Goodbye 2006

Yup today will be the last day of 2006, and I will take this opportunity to take a glance back at how 2006 was for me. Ups and downs a many, as my last post for the year will most probably also be the longest one. Then again it would be even longer if I had not forgotten some of the happenings at the start of the year. You know when I was thinking of what I should add to this entry, it kinds of scares me that events that seemed quite a distance from today actually happened at the beginning of this year. It just goes to show that the saying of how time flies does not always apply.

The start of 2006 was real green for me, and I literally mean green. Yup I was still very much in the army, and I remember that it was a real horrible first day of 2006 for me, as I succumbed to the dreaded regimentation and duties of army life. I am sure the guys would understand how horrible it is to have a duty assigned to you on a weekend or a public holiday.

And so for the first few months of 2006, I spent most of my time on the island of Tekong, scolding and training my dear recruits. I would say my army life became very much more relaxing and enjoyable after having spent almost 13 to 14 months as a trainee. It was also very fruitful, after having seen my very first batch of recruits graduating, and having them come up to me with a salute, thanking me not only for getting them through BMT, but also making an impact on their lives, changing their lives for the better. What can be more satisfying than that!

And then in April, in the midst of all the happenings on Tekong, I received a news that shone the light on my future path. I was finally accepted into NUS. Although I did not get into the course I wanted, I was extremely happy and it was somewhat very much a dream come through. Some 5 years back when I chose the route to go into poly rather than JC, I knew the next 3 years at Singapore Polytechnic was perhaps going to be the last of studying for me. So yup, when I received the offer from NUS, I was overwhelmed. I was happy, but more importantly for me, my parents were proud and happy.

So with almost 2 years in army, and 2 years away from the books, I needed something to get me back into the schooling mood. And so came Arts Camp 06! Haha looking back, it was actually this camp that gave me the opportunity to make so many new friends in Arts. Then again, that was the exact reason why I wanted to join the camp, that is to have fun and to make new friends. But apparently it did not stop there. It actually brought me to be a part of Rag 06, and more importantly, be a part of the 27th Management Committee. If I had not signed up for Arts Camp, my University life today would be so so much different.

Then again, with 2 years away from the books, I started to miss studying and wanted so much to get back to studying. That feeling, of course, lasted only a while after I finally got back to the books. Haha, as expected. I started to experience all the hectic deadlines of projects to meet, and the fine prints of my readings, notes and textbooks. Still remember how I worried so much for sociology, as at one point of time, I did not even understand anything from the module at all and got poor grades for my tutorial assignments. Then again, I am glad I stuck to it, and even got an A- for my final grade. Ask me how, I really do not know either. I did not even finish the paper!

Since I am on the topic of exams, the year kind of ended on a low for me. Yup, as mentioned in my last 2 post, I am actually very disappointed with my results. After having come up with a studying plan for the very first time in my life, and having felt very much confident of my papers, my results were less than desired. Then again, since when have I actually gotten good results. I guess the 2 year absence from books also made me forget the feeling of being used to getting less than desired results.

Well then again, results is one down of my 2006, but of course there are also many ups to talk about. I spent the entire year happily attached to my girlfriend, I successful got my tender for Arts Camp 07, and of course, the year saw the birth of my very own blog. At this point of typing, I just realised that it is very much easier to type of the unhappier things than the happy ones. Haha, but guess I should just stop here.

Oh and this blog is gonna take a break for the first week of 2007, as I will be spending the first days of the new year in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Hopefully I will have fun, and when I come back, its back to studying and Arts Club. I so have to get my CAP back up. The upcoming semester will decide it all!

Hope the year of 2006 has been as eventful for everyone as it had been for me, and hope that the year 2007 would be a very much a better one for all. Happy New Year everyone!

Oh Well

Been feeling a little sick, must be due to the weather, but much better already. Yup I am still feeling a little upset about my results, no doubt I will get over it, so let me rant on it for now. Over the last 2 days I have been thinking of things like what if this module had better grades, what if that module had better grades, what if here, and what if there. Sounds very familiar huh. Perhaps the most frequent thought in everyones head, what if.

