Thursday, December 29, 2011
Been lazy. Absolutely lazy to do anything at all. All I know is the year is ending, Christmas has come to an end, I'm going back to Singapore in a week and that my interim is due really really soon.
Since I'm lazy to come up with a proper post, here's what is needed for the coming days while I/you/we think of resolutions to make in the coming year.
Plagiarised and copied 100%.
============================
*Who: Who is involved?
*What: What do I want to accomplish?
*Where: Identify a location.
*When: Establish a time frame.
*Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”
Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……
How much? How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.
A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.
When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
Since I'm lazy to come up with a proper post, here's what is needed for the coming days while I/you/we think of resolutions to make in the coming year.
Plagiarised and copied 100%.
============================
Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:*Who: Who is involved?
*What: What do I want to accomplish?
*Where: Identify a location.
*When: Establish a time frame.
*Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”
Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……
How much? How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.
A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.
When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Krysmas to you.
This season of giving, and receiving has left me reflecting on the past year. Of the times I've been good, and the ones that I've been bad. Somehow out of it, there's this particular memory that keeps resurfacing, rearing its ugly head... Not my proudest moment. And I'm sorry.
Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Results originally never really mattered much to me. First class honors was never exactly the goal as it still is today.
In semester 1, it was the first test into uni. I didn't expect to hit first class or anything. Just to do my best and see where it gets me. From there, I'll have a gauge of my performance, and just work towards sth better. My grades that semester were very mediocre. I wasn't very unhappy, I was satisfied with my grades considering the other coursemates I knew.
Actual results: Second class lower
NEW aim: Second class upper
By sem 2, there was an aim. However, I was still pretty jaded with the modules I was taking. Most of the modules have nothing to do with civil engineering. Only statics which is the bread and butter of civil enginneering. Did well for that, but low and behold, I got trumped in maths by the chem engins and in physics by the mech engineers. Wait a minute, I think I actually got an A or A- for maths. Haha. Can't check atm cause I'm on the plane. Oh yes, I was pulled down by a lousy econs module. But in the end, my results surprised me and I was really much closer to my aim.
Actual results: Second class lower
Aim: Second class upper
Semester 3. Hrmm.. not too impressive semester at all. Can hardly recall what this sem was about. All I know is that I finally hit my aim of second class honors! Yay for me =)
Actual results: Second class upper
NEW Aim: Maintain Second class upper
Semester 4 is no doubt the toughest semester ever by workload. I was pretty actively involved in two CCAs, taking six modules and two of which were year 3 modules, not to mention also taking one even though I skipped a prerequisite module. What on earth am I thinking? It seems that I just wanted to maintain my second upper. The bell curve god wasn't satisfied though. He wanted to give me more. Somehow with all that to do, I came with an awesome deans list catapulting my cap into the possible to hit first class range! Suddenly, perspectives changes, and so do goals.
Actual results: Second class upper
NEW aim: First class honors
Semester 5 is yet another, but last semester that I'll ever need to take six modules. The sem probably contained the most amount of project work, most notably our campus design. All in all, I did well, but not as good as the last. Got screwed upside down by the easy foundation module, okay, a tinge of over-exaggeration here.. I do not do well for easy papers. I pride my work in knowing and being very familiar with concepts. I can do tests pretty quickly, but with allowance for careless mistakes. And that's where I didn't fare too well, being careless. Nevertheless, my cap moved ever so slightly towards my first class goal!
Actual results: Second class upper
Aim: Continue aiming for first class honors
So what does tomorrow hold? Its probably the make or break, whether it remains theoretically possible or impossible to reach my goal of first class honors. I told myself early in the semester that I would work towards it. Two deans list is all I need. Possible? Yes. In truth, I did work for it. But the hard truth remains that I could have done more. So many times during the semester I lost my motivation. Lost my drive to do well. Lost myself. I could study in school, study in the day, but it when I return to my room that all falls apart. Thats when all the hard work on the day time becomes average work done due to the night. My mind would wander, and it seems that I've developed a kind of allergic reaction towards studying in my room. Doesn't help the fact that I began playing games. Post-SEP syndrome? Maybe..
