Kuriakinistics

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

2011-03-16T10:24:00.004+08:00

Consider this story:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

The rule is simple to understand. But to practice the rule is difficult, for greed is human's greatest weakness. A bottomless pit, greed intensifies with our achievements. Only the truly wise can escape from it. Many understand that grades should not be a measure of their self-worth but are disappointed when they don't get good grades. I hate to admit it but I am one of them. There's an inner fear that you don't measure up. Grades don't matter beyond getting our first job, so why should we care so much? Human can be so irrational!

My Wikipedia Page!?

2011-01-30T12:15:00.002+08:00

Wow, I didn't know I am in Wikipedia. LOL. Here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuriakin_Zeng

My Dad

2010-12-09T09:25:00.003+08:00

My family hand-wrote a birthday card for me. I found myself in tears after reading the first line which my Dad wrote. It reads: "Happy birthday, Kuriakin. Dari ~~Bapa~~Papa." Perhaps it was his handwriting, or it can be the miswriting. It reminds me of the childhood when he doted on me. And it suddenly struck me that he didn't finish 3rd grade of school and I am now in Harvard.

3rd Quarter Report!

2010-10-24T08:10:00.002+08:00

The resolutions I set for myself this year. Turn out that I still haven't achieved most of them to the standard I expect.

60 Days at Harvard

2010-10-17T09:34:00.002+08:00

It felt longer than that.

I got here happily telling myself that I am not going to stress myself up with work. But it is not easy when everyone is so well prepared (overprepared in some cases) for college. I should have known. This is after all, Harvard -- a place where you need something more than extra to get into. I tried to choose my class carefully but really, I didn't know what I was getting into. I am taking Multivariable Calculus, Computer Science, Expository Writing and Freshman Seminar.

All of these classes challenge me in different ways. I haven't had any extensive training on writing before, I had to spend significantly more time to read and write. And because students come in with different levels of coursework, there are people who have taken college coursework, say, multivariable calculus at high school and still take that class again to either refresh or just for an easy A. I ended up doing poorly for my first math midterm. It might be just one midterm but the root of the problem is that there are so many people better prepared than me in math. If I continue with this concentration, am I going to be pwned in every math class?

I was really down for the week. At times, I doubted if my decision to come to Harvard is a right one. I worry about my GPA. It's difficult not to care about it when opportunities at Harvard are given based on GPA. I am thinking of grad school, so GPA means a lot.

I reached out but I could tell that not many people could understand what I am going through. I guess the situation can't get any worse when I am the only Indonesian in the college. I reached out to more people. I get advice, some good, others bad.

But right now, I have somewhat sorted out my thoughts. Doing well in the college should not be my priority. What's more important is how I grow in the face of competition.

Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly, Kuriakin Zeng. I know you will taste the relish to be found in competition, in having put forth the best within you. Be the lion among men.

Life after RoboCup

2010-06-27T20:11:00.002+08:00

Last Thursday ended the sleepless nights working on robots with a bright note: we won the second place in the humanoid soccer league (adult size) and third place in the FESTO challenge. Finally we bring back a trophy - two years after I participated in the RoboCup for the first time! While everyone's high-spirited, I felt a little empty inside. It finally dawned on me that this is gonna be my last act with the Singapore Polytechnic's team. In less than two months' time, I will be flying to the states to begin a new life. A life that will never be the same again, however bad I want it to stay like this.

Several Thoughts

2010-06-14T03:27:00.004+08:00

Well, if you know me, you should have heard that I have been accepted into Harvard, the world's most prestigious university. It was on May 14th's edition of the Straits Times. (Read it here.)

Before I received my financial award, I was fretting over how I could finance my studies. I applied for scholarships; some get back to me but many don't because of my citizenship. When I got into Harvard with full scholarships, I was approached by several organizations for more scholarships. Isn't it ironic that help comes when you don't need it? Some may argue that going for further studies under a scholarship is a prestige. Definitely. I don't know about others but prestige isn't my priority. Choosing Harvard over other universities isn't because of prestige. It is because they offer me free education and the opportunity to interact with some of the best minds in the world. I've seen people who let prestige influences their decisions, e.g. they took up some scholarships which are deemed more prestigious but eventually regretted/broke the bond because they're not happy with their work. Recently, I was approached by reps from an scholarship-providing organization. They offered me a partial scholarship in exchange of a two-year bond. When I told him that I didn't need the scholarship and that I preferred to keep my options open, he suggested that it is alright to break the bond should I later find the organization a mismatch. I had to disagree. Although breaking a bond is common nowadays but I feel it's morally wrong. It's like breaking a promise.

Moving on, the idea of attending Harvard is both exciting and intimidating. Being the first in my family to attend a college and in my circle to attend an American college (let alone Harvard), I don't know what to expect of Harvard. Unlike well-trodden paths for polytechnic graduates like Singaporean and British universities, the Harvard road entails a significant risk. Unlike JC students, I am not as good when it comes to English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. But I know wherever I go I will bring with me my family tradition of working hard and helping those in need. What probably worries me more is my health. Whenever I lack sleep, my body aches unbearably. Doctors and physicians said nothing wrong with me but this pain DID NOT exist. Also, I have been eating four meals a day but I lose weight. Is it a sign of stress? I want to go back to my hometown after RoboCup away from the hurly-burly of city life in Singapore to verify this.

Speaking about RoboCup, it's around the corner. This year, we are much better prepared for the Humanoid competition, thanks to Buck a really smart guy who joined the team last year, Torin who has been in this stint for many years now and not to forget Chin Hock, Chee Seng and Jhohan. I hope we can win this year!

３月９日

2010-02-14T23:41:00.004+08:00

In the middle of this drifting season
I suddenly feel the length of the days
In the midst of these quickly-passing days
You and I dream away

With my feelings on the March wind
The cherry blossom buds continue on into spring
The overflowing drops of light
One by one warm the morning

Beside you, I’m a little embarrassed
After a huge yawn
I’m standing at the door to a new world
What I’ve realized is that I’m not alone

If I close my eyes
You’re behind my eyelids
How strong has that made me?
I hope I’m the same for you

The dusty whirlwind
Tangled up the laundry, but
The white moon in the morning sky
Was so beautiful, I couldn’t look away

There are things that don’t go the way I planned
But if I look up to the sky, even they seem small
The blue sky is cold and clear
The fluffy clouds float by quietly

If I can share with you the joy
Of waiting for the flowers to bloom, I’ll be happy
From now on, I want you to be quietly smiling beside me

Let's Learn Japanese!

2010-01-30T23:39:00.007+08:00

One of my fave Japanese songs is... (drum rolls please)
Hitomi wo tojite!

ひとみをとじて

あさめざめるたびにきみのぬけがらがよこにいる
ぬくもりをかんじたいつものせなかがつめたい
にがわらいをやめておもいカ?テンをあけよう
まぶしすぎるあさひぼくとまいにちのおいかけっこだ

あのひみせたなきかお
なみだてらすゆうひかたのぬくもり
けしさ去ろうとねがうたびに
こころがからだがきみをおぼえている

Your love forever
ひとみをとじてきみをえがくよそれだけでいい
たとえきせつがぼくのこころをおきさりにしても
いつかはきみのこと　なにもかんじなくなるのかな

いまのいたみだいてねむるほうがまだいいかな
あのひみてたほしぞら
ねがいかけてふたりさがしたひかりは
またたくまにきえてくのに
こころはからだはきみでかがやいてる

I wish forever
ひとみをとじてきみをえがくよそれしかできない
たとえせかいがぼくをのこしてすぎさろうとしても

Your love forever
ひとみをとじてきみをえがくよそれだけでいい
たとえきせつがぼくをのこしていろをかえようとも
きおくのなかにきみをさがすよそれだけでいい
なくしたものをこえるつよさを　きみがくれたから
きみがくれたから

Signature Pose?

2009-12-15T00:42:00.005+08:00

Hey I'm on the SP webbie. I know what Su Jun has to say if she sees this: "Your signature pose!!" So lemme clarify it before you hear her version: I seldom do this pose (OK I'll admit it, I pose like this sometimes without realizing it). But I have about twenty photos with different poses, and it's just so happened that they pick this one.

New President for the Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore

2009-12-11T18:31:00.001+08:00

Guess who is the new President for the Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore?

Tan Hang Cheong (pictured above) takes over from Dr Lee Hing-Yan as President of the ICAAS leading a newly elected executive committee.

Here's the full story taken from Imperial College website.

One of Imperial’s most well established alumni groups, the Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore, elected a new executive committee at the group’s 32nd Annual General Meeting on 9 October 2009. Tan Hang Cheong was elected as President, about which he commented: “It is an honour to be elected President of the alumni association of my alma mater. I thank my fellow alumni for this privilege to serve.”

The 32nd executive committee of the ICAAS is comprised of:
• President: Tan Hang Cheong
• Vice President: Oh Lock Soon
• Honorary Secretary: Yap Tiong Peng
• Honorary Treasurer: Kuan Tek Seang
• Members: Ling Ming Koon and Chen Hung
• Youth Wing Chairman: Lee Yew Wei
• Co opted members: Tang Wey Lin, Raymond Kwok and Bernard Lee
• Honorary Auditors: Alex Fung and Anthony Ong

Mr Tan’s predecessor, Dr Lee Hing-Yan, is stepping down from the position after four years. Dr Lee is currently the Deputy Director of the Singapore National Grid Office. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Imperial’s Department of Computing, and later an MSc in Management Science.

