Ultimately, no matter how good your plans are, they can be messed up by factors out of your control. like today, i was supposed to be in school to run an NMR and a column, but when i woke up this morning, there was a raw feeling above the roof of my mouth, and it hurt to swallow. thanks to murphy's law, today HAD to be the day that my professor was looking for me. managed to push it off to next week, though i don't think he's too pleased. good news is that i haven't lost my voice, so i don't think it's a sore throat. it improved over the last...9 hours or so, though mild nausea, and a slight headache/temperature combination have recently developed, possibly from spending too much time at the computer screen. still, i'm hoping that i'll be well enough to train/spar a little by tomorrow afternoon/evening.

other than the danger of me missing out on training camp, this minor bit of illness delayed my work schedule by one day. it's not that difficult to make up...just annoying to be set back. with this, i don't think i'll be staying over with the kids, not for the first night at least. the second night depends on how i'm feeling. not going to worry about it yet; just taking things as they come.

something tells me my head is seriously messed up. i had the weirdest dream this morning, about a few sec 3 cat high kids, OBS or some adventure camp, and other assorted random events. could be i'm too excited about training camp. sucks about falling sick, though. think i'll turn in early tonight. hopefully, sufficient sleep will help in getting rid of whatever's bugging me. before i go, tomorrow's plan is to give tuition from 11:00am to 1:00pm, buy pocari sweat powder from NTUC on the way back, get changed and quickly pack, then leave home by 2:30pm. my friend just facebooked me to tell me that he has a car for tomorrow, which means saving bus fare, and not having to carry heavy stuff around. with this new development, i'm definitely not staying over on friday night. better get to sleep, in case i can't wake up in time for tuition.

-random thought of the day: Feeling bleh.-

This semester's results post is a little late, as i was in the lab until evening or so. anyway, for me, year 3 is proof that miracles can happen, because my results were similar to last semester. overall, i did as well as last semester, but my CAP went beyond the best-case scenario. while it is weird, this makes me especially proud, since i took 4 cores and 1 elective, and still somehow managed to pull it off. enough trying to withhold the results; i'm just as excited to be sharing them. let's go in ascending order, starting with...

CM3212: B+
i've got mixed feelings about this module. going by the mid-term, i think i should have scored higher. but forgetting the trans-effect order definitely hurt my marks. right now, this is the module i feel worst about this semester, but "worst" here still means "pretty good", so i guess it's ok.

CM3288: B+
after the grilling from one of my examiners, my sights weren't set too high. so, i can definitely live with a B+. though i really think that for all the work we do, UROPS should weigh more than 4MCs. on the bright side, i don't owe my friends dinner since i didn't get A- and above. honestly, though, i wish i DID have to buy them dinner, because that would mean that my CAP would be higher than it currently is.

CM3222: A-
thank goodness for the project, because it definitely boosted my group's grades. looking back, i find this module to be a bit wasted, because i could definitely have scored better for the tests. nevertheless, i can be satisfied with an A-.

CM3291: A
This one went a bit beyond my expectation. i'm quite satisfied, though i have a sneaky suspicion that the professor is being extra-nice this year. for this module, i actually feel good, in the sense that i learnt something, enjoyed doing it, and got a good grade, to boot.

LAJ2201: A
there isn't really much to say about this module. i'm happy that despite the occasional hiccup, i scored pretty well. seems that i have to put in more effort for japanese, though. the same level of effort got me a lower grade, which means if i maintain, i might get B+ and B for japanese 3 and 4 respectively. so...yes. must work harder. and in retrospect, i guess it was not such a good idea to admit to your tutor that you didn't prepare for class.

