Top 5 favourite actors/actresses

1. Benedict Cumberbatch

this is simple. all the characters above, 1 person. every role he plays is totally different from the previous one. he steals the limelight even though sometimes he may not be the lead. he is terrific playing iconic characters/people. hawking, van gogh, sherlock, frnakenstein, khan, julian assange etc etc. his portrayal of these characters never let us down, it is uncannily accurate in everything from the twitches, body language, accent. it is never an impression or a stereotype, but rather a true portrayal of the character inside out. phenomenal actor, incredibly charismatic, very knowledgable and articulate, unbelievably nice and polite, has a good sense of humour. his acting, at times subtle, at times dramatic, but always captivating.

2. Robert Downey Jr

RDJ is fascinating. he is witty, entertaining, funny, charismatic all together. also an incredibly talented actor and singer. no matter where he is, what role he is playing, he steals the limelight and everyone's eyes seems to be focused on him. his portrayal of chaplin is terrific (should have gotten an oscar in my opinion), in tropic thunder, he is a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude, he is irreplaceable as iron man, and his sherlock is pretty good (although i feel that Benedict Cumberbatch's version may be better).

3. Meryl Streep

ok… meryl streep is a legend. she is possibly the greatest actress ever. 3 oscar wins and 17 nominations. who can beat that. she holds the record, and will hold it for a long time to come. when she is in character, she is gentle, fierce, crazy, ruthless, weak, joyful, calm, agitated, aggressive, firm, sometimes all at the same time. 

4. Anne Hathaway

anne hathaway is incredibly talented, constantly defying expectations in her choices and performances. in princess diaries, she is hilarious to say the least. in rachel getting married, she shocked audiences by giving an extremely raw, emotional, courageous performance as a recovering drug addict.  in love and other drugs, she plays a patient with parkinsons. people doubted her when she was announced to play cat woman, but she silenced critics and was a revelation, and arguably my favourite character in the dark knight rises. and of course, in les miserables, there are no words to describe how unbelievable her performance was. 

5. Christian Bale

body transformations, weight lost then weight gain, then dramatic weight lost again. Christian Bale is never physically the same in any two of his movies. the lengths he goes through to totally embody his characters is astounding and i respect him a great deal for that. the roles he chooses to play are incredibly challenging too. roles like his characters in the machinist, american phycho, the fighter etc would have been incredibly cliche and difficult to watch if taken on by a lesser actor, but he is phenomenal.

life in university so far

Hello!

It has been an incredibly long time since I last posted here so there is a lot of stuff that has happened so far. Between this few months, I think that I can safely say that it was probably the most eventful time I have ever had in my life!

First and foremost, I got back my violin diploma results! And, I PASSED!! WOOHOO!!! haha. It was not a great score, but I am just glad that I passed it. :) Now I can officially teach, so lets hope that in future, when I have more time, I can get a few students and start teaching! :D

Next, I got my driving license too! LOL. I passed the test quite easily. To be brutally honest, driving is pretty easy for me and I cannot wait to be able to drive around freely on the roads on my own. So far, I have been on the roads a couple of times with my father beside me, going on expressways and stuff, and I can say I really enjoy it!

Also, school has started. In fact life in NUS and Sheares Hall in particular started with a bang. SWOC was an incredible experience, as we went totally crazy, doing stuff I normally would not even have the courage to think about doing haha. I made so many new friends and can't wait to spend the rest of the year living with them! In hall, I have joined basketball, netball, Sheares Band and tech crew under the Cultural Management Board. It was incredibly interesting as I picked up new skills. There have been so many events so far, like for instance, SNDC, Buaya Week, IBG, GLC etc etc.

In NUS, i joined NUSSO and its huge!! i really enjoy playing with them, its incredible i even managed to get into Violin 1. We have so far performed in Johor at the Johor Royal Concert, as well as Beautiful Sunday at Esplanade. unbelievable experiences.

Lastly, for academics, i am taking 5 modules this semester.
1. The US: From Settlement to Superpower
2. Asia and the Modern World
3. Making of Modern Europe
4. Introduction to Politics
5. Politics in the Middle East
these modules are challenging but interesting :)

i am currently preparing for my finals for the first semester of my freshman year. i sincerely hope that uni life would continue to be as enjoyable! :)

Hi!

