The Love-Hate relationship

Written by: Jeremy Auw & Sarah Lah

In this feature, we wanted to find out what KEVIIans think of our hall. To get a representative opinion, we approached one of the “grassroots leaders “of KE7 – none other than Hui Min, CD block head! Let’s hear what she has to say:

All ready to be interviewed!

Interview with Chia Hui Min, CD Block Head

1) How did you feel about KE7 when you first came in?

The first thought I had was – “so many stairs!” Especially since I stayed in D block in year 1, the walk to the dining hall was long and arduous. But the rooms in KE7 are spacious so I guess that makes up for the stairs!

2) How is it like being the block head for CD block after a semester?

Fun and tiring. It’s heartwarming to see blockers have fun and enjoy themselves during block events! It’s great getting to know most of the blockers too. Organising block events and having to do admin stuff can be quite tiring, but all’s fine with my fantastic block committee!

3) Have your perspectives of KE7 changed? If so, how?

In year 1, I used to think East Wing was a very quiet place but I think East Wing is a lot more happening this year! The freshies are quite crazy and noisy (in a good way of course) so that adds a lot of life here. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear random shouts and laughter in the middle of the night anymore (laughs)!

4) What do you like about KE7?

It’s near to Science so even if I oversleep (which unfortunately happens quite often), I’d only be a few minutes late for lessons. I also look forward to dinnertime because it’s a time to de-stress and chat with my friends. I guess that makes the food more bearable (laughs)!

5) What do you dislike about KE7?

Probably still the stairs, but my room is near the bus stop so I can’t complain much!

With the noticeboard!

ET – Entertainment in Toilets today

Writer: Loraine Ong
Editor: Benjamin Lim

Do you need an entertainment break from studying too much and too hard lately? Or are you bored of the old, rustic look of KEVII and want something more? You can now enjoy that at a toilet near you! In the guys’ D2 toilet, you can choose to enter the world of “Harry Potter”, or “Star Whores”, just by reading the make-believes. Some stories even bring the interested reader into an entirely different time period; like one of “Jackula”…

The writer personally witnessed this different ‘world’ at the seventh Jackula hour (10pm) on 6^th November, 2009. It took her breath away, partly because of the intrigue at what some D1 and D2 guys had penned down on a stolen poster from a library, and partly due to the stench of urine from the cubicle.

Isn’t it very creative of the guys to kill 2 birds with one stone when they go to the toilet? They can both relieve themselves and add some entertainment to their lives. If you doubt the hilarity of this storyboard, the writer can personally vouch that she had a really good laugh after reading it. The plain poster that reminds the “Gentlemen” of D block (there is only one toilet for the men in this block) to aim properly into the toilet bowl was very capably converted into an anthology of stories!

For those of you interested to find out more, do be advised that the board is very explicit and may offend the more conservative people out there.

Another noteworthy lavatory display device, henceforth called LDD, came from the C2 female toilet. The person who made this handwritten, hand-drawn notice must have had a personal vendetta against foreign bodily fluids. Look at the number of angry faces she drew!

The West Wing also has interesting LDDs..

Have a look at the above, taken from the F2 guys’ toilet. Though I imagine the more literarily inclined readers would have quite a lot to comment about the literary ability of the humble toilet bowl, one must applaud the absolute civility of our longsuffering friend, considering the treatment he receives.

This LDD seems to suggest that guys in GH are shorter than they think, though it is not clear which length this is referring to =p. However, the writer is quite certain this has to do with physical stature =).

Remember, the next time you feel bored and need some entertainment, feel free to take a leak at these toilets. You will be as entertained as your bladder will be relieved.

Gripes of the KE resident

Writers: Garrick Liw & Lee Lin Hui
Editor: Benjamin Lim

Most of you were excited when your application for KE7 Hall was successful, knowing that you could expect months of fun and excitement accompanied by, unfortunately, mental and physical torture from CCAs and studying late into the night (or should I say early into the morning?). What was the first thing you felt when you set foot into KE7? Happiness? Sadness? We are willing to bet most of you experienced a shock looking up at KE7 from the PGP Bus Terminal, with PGP behind you.

