// 21069630 //

i had a nightmare.
an extremely vivid one.

// the battle begins //

no matter how the words can be piercing.
no matter how many accusations heaped upon.
no more tears will be shed.
don't back down
and be strong.

combat fallacies with rationality.
use your eyes to see, use your ears to hear.
show her you are the real unbiased one.

rely on faith.
stock up on confidence.
build up your self-discipline

21 years.
your owe your life to her.
and it's now time to pay back.

// finally... //

I haven't blogged for ages hence it feels weird for me to be writing in this space again.

Anyway, nothing much to blog about, just there are two movies I wanna catch!

// changed //

// away. //

// BOoo! //

I'm worrying too much about sunday.

catering, cake, deco...

Chill, Hui Min!

// too used to it //

somehow i feel that i'm seriously lacking in motivation this semester.
what a huge change from last semester.
i really hope this sem will pass over soon.

well, that's me, always living in denial, ever looking for ways to escape.
i can't face up to the fact that i suck at psychology.
even though i has no interest whatsoever in engineering, i've always tried to look at it in a positive way.
but that hypocritical side of me can't sustain for long.
i'm more and more positive that i don't suit this course.
while peers are getting better in understanding and explaining those concepts we learnt.
i can't even put two and two together.

we're supposed to be trained to have that kind of analytical mind.
but mine seems to have stop functioning.

if i can't even understand what i'm supposed to do for the assignments, how am i going to complete it??

i can't wait for the exams to end soon but i don't want it to start at all.

// on the spur of the moment //

hmm.
hmmmm.

I myself am puzzled why on earth did i agree to hold a bday party.
Just today, my dad suddenly realised that I'm turning 21.
Then he says, "Hold a celebration at home, ask your friends to come".
As simple as that.

Well if only that's so simple.
I have problems deciding on the guest list.
Our place is a just a 4-room flat.
Can't accommodate many people.
That being said, I don't have that many friends also.
and majority of my relatives are in Malaysia.
So that should be fine.
Ok, now the food.
Most caterers require a minimum of 30 pax or so.
what about the cake?
no idea.

I feel like I'm adding on to my already heavy workload.
argh. why ever did I listen to my dad and aunt?
totally got psycho-ed by them at that time.
-hit my own head-

it took me long enough to realise that i suck at psychology =(

// they're back //

they're back means my housewife-y days are over!
yippie.
also, there are junk food for us! yeS. i can't wait to eat the green tea kit kat. haha.

Junk food is good, cuz i'm also super stressed at the moment.
I haven touch my assignments.
I need to complete my project.
Haiz.
Why must they replace the mid term quizzes with assignments???
And it's not like there's no quiz at all.
There'll be a few quizzes just a few weeks before the exams also.
Man. Year 3 is the most stressful till now.
I can swear to it.
All the past sems I've been complaining about my lack of ability to cope with studies.
But this sem I don't even have time to complain now.
I wrote many many question marks on my notes and I wonder when can I resolve those.
The deadlines are pushing me to hand up mediocre work.
Never-ending bouts of carelessness and bad luck are wasting my time.
I can't give my best anymore.

// home alone //

well, mum and dad flew to Japan for their pilgrimage, which I couldn't go, unfortunately.
not exactly home alone, as there's my sis who's in the midst of mugging for her Os.
and also my aunt who came yesterday.

the day after they set off, i got the first-hand experience of being a 'housewife'.
well, with the exception of cooking and laundry.
anyway, i start to empathise with my mum.
Household chores began begging for my attention the moment I open my eyes.
Firstly, i had to wash the cups, boil water, make milo, take out the butter from the fridge, sweep the floor etc etc..........
okay, i shan't bore you with the details.
but you get the idea...the tasks are ENDLESS!
Even when I finally got all the stuff done and sat down to rest, my mind couldn't get a rest.
I needed to start thinking of what to eat for lunch.
Thanks to the ulu-ness of our place, getting something decent to eat isn't easy.
Especially if you can't cook.
Perspiring heavily after walking under the hot sun, I spent half an hour just to get that all-time popular wanton mee.
After gobbling down my lunch, I had to rush for tuition.
By the time I returned home, my aunt had come.
Boy! was I super duper glad!
Yay I don't have to worry about what to eat for dinner.

Relieved of my responsibilities, I could relax this morning, chomping on more bread and
reading the newspaper (which was reporting on how the town of SengKang is no longer that ulu. ha! what a lie! at least in my neighbourhood.)
Ah finally life was back to normal.

However, my aunt will be back home tonight as she has to work tomorrow.
Looks like it will be another 'pretend to be housewife' day for me.
It's no easy task.

// recess over =\ //

well recess week is always a love-hate affair for me.
love it cuz in a sense it spells everyone's favourite word H O L I D A Y
hate it cuz there's tons of stuff to do which i'll never get down to doing.
oh yes, miraclously i can feel totally disoriented after one week of not going to school.

I seem to be having a bout of bad luck...perhaps i myself should take some responsibility.
Well there're endless incidents which i only have vague memory of, hence i won't recount them
cuz some are so trivia but really shows how bad my luck is.

