Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

6 June 2009

From the Archive: Recollections of a Camp: Day 1

Filed under: Attended,Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 8:38 pm

This is a post I wrote in November of 2007. It was about the first day of the Yr 10 Camp. At the time, I felt the need to document it, as the days surrounding it were interesting. Anyway, here it is.

It was the day after the formal. All the glitz and glamour from that night just disappeared that afternoon. It was the beginning of Adventure Camp 2007. 180 people gathered beside the oval, ready to be whisked away to Jindabyne. Some people were excited about it, others not so.

I arrived at 1pm with my large bulky pack and a small daypack. At the time, there weren’t many people there yet. I went to my team bus and sat outside for a short while. Several minutes later, Mr Ashby called us over. He had some things to talk about, one of which was to not take this camp for granted because it was a rare opportunity to do so many activities in one week. I took this into mind, but it did not stay there. In my mind, there was opposition to the camp. Nevertheless, those thoughts could not overpower the schedule of the camp. I felt helpless and trapped. (more…)

24 May 2009

Inherit the Wind

Filed under: Attended,Reflection — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 11:08 am

A few people have asked me to write a review of Barker’s Year 11 play, “Inherit the Wind”, because they themselves couldn’t get to the play. Having seen it yesterday night, it’s fine.

Note that the powers that be have forbidden me to use people’s names, so I’ll write about it in context.

“He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.” – Proverbs 11:29 (King James Version)

This is a play is based on the Scopes Trial in Tennessee in the 1920s. The Scopes Trial was a rather famous case, testing the Act that prohibits the teaching of creationism, i.e. from Charles Darwin’s book ‘The Origin of Species’. Although the characters and accounts are fictionalised, it does stay true to the core ideas of that case.

The play started off rather quietly. I could sense that the audience was watching closely with intent. As we watched the case unfold, with every piece of evidence presented to the audience, the intensity in the courtroom built up. You could see it becoming a landmark case. Add in the zany journalists from Baltimore and the UK, and suddenly there’s another set of opinions to think about.

While the dialogue was concentrated on a few characters, the acting was well done. Another point to note was the minimal staging and props, mainly chairs, desks and picket signs. Also, flawless American accents.

Overall, another fantastic production. Nothing else needs to be said.

10 May 2009

Weeks 1 and 2

Filed under: Forward Thinking,I Wonder,Rant,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:09 pm

Well, the first two weeks of term 2 have passed. I have to say, that it hasn’t been as pressured as last term. Finally I have some free time on the weekend (at least that’s why I’m writing tonight). I’m glad that this time has been sufficient to plan how this term will unfold.

You know, I’ve been doing those KenKen puzzles that started to appear in the Sydney Morning Herald last week. They’re quite fun, and they also help with developing basic number theory. (Quick, 4 numbers between 1 and 6 that multiply to give 160!) Do these puzzles really make you smarter?

While my logic develops, my social is on the backburner. Though this next term is quiet, unfortunately it isn’t time to let my guard down. I think everyone wants to be able to fast-forward to some time in November, after the last exam. For now, can I suggest to get each milestone through, one at a time, and still feel good about it?

Here ends.

2 May 2009

Statistics from the Holidays

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 4:48 pm

Below are a set of statistics from the holidays past. A couple of holidays ago, I wrote a page of haikus to describe the three weeks of that holiday. This time, by compiling a set of statistics, I’ve done something different.

If there are any that you want more info on, drop a comment below.

Statistics for the holiday – T1 2009

Days of Holiday – 20
Extra days of Holiday – 1

Days spent at coaching/tutoring – 3

Money found on the ground – $50.20
Amount CityRail “stole” from me – $8.40
Value of CityRail compensation – $8.60

Birthdays observed on Facebook – 3
Average number of Facebook wall posts about other person’s birthday – 25
Wall posts for my birthday – 24
Emails for my birthday – 2
Texts for my birthday – 1
Phone calls for my birthday – 1

Total value of gifts – $375
In cash – $270
In vouchers – $105

Sydney Email
Texts sent – 117
Emails sent – 106
Total people sent to – 136
Method of reply
Total replies – 49 (36%)
By text – 32
Number of those who did not recognise my identity (BH) – 19 (59.3%)
By email – 14
Other method – 3

Newspapers bought and read (excluding our Friday-Sunday subscription) – 4
Free newspapers taken – 3

Time spent at Centennial Park – 1 hour 10 minutes
Estimated number of dogs that Monday morning – over 100

Days without my MacBook Pro – 3.5

22 April 2009

Birthday ’09

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: — Ben @ 8:00 am

Yesterday was my 17th birthday. I wanted to celebrate this year quietly, as I do have bigger and better plans for the future. There is another reason though. Most people turn 18 this year, and celebrations of that variety often put others to shame. Hence I did all I could to still “belong”, but not too much to “not belong”.

Last night, I took some close friends to dinner

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who used social and terrestrial media to wish me a Happy Birthday.

