This is weird. I am still getting used to this lifestyle - a lifestyle of slacking and bumming. After 2 years of hard work, it is rather strange not having anything to do.

When you are so busy, you wished for time to relax. When you have all the time to relax, you wished for things to challenge yourself. Life is ironic, isn’t it?

8 months to kill time. What shall I do? I had wanted all the time in the world to slack last time, but I did not really give much thought into what I will do during that free time. I was too busy studying I did not have the time to dream and imagine about the future – my favourite past time.

Laugh as much as you like, but I like dreaming and imagining up stuff. I used to do it a lot back in secondary school but I had to cut down on them in Singapore.

Read this: Life in Singapore, especially the junior college is simply too rigid and stressful for me to imagine stuff.

Look Singapore, you want to create creative students right? You want to remove the conventional, conformist, indifferent attitude of people right? You want people to think in unique, out-of-the box ways right?

Well, your education system DOES NOT encourage the above. It’s too RIGID, too ORTHODOX and too EXAM-ORIENTED. Students are encouraged to chase NOTHING ELSE but As in examinations.

Yes, it’s a process called meritocracy; I understand that. Perhaps it’s a trade-off between conflicting education policies. You push your students hard to ensure they are strong in their Science and Maths, but at what expense? I understand the need for Singapore to be the best in this globalised world; your teachers did a terrific job in drumming that into me. But I pity your Singaporean kids. They slog all their way through from Primary 1 all the way to JC2.

Those stronger ones might have the opportunity to develop other aspects once they are strong in their academics. They might EXPLORE other avenues. But how many of your students actually DARE explore things beyond their text books? Doing so might cause their exam results to deteriorate A BIT and cause them to LOSE OUT a lot. Is it worth it?

I had a serious misconception about your country before coming. My perception of your country and your education system before starting JC was this: Because Singapore is a more developed country, it will have a better education system as compared to Malaysia. And when I mean better I mean an education system that encourages creativity and unorthodox thinking. And this often means it is LESS EXAM-ORIENTED because exams FORCES students to think in a RIGID, INFLEXIBLE manner.

Maybe I did not do my research well enough. Maybe I did not watch I Not Stupid. And that probably gave me a cultural shock when I first entered my JC. I am surprised at the frequency of tests. I HATED the fact that the only way for me to succeed was to ROTE-LEARN my lecture notes.

The amount of things I had to MEMORISE used up so much of my brain capacity that at the end of the day I just have no spare brain cells to indulge in my imagination. Just ask Albert Einstein how important imagination is.

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.’

Anyway, I’m not out here to deride the Singapore education system. The system is also good in the following aspects.

1) The Singapore education system encourages one to think critically of a subject matter. Yes, all those studying and those tough tests actually improved my analytical skills, something that I did not learn very well back home. After 2 years I’m a different person; I can look at anything now and analyse it to bits and pieces – and the weird thing is, I actually enjoy doing so!

2) The Singapore education system makes a student more determined and competitive. Losing is not fun and the Singapore education system is excellent in making people lose. It is not uncommon for half the cohort to fail a certain subject. I thought exams are designed to pass students! Well, not here in Singapore. It’s design to fail student. Well it demotivates you, but it also encourages you to push harder to succeed. As long as you do not give up, the whole process just makes you a stronger person.

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Ah, just my personal musings of the Singapore education system. I diverged a lot from my original thoughts. Perhaps I gotta write a more objective piece of the education system soon. 8 months to go - all the time to write.

Farking Promos are over!!!! I’m so GLAD! I’m so GLAD!! I’m so GLADDD!!! No need to memorise some stupid shit stuff that I learn in some stupid garbage paper anymore at least for the next 2 to 3 months!!!! Yes! And I can finally update this blog!

Anyway, 1 week before our [tag]Promos[/tag], my hostel had this thanksgiving dinner to celebrate the good time that we boarders have had staying in [tag]Oldham Hall[/tag]….

I had lotsa great time and count myself really lucky that my exams are not the following day unlike some other JC students like those from RJC, IJC, NYJC….Pity them….Can’t really enjoy themselves on a fun day….Anyway, we took a lot of photos…Here are some of them….

He’s a real smart ass….Scoring 90over for most papers here in Singapore! Even AJ’s killer Maths paper he can score over 90++ without moderation! WTH?

