National Novice 2011

Upon demand request from Andrew, here I am posting about National Novice 2011:D Since I’m the freest nowadays anyway... Honestly, none of us ever ever (at least I didn’t) thought winning this at all, what more when we are so rusty! Yes, National Novice was the first tournament after 8 months???

But before I begin, I must express my gratitude to Zean Shiung, Prasanth and Shaun for being willing to help us prepare before the tournament. Particularly Zean Shiung, the list of things to be researched on really helped!!! :D Last but not the least, our very dear and much appreciated, Keefe :D, a senior/trainer/coach/opponent that is the reason why we can be where we are today. WE ALL LOVE YOU SO MUCH KEEFE!!!!! J

Ok, let’s get to business. HELP University College was represented by 3 teams where HELP 1 comprised of Ian Loo Han Rong, Carmen Chua & Victoria Ngow, HELP 2 included Sophia, Abhilaash & I while HELP 3 consisted of Kailaish, Jasmesh & Shu Li. Our very professional adjudication team made up of Elena Ong, Leannza Chia, Adelyn Teoh & Ayzvara. :D Now, let’s see how HELP 2 rocked the floor!

Round 1: Education.

Up against Sri Ayesha on the motion THW teach talented students separately from their peers and we were opposition (at 10pm on a Friday night after an hour of prep time, nope it wasn’t fun). Timothy Andrew was the adjudicator. This one was definitely not our best, for it was messy and ranged from average to below average. I was dismissive at certain parts & failed to attack their mechanism properly. We barely scraped passed this one but alas, we did. J

Round 2: Democary

We, on side government, faced SMKDU 1 on the motion THW make compulsory voting. Tasneem judged this round! We were improving slightly but not enough. There was one thing that Tasneem pointed out and we totally never thought it! Voting to not vote. It could have made our case a whole lot stronger (but we did pull through :D ) Get Malaysians to be more involved in the politics and at the same time, not just simply voting for any tom, dick & harry. By then, we were quite frustrated by ourselves. Yes, stupid us....

Round 3: Geo-politics

Facing only secondary schools in the 2 rounds earlier, we felt a bit nervous being opposition, facing another university for this round, USM 1 on the motion THW invade North Korea. Adrian was the chair this time. Now the first thing I did was to attack their mechanism! YES I LEARNT! LOL... but yea, I spent a little too much time rebutting and didn’t analyse my argument on bad precedence properly :P nonetheless, we made it through J

Round 4: Women & Men

We got into ROOM 3 against PUTRA 1 being government on the motion THBT if a biological father is willing & able to raise the future child, he should have the right to prevent abortion. Darryl was the chair. We lost this one. We didn’t have a proper case even after the debate started. The major screw up I did was defining what is “able” in my PM speech. And PUTRA 1 questioned what sort of willing is this that we are proposing. But sophie pulled it back for me! She explained that we drew a parallel example to custody and however capable a father needs to be in order to win the custody, this is what he needs to be when preventing the abortion. Moreover, what other sorts of willing are there? Forced willing? We lacked analysis in how losing the foetus = to losing a family member and we were quite offensive in our cases against females (though there were soph n i on gov and all three guys on opp!) It was a 2-1 split on a close margin with the chair dissenting. We were a bit dejected :/

Round 5:So Malaysia Lah!

We opposed THW impose minimum wage in Malaysia against SDAR 2. It was our bubble round so it was PRETTY SCARY. It was do or die. For the first 20 minutes of out the prep time, we were quite blank and it was only the last 10 mins that we started forming a proper case. Groobie was the chair this round and it was a 2-1 split! It was a silent round so we only found out the next morning! And I pretty worn out that night to even care actually....

Octofinals: National Security

On the motion THW not prosecute child soldiers for the atrocities they committed during times of war, we were opposition against INTEC 2. This round made all of us pretty jumpy actually. Not only because they defined ‘atrocities’ as protecting family and country from enemy and thus, making the whole debate into a definition challenge, ALL 3 SPEAKERS kept on repeating & saying that we needed help simply because we come from HELP.... so yes, abhi retaliated in saying that INTEC= IN Total Extreme Confusion. But it was “a bit” potong because abhi didn’t say it properly! It took the crowd 2 mins to get the joke before they started to laugh. Although we pointed out the truism, we didn’t question enough links... but well, here come quarters!

Quarterfinals: Medical Ethics

We went up against PUTRA 1 again on the motion THW force feed aneroxics. But this time, we were opposition. We fought! We were determined to not let them win us for another round. Yes, a lot of competitiveness seeping in. I don’t remember much about this round actually. Probably because I was quite blur after so many rounds already...

Semifinals: Sexual Deviances (HELP 1 was in the other semis against SWAT!)

