Some advice...
Be careful with what you wish for... Why? The other day, while at work, I talked to my co-worker about how the weather is cold, but we had not been getting much snow for the past 2 winters... And when on about how I wished we will be hit by a heavy snow-storm... And voila... last Saturday and Sunday, we got hit by a snow storm, and got dumped on about 10-12 inches of snow.
Right outside my apartment, there's about an inch of snow... Did I mention my apartment is on the 2nd floor?
Looking down from right outside my apartment into the 'courtyard'
Pretty?
Partly plowed...
And, the snow were still coming down. I took this pictures at about 9.15am. It didn't stop snowing until 2pm.
Snow-covered cars...
Mine included... The wind was blowing from the other direction, hence, this side wasn't badly covered.
And, finally, in the late afternoon, they came and cleared some of the snow to create a passage.
Don't have such high expectations... So, in the midst of the snow storm at Saturday night, while there were only 2-3 inches of snow accumulation on the road, we went to catch 'I am Legend', Will Smith newest huge flick. I saw the preview awhile ago, and thought that it was awesome (well, don't all movie previews are). And also, I read that it had a huge Friday premier, expecting a huge $70 million weekend, I thought, well, how bad can it be? Well, it was far from meeting my expectation. No spoilers. But I think the plot was sloppy, not well-developed as it should be. Some of the logics were just not there.
Grades... It's kinda sad that since young, many of us were taught to get the best grades without really understanding the importance of understanding what we were learning. In the end, we just look at the grades of the subjects and classes we took, and didn't really think about what we get out of the class. This might not be the first time I mentioned this, but, really, it had occurred to me more than once that I managed to get an A in classes that I didn't understand much what was going on in classes. And if you were to ask me what I learned from the class now, I really can't tell you much. So, having said that, how importance are grades? VERY IMPORTANT. For work, for scholarships, for graduate school, for awards and for everything subsequently. Where I am going with this is, finally, in this semester, I took a class with an optional pass-fail as my grading choice. What it means is that I will get a passing grade if I were to score a C- or better, a failing grade if I were to score a D+ or worse. Why would anyone take a class pass-fail then? Well, for many reasons. Firstly, I took it pass-fail because I really wanted to take the class, Behavioral Economics as it was really interesting and thought-provoking. Secondly, I was really busy earlier in the semester, preparing for the exam C, and I wanted to make sure that I will be able to enjoy the class without having to worry about what grades I will be getting if I were not able to put in enough time for the class. Thirdly, I wanted to see how I will do in a pass-fail class, how discipline I will be in terms of going to lecture, studying for the exam, doing the assignments, and generally, spending time for the class. Also, I wanted to see how I will react if I were to get a good grade for the class but pass-fail it. So, this experiment did reveal a lot to me personally. So, throughout the semester, I didn't miss a lecture. There isn't any assigned homework, but I did attempt all the optional homework posted right before the midterms. I did make notes for the class. Other than stressing that I should pay as much as attention to any other classes than to a pass-fail one, I did nothing different. And, I did get a good grade for the class, but it doesn't really matter. The overall experience for the class was actually better as I did care less about the outcome of the class because I know one needs to put in some effort to get a failing grade. Putting in effort as in skipping lectures and not doing any homework or preparation for the exams. Even though I did feel a hint of 'wasteful' for taking the class pass-fail, but come to think about it, it was a great class and I did enjoy the class more knowing that I'm not in it to chase for an A. I was in the class whole-heartedly and making to every single lecture itself was a great achievement. And really, this is one of the class that I most enjoyed.
No Man is an Island... I used to think that I can just be on my own. Being independent without the help from the others. Of course, I was wrong. Not just help, but also just being around people is important. I just want to put this out there, I really want to thank all of you guys here in Ann Arbor. The email chain among the group... (an amazing 44 emails in 2 hours), the one-liners, the eating outs, all the random stuffs and etc... And for you guys...
It's OK to say NO... Some of us have hard time to turn people down. I'm guilty for that. So much so that I was stressing up just to help others. Finally, enough is enough. I started learning to say No. Sorry! I can't do it. Of course, I will only say 'No' if I can't do it. Finally, I understand that saying No is not a sign of weakness or incapability. Instead, it's being responsible, both to yourself and to the person you are planning to help.
Impulsive purchases is OK, or Retail Therapy as they said... as long as you can repay your bills at the end of the month... Well... all the excuses. So, I spent more last week or two... on a new game for my Wii : Super Mario Galaxy... a really fun game..., a nice jacket which was on sale from Aeropostale, on an unplanned visit to the mall while taking a break from studying for my finals. (How's that?) Also, few days before that, I went to the mall on my own, for a short shopping, and ended up with 2 shirts and a sweater. And not to mention, 6 bottles of wine... with 3 of KJ which were on sale.
Good food is important...Dim sum at ShangriLa. 2 Saturdays ago, went to this restaurant for dim sum. It was a good 35-minute drive but the dim sum was really good. So, good food + good company... The long drive was well-worth it.
