Another New Start

*Warning: Naggy post ahead! Not recommended for perusal without a comfy seat and a can of soft drink!

Hi friends! In a blink of an eye July 2008 has sneaked up right behind us. The month heralds the end of the school break and the start of another semester.

Yours truly has been very busy the past few weeks, mostly on the process of applying for the overseas exchange program. For those who have not already know, I have applied to be an exchange student to firstly the University of Maryland at College park and then to the Pennsylvania State University at University Park, both in the United States of America. If successful I will be heading to either destination come the beginning of 2009.

I have always wanted to study abroad. Especially more so after seeing the Princess successfully complete a very eventful year in Curtin University. The 'holiday-as-you-study-everyday' feeling apart, it is a good chance to explore and push one's personal boundaries. I am definitely looking forward to that challenge, which was the key reason for applying for the program in the first place.

And a challenge I got, more than what I bargained for perhaps. But alas, I have sold me soul to the devil of the overseas exchange. No turning back now. Right from the onset of the application, I was bogged down with tons of administrative work. From gathering the necessary personal information required, to filling up seemingly endless application forms and triplicating it, to hunting down willing local lecturers to write referrals, to writing your own personal essay for applying, and much MUCH more. I was cursing and swearing almost every step of the way. Hahaha. Good ol buddy Desmond can vouch for that. Because he was cursing along side me every step of the way as well (He has applied for the exchange program too). Hehehe.

On top of the initial difficulties, one who applies for the exchange program would soon understand that the difficulties would only be more complicated as the duration rolls along. There is the constant nagging of uncertainties. Confusion confounded with complication, in decisions, in applications, from all directions. Surely the only thing certain in life must be uncertainties. Fortunately, a respite would come everytime we seemingly hit a brick wall. Somehow above the futile emails to overseas university coordinators, the lack of understanding of matters from the local coordinators, the sparse availability of crucial information, and even above some nonchalent attitude of local lecturers to refer one, there exist somewhere a silver lining behind all these veiled patches of grey. Everything would just work out at the end of it all.

It is due to that fact that I'm through with the first round of applications and am now finally about to submit the second round of applications after many trips up and down the school getting the necessary things done. Hopefully I will finally get it all ironed out and submitted before the start of the semester come this very Wednesday. All things happen for a reason. And it once again points that despite the wisdom and the effort of man, perhaps everything has been already chartered by God himself. I have did what I already could. So it is in His hands that I leave my application form with.

Moving on to school. Semester 5 is already proving to be quite another new challenge after I downloaded, printed those darn course guides and finally got down to reading them. I expect it to be as challenging as Semester 4 or even more so. The module of all modules for all students in RMIT Business has finally apporached! 'Strategic Management' boasts of a strict overseas coordinator, a stricter local lecturer, a set of crazy individual and group projects and all made more unappetising with a historic failure rate of 40%. Neat or what! To rub unrefined salt on an enlarged ulcer, I am due for reservist come September for 18 days. Hahaha. I think I've already forgotten how to strip down a M16, much more to say the other platoon assault weapons. Wonder what is it like to go and chiong suah and rub camouflage cream all over again.

And here I am wishing that I could hit the magical 'Distinction' level for that module to have a realistic shot of graduating with the degree with distinction. Sheesh. If I don't sucessfully defer it would mean missing about 10 lessons and having my potential group mates cover my share of projects. I'm not so worried about the other modules but as usual I have a knack for complacency and procrastination as all good SIM (maybe don't even need SIM people?)friends will know. Hahaha. I would definitely require some divine intervention to pull off yet another miracle this semester. So in lieu of all the sh*t lined up for me, I will heed the proverbial "thou shall TRY to put in more effort this time" mantra, coined famously be the King Procrastinator, yours truly himself. Hmmm didn't I say that at the start of last sem? Or was it the sem before???

Ahh memory must be failing me, but what the heck. I am secretly looking forward to school somehow. It might sound absurd especially to hear it coming from me but yeah school rocks if you ask me. The past 2 years have been great. Despite the downside of school work at times, it was in it that I have learnt much more and found true friendship among some. And in this project based course, it would be almost impossible to do well without the coorporation of a good supportive team. And if somehow a relationship beyond work has been developed in the course of interaction, swell!!!


Good ol' comical memories of last semester: When all group members put display pics of "HD" after doing well for all the projects. (High Distinction picture taken at Macdonalds. Illustration made possible with 3 french fries and a unique 'D' shaped onion ring from the then newly introduced "Kungfu Panda" onion ring set. Picture taken with an Olympus Fe-5500 set on macro mode as a result of a childish maneouver by its bored owner with a deranged mind arising from the immersion of excessive project work accompanied by the best 2 partners in crime one could ever ask for, over a dinner at a Macdonalds outlet in town)

Well I don't expect straight HDs but I'm sure if we pull our weights we will succeed just like old times. Let's relieve it again guys! What would I have done without you guys. . .

And lastly as you would have heard, finally after a year down under, the Princess has returned uneventfully to the sunny island of Singapore. These days she complains of the crazy weather and lack of opportunities to put on the pretty winter clothes that she has vested a 'token' amount of money in. She is now torn between finding a job, ie. starting the cycle of slavery of routine work day in day out, as to relaxing around, ie. watching serials after serials and reading comics after comics on the comfortable couch of hers. Hmmm its a NO-BRAINER decision there if you ask me. But fortunately you didn't. BUWAHAHAHA!

Thank God for rationality among some others anyway. I will leave it here for Nightstar to carry on when she feels like it. Hehehe. *I'd bet its the packet of famous Bedok Chwee Kueh on the laptop keyboard that is getting in the way of her blogging attempts. I can't imagine what it's like to miss good local food for so long either. So be patient there!

Its 2am now and I suppose its time for me to curl up in bed with a very good read (that warrants an introduction on its on at a later date!).

Good Night my friends! We'll meet when we can! =)

Carpe Diem!