Reflections: the Unforgettable or Stupid Events. a collection of the junior years

First of all, I added a "daily" inspirational prayer box onto my blog! And "daily" since it refreshes everytime you refresh... ANYWAY, Interesting to note how its from a site called "itakeoffthemask.com". How fitting from my previous blog; God really does work through ways we don't expect =P.

Another thing to share:


I think its a really beautiful song, and in recent times, a real comfort:
"When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me."
I find it so comforting, knowing that even though i've epically screwed up in the past, I've been forgiven for the things of the past, not because of who i am or what i've done, and that things of the past shouldn't haunt me, for they've died along with Christ, and subsequently the old self.

Hrmm.....only one day left =( Memories. They buzz around inside my head like flies. The moment I try to grab one, they scatter away. I'd catch one, the poor thing struggling to escaped from its enclosed space. Sometimes I would make a contact with a bee, the fact it didn't want to be disturbed evident as I'm left with a stinging sensation. Guess thats what life's all about; sometimes things don't go your way.

I've heard putting sugar? [hows that justified? :S] on beestings helps alleviate the pain. And no doubt, the time spent at ruse has definitely been sweet, the friends and moments have definitely shaped me to who i am today.

So...I guess this blog is devoted to reflecting on these past 6 years: the funny, the good, the bad and the ugly moments that are intricately woven into something we call life =) crap that has happened are a thing of the past; and theres so many lessons to be learnt from every one of them.

Beginning with Year 7:
Prominent memories:
- I'm so thankful for being in such an awesome class from the very beginning [7L!- Chris Tofu, Alan, Alan and Alan [ok Jason and I xD], Mawson, Mert, Tim and Thomas]. Those days were happily spent being sped as we ran around playing hide-and-seek+tip. Since I suck at running....I was one that emphasised on the "hide" part xD. and if all else failed running up/down the stairs always worked: HTL: STAIRS?!?!! I HATE STAIRS!!!
-Year 7 PE video! Sorry, i think i've lost the original ><"... but that was so awesome; tumournator! epic name for a cancer funraising group [and i still have the brochure we made =P] - Science lessons with maitra: I remember how our group epically flunked all the pracs we did...and how we kept pointing fingers at who was "the mole" in the group. [I still say its you mawson xP]. eg. using up 25+ matches to light a bunsen flame; swapping bunsens and tables didn't work. And all the time we spent making a "year 7 memories" notebook. [Still have it, might bring it tomorrow xD] -Ag plots! Ms Graham was such a nice teacher; shame shes gone =\. Going down to the plots at lunchtime to water the plants with Richard and Mert; fun fun times xD -DT: Mr Yeo calling Richard "Dick", Buddha...Buddha, and poking fun at steven all the time.
- Gala[h] day! The first year we beat thems peoples down the road after a long time. Particularly remember our 52-0 caning in bball xD


Memories with lessons learnt:
- Tim [and htl] having a thing for "zapping"/"shocking" us if we annoyed/poken fun at them in slightest =P. Lesson learnt #1: Poking fun at angry people is like trying to shake a beehive =P

-Paper war; I'll be blunt and say I was...a total jerk in year 7. Sorry to all those caught in the collateral damage if you still remember back then....but yeah, that was bad ><". Lesson learnt #2: Annoying people for your pure satisfaction is totally wrong, and that members of hte opposite genders are NOT nasty people [yes I was immature back then].

- 1.6! Oh man that was so bad >_>....thankfully i've passed everytime except the trial one [12:34! oh man was i fat back then] Lesson learnt #3: Exercise is so important! And when/if i ever have children; I will be forcing them to run laps around an oval mckenzie style so they don't become study freaks with no fitness...ok, maybe not force xD.

-Maths: As some people are VERY quick to remind me: Woodhouse" "whats the square root of minus 9?" me: errr...3i? W: WHERE THE CRAP DID YOU GET 3i?! *rambles on about how we're not meant to learn such things* [which is why I get called 3i as well] Lesson Learnt #4: Sometimes it is better not to say anything, lest ye wish to be mocked for the rest of your life =P. And not to get ahead of yourself and act all self-smug with what you know.

