one week too early

yes this is an update of my life.

so after today's shopping trip with my family, i have officially got all the things i wanted for CNY. really happy when i have seen all the stuff i got in preparation for CNY. of course, my heart aches a little when i check to see how much i have spent this month though. ohh wells, time to find lies to comfort myself lol. i am actually really excited for CNY though it is one week later. actually i thought it is in two weeks' time but then someone reminded me that it is next week. that is when i really feel that time flies.. yet again.

well, i'm excited for the food and drinks.. excited for the annual happy buzz.. excited for the small gambles i make to get a little more money. all these thoughts are killing me because i still have a week of classes left before a slightly longer weekend. my mind is totally distracted now to actually do anything productive from now to the start of the lunar year of the monkey.

ohh wells.. i just cannot wait for next weekend already. come on, Alvin. focus this few days on school work first. hope you all are ready for the CNY as well. looking back at this month i think i am proud to live up to one of my 2016 resolutions so far.. which is updating here more often. shall aim to keep this going. until next time then, cheers.

readings and practices

yes this is an update of my life.

really quick and short update. just needed to let off some steam. i am officially feeling tired already. no, not needing to go to sleep tonight that kind of tired. it is the form of tiredness from work and hence entering into auto-pilot mood.

week after week the same mundane things then. do readings, do tutorials, catch up lecture, do assignments. never ending.. then again if all these end, it would only mean one thing. the finals are here.

sigh.. hope to find the strength and motivation soon. until next time then, cheers.

best three

so i have been advertising these movies ever since i first watched it. though the franchise have four movies so far.. i would say just stick to the first three. they are probably the best "trilogy" movie franchise out there. just done watching all three for the 4th of 5th time i guess. never gets boring. enjoy.

hate

the word “hate” is a really strong word. more often than not, i rather use the word “dislike” to show my negative impression of something or someone. you know shit is real or the level of dislike is sky sky when you hear me use the word “hate” around. with that said, i feel like listing the things and what not that i will use the word “hate”. relax, i’m not angry or what when i write this post. in fact, it is during a time when i am relaxed to think of such random stuffs. just wanting to share that’s all.

i hate people who always turn up late for meetings. the meetings here can mean any form of meet-up.. be it meeting up for meal, for a project, for a discussion, for catching up, for any event under the sun. this is especially so when the event is set long before the actual date.. or something that isn’t really a result from a last minute planning and what not. being late for a couple of times now and then is alright for we all understand that there are always tend to be unforeseen circumstances. however, if you have a really good track record of being late, so much so that you are on time like 1 in 20 time, yeah i’m hating you.. lol. why the feeling? well, personally i find that people who are always this late tend to send the signal of not valuing the friendship and what what not. you show as if the meet-up is rather trivial and insignificant to the extent being late is now alright to you. either so or you are the most unfortunate person on earth who always come across unforeseen circumstances whenever there is a meet-up.

i hate people who bail out plans last minute. for you to be in this category involves two things. one, you say alright since the beginning. two, you bail out really last minute multiple times, to the extent where the people who are expected to turn up as well aren’t sure to continue the meet-up or not. again, like the previous issue, unforeseen circumstances can be excused. however, i’m sure none of us is that unlucky to have such things all the time when we want to meet. warning the rest early and bailing out early is still alright. i don’t know.. i thought updating your availability after the plans is set is your own personal responsibility and a little common sense?

i hate sarcasm in apologies. i think this is a common feeling among many people. if one isn’t really willing to apologise with sincerity, it would lead me to figure you aren’t aware you are in the wrong, you are saying so for the sake of saying, you are doing so just to get whatever mess present away from sight. hiding the rubbish isn’t exactly the same as clearing the rubbish. i rather one not apologise and remain the ignorant and stubborn person than be the idiot who degrades kind words like “i’m sorry”. actually, come to think of it, unwillingly saying “thank you” works about the same as well.

