Bolts N' Nutz: Beyond the Island - Thailand

The streets of Bangkok were really congested indeed. The narrow roads couldn’t accommodate the huge flow of vehicles. The first day was free and easy, when we were allowed to stroll around the nearby shopping centre. Things seemed significantly cheaper. Whether the products were imitations or not, didn’t really matter to me. =p

However we weren’t quite used to Thai food. Everything tasted so salty to me. (with a pinch of sourness) Even the coke tasted salty too. Maybe my taste buds went haywire that time.

What’s that little mini taxi called? Tut tut? Tok Tok? Anyway my family of 4 managed to squeeze onto one of those. The good thing was, the small vehicle was unable to weave through traffic jams and travel through alleys, making it a really convenient transport in congested areas. But it wasn’t really comfortable (with so many people riding) and I felt like it was going to topple over with our weight, especially when negotiating turns.

Thais are quite clever in draining money from tourists. In almost every tourist locations, there would be some ‘paparazzi’ taking photos of us without consent. When we leave the place, they would display our photos (with a nicely designed photo frame) and encourage us to buy them. We fell for the ‘trick’ the first time, then began to realize that our photos actually did not worth anything.



We visited an island full of beautiful corals surrounding it. The water was so clear that they can be distinctively seen through the glass panes on the hull of the boat. Took a short ride on the speedboat around the island, while my brother went parasailing. Flying in the air was too scary for me at that time, though I really feel like trying out now.

Bolts N' Nutz: Beyond the Island - China

I went there to visit relatives in 1998. It was quite a new experience as I got to visit suburb areas. And it was the first time I’ve ever walked along a traditional crop field, retrieved water from a well and fed the pigs. Even the roads at the urban village could be so empty that I could stand in the middle of the road and take pictures! Unfortunately I fell sick on the last day and could not attend the last round of sightseeing.







Well we know the people in China have a bad habit of spitting. My poor cousin kena-ed a spit from the bus conductor while she was getting off the bus. Car horns were pressed for the slightest reason, which made the streets very noisy with honks here and there. Of course the badly translated English signs didn’t fail to amuse us too.

But there was something which made this trip so unique:

During the morning flight to China, the plane was unable to land on Xiamen Airport due to the bad weather. Thus it had to land on Hangzhou further north temporarily. However after waiting for several hours inside the plane (until the sky became dark), the weather was still not cleared. Eventually it was decided that the flight will resume the next morning. After that, many passengers started to complain aggressively, while the stewardesses were desperately trying to explain the situation to them. Quite an interesting sight I think. =p We were told to leave the plane and rice packets were also distributed to us as our pseudo-reunion dinner. (now you know why so many passengers complained)

We were sent to the nearby hotel, where I witnessed many fancy firecrackers just when the clock struck midnight. The countdown programme on TV was also much much grander than that in Singapore. Though a day wasted, this was one of my memorable overseas experience. It really made a big hoo-ha when we finally reunited with our relatives the next day. There were just so many stories to tell.

Bolts N’ Nutz: Beyond the Island - Malaysia

Malaysia is the only foreign country I’ve been to more than once. The last time was during the cruise trip early last year. Though I only spent a few hours in KL, being able to see the Petronas Towers first-hand (or rather first-eye) was good enough. After all most of the shops, products and facilities are similar to that in Singapore, except the buildings and sceneries.



KLCC is really a giant mall indeed. Though not as wide as Singapore’s biggest shopping mall Vivocity, the floor area and shop space was much larger. I wonder if it’s possible to even window shop the entire place within an afternoon. As for the price of goods, it doesn’t differ much from that in Singapore. Well, we can’t expect things to be any cheaper in such a bustling urban center.



The previous time was Genting about 5 years ago. The weather felt like some temperate country as it was much colder than expected. It was quite amazing to know that I was actually inside the clouds. Sometimes a bunch of clouds would suddenly drift pass, obscuring the entire view from the hotel windows. Nothing but vapor, haha.



The rides were pretty enjoyable too! I think the day pass was rather worth it, though I wasn’t able to sit on some rides I wanted like the vertical drop (due to parent’s worry). Is that even considered dangerous? Anyway it was also the first time I’ve ever experienced an indoor amusement park cum shopping centre. Thumbs up to the marvelous design!



