entries
Saturday, August 04, 2007
In the midst of transition...Ok, quite fed-up with blogger now.. my posts just do not turn out what I had expected them to be... decided to switch to wordpress instead though I'm still trying to figure out how to use it... Anyway, all my posts are still retained in wordpress so check it out @ http://jiansh.wordpress.com/
Going back to TJC for Relief TeachingI received an unexpected call from Huixin today. Guess what? She told me that Mrs Ng, our biology tutor back in TJC, needs a biology relief teacher for the next 2 weeks and she asked me if I was interested. I'm supposed to take over this bio teacher who's on maternity leave and I'll be taking a sec 4 class from the Integrated Programme in TJC on respiration, circulatory and digestive system. Hmm, I wonder how the smart kids in IP are like... Hopefully it'll not be too tough for me to handle... SO, I'll be going back to TJ tomorrow morning at 8am to see Mrs Ng to get more info so that I can prepare for next week. Has to be this early cos I've to reach NUS by 10am tomorrow for my writing tutoring training=( Hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow... *Keeping my fingers crossed* F****, I still haven't done my readings for the training.. damn!
Chriz's Second Last Day @ DragonflyYay, finally went down to support Christina at Dragonfly, the mandopop club at St James Power Station. It was her second last night there cos she'll be moving on to be.... *drumroll* A SINGAPORE GIRL! I missed her first two sets last night and only managed to catch the third set at 10.45pm. We were pretty confused of where the entrance to dragonfly is cos we thought there would be a "main" entrance that would lead us to all other clubs within st james but we couldn't find it (We found out later that we can enter any club and gain access to the rest)... So "sua gu" right? Anyway, Chriz is still as good as ever but I still prefer her to sing without a live band. Maybe it's the sound system. It kinda drowned out the clarity and crisp in her voice. Nevertheless, I wasn't disappointed by her performance=) She never fails to deliver but it was a pity that she sang fewer songs than the other singers who were rather average. Maybe I'm biased towards my friend. haha. There were 4 singers for that night - Chriz, one girl named Celest(e?), one middle-age-(or even in his 40s)-trying-too-hard-to-be-a-teenage-boy, and one young fellow in his 20s. The young fellow was better with fast numbers. When he sang 方大头's "爱爱爱", his voice was so shaky and he went flat several times.. It was totally off man.. The old man - well, I'm not discriminating against men in their 40s or 50s but he really tried very hard to be hip.. Just like 高岭风... Bernard commented that the old man probably paid the club to let him fulfill his childhood aspiration.. Haha. The other female singer, Celest(e?), was not too bad... She had dancers for almost every songs and she has an amazing range but she was too 歌台 la.. I felt like I was watching a heartland performance during the seventh month... bleah..Didn't get to talk to Chriz though cos she was busy preparing for the next set and my friends wanted to leave for supper... Really had fun that night=) I was glad that eley and bernard took time off to accompany me to support Chriz.. Thanks pals!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Failed GP but still Proud of it!Yay, I'm going to be a writing assistant for the University Scholars Programme Writing Centre for next academic year! So, I'll be tutoring students on how to write their term papers... Haha. I'm so proud of myself. It's just a paid job though but getting it means a lot to me simply because I'm probably the only writing assistant (maybe the first) to have failed my general paper... Ha, ok, maybe I got it not because I can write well (I obviously can't judging from the way I blog (but then again, that's why my blog's titled "ILLOGICAL" geddit?) but because I can teach people how to write well.. ahhhhh, that's the difference, see? Haha.. When I start on my first job, I guess I can proudly say that I have tutored students from the full spectrum of educational levels (not counting pre-school la) - primary school, secondary school, polytechnic, junior college, university (scholars some more!) haha.. oops, better watch my English from now..
Gosh, is it a curse or what? First, I lost my wallet on the day after my birthday. Then, Huizhen had her phone ran over by a car on the eve of her birthday. WTH. What's wrong with... erm, us man? It really sucked to have such losses just before our exchange.. That means less money to spend on shopping=( Argh..
*praying that I'll get the SEP award worth S$3,500 now*
That also means no photos for Huizhen's birthday celebration cos the pics were all in her handphone. Well, at least I blogged about it for memory sakes.. I'm "uncle" ma.. Memory's always failing me=( Probably need some memory booster or smthg... hee.. any sponsors? haha
I think i'm getting lazier day by day... always procrastinating and doing inconsequential stuff when I have loads of really really important things to settle before I leave for California...
Well, I have to...
