This morning i had to go to another venue for tuition. I came back at abt 12, with my driver driving me back. I tried to get myself a better copy of periodic table here, the previous copy that i printed out at a computer centre nearby was very bad. I found a better centre just nearby( my home doesn't have a printer here). Lastly, after math tuition here, i decided to walk some distance, to get myself some exercise. I managed to cover abut 3 Km, i think, looking at the fare that came up.It saved me about a dollar. May not be much, but it's nearly half the total travel cost.i usually comes up to around 2.50 s'pore dollar. i fell so much better and fresh. Think i need more, especially i can't find time to do my regular running here.

we really made good use of the driver today. He had to fetch me to the chem tuition centre this morning,. My lesson started late since the teacher arrived late. I can't complain since he's not asking for much money evn though he's got a Phd. After bringing me back, he had to fetch me to the course centre in the evening. I came back in an auto, since it was out of his 'work time'.
You won't believe this: Today, in chem lesson, the teacher told me tt i was very good!!! I couldn'rt believe it too.... we were doin radioactivity. So, thanks to Mr Lim, who taught me that chapter. There's tuition tmr morning, i've got to sleep early. and i just had dinner. I'm growing fat:(

The test today was tiring. (3x2)hrs, with a 2 hr break in between. For the first time, i actually bothered to work out my marks using the solutions provided. There are 2 papers, 3 hrs each, with negative marking, all mcqs ( some questions may have more than one choice as correct ans. I you miss out, there'll be negative marking. Wow, how torturous...). The highest % i got was for the math section, 30%. You wouldn't want to hear about the rest. After the test, i did some walking. Only about 1Km, but it was refreshing. I'm going for the chem tuition tmr. I'll be arriving just on time, there's no chance to visit the park. I should have taken that camera with me the last time...

The strap of my old watch has spoilt. It's torn near one of the holes. So guess what: My mom's sister bought me a new one here. Well, it is 30M weter resistant, but only thing is that it doesn't come with the barometer like in my previous watch. here:
Test tomorrow, yes, the 6hr one. We've got a temp. driver for the car. He'll be bringing me to the test place tmr.

Math lesson yesterday was as usual-we did binomial theorem and i was struggling to get what the teacher was trying to say. After the lesson, i was talking to a few of my classmates and i discovered that they were blur like me too, especially during the math lesson.
Today is a holiday here. My grandpa is trying to get me to try the universities here, just in case i don't manage to get into NUS. I've noticed that the culture here is very different and this affects the teacher-student relationship here, in most institutions. Also, heavy importance is placed on academic stuff.
And also, some of the application methods here are very wierd- i'm like supposed to fill in the form online, print it.this way of usiong technology is like riding on a car driven by horses.

Today, i had to wake up early in the morning. I was shivering till i defrosted myself with some hot water in the bathroom. Wow, that was wonderful. I ended up reaching very early, and since i was a 'visitor' i was not allowed in since the teacher has not yet arrived. So, i decided to go to the scenic park (alongside a lake), which i saw on my way there. It was just a 5 minutes walk from the college, so why not? I should have brought a camera along. Although it was much smaller that i expected it to be, it was a relaxing and a peaceful experience at the start of the day. I wish i had more time to be there. the only down thing about the park is that there is no sheltered place to sit in. Ya, it hasn't rained a single bit since i arrived here (yes, you can read that again: it hasn't rained a single bit). After that, i went on for my tuition. it is possible for me to read the stuffs on my own, but somehow it helps if a teacher is there to explain the stuff to me. Guess how long he taught me for- 3 Hrs yup- from 9am to about 12 15. At about 12, i had thoughts of asking for a break or maybe suggesting to him that we can continue on the next lesson, but i let him stop. We did 3 chapters today and according to him we can be finishing the syllabus in a week's time. Guess i'll have toconcentrate more on organic chemistry then...
After the tuition, i came back home for lunch and a good afternoon nap(yes, i've been sleeping a lot since i stopped running). For the tuition, we did math today- i'll continue later- tomorrow is a public holiday here- Indian republic day

I'll just add on to the previous post, since i had some publishing problem yesterday, which i'll talk about afterwards. So, the chem-HOD there agreed to teach me everyday, which was a very good offer, since he has a Phd in chemistry. My mom and i were well greeted and welcomed. He scanned through my syllabus and comment that it was all easy and basic stuff and that he can spare me some time for this week, since there is only invigilation to do. Well, finally, i can get some light on the alien chem topics here, like surface tensiopn and stuff. The only down thing is that the travelling time is like 1.5hrs. Well, i can't really complain about that, since my classmate at tuition class travels 3hrs to the centre. Today, he was complaining that he'll only be reaching home at 12. Poor thing... I was also told to report for my first lesson today morning, at 9. (pls see the next post for today)

Some good news: I've managed to find a personal chem tutor for myself, atleast for a week.the thing is that my present neighbour's (over here) sister is a principal of a university here (not a big one, but just a small one offering a few science and arts courses. He said that i can take tuition from a chemistry professor there. So, my mom and i went to the school. The people there were real nice to us.

