"I want to speak English"

When asked if she could have a superpower, what would it be. A Chinese first-year nursing student answered, "I want to speak English well."

And my heart broke upon hearing giggles among some others who were listening.
 

Argh!

The word is "cite" instead of "citate".


The word is "teacher" rather than "..cher"
By the way, they do have names.

Phew! Now I got it off my chest. These stuff give me slight increases in blood pressure, you know?

Nausea

Academic writing makes me nauseated. You cannot write as you please. There are rules and guidelines to adhere to. And what's worse? You need to write because you do not wish to play a fool when it comes to your GPA.

Nauseated. Wondering how can you finish it and pass with flying colours. Actually, I think I am done. Wrote the conclusion of my paper last night. But the story doesn't end there.


What's even worse? Referencing.

Vomiting now.

Fact about choices

Not to decide is to decide.

I don't want to think about it, means I want to not think about it.
You are not doing anything about it, means you do nothing about it.
I don't want to solve this, means I want to leave this unresolved.
You don't want progress, means you want no progress.

Fool or Hypocrite

Fools show the world what they are;
Hypocrites try to show the world that they are what they are not.

竞争

大家都在忙着申请上大学的手续。

选择申请同样的大学时， 难免会有竞争。
但在朋友之间， 尤其是好朋友， 难免的事情难道真的就不能免一免吗？

自己想在心中理想的大学保的位 似乎已经比友情重要了。
想上大学没有错， 但如果因此而忘了助人的快乐之本， 会很开心吗？
假如连跟 “自己人” 都有很强的竞争心理， 那我便不敢知道 外面的世界是多么地丑陋！ 更不愿意了解到底为什么 人需要这么自私。
我们当然不能期望与世无争； 但如果有人因自己的利益而忘记， 甚至出卖朋友与家人， 我本身认为 这种人的生命太没意义了。

“现在不能帮你。”
真的不行吗？ 还是不愿意？
“以后我会帮， 就是现在不可以。”
等以后来临了， 再看一看你真的会不会出手。

大家都在忙着申请上大学的手续。 朋友之间， 互相帮助 一起努力， 好东西一起分享 好吗？

大年初一首几分

Happy Chinese New Year to all! Here are some words I penned down upon midnight, when some people of Kluang started lighting up the sky in the neighbourhood.

大年初一首几分

炮竹声声

天暗 添了色

瞬间再不黑

明灯升升

取代星星 闪

一去不回头

子女生生

外出社会 献

勿忘思故亲

© Joel Yap

Haiku of Infatuations

Acted like a fool

when I met and wanted Shoes,

David on a roof?

Those shoes so unique,

she drives the right way like me;

Not sure how she speaks.

Found a pair of Gloves

that would touch lives as will mine,

A face caught my eye.

Those gloves feel so warm,

she speaks the same words like me;

Not sure how she drives.

My heart- four spaces;

Room for only one person,

if I choose to love.

Come to a crossroad,

Left or right each cons and pros;

Not sure where to go.

Wedding- simple day,

Marriage- ever going race,

Love must never sway.

© Joel Yap

Yingevarikiri?

This evening there was an elderly Indian lady whom only spoke in Tamil, who was complaining and appeared to be suffering. The only nurses in the cubicle were two miserable fellow student nurses who were from China. The girls were helpless and I saw them running around searching for a translator. Was amused enough to become a busybody since I had nothing much on my hands, so I audaciously told the students I could understand a bit of Tamil.

"Yingevarikini?", I asked the frail lady who was in great pain. Then I couldn't understand a thing the moment she replied, Malay didn't work so in the end we got hold of an Indian clerk to help with the translation. Hahaha...

There's an Indian patient in my cubicle now who is willing to teach me simple Tamil! Hope I learn fast.

French fries

Am now sitting in a corner somewhere within the premises(or WiFi hotspot for that matter) of Nanyang Polytechnic. Just went to check out the gym for the very first time as I now have access to the sports facilities, just got my student card today.

