Flashback

I think that-----------moment was
quite an epitome of my------‘weird’ romantic feelings…
You know what I recall? Your---smile. I stared and smiled at you
(you were quite a distance from me), our eyes locked for a moment,
and then your expression showed a pleasant response with that
sweet smile – and lovely eyes – drawn on your beautiful face.
I was sitting on the floor, in front of the TV, looking
at you, seated on some kind of sofa. Then I
ceased my stare and looked elsewhere…
a responsive smile from you
was sweetness
enough.

Canto della Terra

Canto della Terra by Andrea Bocelli

This Italian song translates roughly to "Song of the Earth" (don't be afraid to correct me).

Update (5th Aug 09): I'm not sure why, but feedjit tells me that this is the most visited page on my blog. Maybe people think that this is an Italian blog? Maybe not? Or maybe you guys can tell me what's interesting about this page?

For those of you who know my interest in music and vocals, well, this song was one of the first where I listened to how a Tenor B sounds like (just a semitone lower than the tenor "high C").

I've actually got another version too, which is a duet by Rinaldo Viana and Liriel, found here (Highest note for soprano is an E, for tenor a B).


And for those of you who want to sing along:

Si lo so
Amore che io e te
Forse stiamo insieme
Solo qualche instante
Zitti stiamo
Ad ascoltare
Il cielo
Alla finestra
Questo mondo che
Si sveglia e la notte e
Gia cosi lontana
Gia lontana

Guarda questa terra che
Che gira insieme a noi
Anche quando e buio
Guarda questa terra che
Che gira anche per noi
A darci un po di
Sole, sole, sole

My love che sei lamore mio
Sento la tua voce
E ascolto il mare
Sembra davvero il tuo respiro
Lamore che mi dai
Questo amore che
Sta li nascosto
In mezzo alle sue onde
A tutte le sue onde
Come una barca che

Guarda questa terra che
Che gira insieme a noi
A darce un po di sole
Mighty sun
Mighty sun

In English:
Yes I know
My love, that you and i
Are together briefly
For just a few moments
In silence
As we look out of our windows
And listen
To the sky
And to a world
Thats awakening
And the night is already far away
Already, far away

Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope and some
Sun, sun sun

My love, you are you my love
I hear your voice,
And I listen to the sea.
It sounds just like your breathing
And all the love you want to give me
This love
That is there, hidden
Hidden among the waves
All the waves in the world
Just like a boat that....

Look at this world
Spinning with us
Giving us some sun,
Mighty sun
Mighty sun


Credits:
www.youtube.com
www.lyricsfreak.com


P/S: All lyrics are copied and pasted from the Web. I apologize for any errors. Especially if you try to audition/perform this song. And I think the English version is merely a literal translation. So don't rely too much on it.
:)

KMB Glory Days Part II

...Second semester unbelievably went in almost an instant. Five months felt more like five weeks (or was it five days?)

Newcomer

Perhaps our new belongings - particularly laptops - accelerated the pace of Sem 2. That was the time when we joined the seniors in DotA (Defense of the Ancients), CS (Counter Strike), some TV series (which I don't really bother to know), anime, etc. It was also the beginning of the Internet mini-frenzy at the concourse (people would practically rush to get the Wi-Fi/whatever signal the router gave out). And many blame P2P and other means of downloading as the main bandwidth-eater which slowed down everyone else's Internet speed. The laptops extended quite a dimension to our KMB life.

Academia

The main reason the laptops are there was actually to assist in all our IB assignments (but a few people did survive without a personal laptop. Impressive). In short, our Sem 2 assignments were:

• Math Portfolio (Estimation of Pi-the first major all-nighter)
  
• Malay IOP (for a few classes that couldn't do it in Sem 1)
• G4 Experiments (made us seriously think about our EE's)
• WorldLit (proposal, including draft of main points)
  
• IA: ITGS Project (the first few steps)
  
• ToK Essay (10 title choices...but maybe nobody penned down anything yet)
• (PREPARE, LOUD DRUMROLL): EE (title proposal @ criticism)
  

I usually personally refer to the bottom four assignments as "The Big 4", as they ate the biggest chunk of time, lasting into early Sem 4.

