[School] NUS Module Review AY15/16 Sem 1: EC3322 Industrial Organisation I

Hey Readers!

Back with module reviews again! Have received an overwhelming response for level 3000 module reviews so I have decided to do a review for EC3322 Industrial Organisation I which I have taken in AY15/16 Sem 1.

Professor/ Lecturer: Dr Eric Fesselmeyer

Lecturer Rating: 4.5/5

Tutor: Hai Long

Tutor Rating: 3/5

Lectures:

Lectures were good. Prof Eric has been teaching this module for quite a period of time so he is very clear and is a master of the content covered. Content covered is very mathematical. However, a downside is that Prof Eric tends to skip alot of steps in his lecture slides which makes us really lost IF you do not read the slides and attempt the solve the sums beforehand. 

Content covered is very interesting. First half of semester has lighter workload than 2nd half. So try to do well for midterms as paper was alot easier due to lesser content in first half of semester.

TIP: Read his slides both before and after the lecture. You'll have an advantage over other students.

Tutorials:

Attendance sometimes were self-marked (attendance sheet passed around the class) while other times marked by the tutor. Along with the attendance sheet would be the tutorial presentation sheet where you can tick next to which questions you want to present. However, this doesn't mean you'll 100% cfm get to present. If demand is high for that particular question, the tutor will just randomly pick one to present that question, which also means only that 1 person gets the tutorial participation points. 

If you can do the tough question sets, then I would recommend you volunteer to present for those questions because certain questions are considered bonus and will give you double points.

Hai Long is Vietnamese so his accent was really strong and sometimes I could not understand him well as pronunciation of certain words was not clear. This wasn't too big a problem as he is very friendly and willing to help even after class hours. He tend to show us other examples and how certain questions can be tweaked and this means tutorials usually took the full hour, and we often had the next tutorial class chasing us out. 

I had an occasion where Hai Long could not make it and Prof took my class instead. It was quite scary but a good experience having Prof as your tutor. Prof made sure that when you present, you knew how to get the answers. He would question every single step you took to derive the answer

Midterms:

Content was easier than finals as only first half of the syllabus was tested and content was easy to understand. I had several careless mistakes and ended up doing very badly for midterms which pulled down my final grade in the end. Bell curve for Midterms was pretty steep and I was at the end of the bell-curve (25th percentile bottom) which made it hard to pull up my final grade.

TIP: Try to score for Midterms, I had friends getting 80+/100.

Finals:

Cumulative finals meant alot more content was tested. As much as the content interest me a lot, it was quite a handful of content to revise for finals although I enjoyed reading the content. Slightly tougher content for 2nd half as a variety of questions can be tested. 

Finals was challenging compared to midterms and I regretted not checking my paper thoroughly for midterms. 

Overall:

I believed my finals pulled my grade up but my midterm performance was disappointing. I will recommend this module to all as content covered is interesting and pretty applicable to real life. If you're good in math, this would be an advantage too. 

If there are any queries, pls feel free to comment below and subscribe to be updated for more module reviews. 

Love,

Rachel

[Travel] Where to stay for a budget trip to Bangkok: Metro Resort Pratunam

Dear Readers,

I am back with travel reviews!

This time recommending hotels to stay in Bangkok for a budget trip!

Whenever I head to Bangkok, the only place I'll stay at is Metro Resort Pratunam.

It is conveniently located one road down Platinum Fashion Mall (about 10-15 minutes walk), and big malls nearby (including Shibuya 19 which sells wholesale fashion clothings and some electronics mall across the road)

I touched down at Survanabhumi Airport only at 7-ish to 8pm, and by the time I reached the hotel (by taxi), it was 9plus almost 10pm (local BKK time). Remember, whenever you take taxi, always ask for metered fare! (including to and fro the airport; some taxi drivers try to cheat your money by telling you there is massive jam at this time of the day, but don't fall for their trick!!) Unless you're in really popular areas at about 12am, like Ma Boon Kong, then most taxi drivers will only ferry those who agree to pay his requested fare (but always try to bargain (at least 50-100baht lower!))