Yes! It’s the flight of steps you have to conquer even before you become inaugurated as a member of the KE7 family. For the vertical marathon enthusiast among you, here is a compilation on the number of steps one has to surmount (or descend) on some of the more common journeys made in hall:

1)     PGP to Dining Hall – 121 steps

2)     E Block Level 1 to E Block level 8 – 139 steps

3)     Shepherd’s Path – 87 steps

4)     Block A to Block D – 108 steps

5)     Block H to Block E – 105 steps

6)     Multi purpose Court to Squash Court- 160 steps

What does this mean for you and me? Well, a normal walk from Dining Hall after your breakfast to the Faculty of Science via the Shepherd’s Path would take 186 steps. Compare this to a 10-storey HDB flat that has 144 steps. Is it any wonder then that we feel exhausted after each day in school? Consider the steps a poor D blocker has to ascend if he forgets to bring something for his training at the multi purpose court and imagine how much of a workout the conscientious E8 blocker has to go through everyday just to have a meal or get to school!

~~Stairway to Heaven~~

Aaah More stairs!?

But maybe the number of stairs had something to do with the age of our hall. We are pretty sure not all seniors here know how old the KE7 building is: we are acutally turning 21 this year! None of us would have expected that our second home would be as old as we are. Among students here, KE7 is well known for its old exterior, especially when compared to the modern, condominium-like façade of PGP. Since KE7 is reaching 21, we should take this opportunity to vote for an entire facelift!

Wonder what it was like during puberty...

Perhaps as a consequence of its significant age (and the lack of design expertise at the time it was built), KE7 is also well known for being a death trap when it rains cats and dogs (which is all too often here in Singapore). Almost every pavement in KE7 will be flooded when it rains. Notice we used the word “flooded”, and not “wet”. But this is no mere exaggeration, just have a look at the evidence we collected below after a recent downpour! With water deep enough for ducks to swim in, even the PGP bus terminal could have formed a manmade pond.

Make sure you buy slippers with soles!

This could lead to a tragic ending…

Quack! Quack!

Going down water-logged steps may not be a concern when you’re taking your time, but making a dash for a bus down 121 slip-inducing tiles can prove to be life-threatening! If you have similar experiences, you are not alone; feel free to join the facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=88574485194. =D

Getting to the root of the hairy issue

Writers: Lim Fang Min & Benjamin Lim
Editor: Benjamin Lim

With the weapon of the mass media, countless unarmed conflicts have been fought over the maintenance of this prominent portion of the human anatomy :P Few of the many belligerents of this bloodless war have enjoyed strings of victories, winning many followers through clever strategising, while others have fought on their own unique terms to secure small but fiercely loyal supporters. Yes, if you haven’t got it by now, it is the war of the Shampoo brands! Indeed, what are the 3 brands that have KE guys enraptured in the act of scratching their scalp?

The premise was simple: most residents leave their shampoos in the toilet. What better way to find the answer than to have a look in these soapy places? So, on a fateful Wednesday morning, 1 reporter driven by his curiousity on this fascinating subject took up the arduous task of visiting all the male toilets in KE to investigate. Following countless stares and stairs, we are proud to bring you the results you have all been waiting for; the 3 most popular brands of shampoo are *cue drumroll* Clear, Dove and Head & Shoulders!

Our shampoo critic!

To get an idea of why these brands were so popular, we had avid shampoo user Terence from block C to give his verdict on each of these shampoos. A fan of Clairol’s Herbal Essences because of its great refreshing scent, Terence would be a tough critic to please.

The reigning champion! or not...

Clear, undisputedly the most popular shampoo in KE did not really appeal to Terence, who said it smelt like Dynamo (the washing detergent). The writer (who uses Clear himself) postulates that perhaps, most guys like to smell homogenous with their clothes.

As soft as it claims to be?

Dove, the runners-up had never been tried by Terence before, in fact, he was rather surprised that it made the top 3 spot since it was a pretty late entry into the Shampoo battle. Still, it seemed to have garnered quite a following among male KEVIIANs, suggesting that the alluring claims it makes for its shampoo (undoubtedly modeled on those that have made its shower foam so successful) seems to have some measure of truth, allowing them to capture the hearts and heads of many here.

2nd runners up...for a good reason

Terence reserved his harshest criticism for Head & Shoulders, which came in a close third to Dove. Contrary to its long touted claim of reduced dandruff, Terence found that his dandruff actually increased when he last used it. According to him, the entire scalp comes off in a classic “Christmas coming early” effect. The relative popularity could then be explained by a strong desire among KEVIIANs to re-create a cool snowy climate here in warm Singapore.

The dark horse (or man)...literally

Now, you may wonder whether our shampoo critic even has anything positive to say about brands other than the one he uses. Curiously enough, Terence gave his stamp of approval for the relatively uncommon Jackie Chan-endorsed Ba Wang when he had the opportunity to try it for himself.

