轮回·

该放下的就放下，别再为她牺牲，唯有这样才能有更好一生。

Post Summer 2019 Reflections

It's almost the end of summer holidays and school will be starting in a few weeks' time. I thought that now might be a good opportunity to note down what I've accomplished over the past 3 months and what are the remaining plans I have before school starts.

List of accomplishments in summer holidays 2019

1. Successfully took a GERPE-BM module to catch up with the curriculum. Didn't do as expected but at least it wasn't too badly done.

2. Successfully cleared my Unity Developer course and submitted my claim. At the moment it is still pending approval and expected date of reimbursement should be sometime after schools starts. However they have not gotten back to me on how I should verify that the name entered in my records is the one that is displayed on my NRIC. Hopefully they get back soon.

3. Finished roughly 1.5 months worth of work in Hall 5 supervising cleaners etc to pay off my GERPE-BM fees. Was also offered the opportunity to transfer to Hall 5 but decided to stay on in Crescent.

4. Finished doing up the S clan flag. The final design was slightly different from what I had in mind originally but it still looks really good nonetheless. Have to give credit to Shawn, Ronald and Brandon for helping out with the cutting/painting etc, especially Shawn for tanking a significant chunk of making the flag.

5. Finished watching Domestic Girlfriend (was a really nice drama anime LOL) and did a drawing on it. I actually want to do a few more sketches on some Dynasty Warrior characters but it remains to be seen.

6. Decided, planned and finished doing up an academic essay for submission to an ASEAN-Korea Centre academic essay competition. At first I wanted to join out of pure interest and boredom during the holiday but over time the work involved in writing the essay did get to me a little. Also, the process of writing the essay spurred me to consider pursuing a career in the Foreign Service. I've registered with MFA to send me notices of events like tea sessions.

7. I've put considerable effort in practising the piano and training up for IPPT through these few weeks. Admittedly, it is a never-ending path to practising but I would like to think that I've achieved the goal of getting back on track to prepare for the challenges of joining NTU Piano Ensemble later this year. Also, I realized that my stamina has gotten quite weak for some reason; I got really bad headaches during the last training and had to force myself to stop halfway. I think it may be due to the short time interval given to train up to the standard as before. I will consider changing my schedule accordingly.

8. I signed up for some random event to bring some students from Nanjing University around NTU and show them certain landmarks. Although it didn't last very long and I didn't make much money off of it, it was a rather unique experience to be a tour guide for a couple hours.

9. I applied and got the highest tier of bursary for the coming academic year. Won't be stating the amount down in this post but it is no small sum. Was instructed to save it for my exchange program which is what I'll do.

10. I've visited the LAN shop a few times to get my fill of PUBG before school starts. The reason I don't buy it but visit LAN is because I know I won't be able to control myself once school starts. Likewise for mobile games, I will be deleting Overhit and Clash Royale (if they are still on my phone) before the school term begins to minimize distractions.

What I could have done better:

1. I did not make any progress on practising how to write with my left hand. Usually, it would have been because I was too busy with stuff or I was too lazy to sit down and practise. Either way, I don't think there is enough time to continue so I will be shelving this goal permanently.

2. I did not get to earn the amount of money I'd set out to earn in July from relief teaching mainly because there were no jobs available for me. Most of the days I got no calls to do relief teaching; some days there were calls but they clashed with my plans for the day or they all called on the same day or they just MIA/retracted their offer. I might have to consider extending my teaching availability into term time to cover my projected expenses once school starts.

3. I have not started studying yet lol. I've been procrastinating too much. I only just got EE2006 notes around a week ago from RT lol. The plan is to start next week.

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Moving forward, the NTU-related camps will be coming up soon. Other than Crescent camp, I also joined Enitio, one of EEE's orientation camps, as a GL because Raj asked me to help out as they are short on members. Till then, I hope I can earn some money doing relief while studying for next semester. Will also be sending Jovian off for his enlistment so I'll be visiting Tekong again, this time as a civilian!

Course Review NTU EEE - EEE Y1SS AY18/19 + Updates/ External Course Reviews

The past few weeks of June have been busy for me. I was juggling a few things and truth be told I've yet to complete everything that I set out to achieve for June. Luckily though, the major stuffs are finished as I write this. I will be using the remaining time of my summer holidays to relax and prepare for the coming semester. Below is a list of what I have accomplished this May/June and reviews of the courses that I took during this period.

Also, I have decided to not update my grades from Y1S2 onward. As such, I will be leaving the previous review post on my Y1S2 mods unedited.

Do leave some comments and any questions you might have on my post or you could email me at the email address stated above. I will be happy to provide any advice I can. :)

List of things accomplished in May/June:

1. Successfully studied and passed my Unity Certified Developer (or Unity Certified Associate) Course and am awaiting the badge to submit for reimbursement.

2. Successfully completed my GERPE-BM Special Term module, awaiting results next month.

3. Applied for and am going to finish a job of being a student helper at Hall 5. I originally wanted to pen down my experiences after the thing was done but I think I shall jump the gun a bit.

4. Finished the preparations for designing the S clan flag and am now awaiting the availability of the materials to start fleshing it out.

5. Downloaded and am playing Overhit. I will be doing a mini review of the game as well.

List of things in progress:

1. Tried to practice the piano again. I tried to play 2 old songs but had to stop again due to the finals period for my BM module.

2. Tried to train for upcoming IPPT in August. I only managed to do one session in 2 months mainly due to studying for my certification and BM which left little time to commit to training.

3. Attempted to practice how to write with my left hand. I was actually quite interested to see if I could gain some proficiency using my left hand. It was supposed to be a pet project of sorts but had to take a back seat due to exams. I'll be trying again in July.

4. Draw some characters in my leisure time. I wanted to draw Alita: Battle Angel but the fire quickly faded off. I'm currently drawing Lu Lingqi from DW8 but am not very confident she might turn out well.

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After such a busy June, I intend to let July be more chill. While the plan to study for next semester will still proceed as normal, I intend to let the extra time in July be used on completing as much of the IP stuff as possible.

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COURSE REVIEW PORTION:

Y1SS: May 2019 - June 2019

General comments on what I did well, what I could have improved on etc will be included at the end of the post. I will also update the final results when they are out.

