Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Friday~ Yep it’s me again, and not Rebecca Black, so you don’t have to worry about which seat I’m going to take. Thank god it's the weekends finally, huh? Finally a time to catch your breath and unwind a bit before more school.

On the other hand though, graduation is coming soon (just a few weeks more!) and I’ve finally gotten my acceptance letter. I have confirmed a place in Creative Producing in Chapman University, a US-based uni which is based in NP, and I just can’t wait for school to start! Anything to break the monotonous routine I’ve fallen into would be more than welcome, though I might change my mind the moment the workload starts piling up.

Like most of my other friends, I started worrying about university admissions as the submission periods for university applications came around. In the end though, I applied only for Chapman for a couple of reasons.

1. I’d heard plenty of advice from well-meaning seniors who said that a mass comm degree would largely cover what I’d already learnt in NP, and so I didn’t want to waste my time or money doing something that would be similar to what I’d already learnt. Can you imagine doing that? It’d be so boring.


2. The course is only 2 years, and $6.9k per year at that. While I would love to go overseas to study, I can’t put that financial burden on my parents. Plus, there was also a chance I’d get to join the immersion programme and head over to Orange County, Cali for a 3 month long internship. Woohoo~


3. Creative Producing was something I wanted to pursue, and thought would be interesting. It’s quite different from what I specialised in (Print Journalism), so more than a few people were surprised when they heard I was going to Chapman.

In any case, those are my reasons for coming back to NP, even though that means I’ll be spending 5 years here in total. Those were the pros to making this decision, and as for the cons, I guess there’s no escape from Makan Place. (Just kidding, I know there’s the new canteen – but I haven’t eaten there yet so…)

Don’t feel left out though, if you’re not from FMS! Just so you know, Chapman Uni is not the only degree option that’s available in NP.

For HMS students, there’s the Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (which I’m sure you’ve heard of). It’s a partnership with Wheelock College and specially customised for graduates from Early Childhood Education and Child Pyschology & Early Education – and the best thing is that it’ll cost you $6.8k a year, which is a few hundred dollars cheaper than tuition fees you’ll need to pay for a local university.

There are also scholarship schemes for this particular course, unlike mine, which only has one. Other than the general NP Undergraduate Scholarship, there’s also the Lien Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship, NTUC Childcare Co-operative Ltd Scholarship and finally, the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading (LKY-STEP).

If you’re lucky, you even get to join a 5 week summer internship at the Boston campus, which sounds pretty cool.

The other post-poly option available are the degree programmes offered by Newcastle University. There’s Marine Technology, Marine Engineering, Offshore Engineering and Naval Architecture, so there’re really quite a couple of options available there. They’re mainly catered to graduates from Marine & Offshore Engineering, other graduates from Mechanical Engineering-related courses are welcome to join. You just have to take a bridging course.

There’re also numerous scholarships available, such as the George Chow Yew Tong Scholarship, the ASMI-Naval Architecture Scholarship and the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Fund Scholarship – and if you do well enough, you get to participate in a 4 week immersion programme in Newcastle, UK!

For more information about the choices you have in NP, check out Degree options for Ngee Ann grads.

And that’s the end of my post for this week – I’ll be flying off to Hong Kong on Sunday, so expect a post about HK when I get back! :)

Since I've graduated though (unofficially), I've been working part-time as a barista and it's been fun, fun, fun! (Pardon the bad end-of-the-week joke :P)

It was quite spontaneous actually - the way I'd got my job. I was just heading to town to meet up with some friends when I saw a "We're hiring!" sign outside the cafe, so I went in and applied. And before you could say "Tiramisu", I got the job! Well, okay, I still had to go for a proper interview at their headquarters, but the informal interview I had on the spot pretty much sealed the deal.

That's my nametag on my apron over there! See if you can guess where exactly I'm working at :)

Maybe you’re thinking about getting a part time job. As someone who's done the whole juggling schoolwork and work thing, here's what you need to survive the balancing act! (feel free to ignore it if you've found your own method that works for you)

1. Willpower, willpower, willpower!

Meh. That just sounds like some obligatory word that adults (who think they’re wiser) like to throw into conversations, doesn't it? Buuuuuut it is really true. While working part time does give you additional moolah to spend, it drains you of energy you probably could be spending on your projects.