The other times I went Malaysia were rather forgettable. There was once my dad brought me there to visit his friend. And there was another time I followed my relatives just across the causeway for cheap shopping.

However recently Malaysia seems to be a dangerous place to be in… (with all the bloody incidents and such) Or am I watching too much news?

Filled or Empty?

This is the time which I've been looking forward to, perhaps since the start of the semester early this year. But when the time really comes, it doesn't feel that great after all. When it's finally over, I'll start to look back and think about it, hoping to return back to time. Is this so-called "we tend not to cherish what we currently have"?

Anyway there are several trivial things which I'd like to accomplish by this holiday. But I just can't settle down and work on them properly. Maybe I need the presence of more crucial tasks like schoolwork haha.

I'm wondering if I should search for a job. This holiday may seem long but it's only 12 weeks. 1 week is almost gone already. Unless I start work immediately, I don't think I'll be able to satisfy the 3-month commitment required for most admin jobs. On the other hand, recently there are many temperature-taking assignments which don't require long commitment. However the working hours are relatively longer, might have to work on shift or weekends. For someone who is not in desperate need of salary, such odd jobs that contribute little to my future resume probably isn't worth sacrificing my time for. Okay I'm so pragmatic.

How I hate looking for tuition assignments! Females seem to have the upper hand in this aspect. Every parent just wants a female (patient and gentle) tutor to teach their kids. So much for gender equality, stereotypes are still ever present in the modern society.

I can foresee I'm going to spend lots of money this holiday...

Semester 2 Overview

Finally the busy semester has come to a close. Compared to last semester, I spent a longer time in school per week, with two days beginning at 8am. A semi-free day was also secured, resulting in a rather packed timetable. But I had a great time rushing to and fro Arts and Engine faculties haha, especially on every Thursday when I had to make 4 of such trips.

Anyway it's time to look back and review the modules I've done for the past few months. In addition, I'll be rating the modules in terms of difficulty, workload, lectures and tutorials/labs. The ratings are purely based on my own judgment and may not reflect the contents of the module as a whole. Like last semester, I’m not going to predict any results.

Difficulty - Self explanatory.
Workload - Amount of lesson hours per week, assignments, tutorials, projects, self-study required, etc
Lecture - Enjoyability and understanding
Tutorial/Lab - Enjoyability and understanding

*Note that the ratings are set at an arbitrary scale and the maximum is not necessarily 5 stars.


CN1111 – Chemical Engineering Principles

Difficulty: ★★★
Workload: ★★
Lecture: ★★
Tutorial: ★

This is my first core module directly related to my major. Though it’s just a surface introduction, many students found it a killer. If that’s the case, further higher-level modules would be unimaginable. However I feel this mentality is just a natural result of the transition stage, when we are still trying to get used to advanced chemical calculations techniques. Once we overcome the barrier and have better grasp of the fundamentals, we would probably realize this module is actually not that hard. Before this realization comes, isn’t it better to be more confident and get ahead of the difficulty rather than to dwell on the ‘killer’ aspects?

Well I admit there is always the killer ‘Question 1’ in the exams every year. This is just a wall being set up, waiting for us to overcome such that we can attain a higher level. I think the most important thing in tackling killer questions is confidence (in thinking that your solutions are correct). It’s much better than leaving it blank and hope everyone skips that question too.

Midway through this module, I found myself not being able to understand many concepts. I was often stuck in tutorials too. But fortunately this did not affect my mid- term test result much. Other than that, I guess this module is more relaxing workload-wise since it doesn’t have any extra assignments or lab sessions on top of tests, exams and tutorials.


MA1506 – Mathematics II

Difficulty: ★★
Workload: ★★
Lecture: ★★★
Tutorial/Lab: ★

I see this as a mere extension of MA1505. Even the uncreative module title reflects this haha. However generally I feel 1506 is more interesting than 1505 as it deals with more real world problems. The tutorial questions are very creative too, especially the story of Romeo and Juliet. It makes me feel like modeling some real world daily situations, like how long will it take for me to understand Japanese to a certain level haha.