Each course is broken up into the following parts:

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

2. Course mechanics

3. Short Intro

4. Easy parts

5. Difficult parts

6. Exams/ final paper

7. Tips to do well

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

YEAR 1 SPECIAL SEMESTER (3AU):

GER-PE: BU8601 FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT (3AU), (GRADED)

CORE/MPE AU CLEARD: 22/61, TOTAL AU OF GRADED COURSES: 32 /69, TOTAL AU CLEARED: 37/141

=== REVIEW PORTION ===

BU8601 - Fundamentals of Management (Y1SS/3AU)

Lecturer: Dr Vijayan Munusamy, Mr Ng Sin Ain

Tutor: Dr Vijayan Munusamy, Mr Ng Sin Ain

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Tutorial/ Class Participation (10%): A

Group Project (30%): A

Finals (60%): ?

2. Course mechanics

There are 2 lessons per week in seminar-style, 3h each comprising both lecture and tutorial. This is different from the usual semester lecture/tutorial format according to Dr Vijay. Finals is a 2h paper. Class part is self-explanatory and the Group Project includes getting into groups of 4-5 and submitting a 4500-word report by the end of the course (or by a certain lesson I can't remember).

3. Short Intro

Truth be told, I took 8601 because the other available modules for Y1SS did not appeal to me. I did not want to do marketing and Business Finance seemed to much trouble to go through. Accounting was definitely out as well since I was tired of dealing with numbers. Anyway, 8601 has a lot of what I would categorize as fluff and filler as I feel that most of what is taught is probably not applicable in the real workplace at all. I can see why a lot of people skipped out on the lessons in the normal semester. As a note, the only reason people went for class in special term was probably because we specifically paid for it. Also, this is one of the few BU courses that has finals.

4. Easy parts

I would go out on a limb to say that one does not have to study this course at all throughout the entire duration. The only important lesson to attend would be the revision lecture as it would be the most beneficial for those who are squeezed for time. The revision lecture notes should suffice for self-study for the final paper. For me, I went for most of the lessons because of the stated reason above and also because of class part (though I don't think they even knew who went because they didn't take attendance).

5. Difficult parts

I would say the difficult (or fun depending on who you get) part would be the group project. In my experience, it is ABSOLUTELY crucial to get teammates who have the same goals so that everyone puts in effort for the project. I daresay the project may very well be the differentiating factor to separate the A students from the rest hence it is important to get good teammates to achieve a good grade for the 30%.

6. Exams/ final paper

Despite saying that the exam can be studied by the revision notes alone, it should be noted that the inverse is not true i.e. what is in the notes may not come out in the exams. For me, the notes included things like Herzberg 2 Factor and Equity Theory but the final exam did not ask a single one. Also, it is important to note every single detail of the revision notes as there can be some tricky questions in the exam. I will not say what here but my advice is to thoroughly memorize the revision notes.

As for the Group Project, the grades for the 30% and tutorial participation 10% should be released before finals so for those taking in the normal semester, these could be an indicator for potential S/U.

7. Tips to do well

As mentioned, it is extremely important to get cooperative groupmates who are willing to work on the report together. Do not be afraid to ask upfront during the group formation in the first lesson whether prospective members intend to S/U the course or not. In fact, Dr Vijay encouraged us to be direct about our intentions to avoid conflicts down the road.

Memorize the notes down to the very last detail to cement the content for the exam. A significant amount of marks come directly from the content.

During the exam, read the questions first before reading the case. This helps to save time by knowing what to look out for when reading the case later on. It also allows for immediate answering of content-based questions to get warmed up for the tougher questions in the paper.

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

This course is not a hard course. I was extremely lucky to get nice groupmates who were very cooperative and helpful to each other. I'm grateful that they offered to tank the Literature Analysis when I didn't go for lesson as I was sick and they also offered to do the final report when I had to study and take my Unity exam. Of course, I made it for the group meetings and did the report introduction (which was an explicit grading criteria) and overall checking, trimming and formatting before submission (note that there are specifics for the formatting to be followed). Will never forget that we stayed up till 4.30am to rush and submit the report a few hours before the deadline LOL.

During the last lesson, the group beside us broke down because and one of the girls started scolding some of her groupmates for apparent slipshod work. It was damn awkward for us as we listened in and I had to pretend to go to the toilet because apparently things got heated in the room LOL. Also, one of their guys never showed up for class before and only went for the first and last lessons so it really drives home the point of having teammates with the same goals for the group project.

Big shoutout to Ben, KW, Xin Li and Vanessa. Thank you guys for being the most awesome groupmates I've met to date and I wish you all the best for whatever you have!

==

EXTERNAL COURSE REVIEW: UNITY CERTIFIED DEVELOPER COURSE

Unlike the regular reviews, I will not be following any format for this review as it is not an NTU course.

I took this hoping to gain an insight into how to make my own game. I took it during the winter holidays in December and was supposed to clear it by Sem 2. However, due to various factors, it had to be dragged till post-finals to finish.

This course cost me $1700 to take and can be claimed from IMDA under the CITREP scheme. It was quite a big factor in convincing me to take it up seeing as how I would essentially be paying $0 to go through. However, I did not pass the first attempt and had to spend $200 on a second attempt. Thankfully, I cleared it in the second try.

The course I took was quite rushed as the curriculum was squeezed into one month. We had 2 lessons per week and each lesson was packed with a lot of content. The entire curriculum consisted of us making our own version of a game using content provided in Unity's asset store. I got lost halfway and did not manage to get a working game. As of this writing, the unfinished files are still in my laptop somewhere and I intend to try again during the summer holidays of Y2.

Truth be told, I would that I did gain some form of insight into Unity. I roughly know (but not necessarily understand) some features and mechanics but I would not go as far as to say I grasp the full extent of what was taught. The actual knowledge and skillset required stretches far beyond whwat is taught and there are many extensive manuals that provide much more information. It would require a lot of time just to read through the literature and practice them, let alone create a working game. As mentioned, I have allocated some time to tinker around in Unity after Y2.

I also got to meet some working adults through the course and interact with them. The guy beside me was proficient in Unreal Engine and he said that Unreal was way harder to navigate than Unity. There was another guy in front of me who was from SIT-DigiPen if I remember correctly, and I think the course content was easy for him as he would have been dealing with stuff that was much more complex than Unity. It felt like I was in a class full of pros and I was one of the few noobs who had to start from scratch.

Exam-wise, I would say that it is essential to go through the courseware provided. There is a lot of content to muscle through and I had to skip some chapters due to the rush to clear everything before the exams. The exam is 100 MCQ and a score of at least 500/700 (~70%) is required to pass.

Ultimately, I feel that game development, as with any other skill, requires time to learn and master and cannot be fully achieved in such a short period of time like they advertise. It would be wise to follow up post exam to achieve maximum learning if the goal is to produce a functional game that can be exported into the App Store. I was not able to do so, unfortunately.

