Catching up

This week proved to be relaxed, yet intense at the same time. So far, it's still very much relaxed, as the syllabuses for almost all the modules have been completed, leaving us with just 1 week before the final examinations. After that, it's a whole new timetable with new lessons, lecturers and a wider social circle. And, I also feel that my English standard is coming back to me! It's een a couple of months since I felt that way.

Monday was a breeze, as the topics for Math and ELTech were dne befoe, back in secondary school, so the lessons were more or less revision. Yesterday, what' the point of going to school for 20 minutes? It's just to do a simple, 10 question quiz(but I think I might not do as well as the options were very similar to each other). So,maybe it should have been like the previous term, completing the quiz immediatey after the practical session, so that there would be more time for revision yesterday. Well, guess it could not be helped, as history can't be changed.

Today was intense, especially during the last lesson. Mechanics was like havin a competition of skill against time. 7 questions, 2 hours, 1 paper. The length of the question increases as you turn the page, and so does the number of lines it takes to completely answer the respective questions.
During Math, the lecturer was covering the last portion of Matrices, and it's damn easy. Today was the first time we were allowed to use laptops for the lecture, as it was required for the lecture, but, apart from using the program to do the calculations, some of us were having our own private conversations, so much so that our lecturer also signed into his account.
Finally it was computer programming. It was exactly one week before the exam, and we were still not very sure of one of the sequences for the programming. And, our project was due in less than a week's time! Wow. Man, we were all rushing to get thins done as soon as possible, so as to make time for our revision on Monday, our definite last chance to clarify any outstanding doubts we were having since the first lesson.

And soon, it's going to be the term break, and there's going to be a chalet stay, and maybe a small reunion with friends I had lost contact with for way too long.

OH, AND I ALMOST FORGOT,
HAPPY SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY ANDY!!!

Falling behind

Well, guess this is going to be one long post. Let's head back to last Saturday. Had wanted to post this up, but as I wanted to add some colour to the post, decided to keep it till tonight when all the pictures were ready.


Last week met up with CATS group for our project on jaywalking. Looked simple at first, but on closer look, there was a lot more things that had to be done, such as information gathering on the Internet, photo taking, recording short clips, compilation of a report, designing, circulation and analysis of surveys and the design of slides for our presentation, all of which will be compiled into one report. If I'm not wrong, most of the people in JCs would be doing that as well, perhaps, on a larger scale. For us, everything was done in 3 days, compared to the one year or so time frame for Project Work, done by students in the JCs.

Our group(from left):Jun Jie, Jia Jia, James, Yee Xiang, ME

Our class..




We started off from Orchard MRT Station, and walked from Wisma Atria to Plaza Singapura. The moment we were on ground level, there were already jaywalkers around us. Our job during the walk was damn simple. Just snap away at jaywalkers or take video footage of them jaywalking, without being detected by the jaywalkers themselves. Along the way, we were sort of slacking, crapping around, taking photographs every now and then, chatting with two groups of student buskers along Orchard road, either helping them complete a task or taking a photograph with them. By the way, Jia Jia was the best. She completed 6 things on that day itself. 2 projects, 1 short meeting with friends, collection of promotional hamper and helping two groups of students. Actually, she started out with 2, while us guys started with only one thing in mind, to complete the project. Soon, we had more "mini tasks" to fulfill. We took photographs for two groups of students, the first was for fun, and the second group was for a national event, carried out by students from SMU. Upon arrival at Plaza Singapura, she sort of coerced us to join her in the queue to collect a free promotional hamper. Once done, we trained down to Woodlands to complete half of our project(a quarter was done 2 Thursdays ago in school, and the last quarter was done on Wednesday).




Here's a small portion of what we took Last Saturday:

Our "starting" point(Not exactly ours, but this was Jia Jia's starting point)

Things we did when we were bored:





We brought us back souvenirs!






Dinner & project @ Woodlands

Well, come to think of it, why was someone missing rom the picutres? Well, Yee Xiang had to meet a friend on that Saturday, and as we believed that it was a date, so maybe we should let him go, just in case we become the cause of a break-up.

Thursday was the submission day for our project, and everything was in place, until we ran into some problems during the presentation. The report was really well done this time, with little touch ups being done at the eleventh hour.

