New Semester again!

Wow, I overdid myself in the last semester, as shown by my declined CAP results. Not going to show it here, just sufficient to tell you guys that I'll be borderline first class by the end of this upcoming sem.

I'll be taking 6 modules now:
Quantum Mechanics 2
Nuclear Astrophysics
Particle Physics
Experimental Physics 2
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Programme in Quantum Correlations
Understanding Irony

And I hope to be able to crash in for these 2 modules:
Cosmology
Science at the Nanoscale

That alone is quite busy already, but I'm also the Deputy Dharma Director of NUS Buddhist Society. And I intend to join in 4 out of 5 weekly activities of NUSBS. Monday: Medical Dharma Circle, Wednesday: Meditation Course, Thursday: Discovering Buddhism, Sutta Studies, Friday: Dharma Circle.

And continuing my Saturdays Martial Arts: Nam Wah Pai.

Now I wanna add in meditation and Tai Chi as my daily activities!

And writing books too. I got to think of my future career somewhat. I hope to use the time I used to play games to write books, or to meditate. And writing in this blog makes me feel like I'm reorganizing myself and reorientating myself for the semester from my holidays.

Indeed my holidays are quite Holy days. Out of the 5 weeks holidays, 3 and a half are used in Buddhist activities. or maybe 4....

Last semester after I've finished my exams, I've straight away moved to my uncle's home and then came back to Malaysia to Ipoh to attend my cousin's wedding. Thanks to my laptop, I've managed to read some physics for my next semester along the way.

Then after coming back from Ipoh, I've got accompanied by a friend to Singapore to attend NUSBS Dharma Camp. We were late on the first day but we enjoyed to rest of the camp all the same. It's really tiring to be one of the organisers for the camp, but it does serve to increase my spirituality level afterwards, even my SPS friends feel that I'm a whole new different person after the camp!

After the 7-11 December of Dharma Camp, I've come back to NUS to settle my UROP project application. And the very next day I've gone to Mangala Vihara temple to be a 15 day novice monk. Spend my Christmas night chanting Buddhanusati 108 times. A feeling of indescribable calmness and beauty shines through the atmosphere. On the very next night, I was walking through Orchard road in Singapore as a layperson with my uncle and his family. The very next night, I'm walking through Jonker street and visiting the good old nostalgic Malacca. And the very next night, I'm in Petaling Jaya, just to find out that my lapie has crashed! Oh well, I've backed up the important NUS folder in my pen drive and I've not deleted much of my gmail emails, so I'm ok with using SPS computers as I'm doing now.

After a few days of rest and doing a power point sharing of my monkhood programme, on 31st December 2009, I and my parents went to Kuala Lumpur International Airport to welcome a youth from Taiwan by the name of 陈幸君. We are to host her in our home for 3 days before she goes on to the International Buddhist Youth Conference held in Malaysia!

We got quite a fun time letting her observe and see the various places in Malaysia, including KLCC, Pavillion , Ma Zu temple in KL, Jonker Street, Dataran Pahlawan in Malacca, Tzu Chi Malacca. We also shared many knowledges and cultures. It turns out that Taiwan and Malaysian Chinese shares so much in common! Perhaps the best exchange is for my sister, Ching Siang, her friend, Kei Shing, and Hsing-Chun to bond together and become really good friends. There's even a plan for my sis and Kei Shing to go to Taiwan near Chinese New Year to visit Hsing-Chun using their own money!

As for me in Malacca, I've visited my 2 most memorable school, St. Francis Institution and Malacca High School. It's really a nostalgic feeling of all those years there. The friends, the nerd periods, the feeling oppressed periods, the times where I feel like the top of the nation, the crush period, the 6 years out of the last 8 years. Hard to believe that time flies out so fast and yet it feels just like not too long ago. And by the way, I've seen amazingly cool pictures of me receiving a silver medal in Vietnam (not taken by me, so not in my Facebook) in the Notice boards of Malacca High School. And my colour photocopy of the Silver medal cert is in there too! It seems that I've become quite a legend in High School and inspiring many upcoming youngsters in pursuing physics, at least I hope so. Anyway, I've gone to NUS straight after coming back from Singapore so this is one of the first chances for me to appreciate my Silver medals impact on my old school.

And I've came back to Singapore on the 3rd January 2010. On the very next day again, I've joined the NTU Buddhist Society Dharma Camp and had lots of sharing of Dharma there. It's a new experience for me to not show off my rubics in camp as usual, and in general to keep my ego and flirtatious me in check. My spirituality really increased a lot after the camp and made quite a few good Dharma Friends there! I never had such good and nice sharing of the Dharma there ever before! And I've came back from the camp just yesterday.

Which brings me back to yesterday, after coming back I'm kinda bombarded by the stressfulness of a NUS Student life again..... by the Experimental Physics 2 briefing at first.... then by everything that I've not done during the holidays and yet so little time to do them.

It takes some time to get used to adjusting back to student life again after the peaceful, calmness, beautiful life as a novice and participant of NTUBS Dharma Camp. And Now it takes me back to the present. I'm signing off as I'm going back to Woodlands now!

As mentioned, 1 week of my holidays is in NUSBS Dharma Camp, 2 weeks as a novice, half week in NTUBS Dharma Camp, and (another half?) hosting Hsing-Chun. So my holidays are quite Holy days.