paris tips

hmm so there's a few things i noticed when in paris that conventional FAQ sites din mention (i should know cos i read up b4 i went). some points to take note of:

1. somehow the french dun like to use english (even if they know it), so to prevent wasting too much time asking abt stuff, just practice a few common phrases in french b4 gg over (toilet, food, hotel, etc) and even so, it is best to just point to a written french phrase on a notebook of yours (bring one)

2. even ordering mcdonald's a chore, and they dun have menus on the counter nor numbers u can use (a la auntie style) to order ur fave extra value meals so either u do the notebook thing again or u utilise a laser pointer to 'red dot' the item u want on the menu near the ceiling (no ur fat finger doesn't work as well; u might as well be pointing at a dozen items)

3. the subway system's odd in that the doors dun open automatically when the train stops at the station. u either press a green button or lift a handle to make a door at ur specific carriage open. presumably to save on the heating ba. but most SGians would likely overshoot their station on their 1st attempt at the subway due to this oversight. heh. yeah nearly fell victim to it too. 

4. pickpockets! there's like umpteen notices at tourist attractions highlighting the fact, and one would do well to take precautions. better safe than sorry. i put both my HP and wallet in my front jeans pockets and my hands were perpetually stuck in my pants (nope no hanky panky) to ensure no one got the better of me. 

5. and yeah. the temperature. on the 1st day it was a nice 12deg. towards the end it was gg past the zero point scale. and i think it was one of the few times i had to utilise a beanie and a shawl cos i was practically freezing. and i thought switzerland was bad. hmm but it's mostly due to the wind ba. always felt 0deg w/o wind was roughly equivalent to10deg with wind.  

6. the food. numerical value's similar to that of SG. which means everything costs twice as much. and no, the portion's not like that of the US. infact i think it may even be slightly smaller. make-a-sandwich's an economical option if one does not have access to a stove to make pizza or pasta. 

hmm will add to this list as the memories come back. too long le. tsk to procrastination.

results unveiled

i initially wanted to check my results until after i came back from paris, but i guess the temptation to do so was just too huge. what with the laptop screen staring at me every night and the wireless (which is yup, sporadic) connecting me to the wonderful world of the Internet. and i kinda got sick of speculating in my mind the grades i got for each module every day after the results were released. so i checked.

CM2101 B+
GEM2900 S (B-)
PC2132 C
PC3193 B
PC3242 A-
SC2205 A

ok i was slightly disappointed for CM2101; guess the CA test grade really did pull down my overall grade; infact i was still worrying abt it on the way home after the final exam haha. GEM2900.. can't complain - i din put in much (even that's an overstatement) effort at all and i was just hoping for a C and above so i could S/U the dumb module.

PC2132. sigh, i think i'm resigned to getting horrible grades for theoretical physics modules. i was near the 20th percentile for the 2 CAs which was worth a total of 30%. so i believe my finals was a slight improvement. a scant consolation, though. PC3242 was a pleasant surprise; was always at the midpoint of the testresults table so was just hoping for a B+. but i guess it was coming, esp since i was the only one amongst my friends who found the paper quite easy (obviously i tried to fake that i found it horribly hard too hahaha).

ahem and i shall try to play down the excitement i felt when i saw my SC2205 grade. once, twice, thrice i checked. it was still a damn A. i rmbr the time i got an A for my EC1301 i was actually quite disappointed cos i was expecting an A+. but let's not get into that. can only say that what i experienced was pure, unadulterated joy, the likes of which i haven't seen in a long while. nor my parents from the looks they gave me haha. i don't get surprised easily, after all. this was really a pleasant one.

yes dilys, luck really did play a big factor this time round. guess it was due since it's gone against me more times than not the past few sems. mebbe u, jack and I can take another module next sem. judging from the A- i got for ForenSci and the simple rule of progression i should get an A+ for it hahaha. and i'm looking forward to our grad trip! wheee.