This is how the exterior of the hotel look like (pardon my flabby arms HAHA)

The photo above was taken from the outside of the hotel the next morning after I touched down since it was really dark when I reached the hotel the night before.

Here's the lobby!

Very cosy lightings with 2 desktops near the check-in concierge for guests' usage. Though I recommend not to stay in the lobby for too long as there were many mosquitoes.

The very large corridors along the 3rd floor

You see really huge corridors, especially on the 3rd level. Where the middle area (on the right of the picture (with brown walls), are the exterior of one of their conference rooms.

The layout seems awkward for a hotel as this building was converted from a shopping mall in 2010/2011. Therefore, there were escalators too (which were not operating) which is supposed is meant to save electricity (since they have a lift anyway)

Interior of the room (twin bedroom)

All the rooms come with an attached bathroom, Do note that there is no carpeting in the room. Neither is there bedroom slipper provided. Please bring your own pair. In the room there is a cupboard, which had enough hangers for 2 days worth of clothes for 2 person, no luggage stand (place it on the floor), a glass table and 2 chairs, a wall-mounted TV with about 5-8 local channels, a dressing table (with a waste paper basket in the corner near the bathroom), a side table between both beds that had a table lamp, writing paper and a telephone for services.

Air-conditioning worked fine. If you're worried the room gets stuffy, just turn on the aircon in your room when you leave the hotel (the cleaners will not turn it off just to save electricity). This means you can enjoy a cool environment after a long day of shopping.

Outside the room I stayed in June 2014

Yes, to gain access to the room, you need a key and it isnt the high tech sort of tap card/ insert card into slot type of hotel. It is a physical key (the kind of key you use to lock your main door). Rest assured, if you're worried that you might lose your key, the concierge will keep your keys on your behalf. And the best part is, when you get back to the hotel (if the same concierge staff is on duty), she can remember your room number and pass you back your key. That is a really nice gesture as it shows how much they respect the guests.

I took really little pictures of the room, so here's one with me in it.

They change the towels everyday, and cleared the bins too. Toiletries were replenished daily and the sheets were changed and bed for you (ONLY IF you placed the "Please make up room" sign outside your door!)

Oh, and yes, they had a mini fridge in the room too. The bottled water (first 2) is complimentary, there were also packet coffee, tea, creamer and sugar. They are complimentary too!

Water flask is provided for you to boil your own water too.

During my period of stay, there were many Indian guests, and they tend to sleep rather late. The walls are definitely not 100% soundproof, probably about 80%, so I could hear their conversation (but not like I understood anything they were saying) Other than that, the air conditioning was so shiok that I slept and snored like a pig.

Although no daily breakfast is provided for my option, the hotel area has many good road side stalls, which mostly closes at 11pm.

Yes, this was just a 2minute walk down the hotel towards Platinum direction.

This was taken on the 1st night when we first arrived (at about 10.30pm)

Nice personalised pouches which are great as gifts (~8SGD)

3SGD roadside wanton mee stall that was cooked on the spot

The famous Kuang Heng Chicken Rice stall (~3SGD including the bottle of coke)

The 7-eleven sold Slurpee for only SGD0,70 for the giant size

The fruits in the above picture are a must eat! Fresh fruits for sale on push carts. This was from a vendor selling right outside 7-eleven, and I bought from him every single night I was there. The guava was the only fruit he cut on the spot, but all his fruits tasted good. There were pineapples, papaya, pear, guava, jambu. Jambus are must eat here. They're so sweet, crunchy and juicy! Ah, missing the jambus now!

Yes, so now you know how convenient this hotel is, with the roadside stalls opened till almost midnight! The staff are really kind too, and tries to give you as clear instructions they can with their minimal English. 

