House MD

It was my favourite drama. I was always fascinated by the intriguing medical mysteries, the maverick main character, Dr. House, who never ceases slating his team and mocks his patients when opportunity comes - or not. And the tolerant good friend - Dr. Wilson - who has been benevolent enough to minister to him when necessary, even though being mocked, humiliated, and sometimes insulted repeatedly, or framed for wrongdoings, and many more imaginable events.

And then, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine who was the one who hired him but had to tolerate  his pesky doings and sometimes crime. And.....well......the list goes on.

I have watched till Season 5, and stop watching the series entirely after 6 episodes of Season 7. The show has gone downhill after Season 4, and the lack of presence of Chase, Foreman and Cameron exacerbates it. The humour has gone flat in many cases, and has reduced tremendously to the point the show is no longer famous for its humours.

Anyway, since it's the series finale - why not watch it? I've watched how it begins, I shall watch how it ends, even though I didn't watch the process of it.

It continues where the previous episodes ends. House is trapped in a building with a drug-addict, and he's hallucinating. Many dead characters return, while some who left came back in his fantasy. The good news is: he no longer fantasises having sex, instead he fantasises the people around him who help him reflect his actions - the alpha and omega of his meeting with the drug addict. Why he did so? Why he complied with him? Why he faced with such dreadful crime? Et cetera.

Then we see what happen when he treats and communicates with his patient. Bla bla bla (can't divulge too much).

In the end, Wilson and Foreman smell something fishy and do some investigation. They finally track down where House is, only to watch him trapped helplessly in a torched building. The firemen manage to douse the inferno, and found two bodies, which one has been confirmed to be House by dint of genetic tests, rendering the team sad.

A memorial is being held. Everyone except Cuddy stands up and gives an eulogy. Wilson catches everyone off guard when he, instead of delivering something saddening and memorable about House, suddenly says something out of anger and criticises House candidly and baffles the entire crowd.

Then he receives a message telling him to shut up. Of course, Wilson is flabbergasted. He then sees House sitting in front of his apartment (apparently House ain't afraid of having people identifying him), realises he fakes his death. *House is supposed to be thrown in gaol for a prank that goes wrong, he tries to escape it by asking for helps but no one bother to help him. So he reduces to the desperate method - faking his death.

Oh.....did I say Wilson is "sentenced" to die? He has 5 months left before he dies of cancer, and House is trying very hard to escape being thrown behind bars so that he can accompany his friends for the last 5 months. The producers are so......cruel to kill off such a great character, but yet kind enough to ensure he doesn't die alone.

At the end, we have a happy ending. Everyone is jubilant, and only two persons in the world know House is still alive.

It's sad to see Wilson has to die. An oncologist who battles a cancer and eventually surrenders to it. How sad.

Anyway, it's a good series finale! I hope I can watch more of the show, but I guess everything comes to an end.

Sports

I desperately need to exercise. Not because I extremely need it (although I do need some), but mainly because I have this urge to move and I simply can't sit still.

The sports I like the most, unfortunately, is badminton. Liking badminton in this world is a bit troubling because there are lack of courts and lack of friends that share the same passion. And it's also costly to rent a court, and it's also difficult to arrange a time where everybody can gather and sweat out.

The most preferred sports now is basketball, where you basically need only a ball that can bounce, and three friends that are fit and agile enough to make the game more interesting by either hamper you from scoring a point, or a friend that assist you in getting one.

And the best thing about basketball is that you need an outdoor court, and school is the best place you go to if you need one.

Unfortunately, basketball is not the sports I like the most. I don't like it, but I don't hate it either.

But I like badminton and I love it. I really need to play some. I'm now supplicating, hoping to be able to find some friends who could play with me. Or else, I think I'll die of boredom.

By the way, hope our national idol Datuk Lee Chong Wei recovers quickly. He sprained, or broke, his ankle while he was smashing out during Thomas Cup. Although I badly wish him to refrain from playing and spend some time recuperating, he insists he can pull through, and strive to compete in the coming Olympic to clinch the Gold Medal. I'm not sure what to choose if I were him - spending time resting by losing a dream you have long awaited for, or go after your dream at the expense of your health. Either one, I'll support him whole-heartedly. Good luck and take care.