[1] settle NUS psychology society's accounts before the Annual General Meeting in September
[2] apply for US visa
[3] get vaccinations/ medical check-up
[4] research paper for the trip to stanford
[5] USP writing assistant training (2 days)
[6] conduct conflict management training to a group of troubled youths as part of my group project for my conflict resolution module
[7] start planning what I have to bring to the states
[8] collect my latest study plan
[9] help karen out in finding accommodation in Irvine (which was supposed to be my job, by the way)
[10] celebrate/ get presents for the upcoming birthdays: Karen, Serene, Melissa & Mark (did I miss anyone out?
[11] call up schools near my place to check if they wanna hire me for relief teaching till sept=p
[12] erm.. there should be more but... sucks.. my memory is failing me again...)
[13] oh ok, I remember now.. prep camp for those interested in running for the 2nd executive committee of NUSPsyche
[14] ?????
I went to get my IC replaced today at the ICA building at Lavender. The building was bursting with people. People making passports. People extending passports. People registering for IC (the young kids). People replacing IC (like me..). The queue was damn long la.. And I even had to queue for 5-10 mins just to get a queue number! It's a freaking MONDAY afternoon la. WTH is everybody doing there? Not working meh?!
To ease our minds, they even had this board which indicates the waiting times... it read 15 mins (12.. 13.. 15 again.. 12.. ok, u get the idea..) for replacing IC but I waited for a total of freaking 45 mins! argh.. sucks. Dunno if it's the waiting time inclusive of all those in the queue ahead of me or what.. more like 15 mins for each person. so misleading. frustrated with the inefficiency=(
A day around Chinatown
Yesterday, Eunice and I celebrated Huizhen's 21st birthday in advance. It was damn fun cos we all got to make each other, or rather ourselves, do extremely ridiculous forfeits while playing our own version of the Jacky Wu's variety show, 十字路口 with a $10 budget per pax。On top of the basic rule of looking for a dish that begins with the last word of the previous dish, each of us got to ask the other two a question about ourselves.
We met quite late for lunch at Maxwell Food Centre cos Eunice had relief teaching while I was held up by my dog who pooed and left marks all over the house just as I was about to leave home. Felt really bad for having kept the birthday girl waiting for half an hour.Anyway, after a not-so-filling lunch (at least for me...), we began with the first question asked by the birthday girl. She asked us how old her *ahem*friend is and Eunice got it wrong, and that was how we got started with the first forfeit which was EITHER to go up to a 3 people at the food centre and ask them where they bought their food OR to go up to someone who was eating 汤圆 and the person where to buy 汤圆. We couldn't find anyone eating 汤圆, so Eunice had to do the former instead. In the end, she procrastinated for quite some time before summoning the courage to ask a table of working professionals just one type of food. Closing one eye, we both let that pass=p
Then it was Eunice's turn to ask Huizhen and I a question. She asked us when did she get her first pet and sadly, both of us got it wrong=( We each came up with forfeits for ourselves. Huizhen had to go up to the people working in the Buddha tooth relic temple and ask where the tooth relic temple is. duh. Ok, in retrospect, that wasn't too hard. Mine was worse la. I stupidly suggested to kneel down at the front steps of the temple! As I gamely knelt down, the girls whom Huizhen asked where the temple was were staring at me and giggling amongst themselves. Argh, so malu-ating!
From 汤圆 (tang yuan), we followed up with, let's see... er, 鸳鸯 (yuan yang)，which is basically kopi + teh=p I decided to bring them to Qun Zhong to try Mel's fav 汤圆 but it was closed till 5pm, so we skipped that, returned to Maxwell for our 鸳鸯.Having embarrassed myself, it was finally my turn to ask them a question. I asked them about my CCA back in primary school but both of them got it wrong. YES! Haha.. cheap thrill.. We made Eunice flag down a cab and ask the cab driver if he could send us to Pulau Ubin DIRECTLY. Yes, you read it correctly. She further asked if there was a bridge that connects Singapore directly to Pulau Ubin and the cab driver was trying damn hard to suppress his laughter, trying to explain to us that we had to go to Changi V and take a ferry... OMG! That was damn funny! Should have captured the cab driver's expression la. Classic, I must say...
Huizhen's forfeit was equally farnie! I made her imitate the green "walking man" of the traffic light at maxwell food centre and she had to march on the spot when everyone else were crossing the road.. Though I didn't capture the essence of the action, it was damn hilarious man. I kept laughing that I didn't observe the expressions of the people crossing the road. damn.