I would recommend going for this to gain basic exposure into game development with an established game engine. Ideally, a significant amount of time outside the classroom should be allocated to try out the various features available, hence I would strongly recommend this to NSFs who have time to kill before university and any other student with some time on their hands.

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I will be uploading my review for Overhit in the next entry as I am rushing to upload this and prepare for my Penang trip in a few minutes. Might do a review on that as well now that I think about it.

As usual, please leave comments or any questions and I will reply them as soon as I can! :)

A Little Update

I've been itching to write something but I have nothing to write. I also noticed that my blog has seen quite a surge in the number of readers, the most obviously going to my course reviews.

As a heads-up, I intend to post reviews of other non-academic related matters here. Content include reviews of external courses, trips, school events etc. I hope to enrich my blog with other content other than course reviews, though I understand that that is the reason why many readers visit in the first place. Also, I hope to get input on what my readers would like to see me blog about. Do comment on my posts and/or email me. :) Please don't spoof your contact because I find it quite offensive actually.

In the pipeline for content coming up includes reviews on my Unity certification that I'm taking soon and my Special Term GER-PE. Do keep an eye out for that.

Oh and there's this cool game that's been around for a while now. I feel really tempted to download and play Overhit and if I do, I'll try to leave a review (I'll look up how to review games) about my experience.

Course Review NTU EEE - EEE Y1S2 AY 18/19

And so, the moment I have been waiting for the whole of the semester: To grade my graders LOL. I shall try to make this post a bit more informal because I feel that my previous one was a bit too objective...

Y1S2: Jan 2019 - April 2019 (though my last paper was 8/5)

General comments on what I did well, what I could have improved on etc will be included at the end of the post. I will also update the final results when they are out.

Each course is broken up into the following parts:

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

2. Course mechanics

3. Short Intro

4. Easy parts

5. Difficult parts

6. Exams/ final paper

7. Tips to do well

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

YEAR 1 SEMESTER 2 (17AU):

MAJ-CORE: EE1002 PHYSICS FOUNDATION FOR EEE (4AU), GRADED

MAJ-CORE: EE1003 INTRO TO MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONICS (3AU, GRADED

MAJ-CORE: EE1071 INTRO TO EEE LAB (1AU), P/F

MAJ-CORE: MH1811 MATHEMATICS 2 (3AU), GRADED

GER-CORE: EE0002: ENGINEERS & SOCIETY (3AU), GRADED

GER-UE: SS9104: BASKETBALL (3AU), (NON-GRADED; S/U EXERCISED)

CORE/MPE AU CLEARD: 22/61, TOTAL AU OF GRADED COURSES: 29 /69 (UPDATED: UE WAS S/U-ed), TOTAL AU CLEARED: 34/141

=== REVIEW PORTION ===

EE1002 - Physics Foundation For EEE (Y1S2/4AU)

Lecturer: Asst Prof Yoo Seongwoo (Optics), Assoc Prof Rusli (EM), Prof Zhang Qing (Quantum Physics)

Tutor: Asst Prof Luo Yu

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Quiz 1 (Optics) (10%): 3/6

Quiz 2 (EM) (10%): 5/6

Quantum Physics Assignment (10%): ???/100

Lab Practical (10%): 98/100

Finals (60%): ?

Overall Grade:

2. Course mechanics

Online lecture carried out on LAMS, 1 x 2h tutorial per week. Quiz 1 and 2 are evenly spread out across the semester immediately after the coverage of the respective major topic i.e. Optics and EM. Quantum Assignment is a take home assignment to be done and submitted by one of the tutorials I can't remember which and the lab practical will be done depending on the slot chosen during STAR WARS. Finals is a 2.5h paper covering all topics.

3. Short Intro

EE1002 is the Part II of PH1012 (or PH1011 depending on what was taken in Sem 1) and deals with some parts that were not covered in PH1012. It also revisits an important part in PH1012, which is the topic of Electromagnetism (EM), essentially covering everything that Dr Ho taught before with a few minor differences. Thus, what was learnt in PH1012 is extremely important for this mod.

4. Easy parts

Obviously, the easiest part of this whole would be EM. It was basically going through everything that Dr Ho taught before for the lecture part. Also, the first half of Optics was literally secondary school work. The lab component and Quantum Assignment were easy though. Lab involved playing with slits and measuring distance, though I can't remember exactly for what.

5. Difficult parts

Sadly, the difficult parts far outweigh the easy parts. To start off, the second part of Optics on wave optics presented a whole new world to me. I only managed to understand it right before the exam which was quite a scary experience. On EM, despite the content being easy, the tutorials were goddamn hard. I could do a sizable number of the tutorial and had to refer to some online answer to do my tutorials for EM.

The crown for difficulty has to go to Quantum Physics. A little bit of background for the uninitiated: Quantum Physics is a whole side of physics that does not obey classical laws applicable to our everyday encounters. I won't say I learnt anything to be honest, all I did was memorize some formulas and whatever I could understand came from my PJC physics notes. I remember the LAMS explanation on Uncertainty Principle was so abstract that I literally could not understand ANYTHING at all and in the end I referred to my PJC notes which summarized the Principle into 2 equations. However, for all the shit the content presents, the tutorials are by and large doable so there's still a silver lining.

Note: I do not have any A level Physics background so taking H2 physics before this course might yield a better learning experience than mine.

6. Exams/ final paper

I smoked my final paper. There, I said it.

For all the studying I did, I really don't think I managed to answer anything satisfactorily. This was one of those papers I didn't have any feeling for after I came out of the hall, in a bad way.

I really don't know what to advice for EE1002 finals.

7. Tips to do well

Consulting the professor would be a really good way to go about EE1002. Sorry, but thinking writing the above really demotivated me on giving advice.

I recommend trying to get Asst Prof Luo Yu's as the tutor because his slides are really effective. It is not a far cry to say that much of what I learnt from him came from his slides. He is also open to consultations and is quite receptive to my questions. It can get a bit challenging to understand him sometimes though because of his accent. He sounds funny (in a nice way) when he speaks fast and then abruptly stutters as he tries to find what he wants to say.

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

I feel that I might not be cut out for physics at this level. I just don't understand too much of what is going on and can barely do the tutorial questions (with a lot of help). I'm predicting a B for this mod, hopefully nothing lower. If I do get a B+, then it will really be because the entire c

==

EE1003 - INTRO TO MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONICS (Y1S2/3AU)

Lecturer: Asooc Prof K.Pita (First Half), Assoc Prof Wang Hong (Second Half)

Tutor: Assoc Prof K.Pita

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Quiz 1 (10%): 6/10

Quiz 2 (10%): 9/10

Weekly OASIS Homework (20%): ???/20

Finals (60%): ?

