Recently, our class have studied Emily of Emerald Hill, a one-woman play by Stella Kon, and our class test about this wonderful play has just past. However, my friends and I were assigned a task to turn this play, which is written in a monologue format, into an actual play including dialogue and conversations, turning the several characters around Emily's life into real people that actually exist. Below is the script of our play:
-Scene One- (pg 18 to 22)
(Emily and Servant on stage)
(Servant spreads out the white table cloth)
Servant: Ma’am, like this huh?
Emily (shakes her head): Aiyo, so messy ah? Leave it…. I show you….
(Servant stops her actions, walks aside)
(Emily takes over Servant’s position)
(While spreading, Emily talks)
Emily: Ah Sim, you know what are we hosting tonight?
Servant: Ma’am, I not sure…. I just come here…..
Emily: I tell you, tonight we will host a big dinner for first master. Those big towkays and all the ang moh bosses will come tonight. Wait…. Ah Sim, do we have all the correct ingredients or not? You know, tonight we cannot make any mistakes, if not tomorrow on the newspapers I will be the laughing stock. And I will embarrass first master.
Servant; Ma’am, you don’t worry so much. Everything is ready now.
Emily (heaves a sigh of relief): Good. Tonight the whore Diana will be coming. I must show her who is boss!!!!
- Emily and Servant leave stage-
(Towkay 1 and Towkay 2 enter)
(Towkay 1 and Towkay 2 move around randomly)
(Emily walks in)
Emily (enthusiastically and politely): Good evening Mr Lim. Welcome to Emerald Hill. We are so honoured to have you here to try my cooking. Please, do tuck in. Oh yes, do remember to get yourself comfortable with a martini at the corner.
Towkay 1: Thank you for your hospitality. I already tried the starters, they taste incredibly scrumptious. I really enjoy all the Peranakan food that you prepared.
(Emily smiles, Towkay nods responsively)
(Emily leaves Towkay 1 alone and heads to Towkay 2)
Emily: Hello Mr Ong, what a pleasure to see you again. Oh, is Mrs Ong attending this birthday dinner for Richard tonight? I have not seen her yet.
Towkay 2: Oh, I am so apologetic about that. My spouse really cannot make it tonight as she is down with cold. She said she was sorry for not coming down to try your specialties.
Emily: Oh, I see. Do tell her to rest well. I really appreciate her kindness of putting a good word for my culinary skills. Do you mind if I ask my helpers to prepare an extra serving of food for Mrs Ong personally, so that you can take back home?
Towkay 2 (surprised): Yes, she is probably famished by the time I reach home. Thank you, Emily.
(Towkay 1 and Towkay 2 leaves)
(Bee Choo enters from right, Diana enters from left)
(Emily approaches Bee Choo)
Emily (warmly): Bee Choo, so glad that you came. You know I was working my head off, so busy, aiyo… Try all the food here, see whether my cooking skills maintained the standard.
Bee Choo: M, aiyo I tell you ah. Fed up, very fed up. My kids now, getting out of hand. The worst thing is my monstrous mother-in-law, seriously she is torturing me. I cannot breathe la.
(Emily shows a face of empathy)
Bee Choo: Wait, M. Look there. (points to the left) Isn’t that the slut that seduced your husband? What’s her name ah?
(Emily face sterns)
Emily: Ya, it’s Diana. Bee Choo, you help yourself with the food first, I go talk to her.
Bee Choo: Ok, be careful ah. Don’t let her bully you.
(Bee Choo pats Emily’s shoulder, then walks away to the side)
(Emily approaches Diana)
Diana: Emily! Long time no see. I love this house, to the extent that I want to move in with Kheong right now.
(Laughs sarcastically)
(Emily laughs nonchalantly together)
Diana: Just joking, please don’t take it to heart. How is it to live in the grand, posh, magnificent Emerald Hill by yourself…. (whisper) alone?
(Emily smiles indignantly)
Emily: Diana… why don’t you go and look for Kheong first, he is at the room next door.
