Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Support the IB


Right, I was bored, so I browsed the internet for blogs about AC since I was curious about the past IB result and how it went (the friend that I poked still hasn’t replied back). Somehow, I couldn’t find any blogs that mention even a teeny bit about the 2006 results, which was a bit disappointing. Guess AC students don’t blog that much after all.

I did, however, found a blog linking to an interesting news article in the Guardian.

Okay, it was dated March 2006, but it was recent enough. Partly myself to blame for not being able to get into the habit of reading newspapers in Cambridge. Anyway, I was really surprised at those people who rejected the IB. What were they thinking? Is it anti-American? Anti-Christian? Marxism?

I did the International Baccalaureate at Atlantic College, Wales for two years in 2003. I don’t really know much about A-levels since I’ve never done it, but I imagined the IB is harder, since we’re doing six subjects instead of four, with Theory of Knowledge, the 4000-word Extended Essay and community service to boot. One thing I noticed is that it is a well-rounded program with an emphasis on the international community and issues, evident from the humanity subjects and even the sciences (can’t do much about maths, though). All in all, a really good program. I would have chosen it to A-levels or any other equivalent program any day.

It also encourages independent thinking. There’s an interesting story about it here where there’s an IB teacher who creates a fictitious character in history and told the students that it will be in their exam, and to do independent research on it. He was hoping that when nothing shows up about the character, the students will realise something is wrong. However, that didn’t happen and the students all fail the test because they answer according to the class notes. The reason behind his actions is to show the students not to stay in their comfort zone and be spoonfed, but instead do some thinking on their own.

Right, back to the matters at hand. So what’s actually bad about the IB? To be honest, I don’t know. Anti Christian? It is, by definition, an international program, so of course it has to be secular. Although I don’t think that’s quite the way to describe it, since we touch religion quite a bit in TOK, and not to mention the World Religions subject (I’m a Muslim, by the way).

If trying to understand things from an international perspective and dissecting international issues is anti-American, than I say that’s a load of crap. Sounds to me like it’s just blind arrogance and pride at work here. These people should really discard their view of being superior and right all the time and start being emphatic and receptive to others for a change.

Just my two cent worth of opinion, although I don’t really have to make much fuss about this since I don’t think their reasoning have much credibility in the first place. Still, as someone who benefited a lot from the IB (not to mention the two years is one of the best times in my life) I felt inclined to say something.

In the true spirit of AC: Go international understanding!!

Yaz.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Lying dormant

Probably a good way of describing me right now. Spending my days going through animes, reading and playing worms before going to sleep, waking up and repeating things all over again. Wonder if any interesting things (for me at least) had happened lately…

This entry’s sole purpose is to dredge up events that happened awhile ago to desperately prove that a certain someone is not living a meagre and insignificant existence.

Please don’t take the above seriously.

I’m watching Saiyuki and Tsubasa Chronicles right now. It was Samurai Champloo a while ago (a really good anime) but somehow I didn’t download episode 20 so I don’t want to spoil it by watching later ones. Same thing with X (which, unlike what the name suggested, is not a dodgy anime), in this case I don’t have the last episode so it left me quite hanging. I’ll probably go through Full Metal Alchemist and GTO after this.

I did my first prepaid top up today (hurrah). Still getting the hang of having a mobile phone in Malaysia, though I must say that RM30 for a month is pretty steep.

That coming from someone who pays £30 per month in the UK is pretty much laughable. Although the free minutes can be carried over for three months there.

The IB results were out around two weeks ago or so. None of the Malaysians in AC got 45 and none of them are going to Cambridge (though I won’t be crying my hearts out over that) though some of them do get good results (one of them got a 42 which is a result to be proud of). I still don’t know who are the AC students going to Cambridge this year, although that can easily be rectified. Just have to poke a certain someone and ask them about it.

I assume I don’t have to explain the poke bit.

I ran out of fiction books, so I’m resorting to Maths Hysteria by Ian Stewart. At least I can say I did something educational during the holidays.

It’s been a month, and I still haven’t succumbed to the temptation that is TV. Is that something to be proud of or what?

(Unproductive) Yaz.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

I wish they give me cash

Got a letter from Cambridge today. Well, two letters actually. One is the college bill, with food charge, electricity and whatnot. The second is a letter from my tutor congratulating me on getting a first.

As a result of your performance in the recent examinations, it says, you have been elected a Junior Scholar.