-Train trips home! Travelling home with Joseph, Jason, Don, Milo and Benny! Back when the southie-travel numbers were large. I remember going as "scout" as we ran from a bunch of other-school people that threatened to drench us with water. Lesson learnt #5: NEVER go scout. They're usually the most expendable, and probably end up getting owned in whatever situation. Also remember being frustrated with the Parra train's constant delays once upon a time, so joseph and I had the lovely idea of going to our line thru cabramatta/the greenline. Lesson Learnt #6: As crap as cityrail may be, patience is a really important thing. Going through "shortcut" routes WILL own you. In our case; a total hour wasted. Also, to think things through before you make decisions.
- English: While I don't have the photos [someone might?]...in short; midsummer nights dream-> perform a scene!...My group made an "ass" out of me. Lesson Learnt #7: Public humiliation? eh, its all in good fun. And taking the bullet for a friend is well worth the pain, in hindsight =).

Year 8
Striking events:
- Mert leaving! D: He left because the workload was way too much for him [and even though he could manage- he finished 4U maths last year =)], and it was hard to balence his outside-school life with rusework.....but then ringo came in, and he was just as awesome =)

- Mr. Chandra Handa! Roll call AND english teacher. demonstrating to us his epic maths skills: [to matt]: IF I EVER SEE YOUR UNIFORM LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN, I'M GOING TO KEEP YOU IN AFTER SCHOOL FOR THREE HOURS....AND THEN YOU'LL LEAVE THE SCHOOL AT FIVE...oh dear xD. And also buddha's password peeking, Tim's 'super speech', my destroyed palmcard, a lecture on "how to email a teacher" [in which he failed to completely cross out ringos name for privacy] and Chris' laugh that got devesh busted =P

-Tribal dancing!- Dancing to the [old] naruto theme song. Even for all our effort, we got a pretty crummy mark >_>. darn subjectivity. But it was still fun :D

- Maths! And the number of times Mr. Perrins went "oh devesh shut up" and busting duncan for eating in class =p.

-Watching Star Wars 5 in music; and not really doing any work in the process =P.

-More hide-seek-tip! and...yes the BAD MOVE! BAAAAAAAAAAD MOVE! [In short; if you got ambushed by htl and hes less than a metre away from you when he emerged; you'd be freaked out too]

- Being labelled "naughty boy" 1? or 2? in VA because Mr. Goggin kept getting me and Jason mixed up ><. Lessons from experience:
Lesson #8: I probably learnt the true meaning of trust; thats its a two way thing with your friends, not just a one way thing...
Lesson #9: God really does work through the sorrows of one. To share, my life was so...in the dark back then, due to friends "turning atheist". It rocked my pretty hard to my soul, I'm going to outwardly say that I was even suicidal; but the knowledge I gained from back then, and the grace He has provided me has helped me with my walk today :D.
Lesson #10: It's so important to have friends to talk to about your troubles; when you try to deal with things your own, you're going to collapse on the burden...and its a wonder I managed to scrape through year 8...

Hmm...can't remember much from year 8; I guess people can remind me of everything back then xP.

Year 9
Moments that stood out:
- Elective choices! Drama and Commerce for me. Comm: That was so fun; Ms. Connors is a great teacher + awesome classmates. Drama: THE mrs. Bal. It really helped me with my confidence; to overcome the stage-fright [somewhat] and not be afraid to speak up, I really enjoyed it. Dramasports! Forever shall it be that our class is the best xD

-Science with browning. Ooooh wow! a perfect scapegoat! If anyone wants to find the source of my lameness after all these years *points to him* IT WAS HIM! *runs away*. Nevertheless, it was a fun class, and I loved it.

-[Temporary] Promotion from 15s Hockeys to Hockey Opens! [seniors on exams]. And winning against Baulko at olympic park xD [quote them; pfft! their seniors are gone; we'll so thrash them]

-Canberra excursion! I remember how mawson was afraid some pedo-dude might come and kidnap him because the lights all went out in the shower room =P. And all the "michael jackson is gonna get you hee-hoo" comments made by ringo that freaked jason out xP.