Oh yes, Thai massage is a must when in Thailand right? No worries, there is a whole street of Thai massage parlours just 5minutes walk down the street towards Platinum direction! There are 4-5 stalls for you to choose from, and I went in to try 3 of the stalls (during the 4 nights I was there in June 2014)

After telling you so much about the hotel, I haven't mentioned the price I paid. For this 3 star hotel, I paid only 4000THB for my 4night stay. That means each night only costed about ~35SGD per night!

Where else to get such deals? Although the nearby GLOW Pratunam and Amari Watergate are much better choices in terms of the quality of service and ambience, the price is about twice to thrice the price. Being the cheapo me, I think Metro Resort is comfy enough for me. I just need a proper place to sleep and rest in preparation for the next day. So what if there are gym facilities or swimming pools in other hotels? The price you pay includes the use of facilities, but truth is, you'll hardly have time to use it, as most of the time you'll be out of your hotel. Even when in the hotel, you're probably dead beat and just wanna sloth around in bed.

I am not sponsored to do this review, but since I couldn't find any reviews on the hotel, and I find that the reviews on Tripadvisor is not an accurate representation of the hotel. I decided to post on my staycation in June 2014. 

Comment if you have any queries!

If I realise I have left out any key info, I'll amend at my leisure time.

*Updated on 2nd June: The prices of all rooms at Metro have been raised. Currently, the promotional price is 1400THB per night, not the 1000THB I paid last June. Please take note!

Cheers,

Rachel 

[Travel] Bangkok Scoot Flight 2014 Review and Tips

Hey readers!!

Decided to do some travel reviews. Will start with the most recent one, and if there are actually significant viewers and readers, I'll continue posting!(:

For this blog post, it will be purely for FLIGHT reviews and tips. Follow up on more blog posts regarding itineraries during my 5-day Bangkok Trip June 2014!

Headed to Bangkok (my favourite travel location ... for shopping) on the 14th June 2014. (SIN --> BKK)

It was a very last minute decision to fly as I was viewing through online that Scoot was having a promo fare to Bangkok. 

I paid $370-ish for the tickets for both my mother and I. That was the best flight deal I've ever gotten! The best part was that I booked the tickets about 3-4 days before I actually flew. (I loved that feeling. It was like a pack-and-go, YOLO decision- Makes me feel more enthusiastic about life. HAHA)

Forgot to mention earlier, the flight deal was the FlyBag option, which means checked-in luggage was included. This was so much cheaper than AirAsia which fares doesnt include checked baggage, Also, I was worried that my mother and I would not be able to get adjacent seats (plus I love window seats), so I opted to pay extra to choose my own seat. Can't really remember how much I paid for the seat selection. I think it was SGD8 per pax? (Yup, so actually my tickets were much much cheaper if I hadn't opted for such options). HOWEVER, do note that Scoot doesnt serve in-flight meals, nor do they have entertainment onboard. 

In-flight meals were available at additional costs while on the flight, and you can actually choose your preferred meal while purchasing your tickets. I felt it wasn't worth it to pay around SGD10 for an inflight meal, and especially since it was just a 2.5 hour flight. 

Although I was slightly worried when I read online reviews that the Scoot staff were very unfriendly and that the seats were not of acceptable comfort, I felt that it was totally worth it for the price I paid for it!

Look at the seats! They look great right? The plane looked quite new (although Scoot planes are supposedly refurbished SIA planes). The seats comfort level were the usual Economy class seats. 

As the saying goes "You get what you pay for", so definitely I wasn't expecting a soft cushiony type of seat nor a first class service from cabin crews,

The flight went rather smoothly with occasional turbulences which can't be avoided as it depends on weather conditions(: 

The picture below shows my in-flight meal. (Yes, I smuggled Burger King 6pcs nuggets- although it was against their rules but I didnt get caught)

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I took the 5.35pm flight, so I reached there only at about 8pm (Singapore Time). 