Next up, we wanted to link 鸳鸯 with 羊肉串 (yang rou chuan/ mutton satay) but the satay stall at the food street was just starting up. We cracked our brains and couldn't think of one... Huizhen who was craving for some dessert, asked if we could try to get something from an ice cream stall. We looked at all the flavours but there was nothing that starts with "yang". There wasn't any 杨桃 (star fruit) even=( So we decided to ask the ice cream stall owner who asked if we're local. (hmm, dun we look local?) after having a hard time cracking her brain as well, she came up with an ingenious answer - "洋水" - "洋人的水" (western drink - ice cream float?!) WTH! But that was as good as it can get... just had to make do with it=p
Back to Huizhen's turn to pose the question. She asked her dad's age and darn, we both got it wrong again! sigh. but that was the fun bit la. Can't complain. she's the birthday girl after all=p We had to do a shared forfeit. Eunice had to walk up to a Caucasian to ask him for his number, and when he asked why she wants his number, she would point at me and tell him that it was me who wanted his number! That's so... er.. gay? But for the fun of it, I dun mind. Better than going up to a gay club and ask if they're hiring and if i'm qualified to work there=p
In the end, Eunice managed to stop a guy but he couldn't understand what she was saying, which means that I had to do a separate forfeit since she did hers though unsuccessful. Argh! The "evil" girls made me put on a PINK crystal flowery hairclip on my fringe and ask the person in the store if the hairclip suits me! argh! Argh! argh! That was ultimately humiliating man! WTH.
By the time I finished that stance, it was about 5pm so we made our way back to Qun Zhong to have our 汤圆 and the next item - 水饺. We had wanted to order the dessert only but they wanted us to order a main dish as well cos they're NOT a dessert shop. Ok, fair enuf, we wanted 水饺 anyway but it was rather steeply priced - $7 for 10. The food was so-so only la. Not as good as when I first went there though. We played 终极密码 there: I had to drink up tea that was mixed with chilli, vinegar, ginger and the filling of the 水饺. Yucks! The chilli was damn overpowering. Eunice, on the other hand, had to eat 汤圆 dipped in chilli, vinegar and ginger. It wasn't too bad for her. She said it tasted like "soon kway"... erm, ok, not fun one.
Ok, my memory is failing me now.. Can't remember the order exactly but Eunice asked the last question which was when she had her first ear piercing. Guess what? It was when she was 5 yrs old! I can't believe it man! So young... Huizhen and I, of course... got it wrong la=( So we were toying with the idea of going to the Speakers' Corner @ Hong Lim Park to either (1) "declare my love" to one of them.. ahem.. and one of them will act touched while the other will slap me... ahem again.. or (2) sing at the speakers' corner. Of course, I'll choose the latter la! So Huizhen and I ended up singing Jay Chou's 安静 to this father whose kids were playing badminton and couldn't be bothered to listen to us... Yay, and I got praised by the uncle=) *smiling smugly* haha...The game ended with 搅汁 and "zhi shi" (cheese) 蛋糕, both from Hans.
Eventually, with the money we had left, we shared one Carbonara pie, one chicken pie and a Heaven and Earth cake (double choc cake.. not cheese though but we let that go=p) The rest of the night was bridge and "tai de" time! hee.. wat a fun day=) Never had so much fun in a looooooooong time...
Till we meet up again peepz! =)
*photos will be uploaded later*
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Where's my new wallet ah?!Damn sad... It feels weird not having a wallet around=(For those who have messaged me when u heard abt the loss of my wallet, thanks for ur concern=) I couldn't have felt better without the comfort all of you gave me...Anway, here's why it's such an expensive lesson for me... bwahhhhhhh!!!Total damages incurred from the loss of my wallet on the day after my birthday:1) Braun Baffel wallet - 100 plus + sentiment value... it was a gift from my sec sch friends2) ~ $170 cash... I was going to deposit it..3) IC - replacement for 1st timers costs $100 ($300 for 2nd timers! Never going to lose it again... it's staying at home from now on!)4) Matric card - $15 replacement5) EZ Link Card - $20 stored value + $ 21 replacement6) Loss of direction - I lost it because I was rushing for tuition, and I gave tuition for money, so that means I lost money because I needed more money! damn sad la..
The Last of FSPS...
After three-and-a-half weeks of attachment at Fengshan Primary School (Bedok North), we bade farewell to the school...
Was a little sad though. The school's rather new and nice. The Principal, Vice-Principal, HODs, Subject Heads, teachers, staff, and librarians were all very amiable toward us. And of course, not to forget the little terrors. I truly miss those boys who faithfully go to the library to see us, and would wave and call out to us from wherever they could spot us.. Hui Zhen calls them my fans=p
Just before we shared our learning experiences to all the teachers during the staff contact time, we, or rather I, managed to snap a few pics with the little kids=)
I wish I could magnify these pictures but they would be pixelated.. all thanks to Hui zhen's phone camera settings... but they're better than nothing=p (Thanks Hui Zhen, if you're reading this!)
