My Chemistry Olympiad Space

Plans in the pipeline...

2011-07-27T09:39:00.000+08:00

We are coming up with a different approach to the selection of the Malaysian IChO team. It'll be announced soon after its confirmation and approval from the higher authority.

IChO 2011 Results

2011-07-20T21:09:00.000+08:00

Maybe all of us who were involved in the training of the Malaysian team may feel upset on the achievement of the Malaysian team in the recent IChO. However, I think this is the right time for us to macroscopically and microscopically examine our training methodology. Maybe we have been not effective enough in our training, maybe we have been not thorough enough in our selection, maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe it is just other participants who are now better? It is up to us to decide and to change. We hope that we'll be back better next year! Back to the basics again.

No updates yet from the official IChO website

2011-07-12T20:39:00.000+08:00

Today is Day 4 of the IChO 2011, Ankara but we haven't have any updates on the official website. My blog have been having increased traffic due to many very interested people on the IChO but unfortunately I cannot provide any update as I myself is in Malaysia, not Ankara, Turkey. Judging from the given schedule, our young participants have just done their practical exam and is now out for sightseeing. Argh! That rekindles my jealousy for not being able to attend. Anyway, they have done best in one of the exam and is now resting while the mentors scratch their heads discussing and translating the problems for the theoretical exam. I wish the students all the best in the coming theoretical exam on Thursday and hope that they'll enjoy their trip after that. May their hard work be rewarded!

IChO 2011 Day 1

2011-07-09T01:14:00.000+08:00

Its day 1 of IChO 2011 already... This is the day where participants arrive to the venue and start to get to know each other... Speaking of this, I can't wait to find out about the Malaysian team's experience when they arrive back in Malaysia... This also reminded me of my own experience 3 years back... It was such a great one and I hope all the participants of IChO 2011 will enjoy their 10 days together... Hoping to get to download the Catalyzer Issue No. 2 soon to read on the updates of our enthusiastic participants... Argh! How I wish I was there to see it for myself... Anyway, this is all for now... Will be updating more soon...

43rd IChO 2011 Ankara, Turkey is coming soon!

2011-06-26T13:39:00.000+08:00

Oh my. It is finally coming in 2 weeks time. Our delegation this year is truly a 1Malaysia team. I hope that they can further showcase the Malaysian culture to the world. Besides that, hopefully they can outperform their predecessors with the best performance so far of a silver medal. I hereby wish them all the best and have fun in Ankara! ^^

Team Malaysia

2011-05-19T18:13:00.000+08:00

Finally... The candidate for the final 4 was selected... I hope that they will try their best to prepare for it... I'm all ready to contribute whatever I can for them... Hope we'll have better achievements this year! ^^

Last Weekend

2011-05-10T21:51:00.000+08:00

Once more, students from all over the country was called to attend the selection of the IChO Malaysian team. I felt so lucky to get to meet top students in Chemistry every year. These students possess talents that is yet to be sharpen. Hopefully, a gold medal winner will be nurtured this year. I get to share my experiences in Medicine and in IChO with them. It was a great weekend! Signing off... ^^

Of K3M and IChO Selection

2011-02-23T15:53:00.002+08:00

Recently, I realised the flaws of K3M as a benchmark for the preliminary selection of IChO candidates. This is because K3M consists of 40 MCQs only. The usage of MCQs as a screening test is very unreliable. This is because it is not very sensitive and neither is it specific in identifying students who are really good in Chemistry. A set of more extensive and structured questions are in my opinion more sensitive and specific for that purpose. However, I do not have the statistics to prove my arguments and all of this is merely based on personal experience. I do hope that the IChO selection and training committee will look into this problem and come out with a better solution.

International Chemistry Olympiad - Malaysian Selection

2011-02-10T21:05:00.005+08:00

Heard that the candidates for the selection have been contacted few days ago. To all selected candidates out there, you must be looking hard for info about this olympiad. As usual, the selection will be carried out in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya. Look, I'm here to help. Please leave a comment! Cheers! ^^

P.S. I can provide some information that you all might want to know. Not here on the worldwide web but privately on private messages.

Preparatory Questions for 43rd IChO 2011 is Out!!!

2011-01-28T01:29:00.002+08:00

Saw a few visits logged with the referral term as preparatory questions for 43 IChO 2011... So, I decided to just check it out on the official website... To my excitement, it is out! Click the link below to download! Enjoy! :)

Preparatory Question (43rd IChO 2011)

Official Website (43rd IChO 2011)

Another Interesting Visitor

2011-01-11T11:22:00.002+08:00

Found that my blog was visited by someone who had googled "universiti malaya icho letter 2011". I was very excited when I saw it and wonder who is that. I'm very interested in knowing this person and please feel free to contact me by commenting below. I'd be very delighted to get more information about the thing you googled for you. Look forward into knowing you soon! ^^

Chemistry?

