Just Simply Me

Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-04-21T12:39:00.005+08:00

For reasons you'll know later, I re-visited some of my older blog posts. Some of them really brought back memories, especially the ones about Arts Camp and of course, Hong Kong. Can't believe that it's been 4 months since I have returned. Apart from that, if I applied a tag cloud on the contents of my blog, the word 'school' will probably stand out the most.

Anyway, I was rather fascinated by some of the contents and style of writing I used in some of my older entries. Fast forward to today, and my style has probably changed pretty much. Then again people do change, and I shall just look back at those entries knowing that they are genuine reflections of myself and my style back then.

I would say that this blog has pretty much served its main purpose as a priceless diary of my life since I started blogging. This will be my last entry here.

Touching - Beautifully Imperfect

2009-04-09T11:42:00.005+08:00

Just came across this 'Funeral Commercial' on Facebook, and it left such a deep impression on me that I just had to blog about it. Yes, I teared a little while watching it. To evoke such emotions in 3 minutes pretty much highlights the power of the script. The message itself, "Beautifully Imperfect", was beautiful. The directing and photography was excellent too, and to date is one of the most impressive advertisements I have ever came across. Not to mention it's a local production.

The commercial probably 'touched' me more than it would others due what I been through last month. Through all that happened, I have very much learnt to treasure my family much more, and this commercial was a timely reminder of that.

Taking Life for Granted

2009-04-04T20:51:00.004+08:00

So many things to blog about. First of, yes it's high time I changed my blog skin. In fact, I had plans to do more than just change my blog skin, but work and many other distractions have put my plans on hold.

I'm more than halfway through my internship, and although work has been building up, things have been great. Simply put it, it's true when people say that there's no point really studying so hard, as you really only learn best only when you experience it. It's true, and I'm not sure how this mentality is going to get me through honours year come August.

Blogs and Facebook has been my key to keeping up to date with what's happening in and around school. If there's one thing I have to complain about internship, it's that I no longer get to experience that 'fun' side of school. Have already missed quite abit of activities in the last month due to certain distractions in life.

In many ways, last month was one to forgot. The superstitious side of me is glad that April has come to hopefully wash away all the 'bad' in March. I've been in hospital premises for more times in a month than my lifetime. For one, it felt horrible to lie in the hospital bed myself, but it felt many times worse to see people you know lying there as well. More so if its a loved one. Dad just had an op, and days before, during and after the op was really hard for me personally. Thank goodness he's better now, but it's through this month that I realise how much I've been taking life for granted. I mentioned before how conversations with friends now often linger around work and quarter life crisis, but I soon realised that the one major sign of us aging is when we see our parents starting to age, and in the process experiencing sickness. I've spent much of the last months enjoying myself in Hong Kong and taking life as it is, only to realise that I've perhaps been a little to carefree to assume that things were always to be smooth sailing.

Spent almost the entire day doing housework, something which I usually relied on my Dad to do. I felt a little down with all the chores not because I felt tired, but more because I realised how tough it really is, and how I've relied too much on Dad to handle all of that. It's really time to do my part, instead of just bumming around in front of the computer. Routines at home have changed, and it really is a wakeup call for me.

Down

2009-03-24T17:12:00.002+08:00

Bad bad month. I pray for everything to turn out for the better. And it doesn't help that I have work and personal plans all lined up ahead of me.

The Fallacy of The Word 'Unbiased'

2009-03-21T21:29:00.002+08:00

Been reading much from the web at work lately, especially socio-political sites, and it triggered some thoughts which I thought of penning down.

I must say I am intrigued by the spectrum of views - some being really hilarious and entertaining, some more eye-opening and interesting, while others being too extreme and nonsensical for my liking. I did however come across a common thought on the local mainstream media - or more specifically of it being weighed as too biased and one-sided. Now that's not for me to agree or disagree, but what caught my eye was the reasons people were giving for turning to alternative channels, claiming that they are deviating from mainstream media for better 'unbiased' news. As a communications and media student, I have learnt much about journalistic ethics of reporting from a neutral standpoint and carefully selecting a more 'neutralistic' range of words and expressions. However, despite adhering to these journalistic directives, I question if total unbiasness can really be achieved? Wouldn't alternative media have their own biasness in some sense too? So which entity can ever be considered 'unbiased' and fair?

I tend to enjoy reads of those who write well, but more importantly, those who acknowledge that every issue or argument has two sides (with biasness still involved somewhere of course). Similarly, I prefer those who backs their arguments with quality thoughts for one to consider and ponder about. So it kinda puts me off when some political comments and discussions goes 'Vote the current party off'. Fullstop. My question would be 'Ok after you've done that, then what?' Expect a new (and unexperienced) other-party to come in and do a better job, and think that no one else will complain about new problems? And just to sum my point up, I shall quote Barack Obama in his recent appearance on Jay Leno's show.

" If there are members of Congress who object to specific policies and proposals in, then I ask them to be ready and willing to propose constructive, alternative solutions.

'Just say no' is the right advice to give your teenagers about drugs.

It is not an acceptable response to whatever economic policy is proposed by the other party. " - Source, TNP

Worst Week of My Life

2009-03-14T17:10:00.005+08:00

The last week was perhaps one of the worst ever in my 24 years. I fell horribly ill during the previous weekend, struggled in bed at home, went to the doctor, struggled another day at home, went to the hospital in the wee hours for outpatient treatment, and struggled another full day at home. Throughout all these, I was running a high fever and had a very bad stomach, with runs to the toilet in between. It finally hit the 'limit' on Monday night when I was admitted to hospital with high fever and some very bad stomach infection. I finally managed to get out today.

It was my first ever admission, and I so want it to be my last. Many times, especially during the start of the week, I felt so painful and horrible that at times I just wanted to ask if there was some kind of jab which could put me to sleep until the pain subsided. Through the few days my life was only about sleeping on the hospital bed or sitting in the hospital toilet, and it felt really miserable. The biggest pain of all would be the cost of this whole saga. This unfortunate incident had cost a bomb, and I'm just feeling really down and upset that I have to burden my parents with all these. I can perhaps tell myself that no one could really predict this, and that such unforseen but necessary expenses will always have to be spent in life, but it's just painful.

The whole thing suddenly brought me to re-think about the whole issue of money, and about how I really want to quickly finish my studies so as to go out to work. Being stuck there in the hospital just gave me so much time to think about anything and everything, and how I could perhaps do so much more with my life. I get upset when I (think I) burden or let my parents down, and am somehow now more determined to work even harder to provide for them in the future.

Of course, I always see the importance of seeing the positives out of the negatives. So despite all the downs, I'm glad I got to experience much love, care and concern during this week. Also, I can count myself lucky that this didn't happen when I was in HK, nor when I am in a full semester in school. Furthermore, it's kind of a hellish period in school now, and what a disaster it would have been if this kept me out for a whole week of school. Although there are only two positives out of the many negatives, I'll just be thankful for them.

Love the Weekends

2009-03-01T01:19:00.005+08:00

Believe it or not, after 2 months of internship I still can't really get used to waking up early in the morning to get myself ready for work. So that is why I cherish the weekends much more now. I slept for at least 12 hours last night, as I woke up in the afternoon today. Then it rained for the whole day, and I just lazed in front of the computer and television. How nice!

Lightning actually struck the Merlion today! That's a first, and it's amazing on many counts. First of all, of all the things, lightning had to strike one of the iconic statues of our country. Secondly, the Merlion wasn't that tall to start of with, so how did that really happen? I'm gonna bet that with all the new media hype lately, this is gonna get much coverage on forums and blogs, with people relating this incident to like 'signs of Singapore being suay' or 'the heavens are telling Singaporeans something' etc. etc.

A Familiar Name

2009-02-27T00:01:00.005+08:00

I probably have to dust off the cob webs in this web space of mine, and to those of you who still drop by here (anyone even?), my apologies for the long absence .... again.

To be honest, tonight was just like any other night, and I didn't exactly have the mood or energy to blog, until I read the news. I noticed a very familiar name, and it was an article about the charge on three NS men who were involved in some bribing and smuggling case. Unless someone else has that very same full name, I have this feeling that news article was refering to an ex-recruit of mine.

Well it may afterall not be him, but one part of me says there's a high chance. He was always a problematic soldier, and I would say he was the one recruit who received my loudest ever scolding during my ns days. The problems he posed could be compiled into one long chapter, but I'm not going there. The point is that towards graduation, things got better, and I saw a change in him. On the last day, he expressed his gratitude for all that was done, and mentioned how he was sorry and has learned from all that has happened.

The one thing which brings me much joy and satisfaction during my ns days was to see my recruits graduating. It felt really good to see them maturing since the first day when they all looked so blur, and the gratitudes and salutes that follow is the icing on the cake. I received the same gratitude and salute from the above mentioned recruit, and I was confident that I helped in making him a better person. Or so I thought.

No School, No Blog

2009-02-08T08:14:00.003+08:00

I can easily attribute the origin and continued presence of this blog to school. I started blogging at a time when school was really busy and thoughts were overflowing in my head, at a time when I learnt that blogging was a good practice for writing in school, and at a time when more and more of my friends started blogging. This relation between school and my blog has been made even clearer in the recent weeks, as my blogging frequency has since dipped, simply because there's no school.

Internship has been really good, and I would say that I have already settled into that working kind of lifestyle. It has however taken a toll on several aspects of my life, including the energy and time left to blog. No doubt blogging ideas and sudden inspirations do consistently surface, but that flow of energy to my mind does to seem to flow all the way down to my hands. So I'm just going to sum up two random thoughts I had for the past few weeks, one about Chinese New Year, another about soccer.

Chinese New Year. It followed a similar trend as the previous years. Lesser hype around it, lesser visitings and in some way lesser meaning to the whole festival. Then again, this is not the case for everyone. However this year, I started to realise that maybe it's not that Chinese New Year or traditions have changed, but it's simply because I have grown older.

During my visits, I looked at some of the kids, and they too are still having a time of their lives, playing with cousins whom they've never met for a year, snacking on the new year goodies, and receiving their red packets before running off to play elsewhere before they get bombarded with questions from the adults. When I looked at them, I was thinking that hey, that used to be me. Hmm, another one of those "I'm growing old" sentiments streaming into me.

Soccer. Disappointing from my point of view, as a rovers fan. Sam Allardyce probably saved us from being this season's table rooting Sunderland or Derby, as despite being unbeaten for many games already, we're still in the trouble zone. Starting to see the irony behind Ince's remark of 'I could have gotten another 5 more games to work something out'. We would have drifted away by then Ince. A loss to Villa yesterday was expected, but what worries me is that the gaps in the bottom half are starting to reappear. That game in hand we have against Fulham is the key now. I definitely have more faith in the new manager, however if you ask me, I'm only about 60-70% confident that we won't go down, simply because we have one of the better squads down there. Then again, as many captains have reminded their squads this season, you're never too good to go down. We'll see, as the table looks really interesting this season. My predictions, with some rovers biasness involved, West Brom, Stoke and Boro to go down.

As for the top, I think I should be able to give a better assessment than any big four fans. Sorry friends, but more often that not have I seen big four fans being either too biased to their clubs, or having sentiments which are just too anti of other big four clubs. Many of you attribute it to passion, but sometimes I just feel it's going waywards beyond passion, and sometimes even ugly for the common good of the game. Ok to the point, Man Utd should clinch it this season, as they are what I would say the most consistent team in the league for many years. Liverpool, well I think too many people are writing them off too easily, again more because of anti-rival sentiments rather than footballing reasoning. Torres is back, and that will do them much good. Chelsea would probably be vying for third spot with Arsenal and Villa, although I got this feeling that Villa will nick it. You only have to look at the two people to understand Chelsea's plight, Drogba and Scolari. They tend to give me this 'loss and dejected' feel everytime I watch them. Arsenal, well I don't think anyone can argue that this season, they just lack the most depth and experience for a big four club. I didn't fancy Adebayor, and then he made me eat my words last season, but now I'm passing them all out again.

Come what may, it's going to be a great season, and soccer during weekend nights definitely give me something to look forward to after those long weekdays.

Proud to be a New Media Student

2009-01-23T00:22:00.008+08:00

If there's one big takeaway from this three weeks of internship, it's the amount of knowledge I have gained, especially with regards to new media. Within this short span of time, I have learnt so much more than I would have expected to, and it's only going to get better. In fact, it's ironic how I feel more like a new media student now than when at school.

Of course with ups, there's downs. So the one disappointment which leaves me a little perturbed is my encounter with some people out there who still seem to undermine the power of new media. Being a new media student, I enjoy what I study, and take pride in what I personally think is the next big thing. In fact its THE big thing now already. And who better to prove my point than President Obama. From his elections campaign, to inauguration day, to a new website, and to the best and coolest of them all, the appointment of a new director of new media! Now how is that not making new media the next big thing?

Just watched Red Cliff 2, and it's definitely the next best thing to Lord of the Rings. I am a huge fan of LOTR, and was kinda sad after the 3 part trilogy ended. But Red Cliff kinda allowed me to re-live some of those moments, as I drew parallels between the two. Both were based on good scripts written from elements of history and myths, both were well casted, both had amazing scenery and effects, and both had really good fighting scenes. When I saw how some of them sacrificed themselves jumping into oil barrels to blow up Chao Chao's navy ships, I couldn't help but be reminded of the scene in LOTR The Twin Towers, when the huge Uruk Hai jumped into the walls of Helms Deep to blow it up. Similarly, Zhou Yu's jump from the ship held great resemblance to Aragon and Legolas jumping off the ghost ship in the Return of the Kings.

Having recently taken film classes, I was also better able to appreciate the technicalities of the film. Sure, much of the story was based on history, albeit some a little inaccurate, but you got to admire how the script was continuously pieced together, as each scene seemed to blend in seamlessly with the next. Definitely an intriguing film brimmed with intelligence and bravery, which makes a history-idiot like me want to read up more.

That Kind of Life

2009-01-16T23:26:00.010+08:00

The conversations at last night's dinner with Josh and Fabius mostly revolved around the issue of 'aging'. Ok maybe that is too extreme a word, but we were starting to realise how the elements of 'youth' are drifting further away from us. It didn't help that Fabius and I were dressed all formerly in office wear because of internship, discussing about work, news and current affairs. See the 'aging' trend surfacing already?

It's been two weeks of internship, and I would say I've gotten used to the lifestyle already. Waking up early in the morning, squeezing in the train, going to work, going for lunch, back to work, back to squeezing in train, go back home and then sleeping early and the cycle starts again. On some days there are of course the inserts of going out after work, sleep on the bus or train on my way home, and dragging my body from bus stop or train station back home. Sounds rather mundane huh, and Fabius reminded me that this may actually be my kind of life for the next 40 years. Scary. Then again, it's not all that bad, as I'm kinda enjoying what I get out of work.

I'm like a few months slow, but I just realised that Diablo 3 will be released soon! I am a real fan of Diablo 2, and have waited for almost 6-7 years for the team to work on Diablo 3. I thought it went dead, and kinda gave up waiting as I saw how Blizzard seemed to favour WoW and Starcraft. Thank goodness that Blizzard proved me wrong. Seen some shots and reviews about it, and it looks really cool. I'm now a little worried that if it comes out somewhere at the end of the year, I may get hooked to it, and would be in deep trouble for my honours. Then again, my last encounters with Gunbound and DOTA kinda brought me my two best semesters. How ironic.

Oh, and I probably also need a new computer to play this cool game. I'm not someone who likes to splurge on the latest gadgets and technology, but I realised a recent desire to get new gadgets and computers for myself. It doesn't help that I'm kinda broke at this moment.

Work, Friends and My Forgotten Results

2009-01-08T01:17:00.009+08:00

It has been 3 days of internship already, and I'm slowly starting to get used to things. Work has started to pile up a little too, but I'm relishing every learning opportunity I get. The only problem is waking up early everyday.

Just came back from Arts Club chalet, and it was really nice to meet up with many friends who I have not seen in a while. We spent the entire night talking, and such talks with this group of friends was something that I really missed when in HK.

Exam results from CUHK are out, and I totally forgot about my exams and the results if not for my friend alerting me through facebook. Results have allowed me to better understand why the standards and stress levels in NUS and Singapore are so high, and now I wish that there was some option to credit my SEP grades.

My entries are getting lesser and shorter, as I'm getting more and more lazy to blog. Probably still adjusting to the new 'lifestyle'.

A Good Year and A New Year

2009-01-01T03:12:00.015+08:00

A quick recap the year 2008. It was generally a good year for me, and can actually be seen as a few different life chapters. Firstly, another good semester which got me re-listed. It wasn't as challenging as the previous two, although I probably struggled towards the end for a too laid-back approach at the start. Nonetheless, the semester ended well, and gave me a much needed comfort zone for my SEP. Secondly, an internship stint in the civil service. Working experience was something I really lacked, and had really wanted to have. And at the end of the two months, I gained more than just working experience. Friendships, invaluable advices, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and most importantly, a better gauge of what I want for my future. Lastly, the final four months of the year at Hong Kong. Well, I've said what I wanted to say about my amazing SEP journey, and I will leave it at that. There are also many good encounters and happenings here and there which perked up the year, but I shan't go on about everything little single thing.

Of course, with the ups, there's the downs. The world situation in general was bad, from attacks and unrest, and to melamine and downturns. On a more personal note though, it has to be Blackburn Rovers. Well rovers are kind of used to less-than-satisfactory starts to the season, but this time it's real bad. We all knew it was going to be a tough season when Sparky left, although I had hope in Paul Ince. But when we had to scrap for a 3-2 victory from a totaly depleted Everton side on the first day, I knew something was wrong. And so things did turn for the worse. Some rovers fans may disagree with me, but I think it was necessary for Ince to go as his style was just not working. Furthermore, the stress, pressure and self-deceit was clearly evident towards the end of his tenure. Fast forward to today, it was painful to see Robinho's last minute equaliser, but then again, I can only hope for the best now. As I told my friend before, one of the things I can proudly boast as a rovers fan over any Big Four fan, is that we are mentally stronger, as we have 'been there, and done that'. You name it, won the title, change of managers, europe, fight for europe, boring mid table, struggle for survival, relegated and promoted, we've experienced everything. So whatever happens, we'll take it and stay positive.

To be very honest, I didn't feel anything special about yesterday's transition from 2008 to 2009 today. Then again, this does not mean that I do not have plans for a new year ahead. For one, my second internship is nearing, and with this one being half a year, it will definitely go down as another memorable chapter in my life. Definitely looking forward to it. After that, it would be full steam ahead in my honors year, and to be honest, I'm feeling a little nervy about it, as I'm setting some pressurizing goals for myself. I'm also going to pick up some new skills, and re-buff up some old ones I learnt back in poly, and hopefully put them to good use through a new planned personal web space. Obviously my current blog template has to be changed, and eventhough I kept my old one, I should probably have a new concept for a new and exciting year ahead.

Here's to a happy and smooth-sailing new year for everyone! Happy 2009!

Facebook-alization

2008-12-31T13:11:00.023+08:00

Prior to university education, the polytechnic route meant that anything related to social sciences were often distanced from me. I was perhaps a more technical person, and the decision to drop Computer Engineering at NTU for FASS NUS three years back was perhaps against the logic of a more 'technical' me. But just somehow or rather, I simply preferred NUS more. Ok but the main point is, my journey in a social sciences faculty has shaped my mind to take a more critical and analytical approach to many things in life, and these 'observations and explanations of life' have more than often intrigued me. Which brings me to one of the wonders of our lives today, the new media phenomenon of Facebook.

The reason for writing this entry can be traced back to a number of intriguing conversations I have had with my friends, so I thought it could be interesting to pen this down, and review these thoughts again in a few months or a years time to see what's changed.

It all started out with Friendster at the start of the century. I remembered how I signed up for a Friendster account in a computer lab lesson in my poly days, and thought nothing much of it at first. That was until I was amazed by how Friendster could link many of my friends and myself through the 'six degrees of separation' concept, and how I could find back many of my primary and secondary school friends. Facebook, which was then more of a hit in America and Canada, soon gained prominence in Singapore. Again I simply signed up because my cousin in Canada was using it, and then a few months later, Facebook soon replaced Friendster, and has become the next big thing, Facebook-alization! Ok I personally coined this term up, borrowing the idea from how Google-lization describes Google's domination of our everyday lives, and how McDonald-ization implies the prominence of Western influences on non-Western countries.

Not too long ago, when my friends and I talk about friends whom we've never met for a while, I seem to be able to know 'some things' about them, despite having not met them for months and years. For example, I have a rough idea about how they look like now, whether they are studying, have graduated, are working, are overseas, or even who they hang out with. And when asked how I know so much, my answer is simply 'Facebook'! Well, yes I do visit Facebook at least two to three times everyday whenever I get online, but I'm sure this is considered to be a pretty average frequency in today's Internet age. The point is that just from this few visits, I get so much information through Facebook's 'homepage' (the first page after you login). So don't call me a Facebook stalker or addict, because Facebook's advanced concept is the real culprit here. You see it provides information about all the latest updates, from the latest pictures, videos, wall posts and even comments. And to add, it does not just include comments from my own network of friends, but even from my friends' friends. To date, I have found out about many new relationships (and lost ones), many new friends, and many other exciting events and happenings which I would never have known of if not for the pictures and comments on Facebook. Similarly while on SEP, I got quite some updates about happenings back in NUS from Facebook alone. Yes I get a more clearer and descriptive picture from my friends' blogs, but the ratio of blogs to Facebook accounts is like ... a few : almost everyone.

