Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Introducing: Gudel
Prediction business will never end.. At least, to lift up the spirit of the supporters.
Gudel is the brand new, Indonesian Paul!
Only correct for second leg, though, not for aggregated/overall result.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Appeal granted <3
I got what I wanted!!
Thanks a lot for a friend who was willing to swap an index with me (now I pray that this swapping is mutual and a win-win situation for both of us),
and the profs/lecturers and CBC officers who kindly granted my appeal! ohooooo. Thank youuuuu!!
I think I should start being nicer to lecturers, especially those two. =D
And I am praying that another two modules will be successfully added. yeay.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Home.
So for those Christian foreign students who had to sit for paper(s) until the last day of exam period like me, we needed to choose whether we were going to stay around for Christmas or rush back to celebrate Christmas at home on Dec 23rd evening or 24th morning.
I chose 24th morning. So I am boarding in several hours.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays =)
Thursday, December 23, 2010
7 papers were not the problem. Myself is.
I had 7 papers this sem, they are a LOT, but since 1 module is put under S/U option and another 1 is lab which, more or less, you can't study a lot and wait and see it happened, so, it is roughly the same as usual =)
So.. let's start.
CBC922 - Medicinal Chemistry
Roughly a simple module, or 3rd biochem module according to my friend. My biochem record is not good at all, but thank God I could get through this. The paper was considerably, relatively more difficult than the past years' ones.
CBC314 - Physical and Biophysical Chemistry 2
A LOT of questions, and a WAAAAYYYY LOT harder than past year papers! My friend who sat behind me showed a bad sign after the invigilator collected our answer booklets, and I couldn't help but agreed with her. Moreover, we are, more or less, at the same level, and she was worried until days after this paper. Made me worried as well.
CBC316 - Chemistry and Biological Chemistry Laboratory 4
Somehow I believe that the questions are being recycled each year! Lab written exams were never easy for most students, especially because the TAs only explained things that were necessary for experimental procedure and data processing. In the paper they asked technical questions (who had expected?????). INCONSISTENCY!!!!! Oh.My.God.
CBC932 - Polymer Chemistry
The paper itself was relatively easy, only a few "trap" questions. I only hope I am helped by the bell curve, though.
HP806 - Psychology of Crisis Stress Management
I am very glad that I S/U it. The module was quite interesting, but the exam paper was quite deadly.
CBC311 - Chemical Spectroscopy and Applications
Overall remark is the same as polymer. The first lecturer, who gave a HARD mid-term quiz, put easy questions, but the second lecturer who had an easy mid-term quiz gave one "trap" but easy question and one super long, tiring question. Yaaa, so, bell curve, save me please!
CBC934 - Heterocyclic Chemistry
The initial shock was interesting. And I wondered why I put nearly the same answers with those students who S/U this module? *faints* I still do strongly hope that I will pass this module with a good remark.
It was not a good exam period, right? Yes. It was tough.
But it was not as most NTU-ers tought. The problem was not the number of papers (this is NTU! Chemistry and Biological Chemistry division, to be exact. You will end up with 5-6 papers normally). The problem was MYSELF. With procrastination. Yessssssss. Maybe the same thing was also my pitfall last sem, apart of being insecure, having lack of confident in myself and ending up listen to and follow people's opinion out there, tired of all the
I need more Rachel Berry good qualities.
However, it seems that not only me who realized something was wrong about some students in our cohort.. So if that person reads this, just be confident in yourself, gal. You have much more incomparable, good qualities as well =) Just do your best and don't think about anything else, I believe you will make a good chemist, a good scientist, or a good person in whatever form you may be (musician, perhaps?), one day.
Looking forward to treasure the long journey of research with you =)
Hey! Who, among undergrads in CBC, have ever gotten 4 papers, as first author, accepted at top, high-impact journals from 10 weeks of work, anyway?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Bell Curve God
U noe, fb got a new trend, people r praying to e bell curve god. Haahahx..
OH MY GOD.
I can't help but laugh so hard.
Thanks dear for introducing me to a new term which made my day.