Semester CAP: 4.50
Overall CAP: 4.07

with this, i'm back safely in second-upper zone. while the expectation/requirement is lessened somewhat, there is the danger of complacency setting in. not to mention that 4.07 is still fairly precarious. an uncushioned B- could knock me back down to second-lower. still, i'll be happy while it lasts. can't believe it took 2 years to fix one messed-up semester.

out of curiousity, i went to do some calculations based on several projected honours project grades. won't go into the details, but long story short, it's about what i need to just maintain second-upper (ie. CAP = 4.00) depending on my honours project grade. for instance, an A or A+ for honours project means i can afford a B- average for my other 6 modules. likewise, an A- honours corresponds to something between B- and B. B+, between B and B+. B needs a B+ average. if i somehow mess up and get a B-, i'd need to do even better than what i did this year to make it up. lastly, goodness forbid i get a C+, because i'd need 2As and a B+ (or some equivalent combination) to save that. but if i DO get a C+ for honours project, i probably don't deserve honours anyway.

so based on this, the safest bet is (as always,) aim high. realistically, i think i'll get a B+ for honours. based on that, a B+ average for everything else should be safe. but still, i'm aiming to maintain my A- average streak in the event of something going horribly wrong. that might be more difficult in honours year, though, as the cohort is smaller. less people means that the normalization process is less forgiving. guess i'll worry about that when the time comes.

more immediate worries are tomorrow's interview (from which i was unable to siam), and my schedule for the rest of the week. the interview is dangerously close to japanese class in the evening, so i'm hoping that it doesn't overrun. good news is that i THINK the interview will be easy, since i did some preparation and background reading. not to mention i have a slight advantage. just hope they don't get too technical about terms and stuff, because i'm next to clueless about all things bio. for the rest of the week, i aim to do a (pretty simple) synthesis up to the work-up stage by tomorrow before going off for the interview. there's this one-off job my friend found, which i'll be doing on wednesday. depending on the time, i may either go straight home or stay back to do a column. thursday will probably be spent on another column, and if all goes well, NMR analysis of the columned products, which will happen next monday if the time's too tight. then there's tuition on friday morning/early afternoon, followed by training camp occupying the whole weekend. sounds good, doesn't it?

-random thought of the day: I have no idea how I cut my left thumb.-

Shopping should be one of the last things on my mind now, given the dire straits of my finances. yet, i found myself looking at 2 relatively expensive purchases - a laptop, and a car. i'll explain why in due course...but first, a brief recap of past events.

on wednesday, i went to school for a meeting with my professor. at first, the plan seemed simple...apply for some funny thing, get accepted, start work. but i got an email on friday asking me to go for an interview. so annoying! considering that it's the holidays, i shouldn't have to be stressed about anything at all! just hope that i can somehow avoid the interview.

stepped back into the lab on friday, after a 6-week absence. there have been some slight changes, like the computer being replaced by a laptop. more drastic changes happened too, like the stuff from my fume hood being dis/misplaced. while i am annoyed by it, i can't really do anything since it wasn't my permanent place. i just find it weird that some of the stuff has completely disappeared! i'd have expected whoever cleared the stuff out to relocate whatever was cleared to somewhere in the vicinity, but apparently that wasn't the case. i mean, how can 2 beakers full of stuff (not to mention 1 giant beaker) just vanish? well, at least i managed to find whatever i needed for the reaction. after 1 run of the reaction, my conclusion is that i'm still rusty after such a long break from lab. the reaction procedure appears simple, but i don't think my first run would have yielded results.

also on friday, i went back for SJI training. only reason i say "SJI traning" is because training was optional for CJC since it was their sports day. despite that, i was heartened to see that some J1s actually came down to train. the training itself wasn't really anything special...just drills. would have loved to spar a bit, but that didn't materialize. there's always training camp, though. my preliminary assessment is that while their skills are somewhat lacking (they're new, after all), they have the potential to make a strong team. unlike last year's J1s (ie. this year's J2s), the unity seems to be stronger even though they've spent less time together. given that i've only seen some of them, and not for too long either, i could be wrong. the training camp will definitely help to refine my perception.

had tuition with my friend's cousin for the first time yesterday. her main problem is that she's just confused about the terms and definitions. understandable, since she's just sec 3. i don't foresee any major problem with her...just have to build up her alertness, and show her how to identify key words for use when answering questions.

