Pre-U(ni) Part IV: Results :)

pic by Johnny Vulkan

These past few months, and especially the past few days, were rather impatient 'twilight zones' where all I did was basically wait...and wait...and wait somemore until geram already. Impatience is a real pain in the neck, I would say. And loved ones were asking and hoping with me.

Then on last Friday, the 13th, it came out. Rather unexpectedly, as I only knew the date a day before that. (Also good as there wasn't too agonizing a wait there.)

And in the end, God gave me my 1st choice. Mass Comm in USM, Penang, which is a 5-hour bus ride from home. Registration is on the 1st of September so I'll be leaving KL about 1-3 days before that, so 25th and 26th August would be the last weekend here.

Many of my fellow form 6-ers from SMKP also got into various unis across Malaysia, with a significant number of them crossing the peninsula to Sabah and Sarawak. They probably could have mini-gatherings there. But I really hope we can all meet up before migrating to the different states in the country. I'm still spamming FB for the results of my old friends from SMKPBP.


As much as I'd think that this was smart planning on my side or that I somehow managed to impress the lecturer, I sincerely believe that God willed this university to be the best place where I can grow and learn for the next 4 years.

I still am coming to grips with the fact that I have been given a place far enough for me to be independent like I've always wanted as well as develop my principles as a person apart from upbringing, but close enough for accountability by loved ones and getting to know new friends and acquaintances. Not to mention the green campus, which I like so far and got a glimpse of during my interview there and the food. Ah, food. Mostly cheap and good. Better practice being athletic and in shape from now on before gaining another 10 pounds like everyone warned, haha :D

So the academic schedule for the next year, taken from here, is as below: (click to enlarge)

The preparation stage has thus begun. And I'm gonna move out of the house for like, 4 years? Even with breaks it still feels like a lifetime. And  I have never left home for more than a week tops before. This is going to take some serious getting used to. There are like a 101 questions in my head even as I am writing this.


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Random intermission: Pics of Penang from the web! (I will take my own pics once I'm there :))

The uni...

USM Entrance, Sg. Dua. Pic from here.

Penang bridge: Day/Night

pic by Dennis Yu

pic by IRRI Images

Food :)

pic by Vincent Yong

Hawker fare - pic by Hector Hurtado

Beach~

pic by Schristia

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The more important concerns that I have are relating to my studies, socializing, and my faith.

Studies: My STPM results were a wake up call that once SPM is over, so are the so-called easy As, spot questions, tips and etc. And now we study because we want to, not because it is compulsory. I can choose to skip class and take it easy, or overstress myself with assignments, or through trial-and-error experiences come up with a way to balance studying and playing time (which is easier said than done)

Socializing: Tough one for me. So far I've been slow in this area...afraid of making new friends due to fear of rejection. Time to embrace my inner introvert and stop trying to please everyone, instead focus on one at a time. And forget about jaga muka and all that. Note to self: Please eat humble pie. If I can make friends well then the next 4 years are going to be awesome. So many interesting people :D

Faith: This one is also tough in the sense that I'm on my own and need to ask myself hard questions about what is it that I actually believe. No more going to church because my parents are elders - it's my choice now. And will I find mentors there just like I have here? Can I acknowledge and grow stronger in my faith? This requires a lot of thorough soul searching...

Part V (coming soon) will be the last part in this series, and will be a telling of the specific preparations to be made before I leave. This is a lot to digest, lol.

PS. If you came across this blog and are were also accepted to USM this year, leave a comment! :) Good to know who our uni-mates, coursemates will be...as well as prepare for the next 4 years together.

How to Get A Band 6 in MUET - And a Little On Learning

Picture by Fransisco Martins

Warning: This post may not be what you expected it to be. It describes the philosophy behind how I got the band instead of being a school-ish guide. For the specific kinda guide, go here or here. If you still want to know my thoughts...read on.

Today is probably gonna be my last form-6 related study post, so I'm gonna answer the question that many people have asked me and I have yet to give a consistent answer (so far).

And I truly believe that this technique can be used to improve any other language as well, with modifications of course.

Almost a year after I got my results, now I've managed to distill my answer in a single sentence -

Don't study English, you - use it.

Which means you read it, write it, speak it, listen to it - both inside and outside class. In daily life.

Simple statement that is easier said than done...but once it's done, it's easier to grasp the nuances of the language that a mere 'studier' will not understand.

Repeat that like a mantra again and again until you got it. Okay? Okay. Just kidding on that mantra part.

