An insight of Veefessional…..a rare opportunity…

Well, sounds like one the greatest theories by Einstein? Indeed, the most significant theory of all, but not by Einstein. Oh, the subject that I scored terrifically in the first semester? Well actually, did not expect a fine outcome of the final exam, as I thought that I messed up with a couple of questions. Anyway, back to the topic: Relativity.

Returning home for a much sought-after break following a tiring semester had not come at a better time. I felt the warmth of being home, with my parents, brother and grandma. The holidays are heading towards a quick end, though. The time with my brother has reminded me of something a couple of years back:

There I was, in front of the computer, having fun with FIFA ’03. Was playing world-class, and then, goal!! I won a treble with Newcastle United. Haha. Okay, the game had finished. Closed the programme, and logged on to the net. Hmm..had an urge to just browse around, go surfing. What should I look for, ya?

Oh, how about reading about this revolutionary theory that Einstein made? Yeah, the Theory of Relativity. Typed it in Wikipedia, here it was, a long and seemingly endless page on this whole topic, with many additional and related links. So, this is what Relativity is all about (that was what I thought). Ah ha..wow..not easy to grasp, but intriguing, of course. Special Relativity is when there is no acceleration involved, the General Theory deals with gravity, etcetera. Spacetime..tensors……. Okay..I stared at the page long enough. Hahaha.

Up came my brother, banging his way into the room as usual, to my great annoyance. “Hey bro! What cha doing?”

“Nothing. Looking at Relativity. You know? That great theory that Einstein formulated? Haha. Not easy. You will learn it one day,” I said to him.

He thought for a while, and then said, “Oh, I know. Relativity, right? Yeah. I know what it is.”

“Haha, yeah right.” Nine years younger than I was, this cubby lad was obviously trying to pull my leg.

“Well, go on. Take a look, see what you can make out of it,” I pointed to the monitor.

Without even looking at the screen, he then put his hand around my back, giving me a brotherly pat and said, “Relativity, my brother. We are “relatives”. This is the Theory of Relativity.” He then gave me a grin, continuing his pat on my back.

Woah…amazing… From a young child’s point of view, an entirely new meaning of relativity. He knew nothing about speed of light being constant, inertial reference frames, and so on. But, I was unarguably impressed. I had to admit that I would not ever think of it, probably never will on my own. So, the ‘true’ meaning of relativity. Haha. Relatives, family, people who are close to us, this is relativity. I felt the closeness, the bond, the brotherhood, the “relativity” between us. True enough, relativity has the root word “relative”, though the term “relativity” does not imply anything at all about being relatives. But hey..let’s coin a new word!

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So, this “Theory of Relativity” would mean the bond between relatives, the love and care between siblings, the family or anyone close. Wow…never thought that a simple pun on Einstein’s groundbreaking and ingenious thoughts would bring about a whole train of ideas about the intimacy in the family and brotherhood.

Well, I really enjoy the time with him during my holidays. A young and brilliant mind, with great creativity, I believe he would continue to strive on further and become a sparkling gem. Proud to have him as my brother. Truly glad. =>

Just to record that, I have finally solved the 5 by 5 by 5 Veefessor’s Cube.

Veefessional.

After completing the major examinations for the first semester (look, “major” because there was a relatively unimportant paper a couple of days after all the important ones are over), together with a few buddies who also completed all their exams and eager to leave Pulau NTU, we went for a tour around Singapore. I woke up late alright on the day for the tour…was gaming till sunrise on the night before.. (oops.. =p) Anyway, I eventually met up with the rest at Orchard.

So, we continued the day walking around the streets, visiting malls and shops, looking around, exploring the city and so on. Wow…this is Singapore. Hahaha. Had not really had the opportunity to leave the rather faraway NTU Island throughout the semester, expect maybe before semester began. Yeah..a well deserved day out there in the heart of Singapore Island.

As we were looking at the items at some shops, some of my pals called on excitingly, pointing towards the objects arranged properly at one corner. It was a 5 by 5 by 5 Rubik’s Cube!!! Wow!!!!!!!! Have been hunting for it since…since..er, since I knew its existence! I already had one of it: the 3 by 3 by 3. But as Veefessional, there was no doubt at all that I would push myself to greater challenges and to try solving more complex cubes of higher dimensions, or even pyramids or cylinders! Ah..finally found a 5 by 5 by 5…the 4 by 4 by 4 was also there actually.. But the attention my friends paid to were the big one, though for me, of course I wanted ’em all!

