ワンパンマン THE HERO!!～One-Punch Man OP1 [Nylon-String Fingerstyle Guitar Cover by telungg]

FREE TAB:
PDF - https://goo.gl/DdsXiF
GuitarPro - https://goo.gl/thN5b2
Songsterr - http://goo.gl/XsY5Ix

This is my first arrangement! I think it's not bad, what do you think? :)

Art ©KarinPyong (karinpyong.deviantart.com)

東京喰種 unravel~Tokyo Ghoul OP1 [Nylon-String Fingerstyle Guitar Cover by telungg]

Hello! Finals have just ended and now I should have more time to spend updating my blog (yeay!)
So there's already a list of things I want to accomplish by the end of 2015, one of which is to upload a YouTube video for fun :)

Oh and yes, I accomplished that one already (even though it's a sample for an upcoming arrangement of ONE PUNCH MAN opening song xD). Here it is.
Links to the tabs are available in the video description.

Well actually I just realized that I have forgotten so many songs I used to be able to play and it just feels like a bummer to relearn all those songs again. Let's just hope these videos will serve as good memory joggers :P

The amazing cover art is drawn by my friend KarinPyong. She's such an awesome artist with her own unique style, check out her work at karinpyong.deviantart.com! :D

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - Rainy Day (Sungha Jung)

Tab for Sungha Jung's original song "Rainy Day", arranged by Sungha himself!
PDF: https://goo.gl/zEeUbu
GuitarPro: https://goo.gl/9APnf1
Someone posted my tab on songsterr without my permission ^^"

It's been raining the past few days and this song's melody is just so nice. Moreover, this is my personal record: tab finished after the video is up for 4 hours! (yeah! :3)

UPDATE: 400+ downloads in 1 day! Woohoo talk about speed! :D

Have fun playing this wonderful song :D

Now back to studying for next week's finals!

Tab preview

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - Attack on Titan OP1: Guren no Yumiya (進撃の巨人OP1: 紅蓮の弓矢 )

Free PDF tab download click here
Free GuitarPro tab download click here
Setup: Half step down (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb), no capo.

Arranged by Andrew Foy, as seen on this video

This OST sounds so cool - an amazing song to add to your repertoire ;)
Everyone says Attack on Titan is extremely good but I don't have the courage to watch it hahaha :P

Tab preview. ^tempo should be 170

telungg on eddievdmeer.com!

Hey guys! I'm happy to announce that Eddie van der Meer's new tab site is up now! You can download GuitarPro and PDF tabs for his arrangements/originals in the site :)
The tabs for Eddie's arrangements I made (GuitarPro+PDF) are available for download there :D http://eddievdmeer.com/product-category/telungg/. (it's 100% official!)

I have to assure you that Eddie really cares about the quality of his content; every song I tab has been checked and corrected by him thoroughly, not missing one single note at all.

The tabs cost free (GuitarPro+PDF tab) / €2.00 (PDF tab) / €2.50 (GuitarPro+PDF tab) for arrangements and €4.00 (PDF tab) / €5.00 (GuitarPro+PDF tab) for Eddie's original songs.

Please consider all the hard work and effort we (especially Eddie) put into making these contents. Your support is very much appreciated! :D

 P.S. you can download the GuitarPro+PDF for this amazing medley for FREE on the site! :)

So far, the song list for 'telungg' category is:
Afire Love - Ed Sheeran
Animedley #1 (featuring songs from Parasyte, Elfen Lied, Fairy Tail, and Tokyo Ghoul)
Autumn Leaves - Ed Sheeran
Bad Blood - Taylor Swift
Blank Space - Taylor Swift
Clocks - Coldplay
Fringe Theme
Good for You - Selena Gomez
Ink - Coldplay 
Kick the Dust Up - Luke Bryan
Miracles - Coldplay
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion (Titanic Theme)
Oceans - Coldplay
Pippin's Song - Lord of the Rings
Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
See You Again - Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
Take Me To Church - Hozier
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Teen Wolf Theme
The Days - Avicii
Yellow - Coldplay
You & I - One Direction
... and more coming up! :)

Two Kind-of-Important Life Hacks YOU Should Know!

Hey! It's been a while since I posted a non-guitarist safe post :P

Now I'm going to share two things you ought to know, and these (should) work everywhere.
I'll just copy and paste the first one because I'm saving my energy hahaha xD

1. How to distinguish a real mirror from a 2-way mirror (i.e. they can see you, but you can't see them)? > especially in toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc.

Conduct this simple test:
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror.
However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE! IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!
If there is 'NO SPACE, LEAVE THE PLACE'

But this is not 100% accurate. Here's a better trick.

Light up the mirror with a flashlight (phone flashlights are okay). If it's a 2-way mirror, you'll be able to see the other side.

Moving onto the next one!

2. How to distinguish real ice cream from fake ice cream? > this is based on my experience with no research whatsoever beforehand so it might be wrong :P

I don't know whether it should be real/fake ice cream or premium/standard ice cream or yummy/yucky ice cream but whatever it is, I'll just use real and fake because... they both only have one syllable? ._. I'm no food expert and I mostly eat food given to me but here's a thing I noticed.

