UCLA Registration updated

And so we registered at our own time at home.

Did it on Thursday night and sent the confirmation page to the Dean's Office.

And then on Friday we had to submit five sets of documents, and there was some confusion etc. and in the end I only needed to submit three - copy of passport, financial statement and a visa form.

Done! Deadlines are cleared. And I don't know what will be coming up next.

UCLA Registration

It didn't go through!

*gasp*

This is because the website for registering was facing some technical problems. So we happily filled in and there wasn't anywhere that we could click 'submit'. -_-

Thus we were left hanging there and finally we were instructed to do the registration at home. The site's still not working yet.

And Ivan and a new friend named John came to school purposely for this registration. Oh dear.

Nothing was completed today.

More updates

Haven't updated for some time.

UCLA Registration, 26 March
And so I have to go to a computer lab in school on the coming Wednesday to register for UCLA. I'm gonna be nearer and nearer to June. This is so exciting.

Submission of supporting documents to Dean's Office, 19 March
I took a passport-size photo last Tuesday and I must say I look(ed) horrible. Simply because my face is rounder! T_T So last Wednesday I submitted the soft copies of (i.e., scan) my passport photo, first page of passport, financial statement, and some visa form. To the Dean's Office which will then help us submit to UCLA.

Confirmed modules
Some time ago in the past few weeks I've submitted the module forms for four modules:

• Music - MUSIC 80F - Beginning Guitar Class
• Ethnomusicology - ETHNOMU 120A - Development of Jazz
• Physiological Sciences - PHY SCI 5 - Issues in Human Physiology: Diet & Exercise
  
• Communication Studies - COMM ST 114 - Understanding Relationship

Guitar and Jazz will be my first choices (I'll be taking two modules at UCLA), whereas the last two will be the backup modules. I was surfing around the UCLA schedule of classes webpage when I realised that the lecturer for Development of Jazz is actually a musician himself, who composes and writes songs, and records his own albums and produces albums. He is Charley Harrison. Though I haven't heard of him. However, I think it'll be quite enriching to study under someone who is in the jazz scene himself.

Briefing last Monday, 17 March
We had a briefing last Monday where the return students talked to us about their experience there and we get to ask questions. One of them who took the guitar module said that the lecturer got a band to come down and perform for them in class. That's interesting! I am looking forward to studying there.

I forgot to ask him how he knew what kind of guitar to get. Never mind, I suppose I will get to know soon.

And during the briefing we were told that NTU people will be there too. Quite cool!

The return students told us that the factory outlets are out of place, i.e., no public transportation goes there except for the cabs. Which will then cost us a lot. They suggested for you to rent a car and drive there. I'm rather afraid of whoever's gonna drive us haha. A new friend, Amylia, asked DJ and CY and I if we're interested in shopping and she can drive and she checked out the rates and they're quite good. So we're most probably going to join her to the factory outlets!

I'm thinking of going to those factory outlets probably once in my first few days there and once more when I'm gonna leave.

I'm actually rather excited about the shopping part. Because there are factory outlets! Though we can't go there whenever we like. But there are so many things that I can buy at cheaper prices! I think I'm gonna spend a lot there. Sigh. Though I actually checked out an outlet mall in LA - Citadel Outlets that houses some of the brands I'm interested in! I have yet to find out if it is easy to get there.

Accommodation
Next up, accommodation. Chui Ying, Dai Jing and I have decided to bunk together at a 3-persons 1-room apartment, with a kitchen and living room and bathroom. I hope our windows will have a good view. *crosses fingers*

I'm hoping that Ivan will stay somewhere near us, so it'll be easy for us to meet-up. I think he's considering hall as well though, I don't know. If he stays in hall he'll be up north, whereas the cluster of apartments are at the southwest of UCLA.

Passport
DJ called the US embassy of Singapore and she was told that we don't have to go to LA with a biometric passport.

Quick update

This is a quick post regarding my mapping of modules in UCLA.

