Brain Storm: Right Brain Psychology

At my first biological psychology tutorial, we learnt something interesting. Let's say you need to put on make up (for guys just put yourselves in girls' perspectives), would you use a mirror, or would you use the projection on a screen from a video camera of yourself? Before you answer this question in a bimbotic way, it's good to know that most humans perceive emotions, visuals with their right brain and motory actions, logic with their left brain. If you use your right brain to think, you tend to focus on your left. This means that if you are right brain-ed, when you look at someone, you tend to look on the left side of his or her body. Taking this in mind, would you use a mirror or a video camera?

 

 

The answer is video camera. The reason is simple. When people look at you, they focus on your right half of the body because to their perspective, their left is your right. However, you yourself are also most likely a right brain-ed human. You tend to look at your left as well. A mirror projects a mirror image, ie. when you look at your reflection, your left remains your left, your right remains your right. Since you tend to focus on your left as a right brain-ed creature, you will focus your make up on your left but other people look at your right. On the other hand, a video camera projects an image the same way another person is looking at you. Therefore when you look at your projection through a video camera, your left is your right and your right is your left. Thus you'll prefer to use a video camera to put on make up. Guys, you should try to focus on making your right half look better if you want to impress a right brain-ed girl. If you know that she is left brain-ed, then focus on your left.

Snippets of my Life: My Middle Finger

From my friend's Facebook:

To the person who friggin played his music aloud on the MRT while everyone else was trying to sleep: here's Wen Qin's infamous middle finger and wishing your music player a happy time in the washing machine.

 

Do I show the middle finger so much that it's now my trademark move? I don't okay? Not anymore at least. I'm a good boy now.

Ramblings: Fries with Buds

I saw this photo on Tumblr and it reminds me of the Carl's Junior's beef chilli cheese fries which I always share with my buddies. We would get one person to buy a set (which comes with fries), buy the beef chilli cheese fries and mix them together. It seems really cheapo but that's how we eat good food while saving money. They would give me the last few fries because I'm thinner, not that I would be able to eat because the burger would leave me stuffed already.

I miss hanging out with my buddies.

Oh Yeah It's Uni Life!: All In A (President) Day's Work

12am - Type emails. Receive replies from emails sent out earlier. Reply and repeat.

1am - Discuss work with committee members

2am - Continue to type emails.

3am - Give up replying to replies. Start doing tutorials.

4am - Sleep.

8.30am - Oversleep for 9am class. Shower, wash up.

8.45am - Rush out of hostel, realise there's meeting later. Run back to room and change into smart casual or formal, pack and bring laptop/personal planner out.

9am - Cut from school of computing to faculty of engineering.

9.10am - 11am - Tutorial. Doze off and hang head above tutorial worksheet.

11am - 1pm - Lecture. While listening halfway through, receive emails and start replying. Sms committee members to get work done. Recall that the meeting later requires reading up. Reads documents instead of listening to lecture.

1pm - Pon lecture. Go to student lounge to prepare for meeting later.

2pm - Meeting with club.

2.30pm - Meeting with another club.

3pm - Meeting with school administration.

4pm - Meeting with committee members.

5pm - Meeting with club.

6pm - Lunch/Dinner.

7pm - Meeting with other committee members.

8pm - Return to hostel.

9pm - 10pm - Nap.

10pm - 12am - Laze in front of computer. Complain to friends. Read documents, emails. Type emails.

12am - Repeat.

Snippets of my Life: 4) Lean Not Thin

CZ is exclaiming out about her thin friend at NUSS Cafe on the Ridge.

CZ: I got this friend right, he's very thin. Even thinner than you.
*points at me*
CZ: then right -
*I interrupt her*
Me: I'm not thin.
CZ: erm, okay. so -
*I interrupt her again*
Me: I'm lean.
CZ: okayokay, so I got this friend right he's very lean. -
*I interrupt her again*
Me: I'm lean, he's thin.
CZ: okay okay, you're lean, he's thin.

Just being anal about simple stuff. Lol.

Snippets of my Life: 5) Who Is More Important?

I'm at a friend's 21st birthday party. I was supposed to meet my gang later that night.

Gang: Just leave the party early.
Me: Cannot lah.
Gang: We are more important right?

Yes, 3 big men say things like that.