Recent Life?

Okay, I realised I haven't posted anything about my daily lives for quite a long time, so I guess I'll update about my well-being.

So far, I've quit my part-time job and now resumed studying. I'm now officially a form 6 student who is due to sit for STPM (first semester) in November this year.

A visit to 11 schools make me appreciate my current school very much before I did, and frankly the long pants I'm wearing to schools are quite comfortable and some said it makes me look mature.

Too many students are in form 6 this year and this is the only thing I dislike about it, for now.

My teachers are great. PA teacher is good and extremely knowledgeable. He has a broad knowledge on general issues and is well-versed in the happenings around. He has shown great concern because the new system is tough so he fears he can't finish the syllabus, ergo he has begun to speed.

Chemistry teacher is fine although her English is really questionable. At least she has the knowledge and the quality and passion to teach. She has warned us a lot of things: possibility about unavailable to finish the syllabus, and the scarce time to answer the STPM questions. She radiates great concerns, and I appreciate it.

Physics teacher is great. No doubt about it, since he already is famous throughout the school. He's now a bit slow, causing us to be lagged behind. He's now praying the standard of STPM to drop to match with that of Matriculation, but well......let's hope his supplication is answered and granted.

Mathematics teacher has not shown anything profound or out of ordinary, but she hasn't shown her true ability yet. And she is, so far, the only teacher that hasn't shown concern over the new syllabus, although the other Maths.T teacher has already warned us about the difficulty before we even began our schooling.

MUET teacher is the same with my English teacher last year. She's way too busy (obviously not a slacker, if you could excuse some intermittent rest), and she's kind of pity. She didn't warn us about the difficulty, but has indirectly said that the new format of MUET which was introduced only 2 years ago is harder than the old one. Proof? No one has got a band 6 after its change.

So far, co-curriculum activities has not commenced, but does sound fun.

So this is my current life: studying again. :)

New vs Old Syllabus of STPM Mathematics.T

I made a comparison between the old syllabus of Mathematics T and the new syllabus of Mathematics T, and realised about some of the chapters in the new syllabus are completely new.

So I did a further checking, and realised that these new chapters are, in fact, taken from the old syllabus of Further.Mathematics T. 

New chapters from Further.Maths, from what I've compared and recorded: 

1) Some from Matrices (Gaussian elimination, elementary row operation, row-echelon form etc). It is not known whether adjoint is removed. But it really doesn't matter because elementary row operation, though more complicated, is actually easier than adjoint if you get the hang of it.

2) Some from the chapter Complex Number (de Moivre's theorem)

3) Some from Differential Equation (integrating factor)

4) The entire chapter of chapter 11: Maclaurin Series is taken from Further.Maths T.

5) Intermediate Value Theorem is new, while there are some additional new knowledge to be learnt in the chapter Numerical Method (iterative method).

6) Differentiation of inverse trigonometric formulae. 

7) The entire chapter of chapter 16: Samping and Estimation, is completely taken from Further.Maths T. All subtopics are included.

8) Chapter 17: Hypothesis Testing is taken from Further.Maths T, but not all subtopics are transferred.

9) The entire chapter of chapter 18: Chi-squared Tests, is completely taken from Further.Maths T.

10) The chapter "Vector" has undergone some changes. Although it is covered in the old syllabus as well, only 2-dimensional planes/vectors are to be learnt. In the new syllabus, 3-dimension vectors are introduced and these are much more complicated than 2-dimensional vector. 


There are assignments and projects introduced as well. 

We have so many new chapters in our Maths T that are taken from Further.Maths T, and most of the old chapters stay!!!! They merely combine several chapters together (chapter 1: function is almost a combination of 3 chapters from the old syllabus: Polynomials, Functions, and Trigonometry, which some subtopics removed but most stay).

It means.......we almost study twice our seniors do!

But ya, there are few chapters that have been removed. Deductive Geometry has been taken out while the chapter Polynomials seem to have been shortened.