2010-12-11T17:50:00.004+08:00

Hey there. This idea pop up in my head after recent increase in traffic in my blog which was mainly due to searches of terms like "Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia" and "Pertandingan Fizik Kebangsaan". I would like to invite all chemistry lovers currently doing STPM, A-Levels or other Pre-U courses around the Klang valley and places nearby to keep in touch with me. Why? If you hadn't heard about the IChO, then find out more about it from me. Work hard and you might qualify yourself in representing our country! I don't have a say on whom to represent our country, but I can try to advice you how to at least get into the selection! Cheers! ^^

Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M) Results

2010-10-24T00:57:00.002+08:00

Following recent interest about the results of K3M, I decided to link it to my blog. Below is the link:

Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M) Results

Usually, the top 20 scorers of this quiz will be invited to the University of Malaya for a selection early 2011. Successful candidates will have the chance to represent our country to the 43 International Chemistry Olympiad in Ankara, Turkey. Update me if you're called up to come over to UM. I'll advice you on the stuffs you need to prepare. Cheers. :)

Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M)

2010-09-05T20:52:00.006+08:00

Suddenly thought of posting this because many are still in dark about this Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M). Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M) is a chemistry quiz opened to all students studying in Malaysian secondary schools. There are 2 levels namely the ordinary level and the advanced level. The ordinary or asas level is for students currently in fifth form and the advanced level is obviously for upper sixth formers. The quiz consists of 50 multiple choice questions. Questions are similar to those you'll get during SPM and STPM.

Now, here is the hidden agenda. Those participating in the advanced level of Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M) has a chance of being chosen to represent our country, Malaysia to the International Chemistry Olympiad or better known as the IChO. Annually, the IChO Malaysian training committee will call the top scorers in Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M) to participate in a selection camp in the University of Malaya. The selected candidates will be sent all expenses paid to the IChO. So, it is a real fantastic reward for those advanced level students. Should you have any doubt, please leave a comment in this blog. I'll get back to you soon. Or, you can get me by posting at the ReCom forum for Kuiz Kimia Kebangsaan Malaysia (K3M) 2010. Hope to hear from you all real soon. ^^

IChO

2010-09-04T23:59:00.003+08:00

One of the search on Google that lead to my blog was "can IChO for university students?". I would like to answer this person's question and the answer is NO. IChO is open to all students below the age of 20 who hadn't receive any university education.

By the way, here is the link to the 42nd Olympiad's Theoretical and Practical questions if you're interested in going through them. Enjoy!

Problem 23

2010-06-10T18:52:00.002+08:00

Problems 3 & 4

2010-06-09T22:19:00.004+08:00

Problem 2

2010-04-01T18:47:00.007+08:00

Problem 1(c)

2010-04-01T17:45:00.001+08:00

Malaysian IChO Selection and Interview

2010-03-31T01:14:00.002+08:00

I heard that the selection is around the corner. Anyone was invited? Post your comment here so that we can discuss about it and maybe we'll meet on the day. :)

Problem 1(b)

2010-02-28T00:32:00.000+08:00

Problem 1(a)

2010-02-25T23:16:00.002+08:00

Preparatory Problems for IChO Japan

2010-02-11T09:43:00.005+08:00

The prep probs for IChO Japan is out! Chemistry enthusiasts and those who are interested in joining the IChO can have a look at the probs. Scanning through the questions, I feel like it is somehow like IChO Russia. Maybe it is just as similar to other IChOs. Anyway, I'll try out the questions. Who is with me? Let us try them together and discuss it!

Download the preparatory problems here.

Corrections to errata on the preparatory problems:
Correction 1
Correction 2
Correction 3
Correction 4

It is 2010!

2010-01-02T00:48:00.003+08:00

About 50 minutes pass the first day of 2010, I'm writing my first blog for the year 2010. In 2010, I'll work harder! I'll be more disciplined! I'll strive to achieve what I wish to achieve!

Now, for the flashbacks of 2009, we have MHS or the Minggu Haluansiswa 2009 as my most memorable time. I still remember the time we spent together during the week. The time where we dedicated all our time to out juniors and most of them appreciate it. Being in 2009, one of the toughest year for mankind, I experience some tough time too. My part A exams for phase II as an example. Not working enough when I have time made me sleepless during the study week. The end product is an almost failure. I am guilty of that and must do something to improve it. I can!

A Visitor

2009-12-05T17:51:00.002+08:00

An interesting visitor had visited today. The visitor searched for "um mbbs blog" and landed on my blog. This interesting visitor read every single post here. However, no sign of any comment. Please leave me some comment if possible so that I know what brings you here. Maybe we can be friends just after one blog visit. It will be great to get to know some people of common interest via my blog! :)

Recent Updates

2009-11-25T12:59:00.003+08:00

I really can't stand ignorant people. A university student who don't know lots of thing which is supposed to be general knowledge. How did he enter university? I guess this is why people look down at our university intake system. What to do? He got 4.00 in his pre-university examination which qualifies him to almost all the courses in university. How can we deny him an entry? More precisely is how can we differentiate him and someone who knows better if both scores 4.00? Is 4.00 too easy to get that it no longer means quality and is no longer able to be used to differentiate those that are better?

