strings of life

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Sorry to all that I really don't have much time to update my blog. If you have come for many times and still see the same entries, I apologise for that.

This is a nice week for me because there's no Chinese Music Ensemble (finally...) and no Chem lab (haha that saves me lots of work) In fact I was not going to have physics lab this week as well, but in the end i did.

I had a nice physics lab yesterday. We built our own spectrometer and it was really cool! The colour of the rainbow look really nice. And I actually see the 2nd and 3rd order spectrum overlap (well we calculated so much of that in A-levels and I finally see it) The mercury light spectrum looks cool too. It is just that when I read the vernier scale for the angle of rotation of the grating, I went cross eyed often---it was so hard to read.

Emmm...I went to some kopitiam dry run thingy at MIT with Andrea and Lindsay and I met Charmaine and Wenxian there. It's nice to see Charmaine so often---it gives me a nice feeling of the good old days in RJ. Wenxian is as crappy as usual, and he still teases people a lot.

And a second wave of mid-terms have started. All the best to those who are studying hard for the test. (May you rock the tests, Andrea!)

I shall go back to do my paper and read my book.

the rains :: 8:44 AM

Sunday, October 15, 2006

This is a day that I will always remember. 5 years ago, I left my comfortable home on this day and landed on a little island called Singapore.

Lots and lots of things happened in the past 5 years, and I was forced to grow up when these lots and lots of things were happening. I can't claim that I have grown up, because some of my friends are still asserting that I am too young to be mature. But I know that I have, at least, become stronger and more independent.

It was really really tough at the beginning. I remember that I cried almost everyday when I first arrived there, and vomited twice on the very first day. I felt lonely and unhappy, so I actually studied very hard in order to forget about all the unhappy feelings... Now, as I look back, I am still wondering how I managed to get through all those at the age of 14.

Things got better and better as time passed by. Thanks to the fellow RGS PRC scholars especially. We quarreled, we fought, we cried, we did stupid things, but we gave one another help, support and more understanding, so we survived. Thanks for all the lame jokes as well:)

Singapore has really changed me a lot. If I didn't go to Singapore a few years ago, probably I'm a Chinese or Sociology major now...And now I actually have to make myself a science researcher and work in singapore in the future, which was something that I couldn't imagine a few years back. (Though I still feel a bit weird when people are reminding me that you are going to become a Singaporean.)

And I really need to thank all the friends that I have met in Singapore. You are the ones who have made my life so palatable. Thanks to the kind souls in RGS 406 and Chinese debate team who always ask me to take care of myself (hey Serene! I still keep the bottle of that cough medicine that you gave me:p and shuk in, i kept that medicine that you gave me as well:) And Pemela! I've brought your hair clips to Wellesley... still remember Pui Man always playing with my hair during Chinese debate, and saying that i should use so-and-so whitening lotion. Thanks to all the nerdy/mad/weird guys and the lovely and hardworking girls in S01A. So far, the two years in RJC have been my BEST. And I really miss S01A, the days that we tried to finish our tutorials in record breaking time, and listen to the lame jokes made my mr. Kadir. Not to forget RJCO, which I tremendously enjoyed (As I am playing with the Chinese Ensemble in Boston now, I just can't tell how much I miss the fun days in RJCO.) and thanks to the group of sisters in "8+1", who made the RIB days bright and happy. Also thanks to friends in A*STAR (Ghandi Rocks!)! You all are so fun and caring and crazy (with one particular person abnormal) that I will never regret choosing A*STAR.

To my fellow RGS PRC friends who landed in Singapore with me on Oct 15, 2001, Happy 5th Anniversary and take care!

the rains :: 6:21 AM

Friday, October 13, 2006

The trees are turning colour so rapidly on the campus now, and the campus has become very colourful indeed. After I finished my physics exam today, I went to walk/run around the lake. I brought my camera around, so here are some of the photos that I have taken. I even saw two beautiful swams in the lake:)

the rains :: 6:27 PM

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Haha here's some questions from my earlier homework and exams...some people may find it fun:)

Name the following compounds:

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Answers:
Question 1:
1-(1-(2-ethyl-3-methylbutyl)cyclopentyl)-5-
(1,2,2-trichloro-1-methylethyl)cyclodecane

Question 2:
1-(1-cyclopropylethyl)-4-(2,2-dibromo-1-
ethyl-1-methylpropyl)cyclohexane

Quesiton 3:
1-(4-bromo-2-(1-bromoethyl)-3-methylbutyl)-4-
(1-butyl-3-(cyclobutylmethyl)pentyl)cyclohexane

Shall say something about my Organic Chem professor here. He is just soooooooooo amazing! We've done some o chem in A-level, but I am still learning so much from him. He makes everything common sense to us, so organic chem is really really fun!

And one more amazing thing about him: he never asks "what's your name" and never takes attendance in class. so when he called my name the other day, i was kind of shocked. and when he was distributing our exam papers last friday, he was about to distribute all the papers to the correct people without calling any of our names. Scary--he must have memorised all our names from photo directory.

the rains :: 5:42 PM

Sunday, October 01, 2006

I'm actually doing homework now, but I'm a bit tired, so I decide to take a break. Since I have nothing much to do for the break, I shall upload some beautiful photos, which I didn't have time to upload before.

I took these photos one morning when I walked/ran around Lake Waban of the school. That was at the first week of classes (when life was not that hectic yet). All the photos have not been edited because I don't have time to do so.

the rains :: 1:38 PM