What I'd call a real ice cream is the ice cream that will stay cold after it's inside your mouth. I'm guessing because it contains more milk so the cold stays cold when it's in the mouth. Fake ice cream, on the other hand, is cold in room temperature, but when it gets into your mouth, the 'coldness' will just disappear... and it feels warm inside your mouth. And it leaves some sticky feeling on the teeth and tongue too. I'm guessing that's because it's made out of freezed cream. Like, cream. Not fresh milk.

Then again, the second one is just a postulate. That's why I often joke about eating a popular local ice cream brand but never actually eat them for a second time (because it falls into my 'fake ice cream' category) :D

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - We Will Get There (Stefanie Sun)

Free PDF tab download click here
Setup: Standard tuning, no capo.

Thanks to Muhd Taufiq from Singapore for requesting this! :)

Here's a popular song in Singapore, used in the 2002 National Day Parade. Since then, this song is used mostly for graduations (that's what I figured while looking for the original recorded version in YouTube) :P But it seems the song is still highly regarded as a national day song in the hearts of many Singaporeans up till now.

Apparently Sungha Jung arranged and played this on stage during his concert in Singapore last month.

P.S. Hey Singaporean! It's cool to play this arrangement on your national day in 9th August any year xD

I bet this post will be clicked mostly by Singaporeans :)

Now I really need to learn how to play my own national song hahaha :P

Tab preview. Download PDF tab here.

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - Wonderwall (Oasis)

FREE PDF tab direct download link -> https://goo.gl/ZRHwtn
FREE Guitar Pro tab direct download link -> https://goo.gl/fxZabi
Setup: Standard tuning, capo on 2nd fret.

Thanks to Leonardo Lee from Argentina for requesting this! :)
Leonardo said that this is the best fingerstyle version of the song on YouTube, and I have to agree with him on that.

A rock classic, really popular among beginner guitarists because the sing-along strumming accompaniment is really easy to play. I must say that doesn't apply to this version though (it's easier than it sounds, but harder than it looks) :'

Bar 8 and 12, to play the 2v0 you only need to do pull off with your left hand. No need to pick anything with your right hand.

Tab preview.

Request Tabs

[UPDATE 10 July 2015: request cleared. Added direct links to each post. Enjoy!]
 
Recently I got request e-mails for two different songs.

Currently doing on Wonderwall by Oasis (arr. Rodrigo Yukio) and will be followed by (yet again) See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth (arr. Eddie van der Meer).

Of course I am aware at how bad my previous See You Again tab (arr. Andrew Foy) is.
So this week I'm clearing up those requests and will be updating Andrew's See You Again tab.

Look forward to it! :)

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - Fringe Theme

Free GuitarPro/PDF tab download click here
Setup: Drop D tuning, capo on 1st fret.

First entry in the playlist 'Facebook Requests #1' by Eddie van der Meer.
The the main theme of the sci-fi TV series Fringe (2008-2013), this theme was written by one of the series' writer J. J. Abrams.
Catchy tune, really easy but fun to play on the guitar. And it's really short. Like, only 20 seconds.

The 'T' on the tab stands for wrist thump. Watch the video and you'll get what I mean.

Tab preview. Download free GuitarPro/PDF tab here.

Eddie van der Meer Tabs!

Click here for my list of free tabs and the songs that I tab for Eddie.

Download Eddie van der Meer's GuitarPro and PDF tabs here.

Hey guys, I'll be making tabs for some of Eddie van der Meer's arrangements in the future.

Some of you might be coming back to download the unravel (Tokyo Ghoul) tab and notice the post is gone... Here's why.

But don't worry! I'll be tabbing out his YouTube playlist 'Facebook Requests #1' (4 songs)
Rest assured, I already received the permission from Eddie himself; so it won't be removed ;) (yay!)

Here's the trailer for Facebook Requests #1

Download the tabs here!

List of Free Tabs

[last updated 12 August 2017]

The tabs available on the list below are 100% free of charge.

Here are the links to the tabs (PDF & GuitarPro formats are available). Enjoy! :D

1. Attack on Titan OP1: Guren no Yumiya (進撃の巨人OP1: 紅蓮の弓矢 )
2. 雨上がり- Ame Agari - Kotaro Oshio
3. Don't (Ed Sheeran) - Andrew Foy
4. Fringe Theme - Eddie van der Meer
5. Jingle Bells - Eddie van der Meer
6. One Call Away (Charlie Puth) - Andrew Foy
7. Pippin's Song - Lord of the Rings - Eddie van der Meer 
8. Rainy Day (Sungha Jung)
9. See You Again (Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth) - Andrew Foy
10. Sorry (Justin Bieber) - Ralph Jay Triumfo
11. Teen Wolf Theme - Eddie van der Meer 
12. THE HERO!! (One-Punch Man OP) 
13. We Don't Talk Anymore (Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez)
14. We Will Get There (Stefanie Sun) - Sungha Jung
15. Wonderwall (Oasis) - Rodrigo Yukio
16. Youth (Troye Sivan) - Andrew Foy
17. 月亮代表我的心 - Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin- Jubing Kristianto

I hope my tabs are helpful enough and can give you an 'exactly what I've been looking for!' moment.

Finally, thanks for using my tabs, it really keeps me motivated to make more content.