Emma Jones, Alumni Relations Manager at Imperial College London, expressed the College’s gratitude for Dr Lee Hing-Yan’s dedication to the association: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Lee Hing-Yan for his hard work, support and enthusiasm for Imperial College London during his tenure as President and before. ICAAS would not be the success it is today without his contribution.”

As the new President, Tan Hang Cheong plans to build upon his predecessor’s successes in order to forge a “closer bond amongst Imperial’s community in Singapore.” Thanking his predecessor, Tan Hang Cheong said: “The association thanks Dr Lee Hing-Yan for his service and looks forward to his continued involvement in the association.”

Upcoming Career Fairs!

2009-12-11T13:03:00.002+08:00

NTU Career Fair
Date: 27 & 28 January 2010
Time: TBA
Venue: TBA

Republic Polytechnic Career Fair 2010
Date: 28 January 2010
Time: 11.00 am - 5.00pm
Venue: Republic Polytechnic (Woodlands Campus)

NUS Career Fair
Date: 4 & 5 Feb 2010
Time: 10am - 5pm
Venue: MPSH 1 & 2

2010 Resolutions

2009-12-06T12:51:00.006+08:00

Taking the last two digits from 2010, I'll try to accomplish TEN resolutions. In year 2099, I'll make 99! (Let's keep our fingers crossed I can see the day.)

1. To gain admission into a good engineering university and excel in it!
2. To obtain scholarships that will enable me to do R&D after uni!
3. To gain weight! (Don't kill me, please)
4. To learn a fifth language!
5. To get an International driving license!
6. To join the photography club!
7. To TOTALLY kick my bad habits, like biting nails!
8. To make more friends!
9. To learn some serious cooking!
10. To visit some of the '1000 Places to See Before You Die'!

About Comfort Zone

2009-10-30T11:35:00.012+08:00

I noticed I have not been blogging for quite some time since I came back from Graz. It's because of my hectic schedule. Apart from my full-time work commitment, I have been preparing for my university applications, which include taking the SAT reasoning tests, SAT subject tests, writing admission essays and personal statements, and university-specific admission tests and interviews, e.g. Cambridge Thinking Skills Assessment.

Honestly, with my work commitment, I did not really have the time to fully prepare for these tests. These tests largely require mastery of English language, both critical reading and writing, which is quite an Achilles' heel for someone who has just, strictly speaking, begun speaking English three years ago. The tests seemed just... insurmountable. As the test day drew close, I felt the full impact of anxiety.

The anxiety, later I discovered, is a natural phenomenon that occurs as one steps out of our little circle of comfort. Although stepping out of my comfort zone is something I have constantly done in my life, I have not got used to it. In fact, nobody can.

Going out of my comfort zone allowed me to develop myself. For the past two months, I felt I have become more adept at using English to communicate. The improvement was gradual.. but tremendous. I read faster, comprehend better, write faster, express ideas better. To illustrate, I could not finish the critical reading sections in my first few practice tests and now I have an official score of 2220 (average entry score for top US colleges is about 2200). 680 for critical reading, 800 for math, and 740 for writing with a score of 11 on the essay (I surprised myself!). English obviously became pale in comparison to my math but I'm proud of the score. I consider it an achievement as a non-native English user. I feel, the context of the test taker should be taken into consideration, i.e. the scores should be considered subjectively, not objectively.

Perhaps these scores can be higher though; I heard there are some tips and tricks to outsmart the SAT. What I have been using is 'BRUTE FORCE', pure analytical way of coming up with the answers.

Finally, as a polytechnic graduate, I realized I have a hard time if US top colleges are the places I want to go. The most critical reason is that polytechnic is not yet as recognized as A levels in the US (in fact, the position hasn't changed much). It will take more effort from the polytechnics to promote themselves and polytechnic graduates to keep trying and prove themselves to improve the situation. If I get into a top college, I think somehow it can pave the way for polytechnic students. It's gonna be difficult, I know.

Wind Alike...

2009-10-11T23:29:00.005+08:00

Excellence in Education and Teaching Convention

2009-09-18T15:11:00.021+08:00

The theme for this year's Excellence in Education and Teaching Convention (EETC) is "Towards Holistic Education". EETC 2009 Website

I was privileged to be invited to be one of the panel speakers. The programme started with the address from Principal and excellence in teaching award presentation. It was then followed by an inspiring talk given by Principal of North Light School (NLS).

I bet not everyone knows what so special about NLS. It is a school established by Ministry of Education for students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Generally you have to fail PSLE twice to gain admission, but the school also takes in occasional students who failed once and students who dropped out from secondary school.

Students there receive an achievement book instead of a report book. Principal Chua shared some of the contents in the achievement book. Instead of the negative comments we normally see in the report book, e.g. "xxx can do better...", the achievement book is very positive, for instance, "xxx dances well with her classmates and can improvise her movements with music". Imagine if you are the parents, and when you know that your children achieved something, won't you feel delighted?

The curriculum is primarily vocational and emphasis is placed on developing the students' characters and life-skills. The best part is that students will get a 10-week long industrial attachment where they will apply the skills picked up at school. From the life experience, including getting scolded by the supervisor, students learn to survive outside.

Students who showed greatest improvements in character are awarded the Frog to Prince Award or Duck to Swan Award, depending on the students' gender. The 'trophy' is a toy!

Frog to Prince Award

Duck to Swan Award

If immersed in water for 72 hours, the frog (or duck) will transform into the prince (or swan)! I like this idea a lot -- that's creative, isn't it?

After the keynote from Principal Chua, we had a short panel discussion about how polytechnic education can be holistic. The introduction itself was already astounding.

Here're the panel speakers:
Chua-Lim Yen Ching, Principal of NLS
Dr Tan Guan Hong, MD of SysEng, Ltd.
Dr Robert Kay, CTO of MicroStencil Ltd, UK
Kuriakin, the 'Me'
Liew Beng Keong, Director of Dept of Student Development, SP
M Thiyagarajan, Lecturer of School of Business, SP
and the coordinator, Dennis Sale (DS)!

As you can see I will be speaking with the top dogs of these organizations, so I thought I might as well shut up. But on second thought, since I have promised to help, I will try my best to present myself well. Here's roughly what I shared.

DS: How have you developed holistically?

I attribute my holistic education to CCA. I realize many students are not able to see how CCA may help them develop their characters. I wasn't either.

For example, when I joined the guitarist club, I didn’t expect myself to learn anything else except guitar skills. But as I have to constantly choreograph performances to suit the audience, I always thought about making people comfortable and listened to new ideas. I believe this has infused in me deliberation and attentiveness that makes me a good listener and more able to pick up exam tips and hints from lecturers’ body language. That's why I could do quite well in my exam. (The audience had a good laugh at this remark).

DS: How do you think holistic education can be achieved?

I agree with what has been said by other speakers. But in polytechnic context, it is quite difficult. This is because lecturers don't stick with a particular student for three years. What I can think of is Personal Tutor (PT). When students join the polytechnic, they could be too young to have a clear goal. As a result, they may be studying or playing games aimlessly.

What PT can do is to help the students find a goal in life. For example, if the students like to play games, we can encourage them and provide them with the avenues to learn to design games themselves. In achieving the goal, the students will have a more meaningful polytechnic education. In the course of achieving their dreams, they will work hard and learn important skills. For me, it was time management and dedication in everything I do.

At this point, I received a counter-argument from Mr Thiyagarajan, who felt that lecturers COULD do something. He felt that lecturers could interact with the students and set good examples. It definitely helps but I think character doesn't develop in one or two occasions. However, I didn't respond to the argument, because I didn't want the discussion turn into a debate. (Well, actually it was partly due to the fact that I didn't have the mike xD ).

DS: Lastly, I would like to ask Kuriakin. What is the event that brings the most impact to your life? (I stopped a while because I wanted to provide a rebuttal to Mr Thiyagarajan's counter-argument. Mr Thiyagarajan, if you are reading this, no offense intended :| ).

I changed a lot in my three years at SP. Previously, I was not as outspoken as I am now. I was rather quiet. But because of my role as the student leader in the Philippines expedition, I had to lead, communicate well with my team members. In the process, I learnt to articulate my intention well and diplomatically.

But, this opportunity is not offered to everyone. So what are those without the opportunity develop? The top students in SP are of course well-taken care of with our SPOT (Outstanding Talents) program. But how about those normal, average students?

THAT'S WHY I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMME TO HELP THESE STUDENTS DEVELOP (Here's my rebuttal, but I tried to make it sound not so obvious). Characters don't develop in one or two days. It can only be developed over the years. Personal Tutors could not only help the students to define a goal, but also monitor their progress. This way, students have someone to turn to when they have problems. Tutors can give students the support the students need when they face obstacles – it could be just an assurance or mental support that the students need. Thank you.

After the closing speech, I received many praises from the lecturers. But what matters the most was the one from Mr Thiyagarajan because I have expressed my thoughts in a subtle way that he didn't find offensive.

Ah, what a nerve-wracking yet rewarding experience.

