New HP number

Just to let you guys know that I’ll be switching from DiGi Prepaid to Maxis Postpaid supplementary line. Too bad I can’t keep my phone number. My new number will be as follows:

012-3512XXX

where XXX comes from my previous phone number.

I decided not to post my full number here out of security concerns. If anybody here wants my full number, do contact me by whatever means you have, be it MSN, e-mail or whatever way you can think of – or simply ask somebody who knows.

Anyway here is, just for old time’s sake, an evolution of my handphone number:
016-6977811 (expired in 2006) >> 016-6492XXX >> 012-3512XXX (now)

P.S.: Today is Friday (although it's late)! Like my Form 6 counterparts, I do not have classes over the weekends, so school's out and yay, I'm back in my home sweet home.

A Freshman’s Guide to the UNMC

The writer of this guide is currently an Engineering Foundation freshman who has only spent one night at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

A Brief Introduction to UNMC

The University of Nottingham traces its origins to the founding of an adult education school in 1798. The foundation stone of the original University College Nottingham on Shakespeare Street was laid in 1877, with a speech by former UK prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone. This building was formally opened in 1881 by Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.

A large gift of land allowed University College Nottingham to move to a new campus in 1928. This development was supported by an endowment fund and public contributions. The transfer was made possible by the generosity of Sir Jesse Boot, who presented 35 acres to the City of Nottingham in 1921. In 1948, University College Nottingham received its Royal Charter, which gave it the title of “university” and the power to confer degrees. The name changed from University College Nottingham to The University of Nottingham. Previously, the institution’s students received their degrees from the University of London.

The Malaysia Campus of University of Nottingham, at that time occupying the MISC Building in Jalan Conlay, welcomed its first students in September 2000. The Semenyih Campus built later sits on a 101 acre site, 30 km from Kuala Lumpur and 3 km from Semenyih town. It opened in August 2005 and teaching began in September 2005. It is the first purpose built campus of a British university outside the UK.

The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 70 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THES) World University Rankings.


Location Map


View Larger Map

Location map of the Semenyih campus.


Campus Map

Pangkor and Kapas Halls (new buildings) are not shown in this outdated photo.


Facilities

• Broadband access
  
• 24 hours' access to computer facilities
  
• Computer Laboratories
  
• Language Laboratories
  
• Science/Engineering Laboratories
  
• State of the art learning and teaching facilities
  
• Library
  
• Study Area
  
• Health Centre
  
• Purpose built sports facility including gym, basketball, squash, tennis courts
  
• Jogging Tracks
  
• Swimming pool

Accomodation

University-arranged accommodation choices are the on-campus Halls of Residence (Tioman, Langkawi, Redang, Pangkor and Kapas Halls) or off campus at TTS2, TTS4 and TTS5. The University has appointed Pioneer Century Sdn. Bhd. to manage all university-arranged accommodation. Rental rates range from RM330 to RM850 per month. Cleaning services are provided.

Students can also rent rooms or whole houses independently from nearby housing estates.


Food

The nearest place to find food is at the cafeteria in the Student Association building. Food there is usually given low ratings by students and therefore they only eat there when there are no other choices.

One alternative is catering food from outside where they will deliver food to the campus. Another alternative is to travel to Broga or Semenyih town to find food personally.


Laundry Services

Coin operated machines for washing and drying (at RM3 per usage) are located at the end of Langkawi and Redang Halls.

There is also a laundry operator that provides services of washing and ironing.


Internet Access

Most campus buildings except the Halls of Residence have wireless access points for connection to the internet. Internet access via the university network is filtered so chatting and P2P applications may not function correctly.

Students living in the Halls of Residence are provided internet access there if they subscribe to the Student Network Services (SNS) at RM252 for one semester. Chatting applications are supported by the SNS, but P2P traffic remains blocked.

Consumer internet services like Maxis Broadband and Celcom Broadband may be available in some areas. TM Net hotspots can also be found in many parts on campus except at the Halls of Residence.


End note: The writer does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity and quality of this guide. However, comments are most welcomed. More information about the UNMC can be found at the UNMC website.