UPDATE 2.0
I also have other tabs for download on http://eddievdmeer.com/product-category/telungg/. For the price of free / €2.00 / €2.50, you can get high quality GuitarPro and/or PDF tabs for Eddie van der Meer's arrangements. And it's 100% official, checked and corrected carefully by Eddie himself!

So far, the song list for 'telungg' category is:
Afire Love - Ed Sheeran
Animedley #1 (featuring songs from Parasyte, Elfen Lied, Fairy Tail, and Tokyo Ghoul)
Autumn Leaves - Ed Sheeran
Bad Blood - Taylor Swift
Blank Space - Taylor Swift
Clocks - Coldplay
Fringe Theme
Good for You - Selena Gomez
Ink - Coldplay 
Kick the Dust Up - Luke Bryan
Miracles - Coldplay
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion (Titanic Theme)
Oceans - Coldplay
Pippin's Song - Lord of the Rings
Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
See You Again - Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
Take Me To Church - Hozier
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Teen Wolf Theme
The Days - Avicii
Yellow - Coldplay
You & I -One Direction
... and more coming up! :)

(Eddie has so much more tabs on his site. Do check it out!)

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs 吉他指法 - 月亮代表我的心 (Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin) (Teresa Teng)

免费的琴谱下载！
There are two versions of this song that you can download according to your preference.
Both versions are arranged by Jubing Kristianto.

One of the most popular Mandarin songs to have ever existed, the song was made famous by singer Teresa Teng.


Version 1: (in the key of E major) 
PDF standard notation + tab download click here
 
Setup: Standard tuning, no capo
Version 1 is a standard notation + tab based on Jubing Kristianto's arrangement as seen on this video.

Version 2: (in the key of D major)
PNG standard notation (NO tab) download click here 

Setup: Drop D tuning, no capo
Version 2 is a standard notation made by Jubing Kristianto. Visit jubing.net for more guitar scores made by the man himself.


I was honored to be given the chance to chat with Jubing, such a kind and down to earth person. He was pleased when I said I'd like to make the tabs for his arrangement of Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin as seen on youtube.com/jubingfantasy as there was no tab for the beautiful arrangement (version 1) at that time. He also entrusted me with the standard notation for guitar which he made himself but has yet been published (version 2).

I'm sure anyone of Chinese descent are quite familiar with this song and I don't even need to say why lol.

Have fun!

To-Do List

I'm going to start this post with an apology; I just knew that the tabs which I posted are somehow removed from the blog and replaced with no signs ._. Sorry for not noticing earlier. And sorry for being lazy and unmotivated to fix it (please bribe me).

Onto the to-do list for my holiday *ehem*. This serves as a friendly reminder for myself.

Section A: This Blog
[ ] Update this post

Section B: Songs to Learn (+ tabs to make of course), in alphabetical order
[ ] Home (Singaporean national song, which surprisingly sounds real good)
[ ] In My Life
[ ] Indonesia Pusaka (Indonesian national song. I don't want to be convicted of treason lol)
[ ] Merry-Go-Round of Life (Howl's Moving Castle theme -> Ghibli song! :D which is also my mom's favorite instrumental song ever :3)
[ ] Once Upon a Dream
[ ] One Winged Angel (Challenged by a friend)
[✓] Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin (Mandarin song)
... and one K-Pop song.
Well, my strategy is to be able to play at least one song of every genre.

Section C: Books to Read
[ ] Chemistry Essentials for Dummies
[ ] Organic Chemistry I for Dummies
[ ] Organic Chemistry I Workbook for Dummies
[ ] The Careers Handbook
[✓] Eleanor & Park (despite the book receiving positive reviews from critics, I don't like it :/)
[✓] Fullmetal Alchemist Manga

Section D: Series to Watch
[ ] Revenge
[ ] Sherlock
[✓] Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (can't get enough of this)
[ ] The Girl Who Sees Smells (I really don't know what the writers, scriptwriters and producers were thinking to think that this will make for a good title. Honestly)

Section E: Games to Play
[ ] Final Fantasy VII
[ ] Final Fantasy VIII
[ ] Final Fantasy IX
[ ] L.A. Noire
[ ] Ni No Kuni
[ ] Persona 3 FES: The Answer

Section F: Things to Do with/related to Friends
[✓] City tour!
[✓] Eat yummy food. YUMMY! :9
[✓] Escape game.... and probably be lost forever HAHA (yeah, we really got lost. Thankfully not forever.)
[✓] Watch a classical music concert

I narrowed the list already. But... WOW O_O
OKAY THAT'S A LOT TO DO now I really, really, REALLY think that life is short :'

Now back to being a couch potato.
Don't blame me; blame my genes >:(

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - 雨上がり (Ame Agari) (Kotaro Oshio)

Free PDF tab download click here

Setup: D# A# D# G# A# D# or Eb Bb Eb Ab Bb Eb tuning, no capo

雨上がり (Ame Agari), translated as 'After the Rain' is one of my favorite instrumental guitar pieces ever. Sadly, not many people know this song (those who've heard this song must be a die-hard Kotaro Oshio fan like I am). I guess the title which is in Japanese plays a huge role to the song's popularity.

A good instrumental song that's easy to play and sounds lively at the same time is difficult to make, but Oshio-san definitely pulled it off with this song. 

The video is just a static image with music so you should listen to it while browsing or such.

