truth potato #18

this edition of Truth Potato taken from the Bored Panda website is somewhat relatable to something close to heart. relationships. i value relationships a lot and tend to take them more seriously as compared to most people. that was pointed out by one of my close friends before as well.

being so comes at a cost at times. holding on to people who are tying you down.. so at times i end up caring about the wrong issues and people. nonetheless, those times are over i guess as i find myself more picky when it comes to who i should keep close to heart. this is a timely reminder as well.. hopefully it is to some of you.

truth potato #17

yeah, if you have been following or are observant i actually skipped a couple of entries from Truth Potato.. this is due to the fact that some messages are somewhat vulgar. so yes, we move to #17 from the Bored Panda website.

more than just thoughts i think words hold the same weight as well. like if you have the intention or said you have the plan to do something, it doesn't really count or matter much until actions are carried out. people are more impressed with actions rather than thoughts and words. go beyond the "no action, talk only" to really create an impact.

truth potato #14

in this edition of Truth Potato taken from the Bored Panda website, the quote reminds us not to expect too much, or in fact even anything, in return. doing 3 good deeds would not equate to getting 3 favours done for you. being nice makes your life and others' life better.. don't expect anything in return.. if you want to be nice just be nice, that's it.

this is kind of useful to remind ignorant people and those who have a very false sense of self-entitlement. the world owes you nothing.. regardless of who you are or even how rich/famous you are. anything with less expectations would prevent necessary unhappiness as well.. so why not try adopting this idea.

truth potato #13

in this edition of Truth Potato from the Bored Panda website, i think most can relate. we are always multi-tasking and thinking that by doing so we achieve more. in fact, rather than achieving more, at times it is just our attention is divided.. hence inefficient. well, like what some would suggest.. it isn't about quantity but quality. if you can't do that task well while multi-tasking, drop it. 

this quote can be taken into the account of life schedule. while being so busy and caught up with things at hand, at times people neglect things that are more valuable than dollars and cents.. like relationships. so yes, pause and look around now and then no matter how busy you find yourself to be.

a thousand

yes this is an update of my life.

well, here it is the 1000th post since the remake of this blog. i am somewhat amazed at the fact that i am still using this platform. nonetheless, i still remain positive that this will be a long-term thing. frequency wise, i try to update as often as possible.. with a clear mind and what not. that said, yeah i have been gone for quite a few days. two reasons.

the first reason would be i have been adjusting to the new work life. the expectations, the routine, the responsibilities, the energy required, the rest required. it feels like i am always on the edge in office. it feels like i am fighting a war in office. relax, not war with co-workers but rather the project and messy data. as weird as it may sound.. i find my job so far really challenging yet enjoyable. probably due to the fact that i get to grow and learn as i work on the things i am passionate about.

the second reason would be home internet. my home internet was down for a couple of days over the week. phone data usage is not a viable source for i want to avoid exceeding the monthly limit. things got a little messy but it is all fixed now.. tough i think this new modem is giving me slower internet.. hmm.

busy weekend and i just hope i get sufficient rest to take on another 5 days of "war" until next time then, cheers.

girls like you

first and heavy

yes this is an update of my life.

first week of adult-ing done. settling in to my first job slowly but surely. the past week has been a tiring one. so many information to take in with the given amount of time. by sheer coincidence, my first week or work is also a short work week. thanks to the public holiday on Friday, the work week consisted of only 4 days.

got myself through various induction programs and what not. got to taste a little of the projects i am working with. the first project has a very big dataset set as well. i can slowly feel the responsibilities and expectations weighing down on my shoulders. while i embrace the change and adjustment, i am somewhat anxious about the path ahead. would i cope well and properly?

regardless, i choose to believe that learning never stops and all these transitions and discomfort is part of learning. who knows after a while i will be really comfortable to handle such weighs. in the meantime i shall treasure each opportunity. until next time then, cheers.

truth potato #12

taken from the Bored Panda website, this note from Truth Potato serves as a good reminder to each and every one of us now and then. somehow or rather, we all tend to try please others. be it your parents, your friends, your bosses and what not. after a while, this would take a toll and you would soon realise in the midst of pleasing others, you aren't happy.

