On hind sight, I really should not have jogged with my sister last night. The adrenaline rush kept me awake the whole night and only released me to sleep at wee hours of the morning. It probably didn't help that I woke up feeling like my clothes weighed a ton.
Out of habit, I automatically walked out to the coffee shop behind my house for lunch and greeted the chicken rice brother as I came through the back door along their stall. As I was still sleepy and tired, I ordered a plate of chicken rice and mechanically sat in the nearest table, a seat away from where he was having his lunch before attending to my order.
We didn't converse while I was eating and halfway through my lunch, I spotted a middle aged man walked up to the drink stall uncle and spoke to him. The drink stalls uncle then proceeded to walk around speaking in Hainanese really loudly as if he was relaying a message to everyone. It was only when I saw people start rushing from their seats to the car park did I realise it was a warning for the "fine lady".
It really warms my heart to see a friendly gesture and I can't help smiling as I drank my soup and savoured the warm atmosphere of the coffee shop. The people are so friendly and kind that it lifts my spirits whenever I am there and it feels like home, even though most people there except the stall owners are strangers to me. I think that this is exactly what our society needs. A kinship, an environment where everyone feels like a friend / family instead of being cold strangers to each other.
Before I even finished my thought or my soup for the matter, I was suddenly offered another warm bowl of soup, topped with spring onions that I liked so much. I've only exchanged a few words with the chicken rice brother (they only started their business here recently) so I wasn't even familiar with him. Imagine my surprise when he placed the bowl in front of me with these kind words "Here, have another bowl of soup. It's still hot!"
I'm so touched by this small action, bless his kind soul! I've not talked to him but here he was, offering me a bowl of soup. It shows how thoughtful he was since he took time in the midst of his lunch to prepare the extra bowl and added the usual garnish I used. He must have noticed and cared enough to remember since I know for a fact that he'd usually have added pepper if it were someone else but thankfully not for me >.<
Using this as an opportunity, I started talking to him. We've learnt much about each other as I shared that I'm in University and am studying for my exams next week. We proceeded to talk about random stuff as the vegetarian stall uncle came and joined out conversation and it lead to talking about sleep of all things!
He's a generally content and happy person but I do wish he'd put himself in higher regards. He's wonderful in his own way and it's a wrong concept that he'd feel inferior because he is not as well educated and works as a hawker.
Through our conversation, I could tell that he really wishes that I would do well for my studies and not end up as a hawker like him though I do not see any fault with how he is living right now. He is happy and works in such a healthy environment (he sometimes even work less hours than my family =.=). He even laughs when I told him I wanted to learn how to cut up a chicken like him. He thinks it's not a useful skill and I have better things to learn in university than that. I'd beg to differ though.
Thinking deeper into this, I think people like him are precious children of God. Even though they might not be as well off in their opinion, they still celebrate and sincerely hope for others to succeed. Many people these days wishes for others to fail so they would not feel as inferior. I myself am sometimes guilty of this. Through the grace of God, I shall learn to reject those thoughts and learn to be more like this brother and celebrate and encourage other people's success.
His parting reminder to rest and not take things too seriously is sincere and warms my heart yet again. I left feeling good and happy that I've managed to make a new friend.
The idea that this coffee shop is like home is further enhanced when I went back for dinner with my dad. When my dad came back with sugar for the prata, he got an extra packet of biscuit with him that I'm sure the coffee shop nor the prata shop sells.
Turns out, the mixed rice lady offered it to my dad on his way back. A passing drink stall uncle then commented and told us to put the biscuit in between our bread and it'd be very delicious. I tried and it really is very delicious. My dad then proceed to share with me how the people there will frequently share tidbits with him every time he comes.
It really does feel like family in that coffee shop especially when the chicken rice brother came down the isle with a bucket of beer and offered my dad and I a drink from his personal stash. We refused of course. The casual offering of food and joking conversation makes these strangers-turned-friends seems like family as each day passes by. I really treasure this coffee shop and maybe after my exams, it shall be my turn to make some food and offer it them. I hope that this sense of home will never go away and I thank God each day for such a rich blessing. Hallelujah!
