Toughest Academic Course? Pfft.

I’m sure a while ago, maybe a long while ago, quite a number of people posted on their status something that looks (and sounds) like this:

 

“Engineering” has been chosen as the ‘toughest’ course among all the courses including BCOM, BCA, IAS, IPS and MBBS; by the Guinness Book of World Records, on 18 Aug 2010. It has 58 university exams + 130 series exams + 174 assignments within 4 years (max. 750 working days). All engineers post this on your wall for at least 2 hours & be proud to be an engineer!…”

 

Like, seriously?

 

XD

 

If this was true, I would’ve left my diploma pursuit in the drain and gone for something else, like nursing (joke) or teaching (also joking).

 

Now, for all you numnuts out there reading this, I’m sure this’ll spark something like this in you, especially the engineering community (I’m one of them, btw):

 

“YES IT’S HARD!”

 

“PROUD TO BE AN ENGINEER!”

 

“Fuyoo no wonder a lot of my friends left in their first year.”

 

“I know the course is hard, but never imagined it to be this hard…”

 

“Respect your engineers!”

 

…and so on.

 

Let’s clarify things now, yes?

 

It’s not right to label this course as “the toughest”; it’s not justified.

 

Why, you ask me?

 

Mentality. Simple as that. Ever heard the words “The tougher they come, the sweeter the victory”? Simply stick to the plan, do your best, reap the rewards. I know I did last semester.

 

It felt amazing.

 

I have no idea about all my friends who left before me. All I’m sure is it’s just as hard wherever they’re studying, maybe harder than here.

 

Besides, if you don’t put your mind into it, it’ll be hard for you. Any other university courses can easily be labeled “hard” by yourself.

 

Anyways…

 

Taken from…

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_toughest_academic_course_according_to_the_Guinness_Book_of_World_Records_2011

 

…is one of the main reason why I said this whole thing about engineering being super hard is totally unjustified.

 

“The Guinness Book of World Records does not rank toughness of courses.

 

Recently Facebook users have been posting statuses bragging that their field of study in college was ranked the toughest by the Guinness Book of World Records.”

 

….skip this part, it’s mentioned up there….and back again.

 

“Problem is, Guinness does not keep such records about the “toughness” of college courses/fields of study.

 

That said, here are some courses Facebook users have claimed are the toughest, based on number of exams, assignments and years to complete.

• Bachelors of Science in Nursing
• Bachelor of Science in Architecture
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering

One “course” the Guinness Book does rank, is the longest golf course in the world: the par-72, 8,548 yard Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club in Lijiang, China.”

 

So, there it is. If my university course is equated the same as a golf course, I would just go and take golf lessons immediately. Because I don’t know how to play golf.

 

Till next time.

A Cave Expedition

Nice trip, if not for the dehydration faced by everypon…I mean everyone. 4 hours walking in a cave teeming with bird droppings and bat guano is not everyone’s cup o’ tea, but it does make up an interesting experience.

The journey began the moment Rex’s car stop by to pick me and my twin up at 8 AM. But we weren’t on the road until 9++ because somebody had to use the loo.

Reached the national park by 11 something. Crossed a river to the trail. Halfway through trail to cave realized no water is brought along.

First round in the cave and there was a might little hole used by somebody as a home in the cave. Ooooh, scary. Me and Dominic stayed outside, while Rex, Edwin and Thomas went inside.

End of first round, minor dehydration sets in to most of us. Opted to go for the second route to explore the cave fully. Sunbeams coming from holes in the ceiling gives us a nice view of some parts of the cave.

Trail goes deeper into the cave. No light source except our flashlights. Lots of bats sleeping, and giant crickets are waiting for ‘something’ along the railings and planks. Travel was slow because there’s no knowing what’s inside. And then, daylight.

Reached painted caves 1. Except, there’s no painting visible. And the trail is a dead end. Moderate dehydration and exhaustion creeping in on us. A little thirsty and survival mode made me try drinking from water dropping from a stalactite. Got a few drops, enough to cool throat for a bit. Rex tried after me.

Due to exhaustion, we went back the way we came, not stopping until we reach the stall selling drinks just outside the cave.

Rehydrated and rejuvenated, we walked back along the trail again until we crossed the river, got into the car and drove all the way back to home. First stop: Hartz Chicken Buffet. Haha.

Running water and soap makes a nice bath after so long walking with dirt. Slept like a log that night.

Hotel 626 / Asylum 626

Doritos, you made my nights so much scarier. @#$% you guys, I’m not playing it again.

What New Is New?

I’m in a room, it’s been sweltering hot for a day and more, and it’s dead in the night.

Tomorrow is my cousin’s wedding. Expecting a typical Malay wedding because he’s a Malay.

Going to Kelantan for the trip later today. Moving out before 9A.M.

Damn it’s hot here. I need to get some sleep. Before that…

What do you define as new? Can technology be new? Can the news be new? Or is there nothing that can be considered new at all in this modern world where everything and everybody is constantly evolving, constantly changing, to better adapt to the forces of what to come?

Phew. Goodnight bloggers and readers alike.

Kia ora, world!

Kia ora is a Māori language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It means literally “be well/healthy” and is translated as an informal “hi” at the Māori Language Commission website Kōrero Māori. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage website NZ History lists it as one of 100 Māori words every New Zealander should know, with a definition “Hi!, G’day! (general informal greeting)”.

