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Wednesday, June 30, 2010 @ 12:30 AM
Bits and Pieces of My Thoughts 闭上眼睛忍住呼吸 暂时要和世界脱离 I think life's about accepting whatever scenarios you might be in. If it's out to haunt you, don't try to force it out of your mind. If it's meant to be forgotten, don't hang onto it aimlessly. I remember as scene in Matrix whereby a little girl is at ease with being in the Matrix or the Real World. Regardless of what things might actually be, the two different versions of reality might mean the same thing to different people; just like how important Zion might be to Morpheus, the Matrix could mean the same thing to those who choose to be in it. It's all about perception and there's no answer. To seek a definite answer only leads to an endless cycle of misery. Just learn to live with whatever there might be - real or not; what matters most to one is how one perceives one's experience. Many things seems so ironical. 就像命运的嘲笑声，或是人生的一种讽刺。 Many people have asked me why do I wish to keep myself so busy this holiday, without any real breaks to speak of to rest. I've always been equally puzzled myself all these while. Usually I will answer, I'm scared of the feeling of having nothing to do, which I experienced for three months last year. This answer is valid and still holds. But two days back, I kind of sorted things out and realised why. Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 3:55 PM
A week in Review Last week was a rather eventful one! Attended Mei Yin's 21st Pink Birthday on Saturday! :) It was at Changi Chalet, opposite Changi Hospital. lol! Anw, it was a nice cosy party and a few of us just sat together to enjoy the BBQ food, talking nonsense and taking photos.   Next day went to sign up for The NewPaper Big Walk! It's finally back - this year @ Marina Bay. The goodie bag comes with free tickets to the Sg Flyers. It's gonna be my first time up there. Only 1 tix though; am I suppose to go up there by myself? :S Anyway, tried Ice Cream Milk Tea - rather disappointing, so my verdict after 2nd try is that Koi is indeed over-rated in my opinion.   Monday was a reasonably normal day, which ended off with a crazy gathering. lol. 4 of us met up at Orchard and had Waraku's 1-for-1. Rather cheap - 8.90 each, which is about the same price we'd be paying if we had opted for Food Republic. And there were goodies from Taiwan - Thanks! :) Red wine mask, test-tube message ^^, Sun biscuit and Jelly.    Tuesday went for IBN final interview. Hmm I was quite taken aback by certain things, but on looking back, I think it all made sense. It's about time I reviewed my life proper and plan ahead to see what is it that I really want. Anyhows, my one-month long attachment is confirmed! :) Had a dinner gathering with my sec sch friends! Ate @ a ramen place, which is my nemesis since it's all pork! haha but anyhow got myself a saba rice set. Just alright.. Chatted a bit and I think we should meet up soon! :)  Wednesday had a dialogue session with HR @ Sci Park. It's quite weird how ppl find me familiar; but anyhow, the dialogue session was an interesting one! Learnt a bit more about how chem engineers might be able to find a job in the org. Not to mention the advises she provided, which made alot of sense. I've always wanted to have a chat with whoever-there-might-be for the valuable insights that they might be able to give. It's a pity that I can't just suddenly plunge into having a casual conversation, knowing that it's a properly-ararnged dialogue session. Thurs was the most normal day of all. Hmm, the only thing special was that I was working OT. Not that it was really necessary, but I really hated to leave my report hanging there when I know that it's just missing a silght bit more. Just need to get it done and over with. Anyway, I like the office when it's all quiet. It's interesting to listen to gossips and jokes on normal days; but the silence brings about another type of enjoyment. I was quite lucky to have a few colleagues left; cos I really didn't know about the lights out thing, nor the auto door lock issue. Imagine myself being locked out :O Fri was cool. Had a discussion about the report and we ended up chatting about certain stuff that's not exactly what we ought to be talking about but nonetheless still relevant. I was asked about how I felt towards this project and somehow I didn't know what to say. There were actually many things that I felt grateful about, especially the guidance my mentor has given me. But whenever such open-ended question gets thrown at me, I either blank out or end up giving a generic answer. It's interesting to find out how I landed myself in this project, in spite of what we really felt. haha. I think I should have a proper chat one day, before I leave. Fri night was our clique's birthday celebration of the month! Went to Kichi Kichi @ City Square Mall. My first time to the mall. It's a quiet place and I like that feeling, away from all the crowd everywhere else. Food was alright - there were sea cucumber and flower crab! Helped myself to lots of mushroom and seafood! Signature mushroom soup base was okay but the sesame sauce was rather disappointing. Somehow I became the exhibit of the day since I was the last one to be K.O.