Sunday, August 05, 2007
Another relaxing weekend
USP O-week was one of the most laidback camps that I've ever attended. There were only about 40-50 freshmen attending the overnight program as the majority chose to attend their faculty / hall orientation week(If SOW wasn't fully subscribed I would've hopped over as well). The majority of the freshies who attended the O-week did not attend the FOC held in July. This means that I've got to know even more peers in the USP!
We stayed overnight from Friday to Saturday. The major programmes included a night walk around Kent Ridge Road and Prince George's Park, as well as a "Food Hunt" where everyone got to discover the various food outlets in the campus including the prata and nasi lemak shop behind Eusoff Hall. In addition, all of us spent our free time touching up our Rag Float. (Rag is less than six days away!) Yes, this camp was an extremely slackly one cos' no one bothered to cheer as loud or walk that quickly as compared to the previous FOC held at Pasir Ris. Yes, all of these happened while our other peers in the faculties and halls were bringing the house down and scurrying like ants all over Kent Ridge. This made us looked like snails taking a stroll.
I also got to secure my modules for the upcoming semester through the CORS bidding system. Yes, CORS looks like a chore and bore for me, making me wish that every single module can be preallocated by my faculty so as to save our time and (perhaps, blood) to outbid one another at the screen. Having seen the bidding results for the various modules up for grabs, one cannot deny that a bumper intake of freshmen means more blood spilled during the close bidding session. Several freshmen threw in everything they have from 400 to 600, symbolising that the paranoid and "kiasu" Singaporean trait continues to define and dominate our national work ethic, hence being a significant denominator of our national identity.
In case you guys were wondering, my workplan for the first semester of Academic Year(AY)2007/08 are as follows:
CM1101 Principles of Modern Chemistry (maj)
CM1111 Basic Inorganic Chemistry (maj)
MA1100 Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics (2nd maj / minor)
MA1102R Calculus (2nd maj / min)
PC1327 Science of Music (faculty elective)
UWC2101J Writing and Critical Thinking: Sites of Tourism (USP)
I'm certainly looking forward to MA1102R, PC1327 and UWC2101J. Calculus is one of my strongest and most favourite branches of Mathematics. In addition my interest in Music and Human Geography will be resurrected through PC1327 and UWC2101J respectively. The former is an extremely popular module in NUS and I spent alot in my Programme Account to secure it. Once again, it's now time to grab the books and refresh whatever little precious memories of our A level knowledge to get a great start to Semester 1.
This week is going to be another busy week, where tomorrow will be the USP Director's Welcome Tea as well as the Freshmen Inauguration Ceremony where we'll be formally inducted into the University. It's going to be a hectic week ahead, where University starts in a big bang for all. Good luck to us!
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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
13:04
13:04
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Before O-week starts
It has been a rather long time since my last article for I've been held up by a number of time-consuming events for the past fortnight. First of all, this is my first article following my 21st birthday which fell on the nineteenth of July! Frankly speaking, I still do not feel twenty-one even thought it has been more than a week ever since my birthday.
The next two weeks is going to be a busy period for me. O-Week, Rag, Flag and much more, I really do not know if I'm going to have the time for my own reading and blogging! USP Camp (17-20th July) was fun, where we had quality bonding (only about 70 freshies) in an idyllic setting (Pasir Ris Home Team Chalet). I do not have pictures at the moment but I'll try to get them from my seniors as soon as possible. Imagine 80 USP students BBQ-ing and dancing along Pasir Ris Park, occupying a breadth of up to four Olympic-sized swimming pools! In addition, I celebrated my passage into adulthood during the camp, where the entire USP community sang birthday greetings for me! (Unfortunately there was no cake but we had lots of food from the BBQ!!!) Which other FOC has such a luxury to occupy a large space, considering that they've up to 300 freshies to accommodate?
I'm now in a dilemma with regards to what I really want to study for the next four years. My passion for environmental chemistry has made me consider the choice of majoring in Applied Chemistry, one of the toughest courses offered in the Faculty of Science. However, they only take in 50 students a year, subject to their performance in CM1161 (Principles of Chemical Processes) which will be taught in the second semester. If I choose to embark and successfully join the Applied Chemistry course, my job options may range from pharmaceutical, petrochemical, environmental, materials, semicons and so on!
On the other hand, I can diversify my skills and job opportunities if I take up a second major. For example, if I choose my second major in Mathematics, I'll have access to careers like teaching and finance. However this means my first major will be simply a general Chemistry course with no special specialisations.
So which path should I take? This is a horrible choice to make when you realise you "love" more than one subject of interest equally.