(Diana smirks and leaves)
(Servant enters and brings out the cake on a trolley)
(Richard enters)
(Emily’s mood lightens)
Emily (loudly): Ladies and gentlemen, would you mind gathering around?
(A group of people crowds around Emily, Richard and Servant)
Emily: As you all know, today marks the 20th birthday of my son, Richard. Let us all wish him a happy birthday.
(vivacious)
Emily: 1..2…3…
(Richard stands in front of the cake and closes his eyes)
(Group of people mime the happy birthday song with joy)
Richard: I hope that…. mummy will not be so protective of me anymore. I hope…. that after today, I can make my own decisions….. and lead a more enjoyable life that I want in England…
(Group of people sing out the last line of the birthday song)
(Richard smiles and blows the candles)
-End of Scene one-
-Scene Two- (pg 52 to 24)
Stage Direction -
Emily lowers herself into her chair. Dim light on her.
Emily: *sigh* There was a magnificent lawn here with many flowers cared for by three gardeners. We also had tennis courts and fruit trees. It was so vibrant here last time, but now there are only tall flats blocking out the house. But even the house is dying… *sigh*…
Bin Seong: *comes in talking with Mei Choon*
Emily: Oh hello Bin-bin. You come fetch me again ah?
Bin Seong: Ya, porpor. We go eat supper and drive around?
Emily: *yawn* I think today I stay at home rest better lah… feeling tired eh. *sounds tired*
Mei Choon: But here so noisy how to rest ah?
Emily: No lah.. it sounds like voices and laughter pleasant to my ears… You don’t worry about me lah.. you two just go and enjoy, bye-bye. *sounds tired*
*Emily twirls head around for a while, suddenly “falls asleep” and slightly raises head*
Bin Seong: Porpor I want ice-cream *shakes Emily’s hand*
Emily: Okok, Porpor make for you ah. *Bin Seong leaves, Driver enters* Alamak Mat turn turn turn! Ok after this you go Amber Road fetch Tuan Besar home ah?
Mat: *Imitates driving and turn*
*Mat leaves and Emily is alone again*
*Emily sings song dreamily*
Emily: Richard is that you? Ah, Richard don’t fall down! Did you do well in school? Good boy ya, take Mother out drive around.
*After some time*
Emily: ok Richard I think stop lah.. Mother tired already, take me home ya. I want go home rest and sleep. Good boy ya, always take good care of Mother? You are my big strong son…
-End of Scene Two-
Hope all of you enjoy :))))
Friday, August 20, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Inception
Inception ~ I am very sure the first thing that pops into your mind would be the recent blockbuster thriller directed by Christopher Nolan which features Leonardo DiCaprio. It raveled me from the moment the movie started right until this instance. I am writing about this not to do a review on the movie or a complete analysis on the ending of the story but to in turn go deeper into one’s dreamland.
Why do we dream? I believe it is the disguised fulfillment of one’s repressed wishes or hopes. One thing to take note of is do you notice that when you are in a dream, you have no idea how to reached it and there is no ending? Amazing right? Quite often before the end of the day, something will usually happen and if we regret the way we have dealt with it or hope for a better solution to it, the thought of it will usually linger in our minds and eventually become part of our dreams. Also, I find that many of my wishes and hopes are often fulfilled in the dreamland and it sorts of contributes to one’s mental and psychological state.
I feel that one’s life is lived to the fullest unless it is lived with no regrets. Before we deal with a situation, we have to assess or look at it with a clear and calm mind rather than let our emotions take control of us and bring us to an instantaneous decision. After thinking back, I have noticed most of my wrongdoings have been because of my lack of emotional control. Let us put it in a simple manner, sometimes a student in class would shout out something funny and when you hear it, wouldn’t most of us react by laughing out loud? This is wrong as it shows one’s disrespect towards the teacher. Although the teacher might act as if she does not bother but deep down inside it does indeed show her incompetence in handling the class and she would absolutely feel sad about it.
