Five Six... Pick Up Sticks...

Venkat messaged me today to tell me that he saw Master Lian in the train. Master Lian is the notorious old man with a snobbish mole who oversees my army camp's cookhouse. He roams around the cookhouse during meals and makes unintelligible bellows from time to time. With backing from evil and influential HQ office ladies, he bullies the cookhouse aunties and uncles and makes life difficult for poor soildiers in charge of rations. I was once under the power of his malicious presence.

I just hate it when he shouts at the aunties and uncles. It makes my blood boil when he is terrorising Neo, our hyperventilating CSM PA. It prompted me to do one of the few righteous things that I have done so far.

Once when he was helping out to serve some satay, I noticed that he was not wearing any gloves like the rest of the workers. So I went up to him and told him in Mandarin, "Master Lian, if you want to serve, can you wear gloves? It's very unhygenic to use your bare hands."

Master Lian was totally embarassed and pissed off. He put down the food immediately and went to the side, lost for words. My friends were shocked at my actions. The aunties and uncles were so amused they kept on laughing. One uncle even noted my name and said that he wanted to promote me to 2nd Lieutenant.

It was hardly a thing a corporal would do to a master sergeant. There were more conflicts later on and even led to an email attack between our units. It was the first time I got so offensive for the sake of upholding justice. It was so much fun.

Now I kind of miss the days back in camp, where life is so much simpler and there are fewer things to be troubled with. The life can even be spiced up with occasional quibbles with master sergeants. There is no need to worry about food and I always get to eat at fixed times.

In NUS, life loses the discipline. I sleep late, wake up late, have irregular meals and I hardly exercise. Not to mention panic attacks, depression, paranoia and anorexia. The good thing is that my brain is working a little more.

I remembered we were each given four sticks of satay every time the rare treat is served. Eugene taught me how to place these four sticks in such a way that they are fixed together even when you are just holding one stick. I had difficulty doing it and I could never figure out how. My sis bought home some satay today and I tried doing it. It took me a while before I finally did it myself! Eugene wasn't there to help me this time. The formation looked like this:

Notice how each stick manages to either 1) get below two sticks and above the third or 2) get above two sticks and below the third. Now you can hold any one stick up and the whole structure remains. You can make lots and lots of them and imagine them like little houses or mini chrismas trees.

School does do wonders to your brain.

The Japanese Freak

Did I mention that there were changes to the modules I took? I have dropped Eng Lit to take the Japanese language instead. I guess I was intimidated by all the books I have to read in just a few months. I remember I took 2 years in secondary school to study three books. And they are expecting us to cover and study in depth like 6 books in 4 months? That is like one book for every two lectures!

People say that it is possible to cope but I still chickened out. It was not a bad choice though as I took up Japanese, which is what I always wanted to learn. I enjoyed the japanese tutorials most by the way. But it is really quite intensive, with 2 hour lectures and 5 hour tutorials every week and lots of preparation to do, I find myself studying Japanese more than any other subjects.

And with so many hours of tutorials, my timetable planning is all screwed up. However, I still managed to squeeze everything into the first four days and leave Friday free. I just need it so much. Going to and fro between my house and school is simply exhausting.

And yes, I am taking Japanese studies and Japanese at the same time. I am such a Japanese freak. Yea, somebody called me that. I don't know but I just love how the Japanese words sounded in their songs. I like the exquisite Japanese cuisines and the quirky Japanese drama serials. I like their outlandish fashion sense and cute culture.

Perhaps I should make plans to go for exchange in Japan. It would be great just to be away from NUS for a semester and try something different you know. Meanwhile, I have to try to remember my katakana, when i have barely mastered my hiragana. Japanese is just so troublesome.

What can you get with $4?

I have a terrible sense of time judgement. That is why I always end up late. Not to mention I take outrageously long to prepare myself to go out. I have been taking taxi from clementi to school for quite a few times already. Do you know that it costs consistently $4 to take a cab from clementi to NUS?

For the first time, the fare was $4.10. I deliberately gave $10 to the driver so that he will not bother to give me $5.90 but $6.00 instead, thereby saving ten cents. Don't you think I am cheapskate? But every cent is important to me now since I am living purely on the $360 I get from my tuition job. And I still have the audacity to take a cab because I delayed in going out. Must hit myself on the head.

Then, for the second time, the fare was $4.20. I tried the same trick again but the Malay driver asked if I have 20 cents. Okay.. so it does not work all the time. Then for the third time, the driver was cool enough to beat two traffic lights and cruised to NUS clocking a fare of $4 exactly.

