When will I see you again?

The Class of 87 had a blast at their reunion last Friday, 25 July 2008 at Concorde Hotel. And because I'm currently based in Shanghai, I missed it...aarrrrgghh! Thank goodness for kind souls like Farah Meor who has sent in these pictures and story so we can all pretend we were there...

Hello....long time no see!

Dear Joanna,

The reunion was great and I would like to believe that everyone had a good time.. wished it could be longer.

Are you sure it's been 21 years? Everyone still looks so young!

After almost 21 years of separation for some of us, it was great to see that we could actually pick up where we left and everyone was enjoying each other's company trying to catch up with each other. It was also a bit odd to see how some have changed in how they look and how others relatively look the same after all these years....

Happy days are here again...

Old cliques die hard ;-)

We sang the school song with pride and I think when we were in school we didn't sing it as heartfelt and with much enthusiasm as we did last Friday.. Another example of how we took things for granted..

Forever friends - bound by love that time can't take away

Yan adds...

The most unforgettable moment is of course the slide show....all our friends, the school building, pictures of Miss Yeap, all the prefects.....(with the background music) Oh my goodness, some of us really shed tears. It was very sad..to recall all those moments.

We survived - in more ways than one :-)

CONGRATULATIONS to the organising committee - you girls did a great job to keep the flag flying high!

A plea to the new generation

UPDATE: For those of you following this saga, I'm now Facebook friends with this SBU student, and we've agreed to keep the flag flying high - so do turn up at the alumni gathering on 6 September 2008. Cheers, Joanna

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I've just received a note from a SBU student, asking me to announce the formation of an alumni association on 6 September 2008 at the new school premises.

It made me very happy and sad at the same time. I'm thrilled to know that the new generation cares enough to organise an alumni and reach out to the "older" generation. Yet, I am a little disappointed at the quality of English in the note, quoted in full below without edits.

(From SBUian to me)

hi. first of all, i know tat you are one of the ex of bbgs rite,? I think you have heard tat there will be an alumni going on in our school on 6 Sept. For more info, you can go to bbgs-sbu-alumni.blogspot.com. There'll ber an application form and hopefully you will be able to make it. Oh ya, can help to inform your other friends too ? Soory because i don't realli know them but hopefully can know them when they attend the alumni. Please reply if you have seen this msg.

(From me to SBUian)

Hi, I'd be happy to help you publish this information and I commend your efforts in setting up the alumni network. However, in keeping with the traditions of BBGS excellence, I'd appreciate if we could use proper English in terms of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Let's keep the flag flying high!

Come on girls...good English is the hallmark of a BBGS girl and some of us have gone on to become Pulitzer prize winning journalists. I encourage you to live up to the highest standards.

- From your super super senior

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In less than 24 hours, this blog entry has drawn some interesting responses. I'd like to share some of these comments with you....

CW said...
Hi super super senior, I am quite amused with SBUian's enthusiasm in organising the alumni. It is this type of spirit & initiative that SBUian has, which is so lacking nowadays. And probably this girl wrote the email in a jiffy, hence the short forms & lack of grammar correctness? Whatever it is, let's admit it. BBGS indeed has instilled the best values in us. But not everyone graduated from BBGS with superb language skill. Not everyone will win a Pulitzer prize. But all of us have a talent or two or maybe more, to make BBGS stand proud still. Ok, so what is your plea again?

Joanna Yeoh said...
My plea? Simple sentences, proper English. That's all. You're right, not all of us will win a Pulitzer prize but we can still try to maintain some basic standards, don't you think?

Ade said...
Joanna, I do agree with you. This issue also happens to be one of my pet peeves so I feel that I really have to give my two cents' worth. It's the era of sms and internet chats that is contributing to these 'abbreviated' spellings and grammar.

Although it may be 'acceptable' when sms-ing, or in the chat forums, but it just does not come across well in writing.From SBU-ian's writing, it seems that she was 'chatting' with you but in the written form, rather than writing, which is really a no-no.And yes, not everyone is blessed with good grammar and spelling, but we can always T-R-Y.

That said, "Pulitzer prize winning journalists" is rather far-reaching for most of us mortals lah (ok so we are Malaysians, we can add some 'lah' here and there when giving comments Heh). Maybe "good blog writers" is nearer to earth? :-)

Hamizah said...

Hi Joanna..

It's great that you've created some brouhaha over good english.. It was in BBGS that I first got a big knock on my head over using perfect english... remembered when my class mates laughed at my inappropriate "did" or "done".. or the lack of it! It was hard... BUT, I learnt from the hardest way.. (remember the all english speaking day -- MONDAY? Duh.. that's when Monday Blues was created..) and now, I'm doing the same for my children.. During weekend, it's all english day.. It's imperative that the younger generations are taught & use proper english, because after school years, it'll be too late.. Believe me.. And yea, I'm not into abrreviation either.. It's lck feelng if x prpr wrds r usd..dnt u tnhk..?? :))

Concerned SBU-an said...