I realized that technique early in life while learning the Chinese language - alas, it took 3 1/2 years for me to get it in my head. The fear of sounding wrong, which is the biggest barrier to learning in my opinion, made me an English speaker in a Chinese school (it's not something I or my teachers were proud of) until I actually, for the sake of surviving and making friends, started speaking Chinese. Even though my pronunciation was all over the place for the first few months or so, there was this time where the barrier just broke and fluency came after that.

It worked when practicing the piano with two hands.

It worked when I first learned to skip with a skipping rope.

It worked when I finally managed to play my C and D chords on the guitar properly. (That alone took an entire year, by the way.)

Using a language in real life (i.e talking to friends, writing journals etc) is harder than burning midnight lamps studying grammar books...but it's also more fun.

Picture by Brian Hathcock

When you study something, it gets in your head but if you don't make it part of your daily life, you will soon forget it the moment exams are over. That's what most adults probably mean when they say they gave back (name the subject) to their teachers years ago. To get good at something you need to have a reason for using it. In the case of learning English or any language for that matter, it is improving your communication and socialization skills in the real world, enabling you to reach out to more people. Effective communication in many language also makes stuff get done faster, better, and in a more creative matter.

Got it?

If you want a step-by-step manual on how to do well in your MUET (or any other exam), I can't put it in a single blog post nor proclaim to be an expert on it (which is why this post isn't MUET 101). After all, what worked for me (refer to this post and this post) may not work for you. For that I'd have to say, get to know yourself and how you learn, and then work from there.

As for the specific kinda questions...feel free to leave a comment here, and I'll see how I can help. (Do double check with your teacher though, I have left school for more that half a year at this time of writing and may not be acquainted with the latest exam formats.)

PS. I still have chapters 9-12 of Mikro posts unposted in my Draft folder...but since I already gave away my textbooks, I can't get a reliable source to confirm my postings, so I'll bestow that honor to the next generation of sixers (who wants to take up that challenge). This really is my last STPM-related post, since I'm moving on to a new stage in life. :)

PPS. If you know me well enough to read between the lines to realize that I'm supposed to be working now - well, I was summoned out of the office for carrying the flu bug. If a flu is what makes me blog, well...

Pre-U(ni) Part III: Waiting

picture by Gilderic Photography

Part I and Part II here.

Chapter 4: Calendar-watching.

Isn't it funny how time flies when you feel good and am doing something you love - whether it's hanging out with friends, enjoying a good meal, and listening to your favorite tunes? But when life is routine, time crawls. In fact, sometimes I feel it just sits there - "What, it's still 11a.m.?"

Basically I have a routine that repeats itself every weekday:

7.30am - wake up (when I really feel like sleeping)

8am - breakfast, get ready for work

8.20am - leave for office

8.30am - start work

1pm - lunch

2pm - continue work

6pm - go home

7pm - freshen up, dinner

8pm - surf web/read (except for Fridays where there's either prayer meet or cell group)

11pm - sleep (when I really feel like staying up longer)

What a life, isn't it? Being adult is so fun. Yay. I mean, working is okay but it's not as free as school life.

If you are still studying, heed this: Once you start working, you'll miss school. Real bad. I know, you can't wait for the day where no more teachers tell you what to do, you can wear any hairdo you want or have the money to buy whatever you fancy. Sure, you get all that, but with great freedom comes great responsibility. Get all that and you are still mostly subject to the instruction of your manager/supervisor/boss (unless you open your business at a young age, but that comes with its own set of risks), giving respect to the senior colleagues (for some reason when you're young people will always slap that 'not experienced like us' tag on us and may discount your opinion), office politics, paying bills to live by and etc. And when you're mad or sad, expressing your opinions too brashly may result in you losing your rice bowl. (The above was what my parents and my colleagues advice me while I'm working, except the miss school part. That was me!)

Which is why I can't wait till September. To sit in a class again. To absorb knowledge again. To once again, and for the last time formally (masters is a maybe in the future but for now it's uncertain), to be a student and be relieved of 'working adult' responsibilities - irony being that uni students from their 2nd year onward are legally adult. People tell me that college years are the best years of one's life, so one must live it well.

I often wonder what's so good in waiting. Can't we just fast forward? Maybe God's trying to teach me to be patient, and to learn from whatever experiences I have now, even though they may be small and I may just miss it 'round the corner. Guess that's life's seasons - sometimes they're mountains, sometimes they're valleys.