This round we were government and it was fun! Probably it’s because I learnt a lot of new (& sick) stuff. Up against TCSJ 1 on the (longest ever) motion THBT sex education classes in schools should include but not be limited to: sexual orientation, anal sex, mutual gratification & masturbation. Yeap, we talked about G-spot (something new that I learnt), orgasm (I knew that already) and a whole lot more. They came up saying that sex education will only teach young kids these things. So we pointed out that they very fact that all of us here knows about all these despite not having sex education shows that sex education may not be the source after all. One of the speakers quoted that he learnt all those from his parents. Super cool parents I must say...

Finals: THBT the state should compensate people who are wrongfully convicted of a crime against SWAT = KEEFE!

This was what we never ever expected.

1) Getting in to the finals

2) Facing the one who trained us, KEEFE!

3) Winning it.

The most ironic thing is that we still didn’t know who exactly will be in our team till the last minute. And yet, we won National Novice 2011. It felt like a dream holding all those trophies. Like what leannza said, it was a trophy feast! With 4 of us (Abhi, me, ian & soph) getting 3^rd, 6^th, 8^th & 10^th best speaker respectively + finals best speaker + each of our own champion trophies + the HUGE champion trophy that is supposed to have HELP’s name engraved into it, all of them seem quite non-existent till I saw them on my table the next morning. This victory was by far the “cleanest” one we ever had. Yes, we did have a few misdeeds back then when John & Andrew were with us :P

But the most important thing was that this victory will not be possible without John, Andrew or Keefe because they built the base for us to step on. They were the reason why we could have succeeded. Without them, most probably, we will still be struggling to understand what harms principle is. Thanks John, Andrew, Keefe. We owe you guys big time. And, this brings me to my question. WHEN ARE YOU GUYS COMING BACK??? Don’t you dare come back after Keefe fly off. Yes keefe, when will you be leaving for Aussie? :D

History Repeats

today was suppose to be fun... yes it was... but there was just one tiny little part that reminded me something i didn't want to remember

i thought it already disappeared but i never knew, it was only buried... not even deep, anything small would trigger the memory...

and now it's back, i need to get it off but it's not working very well... i need to work harder and there's mighty minds tomorrow...

it's getting harder

Breath-taking

i went to the market in my Interact uniform and short pants (to avoid dirtying my slacks) and.... HEELS. yes, white ones.... but that is definitely not the highlight of the day. neither was is arriving late at jun ning's house or spending about 15 minutes waiting for adrian who is late... again.

but it was entering the children ward.

Interact Club of SMKDJ visited IJN (Institusi Jantung Negara) or National Heart Institute last Friday, 11 June 2010. i can say this with a 100% certainty to anyone out there who thinks that their life is terrible like hell, "there are people living lives a million times worse than yours". in movies, dramas, series or even advertisements, we always see people visiting hospitals, crying in front of their loved ones, so much more drama... but i just realised that the most dramatic event that could happen in a hospital is not all the tears or wails or sobs, but simply SILENCE.

a silence so great that everything around you seems to just be numbed and emotionless.

we entered the first ward and the first child we met was called Zulhairi. when we entered, his mother was simply arranging his pillows, trying to make him feel more comfortable. we started talking to him. but he was just so silent. he only gave short replies or just one or two nods with his head. but he smiled for us when we took a picture. and that was all it took for me to feel a wave of emotions in my heart.

we visited quite a number of children. all of them were connected to multiple tubes to every possible place; arms, nose, mouth, neck... i have seen them in movies before but not in real life... and it was really heart-breaking to see kids who had barely enjoyed life to be confined to the bed with tubes all over them. most of them have fresh wounds in the middle of their chest. some of them still have bloodstains on their shirts. but all of them were very quiet. they barely spoke. and to hear them speak or smile was just all we wanted for that moment....

then we visited the infants ward. all of them were sleeping soundly. :) but with the same tubes all over them... one of them started coughing and within a moment later, he started vomiting already. the nurse explained that it was due to his condition which produces excessive mucus causing too much phlegm in his throat. he was only 2 months old...

which baby deserves a beginning like this? which child deserves a childhood like this? which mother deserves to see their own infant like this?

life can be so terrible for some in this world. sophia once asked me "why are we always on the bright side?" i don't know. i really don't know. i don't understand. for a moment or two, i wished that i was the one strapped to the bed instead of that baby boy. he is barely a year old. he haven't even taken his first step. and he is already fighting for his life in a hospital bed. why? why? why?

after calming myself down, i thought maybe these answers are meant to be found. no one can answer me except God. all that matters is to help them and to love those around us before it's too late. all that matters in now.

love your life.

