(these thoughts have been lingering in my mind for almost a month already and i wanted to put them down pen to paper first, but i somehow procrastinated and have decided to just type them here for now...)
with final exams, grad trip, family trips and commencement ceremonies done and dusted over the last 12 weeks, i think i should be contented with the amount of leisure time i have been enjoying. it is now the right moment to get my brains cracking again to good use, leaving behind my student status at Kent Ridge and tomorrow, beginning my days as a salaried worker at Kent Ridge (again!?).
over 20 years of education may have culminated in my graduation from NUS, having amassed some minor achievements and clearing those ritualistic national examinations once every few years. however, tomorrow marks a reset, where i start from the bottom and work my way up the 'corporate ladder' (how cliched!) until retirement.
this being my first full-time job, i can only wish that my days will be smooth-sailing (hah, what wishful thinking), or more importantly, i'll be quick to adapt to the tempo of working life (ie. no more afternoon naps and late nights) and the demands of the job.
looking back, i sometimes wonder if this is indeed fate or just a coincidence of choices, that despite the earlier setback 5 years back, i were to encounter the same organisation again...
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Friday, 26 April 2013
i'm 21 years & 1460 days old.
so i've been neglecting this blog since the end of last year, and i've decided to pen down some thoughts before i become a year older.
looking back at this past year, it's been a rather roller-coaster ride, beginning with a first time that i spent my birthday overseas while on SEP, and then followed by the concluding weeks of my SEP where i probably mugged harder than i would while in NUS. next up was the start of my year 4, which wasn't very fantastic during the 1st semester because i was still in dreamland mode having returned from England and was basically just slacking the entire semester, before i decided to buck up this semester and requested for an overload of 26 MCs in a finale semester which would see me graduate half a year earlier than expected... in the meantime i also secured a job offer before graduation and here i am now, hours away from my 25th, studying (not very hard) for 5 final exams!
a reason why i decided to complete my studies a semester earlier was because i saw a need to work hard to 'earn' my graduation trip... it wouldn't be as rewarding if i were to be relaxing on my graduating semester, would it? another reason would be that i saw no point in extending another semester (and in the process paying more school fees) just to complete a single 4MC module which i could have simply absorbed into the previous semester and put in more effort into my studies.
despite the hectic-ness of this semester, i really cherish the new friends/acquaintances i met through the 4 economics & 1 singapore studies module that i'm taking this semester (apart from the highlight of FYP!), mostly juniors, a mix of year 1s, 2s and 3s. and i think i'm fortunate to have group-mates who have been putting their best effort to the group assignments so there weren't many teamwork issues to iron out amid the pile of individual and group projects... and i realised it helps that i don't attend the same modules as my close friends, so i'm forced to make new friends and meet new students in school.
as for FYP, i couldn't have asked for better co-supervisors & mentors who engaged in meaningful discussions with me during all the weekly meetings (even though my prof scheduled them on my lesson-free thursdays!), and the comments given by my examiner during my presentation on the last week of school were very uplifting. it's even more heartening when your examiner is interested in your future plans after graduation after you finish your presentation, rather than a can't-be-bothered one who probably just walks off without a comment as soon as you're done and treat you like 'just any other student'... even though i was nominated by my supervisor to take part in the poster exhibition (which followed the presentation on the last day of school) and didn't win a prize for it, it was still an enjoyable experience talking to year 3 juniors about your own project (because they'll be choosing their FYPs soon) and to entertain the occasional stranger/department prof who pops by your poster and bothers to take a closer look.
looking ahead to the coming year, i hope to be able to foster even better relationships with my family and close friends, and i'm definitely looking forward to the grad trip coming up in less than a month to japan with my coursemates! :)
looking back at this past year, it's been a rather roller-coaster ride, beginning with a first time that i spent my birthday overseas while on SEP, and then followed by the concluding weeks of my SEP where i probably mugged harder than i would while in NUS. next up was the start of my year 4, which wasn't very fantastic during the 1st semester because i was still in dreamland mode having returned from England and was basically just slacking the entire semester, before i decided to buck up this semester and requested for an overload of 26 MCs in a finale semester which would see me graduate half a year earlier than expected... in the meantime i also secured a job offer before graduation and here i am now, hours away from my 25th, studying (not very hard) for 5 final exams!
