♫Wei Wen's concerto♫

It's nice to have great company in a foreign land

2011-10-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's already almost the end of October, and daylight saving will start tomorrow (which will mean one more hour of sleep! Or work...). It's also the Halloween weekend where people are busy partying. October has been a good month :)

Anyway, the title is a dedication to my awesome housemates and great friends I've met along the way at Warwick. :)

So on the Oct 23rd (my birthday! :) ) it started out like any normal Sunday, also known as house-chores/room-cleaning day. But, even house keeping became an enjoyable thing, because since Saturday, people have already started wishing from M'sia and the earliest are those from Australia. Even though it took me practically two days to reply all of the birthday messages, it was worth it :) Really appreciate all of you who wished me, even though some I might not know on facebook, and I'm not the sort that wish people very often, so really, THANK YOU! :)

My birthday was celebrated in a nice Italian restaurant at Leamington Spa, and the food was good! (Y) Sher Wen dressed me up because I didn't really know what to wear. And yeap! Everyone looked really pretty and then there were the picture taking session. I had some pretty awesome dessert (chocolate fudge with ice cream! Mouth watering! D: I feel like having some now) Then the "cake" came. It was made out of 13 types of shots (Barcadi, Baylis, J.D, Vodka etc.), and I was suppose to drink all 13. Never felt so... hung over? Well I didn't really get drunk because everything was... erm thrown out in the restaurant's sink (and ended up clogged. :S) It felt horrible after downing 11 shots (the other 2 drunk by Elvina and Sher Wen), all I thought about was trying not to vomit. And somehow, I was thinking of playing Frisbee to keep my head sane, from all the feeling of heaviness from the alcohol. Lol.

I love my presents! :) It was all related to the bad day I had two days before my birthday. My housemates got me a windbreaker, which is so warm that I don have to wear so many layers when I cycle. And my Krumpler bag is replaced by a Samsonite bag, which can carry much more stuff without looking bulky. THANK YOU AGAIN! :)

Also, I miss celebrating my birthday traditionally with my family back in M'sia. It's always a good dinner on a Saturday night. On the day itself, it would be celebrated at night after dad comes back from work, with a RT Pastry Cake (the Sponge Cake usually :) My fav!) and a good birthday song, followed by a family pic with Teddy looking admiringly at the cake. I miss RT Pastry Cake. Love you all if you're reading this :)

Anyway, still busy as ever, and my shoulder muscles is starting to ache more often, like a throb of soreness lingering on my right shoulder. Have to massage it once in a while. Hope it's nothing too serious. I'm putting on weight. D: But cycling helps to maintain my weight.

So as of now, I hope to:
-really improve my volleyball skills! It sucks to always be the substitute :(
-make a successful application for summer internship
-manage to keep my grades while going for frisbee tournaments in the weekend, playing home games for volleyball every wednesday and updating MSA work

20. Beginning of adulthood, which also mean responsibility, maturity and leadership.

Something at Economics of Money and Banking lecture really hit me hard.

"You won't be ridiculously rich from a salary. You'll be rich, but not ridiculously rich. You can only be that rich if you own a business." Michael MacMahon, lecturer.

It somehow rings a bell somewhere from my form 4 days, where my original dream was indeed to start up my own company, but not sure in what product/which industry. But I gotta feeling that I might trod down that path. Somehow, someday.

Wei Wen

A Bad Day at Warwick

2011-10-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

Oct 21st, 2011. I shall remember this day, for a long time. And it's two days before my birthday.

What happened?

Firstly, I cycled as usual to campus, dangling my shoe bag on the handle of my bag like normal, and didn't realize it was coming loose. On the 1st roundabout from Earlson to Coventry (the one with the two soccer figurines in the middle) my shoe bag slipped and dropped, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROUNDABOUT! Wtf, really. I parked my bike at a curb, and waited for cars to slow down to at least let an innocent girl waiting to take her bag (which no one did nor slowed down :( ) And to make things worse, a bus No. 12 mostly filled by Warwick Uni students passed by the roundabout, and I was still waiting to collect my bag in the middle of the road. Freaking embarrassing! Got a message after from Michelle who spotted me at the roundabout to ask if I was okay. Thanks Michelle for your concern :)

Secondly, after that roundabout incident, I cycled through Tesco and suddenly my bike made sounds, as if there were something stuck to the tyres. Thinking it was gum, I kept cycling on. Until the noise got too loud, and it's attracting a lot of unnecessary attention by other passing students, I stopped to check and found FOUR thumbtacks on my front wheel and ONE thumbtack on my back wheel. After removing the thumbtacks, my front tyre started hissing air and it deflated. :( Edvin followed me to the bike shop at Kenilworth to get it fixed and thankfully, I didn't have to change the whole tyre. Thanks Edvin for following me all the way to the bike shop and Sher Wen for bringing the receipt. :)

Took the cab back to Uni to attend Money and Banking lecture at Gibbet Hill Campus. When lecture ended, was rushing to get on my bike and make a move. Dunno how I moved, I tripped on my own bike, and FELL IN FRONT OF all my course mates. But I was really grateful to have Soon Chiek, Jon and Lian to help out. After getting my bike in place, my bike gear came off. Luckily, managed to fix it back in. And while tripping, my Krumpler bag's handle came off, and I can't cycle with a one-handled bag pack.

Today is officially one of the worst day of the year. Seriously. But! I'm just going to sleep it off and hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Tata for now! :) Glad to have housemates who make a bad day less bad.

Wei Wen

2nd year at Warwick

2011-10-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

B.U.S.Y

To sum up my 3 weeks here in warwick. Wow, it has already been 3 weeks.

After arrival, busy settling down, buying furnitures, new kitchen equipment, essential weighing machine (MUST HAVE!), making at least 5 trips to IKEA and Argos, and getting the internet fixed up. Being mummy of the house. :)

And then term started, busy choosing modules, cycling (even bought a new bike because the first mountain bike was TOO heavy) to campus, attending lectures, MSA work...

And then the fun part! SPORTS! :DDD I've officially joined Warwick Bears Ultimate Frisbee Club. You would have probably seen me posing with my "guns" with a bunch of dudes in red. But yeap! Loving every minute of it! I've also managed to be part of the Volleyball Women's first team! HURRAH! Summer training has paid off. Thanks Taylor's Volleyball team and ma sis. :)

Now, busy trying to recover from my busy schedule, from a deadly flu, which has followed me throughout Skunks Beginners Tournament (in which our beginners team have won first place! :D)

Loving every minute of uni. Occasionally missing home, but the feeling isn't as bad as my first year. I'm starting to get used to the UK. Hmmm~

Anyway, this is really rare, because I never really thought I would update another post this quick, it usually will come up around Winter. But I'm really looking forward to what 2nd year has yet to offer me! :)

A random thought, is Investment Banking everything to an Economics student? I wonder...

Wei Wen

My view on the top 10 most viewed posts

2011-09-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

Lately, I'm obsessed with statistics, numbers and graphs. All thanks to Blogger's new features, where you can actually view the number of views on specific posts, in specific periods and specific regions who have viewed it. It's like stalking your own blog. Okay, that sounded weird.

Anyway, I've discovered loads of interesting things by viewing the statistics, especially the kind of unexpected posts that attracts the most views. So here's my view on the top 10 most viewed posts, as recorded by Blogger.

10) Securities Commission Interview (Round 2 & 3), 160 Pageviews
Since scholarship interview is the most widely google-ed subject, I guess it's normal to see this post and various other scholarship posts to make it into the top 10. Since this post is the shortest and briefest of all scholarship posts, it stands on the edge as no. 10. So I guess for this case, the number of views correlates with the length of the posts?

9) Securities Commission Interview (Round 1), 163 Pageviews
Only 3 pageviews extra from no.10, and with a much longer word count, I guess my hypothesis on the correlation mentioned above is not true. This was my 3rd posted scholarship attempt (after JPA and Sime), and judging from the way I've written that post, no wonder it's not in the top 5. I really lacked maturity back then, and my grammar was bad. Okay, let's not get there.

8) Maxis Scholarship For Excellence Award Ceremony, 259 Pageviews
This post was mostly about me being really jakun with everything. When I first saw a similar post by another Maxis Scholar, posting about the whole majestic award ceremony with a huge banner of yourself hanging around the place, I was awed, inspired and definitely wishing I was in his position. So after managing to secure the scholarship, posting about the ceremony was a must-do. Because the feeling of being in such a ceremony, was one of the proudest moment in my 19 years of life. I hope readers will tolerate my jakun-ess (which might appear annoying to some) but I hope those of you who are attempting to really do your best, and don't give up. There'll always be a "majestic ceremony", metaphorically/physically, after you've put in your best. :)

7) The basic guide to Artistic Gymnastics (Wei Wen's version), 329 Pageviews
This came as a surprise, because I didn't expect that many people to have stumbled upon this post (and on top of scholarship posts), whether it's googled, or linked from another image (which I took it from Google, is that considered copyright?). Anyway, I hope this post helped to explain more about Artistic Gymnastics and it certainly gave me an adrenalin rush when I first witness a training held at the Shah Alam gym, for Selangor gymnasts. The tumbles, the turns, the sweat, the feeling of holding your breath when someone's performing their routine on any sort of apparatus, the feeling of awe when they perform a move of difficulty D/E ...

6) My journey on US Apps, 352 Pageviews
I was quite shocked on this post as well, because it was a post written out of disappointment, a sense of failure and self pity. I didn't expect that many to view this post but reading it totally brings back the longing urge of pursuing my education at the US. I do not regret on what I've done and prepared for my US Apps journey, because I've done my best. :) Let's just hope I would have better luck next time. :)

5) Maxis Scholarship Interview (Final Round), 371 Pageviews
I remembered being really nervous for this interview, because I remembered meeting really strong candidates before the interview, people who got waitlisted for Penn, etc. But it was my first ever interview that I actually came out of the room feeling good. I hope I'll never loose that part of myself, on being passionate about something.

4) GIC Scholarship Interview (Round 1), 520 Pageviews
This is strange, because I didn't expect this post to make it to the top 4. Cause the post wasn't exactly very well written, and again it showed my lack of maturity. Maybe because no one really blogs about this? Hmmmm... I wonder... But it's good to see so many people interested in becoming GIC's scholar, which is an incredible achievement. :)

3) Sime Darby Interview 2009 (2nd Round), 533 Pageviews
My guess on this being in the top 3, it's because it basically spoonfed and saved a lot of effort and anxiety on the students' parts. I really thought this interview is a very challenging and engaging interview, because it really brings out the true colours of people, mostly when people are under intense stress and pressure. It was also my first time feeling pathetic in an interview. I thank Sime Darby for giving me the opportunity to go through that experience, because it really represents the working world. Dissatisfying customers, market research and trying to reach a conclusion among many disagreements.

2) Video Games Live, 608 Pageviews
This is definitely a big surprise, because it wasn't really about the event, I was just sort of promoting it and being really excited about it, because I was a huge fan of video games, and still am perhaps. :) I wonder if people was interested in the event, or the second part of the post, about my feelings and views on playing Kingdom Hearts and FFX/FFX-2. I wonder...

And finally, the post that came in as no. 1 most viewed post, in this blog (it feels so weird announcing about your own blog)... Drum rolls!

1) Maxis Scholarship Interview (1st Stage), 700 Pageviews
I'm not sure why the first stage beat the other posts (the final stage and the ceremony) to clinch the no. 1 spot, but logically speaking, there are more people who are shortlisted in the 1st stage, and when it reaches the 2nd stage, the amount is halved and etc. So Congrats to post no.1! :)

A few other posts that didn't make it into the top 10, but has interestingly been viewed by many are:
....., 103 Pageviews
This post is about my metaphorical description of being rejected by my dream schools during my US Apps journey. Didn't know 6 dots could attract that many views. Haha.

Got my ears pierced, like FINALLY!, 102 Pageviews
I hope it's not the ear pierce that attracted the views. Lol.

Packing Sentimental, 142 Pageviews
I didn't know people would be interested in what I've packed to the UK. lol! Mashimaro Fuzzy Slippers FTW! :)

LTCL Repertoire, 97 Pageviews
Hope readers have enjoyed my playing. :) After viewing the videos again, I knew there was much more that can be improved on.

Funny Rejection Letters, 123 Pageviews
The content wasn't mostly mine, it was extracted from somewhere else. But hope it'll brighten your day if you've received rejection letters.

Anyway, that concludes my views on the top 10 posts. I hope the scholarship interview posts will prove to be helpful for many students who are applying in the future, even by the time I'm married with 3 kids. Lol. I'm happy to see that there are people who still reads this blog and I thank you. :)

Will be leaving for the UK in a week plus. By that time, I probably won't touch this blog again, for some time. See how things go lah! :)

Wei Wen

A Medley of Feelings

2011-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

I have not touched the piano for a very long time. Since first year's finals started around May this year, I have not been playing ever since, so that would make 4 months. WAO. That's long.

So upon request from my brother to play the piano again (awww... I didn't know he misses my playing, cause the pieces I always practice on are either loud or repetitive for exam purposes), I opened the lid and unveiled the black and white keys from it's dark and dusty days of not being played for almost a year. Hitting a key brings back nostalgic feeling, especially the memories of practicing endlessly for ABRSM, ATCL and LTCL. It has survived a variety of composers, from Rachmaninoff's loud and strong hitting pieces, Chopin's swift and smooth notes, Debussy's soft and mysterious tones and Brahms low and grand harmonies, to the usual sing-along Disney Classic pieces and all time favourite Korean drama hits. This Yamaha upright has been with me for almost 16 years, since I started my first lesson at Yamaha music centre at Subang Parade, through the grueling ABRSM days (think non stop scales and 3 exam pieces) and finally securing me good grades for my ATCL and LTCL before I left for the UK.

A Medley of Feelings. Thinking I should start with something easy, I opened an old photocopied, binded book to find my comfort piece, Thine Own by Gustav Lange. As Left hand is playing the Arpeggios and Right hand plays the romantic melody, my mind transported back to one of Miss Phang's classes. Miss Phang is one of the key figures that made an impact in my piano journey. She taught me how to move, to feel and to think along with music.

"See the transition into the flat note, feel the transition, like you're sighing of relief."

"Don't just play ff with plain loud sounds and hitting, you gotta dig within the keys, feel the depth with your fingers." and then she would throw back her long straight hair while closing her eyes to serenade the romantic piece's climax. Playing a piece for her was like going through a vigorous exercise. When she was done, sweat was beading all over her face. I didn't know how one could get so tired after playing a piece, but after years of guidance under her, playing a piece for me would be like jogging under the hot sun.

"Picture these descending running notes, like a helicopter getting ready to land." That's where I start to imagine pictures and scenes for phrases from all sort of pieces. Debussys' would be like a field full of flowers, but yet covered in mist, and there would be a deer wandering somewhere. So much for imagination lol.

The first piece was a good warm up. So I decided to play the familiar LTCL exam pieces, Mozart's Sonata in A minor , List's Un Sospiro and Bartok's Allegro Barbaro. This instantly brings back still fresh memories of endless practices on techniques, hand positions, fingering, body positioning, breathing at the right spots, soft pedals etc. Basically, Ms Chan has brought me back to basics, and has definitely made my musical knowledge expanded the most. She always made sure I know the history and the story behind the piece before I start learning it. She would bring CD covers of Mozart by Mitsuko Uchida, and let me listen to Arias to get the feeling of playing the second movement and watch Amadeus the movie (a movie about Mozart), just so that I could really understand Mozart's Sonata in A minor. She made Liszt's complex notes simpler, by breaking down into sections and made sure I practice the right way, i.e. right wrist movement, right body posture, right fingering. I would say she made me notice all the little details, things like why did the phrase ended on this note and not the note before? She definitely drove in the idea of "Practice makes perfect" thoroughly and without her, I wouldn't have done well for my LTCL after my A-level examinations. Thanks to her, 20th century pieces, which used to scare me because of its complex rhythm and harmony, actually seems interesting to me now. I really enjoyed Bartok's tribal rhythm. Totally blocks out all the other sounds coming from other practice rooms at the Warwick Arts Centre. :p

Then deciding to take a break, I took out my bright red file compiled with copies of Winter Sonata hits, anime series hits and pop songs. It brought back the memories of how mum would always ask me to...

"Girl, play the winter sonata song you've been working on for ah yi." and me couldn't resist being a show off (I don't think that has changed till now, opps, that's not good) would get my fairly small pair of hands on the keys while my feet dangled off the stool, and play the piece in a very notey way, meaning knowing the notes well, but not the feelings well.

Lastly, I ended with a little bit of Bhrams's Impromptu and Rachmaninoff's Polichinelle. That brought me back to ATCL days with Mr. Poh. I've never seen him played live before, unlike Ms Phang and Ms Chan would always demonstrate what they're trying to explain by playing through it, Mr. Poh somehow prefers verbal explanation and demonstrating by the side. Mr. Poh definitely brought me out of the stereotypical exam pieces mode, and let me try an array of pieces, some I didn't manage to finish because it's either just too hard, or I really had no interest. Thanks to Mr. Poh, I've met Rachmaninoff and Brahms.

Feeling the strain on my fingers and arms, I pulled the long red velvet onto the keys. As lunch time approaches and the Malaysian heat further provoking my sweat glands, I popped the lid and brought it to a close.

I hope I will never stop playing even after I start working.

This author would like to express her gratitude to all of her piano teachers that made her piano journey a wonderful experience, and she regrets not being able to meet them and catch up. Hopefully, she wishes that her teachers would stumble upon this post and know how much of an impact that they've made in her life. :)

wei wen

Feels good to be back home :)

2011-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

On the 2nd of July 2011, 9.30pm, I've never felt more excited to be back home. Once I stepped out of Emirates' airbus, I was instantly hit with the familiar scent of humid and hot air (with a tinge of smokey smell).

When I saw my parents waiting outside, I couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It has been a while, Malaysia. I'm home. :)

My summer is in its 3rd week now. No internships so far, but I wouldn't say I've been pretty free bumming around the house either. Sports everyday is just awesome! I wish I could do it back in Warwick. Badminton on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; Volleyball on Tuesday and Saturday; Mendaki bukit with my mum on the weekends' morning; Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday!!! :DDD I'm a happy girl! :) Though my first week was torturous for my body, sore muscles and all.

For the second week, I went for a volunteering project, called Projek Kalsom 17. I feel that I really have to share this with whoever is reading because I really benefited from it, not in terms of good will but also about being a successful person in life.

I first heard about Projek Kalsom 17 through UKEC and also through on-going promotions by the committee at various major events (Nottingham Games, Cardiff Leadership Conference, UKEC graduan fair). I really liked the idea of contributing back to the country through current high school students, because they really are the future of the country. Basically the project is about inspiring and educating 200 selected form 4 students from less privileged background about education after SPM and also scholarship opportunities. To the students, it's a motivation camp, but after 5 days and 4 nights at Melaka Tropical Fruit Farm, Sungai Udang, it was an awesome motivation camp.

I'm really envious of these students, because when I was 16 I never got to know about scholarship opportunities, the list of available careers other than the typical doctor, lawyer, engineer careers and also having seniors sharing their experiences on many issues. The students were amazing! I thought they would be the usual, quiet and shy typical Malaysian students, keeping the comments to themselves and not voicing out when asked. Initially, it was like that for the first 2 days. But on the 3rd day, they were pro-active, competing to answer questions and working with each other to solve problems. My experience with my colleagues or the rest of the facilitators were really different from what I expected. Majority of the facilitators can just grab the mic and publicly speak while engaging actively on stage with the 160 students on stage. And each of the facilitators had their own style of presenting their ideas and expressing their views, whether publicly or subtly. These are not ordinary facilitators, definitely and I'm glad I've met these people. :)

The whole theme of the project was confidence, keyakinan. The students definitely gained loads of confidence after the camp, waiting to soar their wings in high school. I myself have also found a confidence that I've never discovered, the confidence to have my own opinions, whehter if it's right or wrong. Never be afraid to voice out what's inside of you. That's what I've learned throughout this camp.

It was really an inspiring experience, to see these kids grow and to learn from the amazing facilitators and awesome committee members. I really encourage you guys (whoever's still reading, again :) ) to join projek Kalsom 18 next year.

Anyway, that's last week, this week's back to the first week's routine. There's also the usual MSA work routine and occasional house errands. But otherwise, home's still the best place on earth. :)

wei wen

Rest in peace, 外婆

2011-06-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was working on MSA stuff in the library until I saw a facebook chat message from my sister.

"Po Po passed away early this morning liaooooo :'("

A momentary stunt. That's all. I didn't feel any sorrow, pain, despair... yet. One thought was clearly in my head though, "I didn't have the chance to say goodbye..."

First thing I did was to pester my sis to go on skype, and skyped about it. There weren't much details given, she just said she got a call from aunt about po po passing away in the hospital early in the morning (Malaysian time).

Parents are on a holiday at New Zealand, and they just changed their flight tickets to fly back immediately.

On the way back from the library, I saw the moon, full and bright.

po po, I guess you are finally free now, from all the pain and suffering you've gone through as old age approaches. I guess you've joined souls with heaven, and you're looking at us from afar as we mourn for your death. You've been a great, loving grandmother. Eventhough we don't live together, but you always ask about us grandchildren. During Chinese New Year, you're the uniting force that keeps the family travelling back to Bahau (Negeri Sembilan) from all parts of Malaysia and Singapore.

I don't even know how CNY is going to be celebrated now. The old shoplot will definitely linger with a more sombre mood. At the praying site, your name will appear beside gong gong, which I never got to meet since birth.

You always never fail to bake our favourite Kuih Bahulu, and you taught us how to make it patiently. Being impatient teenagers, we only focused on the eating and one big tin of fluffy kuih bahulu will be gone within 10 minutes.

The CNY dinner you make is always the same old dishes, but the quality never fades. Sea cucumber, which mum told me, involves a long process, but you never fail to serve it in every single 初二meal. Your family signature's dish, carrot dumplings and the mint sauce that goes with 白斩鸡, are all your inventions. Without those dishes, it wouldn't be CNY then. You always pack extra money for us in Ang Pow, and your distinct way of laughter is always followed by the rest of the Poh family's distinct laughter.

I planned to see you, when I go back this summer. I prayed for the moment I could at least visit you after I come home this summer. But, looks like... I couldn't make it.

I want to thank you for all you've done for us, mum, all the 阿姨and舅舅, the in-laws. Your love is always subtle and mum told me about how you insisted on keeping my mum, who was considered to be adopted away for an extra income to support a family of 9.

It's a pity I didn't pick up Hokkien, and be part of the conversation when you and your children always talk about the good old days.

Towards the end of your journey, you looked a lot weaker, but your eyes say otherwise. Sometimes, a semi-toothless smile will look like time was turned back to 10 years ago.

Grandma, I love you. As your granddaughter, I'm grateful for you've done and fought for the family. Mum told me many stories of how you've been through a hard life during the Japanese invasion in WW2, how you worked endlessly to keep the household in one piece, and managed 7 kids, who are now successful and blessed.

Rest in peace Grandma. Rest in peace.

I just wish I could at least see you one last time, at the funeral...

Wei Wen

It has finally started! RAWR!

2011-05-31T04:39:00.000-07:00

Yes! Finally!

Had my 1st paper today, Math Tech B. I would say it's not too bad. :)

Ok lah! 6 more papers to go!

Stats Tech B
Intro to Politics
Industrial Economy: Strategy
World Politics
Economics 1
Industrial Economy: Global Shift

AND THEN I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALTON TOWER, HERE I COME!

AND MALAYSIA TOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! AKU RINDUMU SANGAT!!!!!!!!!!

ok, back to politics. Sighh... social capital...

wei wen

It's that time again

2011-04-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

E.X.A.M.S

It's that time of the year again.

The best motivation is to find back my true passion, why do I want to study this in the first place. I need to find back that dream that I first came here with.

Wish me all the best! :)

1st of July 2011. Not too far away...

Can't wait to go back

2011-03-28T02:44:00.001-07:00

I wonder if anyone is still reading this. Anyway, am currently in City University's library, taking a break from doing Summer internship applications. Can't wait to go back in 4 months. I miss home. After studying Politics, I'm starting to think more like a Marxist. Life is a struggle between classes, between the bourgeois and the proletariat. The more I observe, the more obvious it is that the sight of students aggressively competing for internships and their obsessive studying for a first or for a upper second, are slowly resembling the start of the turning of the wheel of the rat race. What used to be a dream, to work in top firms, earning big bucks, are now turning into doubts. Bright graduates equipped with exceptional skills, running around graduan fairs, performing excessive networking, and ending up with a job which does basically the same thing, as human beings are never satisfied with their current situation, always striving for better jobs, better pays, better contacts. A rat race. Do I really want to do this the rest of my life? Sometimes I wonder what is it like to freely do what one wish and defy all norms in life... wei wen

Christmas => New Year => 2011

2011-01-06T02:26:00.001-08:00

I was very worried before coming to Manchester. Why? Because:

1) I’ve realised term starts on 10th of Jan, not 11th of Jan, about 3 days before I’ve left for Manchester. My ticket back to Coventry from London is on the 9th of Jan, about 9pm plus. I would probably reach back Coventry around 11pm, and I have a 9am WORLD POLITICS SEMINAR the very next day.

2) I would not be studying for 2 whole weeks till term starts.

3) 20th of Jan is a very important date. I have a Math Tech B test and also an Econs essay due by then.

4) I’ve not submitted any applications for spring insight programs.

5) I’ve got distracted from youtube, watching Valentina Lisitsa playing through Rach’s preludes and piano concertos, Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and Chopin’s Etudes and Nocturnes

To make things worse, on Christmas eve, my train to Manchester was delayed. I was suppose to go to Nuneaton, then to Crewe, then to Manchester Piccadilly. But the train to Nuneaton (LONDON MIDLAND!) was cancelled, and they were suppose to send a coach. Then, they told me the bus broke down. So, Virgin (thankfully) arranged a direct train from Coventry to Manchester Piccadilly, but I’ve reached an hour later than expected.

At this point, you’ll probably be expecting a wonderful turn of events after reaching Manchester and all worries are forgotten in the joyous Christmas celebration. I wouldn’t say it was Christmasy…

My Christmas celebrations was celebrated with dim sum, an Indian movie called “The 3 Idiots” and Hong Kong Drama series “Guing tan cha” (it’s pronounced in Cantonese). It had definitely put all my worries behind. “The 3 Idiots” taught me about life. Go watch it. It’s funny and good. Dim Sum brought me together with my cousins. The series… well… showed the same Hong Kong actors and actresses since I stopped watching HK series 3 years ago.

Then came boxing day. Normally people would wake up at 5am, and line up at stores to get the best deals and bargains, because most prices will be slashed by a big margin. I woke up at 12pm, and only started shopping at 3.30pm. Since it was a Sunday, and shops close earlier on Sundays, so I only managed to shop for 1.5 hours.

I got my stuff on the 27th and the 28th. Purse, coat, luggage, clothes and food. Manchester has sooooooooo many shops. I wonder how I’m going to bring my stuff to London (and omg, through the horrible tube…). But yes, I’m a happy girl now. =)

(This is written 5 days after)

Happy New Year everyone! Just came back from Munich, Germany yesterday. Will be leaving for London in 5 hours time. Note-to-self: Never ever plan to go 3 places consecutively. So tiring. The thought of going back to Rootes at 11pm, and having class the next morning at 9am is giving me mild heart attacks. Should I just cancel my train ticket and book an earlier train…? Oh whatever, bring it on World Politics!

Munich is really a nice, but overrated place to visit. Every single day, there are always new tourist at Marienplatz, the main tourist attraction with the Glockenspiel tower. I never thought I would say this, but I love German Beer. I never liked Beer in general, because it taste disgusting. But German Beer was an exception. It’s so pure that it taste good actually. Pictures will be up in fb when I get back to Warwick. =)

I’ve also been to the Dachau Concentration Camp, the only camp that survived throughout the 12 year Nazi colonisation period and also the Neuschwanstein Castle, a beautiful castle that was used as inspiration for Disney’s Logo (the castle before any Disney movie starts).

