Happy New Year to everyone!

Happy New Year! Whats your resolution for the new year?

Grab some paper and a pencil to start setting your resolutions! Set something that is realistic, achievable and detailed. Start with taking a small step and then moving on to bigger ones. Keep motivating yourself to stick to it. After you have wrote out your resoultions, stick the paper to the mirror so that you will be reminded of it everyday!

Have an awesome year ahead!

Credits to NoOrdinaryLove for the brushes

MapleStory(Online VS Animation)

Main Character in Maplestory Animation

Hey everyone, its me, Hikaru, again. In this post I gonna share with you guys about the MapleStory that I have just watch recently. The animation has no connections with the online game at all. This story has a new twist and turn.

The animation story talks about a boy name Al, who lives in Maple Island. He wants to unite both human and monster races and save the World Tree, like what his father had done. However, a previous last battle with the evil boss led to a misunderstanding that humans are the culprit that destroy the World Tree.

Seeds of the World Tree are also scattered all over the world. Al trains hard everyday in order to get into one of the job classes and to be strong like the leaders of both Warrior and Archer classes. One day, the fairy that protects the World Tree came to Maple Island to seek help to save the World Tree as the Evil has taken all over the Victoria Island. With the help of all four classes leaders, Al begins his journey to Victoria Island to collect the seeds of the World Tree.

The difference between the animation and the game is that the monsters are able to talk and live almost like the humans. You will see the adorable little Orange Mushroom and Jr. Yeti speaking in the animation. The best part is that the Yeti is like an Angel that does all the healings (LOLZ).

The first Jr. Yeti when Al just arrive Victoria Island.

This is Kino which is one of Al closest friend.

This animation story teaches me good moral values like friendship and trust. I think that as we grow older, the lesser we get to trust people around us due to different life experiences. I think friendship and trust are important values we need to have to succeed in our academic, family and future career lives. Have fun watching this story!

Merry Christmas to All!

Enjoy the last few days of Year 2010, we will be adventuring into 2011 soon!



Merry Christmas! =D

A Christmas Gift to all! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to everyone! This video was done by Xuan Hao from IMI and all the bloggers have contributed some thoughts about Christmas! Have a awesome new year! Enjoy the video!
Spread the love <3

A Piece of Christmas Art

Hi everyone, I'm Hikaru here.

Here's a small gift from me - a piece of art I designed specially for all IIT Staff and students.

Merry X'mas and Happy Holidays!. xD

*PS: the background should be in sky blue.

Last Christmas (Probably will be after you listen to this) by Jack S

Hey IMI readers and blogging team, first of all, Merry Christmas to ya all!

Secondly, through democracy (because I wasn't at the blogger meeting), the team has motivated
[forced] me to record myself, sigh, singing Last Christmas.

So please prepare for your Last Christmases as you listen to it. Merry Christmas to you all and to all free checkups at the ear clinic!

Wintry Reign of Tears - Mind Over Emotions.

Hey y'all! It's Gossip J with a special post to get everyone in the Christmas mood. I hope that you guys enjoy it, & to all other Bloggers, especially Ms. Maya, this is a surprise gift for everybody, even though I accidentally told M Blogger about it.

I sincerely wish that this story can inspire many, & the inspired many will continue to inspire others, & the cycle can just continue on. Alright, enough with the emotional rubbish, it's time to begin the story!

*WARNING: This story is written in a very unique style, conceived by your one & only Gossip J. It will be highly unconventional, & not in any way similar to any old story like well, any old story. Hehh.

It all began on a wintry Christmas Eve..

Cassandra was all alone, in her cottage, staring at the fire consume up the logs. Listening to the crackling of the logs, Cassandra looked peaceful. Almost in a zen state of rest.

*Two days prior to this*

Stacy, Cassandra's best friend: Cassandra, you are such a disappointment. How can you forget to order the turkey, we do it every year. What is the meaning of this?

Cassandra: I..

*tears well up in her eyes*

Stacy: That's it, I'm done spending Christmas with you every year. I'm going to go to Jennifer's party, it's probably more fun with her, Leighton & the rest anyway! I wonder why I waste my Christmas every year with such a dowdy person like you! I hate you!

*Stacy storms off*

*Cassandra is left crying solemnly, trudging through the snow back to her cottage, alone.*

Cassandra, from young, had only one friend. & that was Stacy, who ceased to be her friend just because she forgot to buy Stacy her favourite turkey - Which Cassandra didn't really like. Stacy was only friends with Cassandra because she lived alone, which allowed Stacy to be as wild as she liked & have a place to return to to smoke in, engage in underage drinking & occasionally bring a boyfriend home. Just manipulating Cassandra for her own needs. & Cassandra, in desperate need of a companion, blindly allowed Stacy to do as she wished, just because Stacy was the only who bothered to talk to her.