-Tocow Ag: 2 words: Chilli sauce. Enough said xD. I mean, it even made mr shaw cry! Nasty stuff they was xD

Life changing events:
- Splitting up into 5 different classes! Well...I'm glad that was so; still had alot of my friends from LT in them; but got to meet so many more people! Thanks for all the memories guys, and living proof that there is no such thing as AK-LT rivalry xD. Lesson Learnt #11: It's so important to go out and make as many different friends when you're still early; and now that uni is approaching; that would apply there too. And also, if you break down the preconception and prejudices, you'll come to realise everyone is unique, there is good, and that we're all the same.

- I look back at this and wince...but I would've much rather learnt it the hard way while still immature than to do it in my hsc year; Thank you Kevin for finding it in your heart to forgive me back then. In short; I copied a paragraph off him in a drama assignment and Mrs. Bal picked it up. Lesson Learnt #12:It was then I truly learnt from then on the true value of friendship; and that "leeching" off someone else just makes you some freeloading creep. Also, that plagarism= we always rattle on about it but never understand the severity of it...guess that helped alot. Oh, and Mrs. Bal raging at you; it still very resolutely stands in my top 5 "things I fear".

- RICE 06! Thank you so much Jason for giving me your ticket in the last minute...if it weren't for that small act back then, I may not be a Christian today...heck, I may not even be alive today. It really changed the way I was living my life...and for those i've share with before; a total 180deg. turn around in my life. Even though I was raised a "Christian", all of it was just plain knowledge that never turned into genuine faith...it was rather the opposite. I thank God for you htl, lee and jen for following up on me after RICE; you guys really modelled Christ, and really helped me understand what it truly meant to follow Christ. In fact, you guys still do xD. Lesson learnt #13: It doesn't matter who you are, your backgroudn, whatever you've done in the past, your current standpoint; but God really can change the hearts of people, to really have a complete turn-around. Not just from my own experience but from reading others as well.

Year 10
This was the year that was truly the beginning of beginning of all that defines who I really am today:
Fond memories:
- Getting to really know the people in our grade; loved all the times we've spent, and will definitely cherish the memories we all shared as a big ruse family =).
-Joining cadets! Really learnt so much from there; being independent, learning from experience how to survive in the winter cold for a whole week in the bush, a lots of bivs!. I truly wished I took more photos in the junior years, but at least i started photo spamming in year 10 onwards =). So here are a few to share from 07 cadets-

Hey, you so good-looking, maybe you should do it for a career =P [dw, it was his performance]
Annual 07 section =)

- Dedicating time to ISCF and FOCUS! Thank you so much JXu, JT, that Christ has really compelled you to be teachers of His Word during during the year; and that you were really awesome role-models and leaders =). This was the year [with the encouragement from so many people] that my passion to serve Christ really flourished. Maybe it wasn't for the right intentions always back then, but thank God i've been able to change slowly over time.

ISCF leaders 07- Guess HTL's always been the photogenic one xP
JIFFY! Shame its not one anymore....but it's taught me so much, don't think I'll ever forget what Mike's taught me.

-SLP; The campy theory boring stuff before the "infamous" Build the line team [which we'll hopefully take up again after HSC!] Still, the camp was awesome, and rather...err...interesting D&Ms arose in our man cabin =).

- Choral Concert; Homeying with topher and myse- Alan as fellow tenors =) [Back in days before I've turned bass/baritone]. And remember the guy with the uber-loud chris-fung style voice. lol

-10 MTU; Ringo getting his gameboy confiscated by briggs, only to see her try breaking his record in tetris xD. HTL's phone going off in westpac, to which he responds by throwing it halfway across the room. Enjoying homework-free-wednesdays because Briggs wants us to watch desperate housewives...and more importantly the dedication and inspriation she gave to us...which is probably why i'm in maths 1 [and not rightly so] today =)
Experiences that will stay with me:
- Remember the..."bloody funny" incident everyone? Sorry to Mr. Brown for having to fill out an accident report + witness accounts on my part...If you've been living under a rock and don't know; I stepped onto a hoe cartoon-rake style; and end result; half my face gets covered with blood! :D. whee fun. I was too much in laughter [yes, laughter] to notice the pain too much. Lesson Learnt #14: If i may be forgiven for this, Learn to pick up your [rhymes with goes] or else they'll slap you. Though seriously, I've learnt to watch my step; both metaphorically and literally and that impatience/anger can get me really unfocused....