Today, well I cleanly forgotton that there were no 3001 tutorials and stupidly went to school early.
i even climbed the stairs as i thought i was late.
when i peered into the tutorial room, i could only see one guy doing some stretching in the room. weird huh?
anyway i felt like the most idiotic person to pull my zombie-like self out of bed rushing for some non-existent class.

well well well nothing could compare to what happen after that.
since i had two hours to spare, i contemplated to catch some sleep in library but eventually convinced myself i should edit my project draft to a presentable state.
yes, a sudden burst of diligence.
therefore i even skipped lunch, working on my draft ever so conscientiously.
the timing was right and i finally finished the editing ten minutes before the impending lecture.

i felt so happy and relieved that i had write off one burden on my mind.
until.... i came home and found that it was not saved in my thumbdrive.
DAMN
i don't like to use harsh words but it seemed so appropriate i dunno what else to say.
I clearly remembered i did save my work! as complete draft v.2.
where has it gone??
the only possibility is that i saved it on the lib's computer desktop and not my thumbdrive.

if such a thing happen to you, will you still have the patience to re-do?
i don't. i really don't. i don't feel like.
sis says i should quickly re-do since i should still have some recollection of what i edited.
but i just don't feel up to it.
defiance, maybe. tired, definitely.
simply put, i'm just not self-discplined enough.

// lost //

i have a lot of thoughts.
a lot of impulses to blog.
but i just can't get down to it.

internal struggles are troubling me again.
why??

// people are stronger than they seems to be //

Finally...
It's coming soon...
RECESS WEEK!

Time seems to pass faster as we grow older.
Doesn't it?
So much so that I must be out of my mind to suggest that Earth is rotating faster and faster.
that's virtually impossible.

Today i happen to meet lilian on my way back to north spine.
she asked me how's life in engineering.
heard from friends it's tough and everything.
sure, it's demanding and difficult and challenging.
but people tends to habituate.
if u asked me the same question in year 1, i would be ranting and complaining why on earth did i want to make my life so hard by choosing engineering.
but now, it's "ok lah, i got used to it already".

even though business, humanities and social science courses are generally considered 'slacker',
they are, by no means, easier.
take cognitive psych, for example.
it is eating away my brain cells, seriously.
it took me a long time, but i realised that to truly understand psychology concepts,
it requires a totally different way of thinking from the way you would approach an engineering problem.
as i've said, people habituates, so it's rather difficult for me to 'switch' my thought processes.
anyway i've learnt a lot from psych modules and they are really much more interesting than engin stuff, and i hope my interest can take me through.

on a mundane note, 3 quizzes down and the project meeting down!
yes, i need a break!

// oh no! //

i can't view online lectures...
there's sound but no screen.
H E L P !

// idea-less //

i don't know whether i'm tired.
or restless.
i don't know if i have no time.
or spent too much time idling around.

the fact remains that i remain clueless what to write for the project draft.
cuz i don't have the motivation to do so.

i'm sick of revising/ reading up on it.
i'm sick of ploughing through endless articles.

this is not what i want.

i don't know if i can last for another year.

// blabberings //

would you tell a person who is obviously very wrong, the truth?
would you help a person at your inconvenience?

sometimes, i think, it is a wonder that there are so many types of people in the world.
other than nationality, races, religion, which are those differences which we more or less cannot change, the fact that different people have different ideologies is fascinating. (well, at least to me)

what you think is important might not be as important to others.
what you want to achieve is not the same as other people.
what you hold so dear in your heart might just be a piece of trash to other people.

because of the supposed truth you believed in, you are ever so determined.
no matter you are right or wrong.
i know for certain questions, there can never be a right or wrong answer.
but sometimes, when someone, either a family member or a friend believing in something so wrong, i have no courage to correct them.
also, for my staunch belief that everyone is entitled to their own views.
however, an extremely small incident made me re-think, that perhaps i should muster my courage to at least point out to people when they're (in obvious) wrong.
it all happened when i was running late for tuition due to some stuff i had to settle in school.
hence i had to call my tutee and it so happens that her dad picked up the phone.
he told me that he wants me to tutor his daughter every single day in the duration of her PSLE examination.
anyway, his tone was more of a command than anything else.
he said that my tutee did not do well for her Maths prelim just so because i didn't have time to tutor her the day before that particular paper.
it came like an accusation to me.
i said i would try to do so during the actual PSLE as i understand it is an important exam.
finally did his attitude soften and said he hope so (not want)
speak of kiasu parents!
i so badly wanted to point out that even if i did tutor her the day before her prelim paper, the mere 1.5hr would not make any difference to her marks.
after all, according to my experience, diligence and willingness to learn is the key in primary school education.
no amount of last-minute cramming can replace that.
besides, i really couldn't fork out the time at that point and i did call my tutee to remind her not to be careless and told her to call me if she has any questions.
I done what i could, didn't I?
(initially i didn't want to take up this job as i was afraid i couldn't cope but her mum came up with some sob story about her previous tuition teacher ran away without warning and left her daughter in the lurch. no choice, have I?)

next, my IA, yes I've (or rather, had to) made my choice.
i have chosen a company which satisfy my criteria of work field and location.
(actually it's a compromise between both criteria)
now, it's up to the company to decide if i satisfy their criteria.
many people seems to bank on famous companies like Shell and Exxon Mobil, I do hope they are sincerely interested in petrol chem industry instead of blindly follow where the money is.
it would make people who have a genuine interest in that area but did not apply there(for whatever reason) feel better.

on another note, just today, when i was waiting in queue for a bus home, i noticed a visually-impaired person walking towards the queue.
he stopped some distance away from the queue, just before he walk onto the bus lane (phew)
i began to wonder how he knows when the bus he wants to board comes, as there were 2 queues for 2 different bus numbers.
the other bus came first and people from the other queue boarded the bus, however, the man did not board that bus.
so was he waiting for the same bus as me?
how would he know?
just then, the bus i was waiting for arrived behind the first bus.
coincidentally, there was a jam in the interchange because several buses obstructed the lanes, the other bus wasn't able to pull out of the berth, so the bus driver of the bus i want to take honked.
on cue, the people at the front started to walk towards the bus, each and every one bypassed the visually-impaired man, never stopping to ask if he needed help or if he wants to board that particular bus.
all of them. including me.
i had half a mind to stop and ask him but just couldn't do it.
maybe cuz it was out of my convenience to do so.
if i did, people behind me in the queue would probably be unhappy that the queue stopped moving.
and the bus driver, as his view was obstructed by the bus caught in the berth, would thought that the queue had ended and might drove off.
what a bunch of lame excuses, hui min!
so i watched the man, still standing very near the berth, as the bus passed the berth and drove off.