From the University of Nottingham

This will be a short post because the writer is freezing inside the university's computer lab.

Today I'll be spending my first night at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

This morning, I went together with Kee Weng in his parent's car to the campus for registration. Quite a number of Malaccans were there getting registered, some of them whom I know through Mr. Lim's Chinese tuition. Also met Isaac Chin there and we had lunch together with his group of friends.

The evening was rather boring. Isaac invited me to play badminton at the sports complex but the 2 badminton courts were occupied. Moreover, I didn't bring my badminton racquet...

Just now, about 4 hours ago, I went together with Isaac's group of friends to Broga to have dinner. One of his friends has a car. Anyway, five dishes of Chinese food and adding a few bowls of rice and the bill turns up to be only RM58 (for 6 people), so RM10 for each one. Quite cheap for a very filling meal if you ask me.

After dinner, I went to, and this is where I am now, the computer lab to try the university's internet connection. My hostel has no internet connection unless I cough up more than RM50 per month, so naturally I would rather not do so. The connection is quite fast, I would say faster than my Streamyx connection at home at optimum performance. By optimum performance, I mean when not many people are using it. Even with mostly Foundation students currently residing in the University now, I am experiencing occasional slowdowns... YouTube failed to load a moment ago. And the university blocks P2P traffic like BitTorrent, so I cannot fully take advantage of its speed.

OK, signing off here because it's cold here [rubs both hands together] and it's late. Expect more about the UNMC after the induction session and when I get home tomorrow.

Farewell, Form 6 and MHS

From 13th of May until 3rd of July (yesterday); more than one and a half months. Those were the days I was a student in Malacca High School (MHS). Finally, I had to leave MHS in search of greener pastures at the University of Nottingham, thus opening a new chapter in my life. Imagine the changing of lifestyle that I’ve grown so much accustomed for the past 11 years: Waking up early in the morning to go to school and coming back home later in the afternoon. No, this is definitely not the way of life in university. And I too am not quite sure what university life would be like.

Whatever the life in university, there are things in Form 6 that I think I would sorely miss there:

• School life
• School uniform (hey, they actually look smart)
• Mr. Wee, first class physics teacher
• PA and Chemistry lessons
• Many friends from SFI

Come to think of it again, it actually despised school life when I first entered MHS (see my Form 6: Malacca High School post). But given the uncertainties ahead, I would be inclined to stick to my old way of life. I’ve also read Jia Wei’s F6 (Wise Choice or Bad Choice) post, and of course I agree with him on some points about the advantages in studying Form 6. Speaking about friends, I would like to say more than 95% of students in the foundation course that I’ll be taking will be strangers. This is far different from Form 6 at MHS where you get a significant population of ex-SFI students.

Enough said about school life. I’m sure I would manage to get over it. Hey, some people even went to Russia and Australia after Form 5. For me, it’s just a 2-hour journey from there to home. What is more pressing would be the quality of teaching and the stuff that I would be learning there. Surely, I would not find lectures as experienced and dedicated as Form 6 teachers in MHS. How I wish the teachers in Form 6 (especially Mr. Wee) would continue teaching me there in a less exam-oriented fashion. And yes, there will be no PA lessons, so I would be losing out in knowledge about the workings of our country. As for Chemistry lessons, it will only be offered to students taking Chemical Engineering next year - other students are not given the chance to take it.

However, no matter what comes out to be in the future, I think I would still be a Form 6 student at heart, at least while I’m still in pre-u. To those in Form 6, I would like to say that since you’ve decided to stay, then by all means have no regrets. Form 6 life can actually be enjoyable if you have a positive attitude. Who knows, I may be regretting soon that I've not continued studying in Form 6. And yeah, to Loo Han, Jia Wei, Nicholas and other Form 6 bloggers, do continue to provide updates about life in Form 6… make me regret that I wasn’t there!

Once again, I bid farewell to Form 6 and MHS. To everybody there slogging towards STPM, I wish you good luck! And I'm sorry I cannot be with you fighting the STPM war...