I guess if tomorrow when I'm no longer on track, there will be no pats on the back. Just a "Chris, you let yourself down". But if somehow I am, I will be thanking my lucky stars...
doomsday beckons.
In semester 1, it was the first test into uni. I didn't expect to hit first class or anything. Just to do my best and see where it gets me. From there, I'll have a gauge of my performance, and just work towards sth better. My grades that semester were very mediocre. I wasn't very unhappy, I was satisfied with my grades considering the other coursemates I knew.
Actual results: Second class lower
NEW aim: Second class upper
By sem 2, there was an aim. However, I was still pretty jaded with the modules I was taking. Most of the modules have nothing to do with civil engineering. Only statics which is the bread and butter of civil enginneering. Did well for that, but low and behold, I got trumped in maths by the chem engins and in physics by the mech engineers. Wait a minute, I think I actually got an A or A- for maths. Haha. Can't check atm cause I'm on the plane. Oh yes, I was pulled down by a lousy econs module. But in the end, my results surprised me and I was really much closer to my aim.
Actual results: Second class lower
Aim: Second class upper
Semester 3. Hrmm.. not too impressive semester at all. Can hardly recall what this sem was about. All I know is that I finally hit my aim of second class honors! Yay for me =)
Actual results: Second class upper
NEW Aim: Maintain Second class upper
Semester 4 is no doubt the toughest semester ever by workload. I was pretty actively involved in two CCAs, taking six modules and two of which were year 3 modules, not to mention also taking one even though I skipped a prerequisite module. What on earth am I thinking? It seems that I just wanted to maintain my second upper. The bell curve god wasn't satisfied though. He wanted to give me more. Somehow with all that to do, I came with an awesome deans list catapulting my cap into the possible to hit first class range! Suddenly, perspectives changes, and so do goals.
Actual results: Second class upper
NEW aim: First class honors
Semester 5 is yet another, but last semester that I'll ever need to take six modules. The sem probably contained the most amount of project work, most notably our campus design. All in all, I did well, but not as good as the last. Got screwed upside down by the easy foundation module, okay, a tinge of over-exaggeration here.. I do not do well for easy papers. I pride my work in knowing and being very familiar with concepts. I can do tests pretty quickly, but with allowance for careless mistakes. And that's where I didn't fare too well, being careless. Nevertheless, my cap moved ever so slightly towards my first class goal!
Actual results: Second class upper
Aim: Continue aiming for first class honors
So what does tomorrow hold? Its probably the make or break, whether it remains theoretically possible or impossible to reach my goal of first class honors. I told myself early in the semester that I would work towards it. Two deans list is all I need. Possible? Yes. In truth, I did work for it. But the hard truth remains that I could have done more. So many times during the semester I lost my motivation. Lost my drive to do well. Lost myself. I could study in school, study in the day, but it when I return to my room that all falls apart. Thats when all the hard work on the day time becomes average work done due to the night. My mind would wander, and it seems that I've developed a kind of allergic reaction towards studying in my room. Doesn't help the fact that I began playing games. Post-SEP syndrome? Maybe..
I guess if tomorrow when I'm no longer on track, there will be no pats on the back. Just a "Chris, you let yourself down". But if somehow I am, I will be thanking my lucky stars...
doomsday beckons.
I'll be going home tomorrow. After an extended semester, but much less unlike the last. I preferred the last when my semester lasted a month longer than normal and I didn't go back home for another month. What could I say, I was having the time of my life travelling Europe. Semesters always signify the end of yet another chapter of university. However, this seems to be the penultimate chapter before the finale.
