2014

And there goes 2013. It is perhaps a nice time to reflect on what has happened throughout this very year. 2013 was a very special year for me. In particular, it was a time where I learnt to take responsibility for my own actions, including the path I choose. It was not always as rosy as I portray it to be, but life still had to go on. 

2013 was the year I started my masters in a foreign land, away from familiar faces and surroundings. It was a year where I had to step out and very much face the world on my own - I basically had to fend for myself. I think those around me saw that I was really eager to go, but deep down, I was as much afraid as I was excited. Settling down Zurich wasn't as easy as I made it seem. It was a time where I had to learn to look for housing myself, permits and all the little but terrifying details in life. It was a time where I had to learn another language and try to reorganise my social circle. In short, it was hard. And what made it harder was when I had to work on my thesis right from the start. The struggles I faced in handling my personal life was compounded by the ever so frequent hurdles I face at work. I remembered somewhere in June that year when I really felt depressed. It's probably because I lacked the courage to show my vulnerabilities that make it worst for myself. But what made it better was really my parents. I really have the most amazing and supportive parents in the world. I usually Skype with them twice a week. But during that period, I began skyping more frequently with them. And they sort of guessed that I just needed someone I'm comfortable with to talk to at such a time. We talked nothing about school. But it was really quite amazing how therapeutic that was. And I survived that period. And I survived it well.

And after those tumultuous times, life became a little better for me. The next semester was still jam-packed with work. My load of coursework (it was a hell lot of it), part-time internships, part-time research projects, job-hunting, etc. It really stretched me to my limits. All I can say is that throughout this period, I am very thankful to the many people that have actually made this hell of a semester really enjoyable to say the least. It was a lot of work, but I felt really happy. From the really lovely staff at the Buhler and Lonza, to my awesome research group, and my Chem. Eng. M.Sc family at ETH. They are the people that have really accompanied me through the rough times. And of course my wonderful family and friends in Singapore. And throughout this time, it became clearer to me who the real friends are. And I've learnt very much to treasure these people who really care for me. And so, I survived again! So what's left is to take my last four exams at the end of January 2014 and I'm done! :)

And all these hard work really paid off I guessed. Landed my dream job. What made it even more amazing was how perfect the job was - the scope of work, the plans that the company has for me, and of course, all practical aspects of things were flawless. As much as I am ambitious, I treasure my personal life as well. Life isn't all about work. I do want to meet my right half and settle down one day. That is as, or even more important than work is to me. And this job I was offered met all these criteria. I will be based in Amsterdam for the first couple of years working hard to earn my professional engineers licence. But in the long term, they have plans for me to transfer back to Singapore to further my career - this is just about right for me. Singapore is my home and will always be my home, no matter how far away I am.

And so that concludes 2013. Lots of amazing experiences - I had my fair share of ups and downs. But I guess that's life. We go through all the crap that's thrown at us only to emerge as a stronger person. So what will 2014 be like for me? Honestly, I don't have a clue. It will again, be a fresh experience, working and living in another foreign land. But maybe going into that, my experiences have made me a little wiser. There are a couple of things that I really want to do in 2014:

1. Give my parents an allowance - this is something that I have always dreamt of doing one day, although I parents wouldn't probably need it. It's a symbolic gesture of growing up. :)

2. Relearn German and pick up Dutch. In Switzerland, I really couldn't find the time or energy to concentrate on learning German properly. So maybe with more time once I start work, I can go to a proper language school like I did in Singapore to learn these languages. :)

3. Get and design my own apartment. I've always dreamt of how my home should look like and I've began looking at houses and furniture/interior design. And starting my life in Amsterdam would be a perfect time to work towards that. This time I will be staying for a significantly longer time, so I can spend more time, effort and resources into it. It's different from living short term in my small studio in Zurich. Just different.

4. Spent my holidays in Singapore! Visit and spent some meaningful time with my family and friends. I miss them so much. And the food. Oh my god. Haha. This may seem mundane to most, but living overseas for such a long time, this has become really important and meaningful to me.

And in general, to just live my life to the fullest like I've always tried to do. Live life without regrets. So that's just a short glimpse into what 2013 has been for me.

To all my family and friends, I hope that 2014 will be a blast for all of you as well! Life will only get better! :)

Time really flies. It's about half a year since I got an entry in this almost-forgotten blog. Now that I have a little bit of spare time at hand, perhaps it's timely for some updates. Yes, many things have changed in this short period of time. It's really amazing how plans that you meticulously come up with over months can just be thrown away just like that. But that's the beauty of life right? The surprises (and scares) that just throw you off your seats. But oh the excitement as well.

