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