so yes, invest in yourself isn't selfish. in fact, i believe it is very important to invest sufficient time for yourself every other day. you are human as well.. you are not born to serve or please others.

truth potato #11

in this instalment of Truth Potato taken from the Bored Panda website, i think not many people are able to relate. in an era where purchasing power is generally decent in most of the populations, we still see increasing issues of depression, anxiety and what not. yeah, money cannot buy all happiness but in certain way it sets a new "starting point" in being happy.

with money, past woes of proper meals and shelter are eliminated hence everyone would be, by default, happier than in the past. of course, money cannot achieve all the happiness in the world.. it depends on how money is used as well. for starters, maybe use it wisely to cultivate and nurture relationships. share to show care every now and then.

the night suana

yes this is an update of my life.

i need to complain about the weather these few days. too damn hot and humid. simple actions and activities like taking a meal outdoors will lead me to bath in my own sweat. staying indoors without aircon is of not much help as well. my room is facing west and i stay in the east.. so in the afternoon the sun will be boiling my room. even at night.. my room still feels like a suana.

anyway got to treasure my last few days as a naive graduate before heading into the working world for real. nope, still not feeling the very surreal moment that everyone tends to feel. well i guess i need to experience a couple of days of it first. until next time then, cheers.

illumielle

year four in review (NUS)

well, four years of undergraduate life just flew by.. this is the final year in review in a really small nutshell. i would say that the final year is both relaxing and challenging at the same time.. allow me to explain my take.

relaxing in a way you know more or less your CAP cannot change by much so the efforts you put in tend to be more selective that the pats few semesters. relaxing in a way your timetable might not be as packed as the first two years. challenging due to the fact that over your regular modules, FYP is a the thorn in your toe. challenging due to the fact that you have to start to keep a close eye on job opportunities and what not.

either way, no regrets taking statistics as a major in NUS. thankful that my academic mentor advised against my idea of taking economics as a second major.. without a second major i was able to read more interesting UEs. however, slight regret would be not taking public health as a minor. ohh wells.. my career path will be on that road i hope. like the past few years, below are the modules i read in my final year and their respective reviews.

year 4 semester 1: -
ST3240   ST4231   ST4234

year 4 semester 2: -
GEK1900   ST3244   ST4242

final year project (FYP): ST4199

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.

ST4199 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

this review will be slightly different since the topic of the project varies from student to student. in statistics course, ST4199 offers two different paths as well. one would be the individual FYP and the other is the group/seminar style. note that, even the group seminar/style, in the end the report writing, presentation and other assessments are done as though it is an individual project. meaning, in a group/seminar setting, you can discuss on literature review and what not but ultimately your submissions and what not are done individually. yes, your topics are similar but your "products" vary.

i have a rough idea how group/seminar path works but not in detail so am not confident to share on that as well. i took the individual FYP path and as such, will be talking about that.

assessments

for individual FYP, the assessments include report (2 drafts) and oral presentation, with Q&A. the report has two submissions, both submission is the entire thesis. the first would be around semester 2 just after recess week while the second would be after the oral presentation and Q&A, right before reading week. oral presentation is a 40-minutes session though if you take less than that is fine too.. just try not to exceed that. straight after the presentation would be the Q&A.

my project

my FYP was titled "Survival Analysis of Identified Diabetic Patients". the main few analyses included Kaplan-Meier estimate, Cox proportionate hazard model and computation of restricted mean number of years of survival. I had two awesome supervisors, Prof. Teo Yik Ying and Dr. Stefan Ma.

rough progress timeline

though the department required those doing individual FYP to submit the project details and supervisors' name by 3rd week of semester 1, i began finding supervisors since June and managed to confirm all the details by late June to early July. retrieval of my datasets took quite some time so between August to early September, i did tons of literature review and learning of the few statistical methods that were required and that i have yet to understand fully. 

to be honest, even for the remaining of September, i did mostly literature review. my data came quite late and i only started to do simple cleaning and merging of data so that it can be used for analysis with minimal issues in later stages. cleaning and merging thankfully took about 2 days before i head on to summary statistics and churning out simple results.

