the best is yet to be.

5 min of talk over the telephone. all is so different. it has awakened me to the diff between the best of the best and being just mediocre.

what is 4.5? it is not good enough. make it 5. even if it is a perfect 5, there is still room for improvement. it can happen. "I was not born smart. create ur own strategy to make it happen."

think of ways to make it happen and act on it. it will happen. start with a strong belief, a strong sense of commitment.

Two, plan out your strategy.

Three, action.

Four, evaluate and modification.

that's all. Live to the max!

feeling disillusioned

after 3 weeks of starting school, I am starting to feel a bit loss and disillusioned. I am starting to question myself if i had been working hard and if it is sufficient for me to do well this semester.

7 subjects are indeed a heavy burden. I hope that i can manage well and attain a GPA as close to 4.5 as possible. I need to constantly remind myself to stay focused. n make best use of time which I am not doing so at the moment.

Being appointed as the vice captain of my softball team is indeed a joy. it gives me a great sense of satisfaction and i am certain that I can play a bigger role in the team with my capacity as vice captain. I will certainly do my best for the team.

The goal: A closer team and higher level of skills. We play to win for every game.

-zhichao-

A few things which i have learnt.

Well, speaking to different people is an interesting and meaningful affair at times.

" Test your limits"- this was told to me by one of my friends. At that point, i was still comtemplating whether to go ahead with my deicsion of taking 7 subjects this semester. Well, I have now convinced myself that I should go ahead, based on this wonderful/ wise statement. I would never have known how far I can reach and push my limits unless I tried. So now, I have take this chance to test my limits. hopefully all turns out well. I believe and i am convinced that it is a worthy try.

In any case, we ought to drop the fear of failing and stop castigating people who tried and failed. Instead, we should depise those who have never even tried before. As the saying goes," failure is the mother of all successes"... The point i am trying to make here is that we ought to push ourselves and not sit/ hide in our comfort zone. If we knew that we could already achieve sth, then what is the point or satisfaction of doing the same thing all over again? what is the derive from winnning a competition which we had won before? We must stepped out and up to face greater challenges.. this is manner, we progress not linearly but exponentially.

that's all for now. Back to my books. Looking forward to learning new things later in the day.

-Treasure the present moment-

do not procractinate..

do what is more urgent, most important and most beneficial. then move on.

There is too little time to waste in this world. Do it once and get it right... the economics of scarcity and opportunity cost..waohhaha.

I need to save some money liao.. over-expenditure. There should be sufficient savings for reinvestment..

Jan 9 to 13

Second week of yr01 sem 01 is soon over. Mmm, i wonder if taking 7 subjects is too ambitious. I want and I need to maintain my GPA. cannot be let than 4.5 in any case, cos i need my first class honours at the end of the day. I should never get a grade of less than a B+ thruoughout my 4 years of studies in NTU. I BELIEVE that I can do it if i work hard for it and be very focused.

The subjects, projected and 'hoped for' grades:
Principle of economics : A
Business Law : A
INCO terms and liability : A (must, make this the first A for a maritime subject)
Maritime Technology : A ( I must overcome interbal fears of maths.. i can do it)
Research method in psychology: A
Psychology in work place : A
Fundamental in CS : A

I can at most accept 2 B+ grades.

Rationale for taking so many subjects:
1. I want to complete my minor by Year 2. Then i can go on to pursue other subjects of interests.
2. I need to fulfill PE.
3. I have effectively 3 years in school if go to norway for one semester.
4. I want to keep myself as busy as possible. I want to be stretched and get used to working hard.
5. The time table is good and exams dates are well-spread. May not necessary get a chance for this.

I have until 18 Jan 06 to decide.... pls help! haha.

the second week of the semester had been good so far. mostly intro to the sbj. that i am taking. the good news is that i do not have major projects for this semester. so in a sense, not so stressed.

SO far, i had a good grip at all the subj. first tut was ok. learnt quite a fair bit of stuff. I am glad. education is at the end of the day an inquiry process. I want to learn so that i can gain new knowledge. I want to stretch my mind and engage in active thinking process. knowledge is power in the new economy and in a society like singapore. Application of knowledge is also important. I am constantly on the lookout for opportunities to work and to apply what i have learnt. we should never learn for the sake of learning....

next, din meet with zhen. hope to spend a relaxing and happy weekend with her. maybe just swimming...sun tanning and talking.... not too sure if there are any activities out there. Thinl she wants to go east coast. mmm... let's see if there is any chance to get there.

For now, I will use all the weekends to catch up on my reading and do my tut for the next week. hopefully that being always well prepared will help me to do well for exams. also, i shall go gym every weekend to do some weight trg... need to build some muscles manz...

I am happy and satisfied with the week. Hope that bext week will be better and more exciting.

-Sign off-