I've decided to come back writing on this page, finally. it's been a while since i last wrote and many things have happened during this time. For one, i finally finished my A levels, and yes, for these few months i'm so glad that i do not have to touch my books again. On the other hand, however, i now am busy preparing for my violin diploma which i will be taking in June this year. On top of that, I have just finished a job stint of 2 months at CPF Board and am taking driving lessons so that hopefully, one day i will be able to start driving to wherever i want to go.

Firstly, I finally got back my A level results and to be brutally honest, i was not the least bit pleased with my results. On one hand, i was so disappointed in myself and began doubting whether it was just because i was not cut out for academics. But then, after i calmed down, i realised the problem. It was not because i was not smart enough, given that i had still managed to get into top schools for my secondary and junior college education - schools that people all want to get in. the problem was perhaps because i thought that being in such schools will sort of 'guarantee' that i do well, since majority of the cohort excels eventually. Also, since we always hear about how well the school does in the A levels and you kind of program yourself to believe that you will be one of those people who score straight distinctions because it is a relatively huge proportion of the school that will be able to do that. however, what i failed to realise was that despite the fact that there are the majority of students that do incredibly well, there are others, albeit the minority, that do not. So when i did badly in the internal exams, i just comforted myself by saying that its ok, since my seniors didnt do well in school exams but eventually scored in the a levels. because i was constantly finding excuses to justify why i did badly - the paper is too hard, my teacher did not teach me that, im just weak in this subject - i was putting my focus in the wrong place, and not paying attention to the real reasons behind why i did not do as well as i wanted. for one, my studying methods were not the most efficient. secondly, i was definitely not as hard working as i was in say, secondary school. but anyway, what's done is done and i cant change my results. fortunately, my results, though horrible by my own personal standards and those of my school, were still able to get me into the course i wanted to study. beginning university would be a whole new chapter and a level results do not matter anymore. what i have to do now is to focus on the future i guess.

in the meantime, during this unprecedentedly long break i have been able to enjoy, i took up an administrative job at CPF board. the contract lasted for 2 months. even though i would say that like all other admin jobs, the job scope is incredibly repetitive and mundane, i was very fortunate to be able to work with extremely nice and fun people. i was initially afraid that i would not be able to communicate or get along with with the other staff, but my worries were shelved when i found out that the staff in the department i worked in were definitely come of the most friendly people around. to top that all off, i made friends with a couple of other temp staff and we really enjoyed each other's company.

i have also joined a string quartet and played several gigs along the way. my first gig was voluteering to perform to old folks in a ageing home. it was one of the best experiences of my life. they were singing along to the music we are playing and genuinely thankful for our performance. there was one old man in particular, who thanked us profusely after every song we played. this experience made me rediscover the reason why i love music so much. music has the unique ability to bring different people together and connect regardless of who you are where you are from. it was the ability to touch the hearts of people, bring back certain emotions and memories. my first paid gig was at a wedding. we got to meet incredibly musicians such as singapore's pop duo Jack and Rai. i really enjoy mixing around with fellow musicians, sharing tips and experiences. something about music can allow complete strangers to instantly feel so connected with one another in that instance when you say "hey! i play music too!" and from there, cue the endless conversations.

my violin exam is coming up very soon and i am pretty daunted by it. firstly because i am extremely terrified of performing on my own. when i get nervous, my bow bounces like a ping pong ball and my pitch, intonation and everything else goes wrong. to top that off, because it is a diploma exam, the pieces are very difficult and incredibly challenging for me. i have never been technically great in my playing and that makes things worse because i have to struggle with all the technical aspects of playing those songs. but nevertheless, i am hoping that my passion will override the lack of confidence in my abilities and hopefully as long as i practice hard, i should be fine.

lastly, i recently started driving lessons and i have to say, they are really fun! the only annoying part of it i guess is the theory bit. not so much learning those information, but rather booking the evaluations and tests. they are such a chore. but anyway, when i finally get my licence, it will be worth it!

That was a really long post. but, anyway i'm going to end here. hopefully the next time i post won't be too far off since i am quite free now haha.

Teachers

For most of us, we probably have met dozens of teachers before our formal education ends. School subject teachers, lecturers, CCA teachers in charge, CCA instructors, and when i took up other activities outside school, violin teachers, art teachers, swimming instructors, and when i was young, my ballet teachers. they are people you will definitely meet along in your life, people who will guide you, impart knowledge and supposedly help you become a better person in general.

However, although there are some incredibly good and passionate teachers, there are others who are you know... not as good. like those who unintentionally put you to sleep, those who are overly strict, and others who feel that they know much better than you and refuse to listen to your questions or opinions. For me, i would consider myself extremely lucky as i have met many many more amazing teachers than those who are not as capable.