22 November 2013
18 April 2010
:: it's time to reflect and learn ::
"what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." It all started from cs1101s. When I started to really learn, not only academically wise but to really start thinking and solving problems. It was so different from what I've encounter and it was an eye-opener. Then came cs3216. I was hesitating at first, whether to take this module and in all due respect, 3216 is not only an overload module but also "useless" in my academic pursue since it goes no where in my double degree. However, I knew that it would teach me much more than what the textbook does, it would teach me real-life experiences. In addition, i was still so new to computing and i never really knew what should i do. I was eager to explore, coupled with the fact that it would be the last time prof will be doing it, I sent in my application.
This whole journey through 3216 has opened my eyes to so many things. Not only did i gain academically wise but 3216 opened my eyes to the deeper aspects of life that I've either taken for granted or was just too naive. I've learnt so many things, experienced so much. I won't go into much details about the technical aspects of the things I've learnt since i believe it's secondary to the life lessons and experiences that I've gain. Illustrator, photoshop, flash, SQL e.t.c., these are just some technical stuff that I'm sure everyone's learnt over the course of 3216. Put it this way, most of us, especially freshies like my group signed up for 3216 and noobs like me know nothing about whatever that was required of us. The most important learning point is not the technical stuff but rather the willingness to learn, the resourcefulness in which we search for things that we need but not know and most importantly, how to teach ourselves. (Google's been my best friend) I find the education system these days are lacking rather severely, many students just learn what their teachers teach them, in other words, they were spoon fed but they never seem to know how to teach themselves. Through 3216, we were taught to teach ourselves from scratch. While I can't say that I've totally learnt everything that I need to know computing and the various programs but I know that I won't be lost and that if I need anything I know how to learn them myself, or source for help. Which I'm pretty sure everyone in 3216 can do.
That aside, I've also learnt how to make things work. Gone were the naive thought that as long as you are good at something you can succeed. Well, it is mostly true but i realise that hardly everything can be a one man show since we aren't all perfect. Add on to the fact that most of work nowadays emphasise on teamwork. If you can't work in groups, it's going to be a tough time. We need people who are different from us, to help us in areas that we are weak at while we concentrate on our strong areas. It is important that we learn where our weaknesses and strengths, so that we can keep on improving. For me, as a human, we have to keep learning and evolving, afterall, we are better today then yesterday, otherwise we'd just be at a standstill and life'd just be so dull. 3216 has really helped me in the area of self discovery and I'm starting to learn to love myself more.
Along with that comes teamwork. I've worked with different people and I must say this particular group work have left a rather huge impression on me since i've never worked in such a close knit group for something so huge (most of the projects in the past are either rather small scale compared to this or that we have a lot of manpower). I've learnt it rather keenly that everyone is unique and have their special quirks and working style. It is important that we learn how to accommodate each other and allocate the work between us such that we optimized our working capacity. The key and in my opinion, the most important part of a group work is communication. Miscommunication can cause a lot of trouble and is an art that one has to keep refining. A lost of idea between groupmates are fatal and can costs us a lot of precious time.Apart from that is to also keep learning from one another. No one is perfect and we can learn from others and by observing the world around us. There can never be enough of learning. 三人行必有我师焉，择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。 For people who doesn't understand, it simply means that we can learn from anyone, be it their strengths or from their mistakes.
3216 has taught me a lot about patience, the importance of communication as well as responsibility and also how to be resourceful. Patience wasn't one of my stronger suite before this semester but I've learnt that different people understand things in a different manner and at different pace. It allows me to be more patient and understanding. I understand that every single one of us plays a very important role in the group and that if anyone is gone, codename penguin will collapse. With that comes responsibility. It is very crucial in a group like us that we deliver what we promise and give our 100% since all our work are interlinked and dependent on each other. All of these just link back to our working attitude in life. No one but us and only us are responsible for our own actions and results. We have to work hard and there's no shortcut to success.
There is also the issue of personal interest versus what is best. Group dynamics was one of them. To choose your friends or people you can get along with or to choose people who can do the job. It's a dilemma and i think choosing the balance point is very important. However, when you are thrown out from the sandbox known as college, I doubt life gives you much of a choice as to who you will be working with unless you are your own boss and get to choose who you want to work with. Moreover, life's unpredictable and it's hard to come by people you really work the best with. For me, it is important to apply the lessons we've learnt in teamwork and treasure your group mates for they are the one working alongside you.