Intro

The intro is the only difficult part of this song. Your left hand index finger holds down the bass notes while the little finger of the same hand touches the string of the stated frets lightly (to make the harmonics).

The symbol X on either of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd strings stands for Oshio's wicked technique, the nail attack.

Verse
Right hand plays the same pattern the entire song. Don't worry too much on which strings you actually play; the only important thing is the melody can be heard clearly and the whole thing doesn't sound weird.
If you don't know the pattern, check out this video of Kotaro Oshio's live performance. Focus on the right hand especially during 0:56 - 1:31. Yes I know it's a different song, apparently he has never performed Ame Agari live ._.

Pre-Chorus

Chorus

After the first chorus, play this similar-to-the-intro part
(chorus second and third time: ignore this part)

Verse (same as above)
Pre-Chorus (same as above)
Chorus (same as above)
Now go straight to the bridge.

Bridge

Chorus (same as above)
This time go straight to the outro.

Outro

If you nailed the intro and the part after first chorus, you can definitely play this one.
Play that last strum real soft!

Happy playing!

Fingerstyle Guitar Tabs - See You Again (Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth) - Andrew Foy

Free PDF tab download click here
Directions and tips found on this post are included.
[UPDATE 10 July 2015: the previously uploaded tab has been upgraded]
Setup: Standard tuning, capo on 3rd fret.

This is Andrew Foy's arrangement.  In my opinion, this is one of the best fingerstyle versions of the song.

This is my first fingerstyle tab so please be nice :')

Have fun playing

Tab preview. Download PDF tab here.

Free Online Guitar Lessons!

I have been dependent on free guitar lessons during my journey to play the guitar, and these websites has been extremely helpful. I highly encourage you to check out these websites regardless you are a complete beginner or an amateur.


pluckandplayguitar.com - teaches you basic stuffs like tuning, fingering, chords (basic, power, barre) and chord progressions, scales, techniques (hammer-ons, pull-offs, bending, etc.) and much more in a clear and concise way.

justinguitar.com - with over 800 videos ranging from blues, folk, jazz, metal, rock and even songwriting, this website will most likely give you access to lessons you're looking for. Justin updates his web regularly, so he has tutorials for current hit songs!

goliathguitartutorials.com - now this is my favorite of all! Why? Because this web offers FINGERSTYLE guitar lessons for free (heck yeah!). Fingerstyle songs taught note by note, advanced acoustic techniques to bring percussive sounds out from your guitar and many more goodies.

If you want to learn new songs or find chords and tabs, ultimate-guitar.com is definitely your #1 choice, followed by songsterr.com. Check those sites and you'll see why.

Hmmm, other than the websites listed above, I often learn new songs by watching live videos and breaking the play/pause button. This method, besides being good for wasting your time, also trains your patience and somehow your ear (I'm still tone deaf though).

It's okay, tone deaf is a dominant gene & trait in biology if you hadn't known yet. Feeling happy because you have dominant genes? Your very welcome :)

Happy playing! *strums

Credits

And the finale of this chapter has finally descended upon us.

No story can stand on its own.

Every event leads to one another, leading us to where we are now.

Please accept my sincere gratitude for being yourself.

Thank you for being you.

- - -

I'm not big on words so I'll leave it at that.

By the way, they say we can know what will happen tomorrow by understanding energy interactions in quantum mechanics. That's just ludicrous.

Being oblivious has never felt so good.

Bruce Lee's Punchy Quotes!

Bruce Lee is popular for his martial arts moves and action movies, but I respect the man not as an action movie actor, but rather, as a philosopher. His Eastern philosophical views are often taken for granted.

Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973)

Here's my pick on:

• knowledge:

"All types of knowledge ultimately mean self knowledge."
- Bruce Lee

• life:

"Do not pray for an easy life,
pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
- Bruce Lee

• success:

"Remember, success is a journey, not a destination.
Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine."

- Bruce Lee

• failure:

"Not failure, but low aim, is the crime.
In great attempts it is glorious even to fail."
- Bruce Lee

Hey look, a message!

"To those who kept saying 'it can't be done':

Never are the victories or the honors won.

But rather, by the believing, doing kind.

While the doubters watched from far behind."

- Bruce Lee

And Bruce's most well-known words, spoken by the man himself:

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water.

Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup;

You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle;

You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot.

Now water can flow or it can crash.

Be water, my friend."

- Bruce Lee

Applying to NUS & NTU - Subjective (+UEE)

[updated 2 Jan 2016]

Hey there! As promised in my previous post about general info on this subject, this post will tell you my personal experience in enrolling to these (insert own adjective) universities in Singapore.

There are three parts to this post: the application story, the UEEs and reasons why I think I really am an average student.
The second part is intended to lift you up if you intend on applying but feeling discouraged. Just jump ahead to the latter section as you please.

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Part 1: Application Story

First off, I was interested in neither of the universities.

What, seriously??? Everybody says 'if you graduate from NUS/NTU, you'll get rich! My parent's friends told them that their children and relatives that went to NUS/NTU will blablablabla (good things for a human's future, I suppose)'. I didn't care.

And yes, I really didn't. Lots of my friends had already taken A Level courses since the beginning of 12th grade. These courses last for roughly 7 months (July-January). Every weekend, when I'm just being a couch potato and having my incorrigibly lazy me time, they study A Levels. Hmmm.