Anyway, new year resolutions:

Improve communication skills (time to do some real networking)
Lose weight (Have to switch from cereal to oats, and more veg)
Always pre-read all the core reading list before the next week begins
Less fb-ing, and more library-ing

So far, that’s all that I can come up with.

Anyway, wishing everyone a Happy New Year! =) 2011, term 2, bring it on. RAWR!

Wei Wen

Winter Break! =)

2010-12-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's time to reinvigorate (learned it from one of my politics text book :p) this blog back to life. For those who are still reading or checking on this, sorry it took me so long to update. Many things have happened since the last post, majority of it involves my course's work. Anyway, let's jump right into the story. =)

Winter break has officially started. It gets dark really early (4pm) and brightens up at 8.00 am. So most of the time, it's dark. Hence, the saying "dark cold winter". Half of my residence hall is empty, most of the international students had departed for their respective countries and most of the locals went back. It's peaceful and quiet, although I occasionally miss the locals sudden cheer in the kitchen and the constant buzz around the residence hall. Many Malaysians have went back, some probably enjoying at some Mamak Stall at this very instant. D: Sadly to say, the myth about putting on weight when staying in the UK is true, for me. At least, most of the courts in the sports centre are vacant and I could book as many courts as I like. =)

I've made my first UK travel (if you don't count London) yesterday to Stratford-Upon-Avon, 50 mins bus ride from Uni. That place is what you call a true English countryside, with sheeps, horses, wide fields, small shops and cottages. Made a blunder with the bus tickets, because we waited at the wrong station (my fault) but aside from that, the expenditure of 70 pounds in total for the day was worth it. These were the major highlights:

1) Matilda the Musical, The Courtyard Theater, Stratford-upon-avon (14/12/2010)

It was awesome! Totally worth the 16 pounds (could have got it for 5 pounds because of the 16-25 age discount). It was so full of energy, passion and enthusiasm. It really is a whole new experience. Every detail counts, and all the actors and actresses played the character so well. Miss Trunchbull was played by a man! (no surprises there, since she's quite manly in the book) He was the best. Miss Honey and Matilda were very well played. The story was slightly modified, as there were stuff added into the play that's not in the book. I really enjoyed it. To those studying in the UK or are coming to the UK to study, do invest your money in this. It's worth it, even though you might say musical is not your thing. I can't compare to Malaysia's KLPAC performance because I've not seen one. But yeah, the RM80 is totally worth it. =)

2) Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon (14/12/2010)

I don't read Shakespeare's work and I'm not a big fan of English Literature. However, the tour around his birthplace was quite interesting, because it's more towards the architecture and the culture, than his works. It also provides an interesting introduction towards his life, and how his work has a huge impact on the society and the world today. Hence you would see somebody posting Sonnet 18 on facebook.

Have been down to London twice. First to collect my 20kg luggage from Malaysia (with my rice cooker, towels, clothes, stationaries). Second to attend an economic lecture jointly organized by UCL and IFS (Institute of Fiscal Studies). And also to visit friends studying in London (thanks again feli and tse wei for the hospitality). =) My plan for winter break is basically Manchester, Germany and London (again). Next musical to watch, Lion King. =)

Term 1 has been exciting, fast-paced, stressful and eye-opening. I've definitely learned that: there's more to politics than what I've seen in Malaysian Politics; history plays a huge role in politics; Singaporeans are just so damn good; Ben and Jerry's should open a branch in Malaysia; Further Math does help in giving a head start, but not a lot; reading is very important; the whole Sejarah textbook used in Malaysia's education should be revamped (the knowledge we learned is so limited); No one could answer the JPA-typical-question "why choose to study overseas instead of local?" well enough unless they've experienced it first hand, hence JPA interviewers shouldn't ask that question as it isn't fair to those who aren't able to afford to study in an international school or abroad. It's just different, everything from the way they study, work, talk, read and move. And sadly, based on my general survey, most M'sians who are working here in the UK, wouldn't want to go back. The culture here is just different.

A very good example, quote from my friend.

"When you want to talk about the political system, the rise in education fee in the UK or about the immigration cap going to be imposed by the UK government, the Malaysian would say 'Oh yeah, yesterday the Roti Canai was very nice ah.' It's hard to have a academically stimulating conversation with another Malaysian, because that's the Malaysian attitude. Unlike here, when you go into a pub, there'll be a group talking about economics in that corner, sociology in another corner, politics, engineering etc."

I've gotta admit, I'm one of the Malaysians with that kind of attitude. It's something that I have to work and improve on.

Anyway, term 1 has been a great journey so far. I've learned many things and met many people from different background in 10 weeks. There are many things I've not done. I'm thankful to have met the cooking gang (funny dudes) and also my course mates who are very motivated to go the extra mile. Time flies reallyyyy fast in the UK.

Hope I would have the mood to update after my trip at Manchester, Germany and London. And hopefully, I would put my camera to good use. Most of the pictures in fb have been taken by Sher Wen. Without her, there wouldn't probably be that many pictures of me in the UK. Ahh, 7 more months till I'll be home...

wei wen

Life in Warwick Uni (End of Week 2)

2010-10-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've been neglecting this blog, because I've been busy settling down during the orientation week, finding my classes during week 1 and busy with societies during week 2.

So anyway, will do a nice little summary of my 3 weeks here in Warwick university. (Orientation week was counted as week 0)

First thing's first,

Have I started drinking? No

Did I attend any parties, including the party of the year, "Fresher's Party"? No

Have I made some Brit friends? Er, if you count my flatmates, then yes. =p

So yeah! My three weeks at Warwick has been great, so far. Orientation week was so-so. Particularly disappointed with their time management. It was during our Oxford trip, they said the bus would be coming around 2pm, and asked us to meet up at 1.45pm. Unfortunately, it was RAINING! And it wasn't a drizzle. So, we were wet and shivering cold, sharing umbrellas while waiting for the bus to come (which happens to be an hour later, 3pm!!!). That's my only complaint about Orientation, but other than that, met a lot of new friends, mostly M'sians and explored around Warwick. Tried the pianos in the Warwick Arts Centre, and danced on the last day of orientation. (Well, it wasn't really dancing, cause I can't dance. :p) Also spent like 85 pounds at my first shopping spree at Tesco, buying all the cooking utensils and groceries. And since then, I've been cooking everyday. Sometimes, would treat myself with occasional 6 pounds lunch meal (which is NOT EVEN filling >:( )

Ok, then came Week 1. Dinner most of the time would be cooking between Malaysians. Apparently I'm a good cook here. (hahaha!) Must thank my 2 months training after A Levels ended. Pictures are all up in Facebook. :p Can't wait for my rice cooker to arrive!!! Cause I'm gonna collect more M'sian stuff from my aunt, who happens to be visiting London tomorrow. I could finally cook rice!!!! =DDDDDD

Anyway, back to week 1. The Brits moved in during this week. My floor has 3 Brits, 1 Mauritian, Singaporean, another Malaysian, Chinese from China, Hong Kong, one from Kazakhstan and another from Pakistan. I'm living in Rootes, new Rootes (which I'm so thankful for, because apparently they said this year fresher's intake exceeded by 600 students, and there are lots of them who didn't get on campus accommodation. Old Rootes looks a bit run down too, but I'm quite happy with my accommodation. =) ) Fire alarm is the norm here, cause either some doesn't know how to cook and didn't turn on the ventilation, triggering the smoke alarm, or some just burned the microwave oven. The three Brits on my floor are quite nice, 2 guys and 1 girl. The guys are really nice, and they take the effort to know you. Like what you're studying, where you're from. The girl is more like a hi/bye thing, but she's the noisiest on the floor. 2am in the morning, can hear her and her group of friends shrieking in the corridor. Well, walls here in Rootes are quite thin. So I could hear noises from outside my room quite clearly, as if they are in the same room. Kitchens in Rootes are famous for being noisy.

Brits drink there all the time from 5pm onwards till the wee hours. But since my floor so happens to have more international students, our kitchen is relatively neater and cleaner compared to the rest. Brits are nice people, but they're seriously messy. They could just leave like half eaten plate of pasta on the table till the next morning, and not bother cleaning it up. So, when I visited kitchens in the rest of the floor, the tables would be filled with empty bottles of alcohol and dirty plates. According to my flatmate, there's also a Shisha kitchen, some guy from India brought the Shisha, and they just have Shisha sessions in the kitchen. But, trying to mix with the Brits is a little difficult, if we don't drink with them (well, drinking is their culture). They say international students always stick to themselves, which isn't true because Brits here also tend to stick to themselves too. I've talked to lots of Europeans from different countries, but not many Brits.

Anyway, we can't download anything here (limewire, Aeres, torrents), but internet speed here is INCREDIBLE!!! But if we get caught downloading stuff, internet access would be banned for a period of time, and we would have to pay a fine. :S

Then came week 2, where lecture starts. My first class of Politics (introduction to politics and world politics) has been quite interesting. =) Just that it requires at least 10 hours of reading per week!!!!!! D: Reading is not really my forte, but if my seniors could do it, so why can't I? Oh speaking of seniors, there aren't many seniors doing my course, EPAIS (short form for Economics, Politics and International Studies). Well, people here just use the short form name to make things simpler (Ee-paste). Have to read up on loads of issues, Iraq, Pakistan, Middle East war, War on Terror, Cold War, Liberalism, Marxism, Realism. Politics is linked to Philosophy, especially when it concerns the three main ideology, Marxism, Realism and Liberalism. @.@ Working on trying to understand the textbooks, because somehow I find the books written by Brits are really long winded, complicated and uses a lot of big words. I have to re-read passages numerous times before I finally get it.

Most Malaysian here either do MORSE/Economics/Accounting and Finance and some would be PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics). It's a very typical Malaysian course. Btw, according to seniors, there are like 100 new freshies from Malaysia itself, making total number of Malaysian Undergrads in warwick to 300!!! I used to think having too many M'sians is a bad thing, cause the point of studying overseas is to learn new culture and stuff, and having too many m'sians somehow reduces the effect of absorbing the new culture. But it turned out to be a good thing. We have a big group, and there's always a Malaysian in some corner of the building. People here know where Malaysia is, since we come in such a big group. Finally, the Malaysian Student Association (MSA) in Warwick is awesome. =DDD

So yeap, basic summary of my 3 weeks in Warwick. No, I still don't have an accent, but I could feel it coming. Hmmm... i think I'm speaking more like a mainland Chinese speaking English. Oh! I'm starting Spanish classes too! For 160 pounds, 3 terms. Hola, como te Iiamas? Yo Me IIamo Amy! (Hello! What is your name? My name is Amy!) Reason behind this: It's good to know an European language. Spanish so happens to be the easiest among the rest, like French, German and Russian. My flatmate's taking Russian as language module. O.o Salute. And Chua, bonjour!! =DDDD

Oh, about sports, I'm in the badminton team (team 2) and volleyball team (i think, not yet confirmed). Also joined societies like MSA, Warwick Finance Society, Warwick Entrepreneurs (They have Warwick Apprentice!!!!!!!! =DDDDDD), and maybe AIESEC, if I make it to be a core member. Apparently, they conduct selections for students to be core members of AIESEC.

Could feel the workload coming. Especially the amount of books I have to read. My first essay was really crappy, cause have not been reading enough.

If I have the time, I would update this, at best, in a week. Or fortnight.

Till then. Cheers (Have to start getting used to using these kinds of greetings. lol)

wei wen

Bon Voyage, negaraku

2010-09-27T03:08:00.000-07:00

I'll be leaving for UK in a few hours time.

The days leading up to this day were quite... frustrating, amusing, exciting and memorable.

First, frustration.

After taking out all my stuff, and trying to fit it into my luggage, I saw my weighing scale pointing in between 60 and 80. I was like WTF. And dad put all my food stuff into another bag, and that came up to 60.

So, I really thought my bag was literally over 100kg!!!!

Posted it up in fb, and people only brought 26kg, 32.4kg, 29kg. When I tried removing half of the clothes and half of the food stuff (maggi me, milo, tom yam paste, japanese curry), it still came up to 60.

20 over excess kg!!! And Matthew said rate was RM270 per kg. If I do the calculation, it's bout RM4k plus!!!!!!! Imagine, RM4k plus for RM100+ items.

Next, amusement.

After coming back from outing with friends to bid farewell, my mum and I went to weigh the luggages with a different machine. The machine only shows in kilogram. And my luggage only weighed 20+kg!!!

Lol.

Apparently, we were weighing in pound!!!! So happy I could put back in my extra milo fuze pack, asam laksa maggi me, more piano books, more clothes, more shoes. =DD

Then came excitement.

After all this months of imagining and dreaming of studying overseas, it's finally gonna come true. Excited to see my accommodation, meet new people, embrace the new weather and culture...

Finally, memories.

As I was driving back, I tried absorbing as many scenery as I can. The bright sun illuminating the blue sky, the lushes of green, the mamak stall man with his tandori chicken, the humid and burning hot air, etc.

I'm really gonna miss my family, friends, and Teddy. :'(

But, internet has made communication between family and friends much simpler.

I'm gonna take lots of pictures. So you guys can also be part of this amazing journey, the undergraduate journey. =)

Oh, thank you to those for the wishes, gifts, hugs and cards. I really appreciate it. =)

Before I end, I just gotta say listening to orchestra performance is really an enjoyable experience. Just watched "Triumph out of adversity" on Sunday, performed by MPO. Jo Zee and me bro went too. Repertoire included Mikhail Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla overture, a really exciting piece about 4 mins long (it was also played in Nodame Cantabile!!!! =D), Ravel's Concerto for the left hand (a really interesting piece as the whole piano concerto is only played with the left hand. Ravel just never fail to amaze me with its interesting music. =D) and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. (A piece which plays like a person viewing different paintings with different themes.)

Now, I'll try to make time to watch an orchestra performance in the UK. =)

Adios~!

wei wen

Dream piece

2010-09-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

To be able to play Mephisto Waltz, by Liszt...

You need The Cat and The Mouse, Aaron Copland...

plus Liszt's La Campanella,

and whole hell lot of practice.

My official new dream piece. =D

wei wen

Packing sentimental

2010-09-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

It's exactly 8 days from the day I'm leaving for Warwick. Packing is certainly a hassle, and I really think my luggage is gonna hit 50kg.

But, these are ESSENTIAL stuff!! I have to take them with me. I could not survive without them.

Yes, I'm gonna blog about your everyday hypermarket items. I'm bored stiff here. =) So, you be the judge, are these things necessary??

Item No.1:

Mashimaro Fuzzy Sleepers. Great for keeping feet warm in the dorm during winter. It adds coziness to the room. =)

Item No.2:

Milo Fuze packets. A must have Malaysian item. In UK, they call it hot chocolate. But the taste ain't the same. Nothing beats Malaysian Milo Ais/Panas. =) Are two packets enough??? Each packet has 20 sachets, so which means, it could last me 40 days. Hmm... Ok, I'm adding another pack...

Item No.3:

A mini hair dryer. They said Malaysia's hair dryer is cheaper and of better quality. Besides, every girl needs her hairdryer.

Item no.4:

Yes! A stack of piano books, which might easily weigh like a sack of rice. Do I have to bring them all? I'm definitely bringing the originals, Mozart, Ravel, Liszt, Bartok, Debussy. But, what if I have some free time to try out pieces from Chopin's Etudes or from Johanne Brahms???

It has been a long time since I touched the piano. Even reading this piece brings back lots of memories. It was my first Rachmaninoff piece, Polichinelle. A piece about, if I remembered correctly, a puppet who constantly bullies others. Like Jack from Jack and Judy.

Item no.5:

My mooncake-box full of extra stationary. They said gel pens are really expensive there. So I'm bringing enough pens to last me a year. =) I love my stationaries. Somehow, it's one of the items that I tend to splurge on without hesitation. Having a brand new set of stationary gives a very feel good effect. =D I'm bringing sticky tack, some pins, rings for filing, clips, pens etc. And a new puncher that doesn't 'leak' circles of paper, unlike my previous black puncher.

Item no.6:

My survival kit!! =) It has everything a typical Malaysian needs, I think. Pei ba gou, minyak angin, panadol. Gonna bring some supplements like Vitamin C, and some hygiene stuff, like mouth wash and vaseline. And all it goes into a nice red bag, which fits everything neatly and nicely.

Item no.7:

Contact lens solution. They said it's really expensive to purchase them in UK. So I'm bringing a year supply of it. Think this easily could weigh 5kg. :S

Item no.8:

One year supply of Himalaya brand shampoo and facial wash. This is one of the items I might have to leave behind. The shampoo I mean. They might probably take up too much weight and space.

Item no.9:

Malaysia Flag!!!! Told you I would bring it. Gonna wave it like mad during the London Olympics 2012. =D It cost RM16 btw. It's a good investment. =)

Item no.10:

An alarm clock??? Or should I just buy it there??

Item no.11:

My favourite bag packs. I have been using the puma bag for 3 years, form 4 till A levels. Even though it has a hole ripped behind, I'm still NOT THROWING IT AWAY!

Yeah, so I'm suppose to fit all of the listed above, winter clothes, casual clothes, shoes and towels into this 29 inches luggage. Got it from Sunway Pyramid, Leather Avenue, for around RM550. It has four wheels. And that's more than enough. Oh, it has some nice compartments too. For a similar quality to Samsonite, which could easily reach RM1000 plus, I would say it's a good bargain. =) Shopkeeper said it's a German brand.

Anyway, while packing new things into the luggage, mum asked to pack my old memorable items into a box. It made me realize what a journey I've been through. From primary 6J, secondary's alpha and omega class, and lastly, A Levels 0901PE1. The hardship, the effort put into polishing a outstanding resume, the intense competition, the amazing friends made along the journey, the hurt and pain from rejection and stress, the support from family and friends, and lastly, the reborn of a new person every start of the year or after every mistake made. I do not regret going through what I've gone through. Every experience has its own lesson and we grow through them.

Really lol-ed at my 4/5 Omega pics. Readers from past 5 Omegaians, remember this?? =D

Looking through all the photos certainly brings back a lot of fond memories. YEP moments, Olahraga moments, Darren Lau making fun of people moments, making money moments... Good times, good times...

I actually made a mini scrapbook out of alphaian's photos. And guess who's that? =D

Then, as I further dig out old stuff, found my photo album, of my primary school days. =D

Omg, I was such a tom boy...

Receiving a gift from my BM teacher, Cikgu Loh. =)

The usual kaki. =)

Haha, the cuter and younger adrian and chubbier Daryl.

My cousin and my sis in the kitchen of my old house.

Then I found my old autograph book where std 6 students used to write in each other's autograph book. Lol. Used all sort of squiggly swirls and fancy colours just to make our autograph more outstanding than the others. And yes, I was a immature kid who had her own set of weird rules. =D

Well, being a overly-law-abiding monitor had its setbacks too. When I look at it now, I think I was some crazy bitch trying to find a problem with everyone. haha. Yeah, these were written by guys. Well, guys are more open right? =D

Ah well, it's time for new memories to be created. As a lot of people say, Uni life is the best time of their lives. And I shall make full use of it.

UK, here I come! =)

wei wen

Anybody's dog missing?

2010-09-15T03:35:00.000-07:00

I know right, 1 week away from blogging and you would expect some updates, but I'm using it for convenience purposes. ;p

Will update after this important message.

ATTENTION TO KOTA KEMUNINGERS, ESPECIALLY AROUND ONCIDIUM AREA.

This Shih Tzu was found near the park, of street 31/76, at 14th September 2010, in the morning.

It's old, and has a funny mouth, as in its jaws juts out. Whoever the owner is, please come and claim your dog ASAP.

To the rest, do spread the word around. =) Your help is much appreciated.

Cause we can't keep two dogs at home, not only because Teddy couldn't stop humping on her (FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!), she pees everywhere, and she looks like she really misses her previous owner. Tried calling her with a few names to see which one she responds to. Bibi, Fifi, Fei Fei, Bao Bei, Zhu Zhu, Fattie...

lol, sadly non of the above. So sometimes have to say "Come here girl, Whatever-your-name-is."

Anyway, I have been busy shopping for loads of stuff. Luggage, stationary, shampoo, contact lens solution, jeans, stuff...

Luggage is 29 inches. I hope it doesn't exceed 40kg.

And soon, it'll be my turn to say "Bon voyage." T.T

I'm missing Malaysia already. :'(

wei wen

PCK should just stick to TV

2010-09-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Seriously, it wasn't even funny. I only laughed like 5 times. I thought it would be like "I not stupid" standard, or Jack Neo's movie standard. Now, THOSE are funny. Or even the movie "Grown Ups" was quite funny. In an insulting-people-way of funny.

It was just so typical! From the "no pray pray", "best in JB, Singapore, and some say Batam", immature kid-like bickering and fighting between Frankie Foo (and not-so-funnily bloody fool), some hokkien words inserted here and there, Singapore slang to the predictable plot/story line, lack of climax and some moments of just not feeling like watching the movie. But, there were some funny parts lah, farting moments by Rosie and... yeah... that's the only part I could think of.

And to see Rosie's face with super heavy make-up made purple eye lids on the huge screen constantly is not exactly what I call funny. It looked really weird, were those fake teeth she's wearing?

Urgh, ok, moving on to the next topic.

Was tagged by Erika on this photo about a visit back to my primary school, SJK (C) Lick Hung.

I tried doing a direct translation, for those who have not been reading the language for a very long time. ;D

"Come back, students!"

Dear beloved Lick Hung alumni/students, how long has it been since you last visited your 'mother school'?

Is it that you couldn't go in?
Is there too big of a change in school?
Will anybody there recognize me?

Will it be...

Actually, you don't have to think so much,
Even though there won't be anybody that might recognize you, even though there will be changes in the school's appearance,
In your mind/impression, there'll still be bits of remembrance and memories of your school!
In your life time, there will always be two doors that are forever opened to you,
First would be your parent's door;
And the other would be your 'mother school' BIG door.
So, everybody should come back to Lick Hung and see see, kai kai, play play. (play play is a little weird in this passage. A 19 year old play play in primary school? Lol, so not happening.)

Contact email: 160805LH@gmail.com

****************************************************

On 2nd of October 2010 (Saturday), to match with Lick Hung's 20th school anniversary, we'll be launching a "Lick Hung Students Coming Back to School Day". There'll be a list of activities on that day, to let old "lick Hung students" to remember primary school life together, and at the same time exchange information on each other universities, career and other experiences. The list of activities on that day will be:

5-6pm: Registration of students - Reunion, Canteen
6-7pm: Talks by successful students - Student's love, school love, auditorium (not sure if this is right...)
7-8pm: Carefree meal - Have meal together with teachers (Halal), canteen
8-9pm: Mixing, networking - Remembering the good old days, hoping to contribute to the expansion of school, canteen
9-10pm: Lantern parade - passing of lanterns (swt??? Like seriously?? lol), Lick Hung's assembly spot
10pm: Dismissal - Student Union, would meet in the future

******************************

That's the best I could do with my rusty Chinese. I got a B for Chinese okay... lol

OMG, I REALLY WANT TO GO!!!!!!!!!!! I would already be at Warwick by Oct 2nd. T.T I also want to network, mix, listen to ex-student's success. The power of Chinese education man! =D

Anyway, to all ex-Lick Hung students!!! DO COME! Like seriously, before you all start spreading your wings into different career path. And it's good to meet up with your primary friends, and probably they would be potential business partners/clients. Networking is important, and it's never too late to start now. =D

Even though Lick Hung has its ugly moments, for example, excessive beating/caning (we don't have a lot of this nowadays in school), book thrown at us, humiliated in front of class, peer pressure, exam-oriented, etc. but, all the more I remember those moments the most. Cause those moments shape us into who we are today, to be disciplined, to appreciate teamwork (especially when it comes to recycling competition), to strive for excellence in everything we do (everyday extra class after school hours for std 6 students!!! Stay back for speech/drama/singing/athletics/ping pong/badminton/choir practice for the upcoming competition), the correct use of authority (monitor copying names on board), the idea of respect towards teachers (always my bow and say lao shi zao an when we see a teacher) and most of all help each other out in need (being tutors for specific subjects).

Until now, like 7 years later, I could still vividly remember those moments. Crystal clear.

So, to all Lick Hung students of all ages, BE PROUD and GO VISIT YOUR SCHOOL! =D

wei wen

Maxis Scholarship For Excellence Award Ceremony, Sept 2010

2010-09-03T02:47:00.000-07:00

Date: 3rd September 2010
Venue: Level 6, KL Hilton
Time: 9am plus

Well, for scholars, since we had to do a rehearsal before the real event, we had to be there at 7am sharp. Was a little late, (but I wasn't the only one, ;p) and then I saw those life size posters on the hallway towards the ballroom. *jaw dropping* Like seriously, it's quite awkward to see yourself in life size form, smiling in a non-natural way (it seems non-natural to me. lol) Had trouble sleeping the day before, because was worrying about stuff like picture doesn't turn out right, might look fat in picture, might stumble upon stage while receiving award, might be bombarded with academic questions about my dream statement, "To work for the world bank solving global finance problems." So yeah, it was nerve wrecking during the journey to KL Hilton, plus I was a little behind time, and dad didn't want to use the toll way to KL, cause he wants to use the Federal Highway while cutting through Sunway Pyramid and Jalan Gasing.

Anyway! So back to the hallway part. Here are some pictures to illustrate my point. =)

Damn Paiseh!!!!!!!!!

But yeah, some looked really good on it. =D Hard work for posing non-stop did pay. =) Met some new scholars who didn't turn up for the photo shoot.

Then, while running in heels towards the ballroom, I missed the group picture on my left. It looked great! =D

Story behind our colourful dream statement:
We were suppose to draw our own dream statement, but for photo effect, Maxis thought digital imprint would have looked better. In fact, I'm glad they did the drawing for us, coming from a student who failed her art subject in high school. =) My dream statement was taken after taking my statement of purpose and my application into consideration.

Then, I entered the ballroom. *jaw dropped for the second time*

A Giant sized poster of yourself hanging with background vanilla curtains. O.O

After rehearsing about 2 to 3 times, the event started of with the arrival of Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Technology, Dato. Joseph Salang, CEO of Maxis, Mr. Sandip Das, COO of Maxis, Jean-Pascal, CFO of Maxis, Pn. Rossana Rashidi, senior management of Maxis and our interviewers.

(OMG! JUST SAW MYSELF ON NTV7!! FOR 3 SECONDS! Lol... It was at time 8.12pm, on 7 Edition News. =D =D =D Just went jakun with my sister. ;p)

Mr. Sandip Das's speech was easy to relate, interesting and inspiring. And he mentioned a few scholars in his speech, and then he mentioned, "... and one more, ms Thum Wei Wen, can you pls stand up?" Stood up with a weird expression. "This is a dangerous lady. She says she want to be the next Maxis CEO." lol. So unexpected wei... I mentioned about it in my statement of purpose, just didn't expect it'll be highlighted. =D "With 17 year old entrepreneurs nowadays in fb, nothing is impossible."

And then, it was Dato. Joseph Salang with his speech, followed by Siti's speech (postgrad student going to study at Imperial College London), and Amelia's speech (going to study Law at University of Manchester). Amelia's speech totally brought back the feeling of excitement and ecstasy when we first received the email of receiving the scholarship. Except mine wasn't in email form, it was in a SMS, cause my email was having problems receiving emails. But yeah, it was like "Hallelujah!". =)

Afterwards, all of us took turns to take our award.

Took some pictures with my dad too, and with "myself" on paper form.