Test, riots and presents

After the technician came in, the wireless system, the laptop could connect to the internet, but the desktop could not. And then, he came back in to fix it, and the laptop couldn't connect, while the desktop could. And then, we called him up again, and everything is now alright:) He said something like, he put the sign up name and password into the modem itself so that we don't have to dial up. I wish i had been in the room to check on how he does that...
I've a lot to blog about:
There was a test yesterday morning, yes, on a sunday. If there isn't a test, then there'ld be lessons, 2 of them, like in last week. Before that, 2 days ago, on my way to the tuition school, i saw some people protesting ( not quitely, but non-violently), about the execution of Saddam, and i thought it would be over in a day or two, and didn't think so much about it. Then, the next day, i read on the newspaper that there was rioting and burning of stuff at another place in Bangalore itself. Then, yesterday, i went for the test and found out that the test centre was somewhere else. Fortunately, i was early and so had time for the journey. But after i arrived, like during the 'A' levels, i was supposed to check my name on a list outside the building. But i couldn't find my name, and also couldn't even find my number there. So, i went to the invigilators there for help and i just sat in a random place and because of all these mess, had to start like 5 minutes late. As for my classmates, some of their names were there, but their numbers were all mixed up. And i also got to know that there was going to be a paper 2 in the afternoon, so as usual, i didn't eat much till the entire test was over. I was going to take an auto back home, but i got a call from my mom's sister saying that there are a lot of riots along the way home and that i was supposed to wait for them to come pick me up in the (new) car.
What actually happened on the other side was that she has hired a driver for that day and was travelling back home from somewhere, with my grandpa and uncle(who just arrived from Tanzania, he has a big house and a car there). So, they told the driver to come pick me up. the driver denied and insisted that he has to leave for something and so was trying to get them home. But along the way, there was way too much rioting that the driver simply got off the car and walked off, trying to save his own life. There was even a public bus on fire!! The thing is that while my mom's sister and grandps have had only a few hours of driving lessons, my uncle has been driving for the past 8 years in Africa. So, he doesn't know any roads here. (He doesn't have a liscence either, since he only arrived for the weekend). there wasn't much choice and they were all worried about me (trust me, i was alright all the time and didn't see a single bit of those rioting. Actually, it'll be good if i got to see some of it; so exiting!) My uncle drove, under the guidance of my grandpa, to the new test centre where i was waiting and picked me up. He drives quite well, the only sad thing is that he doesn't have a liscence here. We stopped over at a restraunt since i've not eaten much since morning ( i enjoy living without food). After that, we finally got home.
Today, my uncle brought me to a shopping centre nearby to get me some presents, since he hasn't seen me for like 10 yrs ( he has a son, 7 yrs old i haven't seen that cute little boy yet...). He's super rich, i tell you, he has an 80 GB i-pod, can you believe that? 80 GB!!! Well, i played with it for a while and came to a conclusion that i'll be much happier woith my cd-player. Before i forget, tuition is off for today, because of all those rioting. Well, here is a pic i took in my new clothes:

Altogether, the polo-tee inside and the denim jacket, together with the pants cost an equivalentof 100 s'pore dollars

The auto driver today was bad...he brought me through a super-long way, and was like shouting at other drivers along the way too. Well, i was at first quite glad to get an auto in the first place, after waiting for like 5 long minutes in the super cold 15 deg celcius with strong wind... After applying my newly-developed argumenting technique, i managed to solve the sudoku on my way to the tuition centre. It was easier than the previous one anyway, i only had to use my special method once. This time, it should be correct, i double checked it when i got stuck in the traffic jam For the first time, i came in about 2 minutes late into class, there was a lot of traffic jam today. I should be leaving earlier tomorrow. Math today, i managed to solve 2 problems(yes, in the whole of 3 hours) , but it wasn't bad as usual. I saw some good problems (i hope i can show them to the J1s, but i tell you, they are harder that f-math stuff. I'm still trying to get used to this. Physics tmr should be more fun... We haven't found a driver for the car yet. Till we get one, i'll have to put up with all those nasty auto drivers. There's going to be test this sunday. It's going to include the whole syllabus. God bless me... here are the pics.

This is the new car. man, the camera's flash is damn good, i took it at night. it was quite dark...

and below is the Sudoku that i've finished...:)

wow, blogger has this feature that i'm seeing for the first time(i.e, i've not seen it anywhere else): When the internet connection breaks, it says something like "saving and publishing may fail, disconnected from blogger". and the wonderful thing is that it disapears once i've connected my modem back- very useful when someone wants to use the phone here.

ya.. i didn't blog yesterday, since my mom's sis was using the modem. Her laptop couldn't connect with the wireless network for some reason. Phy yesterday was really interesting, we did SHM. Chem today, as usual. I'm thinking of how i'm going to bring back all those books. Heard that the o-level results are coming out on 15th feb, by approximation, the A level results must be out at around 25th. I was told that the course will end by mid oct, but i'm yet to approx for that. That's all for now, goto make way for my mom's sis...

My posts are getting shorter these days; nothing much to blog about. Today, there was some festival here. That didn't stop my lessons from taking place, i took some pics, which i may upload in a while. That's all for today

Today is Sunday-supposed to be no-lesson day, but since we'll be free for sure on this day, there was 2 lessons-phy and chem. If it were the other way round, i'ld not have felt so tired during chem lesson. but phy was good- i managed to solve 50% of the problems and even managed to point out a mistake that my teacher made on board. And for one of the probs, i was like the 2nd one to get the solution and i was called up to do an explanation-and managed to do a decent job! After my lunch during my break, i started to work on a sudoku, i'll put it up once i'm finished.

chem today- i managed to do about 3 problems (till the right answer) all by myself. The auto fare for the to-journey today was really cheap-35 rupees. I'm thinking of doing a Sudoku-which reminds me-there's a mistake in my previous solution-see if you can spot it, look at the 2nd last row.... Oh ya, and the new car has arrived! I'll upload the pics soon...

Math today, I was blur as usual during the first part, when we did hyperbolas. Then, we did 3-D coordinate geometry. I was using my 3-d vectors.. and i managed to solve 2 of the problems!!! I was so happy!!!
I got my handphone recharged today, for another month.

Chem today, it was much better than i thought it would be. We did kinetics and equilibrium. I tell you, it's going to be a nightmare when it gets to organic chem. I didn't have time to say this yesterday, but the auto driver on the return route was quite bad. Initially, he demanded 1.5 times of what the price meter says and i told him i'll get another auto. Then, he asked me to give 20 rupees extra from the meter, and finnally we agreed on 15. But the thing was once he got quite near to my house, he asked me for another extra 10 rupees, saying that it'll be difficult to get back home from this area of Bangalore. After talking, i had no choice but to agree.Upon reaching, my mom and grandpa tried to lower the price, but it didn't work, and we ended up paying 80 rupees. Today, both the drivers were good. I only cost me about 48 rupees to get to the school and 49 to come back. I gave them 50 each, since it normally costs me 60 plus... That's all for taday.

This was taken the day when i did some calculus. I was doing limits. click on it. Think you'll get a bigger version or something

next page, it was quite fun.
It was going smoothly till i reached the root of tangent:

Math today, blur as usual. And the teacher had to ask me to stopn drawing so accurate diagrams and concentrate on the calculations. Well, i can't do much calculations if i've not MEMORISED the formulas. I've taken a few pics, if dinner doesn't get ready soon, i'll upload them...

