Porcelain

Smooth as glass,
White as the clouds.
When i first bought it, it came in a box.
The side wrote fragile, and had a little picture on it.
Its empty stomach held a pint of liquid-water or pepsi.
I would put her lips to my mouth.
Caressing her smooth curves.
When she took her bath, i would watch her go in dirty
and come out the clean cup she was.

By,
QZ

Reflections on a week of Home Learning

Overall, i can safely say that it was somewhat fine. The work you gave was not too much, as i could normally finish it in an hour or so. There were many advantages to home learning, for example, there would not be the factor of travelling, as we were working from our homes.

Sometimes, it gets confusing, as there are just so many sites open. I remember how my computer hanged when i tried to organise my windows. Not easy mind you. Imagine 8 different sites, all scattered around my screen, each of them with their own tabs. But eventually, i succeeded. It was a fruitful week, as we all had to excercise self-control not to drift off into other sites, a temptation that would always be present whenever it came to using the internet.

Self-discipline is key to completing your home learning work. Since you are at home, you do not ahve any teacher staring at your back or any fear of being scolded for daydreaming. So, that would be the ticket to wandering off. A ticket that you will have to reject. Overall, i feel that home learning was sometimes troublesome, but just as fun.

Lesson 6: Compulsory Blog Entry

Lotteries have been called a tax on the poor. Ultimately at only a dollar or two a ticket, anyone can play the lotteries. However, many people become addicted to buying tickets and they can cause family/maritial problems. Discuss this topic with a parent and get their biew on lotteries and specifically lotteries in Singapore. Include at least one quote from an adult, one quote or reference from either an NPR presesntation or Youtube Video in your discussion.

I have chosen to condemn the lotteries. In lotteries, what are your chances of winning? It is so low, that you might as well not gamble. But the thing is, its in our genetic makeup to take risks. If not, we would still be stuck in that cave somewhere in North America. Humans like to take risks. Especially with gains as high as those in the lotteries in Singapore, people just have to try their luck.

BUT, there is also this part of our brain that controls what we do. People that gamble know that it is bad, but they just say
" Its only $2 a ticket, never mind lar."
They keep forgetting- $2 X 100 would already have amounted to $200. The Singapore Pools ( Gambling Authorities) allow you to place bets of different amounts ranging from $2 to $50. Most of the people place only $2. But they bet at least 4 times a week. So, over the months, years of continous betting. It can amount up to massive amounts of money spent on betting.
The question is, DID YOU WIN ANYTHING? A quote from a lady who has maneged to stop her compulsive gambling habits. When asked "do you have any idea how much you lost in gambling?" Her horrific reply was "i lost $300,00 to gambling". Her entire retirement savings. This is an example how much gambling can take from you, and how little it returns.

IN the world of gambling, the chances of winning is set at a minimum. So, no human, no mortal can actually win many times. If you have won once in your lifetime. You are counted as some what lucky. People get desperate after losing too many times. Which make them resort to desperate means. Consulting the supernatural, superstition, and many other wierd ways to draw in "luck".

WHAT a desperate man can do is beyond comprehension of any psychologist. Its another genetic driving force pre-programmed into our consciousness, activated only when neccessary. Its the manual override button, which would make you do absolutely anything to succeed. They can become extremely superstitious, change their entire lifetyle to draw in luck and so on and so forth.

GAMBLING is very addictive. Once you look at the winnings ( forget winning, its nearly impossible) you feel the want for the money. Every single '0' behind the first-digit is like a magnet drawing you into the abyss of compulsive gambling. Like any strong whirlpool, you will need to fight extremely hard to get out.

CONCLUSION: Gambling is bad, so please. For heaven's sake, for your family's sake, for your spouse's sake. Don't gamble. Like my mother used to say," You don't want to gamble your life away."

Lesson 5: Poetry on Gambling

Tom Beatty in Comparison with The Rocking Horse Winner

It is that life "stacks the cards to catch your weakness". Paul's weakness would be that he keeps hearing from the house that his family needed money. He finds it hard to refrain from gambling as he feels that he needs to prove to his mother that he is lucky. The house doesn't help conquer his weakness by constantly whispering that the family needs money. He believed that when he sat on his rocking horse in his house, his luck would show and he would bet on the right horse. After awhile of constant stress from the house and gambling, he finally gave in to all that stress and fainted, which led to his death.

