***
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
***
Genesis 32:24-30

ok so today has been a good day because I've been accepted into the University of Michigan Mortar Board Honor Society! whoopee the past few weeks have panned out very nicely for me. Finally getting my training back on track with a new Kurt Kinetic Road Machine bike trainer, just as the weather's becoming nicer and closer to something resembling moderately decent springtime temperatures. Must start running and lifting again. Haven't lifted in about 2 weeks, not good.

But next week will be a killer week because my assignment schedule looks like this:
Monday: POLSCI 389 6-page paper on peasantry, Mao, and development in China due
Wednesday: POLSCI 389 20-page first draft on political participation and the potential for liberal democracy in Singapore due
Thursday: BIOLOGY 118 3rd exam
Friday: POLSCI 481 10-12 page literature review for Honors thesis prospectus due

So basically I think I won't need to sleep at all next week. And of course there's still Phi Sigma Pi things to be done and events to attend as well as Mortar Board meetings... and classes, as usual. Sheesh I think I had better get started tomorrow if I intend to prevent myself from lapsing into insanity.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
- James 1:17 (KJV)

I was delighted to learn yesterday that I'd been accepted into the Accelerated Masters Level Program which will allow me to start on my first year of graduate-level study in Public Policy while concurrently completing my final year of undergraduate work. The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is ranked 3rd in the nation for Public Policy Analysis (after UC Berkeley and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government), and 8th overall in the USA for Public Policy Studies- and so it will be an excellent place for me to continue my education in public affairs. I really thank God for this wonderful opportunity since Masters' degree options are quite limited (in US schools, most social science graduate degrees require 2 or more years of study after graduating with a Bachelor's degree- my next options were to apply to Columbia or Northwestern's Medill for a one-year degree in political journalism, had I not been accepted to the Ford School). So the Accelerated track will allow me to finish both degrees in 4 years which is perfect. I hope to get an opportunity someday to do a doctorate in Political Science, but that will probably be quite a long way from now since Polsci graduate degrees take anywhere between 4-6 years to complete.

Yesterday was full of pleasant surprises- I received an invitation to the Honors Convocation and was also notified that I had been recognized as a James B. Angell Scholar for three consecutive terms and had also received University Honors. I entirely appreciate any accolade which can be added to my resume, ha ha.

And I also managed to register my car today (a 2002 black Ford Escape XLT SUV, shared with Wilson Liu) at the Secretary of State. And I just couldn't resist- I had to get a personalized license plate, since you can't get one of those in SG, and here it is!


Yeah I know, it's very nice. Ha ha.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
- Ether 12:27 (BOM)