a reason why i decided to complete my studies a semester earlier was because i saw a need to work hard to 'earn' my graduation trip... it wouldn't be as rewarding if i were to be relaxing on my graduating semester, would it? another reason would be that i saw no point in extending another semester (and in the process paying more school fees) just to complete a single 4MC module which i could have simply absorbed into the previous semester and put in more effort into my studies.
despite the hectic-ness of this semester, i really cherish the new friends/acquaintances i met through the 4 economics & 1 singapore studies module that i'm taking this semester (apart from the highlight of FYP!), mostly juniors, a mix of year 1s, 2s and 3s. and i think i'm fortunate to have group-mates who have been putting their best effort to the group assignments so there weren't many teamwork issues to iron out amid the pile of individual and group projects... and i realised it helps that i don't attend the same modules as my close friends, so i'm forced to make new friends and meet new students in school.
as for FYP, i couldn't have asked for better co-supervisors & mentors who engaged in meaningful discussions with me during all the weekly meetings (even though my prof scheduled them on my lesson-free thursdays!), and the comments given by my examiner during my presentation on the last week of school were very uplifting. it's even more heartening when your examiner is interested in your future plans after graduation after you finish your presentation, rather than a can't-be-bothered one who probably just walks off without a comment as soon as you're done and treat you like 'just any other student'... even though i was nominated by my supervisor to take part in the poster exhibition (which followed the presentation on the last day of school) and didn't win a prize for it, it was still an enjoyable experience talking to year 3 juniors about your own project (because they'll be choosing their FYPs soon) and to entertain the occasional stranger/department prof who pops by your poster and bothers to take a closer look.
looking ahead to the coming year, i hope to be able to foster even better relationships with my family and close friends, and i'm definitely looking forward to the grad trip coming up in less than a month to japan with my coursemates! :)
Monday, 31 December 2012
2012: a (too) relaxed year?
my results for this semester were released about a week ago, and as i'd expected, it was one of the worst set of semester results i'd achieved in my nearly 4 years as an undergraduate.
it was not as though i'd not foreseen such an ending to the semester: it started off on a really lethargic note, where i kept telling myself i had to beat the 'post-SEP syndrome' (if there exists one!). but even towards the end of the semester, when project deadlines were due and reading week was coming up close, i was still half switched-off.
looking back, i thought i was actually more hardworking during SEP itself than in the most recent sem (the results garnered during SEP made me wonder if i'd have a better-looking results slip if i studied overseas)! i did try and analyse why this was so, and what my mind came up with was the mindset of 'fear of failure' during SEP. even though modules were on S/U basis, the thought that there's a possibility of flunking masters-level module exams which doesn't rely on the bell-curve kept me and my friends on our toes during the 3 exam weeks in Sheffield. of course, experiences from other friends' seniors who studied in other European universities (and really did flunk one or two modules) added to this fear.
the only saving grace for this semester? probably FYP. having a good start for the first continual assessment which required me to do quite a hefty literature review on what looks more like a chemistry-based project rather than a electrical/electronics project is something refreshing. it does help that i have two very conscientious supervisors as well, and helpful graduate students who occasionally help to point the way. i've heard stories of course-mates whose supervisors rarely meet them (or the other way around), or take little interest in knowing the progress of their projects. the feedback from the supervisors and the examiner (who is a rather new staff that joined the department just over a year back) were encouraging too, and hopefully i won't lose this good momentum for the final stages of my FYP (i'd just relaxed the rest of the december away after i was done with the 2nd CA in the middle of the month).
alright, apart from academia being just average over the past year, i think i gained quite a lot from the 20 weeks i spent in the UK, from meeting other undergraduates of different backgrounds and nationalities, working on a project with a group of 3 other Sheffield students, travelling around the UK almost every weekend, experiencing snowy weather not long after i set foot on the UK, doing a backpacking trip around west Europe over Easter, cooking meals for myself (and my new found friends) in Stanage apartments, meeting my JC classmate who had been studying dentistry there for the last 4 years (and I'd not known until the day I got to Sheffield). these 20 weeks will definitely be one of the most memorable moments of my life, i always smile to myself when i look back at the huge collection of photos i took on my travels.
looking forward to the new year, according to a fengshui book i saw at kinokuniya authored by a famous local geomancer lilian too, it seems like the year of the snake will be a good one for dragons born in 1988. so i'd like to be more motivated for my remaining undergraduate days before i embark on the next phase of my life, as a salaried employee (or...?). and there's a grad trip to look forward to as well... kyoto, perhaps?