I held it up with both my hands, stared at it, turned it (I mean the package, as I could not really get my hands to “turn the cube” because it is sealed) to look at it from all angles. Wow…fascinating!! I am gonna get it!!!…until…..I looked at price……….$29.95??!!!!!! That’s…~RM70?!! =((( Sigh…crap… I just took another hard unwilling stare at it..before I put it down… Sigh. This was..so depressing. Nevertheless, my chums persuaded to get it, saying it is fated, it is mind, it is a “once in a life time opportunity”, bla³.. Wait, once in a life time opportunity?? Lol… Hahaha. Had a good thought at it.. Sigh. I took it up, had another good look at it..before finally putting it down and just kissed it goodbye. Someday I would surely get it, I told myself and the gang, for whatever it takes.

Well, we continued our tour around the busy streets in Singapore. Had lunch, and basically just looking at stuff, exploring the area, just loitering around the malls. What a minute, what’s that over there?? Another 5 by 5 by 5!! The price…same… Sigh. Okay, move on. Forgot about it for the time being. Hold on..after getting into another shop, I saw it again! Urg!!! Same price! What is this?! A haunting?!! MOVE ON! It was not long before I saw it for the fourth time at four different locations!!! ARRRGGGHH!!!!! So my friends kept persuading me, “Go get it! It is yours! You have seen it again and again!” Well, they sounded really fishy to me. These people were actually asking me to get it?? Did not sound like the typical character of these bunch of people. =p Something must be wrong somewhere. Then I proclaimed, “5 by 5 by 5 huh? If only I see it for the 5th time, shall I buy it!!”

Afterwards, we visited Suntec City, a place where five towers are linked together. A great landmark in Singapore, most definitely. Another place with lots of things sold, lots of shops. Alright then…oh no…I encountered it for the fifth time!!! ARG!!!!! Okay, slightly cheaper this time, $29.90. ARH!!!! Lol. I refused!! I did not get it! Partly because I feel that these people were persuading me so badly, with lots of odd efforts, when they usually did not. Okay..I admit..it was expensive! Come on…70 bucks Malaysian currency?! Sigh.

Okay, getting late, so we went back for dinner, before returning to Pulau NTU.

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Now, after some weeks back in Ipoh, enjoying a much sort-after semester break, hmm..Christmas is near. Some relatives came back to spend Christmas in Ipoh. And I received a call from my uncle who live in Singapore. He told me that my aunt had sent a Christmas gift to me through the relatives who just went back. What was it, I asked. THE 5 by 5 by 5! WOW!! I am absolutely flattered!! Yeehaa!! It is mind!! Hahaha. Thinking back, thankfully I did not buy it. That’s RM70, and having two means one is redundant. Wow!!! It is mind!! Perhaps not only am I a great physicist, but I am a psychic as well. Somehow, I refrained myself from buying it, but was ironically rewarded in the end! What a splendid Christmas! A special gift, from Chimney. Merry Christmas!! =>

Well, I had not yet gone to touch the 5 by 5 by 5. Would get my hands dirty right after this.=p But had most undoubtedly been thinking of the solution. I reckoned that it is just an extension of the solution to the 3 by 3 by 3. The solution is vivid within my neurons. Thinking further on, the 4 by 4 by 4 (do not have it yet) would need a bit of modification, whereas the 5 by 5 by 5 a direct extension of the 3 by 3 by 3. The reason, 3 by 3 by 3 is odd, whilst 4 by 4 by 4 is even. It makes perfect sense. =p

So, one week back in Ipoh after completing one semester of the vevolution. What have I been up to? Lol.

Sunday, 2nd of December:

Well, after a night on the bus where I virtually got no sleep at all, perhaps just eyes closed, I surely needed some sleep. But hey, I think I just took quite a short nap. Watched a nice comedy, Good Burger on the well-missed idiot box. Ah..surely is amusing. That movie reminded me of..haha, entertainment? =p Also flipped over to other channels like the much desired ESPN. Lol. Then some Chinese Drama, and the educational channels. Ah…so much you can get from the idiot box, provided you subscribe to Astro. =p

Monday:

First reunion with some friends, actually two of them just stayed behind my hall in NTU, so technically, only one was an old friend. Lol. It was a truly pleasant day. Had lunch in Pizza Hut (though the quality of the food there is most definitely disappointing), had a nice chat and catching up over his life as well as some gossip. Later, the four of us walked around Jusco looking at some stuff, roaming around, before moving out to a sports shop nearby, basically just window shopping. If any sports item is to be purchased, get it at Queenstown, a forty-five-to-sixty-minute overall journey from Hall Three Residence. =p

Later that evening after the four of us parted, I went on to meet another old chum. Ah..another delightful moment! Chatted for quite a while, enjoying the time, before I returned home for dinner.