October came and yes, still some literature review and reading of research papers. i would say my project had three main sections of analysis/results.. with the last two sections having three sub-sections. let's call these sections and sub-sections A, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3. so in October, i produced the results for A which mainly consist of summary statistics and other simple results. i began coding a little for B1 and C1.

in November, i completed coding and producing the results for B1 and C1. then i went on to B2 and C2. these were a little tricky so it took couple of meetings and tries to iron things out but i remembered by reading week i was near done with them.

in December, after relaxing a while after the final examinations of the first semester, i went on to B3 and C3. due to unforeseen circumstances happening elsewhere outside school work and in my personal life, the break wasn't as productive as i hoped. so this spilled to the first half of January. by middle of January, i had all results out and started to figure the interpretations and what not.

February involved a lot of edits after presenting the stuff to both my supervisors. started writing the backbone of my thesis in early February as well. spent the second half of the month mainly writing up my thesis and letting my supervisors to run through before editing again and again.

March was the submission of the first draft. then also started preparing slides for my oral presentation. by middle of March, my slides and speech were up and ready. practised with my peers tons of time. well, what came after this would be the oral presentation with Q&A and the final submission.

individual VS group/seminar

yeah i know some might be thinking which paths might be better. while certain ranges of CAP will put you in a spot where you cannot choose, there are some who can choose between the two paths. or another way is probably you are now aiming to score within certain ranges of CAP so as to grant you a particular path. nonetheless, i will try my best to weigh out the pros and cons of the two paths to give a rough idea to you all.

time management. notice that all the deadlines for individual FYP happen in the second semester so technically no one would be pushing you or setting a pace for you specifically to follow. good time management and proper planning is needed. then you also cannot set the timeline same as other individual FYP since the nature of most individual FYPs varies. some might face a slower data collection or data extraction process while others have to take a slower pace in other aspects. on the contrary, the assessments for group/seminar FYP are spread out.. so you roughly get the sense of urgency now and then. professors taking students on this path are more likely to check on you and push you now and then too.. well, apart from a few lazy professors.

meetings. on this aspect, group/seminar FYP students generally will meet the professors more often as they will set up say bi-weekly sessions and what not. i think such platforms serve as a good place to clarify doubts efficiently. individual FYP wise, no meeting also can but of course that is for extreme case in which i have never know someone who has done so. however, for individual FYP student, the professor will usually agree to meet if he/she is free.. bluntly speaking, you are not the priority. so time between each meeting could be up to a month or so. i'm sure you can hear some horror stories elsewhere. thank goodness i have awesome supervisors.

freedom of choice. individual FYP tend to have greater freedom of choice.. be it topic wise or supervisor wise. i get to choose who to find and ask if he/she could be my supervisor. of course start early since any professor cannot take a lot of students in an academic year. topic wise, i had a little say as well.. highlighting my interest in biostatistic and/or public health. for group/seminar FYP, you get to rank the professors you want but more often than not, you cannot get the first choice. topic wise, those professors have set the topics even before your selection of professors begin. 

running into trouble. this is where group/seminar FYP is the obvious better option. while reports might vary.. background topic can be similar.. so anything unsure you have a few others to discuss with you. for individual FYP, for obvious reasons you are on your own if you run into a mini hiccup or what not. yeah your supervisor might hint you but they wouldn't usually suggest a solution.

my opinion

i think ST4199, regardless of the path you take, is a really good exposure to research work. if you think you are definitely not going into the statistic or analyst or research line.. year 4, and thus FYP, might not be your cup of tea. if you decide to got for FYP, know what kind of project you probably want.. like roughly the "industry" and what not. be it individual or group/seminar FYP, then go ahead and choose professors based on their interest of research and topics offered. 

ohh which reminds me of a common misconception. difficulty. both paths are difficult.. come one FYP sure got tons of challenges. that is why it is important to choose properly.. i am sure it is less painful if you are doing something you prefer.

actually, i think time management is important in both paths.. just one might be more reliant on good time management. this module is clear very different from any other modules. last minute work or cramming will never work out fine. nonetheless, embrace this opportunity and whatever challenges it may pose.. for the finish line is sweet.