Yay! A title. Yaz, a Junior Scholar. Actually, this is the title they give to everybody who got a first, but still, it does sound cool, heh heh.

Oh, the title also comes with £175 award. I also got another two hundred quid worth of Tripos prize money (course/subject prize) so altogether it’s worth £375. Pretty good, huh?

Well, not exactly.

The money will be credited to my college bill. The thing is, my sponsor reimburses me for everything on the bill, so in all actuality, the prize money doesn’t have any effect at all.

Pretty disappointing, huh?

Sigh. Yup, I wish they had paid me cash.

(Materialistic) Yaz.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

It’s a scam

Congratulations, said the SMS. Your SIM card has won RM.7000 from Akademi Fantasia 4.

I was speechless.

So, what am I expected to do right now? Jump up and down, screaming my hearts out? Go and hug everybody in the vicinity? I mean, I won some big bucks, right?

Jeez, do I look like an idiot?

So what gives? Gee, probably the fact that I’ve never watched a single episode of AF in my entire life.

(And as a side note: No, I don’t regret not watching it, I am not tempted to watch it and I don’t intend to watch it anytime soon, not that I have anything against AF)

I’m seething. I mean, come on, it’s glaringly obvious what the SMS is. I know how the scam works…you send random SMS (or e-mail or whatever) to people, most ignore it but there will be some who are naïve enough to swallow the whole thing, hook, line and sinker. And they reply back and you cheated their money out of them. I know I should ignore it but it kept feeling like a blow, feels like I’ve been treated like an imbecile. And that somewhere out there there’s someone who laughs at the stupidity of people while counting the money he or she is making.

I hate being treated like an idiot.

A point to ponder is… the schemes can’t exist if people don’t fall for them, right? Are some people really that stupid? I mean, look at all the junk e-mails about Nigerian bank accounts or lottery winnings that circulate the internet. Or all the postings about Friendster is closing down (this one hits a bit close to home… not me…but I can’t believe people whom I knew will fall for that shite) or chain letters. I cringe everytime I open Friendster and found those posts (especially if they’re being messages sent to me). I try not to look at who sent/ posted it, knowing that I will have the urge to whack their heads to set them straight.

So yeah, I’m being bitter because I got mad somebody sent me that irksome SMS. Probably won’t be mad in a few more days. But in the meantime, to put me in a better mood, I’ll probably go watch anime or something.

Yaz.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

The Dark Is Rising

Can’t believe it took me six years to finish reading a book series.

I found The Dark Is Rising series in MCKK library. A gem of a book, if there is one. A fantasy, about the struggle of the Light against the Dark, with backdrops of the British Isle and Wales. A five book series. I read the first one, Over Sea, Under Stone. Then the second, The Dark Is Rising, which was spectacular. Third, and then fourth. But then I halted, since I couldn’t go any further. I remember rummaging through the library shelves for the fifth book, the last one, but it’s just not there. No! It’s NOT there! How can they do this to a reader? The search in frustration yields nothing. And the fact that the library doesn’t have an index offers no help either.

Ah, that was my early reading years. The time when my sources of books were the library and my friends only, since I couldn’t afford to buy them. So I just resigned myself to the fate that I will never be able to read the last part of it. Even though, somehow, the fact that I never completed it renders it special. Like Venus de Milo.

I remembered about the book series when I was looking for summer reading materials this year. Found them at Kinokuniya KLCC with the price tag of RM200. Oh well. Cheaper at Amazon, but waiting until I get back to the UK is torture. And good books are worth their prices anyway.

There’s something enchanting about finishing the books that you started reading when you were young. About following a long story to its end, or watching the last season of a TV show. There was a sense of excitement, but also a tinge of sadness, knowing that it will end soon. I reread the whole series again to refresh my memory. Then, time for the last book, Silver on the Tree. I flipped through the pages, savouring the details. Though a bit reluctant to meet the ending, there’s no stopping it once you started reading. If you’re a reader, you probably know what I mean. An engrossing journey, that you can’t tear away from. The trademark of a good book.

I finished them yesterday, on the comfort of my bed, late at night. And I put them on the shelf, sealing the magic within the pages until another day, when they’re opened again to be read.


Hmmmm, now that I ran out of new things to read, I guess I’m gonna spend some quality time with Walker, heh heh.