Today was the first and last Parents' Forum in school, as it was held only for the first year parents, to let them know moe about the education system in a polytechnic, a things such as the starting time each day, grading and examination system as well as the learning system are totally different from secondary schools. Only a handfull from our class turned up today, and there wasn't much things to comment about as well, as we spent like only 2 hours there talking to the lecturers and finding out about our grades, before heading for home. And, as expected, I did score straight As for the common tests last term. And, in less than 2 week's time, it will be the finals, and sadly, I had not started on revision of any sort. Well, will just have to start in the morning then, otherwise I would really lose sight of 4.0...



[BLOG UPDATE]
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Nicole(MapleSEA) and Janna(NP)

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Little time, little progress...

Another week is about to end, taking us closer to the final examinations for the first semester. So far this week, I had been slacking off. Not doing any revision at all. Even if I did, it was pretty much last minute work, which can't really be considered to be revision at all. Yesterday stayed behind after class to do our project. Within 3 hours, we completed the backbone of the project, defining the problem, elaborating on the problem, finding the solutions, and creating the surveys. All that's left to do is the final report and to get pictoral examples as well as videos to support our report, so that we can be assued of a higher A grade this time round.

So far this term, had not been meeting up with friends that often, and I had not been revising either. All that I have been doing was, well, catching up on sleep?Looking forward to the days where I can meet the different groups of friends again, but, first, I have got to clear the semester, and secure the straight As I had back in the first term. It's just a month left before the next 2 month long break sets in.

Well, just finished creating the survey, and was pretty much an easy task, thanks to the JC peeps who looked me up since the start of the month to do their surveys. So, maybe I could say that it's time to get them to return the favour? By the way, don't worry, it wun't kill off more than 10 minutes of your life. Oh, and here's the link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=M_2bdI0_2fixcH5JH9gjdqcTIw_3d_3d

First C Grade

Today was the first time I studied so damn hard for a test this year. I studied from 9pm yesterday, till 3am this morning, and went to take a nap till 9am. School was easy going today, especially for the lessons and practical before the lunch break. Today was also the last day of the POLY experience for secondary school students, but, it was also the day of an examination for the computer programming module. Was expecting it to be extremely easy today, as the lecturer had reassued us it was going to be easy for us to handle. The practical for Mechanics was the same as the previous one, and today, it was also the last practical for our class. So, everything went really smoothly this time round, and because of that, I'm already looking forward to the new semester, where there will be more practicals.



After that, we went off to the library to study after lunch, and then back to class for more lessons. This time, I forgot to sign my attendance for the tutorial class. Damn. Well, perhaps being assumed absent just once for class would not hurt yea? After that, we went for Electrical Technology class. There were more things to remember, and this time, and I was dosing off in class, again. Anyways, I managed to note down everything taught in class today so that revision will be alot easier tomorrow. Today we were also released early as the people who took the retest could have their question papers returned to them.



So, we headed to the library, once again, to revise for the programming test. At 5.40pm, we went to the examination hall. The hall was on the eighth floor of block 53. I never knew that there could be such a large room on the eighth floor of that block. The papers were distributed at 6pm, and all hell broke loose. The paper was way difficult than expected. The first question, told to us by our lecturer, was really easy, so I should be getting the full 45 marks for that. As for the second, I knew almost everything except for the last part, so I should be getting around 25 to 30 out of 35 for that question. Finally, the third. That was truly a killer. With an estimated 50 lines of codes, with the total obtainable marks for that question capped at 25, who would even bother attempting that question? At least, that was the thought of some of the candidates who left the hall early after finishing the first two questions of the paper, while leaving the third question totally blank, without much trace of an attempt on the question. And I wonder, would you even do a survey on behalf of 50 people, and to make things worse, on a program that only the command prompt on the computer can decipher and tabulate on your behalf? I know that I won't waste my time on such things. Well, but, since it was just to test our proficiency on the codes and sequences, I must admit that, that question was very original. It seems that, although I put in lots of effort for the revision, it seemed that all I revised was not enough. So, for that test today, I should be able to secure between 65 to 70 marks for the test.



i have finally decided, that, for the rest of the term, I should become a little more lifeless, so that I can acheive the aim of getting 4.0 for the semester.

