2005

Year 2005. This is the year I always looked forward to while in National Service (NS) because it’s the year of my operational ready date (ORD). This is also the year when I entered the university, an institution I have longed to enter after years of schooling. This is the year of anticipation, faith and purpose.

The first 3 months of the year saw me going through the rest of my NS with most of the time clearing leaves, helping out in S3 branch and working as an instructor in secondary school camps. It was a really good experience to be a civilian once again. Perhaps that’s why our ORD wasn’t really as eventful as we thought as we had adapted back into civilian life by then.

Yet, some were lost, confused or even overwhelmed at the uncertainty which lies ahead of us as though we have stepped into a different world, a place so familiar yet seems so alien at the same time. Some expressed how much they longed for the free food in the cook house, some craved for the cheap canteen food, and some missed the daily physical regime which kept them fit, but most of all we yearned for the company of our friends, of the strong friendships which were built throughout the two years, wishing that somehow we can be like the good old days, where we slacked in the bunk, watching VCDs together, chatting about anything under the sun, no burden, no worries, with the wings of hope attached confidently to our hearts, ready to soar the moment the gates of freedom open up for us. Strange how we hold on so fervently to the past, yet we would never expect ourselves to feel that way at that time. Perhaps it’s the human nature to take for granted everything we have and not cherish them while we have it.

Nonetheless, we moved on and I began a series of finding job, getting into job and getting out of job. Eventually, I settled on being a tuition teacher as that would means income even as I enter the university. Nothing very eventful during this period, perhaps the best moments were of meeting up with old friends, JC classmates, the OACians, and NS friends.

July. The very much anticipated moment came as we matriculated into our respective universities and officially became undergraduates. This was the time I saw much determination in the eyes of many people, the determination of getting good grades, the determination of shaping a good future for ourselves, the determination of making our university life a fulfilling and enriching one. Yet, more challenges await us as we been through yet another period of uncertainty, some crushed by the cultural shock where learning modes were different, where learning pace was faster. Some adapted, others did not.

The mid term test was yet another period of uncertainty to many, where term test was harder then expected, where many found out that university life was not as relax as they thought, where everything seemed so impossible, where hopes were shattered and crushed by the shackles of hopelessness.

However, there wasn’t much time to stop and reflect about what happened, the final exams waved to us, beckoning for us to rush towards them. In a flash, as much as we detest, we were preparing for the exams, mugging, burning midnight oil, rushing to finish up the readings, last minute consultation with tutors and so on. Indeed, it was a stressful period and a demoralizing one to some, but the vital point is that we persevered through it all as we harbored some hope, that at the end of the day, it was all worth it that our efforts will be put into good use in the exams. Or was it?

The exam period saw even more hopelessness in the eyes of many. It was a period of self-doubt, uncertainty, and despair for some. Efforts in the preparations rendered useless as we faced unexpectedly challenging papers, particularly in physics and mathematics. Many questioned their own abilities as they came out of the exam room not finishing the paper, especially for math since most engineering students considered themselves to be strongest in that subject. Cries of disappointment and agony permeate the air after every paper. It was a saddening sight to bear.

And again, in a blink, the exams came to an end. So hasty and so unexpected was the transition from exams into holidays. From mugging for my last paper, electrical engineering, into playing of lan games at a friend’s house, it was only a few hours apart. All of a sudden, all our burdens, like rocks on our backs, were being released and in a few days time, we had forgotten how much we suffered in those periods, throwing aside our books and notes, vanishing into a world of freedom, no worries, no burdens and no stress to weigh us down.

Yet again, all good things must come to an end as reality strikes back viciously on us. The results, as much as we denied it, will still cross into our paths, whacking us hard on our back and dragging us out of our wonderland. I saw 2 sides; one resonating with happiness, contentment and victory, another was of disappointment, despair and worries. I saw many dreams reliving, more determined stares coming back in the eyes of many and faith restoring in many lives. On the other hand, some, even with determined wings of hope, were being tied down by the chains of desolation. Dreams shattered, crushed into nothingness, such is the cruelty of truth.

What I have presented of the year seemed to be of sorrow, disappointment and regrets. However, these problems and uncertainties, something everyone will experience in their lives, should be regarded as milestones to a better us, as experiences which will changed our perspective and as obstacles to be overcome and not avoid.

This is it; the year 2006 is at our doorstep. But before rushing into its embrace, think back to the year 2005, think about the hopes and dreams we had, how much have they changed throughout the year or were they already lost and shattered. Why did they change? Is it really impossible to relive those dreams we hold on so dearly to? Or did we expect too much of ourselves and thus caused the disappointment to affect us?

Year 2005. It was the year where I been through much experience as an undergraduate, though stressful and tiring, it was a fulfilling and enriching one nonetheless. It was a year where I learnt how to accept failures and overcome them. It was a year where I met a lot of new friends; many are of high intellect, most are friendly and fun to be with. It was the year where my thinking changed a lot. It was a year of anticipation, faith and purpose. Now, the year is coming to an end.

