i cannot believe that NTU can actually make this error. when i tried to register my subjects, all my core modules appeared to me as general electives. i could not even register for a core module that is not offered as a general elective. apparently the system still believes that i am an engineering student. rubbish. i had to make a few calls, got pushed from CITS to NBS IT support to troy from HSS office. so he helped me register for my modules.

second gripe about NTU. i had my moving to my new hostel room delayed from the first week of december to the 21st to the 23rd. finally moved in completely on that day and my girlfriend assisted me in cleaning my room and moving in. ^_^

a plus is that now we are waiting for higher authority to agree to the lower rates proposed by the JCRC as opposed to the new rates in the new academic year of $240 for a double room and $350 for a single.

*edit* now that i am moved in, wanna come over and take a look after lessons on thurs next week? i do not have much in way of entertainment though. please reply asap. the plan so far is to dial sarpino's pizza for dinner. we split the bill for pizza and i buy dessert (renaldo's apple strudel) or make dessert (tiramusu). currently, i prefer buying. any objections or suggestions?

Bertram awoke @ 10:43 AM with (0) flashes of inspiration

i do not see the point in life... someone please enlighten me...

what is the point of living?

(use the comments section instead.... more permanence instead of the chatterbox storage of last 50 posts)

maybe i should explain a little...

i used to find joy in dancing... then it got to be quite stressful. then in the army i enjoyed running. running is what brought equality among the ranks. you can run fast means you are respected becasue a lot of men are not motivated to run. they would rather sleep in the bunk. so i ran, for my life, and with a smile on my face every time. when i got to university, the smile turned into a grimace as i struggled to keep up, to compete. then i realised... why compete? now i live to find that joy again. but is that enough? even if i manage to find it, so what? what is there to stop me from losing it again?

is happiness all that important? to bring it to another level, must life even have a purpose?

on a seperate note, book one of plato's republic has a sort of "monty python" style logic sequence as follows:

BEDEMIR: Quiet, quiet. Quiet! There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
CROWD: Are there? What are they?
BEDEMIR: Tell me, what do you do with witches?
VILLAGER #2: Burn!
CROWD: Burn, burn them up!
BEDEMIR: And what do you burn apart from witches?
VILLAGER #1: More witches!
VILLAGER #2: Wood!
BEDEMIR: So, why do witches burn?
[pause]
VILLAGER #3: B--... 'cause they're made of wood...?
BEDEMIR: Good!
CROWD: Oh yeah, yeah...
BEDEMIR: So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?
VILLAGER #1: Build a bridge out of her.
BEDEMIR: Aah, but can you not also build bridges out of stone?
VILLAGER #2: Oh, yeah.
BEDEMIR: Does wood sink in water?
VILLAGER #1: No, no.
VILLAGER #2: It floats! It floats!
VILLAGER #1: Throw her into the pond!
CROWD: The pond!
BEDEMIR: What also floats in water?
VILLAGER #1: Bread!
VILLAGER #2: Apples!
VILLAGER #3: Very small rocks!
VILLAGER #1: Cider!
VILLAGER #2: Great gravy!
VILLAGER #1: Cherries!
VILLAGER #2: Mud!
VILLAGER #3: Churches -- churches!
VILLAGER #2: Lead -- lead!
ARTHUR: A duck.
CROWD: Oooh.
BEDEMIR: Exactly! So, logically...,
VILLAGER #1: If... she.. weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood.
BEDEMIR: And therefore--?
VILLAGER #1: A witch!
CROWD: A witch!

Bertram awoke @ 9:24 PM with (6) flashes of inspiration

i had my appointment with professor quigley. he was advising me on the commitment required in the pursuit of a phd, as well as the requirements. so we spent one and a half hours discussing how much is needed to be read, and what is the attitude that has to be taken towards study. in the course of the discussion he brought up a few writers of greek and roman literature and the list is below. it is something like a really basic list for the ancient literature era, and the point of reading from era to era is to see for myself the development of ideas, philosophy and literature. first gain the knowledge, then develop the skill. extensive, then intensive reading.

Scio me nihil scire (I know that I know nothing. Certain knowledge cannot be obtained.)
--- Socrates

Non scholae sed vitae discimus (We do not learn for school, but for life.)
--- Seneca

Greek Literature
Homer: Odyssey and Iliad
Plato:, Republic
Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, Antigone
Euripides: Hippolytus
Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound
Aristotle: Poetics

Roman Literature
Virgil: Aeneid
Ovid: Metamorphoses
Seneca: Medea

anyone interested in reading with me?

on another note, i made a trip down to the zoo with some of my friends. looks very different from what i remembered. the cats are all lazy just like those you see everyday. they just lie down and stare, sleep or stone. there was a cute penguin. quite inquisitive and bounced around around following helaine's phone accessory. butterflies are very nice, though fragile. one had a torn wing. injured but still trying to live from day to day, much like some of us.

an unfortunate secondary effect is that, who knows who started it, the chicken little dance song is stuck in my head.

Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone

Ma-ia-hii Ma-ia-huu Ma-ia-hoo Ma-ia-haha
Miya-hee Miya-hoo Miya-ho Miya-haha

Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc, Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea.
Alo, alo, sunt eu Picasso, Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic, Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.
(Hello, greetings, it's me, an outlaw,I ask you, my love, to accept happiness.
Hello, hello, it's me, Picasso,I sent you a beep, and I'm brave, But you should know that I'm not asking for anything from you.)

Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei, Nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei, Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.
(You want to leave but you don't want don't want to take me, don't want don't want to take me, don't want don't want don't want to take me.
Your face and the love from the linden trees, And I remember your eyes.)

Te sun, sa-ti spun, ce simt acum, Alo, iubirea mea, sunt eu, fericirea.
Alo, alo, sunt iarasi eu, Picasso,Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic, Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.
(I call you, to tell you what I feel right now, Hello, my love, it's me, your happiness.
Hello, hello, it's me again, Picasso, I sent you a beep and I'm brave, But you should know that I'm not asking for anything from you.)

Bertram awoke @ 9:03 PM with (0) flashes of inspiration