3.8 this sem isn't a bad CAP for a slack jack (no jack, i was referring to myself). and i have a good feeling about next sem; it should be a relatively relexing one. 3 physics mods to clear my major requirements. and that's all - been taking 6mods/sem for the past 2 that's why. may take another arts breadth for fun if i manage to find some cute girl to take it with me. hahaha. okies gg for my last dinner in paris now!

cold morning

ok i haven't been blogging everyday as i had hoped to. sporadic internet access from my hotel room and exhaustion after long days out sure saw to that. but let's leave those earlier posts for later. last day here; flying back tml early morn and should be reaching SG 28th morn. no plans for today; should be shopping till evening then nua-ing (yayy) all the way before an early night.

meals in paris, esp breakfast, would definitely be a big issue with me should i stay here for long. a set meal here (appetiser, pasta/pizza and dessert) costs about.. S$40? and its not the posh restaurant kind, more towards a cosy cafe one. i like eating whilst walking ard and being able to buy anything that catches my fancy w/o much consideration, but the exorbitant prices here prevent my doing so.

not that you can't get a decent meal at a decent price tho. one can check out the turkish restaurants which sell large sandwiches with meat (recall the vertically mounted meat skewers at NUS bazaars); the portions are humongous, the fries (carbos!) aplenty and it only costs ard S$15. alternatively if u're really on a shoestring budget, you can get veggies, ham and french loaves - make ur own sandwich!

today morning i went down from the hotel rm earlier than my parents, to take a 5 min walk to the nearby Mcdonald's to get my S$2 sausage mcmuffin to supplement the croissant and little bun with tea they serve at breakfast. i really can't take a total carbo-breakfast - need my meat and eggs!

deciding i din need a jacket for a short walk, i left the hotel in t-shirt & jeans. passerbys who were docked out in thick jackets, shawls and beanies stared at me, aghast. not that i wasn't (aghast) too, but it was at the temperature. around 3deg i figured. the day before it felt fine and it was ard 10deg. cold morning. haha. i also dunno what i'm writing le. sleepy.

post exams (2)

aha this entry is so very overdue. my new xbox360 and 32in LCD tv kinda made sure i did nothing else but play games if i were at home. but better late than never right.

hmm let's do a quick breakdown of the modules i did this sem. then a short mention abt them in general and any miscelleneous comments. want to get over this and on to other more interesting (at least to me) blog topics. haha.

CM2101 Principles of Spectroscopy: my 4th chemistry module and the last one required to clear the requirements for my 2nd teaching subject. it's like how basic la. if only L2000 physics mods were like that. really. i'm already trying to be objective. but the time i need to spend on it is really far less. also the module which i was the most conscientious for; reading the notes b4hand, doing tutorials and using the textbook for reference if required. thanks lalaa for ur wonderful lab rpts and taking the initiative to pass me the TB and ur notes from the prev sem w/o me even thinking to ask.

GEM2900 Understanding Uncertainty: this is most probably the lightest module in the whole of NUS. there are times when the lecturer only covers 4 slides per lecture cos he's spouting irrelevant stuff and trust me, those few slides are quite trivial. the total number of slides he went thru numbered only ard 200 (i printed 8 per page a few days b4 the exam so i rmbr) and the textbook can be finished in a day. not much of a leap from A Maths in sec sch. cheat sheet allowed too. the only catch is that everyone does well so it's hard to score. but a sure (almost) way to get a pass should u wish to use a S/U to clear a Sci/Arts GEM. yes, it fulfils both.

PC2132 Classical Mechanics: even though this is disputably the simplest of the L2000 theoretical physics modules, nevertheless it was still a nightmare. i easily spent more time and effort on it than the 2 modules above and yet had the least confidence in it. of course it helps that there are NO notes (for some sick reason physics profs prefer to write on the whiteboard and let us copy from it) and his scanned handwritten notes are close to illegible. the only module where i referred to 3 textbooks for different chapters. well, at least i got to do it alone with the very attractive ivana. ahhaha. cos we both were lagging behind our coursemates in taking physics mods. due to me trying to clear my CS2 for chemistry and her trying to switch course.

