Calendar of Agenda (April)

A look-back on what I busied myself with in April 2005...

1 Apr
April Fools' Day
4 Apr
Help out Sec Sch Maths Programme
7 Apr
Dad & Mom's Birthday (same day - born 1 year apart!)
8-10 Apr
Pre-Enrolment (Online) for Singapore Poly.
15 Apr
Medical Appointment Schedule (for tertiary education)
19 Apr
Student Card Appointment Schedule (for tertiary education)
27 Apr
JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge 2005 Volunteer Work

Enrolment at Singapore Polytechnic

T'was yesterday that I went for my enrolment at Singapore Polytechnic. Old as it was at 51 years and going strong, noticeable are the numerous construction/upgrading works in the gigantic campus. Not that it was bad. Anyway, most of my classmates who had gone to polytechnic were in the newer Temasek Polytechic. Leaving Jessica, Divya and me behind. (Who'd want to travel so far and torture themselves for THREE years anyway? Except us.)

Walking towards the Enrolment Centre which was oh-so-far away from Dover MRT Station (also because the campus's so BIG), I met Divya, who had just finished her enrolment. Heard her mentioning some stuff about "camps" when I spoke to her.

OK, so the verification of documents and all those financial fees went smoothly. Then a few stations later I sat down facing an automatic digital camera and got my picture taken for my admission card - my new "nametag"! (It's intentionally blurred for confidentiality - and I'm taking a Diploma in Music & Audio Technology by the way.)

Blech - that so doesn't look like me. Hmm... rushed out so didn't gel my hair or else would've got a more presentable picture. Anyway, shortly after the admission card popped out of a machine, the lanyard above was assigned to me.

Then I was on my way for a briefing on the 3 methods to save work done on the computer workstations in the polytechnic's labs: uploading to an e-mail account, flash drives and CD-RWs. Like most people didn't know. Hello... my generation's supposed to be trained in basic I.T. knowledge (thus the emphasis of I.T. in Singapore's education system).

What proceeded was a bombardment of briefings by the myriad clubs, societies and unions of Singapore Polytechnic. There was the Singapore Polytechnic Students' Union (SPSU), Community Service & Cultural Club, Current Affairs and Debating Club and Sports Club - just to name a few! Singapore Polytechnic has at least 70 student organisations in all! Naturally, the clubs were trying to get more freshmen to join in their "Freshman Orientation" (F.O.) activities. There was a host of camps, chalets, barbeques and many other orienteering activities to choose from. If one were to go for all of them, there would even be several events that clashed because the calendar was so jam-packed. At various points in time, I got entirely confused over the many student organisations. Endless questions lurked in the alleys of my already-disembowelled mind.

It was, fortunately, much relief as I collected my orientation package containing some nifty gadgets (water bottle, writing paper, towel, t-shirt, pen, daily organiser, hardcover file and pore-cleanser papers with a mirror - ?!?!; all with the tagline "Freshman Orientation 2005/2006" emblazed on it.

Looking forward to the activities I'm participating in before Term 1 starts. Just hope I don't get so tired I'm dead-beat by the time Term starts.

Medical check-up for what?

Just went for my medical check-up and X-ray examination today. It was required in order to enter polytechnic. Kind of a useless requirement for my course, Music & Audio Technology anyway - like probably the only key thing to check would be whether I was hearing-impaired? Unlike courses like Nautical Studies where eyesight is important.

It's so "dots". Had to go all the way to Bedok Central. Never mind. $22 for a few "glance-glance" check-ups is not worth it at all (well, at least they despatched the medical reports and X-ray film directly to Singapore Polytechnic).

Upon entering the clinic, I discovered that there were numerous others waiting to be checked up too. Was this why the check-ups were so brief? Waited for almost half an hour then got called in by a nurse. My height, weight and blood pressure were taken within a minute. Then followed a super fast vision and colour deficiency test. Never mind.

Next was the urine test. Had to re-do it later. Didn't know why the nurse asked me to do so. Anyway, there were others who had to re-do it too so I guessed it was a matter of accuracy. Never mind.