I indeed feel that teachers are underrated these days though. (PS : I’m not saying this to get into the good books of teacher but rather it’s truly how I feel) Many students take teachers as lowlife beings that live only to teach them, thus leading to them feeling superior and hence disregarding the credibility of the teachers.
( For those of you who haven't seen it, you gotta' watch it, seriously!!!
Here's the trailer:
Monday, March 1, 2010
Language Arts IT Home Learning
Linguistic:
c. You are now adapting the novel for a drama play. Depict / write out a scene from the novel.
In the above assignment, I will be adopting the starting of Chapter 9 as I feel that it is the start of the Tom Robinson saga and it is the point when Scout starts to learn more about the segregation in Maycomb.
Scene 1
S.D (stage direction) - cecil jacobs and scout are on stage cecil jacobs : Scout Finch's dad defended niggers. Her whole family are nigger-lover. Haha.......
S.D - Scout clenches her fists getting ready to punch Cecil Jacobs
scout: You can just take that back!
S.D - stage light fades out
scout's voice saying: Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting anymore; I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be. I soon forgot.
Scene 2
S.D - jem and scout are on stage
scout: Jem, do you know Cecil?
jem: Ya, isn't he the guy from your class?
scout: Ya well, he kind'a said something today. He said that Atticus defended niggers.
scout: Jem, what'd mean saying that?
jem: Nothing. Ask Atticus he'll tell you.
S.D - scout walks over to Atticus at the other room sitting on a rocking chair
scout: Do you defend niggers, Atticus?
atticus: of course I do. Don't say niggers, Scout. That's common.
scout: 's what everybody at school says.
atticus: From now on it'll be everybody less one.
S.D - atticus looks at scout mildly, amusement in his eyes
scout: Do all lawyers defend nig---Negroes, Atticus?
atticus: Of course they do, Scout.
scout: Then why did Cecil say you defended niggers? He made it sound lie you were runnin' a still.
S.D - atticus lets out a sigh
atticus: I'm simply defending a Negro - his name's Tom Robinson. He lives in a little settlement beyond the town dump. He's a member of Calpurnia's church, and Cal knows his family well. She says they're clean-living folks. Scout, you aren't old enough to understand some things yet, but there's been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn't do much about defending this man. It's a peculiar case - it won't come to trial until summer session. John Taylor was king enough to give us a postponement....
scout: If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you doin' it?
atticus: For a number of reasons. The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold my head up in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, i couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do somethin' again.
scout: You mean if you didn't defend that man, Jem and me wouldn't have to mind you anymore?
atticus: That’s about right.
scout: Why?
atticus: Because I could never ask you to mind me again. Scout, simply by the nature of the work, a lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess. You might hear some ugly talk at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold you head high and those you fists down. No matter what anybody says, don’t you let em’ get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change, it’s a good, even if it does resist learning.
scout: Atticus, are we going to win it.
atticus: No honey
scout: Then why-
atticus: Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.
scout: Atticus, you sound like Ike Finch. Tell you, Atticus, cousin Ike would say “the Missouri Compromise was what licked us, but if I had to go through it again I’d walk every step of the way there an’ every step back just like I did before an’ furthermore………
atticus: Come here scout.
S.D – scout crawls into atticus’s lap and he starts rocking her
atticus: It’s different this time, Scout. This time we’re fighting for our friends, not the Yankees. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they’re still our friends and this is still our home.
S.D – stage light fades out
Lsnguage Arts IT home learning
Spatial / Visual: b. Design an obituary for Mrs Dubose.
With Deepest Sympathy and Heartfelt Condolences
to The Family of the late
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was a very lonely person. she was widowed for many years and was addicted to morphine. She was also a very courageous woman who tried to fight her addiction, but not being on the morphine killed her. In the end, she succeeded in her fight and left the world morphine free.
From:
The Finch
and
The Community
of Maycomb County
With Deepest Sympathy and Heartfelt Condolences
to The Family of the late
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
Departed on 1960 July 24Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was a very lonely person. she was widowed for many years and was addicted to morphine. She was also a very courageous woman who tried to fight her addiction, but not being on the morphine killed her. In the end, she succeeded in her fight and left the world morphine free.