The lab assignments do compliment very well with my other module IT1005. Those who did not take this IT module would probably be confused over the technicalities. Regretfully, I didn’t attend a single lab session, due to obvious reasons. Thanks to a certain site, the tutorial becomes a little redundant, to the extent that I skipped the last few tutorials. It was the first time I’ve ever skipped tutorials. (let’s not talk about labs)

Though the lecture speaks like a machine gun, I somehow enjoyed his style of teaching. But sometimes I really couldn’t catch up. Thankfully self-study and practice is sufficient for this module. No additional textbooks or extensive reading is needed.

This is my most confident module, and I would be really upset if I can’t score well.


IT1005 – Introduction to MATLAB

Difficulty: ★
Workload: ★★
Lecture: ★★★★
Lab: ★★

Thanks to the optional lab sessions, this module became more relaxing than expected. Most of the assignments can be done from home. Furthermore the lectures are very interesting. The lectures do really know how to spice up the atmosphere and make a dead content come alive. Not to forget their jokes and skilful illustrations too.

This module serves as a good introduction to programming for programming-idiots like me. Till now, I still don’t really know how to use html commands properly. I still remember how I flunk a computing subject badly during secondary school. C++, Java, etc are alien languages to me. But now I feel more confident in handling such programming stuff. Then again, MATLAB is just tiny part of the entire computing world.

Sadly I messed up the final exams. Despite the emphasis on clarity and neatness, I was unable to save my script from being disorganized and untidy. The ‘spark of brilliance’ (quoted from Relf) didn’t manage to occur on time. As everyone appears to score extremely well for the other take-home assignments, the final exam is the determining factor in distinguishing the good and poor students. I really need lots of luck (marker’s leniency, peers’ performance) for this one.


CM1502 – Physical Chemistry for Engineers

Difficulty: ★★
Workload: ★★★
Lecture: ★★
Tutorial/Lab: ★★

This module is basically a recap of our ‘A’ level knowledge plus some additional stuff. As such, revision was easy and there were not much problems understanding the contents. The lecturers knew that too, and hence the pace of lectures was very fast. This means that the module is easy for almost everyone. Bearing that in mind, even a minor mistake could cost my grades. Regrettably, I had made several ‘little’ mistakes along the way and I have no idea where I stand amidst the intense competition. I guess I should be prepared to receive a disappointing grade for this one, should anymore little mishaps happen in my final paper.

In fact I did make a big mistake during the exam. Not that it will cost any of my marks, but I could have done better if I were to realize it earlier. More often than not, I find myself fighting against time rather than the difficulty of the question. Because the ‘spark’ always comes right after the invigilator says ‘stop writing’. By the time my script is collected, the entire solution would have already been planned out in my mind. Exasperating!

Writing lab reports was indeed a chore, but more would come in the future. There is no way I could ever escape labs...sigh.


SSA2215 – Biophysical Environment of Singapore

Difficulty: ★★
Workload: ★
Lecture: ★
Lab: ★★★

My most relaxed module this semester despite the level 2000 label. There are no tutorials, only 4 biweekly 'labs' (no experiment is carried out actually), which are graded and in fact carry a huge percentage of the whole assessment. All except one have to be completed within lesson time, hence they can be viewed as casual open-book tests. My results for these labs are mediocre and I doubt my final paper could pull up any further. It looks like the ‘curse’ of Arts modules is still very much effective on me.

Thanks to WJ, I wasn’t able to concentrate on the lecture. Most of the lectures were treated as weekly meet-up chit-chat sessions instead. This is not anything bad though, as I enjoyed the chit chat and the lectures were not captivating enough to garner my attention anyway. Even if I tried to listen, I’ll eventually fall back on reading the textbook. This module is probably famous for its lecturers’ names, so much that the lecturer even took the trouble to gather funny comments teasing their own names haha. (Go and find out their names yourself)

What can I say, this is a memory-based module. The best memory wins in exams. The final paper is not hard, and it’s very straightforward. However we are expected to memorize fine details and figures. Thank you very much for letting me know that Marina Barrage is the 15th reservoir in Singapore. Even the textbooks cannot be reprinted fast enough to reflect this figure haha.