There will be many times when you come back late from work, all tired and ready to crash, only to realize that you still have to finish up some annoying essay. I should know, I’ve done it before. (Sometimes I just get so tempted to just ignore my work. Or do something like the .gif below. Lol.)

But this is a kind of discipline, something that you have to force yourself to do. I guess it also helps too if you have a dream you’re working towards! Sometimes, you might just get so tirrrrrred from pushing yourself so hard. This is when you need advice #2:

2. Set aside time for your projects / studying (and yourself)

Even though I’m working part time, I’m also freelancing on the side as a writer for a music blog, which means I have to come up with 3 blog posts a week! 

A huge chunk of my week is taken up thanks to work, and I still have to set aside time for writing in addition to finding time to go out with my friends, or just sleep. Every other day I’m not working, I’m going out. (I keep a diary. Lol.)

In order to get your projects done (and the ones I used to do had a lot of research required), you just have to put aside a special time slot for studying. Say, perhaps 8–10 pm, if you’re a night owl. Or if you study better in the morning, set aside study mornings when you have off days. 

Don't end up doing this though. LOL.

Me? I’m more of a night owl, so I find the words flow better when I write at night. This is a personal preference, something you’ll have to discover for yourself. 

3. Work towards a dream (you could call it goal. too)!

Dreams are very powerful things. Just because you’re on the cusp of adulthood doesn’t mean you have to give up dreaming. I know a lot of jaded old souls who would tell you that common sense rules the day (and smash your dreams, while they’re at it).

The reason why I’m working so hard? In truth, one part of it is to fund my graduation trip. (Not getting any Father and Mother Scholarship for this, unfortunately!) 

But that’s just one part of my goal. My dream is to travel the world. After I graduate from university (my next stop), I want to head over to many, many different places: Korea, Japan, Venice, Australia… you name it, I wanna go there.

I mean, life’s too short to just sit around and think, “I’m never gonna reach that goal, it’s just too hard,” or “It’s too expensive, I won’t be able to visit all these places in my lifetime.”  If I thought like that, I would just sit around at home, surfing the internet aimlessly, refreshing tumblr manically, or nap my life away.

And that’s really all the advice I have for you. It’s something that works for me, and I hope that by sharing it helps you too! 

Follow me (itsrainin9) on twitter for more updates on when I’ve uploaded a new post! :)

I went out with some friends last Thursday (let’s call them The Gang to simplify things) to watch Rio and eat a steamboat and xiaolongbao buffet! :)

Rio, the newest offering from the creators of Ice Age, wasn’t exactly my first choice for a movie – I love animations, but was really more in the mood for some comedy action like Chow Yun Fatt’s latest film, “Let the Bullets Fly” (I'd heard it's really good). But I'd seen the trailer for Rio, and it did look like it was going to be a lot of fun. I just needed to be persuaded. Lol.

Living in a bookstore with Linda in Minnesota, Blu (Jesse Eisenburg) is the last male bird of a rare species known as the Spix's Macaw who's very much enjoying his domesticated iifestyle. It's a good life, even though he's flight-disabled (I think the childhood trauma from falling off his nest into a poacher's waiting hands was too much for him). He's fed well with hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and chocolate chip cookies, and gets to read all the books he wants.

However, when Túlio, the slightly nuts nutty human ornithologist arrives at the store, he brings news that they've found a female of his species for him to mate with. Blah blah blah, he goes back home to Rio and meets Jewel (Anne Hathaway), a spit fiery independent female bird who's not interested in procreation. At all. She's more preoccupied with escaping and he'd rather wait for Linda to come back, but the little birdies are kidnapped by a motley crew of poachers wanting to cash in on a fortune.

Throw in a big bad white cockatoo, some monkey business and a slobbery bulldog, and you've got yourselves one hell of a feathery flight!

This movies isn't exactly what you'd call original. You can almost predict what's going to happen next with some accuracy, but you're not exactly there for the plot. This is one of those family friendly movies you go out to watch for fun. There were some good points to this movie, though - Nigel (Jemaine Clement), the villainous cockatoo who's not very handsome, has some witty lines. Check this out:

Rio

Release date: 7 April 2011
Duration: 96 mins
Genre: Comedy
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Will.i.am, Jamie Foxx
Rating: 3.5/5

Currently showing in all major theatres in Singapore!