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.

ST4242 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

things you lean: -

titled "Analysis of Longitudinal Data", this module kicks start by introducing the two forms of longitudinal data.. namely the wide and long format. thereafter, the module teaches you various model formats such as linear mixed models, generalised linear models and others. you will get to understand smoothing and be introduced to various covariance and correlation structures when modelling various data.

assessments: -

the assessments are just tutorial submissions and final exam. the tutorial submissions grading was rather straightforward. you either get 1 or 0 for satisfactory and unsatisfactory respectively. final exam was more tedious and torturous. one sheet of cheatsheet is allowed. time was a huge factor in the paper for there were so many questions.

my opinion on the module: -

hmm.. to be honest i not quite how to put a feeling to this module. but my first impression would be mildly challenging yet interesting. the models you get to learn are pretty new. the presentation of observations and what not in matrix forms are more complex than any previous modules you read.. because in this case you get an individual recorded at various timepoints having numerous variables.. so yeah go figure. hard work is needed to understand this module well and to tackle the assessments well.

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.

ST3244 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

things you lean: -

title "Demographic Methods", this module introduces you to various terms and methods such as proportions, rates, standardisation, life tables, population growth and many more. the topics cover are aplenty and are essential in understanding and interpreting demographics. this module is an important stepping stone if you intent to work towards population studies in your education or future job.

assessments: -

the assessments include tutorial attendance, 2 assignments and final exam. tutorial attendance is self-explanatory.. taking place during the second hour of the second lecture slot each week. the two assignments were straightforward and not so time consuming if you bother to know the key ideas from the lectures. final exam is open book. though so, there were tons of questions.. so one has to find and get those answers down on the paper fast. there would be little or no time to check through your work.

my opinion on the module: -

easy module. you should aim to score full or close to full marks in the assignments. the content of this module can be rather overwhelming but difficulty wise i am sure most would get it after a couple of reads. nothing too abstract other than a couple of proofs which the professor that taught me did not really focus on much. after all this module is more application rather than the hardcore statistics stuff like previous level 2000 statistics modules.

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.

GEK1900 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

things you lean: -

titled "Public Health in Action", this module serves as an introduction to the public health studies where students are exposed to various health issues the world faces today. through them, policies and what not are evaluated and analysed in lectures and the various assessments. it serves as a good indication if such a field would be an interest. even not so, it provides a fresh aspect of education.. definitely adding some colours to your primary major or course.

assessments: -

students were assessed on lecture quizzes, group reports, group participation, peer review and 2 assignments. the lecture quizzes were based on each week's readings.. straightforward actually, no need to read beforehand since you can bring your laptop to use the "find" function for most of the answers. these quizzes generally penalises those who were late. group reports start from week 2 onwards though grading begins from the 3rd week onwards. they would be based on themes or health issue for that particular week. each group was expected to submit their copy within 45 minutes in the middle of the 3 hour weekly slot. the last hour of the slot would be group participation where groups get to share their ideas and answers to get the few percentage of grades. peer review is self-explanatory. the 2 assignments were just essays and essays.. one given around week 3 and the other near reading week. troublesome but ohh wells.. anything for no exam.

my opinion on the module: -

i have a particular interest in public health so i really quite enjoyed this module. the bid points are always insane.. for good reasons of course. no exams and interesting module. i find the assignments a big drag tough.. very time consuming. nonetheless, the lectures are very interesting. assessments, apart from the assignments, are rather manageable.

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.

ST4234 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

things you lean: -

titled "Bayesian Statistic", this module offers a very fresh take on analytics using the Bayesian mindset or approach or method.. whatever you want to call it. it definitely open doors to more possibilities in terms of data exploration and analysis. the entire module circles around the posterior, prior, likelihood. computational methods picked out include Monte Carlo approximation, hierarchical models, multi-parameter models and others.

assessments: -

students were assessed on tutorial presentation, group project, midterm exam and final exam. the tutorial presentation was done in groups of 3 or 4. a group is expected to present once per semester only. the group project was done with the same group. it involved literature review on Bayesian researches and a task on Bayesian computation. the exam papers were rather challenging.

my opinion on the module: -

i love this module. i think i learned quite a lot from this module. like i mentioned earlier, this module gives you a fresh look on handling data and what not when it comes to statistical analysis. as the Bayesian approach is relatively new compared to classical statistics, you get to see the potential for it to move on in years to come. nonetheless, a word of caution is this module is very challenging. you need quite a bit of time to understand and do the tutorials. group project is painful but not as painful as i feared probably due to my awesome and cooperative group members. i would always advise any juniors to take this module.. but if you aren't those who love challenges then skip this.

