highlights of 2010

(I'll try to slip in as many pictures as i can! to make it more readable. haha. more pics after the page break :p)

Gonna hop on the bandwagon and write a 'reflections' type of post about my year.. Probably more like a 'highlights of 2010'? I'll just start writing and see how things go.

Well, 2010 marked the start of a year when I'm free of NS, after 2 years of being trapped within the clutches of the SAF. It marked the start of a long wait to the start of school, which I can say many (if not, most) NSFs look forward to. I think being in army just makes you appreciate the outside world more, such as your friends, family, and yes, even studying.

I just counted - I made 155 blog posts this year (not including this one). That's roughly about 1 blog post every 2 days! Wow, that's rather frequent. Anyway, I'll just be referring to them to help me recall what has happened this year, because I do not have superb memory like my other half.



Walk down memory lane -

010110 - Stayover
Oooh I had been thinking for awhile what I actually did last year for NYE and this blog post reminded me. Watchnight service + stayover in church as usual. Yes, i remember the great time of Taboo and Mad Gab.. both of which I haven't played in ages :/

One of my favourite games!

Won't be doing that this year though.. going to play mahjong with si en, her friend and pewi! Hope it'll be fun and hope i win alot haha.


Hair
Yes, the end of army means the start of styled hair once again.

The end of LOST

The final season of LOST began, and subsequently ended some time in... no idea when. April? May? Basically the whole series wrapped up with this final season, and the ending was far from satisfactory. I have complained and talked about it at length in this post, you can go check it out if you're a LOST fan.


World of Warcraft
I started playing this back in June 2009 but could never really play it actively, in a proper guild, raiding frequently, due to army. When I came out of army I was a full-time WoW player, raiding in a regular guild and gradually progressing up from a lousier guild to a better one till I was eventually in the best guild on my server.

During that period I got very frustrated with the quality of players then, as seen in my long rant here. Quite an interesting read IMO, if you play WoW haha.
So many highlights in my WoW 'career':

Dominating heal-meters in Valithria Dreamwalker fight

Ranked 9th on my server in gear (click to enlarge)

One of my proudest achievements back then, which was pretty hard still (not like +20% damage or whatever) and extremely vexing because had to keep putting together a team to attempt :

Kill shot of Lich King (click to enlarge)
Celebratory post here.

Got hacked.

And got it back

Cleared all the achievements necessary for:

Bloodbathed Frostbrood Vanquisher! Sexy drake!

And a concluding post for WoW here

And of course, tried to sell my WoW account...
AND SOLD IT FOR $$$$

Ah, World of Warcraft, I will miss you. If I had no life and too much money to spend, I would definitely start playing again.But for now.... this will be just one of my memories.


Work work @ IBM @ Expo
Held my first official part-time job (The previous was relief teaching for a week at SAJS which I won't really count) working for Stoneforest at IBM.. Basically I just covered people who went on leave.

I must thank my AWESOME colleagues there - Eunice, Natalie, Shirley, Sharon, Tsai Chin, Esther, Yvonne, Onil, Sylvie.. ooh shoot hope i didn't leave anyone out. Every single one of these people were very warm and welcoming and friendly and helpful!
Like they are busy-ass busy but they still dropped whatever they were doing to help me out. Seriously, model model colleagues. I think I have praised them through the roof but they really are awesome!

They set the example for me to be to my future interns/part-timers - I must make sure they feel welcome and confident and happy. rawr. THANKS COLLEAGUES LOVE YOU ALL! (though probably none of them will read this lol)

Pulled my wisdom tooth
Owww. Most painful experience of the year, but yea. Of my life, probably.. I felt like I was being tortured. You can read my account here if you want.


Lakers beat the Celtics in NBA Finals

Yea yea i know this is 07/08 but it looked cool so i wanna put it.

I was rooting for the Celtics :( They had a great run too, with Rajon Rondo exerting himself as the next generation leader and just dominating several games with triple doubles and the such. (Remember this dive that outhustled Jason Williams?)

And the Lakers vs Celtics finals was such an exciting series, it went all the way to Game 7 ... and what an exciting and emphatic way to end it too (with a clutch Ron Artest 3 pointer which he has a very funny post-game interview about, kobe going cold but the celtics going colder -_- )


Spain wins World Cup
And World Cup!
Wow, I didn't realize it was this year too, it seemed so long ago.
I was rooting for Germany as after watching them demolish England... how can you not? I even wrote a poem for them:

onward we march

the german machine

soak defend absorb

break

forward we go

the german machine

clear turn run

pass

goalwards we press

the german machine

cross flick lob

shoot

to the crowd

the german machine

jump wave somersault

celebrate

But yea, they lost to Spain who eventually went on to lift the World Cup.

muacks

Psych Camp
Went for my first NUS camp in preparation for school... I must say it was a pretty last minute decision, which was probably one of the best decisions I've made this year.

My thoughts about the camp are here, and I made some good friends whom I'm still in contact now and still treasure very much. seniors! :

smelly chonghui

darren

huijun

Ok the last 2 shots we look quite cui cos we never sleep much the previous night haha. I slept about 1 hour or something, so did they.


Orientation Week
My 2nd NUS camp, which was kind of like the sequel to Arts Camp which i couldn't go because I had reservist -_- The long post I made about O week (more of a picture spam)

Was glad I went though! Made so many friends who would be my lecture mates, lunch buddies, twitter friends, etc.

Wa I now then notice Si En got the seh sia hahahah. 

Starcraft 2!
After 10+ years of waiting, the sequel to the popular Starcraft was finally here!!
Went to queue for it with dom and ben, it was mad crazy at Funan la

This was just outside, inside still got queue.

The release was at 12pm, by 8am the queue was already until outside I heard. lol. nerds are mad.

And if you follow my Twitter, you'll know that I have climbed pretty high up in the ladder rankings. Well, not really THAT high but decent!