Look at the pretty clouds in the sky which I managed to capture while the plane was during a right turn!

This was taken about 5 minutes before we landed in Bangkok.

 Yay! A safe landing in Bangkok! The flight left Singapore slightly late as they made the announcement that there was a long queue for the runway, however, we still arrived earlier than the expected arrival timing (applause for the pilot for choosing a shortcut route- Maybe?). After clearing customs, we went to collect our baggage which took forever to come.

I think it was because we landed earlier, therefore when we arrived at our baggage claim conveyor, it still had remains of some luggages from another flight. Everyone waited for about 10 minutes before the luggages appeared on the conveyor.

I'm too lazy to type for the return flight, but it was about the same experience and not that I noticed too much about the plane as I was dead tired after the 5 days worth of shopping. (aka I slept through the flight back to Singapore)

Rating for Flight Experience:

Cabin Crew: 8/10
Remarks: They were slightly late in response when I needed assistance to purchase their souvenirs from their on-air shopping catalogue. Other than that, I couldn't comment on as I didn't order in-flight meals or called them for any other purposes. Oh, I have to mention that they were not too polite when asking me to adjust my seat back to it's upright position.

Ambience on flight: 9/10
Remarks: The 1 point deducted was not because the flight wasn't very enjoyable, but rather due to occasional children screaming and shouting (which can't be prevented either way). They dimmed the light to allow some short power nap

Seat Comfort level: 9/10
Remarks: As mentioned above, but the seat recliners were not functioning at its best. Some seats were loose (and caused occasional squeaks as the passengers shuffled in their seats)


Tips for Scoot Flights:
- Always bring an empty water bottle as there are water coolers at the back of the plane for you to quench your thirst during the flight (and if you're as cheapo as me who doesn't want to pay for food or drinks). Not too sure if they provide plastic cups (as no one around me did so)

- Do not expect too much for Scoot flights as it is meant to be a budget carrier.

-If you and your travel partners are sharing one luggage (eg. 2 person 1 luggage), get the FlyBag option for 1 pax, and the Fly option for the other pax), it should be sufficient, unless you're worried your baggage weight might exceed (which shouldnt be the case as my average-sized luggage weighed only 18.3kg when I came back.

- Try to sneak small snacks on board especially if you have a long flight (and don't get caught, obviously)

- Bring your own source of entertainment (no inflight entertainment, games, movies, shows, music etc.) They do have a personal TV, but ... it doesnt work (duh, it's a budget carrier)

- Bring  a portable charger, especially if you plan to read ebooks or play games on your electronic devices.

OH AND YES,

I forgot to mention that Scoot no longer fly to the Survanabhumi Airport. They now fly to Don Mueang only. Don Mueang is quite close to Chaktuchak so if you intend to stay near Chaktuchak Weekend Market, it will be great!

I might try flying with NokScoot if I am flying to BKK this June.
Will post a review then!

Cheers,
Rachel

[School] Post A levels to Uni- being an Economics major (NUS AY14/15 Y1)

Dear readers, Decided to make my blog alive once again. I'm such a slothful person, but I'm really keen to help people out there who really needs help and are struggling/ confused with life. I did decent for A levels in 2013. No straight As, disappointing grades for my strongest subjects, I felt that it was the end of life. How am i going to continue on my studies in a more highly respected faculty in a local university?

 My mother was exploding into madness when I told her of my results. It wasn't worth celebrating, definitely, but I think I deserved at least some sort of encouragement from her, since I wasn't in the best of mood after receiving my results. I was definitely delighted at the amazing numbers of perfect scorers in the cohort and also the number of friends who managed to head up on stage to shake Ms Lai's hands, however, inside me, I was sort of shaken at my mediocre results.

 Where am I supposed to go after the Horrifying A levels journey?