i hate those people who leech on others for their own personal gain. i think this is the biggest hate i have among all the hate here.. haha. over the many years of schooling, i have met with people who are so and through painful lessons, i know how to spot such leeches. i have learn not to open up to anyone too soon. no regrets since then. i really hate such people for who do they think they are going around to act friendly and close with you just to gain personal benefits.. be it help in school work or projects or what not? then thereafter, you find it totally alright to dump your “friends” and walk out. well, too bad, once i spot a leech, there is not way i will have a bridge of friendship with you. furthermore, i hate you.. a life sentence.

so yeah, guess that’s about all the hate i have.. haha. if i hate you, no need to worry, i will not act friendly. my face and actions to you will be clear cut. just saying.

time for tutorials

yes this is an update of my life.

woohoo. yeah. week 3. yeah tutorials. if you don't sense sarcasm, your mind probably isn't working right.

so it is the time of the semester again. the procrastination of catching up with lectures has to cease as soon as possible so as to allow myself to make full use of tutorial classes to really understand what the heck is going on in lectures. slowly but surely.. me is catching up and trying the tutorials. though i would still say a new procrastination is born. it is the time when i actually start doing my tutorial. cutting my self some slack but hope not for too long.

barely catching breaks nowadays but at least i want to ensure proper me-time and rest time in the evening prior bedtime. until next time then, cheers.

thug

some of you might know i am a fan of Johnny Depp.. so whatever movie he is in, more or less i will watch.. this one as well. storyline not exactly great but his acting was sheer brilliant. another movie worth your time. enjoy.

lifeline

currently trying this new game..

chilling intern

i can't exactly review well on movies.. so whenever i want to, i shall just post the movie posters here. decent ones at least.. not fantastic but still worth watching. enjoy.

why gamble

yes this is an update of my life.

start of the second week of the semester, i'm beginning to settle into the pace of class i guess. still a little lost because i haven't really been revising what has been taught yet. next week will be the start of the tutorials as well. hello to less free timetable. speaking of which i need to complain a little here about the system in NUS.

i really wonder some of our courses require the students to bid and fight for slots for modules that are their core requirements. it is rather silly. maybe the rigid style of allocating us the core modules will be slightly better. also, for tutorial slots, what's up with balloting. maybe it would be better if they have a program to see students' current timetable and allocate certain tutorial slots as well. by doing so, not only they prevent us from the hassle of fighting for tutorial groups, they can see which class will be bigger or what not and adjust from there. come on, we are living in a technological age anyway.

ohh wells, few days left to deal with this nonsense tutorial shit. until next time then, cheers.

get drunk on good life

they are here

yes this is an update of my life.

i am rather pleased and happy that the clothes i have ordered online have finally arrived today. of course, got few of them over the last few days. the last package came in couple of hours ago. somewhat more than halfway through with my shopping for Chinese New Year. all i need to get is a new pair of shoes and i am more or less done. if i can, i would find myself another long pants as well.

shopping online has always been cheaper and my favourite. not only you get to be at the comfort of your home browsing through tons of designs and shops, the prices are really cheap as well. of course, be aware of shitty stores where the quality of their goods aren't exactly good. however, of all the items i got over the years, i think only two items i got was rather disappointing. well.. not a bad figure considering how many good ones i have gotten over the years.

shopping aside, i'm heading back to NUS this evening to catch a glimpse of a floorball match. the one and only sad thing about my choice of not staying in Raffles Hall anymore is to not able to play floorball in Inter-Hall Games with fun guys. nonetheless, i would love to see them play and finally head to top 3. until next time then, cheers.

always

the last time i felt this sad over a death of a celebrity was probably the time when Paul Walker was killed in an accident. today, another great actor has left behind a legacy.

rest in peace, Alan Rickman.. your performance in Harry Potter films will never be forgotten. that one scene that always hits me straight in the heart will hit me harder in days to follow..