now, back to what i mentioned earlier in the post...why a car and a laptop? well, both have to do with honours year. even though i've survived 3 years in NUS without a laptop, i'm not sure if i can do the same for honours year. you see, the thing is that i'll have to do a lot more literature searching and stuff like that when school begins. since i'll probably be based in the student room, i'm going to need a portable computer. besides, as an undergraduate, i'm entitled to one discounted laptop purchase. so, why not, right? well...budget issues, that's why not. i've got until at least august to decide, so it's not that important for the time being.

as for the car, it's still a want, but becoming a bit more of a need, too. from the way things are going now, it seems that i'll be splitting my time between my professor's lab in school, and another lab near buona vista MRT. while i could take public transport, it would be faster to drive, especially if for some reason, i happen to be running late. more importantly, i may end up working late in school. not late enough that the trains stop running, but after a long day, i don't think i'd be too inclined to take public transport. in the event i end up pursuing postgraduate studies, however, i may stay past midnight in the lab, which is when a car would REALLY come in handy. but that's still into the future. sometime last year, my dad mentioned the possibility of me getting a car during honours year. in the event that that does come to pass, i did some research. seems that second-hand car prices are going down, which is a good sign for potential car-buyers. if i could get a car, my target car would be a 5-year-old one. that way, if i continue studying after honours year, my transport is settled. then, it can either be scrapped or sold off after my studies are done, just in time as i will hopefully be getting ready to leave for japan.

upcoming events involve me spending more time in lab, within reasonable limits. after all, it IS the holidays. more japanese class, and attending the CJC/SJI training camp from this coming friday to sunday. oh yes. tomorrow is results day. honestly, i didn't remember it until i saw my friend's facebook post. while i'm definitely nervous, i just can't muster up the concern required to be excessively worried. i guess that on a subconscious level, i believe that i'll do ok. though that's not certain until i see the results for myself tomorrow, i am reasonably sure that my CAP will either stagnate, or go up. while i would not want to see a drop, 3.95 is the lowest CAP i can tolerate...but it would probably take a B- for that to happen. at any rate, i'm still praying that i'll get around 4.02, or even higher for an even better safety barrier. somewhere between now and next thursday, i want to watch dark shadows too. how can the combination of tim burton and johnny depp produce anything bad? now, all that's left is for me to recover sufficiently before training camp. you'd be surprised how quickly muscle aches build up after just 1 session.

-random thought of the day: Still fixing my sleep timing.-

Restarting my brain after 3 short weeks of slacking is proving to be surprisingly difficult. i attended the first lesson at the japanese school, and it took me longer than usual to register what the teacher was saying. still, i managed to get by in the end. seems like i joined the correct class, too! the teacher (whom i quite like) did something which had been covered in NUS, and then went on to teach new stuff. so the transition was from familiar to unfamiliar, which was kind of nice.

currently, the impression i get is that i'm ahead of the class in terms of kanji and ability to express myself...like, i probably have a wider vocabulary, and know a few more sentence patterns. today's listening practice was relatively easy too...listening to/for numbers, which is something we did in back in japanese 1. of course, they have advantages over me too, in the sense that they convert between verb forms more quickly, and have studied some humble/honourific stuff, which NUS has not even touched. one thing that scares me a little is the guy-to-girl ratio. in the class of 10, there are only 2 guys. well, 3 if you count the teacher. feels a little unbalanced. at least everyone's nice.

i must admit, it's a nice change of pace to not be stressed while learning japanese. since my grades don't matter here, i could theoretically fail every single quiz and come out ok. not that i will, but just saying. a slight downer is that i'm having a little culture shock. people don't seem as responsive as compared to NUS japanese tutorials. maybe it's because the class is held late, and everyone is tired from work. or maybe it's because they don't have to wayang for the teacher. i'm not saying that NUS requires it, but we can't act dead in class and expect to score well.

all in all, i think these 9 weeks of lessons will be beneficial for my japanese. if my calculations are correct, i may be able to take intermediate 3, since it only overlaps with the first 4 weeks of school. guess i'll make that decision at a later date, pending on workload (not that important since it's early in the semester), and any timetable conflicts (important since i don't want to miss lectures).

remember my problematic earphones? i decided to get a new pair after all. then the current pair will be used exclusively for exercise, while the new pair will be used for all other purposes. only thing worrying me now is that i may not be in time to tell my friend, or amazon may not ship to his location in time. at any rate, i'm keeping my fingers crossed that he gets back to me in time, and everything goes according to plan.