Also, I heard some bad news. We might not be sending a team to Japan after being absent in Cambridge. It is quite a disappointing news to me but what can we do as students?

15 Months Through

2009-10-11T21:55:00.004+08:00

It is 15 going on 16 months since I entered the University of Malaya. Within this period, UM rose from 230th place to 180th place in the global arena. A good sign, isn't it? It has been 2 months I left my blog unupdated. Well, many things happened.

Independence Week or Minggu Kemerdekaan of my residential college was in the Malaysia Book of Records for the biggest 1Malaysia logo made of cockles.

A series of quizzes and tests made me studied a little.

PTUM a.k.a. Pesta Tanglung UM is an annual event in conjunction with Mid Autumn Festival. It showcases a musical play by students and this year, 2 of my friends were in the play. They did an excellent job. The performance was great!

Oh ya! I finally set up my own "buddy line" with my new "buddy", Ri Hui. Of course I won't use the term "buddy" in case I'm sued for copyright infringement. However, I'm rather satisfied with him and starts to like him a little. However, I am still thinking of my other MBBS juniors. I miss them. They seem to be very busy and have no much time to keep in touch with me. What I can do? Don't care about my pessimistic thoughts and continue to contact them. It pays I think.

Lastly, to James, thanks for showing interest in representing Malaysia to the International Chemistry Olympiad. The next olympiad will be at Japan in 2010. Do contact me if you need further information. I can help. :)

41st International Chemistry Olympiad

2009-07-31T11:01:00.003+08:00

The 41st IChO is over. It was a 10-days event from 18th to 27th of July 2009. Too bad that this year, Malaysia did not send her team due to influenza A(H1N1) pandemic control. However, I'm proud of the candidates who had been trained and the academicians training them for carrying on with the training until the final verdict was announced. Good luck to all the candidates in their future undertakings. Will update soon.

Official Website of the 41st IChO

Youtube Channel of the 41st IChO

A Busy Beginning

2009-07-23T11:55:00.002+08:00

Phew... Last weekend was really exhausting. It was Minggu Mesra Pelajar, a project handled by the PMs and 1st year juniors. Meeting every night starts about 11.30 p.m. and lasts at least for an hour. How tiring! Besides that, I still need to compile the abstracts for the 1st Malaysian International Medical Student Conference 2009 to be submitted by Sunday. I left out 19 abstracts and have to delay the submission till Tuesday night. Then comes stethoscope sales together with Anisa on behalf of MedSoc which ends today. I get the chance to hold a hugh amount of cash. Thats fun but quite risky. Pacemaker is in the process of writing. Fairuz and I have to write about the pass activities of MedSoc. Imagine the work load... Furthermore, there will be a Senior Freshie Night next Monday! Oh... I cannot afford to think about all this anymore. Stopping here.

Happy Day

2009-07-16T02:01:00.002+08:00

Today, I went for the MSK night for UM Buddhist Society. Why did I spend this RM 5? Many would be surprise if they hear my answer. I did it merely to get the chance to see my beloved juniors from MBBS as they are now at 6th and I have no chance of meeting them. I got to spend about 4 hours with them. Its such an enjoyable reunion for me. I get to meet them and I feel very happy and delighted. I hope I can meet them more often and will remain as their dear senior and friend.

The Beginning

2009-07-07T12:50:00.002+08:00

Oh no! Its already the beginning of 2nd year of MBBS. What had I do during this 2 months of holidays? Well, I ditched my trip to East Malaysia to join the 'Pembantu Mahasiswa' a.k.a. PM of 2nd Residential College. I'm so excited when I know I'll have juniors from MBBS in 2nd RC. I tried my very best to take care of them and help them throughout the week. As a result of that, I got to know some of my juniors more. I remember the one who became the 'Penghulu', his name is Lee Qin Zhi. Also, the 'Penghuluwati', Aimi was very enthusiastic and helpful throughout the week. Cute little Ken Leong will not be taken away from my memories. So is Shu Meng whom I bullied during MHS. Plus, some others who like to crowd around me listening to me telling grandmother stories. However, when MHS almost to end, I was given a fantasticly surpricing bad news. All my juniors in MBBS are going to be shifted to 6th RC. Oh my God! I was very shocked and was saddened by the news. My tears nearly overflow but I could still bear with it. Now that they are gone from 2nd RC, I just hope that they can continue on with thier orientation and medical studies without much difficulties. I hope they will remember me and will still keep me as a friend of theirs.