The picture speaks louder than any description that I’m gonna make….Oh anyway, most of them are from China…

Gaurav, (if you are ever reading this)….It’s been nice being roommates for you this year….At least you don’t mug that hard except during exam period….Didn’t scare the hell out of me….But you are one smart fellow….

Ppl….I’ve lotsa Indonesian gals to interact with here! Are you jealous?

My tablemates on Thanksgiving Dinner….Some are my roommates in the 6 bedder room or boarders from neighbouring rooms…

And finally, saving the best for the last! The last toilet group shot!!!! This is our toilet! Underwear Galore! Mwahahhahahaha……..

Tanggal seluar dan baju,
Mari kita menyambut Merdeka
MERDEKA, MERDEKA!
Sudahlah [tag]Merdeka[/tag]!
Saya happy exam sudah habis…..

I’m done with the bloody exam….Bloody exam-oriented education system….Is there a better way of evaluating students? I really believe there’s a better way….Let me crack my brain to devise some way in the next few days….

As I have said a few times before, living in a hostel during the exam week and the week before is scary….Everyone is studying….I’m okay with people studying, but I get scared when people study 15 hours per day…From 8 to 9 in the morning all the way till 11 at night….Some study till the wee hours in the morning, around 2 am….

Honestly, I’m stressed out not because of my own exams but because everyone is studying like crazy….I’m stressed out because of the rest…So weird….

To me, exams is not a competition with the rest. It’s a challenge with your own self….It’s a measure of your own ability….You are fighting against yourself to score the grade, not with the others….

I talked to some China guys from [tag]Raffles Junior College[/tag] (Singapore’s top JC) who were studying like crazy

“Yo bro, chill la….No need study already….You’ll surely get the A”
“Cannot….”
“Why? What for? The A is already in your hand….Enjoy life”
“No….Need to score 100”
“For what?”
“For position”
“Who cares about positions?”
“I care” - WTH??!?!?!?
“But you’re A-level result slip won’t state that you have scored 80 or 100”
“Well, if I score 100 in all my exams, my teacher will write that in my school graduation certificate”
“………”

Suck man….People are studying like crazy…..Not to score the A but to score 100!?!?! WTH?!?!

What has happened to this world? Have we taken perfection to a whole new level?
And does getting 100% help us in our future?

Scoring well in exams = Doing well in life?
Is that equation true???? Is it?

Ok this post is 2 days overdue. Well, I had my safe journey back to Singapore on Wednesday afternoon with a [tag]First Coach[/tag] bus. It was 5 hours long with some slight traffic jam around Ayer Keroh area if I’m not mistaken due to construction work to widen the road.

Just some random shot of [tag]Muzium Negara[/tag] I’d took during the bus journey out of KL…It reminds me, it’s been a while since I’d been there….Read my trip to KL to know why I suddenly wanna go explore KL…

Why bus instead of train? Well, bus is way faster than train. And it is very comfy…
Price? First Coach is not too expensive. RM40 from KL to Singapore or S$30 from Singapore to KL…

Well, it’s half the price of so-called luxury buses plying the [tag]Singapore-KL[/tag] route….[tag]Airebus[/tag] and [tag]Aeroline[/tag] are the luxury bus companies that brand themselves as flying in a bus…..I shall write a review between the 3 bus companies someday in the future….

Anyway, I can’t help but to write this. Life in hostel at this moment of time is SCARY!!!!!!! FREAKINGLY SCARY!

You know why? Coz everyone is studying like CRAZY!
Exams are right after the holidays (this coming Monday), and it’s scary seeing everyone studying…..
People clock in double digit hours studying per day. They sleep late at night, and wake up early in the morning.

I CAN’T FREAKING DO THAT! I have a short attention span. All I wanna do is chill and enjoy. But peer pressure brother…..PEER PRESSURE….

I feel damn guilty for not studying….I spent less than half the amount of time that these people spend studying these last few days….

While they had been studying I had been playing my computer, blogging, going out….gosh….scary….I sleep late, waking up early and hence wasting my whole morning off, but as I wake up, I see people studying already….WHAT THE HECK!?

My philosophy – There’s no use studying so much more if you have already reach the maximum capacity because further effort won’t do much good….

Anyway, I’ve spent some time into creating a graph and writing some explanation for it….It’s in the next post. Read it and understand it…It looks a lil econs-ly…but heck…it’s the fact what….