"TREATS FOR MY SWEET..."

My girl has been feeling very down recently, since the passing away of her grand-daddy two weeks ago... So I was thinking of some way or something to cheer her up. Cuz I hate it when she is in her emo-state, it makes me feel bad too, because I don't know what to do to make her feel better. All I can do is lend you my shoulder & tell you "I'm right here for you".

Anyways, what I came up with is this glass bottle which I bought from IKEA some time back. Decorated it with some glass paint, & some personal message on the exterior. Bought her favourite gummies to fill up the insides before passing it over to her last week. All these to lift up her spirits & to remind her to take her supplements for her injured knee when I'm not around, by her side too, because for every pill she takes (she hates swallowing pills), she is ENTITLED to get one gummy from the glass jar. Of course, if she wants to eat them all up at once... there's really nothing much I can do... but the whole concept is based on TRUST... hahaha. (So Charmaine, if you're reading this, remember I TRUST you eh... hehe)

So cheer up lots & lots... now that you received this surprise gift from me, & know that all your friends care about you too. As the famous saying goes, "Life is full of its many UPS & DOWNS... the most important thing is to be happy..." so stay happy... with ME~! hehe... okay?

ENJOY.YOUR.GUMMIES~ =]
I.LOVE.YOU.

Okay, back to my notes now...

WORST PAPER EVER
13th November 2008 - Nanomaterials & Biomaterials...

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"Will We ever finish the Race between the Rabbit & the Tortoise?"
~.~.~

Well, I was kinda disappointed by my first paper... I mean, I had so much time to prepare for this first paper but somehow, I still managed to screw it up... it's truly a wonder...

Unable to remember the important facts (is AGE finally catching up with us?), not memorizing the important formulas cuz we literally took the words of our lecturer for real --- "If I set this question for the exams, I'll provide the formula... all you need to do is sub in the values...", gullible Leslie, just plain gullible... it's not the first time this has happened in all your years of education & you still make the same mistake... You just never learn! Haiz...

But it's a fact that it seems like I'm losing the "FIRE" to study for any more exams... getting too complacent. My friends call it the "Year 4 syndrome" when we no longer get all hyped up & nervous over the word "EXAMINATION". It has sort of become a way of life throughout the 4 years in NTU (for me, it was 3 years). Even my roomie, a top student, is suffering from this syndrome...

This is my final year so you would think it would make perfect sense for me to BUCK UP and give it one last burst of fire to get that honour's degree. But the opposite is happening to me~! OMG, major wake up call~!!! Someone give me that slap of REALITY (please, I don't mean it literally... I'm allergic to pain) to wake up my idea...

Anyway... I am going to give it all I got for the remaining three papers coming soon...

God, Please guide me in this path ahead... Show me the way... Grant me the strength, wisdom to persevere onwards. Amen.

EXAMINATION SCHEDULE:
1) 13th Nov '08 - Nanomaterials & Biomaterials (over)
2) 19th Nov '08 -Polymer Synthesis
3) 24th Nov '08 - Polymer Technology
4) 26th Nov '08 - Materials & Energy

THE DRIVING TEST DAY (NOV 7th 2008)

Well sad to say, I failed my driving test today @ BBDC... and as expected, bound to get jeered at by some of the dragonboat guys. But that's nothing new... hahaha

Got a total of 40 demerit points and 1 immediate failure (how bad can I be?)- that means I could have failed three times in that one day... cuz 20 demerit points is equivalent to one failure, and I got 40 so that is equivalent to two failure. Plus one immediate failure, that makes a total of three failures in one test. Chui~

But the outcome was abit expected from me, cuz I was damn nervous, I didn't know what to expect! Anyway it was a good learning experience for me. Now that I know what to expect, what mistakes to avoid, what actions to carry out, what clothes to wear, what image to portray... Well, I didn't think so many factors beside your driving skills are considered into the equation to pass the test. What clothes to wear, what image to portray... It means that we should wear something more conservative, neat & tidy, something not so loud so that it will portray a image to the tester that you are someone responsible, and not one of those people that will wreck havoc on the roads once he passes you... And make sure when you're checking blind spots and safety, you do the most exaggerating head-turning action you can, so that those blind testers can see it... I got penalized on this point quite a few times.

Well, with all these in mind I'm pretty sure the next test on the 16th of January next year will be a piece of cake. Trust me... *wink* Haiz... juz gotta wait a little longer for that license to come along... Patience & practice.

Something funny:
Time: 4:17am
SpyGlass Entertainment... + CharLie's ANGEL said:
I got driving test this friday somemore

SpyGlass Entertainment... + CharLie's ANGEL said:
ANY TIPS~?