First up is Aloysius - Primary 1. He's the 'leader' of his class boys, is extremely articulated and has immense leadership potential... I can see the "prefect" in him already=) He and Zhi Hao came to the library during recess to play the computer... As we didn't know that the Primary Ones are not allowed to use the computers during recess, Hui Zhen allowed them to use on one condition - that they hug me. So, both of them, unwillingly ran towards me and hug, or rather, clung onto me.. That was how we got to know them. Ever since that day, even after we disallowed them from using the computers anymore, Aloysius had been coming to the library every single day=) Haven't seen Zhi Hao in the library since that first day and we speculated that he was busy with his girlfriend.. haha.. Anyway, Aloysius was pretty sad when I told him that it's our last day and that we won't be in the library to play with him anymore.. So I brought him up to see Hui Zhen and Eunice, and we took these photos=) 
Next up, Wai Kang (left) and Jing Hao (right) - Primary 3.
We met in the library too, where they were doing their Chinese homework while waiting for their mothers to pick them up after school.. I started chatting with them cos I was damn bored typing my stuff. We talked about the games they play (maplestory) and upon knowing that I'm studying in NUS, they started discussing about which secondary schools to go to.. Primary 3 only leh! My goodness... Jing Hao said he wants to go to RI. Smart boy! Hope he can really do work hard towards that goal=) Then we exchanged MSN addresses... From that day onwards, they had been coming to the library everyday after school to chat with us, and occasionally to eavesdrop on our conversations, and running after me down the stairs....jpg)
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I never knew I can be so attached to kids until this attachment came along... Never really had that with my tuition kids when I stopped giving them tuition... I suppose that it could be that they have been the ones who brighten up my day and whom I am always looking forward to after a long and tiring day of reading, typing and formatting for my project..
I'm still deciding if I should go back for relief teaching soon... next year perhaps.. Hopefully they'll remember me=)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
I'm pretty screwed this week.
So much work to complete.
(1) Journal assignment's gonna be due on Sat and I'm have no motivation to edit...
(2) Camp booklet due on Sunday and I still have no ideas on how to design it!
On top of those, I have my tuition lessons and 3 (!) gatherings on Thursday & Friday which I cannot not go cos I've decided to devote more time to my friends this hols..
Gosh, can't wait for this damn ICT to end. Argh!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, I just received this from MOE that I will be required to do a project during my 3 week attachment in Fengshan Primary... and guess what is the project that is assigned to me?
Developing Behaviour Management Package
Objective & Synopsis of Project
Traditionally behaviour management strategies included teacher-controlled environment, coercion and use of punitive measures. Pupil management has since evolved and now it looks into preventing, suppressing and redirecting misbehaviour. In view of that, the school has embarked on a school-wide approach to teach values and apply behaviour modification strategies to redirect misbehaviour.
The scholar will review the literature and support strategies proposed with theories from the readings from the internet and resource books available in the school. He would need to identify types of behaviour modification strategies to focus on, for example, anger management, and design a teaching and learning package comprising 8-10 lessons with teachers’ guide.
Expected Outcomes of the Project
Behaviour modification packages as well as checklists to chart students’ progress and reflection incorporated to document students’ learning and progress.
WTH... That's sounds so damn hard la...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
All of a sudden, I'm not so excited to go on exchange anymore...Firstly, my main purpose of applying for exchange is to immerse myself in the culture for an extended period, make lotsa international friends, and more importantly, I need to and I want to feel uninhabited... It's too stifling in Singapore for me to open up in many ways cos I'm too conscious of myself amidst people I know too well and Singaporeans at large... In fact, I probably felt more at ease on the last day in San fran cos I was all alone by myself=)I have been denied of the opportunity to stay on-campus cos I'm not going to be there for the full academic year. Though I MAY be able to get if I'm willing to take the risk of settling my accomodation only when I get there. So that leaves me with an option of living with 7 other NUS students in a 3 bedroom apartment which I'm now STRONGLY against even though I did not voice my concerns the last time. It didn't seem to matter then I guess.Last week, Renshao told me that when he went to Berkeley, he made it a point not to stick with the Singaporeans. That was exactly what I had always wanted. That's the freaking point of going for exchange right? But of course, being with Singaporeans provides a form of security... that someone you know will be there for you. This makes me think of what Daniel told us at Stanford: Singaporeans are just not willing to get out of their comfort zones. I totally agree. Me to myself: you want to break out of comfort zone right? This living arrangement is very uncomfortable you know...Myself to Me: wth, that is NOT the kind of comfort that I would want to break out off. I don't think I'm pampered la. Freaking 3 whole months with 2 others on the same bed! ok, maybe not same bed, but same room with more matresses.. but still, wth. Even NTU shared dorms have their own beds. Even NSFs have their own beds. Ok, that's besides the point.. And I'm not sure if there's enough LAN points to go around within the apartment.. How to do my own work? What about different sleeping habits?I'm all for sharing a room but I would rather share a room with some Australian or European exchange students. Be adventurous, Darren. Go ahead and do what you should do. Do not let others influence you.