And before this chapter closes, I wished to have my answers. Or so I thought. So many questions, so many doubts, so many unconfirmed conclusions. When, What, Why, and How. Questions that keep swarming my head over recent times. It seems that three contants constantly occupies my mind this semester. FYP and gaming. So many times and so many occasions I felt like stretching out, reaching out for the answers to solve the mysteries that clouds me. Yet, time and time again, I fail to take the final step out the door. Some people take risks in life. All or nothing they say. I am not that person.
At the end of any chapter, there are bound to be cliffhangers, and this just happens to be one of them. No need to wonder, no need to ponder, no need to assume. Just an after thought one day to laugh over, hopefully. In the end, I won't be doing that stupid something. Reconsidered, and changed minds since the last thought. Some friendships really do mean the world. You just have to hope that the feeling's mutual.
But I guess at the end of the day, if I get the privilege of asking one question, it would be to know how things are. One may not care what others think, but there are others who still care about one..
And before this chapter closes, I wished to have my answers. Or so I thought. So many questions, so many doubts, so many unconfirmed conclusions. When, What, Why, and How. Questions that keep swarming my head over recent times. It seems that three contants constantly occupies my mind this semester. FYP and gaming. So many times and so many occasions I felt like stretching out, reaching out for the answers to solve the mysteries that clouds me. Yet, time and time again, I fail to take the final step out the door. Some people take risks in life. All or nothing they say. I am not that person.
At the end of any chapter, there are bound to be cliffhangers, and this just happens to be one of them. No need to wonder, no need to ponder, no need to assume. Just an after thought one day to laugh over, hopefully. In the end, I won't be doing that stupid something. Reconsidered, and changed minds since the last thought. Some friendships really do mean the world. You just have to hope that the feeling's mutual.
But I guess at the end of the day, if I get the privilege of asking one question, it would be to know how things are. One may not care what others think, but there are others who still care about one..
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The days reflections.
In all games played, there seems to be a loophole, or rather a certain set of instructions made to make us think in a certain way, but not the entire picture of the game. We learn new rules along the way. Its frustrating at times that we seem to be cheated that we weren't given clear instructions. Disappointed? Yes. But its the reality of life. No one is going to give us the full manual on how to live life. Our parents, peers and teachers guide us along the way, setting the basic rules. But after that, we're on our own. Experience can be a painful teacher. So is trial and error. But this is the way life is. No one is going to tell you if you are studying in the right field, chosen the right career path or investing in the right commodity. No one is going to tell you who to love or how long to hold unto love. Every action has a risk. Every risk has a winner. Every risk has a loser.
We recognize the significance of a great leader, one who takes charge, delegates and supports. But at the same time, a team needs good soldiers. In the absence of speech and sight, when total communication with your team mates have been cut off, you just have to do your part as planned. Just go according to the plan as discussed. The rest is up to your team mates. Trust in them and that they would each do their part as well. Ideally, you would want to step in and manage the whole problem. But problems in engineering often requires the contribution of a team of players. No one is alone and a fully functional team, would be greater then the sum of its individual parts.
In feels like in the near future, I might end up doing something foolish, or stupid. When that happens, please forgive me...
In all games played, there seems to be a loophole, or rather a certain set of instructions made to make us think in a certain way, but not the entire picture of the game. We learn new rules along the way. Its frustrating at times that we seem to be cheated that we weren't given clear instructions. Disappointed? Yes. But its the reality of life. No one is going to give us the full manual on how to live life. Our parents, peers and teachers guide us along the way, setting the basic rules. But after that, we're on our own. Experience can be a painful teacher. So is trial and error. But this is the way life is. No one is going to tell you if you are studying in the right field, chosen the right career path or investing in the right commodity. No one is going to tell you who to love or how long to hold unto love. Every action has a risk. Every risk has a winner. Every risk has a loser.
We recognize the significance of a great leader, one who takes charge, delegates and supports. But at the same time, a team needs good soldiers. In the absence of speech and sight, when total communication with your team mates have been cut off, you just have to do your part as planned. Just go according to the plan as discussed. The rest is up to your team mates. Trust in them and that they would each do their part as well. Ideally, you would want to step in and manage the whole problem. But problems in engineering often requires the contribution of a team of players. No one is alone and a fully functional team, would be greater then the sum of its individual parts.
