I feel like an essay-writing machine

Perhaps not – the volume of essays I have to write is certainly characteristic of a machine, but my response echoes that of a fatigued human struggling for inspiration! NEED. MORE. AND. BETTER. IDEAS.

I think I will be happy when Jan 1 comes. (Or maybe not, maybe there’ll be something even more ominous round the corner *shivers*)

Here are some photos of Convo to prevent me from boring you all with my laments…

Everyone's favourite Math teacher!

My roommate thinks she has very big eyes

Hark! A dementor!!

Title

A comparison of internet speeds (ranked from fastest to slowest):

1. At home
2. NUS Central Library
3. Free wifi at random restaurant
4. NUSHS canteen
5. NUSHS hostel, if you stay on or below the 3rd floor and/or you camp near your boarding counsellor’s room to scavenge the remnants of signals from there.

NUSHS internet: A monument to inefficiency. Toiled through it today when convo rehearsal ended 2 hours (?!) early. Apparently reluctant to see me leave, NUSHS internet made sure to sear its amazing inertia into my mind as a graduation present.

Still coming to terms with the fact that my foreign friends will be departing (likely forever from my life, though not from my Facebook) soon. Someone I met for 15 minutes told me that we spend our entire lives moving from one set of friends to the next. Much as I would like NOT to believe that friendship is ephemeral, I have yet to see a convincing counterexample.

Why is it that good writers are not always good orators?

To cheer myself up let me recommend you a wonderful game: GIRP (http://www.foddy.net/GIRP.html) It is totally unrealistic but seems burdened by a sense of realism – and if you concentrate hard enough it will soon have you in its girp. Yes, that was an intentional misspelling.

I have not started playing it intensively yet but I think I’ve figured out a strategy~

What I will do after the exams

My life now is dominated by two activities:

1. FYP. This accursed assessment has soaked up large tracts of my time. Continually editing, commenting, sending back and forth emails, chasing people for their parts, incorporating new stuff into what’s already been done – certainly not butterflies and dandelions. Having said that, I do understand the English department’s motivations and maintain that the skills that FYP was meant to cultivate are useful and applicable.

Only I wish it were individual instead. I fail to see the point of a group essay when the work will be asymmetrically distributed anyway – unless perhaps FYP is socialist in origin and intended to promote mark redistribution?

2. Uni apps. Every time this subject crops up, my palms break into a sweat. Nightmarish visions of me receiving rejection letter after rej – okay, okay, I think my id really needs to learn to shut up.

My life after the exams (hopefully):

1. Study for EG1108 exams -.- Hopefully this will not be too much of a chore because we already learnt some of the stuff under Ricardo

2. Shop for a prom dress. I do not have high hopes for this, however. Why? Suffice to say that if my parents had run the US economy, the 2008 financial crisis might have been averted and the country would right now be rolling in its exponentially growing reserves.

3. Finish off Griffiths’ QM. Griffiths is an awesome troll!

4. Bid sayonara to Chemistry! Perhaps I will write an epitaph for it here someday ^^ Expect lots of crocodile tears. 别了, 别了, 别了~

5. Actually read the books on my bookshelf. Books I possess but have not read (but hope to read):

The Unconsoled  by Kazuo Ishiguro
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

And perhaps I’ll leave The Color Purple for some other time, I can’t abide the slang in it Also, I should really find out what all the hype is about sci-fi.

Books I do not possess and have not read but hope to read:

Dune by Frank Herbert
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut/Phillip K. Dick/Arthur C. Clarke that I can get my hands on!

By the way, I’m reading The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht now and it’s very masterfully written. I love it!

6. Watch City Hunter! *Min-ho yum!* Desmond we can have another tea party at your house and watch City Hunter at the same time!

7. Learn Korean/German. I think if I’ll learn German in Uni if I get the chance to take up a 3rd Lang! I have immense respect for the German people – their culture with its ingrained reverence for Science and Technology is so remarkable.

Will add stuff to this list as we go along!

A thought: I am constantly amazed by how much I enjoy Bio. I have the utmost respect for people who LOVE Bio and do well in it (I certainly don’t fall into either category) because a) They seem to have some innate understanding that I lack and b) innovations in Bio are key to improving our quality of life. The world needs such people, just as it needs Physicists and … Chemists.

BTW, if you are wondering where the links went in my new blog layout, they’re all the way down below. I’ve linked a few interesting pages!

