Internship Day One

Just a 'brief' description of how my day was:

I woke up at 5.11am, surprisingly... without the help from my friendly neighbour - yongxin (who himself slept until 6+ before waking up)... Had cereal + strawberry + milk for breakfast... After getting ready for everything, I went out to wait for bus at about 7.23am. I was suppose to report in at 8.30am. The office is situated at HarbourFront Tower One. The whole journey took me about 20mins, as traffic was smooth flowing without much jam.

I arrived at the place together with the receptionist and he opened the door for me bcoz I haven't got my access card yet. I sat at sofa at the lobby, and whilst waiting for time to pass, I watch abit of financial news on TV (I think it's Bloomberg - the default channel for the tv)... At 8.30am, the Learning & Development Manager - Lynette showed up and brought us to a conference room whereby we would have our orientation. There were 6 interns: 4 from NTU and 2 from NUS. She gave us a file each with the powerpoint slides in it, and then she started her 'lecture'. After finishing the introduction, and also abit of logistic matters, we (the 6 of us) proceeded to the Jurong Island Pass Office by cab to get our passes done. Initially I didn't know why we had to apply for the Jurong Island Entry Pass as the 5 of us are based in HarbourFront, with only the odd one - the other guy from NUS who is doing Chem Eng having to work at the plant at Jurong island. Apparently we'll be having a 2nd round of 'orientation' somewhere in mid June where all of us would get a chance to visit the plant(s) in Jurong island. I guess it'll be a good experience for us to at least know how Jurong island is and also how the plant looks like, rather than to just work in HarbourFront and know totally nothing about what's going on on the other side.

After we got our passes done, we cabbed back to vivo city and we had our lunch at the Kopitiam foodcourt at the basement level. I had 排骨王饭 at an affordable price of $4? $4.50? Maybe I should apply for the privilege card, so that I'll be entitled for 20% discount, since I think I might end up having lunch quite frequently over there. We then went back to the office and looked for the lady to settle some issues. After we've gotten all the logistic matters settled, every one of us proceeded to our respective workstations. I'm situated at the 17th floor, with another girl (enterprise risk mgt) and another guy (physical trading). 2 girls (marketing and call centre) are posted at the 16th floor, and the poor guy had to cab to Jurong island by himself (but luckily the cab fares are claimable, so not too bad la... HAHA...)

It all started to become kikshou from here onwards. Last week, my manager already informed me that I'll be attached to my supervisor and that she herself would be on leave today, so the supervisor would take care of my needs. Today, my supervisor called for MC, and so I'm like a 'dragon without a head'. I don't know what to do, apart from getting my PC set up. I'm impressed that the company has their own IT division where u call the extension and they'll answer all your queries. If they can't solve it through the phone, they'll send someone on-site to go to your place and fix the problem for you. After setting up everything, it's still only 2.30pm... What am I supposed to do for the remaining 3hrs? And so I started fb-ing, google-ing... and also checking out the company's intranet and reading some info about the company. And at 5.30pm sharp, everybody left the office, and this implies that their working hrs are 8am-5.30pm. Actually my company has staggered working hrs, and so by right everyone shouldn't end work at the same time but according to your own preference. You can come in as early as 7.30am and end at 5pm, or you can come in at 9.30am and end at 7pm. Actually I didn't what time I should come in the next day, but the person who briefed me was occupied talking to the VP for Corporate Services. Luckily the lady sitting next to me started chatting with me, and I asked her what's our working hrs, and she said a very affirmative 8am. So I guess I'll have to reach there by 8am tmr morning, just to give a good impression on the '1st' day of work. Hopefully my manager or/and supervisor will show up tmr, if not I'll spend my whole day doing nothing (and get sleepy/drowsy/sian).

P/s: I think I'll bring my mug to work tmr so I can help myself with all the beverages available. 8am-5.30pm it is!

Today

I started my 'day' at 1pm when i was awake by a phone call, from an unfamiliar/unknown number. The 1st thing i thought of was could this be an interview call-up? I'd better get up from bed and answer this call. If this number was a number that I know, e.g. weili, then I would just answer the phone call for a while and continue sleeping. Anyways, it was an anti-climax in the end. It was a call from my dad. Full Stop.

Went to have lunch at YIH by myself coz I wanna buy ink cartridge coz my printer ran out of ink already. And I have to print out some application forms to fill in before I go for an interview next Wednesday. Suddenly I had a crave for Nasi Padang today, but it was not my day coz they ran out of beef rendang. Damn... Then I went to IT Co-op, and ended up buying more stuffs than I planned to. A 3 pin plug extension, a pair of hemisphere thingy for you to stick underneath your laptop to tilt it for better ventilation purposes (my laptop has been shutting down by itself mysteriously, must be the over-heating), and of coz the ink cartridge.