Overall Grade:

2. Course mechanics

Online lectures on NTULearn, 1 x 1.5h tutorial per week. Quizzes are split throughout the semester with quiz 1 coverage from week 1 to week 5 and quiz 2 from week 6 to week 9. Weekly OASIS homework is due every week, some questions are really simple but some can be really hard. First few weeks of OASIS tend to have that 1 killer question to prevent getting full marks.

3. Short Intro

The "Chemistry" subject this semester. This topic starts off with some basic A level chemistry (atomic structure and atomic bonding) and slowly goes on to materials for semiconductors. Semiconductor properties (electrical, optical, magnetic) take up half the course and prepares students for EE2003 Semiconductor Fundamentals.

4. Easy parts

The first few chapters are a walk in the park. A bit of effort is required to understand them, provided there is a solid understanding of Chemistry concepts taught at A levels. New stuff introduced in the first part include the spectrometer, planar topics such as drawing, cubic cell etc and also the formation of energy band of metals, semiconductors and insulators which is a vital concept . Tutorials are also relatively doable throughout the semester (obviously there are hard questions). Personally, I was intrigued by semiconductors from this course and talked to Prof Pita briefly about the semiconductor industry during one of my consultation slots.

5. Difficult parts

The hard part comes from the electrical properties of semiconductors which takes up 3 weeks worth of lectures. It is necessary to muscle through the topic to gain an understanding of the differences between intrinsic, extrinsic semiconductors and insulators. A challenge would be to memorize the explanations behind the electrical conductivity of all 3 materials as they can be very similar. The good news is that it becomes slightly easier to revisit that topic once it's been covered once as it is relatively straightforward. There are also mentions of things like BJT, MOSFET etc which will be covered in subsequent courses.

6. Exams/ final paper

My final paper was not hard. The challenge was having to complete it within the time given. I did not manage to complete the paper and had to skip through quite a few questions. A good understanding of the topics is needed as there can be a few surprising questions. Do not forget the basics because they can prove to be a time waster if not handled properly. For example, I had a question asking for the differences between elemental/compound semiconductor, intrinsic/extrinsic, n-type/p-type, which are basic questions but students can get stumped as they do not know how to differentiate the different terms.

7. Tips to do well

First advice would be to really practice the PYP. It is essential to practice as many PYP as possible for this mod as Prof Pita might set questions based on past years. I was lucky as a question I did for revision came out in the exact same style and I could solve it albeit taking a bit of time. Doing PYP also helps to reinforce the concepts learnt and gives an opportunity to revisit the content.

Second piece of advice pertains to the topic of electrical properties of semiconductors. As mentioned, it is a big topic taking up 25% of the course so naturally there will be one full question on it in the exams. What I recommend would be to make a summary of all the important points and formulas for the topic. This serves as a cheatsheet of sorts to help during the revision period. It is also useful to include some explanations such as the derivation of the conductivity of materials in the cheatsheet. Note that no cheatsheets are allowed in the exam so the summary only serves as revision material.

Lastly as usual, do the tutorials. There aren't many questions per tutorial for this module so doing the tutorials are a good way to reinforce what is learnt during the week.

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

This course is not extremely difficult. The content is doable and requires consistent effort. Prof Pita is a good lecturer who cares about his students. I approached him many times for consultation and he was always happy to oblige. A quirk about him I found was that he laughs very loud which is a ._. moment for me sometimes. But I know that he is good-hearted and does not mean it even though he might come across as mocking at what I said sometimes. Also, he never fails to keep reminding students to find him for consultations as soon as they have doubts from the very first lesson.

I enjoyed myself through this course despite the moderate-to-heavy content and I hope that EE2003 Semiconductor Fundamentals will be a good continuation of this series of courses to teach semiconductors to the us EEE students.

Expectation for EE1003: B+ hopefully. Chances are I will not get B- or below.

==

EE1071 - INTRO TO EEE LAB (Y1S2/1AU)

Lecturer: Assoc Prof Boon Chirn Chye

Tutor: I have no idea LOL

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Strictly speaking, every lab is graded and the final report is also graded. There was a document somewhere on NTULearn detailing the grading, but in reality this mod is a Pass/Fail course so it doesn't really matter how they grade it. Just go for your labs, do your reports faithfully and submit the final report by the deadline and you will pass.

Overall Grade:

2. Course mechanics

2 lectures throughout the whole semester giving an overview of the course (there's really no need to go though), some labs to attend and carry out experiments and finally a lab report to be done up and submitted by a deadline (necessary to pass the course).

3. Short Intro

I'm going to copy and paste the intro from the course outline:

It was noticed that students, especially those from non-technical background have much difficulties in conducting their experiments in EEE laboratories.  This is mainly due to their unfamiliarity with EEE laboratory equipment, since many of them may be using these systems for the first time. This course is therefore designed to help such students familiarise themselves with the EEE laboratory equipment by way of briefing for each module and then by letting them practice using these equipment in building simple electrical circuits and in taking measurements.  In addition, the students will also be trained in soldering techniques.  Overall, this course is expected to provide enough experience in using common electrical equipment so that the students will be able to focus on the new experiments when they advanced to laboratories at higher levels, rather than wasting their time trying to understanding the function and operation of basic laboratory equipment.

4. Easy parts

No need to stress about exams. Do note that for the last experiment they will let it go even if it is not complete because students usually cannot finish in time. Also, the soldering component of the mod was quite fun; it was like secondary school D&T all over again haha.

5. Difficult parts

I did not understand how to read the machines at all and had to rely on my lab partner who I felt was better at this kind of stuff than me. Also, remember to take pictures to be used in the final report. I didn't take it and had to get my pictures from someone else.

6. Exams/ final paper

-

7. Tips to do well

-

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

Nothing much to say. Have fun with this mod but try to complete the report early so that there is more time for other mods.

==

MH1811 - Mathematics 2 (Y1S2/3AU)

Lecturer: Dr Tan Geok Choo

Tutor: Nicol

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Quiz 1 (15%): 8.9/15

Quiz 2 (15%): 12.2/15

Group Assignment (3 sets total 10%): 9.7/10

Finals (60%): ?