-ed in the buffet. Went to Swensens for cake-cutting after that, and we ended up eating ice-cream for dessert - after a buffet. It was quite an experience, and I'm glad that I'm given the opportunity to be part of the celebration. :) Saturday went back to NUS!! @ Engin Fac!! @ E2 air-conned corridor!! It's quite interesting what you get to see on a Saturday morning/afternoon during summer break. :P We took longer than what we though we will to compile our presentation slides. And it wasn't exactly completed :S Had to tie up the loose ends at home. Anyway, after the session, I went to vivo in an attempt to find something to give to my colleagues on the last day of my work. I ended up lost. -.- For a good 20-30min.. Trying to find the bridge that will bring me to the opposite side of vivo; only to end up in harbourfront, and literally the departure point for the sea or something. :S In the end had to navigate back to the MRT so that I can use the underground route to reach the bus stop. Well done! Sunday = stay-at-home day. I need to recharge myself. Haven't really rested ever since recess week actually. Ran in the morning, only to be greeted by the rain. Fortunately, I was just doing some cooling-down walks. It's quite ironical that I'm hearing 别在下雨天偷偷哭泣 on my walk back under the rain; and on reaching home, 窗外的天气 was played. Anyhows, many things just require us to be 习惯就好. Blasted some music in my com room, with effects from the rain on the outside. Had a good 2 hour nap to recharge! :) And now I'll just do some brainless stuff, watch some shows, tidy up my table and closet, and to organise things a bit. Just some time for myself. :)  Saturday, June 26, 2010 @ 1:12 AM
Introspection Hmm a point of reflection. Not that anything terrible happened though.. I'm not someone who's acceptive of criticism; often I find myself trying to attribute excuses to why such criticisms exist, otherwise I'll just convince myself that they ain't real. Not that I'll get offended, but I guess it reveals a bigger weakness in me, that is, my inability to face my own weaknesses. It takes alot to stand by what you believe in when everyone else says otherwise. Against all odds, you might be the one with the correct viewpoint or thoughts, no matter how others might play them down. Yet there has to be a point between standing for what you believe is right, and stubbornly refusing to accept others' words. Many attacks ain't on a personal level; if it is, all the more there isn't a need to feel bothered. Looking at things objectively, many points are valid and it's time for introspection, that is, if there is time in the first place. I'm generally a defensive person on any other random days. Yet when the time really comes for me to defend what I stand for, I tend to just stand there in the open waiting for waves of attacks to be launched. The funny thing is, I tend to actively guide the attack to where my vital points are. Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 10:12 PM
Positivity vs Negativity Hmm I've gotten through what I've set out to do this summer break, yet there's something unknown bothering me. Having second thoughts? Not really as I'm really looking forward to the second internship since I'll be coming close to nanotech! Somewhat like a buried dream of the past that's rekindled recently. Maybe the problem lies with me. I realise I have this weird habit of trying to get something that seems far away, only to harbour thoughts of running away once I've come close to it. Often I'll think that I don't want to trouble others too much and bother them with my issues; but at the back of my mind, I do suspect that this wishy-washy attitude is the real source of irritant to others. Borrowing a line that was exchanged during a dialogue sesssion today, maybe it's just an excuse at best with doesn't justify anything at all. Point being, I should reinstill the sense of positivity I enjoyed last sem. haha. I can feel more and more negative energy filling me since I tend to find fault with almost everything now. If I get something now, I'll complain within myself that maybe that's not what I want. If I don't get it, I'll start thinking what's wrong and why did it slip past? The situation is somewhat like, no matter what happens, there's always this sense of dissatisfaction. And I don't like this feeling and the me harbouring so much grudges. haha. Positivity!! Think positive! :) Now that I'm in it, be grateful for the chance and move on! :D Saturday, June 19, 2010 @ 12:43 AM