Then I spent my whole day applying for internships through the NUS Career Services eJob Center. Okay, maybe 'applying' wasn't the best word to use. It should be SPAMMING internship applications. I think I spammed almost 50 internship applications, just for today, which is almost equivalent to the total amount that I applied for the past 1 month or so since I started applying actively since the beginning of March.

Anyways, my mom keeps on saying that I couldn't get any internships coz I'm fat, which portrays an image of laziness, indiscipline, lethargicness, and the list goes on and on and on... Well, maybe she's right so I thought to myself that maybe it's time to do something. And I went for a jog just now. Here are some data to keep track on my progress:

Distance covered: 3.469km (just a mere estimation using google maps distance calculator)

Time clocked: 34mins 45secs (not close to any competitive time, but who cares?! after all it's just an unfit me trying to start exercising since i-don't-remember-when)

Weight before jog: 108.9kg

Weight after jog: 106.3kg

There must be some kind of error here. Although my weight fluctuates like the stock market prices, but 2.6kg weight loss after just slightly more than half and hour's jog, or rather "brisk-but-not-very-brisk walking"???!!! It's either my weighing scale is fucked up, which is rather new, or that I'm fucked up. But looking at my luck and aura, most probably I'm the one who's fucked up, and I hope that I'm fucked up (at least in this context). I shall experiment again tmr to ensure that it's no fluke.

Internships: A Pain in the Arse(nal)

Internships Applied (To-Date): 64 and increasing

Interviews Went: 7

Internships Rejected: 4

Internships Secured: "NAH-thing" a.k.a. zero = 0

Note: Internships Rejected is the internships is that I got rejected, not the ones that I reject after securing the offer (as if I secured any before, duh...).

I just wonder how many job applications will I have to send and how many job interviews do I have to attend before I finally secure my 'dream' job? Well, just keep on dreaming... Coz the day you stop dreaming is the day that you lose hope... The force is strong within you... Be strong, my friend!

I am fucked up

Yes, seriously, I am fucked up... When people are busy studying for the finals, which is just around the corner, I'm still applying for internships and going for interviews. Yes, you heard me... I am still applying for internships... and the day I stop applying for internship is the day that I actually secure my internship for the summer break (or even longer). 3 weeks more before most of the internship positions start. I thought I was being last minute when I started applying for internships in March, but apparently they are even more last minute than me.

Ok, I had this interview last Wed with a Marketing company... The one that asked about my CAP. Anyways, they told me that the results will be out by Friday... last Friday, but till now I haven't heard from them yet... It kinda makes me wonder why ppl in the business industry always don't keep to their promises... If u really don't want to hire, can you at least take the courtesy to inform me. If you don't want to deal with me, then just let the BBA Career Services Center know, and they'll change my application status from 'pending' to 'rejected', so I don't have to think about of you anymore.

Next interview on Sunday with also another Marketing company via skype video call. And I can say this was the toughest interview that I've went through. They gave me a situational question, i.e. "how do you promote fishball in China?". I was seriously stunned... After talking cock for sometime, I requested for time-out to regroup my thoughts, and they kindly gave me 3 mins for me write down what I should cock about for the remainder of the interview session. They were screwing me non-stop for almost half an hour. For everything I said, they just somehow had to screw regardless of whether my point was valid anot. Soon, it changed into something like a debate match, rather than an interview session.

I'm going for another interview tmr for an HR position. I just hope that everything goes well. Wish me luck...

FIN3101 Test 2 (40%)

Today had my FIN3101: Corporate Finance Test 2(Final) at 9am. Didn't sleep the whole night. Couldn't say I was mugging non-stop, but I actually put in the effort for the final push (as if I pushed it along sial). Anyways, nth was coming... I couldn't focus. My thoughts weren't right. I was thinking of something else. Oh my, this is really bad, bearing in mind this is the 2nd time I'm taking the module. Yes, I failed this module last sem coz I was back stabbed and of coz I did badly in the tests too. So, I thought to myself to just forget everything, and start afresh. Hopefully I can sail through smoothly this time round.

