MKT1003 Principles of Marketing: Attendence was higher than usual. The lecturer went through the past year exam papers, which was filled with some political humour, which names such as Jok Tong Co (say it out loud and you should know who), as she wanted us to have fun when taking the exams lol. She was quite funny as she spotted a group of people who came in late in the lecture and sat in front, and she said, “Hey, how come I never seen you all before? Must be pontang all the lessons right?” She also gave intro about Marketing courses in NUS and the job prospects, as well as some pep talk. There was an applause at the end after she ended with some encouragement messages.

CS1101 Programming: it was a short lecture and ended an hour earlier. He went through some concepts not tested in the exam and told us about what’s next for 1102 and other courses. Although he was a good lecturer, he did not give much pep talk and lecture ended quietly.

GEK2020 Film Art: He tried to finish as much of what he wanted to cover as possible, this time at a faster pace. I enjoy all his lectures, as they were filled with passion and enthusiasm about the subject. It’s quite funny sometimes to see him “hopping” around with enthusiasm as he teaches. Nevertheless, he has exposed us to a wide variety of film techniques and film art. No pep talk, no applause. But I would wish to give him one myself. However, the lecture ended on an unusual solemn note as he played the ending sequence of the Titanic movie. The flute-based soundtrack of Titanic playing in the background as people left the LT made the ambience very sad and nostalgic.

EC1301 Principles of Economics: The last lecture topic was quite relevant - Currency Exchange and Balance of Payments. She also give a brief explanation on the economic crises at the end, such as the 1997 Asian Financial crisis, and the current sub-prime-mortage-sparked crisis. Finally, she gave a closure, inspired us to take more Economics modules, as well as gave a small pep talk. She said that we should be optimistic about the economy, continue to spend, trust in the system and the Govt, and continue to upgrade ourselves with skills and knowledge to survive in the economy. With that, there was applause at the end.

CS1231 Discrete Mathematics: The last topic on graph theory was more light and less straining. As usual, he managed to finish the lecture earlier and he gave some pep talk. It was literally his last lecture in NUS, as he is leaving to work somewhere else. That’s kinda sad, as he studied in NUS and worked in NUS for the past 10 years or so of his life. He said that life is not just about studying (which he has mentioned a few times during previous lectures), which is very true of course, and we should learn to pick up soft skills to distinguish ourselves from others as we study in NUS. This is to help us secure jobs better, as grades are not everything that an employer looks for. He also elaborated and said we should learn good public speaking in 2 types, one is the usual formal presentation kind of public speaking, as well as making small talk. Small talk is important especially in the business world where transactions are sometimes made through informal settings such as wedding dinners. With that, he encouraged us to do well and lecture ended. No applause though.

读书识字，多长见识。

能写会算，是件好事。

知今知古，知天知地。

东南西北，四方天地。

春夏秋冬，一年四季。

风霜雨雪，事事在意。

尊长爱幼，重情重意。

彬彬有礼，有规有矩。

人生在世，要有志气。

学业有成，为国出力…

I’ve been here before, now here I am again
Standing at the door, praying You’ll let me back in
To label me a prodigal would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be

Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace

I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become

I focused on the score, but I could never win
Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin
To label me a hypocrite would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be

Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become

Make every step lead me back to
The sovereign way that You

Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become

——

Just came back from Pasir Ris Park outing with church. Had cs1101 practical exam yesterday, I think it was easy and do-able, which means the bell curve will suffer. This week is the last week of school…and 2 more weeks to exams! grrr. Must start mugging. And yes, all my major projects finished long ago, got an A- for marketing. Speaking about which, I saw some other group who also did Red Bull and they poured Red Bull cans into a tray of plastic cups to serve the class. lol, we only bought a few bottles to give free. haha. Hopefully my film art tutor and lecturer will like our Steps short film.

We are appalled to learn of the ungracious behaviour of the said Customer Service Officer(CSO) towards you on 29 September.  Please accept our sincere apologies for the service lapse.

As frontliners, it is crucial for our CSO to provide good customer service at all times.  Clearly, the uncalled-for remarks made by the said CSO as described in the feedback are unacceptable.

Following completion of our investigation into the incident, appropriate action has since been taken against the mentioned CSO.  He was reminded to be mindful of his mannerisms when interacting with customers and to be considerate and courteous towards them at all times.

We have also advised the CSO to be tactful when advising passengers regarding the ‘No eating and drinking’ regulation.  I am sure that passengers will co-operate when informed of the regulation politely by our CSO.

