This week has been an absolutely crazy one for us J1s. Aside from the going through of promo results and frenzied activity of going around asking all your friends if theyve managed to pass, there is the one big niggling deadline all J1s fear, which is, thankfully, over by the time we read this –the Project Work Written Report. Thanks to this bunch of bound paper written over the period of this year, many of us have been reduced to nothing more than a walking corpses with bloodshot eyes and sore necks from staring at the computer screen . Obviously, we writers at maniac have not been spared the torture-if anything, we are suffering even more because our work here involves typing even more in front of the computer screen. It was apt, therefore, for us to gather together and write one big article all about everyone’s favourite topic.
After a long week of gruelling exams and long revision, the AC Games was a welcome breath of fresh air to revitalise all of us and serve as a timely reminder that life in ACJC isn’t just about exams and more studying, it’s about keeping oneself fit and having fun too! Here are some highlights of the two eventful days:
“Love thy neighbor” is not a piece of advice, it’s a command. And that means in the global village we’re going to have to start loving a whole lot more people, that’s what that means…
Because whatever thoughts we have about God, who He is, or even if God exists, most will agree that God has a special place for the poor. The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble in the cries we hear during wartime. God, my friends, is with the poor. And God is with us if we are with them.
As Christy said, ACJC Stood Up against poverty last week – 300 of us, along with 173,045,325 citizens at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries. That’s a 100 million people from Asia, 57 million more people than last year, a new world record for the largest mobilization in history, and basically an INCOMPREHENSIBLY EPIC MOVEMENT. No matter what your sentiment, if there’s a lesson to be learned in this it’s this: Don’t let anyone tell you it cannot be done. If you’ve ever been bothered by the buzzing sound of a single mosquito, you’ll know better than to underestimate the impact of 173 million voices clamouring for change.
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 9:07 am. Add a comment
Today, this writer is proud to announce that she took part in a global outreach programme to take a stand against and eradicate poverty. This writer was initially reluctant to have to stay back to cover this event, when I would prefer to go shopping and eat ice-cream.
After spending the time cheering my classmates on in the AC games and walking around the college snapping photos of people preparing for their respective sports, 2:30pm came by faster then I expected it. In fact, I only realized the passing of time when Andrew, our Council President, made an announcement for everyone to stop all activities promptly and gather at the area in front of the concourse.
I really hate it when shows get cancelled before a finale is shown. All that anticipation-for nothing! Since the promos are over, I’ve gotten back to watching TV obsessively and the most relaxing thing for me is to watch an entire show, every episode of every season consecutively. But, after six seasons of The Dead Zone, there is no finale. I have been wondering, for six seasons worth of episodes, if John Smith can prevent “the apocalypse”, only to find that there is no answer and there will never be an answer to that question.
I have received love from our “surrogate parents” here. They, unlike our real parents, have seen many generations of students and understand our need to find and be ourselves. Their quiet understanding and reassurance has been as important as their constantly pushing us to reach our full potential. Yet I never felt dismissed as one of many. This is because at least one or two teachers, be it your form tutor or your CCA teacher in charge, will just seem to love you more. This love is not premised on the physical presence of you being there at every lecture (although it may be for the lecturers who seem mortally offended when you skip theirs!) but is because we are in their hearts.
I have received love from my friends here. After the many late nights, the walks between classes and the sharing of dreams together, I have formed friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. Although I know it will never be the same; there will never be the sitting together at the void deck just passing the time or the looks across the classroom as the class shares a private joke the teacher does not understand. It will be different, it will change. I hope we will change together.
I have received love here. I hope that we will always carry the memory of this love within us by trying to make things better in whatever we may do after this.
I have received love here. Now, I have learnt to give.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 10:32 pm. Add a comment
by BERliNAs BERliN on maniAC, I’ve tried my best to create an ACJC “High School Musical”. As November draws nearer, the musical is ending. Most musicals end with a grand finale; with all the cast and a “bring down the house” number. I tried to think of something grand to end two years in ACJC. But I couldn’t. All I could think about is this slow, soft song of love and how I’ve been changed for good.
For once I have nothing to say, because the song says it all.
Good evening, viewers. We’re here on this balmy Wednesday evening to witness the final performance for 2009 of that amazing band PAT. Here at the head of the queue are some of PAT’s most fervent fans, who have been waiting for their idols for the past…er…five minutes.
Funny how the sight of J2s clinging to each other still has the power to squeeze the heart. After all, one graduating class / baccalaureate service is very much like another. But perhaps it’s precisely this unrelenting regularity – wave after wave of students roaring through ACJC; the group hug that never fails to occur every October – that reminds us of melancholy things like the passing of time; the inevitability of change, of having to move on; and, most melancholy of all, good-byes becoming more and more frequent as one grows older.
I was riding shotgun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car
He’s got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel
The other on my heart
I look around, turn the radio down
He says baby is something wrong?
Today, this writer attended a very special performance by Mr Katsura Kaishi, widely hailed as the world’s most acclaimed Rakugo performer.
Before I continue with the event itself, let me give a short introduction of this ancient art form. Rakugo is a form of Japanese sit-down comedy that started about 400 years ago in the Edo period. It is generally believed that Rakugo originated from monks who told short funny stories to their listeners to make their sermons more interesting. One thing led to another and soon, the first Rakugo performance was held within a temple. (Yes I do realize how hard it is to think that such an event would be held in such a solemn place like a temple!) Now, there are more than 700 full-time Rakugo artists in Japan and performances are held 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
It’s the exam season, and we should not be playing. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have playlists! Since everyone is relatively stressed studying, I figured it would be nice to make a playlist for all
the weary people out there, in sharing my own way of relieving stress.
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The prizes….
By – Obsession 
Since everyone is relatively stressed studying, I figured it would be nice to make a playlist for all