2400+ rated, 4th in my diamond league. Click to enlarge!
(and I'm ranked 200+ in SEA i think)

Diamond League for all match types :)

Turned 21!
Birthday blog post here.
So I hit the milestone, and had my little dinner gathering. Loved the company, thank you all for coming!

The people that matter.

And of course for all the presents.. (must say this first)... AND OF COURSE PEWI PEW PEW FOR YOUR RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE PRESENT

He got me this. Yes, an iPod Touch 4

Turned un-single

Met szehong at Psych Camp, never really knew her then... ok you can ask me if you really want to know our love story lol. Nothing fancy or extraordinary la. One of the best things that happened to me in 2010 for sure :)

Finished my 1st semester in university
Ah yes, one sem has gone and passed in NUS. A review of the modules I've studied can be found here, along with my results here. A relatively slack sem in my opinion, and I only obtained the CAP i got.. sigh. Hope to do better next sem


Alright, I think that's about it? As I said, going to play mahjong later with pewi, Si En and her friend (pewi hasn't replied me to confirm today!! shit hope he's not like drunk or kidnapped or something) hope it'll be fun and hope i win! Hope they're camera friendly and we can take some pictures at least to commemorate the end of this year and the beginning of the next :D

Thanks for reading my lovely reader(s)! Happy New Year!

DTF and double movie

Met up with bestie yesterday! Our original plan was just to eat lunch and watch a movie. I wanted to watch Gulliver's Travels, she wanted to watch Meet the Parents - Little Fockers. So what do you do when you can't decide which show to watch?

You watch both shows!!

Because we were kind of leaning towards Gulliver's Travels, we wanted to watch that, but there was no space for the earlier show, only the 4.30PM one. Then we realized that Little Fockers was at 2.50pm, and the runtime for Little Fockers was such that it ended exactly when Gulliver's Travels started!

So on a crazy impulse, we decided to watch BOTH. Lol.

Then right, we discovered a flaw in the Nex cinema system - You exit the theatre from the same door you entered from. I think this is because the actual 'exit' was not fully constructed yet or something.

So we originally thought we would have to run from the previous show to the next and re-enter from the front. In the end we just walked out of our theatre and into the adjacent one (As you can see our first show was Nex2 and 2nd show at Nex1) .... We didn't even use our tickets! And there was no security personnel there to stop us!

This is so flawed? We could have not bought tickets and still got into that show man. Rawr. We thought of trying our luck and going to a third one but after the 2nd show there were some movie personnel standing outside already :/

Anyway, for lunch we ate at Din Tai Fung!

Xiao Long Bao! (10 for $9)
I prefer the Crystal Jade one though.. DTF's xlb the skin like quite thick and there's much less meat inside! grr

The next item takes the cake -

PORK CHOP FRIED RICE @ $9

THIS IS THE BEST BEST BEST BEST THING IN THE WORLD!
Seriously this is probably the best thing on the menu.
First, the fried rice is extremely fragrant and tasty and delicious. Like you know how some Fried Rice is abit overcooked and has a chao ta smell or too saltish cos there's too much MSG? This is PERFECTLY cooked, none of that!
AND the best best thing about it is the PORK CHOP. Wow. A very generous serving of pork chop like you've never eaten before. The skin is very slightly crispy, and the meat is VERY tender and very JUICY!! Like you can literally feel the pork juice or whatever explode in your mouth when you bite into it! SUPER SHIOK.
This is easily the best meat I've ever eaten in my life. Haha.

And it's not jut a outlet thing! When i first ate this at Raffles City outlet of DTF, it was equally good! So it's some secret recipe that DTF uses or something.

Haha ok that's all I have. I highly recommend the Pork Chop Fried Rice from Din Tai Fung, it is the best meal you'll ever have :D

And on a side note, if you have Twitter, be sure to follow me, and some fake accounts that are quite funny you can follow:
@Fake_PMLee 
@realFASS
@therealfakeNTU
@fakeMOE

You don't have to be from NUS/NTU to follow them! gogo!

Joyeux Noel!

The title means 'Merry Christmas' in French btw.

Had my annual relative gathering for Christmas today at Hotel Rendezvous.. The food wasn't fantastic but .. ok la. They had some award winning Laksa which I thought was not bad la, but not like ZOMG MUST EAT MORE.

They had prata which at one point was made by this aunty.. who was quite noob at making it lol. i was watching her.. she flip flip a few times, not only looked damn awkward but the dough broke lol. So she had to manually use her fingers to press press and make bigger. malu to the max.

So food aside, ofc there were presents!

So many chocolates >< The generic Xmas present when you don't know what to get. I end up not eat half of them as always.

Deodorant (omg yes i spelt it right.. I think)

This one was quite cool.. when it was wrapped and I picked it up it began ticking.. I was like wth why got bomb inside issit. But it's a 'Four-sided clock'. Lol. So basically you can rotate it at any orientation (think iPhone/iTouch) and it displays something, and makes a tick/beep sound when it rotates.
And yay got hongbao.

A kungfu manual that teaches me the ancient art of  Wingchun.
Lol ok no it's just a notebook.

Some multi-compartment pouch

Esprit towels! Bath towel, hand towel and face towel. Niicee. Actually I think it's a very simple gift but cos branded ma.  hahaha.

Ah and I have some photos of my niece which I think i'll post on my Facebook.. Cos i wanna do abit of photoshop. yupyup that's all folks merry christmas!

Semester 1 results and weird dreams

My night was filled with weird dreams. More accurately, my morning. I wasn't as frantic or anxious as many people last night. and I certainly slept pretty well.. or rather, FELL asleep pretty easily.

I don't know, it just seems pointless to worry so much for something that is DONE already. It's not like my exam is today, it's the RELEASE of results. Something that is done and I have no control over.

I woke up at about 6+ I think, I didn't check the time. Went to the toilet as usual, and went back to bed. From there, the weird dreams started.