Rambling thoughts

Today, I shall categorise and number my thoughts, starting with

1. Math!

An ode to Math that I devised on the spot! Technically it’s a haiku but stylistically it isn’t …

Abstract Algebra
is one of the reasons why
I still go to school

The concepts taught are interesting and non-obvious (okay perhaps if you’re Ryan Chan/Ang Yan Sheng they’re kindergarten standard), though a mild headache is a frequent after-effect. And although an A+, or even an A, isn’t guaranteed, I still do look forward to the revelations of Abstract Algebra. Call it the one irregular, exciting activity in an otherwise predictable school regimen.

(Also, after looking through Ryan Goh’s notes the other day, I felt an urge to stamp on myself for not taking Graph Theory. I never thought I’d second my father’s views on the merits of signing up for every module in sight, but in this case he was probably right. I do think I’m overly cautious sometimes.)

Naomi and I were talking the other day and we agreed that Complex No.s should have been taught alongside Polar Coords in Year 4- firstly, because at that time we wouldn’t have had forgotten most of the Trigo needed for both modules, and secondly because their standards are comparable.

2. Increase in transport fares

I feel that Singaporeans are making a needless fuss about this latest development. In an era of ballooning inflation (and now another impending financial crisis -goodness-), I find it neither surprising nor remarkable. At most it seems a symptom of larger economic problems. IMHO, the complaints about the quantum of the raise do not really merit consideration (because 2 extra cents for every adult trip –> an additional 0.02*2*5 weekdays+0.20 if you go on an Amazing Race around Singapore every weekend = $0.40/week, is really going to burn a hole in our pockets).

If people are objecting to the stagnation of service standards or the poor timing of the fare increase, then (while I don’t concur) I can put it down to a difference in opinion/experiences. I am quite a skeptical person, yet I must admit that these days even Bus 97 no longer arrives grossly late, and peak hour overcrowding on the North East Line seems to have been alleviated by more frequent train services. (But perhaps my experiences are anomalous – maybe more seasoned commuters know better that there has been zero improvement in public transport services.)

I don’t see why people expect that the fare increase should translate to better service if the motivations behind the fare increase have already been expressly stated to be otherwise. Yes, we have a right to demand better service, but this demand should not have been exacerbated by news of fare increases,which are unrelated. If the transport operators say, we want more money from you because we need to finance training programmes for our staff, but later commuters find that there has been no corresponding improvement in service standards – then complaining is justified. But no one has made any pretensions that the additional fare will be channeled towards raising service standards, so I don’t think commuters have a right to complain that service standards have not improved in line with fare increases.

I could go on about this…

The Beginning of the End

I am no stranger to sentiment, and yet … the thought of graduating soon provokes nothing more than a touch of wistfulness on my part.

Though I have truly enjoyed Year 6 so far – the coalescing of my different social circles, the intensity of PO training juxtaposed with the slackness of the rest of the semester, a June holidays spent mostly abroad – graduation seems to represent nothing more nerve-wracking than a transition into the next stage of my life.

Then again, this may be symptomatic of my stubborn insistence on living in the present and consequent inability to project my feelings as far ahead as graduation.

On to happier thoughts, then. For the last time, let me rank my modules in order of preference:

1. Abstract algebra

This module boasts the dual qualities of being taught by Mr Wang, and being rather – abstract! ie. a cocktail of mirth, bedlam and – I insist on using this adorable word – DISCOMBOBULATION!!

2. Complex numbers

This module ranks so highly not only because of its intrinsic qualities, but because of how it compares to its predecessor. Nothing stifles intellectual curiousity as much as an overdose of t-tests, z-tests, confounding variables, histograms, stem-and-leaf diagrams and (I am running out of things to list because I paid so little attention in Stats).. aha…CONFIDENCE LEVELS. Complex numbers, I am happy to announce, is more complex and therefore more interesting.

3. Spectroscopy

This may be part of self-propaganda, but I do love a good detective story. While I do wish there was an Organic Chemistry Part III, I’m glad enough to say 再见, or rather 再也不见, to Physical/Inorganic Chemistry.

4. English

I, too, am surprised that this is only in fourth position. But I cannot help but feel resentment at the amount of homework so generously bequeathed upon us by our venerable teachers. And I’m not even one of those people who haven’t handed in their Term 1 Article Reviews…

5. Proteins

This would have ranked higher if it didn’t largely cover topics that we had already learnt before. I think that Dr Low is a very enthusiastic and interesting teacher. Also, he occasionally brinks on nonsense, which is always a good sign.

6. Separation Science

SS is not unenjoyable, but it lacks the intrinsic mystery of Spectro. (I mean, it’s like comparing a Statistics textbook to a murder story! Yes, I insist on abusing Stats.) Anyway, it is my hope that the ACS motto applies to this module: ‘The Best is Yet to Be”.

As a parting shot, I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to the advice that was dished out to us when it was time for us to choose our subject combination: Don’t do 4 Honours. Any more than 2 Honours will give you a very heavy workload.

