Life's little thingies!

2012-02-16T00:08:00.001+08:00

It really hurts :(

2012-01-18T20:59:00.000+08:00

God knows when you're tired, He gives you rest then. He probably knew I was soooo tired He helped cancel a meeting!

I'm still thanking God each and everyday for you too (:

2012-01-13T00:14:00.002+08:00

Before I turn twentyone I will:
- Be honest about how I feel
- Fix relationships that are ruined
- Learn to be smarter
- Adopt good habits

2012-01-12T01:58:00.002+08:00

IM SO TIRED :(
ATE SO MUCH TODAY TOO:
fried rice/noodle thing/waffle + icecream/nasi lemak/sushi! :(
sigh!

2012-01-05T02:29:00.002+08:00

2011 has resulted in the first of many things:

- Did a research project on ants
- Started photographing more actively, buying my first macro lens
- Started volunteering at NParks, Toddycats
- Understood that I can go beyond my limits and out of my comfort zone
- Improving in my results
- Passed my driving test, parents allowed me to drive out on my own
- Staying in a hostel
- Meeting cool nature friends, going to nature spots
- Revamped my life - no longer doing rubbish work!
- Emotional ups and downs

What would 2012 entail,
especially so since Ill be turning 21.

I'm sure it will be equally emotional actually. Lots of people are going to leave in the 2nd half of this year.. not looking forward to that :(

My resolution is to break out of my comfort zone, not conform to others & continue learning about nature.

I will work hard for the coming semester as well.

Some immediate aims:
- Work hard for the semester, keep up with work (that includes reading textbook)
- Shooting better nature photos (:
- Finding a direction in life!
- Do landfill tour at Semakau
- Attend cell
- Start running again

Other aims:
- Learning more about taxonomy

2011-12-27T13:53:00.001+08:00

Losing the tenacity that I used to hve! :(

It's Bao's birthday today. Happy birthday (: Have a wonderful one!

Helped Fion's hall with a photoshoot today.. & going to print stuff l8r, then a night survey. Whee.

2011-12-26T20:37:00.000+08:00

I'm going to start blogging again, after having realised that I keep forgetting what I've been doing all the time! Last semester was a mad rush so I really didn't have the time to blog.

Whatever it is, I am thankful for my grades last semester -- seeing how a lot of the preparation for the other modules (other than UROPS) was extremely rushed! Thank you God, friends and family :)

Today was a day of break again. Woke up real late, went to buy some barbeque/hostel stuff with my mom and then a short walk at West Coast Park + swimming.

2011-12-25T10:58:00.002+08:00

Just a thought: With all that social media - twitter, Facebook & a thousand and one other ways to keep in touch with each other, does it make me feel any less disconnected?

2011-12-25T10:23:00.001+08:00

Create your own travel map or travel blog.
Great holiday rentals at TripAdvisor

2011-12-24T23:54:00.001+08:00

....make me confused.

2011-12-15T13:12:00.001+08:00

It's not that I don't care.. I'm rly just tired of trying

2011-12-13T00:20:00.002+08:00

It is my tendency to follow what my friends do. I guess I must be my own person - I can't just go with the flow... it's my future to make :(

I've learnt that it's important not to rush into relationships. Let nature takes it course- and definitely, if it is meant to be, it'll be because God will warrant the relationship to come into play.

I read this really good article anyw. It's about leaving one day in a month (the least) to God at least, to reflect and think about life. I guess this reminds me of what my dad said too; that life is not a sprint but a marathon. I 'chiong' and end up burning out eep...

2011-11-30T12:57:00.001+08:00

‘If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of
equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment
would collapse into chaos’.
—E. O. Wilson (1985)

2011-11-27T01:33:00.001+08:00

Sigh nothing in life is easy, really. I admire people who enjoy what they are doing, like for a long long time. Note to self: must find out what pushes them.

It's passion that gets us going first but habitat that keeps us moving along..

Kinda suffering from a bit of fatigue, shall take December holidays to find out some things.

Getting close to different people in different phases of my life is an interesting phenomenon.

2011-11-22T20:53:00.001+08:00

AHHHHHHH Ecology paper wasn't fantastic fantastic. Spotted some mistakes alryyy :(

2011-11-17T13:18:00.001+08:00

IM GOING MAD....... thinking thinking thinking

2011-11-16T16:20:00.001+08:00

Pika! With thanks to the person who photographed this (watermarked)

2011-11-12T21:55:00.001+08:00

ok thts it. my attention span is like 5 mins..........................T_T sigh

2011-11-12T20:21:00.001+08:00

i realised... you need to create chances for yourself. they're not gna happen out of the blue, out of no where!

2011-11-12T20:16:00.001+08:00

i will break these chains that bind me
happiness will find me.

today my life begins! (':
-song by Bruno Mars

2011-11-11T22:10:00.001+08:00

almost one year flew by...
can't believe it!

how time flies.

2011-11-10T10:55:00.001+08:00

thnk you for the prettyyy

2011-11-09T14:29:00.002+08:00

Phewzies. UROPS is over!!!

Today's examiner was actually really nice, and he gave lotsa constructive comments about the project. I hope I'll do alright for the module though. So much blood n sweat was poured into it. One thing that's really sad is that I have to face the penalty of late submission...cos my report wasn't ready by the deadline. D:

Thanks to everyone who's given me encouragement - they are appreciated ttmax!! I cant say how appreciative I am of everyone who helped!!

Back to cell bio.

2011-11-07T19:00:00.001+08:00

Time to let go, any time now.

