Pre-recorded

I discovered today that only NTU has the practice of pre-recording the examination instructions such as "You may start writing", or "Please stop writing, or "You may leave the hall now". Both SMU and NUS still use the live human voice.

Don't know why examiners can get so lazy. Even such things also want to pre-record. So you end up hearing the same guy, saying the same thing, at the same tone, with the same pitch, at the same speed. Makes everything so... sian, not that exams are not sian enough.

I was thinking of using the word 'boring', but there's something in the word 'sian' that 'boring' doesn't have. This sian-ness.

And then the examiners can still mess it up by playing the wrong voice recording. There was one exam when he played "You may leave the hall now" before the exam even began. Then he hurriedly rushed to the mic and say "Sorry sorry! You may not leave the hall yet!"

Haha, we laughed. I'm not sure if we laughed at the recording or we laughed at him.

Oh Bleach... Oh Ichigo...

I am getting a little sick of the disillusions that Bleach offers, especially through Ichigo.

No, you don't solve ALL your problems with Bankai. Real life doesn't work this way for goodness sake.

Oh, I got trapped. Bankai. Oh, I got chained up by some Kidou or weapon. Bankai. Oh, I got covered in sakura blade petals. Bankai. Oh, the enemy appeared (I'm not even saying they got into resurrection mode). Bankai. Oh, there's too many hollows. Bankai.

C'mon, Bankai is not the "solve-it-all" button, Ichigo. Get a little more creative than that, please. Your "Bankai + Getsuga Tenshou" move is getting too over-used already. I'm surprised that the enemies still fall for that kind of crap.

And whats with running around Hueco Mundo in a permanent Bankai mode? What are you trying to prove? And then you still get trashed.

I still remember the first time you opened your Bankai, Ichigo. I really loved it. It was AWESOME. But now... your Bankai is becoming like a Shikai, you know?

Its finally over... for now

Imagine the horror in my heart when I woke up this morning with the sun shining into my face. My paper was at 9am. I quickly fumbled around my pillows for my phone/alarm clock, praying real hard that I've not missed the divine hour.

"8.10AM"

Woh, I really thank God from my bed and jumped to my feet and quickly got ready for school. Somehow, I believe, I must have missed the ringing of the alarm or unconciously turned it off. Studying till 4am the night before knowing that you need to wake up at 6.30am is definitely not a very good idea.

Regardless, I got out of my house, went onto the main road and, lo and behold there's a cab coming right at me. God is really wonderful.

And its good that NTU is only 10 minutes away on the expressway, instead of the 1 hour journey on public transport. :D

Well, I am glad the 4 days exams marathon is finally over, leaving only 1 stray paper to finish next week.

I don't think I did really well though. Politics was pretty alright as chapters were spotted correctly, had to smoke through a question in communications, both literature papers feel a little risky, I think I bombed some questions.

Besides, I got back most of my term papers and ALL of them stared at me with a B+. A variation of problems such as form, presentation, source engagement and in-depth analysis plague all of them and I can only wonder where to start on correcting them.

Kind of a sucky feeling. I started off with such high hopes and I REALLY REALLY aimed and REALLY tried for that GPA of 4.0 and higher just so I can qualify for double majors. And now all these realities just seem to be setting down on me. Just what is wrong?

But then again, realities and its disappointments shouldn't stop us from setting our aims high. Man would never have landed on the moon if they believed that gravity was simply impossible to beat.

To end, I discovered today that the phrase "Please stop writing" has very weird effects on me. Its this feeling of happiness (that the paper is over and you can rest your hand) and this feeling of dread (that you might have missed something out or bombed a question).

Relive

Today I received a mailer from the green men. And it reads:

Are you still searching for a higher purpose? Do you miss being in a position where you can nurture and influence the lives of men under your charge? Do you want to leave the humdrum of society and be able to make a difference again?

Many of us truly appreciate the promise and romance of the Army only when it has become treasured memories. An Army career begets excitement and real challenges. It embodies pure leadership and management. Yet, it also provides opportunities - for further education, varying roles and appointments - to try on activities that you can only dream of doing, and more.