Many a times we really wish that we could turn back time, or hope that everything was just a dream and would wake up to a much promising reality. But this time, if u ask me to turn back time and change anything, I would not. Yup, that is just how confident I was of my papers, how I really felt that my results were undeserving, and how I felt that my one week plus of studying did not pay off. Well, then again, I just realised of many others who are the same situation as me. Like what boo boo said, I guess that is just University.

And so if you noticed, I was so upset over my last post and you did not notice the two magical words, Arts Camp! Ah but no worry, its back again in this post. I am pretty much hyped up about it, and Bike Quest too. Received a mail from funkygrad, and saw in their Dec newsletter that Arts Camp 06 was the best orientation camp amongst the tertiary institutes. So that adds to the expectations. Haha, oh well.

Resigned to Fate

What to say, but I am disappointed. Not at myself though, more at reality, again. Yup results were just released, and it did not turn out as I expected. Was it because I had expected too much, is it the bell curve, is University level just that high, or did something go wrong without me realising. I mentioned in a post much earlier back that academic results and luck never seemed to be on my side, and deja vu, the same has happened again. Just when I thought for once I could finally do well, the reality of the results brought all my hopes down again.

Many will say its just the first semester, and yes it's true. But it is also true that whether it is the first sem or the last sem, I will still be upset about not achieving what I had expected to. Well maybe like I said, I was expecting too much. Again feeling a little hard done by, as I had put in real effort to study hard this time, but to no avail. It kinds of demoralises me to actually put in the same effort the next time.

It makes me wonder now whether my style of writing actually caused such grades. Irony is that the module I worried for the most got me the highest grade, and the 2 modules which I feel that I have done well got me the worst results. Yup thats what makes me more furious, again as mentioned in a previous post, the thing I really dislike about Arts, is that sometimes you just don't know where and when you have gone wrong, or even right.

Well but I'm not all that down. At least now I really know the standards. And of course, I'll move on, keeping a thought at the back of my head, that I am still happy and grateful that I made it into NUS, something which was almost taken away from me.

Christmas Eve

Oh its Christmas Eve, and tomorrow is Christmas, and ... ... I don't feel a thing at all. Yup quite sad to say, I don't feel the festive mood like how I used to feel before. Christmas is tomorrow, the new year is coming, but to me they have suddenly become like any other day. Was talking about this issue with my gf yesterdae, and I realised that it was the same for my birthday, and even for Chinese New Year. I no longer feel the eagerness and anticipation for such holidays anymore. Am I getting older? Oh no. Well for Christmas maybe it is a personal thingy, maybe I really am getting old, but for Chinese New Year, I think it is more of a tradition dying, and come to think of it it's real scary. Because of the demise of many of the older folks, visitings have been reduced, meaning that the only chance you have for meeting of relatives you almost never get to see, will soon be gone! Oh dear.

Well one thing for sure is that, 2006 is really coming to a close, and with 2007 drawing near, it would also mean that school would be starting soon. Managed to get 3 of the preallocated modules I want, but then those 3 in addition to the breadth mod I would want to take, makes it only 4 modules! I am still short of one module. After hearing what others have said, I think I would more or less go for South Asian to fulfil another exposure, but then its exam clashes with one of my modules. Having experienced one sem of exams, I know what a disaster it would be to have 2 exams on the same day, and as much as I can, I would definitely avoid that.

And as promised in my previous post, most of my post would now include this 2 words, Arts Camp! Haha, well been thinking about certain issues lately, and think I have more or less come to a conclusion. Hopefully I would be able to settle this by today. From the last post to this one, I have received quite a few encouragements, and this again has inspired me even more. Once again, a big thanks to you all. Really appreciate those encouragements.

And oh, I will be flying off to Shanghai/Hong Kong real soon, and I am sure that will definitely be a fun and enriching experience. It's my first time visiting a country during winter, and it has also been quite a while since I went overseas. Well, that is of course not including the training trips to Taiwan and Brunei.

