& Map of the Problematique // [MUSE]

Xx June 2008 Update xX

So I haven't been blogging for this month, time for some updates.

Work's been pretty mundane. Nothing exciting. Always structured packing projects, no tray projects. Boring. Now that there're new engineers to help out the team, I'm more relieved of my duties. I've only committed one day of OT this month, which can be good or bad. Bad being I will have lesser money to spend next month. Good being... Uh I don't know? Haha.

I think I should have more faith in something (not religious faith). Sometimes I just can't help but wonder if this is just superficial or below skin-deep. Maybe it's just me.

Harvard (or Baldilocks) got his first reprieve from the clutches of SAF yesterday. Went for some drinks at The Jewel Box at Mount Faber as part of Lynette and Ya An's birthday celebration. Whoo. The view is not bad, and it's pretty breezy. But, don't go there unless your pockets are adequately lined with cash.

Attended the Sales departmental outing last night as well. Dinner at Grand Shanghai. Food was really good, and there's wine too! Haha.

Shih Wing's going in next. We're still waiting for your house warming, you know? Said he'd like to go to Holland Village for dinner and drinks. Shall let him decide. After his turn, we're next on the chopping block.

That's about it I guess. Nothing exciting.
Till next time, Auf wiedersehen.

// Citizen Erased @ 1:03 PM

Xx End Of This 3-year Road xX

Hello all! Well, as the title implies, this post shall be the concluding chapter of the "adventures" I had at Ngee Ann Polytechnic during my study.

Let's start off with the LSCT FOC camp. Frankly, I can't remember much details about this, but I sure do remember it was a hell lot of fun. Haha. Rolling and crawling through mud; being forced to roam the LSCT blocks where the GLs dressed up as monsters ambushed you; singing songs at the closure of camp. It was one of the best experiences in Poly.

Psylocke!

Next, the first day of school, 24th May 2005. I could very well remember climbing up the bloody steep hill that led to LT 70+. Had my very first lecture at 8am, Engineering Mathematics 1. It was really boring, as far as I could tell. The very first "friend" I made was with *drum roll* Gerard Chen. Haha. I only remember he decided to pontang IPC lab 'coz generally there isn't any lab sessions on the first week of school.

Fast forward to the very first class trip - to Bintan. It was held at the end of the first semester and was organized by the school. It was the only time most members of the class went on a trip together. We had a great time climbing Bintan mountain, star gazing, spotting 20 over shooting stars, and not to forget, unanimous dread of the "retro" bus. Fantastic time.

The next class event was the chalet held at Changi Aloha. It was your typical class chalet I guess. Night riding was pretty memorable. We rode on the road alongside the Changi Airport runway, hoping that we could eventually find our way to Changi Airport. Turns out that we couldn't as we had to get on the highway, which is illegal, so we had to turn around and cycle back to where we started. I can tell you all of us were really "shagged" at the end of the ride. Had BBQ on the second night, with Mr. Mirko Stoll as our guest. I guess the BBQ was pretty alright. We were more like feeding the mosquitoes than feeding ourselves.

Semesters 3 and 4 were pretty mundane. No class trips, no class chalets. I wonder whatever happened. Hahaha. Although, I remember it was this period of time when we were skipping classes like crazy, just to enjoy 1-for-1 movie discounts at the Cathay ('coz Alvin had free access to the movie vouchers when he was working there). I also remember photography classes and the stupid I&E module (not to mention my fantastic "will-get-struck-by-lightning at pool competition" team members).

Semester 5 was, well, my industrial attachment at Sulzer Chemtech. I could very well recall being rejected by Exxon at the last minute 'coz of my color deficiency. Bullshit la really. Anyway, in hindsight, I'm pretty glad that I was rejected. If not for that, I wouldn't have learnt so much about distillation column design that would eventually help me ace my Final Year Project. In any case, I did enjoy most my stay over there, despite the OTs and "living under your shadow" issue. It was the time when I learned most about myself and others, I guess.

The final semester was pretty stressful. CPTC was a fresh experience. It was more of a fun session than a training one I guess. The best parts were the firefighting lessons, the 12-hour shifts, and maybe purging the flare stack with steam. (I wonder which plant purges their flare stack)

FYP saw many people forsaking sleep and entertainment to produce the best work in their 3-year poly education. Groups who had high-flyers in them went the extra mile to make their report stand out; those with the not-so-good individuals struggled to grasp whatever knowledge and information they could to piece together a decent report. I really applaud the efforts of these individuals. It made me change my impression of their lazy, can't-be-bothered attitude. As for me, I'm really proud (not in the bad way) of my work for the "Distillation Column" section of the report. It was a fantastic collective effort amongst the 4 of us to produce such an outstanding report, and I really appreciate it. Drinking sessions were also part of what made Sem 6 special. I can still remember me not being able to walk straight after drinks at Wala Wala.

I had a really good time at the Phuket trip. Though it did cost us all quite a bit, but I guess it was worth it.

To conclude this 3-year chapter was Graduation on the 29th of May 2008. In some eyes, it was a waste of time. I beg to differ. Putting our differences aside (awards or not), it was very much a celebration of everyone making it through this course of study. My classmates and I took a whole lot of photos, none of which we were not smiling.

1st Batch of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Graduates from NP!

3AO7, Class of 2008, with Mr. Mirko Stoll and Dr. Vivien Lim
Like Harvard said, I'm sure Mr. Stoll will find this by googling his name. Ha!

My clique

My bestie at the LSCT Freshman Camp, Yongkang.

Pose

Jump!

Weijie and his signature "stick out tongue" move
Lucky I managed to catch it in photo.

*Tug*

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do
Just nice lei!

Hit this award winner I don't mind,

but why hit this one?! =(

Out of our gowns

Graduation Dinner at the Grand Copthorne Hotel, provided by Ngee Ann, was a pretty fun event as well. Had a chance to catch up with MingSheng and Eugene as well. Haven't seen them for a long while, really.

Eugene Chua and I

Horny Mingsheng put his arm around my waist... =/
Remember "cheap thrill"? Haha!

Well... That's about it I guess. I think, I enjoyed every day I had in NP. Would I do it over again? Don't think so! Haha!

So now I have a few months left to spare before I'm off to becoming a statistic in the SAF's "I have a big army (of 18 - 20 year olds); Come invade me if you dare." number game. Back to working at Sulzer Chemtech to earn some extra cash. Though I believe I'm getting paid a little bit higher than my friends, it isn't exactly easy cash to earn. There are just days when I'm mentally exhausted and extremely unmotivated to work, but then again, who am I to say that when my colleague should feel even worse. In any case, it's just a mere 3 months of freedom left. I want to go to Bangkok with my classmates right before we enlist. Hopefully, this can be realized...

Anyway, I've accepted this option.

Really wish I could choose the last one. Sigh.

Till next time, Auf wiedersehen.

// Citizen Erased @ 9:36 PM