Lost MSN password

May I request that those who had bothered to read this blog at all to add me on MSN via ykchan83@live.com because I have yet to recover my old password and am now stuck with this new address. It may eventually become my permanent one if my brain cells really fail to recollect that silly set of alphabets and numbers. It is more economical to broadcast my folly here than to SMS or call everyone regarding the loss. Thank You very much!

I wonder if raking in big bucks is really that important. Are graduate students unproductive units that leech onto the resource base of society? In any case, I will never give up my plans for further studies in favour of fatter paychecks and prospective promotions, if any. A higher degree may seem useless in the eyes of many, especially when it yields little utility in monetary terms. I know that I will remain poor for many years to come, but I simply don't care, so long as I don't become a burden to anyone. I have my own principles when it comes to the academia: I will only study on scholarships and nothing else. If I receive no sponsorship whatsoever, I will work till I have the means to provide for myself, period.

It is only in my last year at NUS that I realize that studying is indeed better than working. At least in my opinion, this is so. This is my plan for the future, if I am doing any planning at all.

Academics are useless on their own. However, they wield great influence on the lives of others and the world per se if their papers are substantial enough to break stereotypes and change mentalities. Intellectuals can muster the strength and resilience of civil societies and effect phenomenal, sweeping transformations for the better. Newton, Einstein, Al Gore etc. offer good examples in this context. For them to have an impact requires an audience to listen to their appeals. This depends on their ability to write and to convince.

I am still in the learning process. I shall strive on.