2011-11-07T15:28:00.001+08:00

SLEEPY.

2011-11-05T23:50:00.001+08:00

2011-11-04T05:25:00.001+08:00

I'll be here to support you (8

2011-11-02T14:35:00.002+08:00

Everytime I read a journal paper, I get so uncomfortable... :( SIGH. Science oh science.

2011-10-30T17:38:00.000+08:00

sacrificing so much for just one thing. worth it?

2011-10-16T18:40:00.001+08:00

I confuzzle myself! :(

2011-10-14T19:36:00.002+08:00

It's gna be a tough 3 wks ahead for me. Hope Ill be fine. 1 major presentation, 1 report submission.. pray it will be okay. God grant me the strength, determination and hope to carry on, no matter how hard it gets.

2011-10-02T20:57:00.001+08:00

Nature in Singapore is amazing!

2011-10-02T08:37:00.001+08:00

so it has finally cumulated in this :\ i seee. . . . . . . weird.

2011-09-27T01:29:00.001+08:00

official favourite ants: http://www.myrmecos.net/myrmicinae/strumigenys.html (:

2011-09-26T16:53:00.002+08:00

thankful today that Xinrui helped me with statistics!! Bayes theorem. if not id be dead by tomorrowwww!!

2011-09-26T02:09:00.002+08:00

our paths ultimately diverge!

lalalalala. i caught my first house cockroach (the non-native) OMYY! scary experience.

2011-09-25T21:03:00.002+08:00

i want to learn how to draw taxonomic drawings.

2011-09-24T16:45:00.000+08:00

I think it's easy to get absorbed in doing work without knowing the real purpose of it all. I think I just got lost in my work and I'm really lost now. So hopefully, I will begin to make time to think and find my way again! I guess that's just part of life.

2011-09-23T03:29:00.003+08:00

ive not bloggeddd in a long longtime! haha

anyway, i wanted to say that... when two people share a similar passion, topics to talk about it is ENDLESS :)

2011-09-03T20:56:00.002+08:00

(:

D F#m G A D
Our God is far greater than words can make known,
F#m G A
Exalted and holy, He reigns on His throne,
G D F#m G
In infinite splendour He rules over all;
D F#m G A D
Yet He feeds the poor sparrows, and He knows when they fall
.

2011-08-31T00:52:00.001+08:00

2011-08-27T11:27:00.002+08:00

The worst is over(:!! (:

2011-08-26T05:44:00.003+08:00

Morning. It's raining outside now at 5.44am... I woke up at 5am because I k.o.ed at 10.30 pm yesterday.
:O

I like this song:

Only Exception by Paramore @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7J_IWUhls&ob=av2e

I hope I keep my sanity! That's all.
Back to work!

2011-08-24T22:12:00.001+08:00

Eeks me ish growing alot of muscles :(

!!!!!

2011-08-20T23:03:00.001+08:00

I guess I won't be blogging much at all. Been up to my neck....... still need to breathe. Heelp.

2011-08-13T23:14:00.000+08:00

Im so tired I could just crash................... been sleeping 4-5 hrs these few days. Compounded, it feels like alot. Ok going to crash now with lotsa work at hand still :x

2011-08-09T23:37:00.001+08:00

It ends here.

2011-08-07T00:37:00.002+08:00

Im gna print 360 photos woohoo, exceeding what I intended to print! :O

2011-08-06T20:50:00.001+08:00

I really hope I can be there for friends when they face huge problems...
:(

2011-07-31T00:23:00.005+08:00

Again, I must say I'm not emo-ing but reflecting. It just seems like in this transient life, we meet people, we cross paths and sometimes these paths [after crossing] will diverge, never to meet again in completely separate paths. Meeting that friend/person can be joyous - you feel as if your life has been splashed with colours all at that moment, but then the inevitable parting knocks on the door and it can be difficult... I guess sometimes I feel like I'm counting down to it. It'll come to pass and one day I'll look back & laugh at myself for feeling that way. :\

Schl is starting in ONE WEEK.

2011-07-28T13:05:00.005+08:00

I guess I haven't been blogging because my life's just been moving too fast, like how a sewing machine thread spins away real fast yet it stays constant in a position.

So tired recently also. Too many things cloud my mind I need a break from it to reorganize. HENCE TODAY.

I also need to stop worrying about what people think of me. It's been getting to me.

Even listening to nice songs get tiring some times :x

2011-07-18T03:12:00.000+08:00

My heart's a stereo
it beats for you so listen close
hear my thoughts in every note,
ohoh!

2011-07-17T00:30:00.001+08:00

UGH.

2011-07-16T00:39:00.002+08:00

Ooh blogger looks kinda different now.

This week I:
Drove to Bukit Timah Hill w/o my parents!

Went to the railway tracks
Went on a recce trip
Collected printed bookmarks
Came back from diving

Not much. The week just flew by :(

2011-07-01T12:04:00.003+08:00

This is possibly my last month staying at home!... haha.

2011-07-01T11:16:00.001+08:00

Top: While @ the summit, Bottom: The bunch of caterpillars 'brothers and sisters', of the ones that YW returned...

Yesterday was really cool. Naijie, zestin & I went to Bukit Timah Hill! Then we met yingwei there, cos she was there to release a caterpillar at its host plant (if not itll probably die). Now here's the thing: it was already drizzling and the weather forecasted it to have thunderstorms in the afternoon... BUT we decided to go up to the summit anyway. Haha. So that was risk #1.