Family Day @ Universal Studios Back from Family Day @ Universal Studios! :D Highlight of my eventful week. Quite a new experience for me, though actually frankly speaking, I think Universal Studios is just a hype.  The highlight had to be Egypt! It's got the best ride (though I didn't manage to try many rides after all..) and I have this inclination for ancient Egypt culture (so it's a biased preference lol). It wasn't that scary as I expected (after hearing a 'prep talk' by a colleague) but still, scary! In almost total darkness (except for the special effects), we went through an unseen roller coaster ride. The first item was shocking enough - we were dropping downwards on our back! :O But the scariest had to be the experience whereby we were literally swallowed down a mouth - going upwards building up the momentum and going DOWN. I thought it was going to last for quite some time, fortunately it ended soon. Looking back, how I wished it could last longer! :D  The second and last ride I had was at The Lost World. It's the wet ride and the introduction went - You have to wait for 1hr15min and you will get wet. lol. While waiting, we spent some time chatting so it didn't feel that long. But honestly, the ride wasn't really worth the waiting time. It's quite fortunate that two of us (without ponchos) decided to get it after all - it's almost a necessity, unless you are lucky enough to dodge the wave as it approaches you (as one of my colleague who did manage to achieve such a feat recounts). The sudden changes in direction of the float took me by surprise and I have a bruise on my back because of that! haha. Nonetheless, it reminds me of fluid mech and I'm quite curious about how exactly did they manage to create such a sharp change in rotation - okies I'm supposed to be having fun, but it bugs me not to know the answer to a question that I have. The final fall was acceptable, not terribly scary after the experience @ Egypt. And my shoe got wet! Should have worn slippers! =X  Missed 2 other rides - one roller coaster, the other canopy ride. Quite unfortunate, but the waiting time is horrible. At least 1.5hr judging from the crowd. One thing that bugs me is the horrible waiting time. I guess it can't be helped though, looking at the number of ppl present. Do allow me to fantasize about being able to take any rides as and when I wish though.  Watched some shows too. First was the Hollywood Special Effect, with a virtual Steven Spielberg being our tour guide. Got to experience a 5th scale hurricane. Overall it was so-so. Another show we caught was the Waterworld. Another so-so show. Actually i kinda switched off and didn't really bother much with the plot. I think the cast were good though. The best part had to be the explosive effects! Oh yes, we caught Shrek 4D and it was quite an irritatingly funny experience. Somehow the person in front blocked a small bit of my view, and often whenever there were 3D things that were supposed to be in front of me, they ended up on the person's head! Eg. spider(s) dropping on her head! lol. Irritating cos of the electric-feeling I get under my leg, wind blowing from the chair and the occasion sneeze of the donkey. Haha but irritating in a positive manner of cos.  Last show we caught was the Monster Rock. Nice one!! :D It's a musical featuring monsters such as Dracula, mummy, Frankinstein, (and the char standing right in the middle whom I though his image was well crafted but nonetheless I can't rmb what it's supp to be called O.o) Nice Nice! Best of all the shows I watched! :D Can you imagine Dracula singing 月亮代表我的心? Or hearing that "Nobody nobody but you" song?     Got some souvenirs too. One being a Universal Studios keychain; the other a pin of mummy. Hmm there was an awesome oracle I saw with lots of symbols on it! Very tempted to buy but held back cos of the price. The Eygpt coffin was nice too! Haix, oh wells. At least I did get something. haha. Thursday, June 17, 2010 @ 10:48 PM
Remembering. Thinking. Forgetting. Been a great day today! LJ was as good as i thought it'd be. Maybe it's really the attitude that I bring with me that matters. Had a "listen to music" session for the past few hours. It has become sort of a necessity for me, especially since I don't get to listen to my hp's song on working days. I dunno if I shld call it a rest for the mind or a quick escape from reality. I don't think anyone noticed this, but I'm no longer having the 7-11 TV addiction. Perhaps it started towards the end of the term, when I started staying late in school, or even overnight, for projects. I started out missing certain episodes, and then the entire show as a whole; till my current situation whereby I don't really feel the need to watch tv. Things are always changing. What I was once crazy over decays over time and I might just be reminded about it once in a while. Not that I completely forget, just that it stays out of mind until I next think about it. Had a look at my favourite folder moments ago. Clicked on MDWAV links with fears. Indeed many of them have become broken links; others haven't been updated since 07. Went to the SG fan forum and I notice ppl asking about Joey Meng's website. A reply sums this up nicely - she once had truckloads of link, but now she has lost them or forgotten how exactly she googled/yahoo-ed them back then. Indeed, 疯到最高点会做出令人不可思议的举动，但所有的热情始终会渐渐熄灭掉；除非你刻意地保存，但这又太累人与勉强。And there are many things in life that we can be aware of its existence; ignoring consciously does no good, resisting head-on only results in casualities. The option left would be to live with it, to co-exist with whatever it is. Knowing it is there, but just letting it be. Naturally, I just thought I shld look back at some of my older posts. Reviews of the past always make me realise something about myself that I never knew. It always feel like a journey of self-discovery; I might think that I have lived my life in a particular manner at this point of time, but on looking back at my "documented" experience, it's actually quite different from the picture I have in my mind. Perhaps I do selectively choose to see and interpret what I perceive and want things to be. Maybe that's why journals are important; it jots down your thinking at that moment, rather than a mere factual recollection resulting from a post mortem evaluation kinda thing. Wednesday, June 16, 2010 @ 10:09 PM
