keep calm and live on: July 2015

Thursday, July 23, 2015

end is near

yes this is an update of my life.

been quite a while since i have really sit down and post about what's happening here. didn't do so because i was part lazy and part busy. busy as in preparing for the next camp happening this Sunday evening to Thursday night. busy as in planning my timetable for the coming semester. busy as in hanging out and catching up with various groups of friends. busy as in trying to find more tuition assignments and giving tuition.

well, among the busy stuff, i have a good news to share. finally got a hostel spot on campus so that is one worry off my head. no need to wake up super early and make a close to 2-hours journey to and fro NUS daily. can't wait to move in and get ready for the semester.. and nope, i'm not exactly excited about studying just the fact of moving into campus again.. lol.

okay, for the lazy part, let me explain haha. amongst all the outings and stuff i have to attend to outside of home, i rarely catch a breath. rest days are rare.. those where i just huddle at home and in bed without feeling any pressure or need to break away. so yeah when those days come, i really do those and blogging happens not to be my primary task. nonetheless, i still remain a leisure blogger.. writing only when i feel like it without stress.

to sum up, the end of holidays is near.. busy days ahead but i am going to treasure every single day of it left. cheers.

Friday, July 17, 2015

broken dreams

"my shadow's the only one that walks beside me"

Saturday, July 11, 2015

year one in review (NUS)

holidays for university kids are ending. meaning, for my fellow NUS school mates and incoming freshies, the period whereby students will be busy planning timetable is here. in a blink of an eye, my freshman year is over and i am about to start my second year this August.

a year ago, i remember being a little worried about the bidding and school stuff, especially having not been in the education system for two years thanks to the mandatory NS. through the course of the two bidding periods in my freshman year, i always made a habit to google online reviews by students on the various modules and what not as module description might not always be helpful and insightful compared to students’ point of view.

therefore, i am doing the same thing as well and hope my reviews might help souls googling about NUS modules. in each review, i will be giving the rough description, assessment criteria and difficulty. i will not discuss about how easy or difficult to score a certain grade or what not. also, excuse my language.. i am not a professional writer.

so, here are the modules i have taken in my first year and their respective links to my reviews.. all the best in your studies.

year 1 semester 1: -

CS1010S GEM2027 MA1101R MA1102R ST1131

year 1 semester 2: -

CFG1001 EC1301 ES1102 GEM2901 LSM1302 PC1327 ST2131

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

CS1010S review (NUS)

in this review, i will be giving the rough description, assessment criteria and difficulty. i will not discuss about how easy or difficult to score a certain grade or what not. also, excuse my language.. i am not a professional writer.

CS1010S: Programming Methodology

this module teaches you to write and read codes through Python. take note that this is different from CS1010E though both modules are related to computer coding. for CS1010S, they used the platform Coursemology for tutorials and assignments.

as for grading wise, they grade you through midterm paper, final paper, practical exam, tutorial participation, submissions in Coursemology.

personally, i find this module challenging yet fun. why challenging? one, i have no computing background, so taking this module felt like i had to learn an entirely new language and be graded for it within the semester. two, the tutorials and assignments were time consuming.. they required quite a deal of time and effort weekly. three, doing past year papers might not exactly be super helpful as the staff tend to come out with new “ideas” every other semester. why fun? one, for most of the people, coding might be something new and learning new things can be interesting. two, the assignments are rather interesting. the module has no bell curve.. so yeah, it can be good news to some, bad for many.

as for tips from someone who has taken this module, this module really require consistent work. yeah, you might be hearing this from your seniors and teachers and it is starting to get boring. however, i would say that this module has no room for last-minute stuff. what you don’t know at the front will snowball and bite you consistently for the rest of the semester. revising last minute cannot bring you very far. if you are lagging at the start, you are in deep trouble. remember, no bell curve.. no standardisation. however, this is probably the only module that gives second chances as there might be re-midterm and re-practical.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