Results Day 2 & Trip Down South

2009-05-11T17:30:00.002+08:00

There had been delays on results day 2 as I had a trip down south. Subsequently, when I was back, too lazy to update. Actually, I had passed my MBBS Phase I and now having my holidays. MBBS Phase II will open on 5th of July. To those currently taking supplement exams, all the best and good luck. I can help if you people need it. Thats all folks.

Results Day 1

2009-04-28T16:05:00.006+08:00

Went to see the results at 12.30 p.m. just now. Quite disappointed that my name wasn't there. However, I would like to congratulate the 6 people who had successfully get a grade 'A' for their MBBS Phase I Professional Exam. Hope that they can score their viva voce too.

Also, very sorry to those who have to attend the viva voce for borderline pass. May they pass the viva and thus, pass their MBBS Phase I exam. Good luck and all the best to them.

Movie Outing

2009-04-24T00:58:00.002+08:00

Just came back after watching two movies. First was "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" at 7.45 p.m. then was "Coming Soon" at 9.45 p.m.. After that, went to have a drink in my college. A person then adviced me to be more matured. Yes. I know that I'm not very matured but at least I'm far better than the person who is telling me. Haiz... Speechless...

End of MBBS Phase I

2009-04-23T09:52:00.002+08:00

After the OSPE exam till 2.30 p.m., all of us from MBBS class of 2013 are ending our MBBS Phase I hopefully. Results will be out next Tuesday for those who have to undergo viva voce either for distiction or borderline pass. Subsequently the whole list of results will be available next Thursday. Knowing my last semester result which is a 'B', I do hope that I'll end up with at least a 'B'. Hopefully, after all this effort that I've poured in, everything will turn out fine. May God bless me and all my friends. May all of us pass gracefully. If I do get at least a 'B', I promise I'll help my comrades who are unlucky enough to have failed the exam and have to sit for the supplementary exam. However, I really do hope that no one will have to face the 'evil' supplementary exam. Off now to prepare for exams... :)

Recent Visits

2009-02-27T10:38:00.002+08:00

When checking on the recent visits to my blog, I found out that there are quite a number of people interested in the Malaysian IChO team and its selection. Well, I was a participant and is quite in touch with its current development. Therefore, anybody who is interested can leave a comment for me. I'll try to reply your posts as soon as possible. Thanks.

Malaysian IChO Team Official Website

2009-02-19T19:30:00.003+08:00

I had forgotten to introduce the official website for the Malaysian IChO Team. Below is a link to the website. It contains information about our teams since we first participated 3 years ago in 2006. Also, it has information of the current IChO to help our team (the Malaysian team) members to orientate themselves. Do surf the website to get to know about the Malaysian IChO team. I am proud to be one of them!

Malaysian IChO Team Official Website

IChO Pre-Final Selection

2009-02-13T13:52:00.003+08:00

The IChO Pre-Final Selection for the Malaysian Team started today. 40 participants consisting 25 boys and 15 girls are expected to check-in Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Residential College at 6 p.m. yesterday. Today, there will be a series of lectures and also a test. Tomorrow will be the interview session. The students are expected to depart on Sunday. More updates to come!

The selection is over! Managed to get to know some new friends especially Ching Koon. Ching Koon is my predecessor in IChO as he participated in the Korean 38th IChO 2006. I am so lucky to get to know him as he is such a knowledgable person. Hope that I can meet him more in the future. Also, I manage to sit into the interviews and ruin some of the participant's life by bombarding them with questions. Overall, I feel that this year's team will outdo the previous teams. Hope to see them in the future.

Exam Results!

2008-12-19T23:36:00.003+08:00

Yesterday at around 5 p.m., I was awaken by my room-mate informing me that our exam results (MBBS Phase I Part A) had came out. I was shocked and immediately sprung out of bed. I quickly got myself dressed and rushed to the faculty to see my results. To my disappointment, I got a B. However, much later, I felt like praising myself as during the study week, I spent quite some time for GACC and this is what I can achieve. Anyway, there are only 2 persons who scored an A.

GACC 13 is finally over!

2008-12-08T00:07:00.000+08:00

The 13th Rakan Muda GACC International Inter-Varsity Chess Championship 2008 was officially closed by Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob on the 5th of December 2008. We, the organising committee of the GACC 13 feel so relieved after the closing ceremony as all our hard work had paid off and we are successful in running the GACC 13. Although many hardships had been endured during the event, the event is still a blast. The participants are very delighted with our hospitality and also our event. I am definitely glad to have chosen GACC 13 and hope that I can also help organise GACC 14.

Exam is Over!

2008-11-28T11:19:00.002+08:00

I feel like it is just last week I went into the University until I realise that time really flies. My MBBS Phase I Part A exam had just been over yesterday. Well, sleeping late at about 3 a.m. and wake up around 7 a.m. for a few days had made me sleep so early yesterday night and wake up late this morning. Well, I would like to describe briefly about my exam.