We were walking up.. actually it was really quite fantastic! I loved the whole trekking-in-the-cold thing. Haha. Then we reached the summit and the caterpillar was released & we should have begun our descend but we didn't! Instead we stoned there for awhile, because the view was too awesome. The three of them played and talked about pokemon. There was mist floating about, coming and going - so you could literally see it. It was like Genting Highlands (ha). Then okay it started pouringggggggggg oh man. We decided to stay further. The rain got worse. >.<

We decided we needed to go down then. The skies were overcast & it already seemed like evening time. That was how dark it'd been! We wore our rain gear, waterproof-ed our cameras/electronics (haha impt step) and started our journey down.

It was rather scary. We made two pitstops at the Simpang & Keruing Hut. We went down the steepest and quickest way back to the Visitor's Centre.. really glad everyone made it down safely despite thunder sounds looming by - & the rushing water too!

Thank God, He helped us through.

Oh lookie. The weather forecast says it'll be clouded today but it's sunny. I dont know weather to trust weather forecasts anymore!

Then it was dinner w Fion & Robin @ Marinaaa. Haha it was fun too! ((:

Happyyyyyyyy.

2011-07-01T02:19:00.003+08:00

REVIEW OF THE HOLIDAYS
to keep myself in check!

1) DIVE - yes two dive trips, going for my third(: hello to 30 dives
2) Star 2 kayaking - missed the lessons. will do in december, or during the sem if i can find good dates
3) Getting my macro lens/flash - more nature photog - YES(: hairpee
4) Cycle!! - not yet.. waiting for a friend to be free!
5) Going for sarah's concert - yupp it was really good (:
6) Megamarinesurvey - haha next one's next wk
7) Visiting offshore islands at wee hours of the morn - yes! went to sekudu/ sister's island
8) Learn actionscript at least - not yet.. see what i can do through the bit of this hols
9) Try to do a website - ditto
10) Play more guitar - may enrol for classes if I'm feeling too free - yes a lil more. try learning Spur from Depapepe
11) Prepare for tembusu - not yet! need to prep a list of things to bring
12) Going to malacca with my parents for a short getaway - got cancelled :( but nvm
13) Raffles Museum open house - yup helped out for 1 day
14) Volunteer more @ sungei buloh - eh not yet !
15) Maybe I can go for a trip overseas towards the end.. - HMM maybe arh. but havent thought about it
16) Meet up with friends!! Def. - yessssssss. met up with sarah/xinrui/yim, peihoon, jo, media peeps, annette/ leroy, fairfield 'clique' (not used to saying that), zestin (:
17) Work for 1 mth - phew that is over!

I'm definitely diving more this year - maybe going to Tioman with HK/ and also in Sept with Sian? Havent confirmed it.

Now it's time to recollect everything & think of what to do next! Glad the hols aren't just OVER yet! (:

(1) Buy a web domain & launch a website -- in progress

(2) Learn some programming -- borrowed actionscript book

(3) Kayaking 2 star cert -- maybe in Jul

(4) Study harder. GPA >4.0 -- ER NOT SURE AT ALL. Hopefully exams turn out fine.

(5) Run once everyday (my thigh fats are unsightly) - ran more definitely, about 2-3 times per week

(6) Sleep before 12.30 everyday - NOPE failed miserably, was good at the start of the year tho

(7) Something useful this May-July holidays -- I'll be so bored -- TRYING TO DO SMTH USEFUL

(8) Make a documentary with my friend (: (it's kinda hard since I dont have a proper video-editing software) -- still havent found video-editing software, but do have some video footage. links in with the website

(9) Dive somewhere -- going diving this weekend (:

(10) Abstain from meat/seafood for lunch every day - this is by no means vegetarian -- HM. Failed too. But generally, I didnt eat meat for lunch la, since I hardly ever ate lunch during the semester, not properly at least due to the weird timetable

(11) Get my driver's license (from the looks of it... maybe not) -- YES I GOT MY DRIVING LICENSE!:)

(12) Cook more -- nope had no time to.

(13) Learn about classification of plants & molluscs -- a little i guess? :( but not enough

2011-06-22T00:25:00.001+08:00

Time always seems like the limiting factor for everything.

2011-06-20T22:29:00.003+08:00

Ultimately, I think people just want to be recognized. That seems to be the greatest motivation for the want to succeed. You think?

And I gave myself a break from a mtg in the evening. Just said I cldn't go... :( Was so tired @ work I was falling asleep... Oh today at work we did something monotonously fun (haha irony) - folding survey forms and happily slotting them into the envelopes. :D

I'm so tired and my rashes are breaking out again, not ot complain so much but it's just really quite inconvenient, esp when I wear long pants and my legs start itching like MAAD. I tell you its MAADNESS.

Grah.

without you i was broken
but i'd rather be broke with you by my side
-jack johnson's song

.......need to be less selfish

2011-06-16T21:19:00.001+08:00

I can't wait for work to end.

And all I know is that Im falling deeper & deeper...

Couple of designs to do - for Tembusu & VCF. Need to be on my toes!

2011-06-12T22:30:00.000+08:00

I think my parents taught me a lesson today. I will have to find a job that I like- to be able to do well in it. My dad enjoys his job (it's quite a queer job to like IMHO) but anyw that's what he said. My mom too, though she admitted that her job could be really mundane too but she found that it is meaningful because she sees young people mature & stuff.

I hope I will be able to have that kind of passion when I start working.

2011-06-10T00:20:00.000+08:00

I'm really happy with life at the moment. I don't have low expectations of life but rather I'm contented that life is simple and happy as it is, at least it is not so complex anymore, neither does it feel like I have knots in my heart -- but I've learn to live (happily) & let live (forgive). Thankful that God has blessed be with wonderful people around, family members who are supportive of what I do, friends whom I can relate to, friends who I share the same interests with, friends who care.