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.

ST4231 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

things you lean: -

titled "Computer Intensive Statistical Methods", this module is a core requirement for statistics undergraduates. this module teaches you complex stuff such as generating random numbers, variance reduction techniques, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), classification and others. you deal with quite a lot of mathematical symbols, matrices and what not.

assessments: -

each student was graded on tutorial submissions, assignment, midterm exam and final exam. it is obvious what tutorial submissions are. for assignment, the lecturer gave couple of new stuff to work on that is a big leap from what was taught in lectures.. but not tested in exams. both exams were open book, consisting fair mix of difficult and manageable questions.

my opinion on the module: -

the lecturer was a lecturer i met in one of my previous modules and i did not really like the style of his teaching and assessments. hence, my opinion might just be somewhat biased. nonetheless, while taking this module, i feel as though i am swimming in deep waters. the things you learn are somewhat abstract at times and tutorials might take some time to finish. the assignment was a complete waste of time and effort to be honest.. i felt like i did not learn anything from it. think the lecturer was trying to spark interest among students in that kind of research.. but obviously did not work for me. do not fret if you struggle in the exam papers since most would.

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.

ST3240 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

things you lean: -

titled "Multivariate Statistical Analysis", this module obviously goes beyond the simple univariate analysis and takes on datasets with many variables. through this module, you will be introduced to methods like Hotelling's statistic, confidence ellipsoid, cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), k-means, expected cost of misclassification (ECM), error rates and others. this module is a decent step to handling complex data with tons of variables.

assessments: -

this module is assessed based on group project, tutorial presentation, assignments and final exam. the group project is fairly simple.. it involves a default multivariate dataset in R where the group is expected to explore various ways to classify the observations.. in the end, written report and presentation were expected from each group with the presentation happening late in the semester. tutorial presentation will be done with the same group members.. presenting only once per semester. there were 2 assignments which were manageable in terms of difficulty and time given. final exam was tedious.. tons of questions. though open book exam, expect little or no time to check your work.

my opinion on the module: -

easy module. though content seems rather taxing when i put out in words above, i personally find this module very manageable. let's say you learn 20 new things in this module.. i would say probably 9 of them you would study in depth? the rest more or less touch-and-go kind. nonetheless, this module serves as a really important module for your future if you are intending work in a data field and what not. for assignments, aim to score full or close to full marks. don't sweat the project since the percentage was low.

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.

two great men

yes this is an update of my life.

one more week to the beginning of the rest of my life.. heading out into the workforce. the feeling of being a working adult and the responsibilities that follow have yet to really hit me yet. nonetheless, knowing my weird mind of mine.. i'm guessing i will only feel whatever i am suppose to feel only when i start to work for a couple of days or so.

treasuring my final few days of living a life or pure bliss and no stress. watching the movies and shows that i usually watch.. even rewatching some of them. of course other than these idling activities.. i kept the promises i make to myself of exercising and writing module reviews. will post those reviews this weekend after my final edits.

next up i would like to mention two great managers that managed the two teams i love. coincidentally both of them has left the club. Wenger leaving Arsenal and Zidane leaving Real Madrid. sensational managers stepping down and future of the clubs in a little uncertainty. well, Arsenal appointed Unai Emery.. hopefully things at Arsenal will improve. as for Real Madrid, i am quite curious as to who will be appointed. maybe Wenger? haha.. well if that really happens, i would honestly be a little surprised.

end of an era for Arsenal. end of an incredible 3-year good run for Real Madrid. nonetheless, before the next season begins in England and Spain, the upcoming event is World Cup... can't wait. until next time then, cheers.