I guess Facebook's edge over Friendster would definitely be it's improved photo and video functions, and the ability to tag the photos and videos (although I personally think the cooler name of Facebook over Friendster did play a minor part too). Facebook may not have the 'six degrees of separation' clearly drawn out like what Friendster did, but the tagging of photos basically touched on the same concept, and improved the levels of networking. Truth is many of us are drawn to photos (as compared to words) when the 'homepage' displays these updates, and I have actually found many old school friends simply because they have been tagged in photos of friends in my current network. I have also learnt of a few marriages, and of how some of my friends are still keeping in touch with each other (when I'm not). To think of it, it has become such an integral part of our lives so much so that we tend to overlook how much less 'updates' we will get of the people around us had Facebook not existed.

One other prime example of the power of tagging photos would be how my brother's primary school friend had scanned an old class photo into this Facebook account, and then tagged all his old friends in it. So in this case my brother was actually alerted by being tagged in the photo, and from that very same photo he could actually contact many of his old friends. If you really think about it, if every single one of us took an old class photo, scanned it in and did the appropriate taggings, how many lost relationships would actually be bridged! Amazing.

They say you can tell a person from the way a person works, a way a person plays sports, or even from a way a person plays a game. I personally feel that to a certain extent it's true. I've had friends who are more serious and uptight, and show that by being competitive (sometimes too over-competitive) when playing sports, and I've had friends who choose to take very laid back approaches in life, and have shown that when doing work. In Facebook-alization terms, I think I can now also tell a person from his Facebook account. Not entirely from the pictures he or she uploads, or the way he or she updates his personal information, but simply from the different wall posts, picture tags and comments in his or her Facebook account. Ok maybe I can't tell how competitive or how laid back one is, but I can definitely know other stuff like his or her way of life and recent happenings.

The question is of course why is Facebook such a hit. Similarly to how the old boring text-only APRANET was never expected to become the must-have Internet of today, no one had really expected Friendster and Facebook's profiling pages (similar to job-search databases and match-making services) to be such a hit. I guess I would credit this to the same reason why MMORPGs are such hit, and that is because of personal accounts. Alike MMORPGS, well-updated Facebook accounts (or good leveled up characters in MMORPGS) in some way reflects a certain kind of status you hold in society. Therefore, many people log in daily to Facebook not just for updates, but also to ensure that their own accounts or profiles are well-kempt and in proper condition. For example, some people are concerned with whether or not they look decent in photos they have been tagged in, or some people want to chalk up as many friends as possible. I even have friends who key in their full personal information which include their residential address and contact numbers, testament to my point about having a 'proper' profile. There's just this sense of consciousness that 'people are watching'.

This then would of course lead to the cons of Facebook, with personal information too openly available to anybody and everybody. In fact, it's been known that future employers and even parents are using Facebook to check up on future employees and their children. Similarly, everyday social life is affected. It's one thing to know everyon'e birthday to extend your well wishes, but it's another that you can no longer give or receive birthday surprises because you now know that everyone knows your birthday. Also, has it now become an added social responsibility to extend birthday wishes, and will those who don't be differently regarded? How many times have statuses also been casually changed, only to result in a bombardment of questions and doubtful glares eventhough you have tried hard to explain that it was just a casual status change which really meant nothing. Similarly, you give an excuse for missing an outing with a group of friends, only for them to realise you had been out with another group through photos which you have been tagged in. So on and so on .... But the thing is, despite all of us being aware of the many cons, we still do our daily updates and housekeeping of Facebook.

Well of course, much of what I have commented here are based on my own thoughts and observations through the way I use Facebook and how I think others use it. I may be over-generalising, and one can agree or disagree, but I guess this new phenomenon can be so widely argued from so many different perspectives that it properly deserves more detailed analysis from social scientist around the world (I think there already are). Friendster, although still existent, has died down much earlier than I expected simply because Facebook came about. I personally think that Facebook is here to stay for a much longer run, although no one can really predict if a next big thing would come in to replace Facebook's dominance. With the advancements of technology today, who can really argue that something like that won't happen soon?

An Exchange Experience to Remember

2008-12-23T21:11:00.043+08:00

I've been back for a week already, and now that things have pretty much settled down, I guess it puts me in better stead to give a recount of what was another amazing chapter in my life. The entry title speaks much about my overall sentiments for this exchange experience, albeit the many hiccups and blips that came along the way. Probably going to be a long entry, and a messy one in fact, but nonetheless a necessary one.

Going for SEP was never a part of the plan in my university studies. But as we all know, there's only so much in life we can plan for, the rest just falls in place. In fact, university studies was never a part of the plan for my own life, so yeah you get my point. The three letters of SEP only surfaced when a senior of mine mentioned that the one thing he regreted from his journey in NUS, was that he missed out on an exchange experience. So I was determined to not let that happen to me, and seeing how so many of my other friends were gunning for this opportunity, I just had to go for it. Now I'm just glad I did.

The Country - I chose Hong Kong for a number of reasons, with availability of modules and cost as one of the main factors. Mind you going on exchange is not cheap, and I knew the burdens it could bring upon my parents. So as much as how I've heard much comments about how HK is rather similar to Singapore, or how HK is a small and boring exchange location, I would say it is just so not true, and that HK was a great choice, especially with lower cost as a factor. For one, no other country can be similar to Singapore, and adding to that, I think the secret to a fine exchange experience should not be country dependent, as it should in fact come from the mentality you take when you approach this lifetime opportunity. Sure I don't get to see any wonders of the world, nor did I get a chance to experience snow, but it was just the intercultural experience of being away from home that mattered. Exchange in HK was afterall a choice I made many months back, and to live it well as a memorable 4 months of my life, or to blemish it with constant complaints and comparisons, was my choice to make. Of course, I gladly chose the former.

The Language - With Hong Kong comes Cantonese. So I'm glad to say that I've progressed from my only line of 'qi sor hai bin dou', to a Cantonese vocabulary which is now much wider. I would say I more or less can string broken Cantonese sentences together, and looking back at how I didn't even know what the Cantonese equivalent of 'you and me' were, I've up-ed a couple of levels. Then again, the key takeaway would be a better appreciation of our Singapore education system, and how being adequately educated in the English and Chinese language is key to surviving in today's globalized world.

The School - I would say that CUHK is a beautiful university. In some sense it is rather similar to NUS, with lots of greenery, and a fusion of old and new buildings, more old ones too. Then again, what stands CUHK out from NUS is that the huge campus is located on a moutain, surrounded by magnificent landscapes and breathtaking views. In fact, the view from my hostel itself was way better than any view I'd get from any holiday resort. I was lucky to be assigned to New Asia College, as it had the best view, a gym nearby, and to me, the best canteen in the whole school. Then again, with the ups, there's always the downs. I didn't exactly fancy how we had to climb up and down for 20 mins just to get to class on the other side of campus, how slow and unreliable their IT and printing services were, and how we needed to spent at least 40 minutes just to get to central HK.

The Modules - I've written much about this aspect in my previous entries already, but here's just a summation. Results are not out yet, but I think I kinda have a rough gauge of how things would turn out. The communications module was perhaps the closest to what I'd get at home, theoretical but rather informative, and I'm sure it will do my not-so-knowledgable brain good in my honors year. Sociology modules have been a bane for the entire semester, but I survived the ordeal. The locals commented how I was crazy to even dare attempt two level 3000 soci modules in one semester, but well workload was less than desirable, but final exams was easier than first expected. So it kinda levels up.

The two film classes have been great. One like a weekly visit to the cinema, the other an experience to remember. 'The Other End of The Gun' is still being edited and finalised by the editor, director and composer, and hopefully it will really make it to a film festival as promised. The experience I gained, the lessons I learnt, and the people I have met through this project is way beyond what I can describe. With this I gave up much of my traveling opportunities, but if you ask me, it was well worth it. I was given the opportunity today to share my experience with those embarking on their SEP in the coming semester, and when asked where I had travelled during my 4 months at HK, I replied "Only Macau". But the couple of sentences I added was what was perhaps the most whole-hearted sentiments I could share with them ...

"I gave up much traveling time for a bigger-than-expected film project, and thinking back, I'd gladly give up any traveling opportunity for such an experience. So do go out on exchange and try something different, modules which you would have never dreamt of taking, or dared to ever undertake."

The People - One funny thing about this exchange experience is that I only got to know a few of the Hong Kong locals. In fact, I only had the opportunity to work with one of them, as the rest of my project mates were mostly exchange students themselves. So where did the bulk of my new found friends come from? Korea. Not sure if it's the same-age factor, or because both our nations had compulsory national service, or some unexplained chemistry between Singaporeans and Koreans, but I had become very good friends with them. We even formed a soccer team (almost 15 of us), and to me that's one of the biggest things I'm gonna miss about my exchange in HK, the frequent soccer sessions. Probably hung out more with Hansu, who always joined Josh and I for tennis and dim sum sessions, but overall, the Koreans have been a friendly bunch of guys. Sure gonna miss them. Also got a chance to know other Singaporeans better, like Bryan and Elaine, and a few others, and hopefully we can get together some time soon to recap on all the happenings in HK.

Then again, I must admit that things have not been all so rosy like the picture I painted with regards to the Koreans and other fellow Singaporeans. I've said much about smeagol and the other roommate, and how my level of intercultural tolerance has risen. Well things did get better towards the end, and we even went out for some buffet dinner a few nights before I left. Something struck me that night though, when I realised that the both of them had never eaten salmon sashimi before, and smeagol didn't even know that seaweed was used to wrap sushi. I suddenly realised that despite co-habiting in the same room for almost 4 months, we were actually worlds apart. I suddenly realised how lucky I am to be able to savour delicacies from around the world, when my roommates have never even seen sushi before.

Project-wise, I have seen much. To sum it up, my takeaway is not that I worked well with people from different backgrounds and nationalities, but more of how I have learnt to work differently with people from different cultures in the future. I don't want to over-generalise here, but this is what I got from my exchange experience. I have worked with a French guy who dreams and creates big things, but has major management and organization problems. A Dutch guy who gives new meaning to the word 'phantom', and a local Hong Kong guy who dreams big, does small, and does scary self-reflections in front of you. I always have a problem with people who talks to themselves and do something like a self-reflection in front of their friends. There's nothing wrong with doing self-reflections and having occasional talk-to-yourself moments, but in front of your friends? How was I suppose to react I really didn't know. So well, this intercultural experience wouldn't be complete afterall without experiencing some shocking intercultural differences, and this was my fair share of it.

Misses - Through this 4 months, I've missed many things back in Singapore, and also grown to appreciate the many things that we have taken for granted back at home. But now that I'm back home, it's perhaps more of the things I will miss in HK, or the things I've already started to miss. I still prefer the weather in Singapore, although I'll probably miss some of the cool weather and breezes in HK. In school, I will miss the New Asia Canteen, the New Asia Gym, and the view from my hostel. I will miss my Korean friends, and the wonderful soccer moments we shared. Hawker food is still the best, but I will definitely miss dim sum, the Mongkok street side food, fresh egg tarts, honeymoon and xu liu shan dessert, and simple food from the canteen. Last but not least, I will miss the feeling of 'escapism from CAP', as the whole grades and CAP thing will resurface in my life.

On the same note, today was the release of results. It felt rather strange that I did not have any results to check, nor did I have to face any anxiety. But it kinda served as a reminder that I'm back to the grades and CAP 'world', and no longer do I have any backup safety net to rely on. It's just one way forward now, and no turning back. I took up this SEP opportunity in year 2 sem 1 in view of freezing my CAP, but results turned out for the better the following semester and I soon realised that instead of a need to freeze my CAP, I could have strived to pull my CAP up. But after this 4 months, I feel confident to say that the experience gained will be many times more valuable than any A's or A+'s I could have gotten this semester (not saying that I would).

Thank you HK for what was a memorable chapter in my life. Oh and thanks to Facebook, which allows all of us from all over the world to keep in touch. I have had some interesting convos recently regarding Facebook, and it will in fact be my topic for my next entry, the phenomenon of Facebook-alization.

Reunion with the System

2008-12-19T22:41:00.010+08:00

Now that exchange's over, it's back to the all familiar NUS system for me. Well as I am doing my internship next semester, I didn't really have to get down to worrying so much about CAP and modules, till an e-mail came today.

Apparently, there is a major change to the modular credits system for the faculty. All level 4000 mods will now hold a weightage of 5 modular credits, instead of 4. And guess what, these changes will be implemented when I hit my honors year. Great timing! Not sure why these changes came about, but I'm guessing that there has been feedback about the workload, and the school is doing something.

After doing my calculations, I realised that these changes would mean that I can take one module lesser come honors year. Those who have taken 6 modules a semester would know how much 1 module could affect a semester, so lucky old me gets to benefit from this reduced workload.

What's more, the honors thesis will also be readjusted to 15 modular credits, and considering how it held only 8 modular credits prior to the new changes, it's going to change alot of things. In essence, taking honors thesis as 1 module, I'm now left with only 5 modules for the entire 2 semesters of my honors year! This would mean I would have a reduced workload to perhaps better my individual modules, or also mean I could have the freedom to take more modules in case I wanna pull my CAP up.

I used to complain how the juniors were lucky to have the new S/U option thingy, till NUSSU came in to save the day. That new policy itself saved me from S/U-ing a perfectly decent grade, and it also got me listed again. Then, I felt that having 8 credits for an honors thesis was unfair, as the batch after me could get it at 12 credits. Now, Dean's Office not only saved the day, they up-ed it one level better by lightening my honors workload. Now, the greedy side of me wants A pluses to weigh more than just a 5.0, as they should in fact be distinct from As. Anyone to save the day again?

Back Home

2008-12-18T11:31:00.017+08:00

Well I am finally back home. I am still feeling the surreal-ness, although not as much as two days back when I just arrived. Feels really good to be back in sunny Singapore. I was told that it had been raining rather frequently prior to my return, but the last two days has been nice and sunny, like how I like Singapore to be. I'll take that as a nice returning gift.

I finally ... got to see my loved ones, got back to swimming, have a room and toilet all to myself, got to watch cable tv, got to walk down Orchard Road, had my hokkien mee, carrot cake, and the deck's laksa yong tau foo. Only one uniquely Singapore word to describe these. Shiok!

There's still so many things I want to do, so many things I want to eat, and so many people I want to meet. In saying this, I'm already missing some things in Hong Kong. I felt that the ending was a little all too rush.

I spent the entire night before departure with Joshua in the editing room. No doubt a fruitful and satisfying night as we finally completed our film project, but I realised that in the process of rushing our editing, I missed my last dinner at New Asia Canteen! So much food there that I'm gonna miss. I also forsaked my last gym session. The New Asia Gym was probably my second most frequented place apart from my room, and am definitely going to miss the quiet times I had in that nice compact gym. Similarly, I left early in the morning, and didn't get to say goodbye to quite a few friends, some of whom I've shared wonderful times with during this exchange, and whom I may never ever get to see again.

In the taxi to the airport, I felt a tinge of sadness as we exited CUHK. Felt the same when we went by Shatin Plaza, our most frequented mall for the past 4 months. But oh well, all things must come to an end. It was good, really good.

Well I mentioned in my previous post how it's going to take me about a week or so to get back to my lifestyle here in Singapore, and this is why I said so.

I've stood on the wrong side of the escalator on at least 5 different occasions already!
I suddenly realised how small and light our Singapore coins are.
I had to think for a while before I recalled which MRT line Outram Park Station was on.
I looked to the top of the train door to see which station I was at.
I had a strange and unfamiliar feeling when I stepped back into NUS.
I keeping taking a second look into every 7-11 outlet I pass by, to see if they have my favourite chocolates from HK.
I'm still not used to hearing Singapore accents around me. And they're all around now!

Good to be back home :) Reflections of my exchange experience to come. It's probably going to take a little longer than I expected, as there's still so much to do back at home, and I'm putting blogging priority a little to the back now ;)

The Final Chapter

2008-12-14T16:10:00.014+08:00

And so, after 16 full weeks, my exchange at HK is soon coming to an end.

Friday marked the end of assignments and exams for me. Well there's still some editing left to complete within these couple of days, but I see editing as more fun albeit the hard work, so I shall not label it as an assignment. To sum up the final week of exams and assignments, I felt it turned out pretty ok, much better than how I planned it out to be in fact. Last minute again, but I think I managed to throw out some decent stuff to probably get me through safely. Fingers crossed.

Yesterday was spent packing and walking the streets of Hong Kong. It has been a while since we last walked around Mongkok and Kowloon Tong happily eating and shopping, without the worry of school and assignments. Alike a few months back, that carefree-ness was back. But we realised that one thing had changed though, we could no longer use the 'one day we try this' mentality, and there isn't really any days left.

Elaine asked now that I am going back, what's the percentage of happiness and sadness. I would personally say 70% happy, and 30% sad. I am feeling more happy simply because of the many things I miss back at home. It's only after I've come here that I realise how much of a Singaporean I am. I guess I'm just used to the lifestyle at home, good or bad I don't know. A few weeks back I was actually listening to the past National Day songs on YouTube, and realised how much more meaningful those songs appear to be when you are away from home. However, I know I will miss quite alot of things here in HK as well. I have afterall gotten used to the lifestyle here, and will take a week or so to adjust back to the lifestyle back at home. I predict that in a couple of weeks time, my 70% 30% indicators will probably adjust to something like 40% 60% in favor of HK, as I will start to crave for HK food and the not-so-hot weather.

I felt much of the 30% sadness when I was on the train alone today, when it dawned upon me that this once in a lifetime experience to be overseas for almost 4 months, is indeed coming to an end, and such an opportunity may never ever come again. Thinking back, I'm really glad to have been given such an opportunity, and am even more glad I took it.

I will do a more thorough reflection of my experience at HK in the coming few days. So much to say, but don't know where to start. Will probably start tomorrow, lest these thoughts start to fade away within me.

In the Middle of the Night

2008-12-09T23:31:00.005+08:00

I picked up a bad habit of going to the student-run snack shop at the lobby of my hall, for two nights in a row. I knew of it's existence since 3 months back, but refrained from late night snacking, until last night. With the exams tying me down a little, food seems to be one of the only few pleasures left, and I just realised how good it feels to eat hot instant noodles in the cold nights in HK. The amount of late night junk food snacking in the past 2 days, way surmounts the amount for the past 2 months at least. The only saving grace is that I picked this habit up in my final week in HK, and not since the start.

Had my first exam in CUHK today, and totally approached it with a just-whack mentality. Plans to wake up at around 3am to study failed miserably, as I finally woke up 4 hours after I stopped my alarm clock. Consolation was that the paper was a communications one, and I could put to good use whatever communications and media knowledge I had to get through the exams. Again, the safety net factor played a part in reducing any pressure to score (which is farfetched), so I'm just crossing my fingers that all should be fine.

No mood to study for tomorrow's paper though. Have been idling for the whole day already, and despite knowing that there's quite abit to memorise, I still can't get myself to studying. I'm already thinking about post-exam plans.

In some way, I know my plans to have a whole year break from NUS is going to make honours year semester 1 a little harder for me, yet the last couple of weeks have assured me that my current mentality towards studying is not at its best state, and that I'm totally not anywhere near prepared for a full semester of chionging back in NUS.

Exam Period Randomness

2008-12-07T20:02:00.005+08:00

Things never change. Have a deadline tomorrow, and exams in the following two days, and yet I'm doing all the random stuff, and thinking about random thoughts ...

Weather is really cold now, and I dislike it simply because ... I tend to eat alot. Canteen was closed this morning, so I took it upon myself to go to Shatin to grab a bite. In the end 'grab a bite' was an understatement, as egg tarts, pastry, one whole Triple O's meal, 'Kwai Ling Gou' and Starbucks was definitely more than 'a bite'. On my way back I was telling myself maybe I should skip dinner as the day was sinful enough. But I just got back from dinner at the canteen :p

Was YouTubing just now and watched a few videos of my secondary school choir while they were on tour last year. Don't really know which country it was, but I think it's some European country. I had my fair share when I went to London and Paris with the choir in my secondary school days, and thinking back I was really fortunate to have such an opportunity. Quoting from someone, "Young people these days are so lucky. They get to travel, go on exchange ... ... ". It's so true, and although I may not be considered 'young' anymore, I'm glad to be a part of this privileged group.

Was reading the NUS President's letter, and realised that many things in school have changed, or will be changing. There will be a new mini-forum, the health and wellness centre moved out, the vacant space will now provide more study areas, the alumni house is ready and more. Now I'm starting to wonder what else (outside school) has changed back in Singapore, after just 3 months plus.

The Last Lap

2008-12-06T13:54:00.006+08:00

One last lap to go before my essays and exams are done, and then it's checking out procedures before heading back home. It's been really fast, and it's been a great experience, but I guess I shall leave the full recount of this exchange experience till next week, when I finally get all those school work out of my mind.

The last few days have been filled with flashbacks. I saw my orientation dorm roomate and his friend outside the canteen, the same two people who were chatting with me back in my orientation hostel about 3 months back. I recalled just how excited yet unsettled I was feeling back then. I had many plans then, some I fulfiled, some I neglected, and some which even went way beyond what I had expected. But whatever it is, the past few months will definitely be an experience unlike any other I may ever get.

Oh, and I don't usually like to post pictures or videos on this blog space of mind, for fear that it might lag things up, but this is a must! The trailer for The Other End of The Gun, the film project we worked so hard for. A glimpse into why my exchange experience was definitely one unlike any other! Enjoy!

Credit to Derrick Fong for the trailer edit.

The Exchange S/U Equation

2008-12-04T20:23:00.010+08:00

When you have a ten page essay due in about 20 hours time, and you have not started because you can't really get settled down on your topic, you know you're in some kind of trouble. So the only thing to hope for, is that the grades won't really matter, and that you're on exchange. Yay, I am!

With deadlines all around and exams looming, the issue of the S/U option surfaced. I would say it's a simple yet complicated matter. We used to casually talk about how the absence of grades would make things more easy going and relaxed, and how we needn't worry about CAP and such.

