Caleb Chess Checkmate

The water looked so calm, so tranquil. Yet, the water surface of East Coast hid the strong currents-even stronger than what I had experienced in Sembawang for my sailing training. Upon hearing the signal for us to launch our sail boats every sailor took their positions in front of their boats, before towing them into the water. Near the shore the wind was relatively light. But before long, I was out in the open sea. I was filled wiht adrenaline and excitement. this would be my first time participating in a regatta. The coach asigned to my brother and I had briefed us on the race course and the rules, and now, the Silver Fleet made a beeline for the starting line- an imaginary line between the 'comm' boat and a buoy. As I cruised along the starting line, I glanced everynow and then at the mast of the comm boat. There were two flags fluttering gently in the wind. Three more minutes till the race began! Time moved painstakingly slow. Three minutes felt like half an hour but before...

Ever participated in a regatta(the name for a national sailing competition)?

PSLE is finally over! To celebrate, my parents decided to bring me out to have a special dinner at an Italian Restaurant- cacio e pepe. I'm certain you're wondering what the meaning of this restaurant's name is... well, as the title of this post suggests-"Cheese and Pepper"! This was my first time eating a formal dinner in a restaurant, with an antipasti (appitizer), followed by a main dish and then dessert. This is what we ate; (I don't want to sound like a food critic so I'll make it short) Appetizer We had Calamari Fritti for our appetizer- fried squid. Normally, I didn't really squid. However, this dish was delectable! I could hardly resist the temptation to take more than I should; leaving no more room in my stomach for the other dishes. It came with a sauce too, that had a sour tinge to it . Main dish We tried three different dishes; -Spaghetti agli Scampi- crayfish served in spicy tomato sauce. This was my favorite dish, apart from the dessert...

Nervous, anxious, a little confident, excited, only a few words to describe how I had felt during the PSLE period. Of course, after one paper, I had felt a sense of relief- as though a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders- for I would not need to revise that subject anymore! Going back in time... ... Earlier during the month, an intensive session of revision for me began(all because of PSLE), especially chinese. I was particularly weak in this subject, and the worst that I wanted to happen was for it to pull down my aggregate score. And so it all began, everyday, I revised at least three subjects,(Chinese was definitely one of them)for the next few remaining weeks. Time passed quickly, and my first paper-English, was drawing closer... Finally. This was the day. I sat at my seat, the paper on my desk. My hand hovered nervously above my pen, anticipating the start of the examination. At long last, 5minutes which seemed like an hour passed. At a signal from the invigilator, I gr...

The F15E-Strike Eagle, The F16 Fighting Falcon, The F5 Tiger; just to name a few of the many different types of fighters possessed by the Royal Singapore Air Force. Snaking our way through the bustling crowd, I made my way towards the planes on display, oblivious to my surroundings, my friends, in hot pursuit. Just seeing the nose and cockpit of the plane made me gasp in awe. The aerodynamic body of the plane- perfect for swooping, diving and chasing enemy craft. Armed with machine guns, heat-missiles and sidewinders, the F16 Fighting Falcon was a fearsome sight. This was my favourite plane Singapore possessed. Personally, I disliked the F15 because of its big, fat nose. I could imagine myself seated in the cockpit. The glass lid shutting above my head. The feeling of take off, and if during war, arming the deadly weapons on the wings of the plane, and pulling the trigger, sending missiles crashing into the enemy craft's engine, gaining yet another victory. I snapped back into the ...

Upon exiting the Customs, we rushed through an open door. To my surprise, every seat in the cabin was occupied- by both young and old. To my relief though, the condition of the cabin was not as I had expected: musty smell, water leakage, dirty windows, torn and tattered seats, hot, humid, with no ventilation at the least. As soon as my family crowded into the cabin, two sharp, shrill whistles sounded, and a flash of green caught my attention. As if in reply, the locomotive tooted, and the pistons moved ever so slowly, forwards... backwards... forwards... backwards... Before long, the train began to pick up speed. A cocktail of emotions, that of excitement and anxiety swamped my senses. I pressed my nose against the door (this was the best spot we could find) only to realise that the door was not locked! I pushed the latch, in an attempt to lock the door, but to no avail. At this moment did I realise how dangerous this ride could be! If the door swung open suddenly and someone fell out....

"take your mark..." The whole sports school fell silent at the signal. For weeks, I have been training for this very moment. Then "Go!" Immediately, everyone started cheering. "splash!" I plunged into the cold, salty competition pool. After a few sharp butterfly kicks, I emerged from the water surface and took a deep breathe. My arms swung forwards pulling water towards me. In this way, I propelled myself forward, with the help of my legs. The race was on. There was no time for hesitation. Leaving everything behind me, all my nervousness and anticipation. I swam towards my goal. It all lasted less than a minute. My arms felt like falling off. My lungs felt as though they were ready to explode. But I had done it. I had completed the 50m freestyle competition. As I followed the other competitors out of the pool, I felt a sense of achievement and relief. Achievement because I had completed the race, and relief because ever since I entered the Singapore Sports...