I was thinking about a new service implementation. There should be a taxi stand where late NUS students can gather to share a cab. Then with 4 people sharing, each person will just have to pay a dollar! Isn't that wonderful?

My Scientific Report on the First Day of School as an Arts student

Aim: To analyse my first day of school as an Arts student

Hypothesis:

As I only have a two hour social work lecture, I expected it to be rather uneventful. I pictured it to be something like this: me travelling more than an hour to school, loiter around a bit, enter the lecture room, sit alone at some corner, listen to an old man talk for two hours and obediently head my way back home.

Experimental results:

Was travelling on the MRT when a panic attack striked because I realise I did not prepare anything for the lecture and wondered if there was anything to prepare in the first place. I called up Margaret, my fellow talent scout colleague who was also a second year arts student majoring in social work, to reassure myself.

I reached school and alighted at the central library instead to see if I could get some books but was overwhelmed by the queue.

Went to the lecture room and sat next to a guy and two girls. I talked to them a little. The guy offered me a sweet.

The old man was much younger and he only talked for slightly more than an hour.

I did not go home yet. Margaret invited me to her friend's birthday party at Munchie Monkeys cafe. There were a few social work and a few psychology majors there. All extremely amiable and typical church-goers. Ate the Al Funghi pasta and a piece of birthday cake.

Discovered it was weird of me celebrating a birthday for a total stranger and I excused myself to go to the bookstore to get my books.

Went to watch fireworks with conrad. See attached research photographs:

The fireworks was magnificent and I furiously took pictures with my camera. Conrad was even reminding me to watch the fireworks and stop taking pictures of it.

Then Conrad sent me home with his motorbike. It was my first time riding and the feeling was good. In fact, it was great.

Overview:

Inferences:

The panic attacks can just get more frequent in the coming weeks. I must admit I am rather stressed out even though the real pressure is not really here yet. It is the anticipation of fear more than fear itself that chills me to the core. I have been sleeping a lot to avoid the reality and is generating much guilt and anxiety in the process. I am working hard to get my engines started and I hope I can keep it going.

However, I discovered that I am not as shy as before. I have always been morbidly allergic to strangers. Yet I have been making reasonably engaging conversations with quite a few people recently.

I was enlightened by the burst of fireworks. I discovered that I have been focusing on the wrong objectives all this while. I never live in the moment. When happy and exciting events come, I take so much effort trying to preserve and prolong it and before I could succeed, it is already gone.

I should instead, just enjoy what comes along the way. It does not matter if it is short-lived like the fireworks. The fireworks are beautiful all the same even if it is just for that instant. The fireworks display will come one after another and we are supposed to enjoy it, not take pictures of it.

Theorem: The strength of the wind while travelling in a vehicle is directly proportional to the amount of exposure to the environment your vehicle is subjecting you to.

*Riding on a motorbike is just so shiok.

Were you a Fool?

Inaugurated today as an NUS undergrad. Nothing can be more official than a ceremony with corny pledges and funny professors donned in academic regalia. It could have been more magical like Harry Potter enrolling in Hogwarts if only there were medieval castles and hairy broomsticks. However, reality always fall short and the freshman inauguration ceremony is just a simple affair with its significance purely symbolic. It symbolises the start of a new phase, the beginning of university life.

Went to the ceremony with Pek, a rather interesting guy from my BMT days. I really have to thank him for accompanying me to school these few days. As I was previously from the Science stream, most of my friends do not become as radical as me to go to arts in university. Most of the guys from my unit are going to engineering as well. Thus, I am all alone to fend for myself.

Finally took out my tarot cards again. It has been some time since I practised it. I did three readings today, for Pek, Luke and his friend Zin whom I've just befriended. It has been a positive experience and I'm glad that I have not lost touch with tarot.

The Fool signifies new beginnings and the start of things. A perfect representation of today's inauguration. Pek also mentioned that he was like the Fool, the jester, always fooling around like a clown and prefers to remain as an observer of the action going on.

The Fool is one of my favourite cards as well. The Fool listens to his heart even if people accuses him of being silly. He is forthcoming and spontaneous and is a child at heart. He embraces uncertainty and will pursue his dreams despite the risks. I have always wanted to be like him.

I have always thought that I would be taking business admin at NUS, probably an influence from my sister. This time, I am following my heart like the fool. This time, I have decided on the course of my path even though it is unfamiliar. I am intending to major in psychology and I hope I have made the right choice.

Everyone started as fools you know.