As for the "gives you 70 years to play", Paul had a fraction of that time. But even with so little time, he manages to get lucky and win. Even his death was, somewhat a lucky event for him. Before the obsession got any worse, he was lucky to have died. If not, once his luck rubbed off, he would keep gambling to try and regain his former lucky glory.

The Green Clothes and Paper

Tips from Dr Soo, and his massive gains. Dry Lips after sharp drops in stock worth. Green Clothes would represent the colour of the American Dollar-money, green-eyed with green and envy.

One-dollar Gambler and Ah Boh from "Lottery"

The "blind man" would refer to Ah Boh himself. Blind to the advice of others. Ah Boh chose to blind himself from the real world and indulge in the world of gambling. The Number 13 is considered unlucky by some, which means that he was supersitious, just like Ah Boh who would go to road accidents to jot down the car number plates. The Zero dollars to bet also relate to Ah Boh in the sense that they were in dire straits and were running out of money.

Lesson 4: Theme: Gambling

Paper.

The title refers to how people tend to put their assets on paper. In this case, which would be the stock certificate- proof that you have bought the stock. You exchange your hard-earned money for this piece of paper, this gamble.


It is a highly risky gamble, people can lose their lives' savings, or they can gain an immense amount of money. That is the gamble. Like ordinary gambling in the casino, instead of chips on the poker table, you have the stock certificate. If you choose the wrong cards, you will lose your chips. When you dare to play the stock market, its like another form of gambling, betting on horses. You bet the share you choose. You watch it rise, you watch it drop, but in the end, can you win?


In Paper, Tay Soon and Yee Lian invested their money on stocks and were lucky enough to enjoy an extremely high increase in their stock worth. However, when the fall came, they lost a lot of money. In the end, they lose so much money that Tay Soon becomes so stressed, he dies. Now, to fulfil his impossible dream house, they buy a paper house to fulfil his aspiration. In paper.


Lottery


Ah Boh's superstitions were just because he was so desperate that he was willing to try out anything, that's why he listened to every method that would "bring him luck". She just needed the money. But she was too lazy to work for the money. Instead, she sincerely believes that gambling is her sole ticket to being rich.


She does not have the gambling habit. It is so serious, that it cannot be classified in the same league as being a mere habit. Its an addiction. It was her heroin. She just wants that elusive feeling of winning the lottery. The prize money can pull a beggar out of poverty. But the thing is, she is even willing to spend her salary on gambling instead of providing for her aged mother.

The Rocking Horse Winner

I believe that it was the entire prospect of gambling that killed Paul. Uncle Oscar, Bassett and even Paul is responsible for Paul's own death. Gambling is very addictive, it can act like a magnet, that will hold you forever. Uncle Oscar and Bassettt should have known much better than to let Paul bet. The two adults should have been more responsible and refrained Paul from gambling instead of encouraging him. Paul himself should have long realised that gambling could lead to an addiction and when your addiction is very strong, you could indirectly hurt a person either physically or emotionally. in this story, Paul paid with his life.

Lesson 3: Analysing and composing a poem

The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa'at

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays.

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable.

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The Capital of Singapore is Singapore.

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A's
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

In out Annual Yearbook
There is a photograph of me

Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment

When my eyes were actually closed.

The poem above has 31 lines, organised into stanzas. Its a free verse, with no rhyme of regular rhythm. There is personification, as the poet describes the crows as interrupting the National Anthem. The author describes his best friend's foolish act as heroic, and tried to get you to see failing his Chinese as a heroic thing. The sarong Kebaya dressed by Mrs Lee on Chinese New Year symbolises Singapore's Racial Harmony. The Malay Chauffeurs symbolise the number of children born with a silver spoon in their mouth, afterall, not everybody has chauffeurs. This poem gives readers a glimpse into the life of a secondary school child. His blunders and the cliques that are present in Secondary School ( Rich kids). Also suggesting that sometimes during at school, you have to get down and dirty. (maybe Physical Education).

MY POEM

The Good Old Days

It was just over a year ago.
When i was still in primary school.
Canteen food tasted like rubber.

It was likea mini-heaven we all lived in.
Free from the horrors of the modern world.
Our ignorance was our shield.

Throngs of students would rush out
Everyday when school ended.
It was a tsunami of bodies,
hot, sticky and restless.

The library was never quiet.
People talking like it was their living room.
It was a warzone.
Every few minutes you would see a pillow fight.
All in the name of fun.

