and placed 2 pancakes on it, buttered them and slowly placed them piece by piece in my mouth, savouring each mouthful as if it were my last. After a total annihilation of about 6 such pancakes, I gulped down 2 glasses of milk as if they were water and proceeded to my bathroom where I took a hot shower as I normally do every morning. I always loved a good shower early in the morning. But even a sumptuous breakfast and spa-like shower could not take my mind off the unpleasant fact that I was starting a new tuition class (the only consolation was that it was nearby at Marine Parade. ) The thought loomed above me, threatening to put a gloom over my day.
In an almost mechanical way, I got changed into a jet black T-shirt and denim shorts, did a quick styling of my wavy hair with some gel and hair spray, and packed my bag with the things I assumed I would need at a tuition lesson (this was my first ever tuition lesson as I never before saw the need to actually sign up for it). I got into my father’s car and he drove me to my destination, probably to ensure that I did present myself for class, and not “accidentally” get lost en route.
Upon arrival I said goodbye to my father and told him the meeting point to pick me up after the lesson. Trudging slowly to the lift, I took out my phone to check if my friends had messaged me. As the huge lift descended, I got in, tapped the 8th floor button and waited for it to rise. As the lift stopped, I got out and entered the tuition centre. There was no one at the desk but I was already told my class was Class B so I looked out for it. Knowing I was already late, I knocked on the door and waited for the teacher to open it before I greeted him and entered. Making a quick sweep of the room, I saw about 10 students of different races all sitting at their seats, staring at me. Feeling a little uncomfortable, I quickly sat down at an empty seat and began intently listening to the teacher. It slowly became clear to me that the teacher was actually a very good one; his explanations were precise and comprehensible, his jokes witty and entertaining. He also took pains to re- explain concepts which I did not understand. As for the other students, they were friendly and accommodating in helping me with questions I found difficulty with.
By the time class ended, Mathematical formulae and quadratic equations danced dizzily in my head as I smiled, thanked the teacher and left. My view towards tuition classes had changed somewhat and I actually found myself looking forward to the next lesson. Hopefully this positive feeling lasts.

Soccer Match Against Bartley Secondary

The day was long, but it was not over. I was excused at 2.15 from class as we had an afternoon match against Bartley Secondary School - a match I was looking forward to as I had not played in one for quite a while. Although it was only a friendly, I was looking to playing my best and having fun. I just hoped it would yield a different outcome from the one we had in our previous game against Queensway Secondary School where I got into a bit of a scuffle with our opponents (but that’s a different matter all together).
The canteen was fairly empty, only a few students were out of class at that time, and my friends and I managed to have a quick meal before we proceeded to retrieve the balls, as we were assigned by our teacher-in-charge to do. Abrisam, Irfan and I proceeded to the soccer shutter, where the balls were located, and I heaved the shutter door up as Irfan and Abrisam took out the ice-box and most importantly the balls. Slowly, we dragged the equipment sluggishly towards the foyer of the school where the buses were arriving. After about 15 minutes, like huge leviathans trundling up the driveway, the buses made their appearance and we loaded up before clambering aboard.
I plugged in earphones, the loud Megadeth music blasting in my ears, as I fell asleep on the bus. Roughly 15 to 20minutes later, when the bus arrived at Bartley Secondary, I overheard my friends all complaining that as Bartley Secondary was surrounded by a Gurka Camp they had to take a rather circuitous route just to reach the school. After a quick sweep of the school’s interior and exterior, I concluded that it was not very well maintained; the peeling paint and dusty walls and corners spoke of neglect but the canteen was a cavernous one that could seat practically an army. The B’Division boys immediately got their equipment and started to warm-up the moment we arrived as their match was first. We, the C’Division boys, all scattered like ants around the fitness corner, some playing with the balls while others sat and talked or watched the B’Division game. I placed a dark blue towel over my head and stretched out like a lazy cat for quick forty winks on the sit-up bench.
“Wake up la! Our match is going to start!” Irfan kicked me and shouted in my ear, instantly awaking me from my delightful cat nap. We all got our equipment ready and our captain, Bradley, led us through a quick warm-up session as I analyzed the condition of the pitch – bumpy and grassy as opposed to our field which was made of astro-turf. This was not a promising revelation as the ball travels slower on grass.

The match commenced and we were in total control, dominating the pitch, despite the less-than-perfect conditions, and I also had set-up a goal. By half-time we were already in the lead 5-0. I had been substituted as I had sustained an ankle injury; their right-midfielder had kicked my left ankle and then clipped it, causing me to fall and writhe in pain. Luckily it was not that severe and there was no sprain or worse, fracture. Unfortunately we did not score any goals in the second half and the coach took out many players, replacing them with others. All in all, a good game for us but this was just practice, a mere dress rehearsal. The real challenge was to come in the east-zone tournament.
We had to find out own way back and I took the newly constructed “Circle-Line” at Bartley MRT to Serangoon and then changed trains to Dhoby Ghaut , after which it was several more stops to my home at Kembangan. That was the most frustrating part of the whole day as we were all exhausted after a most trying afternoon but still had to go through such an inconvenient route. After I reached home, I took a shower, had dinner and then immediately fell into a deep sleep that no tornado could have roused me from.

Something funny that happened the other day ( Assignment Post 1)

I leaned against the glass panel of the MRT train, my noise-reducing earphones plugged in making me oblivious to my surroundings. The loud, Metallica music blasted my ears – which were already attuned by now to heavy metal music - as I began to SMS my friends about that day’s soccer match that was cancelled due to inclement weather. As the train arrived at my stop, I instinctively alighted without even checking if it was the right stop while placing my phone back in my pocket and taking out my wallet to prepare my Ez-Link card to be tapped. It was all very mechanical. I then proceeded to descend the deserted staircase (as most people took the escalator) while staring blankly at the escalator beside me that was ascending. All kinds of people were ascending the escalator, especially teenagers decked-out for the night, including this grinning young man who seemed to be delighted about something. But they were all merely random faces to me- nothing special, no one special. Whilst I approached the machine to tap my Ez-Link allowing me to pass through as the red doors opened, like a passageway made for a king to walk through, I received a phone call . I whipped out my sleek silver mobile phone to see who it was. The word “Unknown” flashed on the screen.

“Hello, who’s this?”I spoke into the mouth piece a bit puzzled as to who it was

“It’s your brother you idiot! Didn’t you see me ascending the escalator just now? You stared right into my eyes and it was as if you didn’t notice me. I was smiling at you,” he told me, sounding a bit miffed.

Then suddenly it hit me that it was him that was on the escalator. Yes, the tall, muscular man in a jacket and slacks grinning like the Cheshire Cat. (He had just acquired a new cellphone number ). I slapped myself on the fore head for being so absent-minded.

“Oh that guy was YOU?” I asked in a stunned way.

“Yes you fool. Better catch the next cab home. See you tomorrow!” he said.

“Bye,” I responded still a bit dazed as to what happened.

I immediately hailed the first taxi I saw and headed home.

Now I as reflect on the incident, I feel it was really stupid of me to be so ignorant of my surroundings. I guess I should turn the music down a few notches. It’s always wise to be alert. Luckily it wasn’t anything serious that could have been a near-disaster.




Hope you guys like my first post:)

First!

Just a little testing of the blog :). First post and I feel great about the new blog of mine. Really cool stuff there!