Friday, June 01, 2007
I had initially wanted to write a day-by-day account of my trip to the West Coast of US but I haven't been able to muster the energy and momentum to continue the task...Anyway, I just realised that my famous blogger-friend who was also on the trip is doing a really fantastic job churning out a day-by-day account of the entire trip though it's still work-in-progress... It kinda makes mine sucked in comparison. Well, he's a famous blogger leh. Different playing field altogether cos he has got to consider his reader base to keep maintain the readership of his blog.So here's the link - http://gssq.blogspot.com/search/label/travelogueShould really take a look and sense his cynicism. Hurhur.P.S. Whatever that is stated on his blog does not reflect my views unless stated otherwise.
Got this off the Facebook group "Thanks for spoiling the bell curve":http://www.rvc.cc.il.us/faclink/pruckman/humor/grading.htm
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Holding on...
"...Tree Hill is just a place somewhere in the world. Maybe it's a lot like your world, maybe it's nothing like it. But if you look closer, you might see someone like you. Someone trying to find their way. Someone trying to find their place. Someone trying to find their self. Sometimes it seems like you are the only one in the world who's struggling, who's frustrated, or unsatisfied, or barely getting by. But that feeling's a lie. And if you just hold on, just find the courage to face it all for another day, someone or something will find you and make it all okay. Because we all need a little help sometimes. Someone to help us hear the music in the world, to remind us that it won't always be this way. That someone is out there. And that someone will find you."
- Lucas Scott, One Tree Hill Season 4 Episode 2
Can people change?
They can. But people just don't because it is easier not to...
First day in Stanford University
We had a welcome talk in the morning and had the rest of the afternoon free to roam around the campus... We had lunch at the Tresidder which has pretty affordable stuff from pizzas, sandwiches, chicken strips with curly fries (really huge serving!), sushi, chinese/asian food etc.. The campus is amzaingly huge, clean and beautiful... in fact, it looks too new for an old & established university... what on earth happened to NUS man?
Some people thought the architecture was pretentious but I beg to differ.. Why read so much into it? Or maybe i'm just being superficial.. For me, as long as they are asthetically pleasing, I adore it. A simple as that. Not really an architectural history kinda person.. Besides, it's not like it's some monument or church in Rome that has a long history of sorts.. The university is established because of its academics and culture, not so much of it's architecture... Well, to each is his own opinion=) No point.
This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog See that pic with 2 girls in bikini in the fountain? well, here's something even better though we missed it=(
On May 25th (way after our programme concluded), our dear Prof, Daniel posted this our our Facebook group: "San Francisco Chronicle, yesterday's edition, has a pic of two Stanford female undergrads skinnydipping in the fountain in front of the bookstore, taking a break from protesting in nude against sweatshop production of Stanford apparels. Oh, the aesthetics of student activism here..." See this article - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2007/05/23/BAG7MPVUUB1.DTL&o=0
damn, we should have stayed longer. Haha.
Finally Arrving at Palo Alto (6 May 2007)
And here I am, finally at San Francisco after two flights of 14 hours in total!
We were chartered from the airport to the place where we have stayed for two weeks – Comfort Inn, Palo Alto=)
The is Comfort Inn
Except for the wireless connection, everything else was great here=)
My first meal in Palo Alto was at Jack in the Box, a fast food chain.. kinda like Carl’s Jr. I like Jack in the Box better=p
Then we rested in our rooms and waited for dinner… We had take-out from Pizza Chicago… 
The pizza was yummy and we were all photo-whoring our food=)
One day in Shibuya, Tokyo
The trip to Shibuya wasn't planned as we were unsure if we could leave the airport during our transit at Narita Airport, Tokyo. But well, as you can see, I did spend half a day in Shibuya even though I always claim that I would never ever go to Japan because I'll starve there... Kinda stupid huh? Ya, I think so too. But I'm fine with Japanese food now.. In fact, I'm grown to be so fond of Japanese cuisine that I crave for it while in LA.. Haha. Wth.
So, here we go.. Transit in Tokyo.
We arrive at Narita Airport and I changed 50 USD for I-can't-remember-how-much Yen. That was more than enough to spend a day in Shibuya because I didn't spend much except on food & transport. Things are expensive in Tokyo man=(
The train station at the airport... Looks kinda like Hong Kong actually=p
The rush (This has not been photoshop-ed)
The journey to Shibuya took us about 90 mins odd (or longer), so it's PICTURE TIME! hur.
Guan Zheng & I
Christine, Gabriel, Jabir & Huishan
And... Shibuya, here we come!!!