Went shopping for books today, There was this bookstore some distance away. It total, the books i bought cost me about S$50. That's quite expensive here, so it was a lot of books. I got myself a chem textbook and a phy textbook, together book on coordinategeometry and calculus and inorganic cem in detail. I thought i could get a copy of the 2007 year issue of the economist, you know, the thick one that costs twice as much as normal magazines. It's half-price here. FInally, i wonder how i'm going to get all these book back to Singapore. I'll be the last to get back, my mom and dad will go back first. Maybe i'll have to give up some books first...
Math today. Parabolas. Yes, i studied that topic for a day and i was still quite slow in class, but this time, i could understand what she was talking about, the solutions and everything. That's all for now...

I (think) i didn't blog yesterday. There's not much to blog about theses days. Chem today, The teacher got to know that i'm a kid from singapore. Just like the math teacher, he told me there was a student from Singapore last year too, and that i've got to work hard. Well, i have to, if only about 20% of organic chem here was covered in the 'A' level syllabus and also since i didn;t study chapters like Metallurgy. Can you believe that periodic table is not provided in exams here?? Also, we aren't allowed to use calculators. And one more thing that i've got used to- During lessons, the teacher reads the question from some book of his and we are supposed to copy it down and solve it. Can't he print it out or something? I paid like $900 for this course ??? Heloo???

Phy today. I really enjoyed the lesson. We did the f-m mechanics stuff. I managed to do nearly all the nproblems within the time limit given. I wish i can do that for math. My first chem lesson is going to be on mon. There'll no test tomorrow, since this is the first week. I had some chance to talk around with the rest of the students during the break. And yes, there was an occasion when the tacher thought i got the answer by luck, but he later understood that i actually skipped some steps. my first chem lesson's going to be on mon. God bless me. I need to finish that math homework too. And that little phy prob.

Physics today.

Did physics today, just the vectors, kinamatics and projectile motion. Simple stuff, but difficult problems. I just found out that some of the teachers in schools here have got Phds!! No wonder they are so good! The people who sat behind be solved some of the problems in just 5-10secs! while i took like a minute. Well, the good thing is that i solved some problems in the desingnated time. I've also finally understood what a pseudo force is. It'll be physics tomorrow.(There's lessons on Saturday And just found out; TESTS on sunday, man, do i get a break here???) I really wonder how Pradeep is doing.
It should be Orientation now, back at Nanyang JC. I wish i can pop in, but it's too far ( over 1000 km!!) Coincidentally, i was wearing my orange projectX tee yesterday...

slightly better today

Today's lesson was slightly better. We did circles. during the break i had a chancve to tell the teacher that i'm from Singapore and she told me that she had a student form singapore last year too, and he was struggling i do now. Well, i did some preparation for the lesson but that didn't help much. I mean- how much can i study in a day? Tomorrow is chemistry, i think. I tell you, i have a strong feeling it's going to be bad. Let's just hope that the teacher has mercy on me this time... Today, i got myself registered for another exam, AIEEE, apart from just the IIT one.

Did you say something?

just came back from tuition. We did math today. For 3 hrs. U wanna know what chapter/topic? Here: Coordinate geometry. u wanna know which part of it? here: straght lines. Yes, straight lines for 3hrs. Read it again, if you need to. The thing is that there is a super lot of new stuff here. It's like what i've learnt so far in A level syllabus is only like 5% of what they teach here. the reason why i say this is that out of the 3hrs the lesson took place, i only understood about 10-15 minutes of it. And listen: the worst part is that it's going to be math tomorrow too. Still coordinate geometry, for another 3 hrs. We're going to do circles. She gave us a summary of straight lines and i was busy copying from the black board all the time. She was writing super fast! And speaking fast too, and it takes time for me to figure out the acccent, although it's english. I nearly fainted when she started off with " Class, i hope you know the standard equations of a straight line. Can you list all seven of them?". I was like what if she asks me? I only know 2 of them! Luckily the rest of the class were all very good at this topic and recited all of them. I could have added y=mx+c , but somebody shouted it before me. After 1hr of this kinda thing, we were to practice some problems-yes, for the remaining 2hrs. While we were doing the given problems, she was like walking around, checking on everyone's progress. Luckily, she didn't concentrate so much on my table- i was sitting at the front. may be that's the reason for me not getting so much attention. Well, i pretended to be working furiously- it was okay, since i was actually cracking my head. I tell you, the physics lesson yesterday was so much better. i'm going to seriously mug on circles for tomorrow's lesson-i've got to-to save myself.

We did physics today - 3 hrs of teaching problem solving techniques. Today, since i was in the classreoom in the evening, i discovered something el;se to add to my list: The classroom, while being about 1.5 times the size of an average classroom in singapore has only 2 tube lights! Well, but the lesson was quite thought-provoking and there was only about 10 people(5 absent) in the classroom. My mom was waiting for me nearby since i was still not sure of the way back. Well, i ended up that i had to show the driver the way, since my mom forgot. According to my mom, i'm still having fever and so i was only allowed to take certain food. I feel much better now. I was given 2 tablets, ( 1 for cold, another one for fever) and asked to do steam inhalation and also given some cough syrup- all over the phone consultation ( ref. to previous post). At this time, i heared from my mom that when i used to be in India, as a little kid, i used to visit the doctor nearly every week-for fever, cold and stuff. But in Singapore i only need to visit the doctor like 2-3 times a year(although the amount spent may be the same).
That's all for now.

Doctors here

I was quite sick yesterday and guess what happened. My mom was trying to get me to visit the doctor, but no, all i needed was some rest. So, my mom's sister (She lives here) just called up a specialist doctor and told him that i'm having a fever and cold. OVER THE PHONE, he prescribed some tablets and asked me to take some rest and lots of water. After that, since he was a specialist and it's quite rude to ask him a lot of questions over the phone, she called another doctor to check the details of the medicines he presribed. The doctor asked for my age and stuff, and before the end of the conversation, the doctor even said "call back tomorrow, i need to check how he is doing, alright?" I was like wow! The 2 doctors gave a free consultation over the phone? That's rare. I was very touched.
Now for the sudoku: here are the pics:
Well in a sudoku, you have this 9x9 box, with 9 3x3 smaller boxes. What you do is to fill up the empty boxes such that every row,column and 3x3 box is filled with numbers 1-9 only, without repetition. For every sudoku, there is only one unique solution. i.e if you fill up a single box with a wrong number, the whole thing will be screwed. The first time i tried, i filled it up with random numbers and it became super-screwed- with this method, i couldn't even solve a simple one.
The method i'm using now guarantees that the numbers entered are correct. first, write into the boxes,

i was in the middle of filling up the possible numbers. Already, some boxes had only one possibility.

