MIT's decision

And so MIT has released their application decisions. And what's in store for me?

Oh well, I had expected it anyway. Official statistics state that MIT's admit rate is about 7~10%. But after crunching some numbers available on their website, MIT's admit rate for international students (the more crucial statistic) is really low, at about 4%. In other words, only 1 in 25 international students get the chance to enter MIT. So I wasn't really thinking that I would get into MIT - if they accepted me, then that's a bonus to me, really!

Anyway, I'm already accepted by MIT v2.0, or SUTD, so to speak. I certainly do think that SUTD will be just as great as, if not greater than, MIT, in the future, so I can't complain :D

NTU Open House

I was initially debating with myself, should I go for NTU's Open House? After all, my leg (toe) is still recovering, and I already went for last year's open house. However, I thought that it would be pretty boring to stay home and rest, 7 days of the week (you can die of boredom leh!), so I made a last-minute decision to go for the open house.

And so I made my way to Boon Lay bus interchange, where I took a public bus into NTU. I had a bad experience with the shuttle buses during the last open house, so I decided to take a public bus instead. In any case, the bus trip didn't cost much (a few cents perhaps), all thanks to distance fares hehe :D

Then I arrived at NTU. While waiting for my friends (who were already at the open house area) appear from the scheduled talks, I was walking around the event area ...

Finally, my friends appeared. We then went for more talks, all of which I had no personal interests in (I attended those talks for fun), and went for the campus tour later on. Can't believe that the tour is exactly the same as the tour last year ...

The tour ended at about 5 pm. With the open house about to end, my friends and I made our way out of the campus. By public bus of course (the length of the queues for the shuttle buses was simply astounding!), so we went to the public bus stop nearest to the open house area (I couldn't walk for too long due to my toe injury), and made our way back home ...

And that kinda sums up my day at NTU. Pretty uninteresting, talks were semi-interesting (I wasn't interested in those programs anyway, but if I were I would probably find them useful), campus tour is boring, and did I mention that I saw a lot of other AJ people as well? Wonder if it would be the same case during NUS's open house next week ...

MIT and its offspring

So this morning, I woke up to receive an email from MIT admissions, telling me that my MIT application result would be released at the date and time indicated by the picture above. Of course, that's US time, which is equivalent to the morning of 15 March.

Currently my MC is supposed to end on 14 March, meaning that I would need to book in back to Tekong on the night of 14 March (so I can't watch the debut of First XI!). That means that I would probably be in camp on the morning of 15 March, and if I happen to be at coy line, then I probably could go and check my MIT application result. If I'm not at coy line, then those results would have to wait for me.

Anyway, I'm not expecting much from MIT. After all, they admit only 1 out of 20 international students that apply to MIT. That's an utterly small chance that I would be selected by MIT. However, I had a good time applying to MIT, sitting for all those US college admission tests, and writing the essays (5 of them!) for the application. If nothing else, I'm most pleased with the essays that I've written - they are my best story-telling essays so far!

Actually, in any case, I already have a place at this university, which I deem to be MIT v2.0:

I personally believe that while SUTD may be a new university, its innovative pedagogy would mean that SUTD graduates would have better skills than the engineering students from NUS/NTU, thus they would be more highly sought after in the workplace (read: better pay!). For a case study, just look at SMU. With their American style of teaching, SMU graduates have gained skills that their counterparts in NUS/NTU lack, thus they are highly sought after by employers. Therefore, I'm certainly hoping that SUTD would rise in prominence in the years to come ;)

PS: And if nothing else, there's MIT's name in SUTD's official logo. Hehe :D

My A Level Results Release Day

So, this fateful day had finally arrived. In the lead up to this day, I told myself to avoid thinking about what my results could be, or to think about horrendous/disastrous results (eg. I failed GP!!!). Reason simply being that whatever that comes to my mind would not materialize at all - this theory has been proven through my daily experiences (for example, I visualize that an empty train would arrive. In reality, anything but an empty train arrives). Therefore, I arrived in AJC with zero expectations that I would go up to stage to receive my results.

Heh, I wouldn't have imagined that I would be making my way to AJC with my crutches, but this I did. The pathway from YCK MRT to AJC proved to be the most challenging leg, with its undulating slopes (this may be exaggerated but it's indeed challenging to use my crutches to walk along the uneven pavement). But slowly, step by step, I made my way to the foyer, where I spent some time talking to fellow schoolmates (who were already enlisted - Ha! Conversation starter!).

Then I went to the library. Since I arrived early, I thought I say hello to the librarian :) and enjoy the air-conditioned library too :D After which an announcement was made to get all the "J3s" to congregate at the hall, so I made my way to the hall, and chatted with a bunch of BP-AJ people, including the new principal, Mr Lee. Here's a group photo of all of us:

I was told to sit somewhere near the front. I thought, so does that mean that I would need to go up to the stage? The implication was of course that I would be among the top scorers of the school. As the BP-AJ group dispersed, I found myself a seat in front of the hall, next to the AVA people. With practically nothing to do, I turned to look at the other J3s entering the hall. Are there any familiar faces among this sea of people? This may well be the last time I'm seeing most of them ...