Need For Speed: Most wanted Part 2

Blacklist number 11: Lou Park (Big Lou)

Ride: Mitsubishi Eclipse

"This slab of Korean muscle considers himself a real ladies man. He's all show. Rumor has it; he panics around the cops and bails on races the first chance he gets. Along with that they say he has problems working the clutch so he's slow off the line. I wouldn't count on it if I was you."

Now the races here now gets tougher, especially tollbooth trials where there is no room for errors. Police pursuits are still manageable in my opinion, as the heat level is still around 1 or 2. Just drive through the pursuit breakers to shake the cops off. Well, so what are heat level and pursuit breakers? I will get to that shortly.

As for this guy, just dun underestimate him, he can be aggressive at times. 2 circuit races to clear him. Man, I hated circuits; going round the same route is so damn boring. But on a heartening note, you can get yourself familiarize with the route on your first lap and bust the asses of your rivals for the rest of the rounds. Beat this guy and get your Eclipse, but no thanks I prefer my RX-8.

Blacklist number 10: Karl Smit (Baron)

Ride: Porsche Cayman S

"This flake calls himself 'Baron'. He's a rich guy from the coast. He thinks garage custom is an excuse for being broke. As far as he's concerned, 'if it's not name brand, it's nothing.' Go show 'm what home grown rides can do."

When I beat Baron in the first race, a sprint race, I told myself that was just an appetizer, I was very sure that Porsche will not come so easily. I mean that was a sweet machine after all, he could do better than that. I was right. The traffic condition during the drag race is definitely not to my advantage. I just kept crashing and allow that Baron guy to win without any challenge. I got so annoyed at one point that I shouted out loud in my room: “God-damned Truck! Not again!” I just can’t help it, that dumb truck was always in my way. But when I got through the traffic obstacle and thought I was winning, that Porsche zoomed past me. Damn! That was one tough race, but it was worth it as I finally send him home and snatched his Porsche.

Oh yeah, turn auto save off and if you did not get the pink slip after beating him, do not hesitate to restart the rival challenge again, even if it means another hair pulling experience. You will regret if you do not get his fine little machine.

Blacklist number 9: Eugene James (Earl)

Ride: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII

"This guy hails from the lower eastside of Rockport but now rides on the coast. He's a big fan of imports and goes out of his way to take on the big blocks."

Getting to him wasn’t very easy at all, especially the police pursuits where the heat level is now at least around 3. I am stuck at the road block milestone. But nonetheless, let me cover abit more on police pursuits.

Heal level refers to how hot your car is to the cops and the heat level gauge will continue to fill up while in a pursuit and when its full, the heat level increases.

For heat level one, the cops are dumb and slow. Getting rid of them is easy and pursuit should end pretty fast.

For heat level two, the cops are still dumb and slow. But the difference is that road blocks are being introduced. Yet, these are still not a threat to you. Read below on how to get pass a road block.

For heat level three, this is the time where the cops finally wake up and gets tougher and faster. More road blocks and the deadly Rhino SUVs are being introduced. These rhinos, usually come in pairs, always charge towards you heads on and left you crashing and going out of control if hit. So try to avoid them but very often they came so suddenly that you have no time to react.

After kena whack by one of the Rhino units:

Note that there are 5 levels of heat, but since i have not reach anywhere beyond 3, i shall only cover up to this stage.

At this stage, dun try to take out the cops yourself by crashing into them, most likely you will end up crashing yourself. Go for the pursuit breakers, these are indicated by red icons on the roads and red triangle on the map. Hit these and the police close behind you will be immobilized.

This is how a pursuit breaker looks like:

Hit the red icon and this will send the planks onto the police behind you and immobilizing them.

Now as for how to dodge a road block. The following is an example of a roadblock, a lousy one i must add.

Anyway, see that yellow bar at the bottom? Thats the speed breaker and upon activating it, the world will slow down for you so that you can dodge things easier andgive you time to plan your approach. Very useful in dodging heavy traffic, road blocks and Rhino SUVs.

Another example of a road block:



To get past a road block, you either find an opening and drive through it:


See that police car driving into their own block? Dumb.

Drive through it, avoiding the police totally:



Or you whack your way through:



Whack:



But, whack only the tail and NOT the head or the door:



NOT like this or you will end up stopping cold after the crash and...



... have to reverse to get out of the block with the cops still giving chase.



Or worse get busted...




And ended up in this screen...




If not, you will be happily racing on the streets as the cops are still not as fast as your crazy little monster. At 160 mph, the whole world will start to become blur and its better to reply on that map. Shucks, i can't imagine how its like to ride on even faster monster like the Dodge Viper or the Lamborghini.






Oh yes, i am still at rival number 9, Earl.

To be continued...

Need For Speed: Most wanted

The excitement of street racing permeates the air once again as Jing Xi and I got addicted into the game of Need for Speed (NFS): Most Wanted. To be the most notorious street racer and work your way up the blacklist while evading the police’s never-ending pursuits and become the most wanted. That’s the objective of the game.

Prologue

The game started off with a few races with the BMW M3. This is a pretty fast ride with decent handling, so there was not much problem for those first few races, until that Razor guy came into the picture. He was blacklist number 15 at that point of time and was my first challenger to get up that list. Apparently, he did something to my ride and it broke down halfway through the race. So, I lost my ride to him and also kena busted by the cops. Dang!

