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!

the socio paper

i've been printing (note: not reading) the 2nd half readings of my Soci of Family module the past week. even though i've decided to S/U it, might as well make the grade secure enough to do so, i thought.  10/15% (overslept for one) for tutorial participation and a A for the 25% midterm doesn't justify a confirmed pass. and of course, i'd love to derive abit of satisfaction from doing more than required to pass. 

eve of SC paper:  haven't touched on the readings i printed yet. and my knowledge of the 1st half readings are as of during the midterms. ahh i'm so gg to suffer from focusing on my Physics mods! so i gave myself 2 choices for the next 24 hrs. 

1. focus on the 1st half - notes and readings. of course it'd be risky cos most of the exam material would likely be on the 2nd half. rmbr peilee once told me she managed to A a soci mod just by focusing on less than half of the material too. haha. 

2. just focus on the damn notes, get a good overview of the module in general and how all the chapters/ideas link up together, then memorise all main and sub pts. then utilising my common sense and general knowledge and command of english to smoke through the paper. 

i chose the latter.

so i went for the paper ardently hoping that the one compulsory qn and 2 out of 4 of the optional qns (4choose2) would NOT even refer to or ask me to analyse the ideas in ANY specific reading. cos i haven't even read most of them as u know.  

"Please turn over ur Qn paper and check that u have 2 printed pages" announced the lecturer. i complied reluctantly, albeit with a sense of anticipation. yessah! it was as i hoped. but the other 2 optional qns, as expected, could not even be attempted by the current me. who cares, though. haha. can do the ones that count can already. 

1st 2 qns were a breeze, doing outlines for ard 10 mins then finishing the essays in another 50. way before schedule. hmm 3rd qn - 2 instances where anticipatory socialisation are mentioned in the lectures; name them and describe the facets of family sociology they entail (or smth like that). 

i only rmbred 1. but oh wells, my 2nd one seemed quite a legitimate answer. and i've done quite well for the amount of effort i put in le. so i raised my hand just b4 the limit and left early. dun think i'd be able to improve on my answers even if i had dwelled in the exam hall for the next 15 mins anyways. one more paper down! 3 more to go. 

dead fish

my oldest friend. 

the one whose judgement i trust the most.

given he knows all abt most of my history and habits. 

and that we've shared all our joys and woes w/o restraint over the yrs.

he told me to drop the dead fish. 

changed man

after reaching home after jas' 21st, wormy dropped by to print some documents for his impending overseas trip. he's changed quite a bit since the breakup of 3 yrs. but i'd be surprised if he didn't. it really meant alot to him, and his considerable ego din allow for the fact that his gf no longer had any feelings for him. 

let's just say that guys handle breakups in different ways. a quick summary:

1. The guy initiated the breakup

a) Alpha-male - yeah! no more  residual obligations to anyone. so gg to find someone better as a keeper but 1st to have some fun with random pple in the meantime.

b) Average male - no pt continuing if there're no more feelings. time to move on and start knowing new pple. hope one of them is the one for me. it'll take time but eventually.

c) Loser male - yay i can finally spend time with my PSP and drama serials than occupy myself with such a complicated and troublesome entity. good riddance to bad rubbish. 

2. The girl initiated the breakup

a) Alpha-male - can't believe she dumped me. i doubt she'll ever find someone as good as me. so be it if she wants to be with that fat wuss friend of hers. but 1st to fornicate randomly to show that i'm the MAN. 

b) Average male - i'm sure a girl's decision is final but i'm still gg to do nice stuff so i can tell myself in the future i did my best. or maybe i should just move on. and wish her happiness.

c) Loser male - yay i can finally spend time with my PSP and drama serials than occupy myself with such a complicated and troublesome entity. good riddance to bad rubbish. 

haha ok it's not exactly true but it has an element of truth in it. and let's just say that i'm not gg to divulge all that transpired in this blog, ever. some stuff is too personal, and it wouldn't reflect well on all parties involved. 

unproductive sat

only reached home ard 4am after gg out the prev day on fri. haven't taken a nightrider for god knows how long. it's cheaper, no doubt, but it really takes a hell long time to reach home. and i've long since lost the ability to simply sleep on the bus. 

was thinking of napping till 6am, then working all the way till the b-day party where i'll be quite zombie-fied but so as to maximise study time. but then my trusty phone alarm screwed up again and i woke at abt 1pm. the look of dismay when i saw the time on the wall clock. priceless. 

due to certain events transpiring, met sokie outside the country club instead of gg tog by train or even mtg the flaggers in sch to go tog. then displayed my wonderful sense of direction by spending a good 20mins trying to find the place (in another building across the road which was supposedly a part of the country club too). haha. would have never reached had i not asked for directions. 

i figure i'm not a very sociable person. during parties and such i'm happy to just do the perfunctory catching-up conversations, then disappear into the backgrd and relax, and occasionally catching snippets of juicy info. happier still to find a person who seems content just to talk to me and doesn't flit ard like some social butterfly or behave like he/she would rather be somewhere else, with other pple, doing other stuff. i don't like the feeling of being dispensable. 

i can't complain abt today i guess. sitting with the very annoying (but endearing in a sense) xiaobai and my fave flagger Z (ha! i give u alphabet too!) who annoys me with her late sms replies. not to mention the diarrhoea-ing kenny and the always fun-loving gimsy. and the laugh-inducing comments abt the erm.. couple, kelthel. 

was gg to have a quick bowling session after the whole thing with sokie but then her parents were in the vicinity so settled on a few games at the arcade. then chatted all the way back on her parents' car. ha. i so need to study le la. 

quick post

a presentation at 3 later. 10% of the final grade for this purely experimental module, consisting of 6 lab reports, 6 vivas and a allocated presentation on one of the reports.

like i was telling the lab-in-charge whilst asking her abt info for the previous presentations on earlier timeslots, the difference btw a sublime and horrendous presentation would be like at most 4% of the total grade. which isn't much. the alphabet grade would have already been decided prior to one's presentation, we agreed.

i like physics labs. no need for lab coats, goggles or whatnot. i-net access, free printing and paper and a tranquil place to hang out in after tiring lessons. hell, there's even couches. of course it helps that there isn't much pple in physics in the 1st place, and one doesn't have much qualms simply ignoring 3/4 of the entire cohort (PRCs yup).

really enjoy peace, tranquility and the general sense of solitude. at least during sch term and esp during test/exam period. of course i enjoy the company of my dear fellow physics majors too. ha. you really have be around people, forced (same modules) or otherwise, long enough to know them well. and i should say i'm past caring abt how i portray myself when i'm ard them. they know too much abt me alr. my perpetual rubbish, slackness and general niceness (even towards certain nasty and annoying pple haha).

and hmm. long past thinking abt then alr. it wasn't like i didn't see it coming, albeit i din wish it to. but i always feel one should seek out their own happiness - why wallow in a state of discontent when u could move on to what u felt was better suited to you? i'm happy that u are. always been so. really. and if u understood me well enough u should know.

gg out with the glad fri evening and jas' 21st at sembawang (so far! sigh.) on sat evening. i'm gg to have to leave early myself i guess; the flaggers are likely cabbing back to hall tog and i want to go home. to study. ha. next sat's the 1st paper! hm or i could study overnight in school. see how la. but nowadays i'm keeping good hrs; sleeping at 1-2 and waking at 7-8. feeling good!