There was also a press conference (hence, NTV 7! =D) and everyone was basically taking pictures with their paper self. It was my first time seeing a press conference live! And seriously, the topic just somehow whirled back to POLITICS. It's like Malaysian's favourite topic or something. What are your comments on the recent racist remarks, what qualities do you think young graduates should have these days, do you plan to increase the no. of scholars in the following year, what are your comments on the abuse of media (I think she meant the recent namewee's controversial video). Well, one answer I could really remember is that Maxis does not have a budget to follow when it comes to selecting scholars, it's the budget that follows the applicant pool. If the applicant pool is strong, they would set their budget from there. What they want is quality, not quantity. Fuyoh~! =D The whole event ended about 12pm plus. Sat KTM back to Subang, and again, men just do not understand the meaning of "WOMEN ONLY COACH". Some security guard had to knock the window and ask the man to come out of the coach at KL Sentral. He seemed apologetic, but why sit inside in the first place?

Again, Maxis has provided a wonderful opportunity to not only propel me further into realizing my dreams (haha, it's not from Maxis brochure's, seriously it's my honest opinion), working with an organization like Maxis is the best head start I could ever imagine. So, yes, thank you Maxis once again!!! =D

wei wen

If we have more people like this

2010-08-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

This was from Wednesday's (25th August 2010) Star paper, under the R.AGE section in StarTwo.

There's a weekly column where teenagers or youths with problems write to XXX, well for that day, it was on page T11. And the letter would be replied with offers of professional advice and solutions. Normally, it's always soppy, typical, boy meets girl or vice versa relationship problems. Teenage crisis. But that day's column was a little different from the usual stuff.

This one was titled "Unsure of Future".

I can't find the soft copy from Star's web. FYI, it's taken from StarTwo, dated 25th August 2010, page T11. Just in case someone sues me for copyrighting. =)

*********************************

I will be sitting for my SPM examination this year. Next year, I'll be going to college and my parents have started talking about how I must soon choose what course to take. Over the years, I've had different ambitions.

But most of the time, I just don't know what I want to do.

Most of my friends are already quite sure about their ambitions. It was only last year that I decided that I want to do something with my life and make a difference.

I considered being a doctor and working in poverty-stricken countries; working at an animal rehabilitation centre; or becoming a social worker. But then this year, I decided I want to get into politics.

Many of my friends always complain about our country but don't want to try to make it better. Instead, they want to leave as soon as they can. I don't like it. I want to do my part for the country.

My parents have always been very supportive and understanding but my mother has said before that she doesn't really want us going into politics. So, I haven't told them about my ambition, and I haven't told my friends either because I know they will all think it is a bad idea.

I am in the science stream and am good in Science and Maths. Some of my friends think that it will be a waste if I don't pursue science in college.

For me, I know I should do something I'm passionate about and not just because it pays well. But what if they are right? The thought of not having a stable job is scary.

Also, I have no idea how to get into politics and which courses to take. In school, I am studying the chapters on the Government system and administration of the country in our history class and it is really interesting and scary at the same time.

I want to be part of it, but how?

-Animal

********************************************

Very very refreshing. It reminds me of my US common app essay. =)

This was the advice offered by Faridah Hamid, founder of the Genesis Initiative, which nurtures the life, financial and career skills of young adults:

Not knowing what or who you want to be in your professional career is nothing to get overly stressed about. You are just going to start college life and part of going to college is to discover what subjects really interest you.

I believe that education is never wasted but of course it is more enjoyable if you are studying something that you're really interested or passionate about. I think your dream of being a doctor to work in poverty-stricken countries is admirable, but understand that you don't necessarily need to be a doctor to do such work.

However, if you are passionate about specifically doing medical work, then of course you will need to become a doctor and that is something you have to plan ahead and enroll for.

As for politics, it is refreshing to hear a young person with the right values wanting to make a real contribution to the future of the country. There are politicians from all professions - doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc, so again, there is no specific degree that will determine if you become a good politician.

I believe that it is your value system and your integrity that determines how you can use your gifts and talents to help others. Everything else can be learned. So, if a doctor is what you want to be, then you will need to make a decision somewhat quickly. If not, then study what interests you and my advice would be to start volunteering with NGOs that do the kind of work you are interested in so you can get a feel of what they do and what you enjoy doing most.

If you want to get your feet wet with politics, choose a party that you are interested in and volunteer your services there - for example, most of the parties now are working on getting young people to register as voters, so that may be something you can help with.

Finally, I will leave you with this. Money is important but it isn't the most important thing in the world. If you make a decision about your future solely based on stability, then you are setting yourself up for failure because here's the truth - there are no guarantees in life, and wouldn't it be a waste to do something you really don't enjoy for the rest of your life just so you have a "stable" income?

****************************

I think this advice is well written and inspirational to teens out there who dunno where to go after SPM or what to do with their life. And I think the advice applies to me as well. First thing to do when I reach Warwick, sign up for voluntary work/community service. =)

*****************************
This is also another advice written by Shaiful Nizam Jaafar:

Your dilemma is one that is shared with countless of others who are at the same place in life as you are. The leap from being a secondary school student to a full-fledged tertiary undergraduate is a huge one, full of unexpected trials and tribulations.

It is commendable that you have the noble intention of making the world a better place to live in. You should not worry too much about taking courses that are related to politics either. In many tertiary institutions, you can opt for political science papers as electives, on top of your primary major.

Another alternative is getting involved in on-campus associations such as the student council.

Remember, you don not need to graduate in political studies to become a good politician. Just follow your heart on what to study next and let time take its course when you decide on what you want to do with your life after you graduate.

*********************************

BRAVO!! Right on the dot. Especially the bit about, you don't need to graduate in political studies to become a good politician. It's your integrity, principles and values that makes you a good politician.

If only Malaysia has more people like this. In the spirit of Merdeka celebration, I hope people won't take the recent racist remarks in their hearts, because there's nothing we can do about what people of the past think, but focus on how people of the future think. Equality, meritocracy and sustained development with all races joining their forces together to form a better Malaysia.

Happy 53rd Birthday Malaysia. =) I'm gonna miss your food, when I'm in Warwick. :'(

P.S I found the video!! Pls look at the post below for it.

wei wen

A time to sit down

2010-08-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

and write about what has been happening for the past week. =D

Let's list it down first before I start writing a long essay about each of them (lol, sis said my blog posts are really long, and sometimes she might skip some passages. Wait, why is she even reading my blog??? haha, hi shea wen. =p )

1) Maxis Photo Shoot, 18th August 2010
2) Primary School 6J-ians 2003 gathering, 19th August 2010
3) New electronic member into the Thum's laptop family
4) Cambridge A Levels Award Ceremony, 21st August 2010

First of, Maxis Photo Shoot 2010, June Intake. =)

It was fun and really an enriching experience. (I accidentally deleted all my photos in the camera, and that includes the photo shoot pics. T.T ) So, try to imagine with this "essay" I'm gonna blog about.

Theme of this intakes' photo shoot was "Dreams for a better future". We were suppose to be there early, at 8am! Met a LOT of medical students, it's like my first time being in the same room with so many medical students, IMU, Monash. And the photo shoot was really like, "America's Next Top Model". A big set-up, flashy lights, Mac pc's, dude that somehow resembles Mr. J, make-up artist (YES MAKE-UP ARTIST!! And they did both make up and hair! It was a gift from God. *tears well up in joy*) I don't think opportunity like this would ever come again, for free. =D Unless I'm going into a modelling industry, which I doubt would ever happen, cause I'm just not cut out for this kind of thing. Posing with a bigger smile without looking fake, looking relaxed, TOO HARD!! Met some postgrads, who were really inspiring. Harvard, Oxford, microbiologist, Wharton Business School!!!!

Anyway, we were suppose to take a pic of us holding on our cardboard with our dream statement on it. There were 27 of us, if I'm not mistaken, including postgrads. 6 for Overseas Program, about 17 for local and 3 for a new category I discovered on that day, Maxis Employees Children Recipient Award. And 4 postgrads. Talked to lots of interesting people, and had to repeat my degree numerous times, which one finds it quite amusing to reiterate my course name. Economics, Politics and International Studies, Economics, Politics and International Studies... It could be turned into a song or something. lol. It was funny watching other people posing in front of the camera, some were just NATURAL. Unlike me, the stiff robot... The whole photo shoot lasted for like A WHOLE DAY!!! My feet really ached from those evil pointy heels. But I HAD FUN! =D

Next, 6J gathering. =) My primary school mates from SJK (C) Lick Hung, from year 2003. The infamous and famous primary school which was famous for whacking students into shape and also producing high achievers in whatever field, sports, academics and music.

Credits goes to Erika for the pictures taken from fb. =)

Really miss all of them, and the fields we're about to venture into are so diverse. From audio engineering, interior designing, physiotherapy, music to accounting and finance, computer science. Usual tradition was to have it at our beloved Malay Teacher, Cikgu Loh's place, but don't want to ma fan her every year. ;p

Lol, was lost in my own world with my delicious corn. =D

Oh, I would like to introduce Qosmio, my officially own Toshiba laptop, which has awesome sound system, and yeah, that point kinda made me decide to buy it without much thought. =) She's red, slim and stylish. Love her! =D

And finally, CAL award ceremony. There were lots of students, but sadly, not all lecturers were there. Taylor's gave us a really nice glass trophy, but dad complained bout them not giving refreshments, which is like essential in any kind of award ceremony. Well, it's Taylor's we're talking bout, not exactly the most generous college in the country, but it has provided good quality education. Mr. Lim Tou Boon's speech was literally "awesome", as in he used the word like numerous times in this speech. But, I really enjoyed the short video and the theme of his speech. Success does not come without failures. Life = Risk. Michael Jordan didn't make it to the basketball team, and look where is he now. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper company for having no imagination. Really inspiring. See whether I could get a similar video on youtube. Credits to Felicity for the photos. =)(Ok, found the video!)

And now, visa applications is the reason for my MIA. I hope it doesn't take like 15 working days to process it.

Ok, Pantai medical centre has super slow wifi access! It's taking ages for the pictures to load. =( Till then, chao people! =) Oh I've finally downloaded the 2nd volume of Glee's Season 1. Didn't know Rachel Berry does ballade!!! And who would want to name their own team Aural Intensity? Or Oral Intensity? Bah, both names are horrible. Sounds wrong too.

wei wen

Got my ears pierced, like FINALLY!

2010-08-13T03:20:00.000-07:00

FINALLY! I've been talking about getting my ears pierced since form 4, didn't have the guts to pierce it then, and during form 5, SPM became my excuse. And when I hit 18, A Levels further deterred me from getting the basic two ear holes, where girls get it as young as 6 years old.

And I did it! =D It was really a spontaneous decision actually.

Sis skipped school to help me pick an outfit for Maxis's photo shoot in Sunway Pyramid. My aunt recommended MNG and G2000. So, got my outfit! And also we managed to have fun playing dress up, for the first time together with my sis. =D

My photo shoot outfit! Sis has great fashion sense. =)

Mum said sis looks like a Korean pop star and I look like some high-powered lawyer

After all the shopping, we finally made our way to the jewelry store, called Silver Dragon in Sunway Pyramid. It was priced at RM12 per person for 2 holes.

I didn't expect it to be painful. Cause what I heard from my friends, it's fast and hurts like an ant bite. Well, it's definitely more than an ant bite, even an injection doesn't hurt that much

So, I thought we were suppose to lie down with a comfortable chair, and the people would have mask on their face or something similar to going to the dentist. And when I told her about getting my ears pierced, she just took out a case with something that looks like a gun (which punch the ear studs into the ear) and no chair was prepared. So I asked her am I going to this while standing up? And she said, yeah, or you could sit if you want. And we chose our studs before she punched our ear holes.

She sprayed something white and cold, then "poom!". And I said, "Owww...." in a nonchalant manner. My sis was almost about to swear. It really hurt!!!! And we didn't dare move our heads for an hour. Even touching my ear now feels weird. lol.

Oh well, at least I've managed to cross off one of my things in my to-do list. =)

wei wen

One of the best days of my life

2010-08-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to express my gratitude to Buddha for His guidance and protection throughout my journey. I thank everyone, family, friends, teachers and others who have helped and supported me in becoming who I am today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! =) I love you guys.

Now moving on to the reason behind the million thanks...

Today, A Levels results has just been released online at around 8am. Before the release of results, I was having lots of butterflies in my stomach. Fetched siblings like usual and tried not to think about it too much. Today's dawn was really BEAUTIFUL! Should have brought a camera along, it's like the Sun trying to rise gracefully out of the clouds. Made me forget about the horrible dream I had this morning, a dream about getting a D for Pendidikan Moral, totally random but it freaked the hell out of me. Thought it was an omen or something. Haha.

While having my usual smoothie and charcoal bread breakfast, SF's message came. The anxiety was too much to handle, so I quickly turned my dad's PC on, and searched for my CIE paper. I expected the results to pop out like AS, slow and lagging. But, after just one try, and 'pop!' results smacked on the screen.

Huge relief!!!!!!!!!!! I'm very happy with my results, especially with Econs and Physics. Thought I could do better with Further Math, but oh well, it's enough to get me to Warwick!!! =) To the people who got their desired results, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You guys truly deserve it with all your hard work, blood and sweat.

For those who didn't do as well, A Levels is a stepping stone to greater success. It's not the end of the world. Like the blog head says, Failure is the mother of success. You'll emerge as a stronger and more determined person as before. Remember your principles and the people around you, your family and friends. Never ever take them for granted. You never know it might be a blessing in disguise.

Speaking of blessing in disguise, let's move on to my next major reason behind the thanks:

Maxis missed called me today. I left my phone charging upstairs, so I didn't see the calls. Then I saw a message from my first round interviewer, Lol! So paiseh. She said to call the Secretariat for my upcoming photo shoot.

So, for confirmation, I called, and yes!!! I GOT THE MAXIS SCHOLARSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mum and Dad were both overjoyed. All those previous interview experiences has finally paid off. I'm really thankful for all the support. And dad said a really meaningful advice, "Remember to keep your feet on the ground while you reach for the stars." What these few months have taught me is humility, and I truly appreciate what I have, the health to continue living, the opportunity to go through college and overseas.

Anyway, there'll be a photoshoot. I'll have to wear a smart casual outfit, with colours of apple green, white or light blue. Recommended wears were Khaki's, slacks, blouse, collared long-sleeved, so people with a better fashion sense than me (which most of you are, I'm seriously terrible in fashion), any suggestions?? =D I want something more colourful and feminine, like a dress or flairy skirt. Something different from the usual power suit, slacks and blouse.

Again, thank you everyone!!! To those going to US, and some who already went, I'm gonna miss you guys!!! :'( And someday, I'll make my way there too. Haha. Still not letting go of the dream of studying in Wharton Business School. =D California girls, Party in the USA, have a blast there!!!!!! Buy me a Penn T-Shirt while you're at it. Haha. =)

Quote of the day I will always remember,

"Reach for the sky but keep your feet on the ground."

wei wen

Warwick's Reading List

2010-08-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Received a letter from Warwick, and it's a reading list!!! =D Finally, something to do before result comes out. The list is only recommended, not compulsory.

Materials recommended for Economics:

Cohen, Daniel. 1995. The Misfortunes of Prosperity. MIT Press.

Collier, Paul. 2007. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Easterly, William, 2001. The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics. MIT Press.

Harford, Time. 2005. The Undercover Economist. Oxford University Press.

Kay, John. 2003. The Truth about Markets. Allen Lane

Krugman, Paul R. ... one of the profession's great communicators. His website at http://www.princeton.edu/~pkrugman/ is well worth a visit.

The Centre for Economic Policy Research aims 'to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people lives'. http://www.cepr.net/

Landes, D. 1998. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Little, Brown & Co.

Landsburg, S. 1995. The Armchair Economist

Levitt, Steven D and Dibner, Stephen J. 2005. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. HarperCollins.

Mlodinow, Leonard. 2008. The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. Pantheon.

Stiglitz, Joseph. 2002. Globalisation and its Discontents. Allen Lane.

"Thinking Strategically" by Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff. A basic and readable introduction to game theory.

And textbooks recommended for just economics degree:

N.G. Mankiw. 2006. Macroeconomics (6th edition), Worth Publishers.

W.Morgan, M.L. Katz and H.S Rosen. 2005. Microeconomics. (1st European Edition), McGraw-Hill.

And textbooks recommended for economics with joint degree:

N.G. Mankiw and M.P.Taylor. 2006. Economics, Thomson.

W. Morgan, M.L.Katz and H.S.Rosen. 2005. Microeconomics. (1st European Edition), McGraw-Hill.

O.J Blanchard. 2006. Macroeconomics (4th edition), Thomson.

Materials recommended for Politics:

Arblaster, A. Democracy.

Gamble, A. Politics and Fate.

Gamble, A. The Free Economy and the Free State.

Goodwin, B. Using Political Ideas.

Hague, R. & Harrop, M. Comparative Government and Politics.

Hay, C. Political Analysis: A Critical Introduction.

Meny, Y. Government and Politics in Western Europe.

Materials for International Studies:

Buzan, Barry. 1991. People, States and Fear. Harvester Wheatsheaf.

Waltz, Kenneth N. 1959. Man, the State and War. Columbia University Press.

Kennedy, Paul. 1989. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict From 1500 to 2000. Fontana.

It could also act as a guide for potential applicants who want to apply for this course. =)

Anyway, just changed my IC! =) To the 18 year old version, at Shah Alam. The civil service is so MUCH MORE efficient compared to the last time. And it takes 2 weeks for them (10 working days) to prepare the new IC.

Countdown to results: ... Why did I even bring this up? =(

wei wen

Maxis Scholarship Interview, Undergraduate program (Last stage)

2010-08-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Date: 5/8/2010 (Thurs)
Venue: Level 8, Menara Maxis
Time: 11am
Attire: Formal

Reached there at around 10.15am, and met a friend I've previously met in Penn's interview. Again, I forgotten to ask her name. (Somebody slap me~ lol) And met another person from Monash too. Two HR officers (one of them was my first round interview observer) sat with us in the waiting room, and we had a light chat. They will be conducting interviews from 9.30am to like 7 in the evening!!! Apparently, about 18 candidates got shortlisted for the second round interview for the overseas program. So 5 out of 18, possibility of securing scholarship doesn't seem so bad. =)

So, basically, my general feeling of the interview (to put it in a word): ecstasy. As if I was high, haha! Like giggly, happy, perky kinda feeling, after I stepped out of the conference room. It could be due to the flood of relief from finishing the interview.

Anyway, I had 3 interviewers and one facilitator (who was my first round interviewer! =D), and she started by introducing the judges. They all had professor before their names, and they are all external judges, except one who (the HR officer said) is the senior manager of HR department of Maxis. So, I started the interview by introducing myself and then explaining reasons why I chose to study Economics, Politics and International Studies.

And the whole interview generally revolved around politics. Well, I can't disclose the questions they asked, cause what is said in that room stays in that room. =) But, basically one of the criteria they were accessing was maturity. My advice to all: Be yourself. Be involved with the country's happenings and show interest in serving the country and giving back to the society. Show that you care about Malaysia and you want to see it prosper in your own unique way. And naturally they'll see a person who's genuine in serving the company and the country. There's no perfect mould for being a scholar. In fact, the interviewer emphasized that most of the candidates have the same kind of achievement. You know what makes you special, so use that quality and shine through. That's all you have to do. =) And no, I still can't disclose the question they've asked. But personally, I feel that each candidates have their own set of questions being asked, and it depends on what you say. Like my interview revolved around politics because I started the introduction with politics. So there. =) There's also no harm preparing for the interview and rehearsing through your answers. Sometimes being too spontaneous could make one stutter, a lot (especially for people like me). Well, I prepared my introduction with rough bullet points. And I just flowed along the rest.

And nope, they didn't ask the typical, why should we pick you out of 18 candidates or what are your strengths and weaknesses. It was a really refreshing experience for me, because none of my previous scholarship interviews were anything like that. For the first time, I had fun.

Hence, the ecstasy. But that doesn't mean it's a guarantee that I'll secure it. So, I'll still pray for the best.

Good luck to the rest of the Maxis scholarship candidates. =)

And A2 results in exactly a week!! AHHH!!!! D:

wei wen

Up-date-o...

2010-07-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

Woah, MIA for like 2 whole weeks! Bet you people must be like checking in every few days, right, RIGHT? =D Lol, nah, being perasan here. ;P

I did update my mixpod. I know some blogger mentioned in the papers bout having music players on the blog is a no-no, cause people would have their own music on. But, these are my favourites! We'll be a dream (Demi is totally awesome in this song!), California girls (with Katy Perry and her whip cream shooting bra. LOL!), Hello (glee version), when I look at you, can't be tamed, OMG and loads more not-so-out-of-date songs lah. Just don't press the pause button immediately whenever you open this blog. =DD

Anyway, just a quick update about life:

- Went for Warwick pre-departure briefing. Met a few Taylor students and erm, some scholars from Kolej Yayasan UEM. More parents than students. It was really informative, and the Malaysian Student Union (MSU) president was really good in presenting the club and making life in Warwick seem like a really exciting journey. Ahhh!!! Can't wait for results to come out now.... But, hope it goes well...

- Got selected for 2nd and also last interview for Maxis!!!!! Booyah!!!!! Was really unexpected. But, I'm really HAPPY! =D Just gotta make sure I don't make a fool of myself in front of the directors and public university lecturers.

-.... thinking of some significant event, but zid, nada, zippal... Nothing... Except laundry, cooking and fetching...

Hence, it explains the 2 week long MIA. Cause, if I do blog, it would be like "life as a housewife, part 2 ... etc..." I could really be a full time housewife anytime now, but I gotta admit this, I hate ... ok, to make it gentler... I'm seriously uncomfortable with this kind of lifestyle. Rigid, mundane, repetitive and energy draining. >:(

That's why local men go for Vietnamese brides nowadays, according to The Star. I'm one of the local females that doesn't like housework, but would do it if necessary.

Ok, now moving on to the list of things I have to do:

-Change my 12 year old IC pic...

-Look at up Toshiba lab top models.

-Eye checkup. It has been due for almost a year. Whoopsie~

-Shopping... I think I would do it after A2 result comes out.

Ok, back to house chores. Again. T.T

wei wen

This is why I like Tony Pua

2010-07-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is a very good... watcha call it... maybe 'debate' between two individuals, Muhiyiddin and Tony Pua.

Both articles are from the Star:

Let's start with Muhiyiddin's accusation of Selangor facing a potential bankruptcy due to free water given out:

Monday July 12, 2010
DPM: Selangor heading for water crisis
By FLORENCE A. SAMY
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor and the federal capital will face a serious water crisis in two years if water resources are not managed properly by the state government, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

And he told the people not to blame the Federal Government if this happens, saying that its efforts to ensure long-term supply were being stumped by the state government.

Muhyiddin said the Selangor Government’s move to provide free water and not increase tariff was taking a toll because it had to absorb the cost.

“They thought they were doing something popular with their election promise. They gave free water and promised that water prices would not go up.

“They are absorbing RM13mil a month and are facing big deficits.

“However, they say they cannot afford to pay (the concessionaires) if the cost keeps going up. If they don’t pay, the water processing companies will suffer losses as they too are facing problems as the cost of managing and processing water is very high,” he said when opening the Ampang Umno delegates meeting here yesterday.

Muhyiddin said people in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur would suffer a water crisis in two years unless the state government solves the water problem.

He said the Federal Government was facing stumbling blocks with the RM9bil Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer project because of the Selangor Government.

The Federal Government, he said, had held several discussions with the Selangor Government on the issue, including on the acquisition of land to build the Langat 2 water treatment plant for the project, which still had not been agreed upon by the state government.

“The state government has instructed its land offices and other departments not to cooperate with the Federal Government.

“We want to help out although land and water issues are under the state government. We do not want people to blame us,” he said, adding that Selangor could face bankruptcy if the deficits grew.

Muhyiddin said internal politicking in PKR and current troubles with the Selangor state government and Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim were not giving people confidence in their capabilities.

In other words, if I read in between the lines, it would sound something like this (Personal interpretation intended)

"Vote somemore lah for Pakatan, nah nah vote somemore. Afterwards you all go bankrupt don't come and blame us. Sendiri cari pasal."

And then, today's article came out a reply to this article, by Tony Pua.

Tuesday July 13, 2010
Selangor maintains balanced budget despite water subsidy, says Pua

KUALA LUMPUR: An Opposition MP has dismissed claims that Selangor will face a serious water crisis in two years because of its decision to provide free water.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said the state was in no danger of bankruptcy.

“Despite the subsidy costing the state government RM120mil per year, Selangor has been able to maintain a balanced budget through prudent measures as well as by reducing corruption,” Pua told reporters at a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed the state was facing a big deficit from absorbing water processing costs and could face bankcruptcy if the deficits grew.

Pua said Muhyiddin’s claim was an attempt to support and protect Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) and its parent company, Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, which have debts totalling hundreds of millions of ringgit.

Pua questioned the unfair privatisation agreement signed between Syabas, the Barisan Federal Government and the former Barisan state government which allowed Syabas to increase water tariffs at “ridiculous rates”.

“We would like to ask Muhyiddin why the Federal Government is using taxpayers’ monies to bail out and subsidise a private company?” he asked.

He claimed Muhyiddin’s term as Johor Mentri Besar ended with the privatisation of the state’s water company resulting in Johor having one of the highest water tariff rates in the country.

Pua said the Selangor government’s solution to acquire and consolidate the state’s water industry would result in lower water prices while maintaining the free water policy.

Also personal interpretation intended:

"IN YOUR FACE, YOU CORRUPTED FREAKS!"

=D

This article is written by the author as a personal opinion and she's not influenced by any other parties to write about one of the many efforts attempted by BN to bring down PR. Thank you. =)

wei wen

Life as a housewife

2010-07-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Just like the title, life nowadays is like being a full time housewife that facebooks, check emails, practice violin, watch football at night and reads during breaks in between.

In a way, it's also good training for living independently in a foreign country.

So a typical day would start like this:

6.00am:

Wake up and fetch siblings to school. Sometimes would prepare breakfast (actually it was only one time, the Ramly episode =D ), and most of the time they would have cereal (thank god for the invention of cereal! Fast, healthy and filling). Occasionally would nag at siblings to move faster, cause every 5 minutes of tardiness would lengthen the time on the road by 15 minutes.

On the road, jam, jam and MORE JAM! I just HATE Malaysian Traffic! Why can't PJ, KL and Subang be connected with LRT or KTM or any train? Seriously! Saves a heck load of time! So, I don't blame people for cutting into lanes aggressively (cause I'm one of them too), because every morning is a RUSH! A rush to reach school in time, to reach the traffic light before the traffic policeman starts directing traffic (he would always backlog the reverse flow of the road), to reach the highway before traffic starts building up. Approximate time on the road: 1 hour minimum

Hitz.fm's DJ's makes the journey less stressful. And Richard Reid! Totally makes my day! =D

8am:

List of house chores: Feed fish and turtle, sweep dried leaves, wash all laundry and let teddy go about his usual urinating routine.

Then, breakfast! Since I have all the time in the world, I make it a point to have healthy smoothies, blended from fruits and vegetables and complement it with two pieces of charcoal bread given by my neighbour.

They said it's suppose to be healthy, but as long it taste better than Gardenia's bread, it's fine with me. =) And it tastes nice too. With the newspaper in front, Teddy sitting by my side, and the morning breeze blowing through, the hellish experience on the road seems like a distant memory~

10am: Personal time! Violin, piano, freakonomics or any other books, facebook, blogging, etc etc... But, if I have to prepare lunch, then this is when I start preparing the soup. It's also when I start to notice that the fridge lacks ingredients and I would have to go out and buy vegetables for another 30 minutes, and I could start boiling the soup at 11am. And by lunch time, the soup will not be fully boiled (minimum 3 hours) and it has to be used on another day instead. Major phail! Thank goodness cooking is not part of SPM or A levels.

