A Crazy Start to A Crazy Semester

Hi readers. Seems like once again, it's been almost a month since my last post. Doesn't matter, since the readership has been falling quite significantly anyway (which may be caused by my low frequency in updating the blog). Anyway, I am currently in need of someone (or in this case, something) that can just listen, not react, just listen, to what I have to say. It is nothing personal, really. It is just the semester ahead looks like going to be eventful, but at the cost of my sleeping time. I shall elaborate why in the subsequent paragraphs.

Firstly, it is the modules I am taking this semester. I am taking a Software Engineering (SE) module, which is coupled with another module called Effective Communication for Computing Professionals. Other than that, I am taking a module which is supposedly taken by Year 3 students: Algorithm Design and Analysis. Moreover, I am taking a language module too, Chinese! And not those basic bpmf Chinese, but I jumped to Chinese 3! I guess the craziness of taking a Year 3 module and language module can speak for themselves. Let me explain to you why SE coupled with communication module is hell too.

To be honest, I may be bringing this struggle I am having now myself; I have the choice of making the product for the SE module in Java or C++. I have learned Java last semester, and I think I am pretty good at it, the fact that I am just an undergrad in his sophomore year. However, I chose to do it in C++, a language I intended to learn during the summer, which I in the end did not learn due to various reasons. So, I am faced with an (almost) impossible task of picking up a new programming language to create a (luckily, scaled-down), full fledged program for the semester! If only the deadlines are my own (I mean, as long as I finish the product on the stipulated time), it should not be a problem. The problem is, there are small deadlines in between that force me to pick up the language as soon as possible. Ideally, I should have gotten the hang of it right about now, so that I can finish this small assignment given by the lecturer by Friday. However, due to business from other modules, despite my diligence (every spare time I had last week, I spent it to learn C++!) I failed. So in the end I start doing it in Java, with hope I will be able to translate it to C++ quickly the day after or something. I shall stop here for SE as it does not do justice to other commitments which take up much of my time too.

The communication module is not much better. Actually, overall, the module is supposedly quite light, with only 2 oral presentation that I need to do for the whole semester. Unfortunately, life has something else planned for me. My group's turn for the first presentation is next week, the very first group to present! What are the chances, really? (25% actually, there are only 4 groups). Thus, I am squeezed by learning C++ and creating slides for presentation, not to mention other commitments about to be mentioned.

I think I may have said something about fulfilling my new year's resolution in the last post or something, and one of them is to join a CCA. Well, I sort of did. Not quite confirmed yet, as it is still quite early into the semester. I came for NUS Capoeira welcome tea, and sort of liked the martial arts they showed me. So I have been coming for their training for a couple of times. Other than that, just moments ago, a core member of NUS Hackers' contacted me personally via Facebook, offering me to become a core member! I sort of starstruck actually. This guy who contacted me is a legend in NUS; he went to do an internship at GOOGLE U.S. (yeah, you read that right. The one in the US, not the worthless Google HQ in Singapore, which only do marketing and some other peripheral stuff) in his third year!!!! And was offered to do another internship there last summer!!!!! Which he did!!!!!!

Okay that was definitely too many exclamation marks. But I still feel that I have not done him justice by mentioning his achievements in such a lowly manner. But anyway, yeah. I knew him because he is my tutor in one of the module I took last semester, so I kind of lucky to be in his tutee.

Anyway again, back to being contacted for offer to become a core member. It is basically their way of saying exco, but I guess core member sounds less elitist? Haha. So there will be responsibility and stuff that come my way should I accept his offer. But I guess I will give it a shot, since I think it will help me fulfil my new year's resolution, directly or indirectly.

That is all for now. As for the last paragraph, I would like to clarify why I need someone (or something) that does not respond/judge to whatever I said. I have been sharing all these craziness I am having with a handful of people, but all I get is that "Me too!", "I have it worse!" kind of responses, which for some reason kind of irritated me. Now that I have vent it all out without a reaction, it feels kind of better, though now my exhaustion starts to overwhelm me. Write to you again another time! =D