Halfway mark of happening week The start of my 'happening' week! Monday met up with uni frens for dinner @ Wendy's newly opened branch @ Wheelock. Actually it's just so-so. Quite a typical kind of fast food. As usual, we were crazy! And we sent off another of our fren for her family holiday. haha. Tuesday's my cousin's wedding. What a rush from work to home; then from home to Orchard Hotel. Good thing that I planned my route in advance the previous day by testing out a possible path. Rather fortunate that I was in the right direction first time round. Maybe this proves that my sense of direction works best at night! lol. Anyway, I think the best part of a wedding is the first march in of the newly weds. :) Wednesday's farewell lunch for our 'boss'. Had lunch buffet at Ellenborough Market Cafe @ Merchant Court Hotel. I had so much sashimi that I'm not gonna have it for at least a month. Quite a variety, especially for dessert. The saddest part is, I didn't have my camera phone to capture all the food. Grr! I think I'm having my internship at the 'right' time since many things are happening within these 2 months, and I happen to be here to experience all the transitions and events. Though I've only come into contact with the 'boss' a couple of times (the last time being this morning in the lift), I think he's really a nice person. Judging from how relunctant the department is to see him go, it's evident that he was a good leader. I'm always amazed by how people can be nice yet effective at managing a team. Next up would be learning journey and Friday!! :) I'm actually looking forward to LJ! In fact, I'm enjoying this internship as a whole, not just my time at my organisation! No camera phone... :( Saturday, June 12, 2010 @ 3:18 PM
Kaiji 'Kaiji' is really good! Might not be the most coherent show around, neither did it really make sense at times; yet it kept me engaged throughout the entire show! I especially liked to see how game theory can be applied in several of the situations. To cooperate? To defer? How do you try to increase your payoff? It was totally not something that I expected actually. I thought it will be more of continuous play of some intellectual game. Who knows it's a plot that took us to a parallel universe found in an underground empire. It's quite scary to know that you will be sent down as a slave the moment you lose the scissors, paper, stone game. And once again, game theory is applied! Actually SPS is a non-nash equilibrium game, but this game has cleverly altered the rules slightly. I thought cooperation resulting in draw would be the best outcome. Indeed it was suggested! Yet it's suspected that one of the party will deviate from the cooperation sooner or later for obvious reasons. Indeed this occurred! Game theory! :D The underground empire plot did put me off guard, but nonetheless it was quite a creepily interesting story. The chairman's so quirky! Some aspects of behavioural economics can be applied too! :D The second game played was quite sick actually. "Brave Men Path" - Try to make it across to the other side via a balance beam charged with electricity. You are standing at an altitude so high up that you can barely see the ground. And yes, this entire process is screened at some restaurant where the privileged members of the empire sips some wine and claps enthusiastically as contestants fall to their death. Totally crazy! haha. Last game was rather cool - "E-card" where Emperor pits against Slave. Emperor wins citizen, citizen wins emperor and slaves win emperor. Really a battle of wits and how the players are able to read each others' mind. Game theory again! Suddenly I just have a thought, what if Kaiji chose to play Emperor instead, wouldn't the guy fail to cheat since Kaiji moves second? And yes, I can see the idea that "anyone acting on intelligence can always be outsmarted by virtue of his/her smartness." All the schemes and tricks and twists weren't particularly unexpected and can be reasoned out, even the final twist. But it was a rather enjoyable deduction game! And i liked the ending! Initially I thought it's just some lame twist, but it turned out good and meaningful in its own quirky way! The lady who decided to loan Kaiji 50mil ended up drugging Kaiji and leaving with almost all the 500mil won. I thought it's supposed to send a message like, "I've never said I was a nice person", or "You haven't learnt your lesson? Don't trust anyone." But it was a funny ending (quite)! Turned out the lady was collecting a 30% interest per minute, so Kaiji effectively owed her aaallloooottt of interest. Hence it was only right that she shld collect almost all his winnings. There were some touching scenes in the show though. Of how Kaiji refused to give up on the old guy and decided to take the path of a slave despite winning - and actually it does seem quite stupid actually. Of how the lady gave in at the thought of Kaiji volunteering to buy a beer for her every month till she died if they somehow ended up going back to the underground - probably showed how lonely and emotionless her life is, such that a tiny act of giving beer was enough for her to commit herself to an act that probably was suicidal. Of how the old timid man didn't make a single noise when he fell down that balance beam, just so that Kaiji wouldn't panic. All in all, quite a nice watch! :D Friday, June 11, 2010 @ 9:59 PM