Life's unfair and it is hardly simple. A lot of times we think that our ideas will work and everything will be fine but guess what, reality often turns that up-side down for you. You'd realise that reality differs a lot from what you think and until you try it out, you'd never know if it works. Many times our ideas failed and we have to keep trying. I guess in the end, we must learn to be able to change spontaneously and not cling onto our ideas too much since we have to keep changing and improving. One good way is also observe and learn from successful people around, see and understand what makes them so good and adapt from it. Afterall, most of the ideas are development of other ideas, as a designer, i take inspiration from other people's work and this can be applied to every aspect of our lives. In addition, it is also important to network and create connections, to find people to help and guide you. Laurence's taught me that.
Most importantly, I've learnt perseverance, developed my passion and kept up the never give up attitude while learning from my mistakes. I've cultivated my will and determination to keep on standing no matter the number of times i fail or fall down. Whenever things start to go wrong, the worst thing one can do is to start pushing the blame onto others and pointing finger. For me, i think it is rather pointless. What's done is done, there's no turning back and no amount of whining or finger pointing is going to solve the problem, only active work can do that. Solve the problem and learn from it. Only then can you keep growing from it. Not only that but also provide action to your thoughts. Many times in life have i been passive but that shall not be the case anymore. Nothing's absolute in life and studies' definitely not it either. I totally love this quote "Life'll be fine in the end, if it isn't, it's not the end yet."
Never give up, keep on learning and make sure to count your blessings everyday. I'll be better today than I am tomorrow, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger so let's all be a sucker for pain.
With that I must also thank proffy for allowing me this chance to explore and discover, the wonderful tutors for all the guidance and endless things that i've learnt from you guys. My wonderful coursemates, i've learnt a lot from you guys as well:) 3 cheers for 3216 !! heh, that ryhmes :)
This whole journey through 3216 has opened my eyes to so many things. Not only did i gain academically wise but 3216 opened my eyes to the deeper aspects of life that I've either taken for granted or was just too naive. I've learnt so many things, experienced so much. I won't go into much details about the technical aspects of the things I've learnt since i believe it's secondary to the life lessons and experiences that I've gain. Illustrator, photoshop, flash, SQL e.t.c., these are just some technical stuff that I'm sure everyone's learnt over the course of 3216. Put it this way, most of us, especially freshies like my group signed up for 3216 and noobs like me know nothing about whatever that was required of us. The most important learning point is not the technical stuff but rather the willingness to learn, the resourcefulness in which we search for things that we need but not know and most importantly, how to teach ourselves. (Google's been my best friend) I find the education system these days are lacking rather severely, many students just learn what their teachers teach them, in other words, they were spoon fed but they never seem to know how to teach themselves. Through 3216, we were taught to teach ourselves from scratch. While I can't say that I've totally learnt everything that I need to know computing and the various programs but I know that I won't be lost and that if I need anything I know how to learn them myself, or source for help. Which I'm pretty sure everyone in 3216 can do.
That aside, I've also learnt how to make things work. Gone were the naive thought that as long as you are good at something you can succeed. Well, it is mostly true but i realise that hardly everything can be a one man show since we aren't all perfect. Add on to the fact that most of work nowadays emphasise on teamwork. If you can't work in groups, it's going to be a tough time. We need people who are different from us, to help us in areas that we are weak at while we concentrate on our strong areas. It is important that we learn where our weaknesses and strengths, so that we can keep on improving. For me, as a human, we have to keep learning and evolving, afterall, we are better today then yesterday, otherwise we'd just be at a standstill and life'd just be so dull. 3216 has really helped me in the area of self discovery and I'm starting to learn to love myself more.