Drift

Yesterday had the thought that everything was going fine, only until it was the second lesson of the week, Computer Programming, did I notice that I was in fact still not ready for the up-coming examinations. The first was going to be held this Friday, and it was for Computer Programming. I would do perfectly well for the first 2 questions. However, I might have to leave the last question blank if I do not do any reading up or practice the codes before Friday arrives.
ELTech was worse. After the common tests, I seem to be getting more slacked. I can't remember simple formulae for the 3 new chapters that were taught during the past two weeks. And as for Math, so far so good, not much problems other than the usual careless mistakes. Better start revising for Complex Numbers or I would not be able to get an A grade. With time passing so much faster now, there's less than 2 months before the exams. Even though it's just three papers, they still mean alot to the final grade. I really need the grades to achieve my first 4.0 for the first of six semesters.

Anyways, today was pretty slacked, and today we were building bridges! It's damn fun, as long as you don't get burnt by the hot glue. The bridge Hamzi and I built, can withstand a total stress of 5kg, but when the last frame is completed, I bet it could take much more than just 5kg. Instead of following the rest of the class to Bugis today, I headed straight for home. I believe that now's the best time to really get down to work to prepare for a possible project presentation for German class tomorrow, and for the Computer Programming exam on Friday. Guess I won't be slacking as much this term compared to the previous. And finally, I think I'm ready for some lifeless studying from next week onwards, once I clear the exam this coming Friday.

Noises,Voices,Choices 2008, The History Project

This week sure was tiring and very packed. There were rehearsals from Monday to Wednesday, from 6pm to 10pm. Did not really focus much in class this week so that I could conserve some energy for the rehearsals. On Monday, almost evrything was in place, audio, lights and props. Tuesday it was the same, and Wednesday, everything was in place, almost as if it were the actual day. On Monday, things seemed as though almost everything just fitted in nicely, and that standard was nowhere near the expectations of the lecturers and directors. Anyway, with only two rehearsals left, things picked up speed. On Tuesday, everyone was more familiar with the cues, positions and lines. That was especially so for the speakers, who improved tremendously just over a day!

Wednesday was a day before the actual show. There were only a handfull of hiccups here and there, but on the whole, everything looked almost like a masterpiece. The speeches were almost perfect. Everyone had memorised their lines, and as for the backstage crew, there were some minor final adjustments being made, but everything blended very well. Everyone were in high spirits by that night, eager for the actual.

On thursday, everyone gathered real early. So early that about half of the crew arrived before a lecture ended at 4pm. Once it was 4pm, everyone got into full swing for the preparations of the stage, lights and sounds. At first things were messy, but as soon as the props were in place, the stage was neatly done. In fact, it gave the effect that the audience was going to look forward to a team of professionals giving it their all for that one performance that would last for 2 hours. At 5pm, some of us were getting restless, so we went to get some ice cream. At 6pm, there was this one last briefing for everyone involved in the production. After that, everyone got into posititons before the show started at 7.05pm.

That night, it was a perfect showcase of talents, and everyone gave it their all. Exactly how great everyone felt during the prodcution, I doubt words can describe that. Only when one is experiencing it, can he or she feel greatness, difficult to describe with words alone from the experience. The Interval provided a short moment of celebration for the actors, some of the speakers and the crew, but, that was only half of what everyone had prepared painfully for. The next segment of the show was going to be way better than the first. After 15 minutes, everyone got into positions once again, and this time, it was alot better than the first round, with our voices
projected with greater volume and clarity. At 9pm, was the moment we were all looking forward to, the curtain call. That short moment of great satisfaction was great, we were on cloud nine.
Soon after everyone had left, we cleared the props, packed up, had the last debrief, and finally, went for a short celebration at a place near the school.

And as for yesterday, well, sort of overslept, but somehow, managed to reach school 15 minutes before the lessons started. So, for the record, it took me only 20 minutes to travel from home to school. Reached the classroom at 9.50am, and I was only fully awake for the first half of the day. ELTech practical was damn easy and smooth yesterday, and I was second to finish. After that, headed over to KAP for lunch at 12.40pm, and at 1.40pm, headed back to class again. I was first to finish the assignment for Mechanics, but after that, I was starting to fall asleep. For the whole lecture on ELTech, I was dosing off in class...



That night sure brought back memories from past experiences. That night also opened new windows to how life would be like over the next few years. For now, my guess is that, that night was just the beginning of a new journey...