From:
The Finch
and
The Community
of Maycomb County
Multiple Intelligence Test
Yesterday, I took the Multiple Intelligence Test and the following is my results:
According to the chart above, my dominating intelligence would be in visual/spatial intelligence. From what I understand, this type of intelligence involves the ability to visualize objects and spatial dimensions, and create internal images and pictures. This means that I learn through the many around me that I observe and often try to figure out the different patterns or trends behind them.
I feel that the MIT is very useful as it can help a student to understand something or to complete their work as fast as possible. A student can use the results he got from the MIT, and according to his/her dominant intelligence, he/she can use it to come up with a suitable learning method so that he/she can maximize the time given to either complete tasks or understanding difficult problems.
Although the MIT can bring to us many benefits, we must not be solely focused on merely one area of intelligence and forget about the others as they might also prove to be more useful in some areas of work.
According to Dr. Gardner, "He contests such claims of validity by arguing for a different view of standardized testing that is not biased in favor of only one kind of intelligence at the expense of others. He also notes the achievements of students in non-academic settings and the tragedy of exclusion that results when whole segments of the population are not served because their intelligences do not have the opportunity for expression."
I fully agree with his views as a teacher cannot teach using one sort of intelligence and neglect the others, as this might affect the learning of students who are specifically weak in that area. Instead, I feel that the MIT should only be used by students to have a brief idea on what type of intelligence they possess and try to maximize its usefulness.
According to the chart above, my dominating intelligence would be in visual/spatial intelligence. From what I understand, this type of intelligence involves the ability to visualize objects and spatial dimensions, and create internal images and pictures. This means that I learn through the many around me that I observe and often try to figure out the different patterns or trends behind them.
I feel that the MIT is very useful as it can help a student to understand something or to complete their work as fast as possible. A student can use the results he got from the MIT, and according to his/her dominant intelligence, he/she can use it to come up with a suitable learning method so that he/she can maximize the time given to either complete tasks or understanding difficult problems.
Although the MIT can bring to us many benefits, we must not be solely focused on merely one area of intelligence and forget about the others as they might also prove to be more useful in some areas of work.
According to Dr. Gardner, "He contests such claims of validity by arguing for a different view of standardized testing that is not biased in favor of only one kind of intelligence at the expense of others. He also notes the achievements of students in non-academic settings and the tragedy of exclusion that results when whole segments of the population are not served because their intelligences do not have the opportunity for expression."
I fully agree with his views as a teacher cannot teach using one sort of intelligence and neglect the others, as this might affect the learning of students who are specifically weak in that area. Instead, I feel that the MIT should only be used by students to have a brief idea on what type of intelligence they possess and try to maximize its usefulness.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
CNY@HCI
On the 27th of February, my school, Hwa Chong Institution organized a Chinese New Year celebration specially for scholars. This event allows foreign scholars who did not have the chance to return home during Chinese New Year to gather together and celebrate the Lunar New Year. Although I went back to Malaysia during Chinese New Year, I still participated in this event as I had to perform in two performances. They are the singing of two Chinese New Year songs, "大地回春" and "恭喜恭喜".
Before the event, the teachers had organized several practice sessions for us. My friends and I worked very hard to memorize the lyrics of the songs and to sing harmoniously. After going through all the practice sessions, we were all very glad with our performance and awaited the day of the event with much excitement.
On that day, I woke up 7:45 a.m. in the morning, brushed my teeth, changed into bright coloured clothes, and rushed to the high school drama centre which is just conveniently seated next to my boarding school. After having a final rehearsal, the event started at 10:00 a.m. There were lots of performances, such as plays, dances, soloists, Chinese riddles, game sessions and many more. Although all of this were of high standard, I was certainly most fascinated by the wushu performance by our school's award winning wushu team. There were three of them, each using different weapons. First up was the swordsman. He displayed wonderful poise and balance as he performed several heart-pounding tricks in the air. Next up was the senior holding an old Chinese favourite, the long spear. He was also brilliant in his performance and was exceptionally quick. The speed at which he moved his spear was so quick that I believe he could simultaneously take down numerous opponents in a matter of seconds, truly amazing and spectacular! The last performer relied barely on both his fists and feet. He was very flexible and displayed several high-standard gymnastic stunts. In all, they were simply exquisite.