In feels like in the near future, I might end up doing something foolish, or stupid. When that happens, please forgive me...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Just came back from undoubtedly the most awesome chalet experience that I have had in Singapore. Well, there's not much to compare with as this is only the second time going for a chalet. The first was back in 2007 with Sports Club.
Two activities pretty much summed up the entire night. Eating games and drinking games. If you think I forgot sleep, thats because we didnt get any, well for most of us anyway. Kings Cup, Give and Take, Action Games, Truth or Dare. Party games that are pretty much universal. okay, maybe not, cause the angmohs probably prefer beer-pong. Universal pretty much refers to MY and SG.
The supply of alcohol, was too much too handle which led to entertaining behaviour! Hanging out with friends outside of school time really allows you to get to know a different side of them. I was going to say get to know them better, but well, it isnt always better. But then we're only human. Its part of letting loose, or partying the night away. And the part of being a friend is accepting them for who they are. Loved the company. Absolutely loved it. I like the way that people are so freaking awesome in a way that we're not always out to sabo a single person. There's always somebody who speaks up when a person has had too much to drink or when a dare gets out of hand. Kudos to the really sporting people...
Some secrets revealed, some lies passed off as truth, while some managed to get away with minimal damage. Perceptions of people changed. You'll never look at things the same way again
And I found out who I am after having one too many...
Drunk words are sober thoughts..
Two activities pretty much summed up the entire night. Eating games and drinking games. If you think I forgot sleep, thats because we didnt get any, well for most of us anyway. Kings Cup, Give and Take, Action Games, Truth or Dare. Party games that are pretty much universal. okay, maybe not, cause the angmohs probably prefer beer-pong. Universal pretty much refers to MY and SG.
The supply of alcohol, was too much too handle which led to entertaining behaviour! Hanging out with friends outside of school time really allows you to get to know a different side of them. I was going to say get to know them better, but well, it isnt always better. But then we're only human. Its part of letting loose, or partying the night away. And the part of being a friend is accepting them for who they are. Loved the company. Absolutely loved it. I like the way that people are so freaking awesome in a way that we're not always out to sabo a single person. There's always somebody who speaks up when a person has had too much to drink or when a dare gets out of hand. Kudos to the really sporting people...
Some secrets revealed, some lies passed off as truth, while some managed to get away with minimal damage. Perceptions of people changed. You'll never look at things the same way again
And I found out who I am after having one too many...
Drunk words are sober thoughts..
Saturday, December 3, 2011
And so comes to an end, the semester! One more semester left, and will be my long overdued graduation.
Warning: dry and geeky paragraphs ahead.
This sem, academic wise, hasn't exactly been easy, nor has it been terribly difficult. It started off with focusing solely on design project, where I spent more hours a day designing this bridge the I actually do sleeping. Its really cool that I get the feel of designing an actual project, but on the other side of the coin, I realised that there's so much to learn when I actually get out into the working world. In actual fact, midway through the project, it actually feels like, for every problem we run into, we just ask our external consultant. Maybe a little too much spoonfeeding? But I guess it would take forever if we didnt get answers from them. Check out my bridge below! =P
What followed next was probably the start of my final year project, and playing catchup with all the other modules. Struggled like crazy with my finite element module. I couldnt grasp what was the point of all the different matrices and nodes. I spent by far the most amount of time on this module, probably even more then my fyp itself! But at the end of it all, I began to see the signifiance of the module and actually found it a little fun! Not the exam tho. that was a little screwed up as a freaking axisymmetric question came out. Like hello? there was no example nor tutorial question on it ler. And three pages of cheat sheet? Overkill la. I probably could squeeze everything in two. But then my masterpiece was microscopic. Haha. And I saw someone bring a magnifying glass into the exam hall. Haha! Thats a first.