Anyway, one the academic side of life, things look pretty interesting at the moment. Decided to do something radical - I've completed my Master thesis before even completing my coursework! Sounds really risky, but somehow there was this little voice in me that just told me to give it a try. And it really paid off. Got my best Department Master thesis award for my work. Got a good grade in addition to that as well. So, that was cool. But definitely not as meaningful as something my supervisor said before my presentation as an introduction to my work. He told the audience that he was actually very skeptical of me doing my thesis in my first semester, and that he expected me to fail. That wasn't exactly what I would call a comforting introduction for a then nervous-wrecked me. But then he added "but I couldn't be more wrong. He's work was just... impressive. It's way above what I would expect from any Master student." To be honest, I was really touched by what he said. And it really just made the months of suffering all worth it. And somehow, my gamble paid off. Actually I wouldn't call it a gamble. I just followed my instincts and it turned out great.

And because of that, I actually re-organized my schedule - I will complete my Master a semester earlier than expected (So it's one year now). So that's good. I'm not sure, but I find myself aways going against the grain. I feel somewhat unsatisfied to stick with the norms imposed onto you by society. It's becoming a good/bad habit, depending how you look at it. But so far it has proven to be pretty... interesting to say the least.

So yes, one whole semester have passed. Somehow this semester has been really interesting. Stressful? Yes and no. Yes because the workload that I packed in is just overwhelming. But no, because I learnt the art of taking appropriate breaks to relief yourself once in a while. Had a really awesome Easter break travelling around Switzerland. And also through occasional (extended) weekend trips. Or just some short hikes and runs along the picturesque rivers around Zurich. It just helps to keep your sanity in tact, and add a bit of much needed colour to your life.

But on the social side, I haven't been as "sociable" as I would like to be. I've gotta admit - I'm quite an introvert. Not to the extent that I just live in my own tiny world, but more like I need quite a bit of time to myself. I actually feel pretty exhausted after social events, and I require my fair share of alone time to recharge myself. But from another perspective, I've come to a stage where I don't want to make tons of additional friends. I'm very satisfied with a few close friends than many acquaintances. Over the years, I realized that friendships need time to maintain and develop, and I just don't have all the time in the world to entertain everyone. I would rather keep that time for a few more special people. So that's what I'm doing. I avoid going for loud parties and stuff with the whole building of exchange students that I'm living with. On one hand I hate partying, and on the other, these are probably people that I will not see ever after half a year. So instead, I tend to mix around more with my classmates, and the Singaporeans here in Zurich. Feels more meaningful that way.

Anyway, took a week off my thesis in July to return to Singapore for my commencement at NUS. I think it meant so much more to my parents than it actually meant to me. It's like mission accomplished finally - putting me and my bro through formal schooling and then to university. They have served their responsibilities as parents. As I put on my gown and went on stage to get my degree, I could see, for once, a very light-hearted smile - a burden-free one. And I'm equally happy for them. I just told my parents to, for the first time, live their lives for themselves, and not just for me and my bro. Go ahead and explore the world - see and experience what they have missed out during the younger days. Seeing them frequently travelling all around the world makes me smile as much. Just looking back at how much my parents have sacrificed for the family, I just feel loved and blessed.

So I took the opportunity to meet up with as many of my friends as I could in that short week. I really appreciate how friends took time off their busy schedules to at least have a meal together and just catch up. Being away from home ever so often in recent years just made me realize how valuable such friends are. And also, who real friends are. True friends are really people that you perhaps only get to meet once or twice a year, but always makes the extra effort to turn up, and we've got endless things to talk about. People who love you for who you are, no matter where you are and what you are. It may seem quite a pity to lose contact with certain groups friends, especially those that used to be so close to you. But I guess that's life. When there simply isn't enough time for everyone, people tend to prioritize. And you don't always get on the list of others. It's harsh, but that's just life. Live with it. But just knowing that you have even that one friend that you can always count on is more than enough sometimes - feeling satisfied with one is way better than feeling lonely in a crowd. I like the former better.

Ok, so that's about it for now. No idea when I will have the time (and mood) to update this blog again. But it's really quite nice to just sit down and consolidate my thoughts and feelings once in a while. Re-energizing. So as always, looking forward to the new surprises that life my have installed for me! :)

(P.S. Oh and I got myself a part-time internship post next semester too! Really cool! The wonders of life and the surprises! :) )

What's Next?