Ag music concert! since we [michael justin richard] dropped out of ag [which we don't regret xP] we had to do a project...and since we were musos; why not have a concert? All in all, i love my music. HOWEVER....if you're crazy enough to sing teenage dirtbag in front of me....*aditi style death glare + tim style rage anger* =P. Lesson Learnt #14: I'm not one for solo singing- everything I sing gets..."corrupted" with my touch. Then again, thats just my nature. Also, to be careful of the choices you make, for they might bite back at you in the future =P.

And...finally, something more general on my thoughts; People always say "Just go for it. Better to regret doing something than to not at all" From my personal experience, that doesn't really hold true...there are so many things that are just...argh >_> when I look back at it, and probably wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't do anything. But hey, its life; I hope to live my life with no regrets; take it as it comes, and relfect in a positive light in the future :)


Oh dear, I'm rambling on again like an old man....I've probably missed out on a lot of stuff, will post up photos later. For now, balmoral tomorrow! Thanks Gabs for letting me borrow jungle speed, twill be lotsa fun xD [you'll see what it is if you don't know what it is =)]. Hope you'll all have fun tomorrow! =D

The last days of the man in the mirror

Theres so much to talk about, being the last few days of ruse and all, so a forewarning; this post IS going to be very very long post...so the journey of a thousand words, like scholarship/med applications, begins with a single word.

This is what I get for not updating regularly, ANYWAY...

.....the second last week of school! WHAAAAAAAAAA SO LITTLE TIME LEFT!!!! D: If it weren't for the fact I like to maintain my sense of dignity, the only way i'd leave ruse would be through getting dragged out kicking and screaming. Though time makes enemies of us all, and I guess thats life, gotta move on ahead =)

Pranks! hehehe...moving past the i.room, haven't done many things globally... since most of the pranks are on alan, I shall change the font colour to make it fittingly suited to him. I believe we have created the symphony that I shall call "The storming of Alan's Bag" over the past few days. At last: the fruits of the 1st movement; "Alan getting phwned". If you listen carefully; the phone goes off at 6s, and a rather audible [at the time] oh shhhhhh- at 14s =).

Thanks sam for letting me use your camera! :D

Then, we have the second movement; "the nuggeting" The plan is basically this: I nugget my own school bag [which I dont use], and then got darthgaylord to wrap it up in layers of garbage bags. In other words, it was designed to be a decoy; and obviously, it has paid off: After 5 minutes of unwrapping [I believe the vid is on youtube? ask the dg-lord]...It looks like alan has unwrapped the decoy..only to find; wait, thats not his bag! wheres the real one? Oh, there it is! In the meantime, the real bag was wrapped up in 5 layers of garbage bags xD. Be thankful time constraints prevented your bag from being nuggeted too. =P Movt. 3: Plan failed- put heavy tiles into the bag. apologies everyone for overestimating alan's upper body strength; should've put the tiles more sequentially [honestly...i thought all those tiles wouldn't have made a difference] ><" Movt 4.: Revenge is a dish best served cold. And it is a sweet sweet dish xP. Props to you for nuggeting my bag and then hiding it, Alan. But of course, in war; one doesn't mope over their losses, but plan out their counter attacks. Poor Alan; got his reaction on camera; though the look on his face was goooold when he saw his bag =P All is well xD Current score: James-4 Alan-1

Ok, onto other things! Junior uniform day; It was frightening alarming to see how many of us could've passed off as juniors =P. It's also worth reflecting on the past here; and really notice how we've matured and been shaped over the past few years....or in my case; become lamer and lamer =P
I'll minimise the pain for capped/dialup users, and upload everything in the next few days....but for now:

The most awesome english class, as juniors [oh, and adrian too =P]

