I'm not afraid to admit that there are a lot of things that scare me abt SMU. The 1st is the library opening hrs. On a normal sch day, the library stays open until 12 midnight. What kind of crazy pple stay in sch until 12 midnight? Well, crazy pple like me.

Ok, so I wasn't in sch until 12 midnight but I was there until 10+ rushing to meet a proj deadline. Lucky me, right?

The 2nd thing that scares me is the extended library opening hrs. The library is now open 24 hrs to allow students to prepare for their exams. So while others are busy SMUgging ard the clock, here I am blogging away. In a few more mins, hopefully I'll feel guilty enough to go eat my lunch then get back to my books.

The 3rd thing that scares me is BIDDING. I've started bidding for my Term 2 classes. It's now the 3rd window & still I haven't gotten all my classes. There's too much info being disseminated abt which prof is gd/bad so there's a huge difference in prices for diff profs. I need 1 more stats class for nxt term. Hoping hard I get a slot.

The 4th thing I find scary is the pple in SMU. Or rather, how they manage their time. Each one of us is given 24 hrs but it's amazing what some pple can squeeze into their 24 hrs, whether by cheating their bodies of slp, running on caffeine, or just having an IQ of 180 so they learn much faster. I don't know how some pple do it but dammit I'm going to find out.

I could go on but every min spent blogging is another min I shld be SMUgging. So in conclusion, I'm just going to say that even though the competition's really tough in SMU, & there are times I hardly get any slp, I don't regret going to SMU. That's because of my 5th fear, which is my biggest fear of all.

As a Singaporean, I was born with the innate fear of losing (aka kiasuism). So I'm going to make this fear work in my favour & the nxt time I feel like procrastinating, I'm going to think of my competition & get back to my books.

That said, exams are right ard the corner. I've decided to give up Facebook, TV, blogging, & generally the use of the internet for non-academic purposes. So this will be my last post for a pretty long while. U won't be seeing me on Facebook either. Time to make some sacrifices. I'm thinking a sheep, a cow, or a pig, whichever's cheapest.

Byebye, pple! I'm off to SMUggggggggggg!

No time for a long post so this is going to be a short & sweet quickie update. Life's been HECTIC. Had 3 mid-term tests & 1 quiz last wk, & have 3 presentations to give nxt wk.

To make matters worse, I've been down with a throat infection. Went to see the doctor on Tues. It cost $48.40! Found myself choking on a suffocating amount of phlegm ystday so went back to the doctor today to get cough syrup ($18 & some cents).

Then my friend says to me, "Did u know SMU students can get free healthcare? There's a list of clinics u can go to." So I went to SMU's website & lo & behold, there's a list of TWO HUNDRED & ONE clinics in SG that provide us with free medical treatment. & I just went & spent $66 & some cents going to a clinic not on that list.

I could have bought shoesssss instead. Or lots & lots & LOTS of accessories frm Six ($3 each only, the trick is not to buy anyth not on discount).

Feeling a bit stressed this wk, what with all the stuff I have to juggle. Hope nxt wk will be over asap, then things shld get a bit better. Super looking fwd to Dec break omgggg.

It's a Fri night & I'm sitting on my butt at home. Spent the whole of Sat & Wed nights out so thought I'd better come home tonight. Went for CCA (investment club) for the 1st time today! It's alr Wk 7 so I thought I'd better show my face hoho. Had to loiter ard for 4 hrs b4 CCA cause I had 8.30 class b4 that. Sucky timing.

Got my grade for the speech thingy I think I mentioned prevsly. Got a B!!!!!! Not even a B+ but a B! I think my grp did reasonably well but the competition was tough. Not that that's a valid excuse, of course. If someone sets the bar high, u'll just have to jump higher or fall flat on ur face trying.

But that B has scared me enough to motivate me to be a closet nerd for (almost) the whole of nxt wk. Nxt wk's SMU's mid-term break (more like STUDY break). I've got 4 tests the wk after the "break". MUST study or DIE. So if u see me constantly popping up on msn or pestering u on facebook, pls ask me if I'm trying to commit academic suicide. Help much appreciated :-)

I'm aiming for a 3.5 this sem. Let's see how much effort I'll have to put in to achieve that. No more slp for the nxt 3461469 days. Hopefully I'll be sighing at the end of this sem. With relief.

Things I'll nv get through uni life without:
1. Family & friends for support
2. Lots & LOTS of caffeine (might graduate to Red Bull soon but must weigh pros & cons 1st)
3. Concealer & foundation (fake ur way to non-slp deprived skin!)
4. Occasional retail therapy
5. Knowing that I'm not the only one having to juggle so many things at the same time
6. Did I mention family & friends' support?

