Hmmm... so far school's been really easy. Also, writing is getting quite enjoyable. Ah what am I saying... it IS enjoyable... as long as I don't have to comment on art pieces. My empires and political imagination course is still as irritating as usual... I really can't catch what the professor is saying. Perhaps the textbooks will shed more light on what I'm supposed to know.

 

Apart from homework... there are so many clubs and fraternities. I've no idea what or how many I should join. Finance Society, Quantitative Finance Society, Actuarial Society Professional Development Society and Investment Analysis Group on top of all the fraternities which are just a jumble of Greek letters and I've absolutely no idea what each of them stands for. Most of them want to do community service though -___- I doubt I'll join any cos they'll probably be too time-consuming. I also want to set up a contract bridge club - I hope there are people interested lol.

If you like Southpark, you will almost definitely love Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Haha... It's a freaking crazy show, with lots of slapstick humour and satire. I hope I'll get to go to an actual White Castle outlet. My friend says it's freaking good, and having been to a few of his recommended places, I trust his taste :). Apparently they've cheap, small burgers, so everyone eats like 6 of them in one meal... haha. 

 

I did my essays for my writing course this morning. It was actually... pretty enjoyable to write a story - my first time in like... 4 years? I just didn't like the arty part haha.

 I went to Chinatown today...

 

FINALLY HAD SOME GOOD RICE!!!

 

I ordered some beef fried rice, which cost only 3.50 USD... adding taxes and tips, it cost about... 4.25 USD? That's about 6.50 SGD, and it was big... really big. In Singapore it could probably feed 2 people? I think... Ok probably closer to 1.5 people.

 

Anyway, it was really good - not too oily, and the beef was still juicy. :) The rice in the dining halls is seriously crappy, so dinner today was a very VERY welcome respite.

 

Ok now I've like <10 dollars left till next Monday... I expected to get my debit and credit cards earlier but nooooo... Have to budget!!! Sigh...

Yeah today was my first day of school. I had almost all my lessons today cos I squeezed everything into like... 3 days. First thing in the morning - Macroeconomics. My professor just went on and on about the Republicans and their failed economic policies... which I found pretty one-sided but never mind. Anyway we haven't entered lessons proper. My professor claims that the most difficult part of the syllabus will be his name - Kitsikopoulos - so I guess it should be ok.

 

Following that I went for my world cultures class. It's entitled Empires and Political Imagination. Sounds cool? It's freaking crazy... The professor was just shooting facts off at 2X the speed of light... I think no one could really catch what he was saying. Oh well... he said that it was just like an intro lesson which summarises everything, so it's ok. I'll be having a recitation (tutorial) tomorrow so I guess I'll probably learn more there.

 

I then had Calculus. I still can't believe I was placed into Calc II instead of Calc III just cos I took the A levels. It's freaking retarded... what a huge waste of time. Oh and my professor seems to suck haha. He doesn't seem to know what he's doing at all... I hope it improves. He spent more than an hour on partial fractions, which is like... more than 6 times the amount of time I spent on it with my VJC students. Sigh...

 

To end the day I had Writing the Essay. OMGWTFBBQ I think I'm gonna die in this subject unless I put in some really really REALLY major work. Our reading assignments are really... wtf. I can't find a more adequate adjective/exclamation. How the hell am I supposed to comment on or mark out important parts of an essay which either 1. doesn't make sense or 2. is total bullshit to me? Argh... it's literature all over again - except worse.

 

Oh well... back to reading. Ciao for now.

 I just had the best pizza I've ever tasted last night. It was an 18" pizza with pepperoni and cheese, and it cost only 13.55 USD (because of an NYU student discount). It was enough for 4 people... well worth the money. I also had some ultra sinful ice cream at a place called Cold Stone (I think it's the same as the Cold Rock in Singapore). I had chocolate ice cream with brownies, hot fudge and chocolate chips mixed in. Super sinful but oh so good :):):)

 

Oh and on a not-so-gastronomic note, one of my suitemates just put up some christmas lights around his bed, and has some huge lantern hanging over his bed. I'm not entirely sure what they're for, but if there's any decoration competition, we're so gonna pwn everyone else.

I've 10,000 spoons, but all I really need is a god damn knife.

 

People are naturally afraid of those different from them, aren't they? So afraid that they actually push said different people away and draw a circle around those of their own kind. It's exactly this which caused Cho Seung-Hui to execute the Virginia Tech massacre.

 

Sometimes I wish I weren't so logical, so that I'll be able to make choices with my heart and be happy with them. However, if I weren't so logical and relatively more able than Cho at keeping my mind/emotions in check, I may have ended up like him long ago.

