Time to say goodbye...

Well this is the 300th entry of this blog, if you've read this much, i sincerely thank you.. but most likely you wun.. haha

anyway, i've decided to create a new blog, its on www.whyqueue2.blogspot.com.
please modify your urls accordingly... thanks.

yup it's a new academic year and sorts, lets have a new blog! =)

cheers to the poor pharmacist! haha

The next lap

School starts tommorow... hafta print my notes later on pharmacy law.

The next 4.5 months will probably revolve around:

Lessons:
pr2101 - dosage form design
pr2102 - pharm law
pr2103 - pharmacostatistics
gek2022 - geisha, samurai and yongqiang as self or other
bsp1005 - managerial economics

wonder why i'm taking GSY (geisha, samurai, yongqiang) as my gem. i'm bound to s/u it.
cors sucks.
maybe leonard was right, med and dent students pay $17k to actually get out of the freaking cors system. i pay about $5k a year only.

i feel like taking ec1301, principles of economics after cons gave the negative feedback on bsp1005. it sounds so suspicious - 1 point module, no one wants to take. must be hard.

Target: CAP of 4. sigh. sounds achievable, yet again, not so.

CCAs:
pharm soc - pharmacy camp for jc kids. lets play with the "nj buggers".. hehe. maybe something for emed. or another ad-hoc project.

nvac - signed up for singapore epileptic foundation and some other volunteer (something like sai sithya) to be a musician at the charity fiesta. they haven't got back to me yet. wonder will i have the courage and time to accept them once they do. volunteerism, for all its benevolent thoughts, sometimes feels like a walk into a dark void when you have no friends accompanying you.
no other nvac projects this sem that require long-time commitment.

rotaract club - bhbh3 is definitely out of the way. i'm so sorry...

eml - really feel like quitting eml now cos there's not a friend there and i dun really click with the people there. no time to compose any music now either since there's no demand. yet still, i'm exco, forced into a position that i didn't bid for, just because there's only 2 members in my batch.
sick of it.

ccas that i'm floating around / other new ccas - forget it. i'll remain floating around. if you haven't aroused my interest so far, you probably never will.

courses:
no first-aid course, no windsurfing course, no wakeboarding course, no chacha course, no aerobics course.

work:
still looking for tuition assignments / part-time jobs. may consider joining ucc as a usher like shannon and victor. i'm really spending too much.
yet, where is the balance between work, and real work?

relationships:
....

sigh.. all this, just to maintain my CAP. getting into mugger-bugger mode from now onwards.

Rag Day...

Rag day, as usual, began one night before the actual event. Everyone arrived on Fri, went through the last day of FOW (till 1130), then immediately went for lunch then it was the last session of practice.

We practiced until 6-7pm before breaking off. Some headed back to their hostel rooms to shower, some went back to gather stuff, others simply showered in block S4 (betcha didn't know there was a shower facility there).

I'd really have to thank jielin (my boss) for allowing me to go back and get some sleep from 9pm onwards. Heard the remaining fellas who spent the night in LT20 didn't get much sleep - some slept at midnight, only to be roused awake at 3am-4am for makeup, for the pre-judging which was at 6am.

The backdrop people did not get any rest at all, shifting the backdrop (some background with stars and painted characters) under cover of night. Reminds me of last year when i was doing it for sheares rag, when i and 7 other guys jagaed the @#$% heavy bell down, up, and down the slopes of NUS like a funeral cortege only to be refused entry at the entrance to SRC cos we were too early.

President Nathan must feel proud to see all this - about one thousand people sacrificing so much to put up this show, and this is only the rag segment.

Heh~ i woke up at 0515, then asked dad to fetch me to LT20 where they were gathered. Not too bad. Got makeup and breakfast. Waited for the pre-judging fellas to come back at 0730, then we went to the stadium at SRC at about 0830, full dress. The guys were wearing tin-soldier costumes with FF7 buster-swords (think: cloud strife) whereas the cheerleading gals had tank-tops and skirts (one long one removable, one shorter one for cheerleading) with chinese dance fans and a whole palette of makeup; the chacha girls were dressed in tubes with "skirts that flew in the wind" and wore heels. fabulous.

More warm-up then we joined the backdrop team on the track at about 1000. We then waited for our turn. About 1045, just before Law and then, our performance, the President made his way in. not too bad, seeing him in the flesh. feels like ndp last week. ha.

our performance came in at 1053 hours. well i could safely say, the performance was one of my best, i mean i had much worser performances before; but for this, everything fell like clockwork. may not be impressive, but it was smooth. the intro, the fairy segment, the flirty dance, the cheerleading with stunts (stunts were successful), the chacha segment, the finale - all good.

it was a good five minutes on stage, and pharmacy finally broke its 25-year silence for rag.

good job guys!

