Term 2 week 1

Linda hated to visit Mr Tan's supermarket. The things sold there were by no means cheap for the price that was to be paid, one would expect at least fresh food. But it was not to be so.There were times when she found the meat to be staled, or that the tinned food had been expired. Yet the residents continued to patronise the supermarket, for there were no other supermarkets within walking range. The weekends were the only times when they could travel on the hour's bus out of the district to stock up fresh food. But the supply never seemed enough and then they would need to return to Mr Tan's supermarket.

Mr Tan would stand outside his store, satisfied with the many people trudging into his store, and he made even more money buying expired tinned food and staled meat and vegetables. He knew that this year, he would be able to buy one more unit in the fancy condominium downtown. Who knows, he may even apply to set up a supermarket in that area. He guffawed at the thought of more profits rolling in.

But his plans were soon foiled by the new convenience store that was set up in the next avenue. Although it was smaller than Mr Tan's, it was bright and cheerful, with helpful staff eager to serve the customers. It was part of a larger chain convenience store and thus had the advantage of buying in bulk. Their goods were not all cheaper, but were fresher that Mr Tan's store. Gradually, Mr Tan's store grew quiet.

Of course Mr Tan was furious. At first, he was sure his customers would come back after realising that the convenience store did not have the variety he did. They did not. Months past and the dip in profits began to show. Mr Tan was enraged. He vowed to get revenge and started putting his plan into action. He asked some thugs to inject laxatives into the packet drinks sold by the convenience store. There was some panic after some children began suffering from diarreah after drinking the packet drinks. But the store escaped punishment as the blame was put largley onto the manufacturer. Mr Tan did not believe his ears.

Slowly, Mr Tan saw his comfortable life slipping away as business did not improve. He hated the store so much that he would drive past it and stare at it for hours. Finally he decided to take action. He would not let the store destroy him. Rather, it would be brought down with him. He croaked a mirthless laugh, eyes blazing with intense hatred.

The following night, he crept to the convenience store with a tin of kerosene and set it on fire. He was so elated by his success that he just stood there, laughing and cheering as the residents came running out of their homes. Even when the police came and arrested him with the large tin of kerosene in his hands, he carried on laughing. After all, he had finally beaten the convenience store..

Term 1 week 9

Yati crept quietly into her usual corner. If her employer heard any sound from her, he would most likely be unhappy again. Then he might decide to punish her again. Yati did not want to think about that happening. She had just been whipped by his heavily studded belt for bringing him a cup of coffee, which was deemed too hot. She willed herself not to cry. Crying would not help her, it never did, not since the first time she did and was rewarded with two heavy punches to her temple which left her with a throbbing headache fir 3 days. She did not want to risk a headache for the coming weeks.

Mr Leong soon grew weary and felt asleep on the couch. Yati took the opportunity to steal quietly into the kitchen where she could tend to her wounds. The mosaic of lacerations on her bosy did not shock her. Afterall, she was used to such new prints being superimposed on her old wounds. They were nothing to gape at, she thought. The running water made her think of the little brook in her village in india which sang merily along each time she went to it to obtain water. The sun's ray would play on the clear water, making it look like a bed of shimmering diamonds. Yati's eyes filled up with tears as she thought how much beauty and love she had to give up to come here to work. She thought of her aged parents and younger siblings, sighing as she saw that there was really no choice. Her mere $500 a month went a long way before giving them a better life.

Suddenly a sharp stinging slap caused her t0 fall forward and hit her head on the tap. Lifting up her bleeding brow as she turned around, she held up her hands to ward off the blows that came raining down on her. Mr Leong launched into a tirade about how she was using water to clean herself, while at the same time hitting her non-stop. Yati closed her eyes and imagined herself in a distant place, far away from this psychopath that was her employer. She tried to ignore the searing pain each time his heavy hands lahed down mercilessly onto her, which opened wounds and made new ones. Yati concentrated on the little paradise she had created in her mind each time the beatings started. That was the only way of keeping sane. She could see her fmily in her paradise, together with her as in the good old days..

After Mr Leong finally got weary, he lurched back to his room and slammed the door shut. Yati picked up her battered body off the floor and dragged herself to the little space in the kitchen which has been assigned as her room. She took out the shoebox from among the sheets that made up her bed and opened it carefully. In it gleamed a shiny butcher knife, nestled in a few pages of few old newspaper. Yati fingered it gingerly, almost reverently. This was her way out of the situation. She only had to wait for Mr Leong to beat her near the box, and then she would plunge it into his corpulent mass...She knew it would not be a long wait......