Well, that's what happened on one particular day. But, most of the time, I would buy lunch from outside. I know, I'm LAZY to cook. I'm really reluctant to enter the kitchen, soak all the food, prepare the pots, cut the garlic and onions, AS COMPARED to just ta-pauing a chicken rice for 15 mins. And you don't have to wash all the plates, clean the stove and put back the pots, just wash the fork and spoon and throw the rest into the bin. Done! Just like that. Now I understand why career woman never cooks at home, it simply takes to much time! Or probably I've just started out cooking, so still not used to it yet.

2pm: Laundry would be completely washed by then, and out it goes under the sun. Then, it's nappy time~ lol. Yes, house chores wears me out easily. I'm getting OLD~!!!

4pm: Prepares soup for dinner, brings Teddy out for a walk (if you're wondering, I had to bring him out this early to avoid the crowd in the evening. The lake bans pets, specifically dogs) and feed turtle and fish for the second time.

6pm: Starts cooking dinner. I've finally prepared a proper meal for the first time, without any supervision! It's an achievement I'm really proud of! But, I've forgotten to put salt into the vege, and it tasted like cooked salad. Well, it's a start. =)

8pm: Wash dishes, clean the stove, and dump the rubbish. Occasionally would watch TV shows after the 8pm news. (The guy from Ghost Adventurer is seriously out of his mind!)

10pm: Fold and iron clothes. But, sometimes, would be so dead tired and crash on the bed. Sis could handle the rest. =)

And it's back to 6am again.

Omg, is married life going to be like that? lol. But, it really disciplines the children to be independent, instead of every little thing, "kakak, kakak, kakak!", seriously cannot tahan kids that drops the bag on the floor after coming back from school and expects the maid to pick it up after you. Super spoilt...

Ooo... My uncle is showing my mum a video on taichi. 0.O Haha, maybe would incorporate it into my schedule. =D

I DESERVE a weight loss!!!!

wei wen

Maxis Scholarship Interview (1st stage)

2010-07-07T23:04:00.000-07:00

Date: 6th July 2010 (Tues)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Menara Maxis, KLCC
Attire: Formal

When I first received the email from Maxis of being shortlisted for the first round of interview, I was ecstatic! Because, when I first applied for the January intake, I was unsuccessful, probably due to the early stages of the US applications where no replies have been made, and I've not made up my mind on which university I would attend.

The email, that came one week before, didn't state a specific date, it only mentioned of being contacted very soon, and to keep checking my mobile phone and email. The call only came one day before the interview. I dunno whether it was my phone's problem or the guy on the phone talked really soft.

Similar to other interviews, I've also googled "Maxis scholarship interview", and it's quite rare to find a really detailed post of the whole interview process. Some had a really nice post on the photo shoot for Maxis scholars (jealousy...), but most of them gave a general view on the process, to just relax and be yourself. Thanks to google, I found this other blogger, who's also a maxis scholar and has a really interesting view on our local politics. He should really compete as future assemblymen for the upcoming general election. Go check it out, google shinliang, and you'll find his blog. Or google "Maxis scholarship interview" and search for his post.

Well, I could now understand why most of the post is so general. Because the interview process is general. Nothing about super academic questions (unless you specifically state about it in your application, and the interviewer will ask what are your views on it).

Ok, let's get down to business.

I reached the building 15 minutes earlier and went through the wrong entrance, I went into the part of the building where maxis customers were packing around booths. So, had to make one big turn to reach the registration counter.

On the 17th floor, there were two admins at the front desk, with a big HD TV behind them. It was showing CNN, something about the craze for vuvuzelas. lol.

There was only one other interviewee waiting, he's a first year student in aeronautical engineering, studying in Bristol Uni. But I didn't catch his name (What was I thinking? First thing should ask is always name, probably was nervous) I think there were only two interview rooms occupied. So, it was two interviewees simultaneously in two different rooms.

The admins took our supporting documents and CV's and passed it to the interviewer 5 mins before the interview started. There were two people in the interview room, one interviewer and one observer. For my case, both of them were female, really friendly ones too. =) According to the interviewer, observer is there for training purposes, and also to observe lah.

Before the interview started, she went through my details and mentioned about the tight schedule of the day. Apparently, they've started interviewing since 9am. And they have to do it for 3 days consecutively. The course that I've applied is Economics, Politics and International Studies at University of Warwick. The interviewer didn't know there was such a course and asked why I wanted to study it.

Then, she explained the procedure of the interview, saying it's just about getting to know more about you, what are you ambitions, dreams, likes, dislikes, who has influenced you and etc. So, basically, I started talking about my autobiography, from education, interest in sports and music, co-curricular activities and how those factors influenced my decision to study the course. Occasionally, while talking, she would interject with more specific questions, like I mentioned about attending conferences for MUN's and she asked what was the most interesting global issue to me. I didn't really prepare for this question (I should have...) so I remembered briefly about SUNMUN's Milk Scandal. I didn't elaborate much about it, and my mind just came to a stop. She didn't ask further, and asked about the rest of my activities.

Oh, and of course, she asked the typical interview questions, strengths and weaknesses and why I should be the recipient of the Maxis Scholarship for Excellence Award out of 80 candidates who got shortlisted (btw, only 5 would get it in the end). After that, she asked if there were any questions for her. I was really curious bout this for a long time, how does Maxis competes with Digi in terms of advertisement? Cause I find Digi advertisements really funny and interesting (e.g. something about the facebook person, blue bird (tweeter), mailbox person (hotmail) running towards the screen in joy when some buyer agreed buying the moblie, really LOL) And the interviewer really liked the one on rubber ducky. lol. So yeah, she said no, we don't compete, cause Maxis has chosen its niche market (I guess by this, she meant the older generation). For example, the ads on "Committed to the game" and all the past Malaysian football stars, Arumugam, Soh Chin Aung etc, were on billboards all over the highways in Subang. She said the younger generation doesn't appreciate it as much as the older generation do.

The interview lasted 35 mins. Before heading back to Subang, I went to KLCC's Kinokuniya to buy the book "Freakonomics" cause the interviewer mentioned it's a really good book to read and it shows a different side of economics. The first few pages had already caught my attention throughout the ride in LRT and KTM.

Oh, I've finally experienced sitting the women's only KTM coach. And the Star newspaper comic was right, perfume overdose! And there was one particular station where a guy actually had the nerve to enter into the coach, standing in the middle of a mass of women, totally ignoring all the mascaraed glares. At least, I felt really safe from pick pockets and sexual harassment. And of course, to escape the after-whole-day's-work-B.O.

Anyway, according to the interviewer, the second round would involve a panel of directors, and some of them would be public university lecturers (I guess this is where all the academic questions come in). With a 6.25% chance of securing the scholarship, I'm not gonna raise my hopes too high, but let's just hope for the best. =)

wei wen

My first degree, in music!

2010-07-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today, was like any normal Wednesdays, usual piano lessons and glee at night.

So, after fetching my bro to tuition, I went to the music school and had to wait for a while because there was a Grade 8 student before me. Teacher said she has to push up the gear for the upcoming ABRSM exam. So, yeah, I went in, and I saw it! My exam report in her hands!

And it turns out I passed!!!! 75/100!!! Teacher was also very happy, cause I'm her first LTCL student. (LTCL Diploma is equivalent to a undergraduate degree) Big relieve!!!!! Distinction is 80, to pass is 60. So teacher was like saying if I had more time to prepare, I could have gotten a distinction, cause I only started fully practicing for 2 days, right after A2 examinations. But, I'm very grateful that I've passed!

Anyway, examiner's hand writing is really neat, but hard to read.

Pieces:
Generally, he said my Liszt, Debussy and Bartok was good. Bartok seems like his favourite among the repertoire. Mozart was expected, my last movement wasn't well played. I'd slipped and disrupted the flow at one point, but at least my 1st and 2nd movement managed to back it up.

Attire:
He said "Appropriate dress was worn." Appropriate (on examination day) meaning my mum's dress which is blue, round collared, sleeveless and a bit above knee length, and my grey pumps with skin coloured leggings. Hair was tied into a pony tail with the fringe clipped up (exposing pimples, lol).

Programme notes:
He said it was adequate and well presented. I did it in a greeting card form, A4 folded into half size. It looks like a booklet.

My examiner specializes in both organ and piano. Didn't really read his autobiography at the waiting room, cause I was really nervous.

Anyway, I'm happy! Yay! And no, if you're wondering, I don't plan to continue to FTCL (equivalent to postgraduate). I'll just continue playing and learn up as many Chopin pieces as possible. =)

There would also be a diploma conferment ceremony, but it's next year 31st August 2011. Swt~, not sure whether I'll be coming back during the summer break.

=D =D =D

Ok, I'm gonna stay up to watch semi finals, Germany vs Spain.

Podolski! Schweinsteiger!!! Klose! Muller! And my favourite past star, Oliver khan!

GO DEUTSCHLAND!

Ok, now on to next post, about Maxis.

wei wen

Ramly vs me

2010-06-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

It was a battle between two formidable foe, my cooking skill and Ramly Burger.

The alarm clock blared its horn at 5.45am, signalling to prepare for battle. I had to rush, the Ramly Burger had to be conquered within 30 minutes.

Switching on the kitchen lights, I prepared my weapons, frying pan, vegetable oil, wooden spoon, gigantic pair of chopsticks and a ceramic plate. I thought it was adequately prepared, and took out the Ramly Burger from the freezer.

It may looked innocent with its black stripes and white background packaging, but little did I know that I was about to enter into something explosive.

After rinsing the pan, I lit up the stove with maximum fire and waited for the pan to sizzle dry. Then, I poured the oil, but it was a little too much. But, better oily than burnt. I slit open the package with a knife and took out a Ramly beef patty (aka daging).

I peeled the piece of paper and rinsed the meat. I was ready to roast it!

Without drying it properly, I threw it into the pan. The fire was still on maximum.

A ball of flame burst out from the tiny pan and oil exploded out in all directions. I ducked for cover and shielded myself with the wooden spoon. My comrade, Teddy stood on his hind legs in his adobe, wondering what the explosion was all about. Slowly, the fire died down. I quickly turned on the furnace that absorbs the smoke. But, it wasn't enough to prevent it from entering into my sister's bedroom. Ok, I failed in that section. But, the mission must go on.

I took another patty and threw it into the pan without rinsing it, hence avoiding another explosion of boiling oil. Ok, the patty seemed harmless. I pressed and hit it, imitating the burger stall operator, and turned it multiple times until the surface started to turn black on the edges.

After frying three patties, I took it out and put it on a paper roll to absorb those excess oil. I poked it in the middle to check whether I've achieved my main objective, to make sure it's well cooked. Never mind it taste horrible or plain.

I made a distress call to my sister and asked her to check my patties, but at the same time, my boss (dad) called to check up on me. He said to steam all of it if it's not cooked.

I prepared the bread, mayonnaise, tomatoes and cucumbers to complement the patties. And my brother took the first bite.

"Yeah, it taste cooked."

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Report on mission errors:
-Suppose to defrost the patty before cooking it. I immediately threw it into the frying pan
-Suppose to be cooked over a small fire. I had it on maximum.
-Patty tastes better with butter, not oil
-Suppose to dry patty fully or not rinse it at all before putting into the pan
-turn on the furnace before cooking

Follow up on mission:
-No one suffered from stomach ache and they had a full breakfast

MISSION DOUBLE ACCOMPLISHED!

Ok, so over my bed time, gotta wake up at 3.20am. Groans~

wei wen

Airplanes

2010-06-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Chorus by Hayley Williams:

Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now) (wish right now)

I could somehow relate to this song, especially when I'm just sitting in the car staring into space, or waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and an airplane flies by above the night sky/day sky/dawn sky/dusk sky, it somehow brings a sense of excitement and longing within me. Looking at the airplane soaring off into the clouds stirs the imaginative mind into a frenzy. I could be thinking about studying in a medieval like university, enjoying a Spanish meal in a local cafe in Spain or just stomping into ankle high layer of snow. To travel is a luxury (until AirAsia came into the market), and to be able to travel and experience the culture is really like a wish come true.

List of countries that I want to travel to if I have the money:
1) Japan!!!!!!!!! (sushi and onsen!)
2) US (Disney world in Florida)
3) Vietnam (The food there is just awesome!)
4) Switzerland (Should try out skiing)
5) Russia/Germany

I just hope and pray that my A2 results will turn out alright.

Those who are going to the US are flying off in mid-August, one month earlier than UK students. I can't believe there's just 2 months plus left till we spread our wings, into UK/US/Australia/many other countries.

A Levels aftermath has been a real slumber, as in I've been sleeping a lot, cause I still have to fetch my brothers and sisters to school and wake up at 6am. Have been helping out more often with house chores, because I have no excuse to escape from it this time.

Hence, I've also learned how to cook! I've not tried cooking a proper meal, cause mum needs to save time and I would take forever to slice garlic and onions, so she would occasionally let me poke the chicken or attempt frying the veggies. The spatula is not exactly light ok... lol

But at least I know the basics like boiling the rice and soup. And I know how to cook another kind of mee dish besides maggie mee, which is Tom Yam Meehoon soup! *Grins proudly*. But, I might need to pack these sauces, like tom yam paste, oyster sauce, some flavouring wine, cause it's not easy and cheap to get these things in Coventry. Have to ask first whether these things are allowed on board.

Looking for a part time job too. =D Waitressing/Office work. And I hope it could at least pay half of the price of my future laptop.

I really want to make my break as productive as possible. And I'm finally learning how to perform an overhead service for volleyball (did not attempt to learn it due to fear of injuring fingers for piano playing). So yay! It's a start towards efficient usage of time. =D

Enjoy the holidays while it last people! =)

wei wen

LTCL Repertoire

2010-06-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, these are the 4 pieces I've played for LTCL at my neighbour's baby grand piano.

Ignore those random moments where I do other stuff while playing the piano. =)I'll include the programme notes as a guide.

First Piece:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata No.8 in A minor, K310 (300d)

This piece is the one of the only two minor key sonatas written by Mozart. Composed in Paris in 1778 around the time of his mother’s death, Mozart treated the piano in an unusually virtuosic way. He had departed from his usual delicate and debonair quality to one that is tragic and foreboding. This sonata consists of three movements:
I. Allegro Maestoso

Written in the sonata form, the exposition opens with a majestic and firm melody. Mozart gave the subject an unusual chordal accompaniment more similar to the style of a string quartet rather than a typical piano sonata. In the development, Mozart launches into strenuous passage of sequences in which extreme contrast of pp and ff are most dramatic, intensifying the mood of the piece, later ending with greater intensity in the recapitulation.

II. Andante Cantabile

Also written in the sonata form, this expressive movement brings to mind an aria opening with the F major arpeggio leading to the high A like a solitary voice. Its slow tempo gives one an impression of peace and resignation before a powerful outbreak of tragic sorrow occurs in its development.

III. Presto

The last movement somewhat resembles a free Rondo, even though its form is not very defined. It moves at a blistering pace and with a sense of urgency created by short slurs between the notes, modeled after the bowing of stringed instruments rather than the pianistic tradition. On the whole, it creates a driven, haunted and obsessive quality, except for the middle episode from bar 143 to bar 174, where a musette-like idea provides a temporary haven in A major.

I know my 3rd movement is quite weak compared to the rest of the movements... =(

Second piece is Liszt's Un Sospiro, which I have posted before, so I'm not gonna post it again.

Third piece:
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Hommage à Rameau, No.2 from Images I

Debussy was said to be inspired by a melody taken from Castor et Pollux, an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, his Baroque compatriot. Borrowing from the idea of Baroque suites, he wrote this Sarabande as a hommage to Rameau. The opening melody is stark plaintive and forlorn. Two hands playing in paralled octaves before developing into a harmonically rich texture, as if falling into a trance. It then develops into a meditative dance building to a deep release of peacefulness and reverence, creating an almost elegiac atmosphere.

Fourth piece:
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Allegro Barbaro

Next to Stravinsky and Schoenberg, Bartok was one of the most influential composers in the twentieth century. His early interest in ethnomusicology led him to venture into the Hungarian and Romanian countryside folk tunes and peasant songs. He enjoyed writing for the piano and treated it as a melodic, harmonic and percussive instrument. Composed in 1911, Allegro Barbaro was his first large-scale virtuoso work for piano, combining passages of ostinate rhythms and harshly dissonant chords. It is one of the frequently performed solo piano pieces. It also blends passages of phrygian modes with primitive, repercussive slur rhythms, molding them in a beautifully concentrated whole.

I didn't perform as well in my LTCL examination. Somebody just shoot me! =((((

I just hope and pray I could just pass the exam. I hope the examiner doesn't consider wrong notes as a serious offence.

wei wen

1.5 year of A lvls is over!!!

2010-06-14T03:02:00.000-07:00

YAY!!!!!!! Banzai!!!!!!

It felt like being escorted out of the gates of hell, and into the arms of heaven after the last econs paper on Friday afternoon. I'm finally FREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! Wheee~

A2 was... hmm... ok. Except for some tough moments, I hope it turns out ok. And they even gave us the password for us to access our results around August. Totally spoilt the mood...

Prom on Friday night was awesome! I'm sure some of you have seen it in fb, the one with the over sized arms. Lol, it's a price to pay for being an ex-gymnast.

Since the pictures have explained itself on how prom night went, I shall just go to the pre-prom events, the preparations for prom.

Dress:
Bought it from a boutique called Treats in Sunway Pyramid with Jo Zee (aka my dress picker for every major event) It's short, white and tubish/strappish. I just don't do with long dresses, I think... Have not really try one... Price: RM120+

Shoes:
Forgotten what's the shop called, but it's also in Sunway Pyramid. It's white, not strappy (as in you could just slip your foot in), has a huge bow, and looks like a pair of Cinderella shoes. =)

Story behind purchase of shoes: Got sick of walking around looking for the perfect pair of shoes, so went to one shoe shop, changed into the dress I've brought along and tried on every shoe there is. Shop keeper saw the dress, and immediately handed me the pair I bought.

In conclusion: Best leave it to the professionals. Price: RM80+

Accessories:
Purse (RM30+) from Asian Avenue, necklace and bracelet from mum's drawer and supposedly a hairband with a white bow (RM23) (suggested by my brother, who I have no idea why he likes girls with hairbands, dad said it looks childish. lol) Hairband was a rip-off, I guess. Didn't even wear it, and might not have plans to wear it unless I find an outfit that matches with it. (sry bro, if you're reading this) =)

Hair and makeup:
This I have to EMPHASIZE the difference between the pros and the amateurs.

My form 5 prom hair do was done by ATP or APT (forgotten which one) cost about RM50+ or more and makeup was RM80. I looked horrible.

Comments from my hair (specifically a guy, this is a year after prom):
"Your hair was really ugly then" (specifically used the chinese word chou)

About makeup (also from a guy):
"Wei Wen, you look like you've fallen into the lake."

Which I admit, after two years, it was horrible!! I guessed the nicest comments I've received was silence or "Ok..." when asked about hair and makeup.

So, I went to the A Cut Above, at Sunway Pyramid because it's reputable. And I would expect it to be really expensive (for being such a branded company) but the price turned out to be RM170+. Which is in fact, quite reasonable. For around the same price, or slightly more expensive, it was WAY BETTER!!! I looked awesome. (yes, let me savour this perasan moment, cause it doesn't happen often. lol) I loved it. If only I had thinner arms, and longer legs... no screw it, I'm happy with what I have and I couldn't have done anything else to improve it.

Comments:
"I have to say, after all that talk about hair and makeup, I'm impressed!" (You know who you are, =) )

"You look really good/nice today," general comments from the girls.

Wheee~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now all the glamour and glitz is all scrubbed off, and new pimples are making way onto my forehead. Because my LTCL piano exam is TOMORROW!!!!

I'm suppose to finish up my final draft for my Program Notes... *pushes paper aside* Oh well! =)

Anyway, I've came across this particular helpful website about preparing for piano examination:

Source: http://www.music-and-musicians.com/exam_tips.html

APPOINTMENT SLIPS

The Examiner relies on your information !

Please read the instructions properly. You are asked to list your pieces IN ORDER OF PERFORMANCE.

Please also tick the correct boxes to represent your options.

PHOTOCOPIES

You are respectfully reminded that you are required to perform from the published (printed) material. TG upholds international copyright law and reserves the right to withhold exam results from candidates if they (or accompanists) play from photocopies. It is not acceptable to perform from photocopies and simply place someone else's printed copy on the Examiner's table whilst you are in the room. TG's policy, similar to that of other reputable music exam organisations, is made completely clear in the syllabus booklets. There are certain specific concessions and these, too, are clearly explained.

Grade Examinations

What are examiners looking for?

Harold Jones, MA (Oxon) LTCL HonFTCL, looks for the following when examining candidates:

•Control of tempo. Unless the music has a steady basic pulse it will lack coherence. This doesn't mean you have to avoid rallentandos, accelerandos or the occasional use of rubato - just that there has to be an established pulse from which these are minor temporary deviations. The music needs to flow easily.

•Phrasing. Each phrase needs to have shape, perhaps towards its climax and then away from it. Or it may be less defined than that. On the other hand a one-bar slur doesn't imply chopping up a four-bar phrase into bits.

•Balance. In pieces with melody-and-accompaniment texture the melody must be prominent and sustained, keeping the accompaniment well in the background. In contrapuntal music (eg Bach Inventions or Fugues) aim at playing which gives equal weight to each strand of the texture.

•Pedalling. An elementary rule is to avoid any use of the pedal which blurs different harmonies together, unless this is a special effect intended by composers like Debussy.

•Dynamics. Expression marks are not an optional extra - they are part of the composition put there by the composer to indicate how he wants his piece played. BUT in Baroque and earlier pieces they will have been added by someone else (the editor). However, the playing should always have some sense of shape - this point is related to phrasing (see above.) Avoid exaggerated contrasts - a change to forte after mf does not mean a sudden violent accent! Also be aware that Baroque composers wrote for harpsichord or recorder (not piano or flute) and the range of dynamics should be more restricted than in a 19th century piece. You should not use in a Mozart sonata a dynamic range that would be appropriate in Liszt or Rachmaninov.

•Scales. These should be like a string of pearls, each the same size! The notes, that is, should be of equal weight and equal length, without any overlapping of the notes. In other words, lift each finger immediately you play the next note, but without leaving a gap.

•Sight Reading. Here the golden rule is to count a steady tempo and keep to it.
For pianists in the bottom grades it is helpful to remember that the tests seldom go out of the five-finger position, so that if hands are correctly placed there will be a finger over each note of the test. Thus the candidate does not need to look at the keyboard to find the notes. Candidates often look away from the music to find notes on the keyboard (this of course applies mainly to pianists!) which means that they lose their place. They must learn to play without looking for the notes, or they will never become fluent. I used to make my students feel their way round the keyboard using the black notes as a guide, perhaps in the dark or with eyes shut.

•Musical Knowledge No answers written in the copy please! Check that key- and time-signatures are understood; ditto Italian terms. Any Baroque piece with a double bar somewhere in the middle will almost certainly be in Binary form (not Ternary, even if the opening recurs towards the end.)

•Aural Tests. Keep going even if you have to make it up! If asked for a chord, check the inversion. Work out the time-signature as you clap the rhythm. Ditto the tonality while singing.

COMMON WEAKNESSES IN EXAMS

as supplied by Stuart Gill MEd LTCL LRAM

(Applicable to all instruments)

Pieces

Weakness & Teaching Strategy
-Inadequate continuity (re-starts, fractures, upsets, breakdowns)
Strategy: Regular playing to an audience to overcome nerves
-Inconsistent pulse
Strategy: Practice with a Metronome
-Incorrect tempo (affecting the style)
Strategy: Understand the context (eg. Dance, sound picture, period, character)
-Lacking expression
Strategy: Listen to teacher play, feel the phrase
-Dynamic levels inconsistently graded
Strategy: Decide at the start how loud is loud, how soft is soft. Listen critically as you play
-Phrasing unshaped
Strategy: Identify breathing points, inner singing of the melody
-Detail skimmed and inaccurate, rushed
Strategy: Practise slowly, critical listening, use a more disciplined approach.
-Incorrect repeats (not enough or too many)
Strategy: Study the performance directions carefully at the outset. Read the syllabus
-Da capo/dal segno not observed
Strategy: As above
-Faulty attack (weak, hard) Over- or unconfident playing

Scales

1. Mistakes (ie incorrect notes)
2. Slips
3. Restarts
4. Weak attack
5. No dynamics, lacking buoyancy, life
6. Tempo too slow
7. Slow response
8. Un-rhythmic, uneven
9. Weak articulation of staccato/legato
10. Incorrect pattern

Sight Reading

1. Irregular pulse
2. Hesitation
3. Corrections
4. Incorrect tonality
5. Over-cautious tempo
6. Dynamics omitted
7. Expressionless (unshaped phrasing)

First Concert, Performer’s Certificate and Diploma Examinations

Angela Gilbert, GGSM AGSM LGSM - looks for the following from candidates undertaking a First Concert, Performer’s Certificate or Diploma exam

Programme

We are looking for something that resembles the programme you would get in a concert. I suggest A4 folded like a greetings card. The front cover should have the date, time, venue and the performer and, if applicable, the accompanist. If you don’t feel like wearing full evening dress, call it a lunchtime concert then the ‘dress’ can be less formal. Make up the venue if necessary – it does not have to be terribly accurate. It is essential that the accompanist wear something appropriate too.

Inside, the programme should be the works in order of performance, with their programme notes if necessary, and timings. On the back can be acknowledgements or blank, or short CV’s of the performers.

The music provided for the examiner should be completely separate.

Presentation

It says that the programme notes can be used instead of the spoken word, and they can. However, it leaves very little for the examiner to say when the performer walks onto the platform, plays a few pieces and walks off.

Just to announce them and say “I am going to play ‘Thing, by Whatsit” and “I hope you enjoy it”, is a connection with the audience and creates a contact, and some sort of rapport.

(Ok, I didn't do this for ATCL!!! Gasp!!! I just greeted the examiner and started playing.)

Once they begin to play I start the timer. Any verbal announcements must be inside the time allowed, otherwise marks are lost. The performer often asks me whether I am ready and should they start – they would not do this with a live audience, don’t do it in the ‘concert exam’.

Sometimes they can lose most of the 5 marks for dress, with unsuitable attire. Jeans and trainers are not good; shorts and T-shirt are equally inappropriate. Another mark can be lost if there are things missing from the programme, e.g. time, venue, performers, etc. More marks can be lost for bad time keeping, going over or under the time stated in the syllabus. The programme notes must be about the work, and not the life of the composer. The style and tidiness of the programme is important. The charisma of the performer, and their ‘relationship’ with the audience is also a key factor.

(Hmm... Dress??? Is slacks and working outfit appropriate???)

If there is a group doing a FC or PC then they should walk on tidily and be professional from the start, announcing their items and going off at the end tidily.

Tips on Programme Notes –

Lindsay Butterfield, MA B.A(Hons) ARCM PGCE.

The main thing to bear in mind in preparing your programme notes is that they are very short, and they only form part of the presentation skills section.

It is important to provide information which would be useful to a concert audience and will help them to listen to the piece they are about to hear. Avoid providing too much biographical information on the composer, and instead focus on the actual music. The syllabus says 'context, content and significance' of the chosen works

Every set of programme notes is different, and every piece is different, but here are a few examples of information you might want to include. This is not comprehensive and should not be taken as compulsory since every programme has different requirements.

•Character of the work
•Style and genre
•Musical features and how this piece is typical or not of its genre or style
•Technical demands
•Anything which makes this an interesting piece to perform

After reading this, I feel so inadequately prepared. ARGH!!! *pulls back paper*

So, Mozart has written how many minor key sonatas in his entire life? *Google...*

wei wen

The Bigger Picture

2010-06-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Had a rude shock of pain and wake-up call while sleeping, mainly due to again the women's pain and partly to not swtiching on the air conditioner. So, went down to get a cup of hot water and while waiting for it to cool, here I am. =D

I'm updating this like once a month, instead of the previous 10 posts plus a month. A2 is almost finishing. 1 more week! Further Math.... I think I could have done better... Just pray it would manage to get by with an A. I still cannot believe I actually forgotten how to do paired sample T-Test. Sigh... Physics, .... Hope they bring down the treshold. So, I HAVE to score an A for Econs!!! I need at least 2 securing A's...

