Lecture Only Weeks Ends, The Start of Tutorials

The Past One Week
Ok, now I start to feel the workload coming in. Firstly, for CS1102C I have to do a lot of catch up with C++. The lecturer was teaching the course so fast, that I still don't know how to implement the classes properly (not to talk about inheritance). The only few things I know about classes is that it is private by default (unlike structures, which is public by default), and you usually make the variables/attribute private and the contructor, accessor, mutator and facilitator public. Anyway, I attended the help session at LT 4 last Friday, and understand some of the things by a little bit...

Next is the SSA2202 project. Well, as I couldn't find my project mates on my own (since no one is taking this module with me), I have to seek help with the teaching assistant. Anyway, now I have a project group, consisting of a girl from FASS, a boy who is a student exchange from Canada and me myself. Hmm... the exchange student kept reminding me of Benjamin from the Signal platoon, I don't really know why. Maybe because he look a bit like Benjamin, due to the spectacles he's wearing, and the way he speaks, because he has the accent, which is kind of like Benjamin's. Anyway, we faced a bit of problems with the project, because it is quite difficult to settle a topic to discuss, and to find a newspaper article that MUST be from The Straits Times dated in the year 2006... Hmm... that's a big restrictions... Other than the project, we still need to do our readings as well. Can't really just read the readings in the last minute, since my exams are very close to one another.

About EG1413, we need to start preparing for the 1st assignment (individual critique) by finding articles and resources from books/newspaper/internet to support our own point of view. After that, we have to prepare for a team position paper. Hmm... Need to start reading up the arguments given inside the resource book and to find related articles on the internet now...

For CS1231, MA1506 and MLE1101, I have to read up the lecture notes back home, so that I can understand s bit more about the topic, and to do the tutorials. Hmm... some of the MA1506 tutorial questions are a bit weird, so I decided to skipped that out and attend the tutorial to find out how I should go about doing it... The first tutorial for CS1231 and MLE1101 are quite managable, so that doesn't pose much problems. Wonder if things may get worse later on...

The Busier Days Ahead
Well, someone said that this Miz river is getting dry. Yup, the dry spells are here again, so there's no doubt that it is running dry. This dry spells is going to last for a few months, so for those people who need to get water from this river, you may have to be patient for the fresh flow of water to come. Anyway, the sediments will always be there for you to collect. :P

Busier days ahead. When tutorials start, I'll be spending much more time on my school work, so as to minimise the effect of dropping CAP. In that case, I may not post a new entry as often as I can. Well, I'll try to post a new one when I'm really free, and I have finish the work that I need to do. Well, I'll always pop by the blog, so you can leave your tags here, and I'll try to answer them (unless the tag is just purely rubbish).

Movie: Pan's Labyrinth
Sorry Kavan, can't really watch this with you (that is if you want to watch) because our Mr Nicky wants to watch this show. :P Well, Nicky called me at the middle of my EG1413 tutorial, but I can't pick up the phone, or the tutor will complain. Well, I call back to him, and he said that he wants to watch Pan's Labyrinth, and ask us to decide the timing. I said ok, since my schedule is quite tight anyway, so Wei Qiang and I planned to have the movie at 7pm at Marina Square. So eventually, Kai Quan, Chit Chin, Weibin and Chun Hoo came for the movie as well. Desmond wanted to come, but he said it woud be too rush for him, as he had lessons in the late afternoon.

Before the start of the movie, we went to Carl's Jr. to have our dinner. Hmm... I don't why we decided on Carl's Jr., when Chun Hoo didn't want to eat fast food... But anyway, we still go there and have a quick dinner (even though the serving size is relatively big).

The movie is not too bad, just that it would be better if it focus more on fantansy than about the war. The fantasy part is kind of like a movie for children, because of the fantasy, but well, it's an NC-16 movie, due to violence on the war part. So, I'm not really sure which audiences is the movie trying to target, maybe it's a movie for people who like fantasy, like me... :P

Discount Coupons!!!