Coming to a decision and looking back. Another week at work! Hmm and my internship is gonna real soon, especially with all the happening stuffs next week. Sneak preview :)  Which brings me to the next issue - FS minor. Hmm I once thought I could do everything and anything just to fulfil this dream of mine; even if I don't become a forensic scientist, at least I get to have a feel of it during my 4 years in uni. But I didn't act on it. I've sort of forgotten about this already; until recently, a colleague actually mentioned that I can consider a career in Forensic Science. It seems like Chem Eng might be able to meet the pre-requisite. I appeared very excited over this idea, yet there was this residual regrets/disappointment of the lost opportunity together with some element of doubts as to whether this is really the case. I guess what's gone is already over; I've kind of identified what I want for myself as of now, so it's time to fight along this path. Sometimes many right things can happen in your life and you just need to catch a right one at the right time and somehow, it becomes the right one. Just finished reading the book "Blink". Although taken as a whole, I thought it was a rather redundant book since it's like trying to tell you "decisions made at a moment could be most accurate" yet cautioning you that "it could turn out very wrong too" - so at the end of the day, it's as good as saying, it depends on whether you're lucky. But its individual segments were thought-provoking with interesting snippets that engages the mind. I remember one part about how "We all have this gut feeling about what we want. This instinct probably reflects your true preference. The moment we try to logically justify and reason out a choice, we begin to fit our decision to a set of pre-defined criteria. This gives us a sense of security that our decision has been carefully thought out, even though it often leads to a choice that deviates from our heart." (grossly paraphrased version. lol) I guess that's reflective of many situations that I land myself in - I try to reason out a decision and force myself into dilemmas; yet if a decision is indeed made after thinking through for a long time, at some point of time, I'll know that it was a wrong choice. Okays, I guess the "reflection" moments shld stop here. At least I suppose I've cut down on my frequency of over-thinking recently, and actually got down to getting what I think I want to do done. On a random note, on the bus just now, I thought of something that seemed like a dream (note: I wasn't sleeping - yet). Only that it seemed so real. Just that it isn't. I'm going to shop ard aimlessly by myself tomorrow! Going to get some formal clothings, even though I don't exactly need them now. Come to think of it, actually I do. Target: An office pants, a pencil skirt, at least one top. And of cos, I'll keep a lookout for casual wears too. Probably should get a good pair of jeans and some new tops. In short, serious outflow of cash again. lol. Labels: Reflection Wednesday, June 09, 2010 @ 12:08 AM
Happening Days Had two consecutive 'happening' days! :D Met up with my uni frens @ Aston for dinner! We concluded it's one of the more value-for-money western outlet. It was a crazy gathering as usual, especially since we did had a 'crazy' person (labelled by us; and it's not me - surprisingly) in our midst. haha! It's quite interesting how all of us are busy, despite it being the holidays. But it's good to be busy; it beats having the previous summer break where I had nil activities and could only rot at home. Boredom kills. Today was even more eventful. Had my first round of ibn interview and I passed it! Yay! but there's still the second round though before I'm confirmed for the internship! Wee~ Research! Yup, contrary to what I've been telling others previously, my interest in research has escalated recently and so I'm actively trying to grab hold of opportunities to see what's it like. It feels good to have a rough idea of what I might want, and then working actively for it. :) The thing is, I was told by a fellow interviewee that I look old o.o That's something really different from what people usually tell me, even though the truth is that I'm the oldest of the cohort there. Haha maybe I'm too used to being young lol. After being used to being called old, I think the next stage would be when people don't bother commenting that you're old. lol. Interview session went on longer than expected so I returned to office at about 5.30pm. Just in time to see ppl knocking off work at the bus-stop. lol :S Met up with sec sch classmates for dinner. Ate at Ramen Play at 313@Somerset. Not a friendly place to me - so porkish! =X Had to settle