:)

Im just trying to know that everything that happens is in God's plan - work, family, friendships, relationships, studies, the future.

2011-06-07T20:34:00.002+08:00

Decompression Sickness

From http://www.marinemedical.com/articles/diving.htm

Decompression sickness, also known as the ‘bends’ or Caisson’s Disease, is a function of Henry’s Law which states: The amount of gas dissolved in a liquid is proportional to the partial pressure of the gas in contact with the liquid.^4,5

As a diver descends deeper, atmospheric pressure increases, allowing the blood and body tissues to absorb a greater volume of inert gas, such as nitrogen. Nitrogen is not metabolized by the body; therefore, whatever is absorbed must eventually be released from the body.⁴The amount of nitrogen absorbed is determined by the depth (increasing depth=increased pressure) and duration (increased duration=increased time to absorb) of the dive.^1,4 Conversely, as the diver ascends, pressure is decreased and absorbed nitrogen is released or off-gassed.⁴ In most cases, if safety precautions have been followed, the nitrogen will be released and cleared from the body through normal respiration. However, if the diver ascends too quickly or bottom time is too long, and the diver does not take proper precautions (such as safety stops), nitrogen can come out of absorption and form bubbles in the blood and body tissues that interfere with normal physiologic function. Even if a diver does everything correctly, the risk of developing DCS is always present. Risk factors associated with DCS include dehydration, alcohol consumption, fatigue, hypothermia and obesity.^2,5

2011-06-07T19:28:00.002+08:00

OK I think I am growing up... haha. Oh no, and becoming more of a shopaholic but I think the Forever21 collection is really nice this summer (?). Pretty pretty pastel pieces!

But I mustn't become overly consumer-ish. BUY WHAT I NEED fullstop.

My foodie yearnings have not stopped... lol. I ate alot today but at least it's healthy stuff. Lots of grapes (like 30-40 of them!), a whole bag of cereal, fruit juice, cup of soup. But lunch was super unhealthy :( It was like CREAM soup, BUTTER rice (I so could taste the butter) & more butter with veg at Manhattan Fish Market. We were invited to join some interns for lunch but we're not in the same programme as them.

Anyway...
work today was simply, simply, boring. I hope tomorrow it'll be better. I always hope.

2011-06-04T20:32:00.001+08:00

(: :( :) :(

2011-06-03T21:00:00.002+08:00

...Life is so precious.. you never know how it might turn out. It helps live your life well and keep it in check - then you never regret if anything happens.

-----

And I feel a lil sad about the way I'm eating now. A good chinese adjective to describe it is "bao ying bao chi". Lol. Because at work, my intern friend & I tend to get bored and sleepy whilst doing whatever we're doing... so we buy ALOT of snacks to eat:( And we always like NICE food for lunch because we feel like we're so 'trapped' in the place we're in (imagine office hours just sitting down).

Monday: Macs kiddy meal, a pack of chocolate
Tues: Hawaiian pizza, root beer
Wednesday: Jap curry rice, Gongcha milk tea, Sticky sweettttttt
Thurs: Food court shui jiao mian, Ginger beancurd dou hua
Fri: Dim sum, a whole packet of oreo star biscuit, chips

UGH... Alot alot of JUNK. My resolution next week and hopefully for the rest of the internship is to eat NO JUNK. Except maybe some sweets.

Running doesn't helppppppppp. I ran thrice this week - but I bet I still gained weight. Hahaha. I'm not being weight-conscious, just being health conscious. I'm gna emo in my little korner now. Job's kinda depressing, though it isn't so bad as the first day.

2011-06-01T23:24:00.000+08:00

Sin, Faith, Duty

¹ Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. ² It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³ So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister^[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

2011-06-01T21:29:00.000+08:00

Hiii... I've started the one-month work thingy... yes a very super big change frm my usual lifestyle! :( Still adapting!

AND also came back from a dive trip.. which was reallly fun(: Thank God for that opportunity!

2011-05-27T12:46:00.003+08:00

Results are coming out on Monday... I think it will determine alot for me and how I will make my future plans. So really hope I will do alright, or at least on par with the cohort. Whatever it is, I will have to accept it and move on!

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."

2011-05-26T23:25:00.001+08:00

Done with the camp!!! :)) and................................... diving next......afterwhich I start work. Life seems rather mundane though.

2011-05-23T19:06:00.004+08:00

I think I don't want to be at the forefront of research. Instead, I want to relay messages of research, or assist in research. For example, I would prefer doing a publishing job/ photography job, or maybe a cartographer/programme/database manangement-related job as compared to a researcher -- not because I don't want to but because I don't think research is where my strength lies in.

That said, I really need to pick up more software skills. I'm cui-ing. AutoCAD/Access/Programming/Illustrator/Aftereffects.

Another problem -- whether to change course and whether I'm eligible to change course. Tackling the first issue (whether to change course), I'm not very sure if I should even think about changing courses but I definitely know that year 2 modules are going to slaughter me if I don't read up in advance (I'm just not the type to memorize things fast) on the other hand, the year 3 and 4 modules in environmental studies and environmental biology specialization (in life sciences) is very similar -- so maybe I should just try to survive year 2?

Also, I'm not sure if my CAP will allow me to change course -- so I need to wait for my result to come out... so till then, hohum. And if my CAP is better this semester, I might try applying for environmental studies because I think it opens more 'job opportunities' that I really might be more passionate about (than in life sciences). And I'd have to say HI to more administrative issues (like tuition grant, my stay in Tembusu, module mapping over to my new course if they allow)?