Along with that comes teamwork. I've worked with different people and I must say this particular group work have left a rather huge impression on me since i've never worked in such a close knit group for something so huge (most of the projects in the past are either rather small scale compared to this or that we have a lot of manpower). I've learnt it rather keenly that everyone is unique and have their special quirks and working style. It is important that we learn how to accommodate each other and allocate the work between us such that we optimized our working capacity. The key and in my opinion, the most important part of a group work is communication. Miscommunication can cause a lot of trouble and is an art that one has to keep refining. A lost of idea between groupmates are fatal and can costs us a lot of precious time.Apart from that is to also keep learning from one another. No one is perfect and we can learn from others and by observing the world around us. There can never be enough of learning. 三人行必有我师焉，择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。 For people who doesn't understand, it simply means that we can learn from anyone, be it their strengths or from their mistakes.
3216 has taught me a lot about patience, the importance of communication as well as responsibility and also how to be resourceful. Patience wasn't one of my stronger suite before this semester but I've learnt that different people understand things in a different manner and at different pace. It allows me to be more patient and understanding. I understand that every single one of us plays a very important role in the group and that if anyone is gone, codename penguin will collapse. With that comes responsibility. It is very crucial in a group like us that we deliver what we promise and give our 100% since all our work are interlinked and dependent on each other. All of these just link back to our working attitude in life. No one but us and only us are responsible for our own actions and results. We have to work hard and there's no shortcut to success.
There is also the issue of personal interest versus what is best. Group dynamics was one of them. To choose your friends or people you can get along with or to choose people who can do the job. It's a dilemma and i think choosing the balance point is very important. However, when you are thrown out from the sandbox known as college, I doubt life gives you much of a choice as to who you will be working with unless you are your own boss and get to choose who you want to work with. Moreover, life's unpredictable and it's hard to come by people you really work the best with. For me, it is important to apply the lessons we've learnt in teamwork and treasure your group mates for they are the one working alongside you.
Life's unfair and it is hardly simple. A lot of times we think that our ideas will work and everything will be fine but guess what, reality often turns that up-side down for you. You'd realise that reality differs a lot from what you think and until you try it out, you'd never know if it works. Many times our ideas failed and we have to keep trying. I guess in the end, we must learn to be able to change spontaneously and not cling onto our ideas too much since we have to keep changing and improving. One good way is also observe and learn from successful people around, see and understand what makes them so good and adapt from it. Afterall, most of the ideas are development of other ideas, as a designer, i take inspiration from other people's work and this can be applied to every aspect of our lives. In addition, it is also important to network and create connections, to find people to help and guide you. Laurence's taught me that.
Most importantly, I've learnt perseverance, developed my passion and kept up the never give up attitude while learning from my mistakes. I've cultivated my will and determination to keep on standing no matter the number of times i fail or fall down. Whenever things start to go wrong, the worst thing one can do is to start pushing the blame onto others and pointing finger. For me, i think it is rather pointless. What's done is done, there's no turning back and no amount of whining or finger pointing is going to solve the problem, only active work can do that. Solve the problem and learn from it. Only then can you keep growing from it. Not only that but also provide action to your thoughts. Many times in life have i been passive but that shall not be the case anymore. Nothing's absolute in life and studies' definitely not it either. I totally love this quote "Life'll be fine in the end, if it isn't, it's not the end yet."
Never give up, keep on learning and make sure to count your blessings everyday. I'll be better today than I am tomorrow, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger so let's all be a sucker for pain.
With that I must also thank proffy for allowing me this chance to explore and discover, the wonderful tutors for all the guidance and endless things that i've learnt from you guys. My wonderful coursemates, i've learnt a lot from you guys as well:) 3 cheers for 3216 !! heh, that ryhmes :)
17 April 2010
:: the flip side of life ::
Life is not as simple as it seems to be. Many people, in fact most of them just like to skim the surface and look at life at face value. How grossly wrong they are sometimes, how naive many people are and still is, stubbornly refusing to look further than what their physical eyes tell them.
I've reflected back upon my life and what i observed about many people. Life's much deeper than that. There's a flip side to what we always see on the surface. I still remember back at the CEO session, where prof mentioned that entreprenuership is over sold. I agree fully. Many people only see those people as being lucky, that they are "talented" and are successful, living a peaceful life full and enjoyment. How wrong are they. They don't see the struggle underneath it, the constant stress, the ups and downs. Not only those big shots but also normal people around you. Those that excel in their studies. Many just concluded that they are smart. While you can't deny that they are interllectually capable, people tend to forget that they are also the hardworking people. Most tend to overlook their hardwork, their constant revision and what not.