Three months had passed, and my homeroom teacher asked us more than once whether we had set goals for university studies in the future. I didn't have any, unlike some of my classmates. I started to feel like I should panic (a little). The thing is, I attended educational fairs and whatnot, but none of them stood out to me.

It was the first week of October when I heard from a friend that NUS/NTU UEE were coming up soon, in January and February. Still not interested here. But then I started to think. 'Maybe it's a good idea to join an A Level course now. If I don't want to apply, it's okay. If I end up applying, then it's also okay.' So I joined a course and also ended up applying to both universities in mid November. I had nothing to lose.

The following months until mid January was.... really something. I was 3 months late, so catching up was a priority. My agenda was: school - A Levels - sleep - school - A Levels - study for tests - sleep, you get the picture. Thankfully a friend of mine (who is also a classmate) also went through the same thing and we managed to pass it together :') Oh, I must add that my December 2014 holiday was spent in the "smartest" way possible. (Albeit sounding diligent, I didn't understand A Levels at all. Read more in part 3.)

Mid January was a decisive moment - the revelation of shortlisted candidates for the UEEs. You can make an appeal if you're not shortlisted. I was lucky enough to be invited to attend both UEEs, so of course I attended both (NUS on Jan 31st & 1st Feb, NTU on Feb 7th-8th).

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Part 2: UEE

If you read my previous post, I meant it when I said to take all try-outs regardless how you score. The actual test was very similar to the try-outs; in fact, some of them were totally the same. So how was the UEE?

NUS UEE was just plain ridiculous. If your mentor told you that NUS UEE is not that difficult, never trust them again. Seriously. A Levels everywhere.
- MCQ for maths was easy (considering you bring your calculator and know how to use it), but the essay was just insane (I didn't study statistics which was the major chunk of essay that year :/).
- Physics consisted of 50 MCQs, none of which was doable for me.
- Oh, the chemistry papers? Be prepared to memorize everything about organic reactions because essay #1 was 'this compound mixed with another compound creates a yellow precipitate. If the compound blablabla (2 paragraph compound story). Question: a) Suggest a catalyst and its reaction.' An then.... bcdefghijk. Yes, it was a to k. I do not exaggerate, I only had two choices then: laugh or cry. I had no energy to do either one though HAHA. The MCQs? The honor of touching the test sheet should make you feel smart *sob :'

NTU UEE was more doable. A Levels? Not much of those made an appearance.
- Maths was 100% essay, no MCQs. So you can't just take numbers and push buttons on your calculator randomly. Nothing unusual here, really, as long as your mind do not wander. The questions are similar to previous NTU UEEs.
- Physics was a little bit better than NUS'. A little. The essay was..... counting rains (I'd rather be counting stars HAHA) and other daily things that you never thought of doing (and will definitely not do in the future).
- Chemistry was waaaaaaaay more approachable than NUS'. You'd do well if you understand electrons, concentrations and gas laws & co.

Best of luck! Remember that luck is also a winning factor, don't underestimate it!

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Part 3: Average Student

My standard for average is really..... average. I was never on the top of my class. In fact, top 10 in my class is the highest I ever reached in high school. Last semester, I was not even in the top 15 in my class. Doesn't sound average yet?

I did terrible at A Levels try-outs.

From 38 students, my rank falls between 24-27. Yes, my maths try-out scores were 24, 16, 32, 26, etc, with a median of 30.7 and 52 being the highest. (I was moved to tears when I received 52 while the girl sitting next to me got 90). Hmmm. Physics try-outs? Never got more than 24.

The only thing that made me optimistic was English, for my friend and I made a postulate stating 'Smart (Indonesian) people are terrible at English.' (Oops! Sorry, no offense, smart people! :P)

NTU, the university which only admits totally smart kids (that's how it is prejudiced here in Indonesia), accepted me, a normal student who is probably just like you.

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So don't get discouraged! Not being the best doesn't mean NTU is not in your grasp.
Also, remember that NTU is not everything.
There are many worlds and possibilities to explore, and the one you end up getting may not be your first pick.

Just look forward to life's unpredictable surprises!

Applying to NUS & NTU - General

[updated 2 Jan 2016]

Applying to National University of Singapore (NUS) and/or Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is considered prestigious by many (maybe because they're both one of the best universities in the world, let alone Asia). Admission is said to be difficult: there's the University Entrance Examination (UEE), interviews for certain programs, and your competitors have great qualifications.

So, you could say only the 'chosen ones' can go to these universities. But then this whole thing looks fishy to me. Maybe they rank high because their students are smart by nature, not by nurture. Hmmm. Oh, that was just a point to keep you thinking.

By the way, I applied to both of them this (last?) year, and my next post will be about applying to NTU and NUS from an average-student's-point-of-view.

You want to apply? Keep in mind that there are two stages here: document selection and UEE, plus one bonus stage: scholarship interview (if you're lucky).

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Stage 1 - Document Selection

How to unlock: default

What to do:

1. Maintain good academic scores in your report card. THIS IS IMPORTANT! The higher your scores are, the higher the chance you will go to the next round. Try to get at least 88 out of 100 in your report card for your subjects of interest just to keep you safe. (Doesn't mean that an average of less than 88 should keep you from applying).