// of crowded buses, canteens, lectures and tutorials //

an unprecedented thing happened in mse.
that is, crowded tutorials.
on the first week of tutorial, i conscientiously followed my timetable, going to the allocated tutorials and boy, were those TAs disappointing.
The worst of all was the one for 3002. (also my most dreaded module)
The TA simply flashed the answer on the OHP and stood there.
Some caucasian exchange student asked her a question, and her answer was barely satisfying, to say the least.
To make things worse, my (and others) eyesight was put to the test as the projected image was too small.
Out of a total of 5 tutorial classes, 4 were by her.

So guess what?
last thurs, after our lecture (for another module), fellow yr 3 students sprinted up the stairs from level 1 to 5, to the one and only tutorial session conducted by the lecturer.
I was one of them too.
To secure seats, almost whole of the lecture group made a beeline for the tutorial room 25.
I almost burst out laughing, when i realised the comical situation.
Chairs were moved from the opposite room over to TR 25 and soon, the whole TR was filled but some people were still outside, looking for a teeny-wheeny bit of space to squeeze in.
Eventually, an amused lecturer said, "Those who are not from this tutorial group, can you please let the others come in"
Apparently, one of those trapped outside was complaining to the lecturer that she was from this group.
Then, another voice from outside said"If the TA wasn't so lousy, we wouldn't have come"
Oh, yes totally! The brutal but honest truth.
Finally, the lecturer relented "Ok, for the next hour, I would take over that tutorial too. For this week only. Next week, probably I'll book an LT"
Whoa, finally this is coming out of the horses' mouth.
Then, satisfied by his answer, some students went out for others to come in.
By right, after his tutorial, would be the TA's tutorial at the same TR.
By doing so would mean that he would be chasing the TA away when she arrives.
Talk about unprecedented happenings.

For weeks, I wonder why.
mse peeps have been attending lectures so faithfully such that almost all lectures were at least 3/4 filled.
this is a contrast to last year, when the LT was barely half-filled.
in fact, once, during applied chem lecture, the LT was less than a quarter filled and the lecturer turned off the lights at the back of the LT, i guess, to conserve electricity.
someone said that since it's already the penultimate year, people are now more hardworking in a bid to pull up gpa, some said, maybe they suffered a drop in gpa last sem.
and of course, there're still people who have stick to watching online recording, which have served them well.

Canteens and buses as well, have been extremely crowded.
the general theory is that it's the start of the academic year, people are more conscientious to attend lessons.
well, there's another theory is that it's due to the incoming dragon babies freshmen.
i'm not sure which plays a bigger part though, but one thing is for sure -ntu should have more canteens!
Take the north spine foodcourt as an example, i'm 100% certain the stallholders are making profits.
So much so that us students have to fork out the extra charges that will be incurred by ordering takeaways to eat at the old canteen A.
Moreover, with the enlargement of the eating area, it is clear they ARE making profits.
And it is not because i'm craving for that expensive ( $3.50 - $5) jap food or that $2 BCM for that matter, it is because i have no other choice!
Give us more choices! More variety of fastfood too.
Speaking of prices, canteen B do offer much cheaper food but the queues themselves are horrendous. There's not even enough space for queuing during lunchtime.
Haiz... whoever who heard that ntu has 16 canteens is in for a shock, 14 of these canteens serve the those living in the hostel.

// to decide //

I had quite a relaxing week, cuz I met up with Lynette for lunch on wed.
After a rather quick lunch we had to split ways to our lessons; me to my cog psy tut and she to her sound in daily life lecture.
I had quite a boring tutorial and psychology tutorials are mostly like that - no homework to prepare.
Basically, the tutor just go through the main points from the lecture and to clarify doubts, if we had any.
And guess what, I met her again after just 1 hr!
I was going to get a each-a-cup while waiting for project meeting to start and she was abandoning her lecture after 1 hr (supposed to be 3 hrs)
Yea! so we chatted over a cuppa for almost 2 hrs! (i had a lot of time to spare before the meeting)
she'll be graduating in a yr and that's when i'll have industrial attachment.
wonder when can we go travel again?
and when will we patch up with opal?

After which, I walked all the way back to north spine for the project group meeting with prof.
someone told me that it's impossible to walk from north to south spine (or vice versa) without meeting someone you know along the way.
I forgot who, but that person must be good at networking, cuz I didn't see anyone I know.

At the meeting, my heart almost leaped out of my mouth when the prof said, "So now, can each one of you present what you've found?"
Luckily our group reached a consensus of presenting 'group research' instead of individual ones at a meeting the day before.
Haha so our leader managed to halt the prof from asking us individually.
seriously, i still had not much of an idea what to do after browsing through the 10+ journals/articles sent to us.
but the prof did not really relent. For the next meeting with him, he wanted us to do up a draft of our individual parts.
i'm definitely not-so thrilled at his proposition.
what to do?

Then, on Fri, I met up with Christy! yippie!
Her practicals seems many times more interesting than mine.
She made injection bottles (which she gave me one) containing soap.
Pharma practs seem sooo fun!
Well, anything beats pressing buttons on a machine, which is apparently what engineers are trained in.