Overall Grade:

2. Course mechanics

1 x 2h lecture per week (there were some extra lecture time at the start of semester to make up for CNY and common tests conducted during lecture time, lectures are recorded), 1 x 1h tutorial per week, Quizzes are spread evenly across the semester and are 45 minutes each. Group Assignments are to be submitted regularly too, though I can't remember the exact weeks. Finals is a 2h mad rush paper.

3. Short Intro

MH1811 is Part II of the Mathematics course for Engineering students (normal route), taught by SPMS faculty. Most of the content is new and differs from what is taught in MH1810, however some stuff is brought over as well. The big 3 topics are Differential Equations, Multivariate Calculus and Sequence & Series.

4. Easy parts

In a nutshell, the content for this course is not extremely abstract. It is understandable for the most part and particularly, I'd like to point out that DE and MVC are the easier topics to understand and score. For my batch, Dr Tan decided to do DE -> MVC -> SS which on hindsight I feel is a good way to do it as SS can be quite... let's just say I was thrown off more often compared to DE/MVC. Tutorials are pitched at an acceptable level but can get tedious at times, I remember skipping one whole tutorial on Sequences lol. Also, I STRONGLY recommend checking out certain YouTube videos to really understand the concept behind certain topics. For example, I recommend Dr Leonard's math channel on YouTube to understand DE and Double Integrals. His videos can be quite long but definitely beneficial for understanding. I watched through his presentations on DI and was able to skip through the DI part of Dr Tan's lectures. He is THAT effective. Another YouTube channels I recommend is patrickjmt. His videos are fast and gets to the point of solving straightaway but the downside is there is no mathematical explanation behind his solutions.

5. Difficult parts

In my opinion, the killer topic for this course would be SS. The problem does not lie with understanding the various tests and special sequences/series. Rather, it is determining which test should be used to solve the question. This challenge is exacerbated during the exams by the lack of time, meaning that you only get 1 attempt to decide (quickly) on what test to use. As such, it is important to practice as many SS questions as possible (I strongly recommend finishing the tutorials which even then may not be enough and more often than not saw me referring to the solutions because I did not know how to do the questions) to get familiar with certain techniques such as fit to function -> use ln -> L'Hopital, knowing when to use Integral Test (the tutorial question on this was very long) etc. Of course, DE and MVC have their own special hells to deal with so don't take them too lightly.

6. Exams/ final paper

Like all Math exams in university, the exam is a mad rush to complete the paper. By this point in time, all concepts should have been cleared and sufficient practice should have been done. It is not about "discovering" new questions anymore but to take one look at the questions and immediately know how to solve them. On a side note, this course allows for an A4 cheatsheet to be brought into the finals. Unlike MH1810, the finals for MH1811 are cover all the content somewhat evenly so there is no bias towards the later untested parts.

7. Tips to do well

For finals, my advice would be to move fast. Try not to make careless mistakes in workings on the first attempt so that there is enough time to navigate throughout the paper. In the event of getting stuck, don't spend too much time on the question, as tempting as it may be. If really cannot then at least write out the skeleton of the solution, meaning to say write out all the steps without the values. For example, I was stuck at the Lagrange question because I could not solve for lambda. What I should have done on hindsight was to have written at least the steps I would have taken after solving for lambda which was to compare which value for the expression was the maximum.

For quizzes, DO NOT BE LATE. I was late for my second quiz and had only 30 minutes remaining to do it. To be honest, it was a miracle that I got 12.2/15 despite using only 2/3 of the time compared to everyone else. I could have easily gotten 13.5 if I was on time as I realized that I made careless mistake, most probably due to my panic during the quiz. For Quiz 1, my terrible score was because I did not exercise the habit of moving on quickly and dwelled too long on certain questions.

For the Group Assignment, I strongly recommend getting groupmates who know their shit or better yet, doing them solo. This is because the practice from the assignment is essential to strengthening the concepts and understanding what is being taught. My groupmates were trash to be honest but I shall not go into detail why.

Lastly, always seek consultation with the tutor in the event of doubt as soon as possible. I consulted Nicol a lot this semester and really clarified a lot with him. He is actually a good tutor and I feel stupid for not consulting him last semester. He knows his stuff, and the reason he might seem "lousy" is because he really has a lot to rush through during the short 1h tutorial which might make him seem like he does not care when in fact he really does. He even offered to help me with Y2S1 EE2006 Engineering Mathematics I which he does not teach. If that is not a sign of a good tutor then I don't know what else is.

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

MH1811 is a doable content module for Y1S2. Expect the bell curve to be steep for this mod as a lot of people will be able to do it. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people who will tank the curve, according to Nicol, because they just don't care. Based on what he said, there are 2 extremes of people: those who cannot make it and those who ace the mod. Personally, I know my Quiz 1 screwed me up really badly, so I hope I can get a B+ overall.

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EE0002 - ENGINEERS & SOCIETY (Y1S2/3AU)

Lecturer: Dr Lum Kit Meng (First Half), Dr David Chew (Second Half)

Tutor: Assoc Prof Rusli (covered later by Prof Joseph Chang and another guy whose class I did not go because it was the last one and my group had finished our presentations)

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Presentation 1 (10%): ?/10

Presentation 2 (10%): ?/10

Presentation 3 (10%): ?/10

Class Participation (10%): ?/10

Finals (60%): ?

Overall Grade:

2. Course mechanics

1 x 2h lecture per week + 1 x revision lecture, 1 x 1h tutorial per week used mainly for presentations. For the presentation component, each group (assigned randomly) is required to research and present on any 3 topics from the prescribed list every other week. Attendance is compulsory for tutorials and class participation is given for asking questions during other groups' Q&A.

3. Short Intro

Engineers and Society (E&S) is a common module that students across all the engineering schools have to take. It touches on a variety of issues hence the name Engineers PLUS Society. Naturally, there is no technical content involved and the entire course can be thought of as Social Studies at the university level.

4. Easy parts

There is very little brainpower to be exercised in this module. In fact, a lot of students put off studying for this module until the very last minute as the final exams are purely memorization and almost zero application. Of course, a small bit of the exam will still ask about the student's thoughts on certain issues but by and large the content carries the overwhelming majority of the marks.

5. Difficult parts

Being a content-heavy module, the hard part naturally lies in being able to memorize and regurgitate everything onto the exam script. The lecturers and my tutor themselves confessed that it was almost impossible to remember every single little detail and encouraged us to remember the rough ideas and outline each topic instead. Also, expect the amount of research and effort put into creating the presentation to not measure up to the feelings after finishing each presentation. I personally felt that it was a waste of effort because I spent quite a lot of time on creating drafts only for a few minutes of presentation. My groupmates were generally nice people to work with and I'm happy to have been grouped with them so no complaints there.