Relive your memorable experiences. Add on to it. Your gateway to a fulfilling and meaningful career has been opened to you once again.

I think some of them green people has been reading my blog.

But, no thanks.

And what romance is there in the Army... (sounds superbly, completely, badly, totally wrong)

And... 2 more papers.

Go. Go.

Star Gazing

Things you see when you go star-gazing at 5am:

1. Lots of aunties and uncles doing their jog/walk.

2. People going for work. (reminds me of army days)

3. Weird guy doing a "jog-on-the-spot" on a patch of grass.

4. Kay-Poh guy wondering why I was staring up the sky and stares with me as well.

5. 3 shooting stars

Didn't really get to see much of a shower, but 3 is pretty good considering the fact that I was at the park connector below my block. I'm a happy man. :D

I wasted all my 3 wishes though. Because all of them went "I wish I can see another shooting star."

Came back home to find a shocked dad who went to wake mum up and say that I just got back at 6.30am.

Mum's reaction: "HUH??"

Singapore Inter-University Mugging Conference starts on good note

SINGAPORE: Its time to get into some serious mugging at the Singapore Inter-University Mugging Conference as the event kicks off today, lasting till the end of the week.

The Singapore Inter-University Mugging Conference started today on a good note, with issues such as economics, communications, and Chess and Hearts strategies being discussed.

The event, hosted by Singapore Management University, seeks to discuss various topics and issues by bringing together representatives of the three main universities in Singapore - Singapore Management University (SMU), National University of Singapore (NUS), and Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

In order to prepare for this high profile event, Group Study Rooms and benches were booked to allow the delegates some space and privacy to engage in the discussions. Security guards were also reminded to keep the delegates safe by patrolling the area and checking on the meeting venues after 10pm.

As a start to the conference, the delegates were treated to a spicy BBQ stingray dinner, a delicacy enjoyed by many people all over Singapore.

After the scrumptious dinner, the conference began with a discussion on the latest economic formulaes by the host delegates from SMU. The delegate from NTU then introduced certain Communication theories that could be relevant to the current social dynamics. This was followed by NUS's delegate's keynote address on the Korean gaming industry and how it affects communication and new media today. As a wrap up to today's conference, delegate from NUS introduced the latest strategies and theories to handle the problems faced at playing Chess and Hearts.

The conference will meet again later this week to discuss more issues as a preparation for the Final Exams happening in a week's time.

- Jellydrink

When Death comes stealing again

Its heartbreaking to hear news of death. Especially when its someone you know. Especially when its your friend. Especially when you are of the same age.

What is the worth of a life, however short it might be?

It's worth cannot be measured. And I'm not talking about the Christian values on "souls" and what not. Lets just leave that aside for now. There's more to Heaven and Hell when someone dies.

When someone dies, its not just "another dead guy". Its not just "Oh, he's in Heaven", or "He's in Hell" (although no one says such things). It's about the impact he made around him, the people he loved and loved him, the things he did and the things he could do.

Yes, he is not famous. He has not invented anything that is of great contribution to mankind. He is not your usual "great men".

But he's somebody's son. He's somebody's boyfriend. He's somebody's friend. He's somebody's buddy. He's somebody's somebody.

He shared happy times with us. He shared hard times with us. He shared jokes. He brought us laughter. He was as alive as anyone else could be.

And the most heartbreaking thing is the fact there's still so much left for him to do, but he's no longer here to do them.

Rest in peace, my friend. Its been great having you around.

I watched a movie today.

From Dead Poets Society, 1989 film written by Tom Schulman

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer: That you are here; that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?" - John Keating

"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Neil Perry. Original quote from Henry David Thoreau's Walden

"Sometimes the most beautiful poetry can be about simple things, like a cat or a flower or rain. Poetry can come from anything with the stuff of revelation in it. Just don't let your poems be ordinary." - John Keating

On bad handwriting, fan ti, jian ti, MSN and racial harmony

I don't remember when was the last time I wrote any chinese character. And now I am writing them on MSN, trying to help a malay friend with his chinese assignment. Yeah to bad handwriting, forgetting some words, remembering some, malay guy writing the complicated style (fan ti) and me writing the simple style (jian ti) and racial harmony.