Now, I was released very soon due to lack of evidence or something and with the help of Mia (a hottie =p), I got myself a new ride. A pathetic ride I must add. 3 to choose from: Lexus IS 300, Fiat Punto or Chevrolet Cobalt SS. I chose the Lexus for its better handling. Now, that asshole Razor actually has to cheek to use my ride to get himself to the top of the list. Has he no shame at all? Now, it’s pay back time. But in order to challenge him, I would need to beat the rest of the fourteen below him in the list, starting from number 15. But, in order to challenge the rival, I will need to fulfill some requirements first, and that includes completing a certain amount of races, milestones and accumulates a certain amount of bounty. Milestones refer to the objectives you need to achieve during a police pursuit. Bounty refers to how notorious you are and how badly you are wanted by the police. This can be achieved by creating as much mayhem as you can to the city.

Blacklist number 15: Ho Seun (Sonny)

Ride: VW Golf GTI

"This here is Sonny. He's dumped a whole lot of cash into his car. That ride is worked so don't be fooled, it's a rocket. He does anything he can to get a hold of parts before they hit the streets."

Rocket? Ya right. This guy was a joke, so were the rest of his followers. They were so ultra slow that I was always way ahead of them and when I had a terrible crash, they could not even catch up. In my opinion, they are incredibly cautious drivers, slowing down drastically, almost coming to a complete halt at times, when approaching a sharp bend, slowing down when there is traffic around, and just not aggressive enough.

Furthermore, the cops at this stage were extremely dumb. Their cars are so weak that a slight push on their side is enough to cause much destruction to them, sending them spinning and crashing around. No road blocks or any other fancy stuns to stop me. But the “Pursuit Time Challenge” always drove me nuts. This requires me to get into a police pursuit lasting for a certain period of time, say 2 mins. At the early stage, the cops were so weak that by say 1 minute, I would have immobilized most of them and to stay in the pursuit I need to slow down and wait for them to catch up and be gentle with them so as not to wipe every single cop out in order to complete the “challenge”. Man that was tough… lol

My first ride!

Blacklist number 14: Vince Kilic (Taz)

Ride: Lexus IS300

"This crazy fool is a major heat score. Blacklist gave him the name 'Taz'.

He hates cops and they hate him. Watch yourself around this guy. He prowls the streets of Rosewood looking for newbies."

Well, the reason why he needed to look for newbies would be that he is a pathetic racer! Not much improvement from the previous guy, sonny. And I dun understand why the cops think he is a threat, perhaps because they are dumb, read above. Nothing worth mentioning here and his ride is nothing special anyway.

Oh yeah, upon defeating a rival, you can choose up to 2 out of 6 markers and out of these, there are 3 unique performance/visual/parts upgrades and 3 unknown ones marked with a question mark. And one of the unknown markers contain a pink slip to the rival car, ie u get his/her car. I did not know this until I finish this guy. However, as I mentioned earlier, his ride is just a piece of junk, therefore I sold it for some cash to upgrade mine.

Blacklist number 13: Victor Vasquez (Vic)

Ride: Toyota Supra

"This dude's been holding it down in the #13 slot for a while now. He can't break out of his rut and no one can run him out. He's slack and dangerous but knows how to handle his ride. He'll smoke you if he gets the chance."

Yea, he will smoke me only if he ever gets the chance. Although he was driving in a better machine than mine, Vic was a terrible driver; I wondered how he got his license. He kept crashing and was way behind me throughout both the entire sprint races. Dangerous and knows how to handle his ride? Hell no.

Getting to him wasn’t hard either, the races and the police pursuits were still manageable at that stage. Defeated him and got his pink slip and $15k cash bonus. Woah! Nice.

Blacklist number 12: Isabel Diaz (Izzy)

Ride: Mazda RX-8

"Izzy is definitely a chick you don't want to mess with. She knows everything there is about cars, on and off the road. She's got her ride wired tight. She comes from a long line of race fanatics. Everybody she runs with is either a cousin, friend or uncle. They all stick close so don't get on her bad side."

Well after beating Vic, Camden beach will be unlocked and so the races will be going through that unexplored area. And so, I was pretty confused at times and it almost drove me crazy during one of the races in that unfamiliar route as there was so many intersection and short-cuts plus with the cops behind my back, I crashed and crashed like shit. Furthermore, cops now get tougher as road blocks are being introduced and they seem somewhat smarter now.

But of course, I got through that after restarting a few times and finally got used to the roads in Camden beach. Izzy wasn’t very tough, but I must admit that this chick was better than the rest so far, perhaps because she was on that RX-8. Well, no more, her RX-8 is now mine. =)

Yup, I am now at number 12 in the blacklist, riding on the Mazda RX-8 I got from Izzy.

Izzy's car

This is what i changed it to =)




To be continued...


Anyway, do check out a well written review of this game
by Firdooze too. Cheers!