The irking part was when I met the doctor face-to-face. I thought it was going to take at least some time, what with so many items to scrutinize me for (eyes, mouth, teeth, gums, abdomen/pelvis, spine, mental disposition, heart, lungs, the list goes on). It ended up I was in there for less than THREE minutes!

Went in, sat down. Showed her my alpha thalassemia trait lab report. Light shone into my eye and mouth. Heartbeat and pulse rate measured quickly. Laid down on the bed. Got my abdomen checked. Got up. Thank you (yeah right) and went out.

Super irritated. So many other things she didn't check for. Racing for time I suppose, so more patients could be seen? Then I went up to the second floor for an X-ray. Expectedly, it took less than 15 seconds (excluding waiting time) or else I would get so much radiation in me that everyone within a hundred metres of me would get radiation sickness (obviously kidding).

So that concluded the medical check-up. Short and bitterly incomprehensive.

Fun with Social Studies

For those "stressed-out" by the coming mid-year examinations, here's a fun, twisted and lame extract from a Social Studies Source-Based Question.
The question is taken from the Upper Secondary Social Studies Activity Book 4B, page 34.
The lame authors are classmates Shaun Lee & Edwin Toh (me) from SHSS 4A 2004. They created this lame answer out of boredom during a Social Studies lesson.

Issue: The Claims over Kashmir

1(a) Study Source A. Why do you think the cartoonist portrays the Kashmir issue the way he does? Explain your answer. [6 marks]

Answer:
Source A shows that Kashmir is being sought after by India and Pakistan. As seen in the cartoon, Pakistan is portrayed as a wooden stake chaining Kashmir onto itself, rendering Kashmir unable to escape. India is portrayed as a mighty eagle with sharp talons attempting to prey on Kashmir, a defenseless bird. (Makes sense. A good answer.)

(Continued... Don't learn from the following answer.) Source A shows that India has an overpowering military power and Pakistan being a tiny state with only a single nuclear missile ready to fire at India. As when the missile is fired, the chicken would be pulled along the air at speeds exceeding the sound barriers. (?!?!) This shows that the chicken would be killed in a nuclear confrontation. Hence, the lesson learnt is never to chain your chicken to a nuclear missile, lest you want it to become KFC (Kashmir Fired Chicken). (No offense to the real KFC.)

The source wants to warn the already obese people of the USA (no offense again) that Kashmir-imported chickens are hazardous as they contain traces of Uranium-235 from the nuclear missile that Pakistan fired. Uranium-235 is widely known to reduce sperm count and sex appeal.

Yeah, that was lame right. And a waste of time too. Don't learn from the authors. Don't try this at school.

Dormant days.

*Yawn!* Tired and lazy to blog these few days. There isn't really a hubbub of activity going on anyway, well at least not directly affecting me. Early this month saw Pope John Paul II's demise and more recently Monaco's Prince Rainier's death. And - my maternal grandma got admitted into hospital again after a bout of lethargy and breathlessness (common as she has advanced-stage kidney and lung failure). I have never directly experienced the passing of a close one yet in my seventeen years of life - so hopefully God grants me a few more years to get ready for any.

Sleepy and lazy - sometimes I wake up at around noon (nothing important to do anyway). Played several online games like The Reincarnation, Tycoon Online and GunBound to pass time but found they were just temporary sources of enjoyment. And don't bother trying to ask me to get a part-time job - because I start school at Singapore Polytechnic in late May, so there's too short a period of time left available for me to work (somewhere less than two months).

Sleep late; wake up late. The common day-to-day routine of a lazy pig like me. Wonder how I'm going to wake up in time for school all the way in the West (Dover) when I'm at the Far East in Tampines. If school starts at 9am, I'll probably have to wake up before 7am. Something I was used to in secondary school; not now when my motivational wake-up engine's purring like a pathetic kitten. Guess I'll have to train and force myself to wake up early - soon.

Dozes off at keyboard... haha just kidding.