i think some people are quite unhappy over what i have posted previously. so i am here to clear some air.. firstly, not having adapted to the system yet doesn't mean i will not adapt ever. i just need some more time, right? after all, I come from quite a different background and it is natural that i will compare a bit. This blog gives me a chance to record my experience, allowing me to reflect and see how I have changed. I believe I do have my freedom of thought. In any case it certainly does not mean ALL s'poreans are spoon-fed just because i have failed to adapt totally in 7 weeks. i think it is wrong of u to generalize..Regarding the course registration system here, I do know there is some priority going on, allowing seniors to register first in an earlier window period, then the juniors and so on.. however even within seniors, those who come online first can get the courses.. isn't that so? anyway what i am trying to say is that it is entirely different from what we have back home. We do not have any priority system - it is something very new to us. so pardon me if I really said anything wrong..
Things are starting to become quite a routine.. chemical instrumentation pre-lab + lab report, earth and space sciences assignment + lab.. and i have been piling up my DIY workbook for my biochemistry course every week.. so much work.. and i have a term paper due soon and a literature presentation to prepare for.. argh..i really feel like back in secondary school again.. I am starting to appreciate life back in singapore. Perhaps this system is not as good for me. In NUS, i can focus on the concepts then apply (in a way, it is not very hardcore work).. Here, i feel like a farmer. must really work very hard to see results.. And who said Singaporeans are being spoonfed? I dont think we are at all, and i kinda like it. We do have alot of freedom to do what we want too; we are not forced to hand in assignments, even if so, the assignments add up to very small percentages.. AND i miss powerpoint slides. I want to write my own notes..anyway, i just started "bidding" for my next quarter's modules. Come to think of it.. i think the NUS bidding system is rather fair, even though some of us back then did complain alot. In UCLA, it is all quite on a first come first serve basis. So it is see who has the fastest finger (and best computer) wins perhaps? Next quarter, I must try to do as many as those that are not offered in NUS, then it will seem more worth it to fly across a third of the globe to study. i should be doing one graduate level chemistry module called Biological Inorganic Chemistry (wish me luck!!). I should also be taking Introductory Psychology, since UCLA is rather famous for her psychology department. My last module will be a Women Studies module - something Singapore doesn't really have as well. I think it will be quite fun. And the best part is i only have 3-day work week - Tues, Wed and Thurs. and my days start at 11am earliest! Super long weekend - very good for travelling! yippee.. i think i can go Texas, paulene. =) u must find a place for me to crash. hahaok, dinner then back to work.. tata~~
I have been planning to cut my hair for a very long time.. but this picture stopped me:
I want this hair man!!
My room mate + Hsien Xiong just cut their hair.. and they both told me the same thing about cutting hair now. "I regret cutting my hair, now my scalp feels colder."
Hmmm, hair has the ability of trapping air. The reason why you will feel cold is that you are transferring thermal energy to the surroundings. The rate of thermal energy transfer is increased when the air next to your skin is replaced at a faster rate. That's why you feel colder/cooler when the wind is blowing. And that's why you feel warmer wearing more layers of clothes (can trap more air).
Conclusion: I am not cutting my hair! =)
Anyway, Woo Ram> What does these korean words mean?
I think i am getting sian of typing.. i will update this photo whoring session with more words next time.. =p First up, I celebrated my birthday (17 Feb) by just arriving at San Diego at Olive Garden.
After reaching back into our motel (Vagabond Inn), all of us called back to families to report our safety.. such a heart-warming sight.. =p
On Saturday, 17 Feb, my birthday, we set off to Sea World.. TATA~~~
All of us: Gabriel, Junie, Diana, Maryanne, Hsien Xiong, Charmaine, Miao Hui, Grace, Xinhui and ME!
All of us who are not scared of getting wet. haha.. The Sun was great (27 degree celsius) and i am so not scared of getting wet!
