Long Time No See

It has been ages since I last blogged, and I, for no apparent reason, suddenly feel like writing something on this already-dead blog. Haha, I don't even know if people still visit this blog or do they even know the existence of my blog. Well, whatever it is, I shall try my best, from this day onward, to write regularly on this blog.

So many things have happened over the past few months while I neglected the blog. Life studying in NUS is excruciatingly boring. Life only revolves around studying, sleeping and eating. What a sad and pathetic life I am leading now. I really envy those of my friends who decided to go oversea and study. Seeing the facebook photos and facebook update make me regretted not applying for JPA scholarship. I would be enjoying myself happily in Imperial if I had decided and waited for the JPA application this year.

Anyway, I will be having my Pharmacy Practice practical test tomorrow, and let me tell you, it is the most dreadful and irritating subject that I have taken for my entire life. The practical for this module is insanely ridiculous. Not only do we need to prepare and compound the medication to be dispensed, we also need to make sure that we stick the label on the bottle/ container as straight as possible, with no overlapping. Any misspelled, slanted, crooked, creased, smudged label would cost you valuable marks. I really wonder what is the point of torturing us into doing such mundane and pointless exercises, where in actual practice, all medication would come already labeled, and that no one really care if your label is 5mm slanted from the center line. Having said that, I must say that the medication preparing process is surprisingly interesting. It is just like cooking, haha. The practical will be much more enjoyable if it is not graded, Fortunately, tomorrow practical test would be an open book one, so that we can refer back to what we have done before for the procedures and any other important information. I just hope that this time the marker can be more lenient and not concentrating so much on the aesthetic presentation of the drug. God please don't let the CY to be one of the marker.

I didn't know that complaining about pharmacy practice can be so fun. Haha, I should really do it more often.

That's about it for now, I should probably sleep early today. Let's hope everything would go smoothly tomorrow.

I'm Alive

It has been almost a month since I last posted. I know it was long, but life has just been too boring for me to write about. I was just not in the mood to blog, I guess.

Another reason for my lack of online activity is also due to my stupid stolen wireless connection which keeps on disconnecting over the weeks. It was extremely annoying as I could not download the shows that I want (or going) to watch. Luckily, most of the shows that I have been downloading have reached their season finales, which mean I will have enough time over the next few weeks to finish downloading the rest of the episodes before the new ones come out.

I am feeling rather disappointed right now because I have this awful feeling that I am rejected by Shell. I read from an online forum that some people have already been informed about the second interview. This seriously worries me because, up till now, I still have not heard from Shell. The interviewer told me during mt phone interview last month that they will inform the applicants about their application status by the mid May, irregardless of success or failure. Haiz, I guess I just suck at interviews. I have failed all the interviews that I have attended this year. Luckily, I already have a solid back-up plan, that is the NUS ASEAN undergraduate scholarship. Speaking of this scholarship, I sincerely believe that the selection process is too lax. It seems like everyone who have been awarded the ASEAN pre-U scholarship will automatically get the ASEAN undergraduate scholarship if they applied to NUS.

Last week was the finale of American Idol Season 8 and I was so happy when Kris won. The coronation song this year is No Boundaries, and it was co-written by Kara. The song sounded really horrible when Kris and Adam performed it live during the performance show, but miraculously, a million times better in the studio recording. Everyone should go download the song and listen to it.

I think that I should end this post with this funny video I found on youtube.



Kara's impersonation is the best.

Hectic Week

The past one week has been extremely hectic and tiring. I have not experienced such busy schedule for a very long while ever since A-levels were over. Here, I shall list down the couples of things/events that have happened over the short span of one week.

1. I went for the NUS dentistry Manual Dexterity Test on Monday. It was quite fun and I managed to finish and leave the venue one hour before the time is up (I was not the first one to leave though).

2. Desperate Housewives has finally started airing last week. It was sad to see Edie Britt died, she was such a funny character. Edie, my deepest condolences, you will be deeply missed.

3. My NUS dentistry interview was on last Wednesday and I was screwed. The interviewers were extremely mean to me, totally unexpected since many people have discussed online that the dentistry interviews were easy and the interviewers were nice. I believe the interviewers have the impression that I am one selfish and self-centered bastard who just chose to apply dentistry for the sake pf applying, without understanding fully the work and commitment of a dentist. That is it, goodbye Dentistry.