Facebook friends:
Thanks for your short and thoughtful comments. Though we don’t talk to each other everyday, it is still great to know that you are there for me and for everyone. Most importantly, thanks for your support during all sorts of good and bad times and my (sometimes) thought-provoking and controversial comments. The use of one (1) exclamation mark, funnily enough, represents genuine sincerity, as does proper use of capital letters.

Foinally, a set of statistics for this holiday will be released next week. More on that later.

20 April 2009

The Chat 3

Filed under: Podcast — Tags: — Ben @ 12:59 pm

Here is the podcast for April 2009. Sorry for the long gap, but everyone has ben really busy with the most important year of work.

Link

3 April 2009

5 of 6 and the next week.

Filed under: Forward Thinking,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:44 pm

So, there it is. Five of six exams done. I must say, today’s Maths Extension 2 exam really took me to the limit. It was simply, really hard. That’s all. At least it’s over now, and I can enjoy the weekend. The last exam is Maths Extension 1, but really, that’s going to be easy compared to what it was today.

Alas, I don’t have an exciting weekend, again. The only thing that is ‘good’ is my dentist appointment. Other than that, I can’t think of anyone who has a free weekend. There is still three days of exams left, and then the holidays. Still, there is a lot to look forward to, as essentially this is the only “free” holiday; the next one is before trials, and the one after is before the HSC exam.

The other good thing is that I will be celebrating my 17th birthday very soon, 18 days at the time of writing. Still deciding what to do, but stay tuned, and do ask about what I do.

Now I need to try and sleep.

28 March 2009

Earth Hour and Exams 09!

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 2:39 pm

Apologies for not posting for so long. Last month was just assessment after assessment! Now I have a bit of time…

This weekend is Earth Hour. Please show your support by turning off your lights for one hour tonight, between 8:30pm and 9:30pm. Major landmarks around the world will join you. Here is the Sydney Opera House last year, before and after.

Opera House switched offOpera House just after Earth Hour

Unfortunately, I won’t be shooting Earth Hour this year, but I’d like to share some tips to participate in Earth Hour. They all say to turn your lights off and do something outside. But if you are going out that night, will your lights be switched off? Most people’s answer will be yes. Therefore, the easiest way to participate is to simply be out in the city, looking at landmarks that have lights switched off! (Provided that you switch off all your lights before you go.) Also, if you are at a party with lights on, and there are people there and your lights at home are off, the equivalent carbon emissions will be shared between all of you! That’s better than being at home with your lights on, your carbon emission then is very high!

Next week is the half-yearly exam period and as this is the weekend before, studying is more important then saving the world. I’m fairly lucky to have one exam per day next week; having two in a day is really tiring. And did I mention these exams were important?

To lighten up the mood during the next week and a half, I’m going to use an inspirational slogan on a poster and place these in several places around the school. I did this last year, and it sort of worked. But now, it needs to be bigger and better.

I’d better get back to studying, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to comment!

15 March 2009

(Up/Down with/I don’t care about) the Reds

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 9:01 am

This post is mainly for the Barker folk reading on Facebook, because it contains a lot of customs and lingo known to them.

Last Thursday was the CAS Swimming Championship. Now, Barker makes all their prefects and Year 10 go watch either this carnival or the ISA Championship. The ISA is the one the girls swim in, and that was held the Friday before.

As with any School event, there is always a lot of rallying to get as many people supporting and cheering on the respective team. That’s all well and good, except there seems to be a little known thing they weren’t aware of. (For the record, I went to the ISA carnival, so I’ve done my fair share of supporting).

It was heard around the place, that some people (some of the prefects), had tried to avoid going, for some oddly stupid reasons. They had wanted to avoid spending a late night in Homebush, doing almost nothing.

I think that this makes some people (and me), a little bit disappointed, especially those who are enthusiastic about supporting the Reds. (I’m thinking of you Mirko). It only takes a few people to let the team down. I don’t have the capacity to rant this morning as I am writing this, but hopefully that’s all that needs to be said to get tongues moving.

So, select your option from the title. Up the Reds, Down with the Reds, or I don’t care about the Reds.

28 February 2009

Part Rivalry

Filed under: Reflection — Ben @ 12:26 pm

Last night was the Europe Tour reunion. It was a great night, with the collages and the video unveiled. I was particularly interested in the collages, as most of the photos came from me. It’s good to get your work shown to many many people. Anyway, what I wanted to talk about was a conversation came up during the night.

I was talking to Anna, one of the “Year 12s” that came with us. We were talking about how things were in the past few months. Slightly obviously, choir was one of those things. The first thing I mentioned was that the Alto section were now much better than the Sopranos. “My job is done,” she replied. This triggered a thought.

As our conductor said earlier on during the day, “Don’t disappoint those who sang your part in the past.” People who sang in the choir, especially those who are in the Chamber Choir (top choir) or those who were in the Europe Tour are very passionate about what they did. And rightly so, you are working with talented and dedicated people. It then becomes a light-hearted competition on which section is best. That’s where the title came from.

Now in 2009, the choir sections are vastly different to last year. Now that the Altos are much better, the Sopranos are ‘struggling’ to match the volume of the Altos. For the guys however, it seems the Basses are falling behind the Tenors. This game shall continue…

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