Our CNY eve dinner was superb, tks to Diana's aunt's recommendation at this place called Jasmine Restaurant. Look at the food:
CNY countdown 
The next morning was SD Zoo.. and there's lotsa things to do? Actually not really.. comments were Mandai Zoo is better.. haha
I announced that Sunday is UCLA sweatshirt day and it turned out as planned.. =)
Panda Freeze, no more express for you (Panda Express is a chain of Foodcourt Outlet in U.S.)
Pig for the year of PIG! My year!! haha 
Giant Hippo Statue
I think my photographic skills rock man.. 
Sunset at Coronado Island..
Downtown view from Coronado Island, later we went there to eat an Indian dinner.
Oh yah, i suddenly realised all of us are very good at cracking our knuckles, for eg Maryanne, she can crack her nose.. OMG.. and, i remembered at this point i had a HUGE deja vu.. wierd.. Anyway, the weekend was great! Birthday was great! whee!!
I got my ATM card today! I was going down to Westwood Village to settle my cell phone problems (I cant receive incoming calls nor SMS on my U.S. cell phone) then i was thinking i should just pop by Bank of America to see if my ATM card is here and there it is, together with my VISA mini! whoohoo! Anyway my cell phone problem arises because i chose to keep my old number. Now a need a 4-digit PIN from T-mobile and pass it to Cingular so that Cingular can have assess to my incoming call/SMS transactions. So i went down to T-mobile and made a call and created a PIN on the spot as pre-paid accounts do not usually require us to set up a PIN. i just use my birthdate. After i told that to Cingular guy, he said he just sent a PIN to his admin side and he arbitrarily used e last 4 digits of my cell phone number. WTH.. now he cannot change that set of instructions and have to wait for 24 hours to be over before he send another set of instructions and this time with the real PIN. I am so scared that it is a long weekend and i cannot receive any calls nor SMS until next tuesday! arghh.. Talking about balancing your life.. must happiness always precede sadness or vice versa? life is about equilibrium? haha.. quite true.. =p
my ATM card is still not here yet. went down to Bank of America to settle it. i found out in the end that i do not have a SSN and i requested for a picture to be on my ATM card (well, actually the customer service asked me if i wanted a picture ID and since it is free i thought might as well...) and it is not going to work. The manager removed my face from their database and he said my card should be good in a few days time..
anyway i went to Borders with Xinhui and Hsien Xiong to get two San Diego maps. Yes yes san diego this weekend - it is a long weekend cos monday is a public holiday. On my way back, i saw some rainbows! i wonder why they must always be arched (will read up about it). after dinner, i went to watch a sneak preview "Gray Matters" (it's free!). i liked it alot. =p
oh yah, i also changed my cellphone subscriber. i am now using Cingular! same number though. just that now i can call cingular users for free (but one time of USD1 per day charge once a phonecall is made).. arghh.. going to have a test at 8am tmr. and it is 2am now. gtg ciaoz~
The food looks exceedingly good and I am not there. =( Oh.. i miss my mum's cooking! now come to think of it, my mum has taught me how to cook these dishes (including chilli crabs).. luckily don't have my favourite curry vegetables otherwise i will really cry lor! oh my niece can walk already! i saw her toddling out of my room on my webcam yesterday. haha
Anyway i was playing Texas Hold 'Em Poker with my SEP gang. It was GREAT fun. When Gabriel took out his Ace pair and i only had a King and a Five, i thought i was gone. Then Hsien Xiong (the dealer) drew out a five and then a King on the last one -I cannot believe my eyes. i have two pairs!! HAHAHAHA...
just had my second mid-term exam this morning.. slept at near 4 am to mug.. sort of underestimated the paper and thought it would be easy then realised that there is quite alot of content. i think i did well.. see how it goes. so glad that this week is ending soon. now left a lab report.
the good news is i am going to Hawaii from 28 Mar to 1 Apr. 23 to 27 Mar should be going San Francisco. The coming long weekend 16 - 19 Feb i will going to San Diego! Whee!!!
This weekend will be doing some CNY celebrations on Sunday and Saturday maybe go Little Thailand or something. haha
so exciting!