Once I step into the LT, I just had a bad feeling that the final would be very difficult. And just as expected, it WAS indeed extremely fucking difficult. Maybe I lack preparation. But even ppl who prepared thoroughly still felt that the paper was very difficult. Some questions I really don't know how to answer. I answered quantitative questions qualitatively. I didn't know what to do. I just tried to "fill up all the blanks" to make paper look less empty. I even wrote a PM to the prof in answer sheet for one of the questions. Pls don't think I'm joking. This is real. Here it goes:

Dear Prof XXXXX,
Can you pls be lenient abit? I don't want to fail this module AGAIN. This is already the 2nd time I'm taking this module. I really don't want to take his mod for a 3rd time. I would be deeply grateful to you if you just let me pass. Even a 'D' will do. God bless you....

Actually I was still unsure I would actually write this down, but in the end I did, but I hope that the Prof won't deduct my marks for writing a letter to her under the answers column. Maybe she'd just give me a big, red cross and just throw my answers into the rubbish bin. I don't know why I'm emo-ing this time round. It's not like I haven't done badly before in exam before. Maybe it's because that it's the 1st time I'm retaking a failed module and I'm extremely desperate to clear it this time round. But come to think of it, I'm seriously not meant for finance. I don't know whether I have a choice of not doing a specialization at all and just graduate with a breadth BBA degree...

Jacky Cheung Interview

Was just randomly surfing youtube the whole afternoon, then I came across this series of videos about Jacky Cheung talking about his latest album - Private Corner







And just to end this post on a good note, here's the MV for his main single of his latest album - 迷你 a.k.a. "Stuck On You". Hope you'll enjoy it! =)

KR Hall Production 2010 - Telling Tales, Living Dreams

Yesterday I went for Kent Ridge (KR) Hall's annual production, which as usual, was in the form of a musical. Overall, I felt that this year's production was better that last year's one. Why do I say so? Well, the reason is quite evident as I didn't fell asleep during this year's hall prod. Oooops... Sorry, no disrespect to the ppl last year, but the plot last year was just way too confusing to my (or anyone else's) liking. Anyways, back to the main point Erm...

This year they got singers to act, instead of asking actors to sing. Actually I'm a big fan of musicals, I do enjoy watching musicals, be it in a theater, or in a cinema. I just love it. But, for a musical to be successful, the people who are acting and singing, must actually act and sing well. LOL. But in reality, it's very difficult to find these kind of ppl, especially in NUS, so when you have to decide which to give and which to take, you should always take singers. Coz I believe that the acting part can be trained. And when line-up boast of all powerful singers, nobody really bothers whether they really can act or not, or whether they are able to fully portray the details of their respective characters or not. When even the weakest singer (not really weak weak, but just in comparison among the other singers) sings better than WeiLi, you know that they mean business this time round. Don't play play. FYI, if you don't know who's WeiLi, you can leave me a comment and I'll intro him to you. For those who know him, well, I guess you all should know where he stands. =) Seriously, I think among all the Halls of Residences, only KR is able to put up a musical production. I tried imagining Eusoff having a musical production, instead of our usual dance production, but I just can't find the numbers to make it up.

But I still have some constructive comments to raise regarding last night's performance. I am very dissatisfied of their lyrics in songs. Sometimes, they just try to hard to put in too many words in too little spaces, which results in the person mumbling and we, as the audience really can't make up what the hell they are singing/talking/rapping. Seriously, pls try to space em out nicely la. Coz firstly, the pronounciation of the words are already not really very good, unlike ang mohs, when you can easily tell what they are talking/singing about. But, as non native speaking people like us - asians, it's just abit weird, difficult to hear.

Britney's singing improved compared to her performance last year. Last year, she sang well (which was one of the actors that actually can sing), but just sometimes instead of letting it all out, there's this somewhat imaginary barrier where her projection couldn't cut through, therefore resulting in 'covered' voice. But this year, this problem wasn't there anymore. Well done! Btw, I don't know her personally, but I just happen to recognise her from last year's production.

Another person that deserves special mentioning is Stephanie a.k.a. Miss Mirror a.k.a. Mdm M. She is really the show stopper, and by far the most outstanding performer in the musical. On a side note, she's my dancing partner (yes, i danced in my concert) in Jazz Band. And to me, she's already the ultimate performer - a person who can sing, dance and act equally well. Fan-Tars-Tic! I foresee that she'll be in KR's production for many years to come (not really that many, the most 4 yrs).

I Could Write A Book

If they asked me

I could write a book

About the way

You walk and whisper

And look

I could write a preface

On how we met

So the world

Wouldn't never forget

Then the simple secret

Of the plot

Is just to tell them

That I love you a lot

Then the world discovers

As my book ends

How to make two lovers of friends

This was one of the songs that I performed for my Jazz Band Concert. A different version though. Hope you'll enjoy it.

