//beconfused

Haa! This was my ten-year-ago favorite song. Europe had a live tour, the guys brought along their guitars and big hair and just performed:

Europe - The Final Countdown (Live)

Brought back memories for sure. Yeah, I know the song’s cheesy.

My friend and I were talking about the things we used to do in the past and one of things he pointed out is that we had to greet teachers in this form ‘Good Morning Madam Tan” while standing up in attention. My friend thinks it’s so communist, hahaa… And after class we stand up and thank the teacher for the class. After a while, it just become so routine that I do it as a chore.

I kinda like those greetings actually. I just wish it would be a little more spontaneous. I wish the teacher come in and just greet you good day and everyone just echo back sincerely. There really is no need to stand up at attention to greet. Not all teachers are comfortable with it too actually. I guess it just sorta got stuck in our culture.

During the ten years of education, we greet teachers like robots. I am still on the process of relearning how to greet people when I see them. I think I greet people more sincerely now.

In secondary schools, joining a CCA is a must. You have to choose one, you have to represent the school in this and that and bring back some silly honors for the school. I mean you’re great at marching? What the fuck? Is it going to help you in life at all? How is this co-curriculum? Have you just stop and think who is it that you’re benefiting? Is it really yourself or just the school?

And if you think you’re indeed benefiting yourself, couldn’t you choose to do what you want to actually benefit yourself? For example, I love Japanese anime, why can’t I just start a Japanese anime appreciation club where a bunch of people just sit in a room and watch television all day?

My secondary school just had to persuade us to join some crazy uniform groups to nurture teamwork and, erm, country building. I recall my principal urging people to join uniform groups. The CCA talk he gave is absolutely bias and dedicated a whole fifty minutes to uniform groups and ten seconds to comment the existance of clubs and societies. I was so annoying by his speech that I joined a club. Seriously if you joined a uniform group in secondary school, and spend all the time doing drills, perhaps you can find something better to do - like watching anime or play tennis or even running.

Some guys would join the NCC and wear those army uniform. Seriously, you guys are just cosplaying soldiers! If you’re a guy, you have 2 years in national service to slowly cosplay being a soldier, a police or a civil defence guy. And NPCC? Haa! You’re just cosplaying being a policeman. Why don’t you go join the cosplaying club instead. You get to be air-stewardess, Haruhi, maid, bunny girls, esper, ninja, shinigami (death gods), military personel and more. You can change your costumes every week if you want.

Ahh, I forgot to post this advertisement, a little late to do this posting. But here it is!

Bud - Swear Jar

During Primary School we had this fine thing going on. Basically we get a fine if we scold vulgarities. Every vulgarity you scold forces you to part with your precious coin. It’s a small amount, I don’t think it actually work even. Now I’m wondering what happen to the money. Hmmmp, perhaps the treasurer got hungry and used it to buy candy or something. I don’t remember we had Buds.

An advertisement every Tuesday

Just something really old. Atari has this really old game called Pole Position, one that you probably wouldn’t want to even touch today. Here’s the really old commercial for it.

*Atari’s Pole Position game*

Back in my archives, there’s Atari Breakout commercial.

An advertisement every Tuesday

I wonder if Microsoft actually approved the following video. It’s ridiculous. I couldn’t laugh somehow.

Microsoft Windows/386

The soul of the new machine. The designers are probably not thinking right when they come out with this. Below is Windows Vista advertisement - good music, but too much words. And I notice they had this multiracial thing going on these days.

Windows Vista

Speaking of Windows Vista, I probably get mine on April when I buy a new computer. I calculated a little and the computer I want cost around SG$1400 at the moment. I don’t really need really good graphic cards, I’m pushing on the computing power though. I always welcome faster application launching. I’m wondering if I should go for 64-bit this time.

[via Gizmodo]

Chong Kok sent me this list, I don’t really remember all of these things, do you guys remember them? I don’t remember watching He-man and Silver Hawk. I don’t remember The Count’s laugh too. What’s Bin1 Fen1 Ba1 San1?!