YES.. but all thesee are tentative. I'd have nothing to say if I do badly this semester, again.

2011-05-20T20:49:00.002+08:00

It's intertidal madness these 4 days, and possibly the last few opportunities to really go for Semakau survey. Will sure miss Semakau :(

The starbucks thing was quite funny. I went for two consecutive days with two friends....... hahaha

2011-05-18T19:57:00.000+08:00

Some macro photog - not fantastic shots but it's a start. Started raining 1/2 hr into shooting :( *emo*

2011-05-18T01:12:00.004+08:00

I'm glad that relationships I have with friends are not superficial.

2011-05-17T21:37:00.000+08:00

Today was quite happs also. Started off the day with a short run. Went to MacRitchie Reservoir with Zestin & Syalabi... was quite fun I guess, exploring the places and stuff. But... guess what, I brought the wrong lens so I couldn't shoot all the macro stuff but it was still okay, we got to see interesting insects which Zestin was just naming off. Pro la. We ended super late!

And.. then I took a train to Terminal 3 for dinner with my parents and grandma. Drove back from Tampines.. quite intimidating to drive at night.

Too tired to blog about any topic today :( Goodnight world. It's going to be busy for the next week or so, may not be able to blog also!

2011-05-16T14:12:00.001+08:00

I have decided to go diving again... :)$$$$$

2011-05-16T12:37:00.004+08:00

I think the difficult thing in life is to find an avenue to channel your thoughts and (practically) your talents into something useful.

How now brown cow.

2011-05-15T21:12:00.010+08:00

The conscious effort not to eat too much is often a disaster!! ): Went walking at Bukit Timah Hill today. Random spurts of information indeed.

Anyway... I wanted to blog about something but then I forgot. So oh well.

To go diving again, OR NOT!?!?! That is the question.

[Edit]

Ah yes, now I remember what I wanted to blog about. It's a reflection of the 1st year in university; some tips and tricks I learnt. Hopefully I remember them when the new semester starts!

- The smartest people are not the muggers. People who are truly smart know how to study, prioritize their time and still be able to do well. They also know what the lecturers want them to know for the exams. Somehow that's likened to being street smart and not just hardworking, though that is not to say working hard is not important at all.
- Don't worry if you found the exam super hard because chances are, the bulk of the people also think that the paper is hard. Bell curve is there to help you, I think!?
- Choose modules that you're interested in - that'll help in revision & studying throughout the semester.
- Refresh what the lecturer has taught after the lecture. It helps when doing revision. The words of the lecturer will come back to haunt you hahaha!

OK let's hope I'll apply that to next sem.

I'm now relistening to a wonderful preacher, Bishop John Tan (I secretly recorded it during service) on the Beautitudes (Matt 5). I've uploaded it to soundcloud.com so you can listen to it if you wish. Plug in ear phones or turn up the sound.. it was kinda soft.

10121201 - Bishop John Tan on Beatitudes (2) by euniceesh

Today I tried flash photog in my room! Hahaha. Here's mr ladybug (oh the irony).

Played some guitar too!! Kinda a slack day... Slept in the afternoon also.. so yes the day is GONE just like that. Dang I've been slacking too much!

Learnt alot during cell yesterday!!!!!!!

11051501 - Your Name by euniceesh

Recorded Your Name, with the strumming but it ends super abruptly!

2011-05-15T00:18:00.000+08:00

I think I must be very serious about having a proper diet (food intake, not the slimming diet yo).
- Less unhealthy snacks.
- Plain water as much as possible.
- Running more often. Every day if possible. (hardcore)

2011-05-14T11:26:00.003+08:00

Today's post will be about the role of teachers! I got inspired by a conversation with a friend to write this, because she had a great teacher who supported her too.

Many a times I always tell people I don't wish to be a teacher -- for a good reason -- because I think they're really important in society and their shoes would be too huge for me to fill (I just can't imagine myself doing the same as them somehow).

I remembered in primary school I was just not doing well academically but was really encouraged by two teachers when I hit primary six. Mrs R. Tham and Mr Chua K.B -- they showed me real care and concern, and often encouraged me. Mrs Tham got me interested in nature and biodiversity from the 'Through the SCUBA divers' eye' project work, and gave me to confidence to lead. Mr Chua's teaching in science made me interested in science for some reason. Of course, that's not to say the primary 3 and 4 teachers weren't good. They were good too. Ms J. Kong really had a passion for teaching and often rewarded us with cool gifts like Roald Dahl books (though she really went mad sometimes just teaching us)! Mr A. Chan who was really funny and taught social studies very interesingly. CCA teachers like Ms D. Kwok who was really strict with us during choir but only just wanted the best for us!

It just got better in secondary school. In secondary one I had Mr M. Chan as form teacher who really put his heart and soul into teaching us, gave us advice about life even after we weren't in his form class! Mr Lee Y.M. also encouraged me to pick up IT skills and gave me so many opportunities to practise my IT skills... Ms J. Wang who also gave me so many opportunities in Journalism, and treated me almost like a friend. Just too many teachers to name but these were the few to have impacted me greatly and I'm so glad to have met them throughout my school life because they're so passionate about teaching.

I think teachers really have the ability to mould a young child's life, and even change a young child's life; to go beyond the call of duty (to teach) but to impact their lives in different ways by sharing care and concern/ encouragement... so yep. You neverk now how much the child would look up to a figure such as a teacher.