Ok, that was just a little update about the past whole month. And in between A2, is teeny weeny facebooking, farm story and hotmail. =) Have also been sick for almost 5 days. Thanks to Baskin Robbins and chocolates. =S Sore throat => Cough => Fever => Flu + cough + P. Pain

Anyway, the point of posting this is to remind you guys the bigger picture in life. I was reading a really worn out book kept in the shelf for decades, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey. I needed some motivation to get me through econs... And I came across this part.

...

Please find a place to read these next few pages where you are alone and uninterrupted. Clear your mind of everything except what you will read and what I will invite you to do. Don't worry about your schedule, your business, your family, or your friends. Just focus with me and really open your mind.

In your mind's eye, see yourself going to the funeral of a loved one. Picture yourself driving to the funeral parlor or chapel, parking the car, and getting out. As you walk inside the building, you notice the flowers, the soft organ music. You see the faces of friends and family you pass along the way. You feel the shared sorrow of losing, the joy of having known, that radiates from the hearts of the people there.

As you walk down to the front of the room and look inside the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. This is your funeral, three years from today. All these people have come to honor you, to express feelings of love and appreciation for your life.

As you take a seat and wait for the services to begin, you look at the program in your hand. There are to be four speakers. The first is from your family, immediate and also extended- children, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who have come from all over the country to attend. The second speaker is one of your friends, someone who can give a sense of what you were as a person. The third speaker is from your work or profession. And the fourth is from your church or some community organization where you've been involved in service.

Now think deeply. What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of son or daughter or cousin? What kind of friend? What kind of working associate?

What character would you like them to have seen in you? What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember? Look carefully at the people around you. What difference would you like to have made in their lives?

...

So yeah, it's the intro to Habit 2, Begin With The End In Mind. It was really intriguing as I've never thought of that perspective. And it got me thinking of what my visions are in life, and how I sort of lost those visions a moment ago. The resolutions that I had jot down were all short term, I have not really thought about the bigger picture. I need to change my habit, to solve problems, instead of sitting idly by and waiting for something to happen. I need to be proactive! (Habit 1)

I have a choice in every circumstances. If I'm not in the mood to study, I have a choice to play farm story or read John Sloman's book. I have the choice to use my time for play or for studies, as I'm given the same 24 hours like everybody else. I have the choice to honk back at rude drivers or show a little love hand-gesture. (where you stick your thumb and index finger together, I really have to try it someday. =) ) I have a choice with my life.

So, I have a choice to continue blogging or going back up to have my precious sleep. Oh, water's cool now. Too cool. Hmmm...

Anyway, just a food for thought. Nights people! =)

wei wen

Life after college

2010-05-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

Well, if it's in US terms, it's only life after high school, because university to them is called college. Ok, I'm ranting......

Taylor's College was a typical choice, cause it's near, prestigious, my cousins went there and it's the best among the batch (i.e Inti, Sunway and Metropolitan) My mum considered Help and Yayasan UEM, but it's so far and the latter is a boarding school. Plus, most of my high school friends go to Taylor's.

I didn't know going through college was the beginning of an avalanche of many events. Scholarships, University applications, self studying without the support of tuition, heaps of photostated stuff and notes, and most importantly, the survival through weeks of only weekend sports! So not used to it... Hence, I make it an effort to walk from my parking spot to college every morning (no eng wee, it's not crazy! It's good exercise and effective multitasking, [ample car park to park car, keep fit, loose weight, feel the breeze on the pedestrian bridge, shade that is not available at car parks near Taylor's, bypasses all the jam on the way home, it's on the way to buy shuttlecock for mum, near Kar Heong]) Am I effective or what? Lol.

Random Things I love about 0901PE1:
1) Almost half of our class are outstation students. From Ipoh, Kedah, Melaka, Penang, Johor and Sarawak to Taiwan and South Korea. I initially thought one was really from Philippine cause I actually believed the dude who meant it as a joke.

2) Very cooperative classmates that pays up promptly without complain. But, there is always some exception (I don't collect RM100 at one go, dude... Maximum I've collected was only RM20+, and those are from books)

3) Diverse characters in class: Gays, straight-forwards in terms of asking questions, spontaneous for food outings, random liquid and gymnastics movements from Chua (restless fellow), semangat and chipmunk laughter, the blacks (I mean brown) who speaks like one, divas (recent fact!), Buffies, Randomnies, Scribblers, Sleepers and most of all, Kar Heong Chicken Rice lovers!!!!!

4) Adventurous with food! Thank god we all hate AC food. =D List of stuff tried: Face to face (Chef's Special!), Jojo, MED, Subway (Italian BMT!), Madam Joyce, Casamia (Big X! Lol), Cassian, Kar Heong, ss14 Bak Kut Teh, Sky Village (Go selva, take the torch and kerosene), Mcdonald, Pizza Hut, Super-duper cheap economy rice in super dirty area (Lin Chee Kang Satu~), Foh foh, Uncle Singh, Cabanna (Tom Yam fried rice with fried chicken!), Snow Flakes, My Friends (Shyu Fei's enemy), Pork Mee, KFC, Nando's. Anything I've missed out?

5) Witness things I've not seen before I've met PE1. Wedgies, recording X rated videos with Physic Lab's light bulbs, Pac Man live and MRI show, person being bullied but enjoys it... I think... Lol, omg, and the flyers! That's really a first.

6) MAFIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've managed to be everything (Mafia, Spy, Doctor, Citizen) except Grandma. Could still remember how Jian Wen won that game as the grandma for the first time. =D

7) My yellow jacket. Thank you once again! =)))

8) Norman's asking question moments... Inappropriate but interesting. Lol.

9) Mrs Brooke's constant taunting on the guys. Her rules were: No clicking, no Chewing Gum (like a washing machine) and no Americans! lol

10) Random comments from lecturers. Classic ones:
"Sir why don't you just slam the door hard?" Selva asks.

"Oh, cause I'm afraid it'll rebound and hit me." Mr. Peter answered innocently. So adorable! =D

"Chua, you cannot eat in class. *Chua continues to go 'chomp... chomp.. chomp...' It's against the rules you know. Selva, cannot use photostatted books *Puts book under table and look at original book beside*" Haha...

Jaw dropping moment when Mr. Peter first introduced summing series.

Mr. Wong going, "Hoi, hoi, hooi..."

Mr. Chan teaching halfway and moves to sleeping L2H and gives him a back massage.

Ms Esther sometimes tipping on her toes with a forward motion when she wants to make a point. And her finger thingy!

Ms Jean mouse 'clicking' habit

Ms Ray talking bout her son

Mr. Lai's artwork

11) PE1 itself... =)

College is really a platform to university life. It has made me a lot more independent and responsible with things (university applications, scholarship interviews, visa applications), helped widen my social circle (turkeys, cats, monkeys, unicorns - think golden retriever would be better suited =D, Charcoal, Sloth... lol) and of course, meet so many amazing people (from Harvard girl, many Ivy leagues admits to the people around me)

Will definitely miss PE1 and you guys!!!! ='(

Ok, mum watching Thomas Cup is really tempting. Japan against Malaysia!

Till then, all the best for A2! Before the real parting begins.

Teruskan usaha anda. quoted from Selva =D

wei wen

Tech Noob meets PC fair and VGL

2010-04-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Finally! It's such a rare occasion to have the Internet working now. So better take the opportunity and blog about updates in life.

Trials Results, was a first, and it's unimaginable. It was basically bad. But Further Math did better than expected. =) Paper 2 (mech/stats) did better than paper 1 (pure). And I wrote totally out of point for my econs essay, so that subject performed the worst.

And yeah, I'm going to Warwick. Did you know they have a super awesome Climbing centre?!? You know, I shall graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Politics and International Studies, with a tiny print beside it, saying : Spider Woman. =D

But. I'm still not giving up on going to the US to further my studies. So Penn, my true love. Don't fret! =D

Oh, and Video Games Live was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. They performed my favourite video games music, which are Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. They performed Simple and Clean for Kingdom Hearts and One Winged Angel for FFVII with slide shows of really good cosplays. I expected a real cosplay as filmed by other people from other countries. =( But the Final Fantasy VII, One-winged Angel gave me goosebumps, especially when the violins went up into the super high octaves and the choir sang Sepheroth in a chilling way. I really hope they could include Kingdom Hearts characters into their slides, instead of using classic Disney characters, but it does bring back a lot of fond memories.

They performed loads of other classic game's music, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, Megaman. And also loads of guy favourite's, Chrono Trigger Chorno something, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, 3, The legend of Zelda. the Shadow of Odysseus... And they had pacman Live! On video. Super lame, but i prefer the one Lai showed us in youtube during one of our Physic lessons. It's more spontaneous. =D

Their merchandise was really expensive. But I bought a T-shirt. I know, it cost a lot. But I really wanted it. So I had it. And I'm happy. =)

Before VGL, we went to Pikom PC fair. It was my first time, and it was really educational. I was also looking at various brands for my future laptop. =D And there were loads of cameramen with their own fancy flashes and DSLR, taking pictures of models posing with web cam and mouses. So Eng Wee was in paradise with his Nikon. =D

Anyway, it's a month till A2 externals. And I'm behind schedule in writing my econs essays.

AAAB, JIA YOU!!!!

wei wen

Video Games Live

2010-04-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

If you heard ads in the radio with the orchestra and about video games, this is the one I'm talking about.

Video Games Live!

Details:
Venue: KLCC
Date: 14/7/2010
Time: 14.30 and 20.30

Synopsis is from Ticket Pro website:

Video Games Live™ is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras & choirs perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience!

This is a concert event put on by the video game industry to help encourage and support the culture and art that video games have become. Video Games Live™ bridges a gap for entertainment by exposing new generations of music lovers and fans to the symphonic orchestral experience while also providing a completely new and unique experience for families and/or non-gamers. The show is heralded and enjoyed by the entire family. It's the power & emotion of a symphony orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert and the technology and interactivity of a video game all completely synchronized to amazing cutting edge video screen visuals, state-of-the-art lighting and special on-stage interactive segments with the audience.

If you or someone you know is into video games you won't want to miss this highly acclaimed one-of-a-kind concert experience. Or maybe you are looking for something cultural and exciting that the whole family will enjoy? Video Games Live™ is not just a concert, but a celebration of the entire video game industry that people of all ages will adore!

For more information, please visit www.videogameslive.com.

Ticket Price:

PS1, RM253.00
PS2, RM203.00
PS3, RM153.00
PS4, RM103.00
PS5, RM83.00
And student price is RM71.00 and only applies to PS5 category and applicable for those under 18, meaning 17 and below.

I googled about it, and being a big video game fan, I was really interested about it. Really big fan of PS2 games like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, X-II, Kingdom Hearts 2.

And I was watching previous performances of it in various countries in youtube, really brought back a lot of fond memories playing those games.

Kingdom Hearts, for example, the toughest challenge was beating Sepheroth in part of the game (you don't have to beat Sepheroth to finish the whole game, it's more like a personal achievement.) And I'm proud to say, I managed to bring him DOWN! Like literally, cause he's always flying around with is long sword and swish of long grey hair. Sometimes he just stays in the air and starts blasting purple black ball of fire from the ground. Secret to overcome this problem (dunno it qualifies as a secret, lol): fly and avoid, not the super fast one, the slower version. That way, not only the thing won't hit you randomly, somehow it always burst one second behind.

As always, everytime when I start new game, I tend to have this obsession of uncovering every locked secrets and finding out those hidden stuff before I move on to the next level. I remembered circling around Twilight Town numerous times, and at the same time killing off those Shadows, which boosted Sora's strength and magic. I've never bothered preparing Goofy and Donald (Sora's sidekicks) after I've found out they're blocked out in the final stage, and Sora had to go one-one-one with the final boss. Was really pissed off when I just found out about that moment, cause Goofy was prepared with Elixers and Mega Potion. Oh, I never managed to find all the Dalmatian puppies and complete the trinity list. Ok, very tempted to play PS2 now....

I used to have the guide book for Final Fantasy X-II, borrowed from my older cousin brother (who's now an engineer), and yeah, it was easy fighting off bosses, cause they tell you what are their weaknesses and the best way to deal with it. And those costumes are absolutely stunning! I used to admire their outfits in the guide book, like the warrior, alchemist, thief, healer, knight. But, the thing about following the guide book, is that when I don't manage to complete a task successfully, I have to restart the whole game, just to get the extra potion and stuff.

And I used to obsess over moments of Tidus and Yuna being together. Also applies to Sora and Kairi. God, was I crazy about video games.

Oh well, gotta email some formulas to meow meow (which I promised to email her a few hours ago). I miss playing video games.

Probably would secretly pack the PS2 to Warwick if I have the chance. lol.

wei wen

What is your MTV-made?

2010-04-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

If you're asked to be 'Made' on MTV, what would you want to be?

I would want to be Made into a....

Bollywood Dancer!

Really gotta let loose those stiff joints of mine, and start to be and look natural in everything (piano playing, walking, dancing, writing [no kiddin, i get sore shoulders from writing long essays, shows that I'm tense], moving...)

And my coach would be a really cool Indian dancer, and could really pose like a real peacock if he wants to. It would have to be a 3-months-training before my big showdown in the annual International Day festival organized by the University I'll be studying in.

First difficulty, to move my hips naturally. I jerk, instead of sway.

Second difficulty, to get me to put on the two piece traditional outfit. I'll come in shorts and shirt for training without fail.

Third difficulty, to get me to pose naturally, without looking like a robot.

Fourth and final hurdle, to pierce my nose and ears. No way!

Just a random thought after watching an episode of MTV made. =D

My sis would want to be a Broadway singer, if she is to be Made on MTV. A Sharukh Khan's partner and Babra Streisand, we could be part of Glee soon. ;D

wei wen

Funny Rejection Letters

2010-04-02T02:53:00.000-07:00

Got it from :

http://www.collegiatechoice.com/myaccept.htm

The best college rejection letter we've ever read was not received by one of our own students. It appeared in the New York Times and was written by Mr. Paul Devlin after receiving numerous rejections.

Dear Admissions Committee:
Having reviewed the many rejection letters I have received in the last few weeks, it is with great regret that I must inform you I am unable to accept your rejection at this time.

This year, after applying to a great many colleges and universities, I received an especially fine crop of rejection letters. Unfortunately, the number of rejections that I can accept is limited.

Each of my rejections was reviewed carefully and on an individual basis. Many factors were taken into account - the size of the institution, student-faculty ratio, location, reputation, costs and social atmosphere.

I am certain that most colleges I applied to are more than qualified to reject me. I am also sure that some mistakes were made in turning away some of these rejections. I can only hope they were few in number.

I am aware of the keen disappointment my decison may bring. Throughout my deliberations, I have kept in mind the time and effort it may have taken for you to reach your decision to reject me.

Keep in mind that at times it was necessary for me to reject even those letters of rejection that would normally have met my traditionally high standards.

I appreciate your having enough interest in me to reject my application. Let me take the opportunity to wish you well in what I am sure will be a successful academic year.

SEE YOU IN THE FALL!

Sincerely,
Paul Devlin
Applicant at Large

And sometimes funny things happen even when you are accepted, as this correspondence (reported in the March 21, 1999 New York Times) indicates.

CONGRATS! YOU’RE A BIG NUMBER ON CAMPUS!

Computer glitches are a pain, but they can be especially embarrassing when they strike an American institution of higher learning. Consider the following form letter from Arizona State University Parents Association, in which a prospective student’s Social Security number was inadvertently substituted for his name. You might enjoy the father’s cheeky response. (Collegiate Choice would be remiss, however, if we did not add that we have been to Arizona State, and we know it is an excellent school. This transposition mistake could happen anywhere.)

THE ACCEPTANCE LETTER
To the parent or guardian of Truman Bradley

Dear Parent or Guardian:

Congratulations on 987-45-4321’s admission to Arizona State University! We commend you for the significant role that you have played in helping him to prepare for this exciting and critically important time. A.S.U. is committed to providing an outstanding collegiate experience, and we are pleased that he has chosen to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity. We are fully prepared to assist 987-65-4321 in making a successful transition from high school to college.

We also recognize that even though your relationship with 987-65-4321 may change in the next four years, the importance of that relationship will not diminish. At Arizona State University, we value your continued participation in his academic, social and personal development and actively seek your support in that endeavor. Whether through involvement in the A.S.U. Parents Association, attendance at numerous events for A.S.U. parents, or the occasional visit to campus, you will be a partner with the university in encouraging 987-65-4321 to succeed.

We look forward to seeing you at an orientation program and during A.S.U. Welcome Week prior to the start of the fall semester. Information about these programs has been mailed to 987-65-4321. Many of the activities during both events are designed specifically for you. In the meantime, contact the A.S.U. Parent Program office… if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
President, A.S.U. Parents Association
Assistant Director, Parent Programs

THE FATHER’S REPLY

Dear ____:

Thank you for offering our son, 987-65-4321, or as we affectionately refer to him around the house - 987 - a position in the A.S.U. class of 2003. His mother, 123-45-6MOM and I are very happy that such a prestigious institution of higher education such as A.S.U. has extended this offer.

In selecting a college for 987, we are looking for a place that will prepare him for the technological challenges of the 21st century. We seek a college in which he can learn to master computers and learn to communicate with clarity and sensitivity. I can only imagine the competence with which you will, as your letter puts so well, "assist 987-65-4321 in making a successful transition from high school to college."

We will miss 987 when he goes off to school, and are very interested in a college in which he will receive personal attention. I was particularly touched by your sentence in which you note that our "relationship with 987-65-4321 may change in the next few years." This is certainly true. Already we are beginning to focus as well on his brother, 123-45-6BRO.

I look forward to additional communications from your office. You manage to convey more in your letters than any other college we have seen thus far.

Sincerely,
123-45-6DAD
A.k.a. Jeff Bradley

And if the two previous items gave you a smile, let us be serious for the third. We know there's nothing funny about being rejected. The following is the last half of a wonderful article that appeared in The Boston Globe back in 1987.

THE COLLEGE REJECTION LETTER
By David Nyhan

This is the important thing: They didn't reject you. They rejected your resume. They gave some other kid the benefit of the doubt. Maybe that kid deserved a break. Don't you deserve a break? Sure. You'll get one. Maybe this is the reality check you needed. Maybe the school that does take you will be good. Maybe this is the day you start to grow up.

Look at some people who've accomplished a lot and see where they started. Ronald Reagan? Eureka College. Jesse Jackson? They wouldn't let him play quarterback in the Big Ten, so he quit Illinois for North Carolina A & T. Do you know that the recently retired chairmen and CEOs of both General Motors and General Electric graduated from UMass? Bob Dole? He went to Washburn Municipal University.

The former minority leader of the United States Senate, Tom Daschle, went to South Dakota State. The speaker of the US House of Representatives, J. Dennis Hastert, went to Northern Illinois University. Dick Armey, the former House majority leader, took a bachelor's degree from Jamestown College. Winston Churchill? He was so slow a learner that they used to write to his mother to come take this boy off our hands.

I know what you think: Spare me the sympathy. It still hurts. But let's keep this in perspective. What did Magic Johnson say to the little boy who also tested HIV positive? ''You've got to have a positive attitude." What happens when you don't keep a positive attitude? Don't ask.

This college thing? What happened is that you rubbed up against the reality of big-time, maybe big-name, institutions. Some they pick, some they don't. You lost. It'll happen again, but let's hope it won't have the awful kick. You'll get tossed by a girlfriend or boyfriend. You won't get the job or the promotion you think you deserve. Some disease may pluck you from life's fast lane and pin you to a bed, a wheelchair, a coffin. That happens.

Bad habits you can change; bad luck is nothing you can do anything about.

Does it mean you're not a good person? People like you, if not your resume. There's no one else that can be you. Plenty of people think you're special now, or will think that, once they get to know you. Because you are.

And the admissions department that said no? Screw them. You've got a life to lead.

© Copyright 1987 Globe Newspaper Company.

Ok, I've been on the computer for the whole day. Gotta go study.

wei wen

My journey on US Apps

2010-04-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

If you're like me, currently stuck in a depressing mood, opening all of your application status websites and to be found smacked with rejections and disappointments, and dreams of going to the US since the beginning of the year is not going to be a reality, I've got one thing to say, "Don't stop believing!" (Partly influenced by listening to Glee now =) )

Initial reaction after receiving all of the rejections is:
"It's my essay. It wasn't good enough."
"My SAT score. They suck! Especially CR and Writing."
"All those typos I've just realized after submitting my application."
"I'm just not good enough."

Being negative is a normal reaction. In a way, it's a good thing, because it breaks the arrogant and overconfident heart into pieces, and form those ashes, out come a new tiny, but toughened and self-sustaining heart. This journey has taught me something very important, being good in academic and non-academic areas doesn't beat having your own voice, to write out what's most important to you and make sure that voice has a strong presence in the admission officers' head.

Here's my summary of my application for class of 2014:

The beginning:

As stated from previous post, I was actually all for UK, aiming for LSE and Cambridge. (Which both rejected me on my application to study economics) Then, dad introduced my to education in the US, which I'd never thought much about. After doing my research and watching that video on "True Learning" from Penn, I instantly fell in love with the US. It has a flexible curriculum, allowing me to study a range of subjects while majoring in Economics, for example, music and government management. Wharton looked really attractive, with its range of interesting classes, like management 101, negotiation classes, etc. I was all out to gain an entry.

I took a lot of test, in a lot, I really mean a lot. The whole process was tedious and hard, and I didn't realize the huge extent of stress I've been through, until I've read a few post on Recom about scholarship application, some students complaining about Shell scholarship having a complicated application system. Oh, they have not learn about the true meaning of "complicated". Shell application was like a mini version of the common app system.

The SAT (Reasoning Test):
I have to say I'm very impressed with the whole registration process in the collegeboard website. I strongly recommend for those interested to take SAT to register online, instead of going to another institution or organization. I've a friend who had lots of problems, when registering under one, he could not access his scores online, and has to travel all the way to KL to clarify the issue.

Highest scores (not in one sitting):
Critical Reading - 600
Math - 750
Writing - 610

It's not stellar or fantastic. But I have friends around the same SAT scores who got accepted into good schools. So I would say SAT scores weightage is not as big as compared to your essays. I was actually interested in joining the Princeton Review, but it was blood-spitting expensive, RM2000+ and it's rival, Cartesans was also about RM1000+. And the books weren't cheap. Advice to all, start now! Read, practice, get those yellow cue cards provided by Barrons (my classmates had fun with those cards while hitching a ride in the car), and study your butt off.

SAT Subject Test:
I've took Math I, Math II and Physics, because I'm already studying Physics and Math in A Levels. And I don't take Chemistry.

Math I - 740
Math II - 750
Physics - 740

TOEFL iBT Test:
Registered under the ets website, it's really expensive, about RM500+. But, you don't have to sit for it twice to do well in it. Test Score (106)

Academic and non academic curriculum:
I had good results for SPM, and also for the Advanced Subsidiary level (AS). I'm doing four subjects, Physics, Math, Further Math and Economics.

My cocu was well balanced, as I'm actively involved in school activities, music and sports. I would say the cocu area was strong. But, my level of achievement is very similar to a number of other Malaysian applicants.

Common Application:

My essay was about brain drain in Malaysia.

*************************************
My dream that changed from a square into a circle

When I wake up every morning at about 5am, the first thing that comes to mind is my piling homework on the right, the cluttering organizer on my left and in the centre, I would be wondering why am I still not out of the bed finishing my school work.

This had been my routine for the last 12 years of my life. Drummed by my parent’s philosophy of excellence, the only thing that mattered to me was just to excel in my studies so that I could get into a top and reputable university overseas. To ensure a good balance, there were also the costly piano lessons to attend and the 45-minute drive to the gymnasium for the artistic gymnastic training. Everything was well planned and arranged unselfishly by my parents to make sure that I got the best education there is as well as the balance required to become a worthy citizen.

All of these defined the square of my dream, as my views and thoughts are contained in a limited box. My glossy achievements only made my square looked bigger compared to other students. Virtual edges that had cocooned my world showed that I had a very shallow view on what’s happening around me.

As I grow older, I begin to notice that my classmates all have a similar dream which is to leave the country as soon as they complete their pre-university programs here. I also notice how the teachers are complaining about how little their pay is; parents are complaining about how unfairly they have been treated by the ruling government, and students struggling to become a government-sponsored scholar although some of them have not sung the national anthem for the past 5 years in high school! Most classrooms are already divided into 2 significant groups, which are the non-Malays who constantly bury themselves in the school work, striving to stay ahead of everyone else, and the Malays who can afford to sit back laughing at teachers’ latest work. Slowly, I begin to understand why it is so important for me to excel in studies and then leave the country. Even after 52 years of independence and 36 years of social reengineering policies through the New Economic Policy (NEP) implemented by the government, the unfair policies favoring the majority Malays have not been lifted and it will be further extended indefinitely.

However, as my mind flash back to the moment when I helped my Malay friends in their punctuation during the morning recital of Confucius’s philosophy in Mandarin, the moment we cheered for each other against our rivals during the sports day, the moment when we hung out at each other’s place during every major celebration and enjoyed the home cooked food prepared by their families, the moment when we congratulated each other on our achievements, and the moment when we forgot about our background every time we helped each other during our time of needs, regardless of race, color and religion, I feel that Malaysia is still a blessed place to live in despite its many shortcomings. I am certain that, by and large, there’s a still a preference to live in your own birthplace and be recognized as what you are and who you are. I like to think that it is not where you live but rather how you live your life that matters most. 52 years of nationhood is still a relatively young age for a nation, so I am convinced there is a hope for our country to change for the better and I believe I can play role in our nation building process.

My passion to be part of the change was further fueled by the outcome of the last general election that was held in March 2008. People of all races finally voiced out their frustrations after being ruled unfairly for the last 50 years. Apolitical youths are starting to campaign for equal rights, which used to be a topic so foreign to them. Irrespective of our color and religious inclinations, we can now hold hands together to stand up to the ruling government’s bias policies by jointly protesting against the draconian law, the Internal Security Act (ISA), which could imprison innocent citizens without trials. The people of different races are beginning to realize that the original intention of the NEP had been abused and the masses are still lagging behind economically due to corrupt practices. The tips of the square that represented my resentment towards my country are snipped off as I realize that I can play a meaningful part to effect the change in my country.

I will continue to excel in my studies and enroll into a top university, but it is my dream to contribute to the new and exciting era in my country. I’ll definitely want to learn from the best institutions the world can offer so that I can bring back the knowledge, the skills and the technologies to contribute to the country’s development in the future. I’ll still continue to aspire to be successful but perhaps one day I can start my own foundation so that I can also contribute to the betterment of the poorer societies.

As my dreams continue to expand without boundaries, I always know that I have a midpoint, an origin that I always belong to. Without this origin, there wouldn’t be a circle to begin with. I’m a Malaysian and I’m proud to be one for life!

***********************************************
Originally took it from UC Berkeley Prompt, on how my life has shaped my dream, and use it for my Common App Essay. It was a topic I felt I needed to write about during December 2009. And it became a hot topic in the newspapers during January to February 2010.

My supplementary essays was quite generic, as in my reasons was superficial, flexible curriculum, nice environment and list bits of activities from their websites that interest me. This is mostly for UChicago and Northwestern. There is a friend of mine that really wanted to go to a specific uni, and have done an extensive research on the lecturers and courses, and mentioned wanting to study a specific course with a specific lecturer. So lesson to all, don't be like me and do your research.

I had fun with Penn's optional essay, because it's really truly optional.