Alright finally settled most of the administrative matters at hand for now, so finally time's on my side for once. Anyway, I have moved to Zurich to start the next phase of my life. 2012 has been a really fast year for me. Before I went for exchange at Delft, I applied for graduate school at ETH Zurich, and lucky for me, I got accepted with a small stipend. So that's really awesome. So after exchange, I just returned to NUS, wrote my thesis and completed the remaining credits required to graduate. I think the time I spent at NUS was perhaps the definitive time of my life - in the sense that I learnt so much and grew up as a person. I learnt to handle the shit the life throws at you and turn it into something meaningful. It's definitely no simple process - in fact, it was a harsh one. The one thing that I think everyone needs is that little bit optimism and hope. Many a time, we are left to drown in the abyss of the unknown. But most often we manage to get out alive and unscathed - but definitely much stronger. So that's the biggest takeaway from NUS.

And the moment I step foot into Zurich, I can just sense the difference. Zurich's very much your typical European city - filled with beautiful classical European architecture and culture. But the difference lies in language. Coming to Zurich alone with my very limited knowledge of German's a really bold thing to do. Although it's not my first time in a non-English speaking environment, it's the first time being in one alone. There's even greater levels of uncertainty and fear. I have to handle every little thing in my life on my own. And more importantly, getting out of an environment where I'm constantly surrounded by the comfort of friends and family, it's as if life starts from zero again. The troubles of getting to know new people and getting comfortable in a new environment. Perhaps in the first place, I'm not used to constantly meeting new people in Singapore - like no one ever says hi to a new student in class. I really have to do that here and establish my "life" here. Alright, Only being in Zurich for 3 weeks, I haven't been able to experience much of what Zurich has to offer. But I'm pretty sure that this 1.5 years in Zurich will be another valuable chapter in my life. Perhaps a period where I look back in the future, and smile and say that that's something definitive in my life.

Looking forward to what life's got installed for me. :)

Delft!

Haven't blogged in quite a while. I have just moved to Delft, the Netherlands, and I will be staying here for my exchange till mid-July. So I have been super busy settling down and stuff. Finally, after a month or so, I have the time to blog about my life thus far. Here are some pictures of my life in Delft:

My first day in Delft! Omg DAMN COLD! The weather forecasts are pretty much a fluke. Just a week before they reported that the temperature was 2-7 degC. But that very day, it was -10 degC! Crazily cold. Anyway it was really  first day to remember. The weather, the many 30kg+++ luggage, and the long arduous walk in the snowy place. One word describes it all - miserable! Haha. Oh well I guess that was part of the package. Lol.

Anyway, the weather remained awfully cold for the next 4 weeks, till 2 weeks ago, when some pretty nice happened. One evening, I look out of my window and this is what I saw...

The next morning, when I woke up I saw this!

It's amazing how fast the snow cleared up! Just one night and all the white is gone. Anyway, that's just one of the many amazing things that happened in Delft.

Alright, so what exactly does Delft look like?

These are perhaps the most prominent buildings in Delft. The one on the left is the Cityhall and the one on the right is the old church, and they're all situated in the central square. In winter, you can just imagine the place to be like an ulu street in Joo Chiat. Super quiet and lonely streets with barely any buzz. But just last weekend, winter sort of officially ended and suddenly, Delft central came to life!

There's a flea market in the central square every Thursday and Saturday. All the streets are filled with endless vendors selling everything from food to clothes and electronics! (Think Pasar Malam) Really cool! And there's this seafood stall that I loved! They sell lots of different seafood , raw or cooked (see below). But there is one thing that stands out - THE fried mussels! Omg just thinking about it make my mouth water. It's super fresh and pretty decently priced, at 3.50 Euros for a gigantic portion of it. I would definitely buy a portion of it whenever I pass by. A definite must-try when you come to Delft.

Oh and there is also something distinctively European - Raw Herring! This is what it looks like. I know, you can just imagine the raw fishy taste and smell. But trust me, it's not that bad. In fact, I kinda liked it. It tasted pretty good to me! =)

Anyway, yummy seafood aside, there are also other specialties that Delft have to offer. There is a cheese store (left) in town that's pretty good as well. The chilli cheese is damn shiok. Not that spicy, but has the nice chilli flavour - a nice consolation away from home.


Oh and not forgetting, there's the famous Delft Pottery (right) - the distinct blue and white porcelains that we commonly associate to the Chinese, is actually from here! That's something I learnt here too! Lol.

And there are a few funky buildings that I kinda liked:

The cinema on the left and public library on the right. Nothing really special about this town, but it's definitely very livable. A good place to retire actually! =)


Anyway, I'm done with Delft city centre. Now back home. This is my room!

Of course, this is the neater state of it at the start of my stay. Now it's much messier and too embarrassing to post so I shall give that a miss. Anyway, it's really nice - spacious, warm (good heater) and just plain comfortable. The only complains I have is that the shower is not in the room, and there's no white light - it's all warm light. =( It makes me sleepy.