for Unagi rice set at a ramen place. haha. Anyway, I think the food wasn't really worth the price. Had jap ice cream later (some long title) and I opted for green tea crepe with red beans. Quite nice, though the red bean was too sweet. Good chiling out time with the girls! Hope to do this more often! And we bumped into joe along the way haha. Such a coincidence! Notice what's missing here? Pictures!! Especially of food! I think the most irritating thing about this internship is the restriction on camera phones. But that's a good thing too - it shows that I'm enjoying myself so much so that such an irrelevant factor can becomes the most irritating factor! :D I'm halfway through already and quite true, it's quite sad that it's ending soon when I'm just starting to bond. People have asked me if I will consider coming back. Despite enjoying my days there, I feel that my answer is more inclined towards a 'no' but I'll never know though. Oh yes, I think my pay as an intern is insufficient to sustain my expenses nowadays. But I sort of thought that I had to pamper myself in the midst of the busy holidays. So I wouldn't hope to achieve any savings from working this summer. I think it's true that the harder things go, the more I pamper myself. Just earn, spend and enjoy because the best thing this holiday is the experience gained from trying lots of things! :D Who knows? Sunday, June 06, 2010 @ 1:04 AM
The Vivaz and X10 (mini...) :O Vivaz Pro and X10 Mini is out in singtel!   So the question is, Vivaz or X10 Mini; or another brand rather than Sony Ericsson altogether?  @ 12:50 AM
Back from Wedding Dinner Back from wedding dinner! It's the first wedding dinner that I'm attending on my own, that is, not with my parents for a relative's wedding. Quite an eye-opening experience, from having to decide on ang bao money and shopping for clothes + accessories, to going down to the event itself and interacting with my colleagues. A thought that I have after the entire event is that whatever I get would be whatever the amount of effort I put in. Not that it's always an equal sign in between the two, but there's always a need to put in the effort. I came with an open mind and chatted quite happily with some of my colleagues. As time passes, somehow I withdrew back into my silent (and I should say, usual and normal) self and I ended up being out just as easily as being in initially. I think I'm someone who's very dependent on others to bring me in, though it is often the case that you will be in if you try to be in. I'm quite fortunate to have ppl who remembers to bring me in most of the time, but maybe it's time for me to be less socially awkward? On a side note, there's a limit to trying; since when I try too hard, it will just backfire, at least in my opinion. Anyway, feeling very happy for the couple! :D Seems that I get to observe lots of transitions during my brief stay! And I get to meet interesting people too with rather unique personality. “偶尔”is on air... Tuesday, June 01, 2010 @ 10:22 PM
Timetable planning?! Was randomly thinking of hundred and one things just now. But one practical realisation struck me. Was looking through the arts mod offered next sem and I realise that if i happen to see the philosophy module that i'm supposed to take, I should grab it immediately! Cos for the past 2 sems and the upcoming sem, both modules ain't gonna be offered. Perhaps at the end of my 4 years, it's never going to be offered? lol! Anw, I think I should totally taken my soci module next sem. Cos there's lecture and tutorials held in engin itself. the best part is that, the tutorials held in engin fac are exclusively for engineering students only :D Maybe they decided that engine students are different from arts students when it comes to class participation. :P I probably should have just overloaded this sem. No point lamenting on this anymore though, the sem's already completely over. What I should consider probably, is to overload this upcoming sem, subject to approval that is. I can forsee a busy sem ahead! Why did this post become one on timetable planning, when i haven't set out to plan anything at all yet? It's just the beginning of the holiday! :O @ 12:38 AM
Sem 4 Module Review Been thinking if I should give a review of the modules I took last sem. It's something that I've always wanted to do every sem, but usually I end up lazy to do so. I guess I'll do it this time round so as to serve as some point of reflection on the academia aspect of my uni life which I can look back upon few years down the road. Maybe it'd come in useful in telling me the kind of attitude I used to possess, because nobody knows what might happen few years down the road. two-one-oh-eight I really enjoyed this module even though it's 100% lab. Used to drag myself to chem labs because it's quite stressful, time-pressing and rather meaningless imo (it seems like we're trying to get a fixed final answer and that keeps me worried throughout the entire lab as I try my very best to be overly-cautious). That's not the case for this lab module and I find myself looking forward to it! I've told a few of my frens that this module is somewhat special to me and I think they thought I'm crazy, but I really meant what I said. What I like