Hey look! its Jason, Alan and James* [permuations and combinations! :D]

[*not necessarily in that order, oh wait, it is =)
Next thing!; Cadet dinner! [and lanning with people before that]. Thank you Cabbage and the year 11s very muchly for the...ummm...gift? It's good to start off with small weights. xD hopefully i can get past 3 pushups by the end of the year xP. Go to belles blog, she has elaborated way more than i can possibly ever bother to =) But in short, it was an awesome night; and I stand by the fact that my current sickness has NOTHING to do with my eating 2 chillies >=(. [Btw...has the buddha video been uploaded yet? :D]


Baby photos! For those that went to HP08- you might remember this :P
1 year old pic; Apparently I look the same? I'm not one thats good at looking at the past photos and comparing similarities...
speaking of which-

Hey, I wonder who them peoples are! [Year 6 photo] I guess being the friend i've known the longest [and subseuqently the person who has had to put up with my crap the most =], it would be fitting that you get the "first ever luvo james has made" prize!

I guess somethings never change xD

Next notable event:
Oh 24th september, red was your colour. If not red, then a crapload of things happening in the single day.
-Red were the skies the greeted me in the morning; It sure looked...pretty; even if it was eerie/ resembled a bushfire/something revelation-esque. Which also poses the qusetion; when the end of the age comes; would I be ready for it? Would you? The most honest answer for me is; no...theres still too many things in my head thats been distracting me, and sometimes its hard to fight the current of life's challenges.
Menai? Or Mars =P. [And you thought your place was bad xD] 10 years from now people will probably look at it and scream "PHOTOSHOPPED!"

-Red my umat results I have; and red was the background of the sheet that contained the muchly [and painfully] anticipated 2 digit percentile [and grats to those with 3]. Shan't say more, though I'm content; no right to complain, no right to be jealous.

-Red was what drenched my face and pants as i have had my first EVER nosebleed. Tbh, its not painful, I thought it was a runny nose [all the lights were off]...so just shrugged it off. *turn on the lights, look in mirr-* HOLY !#%*)#Q@)%97ZD WHAT THE !#%!?! Be glad I didn't have my camera with me =P. Though I looked like I emerged from some horror mass murder scene.
-Red[dy] was I not as it seems my body is repaying me for all the nosebleeds I haven't had in the past 17 years; 3 in the space of 48 hours..well, i guess experience makes one wiser =D

But the jewel you lost skies that followed were blue.

Veering away from Ted Hughes poetry and puns...Life goes on, and the dust of yesterday gets blown about by the winds of change.

Med/Scholarship Applications; Lining up at degians office for 2 hours! Wow, its just as slow as queues in disneyland! at least it wasn't so bad, just daunting knowing that ones future rests on the pieces of paper we're handing in...

Shades for aids + "last official friday" of high school life [stuff that, i'll still be there all of next week xD]. I really am going to miss James Rusewhen all this is said and done. But again, I'll save all the emoing for AFTER we're gone. Though for now, thank you to everyone whos been a source of encouragement, to keep me on track in the race, the good fight and keeping my faith [and this, i mean LITERALLY from 2 Timothy, not taken 'metaphorically'...well, I guess Treskin meant well taking from it; but its still taking it from the wrong context and meaning ><] If you're a capped/dialup internet person; bear with me, but I feel a need to post in this photo: The shady guys pic: doesn't the person 3rd from the left look so cool in those shades? :D Reckon that'd work well in his future career xD

And...to make a perfect segue into more relfection topics; I know this pic is old if you've seen it, but check this out, used to be an fb ad: [Credits to james xu and his fb page]

Check out the bottom one; deja-vu much? ...or should I say, deja-moo? xD

NOTE: This was real, though i don't think they show it anymore, since they took it without asking him first? We all know the real deal isn't the type to quit =).

I think that segues nicely into a time of spiritual reflection; I really thank Moo and Geoff and Tiff's encouragement over the past two years, particularly with Tuesday's leaders meetings, which really struck a chord somewhere in my heart...and it really got me thinking about a few things. I thank all the brothers and sisters [and also the family! both ruse and true] for keeping me in check spiritually, even if you really didn't intend it / aren't aware of it.