& now? Even Stacy doesn't talk to her any more. It almost was as if Cassandra had lost all meaning to life. She was preparing to commit suicide soon, just waiting for Christmas, her favourite time of the year to be over. She didn't want to despoil the favourite time of the year with her death, so she chose to wait.

So, on Christmas Eve, she decided, since Stacy wasn't there, she tried to enjoy it all by herself. Since it was probably the last few days of her life, she thought that she might as well enjoy it. Little did she know what would happen, that changed her life forever..

*Cassandra is sitting by the fire, listening to the crackling of the burning logs at her fireplace*

*a knock is heard on the door*

Cassandra thinking: Must be Stacy returning to collect her stuff. Sigh.

*Cassandra gets up to open the door*

*Cassandra opens the door*

*a loud pop is heard*

Bunch of Cassandra's classmates: MERRY CHRISTMAS CASSANDRA!

Cassandra, so touched that she was almost in tears: Oh.. Thank you.. Please come in & have some tea?

Classmates: Sure! We'd love to! & we finally get to talk to you! We were wondering how to approach you, & now, Christmas has allowed us to get together! We are so gonna be friends from now on! Oh yeah, screw that Stacy, she got arrested at that party & yeah, she's gonna be in rehab for a LONG time! You are free from that manipulative girl now Cassandra! It's like your best Christmas gift ever! Oh, & we all got presents for you! Hope you like them!

*at this point of time, Cassandra is so touched she's basically just murmuring thank you's & crying tears of joy*

*everyone converges & group hugs*

So, how does this make it such that mind is over emotions? Well, let me explain. You see, Cassandra was suicidal remember? But, she tried to enjoy herself, even if she wanted to kill herself off after a few days of fun.. But look at what her few days of fun morphed into!

I know this is a really bad example to show off what I'm trying to put across. Let me state it clearly now. You can be at your lowest point, depressed beyond a doubt. Undoubtedly, you will be really depressed, sad, & possibly even suicidal. Heck, even I get sad! It's only human!

& what can we do when we're sad? Try to be happy. It's really tough, I know. It's okay to feel depressed, to feel sad, to feel down, horrible et cetera. It's a Herculean task to feel better during these times. But what else can we do other than try? & if the going gets really tough, confide in a trustworthy friend! Getting all the things off your chest can help too!

This is a shoutout to all sad/depressed people reading this post: Have faith, stay happy, it's tough, I know, but remember, I'll always cheer you guys on, even if I don't know you. I'll stay blogging, & hopefully my posts can inspire y'all & help y'all feel better, even if it's that tiny bit. Constant vigilance okay! & if there's anything y'all might want to get advice on..

Follow me on Formspring & ask me questions!

Ask away, ask all you like. Just no questions on my identity, it's a secret I'll never tell remember?

http://formspring.me/GossipJ

HOLLER!

Alright, I'm signing out now. I'm typing this all the way from Hong Kong, just flew there today & am currently enjoying the hotel's free Wi-fi, high time I got some rest, really tired after the flight. Don't y'all just love me, I'm overseas, & I'm still blogging! I should receive an award for this! Nah, just joking. Ms. Maya, you owe me a present for being so hardworking okay! Nah, just joking too! Haha.

Merry Christmas in advance to everybody!

HOLLER!

XOXO, y'know y'love me.

Gossip J

Don't Be a Fool, Back Up Your Files.

Remember I talked about my MacBook Pro crashing? Well, yeah. It did, with all my work inside. Sigh. It was a lifetime's worth of work.. *sniffs*

I ended up crying for days because all the blood, sweat & tears I used up on my work almost felt like they were wasted. It's almost as if I got dumped. Well, to me, it would probably feel worse than being dumped - To all girls who may have a crush on me, no offence & may God bless your soul 'cause I'm too horrible to love. - & it's as if my world just crashed on me.

I was in agony. Melodramatic, y'might think. But just imagine this, fifty-plus novels you've written, countless poems, essays, reflections whatever + your current school work just disappears on you.

It was a really painful experience for me. Now, next time, if y'see me looking sad in school or something, offer to buy me a drink. I'll feel better. But for those of you who don't know who am I - My identity is secret remember? - then you are entitled to do nothing. Hehh.

Well well, so here's some tips on backing up your files!

1. External Hard Drive

Well, nowadays, external hard drives are really cheap, y'can get one of 500GB capacity at about 100SGD & you can just store all your files there. Thumbdrives can be used too, but y'have to get a few so I would recommend a hard drive.

2. Online File Backup

Windows Live Skydrive, Mediafire, 4shared & many other file hosting sites will be more than happy to let you backup your files online as it generates revenue for them. Just remember to password protect your files before you find out that your classmate has downloaded your work, put his/her name in & handed it up before you did.