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So after the movie, The Gang and I went out for dinner to the Crystal Jade branch in Holland V. If I’m not wrong, this is the only branch that serves the Crystal Jade Buffet.

Basically it’s a steamboat buffet that comes with free–flow xiaolongbao – in short, eat until you explode from all the xiaolongbaos. This was my first time eating at Crystal Jade (don’t look at me like that) so it was a new experience for me. The food wasn’t particularly spectacular, as most of the items they serve aren’t extremely good stuff – BUT.

Don’t forget your real goal. That’s not what you’re there for. The main highlight of your meal should be the xiaolongbaos!

However, it is a pretty good deal if you’re a big eater or if you just want to have a good meal out with your friends. I think the reason why I’m not so into it is because of all the speed eating we had to eat to avoid getting fined for food wastage. The staff members kept reminding us that we had to leave soon from around 6.45pm, and it didn't help with my digestion. But, anyway, moving on.

The beef slices (I think!) paired with some chicken meat

Mushrooms! ^^

The usuals: Luncheon meat, and an array of assorted balls. Lul.

Another thing you’ll have to note is that you must eat finish by the allocated hour. There’re three timings for the buffet: 5pm to 7.15pm, 7.30pm to 9.45pm, 10pm to 12.15am.

Each person gets 3 free prawns (100g), but I don't care for them so it was nothing special. I mean, it's just really too troublesome to pluck off the shelling and the itsy bitsy legs (ewww). I’d just rather not touch them at all. Thankfully though, David and Dawn were there and they helped us shell our prawns! Woots. 

The things I did like are their red bean jellies and xiaolongbaos. The red bean jelly had a nice rich flavor to it, and you could also taste bits of red bean in the jelly. I’m not too sure what to say about the xiaolongbaos except that they were delicious. They had thicker skins as compared to others I had, so I liked that a lot because I didn’t have to be so careful when I was eating them. 

The red bean jelly I was talking about! Lul and you see the cooked prawns in the background ^^

The osmanthus jelly was so-so for me. :/

Here’s the address for those who’re keen on the buffet!

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

241 Holland Avenue Holland Village Singapore

Tel: +65 6463 0968

And alright, I'm off now! Hope you enjoyed reading this post, and if you have any thoughts, do feel free to comment! For those who're interested in knowing when I've uploaded a post, follow me on Twitter at @itsrainin9! See ya around :)

Okay. It’s that time of the year again, and by that, I’m not referring to the end of the year parties. More specifically, I’m referring to that much dreaded GCE ‘O’ Level Results (or anticipated, if you put in your pound of meat and studied really hard).

Soon enough the results will be up, and then depending on your results, you’re going to have to make decisions about what you’re going to do in life, should you go the poly or JC route, and if so, which school you’re going to, and in short, make serious life decisions.

Should you go to a school that's nearer to you or go to a school that's better in reputation (but further)? Which course should you take? The one you really like or the one that'll be the best for you career wise?

What should you do? There are so many different schools – ranging from Business & Accountancy to Film & Media Studies to Health Sciences, Humanities, Engineering (which has divisions like Aerospace, Biomedical, etc) and so on and forth.

And that doesn’t even include the different types of diplomas each school is offering! Could you qualify for them? Is this what you really want to do?

It’s confusing and scary. I would know – I’ve been there in the same position as you’ve been in before. And so have many others before you, which is why we’ve put together a couple of events that hopefully can help you figure out what to do! After all, in order to make the right decisions and be in control of your own life, you need to know what are the choices that you have before you!

Tumblr wisdom. Do not doubt the Tumblr.

(Errrrr… Don’t be like this guy whom I knew who selected his course by closing his eyes and using his finger to randomly pick out one. Needless to say, he regretted it. Yup. Don’t do that ah… I'm serious!)

So. Anyway! We’re organising a “Find your Dream Course” workshop just for you at OurSpace@72 from 6 to 8 Jan! There are 2 sessions happening daily at 12.30 pm and 3.30 pm and there'll be activities that'll help you find out what you really like and want to do! 