Ironically, while Relative Velocity is also removed from the syllabus, we're still required to learn it as this concept is required to complete your assignment. So much of saying "reducing the scope". 

Wah....I guess we really need to work hard this year. 

By the way, topics removed
1) Sets
2) Polynomials (roots)
3) Geometry Deduction - whole chapter
4) Application of Vectors (relative velocity)


Sources:
Old Syllabus for Mathematics.T
Old Syllabus for Further Mathematics.T
New Syllabus for Mathematics.T

Form 6

I've begun my form 6 life two days ago, and surprisingly the number who joined form 6 is huge. 230+ students returned.

But the number is expected - or destined - to drop later, for four reasons:
1) Some merely came back to wait for admission to IPTA/Matriculation.
2) Some applied for JPA/Maktab and some appeal for Matriculation because they are not accepted. 20% chance they would have succeeded so I guess the number will drop quite a lot.
3) The new system doesn't sound any easier. Some came back because they thought it would be easier, but I guess after the briefing they've realised it isn't any easier and some would leave.
4) The request to change stream (science to commerce) is exceptionally hard this year as all requests need to be approved by MPM in Putrajaya. Some might not get their desired course, so some will leave; while some will stay back and fight STPM with profound gallantry.

Well, schooling will officially commence tomorrow.

My school does not have orientation, as only 4 out of 230+ students are not Jit Sin students, so we bypass this step and begin our schooling.

There'll be two class tests: one in August, another on 1st of October. Chapter 1-3 are tested for the first class test, and the remaining 3 will be tested in the second class test. So, my teacher will complete teaching 3 chapters in one month, and one chapter measures about 4 chapters of form 5 Additional Mathematics.

Wow, I salute my teachers for their speed. They must be good!

Anyway, I'm gung-ho to try this exam. I strive to get 4As, and I hope I get it. =)

New start, new beginning, new achievements!

Natcomp 2012 - SMJK Chung Hwa Wei Sin, Preliminary Round 1

Okay. I'm not a professional, just a fan, so don't expect a professional view from me.

Frankly, I have high hopes for SMJK Chung Hwa Wei Sin, but I was rather disappointed because it wasn't as exciting as I had imagined. And the formation lacks climax, a little more inferior than 2010's.

And, I really loathe the static. Of their 10 minutes performance, 5 minutes are static. Only the colour guards are dancing to the song, and to say the truth, I hate that. I prefer to watch marching formation than static.

The only part I truly like is percussion.

Just my opinion.

Change

Just admit it - people get lazy. Not because you've nothing to do, but because you've done something so long that you've grown bored.

Okay, having nothing to do might be a reason. But not a big one.

So I've ended my part-time job. I've learnt a lot of things in the past 3 months, and I'd visited 11 schools. After making comparisons and doing evaluation, I have come to the conclusion that my school is still the best.

I called it 'love'.

But the truth is, I have got used to it, and cannot actually adapt myself to SMK.

The schools that I have visited are all in Penang except one that is located in Sungai Petani.

And I have also visited two Independent Schools, one that is closely connected and had historic relationship with my current/past/soon-to-be secondary school, and the other is an International School - not because it provides international education, but because the students in the school are from various countries.

The transition is probably the biggest in my life - from working to studying, I probably wouldn't have a second chance to experience this transition because the next would probably be the opposite. The biggest lesson I have learnt is that studying is better than working, and ergo I've grown to realise I ought to appreciate my schooling life, which leads to my firm decision to persue form 6 in my secondary school.

Recently The Star has just commented on the wrong perception youngsters have. They have the mindset to get a degree fast, and after SPM they would love to continue their study without taking a break.

I agree with what the writer said. Sometimes, we need a rest. We need to experience a change so that we learn something we couldn't learn in textbooks.

Academic performance really is nothing. If you get 4A* for A-Level, but yet lack leadership, rationale or the ability to perform a task correctly, 4A* will be merely a display. Practical is what matters the most, and thanks to my job, I've realised it and will make sure I perform well.