Stouffer College House

House office, which is exactly right below my room......


Yup, i'm living in one of those cubicles in a silo.

Weird architecture...

Basketball court and a bbq lounge outside..

View from outside my room..

The D-Section lounge with the only piano in stouffer..the staircase on the right (and the left one, which is pretty freaky) leads to my room.

The mail boxes of stouffer, which is soo happened to be located just right to the D-Section lounge. :-) pretty convenient for me with the laundry room just beside the mailboxes..

btw, i got some cheap stuff from WALMART today...gosh..got winter boots/shoes at USD 25. 3 rims of writing papers(450 sheets) for 84 cents. Can you believe it ???!!

Hallowed Halls

Skirkanich Hall : The Main Engineering Building which houses the auditoriums and Labs.



Which happened to be named after this couple.



J. M. Huntsman Building : This USD 53 million building is where those Wharton classes are.

Red Alert !

Nope, it’s not the game and neither am I addicted into gaming. This is the REAL thing. Temperature has dropped to 10 C for the past few nights and its freaking cold in the morning. I walked to classes at 8 this morning and everybody on Locust Walk was in their sweatshirt or jacket. I wonder what its like here during winter.......

Anyway, I had this class on Legal Studies: Corporate Resp. and Ethics (its a very rigorous but awesome class) this afternoon before the temperature starts dropping (again). The professor brought up this topic on the issue "Corrupt-ion", which is very dear to most Malaysians. The issues that were discussed.....

- US corporate companies take pride in placing themselves in prime position in third world-countries to capture the vast market of these countries. The notion that was brought up was that these countries are ‘corrupted’ which poses the question of corporate responsibility and ethics.

Case Study 1 :

Shell (the petroleum company) didn't want to invest in some Eastern Europe country because the officers there were demanding 'under-the-counter' money to set up an operation base. The Shell officer pulled out of the deal at the 11th hour because 'he can't sleep well' if he were to resort to bribing.

Case Study 2 :

In Kosovo, a local high school teenage boy (there aren’t many there) inherited his family business. After Nike set up an industrial zone there, the boy shut the business and went to sew Nike shoes instead in return for USD 0.50/hour, which happened to be 5 times the amount he could reap from his family’s business.

Case Study 3:

Coca Cola started a plant in Serbia through a local beer company. Talking about oppression and fascism, Coca Cola ditched this beer company after establishing themselves in the market and the irony is that Pepsi hired the same company to start their operations a few years later to give Coca Cola a run for their money.

Well said.

Then the bells started ringing and a session of 'corruption-bashing' promptly ensued...yada..yada ..yada

Now put yourself in a Serbian Officer’s shoes. Isn't corruption stemmed from the low wage rate and the insufficient of money supply in the social market? You are not only answerable to the public, government and the world community in regards to your ethics and responsibilities as officer, managing the corporate companies/government sectors but don't you think that you have the same, if not bigger, responsibility to answer to your spouse, parents, and children?

These same officers have to lay food on the table for their families, provide the basic necessities and fund an education for their offspring. Having laws and legislation to 'punish' the habit of 'corruption' may, to a certain extent, curb the problem but in the long run, the effect is an iota in influencing the social contour.

As unethical as it seems, but these are the same officers who need to 'sleep well at night' without having worries of the harsh realities of life. The world is indeed not round or a bed full of red roses and 'life' there is indeed difficult.

Penetrations into the local market of foreign conglomerate companies (read American companies) are seen by the locals as a threat of foreign invasion and have led to the shutdowns of many local cottage industries, cutting off the supply line local businesses. What an irony....

Well, why not simply grow the economic pie (easier said than done)? These corporate fellas should take up the responsibility to help support budding local businesses and ethically provide substantial numeration for the human resources used besides their pushing their main business of 'reaping' the profits from the local market.

Now, that is a true Responsible and Ethical Corporate Organization.

Well, of course, this is just an ideal situation and is not feasible due to the ‘unwanted’ competitors. AHA !

Oh, what a day of brain drenching………

Selamat Berpuasa !

السلام عليكم as-salāmu `alaykum - (aha loghat orng puteh kat sini....)

Buat semua warga Muslim di semua tempat (tiga sekawan kat UIUC ke..ketua doggers kat Umich, mat driftd ngan Din kat purdue, paez ngan mlek kat Aussie, dan abu, fntgr, mat skodengs, semua bdak2 .....sme ade yang berpenyakit ke tak..kat uniten & semua muslimin dan muslimat di seluruh tempat), diucapkan selamat menjalani ibadah puasa. Untuk warga bukan Muslim (macam I, terry@anime, rulb, andrew dan semua....), selamat meraikan Ramadan ini secara beriman dan bertaqwa, mcam i la.ahaha.. . Di bulan Ramadan al-Mubarak ini sama-samalah kita buat baik2 ...(terutama yang kat uniten...janganla memberontak sangat ..aha. nanti takde pahala !...)