It's Over, At Last

It's over, at last... Today I went for my last session of physiotherapy in NUH, which means that I do that have to go there anymore every week. Although I still have to go for my final orthopaedic appointment in June. Hopefully by then I am already working (doing my internship), if not then it's jialat already. I fell asleep during my physio session just now. There was this one exercise where I had to lie face down on the treatment bed/table, and lift my arms with 5 lbs of weight. I had to do 3 reps of 10 for 2 different exercises. When I finish, the physiotherapist wasn't back yet and so I decided to just laze on the bed and I accidentally fell asleep. When I woke up it was already half an hour later, and yet the physiotherapist isn't here. I think it doesn't seem quite right so I went out of the room to look for her. She was in her office, and she asked me to go to the gym and do some other exercise and come back to look for after I'm done. After finishing all the exercises that she assigned, she said that I'm right on track to recovery and that she can discharge me already. I thanked her for her services and said goodbye to her. Hopefully, I won't meet her anymore, at least not for physio sessions. Well, I don't mind having lunch or dinner though. LOL, just kidding...

Anyways, here's a sneak peak of Jacky Cheung's latest album - Private Corner. And here's my favourite song of the whole album - Double Trouble. Hope you'll enjoy it!

歌神张学友发新片了！

已经退隐江湖多年的歌神--张学友发新片了，专辑是《Private Corner》，音乐曲风大部分以爵士为主。如果你有兴趣要下载他的专辑的话，你可浏览这个网站：http://www.z-degrees.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=51367。歌神果然是歌神，金盆洗口后现在重出江湖，嗓子还是保养得如此的好，可说是报刀未老，只是近黄昏，夕阳无限好！说到爵士音乐，就让小弟先为自己的音乐会做一点点地宣传。

我将于下个星期六，三月十三日，晚上八时正，在新加坡国立大学的University Cultural Centre Hall和新加坡国大爵士乐队一起演出。由于今年是新加坡国大爵士乐队成立的十五周年，所以这个音乐会将会是一个非常大的喜庆。我们还特地叫毕业多年的校友们归队，跟我们一起同台演出，让我们把最好的一面呈现给大家。此外，我们今年的主题是以孔子为主。那到底爵士音乐跟孔子有什么关系呢？看起来好像是两个完全扯不上的东西，是吗？我先卖个关子，你们要亲自来观赏和感受那么别出心裁的演出咯！所以我敬请身在新加坡的同志们可以来捧场。我保证你们肯了以后都会喜欢，不论你是否懂音乐，因为演出实在是太精彩了。入场票只是十三块新币而已，如果有兴趣的就跟我联络吧！谢谢！

Surprise of the day: Wang Wang

Today, out of the blues, my Form 6 Maths teacher - Mr Wang, came and find me for a chat on facebook. I think I just added him on facebook yesterday or today. His 1st question was a shocker - "Are u in UK now?". Actually I've known Mr Wang for quite some time already, and I remembered I went to his house for tuition since Form 1 together with a friend of mine. And later she did went to UK and study, so he must've thought I also would study in UK after I finish my STPM. Seriously, UK is way too expensive and honestly, I've never thought of studying my undergrad in UK. It's way out of my radar. For me, it was either HK or Sg, and I chose Sg in the end due to the serious pollution in HK as I'm asthmatic.

I knew he was the teacher advisor for Chess Club, and I always wanted to challenge him to a game of Chess. But till now, I've never fulfill this promise. Someday, somehow, I'll play Chess against him. And hopefully I can win him, although this possibility is rather low as I've not been training consistently for such a long time. LOLz.

Apparently her daughter just sat for STPM and got fantastic results - 4As and is now deciding which uni to apply for and which course to take. His daughter applied for HKU and also NUS la. And she wants to do Pharmacy or Chemical Engineering, which is 2 of the toughest courses to get into, apart from Medicine and Dentistry, and of course not forgetting Business, at least in my opinion. I'm pretty sure she'll do well, as long as she keep her feet firmly on the ground, balance her time between studies and CCAs.

2 songs to summarize CNY and Valentine's Day

Hmm... just want to summarize this CNY with 2 songs of my choice, just to describe how kikshou this CNY is for me. Frist up, we have "Eye of the Tiger", just to celebrate the "Year of the Tiger". How absurd would it be for the tiger without its eyes. So, here it is:

Ok, so after listening to this song that's kinda old school, it's time for something more kikshou, and modern. The next song is "Girlfriend" by Hanjin a.k.a. 陈奂仁, who is a singer/music producer/composer from Sg but is based in HK. He has worked with several famous artiste like Sammi Cheng, Eason, etc (can't rmb others but i think Jacky Cheung also).