2. Certificates of participation in activities are good to have. The point is, it will be advantageous to make them believe that you're active outside school and don't just study 24/7.

3. Apply to the university online when admission is open, usually around early November to late December. Don't forget to apply for scholarships (NTU), the scholarship application is separate from undergraduate application. Don't forget to pay for your application.

4. Wait patiently, check your e-mail regularly.

AY 2015/2016

You will receive an e-mail stating whether you're shortlisted to take the UEE from both universities on the first week of January. In Indonesia, around 300 (NUS) and 500 (NTU) applicants are shortlisted to take the UEE.

AY 2016/2017

NTU UEE invitation was sent on 31 December 2015.

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Stage 2 - UEE

How to unlock: pass Stage 1

What to do:

1. Prepare yourself well for the UEE held in late January to February. The subjects are English, maths, physics, chemistry and biology, all in A level (except for social sciences programs, O Level maths). Check which paper you are required to sit for on their website. Note that there is no biology test for NTU.

2. If you join A level courses, take all the try-outs available, don't be discouraged by bad or terrible scores. That's what try-outs are for ;)

3. Sleep a LOT the day before test days. Lack of sleep is your worst enemy here, believe me. At this stage, they only care about your UEE test scores.

4. Come early, stay focused, don't panic! Again, your luck is tested here as well :P

5. Wait patiently, check your e-mail regularly.

AY 2015/2016

(NTU) The decision of your application UEE was sent on 12 March 2015. If you do not pass, you can send them an appeal letter.

If your faculty requires an interview, you'll have to do it to receive your application outcome.

(NUS) The application outcome was sent on 13 May 2015.

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Bonus Stage - Scholarship Interview

How to unlock: unknown; probably based on luck.

(NTU) It is said that scoring high on the UEE, especially English, may unlock this.

If you get this bonus stage, you will receive an invitation email from the scholarships division to attend an interview. The e-mail should come to your inbox the day after you receive the application outcome e-mail.

Interview is held in late March. I read from another blog that the outcome was announced in two weeks. This year they announced the outcome of the interview in one to two days after the interview.
Around 50 people are invited for the interview, only half of them will be given the scholarship.

(NUS) Incredibly good report card (like maybe an average of 95?) may unlock this.

Yes, another reason why maintaining a good report card is very important. The e-mail should come to your inbox around one week after you receive the UEE e-mail.

Interview was held on the last day of the UEE, after the UEE had ended.

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Okay, that concludes the general walkthrough for the NUS/NTU application. 

Radiation is bad? Wrong.

Many people believe that radiation is bad although they do not know anything about it. As far as I'm concerned, the term 'radiation' has become the black sheep for many health issues, notably cancer and brain damages. In this post I will define what radiation truly is and hopefully you will become more knowledgeable afterwards.

Here is a list of common misconceptions about radiation that one may encounter:
1. Radiation is very bad for one's health, and therefore, mobile phone is bad.
2. Radiation kills.
3. One is not exposed to radiation at this very moment.

By the end of this post, you will be able to distinguish these two caution signs...

and probably laugh at how hilarious and ignorant one of those is.

So let's get started.

What is radiation?
"Radiation" is any process by which energy or waves travel through a medium, or empty space.
(Energy is the ability to do work.) Simply put, the moving of energy is called radiation.

Radiation include: what your eyes see (visible light), what your ears hear (sound waves), microwaves (for heating food), radio waves (which brings in your favorite radio and TV channels), x-rays (for checking bones), our friend the mobile phone and WiFi (the signal actually) and of course, our sunshine.

Hairy Sunshine

The most important fact about radiation is, there are two types of radiation: ionizing and non-ionizing. To put it simply, radiation is like food. The yummy food that everyone loves is non-ionizing radiation, whilst the poisonous food that can potentially make you sick or even kill you is ionizing radiation.

More right, more power. (UV stands in both)

Until now, no adequate research has shown any evidence that non-ionizing radiation is actually bad for us. So, it's safe to call non-ionizing radiations safe. It is bad just because people believe it is. Ever heard of the mind power?

Now you know that everything you see or hear is in fact radiation. What you feel with your sense of touch is also radiation. Your phone is getting warmer in your hands, that's also radiation: heat energy moves from the phone to you. If you see the previous image carefully, you'll realize that the radiation from our vision is in fact stronger than those of our mobile devices. So, why worry? If you're still worried, try turning on your TV with a remote, but cover the front part of the remote with your hand. The TV won't turn on, right? That's because the infrared radiation from the remote can't get past your skin. And radiation from mobile devices is even weaker than that.

Then, is ionizing radiation the bad guy? Well, not entirely.
Ionizing radiation has so much energy, so powerful that it can alter your DNA. This DNA changing process can cause cancer, but the radiation can also help cure cancer by destroying the 'infected' cells. Yes, it's the gamma rays I'm talking about.

It's a double-edged sword

When people are worried about radiation, they actually talk about the ionizing ones. Don't get the term radiation mixed up now. Anywhere you are, as long as you see, hear, sense or touch, radiation occurs.

Radiation is everywhere, every time.

Now that you know, be smart! For using the term radiation incorrectly is not cool :)

Update

Hey there! It's been a while since I last posted something, hasn't it?
To be honest I'm having some sort of difficulty with this rule that I made myself (you know, the '4 science posts in a row before posting 1 free thought post' rule) so I'm just going to remove that system and just post anything I want from now on.