I thought it was quite awkward for me to be seated while the rest sat on the floor. Since I could sit on the floor, I moved myself to the floor instead, just like the rest of them.

Then the new principal of AJC, Mr Lee, introduced himself to the J3s. (But me and the other BP-AJ fellows need no introduction to him, ha!) He then proceeded to present the subject-by-subject analysis of our A Level results. I noticed H1 Geography had (shockingly) poor results. No 100% pass, not even 50% A rate. I wonder how Ms J would have felt ...

Moving on to the top scorers section, I told myself not to expect anything. In fact, when Mr Lee said that someone had scored 8 distinctions for the first time (in don't know how many years of the college's history), I instinctively thought of another H3 classmate of mine. Topped the cohort before, and has a girlfriend to boot. Ha, so it must be him!

My thoughts were disrupted when Mr Lee said he was going down the stage to present the results slip. Huh?

And then my name was announced. Applause instantly filled the hall; for how long, I do not remember already (I think it died down when I sat on the floor, but I'm not sure ...) I quickly stood up and grabbed my crutches, wanted to walk towards Mr Lee when I realized he was literally right in front of me. Then he congratulated me, passed me my result slips and took some photographs. Then as Mr Lee went back on stage, I took a good look at the audience, before sitting down on the floor.

Since I sat right in front of the hall, I was able to congratulate most of the other top scholars who indeed went up to the stage to collect their results slips (they had to pass by me anyway). And when the presentation ended, student reporters for AJ Link came to the various top students, including myself. Among the questions asked, there was one where I did not have a good answer, but I only thought of it when I went back home. Here it is, with the answer I should have given:

Q: Is there anything unusual about myself?
A: Well, many people have the impression that top students simply don't fail subjects, in a sense, they are immortal beings. But I have failed subjects before. I failed GP, and I failed Geography before. Certainly I was shocked by these failures, but I quickly learnt that failure is part and parcel of JC life, as it teaches you that you are not perfect. Nobody is, or can claim to be perfect. But failure allows us to understand where we are weak in, where we could improve on, so that we could be better next time. Therefore, I feel that it really is OK to fail, as long as you can learn something useful from it.

After the interview, I went to my PD tutor to collect other barang-barangs that were also given out, and shun bian chatted with some of my classmates. Then I went for a scholarship briefing session, and a photo taking session too. Of course I wouldn't have imagined that photos of me would be taken, so I did not really "do myself up" - I had a past experience before where I did myself up really nice, and then for the day (or more accurately, night) to feel shitty ... But when I went back AJC to collect my results, at least I looked decent, not shitty lah ;)

Then I sat waiting at the foyer for a taxi to bring me home. I wondered why so many people were at the GO - they didn't seem like they were there to settle the copies of the SGC and results slips ...

With that, it's time for a reflection of my 2 years in AJC. But with 2 more weeks of MCs, perhaps I can do that another day ;)

PS: I later found out that they were actually there to collect their EAGLES award, which I was supposed to collect too but I didn't do so! Looks like I gotta go back to collect the award sometime soon ...

3 weeks of MC = Recourse BMT?

As reflected by my previous post, I was very scared that I have to recourse BMT. After all, it would probably be with a different coy, and that meant that the level of welfare is probably going to be lower than that in my current coy, P coy. P coy is really very very welfare, even the coy 2IC said so himself. Therefore, I was apprehensive of recourse BMT ...

Naturally, since I have so much free time at home, I went online to do research on recourse BMT. I did find out some things about recourse BMT, though I'm not sure about the validity (some of the info were already few years old ...). Here they are:

#1. Recourse BMT is shorter than normal/enhanced BMT (7 weeks vs 9 weeks)
Hmm, that means that they probably chopped out some stuff from the normal BMT. Hopefully, recoursees have more admin time than the recruits in Tekong ...

#2. Recourse BMT is more slack than normal/enhanced BMT
This discovery had me wondering. Really? Got people on forums claim that recourse BMT is like "holiday chalet". If I end up OOT, I certainly hope that this is true ...

As a potential OOT recruit, I also researched on my potential future pathway as a NSF. There are apparently 3 possible options:

• Clerk
• Driver (Not available for me)
• Medic
• Storeman

I thought about the options above. Clerk seems quite slack, driver seems cool I can't be a driver anymore (since I injured my right foot - Damn!), storeman seems interesting, but medic? Yikes!!! I absolutely hate needles and injections (the anesthetic injection at CGH was one of my most painful injections, ever!), therefore I absolutely abhor the thought of becoming a medic. Let's pray hard that I don't end up to become a medic ...

Another fracture?!?