6. Exams/ final paper

There are 2 questions in the final paper, each from one of the lecturers covering all the content that they taught. Paper is to be done in 2h. Each question is to be answered in any form (point, essay etc) but for me, I wrote a one-page essay for each question.

An interesting thing to note was that this particular paper was the exam with the most number of absentees. I had at least 3 empty seats on my immediate right. I think it's because a lot of students were not able to cram all the content in such a short period of time.

7. Tips to do well

Tip #1: For presentations, try to clear the prep work as soon as possible. Pushing back can result in a lot of clashes and unnecessary frustration as the semester moves very fast and mid terms will interfere with prep work. I personally completed all 3 drafts for what we had to present by CNY and shared it with my group by week 7. From there it was pretty easy for us to come up with the slides.

Tip #2: This tip applies to Dr Lum's part of the course only.

My advice for the first half of the course would be to start memorizing early. As mentioned, a lot of people put off everything till the last minute. However, Dr Lum does not give any hints to what he sets so it will be close to impossible to cram his and Dr Chew's content together. Throw in some overlapping topics and it can get quite confusing if everything is mixed together. As such, there is no need to attend Dr Lum's lectures but summaries should be made watching the online lecture and  following the week's content. Also, it despite what the lecturers say, I personally feel that it is efficient to spot topics and parts of the content that may come out. This is to streamline the essentials to be burned into memory to achieve maximum efficiency. Of course, spotting should be done with good logic and not just anyhow bomb and it also does not mean to completely ignore the content that is not spotted as a potential exam question. It is helpful to take a quick look through the other content closer to the exam to ensure that the coverage is as wide as possible.

Tip #3: This tip applies to Dr Chew's part of the course only.

The good thing about Dr Chew is that he will hold a revision lecture where he gives hints to what he will be tested for his part of the course. The advice he gives is quite accurate so it is recommended to follow what he says. Of course, please do read up on the other content and not hope to go in with only what he mentioned as the only exam ammunition expecting to get high marks. As with the first part of the course, it is good to read through the content and make summaries as well.

Tip #4: Pre-exam advice

The night before the exam, google some extra information on the topics that are not covered in the lecture content. This will help set the essay answer apart from the rest of the cohort. For example, I searched up on cyber defence news and found a piece of news of Singapore signing an MoU with Canada to boost cyber defence co-operation. During the paper, I wrote that in in addition to whatever I had memorized before and I feel that it was a good addition to my essay to get full marks for that part of the question (Dr Chew explicitly stated that he had no qualms awarding full marks for really good answers).

Tip #5: Exam Day Advice

Bring an extra pen to write with and ensure that correction tape is sufficient. Expect to experience hand cramps and slippery grips halfway through the paper. I got both of them and had to keep wiping my hand throughout the paper.

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

I got really lucky for this paper for the most part. I predicted half of the paper correctly and was able to do it with relative ease with the exception of one question which I promptly decided to write rubbish. The question came from the one topic I hated which was Engineering Practice - Sustainable Issues. It felt like one of those motivational MLM talks to me hence I did not study that topic at all.

Expected Grade: At least A-

9. BONUS: MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE COMING SEMESTER PAPER AY19/20 S1

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS MY PERSONAL VIEW AND IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT WILL COME OUT. PLEASE EXERCISE SELF DISCRETION WHEN USING MY PREDICTIONS. USE AT OWN RISK. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS FROM THIS PREDICTION.

Note: My predictions are for some topics only, not the full content list for this mod. Left is the topic, right is the prediction:

Dr Lum's Part:

History of Engineering: Challenges from US

Engineering Ethics: The whole USANSPE Code of Ethics

Case Study of Engine Ethics: Any one of the 3 major case studies

WSHA: Memorise the entire WSHA and distinguish between the features, key pillars etc

Sustainable Issues: This topic can go to hell

Engineers in the New Economy: 4 Main Challenges (100 plan is not expected to come out as it was tested this semester)

Dr Chew's Part:

Listen to his revision lecture.

==

SS9104 - BASKETBALL (Y1S2/3AU) (S/U EXERCISED)

Coach: Mr Walter Ong Eng Kwang

1. Marks and assessment component of the course

Quiz (30%): ?/30

Practical (70%): ?/70

Overall Grade: S

2. Course mechanics

1 x 3h lesson a week, 1 Quiz (our coach let us decide when we wanted to take it), 1 practical test on what was taught throughout the module.

3. Short Intro

I realized that there are not a lot of reviews about NTU sports modules online let alone detailed ones. So I hope to shed some light onto one such mod that seems pretty popular amongst students (and hopefully gain more readers haha) to allow those who are considering signing up to make an informed decision.

I think a lot of people sign up for the course thinking "Oh I'll probably be able to be within the top few since I already know how to play basketball" or something along those lines. The truth is, almost everyone in the class already have some form of basketball experience. I remember the coach saying once that he was not there to teach us how to shoot, rather he was there to try and correct our shooting and hopefully provide more avenues for us to learn a different way of shooting. Also, IVP players ARE allowed to sign up for sports that they compete in, so I think I've cleared up the question on whether IVP players are allowed to take sports mods.

There are about 2 theory lessons and the rest of the time is spent at the court doing drills and watching the coach do demonstrations. For most people, all this should be second nature already. Things that are covered include how to do a layup, triple threat, shooting etc.

There is also a Group Project component where groups are randomly assigned and the members have to come up with a plan for a "Sports Carnival" and plan out logistics and execution of a friendly match. I'm not sure the grading comes under the Quiz or the Practical but I know that the report requires quite a substantial amount of work.

Content of Quiz comes from the FIBA basketball rule book. Students are to to memorize 54 pages worth of rules which to be honest, I don't think anyone did.

Practical Test consists of running the number 8 full court and back and finishing it with a layup, all timed. Other parts of the test include making a free throw shot, coming up with screen plays (with the Group Project group) and playing against other teams.

The course is expected to end by Week 12.

4. Easy parts

For those looking for a fun sport to play and intend to S/U from the start, I think basketball is a good way to get an insight into the world of basketball. Note I did not say "pick up valuable skills" because I personally feel that 12 lessons is not enough to learn a practical skill and know how to execute it fairly well. I made a few friends in my group who were complete beginners at the sport and they were able to execute basic stuff as well as a bit more advanced stuff such as centre movement by the end of the course but I think they might have forgotten most of what they learnt by now.