Charcoal said:
wear skirt

SpyGlass Entertainment... + CharLie's ANGEL said:
hahahahaha

SpyGlass Entertainment... + CharLie's ANGEL said:
how short?

But seriously, Charcoal told me that his instructor told him before, that the tester will be looking out for 3 things: Control, Safety and Confidence.
1) Control of clutch, changing of gear must be smooth - don't jerk the car when changing gear.
2) Safety: Do not endanger your own life, and other people's lives. Do not turn if you're not sure... just wait.
3) Confidence: Do not be affected by other driver, do not panic even if they horn you... coz it's normal.

Lastly, REMEMBER: SAFETY FIRST. GO SLOW!
Words of wisdom from Charcoal... whom by the way, failed on his first test, due to poor control... causing him to mount a curb. hehehe... So you see, he was definitely speaking from personal experience.
Thanks pal... (=

DRIVE, DROVE, DRIVING, DRIVEN...

Just came back from another driving lesson... Today's driving was G-O-O-D~!!! No hiccups... no lashings from my instructor. Everything was fine & breezy... As long as I can maintain the same standard for my actual driving test this Friday. I reckon there shouldn't be much of a problem... but we can't afford to be complacent, can we?

~.~.~

Looking forward to a good week... all depending on this Friday. PRAY HARD that I pass my driving test, pleaseeee!

~.~.~

Bought a pair of Levis Signature jeans together with roomie, & got a free piece of T-shirt of my choice @ IMM. The offer was for "2 bottoms + 1 top @ $99.90", so I got these two items for the price of $50 (thanks to roomie). However, the prized item of the evening was this navy blue t-shirt which caught my eye! It's the same colour as the Ngee Ann Dragonboat Tee my girlfriend has. The colour is cool, the design not so bad itself & the price is quite reasonable, $29.90~ Not that expensive but I just don't have the spare cash. Damn! Don't you just hate that feeling when you're shopping. You see a piece that you absolutely must have, but you can't... because you don't have the cash, there's no available size etc. Well, in case you were wondering why not get THAT T-shirt I like so much instead of the one I got. Well, the T-shirt I had my eyes on, wasn't part of the promotion, there... simple as that. Never mind, I shall wait till next week for that "extra cash" to come in... then I can get it. Well, nothing like some shopping therapy to relieve the pre-exam stress.

~.~.~

Hope I can pass my driving test... then I can drive people around. Pleaseeeee... *praying hard*

Many things to celebrate this week...

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First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NICK~!"Oh yeah, Darryl's the one taking the picture hehe..."

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1) Firstly & most importantly, our very own Nick's 26th Birthday! Though an impromptu last minute celebration, nonetheless it still manages to be ridiculously funny & entertaining. We gave Melvin a new, not-so-glam nickname called "Gay Referee"... chatted with the Canteen 5 uncle & revealed that his son is a dragonboater from SP who once tried to "jio" my girlfriend... Good rewarding meal & good laughs after a tiring training. Yup, definitely a fine evening.

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"See... good food! BBQ stingray, prawn paste chicken, hong kong noodles, hotplate tofu..."
~.~.~

2) Another thing to celebrate is about my girl passing her BTT. Honestly, I've never seen or heard anyone studying so hard for BTT before in my life... But it works for her, so let it go, hahaha. Yeah and thanks to Caryn for lending me the Basic Theory Book. Looks like I don't need to ferry my girl around in the future... maybe she can drive me around instead? Nah...

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"CONGRATULATIONS to my Girl, Charmaine!"
~.~.~

3) It's the end of a work-overloading week~! Two quizzes in a week, Polymer Synthesis on Tuesday & Polymer Technology on Thursday. So I've not been having proper sleep since Monday night, because those people who know me well know that I don't really sleep much at night when I have quiz the next day. So if I have a quiz on Tuesday, I don't sleep the Monday night before due to studying. In this case, quizzes on Tuesday & Thursday means no sleep on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.

~.~.~

And then there was the promise I made to JinHan to help him draw up a 3D drawing of a wheelchair for his project, using a software called SolidWorks '08. That software was a different version from the one I used during my Polytechnic's Industrial Attachment, say erm... 6-7 years ago? haha... So I ended up drawing & experimenting with the software the whole night before till the next morning. I had to rush through the night because the deadline was in the afternoon! In the end, I didn't think I did a spectacular job when I handed the work back to JH, but he liked it... maybe he was just being nice. I dunno? hahaha...