Bulan puasa bulan yang berkat
Bermaaf-maafanla sesama semua
Hai ! Semua muslimin-muslimat, simpanla tekad
Perintah Allah buatla segera.....aha

Selamat Berpuasa !!!

Salam,
lXl

Ni >>>> Masjid kat Philly........


eh, i heard Pn. A said that our batch spent all IKAL's money and they are experiencing a budget deficit? And they have cancelled the AP classes and SAT-Chem for the juniors ??? Kesian betul..........

Sept 4 - Convocation Class of 2011

Expand Your Horizons - Dr. Amy Gutmann

My warmest welcome to the gifted women and men of the great Class of 2011!

You are the most academically talented class in Penn’s history!

And you’ve got exactly a year to enjoy the view from the top – before an even more talented Class of 2012 knocks you into second place. That’s what we call Penn momentum!

Congratulations to those of you who finished The Omnivore’s Dilemma sometime between the middle of July … and noon Sunday. Now you are more knowledgeable eaters – which is a good thing for you but maybe not so good for Penn Dining Services … and definitely bad news for some of the food trucks.

I extend equally warm greetings to our transfers from other colleges and universities. Transfers? Smart move!

Convocation is a cherished tradition. As of this moment you are now officially students of the University of Pennsylvania!

Convocation is also the first time that your class gathers together as one Penn family of many nations and backgrounds.

Seated among you are classmates from all 50 of the United States – from 203 freshmen from California to 406 freshmen from Pennsylvania to two freshmen from Idaho!

Among you are also seated 312 classmates from 67 countries, starting alphabetically with the A’s and B’s …. Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, and Bulgaria … right down to the Zs – of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

I know that all of you must keep so many other numbers in your heads – phone numbers, classroom numbers, and numbers of required courses.

But tonight I’d like each of you to think about the number: 45. Why 45? Because that is the number of months left before you process down Locust Walk for Commencement.

So ask yourself: How will I spend those 45 months?

I offer to you this evening two unwritten (and entirely unenforceable) Penn rules. The best rules are unenforceable.

First Penn Rule: Keep your mind open. Great minds discover deeper truths by probing the toughest questions. Do not let criticism faze you; do not let setbacks discourage you; do not let change frighten you. Convert these jolts into learning experiences … as College Senior Mara Gordon did.

Mara had planned to spend this past summer saving the world by working at a school for orphaned children in Botswana. But she encountered what seemed like an insurmountable barrier: language. The children did not speak English, and she knew all of four words in Botswana’s native tongue.

At first Mara was frustrated, but she was also open-minded and – thanks to her Penn education – resourceful enough to find a meaningful way to bridge the language chasm. She started knitting scarves with a young woman she had befriended, and soon came up with a great idea: Why not help mothers at the school create crafts that they could sell? Local shop owners liked her idea, and Mara successfully launched the program, which the head of the school plans to continue.

By understanding women in poverty not as people to save, but rather as partners in learning, Mara ended up making a lasting difference in the world, and she’s still got a year to go at Penn!

Your partners in learning at Penn are all over the campus as well as in our West Philadelphia neighborhood. So stay open-minded and your education will expand exponentially over the next 45 months. And don’t let a month go by without expanding your horizons.

You can begin tomorrow by learning from our world-class faculty.

Nursing students? Where are you? Congratulations! You won’t find on any other faculty in the world a more accomplished group of nursing leaders who are transforming the theory and practice of care-giving throughout the world.

Engineering? You will be challenged by Penn faculty who are leading innovators and who are collaborating with colleagues in Arts and Sciences and Medicine to drive the 21st century revolution in bioengineering and nanotechnology.

Wharton! You will learn from the most eminent, influential, and international business faculty in the world.

And how about the College! Wherever you turn, you will find eminent scholars and teachers who year after year deliver the finest liberal arts and science education in the world.

Reach out to your professors as mentors who will challenge you to succeed by becoming the best you can be.

Another reward of being open-minded is the learning attached to forming lifelong friendships at Penn. Treasure them, and treasure the diversity of our student body. Experience demonstrates that you will make the most of your Penn education if you cultivate friendships throughout our campus and across ethnic, racial, economic, and ideological boundaries.

If the first unwritten rule governing success at Penn is to open your mind to new ideas and friendships, then the second Penn rule is to aim high. The more unconventional, the better.

Consider Gabe Crane, a rising College senior whose passion for writing and canoeing led him to conceive a daring adventure: He and three of his pals would paddle canoes down the entire 2,000 miles of the Mississippi River. Then he’d write about the experience afterward.