Here, i've finished filling up all the possibilites. Some already begin to emerge, but i got stuck at this point and was staring at this for half an hour. Then i came up with a new method of eliminating possibilities.very difficult to describe here.

Done!

Today is going to be my first lesson- they are going to give the materials and stuff, and may be teach some stuff.

Okay, new year's day...: I went to temple with my grandpa in the morning and syudied and oh ya! i did a Sudoku. But before that, we had prayers at 12 midnight here, and i slept quite late. SInce i tried and managed to do a medium difficulty one, i wanted to try a hard difficulty one. After i found it in the local Hindu magazine, i started to work on it. I got stuck just before starting the prayers and continued it in the morning. After working for about 1.5 hrs, i managed to solve it, it was quite difficult, pics later.
I went running today at the park. The trouble is that i have a cold now, that seems to be getting old. And, to worsen the situation, i drunk a cup of milk about half an hour before my run. Very bad; I got tired easily and ended up running for about 10mins. Very bad too. The worse thing is that since i'll be having classes every weekday and saturday from tomorrow onwards. Sinc my lessons coincide with the park's opening hour, i can't run. I feeling kinda sick now. I'm beginning to miss Singapore;the weather and stuff. I'll have to put up with it for the next 2 months. I think i've a fever, quite tired right mow, will get back later. Happy new year!!!

New year's eve

I don't get to run today too, since it's new year's eve and i've to prepare for the prayers this evening. My mom assured me that i'll be able to run tomorrow. I think i'm really looking pathetic asking people to follow me to the park nearby-i only need company for about 2 times, i should be able to figure out the way there on my own, after that. I just noticed this-THe humidity here is really low and so it's affecting my skin. I'm feeling itchy, now and then, especially on my back. The worst thing about it is that i'll have to put up with this for the next two months. God bless me...
My discman's battery just ran out. Well, i'm very much surprised that those 2 batteries that i found under an old drawer here can last me this long, especially when i listen to it for about 5 hous per day. My MP3 player finished its battery quite fast. I began using it with the discman began to be low on battery and it only lasted me for like 5 days. Guess i bought a low-quality battery. I got it at a supermarket nearby.
One more thing about the mosquitoes: About 2 days ago, at night, there were these mosquitoes(about 2 or 3, not 100)buzzing around me. I didn't really feel like sleeping and was surprised that they can still buzz in my ear when i'm(my entire body) inside a blanket. So, i got annoyed and put my earphones on and turned on my discman, so that i won't be able to hear the buzz. After about 5 songs, i felt sleepy and decided to go to sleep. After about 2mins, the buzz started again! Every night, there's this hi-tech thing that replaces a mosquito coil here. It comes in the shape of an air fresher that you see in cars. Well, that thing was turned on but there was no effect. I remembered that i had bought my insect repellent and searched for it in my bag and got it. But when i got to my bed and opened it, it spilled a bit and on my pillow. I simply took some from it, spread it on my ear (to stop the annoying buzzing) and spread the rest on tyhe pillow and turned it over. It worked very well.
Happy New Year, everyone!

Man, i didn't get to run today too. I went to buy some food for dinner. My grandpa and i went to this restaurant about 2km away to get the food. And that, and eating dinner took up the evening time. Well, at least now, i got used to the cold temperature here, and i no longer need to be under my jacket or sweater during the day. In fact, when i went out to a temple near by during the day, the sun felt pretty hot.
Study stuff: Today, i did differentiation, by first principles. Since i already knew this chapter, trying out the problems was super-fun, especially differentiating sin-inverse (x^2) from first principles. I was actually on the right track on that one, but i lost my confidence along the way and took a peep at the answer on the next page and got to know that i was doing the right thing. I should be getting on to Chemistry tomorrow. I only have until January 2nd to finish what i need to learn, before the actual lessons start. There is a slight change, today, in the lesson plan. From Jan 2nd onwards, lessons are from 430 in the evening to 730pm. I guess it's one hour each for chem, Phy, and math. Lesson days and Monday, Tuesday, ... Friday and (last, but certainly not least) Saturday. Ya, you might want to read it again, here: Saturday. And there is no holidays on the scheduled public holidays for the lesson days. I'm expecting lots of homework too, but it should be light on me since the other students are supposed to handle this, together with their school work. They are still having school and their government exam is somewhere on April. So, they have to cram for both this entrance exam and the government exam.

A new car

Today, i went to help select the colour of the car that my mom's sister was going to buy. There was some offer if it is bought before new year's day, so we were rushing. It looks quite fancy, charming grey colour. We were trying to choose between charming grey and red, but red was too dark. The grey looked more elegant. It was an hour's ride from home.I'm still working on parabolas, practising. I was supposed to go running today, in the evening, but the car thing popped up. So, maybe, i'll go tommorrow evening. I'ld love to run in the morning( the park is only open in the morning and evening), especially since the temperature range here is 18-25 deg. celcius. But my mom and others here say that i'll catch a cold. What's the point? I've been having a cold from several days ago! It won't really matter. Well, ya, it's a nice temperature to live in, but it gets really cold in the morning and i've to be wrapped in my blanket, even if i'm wearing a jacket. This is one of those places where a sweater doesn't make you sweat. But still, i don't mind running in the morning, really. The last time i got to run in a cold weather was when i went to New Zealand on a field Trip during my Sec4 years. It was really cold-There was smoke coming out of my mouth the minute i stepped out of the airport.

The new car will arrive on 5th jan or somewhere around there.

I'm planning to go on to ellipses or limits and differentiability tommorrow. Or depending on how i feel, i'll change to chemistry(organic chem).

One last thing: I HATE THOSE MOSQUITOES THAT BUZZ AT MY EAR WHEN I'M TRYING TO SLEEP. I'm generally tolerant of things, but this is way too irritating. I've tried all sorts of thing- going under blanketa and stuff, but it doesn't work. I'll have to put up that "all out" mosquito killer thing earlier today. Maybe then the room will be 'serviced' for me before i go to sleep.:)

Yeah! i managed to install the macromedia flash player into this computer, despite the rotten internet connection here!!I had to wait for 5 long minutes before the pop-up came up. Thanks to my patience. And i'm opening a new packet of chocolates! Butter Fingers! There is still about 3 more packets to go! And the new year sweets (should be) coming up soon. I should be gaining a alot of weight, i've been eating a lot of oily stuff too. I can't moniter my weight since i've left my weighing machine back at home. And the worst of the worst, i've not been running. I tried to get to the park this evening, but there was no one to accompany my. I need somebody to go weith me since i'm new here and it's easy to get lost with all those turns.
I did some math today. mainly parabolas: Vertex, focus and focal distance, lactus rectum and stuff...I'm told that i'll be able to go running tommorrow, see how first. But even if i get to go, it's going to be all ablout running again and again around this boring park for mayba an hour.