So if u're one of those (unfortunate?) souls who's been listening to me practise my speech/complain abt projs/complain abt assignments/complain in general, a big thank you! I really appreciate it :-)

Life's been much better as I've cleared most of my projs. Still, there's always sth to be done but I guess u get used to it. It's gd training for my future career in the high pressure banking industry.

Had to give a speech for Management Communication this wk. I'd thought that coming frm poly, I'd have a slight advantage when it came to giving presentations & public speaking, etc. But some of my classmates' speeches (or rather the way they delivered them) blew me away. Granted, some of them are Yr 2s or maybe even Yr 3s. But with the way they delivered their speeches, I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to sell snow to eskimos. Must work on my own public speaking skills.

I'm glad the long wkend's finally here. Planning to catch up on much needed slp. Got a test & a quiz nxt wk but still managed to get my hair & toe nails done today. Going shopping tmr too! Super excited. Feels like forever since I've shopped without a time limit.

It's wk 3 & I'm happy to report that I've adjusted to uni life! Well, adaptability's a life skill, isn't it? I don't find uni life THAT different frm poly life except that we're pushed a lot harder (do more things in much less time) & u have to be really REALLY disciplined to keep up with ur readings.

I spent Wk 1 being upset abt the immense waste of time spent traveling to/frm sch. Wondered why I had to go & choose the uni FARTHEST frm my house. Yes, SMU's further than NTU for me. I don't exactly live in Hip Central.

Spent Wk 2 emo-ing over the HEAP of readings to be done every wk & worrying over the 4 projs I'm currently juggling. Felt that 1 wk to do a proj was just ridiculous, esp when everyone's got a diff timetable. Pushed self too hard & only got an average of abt 5 hrs' slp every night that wk. Ended up having to go see the doctor on Sun.

So decided to change my mindset that wkend. I'm not the only one having to juggle 4 projs to be completed in a ridiculous amount of time. & it would be irresponsible to push myself too hard & make everybody worry. Life's all abt finding a balance & how u see things, right?

This wk, I've been working on projs everyday since Sun & will continue to do so until nxt wk. But I haven't been obsessive abt doing my readings & will just read what I can. One step at a time.

As for the "waste of time traveling" problem, I'm trying to do some of my reading while on the bus so at least I'll have more free time. But the bus isn't exactly a conducive study environment, esp if u get one of those that has TVs. Nvm I'll think of sth. Maybe ear plugs? I'll see if I can find some pretty furry bling ones. Heh. Let me know if u see any, yah?

Will post again when I have the time XOXO

It's my 2nd wk of uni life. & I'm looking fwd to the sch hols alr! Feel like I didn't play & party enough b4 sch started.

Had an impromptu grp presentation for one of my modules last wk. We were given I-don't-rmb-how-many mins to come up with ppt slides for our presentations. It was only our 1st lesson! I'm glad my grp did a gd job.

Got a quiz this Fri that I completely haven't prepared for, & a TON of reading still to be done. We aren't given notes for most mods so we HAVE to read our txtbks in order to have sth intelligent (or at least sensible) to say during class. If u sit there quietly & not say anyth, u won't get class participation marks, which means a crappy final grade, leading to a crappy GPA. Hello academic probation & gd-bye bright future! So reading's a must.

How much reading? Abt 1 chapter (maybe 30+ pgs) b4 each class, with an exception for Business Law (abt 3 chaps b4 class). Multiply that by the 5 mods I'm taking this sem. & that doesn't even include homework. URGH. & don't even get me started on the 1 hr 15 mins traveling time.

Okok, I'm done complaining. I know there are pple out there who'd gladly take my place in SMU. I'm just not used to uni life yet. Need some time to adjust. But my GPA's impt to me so I'll do what I have to. If that means sacrificing slp & only being able to procrastinate on Facebook once a wk (omg the horror!), so be it.

Survived my 1st day at SMU! Had 2 classes today, with a 2 hr break in between. Went to the wrong room for my 2nd class haha. Sat there confidently & waited for class to start. Wondered why the other "freshies" didn't look so fresh & why they all seemed to know each other alr. So I asked the girl nxt to me what class it was & found out I was in the wrong room. So embarrassing haha.

So far sch's been alright. Time passes reasonably quickly, although after my 2nd class I was quite mentally drained. Took me 1 hr 15 mins to get home omg. Was falling aslp standing on the bus.

No sch tmr. Am going to get myself a pedicure! Toes in serious need of pampering after camp. Hope the rest of the wk goes well!