Weirdos

Prudential surveyor

Recently, while making my way to the train station after a tiring day, I was stopped rudely by a prudential surveyor. If it’s other days, I would not mind entertaining them for a while, but that particular day, I was really damn dead tired. So I tried to push it away, nicely. At least I did not ignore them and walk away like most people would do, she should be grateful. But, she was so persistent…

Me:” Sorry, I am in a hurry.”

Her:” No no, dun worry, it will take only a minute.”

A minute? Yes I am so sure, I have done enough of this to know that it’s going to take me like 10 minutes perhaps? Never mind, she did not buy that, I tried again:

Me: “Erm, I have done this survey many times already, so…”

Yet, she was persistent. “Aiyo, very fast one lar.”

Me: “Look, you dun get it, I done this before and there is no point going through this again.”

Her: “How you know it’s the same? This one is different.”

Me: “Ya right, I can even remember the first question; you are going to ask me whether I have any savings right?”

Great, that shut her up.

Next time, I am going to try this:

“Oh I got your insurance already. Err, what was it? Ah yes, Pru-cash.”

Or hell, just ignore them like everyone else does. Sometimes it’s just not worth it to be kind.

Man on the train platform

One fine day after returning from a gathering with some old friends, I alighted from the train and started walking towards the escalators. At a distance, I realized the escalator was crowded with most of the passengers trying to squeeze in. Now this station’s stairs is just next to the escalators, but I guess no one likes to work on their muscle. So to prevent the crowd, I headed for the stairs beside it, and that was when I noticed this weird uncle in front of me, who was a good 25 meters away from the escalator.

First, he walked towards the escalator.

Then he changed his mind on seeing the crowd, turning towards the stairs.

Again, he decided that he was too lazy to take the stairs, changing his direction towards the escalator again.

No no, the escalator too crowded for him, he moved towards the stairs yet again…

For the next 10 seconds or so, I could figure what exactly was going through his mind:

Escalator, stairs, escalator, stairs, escalator, stairs, escalator, stairs.

He was winding like a snake right in front of me, left, right, left, right, left, right… Hell, this weirdo really cannot make up his mind. In the end he went for the escalator.

Lady at ATM in Plaza Singapura

After a movie of “King Kong” with my NUS classmates, we decided to head for dinner but a few of us needed to withdrawn some cash. So off we hopped over to the nearby ATM machine and as expected it was dreadfully crowded.

When its turn for the lady in front of me, my friend and I let out a sigh of relief, “finally, long queue sia”. However, she took freaking long. At one point, I thought I heard the card being displaced out of the slot. But she was still standing there and the sound of the card going in echoed down my ears. Probably keyed in wrong pin or something lar, I thought. Yet, the card came out and then went in again! This went on for like 3 or 4 times. My friend got impatient and peeped at her.

Oh my, she was like withdrawing $20 then removed the card, and inserted the card and withdrew another $20 then went on doing that for like 5 times or something. My friend almost wanted to confront her. Who in the right mind would do such dumb act? Crazy bitch, waste our time. Just what the hell was she thinking?

Added (28/12): By the way, this atm is supposed to be the “fast lane atm”, but I dun see how different this atm is from the “normal” ones. I would expect that a “fast lane atm” to force you to withdraw a specific amount of money, that means without the “other withdrawal” options, and probably no dispensing of receipts in order to speed things up. However, this atm have exactly the same options as the “normal” ones, so I dun see why the hell they called that a “fast lane” and to make matter worse, we have people like the lady above to utterly slow the queue up and made the “fast lane” slower than the “normal” lanes. How thoughtful.

Of looking young

What the hell is wrong with my neighbors lately? I know I dun look like 21 but please leh, I look like 17 years old meh? Not one, not two, but three neighbors commented on how young I looked within a week… Since it is the holidays now, I got a lot of chance to go for a jog or cycle around the neighborhood. Hence, the probability of meeting my neighbors naturally increases.

On one such occasion, I was merrily pushing my bicycle into the lift and this auntie came along and yelled for me to wait up for her. Of course I did and ended up with both of us staring at each other in awkward silence. Well, she broke the silence by asking me a very disturbing question.

Auntie: “So you should be in junior college by now right?”

Me: “Err, auntie, I am in uni now”

Auntie: “Oh really? You dun look that old leh.”

Oh great, JC? I graduated from a JC for like more than three yrs ago lor. Thanks a lot…

On another incident, I was dressed up in my running attire with my unit’s singlet getting ready to go for a leisure run around my estate. Then this guy who is around his late twenties joined me in the lift.

Guy: “Going for a run?”

Me: (duh! Then why do u think I am in singlet and shorts??) “Ya.”

Guy: “So how’s school?”

Me: “Holidays liao”

Guy: “Oh you in JC or poly arh?”

Me: “…”

Nevermind about that, but what’s more disturbing is the fact that I was wearing my unit’s singlet which bears the huge guards’ logo in front and the words “3 Guards” behind. Anyone who has been through the army should recognize that straight away and at least make a smarter guess like perhaps I am still in army or something. Either he was blind or he thought I was wearing my elder brother’s singlet or something, which is still very saddening.

The third occasion is with my family going for dinner just now. And so again, we are at the lift lobby waiting for the lift and an elderly couple came along. My dad being so unnecessarily outgoing started a conversion.