IIT course

Yesterday, we went to the centre to pay for my course. It was like an hour's journey from my house. At one point of the journey, i was the only one awake! At the centre, i learnt that out of 16 people in this city who took the test, 10 got selected and out of the ten, 3 did exceptionally well and got scholarship for the course (like 10, 25 and 35 % off) . I didn't get the scholarship. It's good enough that i got selected for it. I'm now very much convinced that this test is worth the 400 rupees($16) i paid for it. The first thing is the transparency and honesty of the examiners. The second thing is that the papers are sent to a far away place in India(Delhi) for marking. The entire course costs about S$950. Quite expensive, in this country. Especially when the classroom quality is so poor. Well, i'll just wait till the materials arrive. I've got to take several bags to the place on the first day to carry back all the materials. 4 hours per day, all weekdays, and they don't give holidays during public holidays. That's good for me since i want to get it done before my a level results are out. I don't want to be stuck here. Another thing is that i've a marriage to attend on the first week of february and so i'll miss 5 lessons there.
We wen t shopping during the evening. It was so tiring. I don't mind salking here and there, but the worst thing is waiting for my mom for like 30 minutes till she chooses the clothes.

The test results are still not up yet. My grandfather forgot to ask for my marks yesterday. I don't think i'll get back the question paper as they may be thinking of recycling the questions, especcially the IQ ones( which were already recycled). Yesterday, we went to this temple nearby. It was quite huge, being situated on a small hill( about the size of the one behind Yishun library back in Singapore). It consists of several smaller temples situated around and on top of the hill. After that, we went to a restraunt, also nearby. I ordered whatever i wanted and had a filling dinner. It only costed 100 rupees(S$4) for the four of us.After we came back, there was a power cut at about 1130 at night. We were just preparing to sleep. My grandfather had to bring in 2 (chargable) battery operated florescent lamps. It came back on ten minutes later. And guess what:
I was just bathing and there was a power cut!!!The light went off, together with the water-heater. But luckily, i had a bucket full of water ready to wash my hair. And also luckily, there was a window to bring in some sunlight to help my eyes (there's no windows in the toilet).
Let me talk about the details of the course i'm about to attend Well, it's supposed to start tommorrow, but the date is postponed to 2nd of Jan. 138 hours spread in this way: Lessons are everyday, at evening(so that the students here, 1 year younger than me, going to school, can still attend them), from 430pm to 8pm. It's expected to finish at feb 26th or something. So, i'll be flying back to Singapore the day after my last lesson. Hope my lessons end before my A level results are out. There are two things i forgot to blog about: Firstly, we went to a wedding reception several days back. The food was great, but for some reason, i didn't ewat much. Theplace was airconditioned and since it's naturally cold here, it was super-cold inside. But i felt okay once i ate the food. The second thing is a very happy news. Yeaterday, i was reading the local newspaper here, THe Hindu paper, and there was a sudoku at the end. A sudoku ia a mathematiacal puzzle, in which you fill in 81(9x9) boxes with numbers such that every rown column and 3X3 box has numbers 1-9. I've been trying these from the start of the holidays, and this one was the first one that i've managed to solve, all by myself. It took me about 45 minutes(i'm still a begginner) Here's my workings:
P.S:i miss my scanner: my camera did that job here.

Today is a good day. I got selected for the IIT course, miraculously. I was supposed to check the results on the net this morning, But it was not yet updated. My grandfather had to call them up to check.

I'm really going to fininsh this today: here are some more pics:

I'm standing infront of the signboard saying the name of the station: Kayankulam

I tried to get a copy of the economist magazine there, but it was not available. And the spicy buttermilk tastes great. Since it is a villiage, the train only stops there for about 3mins or so, which was really not enough for us to get ourselves and our stuff to the right part of the platform. So, as we were walking on the side of the train, looking for our number, which happened to be really far away, the train started moving. We quickly got ourselves and the stuff onto the train (possible since the train is really slow at first) and had to move along the packed compartments to out designated place. On the ride back, we had to share a compartment with a drunk guy sleeping on top. At first, we had our meal and then he came in and climbed to the top. At that time, we were having a conversation with some passengers sitting with us. He interrupted in the middle and from the way he spoke, it became quite obvious that he was drunk. My grandfather was asleep at this moment. The other passengers with us were the first to notice that the guy was drunk, since they understood his language. They then quietened down, trying to avoid him. I was next to notice, once he began talking in english. My mom was last to notice.We all quietened down then. I slept i the middle bunk and acted a look out to look after our things (although they were all locked and chained). We got off in the morning the next day( we boarded the train at 3 in the afternoon) and took an auto home. End of story.

continued4

Not much happened today, I'll be going to a temple nearby in a short while. The results for the test will be out on the net tmr. If i don't get selected, i'll have to rely on some private tuition. I'll now continue and try to finish the journey: Keeping to the daily schedule there was quite tough, but i got used to it after the few days. There is this bell that rings at 4am in the morning and everyone is expected to wake up, shower and attend morning prayers in a big hall, seperate venues(halls) for male and female. The weather is quite cold, but it is tolerable with casual wear. For me, the 3 people in my room(incl. me) are competing for the same bathroom. My mom, ususally wakes up first and goes to bath, after which i'll wake up and bathe and rush down. Then, my grandfather will bathe and join me in the hall. During the prayers, i was quite ashamed some times since the westerners there could say the prayers more fluently than i could; i took a looong time to figure out the pronounciation and ended up saying only the front part of each line. Maybe, i'll be better when i'm as old as them. On one of the days, my grandpa was in the lift with a guy (and me) and he asked the guy where he was from. Well, he was from germany and has decided to stay there as long as he could. we met quite a lot of such people. And i noticed one more thing: Cakes here taste much better, mainly because there is a lot if icing and a lot of sugar in that icing. And needless to say, they are cheaper too. My mom spent a lot buying the cds and vcds there. Vcds that cost more than $30 in singapore only cost less that $10 here. After the morning prayer, there's tea and (for me) back to sleep. On some days i went exploring (with my mom, so that i won't get lost). Breakfast was at 8am, quite filling. You only need $1 a day to get 3 decent meals here (add 50cents for drinks). Then, there are religious lessons, which we didn't attend. After that, we have to rush for darshan, we managed to get 3, as we wished, during our stay. The people there were extremely kind. And then, when we came back, we got off the island by a boat ride. i took a few photos:

