Dear Liang,

Man u collected the league trophy yesterday. Look at Ronaldo on the right, hair gelled like Chow Yun Fat, wearing short sleeve jersey unlike the long ones he wears when he plays, and tucking jersey into shorts like Ahmah Latiff.

Read this absurb article on what students practice as rituals to ensure good grades for exams. Lifted from the article from Sunday Times:

Eat one sausage and two eggs for breakfast: This dish is a visual representation of '100', which signifies full marks in the exam.

Eat Kit Kat: The Japanese believe that eating a bar of Kit Kat, which sounds like 'kitto katsu' or Japanese for 'sure win', will ensure that you score good marks.

Eat glutinous rice dumplings: The Chinese name for such dumplings, 'zong zi', sounds like 'bao zhong', Chinese for 'success guaranteed'.

Eat cuttlefish: Subscribing to the popular belief that eating fish can improve one's brain power, some teens eat this snack while studying.

Sleep with a textbook under the pillow the night before the exam: Some hope that textbook facts will enter their heads by osmosis at night, or that they will dream of the exam topics.

Do not change schoolbags: Because it means bad luck.Do not throw away notes and books after an exam: This is like 'throwing away' good grades, according to some teens.

Throw a piece of rubbish into the classroom dustbin from one's desk: A common myth is that if it lands in the bin, you will get an A1.

Get haircuts - or not - before an exam: Students are divided over this: Some say doing so means getting a fresh start, others say it is bad luck.

Some quotations:

A girl who brings a teddy bear into exam halls: 'I would give Bear Bear a squeeze when I came across a difficult question, it somehow calmed my nerves. It also gave me inspiration and motivation,' said the Sec 4 student from Bukit Batok Secondary School. She has not sat for an exam without her lucky charm since she was nine.

Chong Joe En, 16, never fails to tuck his textbook underneath his pillow the night before an important exam.'I only did it when I had to digest a lot of information. I thought maybe there would be some 'osmosis' of knowledge into my head, and I also hoped to dream of the exam topics,' said the Sec 4 student from Catholic High School.

Funny isn't it? I think its good to have a avenue or channel to calm your nerves and give you tranquility but being too obsessed with such gimmick might not be healthy for an indivudual. Imagine the sch says no to teddy bears in exam halls, then how is she going to do her paper, since she had been so dependent on the bear.

During our time i dun remember such superstitious practices taking place. Perhaps it is a way to attract attention nowadays. I'm so cute that i bring my barbie doll into exam hall and squeeze the butts. I'm so adorable that i believe that such silly acts can improve my grades. I love to be ignorant so that people will find me lovable.

Liu