Dad: “Hello, where are you all going?”

Auntie: “Dinner, you?”

Dad: “Same.”

Auntie: (noticed my presence) “Your son? How old?”

Dad: “21 this year”

Auntie: (Shocked, can see her jaws dropping to the ground liao) “Huh? He dun look like 21 lor, looked so young.”

I just stood there and gave a huge grin at the auntie while she threw a disbelieving look on me. Somehow I wished I could do something to make her stop staring probably by means of a clench fist directed to her face or something. Well, the above three are not the only occasions I got such comments; I also got such shit from complete strangers. For instance, a few years back when we were around 19+, my friends and I were queuing up to buy the tickets to a NC-16 movie (forgot what show was that) and the lady behind the booth saw me and goes like: “Can show me your NRIC please?” Oh god, great, just great, she thought I was a secondary school punk trying to skip school to watch this dumb show is it? I got a lot more of these when buying M-18 VCDs as well. Sometimes I feel like throwing my IC at their faces.

However, on hindsight, they are not to be blamed. Indeed, I have to admit that I do look quite young, but sometimes I dun know whether to take it as an insult or a compliment. Probably when I grow older then will I get to appreciate the joy of looking young. But for now, it sucks.

Closing of the first chapter

Ever wonder how inquisitive humans can be? The moment I log on to msn yesterday before checking my results, at least 7 windows shot up, almost all inquiring about my results. Subsequently, more started coming up a few minutes later. Somehow, I wished I should have done the same thing as one of my friends, putting his nick as: “Later when the result releases, dun ask me! I will tell you when I am ready!” Indeed, I will get to you if I want to share my happiness or disappointment with you, so dun come around asking me for my results, especially those whom I never spoke to for like 2 months or more? Why the sudden concern? Or perhaps just wana to satisfy your desire to compare your grades with everyone else you know? I am dreadfully disturbed, not heartened by the “concern”.

As for my results, I would say that I am largely relief and glad with it. Although it came pretty close to my predictions, there was a huge disappointment with sociology. B-, this utterly pulls my CAP (Cumulative average grade) down. I spent so many hours on this module while putting aside my physics and this is how they reward me for my efforts? Well, suffice to say that I did not really perform well during the exam, think I wrote abit out of point for my second essay, however so far, every engine student I spoke to taking this module gets this grade. Is the competition really that intense over at the arts side?

That was a pretty disgusting grade, yet I am relieved. I have seen worse. “What is the minimum grade in order not to retake arh?” A friend asked. Its pretty obvious that he did not even come close to a C. As a matter of fact, he got a D+. I remembered I read from somewhere that D is considered a pass and there is no need for retakes. While he lets out a sigh of relief, I began wondering what I would do if I were in his shoes. Devastated, stunned, perhaps refusing to believe what I saw, and hoping to wake up from the terrible nightmare. Furthermore, the rest of his results were good. Thus, his CAP was pretty horrible due to that one particular failure… Sad indeed. There are more saddening stories; there are also demoralizing, gloomy, disheartening and tragic ones; all laid before me.

But of course, there are stories which resonate with happiness, surprises, contentment and victory. There are those who got straight As. There are those who got above the CAP of 4.5. There are those who thought they will do badly yet in the end did very well. There are also those who thought they will fail but in the end did reasonably well. I truly congratulate them and also applaud myself for having gone through one semester and now waiting for the next chapter to unfold. The next chapter, will it be as exciting and fulfilling as the first? It’s up to you to decide.

Have a merry Christmas and a joyful New Year. Cheers!

On the eve of the result release

Good luck. That’s what some people wished me since the start of this week as our results are going to be release soon. Although I appreciate those words of encouragement and concern, deep down inside, I wondered how exactly luck can play any role in this case. Exams have already been sat for and completed. The grades which we are all waiting anxiously for have already been determined the moment we stepped out of the examination hall. Each and every of us more or less knew how we did for the exams, forming an impression of how our grades might turn out as we started comparing our answers and discussing the questions with our classmates and friends. To me, it would be just confirming if my predictions were right, and most likely, it shouldn’t deviate too much.

Ntu released their results a couple of days ago and with it, I saw happiness, relief, disappointment, despair, worries and more. Some just cannot hide their surprise at how well they did, while some disappointed, wondering if they could have done better. Some were just relief that they cleared all their modules, some despair, staring in disbelief at their results, praying that somehow there was a mistake. Some calling frantically to everyone else finding out how they fared, while some did not even know the results were released. Some cannot wait to share their happiness, while some disappeared, perhaps wallow in self-pity, succumbed to failures…

3pm. That’s the time tomorrow when the above emotions will start to arise from the nus side, well at least for the year one engineers. Well well, which of those will I belong to?

Say Hello to...