Ok this post is getting long, but just wanna share something. How many of you have actually been late for an appointment, so you decided to forsake the public transport you would usually take, move to the road side and wait for a cab, wait for so long so much so that when you finally make it for your appointment, you were even later then you should have been, and ended up spending more than 5 times what you should have spent. Yup, I just experienced that 2 days back. In fact, I waited so long that I think I could have walked to school from clementi, and still be earlier. Yes, I am serious, that was how long I actually waited.

Fass Forward to Arts Camp 07

Guess what? I have been given the opportunity to be the Project Director for Arts Camp 07. Yes, I am actually PD for Arts Camp 07!! To think of it, just 6 months ago, I was still a freshmen participating in Arts Camp 06! Oh this is just so exciting, but upon saying this, I am also feeling rather nervous. When tendering for this project, I only knew that I was interested to undertake this project, but now that it has been confirmed that I would be undertaking the role as Project Director, somehow the truth sets in. I am actually gonna be responsible for one of the biggest projects of the year!

I think that expectations are high, and many eyes will actually be watching. Adding to the fact that I am a freshmen PD, I think it is definitely gonna be much tougher than I expected. But then again, that will not stop me from making Arts Camp 07 a blistering success, with the help of a good team of course. Have been thinking real hard about issues relating to Arts Camp for the past 2 days, and have gone around searching for people, friends whom I am sure have the capability to actually work hand in hand with me to make this whole camp a success.

Well I guess Arts Camp will start popping up in many of my future post. So for those few of you who actually visit my blog, get used to it, haha. Also wanna thank those who have encouraged me in one way or another, those who have faith in me, and those who have placed their faith in me. Thanks.

Holiday Happenings

Well its mid-december already, and I am still eargerly waiting for my results. There was a very short stint last friday and saturday where the results were actually released online. Some said it was a hack, some said it was just an intentional release of results without moderation, and as for which is true, I do not know. All I know is that I was out on saturday, and did not manage to check my results. This incident has suddenly caused me to worry about my results again. How will I actually fare? 9 days seems eternity for now.

Well I went to Science Centre with my gf last saturday, and it was quite fun and interesting. I am not really a great fan of science, but I must say the displays at the centre did prove some eye opening revelations. Quite amazed by some facts I never knew. Many people would say that the Science Centre and other tourist attractions are meant for tourist, but I would beg to differ. I think its actually quite fun to go to these places as locals too. I remember the last time I visited the zoo, I enjoyed myself too. Always brings back memories.

Well just came back from FOP interview, and it definitely brought back memories of elections. No really sure how I fared, but guess I will just have to wait for the results later. Some other random thoughts. My China trip is confirmed, so finally another overseas trip for me! Rather excited about it. And just now, I went to fetch my brother from the jetty as he just came back from Bintan. And I drove his Integra to fetch him. It is my first time driving his car, and boy the feeling was very much different. Driving a nice sports car around, the sound was different, acceleration was different, elevation was different, and one more thing, many eyes actually staring at you when you are on the road. Usually Im the one eyeing all the fancy cars on the road. Just feels good that for once I am the one in the car this time.

Student Leaders Camp

Well just came back from SLC 06, and I would say it was rather fun and fruitful. I guess one reason that I kind of enjoyed this camp was because I had been moulding away at home from the end of the exams till this camp, therefore this camp kinda perked me up a little bit.

I guess what I really enjoyed from this camp was not really the games and activities, but more of the bonding and friendships made. Really glad to have known more student leaders in NUS, from pru, bizcomm to members from nussu exco and fellow council members whom I never really got to talk to before. My OG for this camp was real small and in a real relaxed mode, and I was kinda happy it turned out this way, because I wasn't really in any garang or gungho mood. Haha we went around the first amazing race game buying old chang kee, bubble tea and ice cream, and slowly strolled through the entire 'race'. Haha, not that we did not respect the game or the organizers, but I think its just that the entire team just felt that we could enjoy each others company better that way.

Well like I mentioned, I think overall the games were just OK, but I did enjoy some parts of the camp and it has given me some inspirations and ideas here and there for my proposal. I felt that the secret pal dancing was quite fun, but of course fellow committee members would say I find it fun because I had a 'good' partner. Haha, but seriously, I think activities like dancing, or maybe even chatting at the beach (like in last years arts camp), would somehow forge a bond and friendship between the person and his/her partner. Well then again, I had good experiences in my arts camp and SLC secret pal night, while some others who have had horrible experiences would strongly disagree with my last statement. In saying that, I purely mean it in the context of just normal friendships :)

I am now looking forward to the China Trip and getting to know even more student leaders and friends. Back to my proposal.