For those who are seasoned players, this module should be walk in the park as everything taught would have been learnt outside before. Also, the coach mentioned that he has never failed anyone in the history of the course so there is really no way to do so bad that failure is an option.

5. Difficult parts

While it is not easy to fail, it is also not easy to get a good grade for this course. I personally felt that the practical test is not reflective of the true skill level of the players in class. However in defence of the course, it is true that the aim of the course is to provide a basic understanding of the sport to students and as such, the assessment would only to be to gauge how much one has learnt throughout the course. Because of this aspect, even the IVP players might do badly. As such, my advice to prospective students thinking of taking up this mod is to not be intimidated by IVP players in class because at the end of the day, this course is an academic course and not a real competition and the final grade is largely determined by one's own ability (and a shit ton of luck to determine whether the ball goes into the net on the first attempt for the free throw component of the practical test).

6. Exams/ final paper

Already covered above.

7. Tips to do well

For the beginners, my advice would be to practice what is taught. Advanced knowledge is helpful but not necessary for this course. For not-so-new players, understand that this course is ultimately still an ACADEMIC one and don't expect to have too many opportunities to flex. At the end of the day, the bell curve still applies and doing what is required is more than enough to put one at the correct side of the curve.

8. Overview/ my personal (MIGHT BE BIASED) comments

I decided to S/U this module because I was pretty sure I would not get an A, simple as that. Also, I felt the coach MIGHT have been a bit too focused on the girls if you catch the drift (yes there are girls in basketball class).

If there's one thing this mod taught me, it would be to learn to differentiate between the courses that are fun and the courses that can be too fun. I think that one must always be mindful of the impact of a mod on their grades instead of rushing in to it thinking that everything will be alright only to find out that they might get a lousy grade because reality was different from what they expected. And who better to have gave me that advice than the legendary Jeff himself! :D

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That's the end of my Course Review for EEE Y1S2 AY18/19! Feel free to contact me through the email at the top of the blog if there are any questions or comments. :)

End Of Y1S2 (Crescent Hall Review)

In the blink of an eye, I've finished my Y1S2. To be honest, there were quite a few points throughout the semester when I was tempted to write but I wanted to hold back till the end of the semester before I start writing anything.

Post-finals content will cover 4 topics spread across 4 posts (for now):

1. Review of my hall for my first year (Crescent Hall).

2. Course Review for AY18/19 Y1S2.

3. Reflections on this semester.

4. Reflections on how I can study better for next semester, my goals and my plans for this summer and Y2S1.

I might (and probably will if I remember) do a post on what I did during the summer break to serve as a hindsight.

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CRESCENT HALL REVIEW (NTU EEE Y1 AY18/19)

The following will be the content coverage:
1. Brief and Informal Background of Crescent Hall
2. Why I chose Crescent Hall
3. Features of Crescent Hall
4. Life in Crescent Hall
5. Pros of Crescent Hall
6. Cons of Crescent Hall
7. Overall thoughts

1. Brief and Informal Background of Crescent Hall

Established in 2014 as the hall for NTU's scholars, Crescent Hall is the "oldest newest" hall on campus alongside Pioneer Hall, both collectively known as Crespion. Besides housing the students on the scholars programme, the Hall also takes in the LKCMedicine students as well as regular non-scholar non-med students (aka me). It is located in the south side of NTU and has various facilities and special programmes for its residents. Its proximity to several facilities make it a relatively strategic place to stay on campus. Culture-wise, it is still developing a culture as it is relatively young compared to the rest of the halls.

2. Why I chose Crescent Hall

I got into Crescent because I got a friend to pull me in, otherwise my hall allocation as a a first year would have been random. I asked to be pulled in because I was told that there was a "mug" culture here compared to the other halls. Of course, that's not to say that people in other halls do not study; I'm sure everyone studies no matter where they stay. It might be just me, but I was drawn to Crescent because I wanted to focus on studying and other halls were said to have various other cultures such as being party halls.

3. Features of Crescent Hall

Off the bat, I would say that Crescent is different compared to the other halls (before it) because it is kind of like a HDB-style hall where the corridors and rooms remind me of those in a HDB while other halls were "flatter and wider" in the sense that they did not have so many floors and the rooms were wider. I guess you could say that Crescent is "condo-style"? Though maybe that term may be more fitting for the newer Nanyang Crescent Halls. Anyway, unlike the older halls, the majority of rooms in Crescent are single rooms, so it is easier to get a single room.

Also, I'm not sure if this is unique to Crescent (compared to the halls before it), but Crescent has its own gym (which is larger than the older halls' gyms), basketball half-court, study areas (I'll highlight this part in a bit under the pros), canteen and various other special rooms dedicated to various activities such as a Garage, dance room, jamband room, multi-purpose hall etc. There are also kitchens for a cooking module exclusive to Crespion residents only. Most of the facilities above are shared with Pioneer Hall.

I am aware that the older halls have some of these rooms too, but the reason I highlight all these rooms as features is because I don't think the older halls have all of the above mentioned rooms exclusively for their own use (I treat Crespion as one entity in this context). Basically, it feels to me that Crespion is "self-sufficient".

Crescent is opposite the first bus stop in NTU, which is shared with Hall 1 Pioneer and maybe Hall 5 residents who can walk a short distance to get back to their hall.

Also, Crescent is in close proximity to the Sports Recreation Centre, The Wave, the running track, basketball courts and soccer field, which are really convenient (elaborated in pros section). With regards to access outside campus, Crespion are the closest halls to the entrance/exit of NTU hence within walking distance (though it might take a while) to Extension and Nanyang CC.

Crescent Hall is one of the halls with an optional Residential Education component (think NUS RCs) and many educational-related activities for the residents. They send out occasional emails inviting residents to participate in a variety of activities such as cooking classes, tinkering workshops, photography classes etc. Of course, these are free of charge and non-compulsory so there is no need to feel forced to join.

4. Life in Crescent Hall

I would like to point out that this section can be very subjective so I will write it based on my own personal experience. To set the things first, my mentality for Y1S1 and Y1S2 was to focus more on studying and not so much on participating in social activities so I might be undermining what Crescent had to offer me this year.

I think that Crescent does not have a culture that is as established as the older halls given that it came into existence some 5 years ago. However, it is not to say that the place is dead. There are indeed social groups to join through CCAs, FOP etc. Also, there are semestral events and celebrations when residents would come together and socialise, such as during the CNY steamboat event. I won't forget the good food we had during the steamboat and the performances. Or maybe I'm just hungry as I type this.