Anyway, can we have the TAs explaining about theories that do not direcly related to data processing and are not in lab manual? Please? Because we didn't even think, nor expect, that they would appear in the examination paper.
*no use, no more lab exams, haix*
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I had never seen this scene, I think.
pic cr: tumblr
Watching Rachel Berry is like watching myself on TV. I must admit that we're much alike, apart of her being a prodigy in singing and me currently pursuing something really different (plus I have mom and not gay dads, sorry Rachel). Let's see. The similar way to annoy people, the same way of being misunderstood, the same way of being full of ambition, the same way of exaggerating things, the same feeling of insecurity, the same pride.. However, she's much more hardworking than me, and I guess she does not procrastinate. ='(
Anyway, even though there's quite a probability that I'll end up doing PhD after undergrad, I strongly don't believe on the power of procrastination. Nah nah, I don't want to procrastinate, and I don't intend to procrastinate (but I don't intend to overwork as well, hey, I need to go out and get a life!). I love PhD comics, tho =D
One side of me gives a strong disagreement everytime people say that Rachel Berry is a bad person, and I should not admire her, and blahblahblah. Hey are they real (as if Rachel Berry is real.... she's completely FICTIONAL!!!!), or are they simply images that the writers put on her? I have ever read a lot of essays defending her (and having a reverse opinion than what people think the characters are) and I strongly agree with most of them. I will elaborate this later.
Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron, to be exact) is an example of injustice in this world in terms of looks. A good thing to work on entertainment industry anyway. Her acting is definitely not bad, no worries. Anyway, I just knew that she played a part in Burlesque! Yeah, the Golden Globe, Christina Aguilera and Cher's film. Awr! I'm looking forward to be able to watch it and see what's the role for Glee's ice queen HBIC there.. LOL.
Sorry for the sudden bombardment of Glee during the past 1 month or so. FYI, I'm not a hardcore fan of it, only a regular viewer
Why I should love writing and photoshop-ping lately.. Hix. The source of procrastinating!!!! And its gift just makes me more and more miserable.
Nguping Bench AY1011S01
First of all, I am really sorry for bragging about courses and all these. I know I have been upsetting a lot of people, be them the reader of this blog or people, seniors to be exact, in my real life. I realize that this may hurt some of you. I even owe some people apologies for reminding them of the bitter past. This semester is tough and hard, yet challenging, especially with procrastination, lazing around, headaches and stuff. I can't help myself from being stressful, but then, it was my decision to take this load and I am going to finish this battle. YEAH.
So. After having conversation with some people and considering this semester's load and other things,
there is no "nguping bench" compilation by me this semester.
For those who are still studying in benches (if there are still.. sadly), I wish you peace and pleasant moments of studying and bonding with one another. And don't forget to share the blessings that you've had to others. Praying and sending encouragement messages will be good.
And if we still have chances, we can try to save benchers from extinction.
I may not see you often, but maybe if we are fated to meet, we will =) I'll still drop by there to check whether you are doing OK. If there's no one there, it is still a good memory, though.
And at the end.. Keep revising, keep overhearing. =D
Until then..
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Golden Globe
Black Swan. Inception. Burlesque. Natalie Portman. Mila Kunis. Darren Aronofsky. Toy Story 3. Bound to You. You've Never Seen the Last of Me. I See the Light. Jane Lynch. Chris Colfer.
YAY!!!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Exams, dear!
my heart races, but I can't resist the temptation.
stubborn head.
stubborn head.
stubborn head.
stubborn head.
exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams! exams!
stop browsing! stop going online! stop daydreaming! stop writing! stop blogging! stop designing! it's time for your left brain to maximise functioning.
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THIS LAPTOP?
Because you don't need to be kiasu to be a good student, set personal targets and work to accomplish them.
Hey! Only jealous (and indeed, kiasu) people think that! Ha!!
Rachel Berry, please come and lend me your qualities, dear. Pleasepleaseplease.
Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
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Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony.
This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.
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I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.
Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.
And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.
The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.
You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.