The Encounter with Kuriakin

2009-09-15T22:41:00.008+08:00

『クリアキンとの出会い』

http://www.kanazawa-tc.ac.jp/love/036.html
シンガポール理工学院3年
クリアキンさん（22）
電気情報工学科4年
唐澤卓也さん（19）

9月4日。シンガポール理工学院の学生12人が金沢高専に到着した。金沢高専では、国際的な視野を持った学生の育成を目指し、1983年からシンガポール理工学院との交流を続けている。12人はそれぞれ金沢高専生宅に約10日間、ホームステイし、授業見学や市内観光、温泉入浴、企業訪問などを体験した。唐澤がホストファミリーとして一緒に過ごしたのがクリアキンだった。　

唐澤は、金沢高専の海外留学プログラムに積極的に参加していた。2年次はアメリカ・セントマイケルズ大学に5週間、そして3年次にはニュージーランドのオタゴ・ポリテクニクに1年間、留学をした経験を持つ。金沢高専に来るまでは英語は得意科目ではなかったという唐澤だが、２回の留学で日常会話に困らない語学力と物怖じしない積極性を身につけていた。クリアキンとの会話はもちろん、英語だ。「使わなければ英語の力は下がっていくのだと痛感しましたね。留学時の英語の力を維持するには、勉強あるのみです」。　

唐澤には、海外で映画の音響制作に携わりたいという希望がある。しかし、就職は今後の人生を大きく左右する転機であるだけに、自分の心のなかで“迷い”が生じていた。そんな唐澤にとって、母校でロボット製作の研究員になることが決まっているクリアキンとの出会いは進路選択の刺激となった。「目指す仕事を明確に定め、そのために勉強してきたクリアキンの姿勢は見習うことばかりです。今回の交流によって、自分の夢を実現したいとの思いが強くなりました。卒業後に、映画制作を学ぶ海外留学ができるよう、もっと勉強に励みます」。

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“The Encounter with Kuriakin”

Published on Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun on 2008.9.21

Singapore Polytechnic, Year 3
Mr. Kuriakin (22)
Electrical and Information Engineering, Year 4
Mr. Takuya Karasawa (19)

September 4th. Twelve Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students arrived at the Kanazawa Technical College (KTC). To provide students with global exposure, KTC has been organizing exchange programs with Singapore Polytechnic since 1983. Each of the twelve students stayed with KTC students for about ten days and experienced school and city tour, hot spring bath and company visits. It was Kuriakin that Karasawa spent as a host family together.

Karasawa was active in KTC’s student exchange programs. He spent five weeks of his second year studying at St Michael’s College in the U.S and his entire third year at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand. Before attending KTC, Karasawa was not good at English, but he acquired the linguistic ability that made him confident and comfortable enough to engage in daily conversation during the two exchange periods. Of course, conversations with Kuriakin were in English. “I realize my English standard declines if I don’t use it. I could maintain my English standard during the exchange periods because of the English classes.”

Karasawa hoped to get involved in movie sound production abroad. However, there is "hesitation" in one's heart as job prospect greatly affects one’s future. For Karasawa, the encounter with Kuriakin, who was to become a researcher in his alma mater to develop robots, inspired Karasawa to follow his heart. “Kuriakin’s attitude to study what he is passionate about is what I ought to emulate. Through the exchange, the idea to actualize my dream became stronger. I will study harder to be able to pursue a study in movie production overseas after graduation.”

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NB: If you find mistakes in the translation, please let me know.

Some thoughts of mine:

The student exchange programme to Kanazawa was one of the most memorable experience in my life. I'm glad that I attended it despite having to work extra hard to complete my projects when I came back. Ideally, it's for second year students. Lucky me; I didn't miss it.

I think what Takuya (preferred to be called Jack) said in the article is very true. Linguistic skills decline if we rarely use it. The best example would be Touchan! He had lived in the U.S. for seven years before he settled down in Kanazawa but then he could only speak minimum English. Kaachan is an adorable and elegant lady. She plays PS3 and Wii! She thinks that Takuya and I were very much alike; both are rather quiet and enjoy playing the basketball.

It was such a life experience.

Are You Gonna Finish Strong?

2009-08-17T01:34:00.002+08:00

Touchingly inspiring.

Citation for Graduation Ceremony

2009-07-30T18:04:00.003+08:00

Vocabulary Building 2

2009-07-27T21:38:00.003+08:00

Lesson 3: Feeling Superior

Words Grouping:

1. Arrogant

Swagger
Contemptuous
Disdainful
Supercilious

2. Self-

Egotistical - Self-absorbed
Narcissist - Self-adoration
Complacent - Self-satisfied

3. Show-Off

Ostentatious
Pretentious

4. Rude

Insolent
Presumptuous

Mnemonics:

Swagger (sword + dagger)

When you have sword and dagger, you will walk in a confident (proud!) way. To swagger means to walk arrogantly.

Contemptuous

Cannot think of one.. Well, it means disrespectful.

Disdainful
Supercilious

SUPER+CILI+O+US = To exhibit their superiority, super seniors do silly things to us.

Vocabulary Building

2009-07-27T00:38:00.005+08:00

In my preparation for SAT, I need to build up my vocabulary. How do I learn a few hundred words in the shortest time? Mnemonics are probably the key.

Mnemonics, memory aid.

Lesson 1: About Using Few Words and Being Quiet

1. Laconic

Lac.. implies Lack of words!

..conic implies Concise. So laconic must mean "using few words"

2. Succinct

Suck-Ink... If we can suck ink away from a paper, fewer words are left!

3. Pithy

Pit is central part (of a topic) and nothing more. Pithy means "concise and to the point!"

4. Terse

Almost spelt like tense. When we feel tensed, we can't speak much ("use fewer words").

5. Reticent

Sounds like resident. Imagine the game 'resident evil', the streets are "quiet".

6. Taciturn

Sounds like taxi turn. When taxi driver turns the car, he "seldom talks".

7. Quiescent

Derived from quiet.

Lesson 2: About Speaking

1. Circumlocution

circum suggests 'go one round'. In Chinese, we call it guai3 wan1 mo4 jiao3 (beat around the bush).

2. Colloquial

Coll - College

Loq - root for language

.: Colloquial - language used in college (informal language).

3. Eloquence

E - effective

Loq - root for language

.: Eloquence - effective speaking

4. Garrulous

Garrulous rhymes with gorillas. Garrullous gorillas are noisy!

.:Garrulous means talkative.

5. Loquacious

.: Loqua - root word for speech

6. Grandiloquent

.:Grand+eloquent: Using a grand way to express something -- which is too much.

7. Prattle
To prattle is to talk in a senseless way.
Rattle is a baby toy that makes percussion sound.

Imagine a baby prattles when he play with rattles.

8. Rhetoric

Rhetoric = "right oral" skills. If you have the right oral skills, you can communicate well.
Rhetoric actually means a persuasive speech.

9.Voluble
Voluble = verbs that are soluble. Soluble verbs can flow -> "able to speak with a flow"
.:Voluble = gift of the gab.

RoboCup 2009: We Are In Graz!

2009-07-02T05:26:00.004+08:00

It's actually kinda difficult for me to update the things happening here because of slow internet conection but here it goes!

A Brief History of Graz!

Over 900 years of living story in the second biggest city in Austria. You can find many outstanding architecture of all styles in a concentrated area – from Middle Ages through the 21st century. In fact, Graz is one of the UNESCO's list of World Cultural Heritage sites.

Even as we traveled from the airport to our hotel we could see the testaments to the statement above. There are simply many nostalgic buildings mixed with modern architectures.

We reached our hotel late afternoon about 2PM (Singapore time 8PM). We went for a late lunch and a walk around the city. We visited Kunsthaus Graz.

Kunsthaus Graz
Architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier designed the spectacular Kunsthaus; it was built in 2003. The exciting interplay between the new structure on the banks of the Mur and the old Clock Tower on the Schlossberg has already become the trademark of Graz and reveals how productive the tension between tradition and avantgarde can be.

The Kunsthaus houses temporary exhibitions, the “Camera Austria” (photographic exhibitions) and a restaurant.

In Graz, we found many interesting things.

A keyboard. Can you spot the differences?

A shoe-polishing machine.

Huge traffic lights.

Sweet fruits at low prices.

A Chinese restaurant.

robocup special 2

2009-06-21T00:21:00.007+08:00

Hey it's me again, reporting on team Singapore's preparation for RoboCup 2009 in Graz.

The preparation continues even in the weekend as we strive to maximize the robot's performance. Significant improvements to structure of the robot makes tuning of gaits a swift! Last year, our robot took about 7 seconds to recover but this year it's in the two-second range!

And here's the expert:

Chee Seng tuning the gaits for the robot

However, it's not all glory in doing research. We had some problems with the locomotion last night.

Sudirman, Jhohan and Dr Zhang spent the night to solve the problem they had

After the long day, we slept at 5am in the morning and got up at 8am to continue with our work. We're like robots ourselves! The only difference is that our fuel is passion!

Interested to know more? Feel free to leave a message in the chatbox or visit www.robocup2010.org and .

robocup 2009 special

2009-06-20T01:56:00.016+08:00

Welcome to the official blogsite for Team Robo-Erectus who is going to Graz for RoboCup competition. Here, I will post our current progress and what we do in Graz.

With regards to the Humanoid Teen and Kid Size Leagues, we improved greatly this year, be it on the structure of the robot, locomotion or artificial intelligence (AI) -- that is, the logic of the robot. This is also the first year we are participating in the RoboCup@Home and Standard Platform League.

Robo-Erectus Senior

Category: Humanoid Teen-Size

Description: 125-cm tall Biped Robot developed by Singapore Polytechnic - ARICC. It runs on single board computers PC104 and uses PowerCube as actuators.

Challenge: Locate a randomly placed ball using a webcam, dribble the ball across the other half of field and shoot towards the goal defended by opponent's goalie.

Robo-Erectus Boy
Category: RoboCup@Home
Description: 160-cm tall Wheel Robot developed by Singapore Polytechnic - ARICC. Besides the webcam, it has a sonar sensor which detects obstacle and calculate the distance from the obstacle by sending ultrasonic wave (like how bat navigates).
Challenge: There are four stages: Self-introduction, Follow Me, Fetch and Carry (locate and grab an empty bottle) and Who is Who? (recognise persons).

