Anglo-Chinese Junior College
I was in the middle of another post last night writing about how idiotic I feel whenever I talk to Ken or Lisa, but I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse, so here’s another story, in light of Julia’s appeal to ACJC.
If previous generations were of any indication, ACJC usually attracted the 10-14 pointers. And it still did, when I did my O’ Levels. I think it was my generation that turned AC around and made it a popular school for the smart kids, I don’t know why, honestly. I didn’t get in with my meager 13 points (see la, I so stupid) and got my fourth choice instead, which was JJC. I remember Jeanne telling me that another classmate, Justina, had 9 points, a stellar CCA record and was a councilor, still couldn’t get into ACJC. I really think that was the beginning of AC becoming a top choice school.
My family’s sentiments whenever stuff like this happens often split into two groups - my mom and my dad. Julia takes after mom completely, and I’m exactly like good ol’ daddy. Mom is always happy and content and ready to accept the results, while Dad is always disappointed that me/Julia didn’t do better. When I heard that Julia got in SAJC, I reacted in the exact same way my Dad did when he got angry at my O’ Level results (of course, I was less antagonistic about it, to borrow the word from him). Julia and Mom were pretty satisfied with the results while Dad and I were scurrying around looking for people with connections.
Quite honestly, I couldn’t care less about this being considered a low way of getting into ACJC. My belief stems from the fact that ACJC’s admissions process was shady to begin with - I mean, Justina, for all 9 points and wonderful academic record was denied, and yet there was this girl named Elizabeth I met during my stint in YJC, got 16 points and managed to get in with her CCA (debate, and she got a C6 for it). If ACJC wasn’t shady, there wouldn’t be talk of finding connections in the first place, or the fact that bribing your way into AC is a tried-and-true method of getting into the school.
(SAJC’s motto, instead of ‘No one is here by chance’, should be ‘Everyone here is an AC reject’. Just sayin’.)
I suppose this smacks of the phrase ‘fight fire with fire’. If the opportunity of getting into AC by unconventional means is available and apparently the staff at AC like it enough to continue this tradition of teh crazeh, it shouldn’t be of any surprise that people will take them up on their offer. I don’t think there’s anything shameful about it (except those who donate like, a million dollars to their fucked up kid who just doesn’t care), especially when 7 points is a very, very good grade.
It feels like more and more people are getting 2-5 points though the whole ‘loyalty/affiliation points’ thing, which is complete nonsense. This is no longer based on merit; this is based on knowing if you should commit your kid to ACS(I) or St. Marg’s because you’ll get two points taken off when you take your O’ Levels. It feels like there is more and more pressure to excel, to take as many subjects as possible (and Higher Chinese, which I find rather ironic in light of SPEAK GOOD ENGRISH CAMPAIGN) and do good in whatever CCA you’re in.
No wonder we never seem to find time for ourselves, and whatever precious time we have we just want to relax. It’s still a drilled-in conception for me, even in America. I would just sit in my apartment and do nothing for 6 hours at a time, simply because I still have the unconscious belief that I don’t have a lot of time for myself. Either that, or I’m just making up for all the time YOU FUCKERS STOLE FROM ME. Unfortunately, this makes me look extremely lazy in the eyes of my cousins, which I shan’t talk about.
Also, I like AC because it’s only 20 minutes away from home. That’s all I like about it. Do schools just not like the west anymore? And why doesn’t Singapore have a ’south’? We have west, east, central and sometimes north, but strangely enough, no one mentions a south. Oh well.
Scratch butt part 2
So before I drop off to sleep from the enormous breakfast I had this morning, I’ll just post a quick recap of the events that happened last week which I felt I didn’t want to post. And I needed some alone time.
1. Meltdown before Linguistics presentation.
2. Severed contact with a close friend of 6 years. Irreconcilable differences, or, I Got Fed Up With Her Fucked Up Attitude.
3. Sis and SAJC.
4. … And other stuff. Y’know, fears and shit.
I suppose I’ll be posting less from now on. I’ve lost interest in talking to people, or letting people know what goes on in my life.
Scratch butt
Yeah, yeah, happy birthday, etc.
Where’s my damn coffee?
More coherent post later.
Meh
Let me walk you through my mental process. I don’t mean to say that, y’know, I have something, but this has been nagging at me for a long time now, and I want to jot it down.
I noticed my Linguistics professor while I was walking home today. He looked at me, I took a double-take, smiled, said ‘hi’ and waved at him. That was it.
After passing him, all these thoughts start coming. I take this route all the time, why didn’t I notice him before? Does he take this route regularly too? Did he notice me before but I didn’t see him after all this time? Oh God, maybe he thinks I’m an arrogant piece of shit for not saying hi to him. Maybe that’s true. He looked at me and looked away, like he didn’t want to be noticed, or maybe he was used to not being noticed by me. Was he trying to avoid my gaze? Is he just shy, or is it me who didn’t notice him at all? Oh God, I feel so stupid. I should be more careful about my surroundings next time. Maybe he treats me differently in class because he thinks I’m arrogant. Should I be noticing that he treats me differently in class? Should I apologize? Send him an email or in person?
That’s what usually happens when I talk to people. I shan’t bother you with the problems I faced when talking to Dane, a guy who was in my Linguistics class, because… y’know, a simple ‘hi’ already causes so many problems, and in a conversation my worries can span 5 paragraphs of nonsense.
I’ve never actually voiced these thoughts out loud before, and it’s kinda weird to start consciously knowing there’s something going on within your psyche. I called it being overtly sensitive at one point, and I suppose all that sensitivity was focused on my parents judging me, not my social circle. I talk less to my dad and mom, and I suppose all that had to be channeled somewhere.
WHOAAA
I THINK I HAD TOO MUCH CAFFEINE
I’MA ON FIRE AND I THINK I HAVE STOMACH CRAMPS FROM TOO MUCH CAFFEINE BUT WHAT THE HECK OMGOMGOMGOMOGMOGMOGMOMGOMGOMG
SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S LIMITED PLATINUM GOLD EDITION
The hoarder in me can’t keep my hands off stuff that says ‘COLLECTOR’S EDITION’ in big special fonts. I resisted the temptation to buy the special edition of Assassin’s Creed, but now I look back and say ‘SHIT WHY DIDN’T I BUY THAT?’ Disney also obviously likes to target gullible people like me, because every other DVD released always has a ‘collector’s edition’, and costs $15 more. The price is partly the reason why I don’t buy digital media anymore because I can always download it, you fucking money stealers *cough*.
For now, Easton Press has my heart. This is an absolute thing of beauty.
ETA: Because I don’t want to type a new entry. Dear OSU Library, how can you only have Nemesis and not Hubris? I want to read both at once!