Yes, it's true. 'Project Escapism from CAP' has worked really well this semester here at CUHK, as I have practically not thought about my CAP at all throughout the past few months, an amazing feat considering how it's been constantly surfacing in my life for the past 2 years. I have definitely also enjoyed more, and no doubt fatigue and frustrations did occasionally set in, the overall pressure and stress is definitely much less from that at home. Exams are less than a week from now, but I'm not exactly bothered, unlike how I would have started revisions already back at home, or started being worried that I've not started revisions.

Then again, the S/U option is actually a little more complex than what many think. It's only until you get the chance to come on exchange then will you realise. When we tell ourselves to 'just aim for a pass', how do we actually do that? To me, it's a really hard thing to do. How do we know what is the bare minimum to pass? So if I have a 10 page essay, can I just hand in 7 pages, and assume that even with some mistakes here and there, I should safely hit the passing mark? How does one gauge? So when the results come in, and I realised I failed, am I suppose to tell myself 'if only' I had put in a little more? Obviously not, so despite things being a little more relaxed, I'm still telling myself to give it my all whenever possible.

Bottom line is, I see the luxury of S/U not really as an option, but more of a back up safety net. Furthermore, I think it's just in almost all of us to just want to try our best in whatever we do.

Oh, and I just realised that my days left in HK, is even lesser than the number of weeks in my timeline. How time flies ...

Zombified

2008-12-01T17:48:00.014+08:00

I have been zombified while on exchange, having slept around just 6 hours over the last two days. This is so unbecoming of an exchange student, but I guess I still can't defeat my greatest enemy, myself. What's worse is that things will start to get worse till 10 days later.

The last two nights over the weekend have been spent in the editing room until 4 am each night (or morning), as we had to show some rough edit to our prof today. What I couldn't understand was how come everyone knew that we had make-up class today, and knew that we had to present something, and yet I was spending the last couple of nights in the editing room all alone. And amidst all those editing, I had to rush to complete a 50% paper.

I may be someone who is always last minute, but I draw a distinct line between last minute-ness, and nothing-ness. How in the world could they just assume that something magical would appear on the empty black screen today? I knew that there was going to be no magic, and as I just couldn't bring myself to give an empty answer to the prof today, I was therefore confined to the editing room. And to think I have another assignment to submit tomorrow, and I haven't even started.

Fair? Of course not, but I've seen enough over the past few semesters to know that life is never fair. The more gracious side of my inner self has already gotten used to living with all these, yet of course, there's this other side of me which just can't live with the unjust, and is the reason why I'm ranting here on this space.

Maybe I should get some sleep first, and maybe its my turn to wait for something magical to help me ...

Co..Co..Cold

2008-11-28T23:36:00.007+08:00

Before I went to sleep last night, I decided to leave the window slightly ajar so as to sleep comfortably with a nice cool breeze, ensuring that the room doesn't turn too stuffy. Well it backfired, as temperatures dipped to around 11 degrees in the early hours, and I was so cold that I couldnt sleep anymore.

And as of tonight, temperatures at new territories is ranging around 8 degrees. I thought there was maybe some kind of misprint on the observatory website, so I went out with my shorts and slippers to test water. I shouldn't have. Water turned to ice.

I kinda under-estimated the weather in HK. You see the last time I came to HK it was during winter, and temperatures averaged around 17 degrees. But it's only autumn here now, and it's hitting below 10 degrees. My wardrobe doesn't seem to be able to withstand this temperature, yet with less than 3 weeks to departure I'm a little reluctant to buy some warmer clothes. I guess in some sense I will probably be staying indoors much for the next couple of weeks rushing to meet my deadlines, but the problem is my open-sea facing room is freezing as well, despite all windows and doors shut.

It's times like this where I miss sunny Singapore. Then again, the grass is always greener on the other side, and when I'm back home, I'm sure to complain its too hot.

Autumn Cleaning

2008-11-27T21:13:00.012+08:00

It was my free day today, but just as per every semester back at home, I always seem to have this uncanny ability to waste the entire day away without doing any work, despite plenty of deadlines looming. Then again, I did manage to do some spring cleaning, in autumn, and it's only until today I realised how much rubbish I had at my small corner of the room. Unused logistics from filming, loads of paper bags from all my previous shopping, maps and papers which I took when I first arrived ..... and loads more. In some way this autumn cleaning session allows me to get more organized for the deadlines ahead, and preps me better for departure in a few weeks time.

Speaking about autumn, weather in HK is really cool now. It has been constantly around 18 degrees today, and it will reach new lows of 13 degrees in a couple of days. With the university located on top of a mountain at new territories, winds are always ensuring that temperatures are a couple of degrees lower than forecasted. I'm getting more used to this cold weather, eventhough my skin and lips still dries up.

Tomorrow marks the last day of school, and I will be having my last official lesson at CUHK. Was reading some of my previous entries, and it was just not too long ago that I mentioned how eager I was to see what lectures were like here. And now, it's all coming to an end. I guess in some way I prefer lectures back at home, perhaps because I'm more used to it, but one thing I really enjoy here is both the film lectures I have.

Film production lectures are like mini board room meetings every week, informal and relaxed. Film genre class is just watching movies every week, and analyzing them. It's like going to the cinemas every week. I have mentioned much about what I've gained in terms of film production, but in many ways film genre class is much as beneficial and enjoyable, as I've watched films I've never dreamed of watching ever before. From old western cowboy films, to film noirs, to last week's 'Singing In The Rain', which was damn good.

Return flight has been rescheduled and confirmed, and the timeline above reflects the time left here in HK. Met a friend at the bank today, and she asked if I would be traveling, and I said 'no'. It was always part of the plan to travel when here on SEP, but I guess this again shows that not every thing goes to plan. I never did thought that I would miss home that much (eventhough HK has been great), and although I know the one big thing I would regret from this whole experience was that I didn't get to travel, I'm sure there will be opportunities ahead.

Three

2008-11-24T00:01:00.010+08:00

The days which I have waited almost three months for has come ... and gone just like that. Time passed by so quickly in the last three days, and now I'm hoping time continues to travel as quickly for the next three weeks.

For now, after three days of total absence from the books, I must reluctantly shift my attention back to assignments and deadlines. I just want to get them over and done with, and as much as how I know I should cherish whatever is left of my exchange experience, there's this part in me that just really wants to go home. There's no denying, and I will be very honest in saying that there's just too much I miss at home.

Well, I would be calling up the airlines company soon to re-schedule my flight as planned, but now maybe even earlier than I first wanted. I was hoping to spend the time after the exams covering places I've not gone to yet, but within the last three days, I've covered almost the whole TST, the wax musuem, restaurants at corners of HK I would never have known of, and yes the long overdue, Ocean Park! So I guess I've already done quite a fair bit of what I've wanted to do after exams.

Oh, and I only just realised that this coming week is the last week of school. School term seems really short here without week 0, mid term break and reading week.

The Other End of The Gun

2008-11-19T15:02:00.025+08:00

Filming is finally completed. What started out as a mediocre student film assignment had exploded into what I would call a semi-pro film project. It was a huge jump for me, someone with literally zero filming experience, and I would say I have gained much from this entire experience. I had to adapt fast, and not everything went smoothly, but it was definitely something no other exchange experience (to any other university or country) can match.

"The Other End of The Gun" is our film's title. So basically the title reflects the story of our film; a female contract killer who is torn between her 'bad' lifestyle, and the 'good' lifestyle which she really hopes to have. So on the muzzle end of the gun, it's her dark killing lifestyle, while on the other end of the gun, she's actually hoping for a normal lifestyle with kids and a family.

Ironically, as the days of filming went by, the title portrayed a true reflection of the entire production and filming process. On the filming end, things worked out really well, Our friend who directed the film, seriously worked wonders. Weeks back when he spoke about having auditions with professional actors, I was thinking like 'oh right can we even engage any actors to help us, not to mention professional ones'. And then he talked about having scenes with a smoky bar with singers and a killing scene taking place, I went like 'how is that ever going to happen'. But guess what, those two things plus many other amazing things, did in fact happen. We roped in professional actors and actresses, a director of photography and camera assistant, set designers, make-up artist, extras and many others. I've seen most of the shots that I've transfered to the editing room, and they look really amazing.

However on the other end of the gun though, I would say things turned out really bad. I've honestly never worked in such disorganized circumstances, and never felt so frustrated over working with someone before. You see our friend was so focused on the filming end of the 'gun', so much so that he often overlooked the other end, which is the filming preparation and people management aspects. No doubt, what the audience sees is the final edited film itself, but a good film will never happen without all the background support. It's like expecting Arts Camp to happen without the help of the often neglected logistics team.

To cut the story short, he was so engrossed in his actors and how the shots would turn out, so much so that he neglected issues of logistics, food, communication, budget, scheduling and most importantly, team morale. At one point in time he also kinda lost touch with his own sense of humanity, just so as to ensure he gets the shots he wants. This resulted in much unhappiness, and to be honest, the rest of the team simply got frustated having to clear up the negligent mess he made time and time again. Which brings up the same phrase we hear so often in arts club, 'Can a project be considered successful even if it turns out really well, but the process was an unhappy one?'

All this may sound really crude, but that's how bad things really got. And yes I may be someone who can be vocal at times, but this time I went to the extreme as I confronted him many times to highlight these issues. It's one thing that we're both cool with honesty, but it's another that despite my honesty, I can't seem to drill the fact into him that he has to do something about it, apart from just saying 'no way did that really happen?' or 'no way did I really do that?'

Nonetheless, there's always a positive to the negative. I've learnt alot from all this. This experience re-emphasised the importance of proper planning and management, of how important a leader needs to see the 'whole picture' of a project, and not be over-engrossed on one aspect, and I've again seen how good communication is the key to everything. I've also grown to appreciate films more, and all the hard work behind it.

I am also grateful for the new friends and contacts I've gained, and how these wonderful people from all over the world have provided me great insights into what the filming world is like. I now kinda know the entire film production process, the different kinds of filming equipments, and of course, the basic techniques of sound recording, which I was doing for most of the film. I've also seen how the world can be less practical than what I've often observed at home, and people are actually willing to help and do stuff, just simply because they're professional, nice and want to help. No other agenda, full stop.

We were asked not too long ago if we were planning to go into the filming industry, and to be honest for me it's quite a definite no. But whatever experiences gained over the past week or so will definitely aid me in one way or another, directly or indirectly.

It's now time for a good rest. Tomorrow's the day I've been waiting for. My gf is coming to HK! Great timing considering I really needed something to look forward to after that long ardous journey :)

Flustering Few Days

2008-11-15T13:39:00.009+08:00

When I was still sound asleep this morning, one of my room mates received a call asking where he was. Apparently he was already 20 minutes late for some excursion, and the bus was leaving soon. His franctic actions kinda woke smeagol and myself up, and it was not long before smeagol was clear headed enough to realise that he too was late for his class. So the whole room was like in fast forward motion for the next 3-4 minutes before they both ran out of the room, and then sudden silence set in. As I lay on my bed, I thought that what happened in that 4 minutes was a good reflection of my last 4 days.

I was running around alot the past few days for filming pre-production, and I think I practically emptied at least 1/2 of the equipments at the studio into my room. So you can imagine what a mess my room is in now. Thursday came and the whole day was spent on filming, and it kinda zoomed past. And despite having a break in between before we continue filming on Sunday, there's just so much to prepare again for the shoot. I have two soci assignments in between, and I really don't know where I'm gonna find the time to finish them by Tuesday. You see with one foot into the film already, I just want to fully concentrate on it and get a good one out of it. But with that, I really don't know how I'm going to balance it with the other modules. Yup so to sum it up, everything's in a little bit of a mess and fluster now :p

Had dimsum lunch with TK and Josh yesterday, and it was really nice to see TK again after a few months. Just feels different meeting up with a friend in a foreign land, and it was a pity I couldnt spend more time with her as I had something to settle. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the dimsum session!

Oh, and internship has been confirmed! My path towards graduation is now much clearer, and I think the next 6 months is going to be a fruitful and enjoyable one!

Way Too Cool

2008-11-11T00:20:00.003+08:00

The weather is really crazy here. Today's low hit 17 degrees, which means temperatures dipped by more than 10 degrees in the last 2 days. No doubt its cool, but I guess I'm not exactly ready for it, and it came a little too drastically. My skin is drying up, and so are my lips, and I don't even have a single long sleeve top. So maybe it's time to do some shopping tomorrow (after a long while), to get some long sleeves and a lip balm or something.

It's also interesting to observe how the people here are suddenly all dressed differently. Boots, scarf, pull overs, all sorts of sweaters and head dresses. It feels like within one weekend, I'm suddenly in an all new country.

And yes, yet again because of the cold weather, I'm eating just for the sake of keeping myself warm. And that's not good, because it means that I'm eating eventhough I am not hungry. The consequences of this bad habit would of course be dire.

Ouch!

2008-11-10T00:52:00.008+08:00

I was out at IKEA today looking for some stuff for filming, when someone kicked my left feet and resulted in one of my toe nail splitting into half. It hurt so badly, and it bled so much that I seriously thought of just taking the red towel on a rack near me to just wipe the blood. In the end, I just dragged my bloodied feet all the way to the IKEA restaurant to take a huge stack of the free tissues. I'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt that he was carrying his kid, and probably couldnt really see where he was walking. Although I was quite surprised at how he didnt realise he actually kicked someone (so hard), and just continued walking on.

Thats the left feet. The right leg is injured too. Kinda balances it up huh. An old injury which I sustained back in OCS is back to haunt me. The external right knee ligament is starting to hurt again, and now I'm even having problems walking down the stairs. And it didn't help that I still played soccer despite my injury. Probably insensible and not so smart on my part. But oh well, it's just the love for the game.

The temperature totally dipped today, and it averaged around 20 degrees. It's going to stay like this for the next few days at least, before it would get back to the mid 20s again somewhere next week. Well that's what the weather forecast says, and the forecast hasn't been accurate for the past 1 month. The problem now would be that with an injured toe, I can't wear shoes, and putting it together with the cold weather, my toes would freeze! I already felt my toes going numb outside just now.

Filming starts this week, and it's going to be tough, but an exciting journey I'm sure. If there's one thing Josh and I can proudly claim, its that this filming opportunity is one that no other exchange student may get, ever!

It's Getting Hot

2008-11-07T18:50:00.006+08:00

Weather's getting cooler here, but I'm starting to feel the heat ... from school that is. Yes it's still comparatively slacker than usual, but this time there's no denying that stress has started to creep in. I'm starting to think it's not slacker because of lesser workload here, but more because of my mentality towards work as an exchange student. I remember hearing from somewhere that you get like double the marks for half the effort on exchange. That to me now appears to be just a myth.

This week was very packed, assignment on Monday and Tuesday, presentation on Wednesday, pre-production preparations for filming on Thursday, and a major exam today. So, it's pretty obvious I didn't have time to study for the exam. And I probably messed it up big time. Went totally blank after doing 1 out of 6 questions, and now I really have to depend on the final essay paper. Concern now is I may not even have time to come up with a decent paper. About one month from exams, and I just realised the number of assignments in between. Oh dear ...

Filming for our project starts next week, and all of a sudden many people were roped in, and it's turning out to be something big. I started feeling a little tired after the hiccups and workload at the start of the week, but now I'm really excited. Once in a life time ...

Hallo-What?

2008-11-02T18:57:00.009+08:00

It is halloween weekend, and I have sinned. No not because I've been out partying, nor was it because I have been naughty, nor was it because I ate too much. It is simply because I missed out on too much fun. I missed out on halloween parties at LKF on Thursday, I missed out on halloween night at Ocean Park on Friday, and I missed out on a boat trip with the Koreans on Saturday. Instead, I stoned and stoned and stoned the weekend away.

Of course, I can simply say I'm not exactly the party animal to want to go to LKF, and that the gang wasn't available to go to Ocean Park with me, and that I wasn't exactly comfortable with being the only Singaporean on a Korean boat trip, and that I had some tight deadlines to meet next week. But the point is, I totally went against the 'I am supposed to be on exchange and out enjoying' principle. Shucks!

On to other random stuff ...

I'm not someone who really follows the economic downturn, although on the surface I roughly know what's going on. But today I felt the hardest pinch from the crisis, when I drew money from the ATM. The exchange rate was very much lower than what it usually is.

See the timeline at the top of my blog? Apparently week 17 and 18 may not exist now, as exams are ending much earlier at the start of week 16. So I'm kinda left with like 5 weeks here? And with many deadlines in between, it's going to go past much faster. Time flies.

I brought two phones to HK, but for one reason or another both has battery problems. One has problems charging, and the other charges only to a small portion of its capacity. So I actually bought a S$30+ old school phone which looks more like a remote control. Now at least I get the proper reception, my calls home wont get cut off, and I wouldn't have to worry about missing calls.

Don't know why, but as the weeks go by, I'm starting to miss home more and more. I know there'll be much I'll miss about HK when I leave, but for now ...

Week ahead seems hectic. 2 assignments, 1 presentation, and 1 exam, but that very slack exchange mentality won't go away.

Reality Check

2008-10-31T09:32:00.007+08:00

It was a free day for me yesterday, and for the whole of the 15 non-sleeping hours of the day, all I did was to borrow some books from the library for my essay, meet the group for discussions about our film, and squeeze in a short workout. Thinking back, I really don't know how the rest of the hours faded away just like that. Bottom line is, I'm getting really lazy and lethargic.

The free hours yesterday also got me thinking again, and in some way brought me back to reality. I embarked on my SEP journey for a few reasons; to get a great experience, to escape from one semester of NUS hectic-ness, and also to provide myself with some time to think about what's ahead for the next few semesters. And now that November looms, I realised that I don't really have much time left to simply just ponder about what's ahead, but I would instead have to make a decision quick.

I'm going into honors year next semester already, but with the pre-requisite for honors thesis 4101 only available two semesters from now, I would practically have to void the semester ahead, and think of what I want to do with it. I have considered a few options really; serving back my dues in the army, just going ahead with the semester to maybe improve my CAP (or danger of deproving it), to do an internship, or to just simply find a part time job and wither my life away.

Internship's my choice, but being in Hong Kong adds a barrier to this as I am unavailable for interviews. Now I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that the companies get back to me, and that something can be worked out. I saw the job scopes, and its really interesting and I'm really keen on it. A learning experience I wouldn't want to miss, so I'm just being really hopeful now.

The tentative exam timetable was released yesterday, and we all realised how early our papers would end. So in other words, I just realised that my last paper and my original return ticket date is actually 3 weeks apart! I guess I will either go traveling, or maybe shift my return date to a much earlier one. Then again, traveling plans would really have to depend on the internship arrangements, and I wouldn't mind giving up the traveling if I could rush back to squeeze in an interview.

So the issue about internship lingers, the exam timetable is still tentative, and what really is ahead is just a couple of months time, I really don't know. Everything suddenly just seems all so blurry and uncertain.

One Less to Savor

2008-10-28T22:28:00.008+08:00

When we came over to HK, one of the first questions we asked Elaine's local buddy was where we could find Krispy Kremes. I even remember that we specially went all the way to Causeway Bay (and walked a fair bit) just to find the Krispy Kremes outlet mentioned in the guide book, and even ordered a dozen to share among the four of us. The after-thoughts were that it was not as fantastic it was 'supposed' to be, but well I was personally satisfied with my doughnuts.

Since then, we have found many other Krispy Kremes outlet, and started to realise how foolish we were to go all the way to Causeway Bay the first time when there was actually one outlet at Mongkok. So Krispy Kremes became a once in a while affair, and it was better this way too as eating it once every few weeks made it seem tastier each time.

Since our first Krispy Kremes venture, I did raise a point to the others. With Krispy Kreme getting such a big 'hoo haa' back at home, and with it being such a hit in many other countries, I was surprised at how empty the Krispy Kremes outlets here were. Almost every time I visit, there will only be a couple of tables filled. In fact, the only time an outlet was full was when it was pouring at Mongkok, and I guess people were there to just take shelter.

So having heard that Krispy Kremes could not make it to Singapore due to high franchise cost, I was serioulsy wondering how could it actually survive here in HK. Well, I got my answer today. It can't. News just came in that Krispy Kremes in HK just went into liquidation, and have already closed down a majority of their outlets. Oh well, no more doughtnuts. The only saving grace is that the roadside stalls at Mongkok will never close down, and it's something I've really grown to enjoy.

Two and Ten

2008-10-26T21:52:00.010+08:00

Yesterday marked two full months in HK, and tomorrow will be the start of the tenth week. It's been really fast, and while walking along the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR travelators, it occured to me that in some way, I have unknowingly been assimilated into the HK environment.

Just a few weeks back, I was standing on the wrong side of the very same stretch of travelators, observing the speed at which the people here walk, attentively listening out to conversations in cantonese, looking at the different types of advertisements in the station, and basically just quietly observing and experiencing a place unlike home. Now, I just simply walk from point A to B without all the in-betweens I mentioned.

The past week have been much better than mid term week, although deadlines and meetings are still creeping in here and there. I've stepped out of school much more, and have actually had more time for soccer and working out. Marx and Weber presentation was a mini disaster, but well no pressure there (privilege of exchange student again). Filming is starting to show signs of intensity, but it's seriously an eye-opening experience, and I hope all works out fine and well.

Been reading the blogs of those at home, and together with all the MSN nicks and facebook statuses, its obvious that it's that time of the semester again. Well hang in there, and all the best! Oh and if you find yourself playing more games and stoning more during this period, don't worry, it's normal :) It will eventually all work out fine. Cheers peeps!

I Miss ...

2008-10-20T22:22:00.006+08:00

I've kinda lost count, but I think I am somewhere around the mid point of this exchange experience. So being here for almost two months, I've grown to miss alot of things back at home.