Unintentional

The wailing of the sirens insistently penetrated her confused mind. Melody was frightened, so terrified that the tissue paper she held was being torn to shreds and was floating ignomiously onto the floor of the ambulance. She stared sorrowfully at the lifeless form on the stretcher. He was her best friend. "If only he had listened to me!" she sobbed. "I could explain everything!". Anguished tears wracked her bosy again as a fresh spasm of pin overwhelmed her.

The day started like any other day. It was sunny, and the sky was cloudless. She had arranged to meet thomas at the school gates before entering to get their results. The results were important to all students, but even more so to thomas, for he was on scholarship and needed to do well in it to have the scholarship extended. Thomas came from a single-parent family, with his mother taking on three jobs a day to make ends meet. He was very close to his mother and was hoping that the scholarship would see him through school wothout further burdening her. To be frank, everybody was certain that thomas would excel in this exam, for he was definitely a cut above the rest. In addition, he was also the most dilligent amongst his peers. In fact, Melody had sneaked a look at his results and saw that he had once again topped the school.

Melody liked her best fren very much, but wished that he could lightn up instead of burdening himself with his studies all the time. She felt that he had not lived life to the fullest, always thinking about how he could further improve his results so that he could get a better job in the future. Melody had no such concerns, she came from an affluent family and need not worry where her next meal would come from. As she stood idly kicking the stones on the pavement, an idea began to hatch in her mischevios mind. She would play a joke on Thomas. She would tell him he had not done as well as he expected to and when he should finally see his results he would be elated.! Melody beamed at bringing that joy to her friend.

When Thomas's thin frame became discernible in the distance, Melody schooled her features into a mask of sadness.Thomas saw it and ran to her, worried for his friend. His face was lined with great concern as he peered at her. "Its not me thomas, Its....er..your results..." Melody stammered. Thomas' face clouded with shock. He looked as of he was going to faint for he had turned so pale. As melody realised her joke had not been such a good idea after all, thomas spun and ran into the street.In his despair, he had not seen the truck coming towards him and was directly in front of it when it was a few metres away. Melody shouted for him to stop and listen to her, but it was too late. The sickening crunch of the massive wheels rolling over thomas' frail bodytore through her senses and she stood there, rooted to the ground., shocked at the result of her joke. She heard hysterical screaming somewhere close by and started mumbling repeatedly."Listen to me, i can explain everything. Listen to me......"

Term 1 week 7

The poor cockroach has been called "The most reviled creature on the face of earth.". Nobody loves him-Except maybe another cockroach. Fiction, Non-fiction and poetry are replete with degratory references to these ubiquitous bugs. Public health officials are quick to indict the insects as carriers of viruses that cause yellow fever and polio. Although past evidence has been somewhat nebulous, recent studies also show that an allergy to roaches may contribute significantly to asthma. LIttle wonder, therefore, the pesky littlecockroach is attacked.

Consequences of landing oneself in debts

Being in debt is becoming more and more of a modern conditions as credit facilities are prevalent. Years of economic boom globally wil encourage spending beyond earnings. This has resulted in severe problems for the individual who finds himself in a cylce of debts.
Greatest problem of being in debt is that the repayment of the debt nevere seeems to be at hand. The more u pay off, the more the debt remains looming.Interest chraged on the debts may seem staggering, particularly if the principal amount is large.
Being in debt can also be terrible to one's self esteem. there is a debilitating erosion of confidence and independence is one is practically harnessed to your creditor. You find yourself working non stop to pay off the debt. You are not free to do what u want because paying the debt is always ur first proiorty.

To be continued.....

Term 2 week 5

It is common to hear children talking about how eager they were to grow up. Yet, as i approached adulthood, i felt far from eagerness.
This is especially in areas of responsibility, when one grows up, people around him expects him to be mature and make the right choices. True, as one grows up, he eventually learns to break the ice. As a student, all i need to take care of is my results, so as to have a good career in the near future. As an adulti, i would have to be an responsible employee andspouse, parent and provider.
An attendant reality of growing up ig getting a decent job to support myself and my family.. It is ok to talk about ambitions and aspirations now, but achieving it is another thing.Nothing guarentees that i will get a job that i desire. The realisation of my incapability will definitely disillusion me.
Even as i am writing now, the world is changing. In this rapidly moving world, the ability to adapt to frequrnt changes is crucial for survival. Ehat we are used to now will inevitably be a thing of the past when we grow up. I may not be ready for it, I may find myself relegated to the heap of forgotten 'has beens' or worst, the 'never has beens'....