(read on if you dont mind seeing my results. dont worry theyre not that great so you wont feel like slapping me for being showoff or what.)


This was my first sem ever in NUS, so it was also my first time receiving results. Thus, I had no idea what it was like. I subscribed for the SMS service which was supposed to SMS us our results or something like that.

If you cant be bothered to read my retarded dream and just want to see my results/analysis of it, scroll down to the red text

Dream 1:
I received a big mail package which supposedly contained my results. I opened it and it was a big bunch of documents containing clearance forms which indicated I was allowed to have my results (i.e. paid school fees, etc) There were even instruction manuals on how to read the results that would follow.

Included in the package was Secondary 4 model Science notes -_- Yes they were the notes of the top students, all nicely bound together. And on the front cover it listed the top students.

There was a special introductory paragraph in the cover page as well, and there it said 'We would like to commend 3 students for their outstanding performance.'
AND I SAW MY NAME THERE. 'ALAN TEO'.

But I read on, it said 'and Alan Teo, despite being already 30 years old, still managed to get a CAP of 5!'

-_- so clearly not me unless in that dream i retained for so many years.

Anyway it was damn confusing because there were so many papers inside and i was sifting through and had no idea how to find it. Then I remembered I had to check my phone for the SMS and so I did, and the SMS said to call some number and to say some code.

So I tried to call that number but .. I think my phone display was a bit screwed up so I couldn't see my code clearly. Then super pek chek!! No idea how to get results. And it was already 11+ AM already. (results supposed to come by 9AM)

OK I WILL STOP TALKING ABOUT MY STUPID DREAMS ON TO THE RESULTS.

(on a side note, the results came in a succinct SMS, with just my matric number, and BOOM results. No merry christmas no nothing. haha )

Summary:
PL1101E - A+
PL2131 - B+
NM1101E - A-
PH1102E - A-
LAF1201 B+

Ok let's go through this mod by mod. I'll just say whether it met my expectations, and why. Won't be long.

PL1101E - Yes duh. I expected an A+, and got an A+. I worked my skin and teeth off for this so it was, I guess, deserved. Entered finals with an A+ midterms already, so it would have taken a major screwup at finals to deny me my A (or A+)

PL2131 - Probably the biggest disappointment in all my results. Finals was easy for me, and I guess easy for alot of people as well. I definitely had an A for midterms, but I guess one of the assignments screwed me over. I got 3/10 for that. :/ 15% worth somemore.
I really don't think Finals was the problem, even if everyone did well, I was confident of doing better, I tripled checked everything and also compared answers with some people. Pretty sure it was the assignment that pulled me down :(

NM1101E - Kinda disappointed with this as well, expected an A. Entered the finals with good project marks and an above average midterm score. However, finals was a killer, and I guess it killed me.

PH1102E - Biggest surprise among all... I expected a B+ at best! My assignment scores were about 75% so that puts me at about the B+ish range, so it was all down to the finals. Guess my smokescreen that I threw was enough for the finals. I even left 15 mins before time because I ran out of smoke to smoke for my essays lol. Glad to get an A for this, albeit a negative.

LAF1201- (french) - Expected a B+, got a B+. Nothing much to say, got about 75+% marks for all the tests, but French is a competitive module, so I guess it wasn't enough.

Overall - CAP = 4.4
I guess it seems decent, but my goal was actually above 4.5. I mean, it is only the first sem which is supposed to be the easiest? And it was a fairly relaxed sem for me, in terms of my modules. Not very intensive modules, and I only got this.
Thus, disappointed? Yes. Grateful? Yes. I guess I could be worse. Thank God for blessing me with these results and sustaining me through this sem. Now, I need help for next sem. Got to try to pull this above 4.5 if I still want my first class ><

Amazing song

Wow ok, I knew the Sam Tsui/Kurt Hugo team was amazing but this song just blew my mind.

It's a mashup of  "Love The Way You Lie", "Dynamite", and "Teenage Dream." 

Dilemma

I have a dilemma.

I have been telling this to alot of people and asking for their advice but noone seems to have given any concrete responses that make sense.

Well the problem is, I want an iPhone.

Even though I think the design of the iPhone4 is horrible because of the squarish look, using an iPod Touch has really converted me to an Apple fanboy (haha) 

There are a number of reasons why I want an iPhone:

1) I have to carry around my iTouch (i'm just gonna call it that, it's troublesome to type iPod Touch) AND my handphone which is very troublesome. It would be much more convenient to have them merged into one device.

AND, my handphone, the N97 mini is laggy as hell so it's quite annoying to use.

2) This is probably the bigger reason - I currently have a 3G data plan with Singtel which I am BARELY using on my handphone because it is too laggy and hence too annoying to use. So it's an extra $10 a month wasted. 

And I would totally have a use for it on my iTouch/phone, with Twitter, FB, googling for info. SO convenient can?

3) My plan is eligible for recontract next Feb, and my phone lags like crap, so it's ideal to change phone!

So WHY do I NOT want to get an iPhone? Well, the problem is, if I do get an iPhone, what is to happen to my iTouch? The logical thing is to well, sell it. But as you should know, it was a present from pewi! So got sentimental value leh! Most expensive present I've ever received in my life! lol.

How how how how. I asked pewi already and being the nice guy he is he said 'up to you lor, you can sell, no problem' but I somehow feel in his heart he's thinking 'wa this idiot give him present he wanna sell' :( :( :( 

One train of thought that may be comforting to me is to think that "oh ok actually pewi is giving me an iPhone, I am upgrading his present to what I really need!" 

Arhghghghg.

And another reason is also because it is damn blardy expensive la. With a new plan an iPhone4 costs like 400-600 I think. :( I wonder how much my iPod Touch can fetch... oh maaaan I will feel bad selling it for sure. AHHH

commentating

I have been trying for the past few days to do a few of my own Starcraft2 commentaries.. but the problem is finding a decent program to record that does not go out of sync!