Robo-Erectus Nao

Category: Standard Platform League

Description: 60-cm tall biped robot developed by French Aldebaran Robotics. Challenge: There are four stages: Self-introduction, Follow Me, Fetch and Carry (locate and grab an empty bottle) and Who is Who? (recognise persons).

Challenge: The "Any Ball" Challenge (detect balls of random colors and motifs), Passing Challenge, The Localization with Obstacle Avoidance Challenge (identify the coordinates on the field and move to a specified destination while avoiding obstacles).

Robo-Erectus Junior

Category: Humanoid Kid Size
Description: 50-cm tall biped robot developed by Singapore Polytechnic - ARICC.

Challenge: Three-on-three soccer game (the robots move on their own - fully autonomous) and technical challenges: dribbling while avoiding obstacles, double passes, throw-in challenges (pick up the ball from the field and throw it over head).

As I was doing the testing earlier today, I took a video of RE Junior approaching and kicking a goal. Here it is.

Of the four robots above, which one is your favourite robot?

Interested to know more? Feel free to leave a message in the chatbox. I gotta get back to work now. See you.

crazy over robots

2009-06-18T17:05:00.012+08:00

Taken from Teenage Magazine, July 2009

The mood in Singapore Polytechnic's (SP) Advanced Robotics & Intelligent Control Centre (ARICC) is unmistakably tensed. Huddled next to a soccer pitch filled with players chasing after a bright coloured 'soccer ball', everyone watched intently as one team raced towards the goal post, dribbling past their opponents. The striker cracks a hard left. "GOAL!" The group screamed.

The score is 3-2 at half-time. But the players do not walk back to their benches for a drink and rest. Instead, the ARICC staff and students bend over the soccer pitch and pick up their respective players before starting to tighten the parts that have come loose.

Welcome to RoboCup. A tournament where robots that range from palm-sized to human heights, compete in a series of tasks such as soccer matches for honour, glory and that elusive champion's trophy. Recent SP engineering graduate, 23-year-old Kuriakin, is part of Team SP which is participating in RoboCup 2009 in Graz, Austria. They will be taking part in RoboCup Humanoid Kid Size and Teen Size Soccer Leagues, RoboCup @ Home and Standard Platform League. Their teams are known as Team Robo-Erectus, a name derived from one of the stages of evolution in human beings.

Kuriakin, the first SP student to score distinctions for all his modules, explains the preparations before leaving for Austria. "There are several stages in constructing a robot, from deciding the parts of the robots, choosing materials to use, designing the motherboard, to the actual assembly of the parts. After the robot has been assembled, it is just an empty shell. Like a computer, it needs an operating system and software to perform tasks. The final stage will be to test the robots and improve the strategies to be used in the actual game."

Team SP has heavy responsibilities. "As the competition draws nearer, I have less time for my family and friends, and also for my community. Some days I even have to stay up overnight just to make sure we are on schedule. It was even more difficult last year as I still had lessons to cope with. However, I don't mind it at all, because this is what I love to do!" says Kuriakin, the hardcore robotics fan.

He also knows that the competition is stiff. "We face great competition from teams from USA, Japan and Germany, all who are very advanced in the field of robotics. But having participated in RoboCup since 1996, our lecturers can offer us invaluable advice, be it on the structure or strategy", Kuriakin notes.

SP is well known for robotics development in the region. The poly has sent numerous teams to robotics competitions since the 90s. Gold medal hauls are common, all proudly displayed at ARICC. Hopes are high that the 13-member SP team will bring pride and honour from Austria.

"We practised day and night. The air is so intense here, we are all out to win", says Kuriakin.

Come June 2010, RoboCup will be held right here in Singapore. SP is partnering the Economic Development Board, Science Centre Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board to bring you this prestigious "Olympics" of the robotics world. The event will take place from 19 to 25 June 2010 at Suntec City. This mega event will draw more than 3,000 participants from around the world. Imagine the FIFA World Cup, but of a robotics version.

If you want to know more about RoboCup 2010, check out www.robocup2010.org for updates.

Full Stop, June Ed: Grade Misteries

2009-06-08T02:14:00.005+08:00

First of all, it has a nice layout!

But with regards to its contents, certain info is not quite right:
1. OCBC Prize is not in the list.
2. I'm not the first to score a GPA of 4.0 but the first to score distinctions in every module.
3. It didn't mention that seven points are for six subjects.

And if you noticed, this is a very based-on-facts kind of report. I am looking forward to an article that reports a more personal side of me. It could be in the next issue. :)

The Sheer Determination

2009-06-02T19:10:00.004+08:00

I'm so touched by this animation. The kiwi is willing to do everything, however difficult it may be, to fulfil his dream to fly. This strong determination is something I ought to emulate.

The Graduation of Dinosaurs (Session 9)

2009-05-28T23:04:00.012+08:00

With Grad Helpers & Tomatoes :p

The Medaaaaaals.

The Rich Bear

The Prized Possessions

With Bouquet

The Dinos - No more DECC

Jian Min's Family!

Candice

Jian Min + Jeremy

Maggie

The Two Terrorists :p

Shawn, Another Terrorist.

Hope

Ber and Jo

Grace and Mrs Lugg

20th MILE!

Lita

With Philippines 08 Teammates!

Dir of CASS, Mrs Lam!

Mrs Lee and My PTN: Mr Ng

The Always HappeNing Ning!

With Philippines 09 Teammates!

Lunch with Mr Victor Ow

2009-05-27T21:04:00.002+08:00

SAA Dir Mr Liew Beng Keong, Mum, Dad, Me, Principal Mr Tan Hang Cheong, Mr Victor Ow, SEEE Dir Dr Dave Chong

Today, I Saw ME Graduated!

2009-05-26T00:34:00.011+08:00

Me playing the air guitar!

Photo: Courtesy of Sock Yong. From: SP Guitarists.

The session started with a speech by the Principal, Mr Tan Hang Cheong.

SPEECH BY MR TAN HANG CHEONG
PRINCIPAL OF SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC
AT THE POLYTECHNIC’S 49TH GRADUATION CEREMONY
TUESDAY, 26 MAY 2009 (Session 1)

Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs;
Your Excellencies;
Members of the Board of Governors,
Parents;
Graduands;
Distinguished Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen

Good morning and welcome to the 49th Graduation Ceremony of the Singapore Polytechnic. We are honoured to have Minister Ho Peng Kee to grace this opening session as our Guest of Honour. Thank you, Minister, for joining our graduands in celebrating this very special occasion.

This year, Singapore Polytechnic will be graduating 5,010 students. My heartiest congratulations to all of you.

Graduates from New Courses

Among the graduands this year, are the first batches of 38 diploma course students from Infocomm Security Management, 35 from Bioengineering, 95 from Tourism & Resort Management, and 37 from Games Design & Development, as well as 80 graduands from four new Specialist diploma programmes.

As part of our ability driven education model, our academically more able students are encouraged to pursue an additional certification on top of their diploma, under our diploma-plus programme. This year 259 students will graduate with a diploma, plus a specialist diploma or a certificate.

New Developments at SP

SP is committed to offering courses to meet the changing needs of industry as well the aspirations of our population. In this new academic year we have launched 3 new diploma courses; they are:
- Engineering with Business,
- Nutrition, Health & Wellness, and
- Creative Writing for Television and New Media.
We have also launched a new Specialist diploma course in Nutrition & Health Promotion, an Advanced Diploma course in Kindergarten Education - Teaching.

This year, we have re-structured the Academic Schools, Student & Academic Services and the Administration, re-grouping them into four clusters. For example, the School of Business, School of Communication, Arts & Social Science, and School of Digital Media and Infocomm Technology are grouped under one cluster. This will enable us to harness the energies and strengths of different schools and allow for greater synergy among the related courses and facilitate greater multi-disciplinary work so as to better provide holistic education to our students.

Learning Opportunities at SP

Your graduation marks only a milestone and not the end of your learning journey. It is the beginning of the next phase of lifelong learning. SP will continue to provide you the opportunities to continue learning and upgrading yourself to stay employable and relevant in this fast changing environment.

Under the Ministry of Education’s Foreign Specialised Institution Collaborative framework, we have partnered with world renowned universities to offer degree programmes on our campus. In August last year, 34 students formed the first intake of students in a new programme being offered at Singapore Polytechnic in collaboration with Massey University of New Zealand, one of the top five food technology institutes in the world. Students of this programme will be awarded with the Bachelor of Food Technology (Honours) degree. In March this year, 51 students were admitted to the Bachelor of Science (with Honours) in Optometry programme, established through a strategic partnership with the University of Manchester, UK.

In addition to these programmes, as you know, SP offers our graduates numerous upgrading opportunities in the form of post diploma specialist and advanced diploma programmes that we conduct. We also have our Department of Continuing Education and Training offering opportunities for our graduates to continually upgrade their skills and update their knowledge. I like to encourage all of you to avail yourselves to our CET courses and to constantly upgrade yourselves.

Two Graduands Stories

I believe many of you joined us to pursue an SP diploma course because you believe that learning is the key to success in life. Some of you have had to surmount the odds to attain your goals of receiving the SP Diploma today. I would like to highlight two examples among your fellow graduands who have taken different routes to the polytechnic, but whose spirit of grit and determination have won the day; they are Lim Yijie, recipient of our Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal, and Kuriakin, a winner of the Lee Kwan Yew award. Both Yijie and Kuriakin are well-rounded students who have excelled in their studies and CCA.