2011-05-14T01:07:00.000+08:00

Blogger was actually down for the bulk of today!

Anyway today I went to the Southern Ridges with dear Peihoon.. it was quite fun & funny. Had a good chat with Peihoon throughout the walk, and am glad we got some exercise (though we killed it by eating MacDonalds' breakfast for lunch). Hahaha. Ok nevermind. Muscles built cannot be lost so easily!! :) Towards the end of our walk, it started RAINING and there was thunder/lightning around us in the vicinity. It was like boom-boom-boom, but I guess we managed to seek shelter soon enough at Science Park.

Then we went to Artfriends also -- the one at Buona Vista MRT - it was so fun looking at all the stuff!! (: Brings me memories of how I used to go to bookshops (during free days) to look at nice stationary. Haha. I discovered she loved stoning by the seaside too. We shall do that some day (:

Anyway chatted alot online today, sent many emails and spent a long time on facebook too.. Haha need to cut down on that computer stuff HAHA it's bad. Meeting my assistant cell leader for lunch tomorrow at a yummy place.

Shall have to touch my macro lens soon. It's becoming a white elephant in the dry box. :(

IMY

2011-05-12T23:36:00.000+08:00

~~What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was you~~

2011-05-12T11:59:00.000+08:00

Okay, I shall blog for today and yesterday.

Anyway, just in case you guys are wondering what I've been up to. I've been bumming around quite a bit... haha as of today morning. Cleared emails and then went running... going out later though! Haha.

Yesterday was more fulfilling and had stuff to do I guess. I took photographs of molluscs yesterday at the museum. I usually use a copystand to take the photographs. A black piece of cloth is placed at the bottom, usually velvet because it reduces the amount of light reflected. So the camera is mounted on the middle metal piece where there is an adjustable up-down component so you can zoom in-and-out. The lights at the side help to provide constant lighting, as compared to a flash which fires only once and when you take the photo. Personally, I find that useful because I'm able to visualize the exposure without flashing. I've been advised to use aperture priority but usually I just use manual mode, hence resulting in some badly exposed mollusc photos sometimes.

I'm still getting bad images that have to go through quite a bit of post-processing, like dirt removal and adjustment of levels for the image itself. A friend had proposed that I use flash totally, so it would take away any background problems (because if I use lights from the copystand, the tendency is that I get a horrible background because of the dirt stuck on the velvet cloth).

Ah well. Have to try out the flash some day :)

This is a copystand (Disclaimer: Photograph taken from the internet, it does not belong to me)

Tata, going out now.. bathing first! :)

2011-05-10T17:33:00.000+08:00

Today was another... busy day. Went for a job interview in the morning (the "sai-kang" job), then went to buy my macro lens, and went to the national library to check out a photo exhibition and watched the long-awaited movie RIO. Bought a flash also after that. Phew, so tired...

I've been thinking about macro lens for a super long long time (since secondary 4!) so... I think it is about due time that I really pursue my passion in macro. It wasn't just bought on a whim and fancy. And to complement the macro lens, I thought the flash was really important also and hence the budgeted Nissin Di866 flash! Now need to keep practising. Haha. Now, to live frugally since I've just spent a bomb on photography and diving.

And about Rio -- it was really good... haha! (: The storyline was simple but it was injected with lotsa cute and funny parts which I always enjoy when watching an animation film. It's cute and innocent. It was about these two blue macaws (only of their kind left) and it was scientifically overall not very correct, hehe but nevermind since it is a movie!

Hopefully I get the job if not my June will be quite boring! The job scope seems rather do-able.

2011-05-09T22:48:00.003+08:00

Little plaintain squirrel crossing the road... it froze there for a second to survey its surroundings.

Anyway, today was quite fulfilling!... went in the morning to Hortpark to shoot (again, I know right!) It was quite fun la, got to play with the Nissin flash and helped a friend take photos of various insects, inclusive of 2 really unique damselflies (:

Series of carpenter bee shots

Then went for the Tembusu camp briefing for seniors?? Don't know if I'll be helping out at the moment. Haha I'm super un-rahrah and un-enthusiastic when it comes to camps and cheers and stuff. ): Sob. Oh no hahaha I hope I don't get the butterflies and get all jittery before I shift into Tembusu.. the whole experience at Tembusu will really be different from staying at home.

The coolest part about today was really going for a lecture by Prof. Robert Stavins (a professor from Harvard University in the US) who calls himself an 'environmental economist' ("no, that's not an oxymoron", he quips during the lecture). The topic was 'an economic perspective on climate change policy' -- which I was interested in largely because it was related to climate change, and I wanted to find out how economics has a part to play in policy making in climate change and also more about regulation of greenhouse gases. I thought that he delivered the lecture in a very clear/ understandable manner, even if one did not have knowlege of economics at all (didn't do economics at all in Junior College). He talked about how economics results in climate change policies (hope I'm not getting this wrong), economics as part of the consequence of climate change, externalities of climate change policy, marginal cost of such policy activities, carbon pricing as a solution and he even gave his own take about the environment talks at Copehagen and Cacun... so all of that was rather interesting. He answered the Q&A succintly, too. It was one of the few talks that I've been to where there are so many Q&A questions! Haha. It was really mind-engaging as I struggled to understand every sentence he was saying (sentences definitely packed a punch). I really loved how he organized his slides too... ahh. Okay just very happy about the lecture.