Life's never just black and white but in shades of grey. There isn't just one side of life. There are people who are rich but with it comes the stress. There are people who dun really do that fantastically well but they are happy. Several studies showed that while singapore is one of the more developed country we are rather low on the happiness scale. On the other hand, the happiest nation just so happen to be the poorest. That makes me wonder now, so what's the goal of life. Be rich? Be happy? or just to be able to live....they're always the pros and cons and i guess we just have to find the balance in it.
More importantly though, i think we should learn to treasure what we have. Most of us simply take things for granted and we will never know how much it means to us until we lose it. I'm starting to learn how to take time and appreciate the little gifts in life that we have and that to give my best in everything I do. Not just sit there and admire people but to put in effort to achieve what I want since i know nothing comes for free. At the same time, also taking time in enjoying life and slowly change my mindset to see things positively, afterall you only live once so why inflict unnecessary pain on yourself. Even though it may look bleak, i believe the dots will eventually connect in the future. Afterall, everything will be fine in the end, if it isn't fine, it isn't the end yet. I've learnt that in small little everyday occurences and it's time to start believing and learn to enjoy life to the fullest, even as i struggle through things in life ^^
I've reflected back upon my life and what i observed about many people. Life's much deeper than that. There's a flip side to what we always see on the surface. I still remember back at the CEO session, where prof mentioned that entreprenuership is over sold. I agree fully. Many people only see those people as being lucky, that they are "talented" and are successful, living a peaceful life full and enjoyment. How wrong are they. They don't see the struggle underneath it, the constant stress, the ups and downs. Not only those big shots but also normal people around you. Those that excel in their studies. Many just concluded that they are smart. While you can't deny that they are interllectually capable, people tend to forget that they are also the hardworking people. Most tend to overlook their hardwork, their constant revision and what not.
Life's never just black and white but in shades of grey. There isn't just one side of life. There are people who are rich but with it comes the stress. There are people who dun really do that fantastically well but they are happy. Several studies showed that while singapore is one of the more developed country we are rather low on the happiness scale. On the other hand, the happiest nation just so happen to be the poorest. That makes me wonder now, so what's the goal of life. Be rich? Be happy? or just to be able to live....they're always the pros and cons and i guess we just have to find the balance in it.
More importantly though, i think we should learn to treasure what we have. Most of us simply take things for granted and we will never know how much it means to us until we lose it. I'm starting to learn how to take time and appreciate the little gifts in life that we have and that to give my best in everything I do. Not just sit there and admire people but to put in effort to achieve what I want since i know nothing comes for free. At the same time, also taking time in enjoying life and slowly change my mindset to see things positively, afterall you only live once so why inflict unnecessary pain on yourself. Even though it may look bleak, i believe the dots will eventually connect in the future. Afterall, everything will be fine in the end, if it isn't fine, it isn't the end yet. I've learnt that in small little everyday occurences and it's time to start believing and learn to enjoy life to the fullest, even as i struggle through things in life ^^
19 March 2010
:: Testing :: You’d never know what went wrong..
What’s wrong? When the application has something wrong, what’s the problem? Is it the program or is it the server and network problem. No one would ever really know at first glance, especially if you don’t do testing. There will never so much a straight answer in the real world, be it problems related to computing or just plain normal day-to-day troubles. Life can never be simple nor is it fair. While in sandbox mode, everything may look perfect, everything’s running smoothly, there can never be anything wrong but when you hit the real world, that’s when more often than not, shit hits the fan.