highlights in the foreseeable future include (finally) meeting my professor tomorrow to discuss lab stuff...which also means that i have to start work soon. going for CJC judo training this friday, and training camp over the next weekend. i'm so tempted to get a new gi, but i REALLY dislike the "F" on the sleeves of those which the NUS coach sells. worst case is i'll buy from liang seng...if i get desperate enough to buy their ridiculously overpriced stuff. if i had a spare $500 or so lying around, i might consider getting a custom-made one from japan. but nah. not at this point in time. tuition is also starting up; i'll be seeing my friend's cousin for the first time this saturday. which reminds me...i should get some materials ready for the session.

anything else on the radar? don't think so. nothing that i can remember, at any rate. guess it's time to try and fix my sleeping cycle. sleeping around 3:00am and waking up around 12:00pm can't be healthy. funny how just one day can totally mess up sleeping patterns, and yet, fixing the problem usually requires a week or more. but that's how it is in life...things are by far easier to mess up than to mend.

-random thought of the day: My right thumb's joints feel weird.-

Quick communication really saved me a load of trouble today. we were supposed to send the EURIP people off at the airport, but for some reason or another, everyone couldn't/didn't want to make it. so, the whole send-off thing was called off in the end. lucky i had whatsapp, and more importantly, friends who respond fast on whatsapp. i suppose it saves me some trouble, since i couldn't get the car tonight.

this got me thinking a bit. how do you measure friendship? like, just because i don't go to the airport, does it mean they're not/less important to me? there are 2 ways to argue this, i think. if i go, it means that i care enough to meet them before a relatively long separation. but if i don't go, i can also say that our friendship is strong enough that my physical presence doesn't matter. all depends on which story you want to use i guess. granted that the people aren't going away for that long (3 weeks), so i feel less bad about not going. besides, we last saw each other at the chem barbeque on friday, so it's not like we've been out of touch for months. if the case was similar to my cousin and friend, who leave for about 6 months at a go, i might have actually gone down despite everyone else no-showing.

stuff that happened this week include the barbeque, and a library/j8 visit. for the latter thing, i borrowed a couple of DVDs and books, as well as some groceries from j8, all of which have been used already. the barbeque was...ok. turnout was kind of weak, though. they catered for 70 year 3s, and had food to spare. my guess is that now that people are graduating, attending this kind of thing seems pointless. either that, or they're overseas/otherwise unavailable, and the timing was off. nevertheless, i had a good time interacting with the usual gang of chem kids. got slightly inebriated, but not completely dead drunk. side note: i thought that the mango vodka which my friend brought wasn't that bad. everyone else seemed to disagree, though.

i wanted to blog about this next thing last time, but it kind of slipped my mind. this thing is...making decisions. or rather, how i make decisions. often, when people ask me which alternative they should choose, my reply will be, "narrow down to 2 options, then flip a coin". the act of coin-flipping does make my decision easier. but unlike two-face, i don't blindly follow the outcome of the toss. in fact, the outcome is secondary, and just helps to reinforce the decision to which you are already inclined. the most important period during a coin toss is when the coin is spinning in the air...because in that time, you know what you want the outcome to be. i remember reading that off a website or something, and i find it to be very true. which is why after i say, "flip a coin," i add, "then choose whichever one you want". i can't speak for everyone, but at least for me, it works well.

now that it's summer and i'm pretty free, i've been reading blogs of people who live in japan, and commented on them with questions. hopefully they get back to me soon. based on my reading thus far, i've discovered the existence of other teach-english-in-japan programs, which will probably be backups if JET fails. one of the blogs is very useful for me, since the author is also a singaporean guy. so there are things about exit permits and other technicalities that only apply to us, and that i would not know about otherwise if not for him. he also mentioned something about closing his old blog down and starting a new blog, which was where i got all those helpful tips and advice. that sentence made me think, because i have been considering starting a new blog after graduating from university. there's nothing wrong with this blog...it's just to symbolize a (radical) change. at this point in time, the plan in my head is to get the post number to another significant milestone (eg. 1500 or 2000), then decide what to do at that time. so even if i end up blogging somewhere else, my total post count will be easily obtained through simple addition. but that's still far off into the future. the main objective now is to graduate. after that, the next step depends on the possibility of postgraduate studies. like i've said before, it seems surreal that i'm making plans for my future...plans that may not involve further studying.