It's My Life

ok, i'm going to do what a normal teenager will do today... yes, i have been a lil abnormal these days... i agree :p i'm going to blog about my life! :D

alright, let's see how things went... i went for UKM Intervarsity Debate. it was TRUCKLOADS OF FUN!!! i've met so many new people and the girls from CBN!!! :D sweet young ones... haha
i saw danial (yes again) which i found out that I MET HIM WHEN I WAS IN FORM 1!!!!
yes, it's true! i was with abhi at that SUHAKAM camp and we saw danial!!! but danial only remembers him, not me... haiz... well, it was a lot of fun seeeing danial and abhi insulting each other in UKM! (indian labour....) abhi, i am seriously joking only... don't merajuk!

then i bonded even more with sophie, lean, keefe and andrew! although soph did spend most of her time at night talking on the phone... to whom i wonder?? :p i really miss you guys. although i'm in the same class as soph and lean, it's just not the same in class and in a debate session. and keefe! he's not in school anymore and it's so hard to see him these days... and andrew!!!! he's going back to US in august... haizzz, i missing them like crazy!!! ok moving on about UKM...

we also met people from other universities. it was seriously lots of fun!!!
n then, there came exams... which isn't very much like one actually.... well, it's hard to say that it is an exam when you know that if you just take a step next door or something, you can already see the paper that you will be taking a minute later. yes, it is like this. haizzz

and now i'm here, i have a physics report to hand in tomorrow but i seriously have no mood to do it. and i was just talking to my accounts teacher about students being complacent!!! omg, kids like me these days... ok, that reminds me that i have about 10 account questions...?
life is so great right??

I AM GOING TO ENJOY MY HOLS!!! i will "de-stress" myself in order to....
prepare for more stress.... S.P.M. yeap it's just a couple of months away.... but there's trials before it first, which should be worse than SPM itself. and there comes college. time passes so fast. a minute ago i still felt like i was in Form 1 going for the SUHAKAM camp.... things really can be so unpredictable in this small small world.... but i have learned something new these days,
things will fly with or without you knowing, liking or accepting.
just live life and keep that smile up at all times. :) right wern lin??

i feel..... nothing

without realising it, the heading of my last 2 post started with "i feel...."
keeping up the tradition, let this also start with "i feel..."
but this time, i feel.... nothing
nothing at all....
it happened before last year, but it was because of too many heartaches
that i came to a point that i didn't want to feel anymore....
soon, i really didn't feel anything anymore without wanting to not feel
that time, i feel slightly worried in the head because i thought it would be bad...
and yeap, my sis told me that it was bad because i was seriously being (unemotional)
but something, someone, somehow, made me feel again last year end...
but now, it happened again, just that this time, i feel even emptier
now, i think that i came to a point that i seriously don't want to feel ever again
because certain things are really too painful to take
i am just a 17 year old girl, i don't want to feel so much
i need to get out of this, but i don't think i can anymore
not alone

i feel failure

no, i am not coping and yes, i am starting to worry.
what am i doing??
i don't know.
why am i doing all these??
i don't know either.
when are all these going to stop??
.i. .d.o.n.'.t. .k.n.o.w.
so much to do, so much at stake
i need a miracle to pull through,
god please give me one...

I Feel Contented :D

once again, DJ participated in the KDU C Q Teo Debate Challenge this year... :D
but this time is different, well the only difference isn't that we didn't win. but how the process went..
this time, there was no john, no keefe, just us... we were seriously all alone. other than andrew helping us by pointing out our flaws and ways to correct our mistakes, we practically set up our cases by ourselves mostly. of course, most of them sucked in the end. :P but, that's how we learn right?
despite DJ Team A ended their journey quarters while DJ B ended theirs in the semis ( we lost to DJ Team B in quarters btw), i felt that this was the sweetest victory we ever had. this is because we won knowledge, skills and friendship with our own effort. :)
this year's motions were much harder. and our clear lack in general knowledge was so obvious... :P well, at least now, i am finally proud to say that i know how inflation, fiscal policy, redistribution of wealth, Google.cn, israel-palestin conflict, NATO in Kabul and other things work. (yes, i didn't know all these before the competition. haha :P)
other than that, we definitely improved in terms of speaking and convincing. now, i finally learnt what adjudicators look out for in a debate and how do you sway a debate to your side. and guess what?? i think adjudicating can be AT TIMES more interesting than debating itself... :P
and without a single doubt, DJ debaters got even closer. and without deny, all the gossiping over the dinner table in sophie's house was fun... :P despite going against each other in the quarters, it brought us closer!!! and we met great people from other schools and the adjudicators were definitely really nice people and they ran the competition really well. they weren't at all hesitant to help us in every way they can. so, GOOD JOB GUYS!!! :D
i learnt so much!!!! :)
i learnt that anything and everything have a different side to it.
we shouldn't post judgement at all in any cases for we don't know what's best and what's not.
be humble because you are not the best and even if you are, what gives you the right to be arrogant?
be patient and diplomatic even if you opponent shouts "SIT DOWN MISS" at you because an eye for an eye makes the world go blind. if he's not courteous at you, should you be like him and be rude? don't scoop down to his level but be better than him because that's exactly what it takes to be a good debater, the ability to be patient and smart to outwit him. (i'm still working on that though :P)
there's a lot that we learnt this time. none of us regretted coming. but don't worry john, we will keep our promise! first attempt failed, but there's more to come! :D