The last time I wrote something was slightly more than 2 weeks ago. Apparently I was right about the fact that I'll be even more busy after exams. I rested till 8 May and continued my Honours project (aka FYP to some) after that. FYP can also mean "Forever Your Problem"! Indeed it has been bothering me since then; there is a need for me to get something out before the progress report in late June. It's worth 25% and if I screw it up, it'll be quite detrimental to my project grade.

But then, is grade everything? Haha people has been arguing over this; by people I really mean anyone under the sun - from cabbies to academics to politicians to your neighbour. My best friend once commented that people who said that grades are not everything are most likely to be those not doing well and just put forward this argument for whatever purpose. Those with good grades will tend to say they got it "by luck". It seems that everyone have their way of arguing for their case.

I recalled clearly reading a newspaper article in the October 2003 about a Malaysian named Jiang Fung who entered NUS when he was 15. He was a wonder boy as he was the youngest person to be admitted into the faculty of science at that time. The newspaper reported that his CAP (aka grade point average in the American system) is of the 2nd lower range and if he managed to ace his exams in November, he'll get a 2nd upper. This article struck me extremely hard as I could fully emphatised with him and I can really feel for him, especially when he made this statement: Before I entered NUS, I thought I was extraordinary. After four years, I think I'm just an ordinary person who has tried his best.

True enough, I shared the same sentiments. I always wanted a first class and my dream was kinda dashed when I received my results in the first semester. It was way below even the 2nd upper range and is near the bottom of the 2nd lower range. The feeling was really lousy and I seriously think that the exams were flawed at that time. My CAP reached the 2nd upper range only in the 6th semester. I guess no one will believe this; in fact, all whom I spoke to laugh it off and said I am kidding with them . People feel that I am of 1st class calibre; if not it should be at least high 2nd upper. Indeed, if one omits other subject and count only Chemistry ones, it's indeed first class. Perhaps I am just plain lazy and ignore other non-Chemistry courses. The first 4 semesters saw me being plagued by many problems outside school.

At the end of the day, my feel is that it is how you fare in your major outside school that matters. What the outside world want in the long run is people who are versatile, broad based and at the same time, have an in-depth knowledge of his own field.

Besides FYP, I will give a brief summary of a couple of interesting things that has happened in the past 2 weeks. Sat 6 May say the results of the General Election 2006 being released; basically everything remained the same with PAP, the ruling party getting 82 out of the 84 seats. The oppostiion took Hougang and Potong Pasir and these 2 places have been with the opposition since 1984 (for Potong Pasir) and 1991 (for Hougang). For me, my greatest disappointment came when Steve Chia didn't manage to capture the Choa Chu Kang ward that he contested for the second time. He was being described by SM Goh that he can easily pass off as a PAP candidate and hence one of the more credible opposition candidate. What I like about him is his passion to serve. I see this in him when I watched his rally and I can tell that he is really sincere in serving the people. Alas, he lost and I guessed he'll leave politics for good. It's not because he is a quitter; rather he really need to find a job to support his family since he has spent the past 5 years getting only NCMP pay. Apparently, they were not enough to meet his daily needs.

I had my first lesson with the Singapore Chemistry olympiad representatives on 10th May. They are really smart and I am impressed by their attitude and inquisitiveness. I am sure Singapore will be able to achieve better result this year. Vesak Day saw me attending the Chemistry graduation ball; though weird (as I am not graduating yet) but I still manage to drag myself there. The food sucks but I guess most people were there to catch up with one another and also to see one another in their best attire. Initially I wanted to buy a bowtie and went out with Emily to buy the day before. After I wore it with the tuxedo shirt, I realized that it's not wise to spend so much money on such stuff now and thus put the idea aside. We picked a cufflink in the end and the rest of my attire were old stuff from my wadrobe. Some new combination made me look pretty smart.

Not too bad right? :p

I met up with some of my old friends the following day for some catch up session. Sunday was Mother's Day and together with my dad and brother, I brought my mom to Pearl River Palace Restaurant at Suntech City for lunch. The lunch was pretty good. ;) The week that has just pass (starting 15th May) was really busy as I worked 7 days. Emily felt neglected and I am sorry about it. Once my stuff is on track, I'll be able to fork out more time. It's still quite uncertain now and I am troubled by it. The progress thus far has been fair and success started to come towards the end of the week. I guess Emily dear gave me the blessing and luck. :)

Work will continue tomorrow; I'll only work till Wed this week as I have a series of events coming up. Results will be out on Thu and I am planning a one day Johor trip with my friends on Fri. Sat will be outing with Emily and we'll be going to the World Bookfair at Suntech. Sounds good.

I am done with exams 3 days ago and I'll be continuing my Honours project next week. Unlike most of my counterparts, I'll be spending another semester in NUS. As of now, I've no regrets. There are 2 reasons why I've no regrets and I'll just state it concisely:

1. Going to HK for exchange gives me the experience of living, planning and working independently and this is something which is not possible for me locally. In addition, the chance to meet great friends with interesting perspectives over there and to see the world through exploration will not be easily achieved over here (time is a serious consideration).

2. The chance to spend another semester in NUS allows me to take modules which I love and dream of taking. Adding to that, I'll be able to meet new people (my juniors) and thus allow me a chance to work with a different group of people.

Back to the exams on 2 May. It was quite a turn off actually. I expected it to be difficult as it's a difficult module. Not only that, the questions from the past year papers were of substantial difficulty and I organized a disscusion the day before just to discuss with the 4 of my classmates to see whether our answers and thinking conincides. I don't know why but in the end, the paper turns out to be pretty straightforward.

I met up with my lab-partner Yiming after the paper. He's a great guy and I love to share perspectives with him. We played drummania, chatted, pool, dine and finally bought a drink and chatted along Esplanade till around 10pm. We chatted about many things; one of the issues which I find meaningful is about teaching cum presentation. He made a point that when he prepares powerpoint slides, he will make sure that when the audience look at the slide, they will have an idea of what he's going to say but not know everything that he's going to say. What's the point of the audience knowing everything by just looking at the slides. Then there won't be a need for presentation; might as well give the audience the slides and save time.

Went out with Emily dear on Wed, after her exams. It's been a real long time since we last have a proper outing. We went to Potong Pasir and Hougang to take pictures of the opposition wards; it's an enriching experience as I have not been to Potong Pasir personally. We took a bus to Yio Chu Kang later for the opposition rally to see what they have to say about national issues. The first speaker (forgotten his name) and Steve Chia were good speakers. We left after Steve Chia's speech as it was pretty late and we have yet to have our dinner.

Incidentally I went for the opposition rally again yesterday at Choa Chu Kang. I met up with Chee Siong and Yuan-Ting after their exams and they were pretty keen to see some rallies; we wanted to go to a nearby place as we do not want to get home too late. Choa Chu Kang was the choice and it was Steve Chia's party again.