family

In normal circumstances, I would simply tweet about this but since some affected parties are on my followers list...I'm a bit embarrassed to XD

I am not close to any of my family except for a very very select few.

This is partly due to my terrible Fijian....but is largely attributed to me being a fucken oddball.

I somtimes envy those that talk about spending quality time with family that they click with...............ok I'm too lazy to blog this shit so I'll just shortcut:

Some of my fave cousins are visiting Suva tomorrow. For a night out. I'm so fucking excited coz this will be my first family outing since.....maybe high school? And we all know that was a good light year ago.

Have some awesome young Delphine (Last Exile):

Disjointed ramblings #FTW ^_^

Public speaking

Still not comfortable doing it.

And when asked to, I usually have to prep myself mentally (and *cough* spiritually) over the course of at least a week. 

I will make notes, practice in front of the mirror, time my delivery at the computer and visualise the whole presentation while on my bed and on the way to lalaland. I will remain nervous and anxious up til the point where I open my mouth to begin speaking.....and sometimes even throughout the show.

Last year I made a grand total of four public presentations at various forums around Suva. They were all on a specific area which I am confident to talk about off the cuff - but I would still put myself through the rigorous preparatory rituals mentioned above. #OCD

And now I've been asked to do another. 

Only this time, it's on an area outside my current field of work. 

And in another country.

I.AM.MORTIFIED.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HNY 2012

Lazzzzzzzyyyyyyyy.

Plans for 2012:

• Try more beer
• Had three ice cold Fiji Gold takis at a recent department outting to Pac Harbour and....I was surprised at how easily it went down. Actually, in the hot summer night it felt (yes felt, not tasted) really good. 

• Learn to drive
• Already got me Learners Permit woot! Nevermind that it took me one whole year after getting my  road code book to do so. Also, have just started driving lessons, double woot!! I'm learning manual transmission because I think it's a useful skill to have. For some reason I keep picturing myself stranded in the Irish countryside with no buses or automatic vehicles in sight. The bg of the daydream is straight out of Leap Year - one of the very few RomComs that I enjoyed (it's actually a bad movie...I think I was brain dead from hunger when I watched it).

• Travel 
• Chats with a uni-mate, Baigani (no seriously, thats what I call them IRL) once again reminded me that life is short and that this is the best time (while still commitment-free) to travel and have fun. I've always dreamed of doing the whole working-holiday thing but I always think about the opportunity cost of doing so - career wise. Not forgetting the massive dent it would put in my savings. So instead of one big trip, I'm going to target small trips here and there.

• Expand work knowledge
• Learn other units work to qualify for succession planning.

• Studies
• resume Maths studies. One down, three to go >_<:
• MA112 - Calculus II, which I'm taking in Sem 1, 2012, which is a prereq for,
• MA221 - Algebra II, which is a prereq for,
• MA313 - Real and Complex Analysis, which is what I need for further studies.

That's all I got. Also realised that my blog title no longer makes sense now that I've changed usernames. 

Cosplay pic before I leave. Can't remember where she's from.

MA111 limitation

As fun as MA111 has been, I have come to realise that the subject is being taught in a way that is suitable for crammers. Maybe it's designed that way because it's only an undergrad unit or maybe it's to improve the unit's pass rate. With the current four year average pass rate at barely over 55 percent, I'm guessing the latter.

The prescribed text does a great job of examining concepts in detail and dissecting problems in a step-by-step manner. What's alarming though, is that most of this detail is lost/ignored when the same is discussed in both lectures and tutes. All we're being taught in class are short-cut procedures to obtain the same answers. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE short-cuts. They got me through high school just fine. The problem, however, is that by limiting ones self to studying whatever is taught in lectures and tutes, students will not be able to explain most concepts intuitively.

Since I'm studying Maths to help me grasp proofs in my intended grad course units more easily, I know that I will have to study everything in our prescribed text even though our MA111 tests will not cover such details.

Captain Obvious, over and out.