What kind of students my university produces...

This piece of news is getting out of hand, and it's reaching various parts of the globe. So, some clown students from my school built a huge snowman on the road, and a bus driver rammed it down on purpose by driving out of his lane. Result: He lost his job. :(

http://www.news.com.au/world/us-bus-driver-resigns-after-plowing-down-snowman-on-wrong-side-of-road/story-e6frfkz0-1225971379087

What college life has done to me...

As of today, I think I can conclude that for this semester, my university has given me two strands of white hair!! -.-''

Doomsday

Doomsday is tomorrow... Sooo deaddd.. I'm totally freaking out. :(
Oh well, weekend is coming soon, goodbye Hell Week, i'm going to sleep for a mega 10hrs! Round 2 of Hell Week after that, how exciting! :S

An academic point of view

I'm currently taking a class called World Religions, and the current topic is on Christianity. It is interesting to learn my religion from an academic side. Anw, I came across this mind-boggling verse in class today, it made me laugh actually. :P

Romans 7:14-25 (New International Version)

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[b] a slave to the law of sin.

You'll never know

So, those two explosives were supposed to be delivered to synagogues or Jewish community centres in Chicago. Just a random thought, what if someone check in these "printers" in one of my flights to Chicago? o.0 Life is so interesting precisely because it's so unpredictable isn't?

Revelation

Is overseas education over-rated?

What an oxymoron- I am disheartened and hopeful at the same time. Maybe the real apple has yet to drop. Maybe it's a wake up call for me to focus on the greater picture, a picture that lasts forever.

Where is the compass pointing to?

2am- Time to emo a little...

I was lazing around on Facebook, and somehow it makes me lament upon the things I've missed out whilst being away on a far, far away land- Cornfields in Illinois.

I saw how people grew closer as a group, grew exponentially spiritually, grew stronger as an individual, etc etc. What about me? Further and further away it seems I am away from these communities I once belong, or rather still belong but have been out of sight and touch. I have been pursuing things that I deem beneficial for my personal development, primarily focussed on career, knowledge and character. As a result, I might be away from Singapore for another 6 years or more. Would I be an alien when I finally settle down in Singapore? Having to build everything, even relationships from scratch seems a little terrifying. When will the notion of "Do this because I'm supposed to" end? Maybe it's just good for me to be back in my homeland. But we all know what the ultimate decision would be anyway.

I know what i miss...

I was a little bored and did some fb stalking. I found out why I felt weird.

I miss the perfect orangey sun dipping below the horizon when i got out of the Red Sea from diving. It was one of the most awesome sunsets I've ever seen. It was probably made more satisfying by by first successful dive in the sea.

I miss sleeping out on a mountain top/forest/desert. I miss the life with no technology.

I miss bbq-ing with a self-made pit by a beach. I miss cooking out in the open nature.

Where did all these things go? :( Isn't it ironic that we destroyed nature with all our sophisticated technology and innovations, and now trying so hard to find it back or restore it?

Updates!

Rachiiee, as promised, updates! ;)

So, I am now back in the cornfields, after experiencing an amazing summer. 3 months, 3 different countries. W.O.W.

Jordan is probably the most exciting one, especially since it brings me back to a rustic life, life with my beloved nature- deserts (instead of forest this time round) and the seas. Also equally exciting are the archaelogical/religious sites of the world's main religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. So we saw Jesus' Baptism Site, the Jordan River, Red Sea, etc. And of course, Petra- one of the Seven Wonders of the World- can't be left out as well. :)

I suppose I am too lazy to write a thought-provoking reflection on how Jordan has transformed me, instead i shall post some pictures! ;)

Riding on a camel


Floating in the Dead Sea


Diving in the Red Sea


Petra!

and one more... again!

And so, please allow me to end my day of surprises/shocks.
The apartment next door is having a party, and two guys-one white and one black- are making out intensely a few steps outside my door. Like SERIOUSLY??!!

I only expect to read about such things on FML, which I read out of curiosity, but certainly not to have it happening right outside my door!!

A secret..

I need to tell you a secret:
*In a whispering voice*
"I really really dislike the research project I am doing now. I do not know what's going on, and I do not know how to program the codes. And it is due by the end of this semester, on top of the 5 exams I have. I only have 2 weeks left. Am i not screwed totally?!"