It's time I broke the hollow-ed mask on the surface once and for all, and hopefully this will stand as a lasting reminder for me in all the years to come.
I've been thinking; after tuesday's discussions, what Mr Woo. said is most definitely true; Uni is going to be a much more different place. People's hearts will be revealed by what is truly in their hearts. One could be a youth group leader, one could've been a dedicated iscf leader; and they can still fall away in the end.

The question is; has my life the past few years been Christ centre-ed? I'd rather you not say yes and praise me, if u wanted to answer; I would much rather be rubuked, corrected and advised. ..particularly with Galatians 1:10: "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

I feel that all i've been doing; under the facade of "generosity" and "selflessness" theres the underlying intention of self-gain and appraisal from other people in my serving at ISCF, in general, the way i've acted in general; Instead of seeking to please God, I've been seeking to please people with God out of the picture...
Like how in revelation 2:4-5; My heart has forsaken, and forgotten the first love times; that Jesus loved me first! I do all these things; bible studies, talks, prayer; but to what purpose? "Deeds without If it weren't for His love and his support, I'd be falling back to pre-year 9 rice days, too dark to even share on this.

I can't change myself on my own; I need Him to change me from inside out, its more than just "willpower". I thank my youth group leader for sharing me this; Psalm 73:25-26 "

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

It's always really encouraging to read up on Psalms; Even though david, the epic king of all the israelites in his time, is high and mighty; he still totally relies on God, not because He's some "genie" but because he knows that while he himself fails, there is One who is eternally and infinitely more powerful than he is. And....I guess, a term someone came up with [and full credits to you here], is to be a trog; totally reliant on God...and I hope I'll be constantly reminded of this passage. To carry on the motif of mirror/reflections; Lord, please change me in a way that will continue to receive and more importantly apply your word, to reflect upon myself and remeber it, not be "like the man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

In amidst the storm of hsc, applications, and umat....we still have God to shelter in; something [which I realised was from Psalms 121- read up on that!] from a song that is both a reminder and comforter:

Wow....this has turned into a really long post...i should really post more often at lesser lengths. Might add more reflections later. If you've spent as much time reading this as i have writing this, thanks! [and if you're a hsc student; why aint you studying right now? xD]. Final days of ruse; its going to be emotional; but since *breaks into song* we're all in this together! *gets lynched* we're a ruse family, we can still meet up, there are anniversaries in many years, and who knows; we may end up in the same uni =)

For now, enjoy your weekend everyone!

edit: darn...I've made so many non-sensical sentences; i guess this is what happens you you blog late into the night...ceebs correcting them >_>

Last days of school + i.room + days of reckoning

Greetings!
It's been a while since the last post, I guess thats what happens when you ceebs doing anything- so i end up procrastinating from blogging! [Yet I don't do work either >_>]
Oh well, much has happened since the last post:
-My outside computer desk has returned to its post-trial state of convoluted-ness [NB: NOT the one in my room; thats still clean :D]
- Procrastination
- Parents getting a treadmill [le what?! Whatever happened to "lets get a wii for exercise! *5 months later* *wii dies from lonliness and starvation*"]
- Uni Applications.
- City jap-restaurant eatings!
- Getting Bday gifts [which some people have made me VERY aware of ...*dthglare*]

Hmmm...is it odd for ones uni application to be unfilled?
Current list: Med; unsw->uws->newcastle -> Physio at usyd -> Adv Sci @ USYD [eh, always good to have a soft cushion in case i forget to do an exam or something =P]
Also put down UQ and JCU in queensland...I mean, worth a shot, right?

