Now For Sleeping, Shopping and Eating

It has been a while since I last walked in the cool morning breeze at 6.30 in the morning.

As I took a leisurely stroll towards the bus-stop on Tuesday, I realised that I really enjoy having the morning breeze blowing in my face.

Then it occurred to me how much I used to abhore having to wake up so early when I was in Officers' Cadet School. Back then, my sleep in SAFTI MI was always fitful because I was constantly fretting whether I would oversleep. I would wake up once every few hours just to check whether it's 5am.

And boy did I detest the morning "5 basic exercise"(5BX) routine that we usually start the day with. And because it was usually done with the cold morning wind blowing into my face, I associated them with dread.

Looking back, it seems rather incoherent that the cold morning winds that used to inject dread a few years ago, did the exact opposite a few days ago.

The last two days were insane. I had to be at Choa Chu Kang Stadium by 8.30am to catch the Asean Schools Track and Championships. It was a feverish rush from place to place right up to midnight on both days, but I guess what made it worse for me initially was the embarrasement of the boo-boo in my last athletics story.

I'm coming to the end of my 2-month stint on the Sports Desk - Sunday would be my last shift. For better or for worse, I have definitely emerged from this trying period with a better and clearer idea of what to expect as a journalist.

One thing is for sure - it definitely reinforced my desire to go into journalism in future.

Right how, however, bidding for classes is causing me some sleepless nights. The module that I have been eyeing for eons, Introduction to Media Writing, attracted some 74 bids for 50 spaces in the first round for subject majors alone.

For me, this essentially means I cannot take the class this semester. But I thought I'd just drop the course lecturer an email.

Apparently this outcry was repeated many times over because there were other students who emailed her as well, so after a day, the class size was doubled. But because of the inflexibility of the online bidding mechanism, this can only be effected when the bidding thing ends.

So, the 24 people who failed with their bids are definitely informally promised places. And any other communications majors will be given priority. Non-majors like myself can only hope and wait.

But here comes the dumb part, we have to register a failed bid that would register as an advanced bid. For me, this means that I have to bid for a sixth module so that I wouldn't be left high and dry if I do not get this media writing module.

Confused?

Don't worry, because I am baffled myself. More so since the lecturer told me some person who was one of the lucky 50 who got the module complained to the dean's office that adding 50 more places was being unfair to people like him/her. As a result, those 50 places may have to be withdrawn.

I was flambergasted at people's selfishness - what can you do with having so many excess points? It is not as if you can convert them over to money. I wouldn't mind having to empty 1000 points off my account. Just as long as I get the media writing module.

Sunday's my last day here and I have tomorrow off. I've got a week's break after that. Right now, I just cannot wait to get to Bangkok. I have already booked the air ticket for Thursday.

Now for the cheap hotel rooms.