C’est vrai? I don’t think 4 Hons has made me significantly busier. This is not a boast, but sincere advice if any Year 4s happen to chance upon this blog. Perhaps you will be just slightly inconvenienced by Advanced Organic Chem and lovely Biochemistry, but that’s about the only dire effect.

Also, whoever told me that Physics Honours would kill my interest in Physics deserves a thorough knocking – for goodness’ sake, there are at most 3 more modules than for Physics Majors, and none of them came close to the promised level of deadliness.

The future

The recent rash of scholarship-related activity is an uncomfortable reminder that the end is near… the end of high school, that is. Like everyone else, I’ve been deluged with a sea of uncomfortable ‘what-ifs’, forcing me to – intently – mull over what my mind had only briefly flitted to before.

My mother still wants me to study medicine. But it is rather unnerving, the prospect of not touching Math for the rest of my life.

I thought many of the Career Day/PSSC talks were good this time round! I’ve attended the DSTA talk thrice and can almost memorise it –  DSO should hire me as their guest speaker (but since Agnes likes to call me an irritant, this is not likely). The Legal Service talk was effective albeit unconventional – being lawyers, all three of the speakers didn’t need a powerpoint and just sat at a table and coolly fielded questions. (If I get a PSC Scholarship, I would choose either MFA or the Legal Service – for similar reasons, actually. I enjoy analysis and would love to be able to wield language as a career tool.)

I must digress – THE HARVEY NORMAN GAME (during Career day) WAS SO ADDICTIVE. I used to love playing memory games when I was little, but clearly my memory has deteriorated because I FAILED AT HARVEY NORMAN HAHA!! And err it was a bit too easy to win prizes, I won three small packets of Twisties.

Facepalm

I was utterly disappointed when SM could not stop himself from launching a personal attack on Tan Jee Say. In Steph Chew’s words, that was a low blow.

Then we had MM telling us Aljunied voters that we would ‘have five years to live and repent‘. Make of that what you will. What was really a pity, though, was that his message seemed to be antithetical to George Yeo’s conciliation at the previous night’s rally.

In fact, when Mr Yeo stated that it was not about him vs. Low Thia Kiang, and condemned the histrionics of the WP in portraying the fight as a dichotomy between the two leading men, I thought to myself ‘IAMIMPRESS’ and was all ready to inch out of the ambivalent zone towards the PAP camp. I’m afraid my enthusiasm in this respect has waned.

Having said that, one also wonders why the impressive number of gaffes made by the opposition parties has gone largely unnoticed by enthusiastic PAP bashers. The double standards are evident. Without doubt, Ms Tin Pei Ling is sorely in need of more experience and media smarts. Largely unimpressed, the crowd has turned to The Altenative Avatar of the working classes, Ms Nicole Seah.

However while Nicole (whom I am a fan of on Facebook) had a promising start, she seems to have regressed into yet another populist opposition candidate who questions relentlessly but offers no solutions. I admire her spunk, but I was hoping she’d rise above her fellow candidates to give us the incisive analysis of national issues we all demand.

Let me quote the national darling on the GST increase:

1.9 billion dollars was generated from the increase (in GST). But only 0.4 billion dollars was distributed to the poor! WHERE DID THE REST OF THE MONEY GO?

Valid point, Nicole, but surely you must have done some research and found out where the rest of the money went? I’m sure we’d all like to know, and because it is possible that much of it went into the national reserves, which would be a good use of the money too, you could have told us how you thought it would have been better spent.

Next she talks about public housing prices that have shot up because they were subject to the vagaries of free market forces. Again, thank you for bringing up something that we are all deeply unhappy about, but this is definitely not a new issue, and it’d have been nice if she had offered a new, constructive take rather than the usual accusatory vitriol.

Let’s talk about the WP now. I admire their guts for standing in a GRC. But they seem to expect us to vote them in simply for the purpose of having an opposition in parliament – they haven’t even so much as suggested what might be done to improve the estate.

If I were the opposition, I’d feel that it would be a worthwhile investment of my time to draw up some plans. Not doing so only lends credibility to Mr Yeo’s accusation that they are merely using the voters as tools, no?! It makes it painfully clear that they are only running in Aljunied because they think that they stand the best chance here of being elected into parliament, and not because they understand or can address our municipal needs.

WP, I think what you really need now is to win over the critical mass of ‘swing’ voters who are looking for a reason to vote you in, but remain cognizant of all that the PAP has done in the GRC and would like to see your take on that. Please do not presume that all of us are already allied to your cause and would vote you in whether or not you can make a difference on the municipal level.