Shibuya is a pretty and clean shopping district. It's so clean that it makes our very own Orchard Road looks like it needs some refurbishing... And looking at Shibuya's multi-coloured facet with its quirky architecture... WE NEED MORE DARING ARcHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE MAN! Ok, enough of s'pore-bashing...An interesting observation during our trip in Shibuya was that almost everyone on the streets carry an umbrella. Guys included. Many guys in Singapore do not carry an umbrella, not even when they have a bag. Did I not mention it was raining? Yes, it rained midway thru our trip.. what a disappointment but well, it was all nice and cooling so no complaints.. As a matter of fact, we saw many people on the streets carrying those transparent umbrellas seen in the pics above. We thought it was some trendy thing or something but we later found out that those transparent ones are apparently the cheapest ones available for sale at the train station. Hmm, makes sense but do they purchase one on every occasion it rains? Cos they do not seem to be prepared for the rain… at least not for us cos the weather was damn fine and cooling when we arrived. Maybe they had some rental thingy or smthg… we can only speculate...
Anyway, the stuff in Japan are all pretty and interesting. Just like what we’ve seen on tv. And of course, just as we’ve heard, things in Japan are damn expensive. Maybe because we didn’t have time to shop around for the cheap stuff or that we went to the wrong place. The girls bought some stuff though.. As usual… hurhur.
After shopping for a couple of hours, we decided to settled down for an authentic Japanese meal before we catch our next flight to San Francisco. We ate at this restaurant that a CD stall guy recommended… Mine was good but not fantastic… Should have gotten like sushi or something except that they didn’t have sushi I think… Everything on the menu is Japanese and only Jabir knows how to speak and read Japanese so ya, we all had to trouble him with the translation…
And not long after our meal, we had to make our way back to Narita airport=( The journey back was another 105 mins… While buying the train tickets, we got split into 2 groups. A few of us who came later looked around for the other group but we couldn’t find them so we took the next available train. Turned out that the other group took the train after ours cos they were waiting for us at another platform… Yup, and we were all worried if each other managed to make our way back to the airport on time… Pretty unfortunate but exciting on the very first day of our trip.
Feeling so lost now.
I probably left my soul back in California. Hurhur.
Well, I just hate to return back to my comfort zone after 3 weeks in the States. Even though it isn't exactly very comfortable. The weather sucks. Air-con at minimum temp and fan at highest speed don't really help=( Kinda sucks even more when I'm broke and I can't really find a temp job simply because I have 2 weeks of in-camp training coming up in 2 weeks' time as well as my mid-course school attachment in July, which I have no idea if I will be paid or not=(
Got so much to do but the inertia to start isn't really there... Guess I've been using jet lag as an excuse to push everything else aside... And of course, partly because I need a break before the 6-day intensive (8.30am -5.30pm!) business module on negotiation and mediation.. I need all the strength to stay awake during lessons next week... Need to do well for this so that I can pull up my ever-declining CAP=(
Ok, for starters, why not take some time to blog about my trip proper (with more pics!)? Hmm... Yup, I shall do just that.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
First day in Stanford University
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15 May 2007 Tuesday
As usual, we had a lecture in the morning. It was on “Re-inventing Silicon Valley”. Insightful lecture on the icons (HP & Google!), the historical context, the features of SV and the implications and future of SV…
Then it was field research time for us in the afternoon! Many of them went to the library or stayed around in Stanford to do their research while Aileen, Shamiah and I ventured into East Palo Alto (EPA) again. We visited the Cesar Chavez Academy which is an elementary school predominantly Hispanic-dominated.
A group of students playing games during free time before school ends at 3pm.
They have their own mini track and field in their school!
A glimpse of one of their classrooms...
Saw this in one of the classrooms... Pretty insprising=)
We interviewed a relief teacher, a regular teacher and a couple of students. This tonga student whom we met left a deep impression in me.
That's him beside me... His name is Alofangia. Nice young chap=)
He’s in 8th grade and the President of some student group. He was a problem child and was recently transferred to this school because his previous school requested for the transfer. But since his transfer, he met this really great teacher who changed his life and now he’s doing so well. He has a GPA of 3.0. Pretty good for a minority student in the States=) His greatest aspiration is to be a policeman so that he can give something back to his community in EPA. He believes that the media has often reported the stabbings and shootings in EPA but neglected the social problems the community has to deal with. He wants to go to college too, maybe Stanford=) We were so inspired by his community spirit and idealism. Hopefully, he can achieve his goals in the years to come…
We also interviewed this white American boy. He’s one of the few Caucasians in the predominantly-minority school (sounds oxymoronic… the minorities are the majority in this school). Surprisingly, he said he gets along very well with the other ethnicities and he did not feel alienated just because he is surrounded by the minority ethnicities… I wonder why...
The school ended at 3 and we did not have time to make it in time to another school in the vicinity so we decided to make a trip to the Police Station to get some statistics of the EPA community.
See, it states so la!