By Wed, I would need to make up my mind about the choice of IA Organisations.
It's a difficult choice cuz there's little info from the companies and the thought of having to spend 6 months there is really intimidating.
And, I dunno if I should also choose overseas IA in Japan!
Yes! Japan!!
It comes with provided accomodation, I assume is workers' hostel, and a salary of ~$2200
but then again, the company (Sanyo electric) might extend the IA to eight months and with my limited mastery of japanese, it might not work out.
The catch: there are only 2 places for the entire MSE.

What about my local choices?
It's equally difficult to choose.
I have not much of a confidence that I would be able to compete for places in Shell or Exxon Mobil hence those are OUT.
I'm interested in 3M's projects but then again, it's a popular company too.
IMRE sounds good, and it offers many projects but it's located near NUS, might be a bit too far?
Haiz.
Those are only interviewing organisations.
I'll have to choose from non-interviewing organisations too.
Those I admit, are less appealing but if you dun get an interview, there's no choice but to head to those companies.

// rain rain go away //

held a belated 21st celebration for yv on friday.
Ichiban Sushi did serve nice dishes but i still MISS the food in japan.


Man, i was glad that day was the last lecture by the guest lecturer.
Somehow he manage to grab our attention by saying that he will be setting one compulsory question in the exams.
Everyone else looked so psyched, debating and was referring to the notes here and there, even after the lecturer left.
But not me, i was dying to get out of the LT.

Oh yes, on a random note, single room dorms are niceee.
So spacious!
Of course wx did maintain its cleanliness that's why it's so clean and tidy.
It's more expensive, but for more privacy and space, i think it's worth it.

And Union's day was held on thurs, we were more than happy to obliged the nominees by exchanging the 'goodies' for votes.
It might seem very superficial of us.
But that's how the majority vote.
Who'll spend time at the Rally to listen to the nominees? Very few.
Somehow, this year's MSE elections had more 'politics', due to illegal group campaigning and so on.
Well, that's not surprising to me as elections always had that element of favouring popularity to capability.

// final decision //

Ok, I've dropped that module on 23rd Aug 9.38pm.
And I've only just read all your comments.
Well, I liked the tourism module initially but the lecture was rather boring, coupled with the late timing, i guess i better drop it.
Furthermore, I decided that I can't take on an extra module with project.
Or else I'll have 3 projects and that is like super a lot, with my 5 core modules.
(Meiting! please share with me the tips to survive with 6 core modules as I'll need it for year 4!!)
The only motivation was that I could 'clear' it by S/U ing it so that I won't have to overload next year to complete a minor.

However, since I've made my decision, I shall not have any regrets.
Hence, this sem is designated as " Pull up my GPA " sem, as I will only have 5 papers to sit for, as compared to my previous sem of 7 papers.
Content-wise, it'll actually be heavier than previous sems but I'll do my best!
Also, I'll need better grades to convince my mentor (and the school) to allow me to overload next year so that I can(hopefully) complete a minor.

Whatever you can control, control.
Whatever you can't, don't.

Ok, now I'm actually feeling more motivated =)
Soon, my P6 tutee will be sitting for PSLE.
Then, my sis will have her O levels.
Other than my tutees, I think I must spare some time for sis too.
Her physics is giving her problems.
My advice to her: Back to the basics-textbook. You have to understand everything in the textbook before attempting higher level problems. (Dos anyone have any other advice??)

Yes, Hui Min, help them and help yourself.
YOU CAN DO IT!!!

// Friday Blues //

I can't take it anymore.
I seriously need to rant!

Today's lectures were horrible and tormenting.
As usual, I couldn't catch anything during the 3002 lecture.
Save me from p-n junctions!!
It's bringing back the nightmares of 2008, which i thought was supposed to be OVER.
Now this module 3002 is an extended version of 2008.
Seriously i couldn't care less how electrons move.
It's sooo confusing.

After the 3002 lecture, straightaway we had 3003, which was equally bad, if not even worse.
argh!
Though the guest lecturer (for three freaking weeks!!) is a local, and throughout the lecture, I was fully aware that he spoke English, I still can't understand him, mainly due to those highly technical terms he use.
Please ask him go for effective communication class.
And he must have gotten an A+ in technical communication.
Apparently he graduated from mse some years ago.
Anyway, during the lecture he was either reading the slides (which was choked full of words) or coining 'chimerlogy' terms which most of us have never hear before.
The irritating thing was that he did not give any explanation of those terms.
Hence I was practiclally counting down the seconds for most of the 2 hours.
Kudos to the lecturer for making the seemingly easy topic of corrosion into something so difficult to understand.

Okay, enough of ranting.

Up till now, my experience is that: Engineering is really not an easy course.
Year 1: Condensed the whole 2 year JC education as revision
Year 2: Delve deeper into manufacturing process and material properties.
Year 3: Delve even deeper into the above two aspects + practicality aspect, not to mention that it is like condensing the whole of what we learnt in year 2 into 1 semester (another semester is compulsory industrial attachment)
Year 4: Looks to be specialisation

Year 3 is not gonna be easy.
p-n junctions, design project, chim corrosion stuff, qualitative analysis...etc.
I'm super stressed out.
And I'm going to drop that tourism module.

// can't make up my mind //

Although I said I would drop the tourism (5.30-8.30pm) module, I still can't stop thinking about it.
Stubborn-ness at work?

