Oh Well
A quick update on my life
Exams: Got my SAT results a few weeks ago; 650 for Critical Reading, 680 for Math and 600 for Writing. Not bad considering that I really needed to go toilet throughout, say, 9 out of the 10 sections, and the 5 minute toilet break isn’t enough (a lecture hall filled with 100 candidates, a toilet with three stall, do the math). And also, because I’m Malaysian and my England is not expected to be that powderful.
My STPM results, however, is coming out tomorrow. I hate every aspect of STPM - just when I thought the Malaysian Examinations Council could not *bleep* me over, they do this: set the results date this late. It’s interesting, examinations with more papers to mark, with more candidates at more locations could handle the logistics and give their students the results significantly earlier. But after tomorrow, I would have only one working day to apply for Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University; I had to book a trip to JB/Singapore *even though* I’m so highly unsure of my STPM results.
But overall, not particularly afraid of tomorrow. If I score crap, I get a holiday in Singapore. If I do well, Singapore would be my new home for, say, 7-8 years. If miracles happen, or more likely, a clerical error giving me a CGPA of4.0, Singapore would not, thankfully, be my home for the next 7-8 years.
Singapore: Ahh, yes, speaking of Singapore, I’m leaving by train tomorrow night with my best friend who have stuff to do in Singapore. And I’m collecting my passport, my dear first passport, tomorrow morning (actually, the passport is property of the government, but what the heck). Heh, tomorrow would be a packed day. But to be honest, I would be arriving in Woodlands, lugging around my bags from Jurong to Stamford St to Potong Pasir to Orchard Rd. Then we would be crossing the causeway to say at my mom’s uncle and aunt’s (thus, granduncle and aunt) place in JB near the causeway.
Hey, what to say, I’m influenced by Anthony Bourdain - “be a traveller, not a tourist”. And what could be more traveller-esque than living in the dirt cheapest place you could find? It’s free, after all, and SBS Bus 170 across the causeway from Malaysia back to Singapore sets you back S$1.50. Sure, we would spend one hour at immigration coming back and forth, but hey, it’s cheaper than Geylang’s red light district hostels. Comes with breakfast too!
I *could* stay in my father’s ex-roommate, rich lawyer friend that, most importantly, is rich and has a big mansion on the island, but my father would hear nothing of it. I hope if my future roommates ever become filty rich, I would not subject my children to the tyranny of immigration checkpoints and traffic jams.
Church: It would be so cool! I get to go to any Singaporean church, anything I like! New Creation Church (they even have a ministry called Laugh Ministry! How cool is that?)! City Harvest Church (they sing songs in *both* Mandarin and English! How cool is that?)! Full Gospel Assembly Johor Bahru (okay, technically not in Singapore…How cool is that?)! I was also thinking of Church of Our Saviour (winner of Best Church Logo, Ever, Since The Beginning of Time and Space), most famous for its Choices ex-gay ministry - but I’m going with friends so…
But I was thinking, I mix and match - I go to City Harvest on Saturday evening, 5p.m. (Jurong West, so near NTU…), New Creation on Sunday at 11:45am. Now, if I’m fast enough to leave Jurong West and reach Queenstown across the island in like half an hour, I can go to COOS’ youth service at 7. And I must reach early, apparently, tardiness is hoarded up north of the Tebrau Straits leaving chronic shortages in Singapore.
There’s Faith Community Baptist Church too! The whole G12 cell group movement is great, but it’s hard to join a cell group on short notice, no? Their service is at Singapore Expo, if I go for the 9am service at New Creation, their 1pm service would be feasible. Now, there, that’s a plan.
Update: Apparently, English services are not held at the iconic Jurong West building, it is held at Singapore Expo. Both Queenstown and Singapore Expo are on the same MRT line, I just change trains at Tanah Merah. So two services on Saturday - one in S.E. Asia’s biggest church, another at a church famous for its healing ministries, and one on Sunday - famous for its comedic pastor.
That should do it.