 

When people get overly attached to other people/things, they get extremely depressed when said people/things are gone. However, no man is an island. Almost no one can be happy without being strongly attached to any people/things. What/He who/She who blesses you with the most joy is also the thing/person which/who can cause you the most pain. Ironic, isn't it?

Wow... I haven't updated in a few days. Orientation has been hectic with a few really REALLY cool events.

 

We had a "reality show" performed by students from the Tisch School of Arts, NYU. It was a really cool musical, if slightly crude. I like how they made a parody of like... everything... and actually taught lessons on adapting in NYU through the show.

 

After several days of provided food, I finally got my NYU ID and used it to get some food on campus. So far I've had 2 dinners and 1 breakfast on campus. All I can say is... wow. For the breakfast, there was like... everything. Eggs, omelettes, bacon, sausages, bread, waffles and pancakes... and I'm sure that's not exhaustive. For one dinner, I had a turkey burger and fries, while for the other I had tomato and basil pizza. Whoever knew vegetarian pizza could taste good! Haha... And the best thing is that the pizza has a thin crust... something missing from Singaporean menus for a looooong time. Strangely enough I still haven't had steak in NY yet... I should probably grab it next Sunday when the weekly steak night at 3rd North commences :)

 

Yesterday, Stern students went to ESPN Zone. It was really fun - a sports arcade with great food. There were several different kinds of bread, ham, tacos and hotdogs. The tacos came in 3 colours - the normal yellow colour, red and blue. Originally, I assumed the red and blue ones were made using food colouring, but a friend of mine told me that the colour actually comes from the type of corn used in making the tacos.

 

Just today, we went to watch the US Open!!! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Roddick or Federer in action, but we DID get Nadia Petrov and a few other rather hot chicks haha. Check out my Facebook for photos...

Firstly, all photos are on Facebook. I'm too lazy to post them again here.

 

Anyway, my mom, grandma and I met my father's friend, Ivy, and her husband, Edwin, and we went for dinner at Adrienne's Pizza followed by a little exploration of NYC.

 

The dinner at Adrienne's Pizza was our first western dinner in New York. The pizzas were pretty good... the lasagna was freaking fantastic... and the tiramisu rocked :). Actually, I think the pizzas should've been really good. Apparently, they use wood instead of a conventional oven, so it has a smokier flavour. Unfortunately, one of the pizzas we ordered was too salty because of the anchovies on it. The other (sausage and some don't-know-what-vegetable) was really good though.

 

The lasagna was better than any I've ever tasted. The sauce was freaking heavenly and the beef was just right - neither too soggy nor too dry.

 

The tiramisu was literally heart-melting. Not too sweet, and the slight bitterness of the coffee powder sprinkled on top was a very nice touch.

 

On to the exploration. One's initial impression of New York would tend to be one of a dirty, crowded city. That is totally correct. The city is constantly under construction, the roads are uneven and full of potholes, and rats coexist with humans. Subway stations are, in general, dingy... and are not air-conditioned which should prove to be a real bitch when the temperature hits 100 degrees. It is also rather confusing, not to mention, infrequent. However, I think one must not overlook the entire point of being in NYC in the first place... the dynamism, the opportunities, the (almost) true meritocracy and... well... the money. Haha... The people here are, in general, more open and kinder. You could just strike up a conversation with any random person and you wouldn't be treated like a donation solicitor. Oh... and I witnessed some guy catching a rather large fish... check out my Facebook for a photo of this fish and some others from the exploratory journey...

Hello from New York!

I arrived at 5+ yesterday evening... Upon leaving the airport I guess I was rather surprised by how hot the weather is here! It's around 80+ degrees fahrenheit now, which is about 28 degrees celsius. At least the air is rather dry so perspiration evaporates rather quickly. Oh and clothes dry super quickly too.

 

The taxi driver was really friendly - some college student from New Jersey... who drives his dad's taxi part-time. He knows all the small alleys through the ghetto area so we weaved past the traffic via these alleys, and didn't have to get stuck in the rush hour crowd. :)

 

Checked into the hotel (expensive!!!) and well... the room is really small too. I like the FREE wireless access though... and they provide potable chilled water along with sealed bottles to fill :). However, the air-con is a real bitch. It works on a thermostat, and makes quite a bit of noise everytime it comes back on. Haha... so it's like peace and quiet for several minutes, and then a rattling and lots of other noises, and the aircon comes on. Sigh... I'm fine with it but my grandma and mother seem rather disconcerted.

 

Will be getting my mobile phone plan today. Hmmm... nothing much else to say.

 

Ciao.