In retrospect, I can say that most of the assignments involve the formulation of a kind of "research question" or "investigative question", making us mini-investigators/researchers in virtually all fields: Literature, Social Science, Experimental Science, and Mathematics for a handful few. I'm not in university yet, but I anticipate more investigative work (of a much higher complexity) when I'm eventually there.

The Ball is Round

Many camps were organized during Sem 2, including the Homestay Programme, Banseke Camp, and ToK Camp. Gave us some relief from full-time KMB scenery. Phew.

CAS hours are still counting in, too, both via sports and clubs (and via sleep for some). And External CAS actually pressurized us when the folio was due. Extra 10 hours there (perhaps some would call them plagiarism hours).

Mondays afternoons were the time for Mentor-Mentee meets. Thursday afternoons for Chit-Chat for the Medics. For me, it somewhat helped in cementing my response to the dreaded 'Why do you want to become a doctor?' tagline in medical interviews.

'Ju' vs 'Se'

It's nothing; just a transitional state some of us have when pondering the fact that our seniors would sit for the final IB exam, then be free. Free for good. And free to fly soon, too. Actually it began when their sigh of relief started to show just as their assignment submission deadlines passed. Inspiring to some, but straining to others.

But that also means that we'd have a new batch of innocents, ready for us to pass on whatever rubbish talk and painful words and scary stories and..."11 months left" that we had.



Wanna see more?

KMB Glory Days Part I
KMB Glory Days Part III

The Flower

[The Beautiful Flower]
---Hey, take a look at this if you don't mind the "jiwang" mode---(it's written some months back)

Just before I rest myself to sleep tonight, I just spend some time and thought for you, my dearest. My prayer for your well-being, encouragement, strength, hope and faith, I humbly say out to our Lord God.

Yes, I miss you – miss you so much – and I wish to at least see you again, but my longing is not one out of hopelessness and desperation; rather, a product of firm hope and futuristic vision.

And along with my prayer for your personal life, I also ask that your memory of me will not fade with each day that passes by. You do live in a very distant and separate world from where I am, but I ask that at least I be allowed in that world of yours too, in your memories, and dreams, perhaps.

You do not need to return my love immediately, right now. There is no need to rush. I patiently await. All that I ask for now is remembrance, that I not be forgotten.

I believe that you would not forget me :). I believe in your love. I await for you. And rest assured, you know that my feelings for you are always intact, deeply rooted within me. You can be sure of that. I believe that you can even feel them through these very words. These sincere and honest words. I trust in you. I believe in you. I hope for you. I love you.

Picture credit: http://themes.belchfire.net/screenshots/%5B5804%5DFrac_Flower.jpg

Prayers and Thanksgiving

Prelude: I wrote this "Exam Letter" and put it up on one of the boards in the concourse just as the May 2007 papers commenced. Guess it's not the best time to put it up here, huh?

Ahh, it's up anyway. Happy reading...

Prayers and Thanksgiving

I think almost all of us are already familiar with prayers and thanksgiving.

As reflection during this exam season, here are 10 items that would go into my prayer and thanksgiving list:

I’m deeply thankful for:

1. Our teachers, for all the lessons they taught, whether academic or not

2. Friends, because the gift of friendship is free of charge yet priceless

3. Our parents, for the unconditional love and support they have shown

4. Everyone else here in KMB, for making KMB “KMB” (a place like no other)

5. God, for opening my eyes to see “Opportunity” when I see “Poor Little Puny” (Where did the ‘L’ go? It’s invisible; I no longer see the Loser in me.)

And I sincerely pray for:

6. Maximized mental prowess and intellectual capacity, for all of us, to tackle the IB exam (without getting a yellow/red card)

7. Tip-top health, to bring out the best in us (because the exam is like an examiner test-driving a car…and we’re like cars)

8. Calmness, just like the calm before the storm; there are tsunamis (extreme potential) in us!

9. Humility, because all that we’ve got is an entrustment from a higher power

10. Smiling faces, because the IB exam is just another pit stop in our life; it’s not the end.

:)

Creski

03 May 2007