Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Results came out last Wednesday on the 4th June 2008 when the actual release date was 9th June 2008. It's not something that surprises me because of my experience from last semester, we all know that universities tend to release the results much earlier. I guess they just wanted to prevent the system from being clogged up on the actual day itself or simply to time it with the rest of NTU. I did better than expected and there's improvement in my GPA. That makes me a satisfied man.
Take for example the Anatomy and Sports Biomechanics module where I simply expected a lousy grade but never would I have expected a B+. Considering that I've got no background in physics (due to my biology and chemistry choice in sec 3) and a lack of confidence due to mathematics, there were times I just wanted to give up. However, as the day of the exam drew nearer, I just told myself that I've got nothing to lose since the odds were already against me so I might as well just give it my best shot. It helped that I managed to find this reference book that my professor wrote and it really helped me answer some of the questions in the paper. I had more confidence in the Anatomy portion because it was interesting and through it I managed to understand the bones, tendons, muscles and ligaments etc. However, the amount that one has to memorize is really out of this world. Only 3 to 4 of my class banked on muscles while I studied everything related to the skeletal system. Luck has it, everything I studied came out and what a relief it was for me.
The only module, ALS 101 Academic Discourse Skills, made my blood boil whenver I thought about it. I've got this extremely strict tutor who's a part-time GP tutor at Acjc and Hcjc and she gave most of her students a C+ (the only blemish on my otherwise nice result slip). My friends say that if we were in other classes, it could have easily been a B-. Well, there's bound to be such a tutors for a certain module every semester, I just have to blame it on fate. The good thing about knowing your results so early is that one can really start to enjoy his holidays in peace. Yes, we are all promoted to Degree Year 2!
Arranged a soccer friendly between my class and Chieh's class (NUS Dentistry Year 1s). It was a good game and everyone had fun and most importantly of all, evey took place and played. Active participation - that's the first lesson we learnt back in semester 1. As pe teachers, if we can't practice what we preach, we don't deserve to have our students listen to us. It was a game that help to bond the class further, get some practice matches under under our belt and have fun playing soccer. The class lineup is more or less decided with at least 2 players for every position and that only spells good news for the upcoming inter-class soccer. Due to commitments and studies, it's a struggle for everyone to turn up for inter-class games. However, if we do have full strength, the victory definitely belongs to us.
Singaporeans do have a strong dislike for some foreigners - mostly those from China. Be it for jobs or studies, they've been seen as a source of unwanted competition for the locals. I've to admit that being a Singaporean, I stand on the side of my countrymen but it's always the case of the bag eggs giving the Chinese people a bad image. There's a Teochew restaurant a few blocks always from my house and it sells excellent duck rice and fish soup etc for takeaway and ala carte food for dine-in. Due to its close promixity and my love for studying late into the night, I've come to know many of the waitresses and cooks that always serve me. They know that I want the skin to be removed and2 packets of chilli and no vinegar. They employ Chinese workers for the whole restaurant and one of them is a mother of 2 who had left her homeland to work in Singapore on a 2 year contract.
Always friendly and never fails to greet customers with a smile on her face, she puts our local service industry to shame sometimes. My mother sometimes follows me downstairs to buy food and a chat soon follows while waiting for the food to be packed. Most people will complain that they can hardly survive on a pay that's less than $1000 but that's what this mother of 2 is surviving on a month. She earns not more than $800 and out of this paycheck, $160 goes to paying rent and she tries to save most of it for her children's education back home. I've got nothing but respect for her. I've never been known as a spendthrift and most of my pay goes to the bank, spending only what I deemed as necessary.
There was even a time when my heart goes out to her when she was scolded by 2 taxi drivers when she was clearing their plates. They misinterpreted her action and thought she was chasing them out. She was just simply doing her job and yet she got scolded for nothing. One would have expected her to frown or start cursing them once they were out of sight but she just laughed it off. I told her some Singaporeans are just like that, not to let it bother her.
It's hard to front a recycling or save the earth programme when I'm the only one in my family who believes in doing so. I try not to take plastic bags from shops if I've got a bag or the items I'm buying are small enough to be placed in my pockets. As long as I've got a receipt, they can't accuse me of stealing. However, my mother thinks it's safer to always leave the store with 2 things - your receipt and the item/s in a plastic bag. It prevents unwanted attention if you get what I mean. Well, I always like to take the path less travelled.
Euro2008 has been very boring so far. With all Portugal and Germany proving that they've got what it takes to be the contenders for this title. Hope the rest of the teams, especially my beloved France proves me wrong.