"after all this time?".. "always"

one call away

yet another song to be hooked on. enjoy.

outflow

yes this is an update of my life.

yeah that is my current state of life in a picture. haha.. well of course not literally burning my money but i am spending money like crazy ever since the semester started. if you remembered a couple of posts back, i mentioned about expensive textbooks that are sort of needed for some of the modules i am taking this semester. yeah, that is part of the reason for the spending of large sums of money. the sad news is that i probably still have one more textbook to buy.. sigh.

i'm sort of alright to get textbooks are can be really useful and that because the needed content is too much to be placed in lecture slides or what not. however, i find it rather annoying if the module coordinator is just pushing students to get the textbooks so as to rack in those extra income. no names will be mentioned but yeah.. we students aren't blind. we see your name on the cover among the list of authors. you need not keep bragging about how good the book is nor how the book is very useful. it is a module that most students would probably not put in much effort in. elective module after all.

how they further bragged about the "great" student discounts are even more comical. how much is the discount compared to the real cost? i mean.. yeah the discount might ease the pain of paying so much for a book but come on, at the end of the day, buying the textbook is going to burn a hole in all our pockets. money don't grow on trees.

well, i just hope after i completed college, i won't be like the person in the above picture. i rather have stack of notes and what not. not books or textbooks. notes are more handy and i can get what i want to know way easily compare to pages of paragraphs of long-winded sentences. sigh.. i want to cry when i see how much i have spent so far on study materials. time to tell myself some lies to keep me comfort.. lol. they are useful. they will help you for the rest of your lives. they are worth the costs.

apart from purchasing study materials, the next main cause of my cash outflow is from the process of improving my wardrobe. like i mentioned before, since Chinese New Year is approaching, i am up and finding and buying new clothes and what not. in fact, wow, it is in about one more month's time. time really flies. i could still remember what i did last Chinese New Year as though it was merely couple of weeks ago. nonetheless, the cost of the most expensive textbook so far is about the same as the amount i have spent to buy two long-sleeves shirts, one pants, one polo so far. sigh.. what a difference.. haha.

anyway, last two days saw me attending all the introductory lectures of all the modules i read. what can i say? well, bumpy start.. real bumpy. some lecturers are bad and some content is just so difficult to understand. i hope it will be slightly smoother soon. or at least, i will get used to the pace and standards. until next time then, cheers.

one year on

almost reaching a year since this came out.. still addicted to it. enjoy.

the work cycle

yes this is an update of my life.

goodbye to the holiday sleep cycle and hello to the semester sleep cycle. no more going to bed to late. no more snoozing the alarm for hours just for fun for for that extra sleep. the mundane routine begins. i realised there is one thing that i missed out checking prior to bidding some of the modules this semester.. textbooks.

well, you see, i remember back in year 1 when i was slightly more hardworking on my research of modules, i was pretty particular with whether a module requires a textbook or not. if it does need one, roughly how much would it cost. of course, if the module is my core module, i cannot run very far away from the fact that i have to get one or what not. however, for electives i tend to sway away if it requires a textbook, particularly an expensive one. this semester somehow i most likely need textbooks for two of my modules.. two of which being elective modules.

damn.. ohh well. the little plus side is that interest was my first criteria in choosing both modules. so hopefully the cost will not be as painful. lol.. potential lies i plan to tell myself in times when i feel the pain from the amount spent on textbooks. i have to sell them after this semester to ease the pain further.

not quite used to the sleep habit yet. but i guess that is what the first two weeks of lecture weeks provide us with.. haha. on top of giving us time to bid for tutorial slots, i think i can adjust to my semester sleeping pattern.

first week of school, first lectures everywhere. hope these first lectures are more of introductory lectures and i need not use too much of brain juice. until next time then, cheers.

wrapping my head

yes this is an update of my life.