…my new phone, the nokia 6101. Elegant and stylish in design equipped with decent functions. The VGA camera takes pretty decent 640x480 pixels photos and average video recordings. There is no mp3 player in this phone but the fm radio offers an alternate entertainment. This phone supports polyphonic and mp3 ringtones. However, the downside is that there is too little memory capacity; 4.4MB of shared memory is just too little to do much. Also, there is no Bluetooth. Yet, I am contented with just the infrared as it transfer files to and from my laptop pretty fast. Furthermore, the keypad is abit stiff; perhaps I am just not used to it. Well, shouldn’t really complain too much for a phone at such affordable price, $98 for a new plan or upgrade with singtel or trade in your old phone like the Nokia 6610/6100 to bring the price down to $38. =)

Modules shopping

Lately, I got a few friends asking me what modules I will be taking for next semester and whether I will be taking more than 5 modules. Well, I could not really give them a confirm answer right away because I myself have yet to really sit down and seriously think about this matter. It’s now less than 2 weeks to the module registration and time to do some planning, amidst all the enjoyment of the holiday. So, I did some module shopping via the CORS website a few days back and came up with a list of modules that interests me.

GEM (Science)

GEK1509 – Introduction to the nanoworld

This is a module by the department of physics and as the title clearly states, it is an intro to the nanoworld, dealing with the knowledge of nanoscience and nanotechnology. This has much relevance to my course, electrical engineering, or rather the branch of electrical engineering I am considering to specialize in, ie microelectronics. From what I have heard, this module has a lot of hands on, dealing with devices that study materials at the nanoscale. This is a non-examinable module consisting of some projects, individual as well as group, plus a term test and lots of quizzes.

However, it seems that this module is not available next semester as it is not listed under the cors website.

GEM (Arts)

GEK1001 – Place, environment and society

This module is offered by the department of geography; dealing with physical as well as human geography, providing a geographical perspective of the world we live in. This module consist of 1 group project, which contribute 20%, some practical assignments, totaling to 20%, and the final exam which carries 60%. Also, there are 2 fieldtrips, which are optional, to the Singapore River and central catchments area.

GEM 2006 – Logic

This one is by the department of philosophy and is basically the study of logical reasoning. This module is also not listed under the cors updated list; probably it is not available this coming semester as well. So, not much info is gathered for this module, but I heard that the exam is quite interesting, some matching game.

Singapore studies (SS)

SSB2216 – Employee management in Singapore

So far, the synopsis of all the SS modules bored me to tears. I will probably settle for this one as this seems to be the most useful of all. There will be an individual project which requires the student to interview an “employee” and produce a 1500-words report based on the interview.

Cross Faculty modules

EC1301 – Principles of economics

I will probably take this to fulfill my second SARTOR (UK Accreditation) requirements.

LAF1201 – French 1

Hmm let’s talk about this if I ever get this module. The average bid point for this module last semester was 1000+. We, engineers, get the least general points under our account, a pathetic 250 per sem, which means I only have 500 points to spend for this coming semester.

---------------------

Now, as for whether I am going to take 6 modules is still pretty undecided. One reason is that next semester seems to be pretty tough with the 5 MCs programming module as well as the critical thinking and writing. The programming module, CS1102C, is once again being portrayed as the ultimate killer module, with 2 labs per week, crazy lab assignments and ultra hard concepts waiting for us to grasp, or at least that’s what the rumors said. As for critical thinking and writing, some said that it’s a project based module and therefore it is going to be very time-consuming. Well, while it is true that next semester is going to be demanding, but then again, which semester is not? I doubt that year 2 engineering modules are going to be smooth sailing. If we do not start cramping our modules now, we will probably never want to do it and realized that by year 4, you have to juggle between your final year project (fyp) together with some core modules plus a couple of university requirements modules which you could have cleared earlier and that in my opinion is not very wise.

Yet, even with all these planning, what we desired might not materialize. One, the module you desire might not be available, for instance, I was planning to take "Introduction to the nanoworld", but it seems that it is not offered in this coming semester. Two, you might not be able to get the module, probably out-bided during the registration. Third, unfortunately, you fail one of your core modules and have to retake it and all these planning basically go down the drain. Lastly, cors might just refuse to let us take more than 5 modules and all our bubbles will start bursting…

Anyway, for fellow year one engineering students, our time table for next semester is out at the Faculty of Engineering (FoE) website.

Edit: Just received an email stating the following:

“Pl take note that the maximum workload in semester 2 is a total of 25 MCs. Although you are strongly advised not to overload yourself in the coming semester, if you wish to increase your semestral workload to above 25 MCs, you must do so prior to the start of CORS by seeking approval from the Year 1 Academic Coordinator, …”

So we can start planning for 6 modules this coming semester if we want to.

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Pulau Ubin - An island with fond memories

To many, 21^st birthday means throwing a huge party in some chalet or in their house and inviting all their friends since primary school. Most likely, there will be a huge birthday cake, lots of food, lots of activities and lots of gifts. To some, it would be just a small gathering with a few good friends to have a meal together and nothing very fanciful. To some, it would be spending the day with their family. For some, it would be a day full of surprises planned by their best friends, something they would never have expected. For some, it might be a quiet day, probably they themselves did not bother or they might be busy with their work or school or perhaps, sadly, no one remembered.