RAWRR... :(( I was not given any task, except for readings for the entire semester. And only when school is about to end, I was thrown such a crappy thing. :((

Nurturing Soul

I LOVE MY PROFESSOR!! :) He's soooo AWESOME! I am so excited about doing research with him next semester. I NEVER see myself going into research, but I realized how important and valuable it is. I probably have absolutely no natural talent in research, but I am sure under his guidance, I will survive. =) We will be looking into a new field, one which he is not very familiar with too, and it is certainly a topic i am very interested in. I think I just got the MOST PERFECT deal in the entire campus today! =)) Looks like I will be packed to the brim this summer. I need to clean up my current research with the other professor, study for GRE, read the very awesome book and brainstorm with my awesome professor. Oh yes, also a wonderful itinerary of course:

19th May-19th June: Singapore- Internship, working on my most beloved project.
19th June- 29th July: Jordan- Summer school, studying Arabic and Islamic culture! Dead Sea, Petra, etc. here I come! :)
29th July- 14th Aug: London- To accompany SY for his summer school
16th-18th Aug: Back to school. Camp Counselor for Women in Engineering Camp

What a blast again! =)

Spiritual Journey

I think a spiritual journey is like a sinusoidal curve. It goes up and it goes down too. The time period changes frequently, and it determines how long you will stay in the uphill or downhill. And the amplitude of the curve shows the height or depth you are at.

Haha, i guess i am indeed an engineering nerd- I was pretty happy when I thought of this analogy. :P

Pure bliss :)

It's early in the morning 7.30am. Listening to classical music at this time is an utter bliss. =) In 4.5hrs time, I would be in a lunch reception with PM Lee in Chicago. Awesome! ;)

YAY!! =)

After a long negotiation and deliberation, i can now officially move out of my apartment and move to the graduate housing! =)The biggest problem next year might be FOOD. No longer is there a personal kitchen for me to use anytime I want, and neither is there dorm food as i think it's too expensive due to over-charging. Anyhow, I'm sure I'll figure my way out with a microwave and fridge in my room. ;)

What do you think..

if i were to spend my next spring semester in Singapore/UK doing an internship? Yes? No? Dunno?

yawnsssss

so sleepyyy.. wakie!! yawnz again. 0.o
haha, sorry, this is totally random to keep myself awake.

Amazing grace!

Wow wow wow, I am awestruck by the number of granted prayers and blessings I have received this week. Just to name a few, I went to the Niagara Falls for the second time over the weekend, managed to get to DC and "home" safely after a whole lot of unexpected situations, got my summer plans firmed up with minor changes to be made.

What an amzaing week! =)

Gotcha!

Thankfully, my journey to DC is sorted out. :) For once, my spring will be busy with school work, settling admin work for my senior year classes and summer program to Jordan, producing a financial report for my EXCO, and most importantly planning a birthday surprise for next Friday. Come this weekend, it'll be my second trip to Niagara Falls and New York City. :)

Now, I need to try finish all my homework before Saturday comes. No matter how insane this idea sounds, I am so motivated now that I can't wait to swallow a month of materials for two classes. =)

A lovely TA of mine

I was emailing my TA regarding my report, and this was one of the lines in his reply:

"So, don't worry about your graph, be happy.It seems alright to me".

HAHA, don't you just love such a wonderful TA!! :)) It's because of him that makes my weekly report less painful. =)

Flight worries..

Dear flights to Washington DC,

I plead that you would stop increasing your prices and schedule more flights to the DCA airport. I could not afford your exhorbitant price to that specific airport. It is a neccessity for me to be in DC next week. I seek your assistance in this matter.

Thank you very much.

Your loyal passenger,
CW

Oh gosh..

This is one of those times when I feel like my life is totally messed up. There is simply too much dynamic changes for the past week. Let's just talk about spring break that's about to come in FOUR days' time. Yet, I have not gotten my flight due to some XXX reasons. Prices have sky-rocketed so much since two weeks' ago. I am so dead. Oh gosh, some guidance please. This is one of those times when you question who is in-charge of your life.