I just received the letter from Beatrice dated 31 Jan 2007. Wow, it takes less than a week to reach me. =) (Speaking of which i havent received my Bank of America ATM card yet - 6 weeks already)My mailbox is located right at the top of the array. (In Singapore, the mailboxes are also arranged in an array but it starts from knee-height and the top rows are within comfortable reach) I dont know why they started building the first row of mailboxes at shoulder level... Anyway, i was actually hoping to see my ATM card inside. I was digging deep and i felt something small then out came a beautiful yellow envelope. I was elated! It is super heart-warming! Tks dear! =p It just made my day!
just had my first mid-term exam.. was slightly stressed cos i seriously started reading on e previous day afternoon.. and i was happy to say that i think i did well. at least i am quite sure i wouldnt fail. haha..after that i went for a CNY event joint-hosted by a few chinese associations. it was quite fun for i get to play abit of mahjong.. haha! talking about how chinese languages can be so different (dialects) in different areas, the rules of mahjoong are universal. haha.. except that i realised the tiles dont have "animals" (Cat, Rat, Rooster and Centipede). out of fours games i managed to win 2. keke.. i ended the game short cos there was no money involved (waste of my time). went down to Westwood and ate dinner with Xinhui, Justin and Huilin at Gushi - a Korean BBQ (I still love kimchi). it was nice just chillin' out.
anyway, this week is going to be a hectic week. with another mid-term coming this thurs and all the usually assignments, throwing in a few essay plans - i can finally call myself a student. and i will try to enjoy being a student here.. since i have the "Immunity". haha..tata~
wow for the first time, i am experiencing 26 degrees celsius here!! woohoo!! and i am not enjoying it... sad..
the weather in Los Angeles has also been wierd lately.. i heard from the locals cursing "it is not normal!!!" when they tugged strongly to their jackets, braving against the strong winds with me.. haha.. the standard deviation is LARGE. day time usually goes to max 18 degrees and min is about 10 degrees while night time it can be between 4 degrees to 9 degrees (all are reported in the degree celsius scale). hence it is so hard to prepare what to wear.. i wear like a polar bear but it is all sunny outside and i wear a single layer but it is freezing.. dots.. and carrying the heavy jackets around is still a hassle..
in america, they are still using the degree Fahrenheit scale for temperatures. to convert from F to C, use the following simple formula C = (F-32)/2. =) they are also using miles instead of kilometres (one mile about 1.6 km). and mass wise, they use pounds instead of kilograms (1 kg about 2.2 pounds). i am finally adjusted and can do the conversions fairly fast now.
so sad! and i am not out enjoying the sun.. finally i think i must start to study abit. about the education system here.. i am kind of disappointed. i feel like i am back to secondary schools. it is quarter system here so i am taking 3 module equivalent for each quarter. each module equivalent has two homeworks due weekly. and you MUST hand in cos it is all counted! omg... back in hwachong i dont do my tutorials that on time. in NUS, i also do if i got e spare time to do (no lab or whatsoever then i do) but they are not counted so i am spared from the stress.
and the culture here is the lecturers love that u go and visit them during office hours (meaning they have a special timeslot for students to ask qns). in NUS, i see that as the lecturer being friendly but usually nobody goes seriously (I never go). here, sometimes they will release impt info on the midterms and exams! omg so u can see the ppl here are very KIASU (queue up outside TA's and Lecturer's offce). oh yah i like the TA system here. they play a very impt part in the lecture - being demonstrators (yes they must attend ALL lectures as us)and the TAs are GREAT!! young, energetic, can teach very well (and cute... hahah) they can speak in e same frequency as the students - very impt.
anyways i think the students are not trained to be independent. every thing is rather spoonfed and the lecturers like to spoonfeed them, telling them what to memorize (yes they just simply memorize). concepts are generally weak among e students. well no wonder most of them wanna do grad studies.. their undergrad seriously never learn much..
now that i am more settled down. i shall just report some interesting phenomenons of my everyday life. haha.. i miss my family and friends of course.. if i have the time, i will do an entry on my family! haha.. look out for that! =)