Well, not exactly anything.

TOO TRUE

I'll be expecting this blog to be some kind of an information resource for people who are probably going through the same thing as I was when I posted stuff here. Maybe I'll make a review of my own high school or future university. This idea just popped out of my head because I can find a lot information about these educational institutions, but most of them are the ones made by the marketing group, thus lacking objectivity (they don't go through all that) and in-depth analysis (which can be done only by people who has really been there).

I know you can see yourself here

Browsing a lot about schools and universities is one of the activities which I have been spending quite some time on, and I'm quite sure that there is at least someone out there who has also been doing the same thing.

I'll definitely make a review of my high school and debunk some myths in a few months. Hmmm, looking forward to it.

By the way, I'm finding this short paragraph very amusing.

Well then, I have a confession to make: I love school :')

Valentine Chemistry

How was this year's February 14th? Think about it for a second.

You think it was good? Great, I'm happy for you.
You think it was bad? Well, don't worry if you didn't get any flower or sweets. Some things just can't be measured by other things, and this is one of them.
Also, if you get anything from someone just on Val's day, you should question yourself whether they really care. Let's say Val's day is gone, no more Val's day, will that person still give anything for you? What I'm trying say is, we don't necessarily need a day to show someone else that we care about them.

Okay, okay, I know I'm starting to sound like a terribly picky and materialistic person. In order for me to maintain my good image, I'm going to define that - or rather, those 'things' mentioned above.

Have you ever heard the 5 languages of love? (This is universal love, okay. Not limited to romantic love or passionate love or anything like that.)

If your dominant language is.....
1. Touch -> you show you care through hugs, pats on the back and things that involve physical touch. You wouldn't like people you hate doing those things, or even being close to you.
Nothing speaks more deeply than appropriate touch.

2. Words -> you show you care by talking to that person a lot. Like saying or explaining your thoughts and anything on your mind. You especially despise hearing negative things or insults about you or your loved ones.
This language uses words to reaffirm people.

3. Give -> you show you care someone by giving gifts. Gifts include food and drinks, accessories, books, well anything material to be honest. You don't give things to just anybody. You really hate getting things that you don't like.
What makes them feel most loved is to receive a gift.

4. Serve -> you show you care by doing anything that helps the one you love. Simple things, such as helping with a friend's homework, washing the dishes and sweeping the floor. You wouldn't even give an offer to help with any of that if you don't really like a person.
For these people, actions speak louder than words.

5. Quality time -> you show you care by spending some time with them, like eating lunch together or doing projects together. When you do and the person does not give you attention, you'd likely feel disrespected.
This language is all about giving the other person your undivided attention.


I think the 5 languages of love is worth knowing to have better relations with others.

Here's a real story:
A's least dominant language is touch while her friend B's most dominant language is touch. When B is happy, B will hug A, if B is tired, B will put her arms around A. A feels really uncomfortable with all this touch going on, no doubt about it.
If A doesn't know about the 5 languages, A will likely despise B.
Since A knows about the 5 languages, A tolerates B's actions and even gives B a hug if B is feeling down.

Okay so there you go! This post is getting too long now. If you want to find out your dominant language, just head over to www.5lovelanguages.com.

Some Magic

Conservation of Mass

One of the most basic things in chemistry. So according to this law, you will end up with the same amount as you started with.

Conservation? If I mix 5 grams of sand and 10 grams of salt, I will end up with 15 grams of sand and salt, right? At the beginning I have 15 grams, separated, and in the end I have 15 grams, mixed together. It's as simple as that.
Mass? Means that this applies to things measured in 'grams'. Kilograms, hectograms, decagrams, grams, decigrams, centigrams and milligrams are examples of these. (Yes, there are a lot more prefixes for this. Look them up on your own.)

Take caution though, the mass part is very important! If I mix 100 ml of water with 100 ml of alcohol, I only end up with 180 ml, NOT 200 ml. Why, you ask? To put it simply, when you put cookies into a jar, there's going to be spaces between the cookies and the jar, right? Though the jar is full of cookies, it is not actually full - you can still stuff in some rice cereals in the spaces. And if you put in 5 cookies, each weighs 6 grams and 15 rice cereals, 2 grams each, then you have 60 grams before and after putting those into the jar. So though if you look from the top of the jar nothing's changed, actually you've slipped in something to fill up the spaces.

If that's confusing, remember, chemistry is unseen by our eyes because everything's really really small. But that's the basic.

Back to the conservation of mass, this fancy term just means 'when you have that much, you only have that much'.
Remember, this works for grams grams grams grams.

Intro to Chemistry

Chemistry started out as a study where a group of people tried to mix things in order to make more useful and pricy things. For example, mixing lizard tails with frogs to make potions. Or to turn lead into gold and being rich in an instant.

Of course they didn't get what they wanted. It's just against the law of nature, don't you agree? They ended up getting nothing. Or so you think. It turns out that they realized there were some unusual happenings during their attempts to create all those impossible stuffs, and that's where chemistry comes in. To explain ridiculous and undefined phenomena.

I'd like to think chemistry as what we call by 'magic' in fiction novels and movies.