GEM2027 review (NUS)

this module, like the title mentioned, expose you the key ideas and what not when it comes to speaking to a crowd. lectures tend to highlight key things to take note whenever you are the speaker or the listener. now and then, there will be guest speakers as well.

as for grading wise, they grade you through three speeches, in-class quiz and one group project. for each speech, you are required to submit a speech outline as well.

personally, i find this module an enriching and fun experience. i really enjoy class time as you get to learn many new things pertaining to giving speeches. most might think it is common sense but you would be surprised at the amount of new things you get to learn. furthermore, you get to practise now and then since there are times where you need to give a speech there isn’t graded.. just for trying out. however, the in-class quiz is kind of silly i guess. without reading the textbook, like me, you might find the quiz a challenge despite it being in MCQ. at the end of the day, i find that this module really taught me to feel more confident whenever i am expected to make a speech.

as for tips from someone who has taken this module, i suggest to those aiming for a very good grade to really read the long boring textbook in preparation for the in-class. aside from that quiz, i would say enjoy the process of the group project and giving speeches. while producing the speech outline can be a pain in the neck, you get valuable feedbacks from your peers and tutor after each speech. these are things that will be carried for the rest of your life, treasure them. there are sure to have those “spoil market” students who speak really well and spoiling the bell curve, nonetheless, i would say the experience is more worth it.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

MA1101R review (NUS)

this module is a rather abstract module that might really interest those who are really into pure mathematics and proofing questions. your knowledge on vectors and matrices will really be tested here. your visualisation of mathematical problems has to be of certain standard too. like i mentioned, this module is quite abstract with test questions filled with both proving and calculation. i would say a 50/50 distribution of those two types.

as for grading wise, they grade you through midterm paper, final paper, tutorial attendance, lecture quiz and computer lab quiz.

personally, this module isn’t exactly fun to me and neither it is really difficult. when i say not really difficult, i don’t mean easy. there are sure to have challenging topics and what not but one can actually understand them after a sufficient amount of time and effort is put into understanding the concepts. the proofs are mostly challenging as they really test you fundamental understanding of each chapter and each law and what not. the lecture quiz is a breeze as the lecturer adopt the clicker system. you and your buddy will have to answer 8 questions per week in lecture time slots. you will be given the full marks for the week the moment you score correct for 5 or more of the questions. the lab quiz is rather straight forward as well. the exam papers, however, can be challenging when you reach the last couple of questions.

as for tips from someone who has taken tis module, i would say do not sleep in lectures. this will ensure you to not have a difficult time tackling the lecture quiz. if possible, sit with a big group of friends since discussion is allowed. expose yourself to a lot of proving questions in preparation for the papers. the calculation aspect should be manageable, just ensure no careless mistakes and you’ll be fine.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

MA1102R review (NUS)

this module will be enjoyed by people who are really into function functions, differentiation, integration. while almost half of the topics covered are not completely unfamiliar to you, since you have briefly learnt them in secondary or JC or Poly schooling, this module goes slightly more in depth of each topics mentioned. you will be dealing with countless mathematical expressions and what not as well.. so be prepared.

as for grading wise, they grade you through midterm paper, final paper, computer lab quiz and five take-on assignments.

personally, i think this module is rather challenging. not that the concepts are tough to understand but i think the lecturers assume that since most techniques aren’t exactly alien to the majority, they ought to set questions that are really complicated.. those you can hardly find in tutorials and assignments. as for the computer lab quiz, it isn’t exactly a time-based quiz. you are given the question in the comfort of your home and time. of course, just submit the answers before the deadline. some questions can be answered by Google.. shh.

as for tips from someone who has taken this module, i would suggest practice, practice, practice. in fact, most math and statistics modules require lots of practice. however, to me this module requires more than the average. redo your tutorials. tackle the revision questions if they give them. do past year papers. repeat all over if you have the time, focusing on the type of questions you think you still have to work on.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