And by far my most favourite module this sem is the steel design! But then again, there's not many modules to compare with. FYP and design project doesn't exactly feel like proper modules. I like how the lecturer is soo soooo gangster like and that he teaches with loads of examples from what is happening outside in the real world. I like it that I probably can relate to any structure I come across when going out. Which is why I'm in civil engineering! We build civilizations! =) Steel structures are so awesome in what it can accomplish as compared to boring grey concrete structures. Haha. Hope those concrete ppl don't drop a block of concrete on my head. In the end, composite is the way to go. A mix of concrete and steel.
Soil ah... soil ah.. Soil actually means suay in hokkien I think. How can the lecturer go thru 2 questions in two hourss?!? Somemore the example is already fully explained in the text book. Really wasting time la going for lessons in this module. the problem with easy modules is that if you make even a careless mistake, you can be pretty sure that 50% of the cohort got it correct. I definitely could have done better in the exam, but complacency got the better of me. The majority of year 4s kept telling me that its easy and the exam shouldn't be a problem. True enough, the exam wasn't a problem. The problem was not taking the module seriously enough. At the end of the day, listening to the majority only makes you one of them, detrimental in a bell curve scenario.
And as for my FYP, well, lets just say I'm more worried for this more then any other module, and that I've been worrying about it all through exams. sigh sigh fyp fyp..
Warning: dry and geeky paragraphs ahead.
This sem, academic wise, hasn't exactly been easy, nor has it been terribly difficult. It started off with focusing solely on design project, where I spent more hours a day designing this bridge the I actually do sleeping. Its really cool that I get the feel of designing an actual project, but on the other side of the coin, I realised that there's so much to learn when I actually get out into the working world. In actual fact, midway through the project, it actually feels like, for every problem we run into, we just ask our external consultant. Maybe a little too much spoonfeeding? But I guess it would take forever if we didnt get answers from them. Check out my bridge below! =P
What followed next was probably the start of my final year project, and playing catchup with all the other modules. Struggled like crazy with my finite element module. I couldnt grasp what was the point of all the different matrices and nodes. I spent by far the most amount of time on this module, probably even more then my fyp itself! But at the end of it all, I began to see the signifiance of the module and actually found it a little fun! Not the exam tho. that was a little screwed up as a freaking axisymmetric question came out. Like hello? there was no example nor tutorial question on it ler. And three pages of cheat sheet? Overkill la. I probably could squeeze everything in two. But then my masterpiece was microscopic. Haha. And I saw someone bring a magnifying glass into the exam hall. Haha! Thats a first.
And by far my most favourite module this sem is the steel design! But then again, there's not many modules to compare with. FYP and design project doesn't exactly feel like proper modules. I like how the lecturer is soo soooo gangster like and that he teaches with loads of examples from what is happening outside in the real world. I like it that I probably can relate to any structure I come across when going out. Which is why I'm in civil engineering! We build civilizations! =) Steel structures are so awesome in what it can accomplish as compared to boring grey concrete structures. Haha. Hope those concrete ppl don't drop a block of concrete on my head. In the end, composite is the way to go. A mix of concrete and steel.
Soil ah... soil ah.. Soil actually means suay in hokkien I think. How can the lecturer go thru 2 questions in two hourss?!? Somemore the example is already fully explained in the text book. Really wasting time la going for lessons in this module. the problem with easy modules is that if you make even a careless mistake, you can be pretty sure that 50% of the cohort got it correct. I definitely could have done better in the exam, but complacency got the better of me. The majority of year 4s kept telling me that its easy and the exam shouldn't be a problem. True enough, the exam wasn't a problem. The problem was not taking the module seriously enough. At the end of the day, listening to the majority only makes you one of them, detrimental in a bell curve scenario.
And as for my FYP, well, lets just say I'm more worried for this more then any other module, and that I've been worrying about it all through exams. sigh sigh fyp fyp..
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