I tried Camstudio but the quality was shit so I used xfire, and the quality is amazing but the problem is the audio always goes out of sync! Like it becomes 1-2 seconds ahead and it's very annoying. Anyone knows how to fix it?!?

The Popularity Cycle (again)

POSTNOTE: I realised upon completion of this entry that I had written about this theory before 2 years ago.. But heck it I'll still post this because it's been on my mind, and maybe my university level style is different? lol. I'll let you be the judge

I'm going to discuss this theory I have about popularity. My theory is as such:

Once you have done sufficiently enough, (is this an oxymoron?) your popularity is sustained on its own without much effort on your part.

Let me break this further into 3 parts which I will emphasize at different points:
1) You have done sufficiently enough
2) Your popularity is sustained on its own
3) Without much effort on your part



Two things made me think about this -
First was XX's blog.
Her blog is undoubtedly the most popular blog in Singapore, and is pretty well known in the world as well. (Judging by the traffic counter and the awards she has won) She has, undoubtedly, written some really controversial and interesting blog entries in the past (i.e. her sidebar of links). But the large majority of her entries now are... boring? Just advertorials, photospam. But she still has 981723 visitors daily. Why? Because she fulfilled 1) with her previous entries and now because she's famous, people want to see her ads/photos etc.

Another more clear example is - Youtube videos.
Have you watched that Youtube video of Achmed the Dead Terrorist? You probably have, because it's a famous video, and its hella funny.
It is one of the top 10 most viewed Youtube videos of all time, and it'll probably stay there because it is popular and so people will keep recommending it. Also because it's rather funny so I guess rewatching it is a possibility (Like i'm doing now.. 'I KEEEL YOU'  rofl!)
So 2) it's popularity is sustaining it on its own with 3) no effort at all from the original uploader.


Maybe this is not a good example, because there is no 1) initial effort at all! The uploader probably recorded this or something and just uploaded it. Plus, it's funny so the comedic nature of it would also sustain its popularity.
Let's use MY video as an example:

Hardest Mario Level Ever - Completed

If you have never heard of the hardest mario level ever,(or mario frustration) i suggest you check it out here, it's filled with profanities though so do turn your speakers down or make sure you're wearing headphones.
It's funny as hell especially if it's your first time watching it.

So basically my video is one of the first on Youtube to show myself completing the ENTIRE game, all 4 levels. (In fact, I was probably the first. I can't confirm this though, but I don't see any other reason why it would have shot to fame like it did)

1) I certainly put in alot of effort to put this video together, all the hours spent pulling my hair out and beating this game, plus all the video editting required ( I died a gazillion times, so every attempt had to be recorded as I wouldn't know when i would be beating it) in piecing the parts together. So I fulfilled the first requirement

2) It shot to fame as it was the first of its kind, and it being posted on some forum also helped to boost my views, and with sufficient spark, it boomed to being rather popular? Generating about 50k views 2 years ago, and is at a humble 400k+ views now
I can imagine the conversations of people who probably watched the original video first:

Guy A: "Hey have you heard of the super duper frustrating and imba level of super mario? There's this funny guy playing it on Youtube and getting owned and it's damn funny!"

Guy B: "That's nothing! Have you heard of the guy who beat the whole game?"

hahahah. And as such, my video is linked. And for the record, that guy in the original video did NOT actually play the game, the uploader did acknowledge that the gameplay video was taken from some Japanese website and he merely did the voiceover.

3) I'm receiving daily notifications of comments being posted there and I barely go back to check or reply questions. I'm doing virtually nothing, yet the views are still going up! Because of the Popularity Cycle Effect!


Thus, if you want to be famous and popular, you need to find some startup boost, some initial spark that will get your popularity going. Something that will get people talking about you or what you did or posted, and then once you have burst into popularity flames you just have to put in a mediocre effort to sustain it and it will keep going due to the Popularity Cycle Effect.

i think im funny

ever had friends using ebuddy on their iPhone and they don't log out so when you message them it gives that irritating 'Away' message? yea here's my reply:

some WoW-related videos.

As you know, I used to play WoW, and recently sold my account for a huge amount of money. That said, I still occasionally check out WoW news just for fun, and apparently Cataclysm (the next expansion of WoW after Wrath of the Lich King) just started!

Now for those who play WoW, you surely have heard of Athene, the self-declared 'best paladin in the world'. He made a hilarious video in which he is extremely arrogant and cocky such that coupled with his accent, it sounds terribly hilarious!! haha. In fact, it has 2.6million views already!

You don't need to have WoW knowledge to watch/enjoy this video! Just watch (or listen) him talk! hahaha
(i know the screenshot for this video has some hot girl or sth but there's no such girl in the video I'm sorry to disappoint you haha)






And apparently now in Cataclsym, he is the first to hit level 85!! (the level cap)


He is so hilarious, I think it's just his accent or something. And besides being supposedly the best PvP pally, he is also good at powerlevelling? I checked it out and he supposedly has the records for powerlevelling 1-60, 61-70, and 71-80. So basically he has the powerlevelling records for every single possible level range la.

Ah, just played like constant Starcraft 2 from about 12pm till now.. tired. gonna sleep ! nite!

IPPT

For those who don't know, all combat fit males who complete their 2 years NS cycle still have to clear an annual fitness test, known as IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test)

That would mean the majority of guys - those who are not combat fit are those who have some heart problem, some serious medical problem, fake an amazingly awesome injury  have a chronic injury (i.e. degeneration of ACL, etc)

I have yet to clear mine, and have to clear it by my next birthday (i.e. oct 2011). So I decided to set an early New Year resolution for 2011 - to get a SILVER for my IPPT next year.



Why silver? because at my peak, at my fittest moment in army, I only could muster up a Silver with my timing of 10:21 in the 2.4km run (Gold is  9:44) So Silver is already more than generous.