For my good friend, Liu Ting, whose birthday is tomorrow (10th Dec), it is going to be a day in Pulau Ubin. Weird as it may seems, especially so as my friend is a female, spending a day out in the forest is not one would have expected to be of a birthday celebration. To most guys, going back into the forest might inevitably bring back the awful moments they had outfield during their National Service (NS). To some girls, the forest might just be out of their dictionary. Yet, she long to revisit this island, to bash into the forest, taking her back into the arms of nature and reliving the sweet old memories. She loved the island. So do the rest of the OACians.

Pulau Ubin, an offshore island northeast of the main island, provides a relaxing rural retreat where sandy trails, forest, mangrove swamps, fishing kelongs, animal farms and other various forms of wildlife form the general tapestry of the island. With just a 15 mins bumboat ride from the Changi jetty, anyone can enjoy the tranquility of the island and get away from monotonous modern city life. Furthermore, the friendly locals there will make the trip even more welcoming and memorable.

The island is our time capsule, holding on to the memories where our friendships were built and strengthened, It was this island where we been through the sufferings of trainings together. It was this island where we been through the leadership training camp (LTC) and the Instructors’ training camp (ITC) together, with confusion, uncertainty, fear, determination, faith, tears and most of all support from each other while we were being trained to be competent instructors of the Outdoor Activities Club (OAC). The orienteering, the never-ending route marches, the lonely solo night, the terrifying night confidence walk, the emotional “kidnapped” game and many more. It was there where our bonds were strengthened, where we revealed the true care and support for each other, it was there where we walked through the numerous obstacles, together as a group and not as individuals. It was there where we seen who our true friends are.

There are other moments too. It was this island where we clinched the second place in the orienteering on wheels organized by NTU’s sports club. It was also this island that we held our many gatherings, coming back year after year without fail. The cycling trip round the island, the bbq and camping over at Mamam beach, the evening walk and watching the sunset on the beach of Noordin, the sunrise view at puaka quarry, exploring parts of the island we never been to and many more.

Indeed, we long for the past, we long to relive those good times we had, those memories that left deep impression in our lives and will indelibly stay in our hearts forever. An indescribable feeling of how much we felt for the island where only those who experienced it would understand.
"The experience is yours."

Some old photos:

Always there singing the song of OAC:

We come from the greatest club,
we from from the OAC.
We come as a member of a great great club.
We fight for the victory, we fight for the glory,
we fight with a spirit never known before.
OAC, OAC, all the way!
We like it here, we like it here,
we found ourselves a home.
A home, a home sweet home!

Airline Food

This guy’s post made me really hungry, especially this humongous prawn:

And this awesome curry:

Check out this site and here for more mouth-watering airline food.
Yummy!

Blog Revamped!

Got this template from this site, recommended by Chu Wen. Very cool templates indeed.
Well, have been busy with the C++ bridging course and organizing a few gatherings lately. Anyway, OACians please keep this sat free, we all know whats going on. Hehe. And 3rd Guards ppl, pls reply to my msg in yahoo group and decide the gathering dates fast..

Nice Try

Taken from CS1101C jokes forum:

Loneliness

Loneliness. The state of being without friends, characterize by solitude. Forsaken, isolated and being left behind. No one to turn to in times of obscurity. No one to crack jokes with. No one to hang out with. No one there to listen to your woes after an awful day. No one there to console you after a disastrous day. Alone, fighting the battle on your own.

I would not say I have truly experienced loneliness as I have a bunch of great friends who were always there for me. Some were always there when I needed company. Some are my usual hang out buddies, be it going for movies, camping or simply having a meal together. Some were always there when I needed help in school work. Some are great listener, willing to endure my craps. Some were always there to cheer me up after a terrible day. Some were always there to give me advice. Some were just always there for me. I must say that I am truly thankful for these friends, especially so when I read a recent post by one of my friends, Jevon, who described the loneliness of being a student in Paris.

Link here

Jevon, I cannot say I truly understand how you feel as I was never in your shoes, being so far away from the familiarity of home and from the numerous friendships, trying to integrate well into a different culture and language, probably feeling unwanted and alienated in the society in which one have yet be able to assimilate into. However, what I can do for you is to show that I care and that I am sure that a lot of your friends care too, judging from the responds from your tag board. You can be sure that, yes you may be alone, yet never lonely, there are people around who are willingly to be there for you, probably not physically, but definitely psychologically, always giving you our unyielding support and care. Hang in there, my friend.

Abt Uni 2

From CS1101C forums, IVLE:

From:(nickname)

Date: 23/10/2005 04:58:00 PM

Heading: Default Heading

Topic: Y CANT PROGRAMMIN B LIKE CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING

hi all,

lukin at the disasterous results in the mid term, then labs ; i hav a few things to say.

first of all, i am a bginner in programmin. i hav got no previous xperience watsoever in programmin; but i kno a few things in animation software. wen i came here , i was shocked to hear that i gotta do a programmin module in first sem. "shocked" coz i knew peanuts abt C programmin.tho' a few ppl did PROGRAMMIN IN SECONDARY EDUCATION many of us did other things like biology, engineering drawing , electronics and other stuff. but wen i attended the first lecture, i found that there r many ppl like me( the survey of mr. raymond was a big solace to me)

i thought i wud b able to pick up just like i did in other modules. unfortunately the answer is no. dunno y?despite the fact i spend a lot of timein programmin, programmin to this date has always been a nitemare to me, but other modules r ok even tho' i found thm to b equally tuff in the bginnin.