On the topic of uni and how its closing up....damn, only a few days of school left. Maybe I'm just stoned [to which I blame certain people xP] but i've only just realised the weight of graduating from high school, and everything else associated with it...I suppose i've found a sense of B at this school, like my second home and I don't think i'd want to leave if i had a choice =P.
Though I suppose thats life, to make do with what happens to you [come what may?].
Eh, i'll save all the "emo/personal thanking of everyone + tl;dr reflections stuff AFTER graduating =P"

Estimates; Heh, is it just me, or does Pooviah not give out aggregates? Other than telling me what I got, and saying which ones were "strong/weak" [maths and english are conjugates! and my english is basic...sorry], i didn't really find out anything...
As for what I got; eh, ceebs punching it in, but whatever result I get, I'll be happy with, even if its sub 99, sub nine, for that matter, I guess one's life shouldn't be governed by numbers, right? [Otherwise life would be something like an RPG =P]. Nevertheless, was...surprised? in what I got. Maybe tis because I have low expectations [Which is helpfully depicted by this modified Zero Punctuation diagram!]
Not that i condone suicide, esp. with "crappy" atars since you still beat the majority of the state anyway, but you get the idea =P

To Alan, The day of reckoning is approaching, for you will be repayed ten-fold for all you've done to my/others bags... we shall come like a thief in the night >=) All that has occured is but a mere prelude to the grand master piece =)

Speaking of recent pranks, that brings us to...


What the lol?! Rotated classroom, facing the windows. Isn't it just so epic? xD. Whoever becomes a chiropractor in maths 1; this is a big business opportunity! since we'll all have screwed up necks, we'll end up coming to you! =P. and yes, its so artistic, i calls it, the "i.room" [....fine, cisπ/2.room, for the stoned]...and if you're not a 4uer...emmm...dw ^^

Anyone have photos of Mr Perrins and his "halo look"?.

Can't wait to see what other things people come up with in our grade...hopefully we won't do anything stupid and get people hurt/expelled etc.


Anyway....Heaps of stuff to look forward to!
-Cadet Dinner [Yay! no crappy ripoff drinks like last time =P]
-ISCF Year 12 dinner [Come along! heaps of ex-rusians will be turning up to impart their wisdom onto us!]
-Balmoral; eh...neutral, i don't think i'm a beach person.
-Capture the flag! Friday last week of school, come! Its our tradition annual end-of-term ISCF CTF
-Jazz ensemble- Us and the mini army [aka Year 11 Jazz] performing at awards.

hmm....can't thinkg straight, maybe write more tomorrow.

For now, i'll leave you with what is probably my most favourite song: Your Love is beautiful [Hillsong]




For those that did the samba workshop, I love the drumming bit at 2:15...xD Its kinda like the one we did in Music a while back...But yes, I've always liked Hillsong music for...well, the energy they have in worship in song [its definitely not the only way to worship, but hey, its still awesome!] And I think i've heard this song...back in primary school year 4? [Iono...joseph; when did it come out?] But yes, i reckon its an awesome song =)

Thats all from me for now [Yay! Time to move from the bottom to the top of some blogrolls!], make the most of what time we have left at ruse, stay healthy, safe, happy and more importantly faithful =)

The fainting process

Apologies in advance if this blog feels...convoluted =P

Feel really drained from today, carrying the flag is rather tiring. But hey, someone has to do it =D. And I suppose it probably isn't as bad as carrying a sword for longer amounts of time [Then again, the epicness of holding a sword probably counter balances that]. I've been convinced after today that I really need to work out, my right arm feels numb...Anyone know a good/cheap place to get dumbbells? I mean, why not lift a few weights while waiting for a reply in convo, game, or trying to figure out a maths question?
Oh, not to mention the epic arm-wrestle #2 match between ringo and htl; more to follow on that =P.

Cadets! I'll miss being able to come to school in DPCU/Polys now, and most of all, the bivs we get to go on, the countless moments that spring up...though on the upside; no more drill! :D :D :D
Speaking of drill; todays passing out parade drill was pretty awesome, methinks. Goes to show how much a drum squad can make the difference; I mean, if you can't keep in time with the help of drums, then theres something wrong...=\.

On the topic of drums...its so catchy! I've noticed how my walking pace is exactly the same pace as the drum beat from today....great >_>. Oh well, halting in the hall; wow! no fails! [from my side anyway].