Next up, school. TU Delft campus is beautiful! =)

The left is the entrance to my faculty - Applied Sciences. Actually it isn't really my school, coz Chem Eng is housed in another building. But most of my classes are here. And the right is the signboard for my school (which makes navigation so much easier) with the EE, Math and CS building in the backdrop. Anyway, school's not that near my place, so I have to cycle to school. Speaking of cycling, Delft is big on bicycles! Almost everyone has a bicycle and there are special lanes everywhere in Delft for bicycles! I bet there are more bicycles than cars around! And this is my trusty blue bike. Got it for 80 Euros, which was quite a bargain actually!

I can't cycle the Dutch bicycle. Yes you heard it right. There are Dutch bicycles. There are 2 main differences - they are awfully tall and there are no handbrakes! You have to back cycle to slow it down! It's really counter-intuitive, so I would give that a miss as well, lest I become a permanent road hazard. Lol.

Having stayed in Delft for exactly a month, thinking back, I really wondered where did I find the courage to do so many thing's I have done? It's actually pretty scary to move overseas for extended period of time, away from you family and friends that you're so familiar with. But it's really something that I have grown to accept and take it in my stride. Since entering  university, I traveled so much that I'm kinda getting numb to this kind of fear.

Anyway, fears aside, I'm really enjoying the lifestyle here. It's really miles away from back home (in every sense of it). It's pretty hard to describe it, but I feel that life here is more balanced. In Singapore, we just study all day and yeps, that's about it. Over here, I have to learn to be independent - wash my own clothes, cook my own food, etc. These are things that my mum and maid do on a daily basis and I really salute them for that. It's no easy feat at all! Speaking of cooking, this is my first attempt at cooking a meal for 4!

I'm actually pleasantly surprised that the meal turned out fine! I guess all the nights watching the Asian Food Channel did help somehow. Haha. But yea, this is something that I would never have to do or even learn how to do back home. And I'm proud that I did it. =)

Anyway, cooking is definitely essential here, coz having a meal outside will easily set you back by 20 Euros at least! Cooking will cost only 3-4 Euros for a good and sumptuous meal. So you do the math and decide which is better if you're gonna stay for half a year. But that's not to say I cook every single meal. Some days are plain lazy days and I just simply prefer to have someone prepare the meal for me. For such days, there's IKEA! Haha.

IKEA provides perhaps, the cheapest and most tasty meal out! Really yummy and awfully filling food for under 10 Euros =O. So yeps, I have pretty much covered most aspects of my life here in Delft. So that's about it for this post! I have travelled quite a bit during this month in Delft - Den Haag, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Tromso, Stockholm. I shall post more when I find more time for it! =D

Last Week

Ok, so it's confirmed. Will be leaving Singapore in exactly a week. It's gonna be a long way from home and yea, it's gonna be a pretty long period of time. It's not the first time I'm leaving home for extended periods of time, so yea, the excitement's not as overwhelming as my first time abroad myself. It's more of thinking about adapting to a new environment all over again. Haha. It really takes effort and yea, hope it goes smoothly. But at least it's Europe that I'm pretty familiar with. So it's not as scary. Haha.

Anyway, amid all the festivities and stuff, I found some time to meet my regular khakis for k and dinner before I fly off.

They're probably the easiest and most fun bunch of people to hang around with. Haha. =D

Chinese New Year '12

It's the time of the year again! A time to eat, visit, eat, visit, ... , eat visit. Not too much of the CNY buzz this year. I guess it's probably due to the shorter CNY holidays. Anyway, this CNY is really just about eating. Ate reunion dinner on Sunday. Visited most of relatives on Monday, which meant snacking (impossible amounts of CNY goodies) all the way. So much so that I sort of skipped breakfast and lunch all together. Haha. Great-grandpa's anniversary today. So coincidental coz my great grandpa passed away then. But it's good in the sense that everyone will remember and will have the time to gather together to pray and munch on good food. So it was family gathering as usual at my house. Home-cooked buffet for breakfast and lunch. Really remarkable effort by my mum and maid to whip up all the food for like 30 people.. and they're all damn AWESOMELY YUMMY! Bet I gained at least a pound or more from just that meal. Haha.

Anyway, food aside, today's the first time I got to see my nephew since he was born 2 months ago! DAMN CUTE OMG. Haha.

The innocence of a child. All he need to worry about is eating and sleeping. Damn envious of him. Haha. Oh another boy to the family. My entire generation were all boys, and it looks like the next one's gonna be all boys again. Haha.

Anyway more food coming up. Tomorrow's gonna be another home-cooked, buffet-styled family dinner with all my maternal relatives. After which, a short break, before more food on Saturday and Sunday! Looks like I have to exercise a lot harder once all the festivities are over. =P

New Year Resolutions.