I could get into at least 2 of the major Faculties in NUS, NTU and SMU, but that didn't seem good enough for my mother, who's a very traditional parent that wants her child to be at least a doctor, lawyer, dentist, or whichever career equivalent.

I am very strong in Math and the Sciences, however, I couldnt imagine myself doing H2 Chemistry/ Biology/ Mathematics at a higher level at the University. Furthermore, I personally feel that the prospects of a Life Science major isn't as good as other more generalised majors. Probably because I still do not have a real goal in life, I wanted a major which was more flexible and general. (And I heard Math at the University level deals with 20 over levels of differentiation- and I couldnt imagine doing that for 3 or 4 years) Which was why I decided to do Economics at University. It involved Mathematics, which Im generally better at (compared to the other subjects).

My mother actually was quite insistent on sending me overseas to do Medicine, Dentistry or Law, but I kept telling her the school fees are not cheap and I have a very strong emotional attachment to both my mother and grandmother (which makes it even harder for me to leave the country for long periods of time- even a 5 day overseas trip makes me a little homesick *covers face in embarrassment*). So, NUS Economics was what I chose in the end.

Semester 1 went rather smoothly. I'll post modules reviews later on in other posts. I didnt join any CCA or external activities in school. I didn't really know how the university timetable is, so i just simply seeked the advice of my seniors who told me that I should have a 2 hour break in the middle of the day to have lunch with my friends.

I TOTALLY REGRETTED IT.

Although this time was useful for revision, I think 1hour is sufficient for lunch, especially if your previous lesson before your lunch break is a lecture (since lectures end 30minutes beforehand). I had a 4 day work week, with 2 hour lunch break everyday except Thursday where I had only 3hours of lessons (so i just placed it back-to-back). I felt it was a waste of time as I ended school (Monday-Wednesday) at 5pm!! *inserts sad face*

Sem 2 was slightly tougher and more hectic for me. It was also a demoralising semester. After learning from my 'mistakes' in timetable management from Sem 1, I decided to not have lunch breaks in between at all, and made full use of the 30 minutes after lectures to get food. This way, I managed to squeeze and pack my timetable into a 3day week, where I worked on the other 2 weekdays.

If you're thinking my plan is actually a good idea, frankly, 30 minutes is definitely NOT ENOUGH IF the timing falls between 12pm- 1pm, as this is the peak lunch hour for everyone (office staff, lecturers, profs, students). It's people mountain people sea at all eateries and canteens throughout the university compound. This is why I had to miss lunch for most of my days, and if lucky enough, get a waffle from The Deck (provided there was a short queue)

This Sem 2 was tough as it was either I understood the topics, but COULD NOT SCORE. OR, I could not understand the topics at all. OR, the module is too competitive (especially for open book examinations)

P.S If you think that open book exams are easy to score and striaghtforward, which does not require revision beforehand, then YOU'RE WRONG. I thought the answers would be straightforward, and I basically read through my lecture notes twice (to know roughly where to get the answer from), but I was stunned during the exams.

I did really badly for that midterm because:
Firstly, the lectures were not webcasted, and I often got to lecture slightly late so I probably missed some information here and there.
Secondly, the lecturer was Caucasian, and I have some difficulties understanding his accent. Thirdly, I didnt organise my notes properly (it was basically by lectures- but some topics were cross-listed!!) Lastly,, I was too lazy to search for the answers during the exams cos I had a 2cm thick notes plus cheat sheet from my friend (but still couldnt find the answers *facepalm*), which made me kinda give up nearing the end of the exam when almost 40% of the cohort have left the exam hall.

The midterms was 50%, and basically, 50% was gone- because of the reasons listed above (HAHA)

Basically, Economics is interesting as it involved models, graphs, and lots of mathematics. If you're interested to know more about the modules. Stay tuned to my reviews which I'll post really soon for Y1 Sem 1 and Y1 Sem 2 for AY14/15. Thank you for reading!

Cheers,
Rachel