And take a break... I'll be off to Richmond, VA to spend Christmas break with my cousin and her family on Thurs, and will only be back on the 2nd of Jan... So, to all, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Right outside my apartment, there's about an inch of snow... Did I mention my apartment is on the 2nd floor?
Looking down from right outside my apartment into the 'courtyard'
Pretty?
Partly plowed...
And, the snow were still coming down. I took this pictures at about 9.15am. It didn't stop snowing until 2pm.
Snow-covered cars...
Mine included... The wind was blowing from the other direction, hence, this side wasn't badly covered.
And, finally, in the late afternoon, they came and cleared some of the snow to create a passage.
Don't have such high expectations... So, in the midst of the snow storm at Saturday night, while there were only 2-3 inches of snow accumulation on the road, we went to catch 'I am Legend', Will Smith newest huge flick. I saw the preview awhile ago, and thought that it was awesome (well, don't all movie previews are). And also, I read that it had a huge Friday premier, expecting a huge $70 million weekend, I thought, well, how bad can it be? Well, it was far from meeting my expectation. No spoilers. But I think the plot was sloppy, not well-developed as it should be. Some of the logics were just not there.
Grades... It's kinda sad that since young, many of us were taught to get the best grades without really understanding the importance of understanding what we were learning. In the end, we just look at the grades of the subjects and classes we took, and didn't really think about what we get out of the class. This might not be the first time I mentioned this, but, really, it had occurred to me more than once that I managed to get an A in classes that I didn't understand much what was going on in classes. And if you were to ask me what I learned from the class now, I really can't tell you much. So, having said that, how importance are grades? VERY IMPORTANT. For work, for scholarships, for graduate school, for awards and for everything subsequently. Where I am going with this is, finally, in this semester, I took a class with an optional pass-fail as my grading choice. What it means is that I will get a passing grade if I were to score a C- or better, a failing grade if I were to score a D+ or worse. Why would anyone take a class pass-fail then? Well, for many reasons. Firstly, I took it pass-fail because I really wanted to take the class, Behavioral Economics as it was really interesting and thought-provoking. Secondly, I was really busy earlier in the semester, preparing for the exam C, and I wanted to make sure that I will be able to enjoy the class without having to worry about what grades I will be getting if I were not able to put in enough time for the class. Thirdly, I wanted to see how I will do in a pass-fail class, how discipline I will be in terms of going to lecture, studying for the exam, doing the assignments, and generally, spending time for the class. Also, I wanted to see how I will react if I were to get a good grade for the class but pass-fail it. So, this experiment did reveal a lot to me personally. So, throughout the semester, I didn't miss a lecture. There isn't any assigned homework, but I did attempt all the optional homework posted right before the midterms. I did make notes for the class. Other than stressing that I should pay as much as attention to any other classes than to a pass-fail one, I did nothing different. And, I did get a good grade for the class, but it doesn't really matter. The overall experience for the class was actually better as I did care less about the outcome of the class because I know one needs to put in some effort to get a failing grade. Putting in effort as in skipping lectures and not doing any homework or preparation for the exams. Even though I did feel a hint of 'wasteful' for taking the class pass-fail, but come to think about it, it was a great class and I did enjoy the class more knowing that I'm not in it to chase for an A. I was in the class whole-heartedly and making to every single lecture itself was a great achievement. And really, this is one of the class that I most enjoyed.
No Man is an Island... I used to think that I can just be on my own. Being independent without the help from the others. Of course, I was wrong. Not just help, but also just being around people is important. I just want to put this out there, I really want to thank all of you guys here in Ann Arbor. The email chain among the group... (an amazing 44 emails in 2 hours), the one-liners, the eating outs, all the random stuffs and etc... And for you guys...
It's OK to say NO... Some of us have hard time to turn people down. I'm guilty for that. So much so that I was stressing up just to help others. Finally, enough is enough. I started learning to say No. Sorry! I can't do it. Of course, I will only say 'No' if I can't do it. Finally, I understand that saying No is not a sign of weakness or incapability. Instead, it's being responsible, both to yourself and to the person you are planning to help.
Impulsive purchases is OK, or Retail Therapy as they said... as long as you can repay your bills at the end of the month... Well... all the excuses. So, I spent more last week or two... on a new game for my Wii : Super Mario Galaxy... a really fun game..., a nice jacket which was on sale from Aeropostale, on an unplanned visit to the mall while taking a break from studying for my finals. (How's that?) Also, few days before that, I went to the mall on my own, for a short shopping, and ended up with 2 shirts and a sweater. And not to mention, 6 bottles of wine... with 3 of KJ which were on sale.
Good food is important...Dim sum at ShangriLa. 2 Saturdays ago, went to this restaurant for dim sum. It was a good 35-minute drive but the dim sum was really good. So, good food + good company... The long drive was well-worth it.
And take a break... I'll be off to Richmond, VA to spend Christmas break with my cousin and her family on Thurs, and will only be back on the 2nd of Jan... So, to all, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
posted by Voon Seng at 12:08 AM
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