tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121309672011-04-21T21:46:27.020-04:00Love is like a rebellious bird that cannot be tamedL'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1142200137198551172006-03-12T16:46:00.000-05:002006-03-12T16:48:57.200-05:00

I've moved.The content and themes of the new blog will be quite distinct from this one though.As for this blog, I'm comtemplating closing it down entirely, until I realized that other bloggers have linked here. I might just keep a few posts standing, especially those which garnered some attention, which are almost inevitably my semi-logical rantings on Singapore.

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1141941559779653012006-03-09T16:09:00.000-05:002006-03-15T23:51:34.150-05:00

You might want to read this post by takchek first.So what is the point of a general degree? Since my academic program can be considered a "general degree" program, I thought of the various paths which my fellow classmates have taken or will be taking. So, what are my fellow (honors) math majors doing/going to do, other than math graduate school?On the job market: Actuary, investment banking,

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1137350739722254922006-01-15T13:31:00.000-05:002006-01-15T13:52:26.273-05:00

As some of you may know, I don't really hang out with the Singaporean group here. I have my group of Singaporean friends, but I rarely ever attend SSA events. In fact, the only events I've ever attended is my freshie orientation and Chinese New Year dinners. Despite almost living on a different planet from most of the Singaporeans studying here, I always thought it was great to keep up with

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1136755494532550512006-01-08T16:01:00.000-05:002006-01-08T16:58:33.763-05:00

Now that I'm out of the Singapore education system, it never ceases to amaze me how a system can malfunction so badly that people who studied Chinese for 10 to 12 years, and actually passed the exams, can emerge with a terrible command of the language. Like me, who comfortably passed my Chinese exams without studying for them. My Chinese grades were usually in the B range, except for my short

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1136605235166606842006-01-06T22:14:00.000-05:002006-01-06T23:00:36.326-05:00

I was reading this post when this struck me, as you can see I wrote some preliminary ideas in the comments box.In much of the Singaporean community, it is common 'wisdom' that finishing an American undergrad degree program in 3 years (instead of the standard 4) saves money.In much of the Singaporean community, there is also a warped obsession in finishing in 3 years. I get terribly sick and

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1135108681247531492005-12-20T14:07:00.000-05:002005-12-20T15:50:29.223-05:00

I should be studying, but I need a break. So you just have to bear with my crap.I was just thinking about the issue of interacting with non-Asians whilst studying overseas, and in particular, the perception that the locals aren't very friendly. There are very insular people of all races and cultural backgrounds around. They also do not (hopefully!) represent the entire racial/cultural group.But

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1134162596675420912005-12-09T16:03:00.000-05:002005-12-09T16:09:56.690-05:00

Conversation snippet from today. A, a fellow undergrad and I were talking a bit about grad school applications, B is a grad student in my class.A: I'm mailing off my application to University X today, so I can send by priority mail and it'll still reach them on time.B: You're applying to X?A: Yeah.B: I heard they aren't very supportive of their grad students.A: I did hear about that, but I think

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1133244004024955752005-12-02T17:40:00.000-05:002005-12-03T00:20:32.533-05:00

Let's see, my this post inspired takchek to write this, which linked to Wind's post on the self segregration (is ghettoification too strong a word?) of Singaporeans, Xue's reactions to Wind's post, which in turn inspired Olandario to write a response, along the lines of "Does getting to know Asians only mean you're not making full use of your overseas education?" (My freshman comp instructor is

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1133421378418068622005-12-01T02:23:00.000-05:002005-12-03T00:21:35.646-05:00

I just had one of the moments when I realized that yeah, I'm indeed in a large university. As I've said before, there aren't many undergrads in my department, or at least, those who take classes with me. I hardly have to worry that the classes I want to take are fast filling up, that I have to make a sudden change of plans on the day of my registration, or that my undergrad career might be longer

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1132294945857712062005-11-18T01:22:00.000-05:002005-12-03T00:31:07.336-05:00

Hmm... for some time, I've been wondering why I get quite a number of hits from the search string "PSC scholarship". Turns out that I'm number 3 on Google blog search for that string, which links to my earlier post In Search of Respect, Part 1.Just like the person who tried to find out more about sex in Singapore through my blog, I doubt many of these people actually found what they wanted. For

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1130621683896229892005-10-29T17:38:00.000-04:002005-12-03T00:39:01.226-05:00

From the NYT (subscription may be required, you can always use bugmenot): China Luring Scholars to Make Universities Great.Parts of the article hits too close to... um... home.China has already pulled off one of the most remarkable expansions of education in modern times, increasing the number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees fivefold in 10 years."First-class universities

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1128722812807971092005-10-07T18:39:00.000-04:002005-12-03T00:48:25.650-05:00

For some time, an idea has been lurking in my mind - sending a postcard to my grandfather. You see, my uncle migrated a long time ago, and my grandfather is overjoyed every time he receives a letter, in ever deteriorating Chinese. Lately hanyu pinyin has been appearing in the letters. The only thing is, my grandfather's preferred language of communication is Chinese, and when he receives a

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1125197304781574272005-08-28T10:48:00.000-04:002005-12-03T16:07:47.426-05:00

Why must Singaporeans be given the rubber stamp by foreigners (of the Caucasian sort, mostly) before we (or our work or ideas) can be considered "good" in our own country?Notice that all the "superstar" Singaporean hires are almost always "brought back" from another country?That we need to pay tons of money to some foreign experts to believe that Marina Bay is the best name for that piece of land

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1124218687323013202005-08-16T14:52:00.000-04:002005-12-03T16:12:22.546-05:00

Tolstoy was known to be a very sensitive man. As a child his nickname translated into "Cry Baby" (don't ask me what it is in Russian). He has great insights into human nature, and this one I just read is particularly suited to some *current* events, and others less current in the same (un)said country:On the Tsar Nicholas:The constant, brazen flattery of his entourage, in the teeth of obvious

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1121709927859452502005-07-18T14:05:00.000-04:002005-07-18T14:05:27.870-04:00

So I've to apply for grad schools this Fall. And hence start researching. Which reminds me, I've got to talk to someone about the application process very soon. And ask a visiting prof with whom I took a class to write a letter of recommendation before he forgets my existence.But anyway, Step 1: Make a list of schools, and ask for a second opinion. My original list, in no particular order:

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1120293089361975772005-07-02T04:26:00.000-04:002005-07-02T04:42:22.676-04:00

So right now I’m sitting in my comfortable high-chair in front of my computer in a not-so-little comfortable Midwestern town. What have I been up so late for? I was working on some problems, and now I have sufficient inspiration to type up this post, which hopefully comes out right. It’s possibly the hardest post of my mini-“series”.My personal experiences.I’m very, very, very glad that my

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1119849465301566762005-06-27T01:13:00.000-04:002005-06-27T01:17:45.303-04:00

I wrote this post about a year ago on my now-defunct blog. Reposting it here as it is relevant to my current topic. Last post I focused mainly on the JC system, now let's see what the little tots are up to. You don't feel good about yourself and then get your self esteem wrecked in JC right? It's a long drawn process.***All that talk about not letting children play in school in the Straits Times

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12130967.post-1119845655416941932005-06-27T01:11:00.000-04:002005-06-27T01:11:22.640-04:00

I can't remember where I read this, but I came across a comment in a Singaporean's blog recently: The major flaw of our education system is that it destroys the self-confidence of the students.Unless I'm conflating this with someone else's post, I think the blogger talked about a recent article in the Straits Times by some scholar, who wrote about being rejected by the elite when he did not get

L'oiseau rebellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884820715854388363noreply@blogger.com2