I guess the main takeaway message is that working towards better environmental policies is a gradual process, and countries must not be too ambitious to 'have it all covered' in just one treaty because it simply is not possible. To quote him, the problem of pollution (mainly greenhouse gas emissions) is unlike the problem of CFCs (in the past) and hence it cannot be solved in the same way -- the use of CFCs could very easily be banned because it was largely the product of only a few items (i.e. aerosol sprays/ refrigerators) while cutting pollution is a problem because it is affects far too many parties - the government, the businesses, the people's daily lives. We, the citizens of our planet, all are on the same boat since the atmosphere knows no boundaries - it mixes air evenly, so even as one country emits a lot of greenhouse gases, these gases would, by convection, be spreaded out throughout. But that is not to say we give up hope -- all the sovereign states must strive for better regulated policy to alleviate climate change, to prevent that 2 deg Celsius rise in global mean temperatures.

Also, it was a rude awakening for me since he slammed the fact that some people 'over-hyped' biodiversity conservation as a response to climate change, when there were more immediate needs of people such as starvation due to the inability to grow certain crops for food, lack of potable water, lack of grazing land etc. I don't know now anymore.. shld I still continue to pursue studies in biodiversity? I guess I would need to think about it more, and take this holidays to find out.

Anway, I'll update this post with the link to the lecture if it gets uploaded. Those interested shld really listen! (:

Yes this has been a long post. I'm trying to hone my writing skills. The only way to improve is to keep reading and writing! :) I'm really really cuii at writing - something I realized after I entered university. HAHA!

2011-05-08T22:15:00.000+08:00

Post-exam days have been quite happs.

Kbox with the friends then diving. :) Need to sink back into doing something useful now!

Wow the General Elections are over - aha totaaally missed the action yesterday coz of the dive trip, but it's okay I guess. I shall remain politically apathetic i.e. will not side any party (just on this blog), since I do not know enough and the full picture. I guess I never will also-- unless I've been through every stage of my life to experience what it's like being a Singaporean. I feel that it is unfair to comment about the flaws of the dominant party if on the whole, they've been doing a good job actually *haha okay this is revealing a little of my stance. It is no doubt that no one is infallible anyway. Would the opposition party do even better given their position in parliament and the GRCs -- that is the key question to ask.

Just to summarize my thoughts

It seems like deep in the hearts of many Singaporeans, we still prefer the tried-and-tested party but yet yearn for a more 'democratic' ground but isn't that rather contradictory in a sense? (to me it is) Furthermore, will a democratic party truly work? Democracy strives for equal representation of what the people want- but are the 'wants' of the people so-called rational; and will the result of a 'democractic' government result in the lack of unity within the government hence reducing their efficiency?

Anyway, I'm back from the dive trip cum rescue course at Pulau Dayang. It was really quite a tiring yet exciting trip. Have come back with 4 blisters, abrasions and cuts, and my whole body is aching but the trip was well worth it since Sian and I managed to learn interesting skills that will help others, each other and ourselves when faced with a dangerous situation. Haha it also made me realize that I'm really unfit (sigh) -- I NEED TO EXERCISE MOAR.

The tougher drills were:

1) had to share air underwater - i.e. using one primary regulator between two people just in case both primary and secondary regulators were spoilt,
2) having to fin at the surface of the sea while towing an unconscious diver back to the boat,
3) handling a panicking diver - i.e. you've to literally handle and 'tackle' (if necessary) the panic diver; and to calm him down
4) having to bring an unconscious diver back to shore - i.e. you can't inflat too fast if not both of you will suffer from decompression sickness.
5) CPR & AED & oxygen kit - I'd say CPR is the toughest because of various reasons - for one, it comprises of quite many steps and requires you to think on your feet. Also, in the actual situation, it might be rather gory

The easier skills were like rope throwing, towing a conscious diver (2 methods: holding fin blade and flutter kicking back, or holding the first stage).

The most epic parts were the times where I had to drag Sian up the boat and she had drag me up the beach (for her portion) after towing each other to the boat/to the shore.. Haha it was so hard... but at least we survived it! I guess these skills are useful if we ever dive..

I hope we'l be able to apply the skills when we're faced with such situations in the future.

(:

See you all around. Need to type in proper sentences from now onwardsss.

2011-05-06T14:41:00.000+08:00

Going diving tonight!! (: Yaye, and.. just hope it wld be safe and fine, since this time it's a rescue course dive trip - more stuff to do I guess. Yup so see you guys around!

&& Ahh.. bought a Cath Kidston tshirt from Uniqlo, I like the patterns very much.

2011-05-05T00:59:00.001+08:00

PHEW. Exams are over man.

This semester was a mad rush -- but more enjoyable. It was a mad rush - different from the last semester's?

Hmmm let me think. I can't even remember what I did this semester except to go on more photography trips/Chapelthon/settling some design stuff/ helping alot more with SPACE.

And I had alot more time to study also. Hehe. That is good I suppose.

I need to plan my holiday schedule, think of what modules to take next semester (very impt I guess - depends on whether I'm going to biomed or env bio or cell/mol bio - still quite confused, but inching towards env bio still!)

Let me review my new year's resolution since it is almost mid year.