ST1131 review (NUS)

this module merely introduce you the fundamentals of statistics. i would say you might know most of it if you took Math during your JC years. you learn about methods of data plotting, normal distribution, sampling methods and what not. the bell curve is rather steep for this module. the midterm is MCQ but the final is open-ended. nonetheless, it will not be of much challenge to most.

as for grading wise, they grade you through midterm paper and final paper. yes, it is just those two.. might be a bad thing for some, good for others.

personally, i didn’t really spend much time revising this module. this module never sent me into any state of panic or anxiety if you know what i mean. nonetheless, one has to still catch up on it now and then. the midterm paper can be rather straightforward. final paper might be just a little tricky. i think this module really reaches to the minute details like definitions and what not.. things that some people will tend to overlook as they think that they would have naturally knew those concepts and definitions.

as for tips from someone who has taken this module, don’t be complacent. many people go down that slippery slope and some crashed and burned. then again, no need to put yourself into too much stress for this module. do the papers they will provide you and i guess you will be fine.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

CFG1001 review (NUS)

this module is a 0 MC module and you might have hear seniors saying that this module is a complete waste of time and pointless. however, i beg to differ. i shall explain more in the later part. this allocated module generally gives you advices on life skills such as preparing your resume, getting right in interviews.. things you will be needing in years to come. the course is only five-weeks long.. with just three of which being face-to-face interaction.

as for grading wise, they grade you according to your class attendance. so long you attend all face-to-face classes, you will be given the “pass” grade.

personally, i find this module rather helpful though it is a little too early to be taught some of these skills. well, some of you might think things covered in this class is more of common sense and what not. to be honest, i thought so too but you will be surprised at certain details that you thought you knew. the skills taught in this class will come in really handy when you are trying for internships and jobs.

as for tips from someone who has taken this module, while at times you might not be able to help but not pay full attention in those classes, at least keep the handouts they give and take down pointers occasionally. these will be handy in years to come. like i mentioned earlier, this module is allocated, you need not bid for it.. just ballot for the class timings. you will be allocated during semester 2 of year 1 or semester 1 of year 2 if i didn’t remember wrongly. enjoy your time in class.. no worries just chill and interact.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

EC1301 review (NUS)

this module teaches the basics and fundamentals of economics. students who have taken H2 economics in their JC years might find this module rather a breeze as majority of its content are from JC H2 economics. for H1 students like myself, this module is still rather manageable.. just that you have to scale a slightly steeper hill compared to those who used to take H2 economics. the bell curve is rather steep i guess. easy to pass but not as easy to score in the A range since the assessments are all in MCQs.

as for grading wise, they grade you according to your tutorial scores you did online, midterm and final.

personally, i find this module useful and a good introduction to economics. from this module, you can roughly get a sense of whether you would like to take more economics module or even consider a second major in economics. topics covered are rather straight forward just that the scope is rather broad. i find the online platform where one is expected to complete the tutorials rather slow and annoying though.

as tips from someone who has taken this module, when doing tutorial questions, just do with a friend. or at least have friends to share their answers around. this would definitely save you a lot of time. you need not do every single available practices online. the key ones are those graded ones of course and i think those are probably your first priority. if time permits, then by all means go ahead and explore and try the rest. as for exams, just be sure and clear of each of the concepts covered and you would be fine. try couple of past year papers to boost your confidence.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

ES1102 review (NUS)

this module is a 0 MC module for sad students like me who did not do well in A levels GP and the QET test. this is sort of a bridging course in english language where you are taught simple grammar and what not. i think the only key take away is they teach you how to write an academic text and not a composition like you used to during the years prior to university. rather waste of time module but one does not have much choice.

as for grading wise, they grade you through online grammar practices, essay with three drafts including the final one, class participation, reflections and final.

personally, like i mentioned earlier i find this module a rather waste of time especially if you are a Singaporean. i think this module is more useful for foreign students whose first language isn’t english. otherwise, most of the stuff taught a simple and straightforward. i think this module is meant to waste your time. the only useful thing is learning how to write an academic text.. that’s it.