After the performance ended at 12 noon, everybody who attended the event was treated to lunch. Before we started to eat, we first had the traditional Chinese New Year dish that simply cannot be left out of any celebrations, the prosperous dish - ‘鱼生’. This is a dish that contains lots of ingredients mixed together such as, carrot and reddish strips, crispy crumbs and some sliced fish. A variety of sauces is then added to the dish and everything is mixed together. We then use chopsticks to toss the ‘鱼生’ high up in the air. This is done so as Chinese believe that the higher the ‘鱼生’ is tossed, the more prosperity you will get in that year. Putting aside religious beliefs, it was also very tasty as the perfect combination of everything simply made it irresistible.
The lunch was not half bad, with a variety of dishes. The fact that we were able to gather together with our friends in such a soothing environment and have lunch with them just makes me feel joy and happiness, while helping me set aside the loneliness felt being away from my family.
Overall, I feel that this year's CNY@HCI was a major success and I hope to see more of such events in the future.
Well, this is all I have to share about the party. Hope you have enjoyed this post and please feel free to comment. Goodbye for now and stay on the lookout for further updates.
Before the event, the teachers had organized several practice sessions for us. My friends and I worked very hard to memorize the lyrics of the songs and to sing harmoniously. After going through all the practice sessions, we were all very glad with our performance and awaited the day of the event with much excitement.
On that day, I woke up 7:45 a.m. in the morning, brushed my teeth, changed into bright coloured clothes, and rushed to the high school drama centre which is just conveniently seated next to my boarding school. After having a final rehearsal, the event started at 10:00 a.m. There were lots of performances, such as plays, dances, soloists, Chinese riddles, game sessions and many more. Although all of this were of high standard, I was certainly most fascinated by the wushu performance by our school's award winning wushu team. There were three of them, each using different weapons. First up was the swordsman. He displayed wonderful poise and balance as he performed several heart-pounding tricks in the air. Next up was the senior holding an old Chinese favourite, the long spear. He was also brilliant in his performance and was exceptionally quick. The speed at which he moved his spear was so quick that I believe he could simultaneously take down numerous opponents in a matter of seconds, truly amazing and spectacular! The last performer relied barely on both his fists and feet. He was very flexible and displayed several high-standard gymnastic stunts. In all, they were simply exquisite.
After the performance ended at 12 noon, everybody who attended the event was treated to lunch. Before we started to eat, we first had the traditional Chinese New Year dish that simply cannot be left out of any celebrations, the prosperous dish - ‘鱼生’. This is a dish that contains lots of ingredients mixed together such as, carrot and reddish strips, crispy crumbs and some sliced fish. A variety of sauces is then added to the dish and everything is mixed together. We then use chopsticks to toss the ‘鱼生’ high up in the air. This is done so as Chinese believe that the higher the ‘鱼生’ is tossed, the more prosperity you will get in that year. Putting aside religious beliefs, it was also very tasty as the perfect combination of everything simply made it irresistible.
The lunch was not half bad, with a variety of dishes. The fact that we were able to gather together with our friends in such a soothing environment and have lunch with them just makes me feel joy and happiness, while helping me set aside the loneliness felt being away from my family.
Overall, I feel that this year's CNY@HCI was a major success and I hope to see more of such events in the future.
Well, this is all I have to share about the party. Hope you have enjoyed this post and please feel free to comment. Goodbye for now and stay on the lookout for further updates.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Beach Cleaning CIP
Yesterday, I participated in a CIP (community involvement program) organised by my school, Hwa Chong Institution, ProEd consortium. In this CIP, I took up the role of a student leader along with 7 others to help supervise and guide the secondary one ProEdians in their beach cleaning experience. The motive of this CIP is to instill a sense of environmental awareness in the minds of the Sec 1s as well as to help clean the beaches of Changi and Sembawang.