Snippets of my Life: 3) Beef with Cheese

At Carousel, Ed and I were taking food from the buffet table. There were 3 slices of beef with cheese on top left. [10/08/2011]

Ed: Come, I help you. This one give you.
*picked up 2 big piece of beef with almost no cheese on top and put it on my plate*
*then picked up the small piece but has a lot of cheese on it and put it on his plate*
Me: WTF You damn f***ed up leh!! You give me no cheese one then you take got cheese one.
Ed: Got! Got cheese!
*scoops some remaining cheese on the wok and put on my plate*
Me: No? That's like so little!
*continues to throw tantrum*
Ed: Aiya okay lah give you lah.
Me: Win.
*not a single speck of remorse or give face at all*

Okay I'm a total bastard but they are used to it. Lol.

Snippets of my Life: 2) Not Human

At NDP Parade, I was fiddling with the NUS Bear.

Me: Don't you think the NUS Bear doesn't look like a bear? The face is too sharp.
Eunice: Cause it's thin mah. Just like you. The bear very thin but  it's still a bear. It's just like you are very thin but you are still a human right?

*Laughter from surrounding members of the public*

Snippets of my Life: 1) Alone with 5 Girls in a Room

I brought my female friends to visit my friends in Utown

Ning: Eh not bad lah WQ is here alone with 5 girls in one room.
Me: Cool ah, help me tell Ed they all that I'm actually quite charming one then they won't laugh at me anymore.
Yue: Don't want leh, I will never help you to better your reputation.

Oh Yeah It's Uni Life! - Year 2 Starts

So today is the first day of my Year 2 life in NUS. Many many things happened in year 1. My life was fantastic. It was filled with colours, it was dramatic. I made many friends, gained much experiences, learnt a lot about the real world. But if there's anything that should be right but isn't, it's my academic results. I did so badly I think even the people around me got affected by it, one way or another. This coming semester, I will work really hard. I've fallen down once, I shall try not to fall again.

This year 2 life will be happening and meaningful too. There's tons to achieve. Watch me.

Untitled: Somebody Out There

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDv8abaPsQk

A year ago, you told me that this song represented what I meant to you.

Fast forward one year, some things changed, I'm no longer your knight in shining armour. I don't mean the same to you anymore, but if you need to find me, you'll know that I'm here.

Brain Storm: My Intangible Talent

During one of my camps, I was lamenting about how some of my friends either have musical talents, are smart or look handsome/beautiful, and some people simply have awesome personalities, while I have none of those. My friend then said "but you have leadership qualities". Hmm, I raised an eyebrow. How can you tell that I have leadership qualities? To what extent? How do you quantify that?

I don't deny that out in the working world, leadership qualities will be important. Still, there are different types of those qualities. Being able to work well in one area doesn't mean you'll be able to lead well in another field, etc. Further, you can't classify things like "hey I have more leadership qualities than you". It's very vague and difficult to judge. Even if I am doing well currently in my job scope, that doesn't mean I will do well if I am put into another position. I do understand that such issues are a concern even for other talents, for music, good looks and so on, it might not be easy to quantify. But let's face it. Leadership is even harder. And there's still a fine line between a good do-er and a good leader.

I am a rather confident person. I won't say I am someone who can't lead. At least for this field, I know I am not hopeless. But I'll have to admit that you don't get people coming up to tell you that you are a good leader and many times, the outcome of a process or event does not show you whether you have succeeded as a leader or not or just isn't good enough to prove much. Simply because the event could have failed from other reasons. And there's no reason to deny leadership capabilities just because something went wrong. So how do we judge?

I could do with a more tangible talent. I may have one, it's just that I haven't discovered it. But no matter what, I'm glad that at least I already have something I can count on, even if only I believe in it. It's good enough.

Ramblings: Blonde Moment

Yesterday my friend and I went to this Japanese restaurant in WheelLock Place called The Sun and The Moon. While waiting outside, we saw this dish being served that was kept in a bird cage. So my friend got curious and asked the waitress what's the dish with the bird cage thingy and she told us it was the tofu cake. He then got excited and said he'd want one. The waitress replied with an ultra blonde reply. "But there will be no bird inside". We waited for her to leave before we burst out laughing.

On a side note, the frozen baileys was really good. Luckily the only effects I felt was faster heartbeat.