I haven't really taught about them since eons ago. But recently, time was on my side, and I spent quite a bit of time thinking about this. Reflecting on my life thus far, there are definitely things that I want to change in my life. And I've sort of set certain goals that I hope I can achieve by the end of the year. Let's see how it goes from here. =D

Satisfaction

Ok exams are long over and even the results are out. All I can say is that I'm satisfied. And that's all that matter in life. Be satisfied with anything that comes your way and believe that it happens for a reason. To be honest, life has been really kind to me all these while. I whine and complain at things, but come'on, I'm still alive and kicking. =P

Anyway have been stuck in camp for the past 2 weeks for my reservist. It wasn't as bad as I thought I would be. Everyone's so familiar, and I see many of them in school as well. So yea, turned out pretty well. But was down with fever for the 2nd week, but I still didn't take MC to finish my course. So now I'm suffering the after effects of the bug. Haha. Oh and did I mention that the army's such a pain. Just completed my 1st in-camp, and they already booked us for the next! And I have to shorten my SEP slightly for it. DAMN. And I don't wanna defer lest I change my unit and not know anyone for the rest of my reservist life. Haha. Oh well. Be a Singaporean and suck it up. Haha.

Anyway my SEP stuff is finally more or less settled. Hope the embassies won't give me more trouble and work anytime soon. Really want to relax for once this holidays. Spent quite a bit on all the documentation and stuff already. Hope I've seen the end of it. Really excited to head to the Netherlands soon! I really don't mind spending my time in a slower environment. All the hustle and bustle of Singapore city life is really not ideal. =X

Anyway being in a good mood recently, I rewarded myself for hard work well done 2011. Haha. Bought myself a Sony NEX 5N camera!

Have been eyeing this for a really long time. Didn't have a reason to buy the NEX 5 earlier, but now that my whole family is constantly travelling thanks to my parents retiring, I need another camera. Haha. Read lots of reviews and stuff before settling on this. Now I've gotta play around with it and figure out how to use it. Haha.

On a random note, my family and I are officially Sony fans! I think almost everything at home is made by Sony. =P

Mid-Exams Distraction

Alright I'm supposed to be studying but I'm not. Instead, I started watching lectures/talks on Asian vs. Western development by Prof Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of NUS. It's really interesting how he's so persuasive and a really interesting speaker. He's very pro-Asian, so westerners would definitely not take his words without feeling awfully disgruntled. His speeches and debates are very provocative, which makes them seemingly full of judgments and propaganda. But if you look up the facts, they are all indeed truly objective and as such, would come as quite a shock to westerners. Truly inspiring. I really recommend people to take some time of mugging (ony applicable for those who are still drowning in pyps and lecture notes) and watch some of them. Oh and on a side note, he was just voted one of the world's top 100 thinkers. He really deserve it. =D

Anyway I suddenly thought of Operation Orion 2010. I really miss that trip and the people there.

I really miss the kids! Omg the kids are damn adorable (ok I sound like an absolute pedophile, but I love kids! =D)! And I'm feeling really sore that I will be slogging out in camp instead (after all the studying that made me put on quite some spare tires -.-zZZ). Oh well.

Aww.. It's the exams season again.

This semester, I just so much more relaxed than the last 2. Am I confident? I wouldn't say I'm really confident, but I kinda changed my mentality towards studies this semester. And it's really making learning so much more interesting.

The university shouldn't be like the A levels. All the mugging and frantically doing all the possible PYP ain't studying. It's memorizing. That's why I kinda question Singapore's engineering education. We are just producing students who can study very well. But that doesn't make an engineer. That's why I'm so persistent to study in Europe. In Europe, the universities train engineers, not educate one. And this one word makes all the difference. Engineering is a discipline, and the way it's taught should not be like science and math. So far in the university, I feel that only a couple of modules I've taken have sort of met this expectation - Process Safety, Health and Environment and Separation Processes. All in this semester. It really trains an engineers intuition - it's not always about getting the correct answer (although it would be good to). It's more of understanding what you learn and applying them to new situations. That's something I really enjoy. So exams aside, I really feel that this semester has been really fulfilling.. in every way.

Alright studies aside, I have been listening to Adele's songs these couple of weeks. Here are 2 songs that I really like.