So, for those who doesn't have a girlfriend, it's time to get 1. If you already have 1, pls stop at 1. Here you go, "女朋友".

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Hope that every year will KIKSHOUer than the previous year. RAWR!!!

Blood Donation Attempt (FAILED) & Consultation

The NUS Red Cross Society organizes blood donation drives twice a year, once in sem 1, and the other during sem 2. I missed the one in sem 1 because it was overcrowded with ppl at the venue, so I thought of making up for the loss this time around. And so as usual, I went to MPSH4, where the blood donation drive was being held. After filling in the forms, I waited patiently for my turn for a simple body check-up. The medical officer took my body temperature and blood pressure. After checking everything, she went through the form that I had completed and the problem occurred.
"Have you been hospitalised?" YES
"Have you been under constant observation of a doctor?" YES
"Have you undergone surgery?" YES

"If YES, when was it?" 9th Dec 2009

Apparently I am not allowed to donate blood within 3 months after surgery, no matter how minor the surgery may be. Damn! Just wasted half an hour of my very busy Wednesday schedule. And so I left.

Actually I wanted to see the doctor (or rather medical officer) in UHC but was unable to coz they closed for lunch from 12.30-1.30pm (not the usual 1-2pm, that's why kikshou lo). So, I might as well use the time allocated for donating blood to see the doctor, since I'm already there (Note: MPSH4 and UHC are located quite near from each other). After registering, I waited patiently (as always) for my turn. After waiting for quite some time, it was at last my turn, and I proceeded to the specified room.

Upon entering the consultation room, there was actually still a patient inside, and the doctor requested for some time to finish up the patient before me. I think this doctor is new, coz I nvr saw him before nor did I hear his name before. And so I waited again, right outside the room for the other patient to leave. As soon she exited, I entered. The doctor then asked me regarding my condition, and I told him the whole lot. "Cough, a lot of phlegm, very green-ish and sticky, and itchy throat". To my surprise, the doctor is also suffering from the same condition as me, as he was coughing quite badly, and I can hear the sound of the phlegm clearly. He diagnosed me as a viral infection (which I already knew as this was not my first time having such similar symptoms). He asked me whether I had sore throat, and I answered him no, I just have an itchy throat. He said he'll prescribed some medicine, so that I can cough out my phlegm easier. I thanked the doctor and left.

After that I passed the medicine prescription to the counter, and waited as they prepared my medicine. Then the payment counter lady called out my name, and she wanted to collect $ from me. At this time, I knew that the doctor must've prescribed some lozenges for my 'sore throat' and I had to pay for it as it is a 'non-standard drug', and so my wallet is left with $4.45 less when I entered the building.

I just wish that I can recover fully before CNY starts because it sucks if you're sick during CNY. Just imagine all those food... that you are not allowed to eat... it's unbearable... couldn't imagine how it would be... 3 days more to go... Gambateh!

A Day At The Hospital

I went to the hospital again as usual, for my weekly physiotherapy session. But what's different from other trips to the hospital is that I've 2 appointments instead of the usual, that is I'm going for consultation too for the doctor to assess my progress after surgery.
When it's my turn to see the doctor, I asked him whether I can do some 'light' exercises coz I've put on a lot of weight ever since the surgery coz I didn't exercise at all (although I knew the answer might be a big 'NO'). But to my surprise, he actually said that I'm allowed to do 'lower limb' exercises, such as light jogging, cycling, and swimming (limited to breaststroke only, not freestyle or butterfly). But for contact sports, it's another 4 mths to go, which is also the next time I'm goin for consultation, and hopefully the last trip to NUH. But the most kikshou thing that he said was "Don't let me catch playing basketball at the basketball court!". He thought that my hands are very itchy and I'm eager to return to the basketball court soon, but the fact is I haven't been playing much basketball since I dislocated my shoulder in Dec 08. As the saying goes "见过鬼仲唔怕黑咩", which means that you are afraid of doing something you've had a bad encounter doing that same something previously. But nevertheless, I'll definitely return to the court one day when I've fully recovered. No rush, yo.
I think I'll need start my exercise plans after CNY, and hopefully I can be in good shape in time for the concert in March.