This week will kick off with the Matriculation Fair. This means more decisions to make with regards to what CCA should I join and commit for(apart from the University Scholar's Club). I consider CCAs a better avenue to expand my social circle as compared to large scale FOCs (such as the Union, Faculty or Hall level). A common passion in a particular hobby will allow for better bonding among peers considering that one would help the other improve one's interest and proficiency in the hobby that one pursues. Hence, I've told many of my peers that I consider Union Camp the most useless camp in NUS because the possibility of your OG-mate being your project / work / CCA mate is extremely low as compared to your Faculty or Hall-mate. In addition, the ability to sustain the interaction with your OG-mate is more difficult at the Union Level as compared to the Faculty, Hall or CCA level. Yes, most of my peers have swiftly rebutted my statement because one does not know who will become your true friend or partner in the years to come, and that it is no harm knowing even more people. Back to my point about the choice of CCAs, I've to choose very carefully in such a way that I can give my optimal level of commitment to the club, and that such a level of commitment does not affect my ability to manage the heavy academic workload especially if I choose to pursue a double major.
USP O-week will be equally crucial as I'll get to finally understand the academic structure of the USP. In addition, I'd need to clarify my graduation requirements with focus on my faculty and Unrestricted electives (UEs). I'll be assigned to a professor (or known as "Academic Advisor") who'll watch on me carefully for the next four years. The information that I've just stated is just one of many issues to consider.
So for now, I'm off for the night, as I start to prepare for O-week and more importantly, bidding for modules....
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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
00:55
00:55
Thursday, July 05, 2007
July Blues
Yes peers, I'm suffering from July Blues right now. What does "July Blues" first mean to me? My faithful readers will first know that this month is my birthday month! The "Blues" come in as I realise that I am indeed getting older and older each day. Birthday celebrations may be a fun thing and a useful tool of maintaining friendships, birthdays also means increased responsibilities. For example, a person turning twenty-one passes into adulthood. To symbolise his passing into adulthood, he is given the "key" to independence. Yes, the birthday cake is often shaped as a "key". It is a key that one cannot throw away, which will follow us till death. Such a "key" symbolises the opening the formless access to one's real life. It symbolises the rising of an individual to decide how he wants his "house" or life to be. So whenever every birthday passes, I reflect upon myself on a single issue: How do I make full use of my life in the upcoming year?
I do not wish to answer this question at this moment. Nevertheless, it'll take a very drastic and dramatic event to change my perception towards life, friendship and academics each time I pass the nineteenth of July. Incidentally, USP's Freshmen Orientation Camp (FOC) is held from the 17th to the 20th of July. Having both a university-based camp and celebrating your birthday at the same time is a horrible nightmare. One would not know whether one will laugh or cry when his birthday passes. However, there is something I'm very sure that'll happen to me as a result of attending of USP's FOC. I'll definitely become a more sociable and confident person. The fundamental purposed of all university camps is the element of bonding. However, the element of bonding is often so overshadowed by the "fun" element which has been overemphasised in every single FOC in NUS. I wonder why seniors use the word "fun" before "bonding". Why do we have to incorporate "fun" into "bonding"? What exactly does "fun" mean? Yes, these are the kind of things that is integral to life in the USP. We question everything from the abstract to the obscure.
July Blues is certainly occurring in this Second Special Term. General Biology isn't very easy to conceptualize as things get more abstract. DNA replication, Biotechnology and Gene Expression are just one of many issues that make me even more confused these days. I've three assignments to complete which requires to do some reading. LSM1301 is a relatively easy module. Given its open-book nature and its tricky MCQs, it is imperative that I must get my A grade in the most ruthless way possible. Of course, one must also look at the brighter side of this module, and hence, I've some pictures to show you all:
DNA Replication in progress
For your information, these glowfish you see are not for sale as they've not been approved for sale as ornamental fish by the AVA. Hence, stealing of such fish from the Life Sciences Lab is a serious civil offence. In case you were wondering, these glowfish are an invention of a NUS Life Sciences professor. Check this link out to find out more about the use of DNA in the process of growing these 'glowfish'.
More pictures of the glowfish for you to enjoy:
And all of us have free beer to take home! Fermented right in our Life Sciences Lab!
So I think it's time for me to drink away my sorrows, but I'd have to wait for another 14 days (secondary fermentation)!
Good night for now!
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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
01:02
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Culture Shock - the sequel
I'm now typing this article from the very privacy of USP's Computer Room. Noone's around cos' it's the lull period for USP as no modules are conducted right here. Yes, this is the first week of Special Term Part II and I am so totally relieved to have survived my hellish six weeks completing my two USP modules. This probably explains why I have not updated this blog cos' I was so stressed up and depressed during the last two weeks of my first Special Term. To the incoming 95% of the NSMen, perhaps you made the right choice not to matriculate in the Special Term but you might have a harder time trying to re-adapt to the academic culture as compared to those who entered early. To the 4% of NSMen who matriculated early in May but did only one module, you made a better choice than the 95% who choose to extend their holidays till August and certainly your first semester will be abit better. But to the 1% of NSMen like me who chose to do TWO modules, well we're in the same boat and we can only hope for the best when the results are out soon.