However, it wasn’t exactly THE Police Station per se. It was in fact, the records department, which explains why it closes at 4.30pm that day. Hiya, then say “Police Records Department” la… waste our time only…
As they have just knocked off, we decided to knock on the door anyway. Fortunately, someone opened the door and let us in. While we did not get any statistics, we heard from the people in the records department that there had been a shooting yesterday and a stabbing incident a couple of days back. And they kept warning us how dangerous it is to hang out in EPA. Hence, one of the ladies (I guess she’s a latino) who is currently training to be a policewomen offered to give us a ride to downtown Palo Alto=) Sweet.
As downtown Palo Alto, we got free scopes of Haggen Daas ice cream because a new flavor was introduced today and they were giving free scopes of ice cream. I tried the Sticky Toffee Pudding or something like that. Very sweet but good la. So Singaporean to go for free stuff... But that’s definitely not something that I am proud of being a Singaporean…
After savoring the yummy ice cream, Aileen and I headed back to Stanford. We had our dinner at the food fair for International Week.
Setting up in the morning...
There’s Turkish food, Mexican food, Indian food, Chinese food, American food (whatever that means), and Italian food. The silican beef skewers from the Italian store was damn good la. Yummy! There was only a rock band playing and you’ll see Stanford students dancing to the music. Really cool. Wish we had that in NUS=(
After which, we crashed a lecture on bilingual education in the school of education. The prof was pretty nice and made us introduce ourselves to the whole class of about 15-20 students. Surprisingly, none of them knows where Singapore is. One even said we are at the east to China (that’s Japan la)=( During lesson, we broke up into a few groups to participate in jigsaw learning. Each group talked about a specific question and they will re-group themselves with people from other groups and teach the rest on their specific topic. Anyway, that’s not the point. The last time we interacted with the Stanford students who hosted us, I felt extremely inferior because they are all so smart, so well-learned about almost everything… but after interacting with students from this education class, Aileen and I felt that the comments that these Stanford students made were not exceptionally intelligent. I think they are comparable to NUS students except that they are more vocal and willing to speak up without fear of embarrassing themselves… Some to learn from them…
When class ended, the prof, an educational psychologist, was damn nice la. He drove us back to our doorstep even though he lived nearer to campus than we do. Cool!
14 May 2007 Monday
Just left Berkeley this morning=( I was kinda sad that I won’t be returning here for exchange next semester. Back in the Comfort Inn in Palo Alto now… so much better than YMCA in Berkeley la... Ok, shall not complain…
We went to the Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW) in Menlo Park/ East Palo Alto (where the low-income people reside)...
The staff there were fantastic. We had a session with Poetess Kalamu Chaché who is also the in-school coordinator for the youth services. Basically, OICW is a centre that co-ordinates work opportunities and skills learning for the underprivileged youths – mainly African-Americans and Hispanics/Latinos. Kalamu Chaché answered our questions passionately, and on our request, she recited one of the poems she wrote… I can’t remember the title exactly but it’s something along the line of “How I Believe in Love”… It was totally beautiful=) I’m not a fan of poetry but her works aren’t pretentious and has the African-American’s “love” slant to it=) I tried to google for the poem but I couldn't find it… Maybe I shall email her for it… Hmm…
For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant next to our hotel… The nachos and salsa sauce were pretty good but my main course isn’t great=( It’s some enchilada tepa (sautéed chicken with seasoned potatoes and avocado slices, cheese etc)…
Kinda taste like some Indian dish…
Anyway, this trip has just affirmed my dislike for certain kinds of people.
First, I detest people who exaggerate their reactions to almost anything and everything that it seems obviously pretentious and attention-seeking to me.Second, I hate those who have ordered their own meals and eat almost everyone else’s but their own.
Third, ##%^$&^%&*%(*&(*$@!... Ok, I shall not say because I’m not sure who’s reading this now…
I don’t like to gossip.
Ya right.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Well, I have just completed my Human Relations exam paper due at 9am tmr... Can't be bothered to edit and edit, over and over again... It's damn tiring... Should have spent my time more productively by studying other stuff.. didn't even refer to readings much.. sigh.. never mind, it's over! one down, 3 exams and 1 paper to go!
Woo... Ya.. I think I wouldn't have managed to stay awake or motivated to finish the paper if not for Kevin and his lame jokes..
"have a tic tac? no have a tick teo" Haha.
Ok, insider's joke.
Thanks bro. You're da best!
MY LAST HUMAN RELATIONS TUTORIAL on Thurs! SOB!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Ok, I have a take-home exam starting tomorrow night and I have tonnes of readings to do BUT I felt an urge to blog... Sigh... I've evolved to a slacker...
First of all, I'm extending my trip after the summer programme ends (on 20 May) by 1 week, so I'll be in California till 27th! Woo!