just a quick bit about the by-election before i go off. personally, i feel that a replacement MP should have been appointed straight, instead of going through another election. since the workers' party won the constituency last year, they should keep it, right? one party member's actions does not equate to the actions of the entire party. personally, i think that either directly appoint someone, or the whole country goes to the polls again. but that's just my thinking. there's probably a law somewhere that states a by-election is required.

somehow, i predict that the workers' party will win by an even larger margin than last year. the dissatisfaction levels among singaporeans seems to be rising. while i don't feel THAT strongly about it yet, i must admit that i have begun to lose faith in the government. somehow, the transparency is missing. to recall something i said when blogging about the (thankfully) one and only train fault i experienced this year (a minor disruption of the circle line), i don't mind being inconvenienced if i knew the cause for the inconvenience. there's more i want to say, but i'll save it for 7 posts later. you'll see why eventually.

-random thought of the day: Going back to school tomorrow.-

Professors are busy people, and i understand that. that's why i'm not entirely surprised that my professor hasn't emailed me about my lab work yet. i'm supposed to look for him (i think), but somehow, the prospect of another free week before starting work is kind of tempting. not that i'm in a rush, anyway. also, there are some events lined up this week that make the prospect of starting lab work quite unattractive.

first, though, let's recap events between the last post and now. on thursday, i went to J8 for shoe shopping. didn't find anything that i liked, and ended up walking through the entire mall. in the basement, i rediscovered the presence of a shoe repair shop, which gave me the idea to go home, grab my spoilt shoes, and go down again so that i could get them patched up at the shop. by doing this, i was hoping to avoid getting new shoes for a few more months at least. but the nice man at the shop told me that gluing the sole back was only a temporary fix, which would last days, or weeks if i was lucky and avoided stepping in water. looks like some expenditure is unavoidable, after all.

during my jog that same night, i realized that the volume controls on my earphones' remote stopped working. at that point, i wasn't sure whether it was the earphones or my phone's earphone connector that was giving the problem. after reaching home, i tested my phone with my dad's earphones, and tested my earphones with my dad's phone. see? signaller training once again. well, it's actually common sense, and anyone with the slightest technological inclination should be able to think of something like that. so, the test results showed that my earphones were indeed giving problems. and my hypothesis on how the problem originated is that my sweat somehow damaged the circuitry inside during/after my previous jog. so much for being waterproof. this leaves me with 2 possible courses of action: (1) continue using the current spoilt pair (the play/pause/skip button is still working), or (2) order a new pair from amazon, ship it to my friend in the US, and have him bring it over when he comes back for summer break later in the month. while option 2 is appealing, it'll set me back about USD80. and i'm uncertain if amazon ships to my friend's address (he's going to university in quite an ulu town). at any rate, my friend's coming back on the 27th, so i still have a few more days to sit on this issue before making a decision.

now that getting shoes became a priority, i then went to queensway on friday to try my luck there. after browsing for quite a while, i managed to find something that was casual enough to pair with jeans, yet formal enough to be used with pants. best part? i only paid $50. while i know that price isn't always an indicator of quality, at least i'm more mentally prepared if these shoes fall apart within the next year. also, these new shoes are brown in colour. normally, i tend to go for black/grey shades, but i thought it would be nice to try something new. haven't got the chance to wear them yet, but from preliminary fittings, they seem to fit well.

group seminar and tuition on saturday as per normal. due to various reasons, tuition for the next 3 weeks has been cancelled. the timing kind of sucks, because i'm on holiday, and there's no shortage of slacking time. not to mention that i need more money now, especially after the various purchases made recently have caused my account balance to go dangerously close to my minimum savings amount. but well...there's nothing i can do about it now. i'm kind of happy/grateful that one of my JC classmates asked me to tutor his cousin, who is in sec 3 this year. details aren't quite solid yet, but due to the nature of this recommendation, i'd guess it's more or less confirmed. all i can do is wait until we have a date for the first lesson. minor downer is that the location is east coast, which is kind of far. thank goodness there's the circle line if i ever need to use public transport to get there. here's hoping i can get the car for all tuition days.