View of the newly built bridge from the shore

The bridge standing behind me Me standing infront of the bridge (with 58+59 steps)

(you can guess the time by looking at the shadow on my neck)

This is how the boat system works: The man (behind) has this super long stick(that's why it's out of the frame) , which he places on the riverbed and pushes the riverbed behind. By N3L, the riverbed exerts an equal and opposite force on the boat, so that the boat moves forward. Also, by looking at the shadow on my pants, you can workout that i'm facing the direction of travel of the boat (the angle of the stick is ambigous and thust cannot be used here).

The train's spring system

Merry christmas, everyone

Test today

As expected, the entrance test for the course was quite difficult. Ironically, the maths part was the most challenging, physics was fun, chem was ok. There was this very tricky and cruel question in math:

Given a is not zero and that a and b are real numbers, and that the equation ax^2 - bx+1=0 has imaginary roots, the value of (a+b+1) is:
(i) zero (ii)positive
(iii)negative (iv) depends on the sign of b

in case you were wondering, the answer is (i), go figure out yourself.
At first we were given this IQ test, just one of those you find on the internet. You know, the lived and devil thing and the number patterns. It would have been much more enjoyable if there were original questions. Then came the combined Phy, math, chem test. The IQ test was 1h and the other one was 2h. The PCM test had 75 question, 25 from each subject and NO CALCULATORS ALLOWED.NO. NOT EVEN FOR MATH (or physics, for that matter). I didn't really feel the loss of the calculator. My mom had asked me to even bginr my GC, just in case. But unfortunately, ther were no such cases. I was asked to meet at some school here. My grandfather came along, since the auto drivers here may not know the way there. He and my mom patiently waited(well, actually, they enjoyed themselves at a restraunt nearby) till the end of my test to bring me back.
And, I've officially given up on getting this computer to play videos. Something is wrong with the internet connection, it doesn't download quicktime, files and google toolbar. I'm trying to get the latest version of the windows live messenger and the internet explorer.
I need to blog about the school facilities at the test location;if i miraculously get selected for the course, i'll be having it there. Yeah, there are a lot of classrooms and the greens are quite nice, but the thing is that the classrooms there have NO FANS (no air-con too). Well, because of the cold weather here fans may seem unnecessary, but you need to have them for summer years. luckily i'll not be staying during those years. The second thing is that they are still using black boards and there are just benches and long tables for the students. The test was also not organised well. It was supposed to start at 9 and the invigilator came in at 850 and all of a sudden, the students at the entrance started moving up the stairs and everynoe else followed. Well, i didn't expect much anyway, since the test location and time was only confirmed yesterday.Okay, i'll stop complaining now, my grandfather told me to get used to it, he says it's a 'culture'

Test tmr

I can't really blog much today, as i may have said before, I'm trying the entrance test to an indian university, Indian Institute of Technology, here. so, i need to have some training. That's why i'm mugging math, physics and chem. Math is fun, phy is very different here and chem-ther's a lot of new things to learn, the organbinc chem is very alien to me;makes me feel as if i've not learnt anything about it at all... Well, i'm trying to attend a tuition centre here. The trouble is that they don't just take in anyone. They have this entrance test to decide if you are suitable for the tuition. And the test is tomorrow. And, i know nuts about ray optics in physics, solid state chemistry (all those crazy structures, BCC, FCC... and their properties) and not forgetting the organic chemistry( lots more of mechanisms and reactions to remember).
also, i'm beginning to miss Singapore already. I still have like 2 more months. Come with a helicopter and drop me a line(and another one for my luggage), that would solve the problem.
My grandma seems to have gotten used to our eating habits. She's cooking more vegies and less rice. My mom's sister travels quite a lot and she has bought and brought a lot of chocolates. So right now i'm helping to finish tose;it's really unhealthy. I've also been eating a lot of sweets and chips here. And i've not been running since the marathon. Well, there is a park nearby but it's only open early in the morning and at the evenings; i'm always busy at these times.
The discman that i brought here from singapore has been doing a good job. The battery has been lasting for nearly a month now. I found it rotting in an old drawer here. There's a AAA baterry for my mp3 player too!

I need to have an update on the daily happenings here and stop talking about the journey for a while. The weather is really cold here, i've to wear a 100% polyester jacket and due to the shortage of thick blankets here, (and also because of me being a good boy,), i let my mom use the thick blanket and i'm using 2 thin ones. The materres is good, i'm not using the one that was specially bought for my mom and me, one of the old ones since it's more comfortable and comfy. Also, i helped my grandparents figure out how to use the dvd player that they bought and also to get the computer's speaker and mic system, working. The phone system here is quite screwed up, i don't think i'm going to touch it. There are 3 phones. I'm not sure if one of them is working, but for the other 2 of them: one doesn't work when surfing internet, but the other one does. And for the one that has problem with internet, the internet connection goes dead when the phone is picked up. The cold here is not so bad, it's just like the air-con at the school's library. At least it's not as bad as it was in New zealand. I got stuck here in winter, i was told that it is better during the rest of the year. I heard there is a flood in Singapore, i can't access the straits times since i didn't subscribe and so i'm quite ill-informed. I've not been watching the news here. I've been trying to get my hands on a copy of The Economist magazine. I enjoy reading the articles there, expecially the special report. It's only S$6 here in india, so why not?