i found that i wasnt the only one to be in such a crisis. there r many others like me . my question is " R WE DUMB IN PROGRAMMIN COZ WATEVER THE EFFORT WE PUT GOES WASTE?" OR" R WE COMPETING IN AN ARENA WHERE QUALITY OF PROGRAMMIN MODULE IS WORLD CLASS AND SO WE GUYZ HOO KNO A LITTLE STRUGGLE TO GRASP?"

also the fact that we beginners compete with "experts" is a big disadvantage coz GRADING IS ON RELATIVE BASIS and we r left gaspin on a hot sunny afternoon.

i am not tryin to say the syllabus shud b diluted. NO ;NOT AT ALL , AT ANY COST. but cant PROGRAMMIN MODULES FOLLOW THE SAME SYSTEM FOLLOWED BY CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING?

wat i mean is that onlyif u pass the QET ,( qualifying english test) u can take CTW.

else u will have to take some basic english modules that prepares u for CTW and gives u a thorough knowledge of fundamentals of english language. this not only improves our vocabulary but also builds r self confidence and builds in us a mindset that we'll b able to compete and rise to the demands of CTW

y not a similar mthdology for C PROGRAMMIN. beginners hoo kno peanuts shud b given ample time to learn the fundamentals and build a strong foundation of basic programmin skills . they shud b taught basic skills abt programmin (let it be A ZERO MC MODULE)

this wud also give thm a psychological edge and a"feel- good" atmosphere.

after all UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IS ALL ABT SKILL N KNOWLEDGE . to acquire those u need to b strong in ur fundamentals. unfortunately the time frame is too short(coz we've gotta concentrate in OTHER modules as well)

so a basic pre requisite wud b a big boon for all bginners

ARE THEY ANY TAKERS?

SOC ARE U LISENING?

i dun kno wat i said was correct or incorrect. but i jus wanted to voice my opinion . thank u

Before school started, I heard lots of horror stories about how year one programming was such a killer, giving them sleepless nights after sleepless nights and in the end stepping out of the exam hall feeling that they got nothing out of the module. I have also heard of how disgusting the labs could be, always leaving students in frustration and despair as those questions were just out to kill them. I have also heard of how extremely disadvantage one would be without a background in computing before embarking on this module. Everyone kept giving me the impression that its going to be a nightmare. Yes, granted, it was tough. Yet, at the end of it, I am of the opinion that those rumors were just too exaggerated. Furthermore, on the contrary to what people said, I got the most out of this module. Other than programming, I learnt about problem solving, learnt how to come to terms with setbacks and most importantly I learnt about learning.

Complains after complains in the programming ivle forum whining about how disastrous the mid term test was, about how undoable the labs were, about how this module was killing them. The above post was just one of the many such grumbles. The poster claimed that programming was just too alien for him and that he experienced immerse difficulty in grasping the concepts. He complained further and perhaps pushing the blame to the fact that he knew nothing about programming and that beginners like himself are going to be in a very disadvantage position on the grading curve as he competes with “experts”.

Beginners struggling with C programming? Beginners dropping to the bottom of the curve? I doubt so. There are like 90% of the students in the module with little or absolutely no background in C and I seriously doubt that every beginner was having difficulty grasping those concepts. Most of my friends and classmates, all beginners in C, found the topics covered and the lab questions manageable. Perhaps the real problem came when we were introduced to pointers which can be very confusing at times; even 2-d arrays were manageable. But, we got through all that, without complaining and whining as though the world is going to end. In fact, I know of people with absolutely no background scoring better in mid term test than those who were supposedly in the advantage position. It does not matter whether you have the background or not, its about how open you are to accept and learn new things. Attitude matters more than aptitude. Well, I suppose you do not come to university just to do things you were familiar with and refuse to try or stay away from new things, do you? Also, the efforts you put in the subject counts. Our lecturer, Raymond Tan, reminded us right from the beginning, “The amount of time you spend in front of the computer doing programming will determine your grade.” Indeed, grasping programming concepts is not a matter of just reading the textbook; it involves getting some hands-on trying out those codes yourself.

So, the poster went on suggesting intro modules with zero modular credits for beginners to cope with the “shock” and to give them a little preview on the module they are going to pursuit.

Imagine an intro module to every tough subject and as a matter of fact, everything in uni is tough, we will see “intro to math”, “into to physics”,”intro to chemistry”, “intro to geography”, “intro to _________ (fill in whatever you wish to take)”, all zero MCs. Wonderful, terrific, superb idea indeed! Now, we can have a “feel good” environment, dun have to worry about grades of those subjects we are unfamiliar with and learning them at our own pace and very very likely extending our stay in nus to like what? 8 years? 10 years? He got to be kidding right? This is preposterous! Outrageously dumb to the max. And this guy needs such module to build up his confidence in tackling obstacles? Do you think there is such thing in the real world?

No, I do not take joy in making fun of people. But sometimes, I just cannot help it when I see such ridiculous shit coming out of fellow undergrads who are supposed to be the cream of the crop.