Of course, my gf and family tops the list, that goes without saying. And second to them would definitely be my friends, especially the arts club peeps who keep me going in school. But apart from the people, there are just so many other things which I so dearly miss, and its only upon this time of absence from home that I've come to realise how much I miss these ...

Food is up there on the list, as I just cannot explain how much I miss local hawker food. No doubt it's quite a food paradise here in HK too, but hawker food like char kuay teow, chicken rice, bak kut teh, carrot cake and hokkien mee is just uniquely Singapore.

My house, my room, my cable tv and my bathroom. All these with the luxury of privacy! Lying on the sofa watching soccer, surfing the net and listening to music in my room, singing in the bathroom without the slightest worry of awkwardness.

The malls and streets of Singapore. Yes no doubt I used to complain how small Singapore was, and how I was practically walking the same places again and again, but I'm so used to that lifestyle so much so that I'm missing it now.

Believe it or not, NUS. It's only after coming here that I come to realise how much I miss NUS, especially the CNM department. I miss the modules that made so much more sense to me, I miss the lecturers who are in my opinion much better. And yes as ironic as it may sound, I miss the NUS 'system'. For those who frequent my blog, you should know what I mean by NUS 'system'. I guess it's one of those hard to explain love hate relationships. I hated it when things went wrong, when there was a lack of transparency, and when things didn't make sense. But now here at CUHK, it's an all different system in all, and I don't really know (plus don't exactly really care about) what it is. Back in NUS eventhough I wasn't exactly always a fan of the system, but at least I could take time and effort to understand it. Now here, it's just so foreign, and sometimes it just gives me a rather 'lost' feeling.

With all these said, having missed so much back home of course doesn't at all mean that I'm getting tired of HK. I'm still having a time of my life here, and there's still so much I want to see and do. Plans have been temporarily put on hold for these past two weeks (mid terms), but I'm sure they'll gradually resume. Still eyeing Ocean Park, and probably a trip to somewhere nearby.

As for now, back to Marx and Weber and their sociology readings which I have done for almost 5 days, but still get nothing, and presentation is tomorrow! Another reason why I miss my department so much!

Mid Term Week

2008-10-18T20:36:00.004+08:00

The past week was mid term week here at CUHK, and as tienkwan puts it in her blog, the focus of mid terms on exchange doesn't just simply mean tests and assignments, but more of the fact that we are already halfway through our term. Considering that most of the deadlines are packed into the second half of our term, I'm very sure it would whizz past much faster than the first half did. Before we know it, we'll be on our way back home.

Mid terms week was the worse week for me so far here in CUHK, with one test, assignments and project meetings, but the level of stress and fatigue is comparably still far from what I had back home. The only woe I really have now is sociology. In some way I'm really glad that I have learnt alot more about sociology, because in true fact it's quite interesting. But I'm starting to wonder though why sociologists have to write in such a 'hard to understand' way, when the objective of writing was to allow others to read and understand.

Ok that aside, I am really grateful for knowing the Korean guys. Together with them, we Singaporeans have somewhat formed a soccer team, and we're playing regularly every week. We're even taking part in some school league, and have even printed our own jerseys. Well the whole team is actually wearing Arsenal's jersey, wasn't my choice, but I'll go with whatever makes the majority happy. But in my own personal opinion, the league and competition, that's secondary. Being able to play reguarly, be it competitively or leisurely, that's primary.

I had always wanted to play soccer here, so when my college had this soccer trials, I went for it but it didn't work out. Was probably too unfit and not good enough, although I had problems fitting in too as every single thing they said was in cantonese. Even the coach kinda treated us exchange students like we were not there, giving a debrief after the game and just walking off without translating. So after the trials I was thinking, that was it, there goes my plans of soccer here in HK. But now it's all worked out well and fine. Phew!

Work and Weight

2008-10-14T18:35:00.007+08:00

I can conclude that the two variables of work and weight come hand in hand, and they have a very strong correlation. And when applied to me, it is a very strong positive correlation, which means that the more work I have, the more weight I put on.

In a previous entry not too long ago, I attributed the cold weather to myself eating more and exercising less. Well, this time it's the same principle, just that instead of cold weather, it's work. I've been so tied up with work the past few days that I either didn't have time to exercise, or was simply too tired and lazy to exercise. Similarly, because I woke up earlier and slept later, means I deviated from my usual 'no breakfast no supper' practice, and have since eaten much more over the last few days. This is bad.

Absence from school work for the past 5 months has really turned my engine cold, and it's really hard to start it back up. I almost forgot how to do a research paper until only just now when the tutor started explaining how. I think my reading speed decreased, my attention span decreased, and even attentive-ness to school work vanished. Haha so guess what, I actually didn't realise that I had a mini presentation to do in class today. So I unleashed my jtcx-1984 tutorial smoke bomb again (the same bomb I use almost every other semester). Hope it worked.

A simple sentence from a casual talk with my local project group mate today left me feeling a little guilty. He said that the research project we were working on meant alot to him, as it was a high level sociology module. And as it is a module in his major, he really wanted to do well. That woke me up a little. As I have been taking a rather laid back approach so far, it dawned upon me that I should perhaps give in a little more, least I give him the dread-exchange-students-in-your-project-group sentiments I get back at home.

I Am My Own Worst Enemy

2008-10-13T19:09:00.011+08:00

It has been 5 days since my last entry, and believe it or not, the reason is because I have been busy with school work. Haha, and it doesn't stop. I still have two sociology assignments to rush tonight.

I guess it's not really because school here is very hectic or whatsoever, but perhaps more like because I've been slacking so much at the start, that it has all started to pile up now. Well, I wasn't really expected to keep up with my readings every other week while on exchange right? I don't even do that back at home.

So life recently has been practically filming, editing, studying, and assignments. Managed to squeeze a mini soccer session somewhere in between, but that session was probably the only 'break' I had away from academics over the weekend. It didn't help that some minor but persistent flu bug hit me since last thursday.

I just completed a mid term, and despite the test covering just 5 chapters, there was a crazy amount of readings to do. I actually spent a few days on the hundreds of pages needed to be covered, but in the end, I just couldn't cover everything. So I went into the test with an 'exchange student' mindset, by just trying my best with whatever I had absorbed.

The conflict here would of course be why am I actually spending so many hours on my readings, somewhat unlike what an exchange student should or would do. Well, I didn't come here to do well, but neither did I come here to do badly. After all, SEP at CUHK was part of my escapism from CAP. So I am actually finding it hard to draw the line on where exactly is 'enough'. I guess it's also probably just me to want to just give it my best ... so I guess it isn't all that slack as I had wanted it to be.

As the entry title says, my own worst enemy? Myself.

Here We Go Again

2008-10-08T14:31:00.004+08:00

School work is picking up real fast now, and things are starting to feel a little familiar again. Filming, editing, project meetings, studying for mid terms, assignments, loads of readings ... all these within the next 6 days, and it's just the start of things to come.

Here we go again ... but despite all the workload, there's one big difference here. I'm not feeling as pressured and stressed. Finally taking on my role as an exchange 'student'.

Seasonal Change

2008-10-07T02:16:00.011+08:00

I think autumn is finally here! Almost 3 weeks late, but better late than never. Temperatures averaged around 24 to 25 degrees today, and I know some may say it's not THAT cold, but you can't really blame me for exclaiming the arrival of autumn as temperatures have been ranging somewhere between 32 to even 36 degrees since arrival.

For the first time here, the outside of a building was cooler than the inside. The sky turned darker earlier too, and it kinda reminded me of the typhoon a few weeks back. No typhoon this time, not even rain. Having settled down already, it suddenly felt like I was in a different place all over again.

I kinda like cold weathers, something different from home, but there's one huge problem. As Elaine, Bryan and I realised yesterday, we tend to eat much more when we're feeling cold. Much, much more.

We were stuck in a horrible downpour at Mongkok, but that didn't stop us from going on a feast escapade. We always saw Mongkok as the place to shop, especially for our sports stuff. In fact, the bulk of my purchases were made in Mongkok. But somehow or rather, there was not much shopping yesterday. Instead, we braved through the strong winds and rain to actually try new kinds of food. We had like super delicious deep fried and bbq sotong from the roadside stall, we had nice and cooling 'guai ling gao', we tried some cold noodles in a small bag which was soooo good, and we rounded it up by eating warm and yummy 'dou jiang you tiao'. Sinful.

To add to the troubles, I ran for almost an hour and a half today, and I realised I was literally not sweating at all, probably due to the cold weather. Oh dear, this is not good.

Back to the Books

2008-10-05T11:30:00.011+08:00

Tomorrow will mark my 6th week of school here in CUHK, and I guess work is starting to pick up. Looking at the bigger picture, it took me 6 long weeks to actually blog about something related to school work, a stark contrast from the previous semesters back in NUS, and a testament to how relax I've been taking things here :)

I kind of started the engine rolling in the past week already, doing my first set of readings and having a few project meetings already, and even having some sort of a mini studying session with Elaine and Bryan at McCafe. Pace is still rather slow, but at least something's started eh.

Work has been going at a pretty slow pace probably because of the modules I chose, and the way I chose to have my timetable laid out. I am taking two films classes and one communications module for my major, and being a communications major, the irony is that I am definitely enjoying the two film classes much more. One basically involves watching films, and the other producing a couple of short films. I am therefore learning much about film production, the production process, the cameras, the sound, the lighting etc. Definitely something I wouldn't do back at home (due to concerns regarding grades and resources), so I'm relishing every single moment of it.

The remaining two modules are sociology modules, and perhaps my two most dis-interested modules. Nothing against sociology, but the exposure module I took back in year 1 sem 1 kinda scared me off a little. Eventually I still chose to take these two over some psychology and marketing modules simply because I wanted a free day, ease of mapping reasons, and a lighter workload (or so I think it would be). To date, the sociology readings are a chore. Maybe I was wrong, but oh heck, I believe I should be able to survive.

Wonders of The Dragon, Wonders in The Sky

2008-10-02T11:02:00.020+08:00

It was Hari Raya Puasa back in Singapore yesterday, but we had our fair share of an 'off' day here in HK, as it was the Chinese National Day. Under usual circumstances, a public holiday amidst the mid term period would mean an extra day to rush assignments or study for tests, but under exchange circumstances, it simply means another whole day out away from school :)

We ventured off to the eastern tip of Hong Kong island to trek at Shek O Park and Dragon's Back. Similar to what I experienced at Po Toi, there was much climbing, walking and of course, lovely scenery. Again, pictures would tell a better story here, so I shall let my web album do the job. Perhaps the only thing I couldn't really capture with my camera would have to be the cool breeze we experienced up there. It just made us feel like staying up there all day long, enjoying the winds while admiring the scenery.

I really enjoyed the 3 hour hike, as it provided both a good workout, and a breakaway from the city life. I've never really done much trekking or hiking before coming to HK (apart from army navigational exercises), and I'm really starting to wonder why I didn't try this much earlier.

Dim sum lunch soon followed the hike, and there seems to be a similarity in all dim sum restaurants throughout the whole of HK. One word, cheap! The seven of us kinda ordered alot so as to make up for the efforts of our long hike, so much so that towards the end, we were hoping that they would actually forget some of our orders (they really did). So when we were going to settle the bill, we started to guess how much the feast would actually cost, and well, turned out to be just 10 Singapore dollars per person. Amazing! I still don't get why food in general is so expensive here, but dim sum is so cheap. A total opposite from what we're getting back home.

We ended the day at Victoria Harbour, as we squeezed amongst the crowd and waited for nearly 2 hours to catch the National Day Fireworks. It was a truly spectacular sight, and this time, the pictures cannot really tell the story. You really have to be there to experience it yourself. The fireworks felt really close to us, as they were shot out by 3 different ships on the sea just in front of the harbour we were at. The variety of the fireworks, together with the near perfect co-ordination of pyrotechnics and music, was simply unbelievable! We were initially feeling a little tired having to wait for so long, especially after a long day already, but I guess in the end it was all worth the wait. I personally feel that it's the best fireworks show I've seen to date!

While I was standing there in awe, witnessing shots after shots of fireworks bursting up in the HK skyline, many sentiments came through my mind. I was again thinking of how lucky I am to be able to come for this exchange, to experience such wonders, and to feel all so carefree and relaxed. I was feeling really grateful to my parents, and yes to NUS, for giving me such a fine opportunity. Which is why I feel its quite sad that a friend of mine has started to feel a little negative-ly about his exchange, citing his dislike of the size and the lifestyle of the place. It's a real pity considering that he will be carrying this not so positive attitude into the remaining three quarters of his exchange experience.

Quoting from Josh's blog (from Julie's comments), exchange will be over before you know it. So how do you really want to remember this exchange opportunity of a lifetime?

The Marvel of Macau

2008-09-28T13:42:00.010+08:00

After about a month or so in Hong Kong, we finally took our first step out of the territories, into the Last Vegas of the east! What we saw at Macau was intriguing and fascinating. It was a small city of its own, but we actually managed to spend about 14 hours on the island, just walking around marveling at the different aspects of splendor it brought.

After the hour long ferry ride, we took an old school public bus and landed at some touristy central area of Macau. It was streets of shops, just like any other streets you can find it Hong Kong. I wasn't really expecting this, as the myth in my head was that Macau was just malls and buildings of Casinos, but it kinda turned out otherwise. So we just walked and walked, and unknowingly landed up at some residential area of Macua. I always enjoy these kind of 'exploration' walks, as it kinda allows me to observe the different ways people actually lead their lives. From the conditions of their roads, their shops, the food they eat, and the condition of their houses.

We soon landed up at St. Paul's Ruins, and this monument was just a testament to the uniqueness and beauty of ancient Portugese structures. They can actually be found scattered all across Macau, and I believe that it is these structures which make Macau really nice.

Now what's going to Macau without visiting the Casinos, so we promptly did that straight after lunch. And boy was I truly amazed by how their Casinos were laid out. We first entered this hotel Grand Lisboa, and at first sight the hotel lobby really looks like any other hotel lobby, but once we stepped across the security screening area just behind the lobby, the whole of the other side of the hotel was a huge casino. Slot machines and playing tables filled the whole place, and that was just the first level. The second level was even larger. In Singapore, those spaces would be used for function and wedding ballrooms, but here in Macau, every single corner was for gambling purposes. We went on to a few other hotels, and this 'open concept' of gambling was similar everywhere else.

Oh, and I didn't really get to try my luck, as I didn't really find a table with minimum bet small enough for my preference. I wasn't exactly worried about losing money ... I was more worried that with bets too high, my 'experience' of sitting down to gamble at a Macau casino would be too short lived. Bummer!

What really stood out in Macau for us would have to be The Venetian though. The entire place was huge, beautiful and just spectacular. The interior seemed abit like those kinda grand palace interior, and even the mall inside was designed according to some Venice gondola style theme, real nice! The casino was the largest ever, as we couldn't see the end from where we entered, and it was really packed with people (and money too of course). Have some shots of this wonderful place, and have uploaded it in my Picasa Web album.

Speaking about shots, I kinda experienced some photography woes yesterday. You see I am someone who's not really into photography, nor am I in any sense photogenic. And the only reason why I bought my Ixus 50 some 4 years back was probably due to impulse-ness. But it's at times like yesterday at Macau when you really wish you had a good camera (plus good photography knowledge) to really capture all the wonderful things you experience. I felt we saw alot yesterday, and I was really keen to snap everything down for everyone to see, but apparently most of my shots did no justice to the marvel I experienced. There was always this conflict with brightness, blurness, and level of ISO, and shots being too grainy. So in the end, I couldn't really find that perfect balance, and quite a number of shots turned out disappointing. Dang! But as we like to say, I guess the best camera lenses would have to be our own eyes, and the best memory card, your brain!

During the bumpy ferry ride back (still feeling myself swaying as I type this), Elaine asked me how we were gonna pick ourselves back up to 'study mode'. And after a 4 month absence from books before arriving, together with the 1 month of total slackness here, I really didn't have an answer to her question.

First Month in Hong Kong

2008-09-25T20:27:00.005+08:00

It's been a month since arriving in Hong Kong, and time seems to pass real fast. I am definitely feeling settled in already, although I am still getting this touristy feeling once a while.

This exchange experience has been a great one so far, and has definitely lived up to my expectations. A different place, different culture, new friends, new food, a not so hectic school life, an always carefree feeling, and many more sentiments beyond words. This one month here also signifies the one quarter mark of this SEP journey, and I think it will soon be over before I know it.

We're nearing the end of our 4th week of school, and it's only in this week that I had my first project meeting and had my first active participation in tutorials. However, I am still feeling rather laid back about school as a whole.

Oh, and smeagol's tortoise which was running loose under his bed, has vanished! So the situation in my room now is 3 grown guys searching for one lost tortoise. Now I'm feeling a little nervy that I may find a tortoise in my shoes, my bag, my cupboard, or worse, next to me when I wake up tomorrow morning!

Blow Wind Blow

2008-09-23T18:21:00.008+08:00

The street lights came on at 5pm. The clouds moved across the darkening sky so quickly it seemed like I was watching a fast forwarded film. The drizzles got heavier and the winds got crazier. The bus stops were overcrowded, as the shuttle buses came in threes and fours ferrying people to the station and their hostels. Cars with headlights on were speeding down the school roads towards the exits, while people scurried on the streets, most with huge bags of groceries and instant noodles. I was one of them, and alike them I gave up on my umbrella as it would probably have overturned on me anyway.

Typhoon Hagupit has arrived!

Precautionary Warning Signal Number 1 came yesterday evening, and winds only started to come in around noon today. The Number 3 Signal (strong wind alert) was soon hoisted, as thunderstorms started to come in. Winds were going at about 40-60 km/h, and it brought a cool to the weather, as my short journey to the canteen for lunch was the coolest walk I had since arriving.

I had a tutorial at 4.30pm, and I was half hoping that it would be cancelled, but the Number 8 Signal (all classes cancelled upon this signal) never came. So I braved the strong winds to go to class, and as expected, it ended really early. So I decided to climb all the way up to the school supermarket to stock up on some food, but when I reached there, it was total chaos. Apparently the queue went one round around the whole supermarket, all the way to the exit. The different isles were all crowded, and when I finally managed to squeeze into the instant noodles section, guess what, the shelve was almost empty. So I gave up, braved the storm again, and went all the way back down to the 7-eleven at the MTR station, before making my way back to hall. Newspapers and boxes were flying across the streets, as my footsteps quickened. Apparently, Signal 8 had already been hoisted.

The winds outside are crazy now, as you can practically hear it whistling and pushing against my room window. The sky actually turned pitch black at around 6.30pm, and its pouring like mad. Now all of us are just wondering how long Hagupit would stay, and whether or not there'll be classes tomorrow.

Living in Singapore all my life, I have had the luxury of being protected from all forms of natural disasters. So when I heard that a typhoon was coming in HK's direction, I was kind of like waiting in anticipation to see what it would be like. And now that it's here, I would have to say it has been a really eye-opening experience, both the typhoon itself and the observation of reaction from the people here. As Bryan puts it, this brings new meaning to the term 'exchange experience'.

Long Overdue Photos Up

2008-09-22T08:19:00.005+08:00

I've succumbed to my laziness, to the chore of using photoshop, and to the huge number of photographs piling up in my folder. My initial plans of using photoshop to do a weekly photo journal has failed miserably. Thankfully, there's still this wonderful invention called Picasa web which makes it a thousand times easier to upload my photos, so I shall rely on that :)

Click on the link near the top right corner of this page, or visit http://picasaweb.google.com/jeremyteocx. Oh and Bingde, I have to thank you for this. Because it was your msn nick which reminded me of picasaweb :) And also thanks Josh for some of your photos.

From the Streets to the Islands

2008-09-21T18:50:00.010+08:00

I took a break from the HK streets and malls yesterday, as I went on a tour organized by the school to Po Toi and Lamma Islands. We were told that we would be having a short hike at Po Toi, before a seafood lunch and short tour of Lamma. But we were in for a surprise, as the short hike turned out to be 2 hours long!

The hike left us all sunburnt and exhausted, but it was a good workout. The beautiful scenery and occasional cool breezes kinda made up for the soreness in our feets, and I got quite a few nice shots of the scenery. We were told by the tour guide that not many people (even the locals) know about this island, so well I guess we are the lucky few who can claim to have gone to the southern most island of HK.

As for Lamma, seafood lunch was so-so, as I guess we couldn't really expect to get the best of seafood since we went as a large guided tour group. Could kind of tell that the restaurant was serving their simplest dishes and smallest sized seafood, but oh well, we didn't exactly play alot for the trip, so we probably got what we paid for.

As I said, this was a good break from the usual streets and malls. The guys have always said that we are 'done' with HK, as we are going back to the same places again and again. In some ways I agree with them, but not entirely though. Despite visiting most of the more popular places already, there are still many streets and other less-popular corners of the island we have yet to visit. There is also is still Macau, Lantau, The Peak (at night), Ocean Park and Disneyland. Furthermore, even if I return to a same area again and again, the people, things and atmosphere will somehow be a little different each time I go. So in other words, I don't think I will ever be completely 'done' with HK.

On a side note, my modules have finally been settled, and thank goodness all went well. I have also gotten the necessary mapping approvals from NUS, so mapping troubles aside till I get back! Rovers finally won yesterday, halting a horrible run. It was almost another disappointment, but a late late goal made the weekend a much happier one for me.

Three's a Breeze

2008-09-19T11:21:00.005+08:00

Today marks the end of the third week of school, and with mid-autumn taking away at least 3 lectures and 2 tutorials, the week was pretty much like the previous two, relaxed. I must admit though that this leaves me a little worried as since the start of school, I have only read 2 pages of my international communication book, and the next most number of pages I've read is from the book called 'Essential Cantonese Phrase Book'.

