Life Continues
My previous post was a real success. Nine months after posting, I have a grand total of 2 views. I’m not ready to handle the fame, should I go out in shades and a big hat from now on?
I have spent the past few months in a flux. Got a job, finally earning some coins, travelled back and forth here and there. But I did not foresee being alone a lot, and I have to get used to it. It is funny, that when I finally get something I really want, I don’t really like it. A small mental note to myself is to never ask for things. Just wait.
My university graduation happened 8 months ago. I did not really want to go, but I went for my parents because I never know if they get to experience it again. I think I was very happy that day, and also emotional afterwards since I realised that I will be graduating – at that point of time – with no job. Things happened and here we are – I’m working.
I would like to remind myself that the road from now on will be tough. I have things I would like to do and working harder is the only option.
Only time will tell.
A Post To Remember
2017:
I can finally say goodbye to SMU, after four really trying years where I questioned myself every semester. The graduation ceremony is in two weeks time – high time for me to go up a stage in a gown a.k.a high drag. Last time I did that was graduation in kindergarten. Cannot really remember who was there but I think it was my dad, and he wasn’t really interested, or he was in a rush, or maybe I was there alone. Received a photo of the ceremony afterwards and I really looked constipated, as always.
2017 is not 1998 – I think I will smile this time around because I deserve it. You know how people say “all the late nights will be worth it”? In SMU, all the late nights may not be worth it. That is the reality when you go to a school so obsessed in making you a business executive, bankers, high-powered what-have-you, it is all about the looks honey. And how you portray yourself in class.
Tips for SMU Students:
- Talk a lot of shit. Professors – who may or may not be qualified – have this allergic reaction to silence in class. They want the students to keep on talking, giving opinions and what-not. Sometimes the silence indicates that the students are thinking, or trying to process the lesson. But here in SMU, silence means you are not interested, unprepared, so the instructors won’t grade you favourably for class participation – which is a shame. So, talk a lot, talk often. Don’t think kids, JUST TALK.
- Do not take classes taught by Korean profs. I have probably taken six or seven mods taught by Korean profs and they are all horrible. Firstly, they have very thick accents which takes maybe 4 or 5 weeks to get used to. Second, they grade really harshly. I think they are obsessed by the very small details and cannot think of the bigger picture – which is a shame really. Finally, most of them cannot teach. Really, I kid you not. You are paying so much for sub-par quality teaching? I don’t care for the argument that they are first and foremost researchers. If they really were, then where are their cutting edge research and papers with multiple/hundreds of citations? Exactly.
- Take classes taught ang-moh profs. At the risk of sounding like I am white-worshipping, this is only my personal experience. White profs are actually better teachers, they give really constructive comments/feedbacks on your work, and are generally more relaxed about grading. This does not mean I don’t put in equal amounts of work for classes taught by white profs, maybe I put in even more effort because they are better teachers? Of course, not all whites are the same. Generally, those from North America are better teachers and have more enthusiasm for their chosen field of study. I actually really learnt a lot taking classes from these professors, who coincidentally are all from America.
Anyway, I don’t even know why I bother with the tips. No one reads my blog anyway, but if I were to re-do my entire SMU experience, the above tips would have been greatly appreciated. So happy also to have spent many classes with Sham, who has been a pillar of support and motivation even when times were really tough.
It has also been two months since the end of my final exams. Been sending out applications to different types of jobs. Really hopeful to get somewhere, hopefully by the next two months.
2016:
Spent the better half of 2016 in at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. It really is a strange place for a Malay to be. How often, if any, do you see a Malay going to China for exchange? I made really good friends there, and hope we will stay in touch for some time. Places that I visited while on exchange: Shanghai>Qingdao>Hangzhou>Nanjing>Xi’an>Harbin>Beijing + Tokyo>Seoul
No regrets whatsoever. I am thoroughly impressed by the pace and growth of China’s 1st and 2nd their cities. Wasn’t my first experience there however. There is probably a blog entry of me in Shanghai in 2010, visiting the world expo. Was amazing as well, but is really very different compared to 2016.
I think that’s about it.
check
i read old posts up to when I was 16, cringed whenever a sentence is grammatically off and laughed at things that are now just memories.
I am a bit older now. I have grown, I have lived more. Made many mistakes, learned a lot more.
People whom I used to blog about are no longer people I meet or hang out with.
I was reading me 7 years ago.
No regrets.
Being thankful
I am very thankful to the people who have helped me get to where I am today. I am sure most of them do not know that their words or actions have prompted me to be able to avoid and make mistakes that I am pretty sure I will make. At the same time, I don’t have that many people I wanna thank and most of them will remain anonymous partly because I don’t want to sound ungrateful if someone has helped me and I don’t mention their names here. I tend to forget, sometimes.
In the end, the most important person I would like to thank is myself. There are moments where I have an extreme lack of good judgement and made really foolish mistakes but I was still there for myself. Kind of weird to thank myself when I was reading the previous sentence hur hur but yeah, I wouldn’t have made it without believing in me.
the one about dreams
Sometimes I have conversations (mostly with myself) about my lack of dreams and goals. I mean, I do have a bucket list but I guess that doesn’t count right considering dreams and goals usually refer to something slightly harder to achieve than striking things off a list one writes on a starbucks (or coffee bean if starbucks’ lack of a halal certification bothers you every night before you sleep) napkin while waiting for a really late friend. Whatever it is, since it is almost the New Year, I tend to revisit this deficiency I am more than happy to procrastinate listing some out. Oh and if anyone wonders, no, I do not make New Year’s resolutions. Well, not any more if it makes you happy. For now, I’ll take it as it comes.
Anyway, 2012 has been an interesting year. Got to travel free of charge courtesy of the army and at the same time, ended my service without getting charged. Hur hur. Talk about traveling, got to strike one off my bucket list: Paris. Very beautiful city but also at the same time, some of the unfriendliest people I have ever met. Not that it bothers me since I’m not the friendliest person I know.
Actually, wanted to write more about my lack of dreams but lost the drive when I realized the more I type, the less coherent I sound. I really don’t want my incoherence to trigger fits. Whatever, I try to leave out the parts that people skip.
Okay, really want to end this post to say a big thank you to a certain someone I met this year who also happens to be very sweet and shy. Yes I used the word sweet…very convenient for someone like me whose family tress includes many who suffered and suffers from diabetes. Thankful to be a better person after knowing you while at the same time, hard to imagine my life without you right now.
Protected: #14 #10
Protected: #9
such is life
hmmm i think i have enlisted for almost nine months. it has been quite a journey and at best interesting coupled with multiple cock-ups. the army is not that bad. seriously and well, depends on where you are who your superiors are as well. other than that no comments.
recently, i went to bali with my medic course mate. hahahaha it was interestingly fun since i got to do things like parasailing and snorkeling and the likes gosh i miss bali now 😦 here’s a pic –
thats all. i waan watch tv nao. hehe.
week 7
just finished 6 weeks of bmt. it has been a ride! nothing much to say though but all is well. 3 more weeks to POP OH!
“departing is my arriving”
a friend on mine, via facebook, was reminiscing about her old home, or rather, the memories she once had in that house. im not gonna elaborate that much on this friend but i sorta know what she means. i used to live 5 minutes away from rail mall, which to me used to be one of the best places to have a good family time together. oh yes, the twilight cycling my family and i used to go for once in a while, then having breakfast somewhere near ten mile junction if im not mistaken. the best part to this cycling thing is zonking out to bed once we reach home. shiok or what.
memories….memories….
Maybe I'm dreaming Aloud 