If you really have no idea about what you might do or take for your diploma, you should really come. There'll be experienced guides who'll talk to you and walk you through the process of what you could or might want to do, and it'll give you an idea of what's available. Scout out your choices now so you won't panic when the big day comes and you have to key in your JAE application!

So come sign up here before it's too late because even though it's free, there're limited seats available!

---

Then again, maybe you’ve already made up your mind. You know which school you want to go to (NP right!) and you know which course you want to take. You know what you should do?

Come for the scholarship talks we’re holding! (Hur hur.)

There’re 2 sessions happening daily at 1 pm and 4 pm during Open House week at the Convention Centre, and it’ll be pretty useful ‘cause you’ll get to learn about the different scholarship programmes that are available!

(You should really come and see if you can apply for any scholarships programmes. One, it'll save you money, and two, if it's the Christieara Progamme, you get to learn cool stuff and even go to America for an exchange programme. My friends did, and I'm lamenting the fact that I didn't sign up when I could have. =__=)

You can sign up here for the Scholarship Talks!

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If you’re the type who’s already planned out your life career path and everything, and know what you want to do, but… the only obstacle to your dreams now are your parents!

My own mum was against my decision to come to NP because she felt that going to a JC would have a better chance of getting into a university. If your parents are like her, what you can do to convince them that you’ve really thought about it is to bring them to the ParenTeen seminar!

At the talk, your parents will get to hear about what a poly education is like and how to decide which one is the best course for you from Principal Mr Chia Mia Chiang and Deputy Principal Mr Mah Wee Beng. Afterwards there’s a Q&A session with lecturers and students, so if your parents have any unanswered questions, you k now they’ll be able to get them!

There’s 2 sessions on 8 Jan (Saturday) at 10 am and 2 pm at the Convention Centre, so make sure you sign up your parents for the event (with their knowledge, of course)!

Register for the Parent’s Seminar over here before Jan 5.

I did and look where I am today. Convinced my mum it was the right choice. Heh.

So anyway, quickly go register for the courses because seats are limited and you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity!

At 19, there aren’t many people who can say that they’ve not only sat in the cockpit of a plane, but Nicholas Mok Teck Kian, final-year Aerospace Technology (AT) student, has not only done that – he’s one of the selected few in NP who have a license to fly a plane!

We speak to Nicholas, who is currently in his final semester doing his internship at an aviation company about how this seemingly impossible dream started.

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Born in 1991, Nicholas is the younger of the two sons in the Mok family. He remembers when his interest in flying first came about. Back then; when he was still studying in Monfort Secondary School, the planes from the nearby airfield would constant fly over his school.

Nicholas and his family at the PPL award ceremony

“I remember all the noise coming from the planes as they passed by. Somehow, it piqued my interest in aeroplanes,” says Nicholas, who then pursued a diploma in Aerospace Technology after graduating from Monfort.

One of the most interesting things he's learnt about while in AT is the lavatory system in the planes. "As a kid, I thought that when a person does his/her business in the plane, the waste would go straight out of the plane because of the sound it makes when you flush!" he laughs. 

“It was only until I looked up about it that I realised it was stored in a tank. The AT lecturers usually just laugh this off because they’ve probably heard the questions so many times.”

Nicholas and his brother having fun at Teck Ching's 21st birthday

On his interest in planes, Nicholas says his brother, Teck Ching, a former NP graduate, probably had a major influence on him. Having belonged to the NCC Airforce division back in secondary school, he had often talked about aeroplanes and the like to his younger brother, whom belonged to the Land division.

“After he graduated from Mass Communication, he signed on as an Air Traffic Controller in the Airforce, so I suppose he did somehow influence me. Actually, come to think of it, we both influenced one another to join the aviation career,” says Nicholas.

From there on, having been interested in flying, he searched for a flying course and found out about the Singapore Youth Flying Club. However, he didn’t think he could get in then, so he applied for the course only in Year One after getting into NP.

“Getting in was pretty okay, I guess,” he says, “in comparison to the trainings. The trainings were really tough because they wanted the best to be part of their crew.”