50 things known to a Singaporean teenager

1. You grew up watching He-man, Transformers, Silver hawk and Mickey Mouse. Not to forget, Ninja turtles and Smurfs too.
2. You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in Primary school during recess time. You will squat by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brush your teeth with a coloured mug. The teachers said you must brush each side 10 times too.
3. You know what’s Bin1 Fen1 Ba1 San1 is all about.
4. You know what SBC stands for.
5. You were there when the first chinese serial, the Awakening was shown on TV.
6. Internet? What the hell is that? So you thought a decade or more ago.
7. You find your friends with pagers and handphone cool in Secondary school.
8. SBS buses used to be non-airconditioned. The bus seats are made of wood and the cushion is red.! The big red bell gives a loud BEEEP! when pressed.There are colourful tickets for TIBS buses. The conductor will check for tickets by using a machine which punches a hole on the ticket.
9. Your favourite actor and actress is Huang Wenyong and Xiangyun. Next is Lee Nanxing and Zoe Tay and the Aiyoyo woman.
10. You’ve probably read Young Generation magazine. You know who’s Vinny the little vampire and Acai the constable.
11. You were there when they first introduced MRT here. You went for the first ride with your parents and you would kneel on the seat to see the scenery.
12. Movie tickets used to cost only $3.50.
13. Gals are fascinated by Strawberry Short Cake and Barbie Dolls.
14. You learn to laugh like The Count in Sesame Street.
15. You longed to buy tibits called Kaka (20 cents per pack) and Ding Dang (50 cents per box), that had a toy in it and it changes every week not forgetting the 15 cents animal crackers and the ring pop, where the lollipop is the diamond on the ring.
16. You watched TV2 (also known as Channel 10) cartoons because Channel 5 never had enough cartoons for you.
17. All that you know about Cantonese is from the Hong Kong serials you watched on TV2.
18. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, Famous Five and Secret Seven are probably the thickest story ! books you ever thought you have read. Even SweetValley High and Malory Towers.
19. Civics and Moral Education was 好公民 (Hao3 Gong1 Min2).
20. KFC used to be a high class restaurant that serve food in plates and let you use metal forks and knives.
21. The most vulgar thing you said was asshole and idiot and the most extreme was ’super white’ - you just couldn’t bring yourself to say the hokkien relative.
22. Catching was the in thing and twist the magic word.
23. Your English workbooks was made of some damn poor quality paper that was smooth and yellow.
24. CDIS was your best friend.
25. The only computer lessons in school involved funny pixellised characters in 16 colours walking about trying to teach you maths.
26. Waterbottles were slinged around your neck and a must everywhere you go.
27. Boys loved to play soccer with small tennis balls in the basketball court or play something that uses tennis ball to hit other players known as “HUM TAM BOLA” during recess or after school
28. Hopskotch, five stones, chapteh and zero point were all the rage with the girls and boys too…
29. Science was fun with the balsam and the angsana being the most important plants of our lives.
30. Who can forget Ahmad, Bala, Sumei and John, eternalized in our minds from the textbooks. Even Mr. Wally.
31. You did stupid exercises like seal crawl and frog jumps.
32. Every Children’s Day and National Day you either get pins or pens with “Happy Children’s Day 1993″ or dumb files with “Happy National Day 1994″.
33. In Primary 6, you had to play buddy for the younger kids like big sister and brother.
34. Chinese teachers were always old, boring and damn fierce looking.
35. Your form teacher taught you Mathematics, Science and English.
36. The worksheets were made of brown rough paper of poor quality.
37. You went to school in slippers and a raincoat when it rained, and you find a dry spot in the school to sit down, dry your feet, and wear your dry and warm socks and shoes.
38. Famous Chinese singers were only Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai.
39. School dismissal time was normally around 1 pm.
40. There would be spelling tests and mental sums to do almost everyday.
41. Your friends considered you lucky and rich if your parents gave you $3 or more for pocket money everyday.
42. During class gatherings, parents always tag along in case someone gets lost at Orchard Road.
43. You freak out when the teacher tells you to line up according to height and hold hands with the corresponding boy or girl.
44. Handkerchiefs were a must for both genders.
45. Collecting notebooks and all kinds of stationery was a popular thing.
46. Autograph books were loaded with “Best Wishes”, “Forget Me Not”, and small poems like “Bird fly high, hard to catch. Friend like you, hard to forget”.
47. Class monitors and prefects loved to say “You talk somemore, I write your name ah!”
48. There were at least 40 people in one class.
49. Large, colourful schoolbags were carried.
50. You brought every single book to school, even though there was one thing called the timetable.

The list has been reformatted. It’s quite true for half the list. Quite a good list though.