************************************
4. You have just completed your 300-page autobiography. Please submit page 217.

“… and we have Amy’s family all the way from Malaysia!”

The people were screaming their lungs out, while holding to their supportive banner. Mum and dad were helped to the front of the screen, and they waved back encouragingly. I wanted to jump out and hug the screen; to wave back and shout to them I’ve finally got to the final stage after 18 grueling weeks of being project manager and team player. Only tears from my eyes gave away the emotional state I was in. Mr. Trump, Ivanka Trump and Bill Rancid laughed with the audience as one of my friends came out as an impersonator of Mr. Trump. My childhood dream of being “The Apprentice” was only minutes away.

Mr. Trump hushed down the crowd, and said, “You both have been wonderful project managers; you both have other companies waiting to hire you with your outstanding performances. By the way, Google has been really happy with Amy with the subscription of 1 million people for their new Google travel product. You both are winners, after competing with millions of applicant in the beginning of the show. It’s really a tough decision. So, tell me, why should I hire you, Amy?”

“Mr. Trump, not only have I proven myself times and times again that I am the person you should hire, there are a number of colleagues that have supported my personality as someone who’s efficient, responsible, values her employees, meet deadlines, satisfies needs of the company and last but not least, someone who belongs to the Trump Organization. I don’t think my background of coming from Malaysia has dampened my progress of joining this program, but instead it has guided me through numerous projects with the basic virtues drummed into me since young. And since graduating from UPenn, which Mr. Trump so highly recognizes it as a great school since the first season of this show, I knew that what lay ahead of me was a bright future. And just by being here, I know that I’ve done justice to my education in Penn, to be the top of the field, to be The Apprentice.”

A thunderous applause erupted from the audience. The giant screen was filled with cardboards of my name beside the national flag. Gazing at the giant screen, I knew I’ve also achieved another dream, which is to represent my country in something that I’m proud of doing. I smoothed down the business suit that has been with me since my first job interview and flashed a smile of gratitude to the audience. I congratulated to my rival sitting beside me and wished him all the best. It was time for the final decision.

“James, I didn’t like the way you neglected the importance of meeting with your clients. But, you’ve been a star; in fact, you’ve been more of a star compared to Amy. Amy, you’ve been under the radar in the beginning, but you stepped up to the plate towards the end and have done an amazing job with the final project of organizing the Olympic charity games. It’s a very, very tough decision, but there could only be one Apprentice.” He looked to Ivanka on his left and Bill on his right. They both nodded in support of his decision.

The camera zoomed closer into Donald Trump’s face. He dropped his hand on the table, and uttered his famous words, “James, you are… fired. Amy, congratulations, you are hired. Welcome to Trump organization, I will be seeing you in my office tomorrow.”

The photo of Donald Trump and me was stained with tears as I flashed back to the great moments in my life. Putting down the photo, I picked up my Penn graduation photo on the left…

******************************

I didn't apply for financial aid or application fee waiver, because I thought once I get a university offer, scholarships wouldn't be a problem for local companies. Especially with the small number of offer holders for Ivies and Ivy-standard schools. Another reason is to increase my chances of gaining an admission into the uni.

Teacher Recommendations:
It was good. And my teachers were really helpful in filling out the forms. Special thanks to them. I had my high school teacher and two of my Taylor's lecturer to fill my recommendation form online. My high school counselor wrote my recommendation, but the details of my transcripts was done by Taylor's official counselor, Mrs Mary Ng (Ms Armajeet filled up the forms), offline. I've sent them Thank You cards, which they really deserve with my constant checking up and 'nagging' on my application stuff.

Supplementary material:
I've submitted a video of myself playing two pieces on the piano, Liszt Un Sospiro and Mozart Sonata in A minor. Liszt was ok, but my Mozart was really messy. My letter of recommendation from my piano teacher, was really good. And I've also got a letter of recommendation from my principal of the music studio I've worked in for the past one year as a music teacher.

Results:
Harvard - Rejected
Princeton - Rejected
UPenn - Rejected
MIT - Rejected
U Chicago - Rejected
Stanford - Rejected
UC Berkeley - Rejected
Northwestern - Waitlisted
Purdue University - Accepted (Safety school)

To be honest, after receiving a rejection from UC Berkeley, I've already prepared for the worst case scenario. Funny thing is, when I was listening to all those talks by our seniors, and landing in a pile of rejections and waitlist, I really thought I was never going to be like that. There were so many seniors that had more than one offers. I thought I was bound to land on an offer too.

So, it's either waiting for Northwestern to offer a place, or heading to Warwick. But, I'm going to try again, to apply as a transfer student. I'm so going to Penn!

Special thanks to the people who has helped me throughtout the journey, Chen Chow (who has like thousands of essays in his inbox waiting to be reviewed, but never fails to reply your message) and Su Ann for reviewing my resume and UC Berkeley essay. My dad, who has celebrated the New Year with me on reviewing my final essays. I've gotta admit, I didn't let a lot of people review my essay. Many thanks to my family, especially mum who constantly encourages me to continue moving on in life. Also to my friends, who had share my complains and queries about the application system.

The whole decision period from various uni's have left me with a really low self-esteem, but it just go to show how good the schools are in the US. I've definitely learn a lot of things, through the interviews and the whole application process. As previously mentioned by a senior in the workshop, there is no one way to education in the US. There are many ways to get there. I could apply as a transfer student, or apply for a doctorate or probably just take a gap year. Did you know Zeti, the Governor of Bank Negara has a doctorate from Penn?!? Oh well, never know what's in store for me the future.

To future applicants to US uni's, it's already April, do start thinking about your essay and studying for your SAT's. Trust me, studying SAT is not like studying for SPM. And especially if you plan to take it in October/November where your AS might clash with SAT test, or for SAM students, it will clash with your finals.

And if you're applying to US, you're already setting your first foot hole for a successful future, because the whole application process really make you reflect on who you are. So congrats on taking the first step to study in the US. Just make sure you toughen yourself to last till the end.

Alright, gotta study for Physics. And also read up on the New Economic Model. Why did Ong Tee Keat lose????? =( He was the first MCA person that changed my negative perception on MCA.

wei wen

......

2010-03-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

.............

............

.............

This whole week was like being rammed by cars, not once, but by 6 times, no scratch that, 5 and a half. And my safety jacket wasn't big enough for me. (Ok, I really gotta slim down in thoughts and fit myself into it.) And safety jackets doesn't work on land anyway.

Two more vintage cars are waiting in front of me. One is in blue and has a whale, and the other is in gleaming orange, with its engine revving loudly. Embracing the orange car is like embracing the rest of the cars, cause it's already preparing to ram into me anyway. The other (one in blue) has a more deadly presence, because there could only be two outcome. Either it drives slowly towards my side, open its whale doors and ship me off out of this hell hole. Or transform into a bigger car and ram me numerous times, breaking me into pieces. Because it is my last ride to dreamland. My only hope.

........

........

Que Serra Serra. Whatever will be, will be....

I need Glee to fuel me through trials.

"Lean on me, when you're not strong. I'll be your friend, I hope you carry on. For, it won't be long, till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on." Song, 'Lean on me', by Bill Withers.

"You with the sad eyes, don't be discouraged, oh I realize, it's hard to take courage, in a world, full of people you can lose sight of it all, and the darkness inside you, can make you fell so small." Song 'True Colors', by Cyndi Lauper.

wei wen

The pressure is on...

2010-03-08T00:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, for the first time, I'd thought about the possibility of not getting any offers from any US Uni that I've applied to.

What if, I open the application site, and find myself smacked with a rejection from Penn? The school that I've always wanted to go. And not just Penn, but from other schools, Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern....

It's already the 8th of March, and 17 days more till Berkeley replies, 22 days more till A2 trial starts. And have you seen the timetable?!? Further Math and Physics on the 1st day, followed by 2 papers on the next day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LTCL examination is around June, I hope it's arranged right after my A2. Had a real lecture from my teacher, cause I told her I practiced about an hour a day. And she mentioned that LTCL is equivalent to an Undergraduate music major student in the final year of their course. I should be practicing for 3 hours instead. Due to the requirement of performing for at least 37 minutes, I have to learn a new piece, Hommage a Rameau, by Claude Debussy.

3 weeks. To push myself into something that takes about 1 month to be prepared.

Really got to get rid of my sleeping-early-and-not-waking-up-early habit and also my afternoon-nap-for-3-hours habit. I'll try not to fall asleep from playing the same movement for an hour. And also reduce my release of frustration on the keyboard.

Oh, SPM results are going to be out soon. Totally reminds me of scholarship month last year.

Speaking of scholarship, Bank Negara Scholarship has opened its application. For students who are applying for an Undergraduate course, the deadline is March 14th 2010. This Sunday! So you gotta be quick! Check it out at http://www.bnm.gov.my/.

Will be away from blogging these few weeks. And when I do post, most likely the university offers would be out by then. So, wish me luck!

wei wen

Scaling the heights

2010-03-01T00:11:00.000-08:00

Date: 28/2/2010

Venue: Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, KLCC

Time: 3pm

I've finally attended a concert! Bought the tickets like two weeks before.

Ok, just a little briefing about the concert.

MPO music director, Claus Peter Flor, and great pianist/composer, Alain Lefèvre
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No.5 – “Emperor
R STRAUSS: Alpine Symphony

Dress Code for Sunday Matinees: Smart Casual, but strictly no jeans, sneakers, sports attire and shorts. Since it was like our first time attending a real concert (an orchestra performing!), we didn't know what to wear. I wore my prom dress (looks like a party dress), sis wore also something a little formal and a little casual, and we felt really weird, because there were also other teenagers around our age, but they were wearing slacks and working outfits. So, imagine being the only bareback in the hall. So not doing it again.

Anyway, conclusion for the concert: an enjoyable experience!

Our seat was up on the balcony, so we had a really clear view of everyone. Like how the concertmaster bow so passionately during climax section, how the trumpeter insert his muffler (or do they call it a softener?), how majestic the organ seemed, how the players switch to other instruments (from piccolo to flute), how the timpanist hit the timpanis so stylistically, how the whole orchestra sway and move according to the baton. One sweep, the 1st violin swayed towards him like a tsunami.

Reason for watching this concert initially, was the urge to watch a piano concerto live. Especially after watching Nodame Cantabile's Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto performed by Chiyaki. "The Emperor" was equally enjoyable. Pianist even got to swish his tail coat in the middle of his performance and sweep his hair gracefully. I guess long hair really does add to the effect in a performance, well for a guy, cause I would be swishing my hair like Lady Gaga in her Grammy Performance and look horrible in it. lol. This piece was played for about 37 minutes.

"The Emperor" is a piece written by Beethoven as his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's patron and pupil. It basically consist of three movements

i) Allegro
ii)Adagio un poco mosso
iii)Rondo: Allegro mon troppo

I. Allegro
The piece begins with three full orchestra chords, each followed by a short cadenza, improvisatory in nature but written out in the score. These short cadenzas recur intermittently throughout the piece.

As music's Classical era gave way to its Romantic era, composers began experimenting with the manner in which one or more solo instruments introduced music. Beethoven had already explored such possibilities in his Piano Concerto No. 4, but the monumental piano introduction in Piano Concerto No. 5 – it lasts for nearly two minutes – foreshadowed future concerti such as Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto or Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B-flat minor.

The first movement is deceptively complex. Despite its use of simple chords, including a second theme constructed almost entirely out of tonic and dominant notes and chords, it is full of complex thematic transformations. The complexity is intensified once the piano enters with the first theme, as the expository material is repeated with far more complex variations, virtuoso figurations, and complex modified chords. The second theme enters in the surprising key of B minor before moving to C-flat major and at last the expected key of B-flat major several bars later.

Aside from the opening cadenzas, the movement follows Beethoven's trademark three-theme sonata structure for a concerto. The orchestral exposition is a typical two-theme sonata exposition, but the "second exposition" with the piano has a triumphant virtuoso third theme at the end that belongs solely to the solo instrument. Beethoven does this in many of his concerti. The coda at the end of the movement is quite long, and, again typical of Beethoven, uses the open-ended first theme and gives it closure to create a satisfying conclusion

II. Adagio un poco mosso

The second movement in B major is, in standard contrast to the first, calm and reflective. It moves into the third movement without interruption when a lone bassoon note B drops a semitone to B-flat, the dominant note to the tonic key E-flat.

III. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
The final movement of the concerto is in seven-part rondo form (ABACABA), a typical concerto finale form. The piano begins the movement by playing its main theme, then followed by the full orchestra. The rondo's B section begins with piano scales, before the orchestra again responds.

The C section is much longer, presenting the theme from the A section in three different keys before the piano performs a cadenza. Rather than finishing with a strong entrance from the orchestra, however, the trill ending the cadenza dies away until the introductory theme reappears, played first by the piano and then the orchestra. In the last section, the theme undergoes variation before the concerto ends with a short cadenza and robust orchestral response.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._5_(Beethoven)

Yeah, cause I didn't have the brochure during the first piece, so I kinda got lost. So can't say much how I felt about the whole piece. Except on his technicality and his skills.

"Alpine Symphony" is a symphony about Strauss's experience of climbing the mountain. I really enjoyed this one because it really felt like I was climbing a mountain.

It started with the night, and then the whole orchestra swell louder and louder to represent sunrise. Felt goosebumps when someone banged the cymbals. So, it went on and on about the nature, the people up on the mountain, the forest. It felt really real, cause the piccolo and woodwind instruments were making the bird sounds. The oboe solo was the yodelling by the people who lived there. Then, they fell into a valley and reached the summit. Again, a majestic section when they enjoyed their experience on the summit. Soon, a bad weather was starting. There was a funny instrument they used to make a real wind sound. And the 2 timpanist played the thunder rolls. So, they had to go and descended into the night.

Imagine, the whole paragraph above was played for 1 hour.

We had a 20 minute interval break in the middle. So didn't want to run in my heels, and skipped my meal. Thanks to that, when the whole orchestra finished the symphony, and the whole orchestra seemed to stop in time, my stomach growled. LOL. My sis and bro beside me heard it. But the whole experience was really nice, if I minus out the constant fidgeting, sighing, and movement by the teenagers behind me.

Looking forward to attend another one in the future. =D

wei wen

Penn's Interview 2010

2010-02-24T04:58:00.001-08:00

Had it last Saturday, 20/2/2010 at the Business Sector, Equatorial Hotel, KL. My slot was 2.00pm.

Wore my Oompa Loompa formal top (Ask Selva for the reason behind the name of this outfit) and my one and only formal skirt, and also my sole formal shoes with pointed ends. I wasn't the first to reach there, there were like 6 people already before me. One of them had a familiar face, met him in two occasions, GIC Interview and Recom US App workshop. Applying to Wharton too. Saw my friend's classmate, from Uniten. Apparently, there were a number of people applying to Wharton.

Got a really nice interviewer. He asked questions like:
"Tell me more about yourself"
"Strengths and weaknesses?"
"Your proudest achievement."

Not much about testing my IQ or what not, he said it was like assisting the uni in evaluating the applicant. Really conversational. He talked about his Penn life and I asked him about the college house system. He said, the people there really respect your space and thoughts, unlike here, we have to think of what other people would say before making any actions.

It lasted about 40 minutes, I think. Met a girl from BJSS school, squash player. There were parents waiting at the cafe for their kids who were also going for the interview.

After that, went to pay for MPO tickets, Scaling the Heights, Piano Concerto! It's this weekend! =D

Trials is 34 days from now. And uni offer is also about a month from now. All the best people! I really hope I'm able to land in one of the offer.

wei wen

Jackpot!

2010-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

It was a crucial moment.

The pot was getting bigger and bigger. People are losing and winning money, as cash was exchanged in and out.

Time is already urging me to make it or break it.

Then, the call came. I had to do it.

Dealer decked out the cards to the players. I slapped one card open.

2 hearts.

In the game of "in between", I prayed for the other card to be a picture.

It came out a queen diamond.

"I bet on the pool!" I announced. There were cries of protest but I was in a desperate situation to make a dash. So it's either do or die.

Dealer held on the card on the top of the deck, as everyone held their breath in suspense.

*Smack!* J Hearts.

I've won RM29!!!!!!!! =DDDDDDD

So yeah, a little dramatic, but it felt like that to me.

My cousins are coming over later. It's time for another round of blackjack/in between.

But, in the mean time, have to prepare of Penn Interview. 2pm!

Oh, going to attend a MPO concert for the first time. =D Looking forward to it.

wei wen

Cai Sen dao! 财神到！

2010-02-16T04:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks to:

1) My Zodiac of being a goat
2) The occasional efforts, training, blood, sweat yada yada.... of playing Cho Dai Di in viwawa.com

3) Paying back all of my debt before CNY
4) Again, the goat effect

I've won RM10 in total when I gambled during CNY.

Well, considering that I've been losing for the previous years, I would say it's an achievement! *patting myself on the back*

So, Happy CNY everybody! =D I've got a feeling that this year is gonna be a good year, unlike last year, which started with a real 'bang'. A bang into the stove after I jumped out of the u-turning-motorcycle-which-didn't-u-turn-and-banged-into-cooking-stove-and-hand-tried-to-pull-back-vehicle-but-turned-the-accelerator-instead. What a start. Stayed off the motorcycles this year. As a driver, not as a passenger.

Ok, since my stay back in our hometown was a really long one, erm, 4 days? Be prepared, long post with pictures, and loads of emo moments, you know, like savouring your every CNY celebration place.

13/2/2009 (Friday)
Went back to my dad's place, a really remote area called Ladang Gedis, which after so many years of living there, I've just realised our hometown is in the Daerah of Jempol, Negeri Sembilan. Mum's one is in Bahau. Can say it's the really-really kampung one, with no heater for shower, teenagers on motorcycles without helmets, every night endless fire crackers, chickens used to live behind the house, Astro with only chinese/cantonese/korean channel, line up to use the 2 bathrooms available to 20+ people, clear sky with infinite stars and the village breeze which you can't get in the city. That's my dad's place. Mum's one is in a shoplot, specifically a tailor shop where we eat dinner/lunch right behind the shop.

No, I can't sew, if you're wondering. In fact, my teacher commented, "Why your running so good, but your sewing, aiyoyo..." Pn. Belqis, Form 2 KH teacher.

Anyway, pictures on the journey to my hometown.

We stopped by my mum's place before we went to our dad's place.

This is how it looks behind the shop.

Kitchen behind the living room.

My uncle's cooking chicken pose

One of the lamp poles decorated in Bahau

So, after reaching my dad's place, was really caught up with the last book of the Darren Shan Saga. Vampire Rites. I would say the book is quite good. Ending is not too predictable, and it's quite nice. Might wanna read the Percy Jackson series too. Anyway, while reading, my siblings were enjoying the kampung life. Checking out our grand-Aunt's place, the sole kedai runcit in LG, and also riding the motorcycle.

Kampung roads are pretty aren't they?
Most of the people here don't wear helmets

Thing where chickens get plucked

Poor chickens...

I've managed to finish the book, and we had tuan yuan dinner. Siblings were busy playing with cousin's DSLR or DLSR??? (Sry, tech noob here) And we prayed.

Bi Bi! My cousin's poodle!

Fireflies...

Pretty Lanterns

And my uncle burned RM300 in the air...

14/2/2010 (Sunday)

初一! First day of CNY. My whole family was really ang ang red. Took loads of family portraits.
My dad's family. 11 siblings! no play play...

All the grandchildren of the Thum family... 1 Malaysia!
All the grandsons

All the granddaughters

Me family!

Then we went to my mum's place, cause my other cousins are going back on the 1st day itself.

Glee! Po po and girls...
The guys... Girls...
The cousins, pointing towards my cousin's tattoo, a tattoo of his zodiac, cancer, the crab.
After that, we had a Thum's family gathering. Really big family. Just look at the pics below and you'll see. These are my grandfather's brother's family tree. Huge!

The Thumbies that are from the other family tree.

CNY was also a chance for me to catch up on loads of movie, more like super clear DVD bought by my uncle. Watched Bodyguards and Assassins 十大围城。Donnie Yen (the guy from Ip Man, is just awesome. Love his Kung Fu) Anyway, since we were watching at about 1 am, was dozing off in the middle part, where all the emotional parts started to kick in. Was counting down till the day when Sun Zhong Sun came down to Hong Kong, waiting for the climax, the big fight to start. And the climax definitely made everybody sat closer to the TV. Really inspirational as the people of China would go all out just for their country. To bring a revolution. Should really watch it, it's worth it. =)

15/2/2010 (Monday)
On the 2nd day, went to mum's place. Played black jack with my cousins. I felt really ong! So won, RM 6 in total! =D My uncle became the dealer and it was just so enjoyable.

This is my mum's side of family.

My mum and her second elder sis

Sis and cousin who graduated from ANU

Cousin and me

And I'm not joking... It's kampung kampung...

Another movie night! This time, it's Ice Age 3. Finally I've watched it. Good movie, I would say. And my dad was like teasing as usual, about how obsessed I am with cartoons. Hey, my aunt and uncle actually stayed and watched too. And he keeps forgetting the movie's title "Anastasia" and calls it "The Madame Moselle.." Hardy-har-har

16/2/2010 (Tuesday)

Went back on that day. Dad decided to make a turn into Seri Menanti, which after so many years, I've just realized that the nail-less palace is just right beside my hometown.

Dining Hall

Super Big Garden

It's worth a visit. Too bad it's not publicised enough. It's sorta like a muzeum, with portraits of past and current royal family. Did you know the Prince, one of them, completed his A Levels in 2000 and got to study in LSE? Apparently, most of them study in the UK. And they even have a Seri Menanti Resort and their own golf course, although it's not the best of golf courses.

So there you have it. My summary of CNY.

And Mark's flying off this Sunday! As also many others who are flying to Australia too. Shu Lyn! Forgot to leave a message in FB, but just wanna say, erm... have a safe journey? But you would probably be there by now. Anyway, if Georgia accepts you, will you still come to US? =D

My last CNY, before I fly off. At least I rode on the motorcycle! =D

wei wen

CNY semangat!

2010-02-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

This year, our house really looked CNY for the first time. And for the first time, I've learned how to appreciate lanterns and decorations, as my mum went all the way out to make our house look very CNY-semangat. She even asked her dancing friends to come help her out. One of them asked her this:

"How come suddenly want to decorate for CNY?"

"1st, my husband complained this morning about the house not having the CNY atmosphere enough. And 2nd, my daughter is celebrating her last CNY here before she flies off."

Was really touched. It's like the first time we've hung any lanterns in our house and for the effort she made to make CNY so happening. Thx mum. =) Then, when her friends came, they were like "See, your mum doing all of this for you before you go off." Paiseh paiseh.

So let the pictures do the talking for the CNY deco preparation...

Lanterns that are supposed to be hung in the front porch.

"Fu"! Suppose to be upside down. I've forgotten what's the story behind it, I remember learning about it in primary school.

Direct translation: One year of luck that follows the arrival of spring

Sis and her over sized earrings and mine with my pineapple earrings.

Her dancing gang helping out...

Cai sen! =D

Making the red ball ball... The one that makes a flower.

Flower Power.

Sis and her earrings, again. =D

"Fu Fu Fu!"

Ra Ra, Ra ah ah. Ra Ma, ra ma ma. Ga Ga, Oo La La. Harimau!

Red fuzzy flowers. First CNY item mum bought, and dad said it wasn't enough. It's said to bring luck.

Teddy in the CNY mood too. =D

Sis's obsession with flowers.

Grand Entrance~

Illuminated mandarin Orange...

Pineapples~

Thank you, to mum and her friends! =DDD

There are no classes on Friday, so was busy helping mum preparing for the dish she's gonna bring back to kampung. And in between, managed to squeeze in a 2 hour practice on the violin, because I played really really bad on my last lesson. It was so bad, teacher said he could only hear noises. =( So did well for today's lesson. =D

Then, Dad decided to bring us out for dinner, to a restaurant in the new digital mall beside USJ something, I think it's 18, or 16. Food's good. It was also our first pre-CNY 团圆, tuan yuan dinner and it was just between our family. Below is the set menu and its price. And we could really wallap the food, hence the 6 people order. 6 位

Thx dad. =) I could now say I've thoroughly celebrated CNY before leaving for the states. =)

Lou sang!

I will really miss my family.

wei wen

Glee-mania

2010-02-10T06:02:00.000-08:00

Lol. Just watched Glee just now.

Was really LMAO, ROFL, LOL-ish!

So, basically there was a group of men that did single ladies, by Beyonce. Here's the original video. Love the video, awesome dance moves. =)

And here's the "Men in Single Ladies" Glee version:

LOL!!!

Ok, should really get back to Further Math.

CNY is this Sunday! Can't believe it would be my last CNY in Malaysia. Well, will be missing CNY for 4 years. Probably will celebrate it with a BigMac in McD beside the Empire Building. =D

wei wen

Princeton Phone Interview 2010

2010-02-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the phone to ring, it's like waiting for New Year, or a bomb to explode. And as the clock ticks closer closer to 9pm, guess what, the Sharpay movements from High School Musical actually does help to calm my nerves. lol.

Initially was freaking out. My interviewer is from Hong Kong, and he attended Graduate School in Princeton. And yeah, it was also my first time having a phone interview. You see, one advantage of having a phone interview is that you can prepare notes and get ready on what you want to say. But when the call came, I stared on the wall most of the time, sometimes closing my eyes to hear what he said, making sure I didn't miss out anything. Partly it was because the line wasn't so good too, so had to really concentrate to hear.

Well, it was conversational and informative. So it wasn't like any typical interview on why are you better than other applicants that sort of thing. And I stuttered a lot, and accidentally used a lot of Malaysia's "Lah~". Noooo!!!

But, overall, it was fun and a good experience. Apparently he works in the banking industry and travels all around Asia. And he asked why I want to do Economics, but I couldn't come up with a really good answer, cause my answer jumped a lot. It was like because of Apprentice initially, and that got me interested in the business/commercial sector. Then, joined TAYMUN and found out my interest in using economics in a national level, and told him might want to join central bank. Which is TRUE, but not certain. Well, you never know what's going to happen 10 years down the road. =)

Anyway, there's this letter writing competition to the Prime Minister, organized by Pos Malaysia. And it has to be HAND WRITTEN, in BAHASA MELAYU and the letter has to be chopped and certified from your school. Details are up on www.pos.com.my. So, yeah, here's the opportunity to write what you have to say on the importance of living together as one (in conjunction with the 1Malaysia concept) and what can be done to maintain the country's peacefulness and harmony.

To write or not to write? Wait, are college students even considered under the high school category? But, to Form 1 to form 5 students, this is a good opportunity to voice out your ideas, in an also non-ISA manner, so go for it! =) Deadline is on the 19th of February, 10 days more till it closes.

wei wen

Migraine for thinking too much

2010-02-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

I've managed to survive being in the Security Council of KLMUN held in Garden International Schools, for 2 whole days. Due to the intensity of brain power needed, I've been having serious headaches for 2 days. Plus the extra every-month-have-to-go-through pain, I wasn't in a good mood to debate on climate change and its security implications or the "non-concession policy" with Somali parties. I'm never ever joining a SC committee again. I still prefer General Assemblies and ECOSOC.

Anyway, was looking through the newspapers and the national news section just gets more far-fetched every single day. The stories going on, a very good example the Sodomy trial going on right now, is like one of the better episodes of Desperate Housewife. Everyday has a new scandal. I was also surprised the news of special minister belittling Chinese and Indians, calling us the usual names "Immigrants, pendatang", but added with more details, was not published until the next day when Ong Tee Keat openly condemns it. Typical of Star. Only Starbiz and Starmetro seems readable nowadays. So sick of the usual bickering and name calling among politicians. The only thing new is the names they use on each other, which brings me to the topic which I call upon everyone to focus on, the topic on Lim Guan Eng getting hit by many parties. There is an article, written by Baradan Kuppusamy about Lim Guan Eng as the cold hard, but efficient leader. The reason for his low popularity among parties and MPs is because of his logical and rational ways of conducting work. And guess what, he's slammed for being too efficient, such as not allocating money to MP's (which I personally feel it's not necessary because it will be used to spend for political motives, such as holding more tea parties or durian parties to increase their OWN popularity. Hello...) And it's rare to find news of appraisal on the opposition's achievements, but lots of magnified faults and errors.