Life can never be forever smooth sailing, those who say that life’s a smooth sailing journey haven’t really experienced life, especially when it’s being mean. However, what’s the most important thing, i feel, is to make sure that we’ve prepared ourselves to the best of our abilities. That when we do something, when we start something, we give our absolute best or not at all. A little lesson drilled into me by my primary school teacher. Do it well or not at all. And when things really start to go wrong, the worse thing you can do is to start pushing the blame on someone else. Which i think loads of Singaporeans especially, is guilty of doing so. The first thing you should do, rather than pointing fingers is to strive to solve the problem first. As mentioned, there’s hardly the case where only one specific area caused the problem. So try all methods and look through everything to try. Afterall, you want the bug to go away, so do it the most efficient way by start looking or else you’d be forever stuck if you don’t work together and hard to get to the root of the problem. Else you just be like the puppy below, can’t roll over.. Most important thing is to learn from your mistakes and never stop trying even when life puts you down, there's only one way up if you're at the bottom pit of your life :)
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3251560/puppy_cant_roll_back_over/
:: What really Matters ::
A web conference at NUS, a little shocking considering our network but at the same time makes me really excited and interested. It’s like, woah, so high-tech and cool thing to actually have the actual staff of gwave to help comment on our projects.
I guess, other than the technical stuff, it hit me once again how important users plays a part in our application design. All through the comments, it keep drilling into my head that we always have to put our users in the forefront. Though it sounds like common-sense, it is not always as simple as it sounds. While we have ideas in our minds, they don’t often coincide with the users’ interest. We might want complex stuff but then it has to be simple for the users… On the other hand, she’s mentioned a few points that though it seems like common sense, we tend to really forget about them.
Little things like, allowing users choice (but also guiding them), not replacing the user’s data, allow them the freedom to use the features whenever they want e.t.c. Though i may seem like a very easy thing to do, i find it rather hard at times. Though we may come up with all the features, only after testing do we realise that there’s always a flaw, that we somehow overlooked some stuff and took some feature for granted that people would know what to do. Then there’s always the balance between making it easy to understand while making it complex and interesting. I’m starting to appreciate how tough it is and be it applications or games, it’s a really fine art. There’s never say, a perfect edition. Even mafia wars keep upgrading. It just drives home that there’s always room for improvement. Even if you think it’s perfect there’s always something more you can improve on. Caleb’s still improving on his farm wars and I believe that we’ll keep on improving Gentoo, even after 3216. It’s what we've spent endless time and effort coming up with, our baby and i’ll treasure it along with the memories.. I guess it’s all about improving and making this better. I'll definitely remember this for the rest of my life, i'd never want to stay still at one point. After all “I’ll be better tomorrow than i am today” :)
I guess, other than the technical stuff, it hit me once again how important users plays a part in our application design. All through the comments, it keep drilling into my head that we always have to put our users in the forefront. Though it sounds like common-sense, it is not always as simple as it sounds. While we have ideas in our minds, they don’t often coincide with the users’ interest. We might want complex stuff but then it has to be simple for the users… On the other hand, she’s mentioned a few points that though it seems like common sense, we tend to really forget about them.
Little things like, allowing users choice (but also guiding them), not replacing the user’s data, allow them the freedom to use the features whenever they want e.t.c. Though i may seem like a very easy thing to do, i find it rather hard at times. Though we may come up with all the features, only after testing do we realise that there’s always a flaw, that we somehow overlooked some stuff and took some feature for granted that people would know what to do. Then there’s always the balance between making it easy to understand while making it complex and interesting. I’m starting to appreciate how tough it is and be it applications or games, it’s a really fine art. There’s never say, a perfect edition. Even mafia wars keep upgrading. It just drives home that there’s always room for improvement. Even if you think it’s perfect there’s always something more you can improve on. Caleb’s still improving on his farm wars and I believe that we’ll keep on improving Gentoo, even after 3216. It’s what we've spent endless time and effort coming up with, our baby and i’ll treasure it along with the memories.. I guess it’s all about improving and making this better. I'll definitely remember this for the rest of my life, i'd never want to stay still at one point. After all “I’ll be better tomorrow than i am today” :)
15 March 2010
:: Varsity Chronicles :: What it really means to be a team
What are the pros and cons of working with people you are already acquainted with for work/project?