The good news is that they’re wrong.
The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.
You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.
So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.
Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.
I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.
Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.
That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.
If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.
What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.
Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.
What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.
The most important is this: do not work.
Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.
Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.
There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.
People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.
Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.
Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.
I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.
So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.
Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.
Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.
In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.
The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.
I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.
Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.
Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.
Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.
You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.
Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
Desperately want to spend another holiday at home, even though the exam period for this sem is not yet finished
Saturday, December 11, 2010
can't stop laughing
from : http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1401
Analytical chemistry: physical sciences or life sciences? =D (read: am I more male or female type? *faints*)
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from: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1361
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Merry Christmas, my Darling exam papers
- it does not need you to be smart to be able to create magic. Brittany.. How inspiring she is today! She's hilarious
and dumb, but sweet-hearted on the other side. - Santa is real! He lives in your heart to do kindness to others, especially those who need it. Inspired by Beiste and Sue. Love Sue and Will's frenemy relationship and how Sue were moved because of New Directions again this time =) The ending scene when Sue and New Directions
broke tocame over to Will's house to accompany him who lived alone and celebrate Christmas together was nice and heart-wrenching, anyway. Like it =') although some songs for New Directions' caroling to make their beloved coach surprised would be nice rather than those expressionless looks. - it's not always how you look, it's how you act. That ugly girl who wished to be prettier Beiste told Brittany, was Beiste herself, am I right? Now that she was thankful that Santa did not grant her wishes, she was enabled to do kindness acts and inspire other people. She really had a big heart =)
- miracle... is not always real. But wishes are. Hope is, too.
Luck does exist.And hardwork is surely paid. =)
- FinnChel was not back yet this ep! =D Yossshhhhhhhhhhh~ Prediction is correct, again. Better scene today, compared to the lame breakup! I'd like them to stay this way for a while, though, for them to be mature and strong and well-behaved. Shippers, calm down and don't attack either Lea's, Cory's or Brad Falchuk's twitters again! If the rumours that they would be end-game are true, then just wait for their return to be a stronger couple they would be. See their shared looks and half-smiles at the end of the ep?
Lesson learnt: If you want to create angst, or in general, do something, it must be epic. At least, if people blame you because of the angst, you're still forgiven for the epicness. - Santittany for life!! I have not really seen them interact like before lately. This is why I support FinnChel, so that Finn does not go to Santana and ruin Santittany-Artie-Puck relationships =P
- I wish for the Evil Trinity (Quinn, Santana, Brittany) to be back in action. Not destroying New Directions, since it'll be less likely now that they are a more-or-less-dedicated part of it, maybe do something else for the school or what? =P
- love Santana's (Naya's! it's always the casts who do the performances, and the characters as the writers' puppets, if no, Rachel/Lea and Quinn/Dianna would not hold hands at Dog Days Are Over last ep) solos: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Valerie. Can't. stop. listening. to. them. Aaarghh.
- if I can predict some main points at some Glee episodes successfuly (for 3 last eps: Kurt moved to Dalton Academy, Finn-Santana thing revealed to Rachel, Rachel and Finn angst) can I pass PRD001 - Predicting Exam Paper Questions with As (A+s are bonus =D) in my Degree Audit? =P I think concentration does come into play here.
So.. back to exam period business =I Concentration! Yes, beside no procrastination. Still need to go to lab this afternoon, though. Ck.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Studying = Kiasu?
IMHO studying a normal thing to do, and people have different modes of study. One-night study a.k.a super procrastinate, study from the beginning, study whenever they have time, etc.. Studying, in its literal meaning, is not less important than learning. If you don't revise, what's the point of attending classes? It's a part of learning though when you are doing your responsibilities, managing your time, and balancing out your life. And afterall, I think
Why people freaked out when they see others (especially, strong competitors) study? Insecurity? Lability? Lack of confidence? Or is this the one that is called "kiasu"? So it's not the action of studying then, it's the attitude of people who wants to win but are insecure and then start excessively comparing themselves with others and, psychological actions/attacks may come into play.