Yaz

Saturday, July 01, 2006

The search and anticipation

29th of June. Says the sheet of paper in my tutor’s office. That’s when the results will be out.

It was last Thursday. I attached the phone line to my laptop, filled with anxiety. Will I do okay? Will it flop? Will I suffer from embarrassment?

Oh, you’re gonna get a first
, says Hamza.

I just stared at him incredulously.

Even I don’t know what to expect. How can you know? I asked.

Oh, I just know. Don’t worry too much about it.

See what I mean by suffering from embarrassment? Somehow, and I can’t really explain how, a few people expected me to get a first. I mean, I didn’t come across as mister know-it-all. Heck, I had enough difficulty finishing my work. And Hamza had only become my supervision partner for a month. How would he know?

A message across the screen. The password and username’s invalid on the domain. Drat! Why is this happening now?

I only managed to log in 24 hours later. Sigh…the anticipation is killing me.

Checked my Cambridge e-mail. Nope, nothing. Tried the university website. Still nothing.

There’s one more thing to do. The problem is, I’m not sure whether to do it or not.

Ubaid’s online on messenger. He’s staying in Cambridge for the summer. I could ask him to go to the Senate House and check my result. But, that means letting somebody else know it first, and I was trying to keep it to myself. Just in case it turned out awful. Which, come to think about it, is pretty ridiculous since they will know about it sooner or later. Oh well, I’ll keep that option aside for the time being and just wait awhile.

Checked again this morning. Got two new e-mails. My tutor’s secretary and director of studies.

OMG. This is it! Pass? Flop? Just a click of a mouse…

Total mark 275/375. Rank 65/588.

My DoS said… This was a good First. Many congratulations indeed on a truly excellent
result!


I felt like shouting.

Yaz.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Warning, lamentations ahead

Things aren’t going along perfectly…

I bought three books in Cambridge before going back for summer. Now, I’ve finished one and almost completed reading the second.

And it’s only just the fourth day of summer holidays.

A character that I like in the second book died two-third of the way, and he’s one of the main characters, so I’m shocked. Can’t say I feel really cheery at the moment.

I don’t want to read the third one now. It’s Something Happened by Joseph Heller. First encountered it in AC’s library. A really good book; that’s why I bought my own copy. The story’s really tragic, though, so reading it now will do nothing to lift my mood (I think I cried the first time I read it).

Almost out of reading materials. Did a price check today. Discovered that I can get it cheaper from Amazon, but then again, I can’t use Amazon in this country. Drat!

Have to return to my rural abode next week. Heard that the phone line there had been malfunctioning, so that means no internet. Shucks!

I feel like I’m being wasted (as in the ‘not potentially optimized’ wasted). Feel like I’m sort of useless.

And it’s only just the fourth day of summer holidays.

I’m starting to miss Cambridge. I think I’m getting universitysick (as opposed to homesick). I suppose for people it’s typically the other way around. Is this weird? Am I normal? Is it okay to want the next term to start as soon as possible?

It’s going to be a long summer.

And it’s only just the fourth day of summer holidays.

Yaz.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

I’m back 2

Am in Malaysia right now. Arrived yesterday morning after a 13 hour flight and now I’m writing this darn entry at five a.m. since my body is still not used to the time difference.

I guess I have to get used to dial-up. Either that, or get broadband which I probably have to pay for myself. Don’t know if it’s worth it since I will only be here till October.

I had a fabulous time in Hungary. We went to Budapest, to be exact. It’s pronounced BU-DA-PESH-T since Hungarians pronounced “s” as “sh” except when it’s “sz” where then it’ll be a normal “s” sound. Didn’t have to worry about accommodation since we’re staying at a friend’s house for the duration of the trip (one of the perks of being in an international school).


Igor's cherry tree

Cherries! That’s the first thing that caught our eyes when we arrived at Igor’s house. It’s like, a tree, with ripe juicy succulent cherries on them! Once he gave the thumbs-up sign, we wasted no time in sampling them. It’s a good thing that he only hosted us for five days, otherwise the tree can’t bear fruit fast enough to feed four ravenous Malaysians.

Igor’s father cooked for us on the first day. Even though we can’t sample most of the Hungarian dishes since our diet is constricted to vegetarian, it was still really good. Had one of the best potato soups I’ve ever tasted, with not so spicy curry and pasta. If only my vegetarian hall food is this good. Sigh…


Pasta and some curry thingy

Went to watch a film that evening (notice I say film. Is that an indicator of my British- ness?). After that Igor brought us to Gellert Hill. It’s a little daunting climbing a hill at night but he said that it’s probably too hot in the day to do it. There was this Hungarian statue of liberty on top, and the view from the top is nice too, except that my nightly camera skills isn’t developed yet so I couldn’t take good pictures.