PC3242 Physics of Semiconductor Processing: essentially an engineering module, geared more towards applied physics. nice, colourful slides and the lecturer effectively got his material from one textbook. so no ambiguity. i like. it was alot of formulae and derivation, but somehow we only had to use the final formulae and substitute values intelligently to answer most of the test and exam questions. not much need for vivid understanding of the underlying principles. i din really mind cos it gave me more time to focus on my other mods.

PC3193 Experimental Physics 2: an open lab module where u had to finish up 6 experiments and the corresponding lab reports, prepare for the respective VIVAs, and do up a presentation near the examination period on an allocated experiment. some of my very diligent coursemates finished the former 2 tasks by recess week. very diligent, indeed. but i found it really fun cos it gave us all physics yr3 majors a chance to gather together, (amidst different module specialisations) chat abt random stuff and generally have lots of raucous fun in a comfortable setting.

SC2205 Sociology of Family: nuff said abt it alr, regarding the academic part. really enjoyed gg to lectures with jack, dilys and shiyun. 3 of my top 5 old (sorry la must differentiate mah) flaggers! haha. the content was interesting and abt stuff i would have loved to read up on myself during my free time. i wonder how i would have ended up had i chosen to major in arts. but then again, i really want to teach physics and chemistry, so that left me little choice. mebbe in another lifetime, i guess. every single choice involves an opportunity cost.

okie i'm done! like finally. and to think i finished this entry in paris. i should be holidaying u say, but since my family doesn't stay out late and i dun sleep late either, that leaves me 3-4 hrs for photo editing/uploading, blogging, PSPing (i just brought it along for fun) and reading. thanks zhu for the beautiful 'essays in love'. no worries, i imbued it with double protection and shall also refrain from reading the errr bookmark. haha. the most appropriate setting to peruse it would be the here and now. will try to finish and return to u soon!

post-exams (1)

i figured tt my blog'd be kinda stagnant if this entry wasn't penned soon. blogging just doesn't seem so much of a priority anymore when u're either out or doing stuff u like, but i see it as impt, a way of preserving memories of sorts. so yup. my very 1st post-exam post. 

 

this being my 1st sem staying away from hall after 2 yrs, it seemed pple felt i'd suffer from hall withdrawal symptoms. no such thing lor haha. wasn't exactly active during my 2nd yr and the 3 mths vacation stay in which i stayed at home or hall interchangeably was a gd transition stage. since i see the flaggers due to random events (KFC, MFM, jas' 21st, etc), and make it a point to meet hall pple who matter on a regular basis, it didn't make much of a difference where i stayed. 

studies-wise.. hmm, i wouldn't say i'm more hardworking. spent quite a bit of time on my usual swim and tennis sessions, meeting up with old friends for late-night suppers. throw in the 500 odd issues of taiwanese comics and close to 800 issues of manga (Kenichi, Bleach, Eyeshield21, Naruto, Reborn) as well as 8 novels. not to mention the drama serial watching w family and 2 seasons of anime (25eps each) for Code Geass. oh. and i haven't talked abt the hundreds of hrs i spent on my PSP and PS2 for Disgaea, HSG, WE or RE5. omg. 

if i do better than 3.5 this sem, i'll really begin to wonder what pple with sub-3.5 grades do with their free time la. hell, not like i dun msn, surf the net aimlessly or go out on weekends. ohwells, since i decided not to go on to honours year my grade doesn't matter that much anymores. just don't get grades that reflect horribly on my transcript can already. 

aircon!

after much agonising over the weather lately, as well as impulsively leaving for central lib at random times (11pm once haha) from home (mum: so late alr want to go where!), i have finally decided to get myself an air-conditioner for the sake of.. myself. haha. 

the colour scheme doesn't really fit in with my room decor, and it blocks off quite a bit of sunlight to my table, but oh wells, i shouldn't be nitpicky. every single event and action involves its inherent costs and benefits.

Statistics (Gem2900) on tues and Classical Mech (PC2132) on wed. obviously it's the latter i'm more concerned abt. shall talk abt the statistics mod the next time. quite hilarious i thought. haha. ahh. hope all goes well for Wed!