I initially wanted to take Beginner Guitar Class and Elementary Italian, since I so wanna pick up the language, but then both most probably are level 1 modules in NUS and it doesn't make sense for me to take level 1 modules and have them S/U-ed, it'd be such a waste.

Moreover, I emailed the Italian lecturer at UCLA for some course details that I need to submit to FASS, and I realised the textbook, Oggi in Italia (Today in Italy) is selling for about USD120 on amazon.com. I almost fainted.

So I hunted for an upper division module.

UCLA groups their modules in undergraduate lower division, undergraduate upper division, graduate etc. I suppose the lower division ones are level 1 or 1 1/2 modules, so it's safer to get the upper division modules.

I saw Development of Jazz, under Ethnomusicology.

Most probably I'll want to take that. Yea. At the same time I hope for no pricey textbooks.

But jazz should be interesting isn't it. It's gonna be a musical summer for me.

Just a bit sad that I can't take Italian. And sian-ed that I took quite a lot of effort to fill in the bloody mapping form to the Dean's Office. -_- So now I have to mail the office to tell them that I don't wanna take the module no more.

SOB. By the way, I saw a simple quiz on Italian and I did it and guess what. I scored 100%! Though I don't know how.

Updates

Firstly, ICA hasn't replied. What lousy service.

Collected my selection letter from the office. It's confirmed!


DJ and CY collected our air tickets already, I got mine from DJ on Wednesday. Yeay.


So here are the details.

Times and dates are according to the countries' time.

18 June 2008: Depart SIN at 1545hrs, arrive at BKK at 1705hrs. Then depart BKK at 1920hrs, arrive at LAX at 2125hrs.

5 August 2008: Depart LAX at 2310hrs, arrive at BKK on 7 August at 0640hrs. Then depart BKK at 0800hrs, arrive at SIN on 7 August at 1115hrs.

And the ticket is SGD1586, not SGD1590, cos of falling exchanging rates. Yeay. $4 saved.

Yeay.

I doubt I'll be going to east America/Toronto already, it's too pricey to fly over. So I'll probably tour around California (San Diego Zoo, San Francisco etc.), Arizona (Grand Canyon) and Nevada (Las Vegas) since the last two are adjacent states.

All of a sudden the office had a lot of things for us to do. Registration, modules, etc...So busy! -_-

Passport worries 2

DJ went to ICA today and the person at the information counter told her that she needn't change her passport, we're still able to go to US with the non-biometric one.

Then how?

So I sent an email to ICA just now and will just wait for their reply.

Erm. And I made a mistake, my passport won't expire on 2015, it'll expire on 2010!!! Hahahaa oh dear oh dear. Since there're less than two years left, I won't really mind changing to the biometric one.

Plus if I renew now, I'll have 9 months added to the expiry of the new passport. Hmmm.

Passport worries

Oh I'm no longer worried about my passport for now, I have till before I depart to submit my passport. Yeaaaah. I haven't been looking nice recently, I don't know if I'll still want to do it tomorrow.

OK la, I will. Provided I wake up early. I don't really want to procrastinate it.

I went to inquire at the Dean's Office this afternoon whether we'll have accommodation since we'll be reaching Los Angeles early. The lady said that usually we'll move in a day before school starts, i.e. on June 22. School starts on June 23 meaning we'll be five days earlier. She said it can be arranged, so I hope we'll still be able to do it.

And I want to stay in the university apartments, I wonder what she's gonna do 'cos we haven't applied for anything yet. Please don't put me in the halls! We still have no idea when we have to tell the office where we want to stay, in the halls or apartments.

I don't want to stay in hall because food is provided (and we pay extra for that) and I think that really limits what we plan to do. Plus staying in hall means you got one room. Staying in apartment means you'll have a kitchen and some sort of living room other than bedrooms.

We'll see.

Alrights. That's it for today.

$$$ transferred

Because Ivan and I won't be able to go down to CTC tomorrow, we transferred the cost of the ticket to DJ/CY already. Thanks girls.

Oh the reason why we couldn't do it this weekend because our agent was at the travel fair.