Borders Discount Coupons
Anyone intending to buy any books, CDs, DVDs or VCDs? Well, there's a 40% discount for one full-priced book and also 25% discount for one CD/DVD/VCD at Borders, Singapore. Just print out the coupons using the links given below (print as many as you want). I found this out while reading the CS1101C forum, thank you very much Mr Tan!!!

Click here for 40% off one full priced book coupon.

Click here for 25% off one CD, DVD or VCD coupon.

One coupon per customers per day. Please remember to read the terms and conditions first before using the coupon. Discount coupon expires on 25 January 2007.

(PS. I'm not related to borders in any way.)

The First Week of the Semester

Lectures, Lecturers and More
Just to keep you'll an update, these are the modules that I'm taking this semester.
CS1102C - Data Structures and Algorithms (C++)
CS1231 - Discrete Structures
EG1413 - Critical Thinking and Writing
MA1506 - Mathematics II
MLE1101 - Introductory Materials Science and Engineering
SSA2202 - Changing Landscapes of Singapore

CS1102C
The lecturer isn't that bad. He is Chinese-educated (a Singaporean), so his English may not be that perfect. Well, I have to say that he going through the C to C++ part quite quickly, so I have to keep reading up the lecture notes and practise a bit using my laptop to at least understand a bit what he's saying. Think that he might be a bit rush for the lecture, just one week and he covered strings, structures and classes. Kind of difficult to absord what he had taught us. Well, there's no webcast for us to view for the last 2 lectures, but he understands our problems and managed to get the lecture webcasted.

CS1231
During the first lecture, the lecturer just introduce himself and ask us if there are any questions. After that he just released us from lecture, so we attend a lecture for just less than 20 minutes. Ok, so I just rush down from Faculty of Engineering to Faculty of Science just for that... Never mind, I wonder how would those people who lived at Pasir Ris and only had CS1231 lecture on that day felt...
Well, so far the lecture covered about logic. Hmm... It kind of look like some IQ module for me. Hopefully won't get poor grades because other people did much better than me...

MA1506
I think the lecturer is an opera singer!!! His voice is just so high, I thought he was singing a chinese opera to us... Anyway, if you attend his lecture, so far what I feel is that you won't be listening to his lectures, because you are just way too busy copying notes that he put up on the OHP (and also you can't really decipher much what he is saying anyway).
Unfortunately, the coordinator for this module is a cauasian, so our lecture notes and tutorials are mostly made up of words and sentences... Hmm... It can be difficult to digest what the lecture notes and the tutorials are trying to say though...

MLE1101
Hmm... The lecturer is kind of "lor-so". He talk a lot of rubbish during the introductory lecture, and talk quite slowly as well... We had our 2 periods of MLE1101 lecture at LT 7, and having 2 periods of lecture at LT 7 can be a torture, especially when the air-con at LT 7 isn't working properly, and the ambience is poor as well. Can't really concentrate in such lecture theatre, I wonder when they are going to upgrade it.
So far we learned about the atom structures in the lectures, which is kind of like Chemistry to me. Well, I supposed there's some Physics concepts to that.

SSA2202
So far I think that the lecturer is the best among all those lecturers that I had met on the first week of the semester. I feel that she is humourous, and able to give the lecture clearly and make it interesting as well. The only think I don't like about the lecture is to print out the lecture notes, because the lecture notes contains a lot of pictures, which waste a lot of ink from my printer...

Well, from next week onwards, we will start to have EG1413 - Critical Writing and Thinking tutorials. Ok, time to write intellectual essays...

Textbooks
So far I had spent about $120 on textbooks (all new textbooks). Hopefully, I won't just buy the textbooks and throw onto the shelves or on bed and leave it to rot, like what I did last semester on my Electrical Engineering textbook. Well, not that I didn't want to read it, but I find that the focus and the method they are using on the textbook are kind of different from what the lecture notes covered. In order not to confuse myself, I decided to just stick on with my lecture notes. Well, at least I managed to utilised my C programming textbook (because the exam is open book), and use a bit of my University Physics and Economics textbook to seek help for my tutorials.