Yesterday, I daydreamt of convocation.
It's so stupid. why am i dreaming about that when i still had another 2 more years to go?
Anyway, the scenes in my dream was so touching...everyone was taking pictures, and my clique was recalling about how we met and became friends and brave through all the four years.
my parents were beaming and was proud of me.
i felt as though i will miss studying and all those years in NTU.
But it's ok, i've snapped out of it and it's back to reality.

the scary four aus core modules.
the equally intimidating design project.
the demanding cognitive psych.
the dilemma of whether to drop tourism.
the lectures tomorrow.

// the truth about my short little finger //

WARNING: the entry below is typed by a super bored person, hence it might make no sense.

my mum always said there was something perculiar about my oh-so-short little finger.
my sis finds it cute, like a baby's.
my dad never notice it.
i find it perfectly normal.

all thanks to some evening chinese newspaper that my parents like to read.
i've found out (or rather my mum) the meaning of it. (finally)
recently, i gathered that the editors of that particular blue-bannered newspaper had not much celeb scandals to publish so they decided to devote recent issues to the de-mystifying the meanings of what the length/shape of your fingers mean.
i found out, unfortunately (and predictably) zippo good news about my petite little finger.
A rough extract: Compare the lengths of your ring and little finger.
If your little finger is shorter than the line separating the middle and upper section of your ring finger, it is considered shorter than normal.
This means something about your personality.
Apparently it's all bad news.
Those possessing the above little finger type is too naive, easily conned or made use of by people.
They are stubborn, inflexible, unwilling to accomodate changes.
They will lose out in any form of bargain.
They are bad at expressing themselves, which translates to poor communication with others and poor human relationships.

Man, this is great. Not to mention rather exact.

My sis has fingers that curve outwards (mine, uh, can't curve outwards without suffering a fracture)
And the analysis was the exact opposite of mine.
Those possessing fingers that curve outwards are smart, capable, difficult to deceive by others and armed with a hidden agenda.
They are relatively good at investments.
They are fickle-minded, and are not so stable in decision-making.
They are good at communication, possess charisma and enjoy amicable relationships with others.

Oh wells, whoever said life's fair?

// no more camping at the com! //

MSE day with fellow year threes.

Some things just need to be gotten used to.

Just how much time is needed is a mystery.

Yippie. My appeal for Cognitive Psych is successful =D

Finally something to look forward to!

can anyone tell me if i really should drop the tourism module?

// F5 + ENTER //

how can anyone write a research paper on food culture in Singapore?
this is interesting...

oh wells, i was sitting in the class - Tourism: Image, Trends and Stories, when my attention drifted to this person seated two row in front of me, pressing F5 + enter for nearly 5 mins at every interval of about 15 mins.
No presents for guessing, yes, he's at the STARS planner page, hoping that someone would drop that module at that very moment he pressed the refresh button.
I was rather bored by the history of tourism, even more mentally drained by the fact that it was already nearly 6pm and there was another two and a half hours of lecture to go.
Hence I was hoping for someone to watch some interesting youtube vid or playing some computer games to take me through that boring module, which I've yet to decided if I should drop.
Already, one of my coursemate is ready to take my place if I drop it.
The lesson ends at a miserable 8.30pm, which means I'll reached home just before 10.30.
Terrible, considering that particular day starts at 8.30am.
Someone might be willing to award me a 'hardworking award' but i'll decline it - I've dropped my 8.30am module and am deciding whether to drop that one which ends at 8.30pm.

Other than a terrible thursday, first week in school has been slack.
Owing to the fact that most of the tutorials starts in week 3, I can have two weeks of 'honeymoon'.
That is, to spend the long breaks eating and printing notes and surfing aimlessly...and waiting for someone to drop that only cognitive psych slot that can fit into my timetable.

Having said that, I still haven't adjusted to waking up early.
Feeling like a walking zombie all the time, I have to drag my feet to NTU, catching up sleep on public transport, and struggling to keep awake during lectures.
I've virtually lost my sense of direction, too used to going to LT3 for the past two sems that I would have walked into the wrong LT if not for my classmates.
Some of the 'first' lectures are so boring that I was dozing off before 15 mins was up.
Some of them, well, it was too intimidating to sleep, esp the revision on semicomductors and chemistry.
I totally forgot what is p-n junction and tafel's law, what the heck.
Felt like digging out my ms 2008 and 2003 notes, which I hoped I haven't throw away.
Honeymoon it is, but it looks like I have work to do, if i can master enough willpower to do it.

On a saturday morning, I still feel super lethargic, my head hurts intermittently, i feel i've lost my brain.
In short, I feel disoriented, which is bad cuz there's tuition later.
Hope the nagging feeling goes away!

The Optimist Creed
by Christian D. Larsen

Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

Make all your friends feel there is something in them.

Look at the sunny side of everything.

Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

Give everyone a smile.

Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others.

Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.

// starting the fifth semester //

how time flew past.
unknowingly, the fifth semester is starting soon.
however, my memory does not seem to be able to recall myself having been through four sems.
oh, anyway i just hate to think.

slacking is my no.1 love ; i had done a lot of it this holiday.
thinking is my no.1 foe; i will need to do it from tomorrow onwards.

even in times of relaxation, i had slackened.
can u imagine? being slack in slacking.
it might not make much sense to most, but it sure describes my situation.

surprisingly after such a long break, i'm not-so-looking forward to school.
much of it owing to the "return of the long-distance travelling", the hectic "study-tuition-study" schedule
and another reason.

argh i hope to get rid of the inertia soon.