Finally, the paper has addressed the issue that has been a problem since like a decade ago. Brain Drain. Go check it out, there are like 2 to 4 pages on addressing the problem of brain drain in Starbiz. And on top of their reasons, I would like to add my own with reference to my own experience.

I was born a Chinese, and grew up in a middle-income family. Typical of a Chinese student, I was told to study hard, get good grades and I'm guaranteed of a good job in the future, specifically in the overseas. As you can see, overseas as the route to a successful life has already been instilled into the brain of a 7 year old. To a primary school kid, all I knew about overseas is the opportunity to make snowman and meet Mickey Mouse. I preferred Disney channel and Cartoon Network over TV3 cartoon with Malay dialogues. As I was enjoying the ignorance of being a kid, I didn't care which school I got into, as long I have my friends there. I did not know the opportunity of studying in Singapore through ASEAN scholarship till I hit secondary school, except for the fact that there was always a yearly exam where top students in my primary school attends it. And next thing you know, their names pop out in the news for being top in O Level examinations, in Singapore. I was envious, because I heard they were not only sponsored for their studies there but were also given living expenses. My desire to leave the country was further increased.

After SPM, I was really optimistic on securing a scholarship. But due to discrimination and rewards not given based on meritocracy (I personally feel this includes some private companies that I've applied to), I was left feeling dejected and frustrated. And this was shared by many hopeful applicants who has also failed to secure any scholarships. It was already a lost battle in the beginning. And the only way out of this murky future and also for the sake of our children and children's children, for a better education, for better job prospects and better quality of life, overseas seems like a better choice. And that's it why the statistics show a double increase of the amount of people emigrating out of the country. And like what the newspaper says, it's like a vicious cycle. When talent leaves the country, there is no job prospects created. And more talent will leave the country. Parents are sending their kids off before they even hit puberty. The only way out of this mess was to leave the country.

But then, what if we as the future of tomorrow, started a reaction. I'm borrowing this from the chapter of "Nuclear Energy -fusion and fission" in Physics. To create a continuous reaction, you need a high temperature to start up a reaction, and the reaction will release energy which also result in heat given out, and also will result in more nuclear fusion and the reaction doesn't stop. So, like the nuclear fission or fusion, what if we started a reaction. Imagine in the future, we as a bunch of graduates of a variety of fields, medicine, engineering, business, finance, music, performing arts, professors, IT, software designers, interior designing, from different schools represents the high temperature to start a reaction. We start projects, discover breakthroughs in research, creating international recognition, attracting foreign investors to further invest in our country, and students and parents encouraged by the phenomenon will encourage their kids to join the labour market in our society. The reaction will never stop. We're on our way to make Malaysia into a high income nation, a nation where we're all equally recognized regardless of colour and creed, a nation that we're proud to be belonged with. There has already been a mini ice breaking for this phenomenon, where Malaysian food is going be used by world renowned chef, Gordon Remsy in his reality TV show. Soon, we will see a significant increase in chefs, and Malaysia already as a food paradise, will be further enhanced with the increase of awareness. The recent political events, especially after the 2008 general election has certainly brought a lot of people's attention on our country's politics. I was also influenced because I've decided to study economics plus International Studies/Philosophy/Politics, not just for job purposes, but also on the idea of contributing the country's economic situation. My classmates (especially my high school ones) were also influenced, because their daily topics has gradually moved from "Dota/TV shows" to "Teoh Boon Hock's trials/the profanity towards Churches and Mosque". The reaction can be started. And we are the reactants for the reaction.

Those were just my two cents which I think I've expressed it in my previous post for a number of times, but probably it was like scatter of bits and pieces. And frankly speaking, this was the theme of most of my essays I've written for my university applications (Well, specifically on US), the issue on "Brain Drain and emigration of locals". In fact, the topic of my essay was "My dream that changed from a square into a circle". You will get to read it once I get my replies from the universities. =)

wei wen

Baskin Robbins, franchise?

2010-02-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Was having Baskin Robbins (bought on the 31st of Jan) and suddenly stumbled upon an idea.

Kota Kemuning has no Baskin Robbins, and its a high-end area, where lots of pudgy kids and wealthy parents are able to feast on expensive ice creams, and there is a large number of office workers present in the first roundabout shop lots. On a hot sweaty afternoon, an ice cream is the best treat!

My sis and I were really excited about the idea, of making our very first investment or buying a franchise. Business is going to be great, people will pack the shop on every 31st of the month. And my bank account would go $$$$. =D

However there is the cost of buying a franchise, which I would think is about 20k to 50k? And the cost of renovation, rental, wages for workers, buying electronics and lots of freezers, dry ice. And who's going to man the store, while I'm in college?

Money, money, money. It's always funny, in a rich man world~ (ABBA)

Told my dad about the idea. He gave a really good advice,

"Baskin Robbins and Dominos had already started in the states during my time. This kind of thing wouldn't last long, normally 4 to 5 years, and shops will have to change their concepts. (Thought of the transition of doughnuts from Dunkin's to J.Co's) So, you have to look the future. See what they have in the States, something that is very IT-based." Then he started naming his own future shop about having both laundry and cafe-wifi functions together as one. "Laun-Biz, Biz-Laun..." xD

Anyway, few updates about my life lately:

1) My car key dropped into the toilet bowl. I know, EWWW!!! Had to ask another student to help jaga my store, and called a worker to help me fish out my keys. She sanitized it and washed it clean before giving it back to me. Thank god someone flushed before me, I think...

2) Princeton's alumni just e-mailed. Will be having a phone interview with the regional coordinator (Princeton alumni) based in Hong Kong by next Monday.

3) Penn's interview on the Feb 20th! Wharton Wharton Wharton!!!!!!!!!

4) KLMUN this coming weekend. Only started the research today, on one topic. Measures to solve maritime safety in the Horn of Africa (aka Gulf of Aden/Somalia). Thx Shu Lyn, for the info! =)

5) Suddenly feeling insecure about my repertoire for LTCL. Is 3 pieces enough????? And how did I perform that well for my Gd8 and ATCL? Hmmm.... Must be luck, and watching loads of youtube.

Anyway, gotta hit the sack. Have to be up by 5.45am! *Groans....*

wei wen

Dr M's opinion on braindrain

2010-01-30T18:49:00.001-08:00

Saw an interview with Dr. M about the habit of learning, in today's The Star, the education sector, page E6.

Q: The world is increasingly becoming a global village and more of our young people are working overseas. How can we turn this increased mobility of youth and talent to our nation's advantage?

A: Globalisation is the trend today. But it aggravates the brain drain in Malaysia. To understand this, we need to look at our immigration policies, which were formulated in the 1950s when people could not travel easily.

We did not want people coming into the country then, so our policies stopped people coming in. We believed our people would not want to go out, so our policies did not stop them going out.

But today, the world has changed. It is now very easy to travel; it only takes about 20 hours to fly to the other side of the world. With this ease in travel, physical borders can no longer stop people from entering or leaving a country. So people go out, especially those with knowledge and skills. Other countries offer them high wages and we do not stop them, so they leave and we lose our best people.

At the same time, we have a policy which actually stops brains from coming in. But we also need workers, so we allow uneducated people to come in.

So, what we get is no inflow of brain but inflow of the brainless.

All this is because we are using an outdated immigration policy. We must remember that in future, all countries will have a multi-racial population. There won’t be a single-ethnic nation anymore. Five million of the people in France today are Algerians. England has many Indian restaurants. People will be moving around, either legally or illegally, and settling down where they like.

The only country that may not change is China, with its 1.3 billion people. People who go to China become Chinese. Kublai Khan conquered China and became Chinese. The Manchus conquered China and became Chinese. There are so many Chinese; you get diluted, the Chinese don’t.

To attract youth and talent, we need to change our policy to consider the mobility of youth and talent.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/1/31/education/5423791&sec=education

And with that, the GTP road map was published on the Friday or Saturday's paper (sry, forgotten). And I came across on an interesting article written by columnist, P Gunasegaram. (One of my favourite columnist, his articles are straight to the point and easy to digest)

Source: http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=questiontime&file=/2010/1/29/columnists/questiontime/5569204&sec=Question Time

Preconditions that are key to high income

Smashing through the middle-income barrier requires nothing more than following a few basic tenets – and sticking to them.

NEXT month, the great secret will be revealed. The Government will tell all about how it plans to move us into higher income. You can be sure it won’t happen overnight; the mechanics require certain preconditions.

We can have the best brains and the most renowned consultants advising us to come up with the most elaborate of plans, wonderful execution programmes and a system of monitoring and feedback. But if some preconditions are not met, the plan is doomed to failure even before it starts.

Here are 10 of them. They are by no means exhaustive but they are a good place to start. If you are one of those who say that these are simply not possible, then my reply would be that then we will have no high income.

1. Open things up and go for more growth per person. High incomes are derived from two things – greater production of all kinds of goods and services and especially those which we can produce better than others, and ensuring that the higher income gets distributed across the board. We should pull out all stops to greater growth, working more smartly and rewarding productivity in the process. We must move away from labour intensive economic activity to get a more value-added person. Everything in bureaucracy must be geared towards this. The other preconditions relate to this all-important first precondition.

2. Encourage all businesses small or big. In fact, small and medium businesses account for more of a country’s production than the big ones and need even more encouragement and incentives. For too long, we have concentrated on attracting large labour intensive but knowledge deficient activities such as assembly of microchips. And we gave these foreign investors huge tax breaks. In many cases the tax breaks simply went to the host countries these companies came from which taxed them instead. We need to encourage all kinds of investors – the corner café, the flower shop, the computer service etc. These are the businesses which improve the quality of life and generate greater income in the process.

3. Have automatic approvals. It is important to cut the discretion of officials. This discretionary power gives rise to all sorts of abuses and delays. If I want to open a restaurant, the licensing should be automatic so long as I have met the current list of conditions. Action should only be taken against me if I have not met the conditions. In effect, it will do away with licensing and promote the free and unfettered operations of all legitimate business.

4. Cut bureaucracy right to the bone. The whole idea of a bureaucracy is not to block but to facilitate. It is to serve the public, not to become a hindrance to the public at every turn and corner. The civil service must work in partnership with the private sector. The days of patronage politics and profits must be put firmly behind us. And, yes, do have open tenders, bids, auctions and etc to maximise government resources.

5. Think domestic. It is ironic that we still favour foreigners over locals in terms of incentives that we give for investment and other things. The Malaysia My Second Home programme, for instance, allows a person to come into the country and bring in a car tax-free! Now no retired Malaysian who keeps his money here and stays here gets that kind of treatment. Is it any wonder then that money is leaving Malaysia? We must encourage our locals first and foremost without discrimination.

6. Set up a technocracy. It is a pity that most of our ministers are politicians first and technocrats second. In fact, many of them have absolutely no idea of what their ministries are about, and do not have any special knowledge or training. Civil servants have been repeatedly frustrated in their jobs by meddlesome ministers who want to show they have power. We must put technocrats in key positions. Ministers must be instructed to take care of the big picture and let the technocrats get on with their jobs.

7. Revamp education. Education cannot be right when we feed ill-equipped students into a mediocre higher education system and produce graduates who can’t find jobs. We must think in terms of equal opportunities in all areas but especially in education because we need good, well-trained people to improve productivity. Good people start with good education. Period.

8. Go for services. Yes, manufacturing and related industries are important, but it is the services sector which is the main component of the economy, accounting for close to 60%. Thus it is in services that we should concentrate our efforts. There is tremendous potential in tourism, education and health which are yet to be fully and intelligently harnessed.

9. Fight corruption like your life depended on it. Indeed, all our lives, or at least their quality, depend on us uprooting and getting rid of widespread corruption once and for all. The worrying thing is that corruption in Malaysia has got much worse over the years with corruption among politicians being the worst of all. We must take an uncompromising stand against it. It is no coincidence that the most developed countries in the world also have the least corruption.

10. Encourage excellence. We must bring forth a culture of excellence. This of course has strong links with education and learning. Performance must be linked to rewards. In the 60s we had the best hospital in South-East Asia (Universiti Hospital in Petaling Jaya) and among the best universities (Universiti Malaya). But we have just let things deteriorate and rot.

In short, it is not just a plan which will help us escape the middle income trap – a situation where a country’s income grows rapidly with things like foreign investment and low costs and then stagnates because it can’t make the transition to growing on its own. The preconditions are basic but it needs an unprecedented change in attitudes.

*****************************************
Well, even though some conditions could not apply to teenagers, yet, but we play a major role in executing it. Encourages all businesses, all student should follow this. Form 5 raising money for their senior page, brainstorming on creative products and exercising their entrepreneur skills. Think domestic, very good example, come back to our country and contribute to your home. Go for services, example from my own experience, services has lower cost and easier management, such as the locker service during sports day and the provision of props for school's photo shoot. Low cost, but high profit! =) Fight corruption like your life depended on it, yup, if caught by police, think of it as the duit kopi given would be used for his nasi lemak in a nearby mamak stall instead of being used as funds for construction of infrastructure. STOP CORRUPTION! Encourage excellence, I presume most students here are already following it, but teachers should increase their efforts on encouraging excellence. Like what my English teacher did, he would announce the good essays written by the students and pass it around to the whole class to read. No need to reward in tangible form, but the students feel really proud. Won't you? =)

wei wen

Sucking Helium => Chipmunk voice!

2010-01-29T02:49:00.000-08:00

Had a really funny experience today.

Did you know, if you inhale helium into your lungs, you will sound like a chipmunk?

Well, you won't feel any different (maybe lighter weight? lol). And then, *chipmunk voice* hello? hello? Lol.

It started out with the balloons given by the Revive Isotonic thingy. Balloons were floating. So, floating balloons means helium. =)

After the last class of the day, all of us released the knot of the balloons, and had a chipmunk showdown all together.

"Ok ok, ready ah?"

*Puts balloon tail in mouth and inhale*

"Hello? Hello?" "Hahahahahaha" *chip munk style*. Norman's laugh really sounded like a chipmunk laugh.

And since my voice is already so high pitched, so after the helium, it went like super high pitch. Was really rofl.

Ahh... Sometimes, all you need is something simple to make your day. =)

Then, Eng Wee, Shasha, Chua and me went for the Econs talk by Lau Chin Ching, bank negara scholar and Cambridge student, 1998. She basically talked about what an economic degrees can be used for, and what are the jobs available. Kept asking her about the comparisons between Econs degree and Accounting and Finance degree. Apparently, I CAN DO investment banking with an economics degree. =DDD I don't have to consider doing accounting anymore. =)

Wanna get more balloons~ =)

wei wen

Sore feet

2010-01-26T02:08:00.000-08:00

"Hi, can you please tell me what TAYMUN does?"

Here we go again.

"Ok, first have you heard of the United Nations?" Some said yes, a few said no (I had to mention Persatuan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu from Sejarah textbook).

"Ok, so basically, TAYMUN stands for Taylor's Model United Nations. And our club exposes students to various conference, like a stimulation of UN conferences, where students represent delegates from various countries and debate about world issues. It really increases your general knowledge and helps improve your public speaking skills. It also looks good on your resume, as it's internationally recognized. It's a good exposure, especially if you're interested to pursue law or political science in the future. Just have to sign up here and pay a membership fee of RM5."

My standard answer from 2 to 5 pm. My feet are seriously sore.

Taylor's ECA day was PACKED with people. Saw many familiar faces, and TAYMUN started out well (thanks to excess T-shirts from last year). The students just kept coming. Really looking forward to our first AGM. It's gonna be big! =)

Anyway, AS result was released yesterday. I had to go online to check for my results (just can't sit and wait patiently for the printed version to come out). Refresh for one hour, and login for three times (sometimes timed out). Meow Meow got her result first, congrats! TKS, tak payah bother. Then came my turn. It was like loading loading... blue bar snailing across the grey panel. And "Pop!" Results smacked right on the screen. I've got what I've aimed for. =) Felt relieved and happy. Congrats to Jo Zee for awesome possum results! =D So proud of her. (Hope you could still continue Law.) To the rest who didn't do as well as expected, don't give up, like Ms Jean said, "It's still not too late, you still have 3 to 4 months left." You still have the chance to redeem yourself.

加油！Teruskan usaha anda! Perservere!

As I was walking my dog, saw a couple of teenagers training for netball. Really made me feel all nostalgic. One thing I missed most since I came to college is the sporting times. Training. Sweat. Competitions. When I go to the States, I'm definitely joining a sport and train competitively.

Till then, toodles! =)

wei wen

Toruk Macto!

2010-01-22T04:37:00.000-08:00

Despite watching for the second time (consider noob lah, cause others watch like 5 times) and knowing how's the story was gonna be like, I absolutely love AVATAR!

Favourite quotes from the movie:

"I see you."

"Oops." (Trudy flies helicopters) "You're ain't the only one with guns bitch."

"Ada Syaitan di dalam badan palsu ini." (Directly translated from Navi. Part when Jack Sully lost connection with his Avatar forcefully.) Really lol this part.

"I need some samples." (Grace on the verge on death when she was brought to Eywa.)

"Norman, you just contaminated the samples with your saliva."

"I'm a warrior... of the Jarhead clan."

"You can now tell him anywhere you want to go." (Jack Sully raises hand) "Forward!"

"Just shut up and fly straight." (Ikran shuts up and fly straight)

I admit, GSC cinemas have better seats, bigger screens and more comfortable cushion compared to TGV's. So should consider changing my usual movie watching venue to Summit USJ. If you minus out the dingy, urinated, smoky corners, the weird smell and the darker mood it has compared to Sunway Pyramid, GSC in Summit ain't so bad after all. =)

AS Results are out by next monday! Nervous nervous nervous.

And KLMun list just came out, was placed in security council (as Vietnam).

>Measures to solve maritime safety in the Horn of Africa,
> The issue of climate change and its possible security implications,
> Combating terrorism in South Asia.
> Addressing the need for greater political freedom in Myanmar

So unfamiliar with most of these topics. Horn of Africa? Gotta really research.

Alright, what should I start with tonight? Further Math, research, or Math?

PS2! =D

wei wen

I Love Wednesdays

2010-01-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

To me, Wednesday is the best day in the week.

Why?

1)Because I have piano classes to keep me sane from my busy schedule. But, today kena kao kao by my teacher, cause have been neglecting my Liszt. =( Exam in June! Fees not cheap wei, RM1466 for LTCL Recital registration.

2)AMERICAN IDOL!!!! =) (Shania Twain as guest judge)

3) GLEE!!!!! That show is just awesome! Some how, the teacher named Emma look really familiar. *Scanning memory...* OH I KNOW!! Heroes!!! She's the one with the super brain power with super memory. The waitress that got her head sliced off. Right? Right? =D

4) I can afford to blog right after watching 2 TV shows. lol.

Today, I've learned how to speak Hakka 101.

"Lu e ka cheng duo duo liao," Matthew's favorite phrase.

(Go and ask. See what reactions you get. =) )

Anyway, all of my UK offers have replied. And it's still just 2, Bath and Warwick. Durham rejected my application to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). Was really depressed, and got me thinking of my less certain future. So, I've decided to apply to one extra security school, Purdue University in US. Just in case. =)

As part of helping to promote my favorite bubble tea shop, from tomorrow (Thursday, 21/1/2010) to Saturday (I think), the Let's A Cup bubble tea shop will be having a BUY ONE, FREE ONE promotion! =DDDDDDDD

Eng Wee, you know what to do. =) Haha. My get-over-depression-instant-remedy.

Absolutely love the new Taylor's College student planner. Ok, time to start decorating it. =)

wei wen

Food for thought (From Malaysia Today)

2010-01-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

TRANSCRIPT OF A SPEECH MADE BY THE PRIME MINISTER, MR. LEE KUAN YEW, AT THE SREE NARAYANA MISSION IN SEMBAWANG ON 12TH SEPTEMBER, 1965.

Source: http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29632:lkys-old-speech-made-in-1965-vs-najibs-1malaysia&catid=18:letterssurat&Itemid=100129

Mr. Chairman, friends,I want to say how delighted I am this morning to be able to join you in presenting these scholarships to 10 students, $100/- each, and not only to Indian students. The money probably came all from Indians because they are members of your Mission but the scholarships are also being given to Malays and to Chinese too.

It is these little gestures which make for harmony and understanding. I remember reading not so long ago about some special scholarships they were going to name after one of their leaders in Malaya, and they were going to get everybody to contribute, but the scholarships were only for one group. It makes life a rather difficult and trying business. But that is now no longer our business: we cannot interfere. We mind our own affairs.But I say, neverthless, as Dr. Ismail has said in Canberra -- and he is an honest man who said that one day these two territories will come back again, but under very different circumstances and different conditions. And he was an honest man to say that if Singapore remained in Malaysia, there would be language and race riots in 1967. He said that -- I did not say that. He said that and it was reported in Canberra. I got the newspapers sent back to me. Because Singapore was setting the example in tolerance, multi-lingualism, multi-racialism; a multi-regligious, multi-cultural society. And there are some people whose grasp of history is somewhat limited and they are the people who shout these slogans: " One race, one language, one religion" It worries me. I think they ought to see the optician and put on their glasses. Then they will know there are many races, racial groups, but one nationality. I think they ought to see the ear specialist because obviously, theirears are not hearing properly. Or, they will know that we speak many languages. And they will know that today Sunday, Christians go to church: Friday, Malays go to their mosques: Indians have Thaipusam, Deepavali and their ceremonial occasions; so with Buddhists, so with Seventh Day Adventists, on a Saturday. And what is wrong about that?We will set the example. This country belongs to all of us. We made this country from nothing, from mud-flats. It is man, human skill, human effort which made this possible. You came, you worked -- for yourselves, yes. But in the process, your forefathers and my forefathers who came here: we built this civilization.

It is one of the few cities in Asia where you can get anything you want. You pick up the telephone: it works; and it not only works internally. You can pick up the telephone and speak to Delhi, London, Tokyo, Canberra ---anywhere you want. Do you think you can do that just by shouting slogans? You can get the best in any of the hotels in meal. European food? You can get the best in any one of the hotels in town. Chinese food? What kind do you like? There is Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew. Indian food? There are South Indian, North Indian: anything you like. Malay food? You like Sumatran food, nasi padang? Where else in the world can you get this?

And I say, we will progress. I was sad not because Singapore was going to suffer: No. I was sad because by this separation, we could not help millions of our own people, our own countrymen in Malaya, in Sabah and Sarawak to progress with us. That was why I was sad. We could not help them any more.

They have now got to help themselves. They have got to throw up their own leaders and they have got to take a stand. We cannot interfere. Here in Singapore, in ten years, Geyland Serai will be another and better Queens town all the shacks will be demolished. I say that for Singapore because I do not think Singapore is boasting when it says it can do it. It will do it. But do you think in ten years, the kampongs in Malaya will have Queens towns? I do not think so.

If you want that, then you must have the thrust, the ideas, the dynamism, the push, the tolerance of each other. That is why I was sad for them who are our people. Not just Chinese and Chinese, Indians and Indians. They are many Malays here.

Half of our police force comes from Malaya. Their familes are left behind there. They will be quartered; they will live in modern civilised conditions. Their families will come down here and they will want to stay with them, and we will have to say "No" because there is a limit to what we can absorb. We have only got 214 square miles. It is a cruel thing to do this. But it has to be done, some people wanted it this way. We could have helped them emerge, but it was not be to be.

But I say to you : Here we make the model multi-racial society. This is not a country that belongs to any single community: it belongs to all of us. You helped built it; your fathers, your grandfathers helped build this, There was no naval base here, and it is not the British who built it. It was your labour, your father's labour which built that.. My (great) grandfather come here and built. Yes, he came here looking for his fortune, but he stayed -- my grandfather was born here.

Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear.Some people think that just because we are a small place, they can put the screws on us. It is not so easy. We are a small place in size, and geography. But in the quality of the men, the administration, the organisation, the mettle in a people, the fibre therefore, don't try. That is why we got booted out. If they could have just squeezed us like an orange and squeezed the juice out, I think the juice would have been squeezed out of us, and all the goodness would have been sucked away. But it was a bit harder, wasn't it? It was more like the durian.You try and squeeze it, your hand gets hurt. And so they say, "Right, throw out the durain." But inside the durian is a very useful ingredient, high protein. And we will progress.

40 percent more than 40 percent of the purchasing power of the whole of Malaysia is in Singapore. We may be 20% of the population of Malaysia, but purchasing power, the capacity to buy goods like microphone, clocks, drinks, fans, lights, television, transistors: the money is here because here they work. And if people do not want that 40% -- 44% market -- well, that is their business. We want to open the market with them, buy if they do not want it we will make our own soap ... We are buying soap from Petaling Jaya: Lux. You know, it isalways advertised on TV: Lever Brothers. It is no harm, we buy the soap: It is good for them; it is good for us. We can make motor-cars together for the whole of Malaysia. And never forget, if it came to the point then Lever brothers may have to set up a soap factory here, because after all, nearly half the sales are in Singapore.

You ask the Straits Times: what percentage of their newspaper is sold in Singapore? True, we are only two-million. But we have the highest literacy rate in the whole of Asia. Nearly half of Straits Times, if not more, is sold here. Here, everybody buys a copy. There, may be one kampong buys one copy and everybody looks at it. It is true. We are talking now in terms of hard cash; the hard facts of life. And if people wants to be hard to us, then we have got to survive. And we can keep this market to ourselves. But this is all shortsighted. Let us throw our eyes over the horizon into the future. What does our Dr. Ismail say: This will come back again. But under very different circumstances and ifferent conditions.

You know and I know that anybody who says, "Go back to Malaysia on the same circumstances". Will be called a lunatic; isn't it? We were patient; we were tolerant. We put with it hoping that they would see the light. But we had to be firm. We could not give in. So, as a result we are out.
History is a long process of attrition. It will go on. And one day, it will come back together. You see, this is not like a map and you can take a pair of scissors and cut off Singapore and then take it and paste it in the South Pacific and forget about it. It is not possible. This is part of the mainland of the continent of Asia. And that Causeway .... You know, the Japanese blew it up; it was still rebuilt. It is part of history; and you are part of history. You are part of this place as much as I am; as much as Inche Othman Wok, my colleague, is; and I say that is the way it will be in the end.

Finally, may I congratulate you for having made progress since I last visited your mission in 1963, and especially commend you for having made a symbolic gesture in giving scholarships not just to Indians. But Indians who contributed to the Narayana Mission took this money and gave it to Malay and Chinese students as well. In that way, we must prosper.

And I guarantee you this: there will be a Constitution which we will get re-drawn in which minority rights .... You know, it is very easy in Singapore for people to stand up and if you talk, "One race, one language, one religion," there will be a lot trouble, you know. We do not want that sort of thing. That is stupidity. So we are going to get the Chief Justice of India, Australia, New Zealand and a few others together with our own Chief Justice and a few of our eminent lawyers to draft "entrenched" clauses .... You know, "entrenched": nogovernment can just cancel the clauses. Entrenched, and enforcible.

If anybody thinks he is being discriminated against either for a flat or a scholarship or a job or for social welfare relief because of race, or language or religion, he can go to the court, take out a writ; and if he proves that it was because of discrimination on the ground of race, language, religion, culture, then the court will have to enforce the Constitution and ensure minority rights.
We are an equal society. You are equal to me; I am equal to you. Nobody is more equal than others. In some places, they say, "we are all equal." But what they mean is they are more equal, you see -- which makes life very difficult. But here, when we say "equal", we really mean it. We do not have to do it in Singapore. But we are thinking in terms of 100, 200 years, 1,000 years. You must help them emerge. And there is only one way: education and economist thrust.
And with those words, I wish you all peace, prosperity in Singapore.Thank you.

