2015: migremus

Secret War Journal[2015]
It is without doubt that 2015 is another event packed year for all of us. Now that the dust from the year 2015 is pretty much settled, it is once again a time for reflecting what went right and wrong during this amazing year.

I originally planned to start off writing down the highlights of this year but I decided to scrap this idea in the end. It was partly due to the fact that the more I looked at them, it feels less of a highlight to me. (I only have myself to blame for that! Hahas!)

As a result, I decided to scrap the traditional post style for the year's wrap-up (let's hope it will not become a trend).

Glazing at the snow globe...

That aside, I would say that taking into account everything that had occurred, it is a year into adulthood.

They never said being an adult means being independent. Quite the opposite actually. This year, it feels that being an adult means appearing strong and unfaltering while feeling insecure within. Adults are still humans after all. We all have our vulnerable sides but we choose not to show it in front of others.

(I guess all those deep talks with my father did have some effort on me huh?)

Which leads us to the main reason why this post required a total re-write - it is hard to judge whether something is a good or bad thing.

Is it a bad thing that certain individuals cease to maintain contact with you? Should we be upset about it? Does the fault lie with us? Does the fault lie with them?

If it is us, then we should work on improving ourselves.

Then turn it around...

However, sometimes, we have to acknowledge that we cannot please everyone. We win some, we lose some.

As funny as it sound, it may be a good thing if the situation was toxic to start with. Again, this is a matter of judgement from both sides.

And back to watch it settle

One year is too short a time to judge. As a result, there is difficulty in determining whether it was for the better or for worse.

Only time will tell.

Or will it?

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So there isn't a highlight of what happened this year. Sorry about that. Hopefully, we get to see it in the year 2016!

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Image Credits: Please click on the image for the source. :)

Tarot Reading Q3Q4 2015

Secret War Journal[10 August 2015]
My original Tarot journal used to be in Google+. I have decided to move over to this journal starting from 2016 to remove the need to maintain more journals than I have to. (It is a lot of work to update each area).

Astrological Spread [10/8/2015]

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1A - Immediate Situation - Death - Renewal. Change of a situation. Signifies the completion of the previous situation
1 - Physical Body / How people view you - 8 of Swords - Self-imposed restrictions / Heavy Responsiblities
2 - One's money / Values - Knave of Pentacles - Beginning to get financial affairs in order.
3 - Siblings - The Devil - Many obligations
4 - Home - King of Wands - Certainty and inner satisfaction. Dependency.
5 - Romance / What one enjoys - Knight of Wands - Enthuastic about one's ideas.
6 - Everyday work / Health - The Lovers - Love affair with a co-worker is very possible.
7 - Partnerships - The Empress - Beauty, Love, Creative Growth. Suggestions of a fair-haired woman.
8 - Other people's money - 9 of Pentacles - Interactions with a woman who owns property. Represents accomplishments and enjoy the fruits of one's labours.
9 - Higher Education - 2 of Wands - Indicates control, authority.
10 - Status - Queen of Wands (flipped) - Calm security of a decision made or acceptance of situation.
11 - Friends - Strength - Patience is needed.
12 - Hidden Fears - Knave of Wands (flipped) - Beginning of the unknown.

NBS Y2 Semester 1 AY2015/2016

Secret War Journal[August - December 2015]

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AB0901 Principles of Economics: A Singapore Perspective

Lectures attended: 80% (Dr Rosalind Chew)
Tutorials attended: 92.3% (Dr Suman Kumari Sharma)
Textbook(s): Economics: Global Edition, 11/e [ISBN : 9780273789963]

Assessment: Class Participation (10%), Quiz 1 (10%), Quiz 2 (10%), Finals Closed-Book (70%)
Comment(s):
Be prepared for a steep bell curve for this module. Be aware that a large group of students have a basic foundation on the principles of Economics and you would be competing with them. Thus, if you do not have any knowledge of economics, be prepared work twice as hard to be on par.

The syllabus for this module, as a whole is pretty rushed. Students without prior knowledge will likely grasping for air to take a breather after each lecture. All is not lost for students who are new to economics though. The module seems to have gone for breadth over depth. Hence, no deep understanding of the concepts are required to score.