Well, that's about all the happy thing I have to share... I'm pretty dejected now actually... because I have just made some really wonderful friends (from HR and Biosemiotics, especially my dear group members from HR) and we have to part cos the semester has came to an end, and we all have plans for the holidays and I will be going for SEP next semester...
=(
Ok, I know, I should be happy that I get to go to California but well, this semester I have learnt something really important - that spending time with friends beats anything else.. Not even good grades... Not even getting to go on overseas programmes. All of a sudden, I think I will get homesick.. cos my friends are back here=(
Damn, since when I become so emo...
Ok, no more slacking... Back to my readings=(
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
YAY!
All the agony of mugging for developmental quiz seems to vanish=)
In fact, I don't really feel like studying now 'cos I'm all too excited!!!
I will be going to Stanford University, California, for a summer programme from 7 - 20 May 2007!
Gosh, can't wait...
Friday, April 06, 2007
Wah, the peanut butter and condensed milk toast at Wang Zai HK Cafe is super gelate... it looks deceivingly acceptable in the picture on the menu but it turned out that the whole toast was covered with peanut butter instead of a spread=( Makes me wanna puke.. urgh..Ok, enough about that gooey thing that I left untouched after a few bites..I finally met up with my friends from the former Music Clinic choir! Many turned up (Tony, Calvina, Zhuming, Sylvia, Jay, Evelyn and Jeremy) =) Ruth and Jason didn't turn up though.. Anyway, we had dinner at Swensens, watched "Shooters" (during which I guiltily dozed off a couple of times...) and supper at the HK cafe in Cineleisure.. Though cliche, but time seemed to pass really quickly for us.. Probably because the last time we met was last August.. We should meet up more often... I felt so divorced from all the things happening in Music Clinic.. Just found out today that Anthony and Peter split and Music Clinic has been renamed as "Music Story by Anythony Png" while Peter retained the name "Music Clinic" for his new school.. Sigh, what a pity... They have been such a dynamic duo and have made a name for themselves but now.. sigh.. wonder if I will ever go back to "Music Story" one day...Ok, better get back to work... feeling stressed already.. must study.. but i wanna go ktv too..
argh=(
Monday, April 02, 2007
Ok, decided that my blog is pretty bare.. so I've decided to add some pictures that I took during Human Relations tutorial last Thursday=)The topic of the day was the values that USP advocates... and we gave Kevin the honours to draw instead of merely listing the values one by one.. Hee..
Here's Kevin, the humble artist of our project group who's always teased by the class as the GEP (Gifted Education Programme) student=)
See the hard work... Hee.. It was loads of fun laughing at his drawings... Felt like playing charades.. Haha..
Ok, see that picture in blue right smack in da centre? That's a naked couple.. Yes, all thanks to Prof Teo=) Haha.. we wanted to draw something that symbolises "freedom" and as we were cracking our heads and throwing ideas like birds soaring in the sky, Prof Teo came by and Kevin asked him for suggestions. Guess what he said? Naked people. And since one other value we included was "equality," an equal representation of both genders was apt=) 
To sum things up, we decided to sign off with our faces.. haha.. From left to right, that's Victoria, Me (!), Kanghao, Lilin and Kevin! Haha.. Thought it was funny.. I like my drawing though.. Hee... See, tutorial has never been more fun.. LOL!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Damn. This is weird. Here am I feeling stressed because I'm NOT feeling stressed over the upcoming assignments, test and exams.
Am I being complacent? Or that I simply don't care this time? Sleep is the only thing on my mind this week.. I still haven't gotten a confirmation from UC regarding my exchange but it seems so near that I felt like everything doesn't matter now. I just want to get there soon. In a way, it feels like graduation though I'm still 2 years away... Sigh...
Shouldn't stay in my room to study anymore.. The temptation of my bed just an arm's length away is simply irresistible...
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Please help me out with this survey. There are 3 links, each with 10 short, really short questions. No open-ended. It won't take long, so please do help with the survey!
Thanks!
Just completed 4 forum posts on IVLE.. Super satisfied=)
Gosh, I can't believe that it's just 2 weeks away from Reading week when my first exam begins and 3 weeks to the actual exam week...
Anyway, revision seems to be the last thing on my mind now... While I can still afford some time before I start panicking about my revision and I feel really stressed up that I stay in my room all week, I shall find some entertainment...
I want to go ktv!
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Here's Kevin, the humble artist of our project group who's always teased by the class as the GEP (Gifted Education Programme) student=)
Ok, see that picture in blue right smack in da centre? That's a naked couple.. Yes, all thanks to Prof Teo=) Haha.. we wanted to draw something that symbolises "freedom" and as we were cracking our heads and throwing ideas like birds soaring in the sky, Prof Teo came by and Kevin asked him for suggestions. Guess what he said? Naked people. And since one other value we included was "equality," an equal representation of both genders was apt=)