Twenty Fifteen

Year 2015 - My 2nd and final year as a University of Melbourne student.

Twenty Fifteen is a special year in many different ways:

1 - It was my first ever time, living all alone in a single studio room. I remember the many times that I wondered if anyone would know if anything happened to me. With the balcony unlocked (there was no way to lock it), I slept many nights overthinking: 'what if someone climbed up and break in, what will I do?'. The craziness in every thought that made me fall asleep in fear that have now become memories to laugh at. 

But, it was through my stay in cobden (& mx) that I met Cher & Bee. And that became the best thing that happened to me in the year. :') They brought life to my solo-living, the videos we would watch during our dinners together from anime (fairy tail, soma, one-punch man) to cartoons (rick & morty) to etc... ('how its made', modern family, doraemon, dee kosh). Our 'fab' outings to town shopping. Grocery shopping trips. & not to mention, our doto sessions. There's just so many things to be thankful about when I think back, & the biggest would be being friends with you two. :')

2 - It's SG50. Fifty years of Independence with many many events, discounts and offers that I couldn't participate in since I was away in the country down under. It was also the year of the general elections, the 1st GE that I could have participated in but... oh well. 

3 - Graduation! Just 17 days ago, at the Royal Exhibition Building. Its so surreal. The past two semesters were filled with doubt, 'will I be able to graduate on time', 'I'm so going to fail my finance papers'. And there I was, on stage, receiving my certificate of completion of my degree. To be very honest, there was this part of me that wanted to drag out my degree, just so I could stay on for a little longer. I was afraid of leaving the student life and there was just too much uncertainty. 

Even now, I'm still afraid, but I believe, things will work out somehow. So thank you twenty fifteen for a fabulous year, here's to a brand new Twenty Sixteen and I'm sure you'll be a great year with many new beginnings! Cheers!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D:D

Travelling with a Teething Kid

Note (17 Oct 2016): Found the below note/rant that was kept on my Google Keep and thought it would be a memory worth looking back on in time. 

"NZ has been rather tiring, flying in on a midnight flight while having a teething niece. All she does these days is whine. Good gawd.

Sometimes i just wanna go do my own stuff y'know, being around family 24/7 is just too much."

The Cobden Potatoes

My fellow potatoes of Cobden... 

To all the times we spent in each other rooms, ranting about school and people, 

To all the times we played dota2 together in one room, igniting our inner demons of speech,

To all the times we had dinner together while watching random stuff from animes to dramas, 

To all the times we shopped together for groceries and clothing. 

Thank you. #26Nov2015 

Melbourne Uni Experiments

During my time at Uni, I had the opportunity to participate in a couple of school experiments (which gives out a minimum of AUD 10 for participation).

I was fairly impressed with this one, hence the detailed account I wrote on Google Keep on what I was tasked with and the results I got at the end of it, so here goes:

Task 1

You have 50 ECU. 

There is equal chances of succeeding or failing an investment. If you succeed, you get triple the amount you invested. If you fail, you get nothing. If you choose not to invest, you get 50 ECU for sure.

-(I INVESTED 15 ECU)

Task 2

Encoding. You can choose to do either activity 1, activity 2, both or neither. Earnings for task 2 will be the sum of the two activities.

In activity 1, you're paired with a random partner. You will get either get prize 1 of 250 ECU or prize 2 of 150 ECU. You can increase your chances of winning prize 1 by encoding more than your partner. 

(I encoded 22/23 words)

In activity 2, for each word you encode correctly, you get 1.25 ECU for sure (individual).

(I encoded 24 words = 30 ECU)

Your payment will be based on EITHER task 1 or task 2 chosen randomly by the computer.

EARNINGS: Task 2. 

- In activity 1, I got prize 1: 250 ECU 

- In activity 2, I got 30 ECU 

- Participation Fee: 10 AUD

Conversion Rate: 10 ECU to 1 AUD

Therefore, total earnings: 38 AUD

It was the most I had earned from an experiment, & I must say, it was also the most interesting (& intense) one that I've participated in. 

Mental struggles

11 November 2015 - the day of the last paper. 
In normal circumstances, students like myself would have been jumping for joy on such a day, being all happy about the 'freedom' (a.k.a school vacations) that we have from the semester. But why oh why do I feel so lost right now.

The fear that I wouldn't be able to pass my papers? or the fear that I'll graduate and face the corporate society where I have to start all over again? Either way, it's nothing to be happy about. 

What am I going to do now? What is next? The tunnel ahead is so so dark and gloomy. Will I be able to somehow install fairy lights in the tunnel to lighten the road ahead? I just wanna curve into a ball and hide in a corner for now. 

あきらめない (DONT GIVE UP)

If there is one key takeaway/incentive from watching animes, that would probably be the "never give up" spirit, "あきらめない".

Although fictional and rather unbelievable that the protagonist would always seem to triumph any 'pinch' situation through willpower alone... how many of us truly believe in ourselves in the real world? The transition from being a student to a professional invokes doubt and disbelief, probably not for everyone, but that is definitely what I am going through right now.

Despite how cowardly the idea of giving up feels, it is often the easy way out and more-than-frequently used. How many of us had gone: "urgh, i'm leaving this to fate"? or "I'm just like that, there's nothing I can do"... this are things I have heard myself and people around me say.

Perhaps its time to change things up a little, to start believing and to delete the phrase, 'give up' from my life dictionary. ありがとう、Fairy Tail. たくさん教えてくれました。今から、頑張ります。

It's week TWELVE!

It's my penultimate semester... and the twelve teaching weeks had flown by. :O

A whole 12 weeks from trying to understand each subject to the flooding of group assignments to actually completing all required lessons and simply self-studying for the impending examinations. No doubt that there were ups and downs through the term, but I think I've gained much more than I've lost this academic year. For one, I'd made new friends (which I had thought was an impossible task) :D.

And so... it is the examinations! With three consecutive papers in approx. 15 days, I wonder why I'm procrastinating by blogging. lol. Alright, ファイト! 화이팅! 

A Tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew

23 March 2015... the day that Singaporeans woke up to the solemn news of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's passing. Every year, watching the NDP on television, my family & I often look forward to Mr Lee's arrival to the parade. Knowing that he is still healthy and strong always brings a sense of relief.

This year, 2015, marks the 50th year of Singapore's independence. More than anything, I would have hoped Mr Lee Kuan Yew could celebrate this year's NDP with us, it is, after all, an extremely special year in Singapore's history. However, this wish would now become an eternal regret (终生的遗憾).

Being a Singaporean, no words could express my gratitude to Mr Lee. He, a man with great wisdom and vision, transformed Singapore from a corrupted society to now a prosperous city-state recognised by the world. As a young Singaporean receiving tertiary education overseas, it is regrettable that I am unable to pay my final respects to our founding father, however, your legacy will be passed on to younger generations and your contributions will live on through decades to come.

To Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Thank You.

Credits to http://www.fivestarsandamoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/984158_785166031533749_7956530433981508571_n.jpg