Dark Clouds In The Sky

Today, I received the news about the results for a band competition, in which my band had went for auditions 2 weeks ago, and it was negative. This totally caught me by surprise and I'm really disappointed and devestated. I didn't expect the outcome to be like that as the judges comments were very good during the audition. They even mentioned, "It's between you guys and the other band, and it all boils down to the song choice during finals. Don't play safe, be more adventurous and daring" He really said it as if our band were already confirmed through to the finals. HA-HA. What a good way to approach CNY with such a heavy heart. This time is really "A Matter Of Heart" lo. Damn it! Later only did I find out that only 3 bands progressed to the finals out of the 30+ bands that took part. seriously wtf??!! 3 bands ONLY. Might as well call it the "Tom, Dick and Harry competition". The winning probability is 1/3, and if I was in 1 of the bands, I would bribe the 2 other bands and ask them to slip up during the finals and let me win. LOL. When there are more bands, it's not that simple anymore coz you don't know which bands are good and which bands are bad. I simply don't understand why they cut the finalists of the band category from 10 in the previous years to 3 this year. And the top 3 winners (means all of them) will receive prizes. Do the organizers even know what publicity and marketing is all about? There's only 3 bands in the finals and they can only attract F&F (friends and family members) of these 3 bands, which is quite limited. If they actually allowed 10 bands to go into the finals, they surely can sell more tickets and definitely earn much more profit. And considering this, I think they might even make a loss out of organizing this competition, and what good is this? !@#$%^&*(use your own creativity to interpret this code = DECODE)
But after thinking twice, this might be an angel in disguise. If my band is not in the finals, we wouldn't need to practice so hard for the coming weeks and sit back and relax. I can also concentrate and put more time on my studies, which I've made it one of my priority for this semester (I might even not drop my 6th module, which I intended to drop it due to the hectic schedule of the semester). As this is my final year, I would like to accomplish somethings in my uni life so that I won't look back and felt that I wasted a few years in uni without achieving anything at all, and winning a band competition was one of my goals. I had waited 2 yrs for a chance like this, and when at last I have a band that is competitive enough, fate has failed me again. This competition was our best bet, or at least my best chance of winning something in a band competition, but it seems that this dream will not become a reality after all. One of my members will be graduating this semester, but he'll be leaving sooner than expected as he has a lot of work to do for his wedding preparation. Yes, he's getting married soon. I wish him all the best in his wedded life and live happily ever after. Without such a vital member in my band, my band is incomplete. It's like a keyboard that doesn't have a spacebar, or like a Choir that is missing the bass section. Can the Choir perform? Of course, you bet. But it'll definitely sound not as good as a complete SATB choir.
Now I can devote my time fully between studies and my concert coming up in March. Do look out for details soon.

A tribute to LMF

I know what 'you' are thinking... Why suddenly the post about LMF? To let you know, actually I just learnt how to post videos on my blog. I was pondering over what links or videos to post here and in the end, I decided to post something 'educational', or rather 'informative', at least according to my definition. 'Educational' is to educate/to let you know something you don't know.

Okay, now allow me to enter into the main topic for the day - LMF. First of all, what/who is LMF? LMF is a canto rap/rock band from HK and in their lyrics, they write about the social problems happening in HK. And by watching this short series of videos (it'll take less than 1 hour of your time), you will be able to gain some insight about what LMF is all about, things that you thought u know but actually you don't know, their music genres, the forming of the band. And for non-canto speakers, there's English subtitles so can follow along. You might even pick up a word or 2 from watching the videos. Enjoy! =)

P/s: After watching the videos, and if you are interested to get your hands on some of their music, you can post your comment I'll get back to you shortly. FYI, I have ALL their songs, so you name it, you got it! And NO! I'm NOT selling music online...

Terms & Conditions DO NOT APPLY.

Meet The Tailor

I had a long 5 hrs no-break-in-between sessions of classes today, 3 hrs Financial Mkts and 2 hrs Microecons. After that, I had lunch with Jia Ee and Shen Hui at biz canteen. Then it struck 2.15pm and I knew I had to rush off as I had an appointment at 2.30pm and so proceeded towards my destination. I had signed up for a professional tailoring services session earlier and this was when the tailor would take my measurements and tailor a made-to-measure jacket and pants suit.

Upon arrival at the BBA Career Services Office, I asked the receptionist where's the measurement taking session being held and she kindly directed me to one of the rooms. FYI, the office has shifted to the new biz sch building and therefore I was still not yet familiar with the place.