I just ran for a run earlier, just a short 15 minute run. I hope to be running very often, ideally everyday though that's probably not very realistic. So I'll aim for twice or even three times a week. I have to clear a timing of 11:39 and below to attain a silver (or 12:20 to pass).

There's alot of money involved! If you attain a Gold you get $400, and $200 for a Silver (and $100 for a pass). So I have my eyes on the prize money of $200.

My only problem is my 2.4km run. Pull-ups wise I have a long way to go (only did 4 just now, but barely pushed myself. Can probably do 6 atm) but I should be able to easily pull it up (pun intended :p ) to 8 (for silver) with constant training.
Never had a problem with situps or shuttle run or standing broad jump. So it's just pullups and 2.4km to improve to the silver mark.

Oh, and working out for IPPT will give me a nicer body too HAHA. 2nd major incentive besides the money hehe. okok bye

starcraft 2

this is going to be a long and rambly post all about starcraft2, so if you don't play or have no idea what it is about, it may not be for you. Just for me to rant rawrr.

So you should know (if you know me) that I'm quite crazy about Starcraft2. It's just about the only game I play now (barring games on the iPod Touch) . It's a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game in which you build a base, train troops, and kill your opponents.

It's rightly called 'RTS' because it really is strategizing in real time, every second of the way. And that's what this post is ranting about. Even though I played Starcraft 1, I never really had a favourite race. When i played back then I didn't ladder or anything, mostly played against the computer and if I can't win I'll use cheat codes LOL. poweroverwhelming. operationcwal (cwal stands for 'cannot wait any longer' in case you didn't know)



When Starcraft2 came out, I knew my aim was to ladder, because before that I was playing Warcraft3 and was laddering alot and really enjoyed it. 1v1 is my favourite, because it is all about your own personal skills and your personal decisions that influence the outcome of the game.


I don't know what made me decide on Zerg, but I started playing zerg in SC2 and really liked it. Maybe it's the convenience of having everything train from just one building. Maybe because zerg seems the coolest. i don't know.


-SC2 jargon begins here-
So now, a few months down, the problem I find with Zerg is that it's the most reactionary race. What this means is that rarely can you start the game with a particular build in mind - you have to just macro up quickly and scout your opponent to know what to go for next. I say 'rarely' because there are of course some short strats such as baneling busts or 6pool that you can decide off the bat to do, but they are often countered and defended easily by better players.
 zergs don't have a 4gate or a 3rax or a 1buildfitsall strategy, and gets even more complicated in ZvZ. Let me go through each matchup.

Zerg vs Terran
This used to be my worst matchup as I could not figure out how to beat the 'imba' Terran. But after the recent nerfs (i.e. Reapers) and reaching where I am on the ladder, the builds they throw out are all the same - infantry+tanks or thors or both, and the occasional hellions thrown in. But most of the time it's a mass infantry build. Which makes them now become my easiest matchup - I think i win easily 66% of the time against them.

What happened to the mass Thors? MMM? Everyone now seems to like using mass marines + a couple of tanks which is really easy to beat with banelings/speedlings/roach/mutas. Heck, i can even reduce it to baneling/muta sometimes I don't know why I don't really use Infestors, maybe because they are so flimsy and cost SO much gas. I should use them more though.

I think what separates a good Terran from an average one is the use of drops. I know I'm facing a strong opponent when I fight a small frontal assault force and see a group of infantry drop off in my mineral line. Annoying as hell, but that is what pro Terrans do. The average ones just use Medivacs as medics, totally neglecting to abuse the power of drops.


Zerg vs Protoss
This used to be my easiest matchup but now in the later diamond league stages I seem to have alot of problems with Protoss.
Almost all the time I'll go fast expand (14 hatch) into roaches (and once in a mutaling for fun) and while I have no problems holding off a 2gate zealot early push, the problem comes with an all-in 4 gate timing push. (4 gate is considered 'all-in' because if I can hold it off, he will be mineral strapped and waaay behind in economy - you can't produce off 4 gates for long on 1 base)

Apparently the correct defence is to throw up 3-4 spinecrawlers and fight in their range.. Have still yet to practise that.

If it's not a 4gate, then it's a phoenix rush. Good Protoss will hide their stargates and just pop into my base suddenly with 4-6 phoenixes - by that time it's too late to really do anything (e.g. pump up hydras). I guess the only way to really defend this is to throw up preemptive spore crawlers if I don't see a 4 gate.
PLUS, the upcoming patch is going to buff Phoenix(es?) by reducing their build time.. so I'll probably be seeing this alot more. bleahz.



Zerg vs Zerg
While I regard this as the most fun matchup, it is also the most complicated and challenging matchup. There are about a dozen different openings you can do in ZvZ.. let me see if i can list them
1) 6 (or 7 or 8) pool
2) 10 pool econ build
3) 10 pool all-in baneling rush
4) 13 gas 13 pool
5) 14 gas 13 pool
6) 14 hatch 14 pool (or even 15 hatch)
7) in-base hatch all in zergling rush
8) +1 melee upgrade all in zergling rush

Note that these are only OPENINGS, not the full strat that includes the transitions. 4 and 5 normally transits into roaches, but speedling/baneling is becoming very common as well, and that leads to the transitions
1) roaches +1 ranged attack timing pus
2) roach-fake (just a few roaches to block ramp)
3) zergling baneling rush
4) zergling spam into mutalisks

SO MANY VARIATIONS. And the thing is if you go the wrong build relative to what your opponent gets, it's an instant loss. No way of defending, you just lose straight out because you chose the wrong build. For instance, a 6 pool rapes a 14 hatch obviously. And a zerglingbaneling rapes a mass zergling. muta tech rapes a pure roach army.

And what makes it harder is that with a Queen in base, it's virtually impossible to scout with an Overlord like you do against T and P, you have to run some lings into their base to see their tech structures.