Haha. Of course, it is much more than that. Just some of the things which I observed and learnt in my film art module.

I just watched Eric Khoo’s “My Magic”. It is a simple straightforward and touching film and makes you feel for the characters even within the short and simplistic story. It is quite heartwarming and sad at the end but also quite meaningful of a father’s love, although I expected the story to be longer. And it is interesting that most of the movie is in Tamil, and the only understandable language was the bits of Hokkien/Teochew, and today is Deepavali. Hope it gets some recognition or prize in the Oscars which Singapore is going to submit this film to it.

Hence I wrote feedback to LTA regarding the problem, and they call me the next day! I was quite surprised by their fast response. The person said they will look into the matter, and said that constructing a shortcut path will be too steep, thus they will see if can build a stairs there and let me know.
Haha. much better than SBS Transit who doesn’t even reply to my recent feedback -.-

—

In other news, finally all my mid-terms and major projects are over! =D Less stress and workload, except for the short film. However, I didn’t really do very well for the mid-terms, mostly got B…how to get a good CAP like that? But my Marketing Presentation regarding Red Bull got an A, which we are quite happy about, given our tutor’s high standards. We spent quite a bit of effort in preparing for the presentation and case analysis, and we had to wear nice formal wear on that day. We even bought Red Bull cans to give out free during our presentation! lol. I was quite nervous on that day itself, and I think my hands were trembling as I spoke. Nevertheless, my tutor wrote on the feedback that I’m quite a good presenter, and did not use any unnecessary words such as “Er/Ah”, “Basically”, “Actually” etc. I guess the PW and CCA in JC trained me well. heh.

My Film Art mid term was quite interesting, as the lecturer screened a music video of Madonna’s “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” and we were supposed to analyse its use of film techniques such as long take. On a sidenote, I quite like this subject, and I think that my lecturer quite interesting…He perspires quite a lot during lecture, possibly due to the high excitement. lol. But he’s good and the subject is interesting.

—

I think I quite like Wong Kar-Wai’s films especially as expressed in Chungking Express. The ideas of fate, chance encounters and coincidence is very real in the real world, especially in school. We wave and say hi to friends every day, (or poke people on Facebook) but how many of these relationships are transcendent? Most of the friendships that we make are transient, however, the memories that we have are everlasting.

Sometimes, you walk past friends whom we know previously, but you don’t even bother to say ‘Hi’, because the person is not significant enough for you to bother to do so, or because it has been so long since you interacted with the person so you wonder if he still remembers you, or you can’t remember if the person is really the same person you met an some orientation event last time. And then sometimes, some people say ‘Hi’ to you, and they are actually pretty insignificant in your lives now, and you forgot when you met this person the last time, or you confuse him/her with another person. And then it will also happen when your friends previously made in secondary school or JC are in the very same place that you are right now, whether is it the canteen or the lecture theatre, but you did not sense their presence and/or have no chance to meet them, or you can’t be bothered to open your eyes, lift up your hand and make a wave. What an irony. And it happens even more in university as we will meet a lot of acquaintances. Maybe one day I should make a short film about this.

—

I spent quite a lot the past two weeks, eating a few meals at restaurants, cos of friend’s birthday and also chris who came back from australia for two weeks. Grr. We went to a nice jap restaurant at Robertson Quay, called Zen, and the food is very nice. It is quite unique and different from other Jap restaurants.

Khooty’s birthday party was held at some HomeTeamNS chalet, which was quite ulu. After the food and cake, we played Polar Bear, the typical uni orientation game, although those who did not attend orientation did not know the game. hahaha.

And my cousin-in-law just gave birth to a new born baby boy!

Last week, I went to watch a play by the Singapore Repertory Theatre called “BOOM”. It was about the en-bloc housing issues in Singapore, including housing of the alive, and of the dead. It was quite funny, albeit over-exaggerated Singlish, showing both sides of the scenario. It was not too bad, although my friends think it lacked depth and should have talked more about its implications instead of just showcasing the issue.

It was quite expensive too, at $35, plus the monopolistic $3 SISTIC fee. Perhaps ticket prices are the reason why this kind of artsy stuff are not taking off in Singapore. However, there’s some sponsorship by Keppel to subsidise certain day tickets to $20.

——

On Monday, after my econs mid-term, I was on the train at Harbourfront MRT at about 8.30pm. Seated down, I was taking a sip of plain water, when the green staff from SBS Transit walked past. He spotted me drinking and told me off rudely as if he’s my CSM. The conversation goes something like this:

Staff: Hey boy, cannot drink on the train, you know or not?
Me (after gulping my water down): “oh sorry sorry.”