After waiting for around 5 mins, it was my turn. Then I gladly let the tailor take my measurements. He took my chest measurement and asked me whether I would like my jacket, or blazer rather to be tight fit to give a smart look (as if I'm not smart enough, duh) or a slightly loose and comfortable one. And of course, I preferred the latter. He then asked me to try on some custom size jackets and after getting the correct size, he jotted down the necessary adjustments from which my build is different from the standard size blazer. He asked me whether I would like a 2 button or 3 button blazer. I thought I should try something new as I already had a "chui" 2 button blazer, and so I opted for the 3 button one.

Next, he measured my waist and I was so shocked that my waist size has already exceeded 40". And my thigh measurements were equivalent to a girl's waist. dang! I think it's about time I start to do some exercise (will ask the dr when I go for consultation 2 weeks later). After everything was done, he asked me to pick a colour out of 3 colours available (black, navy blue, grey). I knew many ppl will pick black or navy blue, so I chose the kikshou-est colour - grey, because I feel that the black and blue colours are kinda "cold", but the grey is quite pleasing and makes you more approachable. I paid the 50% deposit required = $75, so damn cheap! (that's why I signed up for this in the first place). I then asked the tailor if I were to find him at his shop and make 1 suit, does it cost the same as now. He said the normal price (cheapest) is $392 because of the different type of material used and the cheap material is not available all year long. As I was about to leave, he suddenly asked me 1 question. "Wan pleat or don't wan pleat?". I was stunned, and I don't know what to answer as I don't know what does "pleat" mean, and so I gave him the blur face. And then he asked again, this time pointing to his pants, and noticed that his pants has the folded part, know to me as "褶". I asked for his opinion, and he feels that young guys my age should choose non-pleated pants, coz normally only those old "ah pek" or middle age men will wear pleated pants. And speaking of this, I just realised that I've been wearing pleated pants for quite some time as pleated pants give you a looser cut and is more comfortable (actually due to my huge size, it was very difficult for me to buy non-pleated pants as most wouldn't fit). However, I followed his advice and went for the non-pleated one, because I think that since the pants is made-to-measure, I should able to fit into it no matter whether it's plated or non-pleated, right? Unless I put on more weight during CNY... g.g.

Acupuncture and Physiotherapy

Yesterday I had my physio appointment at 9.15am, and so I went to NUH quite early, trying to find my way to the rehabilitation centre, as this was my 1st time goin for physiotherapy treatment. At the lobby, I looked at the building plan and spotted the location of the rehabilitation centre, and I proceeded towards that direction. As I was almost goin to reach my destination, this huge sign caught my attention - "Acupuncture and Physiotherapy". I stopped. I thought to myself that ain't I goin for physio treatment? But I remembered the doctor's referral letter clearly state "Department of Rehabilitation". And most importantly, what's the connection between acupuncture and physiotherapy. Out of curiosity, I said, "Why not check this place out? See what's so acupuncture-ish this physiotherapy center is. And so, I went into the room. There was no one at the counter, which is kind of weird considering that this IS sg. It's not like "some other places" where the ppl were still having their cup of teh tarik in the cafeteria and eating their breakfasts. I waited patiently and at last a nurse came to serve me. Apparently the nurse couldn't find my appointment in the system. I looked around and I saw a appointment list on the desk. My name and I/C no. was on it. As I looked closer, I noticed that my name was misspelt "CHAN YI YING" and therefore my appointment wasn't in the system. After persuading the nurse that it was their fault, the nurse ask me to submit my forms to another counter. That is when I saw many people, mostly elderly people waiting for their turns to get acupunctured. This is when I realize how amazing it is for them to have 2 totally unrelated departments under 1 roof, or should I say "in the same area".

I waited for my turn patiently and soon it was my turn. My therapist was a girl called Germaine (actually I was kinda expecting a guy as I'm quite big sized and it might be quite difficult for a girl to handle). She started off by asking the usual questions, like what other medical conditions do u have, did you have other surgeries before except this one, any drug allergies. Then she asked me to do some movements to check the flexibility and functionality of my arm and shoulder. I realised that my shoulder had stiffen quite alot and I had difficulties doing some of the actions. Only at this time that I knew that I've got a lot of work to do to regain fitness. Then she taught me a few exercise and asked me to repeat the exercises 3 time daily. After that, she asked me to lay on the treatment bed and she stretched my arm to try and loosen my stiff shoulder. Next, she brought me to another room which had some equipment. And she taught me how to use the equipment, and said I can leave after I finished doing all the exercises.

After I was done, I went to the counter to set up my next appointment. The nurse asked me to go to the Rehabilitation Centre to pay for the fees. One physiotherapy session costs $52.90 and if I have to go every week for 2 months, it'll cost 8 X $52.90 = $423.20!!!