Le Femme Overpossesive

here are two pages from one of my good friend's websites, www.tucksombong.blogspot.com.

talks about the overly-possesive feminine nature in a relationship.

http://tucksombong.blogspot.com/2006/08/disillusionment-lol-ive-been-listening.html

http://tucksombong.blogspot.com/2006/08/reporting-strength-sound-of-phone.html

lol enjoy. wonder for all the girls in the world, how many are like that? haha.

The day before rag

1 month of practice.
Countless visits to SMU for practices. At night. Stretching for long hours, every day.
Countless re-runs of dance moves in the head.
Countless steps taken, from learning, to perfecting the dance by oneself, then with all dancers, then with all the rag people.

Everything will be revealed in that 5-7 mins time.

Introduction March.
Fairy Moves.
Carmen Girls.
Cheerleading and stunts.
Chacha.
Finale.

We will make it. I will make it.

Crash and burn

Sometimes i just wanna ignore the four walls around me and shout out loud, where my voice echoes out in that lonely world.

Crash And Burn

When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please
To tame your wild wild heart

I know you feel
like the walls are closing in on you
It's hard to find relief
and people can be so cold

When darkness is upon your door, and
you feel like you can't take anymore...

Let me be the one you call
If you jump, I'll break your fall
Lift you up, and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash,
then crash and burn
You're not alone

When you feel all alone
And a loyal friend is hard to find
You're caught in a one way street
With the monsters in your head

When hopes and dreams are far away, and
You feel like you can't face the day...

Repeat Chorus

'Cause there has always been heartache and pain
And when it's over you'll breathe again
You'll breathe again

Repeat Verse 1

Repeat Chorus

Happy Birthday Singapore!

well. i'm not very patriotic when i'm normal. haha but when was i normal

anyway today was a good rest, initially wanted to go wang's house and play comp games but too lazy. woke up, first thing to do was the CORS system.

yeah i know watching the cors like a hawk isn't gonna be very useful, after all it's during close bidding when everyone's blind to the "next successful minimum bid" then the action gets heated up. yeah. but i still feel an urge to see.

i have two modules to bid this semester, both using my general account which has 400 pts.

one of them maybe a gem - gem2900, understanding uncertainity and statistical thinking. it's scary - today morning it was 26 (minimum bid), afternoon it shot up to 34-35, then now it's 41. it had started at 2.

the thing is, the people who wanted this module aren't increasing very much either - it's 360 people taking out of a quota of 300. this leaves me to reckon, that those "Latecomers" or so to speak, just dump as many points as they want. or existing people just up their bid like i do.

it's scary - tomorrow, when bidding closes, it might shoot up to 100 points if i'm lucky, and 300 if i'm not. which will present another problem in itself - where to find another gem module. or maybe not to take at all. i'm considering constance's suggestion of samurai, geisha and yakuza as self or another, a totally sucky module.

the other dilemma i have is between bsp1005 (managerial economics) and it1001 (introduction to computing). the former is business-related, and it's applicable (hopefully). mainly it levies on the knowledge i gained from mkt1003, and choon han, jason and jevin are taking it. and it's one point.

the latter is currently 21 points, relatively easier, well sorta applicable... and i've got jw, cuiqin, and ??? taking it. yeah.

sigh.

***

watched The Rock in the afternoon - a patriotic movie. (well it's shown on local tv network channel 5.) basically about a mutiny of US soldiers threatening to launch biological weapons at civilians, holding hostages unless the US administration gives $100 mil to them. stars nicholas cage and sean connery.

well any guy will love a movie with guns blazing, this is one of them. prob reminds them of army days. the acting was perfect. one of their lines - as epitomised by my good friend yanzhang when the movie was just launched:

(when the president decided to send in the air strike and blow the island where the soldiers were hiding to bits)

President:
These past few hours have been the longest, darkest of my life.
This is when you wish the buck did not stop here.
A balance between two tragedies.
On one hand the fate of a million civilians.
On the other, 81 hostages.
That American boys have paid the price of that neglect in blood, is equally real, and equally tragic.
We are at war with terror.
Fighting a war means casualties.
This is the= worst call I've ever had to make.
Air strike approved.

So that's where he got that from.. haha

The last week of the only holidays I will ever have in my entire working career

C'mon...

A quick look back:

May 3 - May 15: primary stage of planning for FOC. quite fun.
May 15 - Jun 1: YIP trip to philippines. fun. enriching.
Jun 2 - Jun 27: secondary stage of planning for FOC, dry runs. felt a bit lost at sometimes.
Jun 26 - Jun 29: nvac camp. their activities were interesting but i have yet to click with the people there. nvac people somehow are... different from the usual pharm people i know.
Jun 30 - Jul 2: final preparations for FOC
Jul 3 - Jul 6: FOC. gained many experience points but didn't had much fun, neither much interaction with the juniors.
Jul 10 - Jul 13: odac camp, helping yt under logistics. got a tan which refuses to subside to even today. odac people somehow are... different too. cooked milo using butane gas and mess tins. pitched tents. campfire. ubin. fun.
Jul 18 - Jul 19: cfa retreat, mingled with the excos of the various cfa groups as well as the cfa personnel. almost wanted to sell my soul. no thanks.
Jul 20 - Aug 13: involved in pharm rag dance. only first-hand interaction with the juniors and some seniors. originally only involved in chacha segment but later stretched to everything... sigh. practices almost daily.
Jul 29: charity fiesta: led a team (4 x sec 2 gals) around singapore. first OGL experience.
wanted to find a job in tuition too. but forget it, i'd rather concentrate on my studies...