One Recent Incident
Last Thursday, Meijun wanted to take bus 188 to Harbourfront and take the train back home from there. She wanted the 3 of us, Hong Joo, Kian Heng and me, to accompany her there, so we agreed. Well, it cost me $1.08 to travel to Harbourfront bus interchange, as compared to the normal $0.65 to travel to Clementi or Buona Vista station. Never mind about that, I was also interested with the bus route anyway.

Well, as we travelling in the bus, there was this man, about 40 to 50+, who enter the bus talking on his mobile phone quite loudly. Well, the bus captain keep waving his hand to the man. I didn't know what the bus captain was trying to say, until I realised that the person haven't paid for his bus fare yet. Yup, I didn't hear any beeping sound or the coins sound when he entered the bus... Hmm... The bus captain was waving quite furiously, but he didn't respond to that. In the end, he decided to continue driving off the bus...

Well, we decided to see if the man tap his card at the end of the journey. Yup, he didn't... We were kind of angry and upset with the person who did not pay for the bus fare throughout the journey. Well, don't think he forgot to tap his card, because I don't think he can forget twice, and the bus captain had signalled to him... Most likely he knew about that, but he didn't want to pay... Haiz... I wonder how could such person exist... I feel that the bus captain had to be fiercer and daring, so that the person will remember to pay...

Some Changes
Ok, now my Violin lesson had changed to Friday 8 - 9pm. So, that means that I'll only had Flute on Sunday 3 - 4pm. So, if you want to ask me out for a movie, I'll be free after 9pm on Friday, or after 4pm on Sunday.

Before I Start the Next Semester...

NUS Semester 2
Managed to bid SSA2202 - Changing Landscapes of Singapore successfully. Well, I couldn't find anyone to take this module with me, so I might face some problems finding a project group for that module. Well, if by Week 6 (just before the "Drop with F grade" takes place) I still cannot find a project group, then I might have to drop this module. Getting a grade W is at least better than getting a grade F or a grade U/CU (if I declare S/U), and anyway I just bidded the module for 2 points, so it doesn't hurt too much if I dropped it... Well, hopefully I could find a good project group real quick...

By looking at the modules I'm taking for this coming semester, I think that my CAP might most likely drop. Well, not because I'm overloading this semester (in fact, I considered to have overload last semester, just that the extra English module does not carry any MCs, even though it is similar to any 4-MC module), but because the modules are more demanding. CS1102C carries 5 MC, so this would mean that there will be a lot of work to do and revise (considering the fact that CS1101C is already quite demanding enough) to get at least a decent grade. CS1231, from what I have heard, can be quite difficult to score or get a good grade. This would mean I have to work very hard for that module as well. MA1506 contains some A Level Further Mathematics topic + some new things inside. Well, I've forgotten my Further Mathematics stuff already, so more revision needed for me. MLE1101... Some say that this module is very easy, others say that it is difficult... Well, I have to find out the difficulty of the module myself tomorrow morning...

Tomorrow I'll be starting my next semester, so that will be another 3 to 4 months of stress and hard work for me.

Donut Factory
Last Wednesday, my sister bought a box of 12 donuts of different flavours from Donut Factory for the whole family to try. Well, she said that there was a very long queue while waiting to buy the donuts, and since she had queued for a very long time, she decided to buy 12 donuts of different flavours at one go.

The donuts, I have to say, are quite interesting. There are common one like the chocolate with nuts donut, and also extraodinary one like cheese donut, donut with jam filling inside and other more. Some of the taste sweet, others have an interesting or unique taste. Think if there is a chance, I might queue up and buy more donuts.