Why? Because it's a study of something that cannot be seen with our eyes. They're so small that you don't really know what's actually happening -  you can only guess, even with experiments. These experiments are accepted to be close to the truth because they're logical, but nobody actually knows whether it's legit or not.

I'd like to share some basic knowledge on chemistry on the next few posts. By basic, I won't use any chemistry equations or anything like that, so it's going to be just the big idea behind them explained casually. I sure hope that you will be able to make a sense out of it.

Details

The first fifth post! I always try to fulfill the promises that I've made so here's my first free thought post *dun dun dunnn*. I don't know what will eventually become of this post, let's just see what my mind-finger coordination will result in here, hmmm.

I don't know if this blog actually has its reader besides me and myself, but if anyone is there, do you notice the minor changes in the previous posts? I've fixed the typos and inaccuracies that one may stumble upon the previous two posts. Yeah, I tend to take notice to small, minor and the most unimportant details in almost everything. Those who know me in real life may not believe this fact because I appear very laid back, but honestly, I do pay attention, especially to people's names. Come to think of it, this is partly thanks to those Starbucks or J.CO 'mbak-mbak and mas-mas' who always spell my name incorrectly on my cups.

Other than names, I always check the packaging of everything that I'm about to take, making sure that everything's in good condition. These include comic books, pens and pen refills, game and CD cases (except if it is really rare and there's only one sitting on the shelves waiting for me to take home ;) ). Oh, and I always try to open gifts slowly and gently by taking off every tape on the wrapping paper one by one without tearing it.

Wait, that's not what I wanted to talk about in the first place. Hmmm. As it's getting late, I think I'll end this here and actually talk about what I wanted to talk about in the next fifth post. Yes, I am that forgetful. I think a lot, but forget like 90% of what I was thinking. Do I sound like Winnie the Pooh? It's okay though because at least I still have something left on my mind.

For my personal reminder: next talk about 'Never let your feelings get too deep. People can change at any moment', okay? ;)

New Direction

Hello! After two months of desperate blogging, I have finally decided a certain 'theme' for this blog. First things first, as you can predict by seeing my previous post, this blog is headed towards the path of science! Yay science! So yeah, more scientific stuff coming soon here. Oh and don't worry, I hate the idea of a copy and paste blog so I promise you I won't use weird languages or jargons to sound smart or anything like that.

Seriously though, I think it's really pointless for people to use jargons all the time - it ruins all the fun. Science should be - and can be - accessible for everyone hungry for knowledge. So yeah, accessible science stuff is coming your way.

Second, I will try to be a more open person by making this blog accessible to everyone. Feel free to come back once in a while to see if a new post has been added. Also, I've planned to post some of my free thoughts, maybe in the fifth post of every five posts, to make this blog feel more.... 'human'..... and personal.

I'll conclude this post with an image which instantaneously felt close to my heart.

YouTube Channels - Science

Have you ever been depressed because you have this science exam(s) tomorrow and you just don't understand literally any of it? I have been there; trying to ace tests by memorizing but not understanding. Albeit being able to score pretty good at science regardless how I study, 'studying' like that didn't feel right at all. Sooo I have found a solution to that! (And you don't need any solute for it.)

The key to your success is everyone's friend: YouTube!

With the help of these wonderful people (and also the most important thing: your effort. We need that, okay?), I guarantee you will pass your darkest and scariest exam moments.


Mathematics - PatrickJMT (Patrick Jones)
Math is really that simple - everything's right in front of you, shrouded by this invisible barrier of numbers. Patrick Jones' casual style will make you think that math is not mysterious.

Also check out his puzzle problems - they're really fun!


Biology - bozemanscience (Paul Andersen)
Though I've never met Mr. Andersen in person, I can tell that he is really passionate about teaching and science. Scoring a 90 at biology seemed impossible for me in high school, but thanks to him, I was able to attain an average score of 90 for biology in my report card! Woohoo!
Other than his complete collection of biology videos, he also has hundreds of videos on physics, chemistry and earth systems science, all available for your pleasure at bozemanscience.com.

Definitely a must subscribe for anyone struggling with science.... but wants to know science better.


Chemistry - Tyler DeWitt
Hundreds of videos on chemistry, he explains a lot of basic stuffs you need to know to survive in your science classes. The definition of moles, isotopes, secrets to remembering gas laws - all those stuff that goes between physics and chemistry classes.
Here's one of them: THE definition of isotopes. (I used to get isotopes, isobars and isotones all mixed up, but not any longer after watching this video).

I'm sure what he said to you will stick to your head because he progresses slowly, making sure that watchers understand the points he wants them to know.


Physics - TwuPhysics (Yau Jong Twu) 
Her videos are long, but they're really the best explanatory physics videos you can possibly find on the net. She has covered almost all physics subjects - with deep understanding of each topic.
D-1 physics exam, I had no idea what light diffraction and slit meant. Thank goodness I stumbled across her video and in less 2 hours I managed to understand everything there is about diffraction and slit problems.

One thing I really like about her is that she is not like those teachers who are 'this is the formula, just use this formula and put everything you know into this formula and this formula will solve all your problems'. She explains every single formula - where it came from, the reasoning behind it, so physics can become more like how it's supposed to be. Oh and she also has sample problems within each topic to make sure you're ready to ace your test!

Exams? Fear no more.