~.~.~
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~ AMOS the Birdman"
~.~.~

4) My roomie, Vincent & I celebrated our good pal, Amos's 24th Birthday that following Friday morning, after I stayed up the whole night doing the 3D drawing (We call him "birdman" cuz he sells parrots & parrotkeets)... Together with Hui Ying & Hui Xin, we went to the "Ichiban" Japanese restaurant @ the basement of Jurong Point. It was the first time I had my meal at the Japanese corner at the basement. I ordered Tempura ChaSoba & I must say the food is not that bad there... the salmon sashimi is fresh too. YUMMY-LICIOUS~! After the celebration, we took a photo & rushed back to school for tutorial! hahaha...

~.~.~

5) Mom's buying a new TV for the living room... We went down to Plaza Singapura, because they were having a road show... We managed to get what I believe to be a great deal... a Samsung 42" Plasma TV priced $1499... but the package comes with a new digital camera, $400 gift voucher & a home threater system... total worth of about $1000... so technically we are getting the TV for $500 bucks only... Wooooo... GREAT DEAL. Luckily when we went, there were only like 4-5 sets left... and by the time, I passed by Plaze Sing' on Sunday, the package deal has already been taken down. SO with that 42" Plasma TV settling in the living room. The existing TV will be moving into my room, replacing the 27" old TV... =P

~.~.~

6) At the end of wednesday's training the most delighting piece of news long since heard was that the Evaluation next week will be cancelled, along with the training to give us more time to study~!!!! WOOHOO~ It's like a major load off my shoulders... Every evaluation is like a CA for hehe... Total Stress to the max! Everytime I have to get through Evaluation, I will get the jitters~! So this came as a major good news... but it doesn't mean we'll be slacking. I'm still doing my own training time to time...

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Okay, so I've come to the end of this week's blog entry... I must say, it has definitely been a week filled with quizzes, (solid)work, fun & laughter... A good week... Thanks to God~ =)

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Ohhhh... before I foget my "promise"... I just can't take it... I have to show it to the WORLD~!!! *bleah* Sorry, "Thunder thighs" (at least I have changed your name to protect your identity hehe...) All in the name of good fun laughter... =P

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"These sculptures remind me of various positions of "18 Arhats" for Thunder Thighs... Quite cool eh"

"Sometimes, don't you just hate yourself..."

MS4523 POLYMER SYNTHESIS QUIZ TWO:

After staying up the whole night studying for the quiz along with my roomie, the moment of truth finally arrives as the clock ticked closer & closer to 9:30am. The lecture notes & tutorials never left our hands even as we made our way slowly to the lecture theater.
~.~.~
As if a curse, once I step foot into the LT, I forgot what I know & what I didn't know... This seems to be a persistent bugbear for all of us, students. The point of saturation. You just can't stuff another chemical structure for Nylon 6,6, another equation governing the rate of propagation or another value for the molecular weight of isoprene, into your brain. Then there comes the point of time, when you want to step into the LT, grab that test paper, & get it over & done with, ending all that misery. I have that impulse all the time...
~.~.~
So the paper is finally in my hands. It's mainly MCQ's. Each question is worth 4 marks. Relatively simple, I must say. Having said that, no doubt that makes me hate myself even more for losing 12 marks worth of points. Two of the questions are because I was thinking too much, or due to the lack of me understanding the question, or due to the poor structuring of the question which makes it very misleading...
~.~.~
It was something about cationic & anionic polymerization, & the charge of the carbon that terminates the living species... Is the charge neutral, negative or positive? There are two questions regarding this, & I totally screwed it up because I was thinking too much, thinking that it might even be a trick question. Haiz... so much for looking in too deep.
LESSON ONE: Just go with your instincts, man. Don't think too much.
~.~.~
I screwed up for the other question too. I didn't really know the answer to that question. But I happened to catch a glimpse at the answer for the question, of my friend who was sitting diagonally infront of me. He circled (B) while I circled (C)... But needless to say, I wasn't confident enough so I changed my answer to (B) too. But thinkng back, I don't know what clouded my judgement then... because I know that options (A) & (B) belong to the same species, thereby leaving (C) as the odd one out. AND I DID CIRCLED (C) AT FIRST ACCORDING TO THE LOGIC OF THIS THINKING. But I had to wavier in my answer & choose the wrong one, when in fact I had the right answer all along. Haiz...
LESSON TWO: No more copying from others. They are in the same league as you. Just because you think you don't know, doesn't mean that the others know...
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Why don't you ever learn from your mistakes, Leslie? Two more weeks to the exams... buck up, buck up! No more mistakes... (Damn, these mistakes just have to spoil my day)
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Rain... Rain... Rainy Day
It was a beautiful Thursday. Viewed online lectures the whole night before... and took a 2-hour nap before attending my 9:30am Nanomaterials tutorial. One word - Shagged! But the professor giving the tutorial, Alex Yan, is my FYP professor... so need to show face a bit. =P But he's good - he seems to know what he's teaching and his explanations are quite clear. Most importantly, answers to the tutorial will be posted. That means no scribbling of answers down in Guiness Book of Record's timing. =P