Tuesday and Wednesday:

Enjoyed time sleeping, oversleeping, repaying the sleeping-debt that I owed to myself during the hectic time of the semester. Lol. Also watched lots of programmes on the idiot box, basically relieving myself after the first semester’s labour. =>

Thursday:

Went for some physical time at the badminton court with some friends. Have been quite flabby and lack the stamina. So, a good time to sweat it out and move my muscles. A good work out, enjoyed the game, and the session. It was really nice to meet up with them and enjoy the time together. Well, suffered muscle aches for days as a repercussion of not having been working out consistently. =s

Friday:

Met up with yet another old pal. => A great relish! An old friend who had been quite close to me. Wanted to go bowl, hands really itchy and wanted to get physical. Sadly, the alley was booked THROUGHOUT the day, hence we just settled for some lan games. Splendito!! He taught me lots of stuff about DotA!!! Had a nice battle with him, though in the end, being more knowledgeable, he was superior enough to out-strength me. A really fine reunion!

Saturday:

Yet another outing with some other old buddies. Some juniors, in fact. Learnt a lot about what had been going on in school, how their STPM was, and so on. Watched a movie, a certainly entertaining one, and enjoyed myself. => Thought of going to look for another crony after the movie, but she was not available. =s

To sum it up:

Well, certainly a lovely first week back at home, enjoying life. Not many more days of fun and pleasure, need to resume the quest of vevolution pretty soon. But till then, a good break would prepare me a good self to continue my pursuit for knowledge. =>

The achievement at the former level had put me on top of the nation, setting up a good qualification to move on to the next stage. I knew I would be granted, as I had good support through a test taken not very long ago. So, it was just a matter of time before securing my place. I still had to go through the formal procedures though, but boy was that a horrific scene! Sigh. It really hit me hard as I thought I had screwed it badly. Well fortunately, I still made it through, perhaps deeply owed to the backing from the school itself.

Right, I have gotten my spot, well done. Was then sort of taking things easy, enjoying life, though I am well aware that I need to move on and keep on pursuing on my ultimate quest. I just laid back, had occasional polishing just to make sure I did not rust too badly, but I knew time was ticking. It certainly was not long before my next voyage, the next vevolution was about to take place.

The time had finally come. Reluctantly, though some excitement sparked, I embarked onto the next level. Things were no doubt not the same. Independence was a key thing that is needed: Own laundry management, housekeeping, chores, and so on. I owed a heartiest thanks to some relatives who had always come and assisted me with a lot of care and initiative. Please accept my humble gratitude. I do not know how I could ever thank you for all you have done. =>

Now, the lectures. I had to admit that I was extremely shocked to learn the major differences between lectures at this level and classes at lower levels, where there were now lecturers against teachers in the past. It was absolutely different. Major readapting to the learning environment was required. One main thing, there was no longer any spoon feeding. A repercussion is the declaration of some subjects as being ungraded. Anyway, no problem with that. Back to lectures.

Well, it was pretty like hell during the first semester, I had to admit. Lack of sleep, inability to comprehend stuffs that I thought I would easily be able to, having to learn something without pre-knowledge and was then assumed to know, no spoon feeding means having to slog through the textbook by own initiative, as well as the long gruelling hours required to come out with weekly reports. Hectic, that sums it up. Weekends were sleeping times for recuperation as the days there required burning the midnight oil.

Nevertheless, there was indeed time for other stuff. In the evenings, there are badminton sessions. Though I still sucked in it, it was fun, and perhaps I managed to pick up some skills. =p There were also pleasant moments doing some cooking and stuff like that. Really nice. Special thanks to some classmates. Talking about computer games, though I also still sucked in it badly, it sure was nice to play especially after a long day (or night) at work. It also gave amplified release of dopamine when I managed to beat some stronger opponents. =p

A lot have been learnt, much have been gained, not only within lecture and tutorial rooms, but socially and mentally as well. Never expected to be able to enjoy such a splendid feeling of pleasure in the “reward centre”. But I had to also admit that I miss home. Not all, just certain things. I used to be able to access the idiot box that provided full of information as well as entertainment. Missed this greatly when I had to slog day-in day-out during the term.

Anyway, the first semester was undoubtedly the beginning of the first vevolution. Having been exposed to what this stage required, I should prepare myself for the next few phases that lie ahead. They ain’t at all simple, but being Veefessional, V vhall vevolutionise vhe vorld.