Any takers?

Hello there, is anyone interested in travelling with me to the Middle East or Europe from 26 July to about 8Aug (or longer)? Haha, coz i know 9 Aug is National Day, so you might want to fly back to your homeland. Let's ride on camels, ride hot air balloons, walk through the deserts, look at the pyramids! Anyone anyone anyone?? :)))

Today, I was trying hard to follow my 1 hr 20min lecture but to no avail. The only lesson I learnt was: If you bought ice-cream such as B&J and Haagen Dazs, eat it asap. Else you'll waste it because the longer you keep it, the more large crystals would form, thereby degrading your ice-cream. Also, to make good ice-cream, you need to super-cool it very quickly so that small crystals would form, instead of large ones. Small crystals make the ice-cream smooth and dense. :)

Hahaha, don't you just love me! :P

Stop owning me

So, I got crushed by 2 papers in 24hours. Top that up with a homework that's due 2 hours after the class, and one insanely long one tomorrow. Wow, what a nice way to end a week. I feel like running in the cold, or maybe throwing snowballs at a tree. Let's see what will the 2am-me think of doing later.

Don't you just love it! ;)

I had a very satisfying day- in the context of food. Haha, what else? :P
So for lunch, I made dry wonton noodles without wonton (haha!) as I didn't have them. Instead, I used pork balls and fishballs to substitute. But it's the REAL wonton noodles used ok. ;)Yum yum. :)

For dinner, on my plate were vegetable with belachan chilli, tilapia fish in soy sauce and pepper, and a sunny side up on my rice! And it's all done in less than half hour! =)

After trying the wonton noodles, I decided to make the real char siew and wonton noodles for SY when he's here the week after. :) Char siew will be the biggest challenge as I've not made it before. I'll treat myself to a cup of ice cream if it succeeds! ;)Also, there will be:

1. Porridge with pork and preserved duck egg
2. Curry chicken
3. Bak kut teh
4. Herbal chicken soup
5. Steamboat
6. Milk tea with pearls
.
.
.

Sounds good to me, doesn't it?! :P

Peaceless

What exactly does it mean when you think you are doing the right thing but you feel no peace at all, but yet feel slightly more peaceful when you think you are doing something you don't feel right about? :S

I think apathy is the root of most troubles, yet one cannot live without that bit sense of apathy.

I think i need a break.

A reading semester

I feel like an arts student this semester. I have so many books to read! Instead of my mathmatical assignments I'm so used to doing, suddenly there's quite a bit of reading assignments this semester, not to mention the tonnes of reports I have to churn out after my honeymoon first week. Everyday, I sit at my table, thinking what I need to do. And then in my mind, the list of reading assignments/chapters appear like a long NTUC receipt.I suppose i need more time to get use to it.

Nonetheless, i would still say I LOVE INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING!!! I'm proud to be one, and love to be one. Don't you think it's just the BEST Engineering?? Hehe, joking! Best for me, that is. ;)I can't believe that I'll be graduating next year. Finally! :)

Actually I have been toying with this idea since last year, but I know it won't come true, at least till the day I graduate with a B.S. I feel like taking a break for one semester to study Theology (not that one semester is enough, but i suppose finishing my undergraduate is still the top priority now). I feel like not going to school so that I can read the entire bible. I feel like having this super reading skill that I can finish reading it, like NOW?! Anyway, this has to be shelved for the time being.

Suddenly, I feel like I'm a good kid. haha, sorry for this self-praise. But it's been a long time since I diligenly jot down all the things I need to do in my handbook. I have not felt so motivated for so long. Hopefully this will last for the semester. :)

This is home, truly...

YAY!! It's spring semester- my favourite semester! Most importantly, I'll be home in 4 months' time! Oh my, can't wait for this jam-packed semester to be over. I want to fly homeeeeeee!!! Can i pls pls pls meet most of you in third week of May? After which I'll be on a month internship, and three days after i end, I'll be flying to Jordan. Yes, sadly, I'll be missing NDP this year. And of course our inaugural youth Olymics too. Booo X2... :(

Once again, winter trip was lovely, and i'll update again if this semester leaves me some breathing space. Else, i promise pictures in summer!