The previous Special Term was fun and challenging. The fieldtrips were great, the interactions between the seniors and the year zeros were equally great as well. I got to interact with many USP seniors at the Chatterbox and I even know some of their secrets (censored). The class size was definitely perfect. I had fourteen people in my Biodiversity module, where six of us were year zeros, while I had ten fellow nationalists in my Nationalism module, where two of us are year zeros. I was the only year zero who took two USP modules, surprising everyone including myself. Well I had the passion for these two modules so why not? By the way, please click the link on the right to see more photos which testify my wonderful six weeks in the USP.
Can you believe that I single-handedly wrote a ten and a half page (approx. 3500 words) paper on Singaporean Food Culture? Ideally speaking I wouldn't wish to stress myself up but I couldn't find someone who shared my passion for food. At least my biodiversity essay was better where I wrote only 1000 words (new record since JC), cos' I had two wonderful seniors who willingly took me in (and one of them is in the Dean's List). I really suffered from sleepless nights during the last two weeks as deadlines came crashing down. My mother is really worried about me. She prepares a bottle of herbal tea whenever I travel to campus. She has to force me to go to bed. Serious! I ignore people on MSN. She is so concerned that she said, "How to give you all these energy stuff if you stay at hostel? Everytime overstretch yourself, stay at home better lah." (She conveniently took my PGP application form for the USP blocks from me and I don't know where it is. What I only know is that the deadline for housing application is over.)
I'm really it's all over and no matter how the grades turn out (the USP average is always an A- or B+. Wish me luck.), I know I've survived. Period. And I learnt lots of new stuff, broadened my perspectives, improved my writing and research skills and much more to come. I made great, quality (but certainly not quantity) partnerships with fellow year zeros and seniors. Like what Cindy Chandra has said, "its not humiliating when u see ur juniors are now ur seniors. age doesnt really matter when it comes to uni rite"? Yes. I love the diversity right here. This is a totally new playing game where everybody learns from everybody, professors included. For example, my Nationalism professor didn't know the history behind Tiong Bahru (even though she was conducting a Singapore Studies module) until we brought her there for our field trip. She's not a Singaporean by the way.
Where can you get that if you were doing a breadth/general education/elective module in the rest of Kent Ridge? Where can you get maximised interactions? In this current Special Term, I'm currently taking a more relaxed pace to university life by taking just one biology module as an unrestricted elective. More time for me to grasp the abstract biological concepts and to read up more on biological sciences. I may not major in it but it'll certainly come up useful during my chemistry modules, especially when I tackle organic chemistry. Thank goodness the module is an open-book, MCQ exam, but the questions are rather tricky. I keep on making careless mistakes even though I understand the concepts well. I shall settle for nothing less than an A for this module. Which means paying more attention, perfecting further MCQ trial questions and being meticulous in labwork (it only starts next week).
However, I really find the atmosphere of the class very disturbing. There might be only 47 people taking the module but noone's interacting! Noone's posing any provocative or interesting questions that can help everyone learn better! It's the biggest culture shock I've to tackle with considering what I've heard from my fellow USP seniors with regards to lessons in their own faculty. Dear reader, please do not feel offended but unfortunately I feel more at home at USP as compared to my home faculty. Isn't it very ironic? Like what my fellow year zero just told me, it's better to hide our secret identity (just as a Commando wearing a red beret will not reveal his appointment and workscope in the SOF, if he is part of the SOF) lest non-USP students see us as arrogant or elitist. Perhaps I really need to appreciate this second culture shock again and assimilate accordingly just like an ordinary student of a faculty. We USP students are just an ordinary undergraduate doing extraordinary things. We don't really like the label of being "scholarly" or "elitist". We only wish to do things differently. We yearn to challenge, not conform. That is all.
By the way, I'm turning twenty-one on the 19th of July, 2007. However, as my birthday clashes with USP's FOC, I intend to hold my celebrations earlier. Confirmed details will be out real soon, but it is very likely to be held in the East and on a weekend.
And it's back to the books. I hope I don't go crazy again.
"Just as every girl should have a husband, preferably her own, so every culture must have its state, preferably its own. "
Ernest Gellner, nationalist theorist, (1925-1995)
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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
15:05
15:05
Friday, May 25, 2007
UPDATE
Check out the right sidebar below for Photos of the two field trips that I took for both my Nationalism and Biodiversity modules respectively. Enjoy!
Second Field Trip to Tiong Bahru and Macritchie Treetop Walk coming this Friday and Saturday respectively, so it's going to more pictures rollin' in......
And wish me luck for my upcoming projects... haizzz..
And lastly, WELCOME HOME, SU HUI!!!
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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
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