4. American Idol had a double elimination this week and I was so relieved that Anoop and Lil were cut. The top 5 are now made entirely of white people, without any other ethnic races, could that suggest something?

5. Got a phone call on Saturday morning from my Auntie, informing my family that my grandfather has passed away. He was 88 years old this year and he died peacefully sitting on his favorite chair. No one expected him to die so soon, since he did not suffer from any diseases or illness, except for dementia. I was not really very to him though, but nonetheless, as his son and grandchildren, it was obligatory for us to go back to the Kampung and paid him our last respect. It was really nice and heart-warming seeing all my auntie, uncle and cousins all came back and gather at the Kampung. My family had to leave immediately after the cremation ceremony yesterday because I would be having my scheduled Shell phone interview this morning.

6. I woke up early this morning to prepare myself for the interview. Shell called promptly at 8.30 am. The person interviewing me was a lady. She was very kind and friendly, polar opposites from the snobbish NUS dentistry professor. I had a really good time sharing my experiences and talking to her. No mean and nasty questions were asked. The questions asked mainly focused on my personal experiences with heavy emphasis on teamwork. I was later asked to choose from a list of 4 topics related to the problems facing global companies today and to elaborate on it. I chose the one on global energy need and how company can cope with grwoing energy needs without harming the environment. I felt like I was back to a GP examination, but luckily this was guided, the lady would ask me questions related to the issue and I just need to give my opinions and viewpoints. All in all, I felt rather confident after the interview and I believed I had give in my best. I sure hope that I can make it through to the next round.

That's about it. What a busy and eventful week. I am going to rest now.

Shaheen Jafargholi, 12 Year Old Singer

While I was searching for more Britain's Got Talent videos, I stumbled into this amazing performance by a 12 year old school boy, Shaheen Jafargholi, what a weird name by the way, auditioning for the show. The judges disliked his first song by Amy Winehouse, but were stunned by his second song by Michael Jackson, They even gave a standing ovation to Shaheen. It was nice seeing Simon giving a standing ovation again.



He reminds me of David Archuleta. Haha.

Julian Smith, The Saxophonist

Here is another breath-taking performance from the show Britian's Got Talent. I have never heard a saxophone performance like this. This is absolutely incredible. I almost cried during the performance. Wow!

Heart On My Sleeve

This is Heart On My Sleeve, the brand new single by American Idol Season 7 finalist, Michael Johns. Very nice songs, perhaps one of the best songs released by season 7 contestants. He really suited the genre of soft rock and his vocal fitted the song perfectly. Cannot wait for his album anymore! So exciting.



Amazing song aside, I am currently stuck in a dilemma. Shell just emailed me today, informing me about the details of my interview. There are two options available, face-to-face interview or phone interview. I atorn between the two choices. Should I go for the face-to-face interview held in KL, where I am able to demonstrate my confidence and fast-thinking on the spot directly to the interviewer, or should I stay at home and accept the phone interview, where I can refer to some notes openly when I encounter difficult questions? Both have it's own advantages and disadvantages, and I wonder which of them would allow me to leave a better impression on the interviewers. Phone interview is new to me, and I wonder if I could withstand 45 minutes of speaking nonstop over the phone. It would also be weird being interviewed at home, where your siblings or family can hear you answering to the interviewer. The face-to-face interview, on the other hand, will be held in KL, in a some place near Damansara (which I have absolutely no idea on where is the place), and I would have to travel all the way up and find myself an accommodation and a driver to fetch me to the place if I decide to go for the face-to-face interview. What is even more frustrating is that my interview is scheduled on the 23rd, one day after my dentistry interview. It is impossible for me to travel from JB to KL within such limited time. I will have to reschedule the interview if I decide to go for the face-to-face interview.

Oh man, why must everything come so closely packed together?

Any wise suggestion?

Unbelievable

Here's a video of a 47 years old lady who rocked the stage of Britains Got Talent. Just watch the video and you will know what I mean by unbelievable.



We really cannot judge a book by it's cover.