// a special second today //

12:34:56 07/08/09
i'm blogging at this special moment.

visited ION on wed with serene and shubin.
the building is at least 8 storeys high!
from basement 4 to level 4 or 5...i forgot
actually, unless u are those rich and influential, u might not want to venture above first floor!
imagine, a small piece of jewellery for an estimated $111,000!
unimaginable.

that being said, i like the basement 4 food hall!
cuz there are small vendors selling japanese street food like tokyo crepes..
takoyaki balls, hokkaido soft ice-cream and even the exact kind of bento sets i ate in Japan.
they even had the fake displays of food which is sooo ubiquitous in Japan.
it's great find, especially for me who missed the food in Japan alot!
wahahaha

in addition, there's this shop, Nippon-ya which self-proclaims it as a food boutique.
They imported those boxes of Japanese snacks/cakes which are found all over Japan.
Even the exact brand of wasabi-flavoured pistachios i bought.
Unfortunately and expectedly, the packet of pistachios which i bought for around $16 in Japan, they sold it for $22!
Also disappointedly, they did not bring in the famous hokkaido shiroi koibito (white/dark chocolate sandwiched in biscuits) but chose to import their poorer tokyo cousins.

On the same level, there's the muji, which shop layout is so similar to the one in Ginza.
I think this level must be dedicated to fans of Japan and expatriates.

On the whole, i do agree that ION brings a new concept of shopping to orchard, having different types of shops, from the middle to upper end.
Each shop has a special design of their shop front and those tv screens plastered on the walls are definitely going to attract shoppers.

// flooded by memories //

my parents always sought the best for their children.
that resulted in their decision to pull out their roots in m'sia and 'emigrated' to s'pore.
in the name of the supposedly superior education system in their adopted homeland.

being at the prime of their youth at that point in time, they had no regrets of their decision.
however, now, twenty-two years later, the same cannot be said so.

though my parents have never spoken about their initial hardship, i imagine that sinking roots in a whole new country couldn't be easy, especially without the help of relatives.
while both of them held jobs, they were relatively new to the system in this country, yet a plethora of questions greeted them.
which housing estate to move into?
which childcare centre to send the kids to?
those decisions which their peers in m'sia would never have to make.

while they had adopted the new mentality of embracing education as the way to alleviate poverty, my family, in general , is a traditional one.
every chinese year in my childhood memory was filled with the loud thumping CNY songs played by my aunt's hi-fi system and the fire crackers that lit up the night skies, making loud noises that reverberated throught the night.
not to mention, the long and boring journey on the coach to m'sia.
i would always asked my parents the same question, "when are we going to reach?" every fifteen minutes or so.
while they were snoozing away, my sis and i would look out the windows, staring at the majestic mountains and the overflooded padi plantations, never for a second thought that this foreign country could have been our home.
even though my cousins and i only met twice or thrice a year, each time not lasting more than 5 days, we were united by the games we played.
i was impressed by their ability to create games out of nothing, improvise 'punishments' and 'rewards'.
as always, being 'punished' was as fun as being 'rewarded', hence losing a game wasn't a big deal but all of us so innocently went all out to win.
in fact, only my aunt's leather sofa and my uncle's prized mahogany table were the ones which suffered in our hands, being our hideout places.
at night, my cousins would reveal their stashes of fire crackers, from those which looked like an egg to those which look like mini umbrellas, the assortment was mind-boggling.
as the adults start to countdown to the new year, we joined the neighbouring kids to lit up those fire crackers, contributing to the noise.

i believe those happy memories, stored away in deep my mind, are also kept in those of my cousins'.

P.S Two of my cousins came to s'pore last weekend and that sort of evoke my memory. even though we are not as close now, the blood ties can never be cut.

// dread//

next sem's gonna be another tough sem.

slow -.-

it's only today i realise that my exams ends on 7 Dec.

when i had signed up for tozan (pilgrimage) on 3rd Dec.

Great, i thought i had avoided the clash by going for attachment next sem ( this sem's attachment ends 5 Dec, and we can't take leave for whatsoever reason)

THANKS to this semester being pushed back by one week, for some reason which i'm not aware of.

Otherwise, exams should end by november, just like last year's did.

Many thanks =(

Since this is some commemorative anniversary, it's not advisable to skip.

Will i need to skip classes in order to attend Sep/Oct Tozan instead?

Dun ask me, my head is already hurting.

mum's already blaming me why hadn't i realise this during STARS one month ago.

as if it will make a difference.

i wish i could split myself.

argh, a tough sem ahead, indeed.

// websites for the cheerless //

ever felt that your life is aimless?
ever wonder why your life is so boring?

i do.

visit http://www.fmylife.com/
http://mylifeisaverage.com/

for some laughs/gags !

yea, manage to make a collage!

yeah finally changed my blogskin (and tagboard)!
it's a bit different, i dunno what's the comments part for.

// alternating days of shine and rain //



Ok, initially i wanted to finish up my Japan day 9 and 10 posts but somehow, somehow,

blogger's photo uploader is malfunctioning!

It showed a message that the photos have been uploaded but i just can't find them on my drafting page..



So, haha, i haven't update about my post-trip vacation, so guess i should do it now.

Been to a few birthday celebrations, which is a miracle cuz something always crops up when i want to attend some birthday parties.

Anyway, i'm thinking of whether to hold one myslf, since the semester is pushed back by one week (so next sem starts the same time as NUS), my birthday will be weeks before exams and not just one week before(as in usually).

But seriously i have NO idea at all yet.



Ok, and erm quite happy with my last sem's results.

I just got to know that the results was to be released one day before and forgot all about it the next day.

Just happened to be online till 12mn so went to see my results at the prompt of a friend.

Yea, good thing we all did well =)

At least can pull up abit, my er-hem ailing cgpa.



watched two movies- Angels and Demons, and Monster vs. Aliens.



Angels and Demons is a decent film but i would choose to read the book over watching the movie anytime, oh not because the action wasn't good enough but because of the details in the book itself.