Lim Yijie is our Tay Eng Soon Gold Medalist this year. Yijie has truly come a long way since his younger wayward days where he failed almost all subjects from primary to secondary schools and obtained 30 points for 5 subjects for his ‘O’ Levels. He did not fare any better during his first year of studies at ITE either, but the turning point came in his second year when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Vowing to do better with his life, Yijie made up his mind to get his priorities right. He graduated from ITE and was given an award for the most improved ITE student.

Yijie subsequently secured a place in Singapore Polytechnic. His diligence paid off and Yijie soon became a top student in his first year of the Diploma course in Computer and Network Technology. Yijie was a member of the SP Ambassadorial Relations Corps (like our student helpers you see here on stage in blazers helping with the prize presentation today). Yijie helped out at the Graduation ceremony just after his first year and was inspired to win the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal award. He was told that as a former ITE student, he had a chance to attain it if he worked hard enough, and today, he has indeed clinched the award for the most outstanding graduate who came through the ITE route, graduating with a GPA of 3.972. Yijie will be taking the National University of Singapore’s offer to study Computer Engineering this August.

The second example is that of Kuriakin, one of our Lee Kwan Yew award winners. Indonesia-born Kuriakin made up his mind to join SP after finishing senior high school in Bintan Island. But, due to his average grades, he did not succeed in securing a place. Seeing his father’s disappointment, Kuriakin was determined to make a change so as to fulfill his father’s wish of seeing him furthering his education in Singapore. Kuriakin took his ‘O’ Levels as a private candidate and scoring an impressive aggregate score of 6 points, he was accepted by four polytechnics. He chose to study Electronics, Computer and Communication Engineering at SP, his first choice, because he felt it was the course with the closest link to robotics development, given the fact that he had a deep fascination with robots.

With a perfect GPA score of 4 with distinctions for every module in his entire course, many of us would think that all Kuriakin did during his three years in SP was to bury his head in books. But that is not the case. He was President of the guitar club, Student Leader and Advisor of Overseas Community Service Projects in the Philippines for two consecutive years, Chairman of the Mangrove Planting Club, student leader for the International Student Welfare Unit as well as a member of the Rotaract Club where he coached primary and secondary school students at the Clementi Student Services Centre, besides mentoring his peers at SP. In between all of these, he took up part time work as waiter, sales assistant and roadshow promoter to finance his own education. In June, Kuriakin will fly to Austria to participate in RoboCup 2009, billed as the Olympics for the robotics world. Kuriakin was also a member of our SP team for RoboCup 2008 in Suzhou, China. Kuriakin is a recipient of our Model Student Award. He has been offered a place to pursue a Master in Computer Science under the fast-track NTU-Georgia Tech Integrated Programme.

Kuriakin’s success so impressed one of our SP alumni that he has offered Kuriakin a $10000 scholarship to help him achieve his ambition of furthering his studies.

Commissioning

There are many among you who are like Yijie and Kuriakin. You embody the SP spirit of striving for greater heights whilst possessing a sense of responsibility to family and community at large. We are proud of you and your many accomplishments in competitions too numerous to name, and your ability to juggle many of your commitments, like participation in CCAs, sports and service to the community, in addition to your studies. Your hard work as well as your lecturers’, and many others on whose shoulders you stand, has finally borne fruit culminating in your graduation today.

You graduate today in the midst of uncertain economic circumstances. I want to encourage you never to give in to disappointments, hardships and difficulties. There is no short-cut to success in life. As Yijie and Kuriakin have demonstrated, it is all about grit, determination and clear sense of purpose.

I hope that the years you have spent with us, have been more than just acquiring knowledge and skills. In SP, we try our best to instil in you the SP core values, that of the pursuit of excellence, care and concern, responsibility, and particularly, integrity which has come so glaringly under the spotlight in recent times in the corporate world and civil organisations.

Above all your successes and achievements, it is my earnest desire for you that you be known as men and women of character.

Let me end my speech with an excerpt taken from a speech by Winston Churchill, the great British leader who was speaking to students in his alma mater during the unsettling times just after the second world war: “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

My heartiest congratulations again to all graduands. I look forward to meeting many of you and hear of your success stories in life after you leave Singapore Polytechnic.

Thank you.

The 2009 Graduation Ceremony

Medalists in V Formation

1.. 2.. 3.. Chiong!

The Lee Kuan Yew Awardee

Seven Wonders of SP

With Minister of Law and Home Affairs

Candice, the Rose in the thorns.

The Eighth Medalist, Candice Yam!

Mr Tan Hang Cheong also won the LKY Award!

Straits Times Report

2009-05-20T23:05:00.035+08:00

First to score distinctions for all 33 of his modules By Amelia Tan

SINGAPORE Polytechnic (SP) student Kuriakin has scored distinctions for all 33 of his modules, a feat no other student from the school has accomplished since it was established 55 years ago.

The electronics, computer and communication engineering student will be graduating top of the 5,000-strong cohort of students graduating from SP next week.

For his excellent performance, the 23-year-old will be receiving the Lee Kuan Yew Award, given to top polytechnic graduates from technology courses.

His all-distinction record is made all the more impressive by the fact that he achieved it while juggling several jobs and co-curricular activities in the guitar and Rotaract clubs. He also participated in community involvement projects in the Philippines.

An Indonesian who arrived in Singapore four years ago from his hometown on Bin-tan island, Mr Kuriakin has worked as a waiter, sales assistant and roadshow promoter to pay off his $6,000 tuition loan and living expenses here.

The youngest of five children, he did not want to burden his parents who are still living on Bintan. His father is a mechanic and his mother, a housewife.

His efforts are even more resounding as Mr Kuriakin was not always an A-grade student. He did poorly in Indonesia's high school leaving examinations in 2004 and was denied a place at SP.

He said: "I was the captain of my school's basketball team and neglected my studies. I saw how disappointed my parents were. During that year, my father was hurt in an accident at his workplace and until now I believe I caused it. He was distracted because he was depressed by my poor results."

Motivated to make his parents proud, he came to Singapore to sit for his 0 levels as a private candidate and scored seven points.

He hopes to study robotics in the United States starting September.

He said: "I am glad I did not give up when I did not do well in my high school exams. If I had given up, 1 would not be able to chase my dreams now."

Sim Lim Square Buying Guide

2009-05-14T22:38:00.002+08:00

Sim Lim Square is where you can get the latest gadgets at prices lower than normal retail stores. BUT the risk of meeting unscrupulous salesmen is also higher. On the other hand, no risk no gain. You can, however, manage the risk. Be streetwise. Be careful.

Let's look at the different tactics the seller might use on consumers.
1. No Price Tag
You will not find any price tags there. The risk is that it is subjected to varying quotes from the seller. He will convince you that the price they offer are the best. They do that in several ways: they make the conversation seem secretive, or they pretend to make friends with you and tell his boss that you are his friend so as to make you believe that he is quoting you the best price. I personally experienced this at the shop called 'Play Edge'. Very funny, i thought.

2. Incomplete Package
The seller would quote you a price that is lower than anywhere else. But after you make the purchase, they will tell you that you need to buy accessories that the slightest common sense will tell you that it should be included. An example is power adapter. I was about to buy a Nintendo DS as a gift. I went to 'Play Edge' and talked to a salesman called Darren. He quoted $150. I asked if it's a complete set with adapter included and if I needed to purchase a game. He said I needed to buy a game but it only costs $1. So I confirmed with him "That means I just need to pay $151, right?" He pretended to talk to his friends and hear nothing. Then I knew something was wrong.

I was right. He told me later that the price does not include power adapter, so he added $38. Still I agreed because $188 is still lower than the market price, although $38 for a power adapter was too expensive. Then he continued, telling me that there were 97 games pre-installed, and each game is $1. Then asked me to pay $280. How could there be 97 games? They were illegally modifying the gadget to play pirated games. They actually admitted to it. I told him I didn't want pirated games and that I didn't want to buy it anymore. So he offered one original game instead and 'gave me discount', quoting $220. I told him that I will only pay $200, $150 for the DS (as agreed) and $50 for the game.

3. GST
He agreed on $200 but told me that it doesn't include GST. They have 101 ways to swindle customers' money. I think many are conned this way as people would take this as something that they have no choice but to pay for. However, this is not true. GST registration is not actually NOT mandatory in Singapore. It's only mandatory for business with annual turnover of over S$1M. And I didn't see any GST registration number in their sales invoices.

So, I gave him a cold look and left the shop. I heard him swearing.

They are obviously out there to cheat consumers. I think tourists are their main victims. Some form of control should be implemented to stop this from happening otherwise it will give our tourists bad experience.

If you were to buy electronic gadgets there, follow these guidelines.
1. Get the facts: items that should come with the package, the price
2. Avoid going to shops that don't declare product price (Some computer stores actually have brochures pasted in front of their shops)
3. Bring a friend who knows about the product (A friend can offer rational views)
4. Check at least three stores and compare their prices
5. Prepare to say "NO"

I think other shoppers also had similar experience. One of my favorite shops in Sim Lim for computer hardware is BEST BARGAIN. They might not offer the lowest price for everything but generally reasonable.

Graduation Invitation Card

2009-05-13T00:40:00.004+08:00

Today I received invitation cards (six in total, three for each session). They are actually printed on pearly paper boards that I like to use as cover for my report. It looks really elegant, but on the other hand, it's not environmentally-friendly and rather extravagant. The resources spent in such collateral can be put into better use.