On Monday we had Paper 2, which is similar to Paper 3 on Tuesday. They each have one long scenario which worth 60 marks and two short scenario costing 30 marks each. There are also short answer questions that gives you a total of 240 marks. So, each paper has a wobbling total of 360 marks.

On Wednesday, we had Paper 1. It consist of 96 questions with 5 statements each. We just have to answer true or false but a mistake cost you 1 mark. The scariest exam has yet to come. On Thursday, we had our OSPE exam. OSPE stands for Objective Structured Practical Examination. Here, we have two parts. One part is a 40 stationed test with 1.5 minutes to each station. The other is a 12 stationed test with a time limit of 5minutes per station.

The whole exam is 1440 marks and it contributes 30% to our result. Also, for my last conass, although I failed anatomy by scoring 46 marks, I manage to score an overall of 222 marks. I am quite happy with that already.

Secholian Crisis

2008-11-11T10:31:00.002+08:00

Soon, during December, our beloved residential college, the Tuanku Bahiyah Residential College will undergo partial renovation and two blocks namely Block B and Block D will be closed down. Therefore, about 50% of the resident will be relocated to other places. Luckily, I was quite active in the college. As mentioned before, I am in the organising committee of the 13th GACC. Also, I am in the committee of Academic Development and Internationalisation. Thefore, I was given a place to stay although we have to share our room with three other people. We are given the chance to stay gladly due to the kindness of our seniors who gave up thier chance. Finally, I hope my continuing stay in this college will be a happy one.

Life as a MBBS Phase I Student in UM

2008-10-31T17:11:00.002+08:00

In less than 2 weeks time I'll face my third conass (continuous assessment) a.k.a. Quiz 1.3. I'm so mentally unprepared after the decline of my results. From 214 of Quiz 1.1, now I'm only scoring 194 in Quiz 1.2. I somehow know the reason behind this decline and so I'm trying to work on it. However, there is an additional stress for me. I am a chinese who is not recognised as a chinese by other chinese. Understand? Well, it is a very complicated relationship that you'll only get in UM. Anyway, I'll try to overcome all this and strive my best for Quiz 1.3 and Part A finals. I do hope somehow my relationship can improve soon. Despite this ccondition, I will WORK HARD!

Malaysian IChO Team

2008-10-24T12:18:00.002+08:00

I found a website for the Malaysian IChO Team managed by the University of Malaya. I am so haapy to see a site featuring all representatives of Malaysia to the IChO. Below is the link to the website:
Malaysian IChO Team Website
Also, I got to know that the team selection for 2009 is coming soon. I expect it to be a somewhat large scale one and hopefully our country will bag at least one silver medal from the 41th IChO 2009, London.

Life in UM

2008-09-27T09:35:00.002+08:00

After about 3 months in UM, I found out that people here are very nice. They are very friendly and helpful. Despite having much problems to adapt, other things were fine. GACC has made me busier. However, ever since I completed my sub-project, I am relieved from most of the business in GACC. Anyway, being a medical student, I have a lot to do. We have all sorts of learning method. SDL, SSL, PBL are some examples of it.

Rakan Muda GACC World Inter-Varsity Chess Championship

2008-08-14T12:27:00.007+08:00

What is this GACC thing? Actually I myself struggled long enough before discovering that GACC is actually the abbreviation of Grand Asian Chess Challenge. After finding out this, one might find that this is not relevant to the other part of the name which is World Inter-Varsity Chess Challenge. Why? It is because when this chess challenge was first founded by secholions years ago, it is only limited to participants from Asia. As the event grows, the limit to Asian participants was lifted and therefore the new name is used. However, to commemorate the earlier challenges, the abrreviation GACC is remained till now.

This year, the Second Residential College of the University of Malaya will host its 13th RM GACC WIVCC 2008. I am in the multimedia department of the organising committee and the director of one of its sub-project, the STPM seminar. So, I would just like to post some information about this seminar so that interested readers can contact me for reservation.

STPM Seminar

Date: 20 September 2008
Time: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Venue: Lecture Hall, Economics and Administration Faculty, University of Malaya

Subject Offered:
General Studies
Chemistry
Biology/Physics
Mathematics T
Economics
History
Accounts

Entrance Fee:
RM 30 per subject (minimum of 2 subjects)
RM 100 for 4 subjects (discounted price)

Contact Number for Reservation:
Goh Jun Yan (016-6669883)

We are inviting experienced sixth form teachers and you will for sure benefit from this seminar. We will also provide some advice on university admission and merit point calculation. Plus, you also get to talk to us individually to understand more about the courses we are studying. STPM GPA 4.0 scorers will be there to share some of their secrets too.
Please contact me as soon as possible as seats are limited.

40th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) - The Official Report

2008-08-02T18:53:00.007+08:00

11 July 2008 – Departure to Budapest, Hungary
At around 9.30 pm, the contingent of Malaysia to the Olympiad gathered at KLIA before the departure to Budapest, Hungary. The family of the participants was also there to give them moral support before the departure.