But luckily, all consultation + treatment up to 3 months after the date of surgery will be covered by insurance. Insurance rulez! =)

1st Class (no Hons) of 2010

Yesterday I supposedly have to attend a Finance class in the afternoon. But in the morning, I received an e-mail from the school saying that the lecturer is not in Singapore and will only be back 2 weeks later. In other words, the lecturer skipped her 1st class. So, there goes the 1st day of the new semester, resulting in an unexpected "free day".

Today, I went for my first class for the sem. It was a 3 hr sectional and I felt good as I don't know any of the students in the class. And the lecturer was my former MNO1001 lecturer, Mr M.L. Before this I was still thinking whether I should drop this module as I wasn't really into this module and after the class I felt that it was quite enjoyable. The lecturer prepared some lecture notes but he didn't use them at all. In fact, he wrote down 7 topics on the whiteboard and divided the whole class into 7 groups. And each group were to present 1 topic accordingly. Our group was allocated a topic that's quite related to us - "Qualification vs Experience". So, with nothing in our minds, all we can do is to come up with some shit. Overall, it was quite a fun module.

After class, I went to the new business building - Mochtar Riady building a.k.a. BIZ 1 to have a look, so that I won't get lost and I know exactly where my classes are located. The design of the building is quite classy, with alot many glass panels. However, it has a very poor utilization of space. It has an atrium and the the building has a huge space in the centre of it, i.e. the 1st level is connected until the 6th level.

There was quite a few hrs until my next class, so I went back to my room after lunch. And I decided to have an afternoon nap and set my alarm clock to wake me up at 4.45pm. If u think that I'd oversleep and miss the class, the you are so wrong this time round. In fact, I did wake up at 4.45pm and as I wanted to go for my class, it started to rain heavily. And as I don't have an umbrella (because somebody borrowed my umbrella and didn't return to me), I couldn't go for my class and I skipped my 1st lesson of this new semester. Since I couldn't make it to class, I thought that I could make use of the extra time made available to me. So, I started to search for internships, hoping that I could send in my application and hopefully be able to secure 1 for this coming Summer (May-Aug). As I looked through the posts, some required CAP3.0, some 2nd Upper Class Hons. And there was this internship that I was quite interested in, but it required some weird requirements, that is 2.1 undergraduate degree or equivalent and 360 UCAS points. As I didn't know what the fuck that was, I googled the both of the weird requirements needed. The conclusion is 2.1 undergraduate degree or equivalent = Upper 2nd Class Hons and 360 UCAS points = 3 'A's in A levels or equivalent. Fuck it! I didn't realise that applying for internship so troublesome and difficult until and unless I improve my CAP by a huge margin (which is kind of late for me already who's in my penultimate semester). So, the conclusion is low CAP = no internships = jobless = contribute to the unemployment rate upon graduation. Congrats!

Room cleaning + new year resolution

Wow... What a good way to start the new semester. Today is the 1st time I clean my room since I went for surgery last Dec. After which I had to wear an arm sling for quite some time and therefore declared temporarily handicapped. Since it's the 1st room cleaning in such a long time, there's a lot of dust in my room. And as a result, it caused me to sneeze non-stop since afternoon to now, not to mention the severe runny nose that I've now.

Actually I wanted to start to write my blog since the holiday started but due to some circumstances, this plan was put hold. *hint*: just try typing using 1 hand only. If you think that's not too bad, try using your non-dominant hand. And lastly, just try using the mouse with your left hand. That was how I had to endure the whole of Dec. And since today is the last day of holiday before the new semester begins, I think it's time that I executed my plan, resulting in the 1st post of my blog.

Here's my new year resolution:

1) Health - As my dad always says "拥有健康的身体不代表拥有一切，但是没有健康的身体就是一无所有", which just means "good health is vital to succeed in anything"

2) Academic results - As my university life is coming to an end soon, I would like to challenge myself to do better, even if I can't get Hons or not even a Pass with Merit, because I know I can put in more effort and do much better.

3) Cleanliness - Try to keep my room clean all sem long, instead of having to deal with tonnes of dust every time I'm forced to clean my room.

4) Internship - I've always wanted to apply for an internship, but somehow I always managed to find some excuse. There's NO excuse this time round, and I've to come up with my CV and Cover Letter by hook or by crook. Deadline: by the end of next week.

5) CCAs - Try to balance time between studying and CCAs coz there are a lot of activities coming up this sem, like Amplitude, Jazz Band 15th Anniversary Concert, Rockfest, Stardust, Talentquest, etc.