as tips from someone who has taken this module, just don’t sweat too much for this module. it is a pass/fail module. you score an A or B-, you still get the pass grade. you should only pay attention to the academic text part. as for final exam, it is only 30% of academic text writing so just know the format and what not and turn up for the exam. keep pace with the class since most assessments are from class work.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

GEM2901 review (NUS)

this module teaches you how to interpret and sieve news article that contains lots of statical figures in them. you will learn the loopholes and errors in sampling and data collection and what not through the entire course of lectures. statistics major students love to take this module. even other students love this too as it is comparatively easier and relaxing. lectures only.. there isn’t any tutorials for this module but sadly, i heard this module is going to be taken away soon. not sure it will be replaced, renamed or really removed for good.

as for grading wise,they grade you through two group projects and final.

personally, i find this module rather interesting though skipping lectures won’t result you losing out mush as well. in fact, most of the time, few turn up for lectures. the notes are really comprehensive and concepts taught are pretty clear and straightforward. the final paper is also easy so long you have read through the lecture notes and sample tutorial questions a couple of time. the group project is rather straightforward too as you can write anything you deem might help explain your case when criticising a news article.

as tips from someone who has taken this module, take this module with friends since the group work requires 3 to 5 students per group. when starting on the projects.. sieve out few news articles and email the lecturers to see if those selected ones could be used for the projects. thereafter, you all can start and complete the project write-up without much sweat. as for the final paper, just turn up and bring along a certain amount of common sense with you. bell curve is naturally steep for this module.. of course.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

LSM1302 review (NUS)

this module teaches students a lot of biological concepts before exposing them to ethical issues that can be brought forth from biological research and experiments. the module is naturally content heavy but the lecturer can be rather entertaining and interesting. this module has no tutorials just purely lectures twice a week.

as for grading wise, you are graded through lecture questions (one MCQ per few lectures), IVLE participation through surveys, essay project. brochure project, structured questions homework, final.

personally, i love this module really much. having learned H2 biology in my JC times, some of the concepts taught in this module are rather familiar. though the lectures are long and have no breaks in between, the lecturer is rather entertaining and on usual days i will not feel bored to death in his lectures. the assignments might be a little time consuming considering the low weightage each of them has but the process of doing can be enriching. final is the only thing that really separates the A students from the B students to the others.

as tips from someone who has taken this module, if biology interest you, this module is for you. i have a friend who did not have any biology knowledge prior to taking this module. however, despite having to climb a steep hill, she enjoyed this module as much as i did. keep up with the assignments and put in decent amount of effort to level yourself with the cohort. final exam will be the one that decides who score what. the practices the lecturer gives are not a good representation of the exam questions. though they are MCQs, the questions there can be rather tricky and tough. as always, biology tests who has the greatest memory.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

PC1327 review (NUS)

this module introduces physics into music. actually, the title of the module is pretty much self-explanatory. you will get to learn waveform and simple calculation pertaining to both physics and music. if you are worrying about not having any physics or music background, well, don’t worry. while prior music knowledge might give you a slight edge, there music stuff is rather straightforward and easy. as for physics part, i didn’t take physics since secondary school and i find this module physics aspect is more like basic mathematics calculations.

as for grading wise, you are graded from two term tests, tutorial attendance, MIDI composition and reflection essay on a musical performance.

personally, i enjoyed this module for not only it has a light workload, i enjoyed the assessments. however, if you hate steep bell curves then you might hate this module for this module has the steepest bell curve i have ever seen so far. nonetheless, the journey was rather relaxing and enjoyable. you need not have knowledge on physics and/or music to ace this module. even without knowledge on both, you won’t struggle much.

as tips from someone who has taken this module, try to ace in your term tests. in other words, aim for full marks. practise a few past year papers from your seniors and what not for the format and style is always the same.. i think the lecturer is a little lazy to be really creative year after year. also, for the live concert you have to attend to write that essay, find free or cheap ones and hang out with your friends. enjoy your time in this module.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