I actually requested for five seats for each session (10 in total) but "to facilitate contact tracing in the event of potential exposure of H1N1 virus, the number of guests per graduand is strictly restricted to two." The two sessions I will be attending are Session 1, at 930am, where I will receive the LKY award and Session 9, at 5.30pm, for my other medals and awards.

I'm looking forward to the ceremony because I finally graduate, and yet I feel sad as it also marks the end of the exciting three-year ride in SP.

Time to consider my choice of university. To my surprise, NUS sent me a package offering a place to read computer engineering. Previously, I sent an email informing them that I will not enroll because of my plan of working a year. Perhaps, they sent to me anyway, just in case I change my mind. Great, now I have offers from both NTU and NUS.

Looking back to the time I was still in Indonesia, getting into NTU or NUS was very difficult to achieve. I definitely took a longer route but I made the best out of the three years in poly. I transformed into a person I never knew I could be.

A lot of people actually asked me how I managed to get straight distinctions. One of them was Prof. Goel, Dean of Admission, NTU. "It all boils down to time management", I said, though Dr Dave Chong joked that I should have told Prof Goel that he helped me. LOL. I think the Police is busy enough.

My Article Story @ Graduation Website

2009-05-08T20:08:00.077+08:00

There's No Such Thing As Not Enough Time By Andy Kwan (Source)

Awards Won:
Lee Kuan Yew Award
ABB Gold Medal
Infineon Technologies Academic Excellence Award
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Prize
Shell Companies in Singapore Prize
Alfred Robert Edis Prize
Shell Merit Award
OCBC Prize

It's never too late to join Singapore Polytechnic (SP). Indonesia-born Kuriakin had originally intended to join SP after finishing senior high school in Tanjung Pinang, Bintan Island. But his application was rejected then due to his average grades. Looking at his father's visibly upset face, Kuriakin was determined to improve his grades to fulfil his father's wish of seeing him further his education in Singapore.

Kuriakin then sat for the GCE 'O' level examinations as a private candidate and obtained a spectacular aggregate score of six points. Instead of going to a junior college, he chose to study Electronics, Computer and Communication Engineering in SP, his first choice, because it was the course with the closest link to robotics development. Kuriakin has a deep fascination with robots. His interest in robotics was sparked off when his father gave him a toy robot for performing well in primary school.

When Kuriakin learnt that SP has a leading R&D centre for robotics (Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Control Centre - ARICC), he was very determined to get involved. He did a research project for ARICC as his final-year project and clinched the Best ARICC Project and Didactic Enterprise Award. He was also in the team that went to Suzhou, China for RoboCup 2008, billed as the Olympics for the robotics world. To top it all, Kuriakin is now working as a research assistant at ARICC to prepare for the upcoming RoboCup 2009 in Graz, Austria.

With a perfect GPA of 4.0, one would think that all Kuriakin did was study, study and study during his three years in SP. No way! His participation in CCAs easily outshines the rest of his peers. He joined the guitar club with no knowledge of the instrument and ended up as its President. He was also the Student Leader and Advisor of Overseas Community Service Projects in the Philippines for two consecutive years; Chairman of the Mangrove Planting Club and a student leader for the International Student Welfare Unit. He also went on an exchange programme at Japan's Kanazawa Technical College. As a member of the Rotaract Club, he coached primary and secondary school students at the Clementi Student Services Centre. This was in addition to mentoring his peers in SP. In between all of these, he took up part-time work as a waiter, sales assistant and road-show promoter to finance his own education.

"Not that difficult to manage," says Kuriakin. All he needed to do was to jot down every task in an organiser and put a deadline to it. This model student award winner can certainly offer valuable lessons in time management.

Kuriakin has been offered a place to pursue a Masters in Computer Science under the fast-track NTU-Georgia Tech Integrated Programme. But if he can get a scholarship, his dream is to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

With Kuriakin's impressive achievements in SP, there's certainly a lot more that he can do in the years ahead. Even the robots can't beat him!

What Have Happened in Two Months

2009-05-03T00:19:00.003+08:00

It has been two months since my last post.

Yeah, as I came back from the Philippines, I found out several things.

Institutional Award
I was nominated by SEEE for the institutional award. What is an institutional award? In short, it is an award given to the best of the best graduates of the year, not only academically, but also in terms of CCA and personality. There are Toh Chin Chye, Low Guan Onn, Chua Chor Teck, Tay Eng Soon Medals and of course, the one that I have got, the Lee Kuan Yew award for Mathematics and Science.

Prior to this, I was told that the Lee Kuan Yew award was only for Singaporeans and PRs. Little that I expected to get nominated for it, not to mention to get it. The truth is it is meritocratic.

It was Thursday, 16 April, 9AM when I was sitting outside P's room waiting for the interview. I met Tat Heng, DME's top graduate - an amiable guy - and the familiar face, Jing Yuan, DEEE's top graduate.

The interview process went very well for me. I think both the panel and I enjoyed the conversation. After that, I went to the next room where I met Andy, manager of Corporate Communication, who would write an article story for me. I saw that Thursday. It was very well written.

The session ended with graduation website photo-taking -- in case I am selected for the award. We went to the wafer fab lab for my specialization was microelectronics. But to enter the clean room, I had to wear a mask. Weird enough, we took some photos there with my mouth covered. So I suggested to go to ARICC lab where finally, some decent photos were taken.

The following Wednesday, I signed in to SAS to check if I had got any awards and Oo-La-La! here are the awards I've got:

ABB Gold Medal - Course Medal
Alfred Robert Edis Prize (This is actually for most outstanding contribution to the community)
Diploma with Merit
Infineon Technologies Academic Excellence Award
Lee Kuan Yew Award - Top Technology Graduate
OCBC Prize - Meritorious Academic Performance
Shell Companies In Singapore Prize
Shell Merit Award
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Prize

That afternoon, immediately, phone calls of congratulations flooded in and amongst them was Candice of CCOM who was in charge of photo-taking for graduation day. Her nice voice is as nice as the person. So on Monday, Apr 27th, I went to Digital Life @ Moberly to have MORE photos taken. During the session, I met other medalists too like the 'Triple Js': Jingyuan, Jinshun & Justin. xD We had fun time together.

The following Thursday was my video-taking session with Mr Stanley Soo from the Educational & Staff Development (ESD). So he decided to feature the very happening lab, ARICC. One of the scenario is that I'm supposed to tutor my peers. So, Stanley asked me to walk around my colleagues and pretend that I'm coaching them. As I stopped at CJ's computer, Stanley walked towards us and OOPS: he filmed CJ playing Restaurant City on Facebook.

News from MIT, NTU & NUS
While NTU has offered me to do a master in computer science in their NTU-Georgia Tech Integrated Programme, NUS shortlisted me for their faculty of law. How about MIT? Unfortunately, my application was rejected.

Nanyang Scholarship
I have been shortlisted for Nanyang Scholarship but I couldn't make it as I was still in the Philippines. So I asked if they could schedule another interview for me. And just this morning, I received their reply. They ACTUALLY scheduled another one for me. Woah, that's really sincere of them. So, I will go for the interview although I hope to work for a year first. I hope they will let me defer the scholarship for a year.

it's philippines time

2009-02-22T22:41:00.008+08:00

In about three weeks' time, I will once again fly to the Philippines to meet my Filipino friends and adopted family, while performing community work. Yes, it's the time for Overseas Community Service Project in the Philippines 2009!

This year, we will build a teen center where the teens in the community could gather to socialize, do sports or study. Besides, we will install electricity for the poorest of the poor so that children could study at night and the sick can be attended properly. In terms of education, we will impart some lifeskills such as basic IT lesson, basic Mandarin lessons, handicrafts and LEGO robotics, to the community. Of course, we will select the right audience: LEGO robotics will be for undergrads, Mandarin lessons for tourism officers, and so forth.

We will also help the locals set up a small business making and selling kaya. Kaya is coconut jam made from coconut milk and chicken eggs, flavoured with pandan leaf and sweetened with sugar.

As with other jams, kaya is typically spread on toast and eaten as breakfast. This is a part of the Student In Free Enterprise (SIFE) effort -- an international organization that mobilizes university students around the world to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.

Having prior knowledge of the condition in the Philippines, I will be the advisor to the team. I hope I could maximize everyone's learning.

Demanding Week

2009-02-20T20:17:00.013+08:00

Joy is short-lasting.

My involvement in Science Buskers Festival and Singapore Robotic Games left me with a pile of reports and assignments. I guess the following picture well depicts the situation I was in.

The week held four reports, three assignments, four interviews, three presentations & two tests.
Technopreneurship Marketing Presentation, Report, Test
IC Testing Assignment, Report, Interview
Digital Signal Processing Assignment, Report, Interview
Quality & Reliability Assignment, Presentation
Final Year Project Distinction Panel Presentation, Interview, Project Report
Model Student Award Interview
Public Service Commission Psychometric Test

Yes everything went quite well, but when I finally survived the ordeal, what awaited me was the semestral exam. Oh, I missed several lectures due to the competitions. So, I got to catch up with the rest. My first paper was, Digital Signal Processing, last Tuesday. It was quite a challenging paper according to many. How I love challenging paper! =p And this morning we had Quality & Reliability paper. Not as challenging as DSP, but it was pretty tricky, I guess.

bronze medal

2009-01-21T15:55:00.007+08:00

Yesterday was the commencement of Singapore Robotic Games 2009. It is one of the biggest robotic event in Singapore that saw teams from teams from NUS, NTU, Hwa Chong Institution, Raffles JC and all five polytechnics.

Medal Haul at Singapore Robotic Games!