~.~.~

After tutorial, I went to do my FYP for a while before I headed back hall to change & pack my laptop & went off to look for Charmaine @ Ngee Ann Poly. Met my girl & had lunch at Ngee Ann Poly. It's been long since I stepped into a polytechnic canteen. The crowd there, in the canteen, in the school premises, are just different from what we usually see in NTU. The crowd is definitely younger, rowdier & more funky, at least they try... but sad to say, there are some students who just seem to be trying too hard... Anyway I think I look like a lecturer there, & there was no way for me to blend in with the crowd. But when I walk around with Charmaine, I just can't stop thinking how funny it would be that we seem to be having a teacher-student love affair in school. =P

~.~.~

Tried to study after lunch but I guess I was just too tired & sleepy, and I just dozed off beside her while she was studying for her BTT coming up next week. Seriously she is the first person I've seen or heard of, whom writes notes on the Basic Theory book. Very amusing indeed. Well at least she's serious about it... =]

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By the time I woke up, it was about time for me to leave for my driving lesson @ Bukit Gombak. Hate to leave her side, but she has training later while I have my driving. So I guess we had to say our sad goodbyes...

~.~.~

Driving is definitely getting easier... on the road as well as in the circuit. But let's not get too complacent here. There is always room for more improvement! The practical test is coming soon in another two more weeks, on Nov 7th. I'm so nervous about it. I have nightmares about not passing the test. Stressed...

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Came back hall after driving. Rained on the way back, stopped... Studied abit, took a nap, woke up at around 12midnight... Guess what? Raining again. Continued studying... Went for a run at around 3am... Refreshed! Took some laundry for washing & continued studying. 6am - rained again. In the last 12 hours, IT RAINED 3 TIMES! I love rain. But, just why can't I wash my clothes & hang them out to dry in peace, undisturbed peace? Haiz...

Haha... Guess I'm complaining abit too much. Probably due to the stress from all the quizzes, FYP & exams...

~.~.~

Coming up:
1) MS4523 Polymer Synthesis Quiz 2 - 28th Oct
2) MS4520 Polymer Technology Quiz 2 - 30th Oct
3) Driving Practical Test - 07th Nov
4) Exams!!!
5) FYP!!!

"Love at First Sight ♥..."

19th October, 2008:
From "It's Complicated" to "In a Relationship"...
We were dating... But now we are finally "boyfriend" & "girlfriend".
To me, it means acceptance... acceptance of me into your life.
It also means you have finally overcame your phobia of being in another relationship.
And I'm feeling very blessed (still am), to be in this relationship with you, together...
I know I wanted you the first time I saw you @ SDBA...
I just didn't know whether it was the right thing to do then, or how to go about doing it.
I don't know what gave me the courage to do what I did.
But I'm glad I did what I did on Friendster... adding you as a friend.
And one thing led to another, & now to this. It is like a dream come true.
~.~.~
Back then I was clinging onto a 'hope' that wasn't there... But I just couldn't bring myself to let her go.
But you shown me the way, you shown me the light...
You put a smile on my face every morning I wake up, with your morning SMS'es.
You made me realise how much I've fallen in love with you, when I thought I almost lost you that night.
You are what matters most to me, & I look forward to days spent with you.
And Life is so much more beautiful, just because you are in it.
To my most beloved girl, thank you for being in my life.
~.~.~
From: A Boyfriend

17th October, 2008:
A simple day...
Woke up late from a good night's sleep.
Went swimming with Charmaine after her lessons @ Bishan Swimming Complex.
She loves to swim! And she has been trying to get me to the pool since long before...
Did you know? She was once a competitive swimmer, so it's only natural that she swims fast too.
Had some great time at the pool before we went to catch "Connected" @ Cathay AMK Hub.
We both thought the movie was fantastic, surpassing its predecessor "Cellular" even...
Not that we remembered the Hollywood version "Cellular", but we just thought "Connected" was so much better!
After the movie, we went shopping for ingredients. I promised I would cook dinner for her one day.
Always imagined cooking dinner for someone very special. Well, today was that day...
We headed back to my place & I started preparing dinner...
Charmaine whipped up her specialty: cold soba for both of us too.
In the end, we had the following dishes after hours of hard work (but enjoyment):

1. Salmon in japanese soy sauce
2. Miso soup with tofu
3. Cold jellyfish
4. Cold soba

Mind you, even though it was my first time cooking for someone, all the dishes were Yummy-licious~!
After dinner, it was already quite late & so, I sent my girl back home.
After which I returned back home to clean up the dirty dishes.
All in a day's work for a delightful day with someone special... =]