Oh Yeah It's Uni Life! - My Message for My Engine Freshies

Hey freshies! Hope you enjoyed Oweek. I'm so glad to have such a cute bunch of freshies, so interesting and so fun loving. Despite us being so chillax, I felt we were still bonding, still moving forward as an OG. For those who wrote on my letter that you hope to keep in touch with me, maybe we will, maybe we won't. But be rest assured, this is only the start of a new chapter with your fellow FRESHMEN. The councillors may slip away, but your fellow freshmen won't. I didn't have the chance to give a prep talk at the start of the camp cos I was late but you determine how fun the camp will be and how many friends you want to make. Thankfully you guys pulled through.

NUS is a winding 4 year road. It's going to be tough, but it's going flash past fast as well. I shall quote myself in my speech for my CAC Camp "There are many paths you can take in NUS. You can focus on your academia and shun a social life and possibilities of multi disciplinary growth. Or, you can take charge of your life, your learning, your social circle and your growth. It takes just one step to venture into the unknown." Your university life is yours. Whether you want make the most out of it is your choice. The choices you have are insanely numerous. Don't be lazy. Take the initiative. Ask. Plan.

On a side note, I would like to thank your OGL on behalf of all the councillors. The House Head pushed the responsibility from me to him so it's really my fault that he had to tank all the sai kang. Behind the scenes, without his hard work, many things wouldn't go as smoothly. He can't be around most of the time also because he has to take instructions from the camp committee. So to Zhi Rui, you're much appreciated! =)

You have many seniors, many resources, many connections. I tell my juniors, there are 3 key things you should aim to achieve in university. Academic excellence, networking, and a good resume. Keep that in mind. Make use of us seniors as a source of knowledge and networking. You are probably the only OG that has 5 councillors, 10 crashie councillors, and 30 over senior councillors whom you may get to know in the near future. If you need to know someone with a certain experience, ask us.

To end off, it's been great knowing you guys. I was a boring freshie and my OG was unexciting. I can imagine that when we were councillors, nothing changed. But yet you guys made the camp fun for yourselves. For that, I am thankful. You'll probably notice that I will stop being "fun loving, sociable, and an amazing senior once school reopens anyway. Once again, welcome to the 4th generation of our line of OGs (don't know what's the name of the first OG) Pyro, Evening and now Turks, and welcome to NUS.

Your neighbourhood friendly councillor
Wen Qin

Brain Storm: Preferential Treatment By Maturity

Today when I went to buy books with Nard in COOP, the counter guy first asked if we were from NUS. On knowing that Nard isn't from NUS, he asked if we were brothers cause we look alike (like O_o right?). Then I asked them "so who is the older brother?" and they said, me. Mind you Nard is way taller than me. It reminds me that although my real brother (blood related) is way bigger size than me too, many people also say I'm the older one.

I like to be recognised as the older person. I take it as a sign of higher maturity. Yes, I know it doesn't necessarily mean that way. I also do not take offense that it means I look old. Not that I care anyway. In many situations, I tend to be the one who takes care of others. People will come to me for advice, for perspectives. While maturity alone doesn't justify me being Aunt Agony, I think it makes up a big part of it. I don't really think of myself as someone who seems approachable. Thus there must be some other reasons why people ask me. There's not many, but hey, it's not bad considering my gangster face and cocky attitude.

Still, recently I guess I felt a bit jaded. I felt happy during those times when I could be like a kid. I don't mean those times when I play pretending and make a fool out of myself. I mean those times when I can act like I'm younger because I really am younger. I met up with this senior recently and when he treated me like a kid, patted on my head, I was all like "wow, when was the last time someone did that to me?" Did I feel good because I haven't felt top-down love (in terms of age and seniority) in a long time? Was it because I lacked attention (not the normal attention but that of my real psychological needs) for so long? I'm not too sure. When I hang out with my Council friends, I felt happier too these few days. I am the youngest (and the only one from my batch) member in the Council and I feel unrestricted when I'm with them. I can ask them for advice, I totally don't need to act like I'm strong and I don't have to show concern for them out of the way. Because they know better. And they care.

When was the last time a junior asked me "what's wrong" or "tell me your problems" and I felt at ease talking to them about it?

Never.
It's not that I have too much pride or ego to show my weakness to them. It's just that when I talk to older (or rather more matured people), I feel like they know, they really understand and they can help. Perhaps it's the urge to want to hide under a guardian's wing too, after giving away all my care and concern.

It's like an age thing. Nobody forces it on you, but when you feel older, you feel responsible. I feel that way all the time, but not that I don't like it. All in all, I think I still like to be treated like a mature, older adult. I like to be able to take care of people. But once in a while, it's great to be treated like a kid, to be able to act like a kid, and not having to go out of my way to protect anyone.