Nowadays I'm losing alot to some sort of all-in speedling push. My favourite opener is 14 hatch as I like econ games as it's good to train macro, but on small maps, especially with early lings pressure, it is not very viable. Then when I get roaches, my opponents do some fast tech to mutas with speedlings to pressure me and I lose again. highly frustrating!

And the hardest matchup of all is lingbanelings vs lingbanelings. It becomes a pure micro fight and given my lack of practice I don't dare rely on that. One wrong click and you lose your entire ling army to a baneling (or your banelings to a baneling) which really just makes you pound your keyboard.

~~
grawl. I hope by the end of this holidays, I would have hit top 20 in diamond at least (hmm, master league even?) and know how to beat the common strategies that beat me. grr.

engrish

Everytime I visit Daiso, my favourite activity is to spot all the hilarious english translations on the products. I have blogged about this before here.

So this week while out with sh we visited Daiso, and it's Engrish hunting again! I will caption the words in case you cant read the pictures

 

I want to go to the nature for relaxation. Be absorbed in the sweet memories then you will be a part of the nature

 Yupyup, making alot of sense as usual.

A well-functioned sophisticated amd best in quality created exclusively for you

Be absorbed in sweet memories then you will be a part of the nature. You can feel comfortable from the natural materials

hahaha quite similar to the one above. And yes I feel very comfortable from the natural materials.

A steering wheel. In what is round, I fit a finger

 HAHAHA ok this is totally lost in translation. I wonder why they suddenly talk about steering wheels.. And the second line is just highly suggestive LOL.

It is a family of me who is always nearby

It is a shoes stand that can be stored shoes double!

lolol I guess they mean you can store 2 shoes? haha.

Anyway, me and sh actually wanted to go to the Sentosa Busker's Festival

There were performances such as jugglers (the world record holder for soccer balls juggling), magicians, singers, and all sorts of performers. It sounded quite interesting, hence I decided to go with SH.

HOWEVER. When we reach Sentosa, it began to rain -_- And because all the performances were outdoors for some stupid reason, they were cancelled! FOL! (OL = our lives.. leave you to figure it out) 

We were so sad  :(

wa she looks pissed.

not bad right I'm like about to cry

crazy girl starts smilingggg

Ok bye~

speedy taxi drivers

There are a number of things in the world I don't and will probably never understand - how to calculate the current in a complex series + parallel circuit, rubik's cubes above 3x3, girls, and taxi drivers who speed.
(No i'm not talking about the first 3 in this post, just the last one)



I've been taking cabs quite abit since army, because I have adopted a personal and popular philosophy that 'Time is money'. Thus, since army, I've begun taking cabs when I feel like I want to save that extra 20 mins or more in travelling time.

On paper, it seems ridiculous - to spend money just to save such a small amount of time?! But come on, once time is gone, it never comes back. There are only 24 hours a day (which I feel is too little) and every second has to be treasured (remember my Snowball Time Effect theory?)

Plus, it seems that cabbing is more economical than driving (I may be wrong, but it seems to be? It'll take a couple of years to break even for the cost of your car + COE, not including fuel, car maintenance, etc.)

ANYWAY, that totally wasn't the point of this entry. My question is:
Why do taxi drivers bother speeding?

Recently when I take my cabs at night, and the traffic is more favourable, my taxi drivers have been speeding. I will define speeding as going above 90 (that's the speed limit on an expressway btw, it's 80 on normal roads and 70 on some. don't know if it goes lower)
And the cabs I've been in have frequently stayed at 100km/h-ish as long as they can - the one I just took went up to 110, and was trying to push 120! (but traffic prevented him from doing so)

 Now, this is NOT a complain, I LOVE it when they speed because this gets me home quicker and hence makes my taxi ride more worth it. Yes I know that it's dangerous and all but.. HECK LA. haha. If you're meant to die you're meant to die. Just don't take unnecessary risk like try to dangle yourself out of the building. But if my cabby wants to set a new speed record I'm not going to stop him with 'Uncle please slow down!!' and watch him drop to 50 for the rest of the journey.

I'm not a very stingy person but if I was working as taxi driver, I would just drive at a NORMAL pace? I mean, I do get paid less if i drove quicker, so why would I want to reduce my earnings? Eh, taxi driver not easy leh, working hours are long and hard and you don't exactly get alot of money. Of course I'm not saying I will go one big round to scam people... I just won't bother to drive FASTER to LOWER my earnings!

There is no incentive to drive quicker besides maybe having the adrenaline of speeding?

Heck, my drivers even OVERTAKE other cars when they are speeding. That's just ridiculously awesome!? I mean, maybe a nice cabby would just accelerate more when the road is clear and maybe push 90, 100km/h. However, if traffic prevents him from reaching those speeds, I'll be totally fine if he stays at 70-80 and stays behind them. Ok fine, I may tsk abit in annoyance at the cars blocking us but unless they're crawling at 40-50 or something, I wouldn't really fault my cabby for not overtaking.
But mine, when he sees cars in front, he will actually weave around them and maintain his high speed. For what??

AND, don't forget that not only do they NOT gain from speeding, they may even LOSE something in terms of a fine!! Speeding can get fined one!

So to sum up, when cabbies speed they
1) Lower their own earnings
2) Risk a hefty fine

Why do they still do it? I'm befuddled. Is there such a word? Befuddled. CONFUSED. CLUELESS.

Anyway, I always ask these speedy drivers to keep the change when I pay them (about 50 cents la I'm not that rich or crazy enough to like give them 50 dollar note for a $10+ journey) in recognition of their effort and risk and awesomeness. You should too! (if you are not some anti-speeding advocate, that is)

NUS Module Review Sem 1 10/11

Im going to be doing a review on all 5 modules that I took this sem, for the benefit of whoever else may want to take the module too. They are PL1101E(Intro to Psych), PL2131(Stats1), NM1101E(Comm and New Media), PH1102E(Intro to Philo), LAF1201(French1)

I'll answer 5 questions for each: What is it about? How's the workload? How difficult is it? Any miscellaneous tips? Should you take it?