lastly, that little wish of mine still hopes to be fulfilled in the coming year~
it was not as though i'd not foreseen such an ending to the semester: it started off on a really lethargic note, where i kept telling myself i had to beat the 'post-SEP syndrome' (if there exists one!). but even towards the end of the semester, when project deadlines were due and reading week was coming up close, i was still half switched-off.
looking back, i thought i was actually more hardworking during SEP itself than in the most recent sem (the results garnered during SEP made me wonder if i'd have a better-looking results slip if i studied overseas)! i did try and analyse why this was so, and what my mind came up with was the mindset of 'fear of failure' during SEP. even though modules were on S/U basis, the thought that there's a possibility of flunking masters-level module exams which doesn't rely on the bell-curve kept me and my friends on our toes during the 3 exam weeks in Sheffield. of course, experiences from other friends' seniors who studied in other European universities (and really did flunk one or two modules) added to this fear.
the only saving grace for this semester? probably FYP. having a good start for the first continual assessment which required me to do quite a hefty literature review on what looks more like a chemistry-based project rather than a electrical/electronics project is something refreshing. it does help that i have two very conscientious supervisors as well, and helpful graduate students who occasionally help to point the way. i've heard stories of course-mates whose supervisors rarely meet them (or the other way around), or take little interest in knowing the progress of their projects. the feedback from the supervisors and the examiner (who is a rather new staff that joined the department just over a year back) were encouraging too, and hopefully i won't lose this good momentum for the final stages of my FYP (i'd just relaxed the rest of the december away after i was done with the 2nd CA in the middle of the month).
alright, apart from academia being just average over the past year, i think i gained quite a lot from the 20 weeks i spent in the UK, from meeting other undergraduates of different backgrounds and nationalities, working on a project with a group of 3 other Sheffield students, travelling around the UK almost every weekend, experiencing snowy weather not long after i set foot on the UK, doing a backpacking trip around west Europe over Easter, cooking meals for myself (and my new found friends) in Stanage apartments, meeting my JC classmate who had been studying dentistry there for the last 4 years (and I'd not known until the day I got to Sheffield). these 20 weeks will definitely be one of the most memorable moments of my life, i always smile to myself when i look back at the huge collection of photos i took on my travels.
looking forward to the new year, according to a fengshui book i saw at kinokuniya authored by a famous local geomancer lilian too, it seems like the year of the snake will be a good one for dragons born in 1988. so i'd like to be more motivated for my remaining undergraduate days before i embark on the next phase of my life, as a salaried employee (or...?). and there's a grad trip to look forward to as well... kyoto, perhaps?
lastly, that little wish of mine still hopes to be fulfilled in the coming year~
Friday, 14 December 2012
windows 8.
just updated my laptop under the upgrade offer, and this is the end product! it seems like windows doesn't expect you to turn off your comp, cos the shut down button is well hidden and it takes an eternity to start up! after the initial slew of updates that had to be downloaded and installed with every restart of the computer, now my laptop is up and running in half a minute!
the tiles look good!
more thoughts to come, perhaps.
edit: apart from the new start menu, everything under it still looks and feels like windows 7, with some features simplified for the average user to access.
edit: apart from the new start menu, everything under it still looks and feels like windows 7, with some features simplified for the average user to access.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
AFA2012.
another year, another AFA. this time around, much attention was paid to the madoka magica movies, which was released in movie theatres in japan just a month ago:
part 1 was up till the point sayaka turned into a witch, part 2 carries on from there until the ultimate madoka ending
the contents of the movie itself wasn't new, it was a total repackaging of the original anime series, with some backgrounds elaborated, transformation sequences getting longer and more detailed, sayaka having a new hairpin, and a few scenes cut away. nevertheless at $50 for the 2 movie tickets were quite a bargain, especially when there are goodies thrown in as well:
2 accompanying books for the movie with cast/staff comments, scene shots and character sketches. each book costs 900yen in japan according to the movie website iirc. there's also a A2 movie poster and a illustration board drawn by aoki ume, the character designer, and autographed by the director shinbou akiyuki and scriptwriter urobuchi gen
one of the volumes of lis ani!, a music magazine focused on anisong artistes
there was a official movie merchandise booth, but since the stuff were a little overpriced ($15 for a set of two clear files, for example), i decided to try my luck at the ichiban kuji (lucky draw), like last year. walked away with the lousiest prize this time around, it was a random mini figurine (not too bad actually), and of all characters i drew a sayaka figurine.