***

it has been an excellent three months.

i didn't go anywhere for fun - genting, thailand, etc (well philippines, if u consider that). and somehow, i didn't get as much fun as i wanted, or compared to the last holidays.

and now it's back to hitting the books again. sigh.

Some things about CORS the year ones should know

What modules to choose:

a) no choice (i.e. core module) / you need it to fulfill something, e.g. a minor

b) because you like the module / you find the module interesting

c) because the module is cheap

d) because the module is popular / someone is taking with you / or a boyfriend is taking the module too

e) because the module is easy

How to bid:

Method 1: Wait until 30min-1hr before close bidding then look at the modules that you've chosen during round 2a (for pharm). Monitor every module.

When you get outbidded (when minimum bid > your bid) then you got three choices:

a) to raise the bid by 1 point or more than the lowest bid (but most likely you'll have to raise it again) - wise choice if u got enough points, and want that module desperately

b) dump all your remaining points into that module - wise choice if you got thousands of points, and want that module

c) withdraw and find other cheaper modules (another headache)

but remember for (a) and (b), for every point that you bid, be prepared to lose them.

How to find cheap modules

Modules are likely to be cheap (1 - 100 points) or affordable (100-400 points) if they are:

a) many vacancies - usually >100 should be quite good;

b) very unpopular - with tons of tests, projects, assignments, unfavourable lesson schedule (e.g. 6pm-9pm or saturdays), long hours, unfavourable (boring) study material, exam format is punishing (e.g. essays and more essays)

c) modules which require a certain prerequisite; usually meant for the students who are taking that major, e.g. sw1101e. or having a certain preclusion.

d) core modules or "compulsory modules like SS.

Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite

This song was written for the space flights to the moon. Apparently the author wasn't very pleased with the space flights, and from the way he puts it, it seems like everyone is trying to rush to the moon (the sleeping satellite), and in doing so, waste alot of resources.

Chorus:
I blame you for the moonlit sky, and the dream that died, with the eagle's flight
I blame you for the moonlit nights, when I wonder why, are the seas still dry
Don't blame this sleeping satellite

Did we fly to the moon too soon?
Did we squander the chance?
In the rush of the race, the reason we chase is lost in romance
And still we try...
To justify the waste, for a taste of man's greatest adventure

Repeat Chorus

Have we lost what it takes to advance?
Have we peaked too soon?
If the world is so great, then why does it scream under a blue moon?
We wonder why...
If the earth's sacrificed, for the price of its greatest treasure

Repeat Chorus

And when we shoot for the stars, what a giant step
Have we got what it takes, to carry the weight, of this concept?
Or pass it by?
Like a shot in the dark, miss the mark with a sense of adventure

(Organ Bridge)
Don't blame this sleeping satellite

Repeat Chorus
Don't blame this sleeping satellite

Why Do It??

Went to setup matric fair booth for EML on sunday.
Went to recce NUS today (monday) in the afternoon for a game to be played in FOW
Went to chacha practice at night at SMU.

Why do it? Why bother?

EML - i dun have any friends there. why be the exco? why carry on.
the game - just a minor detail, why do i need to go to such lengths to get the game going?
chacha - just declared epileptic, drawing up contingency plans. furthermore i suck at it. no guys from my cohort doing rag dance.

Whats the purpose of doing these?

Is it to prove that an epileptic can do all the things, even more things, than a normal person?
Is it to find someone to get hitched to such that i can finally move on with life?
Is it to have fun?

What happened to all those marvellous ideals that surfaced in all their brillance, only to vanish when they are most needed?

really.

what do i want? like a friend of mine said when she looked through my proposal for the FOW game. state your objectives clearly before u plunge into anything!

can't.

tired.

i wish i could just dig a hole and vanish, together with those marvellous ideals of mine. retreat to my little corner in the library where no one can find me, and assimilate into the legions of muggers who treat NUS as a giant classroom.

the very legions that i've worked and spoken against.

: come here, have lessons, go back : repeat until graduation. no ad lib.

matric fair tmr, helping out EML. another day wasted for rag dance practice. interview with tuition agency halfway. the juniors will be matriculating.

kbox on wed. not as enthusiastic as i was one or two weeks back though. sometimes i also question the idea of spending cash for 4 hours when u have banzou.com.

even on msn, there isn't much people to speak with. tired.

i need to say no.