Rolling in the deep

Somebody like you

These songs really grow on you. The more you listen, the more meaningful it gets. And every time I listen to it, I get this new experience. It's really good. The 2 songs are exact opposites. Rolling in the deep is more about a strong individual living her life to the fullest despite all the adversities that come her way, while someone like you really describes how people sometimes lose themselves in relationships. Really meaningful. It really shows the different sides of relationships. Go ahead and listen to them - I'm sure everyone who listens will get something meaningful out of them. =D

The Future

Someone commented yesterday that I seem to have my future all planned out and stuff. But I sort of think otherwise. The fact that my life's been super fast paced ever since my days of formal schooling ended, just meant that I have to do things spontaneously - to make decisive decisions at every point along the way. It's really not as easy as it seems. Sometimes it really makes me wonder if the choice I made earlier is correct, or if it's really the best choice. At every turning point in my life, I am bound to ask myself questions like "have I done my best?", "is there anything that I would have done differently?" or "What are my priorities?". But at every stage, my answer seem to change.

Actually I wrote a pretty long post about my life story, but felt that a single idea can encompass my entire point. Sounds really cliche, but to me, everything happens for a reason. Don't feel sad or blame everyone and everything around you when things don't turn out the way you want it to. You just have to believe in karma - what goes around, comes around. It may not be in the most obvious and direct way, but everything you do will eventually come back to you. It's really amazing once you experience it once - at least I felt that a couple of times already. So yeps, that's actually the main reason why I'm taking things much more easily that I did in the before. =D

Relationships.

Actually it isn't as nice as the title sounds. I was in school think afternoon for the FYP safety briefing. Such a bore. I really shouldn't have gone for it. 3 hrs of travelling for 45 minutes of lecture. LOL. Anyway the other half of the afternoon has been really productive. Caught up with my 2 hrs lag of online lectures and completed my part for the lab report. Really awesome. I guess that's uni - quality over quantity.

Anyway my entire night's off coz I had to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. So yeps, I self-declared a break for myself away from work. Haha. Sounds pathetic isn't it? But come on, let's face it. That's life for you. Ok that's not the topic for today.

So back to the topic - Relationships. I just returned home from my grandpa's house. Anyway, I realized that over the years, I'm just growing increasingly apart from my cousins from my maternal side. Actually to be honest, we were never close to start with. But every time I meet them, I actually don't know how to talk to them. I think it's because our experiences are very different - the path we have taken in life, the people we meet, etc. It's like at this point, when I talk to my brother, it's usually about university, work, family and cars. Haha. But these are things that my cousins cannot relate to. So after a few exchanges, silence fills the air. Kinda awkward. At least between me and my bro, I'm the far more talkative one. But talking to my cousins, I kinda not know what to say. Haiz. Kinda sad isn't it? I end up talking more to my uncles and grandparents.

But the opposite applies to my paternal cousins. Since young, I've been really close to them, growing up with them, attending almost the same schools as them and everything. As such, we can talk about almost anything under the sun. And over the years, we just got closer and closer. Now, it's as if I've got 4 brothers (coz coincidentally all of them are guys). Really fortunate to have such a close relationship with them. As such, isn't it quite strange that there is such stark contrast in my relationship with my 2 groups of cousins?

Anyway I'm really thankful to have such an awesome family. Actually I can't really remember the time from which I started to treat my parents more like my friends rather than parents so to speak. I can also talk to them about anything under the sun. Really fun people to talk to. Actually, watching dramas, I always watch about favoritism in the family. But at least in my family, I never really felt unfairly treated although I'm the younger child. My parents really strike a good balance between both of us, so yea, I'm really thankful of that. I guess the key is communication and balance. Actually my bro's kinda the more quiet one, so he seldom talks to my parents. But this is balanced with me being the ultra talkative one. So the is still communication within the family. And of course, trust is key. From young, I trust that my parents will make the best choices, and know what is best for me. As such, I respect their choices. In return, they gave me more freedom instead. It's like a spiral, but an upward one. Now, they basically leave me to do whatever I want. They do have their expectations, but it's not something that most parents would prioritize. These include spending some time with them regularly, manners, etc. It has absolutely nothing to do with academics or anything like that. And I'm really thankful for that.

Ok, the second half of this post is basically dedicated to my friends. I really gotta apologize this time to my TMS family peeps. This year, I have been missing and ps-ing you guys so often for outings! Especially since the start of the holidays, I've basically MIA-ed, more often than not, coz I'm not in Singapore. I'm really damn sorry! And I really want to thank you guys for being so understanding! So paiseh sometimes. But yea, I really appreciate you guys! I actually can't remember how we clicked, but our friendship's like... 8 years old already! Really thank you guys for being such an important part of my life for the past 8 years! You guys are damn awesome people! I will try to up my attendance k! =D

Yeps, the same apply to army friends! Omg I'm damn apologetic too! I keep ps-ing you guys too! I really wanna meet up with you guys, but somehow the timing just doesn't fit! Omg. Cursed. Haha. I will organize a dinner very soon before the exam periods begin! I haven't met up with you guys in a long time! =(

