DSC00753, originally uploaded by theunofficialngeeannweblog.

I had a chance during the Open House to sneak into one of the campus tours going around the School of Film Media Studies.

I’ve always been cynical about this school considering their reputation of churning out haughty pretentious people who are adept at playing the office politics or in this case, school politics game. They also have been described as being fiercely nonchalant about everyone else, choosing to think they are the elite of the school.

I now fully understand how this mentality comes about. Media is huge, no matter how controlled and limiting it is in our country. To be in a place where mainstream media is produced to disseminate to the general population just makes you feel so special and famous.

Of course, its not that it actually happens here, but the general idea of the magnitude of the things that will be taught and possibly applied to a career in media is enough to make anyone want to come into this course.

Still, be forewarned that there are quirks in this course. I”ve been told on numerous occasions by the students in the course themselves that, “Either you get together with someone, or you turn gay.” or that the course is a perfect simulation of how it is like in the industry, with the numerous limitations on the content you can produce and the things you can actually do on some of their aging hardware.

DSC00732, originally uploaded by theunofficialngeeannweblog.

Behold the shop that does a business that perhaps the “government” of the school will look down upon. This is perhaps Ngee Ann’s best kept secret.

Within you will find great deals on Sony PSPs and other gaming systems. It is rumored that if you purchase a unit there, pay a $5 unlimited memberships, you are untitled to free firmware upgrades and also an initial 5 DVD game set.

All PSPs sold here are software modded to allow for homebrew applications and games. And the 5 DVD game set means that there are 5 DVDs which contain many many games that can be installed on these homebrew capable sets.

Did I mention the contact lenses are pretty cheap too?

Did anyone notice the pool being a certain shade of green today?

If it were a prank, I’d want to shake the perpetrator’s hand.

One of the most depressing thing about NP is that most courses have a hidden grade that is not reflected in your results. This particular grading apparently happens for all your modules that you will take during your 3 miserable years in NP. This portion of your grading is called “Kissing Ass”.

The problem with this is that you don’t really have to have much talent to get to the top of your academic level. You just have to really like the taste of shit. The more shit you have smeared all over your lips, the better your chances of attaining that wonderful AD that its so coveted by most people.

Granted, not all kissing of ass is unpleasant, but majority of Ngee Ann lecturers are old fogeys that have asses that taste as though its back in the 80s. Still this is not saying that this is everyone, its just that majority of the people here like to have their asses cleaned regularly.

So if you want to study here and you don’t think you have much talent, you just need to kiss lots of ass. If you have talent but are unwilling to kiss ass, you might not get fantastic grades but you’ll definitely pass. So its entirely up to you, if you want to be yourself, you better be talented. If you want to kiss ass… well, kiss away.

probably one of the most wanted courses in np.

which is ironic considering how small and government controlled the media is in singapore.

if you have any friends going to that course, expect this, your friends will be more arrogant as time goes by.

i don’t what is it but all the people i know who went there became more arrogant.

they acted as though they were the cream of the crop in np and that everyone was dying to get into mcm.

mass communications course, cream of the crop? nah.

some of the chicks from mcm, cream of the crop? hell yeah.

i probably had sex in np more times than my friends combined.

pissed off all my tutors with my tardiness, laziness and lack of respect.

did a houdini and was at two classes at the same time.

and eh, the wood seats near the bridge for the smokers, i wouldn’t sit on them if i were you, word is someone(me) peed on them.

For the more tech savvy people. The firewalls in Ngee Ann don’t really block port 5190. At least at most places it ain’t blocked.

Figure it out.

To all the clueless idiots who will be coming to Ngee Ann during the open house, kindly note that you will probably be jamming up the bus lanes and competing with existing students who are actually already slogging it out at the school.

If you want to be nice to us, and perhaps ensure not much evil torture during your orientation, you can consider taking the following bus services at the same bus stop where the moronic schol decided to place the shuttle bus service.

154, 52, 184

184 is my favourite. It takes the same shortcut that all cabs take (kindly note when you take a cab least they cheat you of about 60 cents) and usually comes in the bendy bus version that allows more people on board.

On a side note, with no MRT station to call our own, Ngee Ann has no choice but to have shuttle bus services during school term. However, the administration seems to have a huge problem with their brains making it so the buses pick up students at the same bus stop where the junction causes humongous jams because drivers are too stupid to obey the jagged lines that say NO WAITING.

This only applies to Clementi for now, not sure if the other pick up locations are situated equally stupidly.

You should be able to get a cab within 10 minutes or so if you know where to look. Here are a couple of locations to check out, especially during the “festive” seasons like open house, where all you wanna do is get away from the crowd as soon as possible.

Spot 1: Front gate.

No, not the one leading up to canteen 1. I’m talking about the one with the TWO lane entrance and exit, where all the smokers go for their aroma therapy. Wait on the lane where the traffic is heading OUT of the school, because most probably the cab just dropped someone off, plus you can see any cabs that are coming from down the street.

Spot 2: Opposite Ngee Ann.

I’m referring to the bus stop opposite the school. This direction is headed towards Holland, and if you’re heading to town, you can also take a cab here.

Oh, and if someone cab-jacks you(especially pompous lecturers), give them the finger, or any other obscene gestures you can think of as they drive past.

I’m the closet anarchist.

Hell, we’ve been paying(most of us, anyways) school fees, which fund the lecturers fat paychecks. Why should we stand for their insane demands and stupid rules? We’re wearing the daddy pants in this relationship!

Besides stuff on breaking the system, expect things like where the best places to sleep are, smoking corners, hack 2-for-1 drinks from the dispensers; the works.

Viva la revolución!