so finally settled down back in my PGP room after a busy and hectic afternoon of moving and cleaning. thank goodness the check-in process was pretty smooth considering the number of people i see who were in front of me in the queue. little changes can be seen from the day i moved out. my weird shaky chair has been fixed.. though i not sure to be happy or not lol. there are stickers around the room to remind residents to save electricity and not overload a socket.

yeah.. so this is it, sadly, the start of another semester. remember a couple of posts back where i listed things i ought to do over these few days? yeah i barely done more than half of them.. lol. procrastinating as always. okay, not such a good way to start. so i am here to prioritise for real. first, finding internships. this of course drafting out my resume and cover letters and submitting applications. second, shop for Chinese New Year. i have to do so as soon as possible if i want my delivery of goods to arrive to my doorstep on time for the 8th of February. third, submitting midterm scholarship applications. i put this the third as i seem a slim chance in getting any. nonetheless, no harm trying again i guess?

wow, okay, school lecture and tutorial materials are streaming in. i can even feel the gradual stress kicking.

no. stop.

haha.. i have to stop worrying about stuff before it even really hit. constant reminder to take one step at a time is really important i guess. prevents over-worrying and unneeded stress and anxiety. i shall slowly wrap my head around these things. give me a minute.

time to get shit done. until next time then, cheers.

freeze-bee

yes this is an update of my life.

as the semester is about to start, i think my personal physical training has to start as well. one, after swimming the other day, i realised my stamina still has so much more to improve. two, i want to clear IPPT right after my finals. three, i get sore over lame shit.

let me explain the third point in particular. over the past month of holidays i would do push-ups at least on alternate days, in hope to push my max counts higher. i get sore after a couple of days and i thought probably the intensity was too high or my breaks were too short. the soreness didn't really bother me much. well, until yesterday.. lol. had a great time hanging out with my SCAMP OG and had the chance to play frisbee for an hour or so. been almost half a year since i last tossed a frisbee disk. it was really great. sadly, i woke up this morning with sore triceps. that is when i know.. man my muscles sucks big time.. lol. ohh wells, this can be served as a motivation i guess haha.

meantime, all the best to those starting school soon or already in school now. hope 2016 academic year will be as good or better than last year's. until next time then, cheers.

no more round 3

yes this is an update of my life.

finally, though not the ideal plan, i got my backup plan up and got all the modules i wanted by the end of yesterday. the remaining rounds of bidding is not needed for me. got my core modules in first round of round 1. got my elective module in first round of round 2. second rounds and round 3 is not needed. the feeling i have yesterday was exactly like this..

well, successful bidding gives one a great sigh of relief. at times, bigger than what i have expected. ohh wells, at least i can start the semester with ease and not worry about fighting for spots in some modules like i did last semester. one semester of doing so is enough to make you remember the pain and anxiety for the rest of your college life.

been browsing through internship and scholarship options as well. got a few filtered and i shall aim to submit whatever applications hopefully end of next week. thereafter, i foresee school work will kick in and time will be really limited for such tasks. shopping for Chinese New Year has to be slightly delayed i guess. nonetheless, at least i have this list of things to do out. not going to waste much time and make use of all i have to complete them. go me.. lol. until next time then, cheers.

transition

yes this is an update of my life.

middle of the week already. the list of things i have to do in the next few weeks are slowly tickling into my mind. from things that are related to school to things related to the preparation for Chinese New Year. let's see what i have to do at hand. or at least the few key things to do. prepare to move into campus, rescheduling my tuition classes, print more teaching materials for my tuition classes, finding internship opportunities, finding midterm scholarship opportunities, shopping for new outfits. yeah.. those are the main things i have to do over the next couple months i guess? at least by Chinese New Year i guess.. haha.

that's prioritising in one picture during the semester. well, i need my sufficient rest you know. as the new year starts, so are the shows and what not i am following. there is something to look forward to almost every single day of the week. well, for talk shows that would be everyday haha. my life is better when i'm busy. though, at times i still need to catch a break. until next time then, cheers.