And to my JC clique. Somehow I get to meet up with you guys a bit more often. Coz very often, we meet at some damn weird timing and somehow, we are free. Really funny. Like late at night for k and supper.. Haha. And probably coz we meet up mostly when the overseas peeps are back, so we pretty much prioritize. But yea, really appreciate you guys so much! Damn fun to hang around with you guys! =D

To think of it, we actually meet many people throughout of lives, still, good friends are something really precious. They don't come by easily, and we don't need many of them. All I need is a few good friends to be there when I'm down, or when I just need someone to talk to. In fact, many a time, we don't really remember how on earth we actually clicked. But that's the beauty of friendship isn't it? And the most awesome thing about good friends is that I can be myself when I'm with them. I think I don't exactly reveal my personality easily. I think if I don't smile, I look kinda hostile. Hahaha. At least that's what some people tell me. (But then again, I smiling most of the time, like a standard emoticon. LOL... but that's not the point.) And it doesn't take frequent meetings and outings to maintain the relationship. It's all about mutual understanding. I love my friends. =D

Almost there!

Yay, it's almost the end of the semester already! Time really flew by this semester - faster than ever. Haha. Mid terms are pretty much over. I did pretty decent this time round (Phew.. such a relief..). Anyway I finally found the time this week to settle my truckload of administrative stuff. Graduate school stuff, exchange stuff, module planning, etc. Super tedious and time consuming stuff.

Anyway for many months, I was pretty confused with all the possible paths to take, but talking to Prof Quek on Tuesday was the best thing I did in a long time! Haha. I have been MIA-ing since the end of the last semester as I was overseas throughout the holidays. So yeps, thought it was a good idea to drop by for a visit. Haha. He really helped me think through all my options and he sort of gave me a good idea of the path I should head towards. And sometimes I feel very paiseh because he actually goes to great extents to help me. Scholarship, job, career options, etc. He helps me with all of them. Really can't thank him enough. At least now I'm very sure of my future - it's like I've finally found my purpose in university. At every stage of my life thus far, I've always got a goal that I can strive towards, and it's exactly that that really motivates and drives me ahead. But somehow when I came to the university, I lost that goal. For the whole of the last 2 semesters, I've been studying pretty much for the sake of studying, and nothing else. I didn't know what I was studying for. But finally, I seem to have found something worth fighting for - and I really hope to see it through. A great sense of assurance and confidence. Great feeling. =D

I guess that I have been rambling a lot to my friends recently about how I hate my life in NUS, etc. But I have been thinking through. Perhaps my first year was really bad, as I hadn't met the right people and I suffered a lot trying to adapt to a burden so heavy too quickly. Somewhat doing too much for my own good. But this semester, life got very much better. In fact, my workload this semester is the worst to date. But at least I feel much happier. I guess there are a few factors. My research mentor and supervisors are awesome people. They really helped me a lot in terms of getting the hang of things, which made the transition less painful despite  such high expectations. And they are just really nice people to talk to! Haha. =D And I have been quite a bit of stuff for Operation Orion this year, although I'm not going overseas this year because of my NS reservice. Oh well can't be helped. But I've learnt quite a bit as the treasurer as well. Totally worth the work. And my enjoying it as well, meeting new and awesome people. Haha.

Oh well. After this week, it will be the mad sprint to the end. Or at least it should be. Somehow after coming to NUS, to me, exams aren't that big a thing anymore. It's definitely not something I will lose sleep over, or get stressed out over. Haha. I guess I've sort of understood the fact that if you haven't done your work consistently throughout the semester, the last week of mugging ain't gonna help one bit. But if you've done fine throughout, then you will be good. New attitude in life. Haha.

Ok this is a short update for now. Will be back if I have the time. =D

A New Semester!

Ok, the day I landed in Singapore back from Texas, NUS started. LOL. That's pathetic. But I really don't regret going for the 2 summer programmes at INPG and UT Austin. I really couldn't ask for more! Anyway time really flies. It's already the end of week 6, which means next week's recess week! Ok some updates thus far. This semester has been a really fulfilling yet most tiring semester thus far. Here's a glimpse at my timetable..

CN3108: Chemical Engineering Lab II

CN3132: Separation Processes

CN3135: Process Safety, Health and Environment

CN3421: Process Modeling and Numerical Simulation

GEM1535: Clean Energy and Storage

GEK2008: Environmental History

EG2605: UROP

Really intense schedule. Almost fully packed everyday with my 27 MC semester - my heaviest semester to date. Oh and I started by UROP project. Some computational catalysis stuff. Really interesting, but it's really tough learning another programming software from scratch. It's like taking IT1005 again. Ouch. And my supervisor is probably the most infamous Prof in Chemical Engineering in NUS. But he's really a very nice Prof. No idea what's with all of "Are you MAD?!" response I get from my friends when I told them. Working for some PhD student and with an FYP student, who's also super helpful people. Can't thank them enough. I just had my first mid-terms for CN3132. I think I did really badly. I really hate MCQ papers, but everything in NUS is becoming MCQ. Haiz. What to do? Just keep pushing on and see how it goes. And for my history module, I did decent in my tutorials, so hopefully that would translate to good grades. But then again, if not good I can still S/U. So I will just try my best. 