Lets take for example, one of my current Literature teachers, who is just so respected by all students and staff alike. he is in fact such a good lecturer that he gets a round of applause after every lecture he gives (and i am not kidding about this), and every time we know its time for him to lecture, everyone is always looking forward to it. in tutorials, he just comes into class with his lit text. but when the lesson starts, he is able to facilitate discussions, give suggestions and impart knowledge so well that we learn so much every lesson. and when he does that, the class just goes 'OH MY GOODNESS...' * mind-blown* and sometimes we just hope that he can just teach us every subject or something.

Then there was another teacher, literature teacher as well, who is just incredibly talented, and sometimes we wonder how someone can be so extremely all rounded. She is a graduate from oxford university, can sing really well, was an ex-national Frisbee player and used to be the valedictorian of our school. to top it off, she is really good-looking. enough said. this just makes everyone jealous.

there are others who are so knowledgeable and have such good memory. history teachers in particular. i have met a few teachers who can just recite dates, names, events, policies etc etc just off the cuff when you ask them. this is something that we students definitely need. i mean, i try to memorize stuff for one chapter, i remember it, i move on to another chapter, then i forget the previous chapter. Nice.

the most popular teachers, of course, are those who are caring, understanding, and can connect well with the students. i had a math teacher in secondary school who never gave up on me despite my extreme lack of ability in the subject. she 'came after' me every day and forced me to do so many practices. and, i eventually improved so much and got an A in the end. there are also others, who have constantly told me not to give up when i scored so badly. for instance, for mid years in JC1, i got 23% for math, 27% for economics and 45% for history. i kind of surpassed and set a new record for myself - never in my life have i seen such horrible grades. but there were teachers who encouraged me and motivated me, and in the end i improved so much. i dropped math to H1, and got an A, and for econs, i improved to 58%.

but there are others, who, to put bluntly, according to students, are rather horrible. teachers who do not get anything done during lessons, teachers who lose your work, teachers who just cannot explain the concepts in a comprehensible manner, and teachers whom students just block out. however, i would like to emphasize that these teachers are the minority, and rather than criticizing the black sheep, i would rather spend my efforts in complimenting and thanking those who have changed my life in one way or another.

My Favorite Actress: Part 1 Ha Ji Won

i think i have mentioned this earlier before, there are only two criterion for me to decide if i like a performer - Talent and attitude. Ha Ji Won is another person whom i feel really possesses these two traits. She is an incredibly talented actress who is able to portray such a wide range of characters, and is also extremely hardworking and humble. she, in my opinion, is someone who constantly tries to learn new things and improve herself, and despite all her success - she's the first actress to hit the 10million viewership mark for her movie in korea - is definitely not at all arrogant. confident she is, but she is clearly aware that there is still many more improvements she can possibly make to her acting.

Ha Ji Won has portrayed an extremely diverse range of characters from a gymnast, a boxer,a stunt woman,a pianist, an equipment manager in an oil rig, a north Korean soldier and most recently, a table tennis player. the genres she has covered range from horror to comedy to romance and most definitely action. her performances in these shows have also been widely critically acclaimed and she has also won awards for almost all her work.

despite her success, she is still very willing to try out new things and constantly pushes her potential and ability to the maximum. for her roles, she has picked up many skills like boxing, tightrope walking, riding a motorcycle bike, table tennis, wire work, swordplay, acrobatics etc etc. even though she sometimes laments that these works have caused her to become injured and tired both physically and mentally, she still perseveres and insists on doing the actions scenes on her own.

Some of her work i feel show her at her very best are Miracle on First Street, Closer to Heaven and Secret Garden. in Miracle on First Street, she plays a female boxer. i was stunned and positively shocked when i found out that she did the fighting scenes on her own in which she fainted many times and got punched in the face really often. her tear jerking performance in Closer to Heaven where she portrayed a lover of a man who has a terminal illness and they both know he cant live long. her stunning performance that was bursting with emotional dept is definitely the reason why the audience cant help but feel so touched and sad. Secret Garden is a fun drama with the genre of fantasy included in it. in the show, she switches her soul with the male lead (Hyun Bin). this showed how despite acting in more serious films and dramas previously, Ha Ji Won also has the capabilities of pulling off a light-hearted drama.