Nicholas in the middle, with Benjamin Soh (left) and Quek Xiu Kun (right), final-year AT students

There are three phases of training in the course, and trainees undergo intensive training in both theory and simulation, before finally being allowed to take to the skies. For Nicholas, he had a jam-packed schedule during his second year, filled with theory exams on Friday mornings and flights on the weekends.

He’s since gotten his Private Pilot License (PPL) and is currently doing his internship at a private aviation company.

Nicholas receiving the award from Dr Goh Yong Kiat, Senior Vice President of ST Aerospace Engineering Pte Ltd

His wish now? To either become a pilot in SIA or the RSAF.

“It’s been like a dream for me so far, so I guess you can say the hard work was all worth it. I was really happy to finally receive my PPL, so if there’re people out there who’re considering joining the SYFC, just go for it! Try your luck, work hard, and you never know,” Nicholas enthuses.

“You might just get your own license too.”

Photos courtesy of Nicholas Mok

SUP! RED CAMPERS MAKE SOME NOISE! /inserts cheer from whichever tribe you're from/

Did you attend Red Camp 7? If you did, how was it?

Red Camp 7 happened from Nov 22 to 24, and secondary school students from all over Singapore came down for a 3 day camp! There are 5 different tribes:

Over the 3 days, the campers would go around campus and visit the different schools. As for me, I went to the School of InfoComm Technology! 

Some guys playing the new Microsoft Xbox Kinetic! Hahahaha the next picture shows how they looked like from the side. :P

Hehe they looked kinda silly jumping up and down, but that's the fun of it!

Was trying to catch them on cam interacting with the computer, but then she looked up and smiled prettily for the cam! 

These Red Campers were playing with a software developed by the ICT students!

Okay after all that I headed down to the Dot on level 4:

This was just one of the many displays they had up! I was really quite impressed by their drawings!

Lucky people. They got free drawing lessons!

Posed shot! They were sitting down and taking selcas initially, so I asked to take a pic of them!

So after all that, I went and made my way down to the Atrium to check out some of the CCA booths!

Rowing against the on-screen competitor!

IT'S HOCKEY TIME! Let's see how much goals you can score!

Demonstration for the Archery CCA! A Ninja SL showing a Red Camper how to work the bow and arrows. 

Hahahaha okay so maybe she didn't say that. But her face sure looked like it! :P

And what's a camp without some camwhoring! :P (Or selca or zi lian pai zhao or whatever you want to call it.)

Say cheese!

The Ninja SLs!

Sometimes I think they have camera sensors or something! Hehe auto-reaction: smiling everytime a camera points their way!

Look at the insane amount of gadgets these BA students have! They were initially waiting for the next batch of Red Campers to come by, but when I asked to take a pic, they willingly obliged and even showed off their iPhones! Ahahahaha iPhones dominate the pic, with a couple of stray Berries and Androids sticking out. Quite cool right? Hehe.

Hur hur she noticed my cam and smiled in reaction. 

And this guy is the bomb ahahahahahaa. I was trying to take a picture of the guys boxing behind, but then he jumped out from nowhere (LITERALLY) and into my viewfinder, and although I was stunned, my finger clicked the shutter button without thinking. Photobomb lol =__=

Okay. Besides taking innumerable shots of selca, the Red Campers also did stuff like.....

Take part in group activities and get captured on film... non-stop.

Sit in circles and take part in group bonding!

Learn a dance at the Convention Centre taught by the New Revolving Age (NRA) dance group!

And last but not least, a supersized version of Blow Wind Blow!

And that's it! If you missed Red Camp 7 this year, don't fret 'cause in a couple of months, NP will be having our open house so you can come down and check whazzup in our school! It'll be from 6 to 8 Jan (11 am to 6 pm), so book down those dates ok!

Also, if you like taking photographs, you should know that NP has tied up a contest with Samsung to present to you the Samsung Asia Photo Challenge! (You should have seen the announcement on MEL~) So... Why should you join?

Because..... TADAH!

The prizes are really damn awesome! I had the chance to try out the Samsung NX100 for a full three weeks (wait for my post about it soon!), and boy can I tell you, it makes you want to shoot pictures all the time. It's small and light, yet has the similar capabilities to a DSLR so you can really experiment with stuff like depth of field, lighting, shutter speed and all.