Just a thought, after a night of serious, heart-to-heart talking with some friends.
So, happy revision.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Funk.
Yes I'm talking about Glee. That TV show. An entertainment after I finished all my CAs and am looking forward for the upcoming holiday and what will happen beforehand.
What happened between Finn and Santana was revealed, yes, and I'm really happy about it. At least everyone knew by now.
But the rest of the storyline were unexpected. I'll comment on each:
- Will-Emma-Carl.
I hope Mr Schue will stop victimize the glee club kids in order to get Emma's attention. - Why Quinn and Sam got the lead part.
heyheyheyhey... It was sectionals and not just some practicing (agree with what Finn said). Comparable toheterocyclic chemistryexam paper vs sudden personal bombardment in class.
Not Finn and Rachel as leads was completely fine to me, but replacing them with Sam and Quinn.. hmmmm. If I had someone to blame, it was definitely Mr. Schue (and the writers, definitely). For the nth time, I believe he did that ONLY to impress Emma or follow what Emma had said. Right?! Tying is not as satisfying as winning, you know what, and by choosing Sam and Quinn, it was not competitive at all. They are the weakest singer in Glee club! Talent is talent, but before throwing them to competition, polish it first!!! Well, I'm disappointed. - The sectionals result
The result itself was lame!!!!! How can it be like that? It's like pushing the storyline, to satisfy the Glee should-be storyline while giving a favorable side to Kurt and the Warblers at once. How can? how can? how can? One with weak leads, and one with weak coreography. Make up your mind, pls! Not cool. - What happened at the backstage
They were all outcasts once. And see how Mercedes and Tina treated Rachel? Santana was being mean as always (I'm not sure what was her problem with Rachel, actually? She was insecure, she was popular, but I don't think Rachel had something to do with it.. Their lives didn't seem to intersect at all except the Finn truth), but yes, everyone in Glee club definitely did not deserve Rachel's label of "friend". Including Finn, definitely. I started to see Rachel as the victim of image and character development... - And especially, what Rachel did. and what Finn did.
And Finn.. My God. I think the whole conversation were at the super wrong situation. Rachel was upset about not getting the solo but instead Santana got it, then the truth about Finn-Santana came out. Mr Schue blamed her for whatever she did, and the whole fight at the backstage/green room at Sectionals. He even had a fling in a hallway with Santana! At the end, Rachel's "cheat" came out. The situation was tense and he was sort of being cheated on with 1 same guy. But had he ever wondered if Rachel saw him flirting with Santana at the hallway, and then, she met Puck afterwards and the rest just happened? Hey! You did that when the situation was still very tense and it was Santana, Santana, and Santana. Remember? It's like having an exam/mid-term paper discussion directly (within 36 hours) after you screwed it up. Wrong-wrong situation, timing and condition. Been there, and it IS definitely really painful. So don't you just accuse here and there and be childish. Grow up, guys!! (Golden rule: don't treat people the way you don't want other people treat you with).
What were both of you thinking? Aaaarghhhhhhhhhhhh.
I'll have some nice nap to forget about all of those crap and get myself prepared for the battling weeks ahead (plus I screwed up most of the time in the past weeks..). And hoping that FinChel will be back at the next episode (last ep before winter hiatus) cos I don't think Puck is worthy of either Rachel or Quinn.. For this moment, as he hasn't matured at all. FinChel haven't, neither, but I think by having this 2nd break-up, and if the writer is still faithful to what he said before that FinChel is not going to break up this season, I hope they will grow up somehow. Sheesh. Teenagers time.
Aniwai, dear Glee writers, nice hint of Puckelberry last week! And to add that Finn was the one who said that =P
Oh is the Warbler's bird the hint for next week? A bird who is changing her feather, and will be all healthy and "sing again" in no time? *crossing finger*
give us our Kurt back here!!
If next week's Glee is like this again, I hope it won't affect my revision. Please writers, give us something good and worthy (worthy to wait for) for the winter break.
(should I create new label for my photoshopped scenes and photos and comics?)
They hugged each other, except the most right ones =P
See the