ST2131 review (NUS)

this module teaches a lot of statistical knowledge. permutations, combinations, probability, distributions. you will be taught tons and tons of formulas and expected to know how to apply them during exams. don’t worry, cheatsheet is allowed but that does not mean the paper will turn out easy. content heavy module but the stuff taught in this module is pretty applicable in future statistics and mathematics module.

as for grading wise, you are graded through midterm and final.

personally, i find this module slightly challenging. while there are certain initial chapters that teach us something we learn before university, the new stuff taught can be rather difficult and confusing. if you don’t love mathematics, especially statistics, this is not a module for you. the exams are pretty okay but from what i heard, their difficultly depends on the main coordinator. i guess i was a little lucky then.

as tips from someone who has taken this module, just be really consistent. i wasn’t so and kind of regret after recess week. for i could feel myself snowballing all my doubts and what not in the final parts of the semester.. which is not good. i had to scale a steeper hill during reading week. also, try to ace the midterm if you want a perfect score 5 for the module.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

insomnia

decent and accurate interpretation..

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

courtesy

saying “thank you” or “excuse me” is probably something being taught the moment a kid has begun to talk. hey idiots, you say “thank you” when someone has voluntarily help you. i would not be so particular about it if it happens now and then. but consistently no giving thanks would really make you seem as a super rude person whom the entire world owes you something. please, the world doesn’t revolve around you and being in a rush is not a good excuse. giving a simple word of thanks takes you just a second and you will make the world a better place by letting people who helped you feel appreciated. furthermore, you won’t appear rude. hey idiots, you say “excuse me” when you need to pass someone who is unfortunately and unintentionally standing in your way. you don’t go pushing and shoving through the crowd without saying a word. that is just rude and ignorant. again, being in a rush is a really bad excuse here since you need not use much time or effort to say “excuse me”.

updating your friends if you have other plans or sick and you cannot turn up might be something your parents didn’t teach but i’m sure they taught you responsibility. this should be picked up naturally over the years right? how would you like waiting for someone even though it is past the meeting time but be told way later that he/she cannot turn up for whatever reason? being the idiot of no saying anything will be just irresponsible and not putting a thought for your dear friends who expect to meet you. informing them last minute might not be ideal but at least informing is better than waiting for your dear friends to actually ask you when are you turning up only to get the reply that you aren’t anymore.

saying “hello” and “goodbye” is also something you learn from young but somehow for some people, these words don’t exist in their dictionary anymore and i wonder why at times. they you just pop out and disappear without saying a word. if you are doing that, i assume you want to be a ghost.. sure i will grant your wish. you might as well not turn up as well for that matter.

well, many things will send people shaking their heads but the thing that really makes my head shake the most is lacking in manners and courtesy. yeah, these things are not really taught in school but take note, how polite or responsible you appear speaks a lot about your character and your family’s teaching. think about it.

Monday, July 6, 2015

run to me

Sunday, July 5, 2015

bad name

Saturday, July 4, 2015

two

yes this is an update of my life.

it is the 4th of July again. no, i'm not an American but this day is still unique to me for i passed my driving test on this very day two years ago.. haha. of course, after the initial failure and waste of $200. time really flies when you track such key events and see how long it has been since it happened.

also, June has just flown by.. just like that. one more month to the start of school. ohh well, i'm glad June has been great with SCAMP stuffs. really thankful to have met fellow seniors and working together. thinking of cheers. making of video. making of flag. hunting of OG identity. the list will go on and on. of course, this experience would not have been complete without great freshmen as well. so relieved to have cool and awesome freshmen in the OG as well. i really appreciate every time with hang out, eat and talk. hopefully this bond will last throughout the entire academic journey in NUS.

moving on, i will be part of another orientation program this month. same old thing happening again, just with different people and what not. hopefully this would be another good experience as well. mean time, i'm just going to keep working and enjoy my holidays as and when i can. i know i haven't really been updating this blog as often as i have before June but i am still trying. on top of that, there are things on my mind waiting to be written down. once they are all down, i will slowly post them here.