most about this module is that there's no fixed end. Collect raw data, analyse, try to make sense of them - all these allows me to apply what I've learnt in theory and to synthesize my own style of interpretation. Viva used to sound horrible to me, but I've gotten used to it and slowly, I think it builds my confidence in presenting to others what I understand. two-one-one-six Okays I think I've said enough about this module when its final exam is over. haha. Did enjoy this module as it really pushes me to my limit. Forces me to challenge assumptions I make, perhaps even think out of the box. Of course it comes with painful experiences of staring at a question for hours, trying to key in some values in excel hoping that somethign meaningful might arise, etc. But once I get the concept, it's really satisfying. :) One concept that I can say confidently I understood would be fluid-solid system. Ask me anything about this aspect of catalysis, and I think I can still remember what I've learnt. Reason being I've heeded the Prof's advise, and derived all the possible systems from scratch. Really painful but really satisfying at the same time. :) It's an unconventional module somehow; even its assessment mode elicits love-hate feelings. Assignments that sends you thinking for hours, yet the markers usually give it ticks or crosses without really looking; MCQ tests that leaves you devastated when u figured the toughest part out yet is defeated by carelessness, or have you cheering by virtue of luck. And of course, two of the most competent Profs, unique in their own ways. two-one-two-five Mixed feeling towards this module. Admittedly, it wasn't something that I thought I'd like. Looking back, it shouldn't have been something that I'd have liked, perhaps only the part on mass transfer (since it's microscopic). I think what made the biggest difference to this module was the two Profs teaching it, giving it a real solid structure. I'm not sure if that will impede true learning, but at least we could categorise the numerous concepts and equations in a well-defined manner. Without them, I can imagine this module to be a torture. Mass transfer was great though! DNA! Nano! :) Well, though with bits and pieces of semiconductors. Really enjoyed the mini project, whereby we tried to model active ingredients delivery using facial mask :) three-one-two-four How should I describe this module? It feels like it's there, but not really exerting its presence till the exams draw near. Rather slack, and I think many of us dunno why we are learning the things we do though I have a gut feeling that all these will somehow come in useful subsequently. Nonetheless at this stage, it feels like an input-output module. The project was memorable, it being the first time I had to stay overnight in school trying to work out the program. The thing is, we put in a disproportionately immense amount of effort for a product that didn't work. All because of a sentence in the program. And true enough, we were caught by the Prof during the presentation. Nonetheless, I didn't think we were penalised much for that final answer since I personally thought that our thought process was rather good and structured. And the prof's really quite professional imo. EC three-one-oh-one <3 microeconomics! I've always like to think of things on the micro-level and how individuals interact. At a certain point in time, I thought I've signed up for the module in the wrong semester, as the syllabus this sem happened to be very slack. I was revising past knowledge for a good 10 weeks I think, until game theory and welfare theory came in. Later, I realise that I rather like the Prof's way of doing things; even though it was slack, whatever he was doing is rather original with the exam questions coming out of his brain. And it's not really the standard textbook question, rather some thoughts have to be put into the question to think out of the box. So all in all, it was a good experience! Motivates me to take on 4101 even though I'm not intending to take on honours. :) EC three-three-one-one It has the word mathematics and you see half of the cohort consisting of maths major. That has been something that bothers me quite a bit throughout the entire sem; but it's useless bothering about this since it's the last sem this module is going to be offered anyway. Everything about this module has been rather biazzare haha. Nonetheless, I did learn some useful things about optimization and game theory! Kuhn-Tucker! Hamilton! Nash equilibrium? Subgame perfect equilibrium! Some things about maths with application in econs are really beautiful and elegant, to be honest. However, it's disturbing to hear from the lecturer that he's preparin us not for honours but for masters. haha! I like the fact that understanding was emphasized and how the lecturer avoids giving us cookbook recipe to solving the questions. Though honestly, it was quite different from what I thought mathematical economics is going to be about. Yups, moving on, I'm starting to think of what modules to take next sem. 5 cores are almost confirmed. +2 econs or +1 technical elective? or +1 econs and +1 TE? or time to take the common modules and be committed to the ddp once and for all? Soci? Philo? |