Some assignments and mid terms will start springing up, but well, I'll live the days as they come by. Really grateful for what I'm having here, as chats with Chen Guo and Sancia yesterday, together with all the blog posts, msn nicks and facebook statuses, gives me a good gauge about the current stress level at workload back in Singapore.

Just saw some facebook pictures from AGM which happened last night, and it all seems so fast. Kudos to the 28th for a good term, and finally being able to step down. On a personal note, the odds were always stacked against them, and their greatest enemy were always 'critical views' from the outside (from the 27th and myself included). But they themselves will soon understand this aspect of 'can't help but be critical' when the 29th's term kicks in. Some things cannot be undone, and some impressions cannot be changed, but they came a long way, and have in my opinion as a whole MC achieved much more than was expected of them.

On a global level, there seems to huge turmoil around the world. Banks are failing, and babies are ailing. The banking and financial situation looks really bad, and although I have no knowledge about banks and the financial markets, I have read enough to know that it will take at least another 2-3 years for the situation to stabalise. All the news have been surrounding the concerns from traders and world banks, but if we scope it down a little, another main worry lies within the universities. My friends from finance and econs are starting to get a little worried, as most of them are looking to the banking and financial industry upon graduation in about a year's time. Then again, I'm sure the effects will also be echoed to the other industries.

Intercultural Understanding

2008-09-17T12:19:00.005+08:00

I came into SEP with an open mind, hoping to learn more about cultures from abroad, and hoping to correct any misconceptions I had about certain cultures. It is however one thing to learn and experience, and another to fully understand and accept.

Why this entry? One word, Smeagol. Apparently Smeagol has tested and improved my level of tolerance, and in honest opinion, opened my eyes on how cultures (and way of life) are in fact really different. Apart from the usual zi yan zi yu-ness and singing aloud in the room, he took it a step further yesterday and today.

He was playing counterstrike last night on his laptop, and I wasn't sure if he was playing some grenade map or if he was using some shotgun or something, but he kept going "ka-pow!", "ka-boom!", "boom ... wah hao shuang ah!". No doubt, there's nothing wrong with being engrossed in your game, but something is definitely wrong if you repeat those few phrases at least a couple of hundred times within an hour, and shouting aloud while doing that. You know it reminded me of those times when I was a little kid, playing my small plastic toys, and going like "cheee-ba-bom!".

And this just in, guess what he is doing while I am typing this. He just washed his clothes, and is squeezing dry the water from his clothes into the dustbin! Hmm ...

Anyway, I will be going out to Po Toi and Lamma Islands this coming Saturday, and I am looking to go to Macau too! Some of the exchange students went to Macau over the long weekend, and there were saying it was really good. Hopefully we can get a hotel there, and at least spend a couple of days on the island. I had initially also signed up for some rural teaching trip at Zengcheng, and I was kinda looking forward to this experience. But apparently the quota was rather limited, and I didn't get it. Dang!

Josh has blogged about the rough process of module allocations here, and as much as how I have not really complained about it, things have been pretty rough for me too. I have failed to get my elective modules in the last 2 phases of module allocations, and the results for the final round will most probably be out by today or tomorrow. I am praying that all turns out well.

Bad Habit - Money Like Water

2008-09-15T12:14:00.013+08:00

This is so wrong but for the last few days, I've been doing something I so rarely do in Singapore, or for that matter something I so rarely do all my life. Shopping. Many of my friends call it retail therapy, but the problem is that I do not really have any theraputical needs, so maybe it's just a bad habit.

Maybe it's because I'm getting this 'since you're abroad just spend' mentality, or because things are really much cheaper here, but this is unhealthy. For the past few days, the gang and I have gone shopping at many different areas (especially Mongkok), and we have never failed to come back with a new purchase every other day.

Since arriving, I have bought things from shoes and boots, tops and shorts, to misc stuff like water bottles and CDs. Just yesterday, I spent the most on one single item, my all new 08/09 blackburn rovers away jersey. I am feeling the pinch from all the money that I have spent, yet again it gives me a good sense of satisfaction. There is also still one more thing left on my 'shopping list', that being a nice bagpack. I see myself getting one real soon.

Now those I mentioned above were all so called 'luxury purchases'. There's still the living and traveling necessities, books, hostel fees, and not to mention, rather costly food here in HK. I so need to keep my finance in check.

Random stuff. Mid-autumn is a public holiday here, so there's no lessons on my most packed day of the week today! Apparently my triple room has become a 5-person ... err 5-living things room, because Smeagol brought back two tortoises and he's letting them run loose in the room! Smeagol still sings aloud and talks to himself, and it's still scary. School work and module allocations are much kinder to me, and hopefully all will settle in my favour when it's all confirmed next week. Rovers are on a bad run, and they'd better buck up if not I'm going to make a huge lost for the jersey just purchased.

That's The Life

2008-09-12T20:00:00.005+08:00

There were occasional cool breezes, as the morning sun which shone above was partially shaded by the dispersing clouds. Just a few footsteps away on the opposite side of the fence, the usual morning crowd was rushing to and from class. On this side of the fence, I sat under a giant green umbrella, glancing left and right as Josh and Hansu exchanged strokes. In my left hand, I held a packet of chilled juice, and in another, I juggled a tennis ball. I leaned back into my seat, took a sip, turned to Josh and said, "That's The Life".

The above paragraph very much describes life here so far after two weeks of lessons, and it very much satisfies one of my main reasons for coming for SEP. I know as the weeks go by, work will start to come in, and things will change a little. But at least I'm sure that it will never reach the level of 'hectic-ness' I experienced for the past four semesters.

On a side note, Elaine said something which was rather thought provoking. I would sum it up using two scenarios of 'slacking'. One, to slack by skipping class, and then studying harder later to catch up when the assignments and exams come. Two, to attend all lessons, and then go into assignments and exams without doing much revision, banking simply on what you have absorbed in class. Question is of course, which is better (slacker)?

The Joy of Going Solo

2008-09-09T19:46:00.002+08:00

It's only today that I realise how much I miss having a single room all to myself. This room mate of mine is getting scarier by the day. He talks alot, but the scary thing is that keeps talking to himself. This zi yan zi yu-ness of his is getting scary, so much so that when he really talks to me, I never respond because I don't know if he's doing another 'smeagol', you know ... like talking to his 'other half'.

Smeagol talks to the other room mate more often because the other guy is also from China, but I think smeagol just pissed him off today. The other guy was sound asleep, when smeagol started singing real loudly with his headphones on. And to be blatantly honest, it was screechingly horrible. The other guy woke up, gave a look of frustration, and went out of the room. Thank goodness I have a good pair of apple earphones.

Well that's for solo room. On to something else, solo outings! It's fun to go around the island with company, but sometimes it's really nice to just go around by myself, getting lost and finding my own way around. My first solo adventure a few days back was at Tsim Sha Tsui, walking around harbour city, the roadside streets, and watching the symphony of lights. It wasn't exactly very 'wow', but nonetheless still nice! I thought it was a really smart use of their financial district, and the coordination of the lights with the music at victoria harbour was really good. It made it seem like the buildings could really talk to each other, despite being hundreds of metres apart.

My second solo trip today was much more exciting. I finally found the famous 'heng xiang' lao po bing my mum and gf talked. It was at Causeway Bay Sogo, and of course, since I was all the way there already, I just had to eat krispy kremes again (yes putting on more and more weight!). I realised that the orginal glazed one was actually much nicer than the flavoured ones. The gang keeps saying that krispy kremes is a little over rated and a little below expectations, but I personally still think its quite good.

I then made my way around Causeway Bay, IFC mall, getting lost, before I finally found the mid-level escalators. Apparently it's this long stretch of escalators running through a few streets on this mountain, with each street higher than the previous. The shops were mostly cafes, bars and chill out places. So I just took the escalators all the way up, and when I reached the end, I kinda didn't know where I was. I could have gone down the stairs back to where I took the mid-level escalators, but I decided to take 'the path less travelled', and officially got lost! Haha I landed up in some rich apartments area, so I followed some ulu path next to the winding main road all the way down the moutain.

But guess what, it was a blessing in disguise, as I landed at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Apparently it was free, and eventhough it was just a small park-like zoo with one small reptile corner, one mammals section and one aviaries section, I kinda found it interesting. I stood there for almost half an hour (with wild squirrels jumping above me) watching the different kinds of monkeys swiniging around freely in their gigantic cages, before I made my way to the aviaries section. They had a whole range of bird species, and it was quite a sight. Eventually, I landed up at this big open space with a fountain at the centre of it, and it was only then that I started cursing myself for not charging my camera battery before I came out. I eventually only managed to squeeze in one shot of the pink flamengos, before my camera died on me.

After I came out of the Gardens, I actually realised that I was just a street away from the peak tram. So knowing where I was then, it marked the end of my 'hor-lan' adventures. Till my next solo adventure!

Glad to be a Singaporean

2008-09-06T00:19:00.003+08:00

I had always wanted to go on SEP to experience a different culture, taking a break from a lifestyle which I have been so used to for the past two decades. And now having stepped out for week or so, the biggest takewaway I got is not from this new culture I experienced in HK, but more of the realization of how much I have taken what I have at home for granted. It's during these times that you really appreciate what you have at home, and feel glad to be a Singaporean!

We seem to have the luxury of almost everything in Singapore, and apparently many of us don't realise this. No doubt we do not have krispy kremes and H&M like what they have in HK and other countries, but we still have other 'substitutes' along those lines. In terms of food, we have almost everything back at home. When speaking to Hansu over the last few days, we realised that he has never tried Singaporean food, never tried dimsum, mooncakes and much more. No doubt some of these food I mentioned belong to the chinese tradition which is common in Singapore, but that aside, we actually have a fusion of food choices from all over the world, and not every country has that luxury.

Food and shops aside, I am so grateful for the languages that we have learnt since young in Singapore. Having English as a first language, and mandarin as a mother tongue has helped me so much here in HK. In terms of school, I sometimes wonder how the locals (those who are poorer in their command of English) and the other exchange students (from countries where English is not their first language) can cope with lectures. I can sometimes feel the anxiety and worry that they have just by looking at the frowns on their faces when the lecutrers and tutors speak.

Similarly, when out in the streets here in HK, despite my horrible attempts to converse in cantonese, I can always fall back on English or Mandarin. My proficiency is these two languages have never once failed to ensure my survivability here in HK. And even when someone speaks to me in cantonese, there is this chance that I may understand parts of the sentence, simply because cantonese has some relation to mandarin. Again when comparing to our counterparts who are not as fluent in English, and have no knowledge of mandarin at all, its so hard for them.

See, so to those who keep complaining about being Singaporeans, think twice. As josh, elaine and I always say in HK, you gain some, you lose some. For every 'not-so-good' we get as a Singaporean, theres always a 'good' like the many that I have mentioned.

The last few days have been sports, food, more food, more self-guided tours and books. Sports being one attemp at running around the school, a few rounds of tennis, a few games of 8-ball pool and quite abit of table tennis. Food being more dimsum, more local food, and more krispy kremes! Tours being exploring new places like Yau Ma Tei, Temple Street, Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, and City University (which really looks like a shopping mall with students who dress really well).

Books simply being the start of lectures and tutorials. And oh all the talk about SEP being slack and whatsoever, you know what .... it's so true (for this week at least). When people are going for lectures, we are playing tennis and going for dimsum. When my roommates are studying, I go to bed. When people are paying attention in class, I think of where to go after class. When people are spending their nights in the hostel rooms, I come back around 10pm every night after touring the HK streets. Well maybe all this 'slackness' is due to the fact that I haven't really gotten all the modules I wanted, so workload is still kinda light. We'll see as the weeks go by, as I certainly need to remind myself that I am afterall still an exchange STUDENT, and not a tourist.

Lectures Abroad

2008-09-02T12:03:00.002+08:00

Lessons at CUHK started yesterday, and my very first lecture abroad actually ... didn't happen. Apparently the lecturer had some personal issues to settle, and didn't turn up. Great start huh. Second lecture was much better, although nothing really went in, and I'm starting to wonder if my brain has really rusted after 4 months.

Similarly, today's marketing lecture was kind of cancelled, although we did form our project groups. I do have to say that yes, the locals here are much more friendly and receptive than us back home in Singapore. This danish student and I were the only exchange students in the class, and guess what, a group actually initiated to have us join their group. I know I can't speak for all Singaporeans, but I think most of us back home would tend to shun away from the foreigners, worrying that they will be future phantom group members. And yes, I'm guilty of that too.

Modules are all a mess now. Apparently everything will only be settled and confirmed by the end of next week, and I am actually going for lessons which I may not be taking, and also missing classes which I want to take but haven't gotten. There goes my plans of settling my modules and timetable asap.

It has been scorching hot since the day we arrived, but it rained last night, and is raining again today. Weather starting to cool down, and season changing perhaps. Apparently my room view allows me to forcast the weather for the next hour or so. If the sea turns rough, and if I can't see the outlying islands anymore, means its raining heavily over there, and its coming here real soon.

One Week Just Like That

2008-08-31T23:54:00.004+08:00

Very quickly, tomorrow will mark a week in hong kong already. Day by day, I'm getting more used to life here in hk. With this said, I'm getting lazier in terms of blogging and taking photos.

As the days go by, I think it will be harder to really account for each day's activities, so I will perhaps do a photo journal summary for each week, starting from the one that has just passed. Haven't really thought of how I'm going to go about doing so, but I promise to get something up by mid week. Photos will be courtesy of josh, and some from my own camera of course.

I just realised that we have been out till very late for almost every single night since arriving in HK, and we have really walked alot. We have gone to Shatin, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, Central, Causeway Bay, Victoria Harbour, The Peak, and many more, but there's still so many more places we haven't covered. Furthermore, we haven really covered the entire places of the areas I just mentioned, so there's lots lots more to cover.

School starts tomorrow, and I am actually interested to see what lessons are like here. Josh and I just realised that it has been about 4 months since our last lesson in school, and that is equivalent to almost one whole semester! Amazing.

My canto level has improved from -2 to perhaps -1 or something like that, as I have managed to learn from basic cantonese words over the past week. Still can't really converse, and am still giving the 'huh?!' look to the people who speak to me in canto, but well there's at least some improvement. Really hoping to up my level in the weeks to come.

Settling in All Over Again

2008-08-29T13:58:00.003+08:00

Yesterday was yet again more administrative stuff, before going for a welcoming dinner at Tsim Sha Shui. Food was not bad, and including the buffet lunch that was provided, yesterday was officially the day which I ate the most after 4 days or so in hong kong. Time to hit the gym.

The highlight of yesterday was the pub and karaoke session with the 'Singapore gang'. It was time well spent together, as I'm sure it kinda brought all of us much closer to each other. Oh and karaoke in HK, real cheap! The simple games and drinks at the pub was fun and nice, and the singing was good and crazy too. And to think we just knew each other for about a day or so. Am feeling very tired now after my first stayout night in hong kong.

As for today, it was finally time to move to our permanent hostels. We could finally unpack all our stuff and feel really 'settled down'. After moving in to my perm hostel, I personally think that the idea of having orientation hostels for the first few days is not all that good. I kinda felt settled in during the last few days at the orientation hostel, and now that I have moved to another new place, it feels like I pressed the reset button and have to get myself settled down all over again.

Josh and I got assigned to New Asia College, and after going around the whole school, I would say we probably got the better one. Although it's way up high, the view is good. Morever, the school of communications and journalism is also located at the college, and there is a nice gym nearby, so its all good and convenient. Then again of course, with pros, there are cons. My room view is erm ... 'ok', as about half the view from my room window allows me to see the see the sea and some other islands. Josh has got a much better view at the other side of the building, and he's at a much higher level. But oh well, I shall attempt to console myself with the fact that I won't be spending too much time in my room. There's just so many things out here in hong kong I still wanna learn and explore.

With that said, the real concern is far from the view and where my room is, but more of my room mates. I actually got a triple room, and I'm a little worried about that. One of the locals have already moved in, although I haven't got to meet him yet. I really hope they are nice people, as I hope to learn alot about the hong kong culture from them.

Now that I have to re-settle into another new environment, the 'mixed feelings' I got a few days ago is back again. I am also feeling a little overwhelmed by emotions, as I'm missing my gf and home very much. As my friend said, it's the distance factor. Eventhough I spent lots of time away from home even when I was in Singapore, the feeling is so different as I am now in faraway hong kong.

Time to settle my modules, before I get some rest to recharge myself. To everyone at home, take care!

The Real Meaning of Exchange

2008-08-28T00:52:00.006+08:00

Before I go on about today, I do have to say that blogger is not all that friendly when it comes to uploading photos. It kinda messed up my alignments, so I will not be adding photos. Maybe I shall turn to facebook or something. Josh has some nice photos at his new hk blog, and you can find the address in his msn nick. Oh, and his camera and shots are way better than mine, so I guess it would probably be better to look at his photos. The awesome view I mentioned about in my previous entry can also be found on his blog.

As for today, it wasn't really about where we went, but who we were with. Almost the entire day was spent at the lecture hall listening to talks and administrative stuff, but I'm glad we got to meet a few other Singaporeans from SMU. And guess what, one of them is actually my closer poly friend's gf. Again, it's a small world after all. She also told me that my friend will be coming to visit her in hk in a couple of weeks time, so I would get to meet him too! It's been a really long time, and I'm looking forward to catching up with him. The good ol' days we had in poly!

Dinner tonight was at some 'cha chan ting' at Tsim Sha Shui, before we headed to Victoria Harbour and the Avenue of Stars. Wonderful night view of the hong kong business district. It was also a little different tonight, as our usual clique kinda expanded. We had a few other exchange students for company, from korea, america, taiwan, and I think a few other countries. It was really nice to just chat with them while we walked along the harbour, getting to know more about them, their cultures and their countries. And yes it's true, the foreigners are really amused and amazed by Singlish.

So all in all, not only did we get to meet up with our counterparts from SMU, but we had a whole lot of interaction with the foreign exchange students from the many different countries. Now thats what exchange should really be about, meeting new people both from home and abroad, and getting to know more about each other. I'm sure more of such opportunities would soon follow, and I'm really looking forward to the rural teaching trips coming up soon. Will explain more about that in time to come.

Oh, it has been 3 days already, but we realised that we hadn't really eaten as much as we thought we would. We haven't really had a single breakfast in HK yet. We ate dim sum yesterday but I'm sure we could have eaten much more. We only ate KFC egg tarts (yes its KFC!) for dinner last night, and today was simply canteen food and a bowl of noodles at the cha chan ting. So far still no krispy kremes, no 'lao po bing', no roadside stalls, or no other snacks, and the closest we came was the dessert we had yesterday. Maybe its because we are still settling in, and are still unsure of where we can really find good food. But oh well, considering that we haven't really started our exercise regimes yet (apart from climbing stairs and slopes), it's probably best that we didn't eat too much.

Last but not least, photo count for today, zero. Reasons being dirty camera lense, not so good camera, laziness and that same old mindset of 'we will come back soon, so sure can take picture one'.

I'm in Hong Kong!

2008-08-26T23:13:00.020+08:00

It has been eons since I last blogged, but now that I'm heading into an all new and exciting chapter in my life, I so have to blog about it, both to update the people around me and for memory keepsake. I wouldn't be adding much pictures, or any at all for this entry, one being a little lazy, and two being someone who does not take much pictures anyway. Of course, I will still try to upload whatever I have, maybe some here and there in the many HK entries to come, and maybe the rest in some online photo album.

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First day, well thanks to all who came down to see me off, especially the arts club gang who stayed over at the airport. It was a really nice gesture, and I really appreciate it. Was feeling really sad at the departure gate, and it was only at that moment that it dawned upon me that I was leaving the country for almost 4-5 months. I was not going to see my gf, my family, my friends, and the all so familiar surroundings for a really long time. It was so unreal, and my emotions were just all so mixed up.

The flight was personally rather bad for me, not because the service or the aircraft was bad or anything, but simply because I started to feel the 'sickness' I had from the previous day. I started feeling my throat going bad again, and started feeling feverishly cold again. I even had to trouble the stewards and stewardesses, as I asked for warm water for about 10 different times throughout the 3 hour plus flight. Thank goodness the Kungfu Panda screening made the trip a little more bearable.

The rest of the day was spent lugging our heavy luggages to CUHK, settling in our orientation hostels, and settling all the administrative stuff. It was a kinda long and hectic process as I spent the entire afternoon settling down. The slopes were horrendous too, and I promise never to complain about NUS slopes or stairs ever again. They are nothing compared to CUHK's. Haha, it's really funny because tien kwan was complaining about slopes at korea not too long ago, and cherie too at australia, and now here I am complaining in HK too.

The rest of the day was spent out with the usual clique, elaine, josh and myself. Thank goodness elaine had this CUHK buddy, Irene, who was super welcoming and super friendly, and she took the entire day off to bring us to CUHK, bring us out for dinner, tell us more about HK, teach us some basic canto and settle all the miscellaneous stuff that we had to settle. She made the settling in much more easier for us, and this despite her having a really bad throat. Hospitality to the highest level!

It was a tiring first day, and it really didn't help that I was feeling sickly for the whole day. The fatigue, sickness, the many many administrative stuff to settle, and mixed emotions I still had at the end of the day, left me feeling a little bit ... lost. Not the best way to start my SEP, but oh well, I believe things will be much better when I recover, and when I continue to settle down.

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Second day. Had a good night's rest at the comfort of having a double room all to myself, as my room mate hadn't come into HK yet. The good rest made me feel a little better today. We took a self-guided tour round the campus, and I got a good look at where my permanent hostel is. It's right on top of the mountain, and the view is just awesome. For this I'll let the pictures do the talking, when I do upload it of course. Now I am just hoping I get a room with a good view.