3. Multiple Computers

Well, this is a pricey one. You can choose to have two computers like me, & store your files in both computers. & I didn't do it before, so I'm doing it now. Hehh.

A good way to transfer the files from computer A to computer b is definitely via USB storage devices, but there is also an interesting solution..

You can buy an iTwin!

What's that?

It's a thumbdrive-looking device than can be split into to, & via Wi-fi, it allows one to access the files from another computer as long as the other end of the iTwin is plugged in! Password protection is available too!

How awesome is that?

Well, that's all the tips I have for y'all today. Sorry if this post is a lil' boring, I'm blogging with a headache & fever, & I'm flying off tomorrow too. Y'all better thank me for being so noble & pray that I get well soon, or y'all might never get to read posts by me again. Not that y'all care, but, yeah. Hehh.

XOXO, y'know y'love me,

Gossip J

P.S: Merry early Christmas everyone! Stay tuned for our Christmas post, & a story by me!

Are They Really Safe?

Hey y'all!

First off, I'm terribly apologetic, this post has been delayed for quite a while ever since my MacBook Pro died on me - With a whole lifetime's worth of work. *sniff* Shall go into detail of this in the next post though.

Yeah. Anyway, back to the topic. This post is on the AIDS/HIV exhibition which complemented the AIDS/HIV talk.

While the talk focused on the disease itself, the exhibition focused on sexual intercourse & how safe are you from HIV/AIDS when you're engaging in the activity itself. It also featured testimonies from some young people who contracted the disease on how it altered their lives, forever.

Well, my take on the matter is, before you decide to have sex with anyone, you have to make sure that the other person is not infected with the disease, promiscuous & you have to find out about their sexual history too.

Why do I say this? Well, all these factors are those that directly affect the probability of your sexual experience contracting you the disease. Well, you obviously don't have sex with someone else that has HIV/AIDS right? Also, if the other person is one that has done it with many other people, then the probability of you contracting the disease is directly amplified too.

Therefore..

DON'T HAVE SEX UNTIL YOU'RE MARRIED!

Why do I say this? When you get married, of course, your spouse would probably have made sure that he/she is HIV/AIDS free before they actually decide that they want to woo you & stay with you for life. Also, it is the moral responsibility of a husband/wife to make sure the person they want to stay with for life don't catch HIV/AIDS right?

This can also help to reduce the incidences of teenage pregnancy, or the contraction of other STDs such as Syphilis, Gonorrhoea et cetera. Sex is not something to be taken lightly, & should only be performed with a person you are really in love in, & not because you desire another person.

Please, don't have sex with just anyone. Even if you are your partner's, well, only partner, think twice. It's a decision that sticks with you for life. & yeah, it's a choice that you cannot undo. You might end up regretting it for life.

Well, yeah, that's all I have for y'all today! Hope that this post can let everyone know more about sex, HIV/AIDS & what to or not to do.

XOXO, y'know y'love me.

Gossip J

P.S: Here are some pictures!

One of the enthralling boards that showcase information at the exhibition.

Well, to me, the title of this board is really stupid, of course you should care, do you want to get HIV/AIDS?!

Look! Even lecturers need to know more?! Haha.

Whoa, now exhibitions have morphed into interactive ones? Why don't we just use iPhones next, instead of cardboard? *thumbs up*

Last but not least...

Another beautiful board.

HIV/AIDS? No, I Won't Get It.

Hey y'all!

It's been a while~

I know I shouldn't have kept you waiting~

But I'm here now~

Let me Break the Ice! Jaiden's back! People, I'm terribly apologetic that I've been out of business for so long, have had a few rough weeks with my health, but don't worry, now I'm back, better than before!

Anyway, let me get down to this post straight away, shan't waste any more time putting redundant bits of information about myself when y'all probably are reading the post FOR the post, not random bits & pieces about the author.

On the 18th of November, TP invited a guest speaker Mr. Adrian Yow from the Yong-en Care Centre to give a speech about HIV/AIDS to educate the students more on this commonly-known yet oft-misinterpreted & misunderstood virus/disease.

Basically, the talk highlighted the dangers of contracting AIDS & how easy can one contract AIDS. Well, technically, if talks like these have to be given to maturing adults, it just goes to show that people, are generally ignorant about AIDS which therefore caused a stimulus for talks like these to be given. Sure enough, most people probably even KNOW about the dangers of getting AIDS, but choose to IGNORE it. Therefore, measures have to be taken to curb this rampant problem that has plagued society so much, & what's an effective solution to keep this problem in check?

Educate the masses from young so that it can be passed down generations. Therefore, talks like these give young people a head-up on what dangers are there out in the world & how to avoid this dangers, & what did this talk broach on? HIV/AIDS.