Last but not least my overloaded module:

LAJ3201 – Japanese 5

Difficulty: ★★★
Workload: ★★★★★
Lecture: ★★★
Tutorial: ★★★★★

A whopping 7 lesson hours per week, with several assignments, reports and projects, made this module my busiest in this semester. I can say that I spent much more time on this module than any other modules so far. Wow, I really had the guts to overload my semester with this module! It’s also not common to see Year 1 students taking a level 3000 module right?

However I can say that I truly enjoyed this module =). It is this module that motivated me to go to school everyday (even when I had to crawl out of bed at 5.45 am), and try to reach school early (in order not to be late). You can say it instills some kind of discipline into me. Being able to speak and listen to Japanese everyday also helps a lot in my language learning.

The lectures and tutorials are interesting and enjoyable, especially since the cohort is small and almost everyone knows each other. Moreover everyone could get a chance to speak up even in lectures. The teachers are kind and patient, and know every student by name. This reminds me of my JC days, when the community was close-knitted.

Because of this module, I could step foot into Mediacorp and witness a live radio broadcast in the studio itself. Interaction with visiting foreign students is also not something we could enjoy from most modules. This certainly exceeds my expectations of a good module. What other modules could make me look forward to attending every tutorial?

Of course, enjoyment comes with stress too. I can’t seem to perform my best during the term tests. Personally I felt my oral test was a bit of flop. Listening to my own recorded voice makes me want to scream at myself. Anyway when was the last time I had an oral test…how nostalgic.

Due to the high level and small cohort, getting a good grade is not easy. Everyone around me seems to be better than me in terms of fluency and listening ability. I really hope not to s/u this one. In fact I wish to take more Japanese modules in the future. After all in Singapore there isn’t much opportunity for us to speak Japanese.

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My grades last semester inevitably added expectations (and hence stress) onto this semester. As much as I want to think grades aren’t that important in University, I just can’t put it down. Maybe this semester results will change my mentality and make me lower my expectations. Perhaps I could be happier and more carefree if I weren’t overly concerned of my grades.

‘Grades doesn’t matter’. Is that a form of happiness-seeking by retreating from the harsh competition? Or is that just a mere cowardly escapism from the meritocratic reality?

The Hell Classroom

During the study week, I was strongly addicted to this drama ‘The Queen’s Classroom’.



This drama is about a Grade 6 (Primary 6) class which has a devilish form teacher. The teacher is extremely harsh to her students and never gives any leeway. She gives a weekly test, in which two students with the lowest scores will have to do class chores. Students are not allowed to go to the toilet during class time and are forced to report to school everyday even during the vacation. The teacher gives out punishments readily and makes the whole class responsible for one student’s mistake. Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You might want to watch the drama yourself to know what other devilish things she will do.

The poor class suffered greatly from the oppression starting from the first day of school. Since then, the unity and state of the class appears to be collapsing. Bullying, betrayal, treachery, alienation, chaos soon followed as every student became increasingly protective of their self-interest. Parents are of no help, and the students are left all alone to handle their problems. Through the episodes, the atmosphere seems to get darker and darker. It is a class that you will never wish to be in, and a teacher whom you will never wish to have.

As cold as the teacher might be, there seems to be a purpose for her actions. Why is the teacher so strict? What does she want to achieve by doing that?

There are times when I felt like slapping the teacher or the students. Things do get out of hand sometimes. However within all the ill-treatment and corrupt class environment, there are a lot of things that can be learn and realized. The harsh reality of outside society, the flaw of meritocratic education system, elitism and other social problems are conveyed through the drama. The ideas are strongly brought across to the viewers and serve as an excellent food for thought.

I think the ideas presented in this drama can be related to Singapore’s society too, where studying and getting good grades are heavily focused on. Parents only want their children to study hard and score well, while other interests and hobbies are deemed to be impractical and useless. What does constitute to true happiness?

This is one of the best dramas I’ve watched and I strongly recommend this to everyone. The children, though only 12 years old or so, acted really well for their age. Such superb child actors and actresses can hardly be found in Singapore. Furthermore, this classroom drama is much unlike other idealistic school dramas where the teacher is helpful and friendly, or those dramas (especially SG ones) where the plot focuses mostly on parents and the students’ private lives rather than the class as an entity. In this drama, the children and teacher take the lead, rather than the parents.



By the way, watching this drama during the study period did motivate me a little haha.