But besides the pro features included in the camera, it also has cool functions for Beauty shots, Night shots and stuff which I'll talk about next time. Hur hur. The Beauty Shot scene mode was probably the clincher, because it makes camwhoring so easy (hehehe), and you'll looking great even if you have spots all over your face!

Alright, the contest ends Nov 30, so there's still time for you to go join if you haven't already done so. Download the entry form and just submit it by next Tuesday! The good thing about this is that you DON'T need to use a DSLR or digicam to shoot it. You can just use your camera phone, and most of them have at least 3 megapixels, which is more than enough to fulfill the requirement of minimum 1800 pixels.

So what are you waiting for! Go out and shoot some photos over the weekend. I know I will! :)

PS: Leave a shoutout on Facebook! Which tribe were you from?

If you’ve been walking around campus lately, you would have noticed that there’s a new building along NP’s Orchard Road. Know what it is?

Here’s a clue: Its glass walls gleam like a crystal in sunlight under the afternoon sun, and it’s got something to do with eyes.

I spy something green, something glassy, something new!

Well if you know our school well, you’ve guessed right! It is NP’s very own Optometry Centre, and you can get your eyes checked up in there. If necessary, you can also get prescribed treatment by the second-year Optometry students (who’re supervised by accredited optometrists – so don’t worry ok!). Hehe.

However, the NPOC isn’t like any other optical shop, where you finish in a jiffy and get your new prescription. Over here, you go through a full eye examination where you test for eye health and eye coordination in addition to the eye power that most optical shops have.

The test takes about one to two hours, and it only cost $3 (doesn’t matter if you’re a student or a lecturer – it’s the same!) For the public, it costs $5, but it’s still just a fraction of the sum that you’ll be charged if you take the same test outside. (It costs around $70 to $100!)

Hur. You can have your pick - choose whatever you like! :)

Once you’re done, if you have to get spectacles, you can get to choose from a pretty wide variety of spectacle frames and contact lenses, so I’m certain you should be able to pick out something that you like.

If you have the time, do make an appointment with them! After all, when was the last time you’d had an eye exam to make sure all’s well with your eyes? :)

WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY POST! :P

This was the International Food Fiesta, and the only shot I managed to get because I was too busy eating. Hehehe.

Pre-event shot of the judges' table!

I wonder what the guy on the right is thinking. He has a rather cunning expression on his face hehehe. 

Hur. I realise my people shots have the subjects grinning quizzically at the camera. Heh.

Baracuda Batacuda came down to perform!

And so the singing competition begins with our first contestant!

Teresa Tseng, from Campus Superstar!

I remember this guy singing the "Peng You" (aka Friends) song. 

And then it's time for a break - dancers came onto the stage and performed a variety of dances.

 I guess if you squint really hard, you could pretend they're like a butterfly, minus the antennas. 

Back to the competition again!

Her costume really makes her look quite feminine. And her hair is so long. 

I wonder how long it'll take for mine to reach that length. Hmm.

This one was quite epic. She worked the stage with a rather dramatic performance.

Bet you know Duane Ho from Singapore Idol!

Not bad right! She came in her Mongolian traditional costume - it really makes everything quite international!

All the contestants lined up and awaiting the judges' results!

The final three!

Duane got second runner-up and the other guy got first runner-up. Not bad!

And when it was all over, our dear Idol contestants were quickly approached by their friends and supporters!

And if you want to end an event with a high, you know you can't miss out the photo-taking sessions!

Photos with fans!

Teresa gets snapped up by the media right after the event's over!

Last Tuesday, I had the good fortune to be invited to the premiere screening of The Social Network hosted by m:idea at Filmgarde (the new cinema theatre in town). Of course I was excited. Who wouldn't be?

After all, The Social Network had been critically acclaimed to be one of the best films this year, and Jesse Einsenberg (from Zombieland), who plays the role of socially awkward-genius nerd inventor Mark Zuckerberg, looks set to be in the running for an Oscar next year. Roger Ebert gave it two thumbs up. Ong Sor Fen (Life! reviewer) gave it four out of five stars. Countless just as well known movie reviewers give a similar rating ranging from four to five out of five stars. I give it a cannot-be-rated-cause-its-too-awesome rating ('cause I'm cool like that. HAHAHA.).