From doubt...To delight!

The reporters felt that it would be terribly inadequate to represent the interview conducted with him simply in words, so they have instead included the actual interview footage for your viewing pleasure below.

For some obscure reason, substantial similarities were noticed between this interview and the one below it featuring Jackie Chan. Barring the very fundamental difference of language, we believe that the similarity of opinion can only mean that Ba Wang has a universal appeal that transcends language and cultural boundaries leading users to profess similar testimonies of the superiority of the product.

Angel’s 21st Birthday!

Writer: KP
Photos by: Adrian

Hot from the astounding success of Pygmalion 2009, Angel’s birthday was the next big thing to look forward to for the Hall Play team, as well as for KE Press :) Hence, Ms. Producer, Ms. Chan Yu Kit organised a well-thought-of plan to celebrate the 21st orbit around the Sun (+9 months?) of one of her best friends who’s also the Stage Manager for Pygmalion 2009 on February 3rd. AND, since Yu Kit and Angel are both in KE Press 2008/09 (Editor and Co-Head respectively), it was only apt that we joined in to celebrate Angel’s birthday along with her friends from X10 (10th XQRJ)! Below are the photos!

The Birthday Cake + Hershey Kissess! Prepared by Yu Kit!

The Hall Play team laying out and lighting up the tealights

The Star of the Night!

Yu Kit's task was to bring Angel down from her room to blow out the tealights!

Angel was then brought to another location where a group of close friends were hiding in the dark and pounced upon her surprised her with a slideshow featuring all her unglam photos!

Unglam's the Word of the Night!

Next, was the cake-blowing ceremony!

Since the best prize is a sur-prise (har har), Angel was in for one! Little did she know what was in store for her!

Yu Kit had actually used Trick Candles and it took a long while and help from 3 other puffer boys before the candles were completely extinguished!

When the torment was finally over and a wish was made, it was time for photos!

With friends from X10 and AY2007/08!

With the Hall Play team!

And, of course KE Press!

Happy Birthday Angel!

The night ended on a happy note and we wish Angel an angelic awesome year ahead full of joy and happiness! Happy 21st! Old already!

PS: Unfortunately, there was no birthday sabo! Sigh.

Sweet Night to Remember

Writer: Chia Hui Min
Editor: Jonathan Chan

Last Tuesday, CD blockers started off the new semester with a welcoming, sumptuous ice-cream spread! Blockers streamed into the lounge on the dot at 10pm, all anticipating the dessert. It was not long before the lounge was totally packed. Everybody queued up at the ‘ice-cream’ station which had 4 ice-cream flavours: chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and cookies-n-cream. The most popular flavour was clearly cookies-n-cream, which was finished so fast that another tub had to be opened!

Yummy ice-cream!

Another table was prepared with ice-cream toppings like rainbow rice, nuts, fruits, and of course the much loved Hershey’s chocolate sauce. Cakes like tiger roll and banana cake were served too.

Ice-cream with toppings

Hungry blockers!

Yan Ling, Rachel and Puei Teen

Many blockers loved the idea of a dessert night so much that they even requested for more of such events in the future. All in all, this dessert night was a good opportunity for the blockers to catch up with each other after the holidays and definitely provided the blockers some respite from the increasingly hectic semester.

Car Wash at Science: YEP Fund Raising!

Article & Captions By: Zichun
Photos By: Carmen & Laura

On the morning of the 7th and 8th of January 2008, the KEVII YEP team, comprising Kwan Rong, Laura, Vincent, Sandy, Hazel, Pak Kin, Yu Wei, Shu Hui, Shuling, Carmen, and me, were prowling the grounds of Carpark 10 (the large carpark opposite Science Faculty). Armed with a few pails full of water on a trolley and a big sunny grin, our team went around the car park washing cars under the hot sun in a bid to raise some funds for our trip to Cambodia.

Kwan Rong organised us into car-washers, ‘solicitors’ and waterboy. The solicitors held all the relevant documents: approval from OSA, receipts, and of course the money. They often had to run after cars and wait patiently while the driver parked the car, and upon coming out of the car, corner the driver and pop the important question with a smile as sweet as they could muster: ‘Sir would you like to have your car washed?’

The waterboy had to run around the carpark with his trolley, filling up empty pails and delivering water to the car-washers, spilling as little water as possible while rolling the pails along the bumpy road, so that the car-washers could wash the cars. Make a guess as to who were doing what as you browse through the pictures taken!