My team, SP.E.AR (Singapore Polytechnic - Eee - ARicc), won the 3rd place out of the 19 teams (94 participants) in the Open Category. In the category, robots perform interesting tasks that can fall under Entertainment or Applications theme. Judging criteria include degree of innovation, the design and realization of the design.

For the category, we presented the robot version of sprint, soccer and fencing games in the upcoming Youth Olympic Games 2010 using humanoid robots, Sparic, mirosots and Wii robots.

Humanoid robots include the RoboErectus Junior and the Drummer robots. RoboErectus Junior is the one that participated in RoboCup 2008 in Suzhou. With its 20 degrees of freedom, it can accomplished complex tasks such as soccer-playing, dancing and fencing. So we had the two humanoid robots to play fencing against one another for SRG. As for the drummer robots, they have 15 degrees of movement and has a weight of only 1.5 kg, making them the perfect robotic kit for edutainment.

Omnibots are called so because they have omniwheels that can move to any directions. For this reason, omnibots are usually used in competitions such as RoboCup Junior. We modified the omnibots to receive signals from handphones through bluetooth and Zigbee technology. Zigbee is basically a low cost and low power digital radio. Sparic robots are fabricated for the Mirosot category and FIRA competitions. These robots are swift (around 3 m/s); thus, suitable for soccer. We made the omnibots and sparic robots to play soccer and sprint.

We also had an MC robot, Jane, hosting the event with me. Jane is essentially a mannequin built on top of the Pioneer -- a versatile intelligent mobile robotic platform. She has a robotic hand which could, in the future, help with household chores.

Everything was well-organized except for the fact that we were given only one mic instead of the promised two. In the end, I had to share the mic with Jane, who had a speaker built around her feet (on the Pioneer platform) - making the scene rather funny. Anyway, it was a great learning experience.

Culmination of Hard Work (SBF)

2009-01-17T14:08:00.004+08:00

I have just come back from the finals of the Science Buskers Festival. It was awesome!

It was a long long journey -- from 29 teams in the audition round to the top 10 finalists. Last night my teammates and I slept only for two hours preparing the Toy Humanoid Robot for today's show. Deciding the topic to busk hadn't been easy as we want to promote robots in ARICC as well - so the topic has gotta be related to robots.

We had support from second year students - they brought banners "SPEAR, Go, Goal, Gold" and "SP EEE ARICC". And eventually, we received 'Most Popular Online Video' award (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5QWQcMic5w&feature=related). The number of views has hit 35,000! It's even featured in my department's website: www.sp.edu.sg/schools/eee.

I need a short nap to replenish my energy. I'll work again later for the upcoming SRG!

THE SPINNOVEX WEEK

2009-01-10T22:44:00.012+08:00

SPINNOVEX ended on Friday evening.

Well, my robotic project won Silver Display Award. I saw resentment in many people because they didn't win anything despite having done a great project. Actually, display awards -as can be derived from its title- were for projects that are 'eye-candy'. So for anyone out there who felt to have done a great project but didn't get any recognition in this area, fret not. It was not because your project was lousier than the rest. It's just that your project might not have so much commercial or entertainment value at the moment.

In fact, the award selection was also very subjective. Some projects could be more appealing to a judge but not to the other, as the saying goes: One man's meat is another man's poison. I heard that the judges looked at how well you decorated your booth. Naturally, projects in the tent would have a better chance. And if you were not in the tent, it was not because your project is lousier than others. It was just that the management wanted to show projects which had commercial and entertainment values in the tent.

This year, all projects (whether highlighted or not) of ARICC were exhibited in the center itself. Crowds were fewer but I hope my robots entertained them well. My robots - RoboErectus Junior - danced, fenced and played soccer while RoboErectus Senior itself is already an eye-candy: a 165-cm (it has grown taller recently) robot which could play soccer, performed martial arts like Tai-chi and Karate.

Besides Display Awards, there are other awards: Best ARICC project, Best Innovation project, Best Edutainment project and Best Commercializable project. It seemed like we got quite a good chance to win the Best ARICC project. Really hope to get it!

PROBLEMS DURING SPINNOVEX:
Just before the industry panel visit, one of the PC of the robot spoiled. As a result, I had to stay in the lab for a night to repair it. At the end of the first day of exhibition, one of the Compact Flash card was corrupted -> another night spent in the lab.

DESPITE ALL THE PROBLEMS:
I have got a friend, also a distinguished visitor - Director of CASS, Mrs Lam - coming to see my project on the second day. I also showed her around ARICC. I hope she found our project interesting. On the third day of exhibition, Dr Dave Chong - my school director - came to ARICC to view our projects. However, as I went to the Science Buskers Festival instead, I was not at my booth. Well, Mr Mohan (one of the project supervisor) told me that it was a sudden visit, even Dr Zhou (Director of ARICC) was surprised by his visit.

At the Science Buskers Festival, we got 107 votes yesterday. We immediately shot up to 6th position (out of 25 teams). Pretty good, considering we didn't go on Friday (due to SPINNOVEX). The teams from NUS High School and River Valley High had almost all their schoolmates coming to support, so they topped the list (Their baskets were FULL). My friends and schoolmates couldn't make it because they had exhibition at school!!

But today, we had friends, family, relatives, lecturers and schoolmates coming to support us. Many Mr Mohan brought his wife and his mother-in-law while Dr Zhou brought his son and daughter to support us. As a result, our votes amounted to a total of 362 votes + 10% (bonus for early registration) = 398.2 votes. In addition, we had five votes from one of the judges, Mr John Yeo. (He's a nice guy!). That amount of votes made us the third in the ranking: we're going to the final round!

TOEFL SCORE

2009-01-07T01:07:00.002+08:00

Amidst all the problems I have with the robots, there is a piece of good news!

My TOEFL score = 108!! Am I dreaming?
It's better than I expected because I was really ill then (see my older post on TOEFL test).
The TOEFL comprises four sections and max score for each component is 30.

Reading - 28
Listening - 28
Speaking - 22 (I thought I did better -- about 25 -- anyway...).
Writing - 30 (full mark!)

Well that makes me eligible (more than eligible, in fact - the recommended TOEFL score in MIT is 100) to be considered for MIT admission. Yes!!

P.S. I am still at school, preparing the robots for tomorrow.

A BUSY, HECTIC, EVENTFUL WEEK

2009-01-04T11:51:00.000+08:00

SPINNOVEX & INDUSTRIAL PANEL
Tomorrow is the start of SPinnovex week -- that explains the title of this post.

SPINNOVEX is the exhibition of the best technological innovations of Singapore Polytechnic students. And my soccer robot -- Robo-Erectus -- is among the highlights of the event. With recognition comes pressure. Last night, my team and I pulled an all nighter to fix the robots because the robots have been throwing tantrums in these few days.

Industrial panel will come on the 7th. Not sure what they will do to us. I hope everything will just be fine.

Anyway, SPINNOVEX will be from 8th to 10th January. Come and visit us at ARIC Centre T1533! I will let you play with the robots using Playstation Controller. Still working on the autonomous program today.

SCIENCE BUSKERS FESTIVAL
The SBF's online and offline busking rounds are on the 9th, 10th and 11th (from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm).
.
.
.
Wait a minute. So it clashes with SPINNOVEX!? Yeah, so gotta run to and fro SP and Science Centre.

A little background info about SBF:
As may or may not be obvious, the term 'busker' suggests that it is actually a performance, a show. And this event is basically a platform to spread key messages about science. We will use robots to explain concepts like how DC motor moves and wireless control. The scoring system will be based on number of votes and we need your votes!

SINGAPORE ROBOTICS GAMES
Video submission is on 5th - i.e., this monday. That further explains why we needed to pull an all nighter last night. The actual competition will be around the 20th, I hope we still have enough time!

MIT APPLICATION ESSAY
Where x > 30, I have read my essay for x number of times. Finally, the button is clicked at 9:00pm (US Time) = 10:00am this morning. There are five essays altogether -- yes FIVE. Here are the topics:

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do for the pleasure of it.

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why?

Tell us about an experience which, at the time, really felt like "the end of the world" -- but had it not happened, you would not be who you are today. Describe the process through which you discovered value in the negative.

Tell us about something that you have created. This can be, for example, a design, a device, an object, an idea or concept.

No admission application can meet the needs of every individual. If you think that additional information or material will give us a more thorough impression of you, please respond on a separate sheet.

SAT Subject Tests

2008-12-27T11:57:00.004+08:00

Last night I received my SAT Subject Tests Scores.

Mathematics Level 1 - 730
Mathematics Level 2 - 770
Physics - 750

Middle 50% score range of admitted students:
Math (Level 1 or Level 2): between 740 and 800
Science (any): between 710 and 800

Phew, I'm in the 50%. Not bad, though I thought I should have scored better. Anyway, scores aren't the most important thing, after all. It's other aspects like essays and recommendations.

So I'm extremely grateful to my lecturers who took time and efforts to write the recommendations for me despite knowing jolly well that the admit rate for International students is terrifyingly low (1 in 26!).

SPinnovex poster

2008-12-24T16:01:00.003+08:00

Here is one of the posters that we are going to put on SPinnovex. There are several posters and this is designed by me.

my 23rd birthday

2008-12-23T23:59:00.002+08:00

I'm a minute away from being 23 years old!

christmas eve's eve

2008-12-23T19:19:00.004+08:00

The week felt like 300 milliseconds -- that is how fast an eye blinks. So, my point is that the week passed in the blink of an eye.

Without realizing, tomorrow is the Christmas Eve which happens to be the date I was born. Thanks for those who have given me presents and their best wishes. They are lovely and I really appreciate it. Some really thoughtful friends have asked me for a wish list but somehow things on my list are intangible, things like perpetual peace on Earth... and getting into MIT.