Thus were the good old days.
When i was still in primary school

Lesson 2: Favourite poet

POET: Henry Charles Bukowski (August 16 1920- March 9 1994 )

HENRY Charles Bukowski was a German-American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was heavily influenced by the geography and atmosphere of his home city, Los Angeles. He writes mainly about the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing itself, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. Charles wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, having over 60 books in print.

AT 24, Charles' short story "Aftermath of a lengthy rejection slip" was published in Story magazine. Two years later, another of his short stories "20 Tanks from Kesseldown" was published in Portfolio III's broadside collection. His failure to break in the literary world resulted in him quitting writing for almost a decade, a time which he referred to as "ten-year drunk". These years formed the basis of his later autobiographical chronicles.

IN 1955, he was hospitalised for a bleeding ulcer which was nearly fatal. When he left the hospital, he began to write poetry and pick up writing again. To support his writing, he worked a wide variety of jobs. The jobs included being a dishwasher, a gas station attendant, stock boy, truck driver and loader, mail carrier, guard, warehouse worker, shipping clerk, post office clerk , parking lot attendant, red cross orderly and elevator operator.

IN 1966, Charles accepted an offer from Black Sparrow Press and quit his post office job to dedicate himself to full-time writing. With growing fame, Charles embarked on a series of one-night stands and love affairs. His most important relationship was with Linda King a poet and sculptress, Liza Williams, a recording executive, and Pamela O' Brien, a red-headed single mother. All these relationships provided material for his stories and poems.

CHARLES was a man who devoted his entire life to writing. Though he might have stopped writing before, he managed to pick it up again, and he never stopped. His works reflected his life, as those were the easiest things a man could write. He was willing to support his writing by doing all sorts of low-paying jobs, giving up whatever hopes of being a millionaire to literature. I believed he enjoyed writing for what is was. He understood writing as not just a mean of communication, but expressing his feelings and ideas.

His Theme: relationships with women, his own personal experiences
Some of his works:
Poems
ANOTHER BED
from :Love is a Mad Dog from Hell

Another bed
Another women

More curtains
Anotherbathroom
Anotherkitchen

Other eyes
Other hair
Other feet and toes

Everybodys looking.
The eternal serach.

You stay in bed
She gets dressed for work
And you wonder what happened
to the last one
and the one after that...
It's all so comfortable-
this love making
this sleeping together
the gentle kindness...

AFter she leaves you get up and use her
bathroom,

It's all so intimate and strange.
You go back to bed and
sleep another hour.

When you leave its with sadness
but you'll see her again
whether it works or not
you drive down to the shore and sit
in your car. It's almost noon.

-another bed, other ears, other earrings,
other mouths, other slippers, other dresses.

Colors, doors, phone numbers.

You were once strong enough to live alone.
For a man nearing sixty you should be more sensible.
You start the car and shift,
thinking, i'll phone Jeanie when i get in,
I haven't seen her since Friday.

NIGHT SCHOOL
from: Dangling In the Tournefortia

In the drunk driver's class
Assigned there by division 63
We are given tiny yellow pencils
to take the test
to see if we have been listening
to the instructor.
Questions like: the minimum sentence for a
2nd drunk driving conviction is:
A)48 days
B) 6 months
C) 90 days
There are 9 other questions.
After the instructor leaves the room
the students begin asking the questions:
"Hey, how about question 5? That's a tough one!"
"Did he talk about that?"
"I think its 48 days."
"Are you sure?"
"No, but that's what i'm putting down."
One woman circles all 3 answers on all questions
even though we've been told to select only one

On our break i go down and
drink a can of beer
outside a liquor store.
I watch a black hooker
on her evening stroll.
A car pulls up.
She walks over and they talk.
The door opens.
She gets in and they drive off.

Back in class
the students have gotten to know each other.
They are a not-very-intersting
bunch of drunks.
I visualise them sitting in a bar.
And i remember why i started drinking alont.

The class begins again.
It is discovered that i am
the only one to have gotten
100 percent on the test.

I slouch my back in my chair
with my dark shades on.
I am the class
intellectual.

THE ALIENS
from: The Last Night Of the Earth Poems

You may not believe it
But tehre are people
who go through life with very little
friction of distress.
They dress well, sleep well.
They are contented with
their family
life.
They are undisturbed
and often feel
very good.
And when they die
it is an easy death, usually in their sleep.

You may not believe
it
but such people do exist.

But i am not one of them.
Oh no, i am not one of them,
I am not even near to being one of them.
But they are there
and i am here.