The statue of liberty on Gellert Hill



Urtah, Zaki, Igor and Nadia (Igor had a sling on his hand coz he was involved in a bike accident a few days before we came)

We spent the second and third day visiting places like the Synagogue, museums and the bridges across the river Danube (or Duna, as the Hungarians call it), Castle Hill and an open air music concert.



The synagogue


National Museum

Bush came to visit Hungary on the third day. We tried to avoid him.

We went hiking up a hill north of Budapest on the fourth day with Igor and Balazs, who is another Hungarian ex-AC student (Balazs is a really common name, I know three Hungarians with the name) and some other ex-UWC students. We climbed up to this watch tower and gazed at the river Duna which curves up to the Slovakian border.


UWC hikers


The last day’s a shopping day! We went to the central market and bought t-shirts, fridge magnets, gifts for PETRONAS office, and secret jewellery boxes amongst other things. We left Hungary with cans of cherries courtesy of Igor.

That’s about it for my trip. Had a really good time, food, pictures and different kinds of tea (you should have seen Igor’s collection).

A good thing about being in Europe is that it’s really easy and cheap enough to travel around. So, I’m sort of thinking of my next one. Suggestions, anyone?

Yaz.


P.s. I planned to put some pictures in but I'm on dial up now and it took me more than two hours from logging into the net and posting this. Gosh, I am sooo frustrated! Hate dial-up, hate dial-up! I feel like banging my head on the wall or something.

Edit: I've managed to put pictures in, albeit not painlessly. Sooner or later this will drive me crazy. Please pray for my mental health.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

I’m back

Hi there. I’m in Cambridge right now, having returned back from my five-day trip from Hungary. I really wanted to write about the trip, but for now I’m busy with packing, which has been a pain. Have to put all my things into boxes, which I got from Sainsbury’s, and carry them into this secret subterranean storage room.


Not all my things fit, though, so I left some stuffs with a friend who is staying here for the summer, working. I don’t want to carry loads of stuffs to the airport, since last year we had to dump suitcases of clothes at Heathrow since Gulf Air (the airline we’re using at that time) had a strict weight restriction. Either that, or pay £1000 carriage fee.

Yup, that’s a thousand pounds.


I’m sticking with Malaysia Airlines for now. Not to mention it has better in-flight entertaintment.

Going back to Malaysia tomorrow. Say goodbye to the superfast broadband connection and hello to the heinously slow world of dial up.

Oh, and today’s my birthday.

Yaz.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Off to Hungary!!



Yay, my summer trip!

I’m off to Hungary tonight and will be there until the 23rd. Not sure about the internet connection there, though, so I can’t say when I’ll blog again.

Still, should be a fun holiday.

Cheers,

Yaz.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Maybe I shouldn’t wear black

Phew, it was my shopping day today and right now I’m really exhausted. Went out and bought some Cambridge t-shirts to wear back home. Okay, I admit, it was partly to show off (well, mostly) but still, not like I don’t deserve it, heh heh. Also bought a cap and a key chain for my little sister. Souvenir t-shirts, check. Key chain, check.

My order of books from Amazon also arrived today so summer reading materials, check!


To top it all, I also bought a new handphone. Okay, okay, I know that sounds a bit luxurious but I received this free upgrade offer from O2 and I just couldn’t let it pass, even though it sounds too good to be true. I usually tend to be wary of ‘too good to be true’ things coz they usually are, but hey, this is O2 and not some shady company. Planned to give the phone to my mom, sure she’ll like it.

Talking about phones, when I was at the bridge today there’s this bloke from the punting company who saw me with my N70 and he approached me and started a conversation about the benefits of having an N70 phone, all those things about 2 mp cameras and 800% zoom and all that. And I thought, gee, this is random. Do people usually go to strangers and started talking about phones all of a sudden? Hmmm, maybe he’s just being friendly… or maybe he was just bored.

“Excuse me, do you know how much this is?” an old lady asked me in a shop. I was like, do I look like a shop assistant, lady? That happened not once, but twice today in two different shops! Is it my t-shirt? I know I should stop wearing black that often.