Also, what's a Gossip J post without a reflection from yours truly?

Let me start. The high occurrence of AIDS patients, ironically, can be reduced by a very rudimentary measure. That is sex education. Nowadays, more & more young people are starting to take sexual intercourse very lightly, more or less influenced by mass media & the general rampancy of pornography on the Internet.

It's a highly melancholic happening how people, just go ahead & have sex without thinking, & merely succumb to their temptations. At the end of the day, whatever you do, anything you do is up to your own choice. Sure, your choice may or may not be influenced, but it is still up to you to make your own choice eventually. No one can make it for you.

Hence, people, just have your own opinions & stick to them! You don't just go around & have sex with people just because you find them really physically attractive or just do it because you people feel like it! It is a permanent decision that will stick with you for life, having sex or not, & who you want to have sex with.

It's a tough choice. Make a wise one. & that's my reflection on having sex.

Alright, that's all I have for you in this post. Stay tuned for more of me alright? I'm back, & there's a whole arsenal of bombastic posts that I can unleash upon y'all!

XOXO, y'know y'love me - & missed me.

Also, who I really am?

My identity, shall be a secret I'll never tell.

Gossip J

P.S: Here are the pictures!

Here's a picture of Mr. Andrew Yow & our very own Ms. Farida!

Whoa, the talk was so interesting the whole LT was filled! You don't even see this much people in lectures usually!

Whoa, & y'all even concentrate more on this talk than your lectures! How do y'all still manage to do well at school! *takes hat off to y'all*

Enrichment Talk - Stress Talk: Your Breaking Point

Managing your stress level is one important key skill you need to learn in life. It can determine whether the work/projects/assignments you hand in is awesome to the point of awesomeness or just plain bad that no one wants to read.

Hi fellow readers, it is me, Sheldon~! I have been one of the lucky few to be selected to go for the Stress Talk: “Your Breaking Point” by Ms Dilys. In the talk, I have learned that stress is normal and there are many categories of stress found. Stress comes in many forms and it can be broken down into the simplest form which is Family, School, Friends, Financial and Fashion.

Stress can get you in many ways; it can affect your body, your thoughts and your behaviour! If you do not handle your stress level well till it reaches the point where the Tornado meets the Volcano with strong winds, then it will result in a huge explosion which can be potentially lethal. Such fatal effects of stress will manifest in ways such as....

Body:
Migraine
Back Pain
Insomnia
Stomach Pain

Thoughts:
Anxiety
Worrying
Irritability
Lack of Focus
Forgetfulness

Behavior:
Over/Under Eating
Social Withdrawal
Crying Spells
Relationship Conflicts
Angry Outburst

We were given some tips on how to solve the stress that is building inside us. One of the ways to easily lower down your stress is to increase your self-esteem level.

How to increase our self-esteem...

Tip one: Your Strengths
Listing down ten things that you are proud of what you have accomplished.
For me, I am proud that I am chosen to be one of the writers for this awesome blog! If we give credit to our strength, our self-esteem level will go up. Always think about what we are good at and always remind ourselves about our strengths.

Tip two: Overcome Your Weakness
List down five things that you are not good at, on different pieces of paper. Try converting it from negative to positive.
For me, I am scared that “my English isn’t up to par” (I am selected to be a writer in this blog. HOW!?). I changed it to positive way, “I want to improve my English”.

Tip three: You Are Unique
Sign your name on a piece of paper
Take a look at your friend’s signature next time, is it the same?
For me, even though I know that my hand writing is horrendous. I am proud to say that I am awesome in my own ways and no one else is like me. For example, I am good at cheering up my friends when they are upset =D.

Audience Reflection:

"I have learnt that everyone is special and unique. So you do not have to have a low self-esteem as if you are
not good in a particular thing, you will surely be good in something else"
- by Shalom Quek Xian Lun, C245, IMI

"I learnt more about myself, my weaknesses and strengths. I will work on my weaknesses and
try to be a better person"
- by Javier Ang Zheng Yu, C233, CDS

"I learnt how to better my stress, realise my stress points and work on it to be a more relaxed
and happy person"
- by Alex Ng Guorui, C224, MWC

"I feel that through this talk, I get to know that we not only have to understand ourselves but also to understand the others personality as well"
– by Hikaru, C234, GET

Personal Reflection:
I am honoured to be chosen for this talk and I have learned many things which are going to be so helpful in my life. Above all, I have learnt to love myself and be proud of who I am as I am uniquely who I am. I need to love and take care of myself before I can love and take care of others. I have also learnt to love this job as a blogger so that I do not feel stress doing it! I do hope you love the way I blog. Have a great day fellow awesome readers!


Apparently, stress talk makes one more attentive and happy.


Chilling in the lecture hall.