***************************
Kit Siang wants Muhyiddin to address brain drain to Singapore

DAP’s Lim Kit Siang today urged Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to address the problem of the country’s brain drain at an early stage, citing the high number of top scholars being enticed to go across the Causeway — as exemplified by the case of a Malaysian being Singapore’s top O-Level student this year.

“The question Muhyiddin must answer is, why go all the way to the United Kingdom to urge [for] the return of the ‘best brains’ while he is completely blind, unconcerned and insensitive to the loss of the ‘best brains’ to neighbouring Singapore, or the 300,000 Malaysians who emigrated since the last general election?” asked Lim in a statement.
The deputy prime minister was reported to have urged the “best brains” working abroad to return to Malaysia to help drive the country’s new economic model, at a dialogue with Malaysian students in London.

Lim said the government appeared to be insensitive over the report on the success of Malaysian Lai Kai Rou, 16, who emerged tops in the island republic, scoring 10 A1s in the recent O-Level examinations.

“The question Muhyiddin, who is also Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Human Resources, should address is why Malaysia continues to be helpless, unconcerned and even insensitive to the brain drain of the best and most talented young Malaysians to Singapore, right from the start of secondary education,” said Lim.

“Can the Cabinet Committee on Human Resources headed by Muhyiddin come out with a master plan to stop such a brain drain by not only ensuring that there is a quality education system in the country but that all talented Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, would be assured of equal opportunities both in education and employment, as well as full respect of the constitutional rights of all Malaysians?” he added.

He also said that addressing the brain drain issue should be made the Key Performance Index (KPI) and one of the National Key Results Area (NKRA) for the Education Ministry.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/

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Compare the direction of their education system is heading and the direction our education is heading.

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All these are from Malaysia Today. =) Like what the title says, a food for thought.

wei wen

100 + 1 Post!

2010-01-15T04:07:00.001-08:00

Hah, finally hit the 100 mark, for the first time! =)

Was really moody in college today. Well, sleeping on 12 am and waking up by 5.45am to fetch siblings to school (being a responsible dai-gar-che) sucks the life out of me. And the library table is so uncomfortable to lie on. I'm loosing my good chi and beauty sleep. But at least I force myself to have a good morning walk to college. RM80 for a morning walk. Why? Because I don't park at the free parking spot near the neighborhood anymore, and have to pay for the parking monthly pass. Well, at least my car got a shade and my tyres don't have to risk being punctured (happened before in the neighborhood. Partly my fault...)

I'm getting lousier in playing the violin. Every week is always not a happy week. Because according to my teacher, I'm playing a lot of 'impure' sounds (squeaky, scratching-nail-on-the-board-kind-of sound). And my thumb doesn't rest nicely behind the fingerboard and the reaction force of my thumb is equal to the fingers pressed down. It's actually suppose to just be there and not support the fingerboard, my chin and shoulder is suppose to do the supporting. Hence, my fingers get tense up really easily, and doesn't rest fully on the strings. I really have no idea how to transfer my weight onto my finger. C'mon man, using chakra to focus on my finger is way easier then transferring my weight onto my fingers. And my bow doesn't have enough force on the string, it's like always on the surface. (This is due to the fear of having more squeaky noises, so play lightly on the string = cleaner sound) And my vibrato doesn't connect very well. The whole violin shakes when I do a vibrato. =( =( =( Apparently, my RM400+ violin (wait, suppose to be RM500+, due to so many defects that needed to be improved. Note-to-self, never buy cheap violin) strings are quite close, and when I cross strings, it makes funny noises too.

But at least, my Mozart is going quite well. Finally, I've managed to learn all three movements of Sonata in A minor, K3100. I think my repertoire for my LTCL exam in June most likely will be:

1) Mozart, Sonata in A minor
2) Franz Liszt, Un Sospiro
3) Bela Bartok, Allegro Barbaro (but if I do manage to learn the Ravel's Albarado Del Gracioso in time, might actually play that. Makes my repertoire look more impressive. =) )

Anyway, Muhiyiddin and Najib are like emphasizing on the importance on having the 'best of the brains' to manage our country. Muhiyiddin even went all the way to London to talk to Malaysians. So, in line with the the government's intentions (a first for me), I would also hope those studying abroad currently or in the future will come back and contribute to the country. Well, I'm planning to come back, but after gaining a few years of experience working in the overseas. And my ultimate dream is:

Set up my very own company which will:
1) Create employment among many Malaysians
2) Have a training program for graduates (investment in human capital)
3) Encourage other entrepreneurs to have their own company
4) Offer scholarships for students
5) Conduct charity drive and community service
6) Follow the principles written in the "Fish!" Philosophy book, (Choose your attitude, Play, Make their day and Be present)
7) Be the most awesome-possum SME/conglomerate/multinational company! =)

I have no idea what my company will be selling, or offering. Yet...

So, you guys ARE coming back right? =)

wei wen

6 months of college left

2010-01-14T04:18:00.000-08:00

Oh well, the wait is over. And no, I've got rejected from Cauis. No surprises, i guess. But I wonder how's the fees going to be like, since the British government is gonna cut down its higher education budget.

Anyway, it's already the 2nd day of college, but still can't get used to working yet. We initially had a new arrangement, the kindergarten style which we sat facing each other. It's suppose to encourage more discussion among the students when the teacher is not teaching.

Well, pros for me:
1) It's so interactively close. Everybody could borrow stuff easily. And I could ask more than 1 person how to solve the problem, since there are like 5 people around me. =)

2) Finally, our teacher could feel the freezing pain we've been going through almost every single day. She even off the fan herself! lol.

Cons:
1) The slide is behind, which means I have to turn 180 degree.

2) Always bump into the opposite person's leg.

3) The table seems smaller. (But all 3.something class have small tables)

4) Have to be conscious of people behind me who have problems seeing the blackboard from sideways, and cannot move in and out too often.

But in the end, we got back to the old arrangement as last year. And I bet the teacher would show no mercy in blasting the fan this time. =(

Well, among all the depressions and moody feeling, I'm very happy with my Further Math test results. =D Must thank my aunt when I see her.

Oh well, gotta watch the recording of American Idol. Then, only start work. =D

wei wen

Orientation at Taylor's (As a student helper!)

2010-01-12T03:33:00.001-08:00

I'm seriously pooped! Just woke up from a really long nap, and still wishing for some more.

But, I guess it's a 'NO' with the undone mechanics, statistics and physics stuff.

Orientation today was quite interesting. Saw loads of juniors, and PE1 size has doubled (or tripled..?) compared to my year (19 only). It's like woah! So many students take Further Math, Math, Econs and Physics. Future actuaries and engineers~

Eng Wee and me were in charge of PE7. Same like our class, only 4 girls, but their class has 25 guys! Ratio is so much wider! lol. Their subject combination is Physics, Chemistry, Further Math and Math. Saw a "Shasha no.2", "Shyu Fei no.2", "Norman no. 2"etc. Totally reminded me of my orientation. lol. It's rare to find "Lik Ho no.2", according to man man, he's a rare species. =D And couldn't find my own replica too, the machine gun no.2. lol.

So, introduced the 1st lesson of Further Math. Totally shocked them, as man man was drawing out the Summing series equation for 'r'. Well, our first encounter with Further Math was projectile. Also equally jaw dropping. y = xcos x etc etc... Then, introduced them to Madam Joyce. Wait, shouldn't have introduced, afterwards no place to sit. =.= Oh well...

Oh, I couldn't stand waiting anymore, so I've decided to email them and ask for my status. Now waiting for reply through my inbox. Sigh...

Now, back to mechanics and statistics. *stone* What's kai2 test again?

wei wen

Waiting... waiting

2010-01-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Nowadays, I can't seem to sleep properly and also wake up properly. Because I've been thinking about the forbidden letter that will arrive very soon to my mailbox. Heard some Malaysians have already gotten their reply from their respective colleges in Cambridge. But, where's mine??????

I know I'm aiming for US, and I tell myself not to expect any offers of admission. But somehow, my mind can't just ignore the forum from the Student room, "acceptance", "conditional offer", "Woohoo! I got in!".

Ok, where's the postman???

Also waiting for orientation day to come. =D Student helper of the day!

Waiting for college to start.

Waiting for AS results to come out on Jan 25th.

Waiting for Maxis to get back to me.

Waiting to send my mid-year reports very soon.

Waiting for A2 trials to be over.

Waiting for A levels to be over.

Waiting for my US Uni application results around March to April.

Waiting for more letters in the mail box.

I HATE WAITING!

I really need to learn the art of being patient. =(

wei wen

How to register as a voter

2010-01-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, folks. You guys heard the news about the attempt of torching 3 churches this morning around KL. And there was a 'peaceful' protest, regarding the use of 'Allah' in The Herald. No tear gas, no arrestment, no water sprayers, no ISA.

And as part of my goal to transform the country into a high income-nation, the most important solution lies within the PEOPLE. Yes, I'm talking about YOU. Students, teachers, parents, adults, old folks, politicians, businessman. We can determine how our country will become, if we all stand united.

So, first step we could do is REGISTER AS VOTERS!!!! For those above 21 years old and has not made an attempt to register, SHAME ON YOU! You're wasting your basic Malaysian right. For future students going to be 21, here's how you register as a voter.

For Locals:
Time: IMMEDIATELY!!!

Venue: 1) SPR Offices
HQ
Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia
Aras 4 & 5, Blok C7, Kompleks C,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan
Persekutuan
62690 Putrajaya.
Phone No.:03-88856500

Selangor branch:
Pejabat Pilihan Raya Negeri Selangor
Lot 03-11, Tingkat 3,
Kompleks PKNS, (very near SACC mall)
40690 Shah Alam,
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Phone no.: 03-5519 4273,03-5511 1806 (Not bad, Sel got 2 numbers)

(The rest of the states can be found at : http://www.spr.gov.my/index_files/pendaftaran_pemilih/pdf-pendaftaranpemilih/A1-SENARAI%20ALAMAT%20SPR%20&%20PPN.pdf)

2) Any 'Computerised' Post Office (Pejabat-pejabat pos Berkomputer)

Method: (As translated from the SPR website)
1) Present yourself at any registration centre
2) Present your IC/MyKad to a SPR officer, who WILL BE filling your form
3) Check the details filled in the form is correct and accurate as stated in your IC/MyKad before signing
4) Sign when you're satisfied
5) Keep a copy of the form as evidence for making any claims during their 'tempoh pameran', 'Rang Daftar Pemilih Tambahan' soon.

For Students/Malaysian Abroad:
1) Present yourself at the Malaysian Embassy
2) Present your MyKad to a selective SPR officer who will fill up your form
3) State your home address (in M'sia), occupation/profession, 'nombor siri borang A' (no idea what's that, but you can ask them if you're abroad) to the officer who will write down in an A4 paper which will be stapled together with your registration form
4) Check and make sure all the details are correct
5) Sign when you're satisfied
6) Keep a copy of the form as evidence.... ah, you know the drill...

(Oh, the Website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs says you need a proof of document of your citizenship and 3 passport-sized photos)

So, people! Do not wait any longer. If you don't register now when are you gonna register? Tell your family members/relatives/uncles/aunties/cousins who has not even exercised their voting rights, and pass around this message. It's a fairly simple task. All you need is a sense of direction (if don't have, then use GPS system) and your documents. And voila, you're an official voter who has the power to determine the path of where's our country heading. Is it to the path where everything is moving backwards, education system with its policy back to Malay language, no more Under-15 for MSSD competitions (FYI, i dunno bout rest of the states, but it's happening in Selangor), more military engines stolen OR to the path where parents don't have to worry bout sending their kids to government school, students don't have to worry about studying abroad and looking for a job overseas, families would stay instead of migrating out of the country, and a government which is not corrupt.

The fate of the country lies in these simple steps. To register as a voter, cast your vote during General Election, pray that the country improves for the better and hope no more lives are sacrificed due to dirty politics.

So, please list "Register As A Voter" under your To-Do list! =)

wei wen

Spring Cleaning Discovery

2010-01-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

Was going through my stuff, and found a file on all of my written essay. And one of them is what I've wrote for my midterm English examination, about the most interesting person in my class. 5 Omegaians 2008 will surely know what I'm talking about.

******************

He is tall, with long legs and hands. His skin as pale as milk and eyes as slit and thin as a rice grain. With thick lips, he always grins his goofy grin on his square face. Basically, he's the opposite of a jock. This six-foot tall student is who I find the most interesting person in my class 5 Omega. I nicknamed him *censor*. (lol)

Why is he interesting? Well, normally people would say someone is interesting when that someone has a special aspect, in terms of looks, brains, humour, physically and of course, popularity . But, he doesn't stand out in terms of popularity, except for his super tall figure. He could actually just reach for the fan by lifting his toes. But to our class, everyday is a surprise to us from him.

First, in terms of humour, he makes out classmates laugh, in his own unique way. It's not his wacky jokes, nor his funny moves and he seldom jokes! It's when someone cracks a lame joke and no one is laughing, he laughs with his long and big, "Ha Ha Ha ------!" And everybody puts on this weird and funny face, resisting the temptation to laugh. But, in the end, a tiny giggle and a snort from my classmates could cause the whole class to have a laughing showdown. Well, I can't say he's not funny. Thanks to his laugh, the guys just couldn't resist to imitate his signature laugh in every possible chance. But, he doesn't mind and instead joins them laughing too.

He may not be top in terms of class results, or he may not be the one always going on stage receiving awards, but he has lots knowledge stored in his brain, general knowledge as vast as the ocean. Well, you can say it's pointless to get him to help you in Add Math (no offence), but when it comes to animals, witchcraft, mystical fairy and creatures, he is like a walking dictionary. He has a huge bond between him and his books. I visited his house once and he has not a rack of books, but a library tuck in a corner. Due to that factor, he is inspired to become a writer one day. He loves reading and writing. Everyday in class, the girls will be busy completing their homework while the guys fool around like monkeys, he always buries his head in a long notebook, waving his pencil and racking his brain, oblivious to the outside world. After finishing about three chapters. he would be the illustrator and publisher for his own book and draws pictures of the characters in the book. Then, he would proudly show it to us. Our class has another nickname for him, "J.K Rowling No.2".

Socially, he is not popular, but average. And this is another point that strikes me as the most interesting. When he ask for something, he always sentenced it in full sentences and add in extra details. For example, when he wants to borrow my book, he would ask, "Wei Wen, sorry to disturb you from your busy routine, do you mind if I could actually borrow the blue shaker pen that is in your blue pencil box now?" The first time I heard it, I was shocked and appalled, because no one had asked such a polite question before. Sometimes, they just take without asking. So, after being classmates for almost a year plus, every time when he borrows something while asking, I would just nod my head before he could even say "can I--" Well, I know it's rude of me, but like he said, I'm always busy. So, this habit has become a game for us, invented by my classmate, *censor* (you know who you are). When he says one sentence, the other person would repeat it in a summarised version. For example, "Wei Wen, is it OK if you could pass me the book on the edge of the table?" Then he would summarise, "Wei Wen, book."

Another thing that strikes me very interesting about him is his everyday habits. He's not good at singing and dancing, but he loves using body language to express his feelings. For an example, there was one time he was selected for a competition, he was so happy that he entered out class in a tango style. Everybody was wide-eyed, some snorting with laughter. And when one of my classmates started singing, he would use his bass-low voice and be the 'Mariah Carrey' or 'Il Divo'. He's not good at acting, but very good at entertaining, in his own way. So, you can say he's quite popular in our class, because every time when he does one of his every-day-different movements, everybody would cheer and follow him for the next few days. In fact, he has shown so many movements you could even write a book about it.

Thanks to that, our class never fails to show support when he is about to do a presentation or present a speech. no doubt, when he speaks, it's really soothing to hear and everybody listens intently. But, sometimes, he just does one of his 'movements' and the whole class crack with laughter. There was an experience when he was a candidate for the president pose, even though he didn't win, but we saw another side of him that shows that he could be a leader too, in his own interesting way.

Standing six-foot tall, being the oddball of the class, he is most likely to be stored in every body's memories as the most interesting person in my class, 5 Omega.

****************

This was written when I was in form 5. So there are a number of grammar problems and broken sentences. And I didn't expect the essay to score well. And the above is exactly the same as what I've written in my essay. Based on true story too. =)

41/50 (First time scored 40 something in my entire high school English examination)

Ahh... Really miss those times in high school. And those are the yearbook i've collected. GEMALA.

Ok, back to my spring cleaning, and see what else I could find.

wei wen

2010!

2010-01-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be 19! And soon, 20! OMG, 20 is so old!!!! 20 is the age where girls get married, in the kuno days lah~

Anyway, 2010 is here, so Happy New Year! =)

Didn't go anywhere for countdown. My family had a Korean BBQ styled dinner at home, and after that, was busy finishing up my applications till 11.45pm. Then, count downed with the 8TV channel.

Speaking of applications, I'm FINALLY DONE!!!!!! *Throws papers in the air and dancing around* It was like after seeing all the green arrows in the common app website, I felt so relieved. Finally, I'm DONE! =DDDDD

Ok, let the pictures do the talking for the dinner. =)

And then, dad wanted to make our very first family conference. And we were given post in the household family. =) I had to say it was pretty productive, got me thinking of my action plan for 2010.

Now, time for me to finish this really cool series, bai quan nu wang. =)

wei wen

Imagine writing about yourself in an essay, and multiply by 10

2009-12-29T02:56:00.000-08:00

I want to DIE! So sick and tired of writing, drafting, and more writing.

The topics are all related:

Chicago:
1)Essay Option 4. From game theory to Ultimate Frisbee to the great Chicago Scavenger Hunt, we at the University of Chicago take games seriously. We bet you do, too. Even if "just a game," sport, play, and other kinds of games seem to share at the very least an insistence that we take seriously a set of rules entirely peculiar to the circumstance of the game. You might say, in order to play a game we must take it seriously. Think playfully - or play thoughtfully - about games: how they distract us or draw us into the world, create community and competition, tease us and test us with stakes both set apart from and meaningful to everyday life. Don't tell us about The Big Game; rather, tell us about players and games.

2)Question 1. How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to Chicago.

3)Optional: Question 2. Would you please tell us about a few of your favorite books, poems, authors, films, plays, pieces of music, musicians, performers, paintings, artists, magazines, or newspapers? Feel free to touch on one, some, or all of the categories listed, or add a category of your own.

UPenn:
1)Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, Pennsylvania Hospital, and, of course, the charity school that evolved into the University of Pennsylvania. As they served the larger community of Philadelphia, each institution in turn formed its own community.

Which of the academic communities and social communities that now comprise the University of Pennsylvania are most interesting to you and how will you contribute to them and to the larger Penn community?

2)You have just completed your 300-page autobiography. Please submit page 217.
(This question, I'm very tempted to post the essay up here, but will do it after deadline.)

Northwestern:
What are the unique qualities of Northwestern – and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying – that make you want to attend the University? In what ways do you hope to take advantage of the qualities you have identified?

Princeton:
Option 1: Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way.

Option 4: Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a jumping off point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation at the beginning of your essay. (500 words)

Still deciding between these 2 topics. I know, someone just shoot me, cause it's like 2 days till deadline.

Harvard:
Travel or living experiences in other countries

This is what I have been doing for the past Christmas, for the past whole week. And 2010 is coming. A new year, with a new resolution. =D

Cambridge results on the Jan 3rd and AS results on Jan 20th something. =(

wei wen

Fireflies~ =)

2009-12-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

You would not believe your eyes,
If 10 million fireflies,
Lit up the wall as I fell asleep,
Cause they feel the open air,
And leave tear drops everywhere,
You think *Something something* but I'll just stand and stare...

I like to make myself believe, that Planet Earth... Turns... Slowly,
It's hard to say I'll rather stay awake while I'm asleep,
Cause everything is never as it seems...

I LOVE Fireflies, by Owl City! It's just so cute and nostalgic, and I wouldn't go bored playing it again and again. Pianist is hot. =D He used to be in Secondhand Serenade.

Anyway, just finished my sending my School Reports. Phew... Now left with supplements only. Used postlaju to send, total cost: RM667.60. Just found out today the letters don't have to reach there by Jan 1st, just needed to be postmarked by Jan 1st. Lol. Silly me, well at least it forced me to finish early. HAHA, NO MORE SAT TESTS AND REPORTS! Speaking of SAT Subject Test, did quite well, didn't really expect my Physics to get >700.

SAT Subject Test Score:
Physics: 740
Math Level 1: 740
Math Level 2: 750

=DDDDDDD

And say bye bye to SAT books.

Yesterday, we celebrated Guo Dong, with self-improvised Tang Yuen in steamboat set. =D Love Tang Yuan!!! Especially those restaurant's one with sesame or peanuts, and the really lovely ginger soup. Tried to make tang yuan with peanuts in it, sis made it into a pancake. Then, when Dad asked, "Eh, no peanuts one ah?"

Sis said, "The ugly ones have peanuts." lol

And more pictures of Teddy. =D

wei wen

The finishing line seemed so close, yet so far.

2009-12-21T17:30:00.001-08:00

Heloo!! Lama tak update me bloggie.

Sry, excuse my sudden change to Malay Language. Cause, since I went with my gymnastic friends to Genting, and they were all speaking Malay as their first language, so naturally I started to follow suit. And my Malay slang is coming back, since I last had it 2 years ago! =D

Genting was fun, finally managed to sit like all the rides, FINALLY!!! Solero shot, cork and screw, flying coaster, etc... MUAHAHA! And I think the best one there was the flying coaster, where you have to pay RM12 per adult, but if you had the outdoor theme park band wrist, you pay RM10 0nly. Saw Ily and Ena (Ena's in the national team now! So as Chong Yuan) and Fatin and Aida, her sister. =D Miss you guys so much. Apparently, according to them, I didn't change much. My face is like fixed, and can only grow sideways. =(

I dunno why FB cannot use the express photos uploader. =(

Then, on Monday, after badminton in the morning, went out the whole day to gao dim my USA Applications. Yes, I'm finally reaching the finishing line, but just a few more supplements, which take days to finish. Hence, the "So close, yet so far" line.

Counselor report and all school reports, Done.
Transcripts, (translated and original), Done.
Common App essay and application, Done.
Art supplement (other schools), NOT YET!
Supplement essays, NOT YET!!!!!!

Most likely will start mailing all my stuff out tomorrow. *counting money in the bank* It's really expensive, like minimum priced and longest period delivery is RM121 for parcels (<500g) and RM78+ for papers. =( So, take this price and x6. A big hole in my bank account, and also mum's credit card. The school reports were mostly done by Taylor's (Thx Ms Armajeet! =)) And the secondary report was done by my high school teacher.

Watched Avatar at Tropicana city! It was SUPER SUPER ULTRA AWESOME-MUCH!!!!!!!!! So much better than 2012 (graphic wise), and story line and everything (better than transformer, better than any movie in the world!!!!!!) We went around evening, and there was practically no one there, probably because it's new. And the arcade had some really cool games! =) Got one is like throw balls to the screen to hit virtual mosquitoes. Lol.

And storm warrior II is the stupidest show I ever watched. Went all the way to pavilion on Sunday to watch Avatar, but no tickets, so picked Storm Warrior II, recommended by Indian counter guy.

Dad: Zombieland or Storm Warrior, which one best?
Indian dude: Sure Storm Warrior!

And the whole movie sucked, just real bad. Graphics, story line (if there is any). What a rip off, RM12 per person.

Currently very addicted to Zoo World in FB, really need to get my head out of it. Start "Zoo Day" have to change into start "applications day".

Toodles! =)

wei wen

Gymnastics Memoir

2009-12-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Was feeling really depressed yesterday, and also felt really moody till I broke a tupperware and chipped a rice bowl. I was seriously sure that it slipped, and i put it gently enough in the drying area.

Anyway, decided to cheer myself up while looking through my gymnastics scrapbook. And I decided to post those nostalgic pics up in facebook. =)

Compare the past and the present:

The pics above are taken when we were really young. As you can see, all of us managed a split. =D And we were so skinny. =)

And 5 years later:

Lol!

Going with my gymnastic buddies on a trip to Genting. =)

Looking forward to it. =)

wei wen

Cartoon can never be taken away from me

2009-12-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

After sitting in front of the monitor for 3 to 4 hours, I really needed to do something else, other than using the computer all day.

So, watched Bones after dinner in NT7. Used to be the "Lie To Me" series, which was really an interesting show. Then dunno why it changed. =(

Anyway, after watching Bones, I just suddenly had the urge to watch Anastasia. It was one of my favourite cartoons. Probably because the lead character was a red head. Ariel was my second favourite cartoon, and she's a red head too. =D

Despite watching so many times, if you count the times during my childhood, I would say I'd watched it for more than 5 times. And shasha, Dimitri is still hot for a cartoon character! lol. Didn't know the voice for Dimitri is John Cussack. Totally fits the character. Sarcastic, heroic, nice...

And everytime the scene of Dimitri sort of contrast itself from the Paris scene where both the fat lady and man was dancing, always makes me feel so sorry for him, like when he holds the glass, refuses the money, etc. And I really like Anastasia's hair. So long and fluffy.

Was watching halfway and dad came down, snickering to himself. Well, seeing your 18 year old daughter watching Anastasia close to midnight didn't seem funny to me. Hmph. Well, at least he didn't lecture me like he always do when I turn to Disney channel for a teeny wee moment. Even Anime is considered cartoon to him, which I pointed out so many times anime and Disney's cartoon are DIFFERENT!

Sry, just had to do something else other than my applications. I didn't know Northwestern don't accept arts supplement. And Princeton, Harvard and University of Chicago wants you to mail them in hard copy. Chicago allows fax. So I guess I could save a few RM100 in there.

Since it's still not midnight yet, I better get going and indulge in Stephen King's Salem's Lot (A thriller bout Vampires) before dad comes down again. Toodles! =)

wei wen

My first time attending a music concert... As a teacher.

2009-12-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

Today, the music centre i worked for had an annual concert at the Summit Auditorium. And I was both performing and accompanying as a teacher.

So cute!! Too bad I didn't take many pictures, cause the kids were like dancing High School Musical, and this small girl (the smallest in fact) was dancing in the middle, as if she's the lime light. And she danced her heart out.

My student's performance was... Ok. Mistakes here and there. But oh well, it's the experience that matters. Good job boys! (And one of them used to be the student in one of my post. Lol.)

Duet for both violin and Brahm's Hungarian Dance went well. =) At least I didn't go out of tune for the violin at the beginning. Good job Eyan and Max! Enjoy working with you guys as partners! =D

And the best part of the whole concert is that they put "You Raise Me Up" as the finale. The crowd was tearing. You know, being a parent, it's like you see your little kids growing up, and you've done what you can for them to continue smiling. Well, that was how I felt watching the students perfoming.

Only managed to get one pic, this is Ken jin, a violinist (Sry dunno name!) and Bryan Chew perfoming a Jay Chou piece.

Latest updates about me life journey:
1) Conditional offer from Warwick, AAAB, including Math and Further Math, Economics, Politics and International Development.

Great! Now it's 2. Lol at the same time, Eng Wee messaged me, asking bout offers. So it was like lol, got the same conditions from the same Uni with the same course.

2)MAXIS UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP! For those who are maxis postpaid users for 2 years, or your parents have been postpaid users for 2 years, you can apply for their undergrad scholarship! Go to their website and search maxis scholarship for excellence. It's an online application and you need like letter of recommendations. A little different from previous scholarships application. A bit similar to US style.

3) Badminton everyday! Well, 3 times a week, and volleyball in the weekend. Need to lose those FATS!!! =)

4) Need to finish all my US Application Supplements in 2 weeks!

5) Seriously bummed to think about physics project. Speaking bout Physics, have to cui my teacher again for his recommendation, for the 3rd time. Sigh.

Jia you, jia you ah!

wei wen