Penn English Professor Al Filreis encouraged Gabe to be even bolder. Why not create a live blog called the “Mississippi Project” and make the adventure come alive in words, pictures, and conversation?

With tech support from Kelly Writers House and financial support from the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, Gabe created a multi-media literary journal that transformed his adventure into – in his words – “a meditation on the state of our generation, coming now finally of age … and a meditation on the state of our country.”

Because Gabe aimed high, he has the beginnings of an original book and the makings of a successful literary career.

Penn can make the biggest difference in your lives when keep your mind open to challenging new ideas and friendships, and aim high.

You now know the unwritten Penn rules. Follow them, by all means! And build on them by your means! Then you will discover why Penn truly “rules.” Forty-five months from now, when we are all gathered together again on Franklin Field, I expect to declare that the great Penn class of 2011 rules.

In the meantime, make the most of all that Penn has to offer. Mix it up tonight with your future lifelong friends as you begin to spend the next 45 months living and learning together in the most open-minded, stimulating, and collegial community in the world. Let’s show the world how your great Class of 2011 and Penn can rule together.

Welcome to Penn!

Dr. Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania.


Some ritual to signify the start of the convocation and the academic year of 2007-2008

Provost Ronald J. Daniels with his speech to welcome the 2, 000 odd freshmen..

Reception after the convo...chocolate fountain !!

Ice sculpture of the school's crest......

Easiest and Hardest Classes at UPenn (excerpts from Punchbowl)

Thank Gawd i'm not taking any of these subjects this sem....

Easiest :

ECON 000 : What GDP Stands For

ENGL 012 : How you're a poet, and You Weren't Even Aware of It !

ENGL 165 : The Letter 'A' in Literature and Grades

HIST 003 : What You did on Summer Vacation

MATH 001 : Addition and SubtractionS

MKTG 050 : Having conscience doesn't equal sales

NURS 001 : If you're scared of needles, give up now

NURS 247 : How being a nurse is nothing like the show Scrubs


Hardest :

RUS 007 : Defeating James Bond

NURS 228 : How nursing is exactly like Scrubs

MATH 720 : Numbers aren't real. It was all a lie.

ENGL 389 : Essay Writing without the Letter 'E'

ENVS 321 : Stopping Global Warming

ENGR 344 : Understanding Women

ENGR 500 : Square Peg/Round Hole

CHEM 355 : One of these three Flasks Will Kill You


There's no black, white, brown or yellow,
Just red and Blue (Penn's official colors)....

There are no Christians, Jews, Muslims or Hindus,
Just Quakers (Out mascot)..

There's no left wing or right wing,
Just Hot Wings !

There is no upper, middle or lower class,
Just those with class....

Simplicity is Beautiful .....

Day Night

Day :


7/11 store on the streets
The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society - I don't really know what they do......


The Bank of America...

Tiffany and Co...


SUBWAY !


The NUTS STREETS ....


Philadelphia is such a busy city that the people here are always rushing somewhere.....

The high-rises
Starbucks !!!


Night : in Penn, they do part-ay HARD !

The toga party.at Penn's Anthropology Museum..


And I was in the Spartan Army.....Katie, the GA for the E section, did the toga for me......

This is a REAL EQYPTIAN STATUE of a pharaoh.....thats those from the B-section

The 'senates' and 'chancellors' - those guys are REAL professors, REAL !

Partying in between statues in the museum, which is only possible here, the state of craziness....

Excursion 1 - Independence Hall and Liberty Bell

Many of you people in Malaysia (and UNITEN in particular) must have been rejoicing due to your midterm break and the Merdeka Day celebrations. Anyway, like many of you who 'celebrated' Merdeka, I celebrated Malaysia's 50th ala Americana at the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in Philly during my ISO's first excursion to the city center.

With just 2 tokens and a map....

I got on a 15mins bus to city center

but for those who want to go round philly like a tourist, there's always the 'other' bus.

Me and the National Guard! the nuns behind must be bewildered !

The walkway leading to the independence Hall. There are many garden-like lakes integrated into the hustling city center.

The statue of Commodore John Barry, Father of the American Navy, situated right in front of the independence Hall.



The Independence Hall. Notice that nobody is allowed to walk on the walkway there. Intruders can be arrested by the National Guards.

The clock tower, very similar to the Abdul Samad building. It also houses the draft of the declaration of independence.
They even fly the American flag here...

Liberty Bell, which is just opposite the independence hall.

Me and the Liberty Bell :-)


Some details which i was not bothered to read..


Ryan, who wanted to pose with the bell's inscriptions.

For people who are lazy to read (like me), there's always a commentary in 11 different languages :p

Some memorabilia capturing the essence of liberty, in the eyes of the Americans.........