For students who had taken H2 A levels Economics, there are new concepts being taught in this module. Thus, it is not exactly a breeze for you. Some new concepts include indifference curve and the new AD/AS curves used for this module. The concepts learnt in JC will still be beneficial to you in understanding the concepts in this module.

The quizzes are MCQ in nature. If you are prepared for the topics covered, you should do fine in those.

Textbook is useful for consolidation of knowledge. I did not buy the textbook. Instead, I relied on my JC textbook which was a University textbook.

AB1000 Career Foundations I

Lectures attended: No lecture.
Seminars attended: 100%, one day affair
Textbook(s): N/A

Assessment: Attendance (20%), Class Participation (30%), Pre-Assignment (25%), Post-Assignment (25%)
Comment(s):
A prerequisite module for Career Foundations II, this is an one day affair module with a Pass/Fail grading.

There are quite a number of assignments for this module. Most of these assignments are personality tests and career profiling assignments. Completing these and attending the seminar should likely get you a Pass for this module.

The seminar will be held during the week of Recess Week and will take the bulk of the entire day.

AD2101 Management Accounting

Lectures attended: No lecture.
Seminars attended: 100% (Dr Hu Kin Hoi, Billy)
Textbook(s): Customised Text “AD2101: Management Accounting”, McGraw Hill, 2015.

Assessment: Class Participation (10%), Online Assignments (15%), Project and Presentation (20%), Finals Open-Book (55%)
Comment(s):
This is a very content-heavy module. An average of 3 chapters will be cleared per week. Be prepared for heavy reading.

It is roughly 50% on calculations and 50% on ethics. Knowledge on Financial Accounting is expected.

Class Participation includes a group presentation. It generally involves your group taking over a seminar and cover the contents to be taught during the seminar.

There are 2 textbooks for this module. You have every right to be intimidated because you will finish the two books by around week 8. Ain't you glad this is a open book final examination?

Dr Billy Ho is very approachable and allows people to clarify any doubt, even outside of seminar, easily. He is also very open to feedback. Therefore, if you feel that his teaching methods do not suit you, feel free to inform him.

Textbook is a must for this module, especially the e-learning access. Online assignments use an external vendor platform (McGraw Hill) as of this post and can on be accessed if you buy the textbooks. Expensive, but this is 15% we are talking about. There are 3 online assignments in total, they will take the best 2 out of the 3. It varies from MCQs to structured questions.

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For a full list of the modules I took, see link here. :)

SCE Y2 Semester 1 AY2015/2016

Secret War Journal[August - December 2015]

CZ2001 Algorithms

Lectures attended: 90% (Dr. Tan Ah & Dr. Zheng J)
Tutorials attended: 100%
Labs attended: 75%, attendance are taken. Missed one, it was a make-up and I could not make it.
Textbook(s): Computer Algorithms.  Sara Baase & Allen Van Gelder, 2000. Third Edition. Addison Wesley.

Assessment: Lab Presentation (20%), Mid Term Quiz (20%), Finals Closed-Book (60%)
Comment(s):
Many seniors have commented that this is the most difficult module you will ever take during your Computer Science Course and I can see why.

I would think the more accurate description for the module would be the Mathematics behind Algorithms. While they do teach you the logic behind the algorithms, the tests would really test your understanding of the mathematics behind these.

Do pay attention behind the mathematical analysis of the various algorithms, including the proofs (tedious, yes). It may seem like a mathematical module (indeed, it is a similar to a math major module, be prepared) but at least it is not as vigorous.

Do not discount the mid term quiz, the weightage will come back to haunt you during the finals. Securing this 20% would serve as a morale booster during your revision.

Textbook is not essential for this course. However, I found online materials to be useful for further understanding of the concepts taught.

CZ2002 Object Oriented Design & Programming

Lectures attended: 90% (Dr. Zhang Jie, Mr Tan Kheng Leong)
Tutorials attended: 80%
Labs attended: 100%
Textbook(s): Matt Weisfeld, The Object-Oriented Thought Process, 4th Edition, Pearson / Addison Wesley

Assessment: Clicker Quiz (5%), Lab (5%), Group Assignment (30%), Finals Closed-Book (60%)
Comment(s):
This course will touch on two programming languages to teach the object-oriented principles. They are Java and C++ with a heavier emphasis on the former.