12 July 2008 – Arrival at Ferihegy Airport, Budapest
Arriving at Ferihegy Airport, we were greeted by our guide, Bálint Balázs. We were then brought to the hotel where the mentors stayed for registration. We had the rest of the day free.

13 July 2008 – Opening Ceremony
It is a custom for the opening ceremony to be held on the second day of the Olympiad with a welcome reception and a city tour after the ceremony. The ceremony was splendid.

14 July 2008 – Excursion to Balatonfüred
We had an excursion to Balatonfüred, a lake in Hungary but it is called the ‘Hungarian Sea’ by the Hungarians. We get to taste traditional Hungarian dishes like Goulash in a traditional restaurant.

15 July 2008 – Practical Examination and Tour to the Parliament of Hungary
It is the practical exam today and we spent 5 hours in the lab. Later of the day, we visited the Parliament of Hungary. It is really a magnificent building.

16 July 2008 – Team Building Games
We get to play some games before the Theoretical Examination on the next day. This is the drawing drawn by the Malaysian team and participants from other countries on the Lake Balaton.

17 July 2008 – Theoretical Examination and Reunion Party
We had an intense 5 hour theoretical exam. Everyone was relieved after the exam. However, it is time we meet our mentors. We had our reunion party on the ship ‘Europa’.

18 and 19 July 2008 – Excursion to Visegrád and Egar
Here, we get to experience the life of Hungarian kings. We get to enjoy the imperial feast in the Renaissance Restaurant.

20 July 2008 – Closing Ceremony and Farewell Banquet Our country managed to get 2 Bronze Medals and an Honorary Mention. We had our Farewell Banquet at the Railway Museum.

40th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) - Photographs

2008-07-24T00:09:00.003+08:00

I know I will not have much time to blog about this event so soon. Therefore, I decided to post some photographs so that readers can get some idea out of it.

40th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) - The Homecoming

2008-07-22T14:32:00.007+08:00

Well, after some rest, I decided to just pen something short for the time being as I still need more rest. This is the outcome, Malaysian Team manage to win 2 Bronze medals and 1 Honorary Mention. This achievement though not very good when compared to past years thought us lessons the painful way. Now on, we know more about our weaknesses and hopefully this can help change the future. Anyway, stay tuned for more updates. For the time being, indulge in some of these websites:
Official Site of the 40th IChO
Official Photographer's Flickr Page
The US Team Journalist's Blog

40th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)

2008-07-10T23:55:00.002+08:00

In 24 hours, we, the Malaysian team to Budapest, Hungary for the IChO will board MH 16 to Amsterdam where we transit. This would also mean that I'll not be able to blog for the next 10 days or more unless I can gain internet access somewhere. Anyway, I'll upload things about IChO as soon as I get connected to the internet. So, goodbye to all my friends and I'll be back soon.

39th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) Part 5

2008-07-06T20:34:00.002+08:00

19 July 2007
Today, we have a trip to Sergiev Posad or Sergiev's Monastery. There, we get to see the interior and exterior of the Russian Orthodox Church. Somewhere nearby, we had our Matroshka dolls painting session. Well, after that, I bought a set of 10 Matroshkas as my own "masterpiece" turned out beautifully.

20 July 2007
We had our theoretical exams. This also signifies the end of the seperation between us participants and our mentors. Indeed we had our reunion party on a boat with our mentors.

21 July 2007
We went to Kremlin today. It is so beautiful. After lunch, it is time to go to the zoo!

22 July 2007
We had paintball. Late night, we had disco too.

23 July 2007
Closing ceremony is in today's schedule. This means that we will know how badly we did. Of course, at least we manage to maintain the result of 3 bronzes. We also had our farewell banquet in the Russian Academy of Sciences. This building is powered by solar energy.

24 July 2007
Our flight was early today. So, we woke up early to pack up and bid farewell to Sasha, our guide. Soon, we left Olimpiets and hours later, we are back in Malaysia.

I know that readers will find that this psot is so brief. Why? This is because I need to prepare for the 40th IChO. So, there will be no post until I backdate the posts when I'm back. Hope to resume blogging soon.

40th IChO Training and Orientation Week in UM

2008-07-05T17:31:00.005+08:00

After staying for such a long time in University of Malaya, I am finally done with the IChO training. However, I still have my Bachelor's Degree to pursue in the same university. Well, for the IChO training, I get to know great professors, lecturers, tutors and peers. I would like to elaborate further on some of the characters I met during the training.

Professors
Professor Dr. Noorsaadah - A very good organic chemist which likes to say that, "Reaction mechanisms of organic compounds are very easy as long as you know what is an electrophile and what is a nucleophile.". Well, it is true but we need to get our electrophiles and nucleophiles right first.

