it's been a long ride, baby.

Welcome back to college, seniors. Revel in your new role, start walking around college with a little more grace and finesse, we're role models now, we set the trends let's make more than just a splash in college history.

Back to college: Scenes of carnage. Of free refreshments for students and parents. This year was a tad more organized, a welcome change when they did a real briefing for everyone before the meaty stuff began. Registration, kids milling around, trying desperately to find their first friend, to get their first smile, to hear their first familiar local patois...suddenly all the memories warm my heart and I let my heart go out to them.

Surprises - There's a nanotech engineer, a couple of biology teachers, but apart from that, no major surprises. Well, we have our first JPA accountants, economists and actuaries in ages - leaving the grand sum of 7 Medics. Calling this batch Medic deprived is an understatement. The 113 biologists have been slashed to roughly 43 at last count.

And still counting. 199 juniors expected, 150 showed up.

And still wondering where have all the girls gone. 110 guys have showed up. Simple maths will tell you we will experience a huge female shortfall if (and we do not encourage it) everyone decides to couple up.

Maybe they should send less engineers and more lawyers to this college.

Maybe I should stop making stereotypical statements.

Maybe I should just go greet some new juniors.

Oh, I forgot, they're being screamed at in the great hall now, for only filling up half the designated number of seats when Puan Rog arrived, clockwork, on time, at 9.15pm. The remaining half never ran so fast before in their lives from their chalets.

Infrastructure updates, seniors and concerned superseniors: The wireless has been totally remodelled during the holidays. Information hot from the Bursars' office indicate they have finalised their stabilising of the network. No downtime is expected in the near future.

TWO issues of Veritas have rolled off the presses in the meagre time span of 3 weeks. One goodbye edition, in chic black, for our seniors as a farewell present, one welcome edition, the Dummies' Guide to KYUEM, in sleek yellow.

The first round of English students will be departing their classes, hopefully never to return again, after the first IELTS exams on 3 August. Three weeks to be exact. More Task Twos, anyone?

Many students, reading the notice board this morning, had the fright of their lives - their MABECS personal statement workshops scheduled for this morning. Commenced by a certain Nicholas Pang, who is still sore about having to churn out a PS in 3 hours at 6am today, 22 seniors, all Oxbridge applicants, were grilled on their hopes dreams and aspirations. Let's hope they're still Oxbridge applicants after that torrential time.

Good luck seniors. May the Interviewer be with you.