(1) Buy a web domain & launch a website -- in progress
(2) Learn some programming -- borrowed actionscript book
(3) Kayaking 2 star cert -- maybe in Jul
(4) Study harder. GPA >4.0 -- ER NOT SURE AT ALL. Hopefully exams turn out fine.
(5) Run once everyday (my thigh fats are unsightly) - ran more definitely, about 2-3 times per week
(6) Sleep before 12.30 everyday - NOPE failed miserably, was good at the start of the year tho
(7) Something useful this May-July holidays -- I'll be so bored -- TRYING TO DO SMTH USEFUL
(8) Make a documentary with my friend (: (it's kinda hard since I dont have a proper video-editing software) -- still havent found video-editing software, but do have some video footage. links in with the website
(9) Dive somewhere -- going diving this weekend (:
(10) Abstain from meat/seafood for lunch every day - this is by no means vegetarian -- HM. Failed too. But generally, I didnt eat meat for lunch la, since I hardly ever ate lunch during the semester, not properly at least due to the weird timetable
(11) Get my driver's license (from the looks of it... maybe not) -- YES I GOT MY DRIVING LICENSE!:)
(12) Cook more -- nope had no time to.
(13) Learn about classification of plants & molluscs -- a little i guess? :( but not enough

Just in case youre interested.. this holidays I'm going to
1) DIVE
2) Star 2 kayaking
3) Getting my macro lens/flash - more nature photog
4) Cycle!!
5) Going for sarah's concert
6) Megamarinesurvey
7) Visiting offshore islands at wee hours of the morn
8) Learn actionscript at least
9) Try to do a website
10) Play more guitar - may enrol for classes if I'm feeling too free
11) Prepare for tembusu
12) Going to malacca with my parents for a short getaway
13) Raffles Museum open house
14) Volunteer more @ sungei buloh
15) Maybe I can go for a trip overseas towards the end..
16) Meet up with friends!! Def.

I'm definitely diving more this year - maybe going to Tioman with HK/ and also in Sept with Sian? Havent confirmed it.

Might be
1) Helping out with some camps
2) Getting a job

2011-05-01T01:40:00.002+08:00

This year, I've stepped on far too many toessssssssss :(

2011-04-30T19:31:00.007+08:00

Tiger butterfly from Taiwan

I've realised something about nature photography - it is VERY male dominated!

Anyway, today I took a break- went HORTPARK again, today to see the beautiful butterfly enclosure(: Yaye.

Exams ending on WEDNESDAY (: Hurrahrahrahrahrarah!

Lovely FERN(:

Andddd I am going diving (I think).

CUT MY HAIR TOO, with Sian today at the saloon that Baoxian first introduced, and Fion also went there before. Haha I really like my new short hair, I'm in serious thought to leave my hair short (for a long time), I usually alternate between short & long. :)

HAPPY(:

2011-04-28T22:14:00.001+08:00

Some people just like reflecting more.. hahaha but it can waste alot of time. HAH (ya talking about yours truly)

OK. Anyway.. today was super UNPRODUCTIVE in studying. I was like stoning and zonking out again.. haha need to pull up my socks man. Met people at where we were studying.. haha zestin/robin. Saw NUS/ACJC people too... lol.

Shall just turn in early for tml's long day.

Still, the GE seems to be heating up in Singapore -- everyone seems so hyped and heated about it.

Must there be a vested interest in EVERYTHING?

2011-04-28T13:42:00.001+08:00

"Maybe our paths will eventually diverge, given time: separate by space and the lack of interest."

2011-04-28T11:03:00.001+08:00

HELLO STUDYING.

2011-04-28T00:30:00.002+08:00

1 more paper left (:

SO HAPPY.

OM,YAY

and a nice song(:

2011-04-26T17:31:00.003+08:00

I've been so sedentaryyyyyy literallyyyyyyy wooh.
Sitting too much on the chair just stoning at the computer screen.

I feel like a fish trapped in a tiny-weeny fishbowl! It frustrates meee.

2011-04-25T21:30:00.002+08:00

Phew.. three exams are over now. Left with two...

At least I really don't feel so bad after the papers, and it's really God's grace that pulled me through, and perhaps this semester's modules are not as difficult as last semester (there was chemistry and math last semester, this semester's just geography and biology), so... yes. The papers today weren't so difficult and ZOOGEOMORPHOLOGY CAME OUT, that's something I'm super thankful about. I didn't write very comphrehensively but I think I covered most of the points (though not at depth).

I was having horrible headaches the few days before today's exams actually, to the point that on Sunday I just slept the afternoon-evening away because the headache was getting quite bad. :( On Friday too, I had a really bad headache and I went walking at the canal and the headache was gone.

I'm thankful I'm over that. I need to focus my energy on studying the two left - geog and bio mods, hopefully it will be ok. The worst is over at least. :))

Thanks to all friends who have been encouraging meee, I'm grateful for you guys!! And jiayou for those who are still studying/ exams coming soon, you guys can do it too...

Soon it will be the holidays - hope I will make good use of the time too. Life is short!

Reflection for the day: Do not put two brain-draining (lotsa memorizing) papers on 1 day -- it kills your brain cells (because there's a limit to how much you can memorize). But at least this semester I was smarter not to be last minute in studying (by that I mean I started 1 week ++ before the exams - it helps lol)... and I'm grateful for Sian who studied with me throughout the week, at least I wasn't getting distracted so much by rubbish, like I would be usually at home :)

2011-04-23T01:31:00.004+08:00

I like this song - not really the words. I think it's quite sad actually, for the guy- he's CONFUSED. An analogy of love?? and boomerangs.

& this too:

Find more CLARA C songs at Myspace Music

2011-04-22T01:03:00.001+08:00

WHY ARE DECISIONS HARDER TO MAKE WHEN WE"RE OLDER.

2011-04-21T23:43:00.000+08:00

Twiddlelyhoooooooooooo. So much info so little time.

Anyway. A treehopper tried to pierce its mouthpart into my hand today. Interesting. I know coz there was a slight pain. HAHA.

2011-04-21T21:14:00.000+08:00

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!

Refrain

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Refrain