The end of the 4-year wait

After the dust has settled, there can only be one winner. World Cup, in some matter of respect mirrors life sometimes. Sometimes, there can only be one winner. Even when the Golden Boot has so many winners, the one with the most assist wins. Spain, with their tiki tika football has triumphed over the Oranje. Not much surprise in that department. Xavi, the master passer. Villa, the deadly assassin. Saint Iker in goal has one of the safest pair of hands. Iniesta with his telepathic understanding with Xavi. Marshalled superbly by Basquets and Alonso. A dream midfield and forward line if any. The defence with their imposing towers, Puyol and Pique followed by the evergreen Capdevillea and dynamic Ramos, the curse of the European Champion not winning the World Cup was always in danger to be broken. And so it did. Can't say I'm not happy about it! :)

World Cup fever

Well, the World Cup is already halfway through and I must say there are a lot of upsets. The All Whites prove that population doesn't count for much and despite having a smaller population than Singapore, made it to the World Cup. That wasn't all as they went on to score 2 precious points and taking the scalp of world champions Italy! Unbelievable I must say. France succumbed to their internal strife, slumping out of the World Cup amid the controversy and drama. The host South Africa bowed out of the World Cup despite being level on points with the second-placed Mexico. It was a pity but there was no helping it. The traditional African horns are the only legacy left behind. Spain faced the upset of the competition, losing to a plucky Swiss side, coached by an experienced German coach. A disappointing game where most of their star players went missing. Hopefully, they would improve and make it to the last 16. Brazil, Argentina, and the Netherlands strode easily to the last 16 where stiffer competition awaits. South Korea made sure the Asians are well-represented by drawing with Nigeria and cementing their place in the last 16. A World Cup which began with a drought of goals could very well end in rivulets of them. The world wait with bated breath...

World Cup in Singapore

Well, there are still people who do subscribe to our two World Cup carriers. In my opinion, the price is just exorbitant. I'm not sure it's around $1 dollar a match since there are concurrent matches. (unless you own 2 TVs and put them side-by-side) There are alternatives of course. McDonalds, Community Clubs, some pubs, bars etc. have opened their doors to patrons and fans alike. While some prefer the comaraderie found in these public places, I prefer to watch in the comforts of home. When it comes to the World Cup, I'm pretty picky on what matches to watch. As a result, it would not be worth my while to subscribe to the package.

On another note, and this is probably old news, I believe the admnistrator of your Internet Service Provider has started blocking online streaming of WC matches. Online streaming belong to one of those grey areas threading between legal to watch and illegal. The subject was finally put to rest by the ISP. I'm sure there will be some public outrage and questions on privacy would be raised. Personally, I'll be waiting for Spain in the semi-finals shown on our beloved free-to-air channels! :-)

Knowledge

Knowledge is a weird thing. We all work hard in order to obtain it. Sometimes, it just comes knocking on your door even when you did not ask for it. Too much of it can actually be detrimental (see game theory). Too little will become a roadblock to your path. Even the lack of knowledge is a kind of knowledge by itself. At least you do know which areas you are lacking! This beats the person who doesn't even know what he or she is lacking. A populist saying: Ignorance is bliss. In my opinion, this is the exception rather than the norm. What do you all think? :-)

Exam Results

Well the results were out quite some time and I must say I'm satisfied with mine. And without further ado, here are my results:

MAS 212 Calculus IV A

MAS 315 Probability and Statistics II A-

MAS 317 Data Analysis A-

MAS 371 Game Theory A

HW112a Academic Writing B+

MPS 811 & MPS 812 P

It's great I managed to improve my GPA! And this gives me great confidence as I embark on another journey into the great unknown! :-)

Exam Results

It's here again! The time of the year when all your semester's work boils down to. To check or not to check, that's probably the most important question for tonight (or more accurately, tomorrow morning). For some, the need to know will prove irresistible and succumb to clicking on the dreaded link. Others will appear offline in order to stave off the incessant questions about their results and resolve to put off the unenviable task of finding out their results. Wherever you lean on, tonight will prove to be a busy one for NTU students and I wager that the server may crash. I won't say too much on my predictions although I'm just hoping to maintain. It would put my mind at ease when I go overseas in September.

On another note, I've been spending quite a bit as I met friends whom I've not met for a long time. The time spent with them was invaluable and I cherish every moment of them. I hope to continue meeting up with friends during the holidays before embarking on my attachment with MOE. Lots of thing still to take care off before I can fly off to the land of Maple leaves.

Knowing thyself

One of those questions that struck me is whether I truly know myself. Without sounding too philosophical, I believe trying to understand oneself is an extremely difficult thing to do. While we may bring up our defences, wear a facade and pretend to the whole world when other people ask what we really want, there is no such need when you ask that question to yourself. What are my goals? What do I want to accomplish? These are questions which only you yourself hold the answers. No one else can answer these questions. As we sometimes go about listlessly in life, is this what we really want to do? Life is short and what our soul hungers for is a fundamental need that we more often than not fail to acknowledge. Of course, these questions don't come out of the blue. All these came out when I started reading this book by Tom Morris called "True Success". It's an interesting read and for those who have not step into the world of self-improvement, it's a great introduction to the genre. There are plenty of quotes for the quote-hungry, but the more important take home messages, in my opinion, are not the quotes but the questions and salient points that are laid bare in this book. I would love to meet the author as he seems to be a person who is passionate in education which I'm hoping to share in just a few years time. Energy and enthusiasm are the fuel to life. All thing flow continuously and compartmentalizing may not always be the best method. Just some of the things that I've picked up. Will try to complete reading the book by th end of this week. :-)