Carmen Proud of Her Handiwork

Hazel and Kwan Rong

Kwan Rong About to Cry

Kwan Rong, Hazel and Yu Wei

Pails, Scoops and the Synthetic Cloths

Pak Kin Massagin' Jensen's Car

Sandy the Solicitor. Check Out The Smile! :)

The All Important Car Wash Detergent

The Very Long Hose

This Car Was Really Dirty!

Yu Wei

Special thanks to Musa who came down on the afternoon of the first day to help us with the car-washing. It was a fulfilling two days toiling in the sun, but what exactly are we toiling for? Below is a short history of KE’s YEP:

KE’s Youth Expedition Project (YEP) was started by Trixie (a KE senior who has since graduated) in 07/08 after being approached by Terence (06/07 JCRC President) and Master. Master’s affilation with the Boy’s Brigade opened the way for us to liase with ‘Boys’ Brigade Learning Centre’, aka BBLC, an English language learning centre in Cambodia set up by the Boys’ Brigade. After raising enough funds and planning the logistics and programmes, we went to BBLC in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in June 2008 for 10 days to teach English and interact with the youths in the area.

We’re going back again this year with a more comprehensive and relevant ‘teaching package’ programme, and a slightly bigger team, in the hope that, having established some rapport with the people there last year as well as understand the situation and needs of the youths there better, we can do more to positively impact them this year!

We’re still looking for people to join us! So do contact us if you’re interested to go visit Cambodia!

Kwan Rong: 92215763
Laura: 91556959

XQRJ Prelims Photo Essay

Writer: Xiao Shuang
Editor: Angel
Photographs: 11th XQRJ Team

11th XQRJ Organizing Committee with Judges after Prelims

The preliminary selection for the 11th XQRJ National Chinese Song Writing Competition was held on 19/12/2008. A total of 106 songs were received by the committee this year. Out of these, 10 songs were to be selected to enter the final round of competitions.

By 10am sharp, the four judges invited by the XQRJ committee entered the SCRC room, the venue for the preliminary selection. The four judges were: composer 陈炯顺 (who recently composed a new song for SHE, 月光手札), composer 黄志平(who composed 平行线, sung by 金莎), lyricist 刑增华 (who wrote the lyrics of 路弯弯, sung by巫启贤) and singer 洪俊扬 (who released an album after winning 1st runner-up in Singapore’s Project Superstar).

The 4 Judges

Judging in Progress

The judges listened to the demo recordings sent in by each and every contestant. Working all the way until 4pm, with short breaks in between, the judges selected 12 songs instead of 10 to enter the final round after a final review.

Presenting a handmade souvenir to the judge

The 12 finalists who will be performing their songs at the grand final in February this year are:

宝贝 — Lee Choong Ghee Diona
霓虹 — Lau Zai Wei
爱在续 — Jiang Hongchuan
事过境迁 — Seow Zi Xian, Salyonn Koh
想念 — Wong Jia Hui
五楼 — Kuah Peik Khee
出口 — Liang Bing
音乐宅女 — Lua Hooi Ching
难 — Seow Zi Xian, Lynn Koh
结局 — Lim Seow Hung, Huang Ding Chao
有你在 — Zhao Zhangpei
我想你 — Lau Hui Leong

Celebrating after a day of hard work!

Diona Lee, a finalist of the 9th XQRJ competition and winner of that year’s “Most Popular Song” award, is back again with a new song. Another 2nd-timer is Zhao Zhangpei, a talent from Kent Ridge Hall, 1st runner-up of last year’s 10th XQRJ competition with her piece “爱 like this way”.

Catch a glimpse of all these great composers at the XQRJ roadshow on the 10th of January! Refreshments, games, lucky draws with attractive prizes, and live performances by the 11th XQRJ finalists! Watch local songwriters burst with musical talent and have a preview of our XQRJ Grand Finals!

XQRJ Roadshow @ *scape Youth Park (113 Somerset Road)
Date: 10 January 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00PM – 6:00PM
Admission is FREE!

Also, don’t miss out on the XQRJ grand finals, one of the major cultural performances in any KEVIIan’s calendar.

11th XQRJ National Chinese Song Writing Competition GRAND FINAL
Date: 15 February 2009 (Sunday)
Time: 6:45PM
Venue: University Cultural Centre (UCC) Hall, NUS
Ticket Price: S$13 only!

