The relationship between tiredness, productivity, and accident-prone levels

(click on image to see a bigger image of the graph)

Bootlicking

I guess it's pretty normal to want to "show your best properties" to your superior, be it your boss, your parents or your lecturers for that matter of fact...

However, it intrigues me the extent people will go to do so. Maybe because people with my background does not engage in this... (I mean... if the answer is 50, bootlicking does not make your 60 answer correct) I get really bothered when some students go all the way out to "impress" the lecturer. "Impress" not in term of doing well in their work, but in terms of quoting how "wonderful and capable" their lecturer is on an academic forum.

Maybe I'm aloof, but if saying your lecturer is "pretty and capable and smart" helps get you good grades, then I lose all the respect I can have on educators. = = Please lar... don't treat your lecturer like a fool, I seriously doubt he/she will be impressed or flattered.

First Exam of the Semester

Principles of Economics
Hmm... not too bad... The true terror starts next Friday.

Only comment: the econs department badly needs some coaching in the English language. I spent more then 30% of the 2 hrs trying to decipher the language of the paper. = = (pam peh at home gapped in horror at the language after seeing the paper) Having graduate students that actually SPEAK English helps too. Learning is greatly hindered when you can't understand what the tutor is trying to explain.

What's becoming of our tertiary education system when local students need to pass English on the AO level to enter the University but foreigners who enter the best courses can't even speak english? (DON'T tell me about how foreign students need to meet certain English requirements, I'm highly skeptical of the reliability of the evaluations.)

当头棒喝

与其说是心情不好，不能集中精神，
不如说自己的生物学真的是烂到家了。 = =
一进考场，看过的东西，读过的东西都混到了一起……
p16, p27, p21, CDC, CAD, CAK……
天啊~~
看起来都一样！
生物学家们是怎样？
忙得连好好地为自己发现的东西匿名的时间都没有吗？

傍晚时交上去的考卷虽然有写东西，
但是实际上跟白卷差不多…… orz
不发奋图强不行了~~~ 啊啊啊啊啊啊~~~

my daily coffee dose

This photo's taken during break at cell biology lecture today. I tend to take up alot of table space... 3 seats if i have the luxury (= =). So much space that my pencil box (that's on the left of the photo) and pen and pencil (that's on the right of the photo) don't fit into the camera's scope. (the seat at LT26 is really tight and there's not enough space to retreat to take a photo of the whole table space)

I think I'm addicted to coffee, the day does not start unless I have my daily coffee dose. Latte is top on the list (from any of the coffee outlets in NUS, ie: coffee club express or spinelli) of preferred coffee followed by McDonalds' coffee, then coffee at Dily's @ Engine, lastly coffee at the Pavillion at LT7A.

I am beginning to want good coffee. Unfortunately coffee that does not taste coffee make most of my days. Since good coffee is too much of a luxury to enjoy daily, I give myself a treat once in a long while just to make myself happy~ ^^

(in case you're wondering why I have a camera with me... I brought it to take photos of my samples (UROP expt samples))

Results

Results are released today. Well... my 2nd best semester in university.

Ok... I'm not complaining, but after knowing other people's results, I get the impression that I am the bottom of the cohort with my results. orz... I know I've not put in enough effort this semester, I know the results are already better then expected. In other words, I am in serious trouble. Time to feel worried and start working hard. >< Ale 3 more semesters to go before the end of your pain... ganbatte!!!

patent mess

Some thoughts about this design module I'm doing:

I'm an Engineering student, not a patent attorny nor an orthopedic surgeon!! Why do I have to know their trade?? orz
I am DEFINATELY not secretary material (today's the Nth time I'm swimming in a sea of patent).
I really don't like my life.... orz

Crazy Engineers

I've came to this BIG revealation that all 3rd batch of n u s bio engineers are crazy.

I mean... not only THE girls, but hey~ if a guy (a fellow coursemate actually) can declare after saying that he's ("we're" for a matter of fact...) not gonna to get a job after graduation that he will join superstar and become a rock star... I SERIOUSLY DO NOT THINK ANYONE OF THE BIO ENGINEERS IN MY BATCH ARE SANE... orz

So far... we have in our batch... an aspiring baker, cook, florist, cafe owner, rock star, teacher, and numerous taitais-to-be... oh yah~ and yours truly here an aspiring tour guide. We're such a batch of creme la de creme~~

p/s: just read the ST's recuit section's cover page talking about how people should attempt to NOT take the beaten track of engineering (here's talking about civil, mechanical and electrical engineering) AND go for other kinds of engineering like BIO ENGINEERING and aeronautical engineering... any takers fellow bio engineers?

sigh

Today's the last day of the first half of the sem... (even though I have to make-up for lecture tmr morn)
It's just amazing how time flies~~
soon, I'll be studying for my exams AGAIN!! *horrors*
Sometimes, I just can't help wonder what the real purpose of education is... Cramping everything into 2 13-weeks-semesters per year does not seem to be effective in educating me as an engineer. And I know that my university is not the only tertiary institution in the world doing this, in fact, most universities in the west has such a short school term. Well, you may argue that the quantity and quality of education cannot be correlated, but hey~ IF I have more time to study those books and digest those materials, I can tell you with 60% confidence that I will understand my stuff better. (the left over 40% is for materials like biothermodynamics that is probably NOT meant to be understood....)

When the purpose of studying is to pass those tests and earn a degree at the end of the 4 years, somehow, the true meaning of learning is lost. After all, the information's just gobbled in in BIG chunks and regurgitated in 2 hrs of examination then vomited out into the drain.

Yes... yes... I know all that talk about how schooling is about learning to learn. You may forget about the contents you learnt in school, but you will never forget about the way you studied and how you learnt to learn blah blah blah...


HECK!! can't I just rant about school because I'm DEAD tired??? (I'm a woman you know... I have my rights to pms = =)

degree

There are easier ways to earn a degree...
I mean... what's about all those banners that say "Earn your Bachalor's /Master's Degree in a Year"???!!!
If it's so easy to get a degree, what the hell am I doing???!!!!

...

You have a VERY tired AND unhappy AND stressed up undergrad here who can't help but wonder what the hell is she doing now. = = and... I AM trying to convince myself that all this crap is gonna be worth it. It BETTER BE. period.