Gain

I'm back here again, after a three month hiatus of sorts.

Back in Singapore, and I'm in my second year of university. Time sure does pass real fast. Whenever I think back on the past few years, I feel like they were just yesterday. I'm sure you guys do that too? It's such a cliched thing, but it's cliched because it's true.

Besides the usual bevy of engineering core subjects, I have one elective this semester, and I'm taking Introduction to Literary Studies, meaning English Literature. Yeah, you heard me right. Readings aren't really that heavy. Thank goodness. For some reason though, the really poetic and meaningful prose are always the unhappy kind.

The one thing stopping me from enjoying my life here in second year university, is the need to gather extracurricular activities on my scoreboard. Co-curricular points are used in determining your likelihood of staying on campus the following year. I've never been much of an extra activities kinda guy. I don't really play sports, and well, my interests barely coincide with the many societies here.

House prices in Singapore are killer, I tell you. It's about the only expensive thing people here spend their money on. Everything else is cheap, relatively anyway.

Sometime during the holidays I changed the look of this site. Don't know whether you guys noticed it or not, heck, there wasn't a reason to visit anyways. I've always liked clean and simple stuff, and I guess this is one proof of that. There was a slight design niggle though, and the chatbox ended up at the bottom. I think most people would visit this place and just think I've removed the chatbox. Oh well, doesn't matter: two-way or one-way, communication, it works.

If I feel like it, I'll recap all of my escapades during the holidays, but I doubt it. My memories always come to me when I'm not wanting them to.

Revert

Finished my finals yesterday.

Without noticing it, 9 months have passed since I first came to NUS... and now my freshman year is over. I've learned lots. I really did.

Now a 3-month break awaits me.

Wonder what I shall do?

Weirded

Just so that this place doesn't seem like a barren woma- I mean, barren wasteland.

I'm in my recess week now. That means that I have a week of holidays and that I'm already in the middle of my second semester. That also means that I have midterm tests the following week, and I am studying. Studying as much as my very heavy eyelids allow.

Besides staring at books, I am also staring at books, playing some computer games, trying out running around a track until my chest seems to explode, and listening to weird rock instrumental. Recently watched a movie, and am going to watch another tonight.

And thats the nutshell so far.

Bereft

The days have been tiring.

New semester started last week. I have 2 semesters a year, both of equal length (13 weeks not including holidays and exams). My second one this time then. Results of last semester weren't that excellent, but I could do better I guess. Anyway, my new schedule is... well, I start 4 days a week at 8am. Getting up early again after not doing it for the past half year is really quite painful. How painful you ask? Imagine getting kicked in the groin by a kangaroo. Imagine getting smashed in the groin by a tennis ball fired by a tennis ball launcher at 100mph. Imagine falling off a 20-storey cheap-ass cramped singapore HDB flat and landing on a traffic light on the road below. On your groin.

Besides that, the start of the new semester has been fine. I'd like to post photos now of me going to the interesting and exciting and wonderful singapore night safari with all my cool and hip friends... except I didn't go. Came back just in time for the start of school, and my friends went a few days before that. Bah.

I realise I didn't post anything up at all about my 6-week holiday back in Malaysia. But seriously, it isn't really a holiday if you're back home and you don't have any homework and any stuff to read. Without procrastination, a vacation is meaningless!

Hmm, not really.

I did go for the new year countdown at Curve (where I got shoved around by horny bald men and got bubbles and soap-smelling foam all over me). I did have countless mamaks and movies with old pals (like JW, and KW, and Choe). I did learn how to play 3-player mahjong (thanks to Yvonne, and apparently the 4-player version is too complex for a person with my asian linguistic capabilities). I did celebrate my birthday (managed to get a wallet, a stuffed panda, and a really cool bookmark as presents).

Ah, now I'm gonna pull a Kar Wai Blog Stunt™ and finish the rest of this post after dinner.


Edit 9:05PM:
Back, had pasta.

Said really cool bookmark.

And ah yes, I did go genting. While everybody else was busy touring exotic locations around the world and enjoying cultures I may never see... I went ahead to our dear mountaintop theme-park. A truly exciting and interesting location that is so classic, so nostalgic, it warms the heart of all Malaysians!

Uhh well, not really.

I know it seems rather quite lame, but yeah I did have fun. Haven't been there for ages, probably 12 years now.

Anyway, as Nicole mentioned, this semester I'm taking this subject called Einstein's Universe & Quantum Universe. It's probably my most interesting subject in uni yet... and I'm reading this related book which I thought I'd mention:

The New World of Mr Tompkins. If you find yourself ever in need of entertainment by a half-balding mild-mannered clerk trying to understand modern physics, this is the book to get! Or, if you suddenly get the urge to learn about relativity and quantum mechanics. In which case, stay away from all windows and ledges and head to your nearest school counselor for help.

Okay, now I need some sleep.

Phalanx

2008 has come and is still going, ushered in by hordes of sweaty people. Come to think of it, countdowns are alot like paganistic rituals. For all you know, iterating backwards from 10 and cheering at bursting lights in the sky could be an ancient Aztec ritual to increase feet size.

Happy new year!

Bloom

I'm sitting here in my living room, munching cheddar biscuits.

Been back here in Malaysia a week now. Went out with some of the old a-levels crowd for dinner. Choe, Jian Wei, TFK, Karwai. I brought along a friend from NUS too. Apparently she's Nick's old schoolmate, guess the world is only this big. After hours of discussion and arguments, we finally went to Jack's Place at 1U for our dinner, where traitors TFK, KW and Choe decided to just order desserts instead of a proper meal. TFK and Choe had a slice of cake each, and Karwai took a banana split. What the heck?!

With calm resolve and without bending to peer pressure, me and JW each ordered ourselves a nice filling (albeit expensive) western main course. I had venison and crayfish. Wasn't too bad, although the portion was a tad bit too small for the price.

Anyways, we went mamak after that, where the dessert-eating-traitors filled themselves up with nice hot cheap roti canais and mee gorengs. Damnit! I guess I'm only pissed because I know that was an extremely smart, intelligent, and wallet-wise move on their parts.

We chatted, had tons of fun. The old crowd never gets old.

Hmm, I've run out of biscuits.

Iris

In another 7 hours, I'm taking a bus back home.

My finals finished on Monday, and the papers were hard as hell. Didn't really study too much, which made things even harder. Anyways I'm a free man now, at least until mid January.

End of semester. Back home for a month. It's all moving a tad bit faster than I thought.