Tickets to XQRJ Grand Final can be bought from our website http://www.xqrj.com. They will also be available for sale at the XQRJ Roadshow.

photo essay #5 dinner specials!

Writer: Seow Vui Yin
Editor: Janice Fan
Photos by: Photo Essay Cluster

This week, we will be featuring a few dinner specials that seem (more) popular among us Keviians. So if you have yet to try out these specials, and trust that we aren’t kidding you when we say it’s good, go try it out this week! :)

For those who are unaware, Chicken Rice is an extremely popular dish in Singapore. Let’s see if our hall’s chicken rice measures up to expectations!

chicken rice!

seems like the food is good! Look at the expression on his face and the clean plate! :P

nasi briyani/beryani!

How could we miss this out, it’s so popular that it’s gone pretty fast!

enjoying the food! :D

 Next up, Nasi Lemak! :)

Can't miss nasi lemak with those sambal anchoives, peanuts and some cucumber.Another favourite of Keviians, the sambal chilli is the best part of this Nasi Lemak dish!

devouring the delicious food? :P

And a last favourite among Keviians.. chicken cutlet!

Ta-da! Someone who likes the chicken cultlet so much that she’s willing to pose with it!

AND, we guess that most of you would not have seen this around,
so here’s a display of… indian vegetarian food!

the indian vegetarian food caterer

need we say more? her expression says it all! :)

Now, for a not-so-popular Special.. spaghetti!

he actually looks reluctant to eat it… HM.

So, hopefully this essay gives you a better idea of what Specials you should be trying out this week! But do bear in mind that everyone has different tastes, so if you don’t like what we recommend, please don’t hunt us down! :P

photo essay #4 the notice boards in ke7!

Writer: Akhilesh Narayan
Editor: Janice Fan
Photos by: Photo Essay Cluster

The notice boards in each block serve as a medium of communication between the block residents and the respective block comms. Each block has a completely different style of decorating their notice boards and as our photo essay cluster went round to take photos of the notice boards, our question was “what is the most eye-catching about this board?” Perhaps you could answer that question as you look at the photos that are coming up next…  :)

E1

E4

If we have to rate the best notice board (without any bias, sigh) it would E Block’s piece of art. Why?

1) They have creative taglines like “e-nfo”!
2) They made the effort to take photos of every resident in the block! If you don’t already know why, you will if you read on.
3) They put up photos of previous block events – nice! (CD does it too)

We gave E Block 5 stars mainly because the letter “e” created to showcase the residents’ birthdays is the most eye-catching thing we’ve seen from all the notice boards in hall :) We checked with the Block Comm and was told that the board was updated monthly.

But of course, not to forget about the other blocks…

The CD Block notice board is an interesting one because of the many photos that are on it! Some are in fact rather amusing. For example, the “love & kisses from CD Block!” is a must-see; Nicholas’s expression cannot be ignored :P The other notice board at C1 is obviously used for more practical purposes, such as putting up of announcements and notices.

CD

check out nicholas' expression!

The Other CD Notice Board

The AB and F block notice boards are not as decorated, but they certainly reflect the characteristics of the blockers :)

AB

As for the AB Block notice board, it is reflective of the tranquil and peaceful environment that surrounds the block. They are not into all that colourful stuff, and they value supper a lot! No we are not saying this because the prominent placing of the RF supper’s poster :P We are saying this because they have a Barley Night every Tuesday night!

Like CD, the other notice board of AB is clearly used for announcements and notices. A trend amongst the East wingers perhaps?

The Other AB Notice Board

F Block is clearly a sporty block, and we can see their pride in being sports champions on their notice board! If  anything, there are 2 things that stand out from their board – stars, and the IBG championship certificates.

F Block

GH

As for GH Block, they have definitely shown their aesthetic skills through the decorations of the noticeboard. Why do we say that? Because although their board is simple, (black with a very bold and dashing ‘GH’ at the top left corner, accompanied with grass and flowers), this is one board that ends up looking classy! :D And check out their notice board which proudly shows their victory in IBG for the past 2 years – the 3 dimensional IBG trophy and “GH” are definitely pieces of art :)

The Other GH Notice Board

Last but definitely not the least, we thought that GH’s doodle board was worth a mention in this photo essay!

GH's doodleboard

So, do you want to know who’s hot in GH? or what scandalous stories they have? Go check out their board! :P

Protected: Photo Essay #3 – KEVII Washrooms

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