We headed to Shatin for dessert, authentic HK dessert! I just had to try the mango sago, the one I always eat in Singapore. The HK one I ordered had some tofu pudding with it, and I thought it was real nice. I wasn't sure if it really tasted good, or because I knew it was authentic HK dessert, or simply because I was feeling much better today, I really enjoyed that bowl of dessert. Irene then brought us to some shopping centre around the Mongkok area to eat dim sum! Our first go at HK dim sum! Haha, sorry gang josh and I didn't bring the huge chopsticks with us this time, but there'll be plenty more chances, and I promise to post pictures of us eating with those chopsticks. Dim sum was good, and cheap too! More to come for sure.

After dim sum, we took a walk round Mongkok. Didn't really do much shopping, as I guess we were more interested in just walking around experiencing the HK streets. Haha we kept telling ourselves to not act like tourist, taking pictures everywhere we go, going into every shop and looking at everything, because we have another 4 months to do so! So in the end, we just dropped by some shops here and there. I must say though that I am really fascinated by the number of shopping centres in HK, and the size of their shopping centres. We have gone to a few already, but the one that really caught my eye was Langham Place. 13 different levels of shops, super long escalators, and very nice ambience and architectural design with a good variety of shops.

Well orientation starts tomorrow, and it's filled mostly with talks and administrative stuff. Sounds a little boring, but oh well, there's the all important module registration, so we can't give it a miss. I am really hoping to get all this module mapping hassles out of the way as soon as possible. Meanwhile, more canto lessons, as I am hoping to have my first canto conversation without giving the 'huh?' look. The culture shock I kinda felt yesterday and at the start of today is slowly starting to fade away, as I'm looking forward to the days at HK!

Just What For?

2008-08-03T17:24:00.004+08:00

What was unity in diversity, turned out to be diversed dis-unity. Fingers can be pointed, and to each his own reasons for certain actions and reactions, but seriously, what is all these happening for?

Some good pointers were brought up pertaining to my previous entry. Different situations may call for different responses, and some may feel that my take on the issue was perhaps too simplified, but I still hold by the main point I was trying to bring out. Whatever the situation is, can 'respect' really afford to be totally absent?

And apparently, the haunting has come much earlier than I expected, and in a much greater force than I anticipated. What's worse? It doesn't stop here, and there's just no turning back. And to think I tried to put across the point on the dangers of undermining the importance of the people.

On a side note, the YOG games village will no longer be held at the NUS University Town. The rising cost in construction worldwide was cited as the main reason, and NTU will now be hosting the village. No doubt the reason is a valid one, and the decision may be for the good of the YOG as a whole, but I'm sure that it would be a big blow for NUS. There goes the perfect opportunity to have the whole world's sporting and media spotlight on NUS.

Leader

2008-08-01T12:00:00.004+08:00

Very obviously, something sparked me to write such an entry.

So what is a leader? Simply break the word up to lead-er, and the word lead stands out. So of course to be a leader, you need to lead people to accomplish or achieve a certain task or goal.

Noticed how I bolded the word people? What is a general without his men, and what is a leader without his people? Simply nothing. Leadership is never about the leader himself. Its about understanding those under you, and vice versa. So what if you have an idea, but can't translate that idea to your men? So what if you are strong on your stand, but can't get your men to understand, and support you on that stand?

A leader has to earn the respect from his people to be able to lead. If you really think that it doesn't matter whether anyone respects you, or if you think you don't give a damn about what others think of you, I'm telling you straight up you're so wrong. It will come back and haunt you, that I guarantee.

So what if you are the leader of a project, and the project goes well? Did you gain the respect of your people under you? Did you lead them to success, or could they have even done it without you? If so, how much of a 'leader' are you?

A Long Chat with Mum

2008-07-26T11:27:00.007+08:00

I always feel very blessed to have my mum and dad working in the corporate sector for years, as they are always able to provide me with a great perspective on issues pertaining to the working world. Just had a long chat with mum, which in fact is a very rare thing considering how busy we usually are, and I was speaking to her about the job market. I've always looked up to mum for her experience and critical thinking ability, and for all that she has gone through in life. Again, she provided me with great thoughts and encouragements, going through the different options for me, and weighing the pros and cons of each. I also talked to her about some of the possible plans I had for the future, and she was real supportive. With that assurance, I feel more comfortable with what's ahead. You know, often we get differing views and opinions from friends, but nothing beats views and opinions that come direct from the mum. It also helps that mum is always neutral and unbiased in her stand.

Mum adviced me to take what others say with a pinch of salt, as what really matters should really be what I feel is right. That is so true. I still remember how at least three different friends gave me the "what? why the government?!" response when I told them I was going to try the civil service internship programme. The problem was that when I ask back "why not?", they do not have an answer, so much so that I really don't know what the basis of their sentiments were. Now don't go thinking I'm writing some pro-government statement here or anything, because I'm neither pro nor anti. If you give me a good reason answer to my "why not?" question, I'll gladly accept your points and take them into consideration. Bottom line is, every view and opinion should come with a reason and a backing, and not just from simple hearsays and influences.

On random issues, 2 year old super weak laptop battery finally changed, I'm putting on toooooo much weight and hk is not going to help, the much forgotten exchange awards just made me richer, and I'm thinking of changing this blog skin. Change is always good :)

The Path Ahead

2008-07-23T20:32:00.005+08:00

It's so true when I was told that life will suddenly be so aimless now that internship is over. Somehow or rather I still wake up around 8am everyday, and am still not used to the break in routine I was so used to for the past 2 months.

Suddenly, having been exposed to the 'working world', I'm starting to think much more about my future. I have always taken a 'one step at a time' and 'see how' approach to this matter, but I guess the internship has got me thinking ahead. What job? Which sector? What factors I really need to consider? What do I really want?

Having NEVER done well in my academics before, and having only improved my grades after my first sem in NUS, I have only just realised that I missed out on quite a few scholarship opportunities. You see, it has never crossed my mind that the words 'scholarships' and 'I' ever came together, but now that my results have miraculously started to improve, I started to realise that the two could now possibly come together. But then again, I don't have many semesters left, so ... yup a little too late perhaps. Oh well, be contented with what I have.

Speaking about the future, one thing's for sure though, is that I wouldn't want to be an insurance agent. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them, and I understand that insurance agents hold proper jobs too. But I guess its just not my type. You see, my army friend just messaged me out of nowhere after not speaking to him for almost 2-3 years. Not that I was doubting him or anything, but he took a very indirect approach, and finally after 15 minutes he identified himself as an insurance agent. To be honest, I wasn't scared at first, until he carried on and onabout this dealings, and then I saw his real agenda in messaging me. I sure don't want to be someone in his shoes, and sure do not want my friends to feel like how I just felt.

A Close to Another Chapter

2008-07-19T02:55:00.004+08:00

Internship ended. I think I have been typing so much for the past few weeks, so much so that I'm feeling a little tired to type a long entry about internship. I have so much to say, but oh well.

Just simply, it was a wonderful experience. Not entirely perfect, but still a great one indeed. I saw more, I heard more, and I gained alot. I've got a much clearer picture of what lies ahead. Feeling a little strange now, as the daily routine for the past 8 weeks will come to a stop. I'm sure gonna miss some things.

Thinking about what lies ahead now, even after SEP in fact. It appears that I may forsake my one sem exemption, for reasons aplenty. Apparently, as much as how many of us diploma holders are now able to make it to local universities, we're still an obvious minority, which explains why some school systems are simply not catered for us.

Seven Down, One to Go

2008-07-10T19:56:00.006+08:00

Tomorrow marks the end of my seventh week at internship, with one more to go next week. It seems like not too long ago that it started, yet at times it seems like its been a while, having gotten pretty used to the same routine every day.

I'm glad I took up an internship programme, instead of just a normal self-sourced internship. It definitely provided me with more than I asked for, in terms of insights of the different places we visited, as well as insights from the different levels of people we have met. The latter being the more valuable of course.

The pace has been picking up real fast since a couple of weeks back, and next week will definitely be even tighter and faster. I haven't really said much about my internship, and I probably will not. All I can say is that, I started off this internship with aims of getting a taste of the civil sector, and as much as how some things could have been better, the impression and experience has been pretty good, well more than pretty good actually. Of course, the path ahead would be clearer after my next stop, the private sector.

I always believe in keeping my options open, but I do have to admit though, that I'm currently swaying to one side.

" What's important is that an ideal job should not just encompass the work you love to do, but also the people whom you love to work with around you. "

Nice

2008-07-02T19:46:00.003+08:00

This was digged out from my archives, something I wrote last year.

" eventhough we kept joking that we wanted to see each other again there next year, either to take more photographs or to get another chance at the good food, deep within we all know that we really wanna do well again so that we can get another taste of the ceremony next year "

I never once doubted them. The only doubt I had was perhaps on myself. Thankfully I was wrong. Looks like we kept to our word. Nice. What's nicer, is that more have joined us.

To be honest, it may just be a piece of paper in a couple of years time, but for now, I'll take whatever pride and pleasure it gives.

School All Over Again

2008-07-01T23:42:00.003+08:00

Initially typed an entry yesterday, but not knowing that my Internet connection was lost, I pressed 'publish post', and then it went to the 'page cannot be found' page. Poof! My 20 minutes of typing gone.

So now, a very summarised version of that post. Work has been something like school all over again. The pace is picking up real fast, and deadlines coming in. Probably resulted in my absence from blogosphere, and also absence from almost the entire of Arts Camp. Overall, the going has been good so far for work, so I'm not complaining. As for Arts Camp, well done hg and team. My apologies for my absence.

Had a visit to the Tuas Incineration Plant today, and as strange as it may sound, it kinda made me realise that there are definitely still placess in Singapore I still haven't explored, and things in Singapore which I still didn't know of.

Oranje Squash-ed

2008-06-22T12:56:00.003+08:00

I came into Euro 08 feeling all neutral about it, as England didn't qualify. Not that I was a big fan of the three lions, but its just that I am a big fan of the English Premier League. But of course, I so had to select a favourites among the rest of the teams, and it was Netherlands I chose.

So first game, 3-0 against world champs Italy, then 4-1 against former double winners France, and 2-0 against highly rated underdogs Romania. But who would think that they would actually fall to Russia. Watched the game last night, and they were totally dispirited and self destructive. Before the tournament, I was skeptical about the likes of Bhoularouz and Ooijer in defence, as neither are consistent players. But they proved to be rock walls against the French. But for last night, the rocks eroded to sand.

Somehow or rather, I felt that the Dutch were just too used to always taking the lead, and being in comfortable positions. So when they went behind last night, no one was perking the team up, no one showed extra courage and spirit, not even coach Van Basten. He for one looked the most down and out. And even when they got their equaliser, you could sense the relief in their faces, but you somehow knew that was the last goal they were ever gonna get in Euro. And so, I was proven right. The Russians outclassed them, made direct non-fancy dashes into the box, and got their two deserved winning goals.

Me being me, I shall again apply this lesson in soccer to life. I know of people who have done execeptionally well in their life, only to fall into a bottomless pit as soon as a setback hits them. All of a sudden, from the strongest to the weakest. Thats why I always believe that the strongest are never those who are always doing well, but those who have done well after setbacks. Case in point? Turkey's route to the semis. No one can discredit them. And if you ask me, based on courage, character and determination, the Euro title should go to them already.

Getting used to work, and really enjoying the great company at work. Arts Camp is tomorrow, and its just amazing how a year has gone by just like that. Things have been looking good, and I sincerely hope it stays that way. The o-comm has done so much already, but I'm sure they would understand that as much as how much work has been put into the last 5 months of preparation, it all boils down to the next 5 days. I've taken a more back seat role this time, with the advices and website. Nothing much, but perhaps the least I could do for a project which meant so much to me. A year back, I cried rather uncontrollably on the last day. Something I would never imagine myself doing ever again in front of so many people. But to be honest, I myself didn't really know if it was tears of joy, or relief, or simply juz because my dearest committee members were crying. I guess it was everything mixed into the cauldron of emotions of mine.

All the best Arts Camp 08 committee. Be proud of yourselves!

Philosophy from Yours Truly

2008-06-18T23:58:00.005+08:00

The un-creative and un-abstract me came up with a couple of philosophical phrases to share some really important life lessons I learnt.

" I'd rather you fail by being yourself, than to fail in being yourself "

I posted this phrase in one my entries before, and I'm reproducing it again as testimony to how meaningful this phrase really is. Moral of the phrase: Be your true self.

" It should never be what's the best, but what you want, coz that's the best "

This phrase I sums up one great life lesson I learnt from 2 seperate encounters in a week. One from an e-mail exchange with my head of department, and another, from an internship session. Have been considering much of my future in the past few days, only to realise that I have perhaps been taking the wrong approach and mindset all along. I seem to be a little too practical at times, making judgements only from a surface level. Moral of the phrase: Passion and your beliefs from deep within is the key. Only you can see and feel it, no one else.

Randomness

2008-06-15T14:51:00.003+08:00

Blogging frequency has been at an all time low, I guess it's because of work. It's not that I'm very busy at work or anything, but its just that I'm perhaps still not used to spending most of my hours a day at office. Makes me think twice before complaining about school.

Went to collect my CUHK offer package, and that means more forms and more procedures. And I so really need a canto crash course.

Didn't get to watch much of Euro due to matches at the wee hours, but am glad that I still got to watch some really good matches. My prediction? Netherlands. Go Oranje!

With the Lions' loss to the Saudis, its game over. Many people seem to criticise Singapore's defeat to the Uzebeks after being mauled 3-7, but for me, I applaud the Lions. I never believed that 2010 was ever possible, but one has to admit that their brave showing during this journey shines some hope for 2014.

SAF deaths. The recent passing of two 20 year old servicemen is tragic. The aftermath of this incident has sparked unhappiness and concerns amongst the public. Fingers are being pointed at safety regulations and training procedures. I for one have had a first hand experience at regulations and procedures on tekong, and I look at the finger pointings as baseless and unnecessary. I have seen people commenting about how ruthless the army is to push the recruits just 5 days after enlistment. I have seen how people have commented that no safety precautions were taken. So untrue. The irony of it all, safety standards as compared the olden days is at least ten fold, but deaths as compared to the olden days? More.

And to those who keep saying how those 2 years are worthless, well its kinda reflects your own personal take on life. No doubt I am also complaining about those 2 years placing us behind our female peers, the choice was for us to make the best out of those 2 years. I'm sure I did, so if any blame is to assigned, start with yourself.

I am in currently in a dilema, which could see me forgo my bonus semester exemption as a diploma holder. What lies ahead?

Kungfu Panda

2008-06-06T23:30:00.002+08:00

I really wonder how come its rated as only 3.5 stars. I absolutely loved the show. My gf and I have been waiting for this show for a while already, and so we finally got to watch it today. I laughed from the first minute to the last. Critics have said that it was good, just that the storyline was a little common and ordinary. But I felt it was better than ordinary and somewhat good, as it brought the story and characters out very well. Of course most parts were more or less predictable, but you can't expect twist, turns and mysteries in light hearted animations can you.

I used to always credit disney and pixar for their wonderful animations, only to realise I generalised it a little and forgot about Dreamworks. They're up there with the best too.

Hong Kong Here I Come

2008-06-05T21:59:00.008+08:00

Finally received the acceptance letter from CUHK this evening. Josh received his too. After lots of paperwork and months of waiting, the confirmation has finally arrived!!

I wouldn't say I am like super overjoyed about it, as I guess the long waiting kinda took some of the excitement out of it. But nonetheless, now that its confirmed, I'm thrilled and anxious about this rare opportunity. At the start of the last semester, apart from wanting to survive the semester, I set targets on going beyond just surviving the normal school semester. I set sights on an internship experience, and of course, an overseas exchange experience. I've gotten my internship, and now, SEP! One final thing which I am still crossing my fingers for, which would cap off a very fine academic year 07/08 for me.

Although with this confirmation, I just realised some pros and cons. I realised that:-

I wouldn't have to sit for an NUS exam for almost 10 months!
I would actually be an honours student in my next NUS academic semester! Thats fast!
I would need a crash course to learn canto.
There are more forms to fill up, together with the hassle of module mapping.
I will not be able to take an important core NM module, which may hinder my option of doing a thesis, which I may look to do if I really do end up in the civil sector

Oh well, I'll work out the cons. The important thing now, Hong Kong!!!!

Farewell Sparky

2008-06-04T23:15:00.003+08:00

For those who have read the title and are wondering if my dog died or something, no. I don't have a dog.

Sparky is the nickname for Blackburn Rover's manager Mark Hughes, and he has left Blackburn Rovers for Manchester City. It's sad news, as Hughes has done remarkably well over the past few seasons, most notibly for his shrewd purchases. He somehow gets the best bargains in town. Although we missed europe last season, and look to be lingering around the 6th position for the seasons to come, I fear his departure may see Blackburn flopping again like the old days. As much as I am already so used to the many defeats and inconsistent performances put up by the team, dropping from a top table team to a bottom table team will be so saddening. I'm crossing my fingers that Blackburn can bring in a good and reputable manager in the next few days, and I'm hoping none of the current crop of players leave because of this. It's worrying though because it seems that Sparky brought along his assistances to Man City too. I'm still wondering why he wanted to leave. Oh well.

Went back to school today, and its nice to meet up with the Arts Club peeps again. As I was tied down with my new internship lifestyle, I kinda missed out on a few meetings and FOP happenings. I can only see the pictures of filmings and happenings from facebook, and sometimes I just wished I could join them. As much as how tiring FOP preparations can get, it is always kind of enjoyable simply because of the bunch of people working with you.

And for those of you who are still unaware of how unfair the world can be, lemme put it this way. The two variables, hard work and outcome. I wouldn't say its no correlation, but simply a very low correlation, positive or negative. Sometime's its just like that. Don't ask me why, I can't explain it too. I am stating this from self experience and observation.

Been a While

2008-05-31T08:20:00.005+08:00

Have not been updating for a while. Internship has been pretty good, and I am taking every opportunity I can to learn and experience what the working world is like. Am also really glad to have met a few other fellow interns, and we've hit it off really well in just a short span of one week. Good company always makes working hours much easier to get by.

And so, the dreaded results were out again. Apart from the stupid 1101E curse which I can never seem to get rid of, I'm pretty much happy and relieved for getting such grades in what was the slackest and most last minute semester ever. Studying 1 day before exams, chionging high percentage projects over just 1 weekend, and of course, skipping many lectures. The pay off though for such 'slackness' was good in some way though. Definitely much less pressure and stress (and can be seen from my much reduced blog post this semester), and of course most importantly, more time with my significant other.

Lady luck has been smiling on me again, and in fact she even made sure that lightning struck twice for me. At the start of the semester, I started to ponder if I really should have used my S/U to get myself listed the previous sem. I took a safe gamble which I was assured about, just that it kinda landed me with nothing. This time round, I am put forth with the exact same scenario. So in some way, it kind of self assures me that my previous S/U was saved to be used for this semester, to hopefully get me back on that list again.

I cross my fingers and pray.

Down

2008-05-18T23:30:00.003+08:00

The last few days have been horrible for me. There has been this constant fever, chills, headache and diarrhoea for the last couple of days, and although most of those have subsided since this morning, the horrible diarrhoea is still there. The disarrhoea is real real bad. To make things worse, I haven't been sleeping well, and that i-thought-was-astig-tiredness in my eyes is back again. Of course, with all these symptoms, I was of course worried and checked for dengue symptoms online, and to my fear all of those were symptoms of dengue! But considering that most of those symptoms have subsided, I am dangerously assuming that its just some bug. But oh well, if the fever returns, I will definitely see the doctor.

Being so down and out for the last few days, I spent my time both in front of the TV and my laptop. Been reading the hardwarezone forums, and an issue surfaced. Co-incidentally, I think because of everyone's involvement in jobs and internships, this issue also surfaced in at least 3 blogs I read in the past week. The infamous issue of 'Grades vs CCA'.

Of course before I go on, I would first like to say that both are not exclusive, and they can, and should in fact come hand in hand. Meaning, one who is good at CCA need not necessarily be bad in Grades, and vice-versa. The issue surfaced in the forums was that an e-mail sent out by a company not too long ago was looking for interns who have first class honors. As much as I understood their intentions to really want the best of the lot, the fact that the particular criteria which was specifically higlighted, bolded and enlarged left me feeling a little disturbed. It somehow seemed that first class honors is a must, and nothing else really matters. I know I may be jumping to conclusion here, giving the company the benefit of the doubt that they will still consider CCA experiences during the interviews, but you know where I'm getting at. And as mentioned, it co-incides with how some blogs I read weighed grades as more important than CCA.

This has of course sparked me to pen down some thoughts of mine. Just want to say that as much as how the world is becoming more practical, and as much as how that piece of paper we are all slugging for is really important, CCA experience should definitely not be undermined. As much as I know I won't be getting a first class, and as much as I envy those with better grades, I am not saying these out of 'sour grapes'. Because I can firmly say that these are words from experience (whatever I have that is).

No doubt those with better grades may somehow get a better first impression, and no doubt they may land better jobs. Similarly, those with not-so-good grades may not land jobs as good, or may never be recognised, but one thing they can proudly acclaim is that of experience, and respect. I believe with these, they will go a longer way, and will eventually overtake their 'all about studies' counterparts. Okay, maybe not always in terms of the money and job aspects, but definitely in the networking, experience, leadership, EQ and many other aspects. So to sum up my confusing last sentence, networking, experience, leadership and EQ can or may bring you money and a good job, but on the other hand, can money or a good job land you those EQ and experiences? Period.

Bangkok and The Holidays

2008-05-15T08:52:00.002+08:00

Bangkok was good, and despite it being my second trip there in like 6 months, I still enjoyed it alot, reason of course being that I went with my gf this time. With that said, I was glad that I could finally spend alot of time with my girlfriend, as I have this horrible tendency to neglect her whenever the school term starts. Worse is that if all goes well, I will be flying off to Hong Kong in a few months time, and I was looking at this bangkok trip as a good 'time together' for us.