Yeah. MIT. The dateline falls on January 1st.

Well, it is extremely competitive (though extreme is an understatement) but I am optimistic about my chance. Nevertheless, whatever happens, I have done my best.

Last night, as I was rushing to complete my application essays, I received an SMS, containing magical words (of encouragement): "...Whatever happens, you are already a winner. Apart from your intelligence and character, your motivation and determination are inspiring to all of us who know you. Have a blessed Christmas."

Thank you, you know who you are.

Oh wait a minute. There's something tangible actually. A robot that does housework.

xD

So yeah, a novel will be nice.

SCIENCE BUSKERS FESTIVAL, AN AUDITION

2008-12-18T17:51:00.000+08:00

We were supposed to perform on stage and the setting of the audition room was very similar to the one of America's Got Talent. And contestants need three out of five votes to get into the busking round.

We planned to reach 1 hour earlier but we didn't manage to because of transportation problem. We had 30 minutes. Quickly, we setup LAN for our robots and get everything started up. We have many backup plans, though -- just in case the robots threw tantrums.

So we performed! -- Watch our video for details. xD

In the end, four out of five judges voted for us. One didn't because he felt that though it is interesting, our science explanation was too brief and didn't really come across.

I agree, but it was intended; we summarized the lengthy explanation to how the robots moved to avoid boring the judges, without knowing that one of the judges is very particular about it. Anyway, we have made it through the audition round! Unfortunately, two other groups from SP didn't go through the audition round.

Mr Mohan, my friends and I stayed till 3pm; while others took the chance to explore the science center, I stayed in the audition room. There were a few teams from River Valley and one from National University of Singapore. There is also a finalist of the National Science Challenge. Pretty competitive.

By the way, there will be an online busking round from 9 to 17 January 09 where we need votes for our video! Please support our vision to promote the passion and possibilities of engineering!

Life's ups and downs

2008-12-13T20:32:00.001+08:00

This morning, I took the TOEFL.

I have not been feeling well but I was feeling alright this morning; however, during the reading task, I experienced an overwhelming vertigo and my vision went blurry.

"What is happening to me?"

As a consequent, I couldn't read a single word in the first passage. And yes, I did not manage to answer the first twelve questions. Almost, for a second, I was overcome by the notion of giving up.

"This is not the end," I thought. All I need is 90. Focus, focus and I can achieve it. I managed to keep my condition under control and complete the rest of the tasks.

It definitely wasn't the best performance of mine, but I would love to think that I should be able to get 90. Well, if I don't, I'll take it as a learning experience, although that would mean losing my chance of getting considered for university admission.

Confucius once said, "Our (Man's) greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall". Everyone fell, felt sorrow as a result, but it is not right to sink under the oppression of sorrow. Instead of worrying, I should concentrate my time and energy on other tasks on my hand.

Yes, create a positive impact to life to offset the negative one.

scholarship+uni application workshop

2008-12-10T13:59:00.000+08:00

Today I attended the scholarship and university application workshop at T2122. The workshop started with Mrs Helen Mok talking about poise, articulation and delivery. To be very honest, what she covered was pretty much the same as what I was taught in the Communication Skills for Work module.

The session was followed by an overview of the universities in the US by Ms Debbie (I hope I have not spelt it wrongly) from the US International Education Center. It shocked me when Ms Debbie mentioned that a polytechnic student will be considered as a transfer student rather than a freshman.

I gasped and before I could recover, a second blow came right at me.

Ms Debbie: "What will hurt your application is the fact that you do not have an A level cert."

Less than 5% of Int'l students are admitted. It's even less for transfer students. Now guess how much chance is there for students without A levels?

I have sent an inquiry to the university that I'm applying for -- hoping that their system is different.

Later in the afternoon, three scholars - Adelene, Vincent and Aaron - shared about their experience in applying scholarships and universities. Great insights were provided and everyone benefited from it. Aaron is a PSC scholar from RJC and he really lived up to the tag of a PSC scholar - someone with a quick and sharp mind.

Vincent is an SP graduate, taking up a scholarship from the Navy to study in the UK. He's rather different, at least to me. Responses that he gave for the scholarship interview surprised me. I wouldn't consider the responses he gave would show off his strengths. Rather, he answered from his heart. And probably because of that, he stood out from the rest.

And not to forget, Adelene. Ha! She's the Chua Chor Teck gold medal winner! I couldn't recognize her at first but I thought that she looked familiar. When Ms Rohanah mentioned that "she's one of the seven wonders of SP", I recalled who she was. She's studying in NTU now on a Maritime and Port Authority scholarship. Just in case you're wondering who she is. Here's a photograph of hers.

At the end of the workshop, I had a short talk with Ms Rohanah. She mentioned that the graduation speaker candidates had gone through training.

What? Why wasn't I informed? Mr Lau told me that I'm one of the candidates. What is going on?

The day filled up with surprises.

TOEFL iBT

2008-12-08T19:55:00.001+08:00

Heard of TOEFL? Think it is easy?

I had the same thought too until I saw the Internet-based version.

Now don't be fooled by its name, T-O-E-F-L: Test Of English as a Foreign Language, it tests you on critical thinking, too.

For example, after reading a short passage (in 45 sec) and listening to a dialogue, you are then required to respond to a prompt, e.g. "Explain the problems faced by the man. What are the two solutions he offered? Which solution would you prefer and why?" You gotta talk continuously for 60 sec to score.

Sounds great? :)

Well I still have until Saturday to prepare. Good luck to ME!!

Tuition and Enrichment Programme

2008-12-07T23:26:00.000+08:00

I received an email offering the opportunity to be a voluntary teacher for the hearing impaired children and teenagers. It is very meaningful! I'll be very happy to help but that would mean I have to commit every Saturday from Jan to Dec 2009. I'm worried that I would not be able to commit my time as I have regular community work in Sungei Buloh which is usually on Saturday. Also, I may go overseas to further my studies in the coming year. Should I apply?

Anyway, I'm as sick as yesterday.

TOEFL is on Saturday! How do I take the test with my voice hoarse? I gotta recover soon.

SAT Subject Tests

2008-12-07T12:41:00.001+08:00

I took three subjects at one go yesterday: Physics, Mathematics Level 1 and Level 2.

First time taking, I was nervous and quite lost what to do at first. I arrived early at Starhub Center and there were a huge crowd of people taking the tests. Due to the bad directions given, I had to spend some time figuring out where my test room was.

In the test room, I was given a computerized answer sheet (those come with circles we have to fill with No.2 pencils) and a test book which contained all the subject tests - including those I was not taking.

Almost everyone brought with them a graphing calculator. I knew it was advantageous as one could plot a graph from an equation and get the answer from there quickly and ACCURATELY. But I didn't have one. And well, I could do without it. I just needed my CASIO scientific calculator.

Each test spanned an hour. In each hour, I got to choose which subject I wanted to take. I chose Mathematics Level 1 first, which is the paper that I was most confident with, as warmup. Woah, I answered all questions but didn't have time to check. There were 50 questions and some of them I had never seen. However, it is MATH, so I derived the answer in one way or another.

I took Physics next before I was tired out. No calculator is allowed for the test and there were seventy five questions in an hour. It was tougher than expected so I attempted 64. So why didn't I attempt all questions? A quarter mark would be deducted for each wrong attempt. I skipped questions that would cost me much time.

Mathematics Level 2 required much deeper understanding of Mathematics.

"It is not recommended for the faint-hearted", mentioned a prep book.

There were a few questions that I didn't know how to do but I thought it was alright to skip about four to five questions. Seriously, I did not do much preparation for both Math tests - I just attempted two sample tests.

I hope the results will be good!

I went to the temple of Goddess of Mercy at Bugis, prayed for safety and thanked for blessings in the MST and SAT. I went home and had a long, long sleep after my flu medicine. I really needed rest to replenish energy and compensate for the lack of sleep in the week.

Zzz...

After MST

2008-12-07T12:40:00.003+08:00

Phew! (a big one)

Thursday marked the end of my final mid-semester test. I think I did pretty well!

The last paper was a SURPRISE simply because there were no surprises in the paper. I shouldn't have spent so much time preparing for that paper. Anyway, most of the time there are surprises, so it's better to be safe than sorry, I guess.

I had a headache, sorethroat, fever and flu during the test week - one after another. I think it was due to the change of weather - everyone's catching these common diseases. So it was quite a tough test week for me as I revised despite not feeling well.

By the way, I created this blog as I felt the need to record what is happening in my life. I was thinking of creating my website though but oh, I was amidst Mid-Semeter Tests, SAT IIs and TOEFL. I guess I had to settle those first before actually doing anything like that. Anyway, this blog could operate very much like a website. Check out the navigation on the right.

Comes right after TOEFL is the Science Buskers Festival, SPinnovex (Final Year Project Exhibition) and Singapore Robotics Games. What do all these mean? No holiday for me?

Yes and no.

While it is true that I can't enjoy a typical holiday like everyone else, I will be spending my holiday doing what I love: engineering and robotics projects. I can't spend too much time on them during term time because tutorials and tests piled up and occupied all my time.

Maybe I can learn more Guitar pieces during the term break as well (and maybe compose a song?). Now I can spend more time with the beginners in the Guitarists club. Woah, the beginners improved by a leap; they really impressed me. Comparing to the year I joined, this club is now much lively! Hopefully after I graduated, it continues to soar!

I just had some medicine and it is making me feel drowsy. Oh! *Fallen*