and yet another year concludes - lets start.


there's a lot of things i feel like typing down, so i'll try to organise my thoughts as coherently as possible.

---

i'll begin with special semester, part I.

took the EU history mod, figured it would be doable since i fancied history in general (and EU modern history was sort of a new area for me to venture into).

well it was doable and i scored decently, but i have reached at a particular juncture where it isn't good enough anymore so there goes my zero SU challenge.

that aside, i made one or two new friends and i'm pretty okay with it given the short 6 weeks available.

also, i liked the professor's quirkiness and his mode of presentation; if only engineering lecturers followed a similar style to it, absorbing and understanding the concepts would be so much more palatable and easier. alas, i know i know, engineering stuff are all numbers and logic, and 'dryness' is inevitable for the most part.

i believe i did mention that sem 2 results were released while this module was in progress, so yeah it kinda dampen my mood slightly (which is something i got to learn how to suppress better).

never thought that graded take-home assignments would be my downfall now huh, gary?
----
with that, part II begins.

this time round, a law module disguised as a business mod (gem).


professor was sublime, enjoyed her lessons well (although going to campus on a saturday for lessons is sort of odd[the last time i have to attend classes on a saturday was during college days, oh boy]) got to say though that the grading/'scoring' criteria is nothing short of cutthroat (as to be expected in a class of just 30).

met another same batch chem eng student as well and he's a pretty cool guy, 10/10 in my books.

you sort of know that a lecturer has taught well when the concept still sticks with you even way after the course has ended. i can still quote specific subsections straight from the various acts!

am rather curious about her book on copyright acts; if it isn't too expensive i would like to fancy a read. perhaps a stop to the law campus coop is in order?

---

with that, i say farewell to 2 years of special semester - i don't think ill be doing any more of it already which is a real shame since i liked how quiet and peaceful the campus is when it is during vacation period.

---

and thus we return full circle to semester 1.

can't say it isn't bad, in fact im pretty cool with it, all within acceptable losses.

but i got to say that unless i change my modus operandi, i will be hitting a glass ceiling sooner than i think.

i hope my luck is still enough to persist for another 5 semesters! ha.

---

i think its right about time i should initiate an internship in the next semester break (that 3/4 months break) since it is unlikely that i need to accelerate any further (only 1 UEM slot left).

i hope my contacts can still remember me though, hopefully my work back then was to their standards at least.

otherwise, a visit to the career fair would work too; i'm still thankful that i bothered to tag along with some friends to the career fair (as a year 1 idiot) to see what exactly it is about, and there were quite a fair bit of internship positions being offered.

i'll make the first strike before nus does.

---

oh and i cleared my piano exams during spec sem as well. (straight after a test in the morning, no less ha)

well color me surprised when the results were out, the score was right on the dot; not one more, not one less either.

granted its just grade 2 (i mean come the fuck on gary, even primary students can do it without making a fuzz), but lets see if i can take this to grade 5 by the time i graduate.

i just want to finish what i wanted when i was ignorant and young.

---

the thought of going overseas to study for a semester had crossed my mind during the course of this semester; some of my friends (i think i can call them that now since i feel at ease most, if not all of the time) decided that

the idea of going overseas is something i fancy, but there were three major negatives for me-

1. my cap isn't exactly top notch (subject to debate i know) and
2. you still have to study there (it's not a GET OUT OF STUDYING LOL PARTY 24/7 card)
3. its just expensive (since i'm not going to get any funds from nus anyway); sure my parents are paying for it, but i shouldn't be a complete dick and ask them for ten thousands just for my own whim and fancy.

all things considered, it feels like you can't really appreciate and enjoy the country you're visiting anyway since you're more or less bogged down in their campus so i figured it would be better to save that money instead, and possibly use it for holidays (or in my case, buy games to relax and chill at home, ha).

to each his own though, i can understand why some would want to go and i would support them in doing so.

---

speaking of overseas, went to turkey for about 12 days for a holiday.

pretty cool, only downside i can think of is its biting cold which left my lips cracking and the occasional nose bleed too [my nose has never bled once in singapore, as a reference].

visited a fair bit of historic sites, ranging from ruins to remnants of cities, including amphitheaters, temples, aqueducts and mosques.its like as if i was in a game of civilization v!

its aesthetically pleasing, and an engineering/architectural feat no less back in those days.

the stories behind the rise and fall of the romans, the byzantines and ultimately ottomans (leading to the formation of the modern turkish republic) are nothing short of interesting as well (scandals that put modern day scandals to shame).

i guess turkey strikes me as unique due to how it deals with religion, and how it deals with the whole eastern/western influences.

lets start with the easier one on influences.

turkey's sandwiched between the east and the west, as most would know.

the conundrum lies in designating it as either an eastern or western country since turkey has lands which spans between the two (so much so that the EU itself is also unsure if it should allow turkey into the union; lol that module sure helps huh).

but it deals with the influences well as it simply picks the best both sides have to offer (western technology/modernization, eastern philosophy/beliefs) thereby creating a unique identity for itself.

on the matter of religion, turkey's predominantly muslim.

the key difference being that its still overall secular in the sense that it does not restrict people from choosing to practice whatever faith he/she wants to, and that i feel is unique in a muslim country.

also, it also highlights that different religions can co-exist even in large countries (and not just singapore).

---

i guess i don't share the same level of buzz as most do with regards to the new year ; i simply see it as just another day in life.

sure, time and time again you see those viral articles like 'top __ resolutions to make for 20xx' and whatnot.

i guess they don't work for me, since i only need one, and have already one since last year, and its still working for me.

moreover, whats the point of having a resolution if you haven't even try to do it in the preceding year anyway?

i suppose its more of a psychology thing (which i do not intend to delve into detail) to many people.

or it could just be that i'm becoming more jaded. who knows? ha.

well, one year closer to your death gary, congrats!

---

on that same note, modern music no longer cuts it for me; i'm just tired of hearing songs on the radio that has 'party', 'fun', and other variation of similar types.

guess i'm getting too old for this huh, gary?

---

anyway i found yet another great pianist again by the name of mina kubota.

one of her piano solos titled 旅立ちの風 is calming. its like forgetting everything and attaining inner peace (at least for me).

i took a look at the sheet music and i think that i'll probably need at least half a year before i can probably play it, although not as good as herself of course ha.

its like as if piano is a CCA to me! (one man CCA that is, haha).

---

having undergone a year+ in piano, i feel that it was the right choice to undertake this commitment.

it has definitely served in providing a sanctuary for myself to take refuge in, and also in providing some sense of calm to me.

---

on the issue of understanding myself better, i am still nowhere close to a definitive answer.

i don't have much time left though before i officially plunge myself into the working world, which by then would be a tad too late in my opinion.

---

there's no time like the present gary, lets go and do your best again.

 

and as with everything, have fun!