Post Examination Post

It has already been one day since my final paper, and I should be feeling happy, relieved and relaxed. However, quite strangely, I actually feel kind of funny now. Do doubt I am feeling much more relaxed now, especially after sleeping for nearly 10 hours last night, but I think I got too used to studying the last 2 weeks so much so that it feels odd not studying now. Strange.

Looking back at exams, I think I learnt alot, in fact more than what I can gain from books itself. I learnt how important good planning of modules are in relation to examination dates, and learnt some important studying techniques and habits. Its a wonder how come it took me almost 13 years of studying to realise these techniques and habits. What worries me now is of course my results. I really do not know how I would do, and am really hoping for the best. Based on how I 'feel' I have done, I can only say I feel quite OK about my papers, not very good, but not very bad. However I am not very optimistic, as my academic results have never been something worth looking up to. People always say that it is over and we should not worry so much, but I think if one is really concerned about his or her studies, he or she would naturally worry and think about it.

Well then again, I will only know my results on the 27th. There will be many events which will slowly but surely take my mind off this issue. MC events and meetings, FOP Proposals, SLC Camp, the China Trip, Christmas, and many other events. Not forgetting my gf of course. As for now, its back to module planning again for next sem.

End of Another Journey

And so it has finally ended. Juz finished my final paper, changing landscapes, and after 2 weeks of books, readings, notes, tutorials and frentic scribbling, my very first exams in university has finally come to an end. What a journey it has been, as yes I mean journey. As mentioned in a previous post, this was the first time I have ever started studying one week before the actual exam date, and it was also the first time I have also planned a study schedule to overcome the exams coming one after another. Just find it quite hard to believe that I studied so much this 2 weeks, of course studying hard does not mean I would do well, so I would just have to wait and see. Although I must say on a personal note, I really have gained alot in terms of knowledge.

Before the exams I mentioned I would find a nice and quiet place to study, and definitely not clubroom or at home. I was thinking more of the library. However, thanks to my great study mates, Lionel, Boo, Mich, Xinyu, Maomao, Meiling, Nicholas and Jack, studying at clubroom for the past 2 weeks was certainly a fun and memorable one. Having them around just made studying not so boring, as we crapped, joked, chat, watched tv and also ate together. Just seeing them at their books each day was always a constant reminder to me that I cannot slack, and it served as some form of a support and encouragement. Thanks guys, I am sure you guys will remember this 2 weeks as much as I have. Till the next exams next sem next year, haha.

8 Legs, 7 Days, 6 Left

Chanced upon it a week ago, accompanied me through my darkest week, and now its all just a memory. Sadly missed by senior, godma and friends. 251106 to 031206, hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Well, maybe not.

Haha quite amazing how an ordinary creature paying a visit to the clubroom could cause so much laughter, jokes, stories, crap and connotations. Definitely one to remember in the future. Haha. Now lets just see whose next to visit.

Near to the End

Hmm, it is already the end of the week, its Friday night, and here I am again, studying my Friday night away. Come to think of it, its quite fast. Quite a few of my friends have already finished their papers. The last time I posted was last weekend before my soci paper, and the reason why I am posting again is because I am feeling the same feeling as I had for before my soci paper, nervous and worried.

Tomorrow would be another paper I am worried about. Food Security and Safety. Actually its not that scientific or hard a module, but at times it can really get in depth and scary. But the scariest thing is that its a science module which requires writing of essay. I would much rather an MCQ paper, but then again, who wouldn't. Just hope I can get everything into my head and will leave it up to my crapping and rubbish writing skills to make up whats left.

Well 2 more papers to go. Joshua made a statement which was quite true and amazing. It has been almost 3 years since my last exams, and here we are back to exams again. However one thing remains, I still detest exams. Soci has been OK, social work a little better, and new media a little better than better. Lets hope this trend continues.

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