The Music Examinations Certificate
Finally, I got my Grade 2 Violin and Grade 3 Flute examinations certificate today. Hmm... Look like it takes a very long time for them to process the certificates.

2007 First Post

Happy New Year!!!
Before I start my blog entry, I would like to wish everybody (yes I know it's a bit late now) a belated Happy New Year!!! For Muslims, I would like to wish them a very belated Selamat Hari Raya Haji!!!

Suki Sushi Lunch Outing
Last Friday, I went out with my Secondary school friends, Kavan, Wei Jian, Siu Hang and Wen Jie for a lunch outsing at Suki Sushi at ORchard Cineleisure. I haven't been eating any sushi for a very long time, so think it would be a very good time for me to have a sushi buffet with them.

Initially I ate those sushi from the conveyor belt with Kavan and Siu Hang, while Wei Jian and Wen Jie kept ordering food from the person. After eating for about 7 or 8 plates, I started ordering food from the person as well. Yup, I ate too much rice already, so it's time for a change.

Well, think in total I ate more than 15 plates of food and 3 glasses of orange juice, which I supposed it should be enough to cover the cost of the buffet. I felt very full after the lunch that I could not really walk properly. Anyway, I decided to skipped dinner after that, as I did not have any appetite for dinner.

NUS Cors bidding
Well, just after I got my results, I logged in to CORS to do my bidding for EG1413 - Critical Thinking and Writing. The only 4 slots I could bid from are E35 to E38 Sectional Teaching classes, and each class only have 1 available slot for new student. I kind of hesitated whether I should bid this module for this semester, paying more than 100 points, or to wait for next semester and bid it with lower points. After switching Sectional Teaching classes for like 3 days, I decided to put 305 points for E37 right before I went out for my lunch outing (also the time they started on close bidding).

Ok, I got the module eventually, but I had to pay 305 points for the module (because there are 2 other people bidding for the modules as well). Yup, me being the highest bidder, got the sectional class. Feel kind of upset that I spent so much for that module, but anyway, at least I got that module...

I also managed to get MKT1003 for 1 point, but I decided to drop it as I heard that the workload for MKT1003 is very heavy, and I could not fit my tutorial schedule properly as well. Well, look like I have to find another module to replace that, or I'll just stick on to 5 modules.

Anyway, the modules that I'm taking next semester (tentatively) are as follows:
CS1102C - Data Structures and Algorithms
CS1231 - Discrete Structures
EG1413 - Critical Thinking and Writing
MA1506 - Mathematics II
MLE1101 - Introductory Materials Science and Engineering

Hmm... Some people might ask me how I'm able to take CS1102C, EG1413 and MA1506 with that results I posted just now? Ok, so for now, I decided to modify my results so that I can take those modules.



Well, next semester will be a semester with more workload, even with just 5 modules that I currently have. CS1102C, a C++ programing (OOP) module which carry 5 MCs, will carry the most workload among the other modules that I have. 3 lecture periods, 2 labs periods + programming labs and 1 tutorial period + tutorials every week, which can be very demanding for people like me who haven't even master C programming (non-OOP) properly yet. There are also certain changes from C to C++... Look like I really need to work very hard for this module to at least pass...

For CS1231, this is not really about programming. It's something about logic + mathematics (if I'm not wrong). From what I know, at lot of people failed the module. Even if they pass, they only got a grade D or at most a grade C. Haven't come across anyone who got an A, or even a B, for this module yet... Kind of scary... So this would mean I need to pay more attention to this module and very very hard as well to pass...

Ok, more workload for me next semester. I'm still thinking whether I should take up a Singapore Studies module and S/U it...

Movie: Borat
Ok, my 1st movie for 2007, also my first R21 movie. Well, the movie seems quite funny, so I decided to watch that movie. Heard from my sister the the movie has a lot of crude jokes, don't know if anyone of you there would want to watch it, so I catch it myself instead.

Well, it's really funny, and of course there are some crude scenes as well. Don't feel like writing what I watched here on this blog though... :P