Funny thing is the workers don’t actually have black t-shirts as their uniform.

Yaz.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Finally over!!

My exam ended yesterday. All in all, it went fine, I guess. Maths was a female dog, but then again, everybody complained about it, so it’s not just me who found it difficult. Still, I don’t see the point of them making the exam so hard that you won’t be able to finish all the required 6 questions even if you revised thoroughly. I finished 3 in the first paper and 4 out of 6 in the second paper. Actually, that does sound bad; just a bit more than a half. Maths is sooo not my favourite subject right now. Hate maths!! Hate maths!!

Now that exam is over and all, I actually feel bored. No more lectures, supervisions or revision to occupy my time. Gee, how sad is that? Oh well, at least I won’t be bored come Monday, coz I’ll be going to Hungary for the summer, before I go back home. The trip’s arranged by a few of my friends in London, and I actually felt a bit guilty for not contributing anything, but, oh well. Not sure about the accommodation arrangements yet, but we’ll probably stay at Igor’s (a friend of ours) place, which is not bad, since he is a good cook. And I mean, a really, really good cook. We tasted his Hungarian jam scones that he brought to our physics class in AC last year, and they were awesome.

Due to improper planning on my part, I will miss the Trinity May Ball because of the trip, which is a shame, because it will be one of the grandest events in Cambridge for the year. It’s like, the May Ball that Cambridge students dream of going. Many other colleges have it once every 2 or 3 years, but we have it every year. How cool is that? Sigh… at least I have 3 more chances to attend it.

Can’t wait until Monday. Until then, I’ll probably go around Cambridge buying souvenir t-shirts to bring back home. Proud to be a Cambridge student, eh?

Yaz.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

When life gives you lemons...

Found this in front of my door this morning. Looked like everyone on my floor and the one below got one, with different messages on them.



But still... why frogs??

Thursday, June 08, 2006

It's coming!!



My exam's tomorrow.

Eeeeek!!


Yaz.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Bad food and retail therapy

I got annoyed. Really annoyed.

Food. That was the reason. Bad food, to be more specific. Ever-so-crappy hall veggie food should be exact enough.

It was actually quite unlike me. I’ve technically been in boarding school for seven years. I should be used to it. I kept going to the dining hall even though I know it’s not gourmet standard and I can probably cook better food. So I don’t know what made me…snapped? That’s too strong a word. Had enough? I’ll probably still go to the hall after this. I’ll settle for annoyed. Just annoyed, in general.

Somebody said to me once that the veggie dish is like a hit or miss thing.

Me and Jan walked past the hall yesterday. He pointed that only students and their guests are allowed in. Therefore, it’ll make him feel special to be able to eat inside.

“I don’t blame you if after the meal, you still wanna go somewhere else to eat,” I warned him. He probably will.

At that moment we met Eli and Ian, another two ex-AC students. They were going in, Jan followed, and I dragged myself behind them.

After fifteen minutes…

“Eeurghh, this is just like AC food,” that was Ian. “Somehow I feel like the AC kitchen ladies will pop up from the counter any minute.”

We agreed. The food was bad. It’s not like that all the time, but the day that my ex-schoolmates came to visit is the day that it decided to show its ugly side.

Maybe I was embarrassed, because I’ve been telling Jan that Trinity is one of the biggest and richest colleges.

Jan left Cambridge this morning. I did some studying after seeing him off and went to lunch. They had some pastry with green stuffs in it as the veggie dish.

Two misses in a row. I couldn’t believe this.

I ate the food, walked straight out, went to buy a whole chicken and stopped by Sainsbury’s. I bought a packet of basmati rice, not the Sainsbury’s kind but one of those expensive one. Grabbed some sweet and sour mix and a bottle of pepsi.

Tonight I had sweet sour chicken on a bed of nice fluffy basmati rice. Deeeliciouus!!

Ahhh, the sweet taste of retribution. I like it. Take that, you morbidly horrendous hall food! I’m not eating you tonight, muahahahaha! Yaz has finally gotten his revenge.

Still, I’ll probably go to the hall again tomorrow. Can’t be bothered to cook everytime.

Will it be a hit…

…or a miss?

Yaz

Thursday, June 01, 2006

All the way from Harvard

Click…click…

So I opened my e-mail the other day…


Hmmm, it’s from Jan. Haven’t heard from him for a while.