continued3

After refilling the petrol, we continued on the journey. There was one part where getting on the main road was unavoidable. I could see that there were no cars or Autos on the road, so every person on motorbike or cycle passing by was staring at us. Our 'smart' driver has attached a black flag to the front of the Auto, so that we wouldn't be caught. But when we were trying to make a turn to go on to the causeway to the island, we were stopped. There were several big guys, some with sticks, blocking our way. There was no choice but to use that road. So, our driver took that turn and had to stop infront of them. They told the driver to get out and pushed him here and there, trying to get him out. He was NOT supposed to drive on this day. The thing was that I didn't feel comfortable being stuck in this situation, when neither my grandpa or my mom, nor I could speak or understand the language(Malayalam, i think) there. Then my grandpa was saying something like "let the driver go, he an old person". My mom was praying and I was just staring blankly, as usual. One of the guy asked me where we were going. I lied to them that we were heading for the hospital. Emergency. But i guess it was obvious that we were going to Vallikavu, since we were heading for the bridge. Suddenly, a big fat guy(just describing, no insult) appeared and told the rest to let the driver go. It didn't really work at first. But he was then like slapping the driver's back, asking him to go off. Our driver did and we were safe. No injuries. Thank God. Then, till we reached our destination, we were getting stares from everybody along the way. Some were even pointing at us and saying something.After some time, we reached our destination. The Ashram was different from the rest of India-and also different from the rest of the places i've seen so far.
One main thing is the huge proportion of westerners there. The other thing is that everyone there was extremely kind, and every work there-cooking, serving, organising of prayers, building of Tsunami-relief houses, etc... is being done by volunteers-No pay. The place we went was quite badly damaged by the Tsunami, but it was now all cleaned and rebuilt. After unloading, we went to the temple area, where i had to wait super-long for the 2 to get the accomodation and darshan tickets. We were given a room on the 4th storey (but supposed to press 3 on the elevator, i took some time to figure this out) and so we couldn't get a view of the beach and everything. But, that's okay, since miraculously, we our room was next to another Singapore family- that family was staying tere, they bought the room. Immediately, we had to rush to get darshan. First, we bathed IN BITTER COLD water, since there was no heater-It's not poor service, but it's a form of discipline-kinda thing that we are expected to practice. It was okay for me, since it was afternoon and the weatrher was quite hot. We arranged some things and rushed down-but were too late and so we weren't allowed in.
Now, i've to talk about the drinks shop there. The first thing is that the fruit drinks and milkshakes there are super cheap- the pomogranate juice is less than a dollar(And it is the most expensive thing there), without ice. All the juices there are without ice. There is no need for ice la, the drink is served cold since the fruits were stored in a fridge. The cake there was also one of the most delicious i've ever eaten-a lot of cream and sugar. Then there was a singing session at night, before dinner. The dinner costs 7rupees-about 25 cents in s'pore. There is vegies and this special kind of rice(my mom told me tt it costs morethan the normal rice), which was fatter and tasted better than the normal rice, and soup. Simple, yet delicious annd it fills your stomach. We went to sleep on leather matteresses. (to be continued)

continue2

okay...let me continue. Just before we alighted from the train, we got to know, through a neighbour in the train, that there was a strike at our destination and that as a result, there would be NO TAXIS OR AUTOS OR BOATS(we were trying to get to an island) to take us from the train station to Vallikavu. It was some communist thingy. Well, we certainly can't be walking there, since it's a one++ hour journey by taxi and we have our baggage. We would only be able to get a taxi after 12 midnight, when we would reach at 1 in the afternoon. My mom and I were quite calm, trusting that since we were going to a holy place and that God has safely brought us so far till here, He should have a plan or something for us to get there.
Once we reached, we brought down our baggage from the train and were left in an empty, HOT(sun) platform. There were these 2 guys who approached us with an offer. They would bring us to Vallikavu, taking the risk of being caught. They only asked for S$15 for the ride, so it was cheap enough and we agreed. They brought us to a place that was quite far from the train station and we got onto the Auto. It was a bumpy ride since he was avoiding the main road all the time. But since it was a long journey, we needed to get petrol and so he had to sneak into a petrol station to get a bottle of it. I'll continue tmr.

continued

I really want to talk about the life here, but i haven't finished talking about my journey. So, i shall continue(from after boarding the train and taking photos):
So, the train started. It starts off real slow. If you are outside, you can follow the train at normal walking speed to sprinting for upto about 1min. So it takes quite longer to accelerate. There were 2 stations near bangalore between which the train went at about human sprinting speed. Then, i was sitting by the window, looking out at the sceneries. There wasn't much to see at night, so i felt quite bored. We'ld reach our destination at only 1pm the next day, so i decided to go to sleep. And i forgot to mention- Since the train was late, we managed to have our dinner before the train started. There is a toilet and washbasin, together with seats, which you can turn into comfy beds when sleeping. Here's a picture i took:

See the 2 blue chains suspending the bed in the middle? These chains can be taken off, allowing the middle bed to become the surface to rest your back when you are sitting on the bed below. I took this pic in the morning. I felt like sleeping at about 10am, just before our early lunch.I woke up really early and took some pics of the scenery. I couldn't take the sunrise, forgot the reason why... During the night, our compartment had a few people travalling with us. They were talking to my mom and grandpa. I just smiled when i was introduced and didn't talk much, as usual. but the thing is that 'few people" gave me a bad impression of themselves by the way they were dressed and talked among themselves, although they were very polite to my mom and grandfather. Since i felt suspicious and didn't sleep till about 1150 at night, when they got off the train. and did i mention that they were travelling without a valid ticket? The train official came in only afterwards to check our tickets. My mom insisted that i keep my camera and hp in her handbag, which she has managed to camouflage very well. But i managed to 'steal' back my hp after a while. Oh ya- I got a SIM card here for my hp. here are the pics i took during the journey:

It's not a volcano, it's just the clouds blocking the top of the mountain

The train, curving it's way through

Just back from Vallikavu

It has been a long time since i went on an Indian train. It was quite a nice experiance, took a few photos. Photography was not allowed at the ashram, so my camera is still fully charged. My grandfather was super-amazed at the number of westerners staying there(i was with him and my mom). I met a guy from Singapore there, he was asking my mom for the s'pore's country code. Well, it's a wonder that he got the right person among the crowd there. The food was super cheap ther, since there was no service charge and also since it was to be affordable to everyone. Let me start my story from the begining. From our house at Bangalore, we had to take an Auto (Indian equivalent for the thai Tuk-Tuk. It's smaller, but looks the same) to the train station.My mom didn't let me take a picture of it since i "might drop the camera". It was a one-hour trip. We then had to join a long queue to find out which part of the train we were supposed to be at. We hired a porter to carry our goods, since we had to climb a staircase to get to our platform. We paid him less than a singapore dollar, which is the usual amount given to a porter here. We boarded the train just at the deparure time, but it started 30mins late. So, we took some photos: It's me, infront of my compartment in the train

