the twilight zone: The Bridging post

First things first,

MAN UTD THRASHED NEW CASTLE 6-0!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Sorry Vee-Liem (will be referred from now on as "Vee") and Jeremy but you know, quality does beat passion anyday (fanatical newcastle supporters).

and............

ARSENAL DREW!!!!!!!!! with Birmingham!!!. Couldn't the day not start any better? Ok, i have to admit that i only watched the first half after which the anti-histamine i took started to kick in, but thank god (or rather the uber-nerds over at silicone valley..those guys surpass the normal NQ levels (nerd quotient) posessed by nerd rip offs and wannabes (such as yours truly) and are permanently imbedded in the nerd halls of fame (currently the major exhibit is Stephen Hawking, Einstein did not make it, him being a bit of a philanderer which drastically reduces the NQ level).

Righto, on with the post proper.

This is going to be a little in-depth look at life here in Singapore, cos i happen to have the time to sit and type for a long period of time....without feeling too lazy to do it.

My adidas predators look a little worse for wear (its been twisted out of shape with creases everywhere) and i have no idea how the guys keep their nikes and lottos and umbros looking good. Its us predator lovers whom have this problem (plans to sue the germans). I've got a match in 2 hours by the way, out of which i'm fully expecting some injury.

Ok, our grading system is a carbon copy of the US system. Every grade is determined by THE GRAPH (its the normal distribution curve, go figure) for every specific subject.

The subjects themselves are divided in 3 categories. Core subjects, general prescribed subjects (subjects we have to choose from a selection of three schools which you don't attend, and one unrestricted elective (more on this later on).

The core is the usual stuff. Computing, Materials, Calculus, Fluid Mechanics, etc etc etc, you get the picture. Depending on your degree, you're given a certain number of core modules to cover.

General Electives (GE) are subjects you HAVE to take from other schools. Lets say you happen to be in the College of Engineering, you have to take one module each from the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and from Business over the 4 years of univ.

Unrestricted electives are subjects you are free to take from ANYWHERE. You have to clear a minimum of 1 , and could opt to take more if you have time to kill or want to complete a minor (more on this later on). Hence, the popularity amongst the student body for subjects like "Imagining Imprisonment", "Mind Over Stress", "Are you OK?" (no joke, such a subject actually exists) and so on.

A minor is something like a mini degree. It means you have some acceptable level of knowledge in a certain field to be useful. Lets say you do s minor in Economics. You do not complete all the required subjects, just around 4 or 5 and you're given the minor.

I've registered for the follwing subjects this sem:

1) Multivariable Calculus
2) Physics 1B - Electromagnetism and Relativity
3) Materials Science
4) Computing
5) Effective Communication (i have no idea why they make u take this crap)
6) Physics 1Q (Research and Project work)
7) Principles of Economics (my GE)

The beauty of the system is such that you have an S/U option. It basically means if you're not confident in a certain subject, you could opt to simply pass or fail it and the grade won't be calculated into you're Grade point average (GPA). You're allocated a maximum number of academic units you could S/U.

Now for introductions:

My research partner for Physics 1Q: Suky.

Think of her as the female version of Ting Feng (albeit a bit more energetic and a bit more of a talker).