Anyway the last class today ended at 6PM, and at 7PM a website was open for registration for our general studies modules. So, I, having no internet access elsewhere, stayed back and waited till the wesite was open. While waiting for the clock to hit 7, I decided to go burn some fats in the gym! After a weekend spent at home in Kluang, I put on about almost 5kg of body weight, so...

So I did some jogging and tried lifting weights, didn't dare touch the dumbbells or experiment around so much as there were many fit and some rather huge hunks building muscles. I felt intimidated, hahaha.. Thus ended up jogging. Looking at the clock, I left by 7.30PM to register for a general studies module.

French was among the top in my list of interested modules, not because of French fries, of course.
By the way, anybody wants to give me a treat or receive a treat from me at McDonald's the next time I return to Kluang? =D

Sigh, guess what..... around 7.30-7.40PM when I signed in to the colleg's portal to register for the module, French was already unavailable. Hello, the time for registration starts at 7. Half an hour later and places for French classes are all gone? Singaporeans, really efficient! Looks like there are many students out there who are as interested in learning up French. Looks like they are more enthusiastic(or kiasu) than me...

Well, signed up for personal financial management in the end.
Good idea to learn how to spend and manage money wisely, so I don't go broke as a student!

caroLLing

"The carollers go carolling, singing carols." or "The carolers go caroling, singing carols."?

"Carolling" has two L's in British English but one in American, does it really matter?
To many people, English be it American or not is the same, a little bit of different spellings here and there is nothing. American and British English are just like two different families in the same kingdom. And to have spellings of words from both American and British spellings in the same sentence? No big deal... A lot of people have even become unaware of the differences in spellings of so many words.

Should I make a big fuss when someone spells "carolling" with a single L? Nothing against American English and those who use it, at all. But I believe students from a government school should know how to use British English, at least as long as he or she is still a student in a government school, or any other school that uses British English. And for those who use American English as a medium of study, practise American English. Speaking of which, so many people today do now even know the difference between "practise" and "practice"(in American English, it's all just practice) in British English.

Never mind, the government schools in Malaysia adopt British English as second language and a study medium, probably because Malaysia was once a colony under the British rule. For whatever reason, the public school students here use British English. So should these students be aware of the differences between the language they should use and the American alternative?


For those who may have misunderstood, sorry if I was confusing. Haha...
It's not a crime to use American English, neither will I persecute those who use it. I am just trying to voice my opinion on English as a language, a language that deserves respect.

Chinese

Many times I feel a bit left out among Chinese speaking friends as my mastery of the language is one of the worst. Besides, I do feel some guilt because I gave up the language as an exam subject in Form 3. That let a teacher down, she cared(s) and had done a lot of persuasion as well as encouragement for me to take on the challenge but I was not up to it. *Sorry.......*

Well, what's done is done. Dropping Chinese is a different matter from being ashamed of the language. Just like Bible Knowledge 9221 for SPM, many students have their own reasons(though usually excuses) for not taking it in the SPM examination.
I am not ashamed of being yellow, an Asian, neither am I ashamed of the language- Chinese.


From listening to stories of my grandfather from various sources, I want to share this- that he came from China to Malaysia decades ago. Although he was uneducated, upon receiving income for the first time here, the first item he spent his hard earned money on was ironically a dictionary! I believe he went through a lot and experienced many hard times, his pursuit of knowledge and literature amazes me. You may read more about my grandfather, Yap Tai Pit if you want to here. What i want to say is that he was skillful in the art of calligraphy and famous for it. (the characters on the arch of the cemetery in Kluang was his work)
However I never had any interest at all in Chinese calligraphy, Haha... But starting today I wish to brush up on my Chinese writing skills again!

Check out my latest work on Mirror: 万物之灵

Mirror is a space whereby I express my musings and daydreams into words.

Bahasa Cina boleh! Go, Go, Go!!!