yesterday was interesting, because it was the first time i used the school gym in my 3 years of study. since it was my first time, it took a while to get oriented with the various machines. in the end, i managed to get in a decent workout. at the point of leaving the gym yesterday, i felt that i didn't really do enough. now that the aches have set in, i realize that i did more than i'd thought, but still below my ideal target. then again, my "ideal" is not being able to lift my arms, so i guess this isn't too bad. have to do it more often, especially since the school shower facilities aren't too bad.

guess that's everything significant that happened over the past 5 days or so. upcoming events include the chem barbeque at east coast this friday, and sending off the EURIP kids on saturday night. and tuition with my friend's cousin, too. was supposed to go for CJC training tomorrow, but dojo training has been replaced by track training due to an ant infestation after weeks of non-use or something like that. with this little wrench in the works, the next CJC training session is one week later. it's mildly annoying, since i factored judo training into my exercise plan. oh well. nothing i can do about it at this point, except rearrange my schedule a bit. i'll survive.

-random thought of the day: My sleep cycle is messed up-

Occupying myself hasn't been difficult recently. since the last post, i've managed to get something done almost every day. and the fact that there are no urgent deadlines just makes the process easier, and more fun.

in the last post, i mentioned that i was going to school to see my professor. we now have a tentative plan of action, which is somewhat reassuring. my current worry is that similar to UROPS, i may have to work on 2 projects concurrently. but if honours is worth 2 modules per semester, i suppose doubling the workload is justified. at any rate, i'll see how it goes once lab starts.

also mentioned in the last post, i was supposed to take a placement test for the japanese language school my friend goes to. i asked them for placement at intermediate 2, since my friend said that i'd be covering half of NUS japanese 2 again in intermediate 1. the passing mark for the test was 60, and i scraped by with 66. would have gotten higher, if it wasn't for the form conversion. at this point, i suppose i should mention that the school covers the content in a different order as compared to NUS. for instance, one of the first things they learn is form conversions, whereas we only did that after a semester of study. i don't know if i've said this before, but i find verb conjugation is more difficult in japanese than it is in english. anyway, there are like 6 forms which i'm expected to know at intermediate 2 level, of which i already know 4. catching up on the last 2 shouldn't be that hard, especially since i can more or less see the pattern already. just have to get comfortable with the conversions within these 2 weeks, since my first lesson is set for the tuesday after next.

sports science says that the benefits from exercise lasts for about 72 hours, or 3 days. incidentally, it's the same with learning. the knowledge fades much faster if not reinforced within 3 days. bearing this in mind, i'm planning it so that exercise sessions are no more than 3 days apart. ideally, i'm aiming for every alternate day, but the 3-day thing gives me some leeway in case of other plans or last-minute cancellations. so far, it's been pretty successful. i actually consider getting motivated enough to step out of the house for exercise to be a major milestone already. i've gone running (well, fast-jogging) twice so far...last friday and the day before. that means i'm still on track. and the muscle aches are becoming less painful, so i guess there's already some improvement. right now, i'm not too concerned about speed. the plan is to just keep on going for a reasonable time/distance. at the same time, i'm using the opportunity to get reacquainted with some of the roads and paths which i haven't been using for a while now. and when i go back to school for lab in the future, gym sessions will also factor into the equation.

of course, exercise alone is only half the battle. the other half is controlling the input. i'm trying my best to ignore all the processed, microwaveable stuff in the freezer, and the instant noodles that are lying hidden somewhere. instead, i'm trying to eat healthier by doing my own cooking. yes, i know that cooking for myself does not guarantee that the food will be better than stuff i can buy from the hawker centre, but at least i know what i'm eating. not to mention that i can satisfy my crazy cooking urges (which have resurfaced) at the same time.