Then, seemingly still doubtful, he stared at me and repeated,
You cannot drink on the train, do you know or do you not know?

Me (stunned): “ya ya ya sorry sorry”

Actually, I was apologetic because I have heard of cases where people have been fined on the spot. Hence I did not say any futher to reduce the risk of me being fined.

I should have added, do you have to be so rude? Plain water also cannot?

The Wednesday before the race, I went to explore the track with Jere. We had lunch at Marina Square food court, which was very quiet. There was a nice view of the city and a little of the track. Then, we walked to the Flyer, and found out that we could walk on the road/track without any special VIP pass! Initially, we thought need to have some special pass to walk lol. We had some fun trying to walk towards the pit/grandstand, but was stopped by security. We continued the other direction towards Esplanade. Along the way, we saw 2 drivers cycling round and round, one of them was David Coulthard..haha. We also saw the kerbs, chicane and some BMW vehicles with sirens parked along the road. There were a few other Singaporeans and tourists walking and jogging around too. We walked around the Marina Bay grandstand, across Esplanade Bridge, and exited at the hairpin turn when a security guard chased us away. See the photos I uploaded here.

On Friday, I watched the practice on TV. It was boring after a while as the cars go round and round.

On Saturday, I went to Marina Square to catch a glimpse of the race with Jere and Xiang Yu. We tried to catch a glimpse from the second floor when it began. Only managed to see some cars zooommm pass. From the Carls’ Junior entrance, it was extremely deafening as the engines roared under the Marina Square’s bridge/tunnel, and the echoes amplifies the sound multiple times. It was piercing and I wonder how people eat!

We walked further down and saw many people making good use of the gaps in the black canvas sheet. It was quite a good view actually, save for the black canvas. There was lots of people on a staircase near Pan Pacific and the bridge to Suntec City too. It was quite exciting to be there to see and hear the action. We also walked to National Library and saw the night scene and some of the cars zooming by. It is also interesting to note that when the cars change gear, they go ‘boom boom boom’ like firecrackers or fireworks.

On Sunday, I watched the final race at Jere’s house. It was exhilarating. For two hours, our eyes were glued to the screen as we see accident after accident, safety car after safety car. It was also nice to see our skyline being in the background, and the StarSports commentator constantly boasting about our landmarks. Makes me feel proud of Singapore. The race itself was exciting and unexpected too, quite satisfying for a noob to F1 like me. At least they don’t go round and round. They crash. lol. And when the first crash happened at the bay grandstand, many people (typical Singaporeans?) rushed down to the front to take a look.

The next day, headlines all over the world talk about us. One of the most interesting reports was in new paper, about a Singaporean finding a steering wheel in a dustbin but was forced it to throw it back into the dustbin lol.

Hopefully, we will put up a greater show next year. And hopefully, the heartlanders will be involved more, as this year, some Singaporeans don’t really care or know.

It seemed like yesterday was orientation. There was a variety of activities with Mid Autumn Festival just passed, as well as finishing nuSTUDIOS Film School. Just had my CS1231 Logic Quiz, and it was very tough. However, I managed to pass it, which is quite amazing.

There is not much of a break when everything seems to be pressing for time. There’s programming lab assignment, marketing project, film art project, and not forgetting 4 mid-term tests spread over 1-3 weeks after the break. And plus catching up with friends and all. Sigh.

Just went to play badminton and table tennis with my airforce mates today. I have not played badminton for ages, and always thought I could not play well as I can never hit the shuttlecock well. Surprisingly, it was not that bad after all. I was able to return the shuttlecock most of the time, and only had problems serving the ‘correct’ way. Had a good workout.

Now I’m struggling the stupid programming lab assignment, which is taking up a lot of time. And need to study for econs…

I remember the last movie we watched
We watched it as a family
The only thing I remember
Was that you like the music from it
And it was Royston Tan’s 881.

I remember the last tour we went
We went to Taiwan with Aunt Jo
The only thing I remember
Was probably the happiest photo I’ve ever taken of you.

I remember my 21st birthday
But you were not around to celebrate with us
I remember the last Chinese New Year
But the family reunion dinner was not much of a reunion.

I remember the last night
I went to Bliss cafe with my friends
The only thing I remember
Was that I did not get to say my last ‘Good Night’ to you.

I remember on this day last year
You left us for a better place
The only hope I have is in God
And to see you once again in future.