long hours again

yes this is an update of my life.

so i'm still in the midst of the mundane bidding for modules for the next semester. managed to get all the core modules i want without much trouble. that is a huge relief to me for a couple of reasons. one, like some of you might remember, the previous semester gave me a lot of headaches after i couldn't get two of the three core modules initially. two, this round the points needed for the core modules are dirt cheap, allowing me to save my points, considering i lost way more than needed the previous time. three, less headaches and worries of course, now i can focus on getting the remaining two modules int he next few days.

bidding and planning for modules can be a really a pain in the ass. yes, it is really unlike the lessons we get in JC or secondary school. those times we had the timetable fixed. the only freedom was to choose the subjects you wanted to take. now, i guess we get more freedom in choosing the modules and choosing the time. or at least the delusion with have those.. haha. i say it as a delusion because about half of the modules i take have a fixed lecture schedule. now, it isn't a big problem or an annoyance unless those are your core modules and that one is early morning the other is late afternoon. that makes a school day really long with unwanted breaks in between at times as well. ohh wells, can't do much about it anyway.

that's my face now actually. that's me whenever i am in the midst of bidding. but for today, there is another reason for that face. the drilling i have been hearing all day ever since i woke up today. hammering is annoying but drilling is a whole new level of annoying. i'm going crazy. my sleep was disruptive and now i am having an unwanted headache. ohh please.. may the renovation be over really quick.

anyway, it is going to be kind of a hectic for me this Sunday. that is the first day to check into campus residence if i don't want to pay extra. the extra fees aren't worth it anyway, considering i wouldn't stay over night on Saturday night. that day happens to be the last day of my winter holidays also. gosh, i hope i can move in everything i need on that day itself.

shall continue to watch the module bidding "stock market" as in continue to enjoy the rest of my day despite the noise pollution from the renovation. until next time then, cheers.

bid

yes this is an update of my life.

start of the year. near the start of the next semester as well. bidding woes are going to kick in coming this Monday. i really hope all will work up well. meaning me getting the modules that i intending to take without going through much of a trouble like last semester. last semester was a real pain in the ass while i was bidding for  the modules.

i remember myself at the start of life in NUS. i was pretty amazed by the bidding system. everything felt so new and cool. however, after a couple of semester of the mundane shit, i am apparently sick of it already. ohh wells, almost halfway through NUS. that is somewhat scary too. time is moving pretty fast even when you are not enjoying.

moving away from school, i have a week of holidays left. shall really make use of it by sleeping and chilling and hanging out. when semester starts, i wouldn't want to regret not sleeping enough or not having had enough fun time during this short winter break. so yeah, i can do this.. making full use of the remaining time to enjoy and slack. until next time then, cheers.

the same hope

yes this is an update of my life.

HAPPY NEW YEAR fellow blog readers. goodbye 2015 and 2016. spent countdown and the first few hours of 2016 with my favourite girl. came home to catch up on my sleep and though now it's evening, it feels like an afternoon to me. i think i slept too much to sleep again tonight at my usual timing.. lol.

no shit about the new-year-new-me though i always set certain resolutions for myself. i rather keep them to myself. but i would just like to reveal one of them. well, this one has been a resolution for almost every other year. whether it has been achieved, i cannot really decide but to me, i feel at times i failed to achieve completely. the resolution is to post more on this blog.. haha. posting more quality posts to be exact.. but like i said, i cannot judge if i managed to fulfil it. nonetheless, i think resolutions can be used as a motivation and a sense of direction.

so yes, don't be sad or disheartened if you cannot fulfil all of your resolutions. they are goals. they are hopes as well. see them as a destination. if not, see them as a motivation and a sense of direction to guide you in the next 12 months. all the best in whatever you do this year. most importantly, stay happy and healthy. until next time then, cheers.