It also signifies agreement with a speaker at a meeting, as part of a culture which prizes oratory as infotainment. Other Māori greetings, “Tēnā koe” (one person), “Tēnā kōrua” (two people) and “Tēnā koutou” (three or more people), are also widely used.

Likewise, “kia ora” can follow a similar pattern to address different specific numbers of people. By itself, it can be used to address any number of people, but by adding “koe” (i.e. “kia ora koe”) one can specify a greeting to a single person; “kōrua” (two people); “koutou” (three or more people); and by following with “tātou” one addresses all the people present, including the speaker themself.

The word is similar to the word ‘kia orana’ found in some Pacific Island languages and with a similar meaning.

……….

…and of course I took this from Wikipedia. I’m too lazy to search the whole Net.

Kau Iban ke???

I get this a lot. First glance, people thought that I was a Chinese. So, cue situation at Carl Jr two days ago:

Chinese dude: Brother, you using the sauce? (points to tomato sauce, speaks in Chinese)

Me: Sorry, I don’t understand Chinese.

Rectified what he said in English, then I understand.

When I told some friends recently that I’m Iban, greatest answer from my friend:

“Iban tu ape?”

FAIL GEOGRAPHY LESSON.

Holidays to enjoy. Finally.

Apparently, it  gave me a call today. With a proper reason why my score was so low. It was because the marks posted were not official, and the ones submitted on the last day of April were official.

I scored 33 out of a possible 60 marks. For test 1, I got 5/10.

Even happier, it told me that I had passed the exam for that paper.

Now, I’ll just chillax and go play some games. I was deprived of proper gaming during the study week all the way to the final days.

Came out with a smile, came back with a frown

The moment I left the exam hall today, I was jubilant. Ecstatic. Happy beyond words. After all, the pressure of scoring is all but long forgotten the moment you left the place where sweat and ink mingle together. However, I had a niggling thought that something is wrong. Dead wrong.

So I followed my senses. Before I knew it, I was in front of a lecturer’s room. I thought “Maybe they’re busy checking the exams. Better not enter.” I was forced to take a rain check on that matter.

When I saw one of the post on the wall, I was shocked. I had scored dismally on one paper. I even had a zero for not going to test.

Naturally, I can’t accept that score. Who would gladly accept zero as a score in their test? A few months back, I was told to meet this lecturer regarding this test.

Lecturer: Alex, kamu punya test satu kau ada ambil ka?

Me: Ada, Kenapa?

Lecturer: Kertas kamu tiada dengan saya.

Me: Macamana boleh tiada sir, saya ambil test kamu hari itu.

Lecturer: Umm, beginilah. Saya rasa kertas kamu ada dalam bilik ni. Saya cari dulu nanti bagitau kamu.

THREE WEEKS BEFORE FINALS…

Me: Excuse, saya datang nak tanya test 1 saya dapat berapa?

Lecturer: Saya masih tak jumpa lagi kertas kamu…

Me: Tapi carry mark tak lama lagi nak submit. Takkan nak kata saya tak ambil test itu? Saya memang ada ambil.

Lecturer: Ya saya tahu, tapi kertas kamu saya tak jumpa lagi. Beginilah, kalau saya tak jumpa kertas kamu lagi saya ikhtiarkan sesuatu, ok?

Lo and behold he came up with that. Me scoring nil for my first test.

I barged into the room to ask for an explanation. The lecturer wasn’t there. It must’ve preempted my actions and fled beforehand. Not content with it missing, I sent an email to its address.

It is being irresponsible. How can it do this to its student?

Justice is due where needed. I demand an explanation.

I am so out for blood.

A little leniency goes a long way. Literally.

I believe it is impossible for trash to rot on the Internet. A good example would be my blog. Left it to rot for a while, and came back to find it exactly like how I left it since my last post.

Anyways, to all mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day. Got a gift for your mum, anyone? Doesn’t have to be fancy, a simple card or a peck to their cheek  is good enough. Unless your mother’s the Duchess of Whatchamacallitland, then you gotta be extravagant regardless of budget.

I drew something simple for her today around 4AM (goodness, I was up till that late for a picture?) and gave her a call in the morning (3 times in fact: 8.45AM, 10.30AM, and 12.15PM. Third times the charm, they said), expressing my gratitude and gave her my customary monotone “Happy Mother’s Day” greet. She replied with things about scoring 4 flat next semester, transferring to Nottingham U, what I had for lunch etc.

Mothers. Never seem to stay on the conversation track for more than 30 seconds.

Another thing to note is Osama bin Laden. Rejoice because the mastermind is dead? Be joyful for no one would attack the United States again? No real reason to do so actually. There’s dispute over his death, and his blood is just another blot in the pages of murdered influential people. Just give some time and there will be someone new to take up the mantle of terror from a dead guy, that’s for sure.

BBC News accidentally placed on their headlines “OBAMA DEAD”. It was rectified in the end, but one can’t help but wonder whether the Brits are jealous because their States counterpart delivered the Bullet of Justice literally to Osama before they did. Some dude from popular micro-blogging website Twitter also did the same thing. Perhaps he was plotting with the Brits to post that.

The US decided to bury Osama’s corpse in the sea. Is it a good thing to do so? Don’t forget, Megatron’s there too…

When Advent Is Here, Holidays Have Begun. Or Is It?

What do you expect when you just returned home from a long time away from home? You’d expect the comforts of home, meeting old friends, rekindle the past memories etc. Study? Waaaaaay away from my head, that’s for sure.