A biopic narrating the life of Zuckerberg from his university years, and the birth and growth of Facebook, it is interspersed with scenes of our Facebook founder defending himself against two lawsuits (yes, at the same time!) by Greek god-like blondes Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (played by Armie Hammer), and Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield - watch out for him in Spiderman 2012), his one-time former best friend.

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) with his then-girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) in a bar

Adapted from the book "Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, the movie begins with a verbal sparring between Zuckerberg and his then-girlfriend, Erica Albright (played by Rooney Mara). Their conversation about SAT scores and Havard's exclusive clubs volley back and forth between the duo, fast and hard, before Erica finally gets fed up, calls him an asshole, and leaves for good.

Bitter and drunk, he goes back home and rants about her on his blog, while at the same time creating a sexist website comparing the hotness of the campus girls, and ends up crashing the campus servers. His ingenuity despite being intoxicated catches the attention of the Winklevoss twins, or "Winklevi", as christened by Zuckerberg.

The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, with Divya Narendra

They commission him to create an exclusive dating site for Harvard men, banking on the exclusivity and attractiveness of the school's server address as a lure. However, he keeps them at bay, and inspired by "The Harvard Connection", builds a social networking site with funding from his loyal college buddy. (PS: On a side note, did you know that Eduardo Saverin has been living in S'pore for the past one and a half years?)

The story of how their partnerships degenerated could have easily turned into pass-the-buck session of a “he said, he said”, but as Ong Sor Fen pointed out, scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin cleverly uses the legal depositions for the two lawsuits as a structuring device in narrating the different point of views from each party.

Eduardo Saverin with Mark Zuckerberg in a scene 

It is quite a tragedy to watch, for you cannot help but feel sympathy for the best friends who were separated by the nuclear growth of an idea that only comes round once in every generation, and legendary Napster and Plaxo founder, Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake).

Zuckerberg is mentored by Parker, a kindred spirit who not only understands his thought process in the creation of Facebook, but an experienced man who has the contacts and the know-how to make it succeed. He advised Zuckerberg to move to California, and approached Silicon Valley investors whom he knew would be interested in start-up ventures, instead of approaching ham-fisted New York financiers to be shareholders like Saverin had done, and failed miserably in.

Throughout the film we can see Zuckerberg’s dedication and passion in his work. He eschews wild parties organised by Parker, so engrossed in his work he is that he even checks up on Facebook during the lunch breaks in between his lawsuits. Eisenberg pulls off the tetchiness of a high IQ-low EQ intellectual who is unable to comprehend social needs, yet aspires to be part of the upper echelons that most of “commoners” could never reach.

Zuckerberg with Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake makes Parker an extremely dislikable character – the man changed the fine print on the legal documents that Saverin signed foolishly, and was constantly hostile to him despite the latter having done nothing towards him. However, his contribution to Facebook and his mentoring of Zuckerberg is undeniable, so you can’t really dislike him that much. Without him, Facebook might not have become what it is today.

And of course, you can’t forget Eduardo Saverin. Garfield plays him well as a rather pitiable character who had been betrayed by his best friend. However, it is hard to sympathise with the poor guy when he’s suing Zuckerberg. I mean, he’s got to know that he was dealing a double whammy to Zuckerberg, who was already facing a lawsuit case by the Winklevoss twins.

A dramatized making of history as it is playing out now, The Social Network is a movie of our generation that you simply cannot miss.

Director: David Fincher
Writer: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Running time: 120 minutes
Rating: NC-16 (for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language)

Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich

Hey everyone!

As you know if you’ve been following our NP Friends blog, I’ve recently just finished my internship. So to celebrate the end of a rather gruelling five-month semester, our entire student-run media office decided to take a trip to Genting Highlands to soak in the cool air!

That super tall, long thing is the Spacedrop. I used to be fearless when I was a kid and would sit on that non-stop when I came to Genting. This time, I was too wimpy and freaked out by the horror stories. :(

The theme park was okay, and was pretty much the same as I remembered from the last time I went there, which was about three years ago.