Personally for me, my everyday life throughout the teaching weeks and recess week of Y1S2 consisted of waking up, doing work/procrastinating, eating, repeat work/procrastinate, go exercise on some days, come back shower, work/procrastinate, sleep. Rinse and repeat formula for 13 weeks. I'll cover more of what I did in my post on reflections for this semester but generally, it was very mundane.

5. Pros of Crescent Hall

I think the greatest advantage of staying in Crescent would be the ultimate convenience it gives to access most places. For example, all my exams for this year were in either SRC or Wave, so I only needed to walk 15 minutes to the venue, meaning I had a lot more time to do extra last-minute revision. The short distance is also quite convenient if I want to exercise or play ball.

The bus stop at Crescent is great because it is very easy to flag the bus down especially if I'm rushing and the bus just arrived. It's the little conveniences like these which really help out the day-to-day grind throughout the semester. The walk to my classes is a bit long though because I have to walk all the way to the Hive area and then climb up the slope to reach South Spine. Also, I have to walk to Hall 4 to take the bus if I want to leave campus which can be a bit troublesome sometimes.

Secondly, the facilities in Crescent are mostly great. Starting from the toilets, they are usually kept quite clean by the cleaners who do commendable jobs. Showers have heaters and there is a hose to wash my feet only which is great for when I need to rinse my feet only. My only gripe would be the soap for one of the toilets on my floor running out halfway throughout the semester and not getting replaced which is a hassle when I need to take a shit. Also, toilet paper is readily available which to me is really a plus point (some of the toilets in NS don't have paper).

There are lifts in Crescent which makes going up and down extremely convenient especially since I live on the 2nd highest floor. There is also an sheltered carpark for those who drive.

One pro point I would like to point out would be the reading rooms available for Crespion residents. There are 2 reading rooms which are furnished with study tables and chairs and aircon and plugs... Basically everything needed for a good mug session. I spent a lot of my time in the reading rooms this semester. They are, in my opinion, way bigger than that of other halls (by other halls I mean hall 1's reading room and hall 8/9's reading room) and way more... welcoming??? I don't know, I just get that vibe. On a side note, I think Crespion's gym is way bigger and better-equipped than Hall 1's gym.

Another small detail (they matter a lot to me lol) would be the nice view of the soccer field/SRC I have from my window/wing. I would sometimes stand at the ledge and look out to relax while I was taking a break from studying. A lot of the other halls have quite lousy views (my friend's Hall 9 view was literally a tree) and I think my view is the best I've seen so far, though I won't say I've seen a lot.

Not only is Crescent convenient for me, it is also convenient for people who come to Crescent. I've ordered a lot of midnight suppers this semester and the guy always stops at Crescent as the first destination, which is good for me because I won't be at the back of the queue waiting for my food which can take an hour plus to arrive if I was staying in the last hall destination of his delivery route.

Lastly, this is not really a feature, but I found a place to hang my laundry after washing, at the stairs area opposite my room. It's not really a pro per se, but it feels nice to have an area I can use as my own personal laundry hanging area to dry my clothes and not having to worry about anything going missing.

Bonus: The stall holders at the Yong Tau Foo stall in the canteen are very friendly and the guy knows me and my fried noodle preferences. There were a few times I did not have money to pay and they told me to pay the next time I ate because according to them, “我都认识你了，不怕你不会还的啦。” 😆😆😆 Also, the drinks stall makes BOMB Ice Milo.

6. Cons of Crescent Hall

My room for these 2 semesters was the same. I would say it is not the BEST room I could have gotten because it can get really stuffy at times (read: 90% of the time) and it faces the sun directly so the sunlight would come in strongly every morning. The stuffiness is one of the reasons I spent so much time in the reading room instead of my room studying this semester.

As with almost all the other halls in NTU, Crescent is no exception to playing host to wildlife. Admittedly, we don't have boars visiting us and I do not recall seeing any snakes around (I saw many of the OTHER type of snake though LOL), but there are a huge ton of insects swarming around. Just my room and corridor alone have seen buggers like moths, grasshoppers, spiders, beetles... I don't know what to call some of the other critters I've seen. Also in Semester 1, I think my room had an ant nest somewhere because there were so many ants and I had to get those ant poison. Did not see them again that much in Semester 2.

There were a lot of construction and drilling works going on in the area this semester (S2). It was extremely noisy and there were numerous times I was woken up from my sleep because of the noise. They said they would be done early but then the thing dragged on and on and eventually I had to accept that it would not end on schedule. I really do not understand why they wanted to re-tile the hall's flooring. To me it just seemed like a waste of money changing the tiles when there was nothing wrong with them.

Lastly, this is not really a con but I think the neighbours you get determine a big part of your hall life. I got a China national who moved in this semester and he was really loud. He would play his online games at night and kept screaming and screeching like a fucking seal in the wee hours of the night (1am, 2am). There was once I wrote a note in chinese to tell him to keep it down nicely and slotted it in front of his door. Apparently that did not work because he continued being a nuisance throughout the semester. There was also another time I shouted at him because I was about to fall asleep and his noise jolted me awake. He kept quiet for the rest of the night after that but obviously did not get the message that people around did not appreciate him being so inconsiderate because the next night he back at it again. I seriously hope he leaves after this semester and doesn't come back (assuming I come back to Crescent for Y2). I really don't want to deal with him and his noise pollution anymore. If he becomes my neighbour again, I'll knock on his door or escalate it up to the hall office.

7. Overall thoughts

Generally, I would say that I made the right choice in picking Crescent Hall as my freshman hall. Despite the inconveniences that crop up once in a while, I find it rewarding to stay in Crescent. I made a few friends, maybe one or two closer friends, so I'm quite happy with that.

Given a choice, I would want to stay in Crescent for Y2. I've already gotten used to my little stuffy room and in the words of Jackson Pollock, the "happy little" quirks such as the insects, morning sunlight and even to some extent the drilling and construction noise (fuck the China man though). I have opted for the same room for next year so here's hoping that I can get it back to stay in Crescent for another year!

P.S. I even opted to be in the Crescent Freshman Camp for the coming AY but that shall be for a separate post after the camp provided that I can remember haha.

P.P.S. I forgot to mention about the SUniG season games. Basically it is a period when the sports teams from the local universities will compete in various sporting events. Not sure if it happens every year, but this year's games were held at the soccer field near Crescent. As a result, it was quite noisy and not conducive for studying. It was held after Semester 1 if I recall, and carried on into Semester 2. Also, the canteen at Crespion will always be very crowded after their games which can be quite inconvenient especially if I'm rushing for time and need a quick meal.