PL1101E - Introduction to Psychology
What is it about?
The title says it all - the module goes through a large variety of topics such as memory, learning, intelligence, developmental psych, abnormal psych, etcetc. If you have interest in how the brain works and what human behaviour is like, this is a module for you.

How's the workload?
The textbook is a monster - it was 800++ pages in total. (excluding references + appendix) Readings every week are usually one chapter, though you may have to read more in some weeks. Each chapter is about 40-60 pages. Do note that the textbook may change every sem(or year?) so it may be different.

There is one mid term paper (which you know the topic from about week 3 or 4, and is due about week 8?), a 100 MCQ mid term test, and a 100 MCQ + 5 short essay finals. (both closed book)

One 2h lecture per week (should be 6-8pm on monday as always) and one 2h tutorial fortnightly

How difficult is it?
The readings sound like alot but they are really not that bad. Firstly, the information is generally interesting to read and are not dry readings like journal articles. Next, there are many experiments and examples to aid your understanding, so it is not as long as it seems. The textbook is pretty easy to understand so there shouldnt be any problems here.

The exams are almost entirely memory-based - if you are able to memorize the textbook from the first to last page, you will very likely get a close-to-perfect mark. That said, understanding the concepts is quite important (versus just memorizing definitions) as the MCQs like to rephrase certain terms and see if you can pick the correct definition. Do try to read every thing from the textbook and remember the gist of everything, because they will test everything.

Miscalleneous Tips
This is one module in which you cannot fall behind in your readings - everything snowballs really quickly. Also, it's all about remembering everything, so ideally try to read your textbook at least twice over. Making a summary sheet for every chapter REALLY helps in revision.

Also, get started on your mid term essay early since they release the topic so early. The topic was fairly straightforward for this semester, not sure about future sems.

Lectures are an absolute waste of time, I stopped going for lectures in the second half of the semester. All they do is regurgitate what is stated in the textbook, and do a rushed job (because realistically all the content cannot be covered within a short 2hr lecture)
Tutorials are boring as well, but I guess it depends on which TA you get. No tutorial participation, so go ahead and switch off during tutorials :p

Should you take it?
A content heavy mod and should be balanced accordingly with whatever else you are taking. Not difficult at all to score if you have the time to keep up with readings. Known to be one of the most interesting exposure mods, and psychology is always interesting to read about. Go ahead and try it!


PL2131 - Research and Statistical Methods 
*It is important to note that I heard this module varies GREATLY for Sem1 and Sem2 due to different lectureres. So, take these comments with a pinch of salt.*
What is it about?
Hypothesis testing, z tests, t tests, chisquare tests, correlation, regression, effect size, power.
I think I have just summed up all you need to study for your exams.
This module is an introduction to several tests used in psychology and how to obtain your results.

How's the workload?
Two textbooks, though you won't cover every chapter. Readings aren't very long, and are filled with examples to help you understand the concepts.
2 assignments (1 week deadline to complete for each), 1 closed book mid term mcq test, 1 open book finals (short answer questions)
one 2h lecture weekly, one 2hr tutorial fortnightly

How difficult is it?
This module is very concepts-based. Memorization is NOT the focus for this module - it is much more important to understand the concepts and when to use which formula.
Mid terms may require a little memory since it is closed book, but it's not very content heavy, just several key concepts which once you understand they won't be difficult to remember.
Finals are open book so it's all about knowing your content well and applying your concepts well.

Contrary to popular belief, good mathematics knowledge is NOT required. As long as you know how to multiply, add, subtract and square root (and square) on a calculator, you will be fine. It's also important to be able to recognize which formula to use for which situations.

Assignments are generally ok, though one of them may require an external program so will be a small hassle to download it and run it.

The most difficult thing of this module may be understanding the HK lecturer's accent HAHA. :(

Miscalleneous Tips
I will repeat this - understanding the concepts are very very important! It's not about memorizing, but about applying the appropriate formula to the question. You should make a summary formula sheet for your finals for easy reference.

Should you take it?
Yes, if it's Prof Mike teaching it. He sets really easy papers apparently (for my sem, the finals paper was almost identical to the paper 2 years ago -_- )
Not difficult at all, though the competition may be high as it has limited slots and it's a prerequisite for psych majors.


NM1101E - Communications and New Media
What is it about?
A wide variety of topics from online communities, video games, copyright, development of the internet, etc. It is so broad that it is hard to describe it aptly in a paragraph.

How's the workload?
2 group projects, 1 individual project. 1 mid terms, 1 finals.
Readings are usually some sort of (outdated) journal articles, the length and how interesting it is varies greatly.
 1 2hr lecture per week, 1 1hr tutorial every week.
Mid terms consists of MCQ and short answer and essay. Finals are all MCQ.

How difficult is it?
The projects are generally fun and interesting to do. For instance, my individual project was about blogging! So fun haha.
Readings can be VERY VERY dry and complicated, and what I disliked most about them was that some were waaay oudated. (e.g. 10 years ago?) It was quite ridiculous to read about 'what the Internet is going to be' when it has already surpassed what was predicted.
Of course, there are several more interesting ones. But the readings are generally tough, I wouldd say.

Mid terms was REALLY easy, the MCQs were a total joke. I think a student who did not take the module would easily get half the questions correct as the way the options were written made the correct answer really obvious
E.g.
Which of these is a fruit?
a) chicken, b) apple, c) red, d) pajamas

The short answers and essay are slightly tougher but still manageable.
I think many people did well, so the bell curve naturally shifted higher.

Finals were the killer for my sem - the 60 odd MCQs were REALLY challenging. All the  options were very close and the 'application MCQs' (4 marks each mcq!) were quite difficult.