The film seems abit rushed to me and i wouldn't recommend to those who hasn't read the book.

For those like me, who have read the book, my guess is that it wouldn't appeal to you too.

But all of us will only realise that only after watching the movie so that's how they become a hit in the box office huh.

It's deee anticipation which helps them to rake in the dollars i guess.



Monster vs. Aliens is a relatively nice film, when you're IN the theatre.

It's the first 3D movie i've watched in a regular cinema, and the effects are great.

Ten bucks for the effects is totally worth it, i think.

At least in this day and age, i have to add, which brings me to another thing i'll share later.

And this film proves that I'm mentally younger than my sis, haha.

However, after the film, i realised some of the sceptical comments my sis gave are true.

Like it has no 'moral of the story' thingy which animated films are supposed to have or that the story plot is cliche.

whatever the case, it depends how you see it.

i walked into the theatre without any expectations for the film so i appreciate what i see and am happy with it.



just a random note though, the two titles that i've recently seen are rather paradoxical hehe.

Like...Angels 'AND' Demons, even though they are direct opposites.

Monsters 'VS' Aliens, though they are more similar.

ok, it's random.



more recently, i had my STARS (aka fastest fingers first) registration, and i'm simply amazed by some people's fingers.

I logged in at the exact minute (not exact second though) and couldn't register 2 modules already.

Luckily i managed to, once more vacancies were released after about 20 mins.

the usual is that you'll be able to get a slot for your modules but whether it's your desired one is another matter altogether.



thanks to christabel, i managed to get a 3-week part-time job at mng, and it had been relatively an eye-opener.

I got to see the behind-the-retail-scenes, like how they arrange their clothes, do price taggings, prepare for sale.

The only bad thing is to come face-to-face with a sales crowd.

yes, it's that time of the year, the mng sales that got OLs and tai-tais alike grabbing that last piece of S or M size dress.

actually i didn't know mng sales was so popular until a friend of christy told her, and she told me.

as a result, you could probably picture me trying to fold some clothes amidst their scrabbling.

the worst is to tidy the mess after a group went off after realising there is no S or M size left in that rack.

alot of hip bumping, knees knocking are involved hence it's rather hazardous.

but this has got to be job that's most easy to pass time, as you can observe shoppers secretively, of course it shouldn't involve blatantly staring at their antics.

Plus, patience is needed such that you won't go screaming at inconsiderate shoppers who push and shove you, worse still, throw a whole bag of clothes at you, saying they don't want all these...yes, all those they have painstakingly snatched and found out those doesn't suit them.

and you'll have to sort those clothes and put them back at their respective places.

mind you, it won't be easy, given the arduous task of navigating through the burgeoning crowd.

but it's just your luck that the customer has chosen you to throw her clothes back.



that being said, you also have to make many decisions on the fly as no one's there to help you to deal with customers.

everyone's like, Busy, with a capital B.

and, it's not that i like to overhear other people's conversations but rather they are there for me to hear, and sometimes it's quite funny.



Two minutes ago,

"Hey, just now i was at the fitting room, i heard someone told her friend that she just flew back from Melbourne!"

"Aiyo, quickly go lah, later got H1N1!"



Teo minutes later,

"Hey just now you said you just came back from Melbourne ah?"

"No lah, don't be scared, it's Sydney! not Melbourne.."



And i was standing at the same place at both times, desperately trying to tidy the pile of mess before my supervisor came to hurry me.



well, and many people asked me if it's tiring to stand for like 5 hrs straight and it's no problem for me cuz i like to stand rather than sit all day, though it's more tiring.

refrain from asking me why cuz i have no answer too.

anyway, all those temp staff working there was related in one way or another.

as such, my colleagues, other than christabel, include my jap 1 classmates, my aj schoolmates whom i have no impression at all, my mse seniors, my xms seniors.

ah, such coincidence.

Oh, after this job, i went for an interview with another company,

the person-in-charge looked through my resume and said,

"hmm, you have practically done every kind of job, but on short stints, so where do you imagine yourself to be after you graduate"

(This is an overstatement, but i guess he meant 'every kind of job that undergrads on holiday do')

Oh and i gave a rather uncreative but possibly truthful answer.

"Perhaps joining an engineering firm to be an engineer"

(ok, on hindsight, my statement sounds stupid!)

Then, for some crazy reason, he sounded crestfallen.

"Oh, i thought you say teaching! since you have the experience (referring to my Pro-Teach stint), so no teaching for you?"

"Ya", i replied rather resolutely.



Anyway, the position i applied for was admin, so it had nothing to do with teaching whatsoever, but i guess he sounded interested in my 'teaching' experience cuz the company is some sort of a real estate school.

I didn't hear from them afterwards..



This week i also went cycling with shi min, thanks to her, i borrowed her bike to cycle!

It felt good to cycle to the newly opened park and community centre.

I had some hiccups trying to start cycling,(hey, i'm a beginner) else everything went fine..

until i lost control and fell off the bike after 2 hrs of cycling.

luckily we were heading back then and was near some new housing construction site.

i was flung forward in accordance to the law of physics that i'm still accelerating but the bike was not, since i've applied the brakes too abruptly.

anyway, i believe you get the idea.

suffered minor grazes and bruises, it's fortunate that i had time to react, using my palms to shield my face from falling flat on the ground.

a lesson learnt; a classic case of no pain, no gain.

Then, last tues, i got my new phone!

yes, this is where i'm going to share something about technology.

i happily took my m1 $100 voucher to re-contract my mobile plan, hence i did not have to pay anything to get a new phone, which originally was $98.

It's in nice lilac purple =)

then a few days later, today, i saw on the ads that it now costs 0 dollar with a 2-year plan!