Oh and I have been really busy with Operation Orion stuff as well. All the fund-raising activities and planning, and all the money matters. Really lots of work to do. But it's really fulfilling, so yea, I'm not complaining about it. But it's quite sad that I'm not going overseas this year, coz my STUPID re-service just had to clash with it.. EXACTLY! Really pissed. But it's not too bad, since it wouldn't be a bad idea to stay in Singapore with my family and friends before I go MIA for another 6 months for SEP. Anyway I SEP is more or less confirmed. I'm going to TU Delft. 

But I'm still thinking whether or not I should complete my degree in 2.5 or 3 years. Or rather, it's more of whether I want to stay another semester to pull up my CAP, or just be satisfied with what I have and move on to a M.Sc in Chemical Engineering. Hmm. Maybe I should just apply for a M.Sc Programme and see if I get in or not before deciding. I have been reading through lots of university websites/rankings and it seems like there aren't that many universities that offer a better engineering degree than NUS! My first choice would definitely be Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich or more commonly known as ETH Zurich, in Switzerland. Why? Coz it's in Europe, and I think the European system really suits me best. And it's probably the best place in Europe to get a M.Sc. Imperial and Cambridge's M.Eng is just equivalent to NUS B.Eng (Hons), so it's totally useless to get it. And the other option is University of California at Berkley. Really good engineering school. But the draw back is USA. I know it sounds insane to many, but to me, the US system isn't all that good. Doesn't suit me. And MIT and Cal tech.. come on, let's be realistic. They are probably too tough to get in, so I would really think twice before applying.

But then again, if I manage to land a good job, then I would give M.Sc a miss. Next thing is IA. If I take 3 years to complete, I can do IA! I have been asking many seniors and Prof's and they seem to advocate IA. Or at least VIP. Reason being it's good to have some Industrial exposure during undergraduate days. But to think of it, if I don't go SEP, I can do IA and still complete in 2.5 years! Such a headache! Gotta straighten out my plans and stick with it before it's too late. Anyone with any opinion about what I should do please feel free to contact me! I really need as much advice as I can get now! =D

And one more thing, I realize that I haven't been keeping in touch with my friends as often as I hoped these days, so to my friends, I'm really sorry if I PS-ed you guys for outings, coz I really can't find the time and energy to get out. So yea, will definitely make an effort to meet up more often!

And thanks to my TMS family for celebrating my birthday with me! Really appreciate it! 

August Babies!

The angry birds gang! =D

Once again, sorry for the PS's (not me)! Will make up to you guys!

Anyway so many things to think about and do these days, I really have no time to relax. Gotta make full use of my recess week to give myself a good break to re-charge! 

Summer 2011 Part II

Ok, I know this is far-over due, but here is part 2 of my summer holidays! At the University of Texas at Austin Summer Nuclear Engineering Institute!

The Admin Building @ UT Austin

My room @ San Jacinto Residence. Fully Air-conditioned, damn awesome in the sweltering Texas heat!

Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab @ UT Austin JJ Pickle Research Campus!

UT Austin Stadium - I swear it makes the Singapore National Stadium look like crap!

What can be more American that Walmart! Haha =D

Dinner at Solomon's family's place! Really hospitable people from South Africa! (and super yummy dinner!) =D

Round Rock Premium Factory Outlet, where everything's branded and CHEAP! =D

Round Rock Donut - the biggest donut I have ever seen! =D

Texas BBQ! =D

Class Texas BBQ Dinner! =D

Beautiful Dusk at Bat Bridge @ Austin!

Austin Capitol Congress Building at night!

Inside the Congress Building. Beautiful dome!

Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant!

I really like this picture! =D

Control Room in the Nuclear Power Plant!

Outside Geroge W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford Texas! 

NASA!

Heidified? =X

Galveston Beach =D

Houston, Texas at night!

Hard Rock Cafe, Houston!

Ice Cream Truck! Old school!=D

The core of the UT Nuclear Reactor! =O

The top of the reactor!

Texas Leader Shop! =D

On some random (and exciting) outing! =D

A visit to a river in Austin!

The super adorable squirrel on campus! =D

Really intense month at UT. But really appreciate the hospitality that I received, especially from my classmates and everyone! Thanks so much for making my summer an unforgettable one! =D