Miscallenous Tips
Read the LECTURE SLIDES. Seriously, it is a definite B at least if you read the lecture slides and study them religiously. To get an A of course you need to do well in your projects and do read the readings abit as some questions do test from readings.
However, I would say lecture slides are waaay important. They nicely capture all the important concepts you need to know so make sure you study them.

Should you take it?
Yes! Pretty interesting topics and generally slack module. The readings are not too heavy and not alot of studying is required (since revising lecture slides seems sufficient)


PH1102E - Introduction to Philosophy
What is it about?
A wide range of philosophical debates - is killing the same as letting die? Does every event have a prior cause? Is pleasure all that matters? Why is there something rather than nothing?

What is the workload?
One philo article per week which you have to do a summary writeup on. The summary is not necessarily of the entire article. Usually it is about a portion of the text, and it depends on the summary question the prof sets. In a sense, this 'forces' you to do your readings every week. They generally aren't very long.

No mid terms, just a final exam which was 10 'MCQ's and 2 essays (choose 2 out of 3)
I put 'MCQs' in inverted commas because it's not exactly a 'pick a b c d e ' thing all the way. For instance, one question required you to match a particular statement to the philosopher who agrees with it. (5 statements, 7 philosophers) There were about 2-3 of these sort of 'short answer' questions.

How difficult is it?
I found all the readings really interesting, so it is not really a chore to do the readings. Even if you can't understand the reading, because the articles are usually very popular articles, you can google for a 'summary' or an explanation of the main arguments of the author :) This really helps for your summary assignments.

Miscallenous Tips
It is important to understand what each philosopher argues for. I find the main idea to be to know how to argue for each side, and the lectures and notes cover this really well. Study Prof Pelchzar's notes for your exams and you will do well :)

Should you take it?
I think Philo is as such - you either like it or you hate it. I know of plenty of people who really dread it and dislike it to bits, though I personally enjoy it and love the readings.
If you are a naturally inquisitive person or can construct arguments and understand both sides of the picture very well, this is the module for you.

LAF1201 - French 1
What is it about?
Basic french, such as introducing yourself, basic grammar and vocab, colours, numbers, time, etc.

What is the workload?
TWO 2 hour lectures every week with one 1 hour tutorial.
2 sets of grammar + listening + oral tests, one close to mid terms, one close to finals. No finals.

How difficult is it?
I heard there are 1-2 bad lecturers who are very confusing. Mine (Mr Yannick) was very good and nice so it was relatively easy enough to understand. Not EASY though, I would say it is fairly challenging for newbies like me. I had the benefit of having a friend who knew French to be my 'second lecturer' during lectures so it was easier for me.

Miscallenous Tips
Requires constant revision of work, as with all language modules I guess.
Highly recommended to take with friends, so that you all can practise speaking French together. It really really helps to just keep talking in (your limited) French as it helps you remember the grammar and vocab better.

Should you take it?
It is a competitive module, since there are many people who know abit of French and still take the module and may unbalance the bell curve. Take it if you have several friends who are interested as well!


~~~

Ok that's all I have, I will post up my results on 21st Dec so you can judge whether to trust my advice or not xD

first date!

Ok so I've been unsingle for almost a month now, and even though we've spend ALOT of time together, they were all to study, lunch, or in school. We never really went out on an actual date!

So when exams ended tmr, it was a day of fun with my girl :)

rofl why does she look so surprised here. haha

We went to watch the latest Malay show Rapun Sayang. Ok no la obviously not I don't even know if there's such a word. it's RAPUNZEL! Otherwise known as, Tangled!

cinema so dark

The movie was.. ok la. The songs were very nice (Mandy moore :D and even the duet with Zachary Levi!) and I thought the story was good all the way until... the last part. Like I don't want to spoil people who haven't watch.. but I felt it was too Disneyfied and the ending was like.. >< so convenient

After the show, we went to New York New York!

 Secret snapshots of her while she was deliberating over the menu.

I must say I like how they keep trying to improve! There have been changes to the menu since the last time I went there (which was about 1-2 months ago? Maybe more but not THAT long ago) such as inclusion of an 'Elite 8' which is basically the 8 most popular dishes I guess. 

I highly recommend the Chicken Mushroom Mozerella Cheese (I probably got the name wrong but it has these 4 words la just forgot the order haha) It's super super filling and very nice!!

Here it is! it's the size of 2 palms btw.

I ordered the fish and chips in the Elite 8.. it had the words Devil and Chilli or SOMETHING like that in it to suggest that it's spicy  but it's not spicy at all! But yea super nice fish and chips, taste similar to Fish and Co and Manhattan Fish Market la. HUUGE portion as well.

Ok although there was a pretty waitress who kept waiting on us and was very polite and helpful (and brave.. she just picked up my used tissue paper whole (instead of like pinching it by the edges).... what if it is like soaked with mucus or something HAHA), the service before that was abit bad? Like when we placed our orders we ordered 2 iced waters... and they never came. So we had to ask another waitress for it.. and it never came. Then finally it came and it was in this plastic disposable cups. 

I looked around the entire restaurant, we were the only people who got these cups!! Why ah! Other people had the normal blue plastic cups. They see SH look like little girl then can give this one issit. Not environmental friendly sia. 

And my favourite dish from NYNY:

 NYNY Mudpie with Icecream!

It's superrr shiok. When SH ate her first bite, a smile crept across her face, and she said it was an involuntary smile haha. You really cannot help it one! Like the first time I ate I think I also like that.

I don't really like how they changed it though, last time it was not swimming in a pool of hot chocolate syrup like this. The problem with this, although damn shiok because of the excess of chocolate, is that the warm chocolate syrup causes the icecream to melt damn fast! So have to eat faster cannot savour

 

Too much chocolate syrup leftover, must play.

After that we went for a walk along Singapore River ~

Trying to be skilled and capture the backdrop as well

So nice right

Ok that's a wrap. Time to watch some Starcraft2 commentaries and play some games :)