Early in the morning, we gathered in the high school drama centre. First, two Sec4 seniors gave a brief introduction on the schedule as well as the do s and don't s. After that, we were honored to have a member from the Singapore Wildlife Conservation (PS: or at least something like that because I don't remember too well) to deliver a presentation on Singapore's nature reserves. Lastly, the seniors helped spilt the four Sec1 classes into two, whereby two classes would be cleaning one beach. Result, I was assigned to the Sembawang beach with 1P3 and 1P4, along with 3 other seniors.
At 9.45 in the morning, we reached the wonderful beach of Sembawang. I was quite shocked when I first saw the condition of the beach as it was much cleaner than I had expected. There was minimum litter on the surface of the beach but the sea was of the complete opposite. Rubbish such as plastic bags, soft drink cans, Styrofoam containers and many more scattered across the deep blue sea. Apart from that, it was just another cooling and beautiful day at the sea where some families were having picnics and some others fishing. All in all, it was a typical Saturday beach.
After assigning the Sec1 s into groups of two and handing them garbage bags and gloves, we officially declared the start of the beach cleaning process and our juniors raced off towards the beach. Some students struggled to pick up the litter in the water and some even got wet due to the oncoming tides. A few smarter students used long wooden branches to grab the rubbish and soon almost everyone was picking up branches as if the CIP was a “Hunt for Branches”.
At 11.45 a.m, the beach cleaning process ended and the beach had attained a whole new look. It now looked cleaner than ever thanks to the hard work and effort put in by the Sec1 s. The Sec1 s managed to pick up lots of garbage and even found three gigantic tyres! After that, we boarded a bus and returned back to school.
I feel that this CIP was a great success as we managed to raise awareness of the conditions of the beaches in Singapore. I really appreciated the cooporation and enthusiasm shown by the Sec1 s as this was what made the event so successful. I enjoyed myself a lot in this CIP and I hope there will be moore opportunities for me to serve the society and have fun doing it.
Early in the morning, we gathered in the high school drama centre. First, two Sec4 seniors gave a brief introduction on the schedule as well as the do s and don't s. After that, we were honored to have a member from the Singapore Wildlife Conservation (PS: or at least something like that because I don't remember too well) to deliver a presentation on Singapore's nature reserves. Lastly, the seniors helped spilt the four Sec1 classes into two, whereby two classes would be cleaning one beach. Result, I was assigned to the Sembawang beach with 1P3 and 1P4, along with 3 other seniors.
At 9.45 in the morning, we reached the wonderful beach of Sembawang. I was quite shocked when I first saw the condition of the beach as it was much cleaner than I had expected. There was minimum litter on the surface of the beach but the sea was of the complete opposite. Rubbish such as plastic bags, soft drink cans, Styrofoam containers and many more scattered across the deep blue sea. Apart from that, it was just another cooling and beautiful day at the sea where some families were having picnics and some others fishing. All in all, it was a typical Saturday beach.
After assigning the Sec1 s into groups of two and handing them garbage bags and gloves, we officially declared the start of the beach cleaning process and our juniors raced off towards the beach. Some students struggled to pick up the litter in the water and some even got wet due to the oncoming tides. A few smarter students used long wooden branches to grab the rubbish and soon almost everyone was picking up branches as if the CIP was a “Hunt for Branches”.
At 11.45 a.m, the beach cleaning process ended and the beach had attained a whole new look. It now looked cleaner than ever thanks to the hard work and effort put in by the Sec1 s. The Sec1 s managed to pick up lots of garbage and even found three gigantic tyres! After that, we boarded a bus and returned back to school.
I feel that this CIP was a great success as we managed to raise awareness of the conditions of the beaches in Singapore. I really appreciated the cooporation and enthusiasm shown by the Sec1 s as this was what made the event so successful. I enjoyed myself a lot in this CIP and I hope there will be moore opportunities for me to serve the society and have fun doing it.