aside from group seminar and tuition on saturday (which were kind of routine), i also met up with some JC classmates to watch the avengers. i think that it was a pretty good movie, though there are a few questionable plot holes. nevertheless, the action scenes were great, and the movie had more humourous moments than expected. overall i'd definitely recommend watching it. and if you do, stay behind for both post-credits scenes.

now that it's summer, i reactivated my city of heroes account for 3 months. i would have played for free, but both my characters were locked since the last time i played. still questioning the decision a little...$50 for 3 months of gameplay doesn't seem worthwhile, especially since i won't be playing all the time due to lab. this is in comparison to diablo 3, which costs $65 or so for unlimited play. oh well. at least i like it. besides, one tuition session will make up for it.

though the past few days have been eventful, there are still things i have to do. the 2 most pressing things that come to mind are (1) getting a new pair of shoes at queensway, which has to be done within this week, and (2) learn the last 2 forms for japanese. life is good.

-random thought of the day: Spent a lot recently.-

Nice weather we're having...

the rain that fell for most of today has made it nice and cool. which is a nice change from the hot nights we've been having recently. hopefully this weather keeps up, because i have exercise plans to fulfil. and on that topic, i went to get some running gear at J8. looking forward to putting them to good use tomorrow. i'm just a little worried about bringing my phone along. while i try not to be contactable during exercise, my phone also happens to double up as my mp3 player. maybe i should switch airplane mode on. that might reduce the odds of being contacted. anyway, the thing that worries me is the armband holder thing which i got. you see, it doesn't completely protect the phone from water. so, in the event of rain or excessive sweat, that could be problematic. guess it's time to break out the ziploc bags...or it would be, if i knew where the hell they disappeared to. i really really dislike people's compulsion to ensure everything looks perfect according to them, no matter how illogical the basis for organization may be.

i think i've mentioned that my facebook has been reactivated. amazing how so much can change in about 4 months. thankfully, i haven't been forced to convert to timeline (yet), but i hear it'll become mandatory soon. one of the things which really surprised me was that one of my secondary school schoolmates appears to have changed genders. no joke here; he has quite literally become a she. if it DOES happen to be a joke (unlikely as that may be), i must say that it's really realistic. don't get me wrong, i'm not against the idea. it's just that i don't understand why a guy would want to become a girl. then again, i've proclaimed to be "happily male", so i don't suppose i'd naturally see the other point of view. but i bet (s)he must have had really good reasons. the odd thing is that (s)he's never really displayed any feminine tendencies during secondary school and JC...not in front of me, at least. who knows? we weren't the closest of friends at that time, and we still aren't now. nevertheless, i think it would be interesting to meet up for a chat. i'd really like to understand more.

also, i'm quite saddened to see some indirect attacks going on between some judo coaches on facebook. i'm a firm believer that no matter the outcome of any match, if the competitors played fair (and they should), they should walk off the mat as friends. after all, martial arts is as much of a mental/spiritual thing as it is physical. to see this kind of things going on really makes me wonder what went wrong. a little theory has been developing in my head, and i think that it's due to education. before anyone accuses me of being elitist, i'll be the first to acknowledge that a person's education level is not an indicator of his character. but somehow, lesser-educated people tend to behave more impulsively. once again, i'm not saying that highly-educated people don't succumb to impulse now and then, but from personal experience, my self-control has improved as i've studied more and been exposed to more people and their ways of thought. however, education does play a part when it comes to the ability to express one's ideas and opinions in a less- or non-offensive way. most arguments are caused by someone saying something, and another person taking offence to what was said. if all coaches could just be supportive of each other, the judo community would be even nicer than it is now. sadly, the only way this could happen is if coaching was based purely on love for the sport, and the desire to promote it, as compared to the current situation, where coaches are driven by the pressure to win medals for the schools/clubs. the former would be the best-case, but ultimately unrealistic scenario. the pressure causes the coach to overreact in the face of controversy, which brings down the image of the sport as a whole. i'm beginning to think that my friend has a point...teaching competitive judo should not be a means of livelihood. recreational, fine...but there shouldn't be pressure on the coach to produce results in national schools or stuff like that.