after the movies i'm hooked on the OP theme song by ClariS, luminous. the OP sequence that went along with it was good too!
continued after the break >>
continued after the break >>
Saturday, 7 July 2012
3 weeks later, results.
my results for the exams taken on SEP were released last night. for once, there was no way i could have been woken up by an SMS sent at around 8am in the morning, instead, i had to login to my partner uni's website after 2pm UK time to check my results manually.
i still remember being rather worried prior to my first exam paper about even passing my exams (especially the level 4 modules which were supposedly taken with other masters-level students in the uni), since to be honest i'm not as dilligent with my revisions on SEP compared to when i'm in NUS - starting revisions proper only one week before my 1st paper, done barely any tutorials (because there were few to begin with!) & going on a short weekend daytrip during the middle of my exam period. what's more, the UK system of absolute marking (as opposed to the bell-curve system in NUS) meant that what you score is what you get, with the occasional moderation of marks.
but after looking at my results about 2 hours after they were officially released, i felt that my fears were rather unwarranted. not only did i do much better than i'd expected, my results on the whole were better than any previous semesters at NUS (it's quite difficult to compare actually, since the marking scales are slightly different between the 2 unis).
with the release of results, my SEP has concluded, what's left is to transfer the credits back to NUS before next sem begins. my mind's been coming up with little thoughts of SEP for the past 3 weeks but i've not been able to type them here or pen them down in a journal. i ought to start on it soon before they fade away!
in the meantime, i'll try to finish posting the photos i took on my travels on fb and blog about them here, those easter europe trip photos are certainly long overdue!
i still remember being rather worried prior to my first exam paper about even passing my exams (especially the level 4 modules which were supposedly taken with other masters-level students in the uni), since to be honest i'm not as dilligent with my revisions on SEP compared to when i'm in NUS - starting revisions proper only one week before my 1st paper, done barely any tutorials (because there were few to begin with!) & going on a short weekend daytrip during the middle of my exam period. what's more, the UK system of absolute marking (as opposed to the bell-curve system in NUS) meant that what you score is what you get, with the occasional moderation of marks.
but after looking at my results about 2 hours after they were officially released, i felt that my fears were rather unwarranted. not only did i do much better than i'd expected, my results on the whole were better than any previous semesters at NUS (it's quite difficult to compare actually, since the marking scales are slightly different between the 2 unis).
with the release of results, my SEP has concluded, what's left is to transfer the credits back to NUS before next sem begins. my mind's been coming up with little thoughts of SEP for the past 3 weeks but i've not been able to type them here or pen them down in a journal. i ought to start on it soon before they fade away!
in the meantime, i'll try to finish posting the photos i took on my travels on fb and blog about them here, those easter europe trip photos are certainly long overdue!
Saturday, 16 June 2012
back where i belong
5 hours train + 3 hours to check-in at the airport + 7 hours flight from Manchester-Dubai + 3 hours transit time + 7 hours from Dubai-Singapore = 25 hours of consecutive travelling covering thousands of kilometres.
and i'm finally back home. the air in S'pore sure smells different! and the stark contrast in temperature is too obvious. reduced from 3 layers of tees to just one as soon as i stepped out of the arrival hall this afternoon. i must be too acclimatised to 10 degrees C temperatures already.
to be honest, i was thinking a lot about how much i'll miss the UK just before i moved out of my room, but when one gets too fatigued from travelling, you'd probably wish to be back home ASAP. which was exactly what i felt after the post-exam travelling around South Wales and the southern parts of England. maybe the 'missing' feeling will come back again after i've fully recovered from my tiredness and the daily grind here returns.
time to catch up on some sleep, and it's back to business tomorrow!
and i'm finally back home. the air in S'pore sure smells different! and the stark contrast in temperature is too obvious. reduced from 3 layers of tees to just one as soon as i stepped out of the arrival hall this afternoon. i must be too acclimatised to 10 degrees C temperatures already.
to be honest, i was thinking a lot about how much i'll miss the UK just before i moved out of my room, but when one gets too fatigued from travelling, you'd probably wish to be back home ASAP. which was exactly what i felt after the post-exam travelling around South Wales and the southern parts of England. maybe the 'missing' feeling will come back again after i've fully recovered from my tiredness and the daily grind here returns.
time to catch up on some sleep, and it's back to business tomorrow!
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