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.