The highlight of the trip: The Flying Coaster!

See! It's scary looking, right!

This one probably takes the cake. It’s the scariest and the most fun, and I was really scared while hanging on to the bars for my dear life. You literally fly in loops and turns and twists, and all I could think of while in the ride was: Dear God, please let my glasses not be crushed (or I’d be a blind bat for the rest of the trip.)

What a failure. I know. Haha. Got a rush of adrenaline afterwards, and then we all headed into the park (that ride was specially placed outside of the theme park) and we tried out everything we came across.

Um, another fun thing that we did was that we went to the Haunted House adventures. I’m really just a big wimp in truth, so while in there, mostly I was just scared stiff. Even before the beginning of the “adventure”, we had to get onto this elevator thing. The staff behind us banged the gate shut and I jumped like my tail got stepped on. And my cruel friends laughed. >_<

Two of my cruel, heartless friends. Naaaah, just kidding. They're nice. Kinda. :S And I don't know why Dawn was making a jabbing motion at Sophie. LOL.

Delight, who was tweeting/FB-ing with Starbucks' free Wi-Fi access! We were all nearly delirious with joy when we found out there was free Wi-Fi. Hehe. We are such social media addicts.

We also visited the Ripley’s Museum, which was pretty cool. There was this tunnel that we walked through and felt like we were spinning upside down because of the illusion. I got giddy~ /)o(\

The Pirate Ship. It's really lame. It's not scary at all. I was so bored. Really.

Oh! And the final best part that I just have to brag about. (It’s rare that I get something to brag about so put up with me. Or skip this part. I don’t care muahaha.)

-Start of bragging-

There’re lots of game stalls in the theme park, so while waiting around for the others to come back from their rides, we played some of the stall games. There was the “Throw a ring round the neck of a bottle and win a super huge toy” game (which I’m most definitely certain it is a scam!), and the “Shoot three pins down and win a medium-sized toy” game. I tried the former, and failed miserably.

I was all emo and then when I saw the guys playing the shooting game, I was naturally interested. (I love games like Time Crisis hehe) How can you not get excited? Shooting stuff! For fun! And the bonus was that you’d get a toy if you win!

I gave in to my temptation and picked up an air rifle, and then WHAM! I failed, but refused to give up. I had this feeling that I could win it, and that I really could do it. I tried again, and failed, but I was certain I knew how to shoot it this time, so I tried again…

AND WON! :D

Hehe. I started screaming for joy and jumping around and held up the teddy bear in triumph. I won it against all odds, despite it being a male-inclined kinda game. And the best part? I was the only one who won. And I'm just a girl. Hehehe.

The guys tried repeatedly to no avail, and their girlfriends even pleaded with me to teach them my tricks so that the boys could soothe their bruised male ego. Muahahahaha. Even my manager and teacher failed, and they went through NS OK! :P

-Ok end of bragging-

Dawn, the sweet designer whom I won it for. She's nice (and really deserves something nice back in return) and she got all excited after receiving the bear. :P

The roller coaster in the background was pretty fun. It reminds me of the Dark Carnival campaign. And Go-Karting, which the others played. :P

All of us who went on the trip, trying to act/look cool! I daresay we succeeded. Hehe :P

And that’s it about the trip!

(Pics above courtesy of me, Yue Jun and Justine)

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By the way, npTribune Vol. 43 Issue 2 is out already!

Just head down to the library or the m:idea office for a copy of your campus newspaper, and if you’re too lazy, well here’s another option for you!

Go to http://nptribune.theurbanwire.com/ and download the latest issue in PDF format.

In this issue, we’re featuring a group of caring students who go beyond the classroom to provide company and health services to the elderly. We’ve also got other stuff like the funny stereotypes (let’s take a laugh at ourselves and enjoy the manga drawings!), a feature about Joyce and The Boys (they have kick-ass dance moves, so don’t mess with them), and places you can head to for lunch if you’ve got really long breaks!

(By the way, I think Olly Steeds is damn cool. *points at guy at top left of the front page* He's an investigative journalist and did lots of super cool spy-like stuff. Man, I wanna be a cool person like him. One day. Fighting!)

Don’t miss it, download it or get it from school now kay! :)