It began normally enough. Hi man…how are you…know of anybody from AC coming to Cambridge next year?

Then …I think I will be visiting Cambridge this Saturday.

Uh-oh.

That day was Tuesday.

My exam is on the week after the weekend.

He went on…so I think we should get together, have a chat, and even if you have to study, it could be a nice study-break for you...

Drat!

Sigh… I do love people visiting my humble abode, but now? Still, Jan is actually a really nice guy and I can’t say no to him (after all, he has to go all the way from US, might be a while before he has the chance to visit again). So I dragged myself to the Trinity College accommodation office.

“You’re lucky, there’s still one more guest room that is free this weekend.”

Good. This way I can still accompany him to places and he won’t disturb me when I need the solace of my room to study.

“The price is thirteen quids per night. We’ll put it in your college bill.”

Double good. The price is the cheapest of any b&b that I know. Cambridge student’s privilege, great huh? Plus Trinity’s smack in the town centre, it’s easy to get around.

So, that’s my weekend plan. Jan’s probably right, it’ll actually be a nice study break. I’ve got meself a punting buddy. Yay!

After we finished discussing our plans, he said… Thanks a googleplex times! :)

I’m a Natural Sciences student, and after all that revision, I should know, but…

…what’s a googleplex?

Drat!

Yaz.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Look what I found on Facebook...


Ho ho ho. Should I add him as a friend?

Yaz.

Monday, May 29, 2006

I’m in studying mode

“How’s your revision going today?”

That seems to be the thing everybody is asking everybody else these days, now that exam is starting and all. For some people. Mine is still a bit more than a week away. However, considering the fact that I haven’t finished revising everything yet, it is quite scary. I’ve taken some initiative, though. I started the routine of switching my laptop off just before breakfast so that I will not be distracted by it. I only turn it back on some time before dinner, when I’m too hungry to do revision. That’s a big accomplishment. Really.


I talked to a few Malaysians the other day. Somehow it seems like they all have achieved first class in their first year. Is it that easy? I’m pretty sure its not. And the fact that they are the kind of people who spend ages playing World of Warcraft sure doesn’t help any.

Sigh… exam period sure is an awkward time.

I peeked at some past papers recently, and now I’m pretty confident I can get second class upper without stressing myself out. But then again, I have a feeling that I really should do my best this time around, so I’m getting more serious now. Which probably means less updating my blog for a while. Not that I update it much anyway, he he.

So… I’ll probably let you hear from myself again on the 14th, or sometimes during the exam week if I have the time (and feeling nasty enough to bore you with meticulous details on how my paper that day went). Until then, wish me luck.

Yaz.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Hmmm, that's random

Found this while I was walking along King's College. It's on one of the stone tiles.




Yaz.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Paper airplane frenzy

We had our last chemistry lecture last Tuesday, and the lecturer warned us beforehand to prepare paper airplanes for the lecture. We had no idea what it’s about but whatever it is, it should be exciting. After all, the lecturer is actually deemed by students to be the best in the NatSci course because of his interesting lecture. Usually, halfway through his lecture, he usually has a few minutes break in which there will be a demonstration, gory stories or just interesting tidbits about chemistry. In the first term, he soaked a BIG lump of cotton in the shape of a sheep with some chemicals and set fire to it. There was a blinding flash and I could have sworn half of the lecture hall could feel a blast of heat in their faces. The other day he read to us some erm…obscene poems and comments that past students wrote in lecture questionnaires. One read, “I love you. You can inspect my cleavage mechanism anytime.” There’s another one that says, “Dr. W, would you gain a pair of electrons and become a HOMO?” Ha ha ha.

(For those who don’t know, in chemistry HOMO stands for highest occupied molecular orbital ;p )

Anyway, at the end of that lecture, he prepared boxes in front of the hall containing some nitrogen compound that can rapidly decompose into gaseous nitrogen if subjected to a force. Our job is to throw the paper planes so that they hit the compound and produces a bang. So for the next 30 seconds, the air was filled with paper planes. Coz I was sitting at the front, some of them hit me instead of the boxes. One of them did go bang, though. The others didn’t.

I would not want to be the janitor at the end...


You need a plane that can hit its target for this, so I couldn’t show off my amazing fancy special turbo airplane that can spin around and come back at you, he he. Oh well, some other time, I guess.

Yaz, Paper Master (if you don’t get this, go watch Read or Die)