One thing to look out for this module would be the assignment. The assignment is group-based and it arrives pretty late, after recess week. Thus, you will be in a rush to finish it. The professor might cancel tutorials to allow more time for your group to finish the assignment. Nevertheless, pacing is important.

Textbook is not essential. Practice is crucial for this module. Be consistent with the tutorials and you should do fine for finals.

CZ2003 Computer Graphics and Visualisation

Lectures attended: 40% (Dr. Alexei Sourin, Dr Jianmin Zheng)
Tutorials attended: 100% (Graded) (Dr. Alexei Sourin)
Labs attended: 75%
Textbook(s): A.Sourin, Computer Graphics. From a small formula to cyberworlds, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall, 2012.

Assessment: Lab Assignments (30%), Tutorial (20%), Finals Closed-Book (50%)
Comment(s):
This is another mathematics heavy module. The module is actually teaching you how to convert mathematical formulas to 2D and 3D shapes. If you recall all your geometry formulas, now is a good time to apply them.

The second half of the lecture touches on lighting and rendering. It might be a bit strange for physics students but just remember that this is a mathematical model, not a scientific one.

The programming language you will be learning would be a version of VRML designed by Dr Sourin. The programming syntax is not tested for finals. However, it is used extensively for the lab assignments. The lab assignments can be be time consuming in the beginning, given the number of tasks in the early stages. Try to complete them as they are given and you should be fine. Once you have completed the assignments, you would not need VRML anymore.

One interesting thing to note about this module is the graded of tutorials. If your tutorials are taught by Dr Sourin, you will need to submit the tutorials at the start of the respective tutorials. They are graded and will be counted towards your final grades. Also, for Dr Sourin's classes, you will get back your tutorial a week later though there will not be any indication if your answers were accepted. Do take note.

I have heard that the textbook has provided more useful information regarding the topics taught. I did not purchase the textbook and I think it is possible to do well without it. If you find yourself struggling with the concepts taught during lecture, consider getting a textbook to help in your learning.

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For a full list of the modules I took, see link here. :)

Stitches

Secret War Journal[16 December 2015]

December Vacation 2015

Secret War Journal[December 2015][Updated 3 January 2015]
School is finally over. Finals were definitely not getting any easier after each semester. I will need to come up with a new study strategy in mind to better handle the different demands from each module.

Well, academics aside, with the holidays now in full swing, time to settle some personal matters. :)

1. Read Reaper's Gale
2. Start Practical Driving
3. Get a Laptop Cooler
4. Finish Starcraft II: Legacy of The Void [Brutal] (Computer...keep crashing >.<)
5. Get an earpiece replacement.
6. Complete photobook.

Dark Tidings Deux

Secret War Journal[6 December 2015]
To be frank, I am not sure if I should publish this post. After all, we did agree not to write about this as part of a new year resolution some time back. But hey, we should also record our struggles as this is about life and life is not just about the bright stuffs. Yep, don't worry, I am still minimising the proportions of it. Your feedbacks have been taken note of. No worries. (Well, I might never ever publish it, like the other posts. Haha. *Shrugs*)

I just came back from a family errand. It has been a long time since I put my thoughts straight into writing immediately upon the occurrence of an event but I figure this demands it for my own sanity. As well as recording our struggles and how we had survived, of course.

There are many things that cannot be described with words. I expected something of this nature but I had just witnessed my father being reprimanded by my grandmother in front of me. I can tell my father was expecting it too, he tried to joke to me that he was scolded by his mother. Yet, I can feel the pain from him. Personally, I am feeling horrible inside as well. Perhaps it was resignation or just us coming to terms, one thing will likely come apparent to us in the future. This will make my father, my sister and I closer.

I have to admit. It is probably a mistake committed in the past. It is not entirely anyone's fault. If people wanted to blame anyone, I guess we all are partly to blame. We, each in our inaction, allowed it to happen. Funny though, how it all sounds when you look at the sidelines. I think some people are wondering how things even get to this state. It is really hard to explain at times. I myself have no idea how to explain to people because I do not want people to be concerned.

Ultimately though, it is how my father sacrificed his pride for the welfare of his children that is worth mention. He has to bear through all the judgement of others. It is definitely not easy.

Well, let's all hope for better days ahead. :)

"The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege." - Charles Kuralt