Of course being just me and my gf at a foreign land, it meant more alertness and independence, as it was our first overseas trip together, as both of us had only previously gone on trips with either the school choir or a larger group of friends. And the importance of alertness was highlighted as early as our taxi ride from the airport to the hotel on the first night. Despite taking a meter cab, the meter read like 189 baht, but the driver had the audacity to say 400 baht, and even managed to say it in a very calm and polite tone. Thank goodness the bell boy came to save us of 200 bahts. From then on, we were always very careful with our taxi rides.

The hotel this time, as compared to the previous artsy fartsy one, was much 'classier'. The previous one in with the bangkok gang was good, but this one was different in a sense that it was more like a normal 3-4 start hotel you would find in Singapore. The lobby looked good, the breakfast was not bad, and to my surprise, the room was surprisingly big for the price we paid. The both of us first thought that it was perhaps too big, but we ended up using the big space and sofa we had to put our stuff and clothes. However, one big big disadvantage was the location. It wasn't at all close to any famous shopping centres or train stations (closest was chatuchak which was 15 mins drive away), and that meant that we had to spend on cab to and fro everyday. Eventhough cab was much cheaper day, it still added up in the end. Worse was, after tiring shopping sprees, we always didn't have the luxury of going back to the hotel to rest first, and always ended up resting at some fast food restaurant. As I booked it rather last minute-ly and rash-ly, it was a good lesson learnt for future trips.

The rest of the trip was pretty much shopping at places which I went with the bangkok gang, although I did try a few new places. Again, we shopped till our feets were all aching, but I'm sure my gf enjoyed the shopping. As expected, Platinum was her favourite, but we discovered that Suan Lam also had lots of stuff, something which the bangkok gang kinda missed out on. Chatuchak affirmed my opinion that it was more of a 3-hour-go-in-the-morning thingy, but I found more reasons to walk MBK this time. Apparently MBK seemed boring the first time I went, but it was somehow rather enjoyable in a shopping sense if you really take the time to walk the mall. As our trip was much longer, we went sight seeing, and the grand palace was an eye-opener.

I am glad that I am now much more familiar with the streets of bangkok, especially their train system. I always think that it will be nice to know how to go around a foreign land, as the world is just that big, and Singapore alone that small. Next stop, Hong Kong. It may be a while before I go back there. After this trip, I am quite sure I have covered most of the shopping areas around the country, and am perhaps looking forward to another country.

This roughly wraps up my trip, and I am now looking at the rest of the holidays. Internship wont start until near the end of the month, so its kinda like a slack period for me now. I do have some worries in my head though, with SEP at the top of it. Still haven't received the confirmation, although an e-mail yesterday from CUHK came. It was about course registration, and I always knew that module mapping would be a big headache, but the e-mail just got me a little more worried. I just realised that I had quite limited modules to choose from, and to make matters worse, I just realised that quite a lot of their modules are actually thought in either purely Cantonese, or a mixture of Cantonese and English. That is just so uncool, as I have almost zero knowledge of the language. This isn't confirmed yet, so I am enquiring about it. One of the reasons why I chose Hong Kong was because it was one of the asian countries which has English as one of its languages, but now I'm starting to worry. Sigh.

Well, I shall just wait, as I look forward to my internship and of course, FOP. It's that time of the year again, and it seemed like just not too long ago it all happened. Many people say it's during FOP that you see everything, especially for the management committee. But I am not the biggest advocator of this statement. All I can say is that it will definitely be the time of new formed friendships and memories. Have a good holiday everyone!

Back from Bangkok

2008-05-14T03:31:00.002+08:00

I'm back from bangkok, and somehow or rather the thai accent and language is still constantly ringing in my head, all the krup and ka. But am too tired to blog about my trip today, I so have to talk about the EPL first, and also the earth quake in China.

All of my predictions in my previous post came true, including the heartbreaking fact that Villa beat Blackburn to the Intertoto spot. Man Utd did indeed beat Wigan to win the title, and Chelsea did infact slip up as I predicted. Villa did beat Blackburn to that precious 6th spot, but it wasn't via Villa winning. Instead Vill'a draw with West Ham was enough for them, as Blackburn got thrashed. And as predicted, Fulham's win was enough to keep them alive, and the 8 goals scored between Reading and Birmingham in their final matches was not enough.

Heard about the earthquake in China from the bangkok news, and its shocking to know that 12,000 people have died. This has come after scores of people died in the Myanmar cyclone incident. I remember vaguely that a feng shui master predicted that this will be a year filled with natural disasters and deaths, and the feng shui master has hit the nail head on. It's really sad how over a short period of 2 weeks, thousands and thousands of people just die like that so unnaturally.

Back Home

2008-05-06T22:02:00.002+08:00

I'm finally back home. Had a strange kinda feeling just now when I was walking to YIH to buy dinner. It suddenly dawned upon me that it was perhaps the very last time walking that very path from tower block to YIH to buy dinner. Similarly, it was my very last bath and very last meal in tower block. Ok this may sound stupid and very duhhh, but it felt kinda .....hmm .... sad, haha.

Managed to lug everything back with my parents fetching me home. As my parents have not had their dinner, we went to east coast. And I almost embarassed myself, and almost sinned horribly. When buying satay, I was thinking of what meat to order. You know when you talk about meat, its usually those 3 for me, chicken, pork and beef. Since my dad doesn't eat beef, there was only chicken and pork left. But oh so blur me forgot that I was ordering satay from a muslim stall! I was thinking to myself chicken alone so boring, so maybe should order half chicken half pork. Thank goodness just before I made the order, the obvious suddenly sank into my brain, and I saved myself from both embarrasment and idiot-cy. Cannot imagine if I made that wrong order.

Was reading the news just now, and the situation in Myanmar is scary. Can you believe it, the cyclone death toll has just hit 22,000 and its still rising. Just yesterday or so, it was 4,000. I was like oh dear, and then just a few hours later, I checked the news again and it rosed to like 10,000. Now, its more than double of 10,000, and its still rising. I know many of us here are not feeling the impact of it. As what I learnt in media writing, there is no 'relevance and proximity' factor to deem the news big enough. But 22,000 deaths is just really sad. Prayers to the people at Myanmar, and I really hope the next time I refresh the news the figure stays.

End of Another Semester

2008-05-06T12:16:00.002+08:00

Well today marks the end of my 4th semester (5th semester on school records), that is excluding the dreaded results of course. Exams finished today, and I am having this lost and lingering feeling again. It always has to be the last paper which leaves me feeling not here not there. Last semester, it was intercultural. I spotted 3 questions, but spent too much time on those 3, and neglected the other 2 questions. Thankfully, I did well.

This time round, I am hoping for the same miracle. It was always a little scary going into an exam knowing that there was nothing much to study for the module. Eventually, I still did spend 2 days on the bare amount of notes available, but it kinda didn't pay off. MCQ was tricky and too ambiguous, and I am just praying for that. As for the open ended questions, I am left a little worried. I probably didn't write too well due to the time constraints, but worse, it was only after I came out and discussed with the rest that I realised each question was only limited to one page. I kinda wrote like 1 and a half for my first question, and 1 page plus a couple of lines for the other two questions. Blessing is that I think even if they cancel out the excess stuff that write, most of my contents are still there. But somehow or rather, I really hope I won't be marked down for that. Sigh.

Well this semester has been simply, slack. Slack not in terms of module workloads, but slack in terms of my performance and conduct. Of all my semesters, this is perhaps my most under-performing one. Whatever the results on 30th May, I may just have to blame myself for it. The ironic thing though is that if you ask me to turn back the clock, I still wouldn't change anything. Its just that tiring feeling of the past 3 semesters, resulting in me not puting in as much effort this semester. I am really praying I get my SEP, as it will be a good break from all these. A break I really need, as I would need some form of recharging for a final lap in honors year.

A little worried, as I need to maintain my CAP to cement a peaceful final lap. The scary thing is, from what I see, there is only one pathetic module I'm quietly confident of. Thats bad.

Oh well, going to sleep over this. Today's also my last day at RVR after one year! Goodbye T803, hello home, and hello bangkok!

The Final Showdown

2008-05-04T11:30:00.002+08:00

As an avid barclays premier league fan, I so have to blog about the final round of fixtures next weekend. Having followed the EPL (or some of you call it BPL) for so many seasons already, this one has proven to be the most exciting one, simply because everything is to be decided on the final day itself. For quite a few seasons already, the final day of matches would be just a formality for most teams, with nothing to really play for, but this season its all different. There is just so much to play for in all divisions of the table itself.

At the top, Man Utd and Chelsea will be gunning for the title. Ok let me attempt to do some predictions here. I say Chelsea will succumb to at least one draw in their last 2 matches. I see the possibility of Chelsea slipping up either tomorrow at Newcastle, or against a Bolton side who are still fighting for relegation. I personally believe that when it comes down to the last matches of the season, and knowing that there is either a threat of relegation or chance for a title, it becomes like a cup final. It sometimes doesn't really matter if one team is better, or more on form, but it's just what the players can do in that very 90 minutes. Wigan shouldn't be a problem for Man Utd, and if Chelsea really slip up and draw in one of those matches I mentioned, then all Man Utd need is a draw, and they will still win the title on goal difference. So we'll see how Chelsea fare against a much improved and in-form Newcastle tomorrow. Man Utd should eventually still clinch it. Hmm title clincher on last day, the all so familiar scenes of Blackburn's 94/95 win, right Man Utd fans? :)

Just below the top, and the fight for Intertoto Cup, and thats where my beloved Blackburn comes into the picture. Miraculously after last night's result, we really do have a chance at 6th place, and the Intertoto spot. Blackburn has a good run of form recently, and they are now 1 points behind Villa. Pompey and City are close by, but I'm saying it's a fight between Rovers and Villa. I am crossing my fingers here though, as I don't see Villa losing in their last match, so that would mean that Blackburn must win at a relegation-threatened Birmingham, and hope for Villa to secure only a draw or less. If Blackburn draws, the will fall victim to the 'goal difference' devil too. Oh well, just praying that Blackburn makes the last minute cut. Quite disappointing though, as due to the unpredictability of the League and FA Cup this season, it meant lesser spots for Uefa Cup, and Blackburn is the cruel victim of that. Oh well.

And as excitingly, the bottom. Only Derby are relegated, and its a 3-way dog fight between Birmingham, Fulham and Reading. I am impressed at how Bolton got themselves out of it from almost nothing, and how Fulham are almost doing that too. Few weeks back it looked kinda confirmed that Fulham and Bolton would go down with Derby, but kudos to them for doing a 'West Ham' this season. Looking at things now, I predict that Birmingham will go down, and based on form alone, Reading to go with them. Eventhough Reading should win against Derby, I see Fulham winning against a FA-Cup bothered Pompey. So guess what it's down to again, goal difference! It's kinda sad for Reading, who did so well not too long ago.

So yup, so lets see how true my predictions will be. I will be in Bangkok hoping to watch the matches. To wrap up, as can be seen goal difference turns out to be really important this season, but well, every goal matters huh. Prediction at a glance:

Champions - Man Utd
Intertoto Spot - Aston Villa (as much I'm praying for Blackburn)
Relegated - Derby, Birmingham, Reading

To a great weekend of EPL matches next week! Oh I was amazed to know yesterday that Starhub are actually showing all 8 matches at one time! Feast on that soccer fans!

Post Exams

2008-05-03T23:23:00.002+08:00

I still have one paper left in 3 days time, but I have been living the life of 'someone whose exams have finished' for the past 2 days. It was a night out with my gf last night, and today was all about sleeping and resting. I actually woke up at like 1.30 pm, and I believe that the sleeping 'session' itself has more than made up for whatever sleep I missed over the last few days. And just to be doubly sure, I dozed off again in the late afternoon and slept for another 3 hours or so.

Still feeling relieved and happy about my internship. It was really a long wait for the reply, but I'm glad I waited, as I see this as a hard-to-come-by chance. I am already a year 3 student, and I know that I sooo have to make use of the time in holidays for internships and work experience. At this moment, if you really ask me what I am intending to do in the future, I would give you a not-here-not-there answer. I was asked this very question during my interview, and I said that it is really hard for me to give an answer about my future plans, as the one thing that can help determine that answer, is the one thing that I am so lacking in my life right now, work experience. I know that doors are open for private sector internships, but I have always wanted to also see what the public sector is like, and then compare both experiences to really know what is best for myself. With this internship offering, I believe I am halfway there to knowing what I really want for my future. Yay!

On to something else which is also post exams. Last semester, somewhere near the exams, Joshua asked the bangkok gang and myself if we were interested in going to bangkok. As impromptu as it was, we all agreed, and just a few weeks later, we found ourselves at bangkok! Still thankful to him for taking that initiative, as I knew that if we were to just talk about it and not do anything, it would drag and drag, and we would never have had that wonderful trip.

One semester on, and I am going back there again, this time with my gf. And if the previous one was last minute, this one is worse! We actually just made all the bookings last night, and we will be leaving 2 days after my last paper. After the trip last semester, I knew that my gf would love the shopping there. So I made a promise to her that I will bring her there. However, due to my laziness and the sudden influx in assignments and school work, I didn't really manage to book the stuff. Just glad now that despite it being a little late, and a little more expensive than previously, we got the necessary procedures done. This trip means alot, because I know it has been a while since she went on a holiday, and she has been anticipating this trip since I told her about it at the start of the semester. I know she's real excited about it, and so am I. More importantly, this trip would be mean alot, because I would be flying off to hong kong in a few months time (if that acceptance does finally come). Bangkok here we come!

Oh and because I am rushing off again, it would mean early check-out from rvr, and packing again! Am actually packing my stuff while typing this, and boy am I glad that I brought back much lesser stuff to my room at the start of the semester. It's paying off now.

Time Out

2008-05-02T11:35:00.004+08:00

Just came back from 2102 paper, and apart from the last question which was asking about whole-semester-study-and-do-but-still-don't-know-anything SPSS, the rest of the paper was pretty much straightforward and do-able. Under normal circumstances people would be happy with a simple paper, but under the NUS circumstances you know that it means that the paper is as good as a formality, as it would be the other aspects of the module which would determine your final grade. Now I'm really hoping that our project would do well.

Now that this paper is down, I am left with one more paper on tuesday. As I said in my previous post, that paper has kinda got nothing to study for, so all the more I should take this break. Apart from clearing 2102 from my semester today, I would also officially clear my 3217 after I hand up my brochure, website and printer specs later. This is really a huge burden off my shoulders after about 2 weeks of last minute-ness, and I would say that I would really have to either reconsider taking modules with deadlines in reading week, or take a less last minute approach for these kinda deadlines (which is sooooo not possible).

On a side note, thanks cherie, xinyu and everyone else for the encouragements. Good luck for your papers too!

--- Just In! ---

My internship has been confirmed! Yay looks like I won't be wasting my holiday away then!

Screwed

2008-05-01T11:28:00.005+08:00

May Day! Crisis! I am feeling damn worried now after yesterday's JS paper. I find it really hard, as the questions were all either very indirect, or the choices were all very close. Being an NM major and having done relatively more mcqs than the friends from other majors, I have my own way of doing mcqs. I would usually do a first run, circling on the bubble form only answers which I am very sure of. And guess what, after my first run of 50 questions yesterday, I was only very sure of 10. I started to panic.

I do not have many friends taking that module, so I don't really know the consensus of how the paper was. I am seriously worried of getting a C, and that would totally screw up an already screwed up semester. So much for breaking my 1101E curse.

For the past 3 semesters, I have always been studying real hard during the reading week. But for this semester, I kinda left everything to just before each module. No doubt I think I managed to study finish for my papers so far, but could I have studied more? Thats always the unnecessary question which runs in my head.

2102 is tomorrow, and since its a morning paper, its another 1-day study thingy. My last paper is on the 6th, and guess what, I actually have at least 4 days to study for that paper. But as ironic as it may sound, that is the only paper which I have nothing to study for. It's a writing module, meaning we will only get the topic at the exam, and can only get down to planning and writing after we see the topics. Some luck with the order of my papers huh.

Oh, and I'm finally done with my website, brochure and printer specifications. To think of it, this project has cost me lots of time, money, and even studying time for my other modules. But oh well, perhaps it was just all my last minuteness. I do have a constant worry though that all the sacrifices and hard work may not pay off in the end. The uncertainty of that word called 'grades'. Looking at this semester, I really need to do well for this module, and will be contented enough if only this module gets me a grade I really want/need.

Lack of Motivation

2008-04-29T23:21:00.003+08:00

This semester is proving to be quite a screwed up one. I still have not handed in my brochure and website assignment, eventhough I made a self promise to hand it in by yesterday. No doubt I have kinda chucked it one side to concentrate on studying, but it is somehow still at the back of my mind everytime I hit my books. The project is really getting frustrating, as printing has given me lots of problems. I have been to 3 different printers, but somehow or rather the colors would always give me problems. I gave up and decided to print in school. And just when I thought that would solve the problem, I realised that I can't cut paper for nuts, and have to redo the printing again.

The assignment, together with my slackness this sem, has also screwed up my preparations for exam. A good sign of my unprepared-ness for this exams was for IT1001 today, I actually only realised the night before that the format of the paper was 40% mcq and 60% open ended. I initially thought that the mcq was the bulk of the paper, so you know it kinda meant that I needed to study a little more. The paper in the end was so-so, but I am damn disappointed that I was left totally clueless about one 15-mark question. Eventhough it was open book, I just couldn't find the answer anywhere! Bleah. I am starting to feel a little better about why I didn't use my SU last semester after this paper. But oh well, who knows, I'm praying for a similar miracle I had last semester.

Tomorrow is JS mcq, and this is the most worrying module for me this semester. I know that the mcq tomorrow will be tough, and am still feeling a little all blur and lost about the module. Just finished my first run of studying, but somehow or rather, I seem to lack any motivation to continue studying, despite still feeling lost.

Lost, messed up, screwed up semester, depressed ... ... and to think there are 3 more papers ...

Good Luck Everybody

2008-04-26T14:57:00.003+08:00

It was only when I made my way back to my room just now that I realised that the school was exceptionally crowded for a saturday. It was 11.30, and the first paper for the day just ended, and the crowd started to stream out of MPSH. It was only then did it dawn upon me that the exams have started. That feeling just justifies how mentally unprepared I am for the exams.

This crisis was coming all along since the start of the semester, but me being just me, chose to let the crisis happen.

Oh well, just want to wish everybody well for the exams. Good luck!!

End of Semester Crisis

2008-04-25T20:56:00.004+08:00

I am currently in the midst of a horrible end of semester crisis. I have spent the entire of this week just rushing my website and brochure, and guess what, it's still not done. Ok I am somewhat close to completion, but as long as its not fully completed, I will still be bugged by this assignment, and that will hinder my revision for finals.

The original deadline for these assignments was actually at 5pm today, but somehow or rather Dr Perry extended it to next Friday. Initially when I saw the announcement, I was thinking that the extension was too long and unnecessary. Now, I am so grateful for the extension. Feeling a little disappointed though as I had planned to hand it up by today, for two reasons. Firstly, to hopefully take advantage of any additional marks awarded for handing up early, although I am still not sure if there are any. And secondly and most importantly, to get it over and done with so that I can finally start revision. I guess both reasons are no longer valid as of now, and I am probably going to waste another 1 day just completing everything.

The problem now is that eventhough my projects are close to completion, I will still tend to touch up and improve on things, eventhough I know the more time I spend on this project, the less time I have for my revision. But somehow or rather, I am left with a mini dilema, as I have already sacrificed so much time for this module, so much so that I fear for not being able to score well, and thus the want to keep improving my website and brochure.

Sleep has been scarce the last few days, and I have officially confirmed that the suspected astig I had at the start of the semester was due to fatigue. I can simply say so because I am getting that same astig feeling again. I need sleep badly, but I just simply have no time for it. I am getting very worried too, as this is the first time I am going into my exams so unprepared. Usually by this time of the semester, I would have at least finished revising for about 2 modules, and touch a little here and there on the rest. But for this semester, zilch, zero, nothing, doomed.

Someone stop the time please.

Oh So Close Rovers

2008-04-20T10:50:00.005+08:00

The following post is for once in a very long while not going to be anything about school or studies, but instead, soccer. So for some of you, this line is probably the last line you want to read for the remaining of this entry :)

It's been a while since I stayed home over the weekends to watch soccer, eventhough it has been one of my favourite weekend past times since a long time ago. On top of it, last night saw Blackburn pit up against Man Utd. I used to always complain how rare they telecast Blackburn matches, but ever since improvements were made to the football channel with more matches telecasted at one time, chances of Blackburn matches on TV were much higher. However, I would either be away in school, or be too angry the way Blackburn play so much so that I'd switch my channel to watch another match.

But last night was different. I was so eager to watch the match as to be honest, I'm for Man Utd to win the title this season. It was just sooo interesting to see how my favourite club would go against the club I wish to see win the title. Now at this point, don't be mistaken then I am a soon to be Man Utd fan or anything (I'll never be), but its just that I appreciate good football, and thats what I think Man Utd have showed this season, thus the title should go their way. Another reason is perhaps that Chelsea and Arsenal have not convinced me enough.

Blackburn vs United have always produced exciting fixtures. I will always remember two rather recent victories Rovers had over United, the 1-0 win which Gary Flitcroft scored, and the 4-3 win which saw Bently net a hat trick. So this time, eventhough I know the odds were stacked against us, I just sooo wanted to see how Blackburn would fare. And boy was I delighted. Blackburn started a little slow, but played sooo well after that in the first half. It was not just the scoreline that kept me happy, but the fact that Blackburn actually kept Ronaldo quiet, kept Rooney frustrated, left Ferguson so frustrated and nervous that he kept calling for penalties and fouls when some were obviously not, and left Rio and Vidic totally lost. Now thats the 38-goals Ronaldo (who will most probably be the European player of the year) we're talking about, thats the English talisman Rooney we're talking about, that's one of the best club managers ever, and thats the best defensive pairing in the EPL we're talking about! It's been a while since I saw a team mess up United's game, and I am glad that team is Rovers.