On the topic of fail; [wow, i'm tangenting like bialy here] heh, I think its safe to say that while the rest of the company was good, it was made up for the fact that most of us year 12s stuffed up on way or another....to illustrate my own:
- Brasso fail! D: .what on earth is it made out of? accidentally spilled some, got on my pants....[what makes it worse is the fact I think Morris saw it T_T]. Tried to clean it with:
Water; that didn't work.....maybe something more non-polar?
Ethanol; Hooray for the resourceful library having 66%w/w ethanol :D [ie. antibacterial hand-sanitisers]. Cleaned it up a bit, but it was still pretty obvious. Eh, beggars can't be choosers.
- Hall entrance; whoever set up the hall....it was a bit narrow, though I guess it had to accomodate the school, so it can't be helped. End result: I half-tripped over a chair [and subsequently knocked it down] upon entering.
-Flag-partying; Sorry mawson, entirely my fault for not syncing with you down the stairs....and we went so well in rehearsal ><" This is probably pretty common, ever had those situations where everything goes so well in practice, then in the real thing it just goes to pieces? I suppose that could be similar...to say preparing your english essay for hours on end, having your teacher say its good, only to have it ripped to shreds in the exam? /end digressing. Oh, and to those that are curious; NO carrying that flag generally does NOT hurt. If you place it in right way, even when you turn and march, it won't hurt at all. HOWEVER; It DOES hurt when you have a brief lapse in concentration and you forget to dip the flag at a low-height area....not on the place where it hurts the most, but still alot of pain... Here are some piccies throughout the day [told you it was convoluted]

Quentin, Christine and...Mawson....um..er, being sus? =p over bosco

Lol.

Yay! Epic flag party! =D. And....to belle if you're reading this- Is it just me or did the photo my dad take look strangely identical to your photo? =S...then again, its trees, same thing.

Free food from the cadet "luncheon"! Who can say no to that? =P
The on-going feud between htl and unsuspecting camera shots =P. [Dw, in everyones collection theres probably a heap with me in your place xD]

Heres one half the table

Heres Milo, Chris and mysel- I mean, Alan xD

And theres belle, nicole and ambert =)

Ruse 09 Cadets [-Mawson]

And....the silly photo, because we can xD

Hmmm, found Mr. Morris' speech pretty interesting today, especially how most, if not all of it was true. There is no doubt that the will prove useful in the future; we've had first aid bashed into us so much its in our heads, we know how to take care of ourselves should crud rocket skywards, we know how to remain self-controlled [most of the time], not to mention learn how important it is for people to stick together as a section, regardless of personality [given the fact culture and age is near neglegible here =P].

Ok, this post is going to be drastically shortened, since theres other stuff I need to do...[darn, how can one blog so much in so little time? D:. whats your secret?]

I've been thinking...with events that have recently occured, death is inevitable. Thinking back to church service....T1? and kyck 08; whats on your bucket list? Whats on the list of things you want to do before you metaphorically 'kick the bucket' [incidentally, where did that term come from? =S]. If death came knocking at your door tomorrow, would you be ready? Your dreams and ambitions, they're all good, but would death put a major dent in them?

Talking with tina and mawson in maths last week, it got me thinking....It has probably been my life-long? or at least a dream for me to do medicine, and possibly go missionarying + doctor in some war-torn, 3rd world country, depending on future circumstances.
But what if I get shot down in the plane on the way? Or get a brain tumour in uni? [ok, maybe melodramatic, but who knows, we fail to realise how life can come and go so easily in today's world] Been reminded about how things we do in this should be to magnify Christ's love for us in our lives, through life AND by death, [Philippians 1:20-21], and well, I am aware that it might seem odd from a non-Christian viewpoint, but even if I die in the process, praise God all the more! Sure...realistically speaking, there might be slight feelings of disappointment for not being able to do what you want in life, but..."whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." Even if I were to die tomorrow, I'd probably go in peace, I mean, theres greater things to look forward to thats eternally greater than the things we have right now!
Check out and read Philippians sometime, rather than me just spewing passages that could potentially be taken out of context =D.

And...I'm advertising this of my own accord; but check out simon's post, I found it quite interesting and challenging to read, maybe you will too?

Wow, I take ages to write....should write more often, guess thats enough from me for now.

All the best for the coming weeks everyone!