Me inside the train

More later...Got to go mug chem

No title

Nothing much to blog about today... I tried to get my hp connected to the computer, but it needs the software for the computer to recognise it, and i left the cd in singapore. so too bad. Who needs hp to take photos? I've my loyal digital camera! ( I'll try to connect it soon) Life in India is okay, the food is nice and it's quite peaceful. Let's not talk about the living conditions, although it's worse than in Jln Bahtera. I'll be doing math today, i think. Even in math, there's a lot for me to learn, surprisingly. I'll be mugging physics on train, since i can absorb physics stuff in almost any conditions. Just hope that this plan is not cancelled. I was reading about the Indian railway system yesterday night. You know the transitlink book they publoished in Singapore that has info on the busses and MRTs there? Well, the book i read was its equivalent for the railway system here. I tell you, the entire system is damn mind-boggling. It's really a feat for them to have internet booking and entertain tourists. I haven't been running for very long. Dunno if i'll get a place to run here, there should be a park or something nearby... My legs have been resting too much after the marathon. May be i'll try to run fast and see if the pain comes up.
Well, that's all for today, i'll try to get to those pics uploaded
P.S I did sth really mischievous today-I'm amazed tt e really smart ppl in this house didn't catch me, may be they were too distracted.

a lot of stuff

okay.. today' s stuff first:i studied some chem today, there's a lot of new things to learn, especially in organic chemistry... .Now for yesterday: I tried to blog yesterday, but the minute i logged in to check my yahoo mail first, threr was a power cut and the computer went off...I was alnoe in the house at that time. Luckily, it was in the morning, and it lasted for only about 10mins. Bad, but not bad. After the power cut, i couldn't get the computer turned on. It turned out that i was pressing the wrong switch...I did chemistry yesterday too. Now for the flight journey: I tried to get my mom to go for s'pore airlines, but it was too ex, compared to Indian airlines. Well, it was very packed, every single seat was taken up and there was almost no space to put up our hand luggage, so the crew members had to go around, searcing for a place. They found it at the front of the plane, at the first class compartment. We were seated at the back of the economy class compartment. wow. How wonderfull...Well, at least we got a place...The food was nice, i was really starving. I took a few photos from the air, although qwe were told to swioch off all electrical appliances during takeoff. I just can't understand why-the exit lights of the aircraft were still on! now, isn't that an 'electrical appliance'? nvm... I didn't take any photos during landing, since photo-taking is banned on bangalore airport, should be some security reasons. After collecting our baggage we(mom n I) came out and found my grandfather, who was waiting with a taxi. I really wanted to get a photo of the traffic there-words are not enough to describe it. Well, i should be able to take some later, i guess. I'll be going off to Amritapuri Ashram tomorrow. It's a long train journey, i'll try to take lots of pictures, now that this computer has proven itself to be better than i first thought it would be...I'll be taking a test for a tuition here on 24th. You can come back after about 4 days, i'll not be blogging for the next 3 days or so.

In India!!!

Hello..
I'm in india now, i reached my home and ate my lunch. Very happy that the internet speed here is as fast as it is back at home. Furthermore, it's WIRELESS!!! I'm going to take down the countdown, cos i'm now fully healed from the marathon. I've just been getting a bit fat, or maybe it's my muscles or bones growing after the marathon. Anyway, i've lots to blog about, the airports, the flight and the traffic here and stuff. I took some photos too, but i shall not strech this computer too much, not now, maybe later. Keep those tags coming!

P.S: I do brush my teeth (go figure)

I'm kinda bored now, I should get some sleep now, but before that, i'm going to blog a bit:

I'm going to be leaving singapore in 4hrs time, so here's a list of things i'm going to miss

~~my dear readers, prepare for a lot of brackets~~

-my friends (glad that they are on friendster, and even my blog!!! YaY! msn...hmm, dunno if i can log in there)

-my comfy bed, together with the alarm clock that has been faithfully waking me up for the past dunno how many months, It's just going to wake me for one more time now)

-MY COMPUTER (I've put most of my files on a dvd-rw to help myself, if i ever need any of my files. I'm can show my pics to my family there too, and i've those on my thumbdrive.....)

-MY RADIO (No, it won't help if i bring it there, can't tune!!! I've been listening to this malaysian station [english] since sec3[obviously my favourite], so i'll miss it. nvm.. i'm bringing some cds, my cd player, which i don't normally use her[takes too much batteries] and my mp3 player [my mom doesn't want me to bring this, for some reason, i'll probably have to sneak it in, somhow.{dun worry, i'm very good at this}])

-My aircon (bangalore has a cold weather, but still i'll miss pressing tose nice little buttons on the remote)

I guess that's all for now, i need to get some sleep. This IS my last post before i leave s'pore. I'll panick once i wake up and i will have NO time to even switch on my comp. Oh yeah, dunno if i've mentioned this, but in order to maintain confidentiality, I will NOT open my blog page in the computer at my grandparents' house, under most circumstances.

`OFF TO INDIA`

before night meal

I am almost done packing now. The thing that i've yet to do are to weigh our things, eat and possibly get some sleep. Check-in will be at 5, flight is departing at 730. That's all for now, i guess. Unbelievably my family finished packing and now kinda ready to leave. Surprising...

This maybe my last post for a long time, i don't know if i'll be able to get to a internet centre in india... It may be a long time till i log in again. Keep my tagboard alive for me, I'll try and post pictures, if possible. My flight is tomorrow, at about630 in the morning.
I just found out something. I'll be joining people who are a year younger than me in the training and the exam. That means, if i had stayed in india, i'ld have taken the exam last year. Well, it's good that i've given myself an additional year to study, but if i had not appealed to be placed in primary 3 (instead of 2), i'ld have 2 additional years to study...
I'm packing some sudokus to entertain me during flight. I don't think indian airlines provides in-flight entertainment. This is the sudoku website(click). It's quite good. If you scroll down, you'll see the archive of previous sudokus and their solutions. Very neatly organised.

Riddle

Solve this riddle if you can, I created it(as you'll see for yourself):


you cannot see my hair, though i'm not bald. YOu Guess (who). Achooooo!!!YOu Get what i Am saying?? haha...


Here's another one that my friend gave me, i tried it and got till the part where i needed to download the picassa thingy. I thought it was quite good, actually. But i just don't feel like putting that thing into my computer. My computer right now has way too much imaging softwares. My camera, hp...