All in all, she is definitely an actress that constantly reviews herself and seeks to improve her acting abilities. this multi-award-winning actress is also known to be an extremely nice, friendly and down-to-earth person, and is often mentioned as the ideal woman for many male actors in the industry. hence, i am definitely looking forward to the future works of this actress who never seems to stop or rest. :D

My favorite music: Part 1 - JJ Lin

Since i have been going on and on about music, i feel that i should maybe share the type of music i like, what i feel is good music and stuff. (Note: this is ultimately just my own opinions and feelings)

So first up i would like to introduce my favorite singer of all time - Lin Jun Jie (aka JJ Lin). this is for a very simple reason: he has talent, and the right attitude. not only is he a very capable songwriter, writing all his songs for his past 9 albums, he has also written many other hit songs for other singers as well. on top of that, he has a great voice, one that can move you to tears i would say. attitude wise, he is a very humble and hardworking person, slowly but steadily working his way up the ranks in the entertainment industry, as seen from how he used to be called a talented singer as a newcomer, but is now widely acclaimed as one of the four heavenly kings of the mandopop industry.

his albums, have become increasingly heartfelt, and intricate in terms of how his vocals portray deep emotions, as well as how if you listen carefully to the melody lines or accompanying music in the background, you may be shocked to realize how carefully constructed and planned each note and pause is. His newest album, Lost N Found, is in my opinion his best album to date. in it, not only did he try out so many different genres of music - Jazz, pop, dance, etc there were a few songs that i feel were not simply just your average-good pop music, but rather pieces of art. One example is the song 'Clash of the Souls' where he collaborated with Lang Lang (the famous classical pianist) to blend classical music together with pop. it was a refreshing idea and of course, to me, as a classical music lover, i definitely enjoyed it very much. 'Never learn' is another song i feel is a good listen. the vocals in this song are extremely powerful and he constantly and effortlessly hits the high notes. on top of that, the emotions portrayed in it was one that i have never experienced before, emphasized by that deep breath he took towards the end of the song.

anyway, although many may claim that his previous albums are more appealing to the popular audience in the sense that they were very KTV-worthy, i feel that this newest album - Lost N Found is his best so far in terms of musical ability. maybe its because his previous albums were more experimental and meant to show off his talent, whereas this album was more sincere and heartfelt, i definitely feel that he is going on a path from being a talented popular idol to a true musician that is able to capably and precisely portray his emotions and ideas through his melodies. therefore, i am definitely looking forward to his upcoming works!! :D

A Summary

Hey,

I have not posted since forever and i thought that it is about time that i came back here :)

Given all the hype over social media, our everyday thoughts and actions are more or less captured and presented to everyone we know. however, limitations are evident through how all our relatives/teachers are on facebook and we cannot share so much stuff we want to for fear of getting a scolding for 'what we are not supposed to do'. on twitter, the character limit is sometimes too little to express what you want to mean. therefore, i am back here, treating this as a diary, an outlet to express my thoughts and opinions about anything and everything. (responsibly of course)

So... wish me luck and i'll see how long i can last. :D

Firstly, the JC2 year is halfway done and homework/revision/stress is piling up. (funny how i am typing this now :/) So much knowledge has to be crammed into our brains within these two short years for possibly the most difficult exam we will have to take. there is so much content and concepts to grasp that sometimes i dont even know what i know and what i dont. nevertheless, i am still glad that i am taking the subjects i took (History, Lit, Econs, Math). ok, not so much math... since i suck so badly at it. but the others are a joy to learn (minus the memorizing and studying needed for exams).

Putting academics aside, because thats what we have been hearing since the beginning of the year: A levels... University... Jobs... after looking back at these one and a half years i have been in VJC, i really honestly feel that it was THE BEST two years of my life so far. HANDS DOWN. the friendships forged with my new found friends, those who share a similar passion for the arts - and distaste for the sciences for that matter - it feels as if i finally found people who i can truly relate to. I took part in so many activities that allowed me to improve myself, broaden my perspectives of the world etc etc.

there were many firsts too:
1. First time i participated in SYF, in which we won a gold award :)
2. First time i performed with my CCA - String Ensemble in a concert (Rivoluzione and La Forza Della Musica)
3. First time i picked up the viola after having played the violin for the past 14 years of my life
4. First time i went overseas with the school and my friends (UK Lit trip, and the Humanities Scholarship Program trip to Korea)
5. Negative things as well... first time i got below 30 marks for my exams (23 for math and 27 for econs for mid years last year)

This sort of sums up my progress these two years. Pretty amazing to me i say. experiences that thought me hard work will get me somewhere, and others to remind me that this is not always the case. anyway... look forward to more updates!!