I booked out today. That seems normal, but there are many aspects in this bookout that differ with the normal bookout:

• I'm booking out on a Friday morning, not night.
• I'm booking out in civilian clothes, not smart 4.
• And most importantly, I booked out with a pair of crutches! (Not something to be happy about, though.)

Why the differences? It's because I fractured my toe on the previous night. While rushing to bathe after RO was given (there's usually quite a queue for the toilets after RO), I slipped and fell in my slippers, so my toe bore the brunt of the impact, and I saw my (right littlest) toe was dislocated quite badly. Therefore, I thought it was best to seek first aid, but I hadn't expected that I would be sent firstly to PTMC, where the medics decided that I needed to be sent to CGH instead. So, I was given a pair of crutches, and made my (own) way back to coy line, while waiting for a ferry that departs an hour later.

Back at the coy line, I could do nothing but sit and wait for a SGT to bring me to TFT. And perhaps watch the other SGTs playing soccer at the basketball court. Yeah, watch as in looking with my eyes almost shut. I told myself, this is probably going to be one long night ...

Then another guy from my platoon came and sat next to me. He was going home because of fever. Why at this late timing, I asked. He said it was because his fever kicked in only after dinner. Oh well, at least there's somebody booking out with me (at this god-forsaken timing, or to put it another way, I have a "bookout buddy" (LOL!).

The next part of my late-night bookout can be written into a song! Lyrics are below, and sing to the tune of "Purple Light" ;)

Booking out / with my crutches / long long walk / to TFT / taking one / step at a time / with my SGT and my buddy and meeee~
At TFT / saw ambulance / coming in / with siren / hoping that / patient's OK / with my SGT and my buddy and meeee~
Step by step / board the ferry / sat down near / the ferry's door / watch the Sing-Off / on the TV / with my SGT and my buddy and meeee~
Off the ferry / to the main road / saw taxi / coming close / flag the taxi / board the taxi / with my SGT and my buddy and meeee~

Then we set off to CGH. After alighting and saying goodbye to my bookout buddy (after all, he was supposed to head home), my SGT and I went to the A&E section of  CGH. Sat and waited for my number to be called in the freezing A&E. Reminded me of the sometimes freezing nights in Tekong (my bunk's close to the sea), so I decided to endure the coldness ...

After a while, an X-ray of my foot was taken. Reminded me of the time I broke my arm, 4 years back ...

When the A&E doctor finally saw me, she told me that I had fractured my toe. Another fracture?!? She then proceeded to outline to me her treatment plans for my foot, and then we went over to another room for the treatment. She injected some anesthetic into my foot. Oh god, the pain!!!!! Then she went to realign my toe, and proceeded to carry out a buddy splint. After she was done, she told me that it would have hurt like hell if she tried to realign my toe without using some anesthetic, but it didn't hurt for me at all. In fact, I didn't realise she was done until she told me so!

After that, my SGT and I went to fix an appointment date and collect some medicine. So that would have marked the end of the visit to CGH, but it was just 3 am in the morning. So we went to have some food at a 24 hr food stall, before making our way back to SFT. But when we arrived, the gates were closed, and we were told that they were not open until 6 am! But the guards on duty made an exception for us, and we went in to rest.

I could manage to sleep for all of 1 hr only. The rest of the time, I was watching a TV that was turned on (why it was turned on at night with no one else before us in the waiting area, I have no idea). And later, we took the first ferry back to Tekong, and made our way back to coy line. There, my buddy helped me pack my field pack, before another SGT accompanied me (back) to TFT.

This time though, I have another "bookout buddy", though he's from another coy. He was going for a specialist appointment, and he seemed to be one of those who would down PES and recourse BMT again. I told him that I would be probably have to recourse BMT too, and that I was damn sadded because that probably meant going to another coy that is not as welfare as my current coy!

Then we took the ferry back to SFT. The third time on a ferry in less than half a day! And then we made our separate ways, my buddy to his appointment, and me back home.

So now I have about 3 weeks of MC = high chance of needing to recourse! Oh well, this makes for a good opportunity to rest well, but I would certainly have a lot to catch up on when I go back, and I hope I don't need to recourse ah!

PS: Sorry if this post looks too much like an essay. I just wanted to document this "special bookout" thoroughly so it can remind me of details of this bookout ...

Holidays = My social life takes a holiday too?

Periodic Tables

It's been a month and a half since my last Chemistry paper. That means 1.5 months of not seeing this:

Periodic table of elements

Since then I have been very active surfing the Internet. And recently, I bumped into this:

Periodic table of memes

Have fun exploring the various "elements" of the table! ;)

Documentary: Underground Singapore

Today, I have another series of videos from the Discovery Channel, and it focuses on Singapore's very own MRT system! More precisely, the construction of the Circle Line, which of course was fully opened today! This makes the MRT system map fully completed as of now:

The complete map, with the Marina Bay extension!

Here's the first part of the episode, and the rest can be accessed from the related videos section. Enjoy!

My (non-existent) social life ...

An accurate reflection of my social life, at least ever since A Levels have ended ...