Dear super super senior,

I am equally appalled at the quality of the e-mail. As a concerned SBU-ian, I would like to apologise on behalf of the author. I myself am a former BBGS girl, albeit a young one. I only completed my Tahap 1 in primary school before we were kicked out of our plot of land. Haha!

Regarding the comments, I would like to reassure our other super super seniors that the level of competant English may have degraded in popularity (let's face it, we are facing a global english crisis), there are still those who practice the international form of communication (ring a bell?)

There is still hope, I hope.

Moonlake Lee said...

Hey Joanna

I understand your dismay about the standard of English in the letter....but look on the positive side- the new generation is trying to build a bridge to the "mature" generation....and I think this effort should be applauded.

We really do not want to alienate them and should encourage them in a positive manner :)

I have noticed a trend, however, among the younger generation used to using abbreviations while SMS-ing..that the SMS-speak also gets carried over to emails. I hope that more awareness is brought to this issue....and that while it may be acceptable in SMSes, it certainly is not acceptable in a more formal or business context.

Michelle & her school shoes

Whoopeee...I just found another classmate on the web! Michelle Leong and I were in 5Sc5 and she runs an interesting blog: mybabybay.com, which is where I found her. She's re-discovered the joys of washing school shoes and shares some tips with us. BTW, I *hated* washing my shoes and paid my sister to do it every weekend, even though she kept raising the price.

School Shoes Days Are Not Over

I thought my days of washing school shoes were over and I was so dead wrong. Yes, since my children started schooling, the washing of school shoes has begun. At least until they can do it on their own.

My hubby and I have different ways of washing school shoes. Let me hear it from you how do you do it?

1. Do you soak the school shoes overnight before you wash it?
a. Yes
b. No, I washed it immediately

2. Do you immediately apply shoe white on the school shoe when it is wet?
a. Yes
b. No, I wait for it to dry

School shoes have brought back lots of school days memory. My school is known for the strict rules and our shoes have to be white every day. Here are some of the things I do to keep it white.

I would take the black board duster and dust it on my shoe to keep it white. One silly friend of mine forgot to check the duster and her shoes were multi color when she dusted it on her shoe.

I would take a white chalk and start working on the dirty area.

If I am at home, I will paint the white shoe polish on top of it. When it comes to washing, the pail of water is all white.

The last trick is to hang around the toilet or library until the prefect finished checking.

School Shoes II

After hearing comments from all of you, I am so glad that I am not an alien here. I soaked my school shoes on Friday and washed it on Saturday morning. I let it dry and apply the shoe white on Sunday.

When I was in school, I love playing netball on the muddy field. In fact I was the school netball player. After a good game, my shoe will covered with mud stain. If I do not soak my shoes, it will be difficult to get the dirty stain out. Anyway, it became a habit.

Who's in your clique?

Clique is defined as a small exclusive group of people, coterie or set. And rightly or wrongly, BBGS was full of them! All of us belonged to a clique that comprised friends with whom we felt most comfortable. Our ties were defined by year, class, societies, houses, games and in my case - prefects.

Best Pals (L-R) : Tomasina, Siew Ling, Lu Meng, May Yee, Joanna
Others not in the picture include Usha and Irene

I am so blessed to have grown up with these wonderful friends. We spent so many years together in primary and secondary school. From the everyday classroom to recess to science labs. Or the annual Speech Day, Sports Day and Teachers' Day. And even the occasional State Level debate or chess competition or choir competition. WE WERE TOGETHER.

These were the friends with whom I competed in exams or choral speaking, sang with in choirs, learnt the chemistry table of elements with. These were also the friends who laughed and joked with me as we prepared to play communists in a drama competition. Mourned with me when we started failing Add Maths and Physics. Encouraged me when my dad lost his job. WE WERE TOGETHER.

Today, this clique of mine has spread their wings far and wide. We're based in Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa. So even if we may not re-unite at the Class of 1987 reunion at the end of this month, I am content that we have shared our girlhoods and adolescent years and become loyal women with our race.

Who was in your clique? Are you still in touch? Have you dropped them a note recently? It's never too late...old friends will always have a place in their hearts for you.

Join the Class of 87 reunion!

Wow...this is THE year for reunion parties!

I'm happy to announce another class reunion - this time for my own batch of 1987. Details are attached below:

Date: 25th July (Friday)
Venue: Concorde Hotel (Spices Restaurant)
Price: RM100
Time: 7:30 pm

Please spread the word to girls of 1987, and confirm your attendance by contacting Shazi Sultan at shazisultan@gmail.com or Mai Farah at 019 3157788.

P/S: Sorry I can't make it back in time from Shanghai to attend this event, but maybe that's a good thing since so many people remember me as the "ultra-garang prefect" :-D LOL...