another surprising moment came when i checked my RSS feed. apparently, my cousin (the chemical engineer one) has started blogging again, after a pretty long hiatus. if memory serves, she shut her previous blog down more than a year ago. it's nice to see her blogging again, since that's actually my primary source of information about her life in new zealand. seems that she'll be moving soon, though. don't have all the details, but i hope to find out more from her subsequent posts.

tomorrow looks busy, which is good. in addition to finally getting started on becoming fitter, i'm also going to school to meet my professor (hope he doesn't ask me to start work any sooner than 2 weeks later), and then down to orchard to take a placement test for this japanese school which my friend is also attending. according to my japanese lecturer, the gap between japanese 2 and 3 is much larger than that between japanese 1 and 2. so, i figured that bridging the gap a little wouldn't hurt. i'm mildly nervous, but i'm not going to study for it at all. firstly because there's still a good bit of japanese 2 knowledge left in my head, and also because i think that if i go in just with what i have, the placement test result will be more accurate. well, here's hoping.

-random thought of the day: Finally started on area cleaning.-

May's started, and luckily, so have my holidays. yesterday's japanese exam was...easy. well, easier compared to last semester, anyway. the only killer bit was the listening. totally couldn't catch what was going on, so it was more or less smoking through. that aside, everything else went pretty ok, though i know there were definitely other errors. nevertheless, i'm keeping my fingers crossed for an A, or even an A+ if i'm lucky.

with my last final done, my third year in NUS has come to a close. still doesn't feel like 3 years. the scary thing is that school life is coming to an end...unless i decide to pursue postgraduate studies. i'm open to the idea; it all depends on whether my grades will allow for it.

unlike previous years, my holiday is a little shorter this time, due to the need to go back to school. kind of sucks. but i suppose that it's good too...can't afford a slow start for honours year. on the bright side, my schedule is still flexible, and the workload is lighter. it's summer, after all. work can take a back seat for a while.

so...holiday plans. right now, i just have a vague idea of what i want to accomplish. things like getting some cooking done, tidying up my immediate surroundings, meeting with friends for the avengers this saturday, and making a few library visits (not today though, since it's labour day).

oh. my dad mentioned something about moving to punggol again. in all honesty, i'm not too comfortable with the idea. i don't know...i like bishan because it's so central and easily accessible. i really do not even want to imagine going from punggol to school, unless i somehow get a car. while i am reluctant to move, i also know that it's quite impossible for me to grow up, grow old, and die in the same house. you know what? let's do some logical analysis of the situation:

pros to moving:
new environment
possibility of having my own room (yes, i'm currently still sharing)
living on a higher floor, which should mean better views
potential of getting a car for myself

cons to moving
having to adapt to a new place (bus routes, landmarks, etc)
further from school (only problematic if the car thing doesn't come through)

bear in mind that this assumes everything goes according to plan, and we make a decent sum out of the deal. even though there are 4 pros vs. 2 cons, it's still a tricky decision. my main worry is travelling to school. then again, that might not even be an issue, as moving to punggol (if it happens) will only occur 3 years later. by that time, i may already have moved to japan for JET programme or something. who knows for sure? well, i think i'll just accept whatever happens, though if the move does occur, i'll make a very strong push for a car (provided it's financially feasible).

since it's the holidays, i was thinking of reactivating my city of heroes account...as in, paying for the next 3 months to enjoy full benefits, then leaving it alone again after school officially starts. although i'm not sure how much utility i'll actually get out of it, since i have to be in school quite often. well, i'll sit on the idea for a couple of days at longest. if i do do it, it'll have to be soon so that the paid-for period doesn't spill over into semester time. and on the topic of games, most of the friends i know have either pre-ordered, or are planning to buy, diablo 3. never having played the diablo series (don't judge me), i'm not too keen to get involved with it. oh well. i think between lab, training, DCUO, city of heroes, and other random things that may come up, i'll be busy enough.

think i'll go out for a walk later, provided that it doesn't rain. can probably drop by j8 to get some stuff, like the cases in which to pack my notes away. feels good to not have to worry about exams or deadlines.

-random thought of the day: My Facebook's up again!-