Lecturers
Dr. Cheryl Cheng - A youthful lecturer that is admired by all of us especially my colleague, Gavin Cheah. She thought us a way to remember formulae. This is one of the example:
Gary hikes to school a.k.a. Gavin hikes to **'s for the formula G = H - TS

Tutors
Kak Quench - It is not her real name but we are more used to refer her as Kak Quench when we are talking about her. Why? Mainly because she went round scolding people and in one instance she shouted, "Quench! I said Quench!".

Abg Yean Kee - When everyone first heard his name, we thought that he is a she. Even Dr. Cheng thought so. Anyway, he is one passionate chemist doing research on serine protease.

Peers
Khor Shu Heng - One brilliant guy that likes reading. His passion towards reading is clearly portrayed when he knows more Biology knowledges that we Biology students do.

Gavin Cheah Jia Sheng - A pharmacist in future. One that knows my stories the most. I can say that he is one outstanding student as he still manage to get an A for his Biology despite being penalised in Biology Paper 3.

Chai Yi Kang - Another passionate reader. Read Tan Yin Toon's books even before completing lower six. However, this is often concealed by his jokes that will make people think he is just a normal student.

Well, I'm done with my lengthy descriptions. Now, I would like to proceed to the outcome of the training. It turns out to be very shocking when Shu Heng was not selected. Why am I shocked? Because I never thought that Yi Kang would make it as he did not put in much effort. The only thing I can say is great people does not show off his "greatness" until it is needed.

I think I'm quite done with the IChO training part. Now I'll briefly introduce my orientation week. I join my new family with other fellow fresh Secholions last Sunday. We were being orientated by senior Secholions which taught us a lot. Although there are some times that we felt like we are tortured but soon after the week is over, we felt that it was one of the most memorable moments in our life. After the end of this two events, I need to start to work hard so that I can achieve what I want in the coming IChO. However, this means that stress is also coming soon to visit me.

39th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) Part 4

2008-06-28T12:51:00.004+08:00

18 July 2007
Today is our big day as we will be sitting for our practical examination. As soon as we arrive at the Chemistry Department of MSU, we were given lab numbers and all of us from Malaysia were placed into different labs. I guess it is time for us to split and do our best in the lab. Soon, we were escorted into the labs. Even by seeing the apparatus given, I know we have questions related to column chromatography, spectrophotometry and titration. We were given our questions after that. When I read the questions I found out that it is indeed within what I have thought. The first question is about the former two and the second question is about the latter but both are to analyse samples. After 5 hours of intense lab, we walk around Lenin Hills for some souvenir shopping. Later, we went for a circus nearby. Oh goodness, the circus was amazing. What all of us like the most is the clown who like to use the interjection "waa". After enjoying the circus, we head back to Olympiets.

Acer Aspire 4920G-601G25

2008-06-22T18:19:00.003+08:00

After using this notebook for 1 week, I feel that it is one of the best notebook for the price of RM2999. Of course there are other notebooks that are far more stylish. However, for a student like me, I do not expect the notebook to be stylish but it must possess specifications up to my needs. I am still happy with this notebook of mine. Below are some of the photos of the notebook. If anyone have the same notebook as me or want some feedback on the notebook, please leave a comment. I'll reply you as soon as I see it.

University Application Outcome

2008-06-18T13:25:00.004+08:00

Semakan Keputusan Permohonan Kemasukan ke IPTA


NO. KAD PENGENALAN / MYKAD	:	************
NAMA	:	* * ***
KATEGORI	:	S - Kategori STPM 2007 Aliran Sains
ANGKA GILIRAN	:	SN101****

TAHNIAH ! Anda telah berjaya ditawarkan program seperti di bawah :

KOD PROGRAM : MM00

NAMA PROGRAM : PERUBATAN DAN PEMBEDAHAN

IPTA : UNIVERSITI MALAYA (UM)

URL SURAT TAWARAN : http://www.um.edu.my/kemasukan

CATATAN :

Pihak IPTA akan mengeluarkan surat tawaran rasmi kepada calon yang berjaya mulai 19 Jun 2008 (Khamis)

Pastikan anda mengesahkan SETUJU TERIMA TAWARAN di laman web IPTA berkaitan mulai 18 Jun 2008 hingga 25 Jun 2008.

39th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) Part 3

2008-06-16T12:50:00.003+08:00

17 July 2007
A boat trip along the Moscow river and having fun in a recreational park is most entertaining for students before the olympiad. We were entertained by the group mentioned before in the previous blog. For the whole day, we had fun in the Russian forest playing games, sports and others. After dinner, we had our lab safety instructions where we were told the dos and don'ts in the lab. They actually stressed that we mustn't suck a pipette with our mouth. Haha. After that, we went to bed early as tomorrow is our practical exam.

My New Notebook

2008-06-15T09:20:00.003+08:00

I bought a new Acer Aspire 4920G-601G25 notebook at around 1700 yesterday. I feel that this model is value for the RM 2999 I paid for as I got some freebies too. I was given an optical mouse, a notebook lock, a cooler, and a 2Gb USB Flash Drive. I don't know what others think about this but I feel that RM 2999 is worth for what I get.