During halftime, I just knew we were somehow going to slip up, and I was seriously predicting a Man Utd onslaught with a 2-1 or 3-1 final score. Yes, thats how pessimistic I am about Blackburn's defence these days. In the end, it was again super Friedel who saved Blackburn, and I have always felt this way, but for many years already, he is THE best goalkeeper in the league. People can talk about Van de Sar, Reina and Cech, but considering the team and defence in front of the goalkeeper, Friedel is definitely tops, and he showed it again yesterday. I will always remember a few seasons back when Blackburn played an Arsenal side with Henry, Blackburn won 2-1 despite Arsenal having 27 shots on target. Imagine how Friedel performed on that day.

Well 1-1 I would say is a fair result, although the late goal did leave a bitter feeling. Although I am proud of Rovers for putting up such a fine display. From Blackburn's point of view, yesterday's results further cements the fact that Blackburn will not have European football next season, and that is really sad because players are going to leave, namely Bently. Looking at the line up yesterday, Blackburn's squad looked as strong as any club in the EPL, but once players start to leave and Mark Hughes starts to reshuffle, things may get messy. Oh well, maybe we really need an American owner to fund us up.

Yup, so to all Man Utd fans, don't worry. I still think Utd will win the title. As for my Blackburn, it will probably be back to a mid table finish after a season of inconsistency.

End of Semester

2008-04-19T09:06:00.004+08:00

Have not blogged for a week, as the past week has been deadlines, test and assignments for me. And despite the week already passing, and the school term officially ending, it's somehow not over for me yet. I still have one website, brochure and printer specifications due next friday. I am already feeling very tired from all the projects, and I don't know how I am going to get through those 3 final assignments.

While doing my assignments over the past week, I realised that being a teacher or lecturer is really tough. Why? Because for this semester's projects, I was mostly in charge of final edits and compilation, and I must say that some of the writing and works I edited did awe me. And trust me, I am not talking about those little grammar, language or punctuation mistakes. Those can be really pesky but can still be edited. But its those super long, repetitive, make no sense and super wrongly used words and sentences that gets on my nerve. I truly understand that everyone has different styles and standards of writing, but I guess one would only understand my plight if you saw the torment I was put through while editing.

As I mentioned, school has ended for many, but not for me at least, with those final assignments. But for some of my friends, yesterday marked their final lap in NUS, and perhaps their final day ever in academic education. I didn't see much of a reaction to that, but I know deep down they did feel something. One has to move on, but it is kinda sad how your lifestyle for the past 3 to 4 years would suddenly just stop there, and move on to something new. Just want to give my well wishes to those graduating, and all the best to your future endeavours. Remember that this is just a new beginning of an end.

On a side note, I checked my exam seating plan just now, and you know what. Being labeled as an ARS3 student makes me feel really old, and I started to realised that it wouldn't be too long before my final day in NUS too. Good or bad? Both.

A short paragraph to wrap up the semester. It was kind of horrible towards the end. Grades wise things have been rather neutral, but I am rather skeptical about the final tests and assignments that have just gone by. I must admit of my four semesters, this was one where I was the most slack, and the most last minute. I am not sure if I should, but I am still attributing it to the fatigue in the last 2 semesters, and perhaps the fatigue from school as a whole. Of all my modules, I am most worried about my JS. I have never fared well in 1101E modules, and this time looks like nothing will be different. My final assignments due next friday are going to badly hinder my revision for this module. My project I felt was perhaps here and there. My participation in class was so-so considering how many smoke bombs I have used already. And just yesterday, despite it being the deadline for forum posting, I somehow fell asleep at my computer, and just went to bed without bothering about the forum posting marks anymore. I was sooo tired that I think even toothpicks wouldn't hold my small eyes apart. That's how bad the module is for me. Sigh, I'll just be hopeful again.

A War

2008-04-12T23:08:00.003+08:00

I am extremely furious, because a war was brought upon me, and it doesn't help that I can't strike back. In just a short time span of less than an hour, I was left dejected and defeated. It was a war with .... the birds! This is what happened.

I had the car this weekend as my parents are away, but stayed in school so that I could study for my test and do my assignments. So I decided to go to clementi for my dinner, and to draw money. I found a rare parking lot in the clementi central car park, and when I came out from my car, I noticed a whole lot of birds around the car park. I think it was not uncommon as I have heard the loud chirps of birds there for quite a few times already. So when I looked up and saw this not so big tree above where I parked my car, I didn't think much of it. But I was soooo wrong.

After dinner, I came back to find the car totally sprawled with bird droppings! It was soooooo bad that I couldnt really see out thru the windscreen, and had no choice but to dirty the car wiper. But it wasnt just the windscreen. The side mirrors, the front bonnet, the top, the back, the back windscreen, and even the doors. The birds had hit me real hard. I'm telling you it was sooo bad that if insurance companies did cover damages for bird shit, they would have shunned me away. To make things worse, somehow or rather car wash at petrol kiosks seemed to have gone extinct when I tried looking for one (or is it really extincted already?), so I went alllll the way back home just to wash the car myself. And boy did I have a tough time.

Crap!

Presentations

2008-04-12T11:28:00.003+08:00

Had my dreaded statistically troubled and dreaded presentation on thursday, but guess what, we somehow managed to get through it really well. The comments at the end somehow rekindled the memories of my group's advertising presentation last semester, which left us really delighted.

For advertising, eventhough the presentation was only 5%, we knew that we had put in tooo much work during the process of generating the report, and did not want to screw it up right the end. But for stats this time, it was the total opposite because we knew that we had perhaps rushed this project a little too tight, so we needed whatever marks we could get from the presentation. Furthermore, it was 10%. I'm just glad it all turned out well. Crossing my fingers for this report though.

Received an e-mail from my friend yesterday who informed of another good news. My slackest module, IT1001, actually has a folder called 'hall of fame' in the workbin, whereby all of the best presentations and projects will be uploaded there. And to my surprise but delight, one of our presentations made it in there. It felt real good to actually be the best group out of the entire lecture population. But guess what, with my extreme last minute-ness this semester, guess how long we actually took to prepare the presentation, and with the presentation at 1pm that day, guess what time I started to design the slides. Haha.

It all goes to show, that packaging and presentation matters alot. As much as how cruel and unfair this may sound, I have seen enough to affirm that to quite a certain extend, appearance and first impression always matters. Yes, even in school work and presentations. And its not just the way you present, but even your slides. I feel real blessed to have been given public speaking opportunities since my secondary school days, as I believe that it has really helped me alot in terms of my formal dialogues, interviews and presentations. Similarly, whatever technological skills I have learnt in my poly days has also given me a nice advantage.

Next week will be the final week of my 4th semester, and it has been a really fast semester. Unlike many who are already preparing for their exams, I still have my JS report, my two IT1001 discussions, my NM3219 report (which we so realised we need to redo alot of things, sigh), my NM3217 test, and of course, my NM3217 website and brochure and printer specs. The very sad thing is that the NM3217 stuff are due at the end of reading week. And me being me, I will most probably finish everything only 1 hour before the deadline, meaning that I will only be left with 3 days to study for my finals.

Someone save me.

Intro to Computing

2008-04-08T21:34:00.004+08:00

I so want to blog about this module.

Another IT1001 presentation ended today, and for the first time ever, I totally played no part in a 15% presentation. Well this was because our group had two 15% presentations, and so we split the work up. Guessed it worked out quite ok. Considering that I wouldn't have the time to have prepared for today's presentation if we didn't split the work up, it was good.

Something nice happened. Our group couldnt really finish our presentation on time, so we were kinda stopped right at our last slide, which was conclusion. And guess what? During the Q & A session, this guy from another group popped the question of "so what is the conclusion?" That actually allowed my friend to finish up the conclusion, without having to worry about going over time. I was really thankful to that guy, eventhough that may not guarantee saving us any marks. Haha the thing was that, his group also got stopped halfway, so I did the exact same thing, and popped a question to allow him to finish his last slide. To be honest, I have seen how the competitiveness in NUS can be so cruel and ugly. But today, a small gesture of mutual help and kindness to save each other's group during presentation was just a great to see. If only it were always like that.

Well when I took this module at the start of the semester, I was kinda hoping to actually score, hearing how relatively easy it was. Although right in the back of my mind I knew that easy to score modules were always going to much harder to score, I somehow knew that getting decent grades was definitely still possible. Furthermore, I heard that this module was pretty slack, so I was thinking even if I didn't score, I would still be able to use this module to lighten my semester load, and perhaps S/U the module (like how I used it for sem 2). One good reason for why I wanted to save my S/Us.

However, it turned out that the module had more work than I thought. Eventhough I missed a bulk of lectures, which gave me a free day, the assignments were more than I hoped for. And it didn't help that all assignments were group projects and presentations, meaning the hassle of meeting up again and again and again. We had one project website, project presentation, two other group presentations, and now before the final exam, we actually have to attend some second life discussion, and another ivle forum discussion, so as to get the necessary marks. Not to mention, forum participation also holds some marks. And yes, there is still a final paper! So much for this module lightening my semester work load.

Boo Hoo

2008-04-08T00:19:00.002+08:00

It feels like I am currently in a 14 day week. Under usual circumstances, a long week will always be capped off with a good break (or at least some break) during the weekends, but last weekend was non-existent. Spent the entire saturday and sunday rushing the 2102 project, and I am just glad that we got it over and done with. Now for the presentation left, and I can take one module off my mind until the finals.

This semester has been pretty much quite bad. Apparently, I found out that I could actually be more last minute than I usually was, and that is not something I should be proud off. Capping off a 4000-word-until-now-still-dont-understand-and-very-statistically-troubled report in one weekend was tiring, and to be honest, its one of those papers I think we did quite ok to salvage the situation, but yet I do not want to get the results back at all.

It's that time of the year again. It's just horrible to know that it is only 3 weeks from the exams, and I still have countless assignments to conquer. Oh dear, IT presentation, 2102 presentation, folder justification, japanese studies report, website for 3217, folder for 3217, 3219 report, alot of other miscellaneous stuff here and there ....

Everything's a big mess now.

Food Hunt 08

2008-04-02T12:42:00.002+08:00

The soreness in my legs have finally gone away, after what was 2 days of aching leg muscles after a round the island food hunt. It was really fun, and being in my group was even more fun. I guess joining these kinda events with friends you are closer and more comfortable with will always add to the element of fun.

It was funny how we wanted to be a relax team, most of us reporting in slippers and sling bags, only to find that the competitiveness side in us overwhelming our slackness as the hunt went on. Eventhough we didn't win anything (argh so close!), it was good fun, and I think our team did great. From finding food stalls, to solving riddles, to my slow sudoku solving skills, to tk's amazing hangman ability, everything added up to this memorable experience. Kudos to the ocomm for yet another year of great food hunt! Another arts club event gone well, as the 28th start counting down their days to FOP.

As for school, I am at an all time low. Deadlines are piling up, and I am worried because I don't think I can meet those deadlines. It is a very scary thought because as the crucial final hurdle of the semester approaches, I am getting less and less motivated to study. Someone help me.

In more ways than one, I realised that I am in deep deep trouble. I never thought this day would come, but it's been a while since I felt this way. I'm so in trouble.

What Weekend?

2008-03-29T03:44:00.002+08:00

Well, its friday night (or saturday morning) already, and under normal circumstances, I would be kind of looking forward to the weekend. But having looked at my project deadlines, my weekend is as good as gone. Will spend tomorrow trying to finish up my website and brochure projects, before heading down to a birthday dinner. Sunday is food hunt, so I guess that is a whole sunday gone. Well, I shall take food hunt as one of the final events for me to at least have some fun (unless we are really going to super chiong), before hell really really sets in.

I think it may be another weekend stuck in school, and I don't at all like it, not because I want to go home and relax and sleep, but its just that I would personally want to spend some time at home with mum and dad. This especially so when I usually spend only 1-2 days of a week at home.

Once again, another 21st birthday party, and it was yet another blast. Sure hope Kaiwei enjoyed herself, because most of us sure did. Think Zhimin did a great job, seriously (with all teasing jokes aside), and most of us agreed that this was one of the most unique birthday party celebrations ever. Unique, yet special and enjoyable.

Something's wrong with me ...

The Semester So Far

2008-03-26T14:15:00.002+08:00

Am in the library now, and was planning to do my Japanese studies project, but somehow or rather after sitting here for an hour or so, I am not started yet. Don't really have the motivation to do any work. A chat last night ignited some thoughts I never thought would surface.

For someone who hates to look back to regret, I take great care whenever decision making is involved. At times, I am personally assured of making the right decisions. At times, I sit back to realise that I could have possibly made a better decision. As for the issue raised last night, I am still assured that I made a right decision. But when certain things happen (or have been happening), I can't help but wonder if I could have made a better decision. Well ...

Also taking this chance to take a look at the semester so far. It has been 10 weeks just like that, and it has been to me the slackest semester so far. I am somewhat worried that the slackness will be translated to the results I get at the end of the semester. I can't seem to find back the usual gan chiong and project-oriented me. Finished another intro to computing presentation yesterday, and yes, last minute-ness again. Although I must say we do really well for last minute-ness. Many many assignments coming up, and if I really take a look at the calendar, I am actually kind of doomed already. But not sure why, I am not the least worried. Something's wrong.

Horrible

2008-03-23T21:38:00.003+08:00

Things are finally starting to look like last semester, and its nothing good. Last week was quite some hell, and this week is going to be worse, and I'm sure it will go on and on until the finals.

Went to watch Horton, and it was totally horrible. A total waste of money. I have high expectations of animation movies, as all I have seen previously very good. The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Ice Age, Monsters Inc, etc etc, but this one didn't have a storyline, there was totally no link, the story idea was horrid, and the jokes were not funny at all. It didn't help that they had to show the short preview of Wall-E, Kungfu Panda and Ice Age 3 before the movie, which just made Horton look read bad. I fell asleep inside the cinema, and guess what, so did my gf. It the end, we did something we never thought we would have done. And that is to stand up and walk out halfway through the movie. Yes, it was that bad.

Not sure its the after effects on sunburnt, or the rain yesterday, but am feeling a little queer today. Not the right time at all to fall sick.

Beach Fiesta 08

2008-03-23T00:09:00.002+08:00

Well, just back from beach fiesta, all dirty, tired and burnt. It was quite a day indeed. As per usual, with every end of a significant event, I will have thoughts running through my head, translating to the words in my blog of course.

Beach Fiesta is a little more special for me this year, as not only am I in the organizing committee, but also because this event is one of the few which I will be involved in this year. A stark contrast from last year, where I was by left or right involved in almost every single project.

Overall, I would dare say it is by far one of the largest, if not the largest event ever organized by arts club (fop aside). Well, we didn't really plan it to be, but it turned out to be. And I seriously think that this sets a good platform for future batches, as seriously, this event was almost like an event organized by the entire NUS or the sports club of NUS. I am sure not many would have imagined that it was just a faculty club organizing such a big scale event. After settling my registration, I took a look around tanjong beach, as it was amazing to know that all those people out there were all involved in beach fiesta. A total of 62 teams, and 394 participants. Beat that!

Of course, with every event, there will be some minor screw ups and mishaps. For today, some here and some there, but the major one was the rain hitting us near the end of the event. Well, that may have dampened some spirits, but I think overall it was well handled and the event went well.

Being involved in events planning since my poly days, I have heard lots of critical comments during and after events. People will say why this bad thing happens, why that bad thing happens, but fail to look at the brigther side of things. For example for today, some say that the rain at the end spoiled the whole thing, but I personally saw it as a blessing that we had more than 3/4 of the event with a good weather. Many fail to realise that the strange La Nina that hit Singapore has not tided over, and that weather forecast for today was actually thunderstorms. We were indeed very blessed already.

Some also questioned why certain things were managed in some ways, but I usually tend to ignore or rebut such remarks. I think one needs to really have been in the shoes of being a PD for a large scale event, to know why certain decisions are made in certain ways.

Overall, I would say that I was impressed with what I saw today. Seriously, the positives I saw totally outweighed the mishaps and misfortunes that happened today. No event will ever be perfect, and as much as people will always look at an event from the 'outside', I always hold this personal believe that the 'inside' of the event, like committee management and commitment, should also determine the success of an event. I saw hardwork, great commitment, great determination, great decision making, never-say-die attitudes, and worthy characters today. That itself would be for me, enough to determine that beach fiesta 08 was a success!

Too Practical?

2008-03-19T01:21:00.004+08:00

A sudden and random thought came to my head amidst rushing my assignment, and its probably going to be a little confusing than usual.

Many always say kids are lucky, for they can just do what they like without any concerns or worries. But for any normal grown up, we will always ask ourselves why we do certain things, as there should always be a reason for doing anything. As a matter of fact, the reason will usually relate to some personal gain one way or another. It is after all human nature to be selfish and greedy. The practicality of mankind.

However, it is of course possible there is still that side in all of us which tells us to 'just do it'. There are somethings in which when we are doing it, or after we have done it, we cannot still answer the 'why we did it' question. Citing an example, would of course be arts club matters. Yes, there is a side of us which approaches the matter in a more practical way, like for cca points, for cv, for experience, but then again, there is another side which forsakes all these personal gains, as we 'just do it'. Somewhat unexplainable.

I did mention during the last AGM that up till the day of stepping down, I still did not really know why I stood up to run for the management committee. But it never really bothered me, as I was just sure that I was doing what I wanted to do. It was just 'me' to want to be involved in co-curricular activities. In the end, I gained more that I hoped for, especially friendship.

The sad thing though, is that some people I know can be just so practical. A mask worn shows the commitment and 'just do it' attitude, but beneath the mask is a hidden practical agenda. They always say you can see the true colours of one during the midst of all the 'shit', but what I have seen is that you can also see the true colours after all the 'shit' is over.

Confused? Yeah, this is one of those entry I just wanted to rant but didn't really know how to express myself :p

Finally, Hell Week

2008-03-18T16:42:00.000+08:00

Its a stark contrast that hell week has only arrived in my 9th week this semester. I remember how hell week arrived in week 5-6 last semester, and it was hell all the way to the finals. Just goes to show how slack this semester has been (or perhaps how slack I have been).

I have 2 assignments due on thursday, and have at least 3 deadlines to meet by the start of next week. Furthermore, the rest of the week will be filled with project meetings, and to cap the week off, beach fiesta is on saturday. Oh well, things are finally starting to get all so familiar.

Got back my only mid term result, and strangely, I managed to do quite well, considering how statistically troubled I was. To be very honest, on many occasions this semester, I prolly got much higher marks then I thought I deserved this semester. Comparing again to last semester, I kinda didn't 'piah' as much, but thankfully lady luck is perhaps on my side. Then again, I got this feeling its also because I have set expectations at a much lower level, and the pressure is off. As I was telling Pearl, I had high hopes on media writing assignments last semester, and all 3 papers including the final project turned out to be disaster. So whenever I received back my grades and papers this semester, I will always approach it with a much lighter heart, and it probably justifies why I am not complaining that much this semester. To think of it, this should be the correct approach I should strive for.

Oh, I can officially declare that intro to computing is the module which I have slacked the most. I have skipped 4 or 5 straight lectures, did all my presentations and assignments right at the last minute, and for the upcoming presentation, it is probably going to be another last minute and smoking effort. I must admit that if results come back horrible, I only have myself to blame. Oh well, shall make do with what I can in the last few weeks.

Internship. I think it has been more than a month since my interview, but I have still not been accepted. The good news is that they called me again yesterday, and I was happy to hear that I did pass the interview, but there seems to be some other things to settle before they can confirm my internship. So, I am still left a little confused on whether I got it or not, or whether a bomb will suddenly drop on me stating that I did not get the position. My hopes of wanting to intern there still stands after this long wait, as I feel that it is an opportunity not to be missed.

I think before I know it, the next few weeks will fly by. Very soon, exams, internship (hopefully), FOP, and then Hong Kong.

A Different Meaning to Busy

2008-03-16T02:00:00.004+08:00

It's been a while since I last blogged, and once again, I guess its kinda because I am less centered into my studies this semester, and have less to complain on my blog.

The last week has been a cold and wet one, and I was again kinda busy. But this time round, I was not really busy with school work. I was kinda tied up with arts club stuff, and it reminded me of my time in MC last year. Alot of rushing and administrative work here and there, but well, I guess this kinda work is just something I am so used to doing since my secondary school days. When I chose not to re-run, I made a promise to help out whenever I can, because I know the about the workload and pressure the new committee had staring in their face. And I am glad that I am living up to what I said I would do, well to my minimal expectations at least. Lets hope the upcoming run of projects will be a successful one. A message to the 28th, anyone reading this of course, the fruits of the labour will only come after the event itself. Many a times during the planning and preparation stages, we keep asking ourselves why we are doing this. Well, the answer is always right at the end there.

Just came back from cherie's bday party, and thanks cherie for the wonderful party. Had fun, both at the party, and of course dressing up as a bandit cowboy wannabe. Had to ransack my family's wardrobe to see what I could wear, and finally managed to get stuff from here and there to get my attire. Haha, some of the rest had amazing attires, especially caleb. Nonetheless, I still love my gun the most, haha. Was speaking to caleb, and we were saying how this was the first time we had to dress up for a party, but it turned out to be real cool. Haha from another perspective, I'm really glad to have this opportunity, because as I grow older, I really don't see myself doing this anymore. It's an experience to remember :) Bang! Bang!!