So much for m1 giving me the voucher for my loyalty.



a kind of technology that costs a bomb today may become worthless in a month or so.

so how should we look at it?

is one considered stupid to pay money for something which worth could decrease in a month?

is one considered wise to wait until the same thing's worth drop before buying?

My hunch is that it really depends on the worth of that phone to you, not it's value in tangible dollars per se.

If you're willing to fork out that money, why wait?

it means that that is worthwhile to you and that is all that matters.

after all, technology itself waits for no man.

although i did not fork out a single cent to change my handset, my mum told me i've made a loss since the value of my phone dropped.

however, i chose to think of it another way.

there is no way we can squeeze any benefit from telcos, if not they won't be posting profits ever now and then.

instead of wanting to gain, why not just be contented with a minimal loss?

Besides, as long as the value of the phone to you is there, in my opinion, you've already won.

//Day 8 (07/05/09) Sapporo – Otaru + Back to Tokyo //

Otaru is popular among tourists in Hokkaido, as we see Taiwanese and Caucasians throng the place.
It is definitely worth a visit, especially if you're shopping for souvenirs.
They have a lot of SEAFOOD!
Crabs, lobsters, octopus, cuttlefish, scallops.
Seriously, I did not buy enough seafood from there!
As a noob, I didn't even know their seafood was so cheap until my mum and aunt told me when I was back home.
Should have bought more! =S
A packet of seasoned scallops costing 1050 yen is selling for double the price in Tokyo.

Mr KFC..looks different in a foreign land. Lynette says he looks more like a japanese than ever...

Otaru has nice weather! A clear, azure blue sky =)
Humungous shelfish and crabs...A LOT of them.
By the famous Otaru bridge, can't believe we walked past it w/o noticing!

Roadside Artists... Elderly, yet talented.
It's 22.1 degree celsius. We were secretly glad to be away from Singapore's humid and hot weather. Hehe.
Ice cream mascots! And Lynette's infatuation with them =P

This exquisite piece is made of glass, can you believe it?

This is the music box museum, all music boxes are made of glass too! Otaru's specialty!
Tired? Call for a rickshaw.
Otaru post office. yubin kyo-ku. Haha.
A variety of pretty music boxes for you to choose! But they were super ex! =X

A day spent in Otaru, looking at glasswares, being made into anything possible, we actually saw a glass pen (and tested it out, cool!)
Looking at glass jewellery and bought some (the only ones we could afford!)
Looking at live seafood, looking at all sorts of music boxes, listening to their melody and tunes.

I'm mesmerised by Otaru... are you?

Caught a train back to Sapporo, had our favourite bento seto again!

Our train back to Tokyo was at 10pm but we were ultra early at 7 plus, i think you know the reason why.
Then we walked around the Sapporo stn, which was getting quite deserted as almost all the shops closed at 9pm!
What do you do when you're bored? Snap pics!

Tired from the lugging..

As promised, my green/black 'pillow' and lynette's red 'bolster'.

Looks comfy?
A whole load to carry!

//Day 7 (06/05/09) Sapporo - Furano//

Comfort Hotel is located near (ok, have to walk for 10mins w/o luggage) Susukino Subway stn.



From there we can take the underground subway to the main Sapporo Stn.
Our plan was to visit the marimo at Lake Akan National Park but there was no available route!!
If i remembered correctly, it's like almost 4 hrs to and to come back, another 4 hrs!

So, we had to go Furano instead.
Since our trains were due in an hr's time, we took off the the nearby clock tower and tv tower.
Wah, had a hard time trying to find both places, which we finally did, by engaging the help of a few passerby.

A real horse!!!

Panasonic TV tower.
No marimo =(
To Furano =D
After we reached Furano Stn, we had to take a cab cuz the sightseeing bus was not available on weekdays.
The meter started from SGD 9!
Our journey, which was about 10 mins, costed around SGD16... =S
But it was worth it as the cheese, milk, pizza factory is sooo nice.
The air is fresh, the sky is blue, there is no reason not to like this place.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, oh suddenly i feel like living as a villager.
The best ice-cream flavour goes to.... Cheese Flavour!
The taste is similar to that of chilled cheesecake!
Light and non-greasy =D

And I wondered why some others ordered asparagus flavour, sounds ew!
Although the prices of the pizza was not considered cheap, since we are here, why not?

Crispy Japanese Pizza, made with their specialty cheese!

Bye to Furano! It's a really nice place! Would return to visit if there's chance =P

At Sapporo stn, we couldn't resist the temptations of Dan Bao Fan, aka Omelette Rice.
Finally found one stall which does takeaway...
The stallholder, (an uncle in his forties/fifties) even asked me where I am from.
Once i said 'Singaporu-jin', he showed me his english menu, boy am i amazed that even he knows our main language is english.
Then as we waited for our food, he was talking very animatedly with his chef, and i could only catch the words 'Singaporu-jin” lol.
And they even served us iced water as we sat in the rather traditional-looking restaurant.
Too bad I'm not an anime fan, cuz i saw some copies lying at the corner for patrons to read.

Then, back to Susukino, we rushed into the 100 yen shop at 8.30pm (it was due to close at 9pm)
and, guess what happened?
Grabbing, grabbing and more grabbing!
Every item is only 100 yen ($1.60).
And we cleared their seaweed rack, which is not a lot by the way =)
We were so busy grabbing and filling up our basket that we forgot to take pictures!
In the end, i had one 'pillow' of the stuff, while lynette had one 'bolster'.
Stay tuned for the next day's journey to catch a photo of those two 'sleepwares' we had.
A perfect day accomplished =)

A not-so-perfect hotel room haha.