39th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) Part 2

2008-06-13T23:00:00.003+08:00

16 July 2007
Can you imagine sleeping very late and waking up extreme early? Why? Because the sun sets at around 12 am and rise soon before you could even have enough sleep. Anyway, today is our first day in IChO and we are doing what people always do on the first day, the opening ceremony. Before departing to MSU, we had our breakfast. Western breakfast which includes bread, jam, cheese and sausages. We travelled on escorted bus to the MSU. Yup, we were escorted by a police car and the bus travel in a straight line, literally. Well, we will get this VIP treatment until the end of our 10 days stay here. At the opening ceremony, each contingent have to march in with their flag. Then, we were entertained by a group of traditional dancers which will continue following us wherever we need entertainment. Well, we passed breads around to be eaten after dipping into salt. According to the Russian, salt means sky and bread means earth. The combinations symbolise that Russia welcomes all of us. The official 39th IChO flag was hoisted by the 4 participants from Russia and 4 others from Korea, last year's host country of IChO. We took oath promising that upon joining the Chemistry Brotherhood, we have to use Chemistry for and only for mankind. As usual, we have to endure long speeches. Later after that, we had our welcome reception. First time ever, I had full western lunch. It was quite delicious despite being completely different from any lunch in Malaysia. We then bid farewell to our mentors as we will not meet them for the next few days. The activity next is bus tour around Moscow. I can conclude that Moscow is a city full of monuments from the bus tour as there are a lot of parks in Moscow and each park has at least one monument. After a whole afternoon of bus tour, we went back to Olimpiets to have dinner and then disco. Dinner was a surprise. We have this food called Russian grain. It is the Russians' form of rice. To me, it is not really nice as it is quite harsh and tasteless. Soon, when night falls, it is disco time. However, it has no disco effect i.e. very bright until 11 pm. I only join them for disco when it gets dark as that is when it feels like a disco. After that, it was bedtime.

39th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) Part 1

2008-06-07T09:24:00.008+08:00

I always wanted to blog about this event but have no time... Today, I decided to spend some of my time to put in as much information as I can to let everybody especially Malaysians know about this event... Why tell everybody? Because it is really an unique experience to be shared... Visitors can also visit this website to learn more about this event. Will continue posting soon because my post was wiped off due to a blackout just now...

Pre-IChO
What else? Training from 9am to 4pm of course. How did I get selected? That is another long story. Maybe I'll talk about that the next time.

During IChO
14 July 2007
We were scheduled to leave to Moscow, Russia at 2359 on board Malaysian Airlines to Dubai and subsequently Emirates to Domodedovo (DME), Moscow. We met each other in KLIA at around 2100. Our family members accompanied us. We got to know that together with us, we have Dato' Jamil, Head Mentor, Puan Noriah, guest representing Ministry of Education and Puan Punia, guest representing MARA College. Also, Prof Noorsaadah, Mentor and Mdm Lee, Scientific Observer will be joining us at Dubai a bit late because they are flying Emirates at 0159. We got our passports and air tickets from Dato' Jamil and quickly checked in. After bidding farewell with our family members, we entered the departure halls hoping that the trip to Moscow will be a memorable one.

15 July 2007
We reached Dubai at 0330 local time. However, our flight to DME is at 0930 which leaves us about 6 hours to loiter around the duty free shops. We spent most of our time in McDonalds chatting as that is the least tiring activity available. As soon as the gate is open, we quickly rush to the gate as we do not want to miss the flight. Walking under the sun in Dubai lets me think that whenever we complain that the weather is hot in Malaysia, people in Dubai feels even hotter. Finally, we are heading to DME. Reaching DME at 1430 makes us feel relieved as we finally reach Moscow after 18 hours since we leave our home country. When we step out the DME airport, I feel the temperature of Cameron Highlands less the moisture of the air. If is simply cool and dry. We were ferried to the Chemistry Department of the Moscow State University (MSU). We registered ourselves in MSU and had our mobile phones confiscated. We were also given some door gifts like stationeries and souvenirs. Here is the list of them: a few pens, a ruler, a calculator, a fridge magnet, two t-shirts, a fancy periodic table featuring Mandeleev, a cap and a small bag. Later, we were introduced to our guide, Sasha who is a first year student learning Malay Language. We were brought to the Olympiets, our accomodation throughout our stay here in Moscow.

16 July 2007
Will continue another time... Stay tuned...

New Home

2008-06-06T00:01:00.000+08:00

Whoa... Just shifted from Windows Live Spaces to Blogger... Why shift? Because I would like to have a better blog and the one in Windows Live Spaces does not suit my needs... Well, first of all, I would like to welcome all visitors to my blog... Since today is my first day here, I don't want to post any thoughts... Anyway, I will start soon...