seriously, i believe that working with people you know is much more efficient, you can get straight to work and not worry about bouncing ideas off each other. moreover, you do not need time to break ice and won't feel as awkward and won't be as "reserved" in how you react. Moreover, you'd feel more comfortable in setting dates and times to get together for work. You'd already know your group mates and how they work as well as their strengths and weakness, that makes the project proceed smoother. Though i must admit that perhaps working with people you are already acquainted for will make one more vulnerable to be lax with how they work or their comments / expectations of others though it might work in reverse for some people. Overall, i believe it's a good experience since you need not the time to build strong relationship between group mates to work well and allow the group to work at their potential level with much less time in comparison to working with new people though the latter provide more learning experience. Moreover, working with people you already know makes you more comfortable with throwing out comments and criticism(though some may feel other wise, taking into consideration their existing friendship) then when you try to "hold back" with those you do not really know.
List out the important traits that you would look for in a team member. Share and compare them
with your team mates. How similar or different are they?
*** being able to work in a team
well, this is quite obvious, i do not need nor do i like having people in my group that can't work with others, it's a waste of time, energy and effort. My group mates all have their own strong points and we segregate our work rather nicely. i would say we work quite well together and since we already know each other before hand, communication isn't really a problem for us:)
***willingness to work / learn
if you're not willing to work, why are you here at all. I won't accept people who do not do their job or at least contribute to the group work. It's called leeching and i absolutely loathe those kind of people. It's also important to have the willingness to learn. If you know you aren't good or need to get something done, go learn it, those who don't want to learn will never grow and i neither need or want these kinda people in my team. Your team-mates aren't baby-sitters. Well, for me, i believe that everyone in the team should contribute and learn together. My team mates are wonderful in that sense, we work overload and dun have a single problem with learning and exploring new stuff on our own.
The members of VC considered their team “ideal”. However, what are some of the problems
that you can foresee?
i doubt there is ever a really IDEAL team. well, dream team yes, you can see yourself working great together to achieve something big but i doubt any team can be a ideal team. There are flaws in every team, even in my team, which i think is the dream team for myself. I guess the most important thing is not to be too full of oneself and no matter what, make sure you work hard. It is because it is a dream team for yourself that you owe it to yourself and the team to work even extra harder to make things work. Always know your limit and not be too overconfident.
Is it better to work with talented people or people you like?
I believe a mixture of the two would work extremely well. If you work with talented people, you get work done but you won't enjoy it a bit, why suffer? If you work with people you like but they don't contribute much, why work with them in the first place? I think for me, the most important thing is getting to work with people you can work with, enjoy working with. It is also important that everyone will be willing to work and learn. Not everyone is talented but as long as you are willing to work and learn and i can get along with you, I'm most happy to work with you. Talent to me is not the most important trait unless your main purpose is to get things done. For me,3216 is to have fun and learn.
VC started out with an ambitious design, aiming to make many changes to many Facebook
game conventions (i.e. combat system, story as a reward, semi-exploratory quest design).
Would you have recommended them to pick a simpler design or would you have encouraged
them to go along with it?
well in the beginning i might say go ahead and aim big, there's always penguin award. Now, i know better. For one, i suppose you really have to study the market, fb is definitely not a platform for overly complicated games, and most of its users are idiots. For me, the most important thing is to get the basics done, if you can't even come out with the basics, you can never get anything done well. I believe, that's a over-achiever ideal and I would have recommended them to filter what is most important first and get the basics done. If they have the basics structure out and is well received, they can slowly add in more features (like what we do with gentoo, loads of ideas but we're going for basics first) and their game might have worked. One problem though with these kinda game design, i suppose, is that the game has a time limit. Once you're done with that stage, there isn't much else you can do.
How different would the situation have been if there was another strong programmer within the
team (a 5th member)?
In my opinion, it wouldn't have caused much different. They might get the coding done faster but i doubt it'd be much help. Their project is a very grand one that needs a lot work to be done on all parts. They try and achieve and get everything done at once before they release their game. As i said, i might have been a little bit too "overwhelming" and since they didn't just need the basics done as they "basic" is basically everything, it'd do very little different except for faster coding though that may not be the case since between the programmers themselves, they have to work out the details on who does what and how to combine the code e.t.c.
How would you decide on how much to do given the composition of your project team?
Oh well, for my group, we basically pool together all our ideas and decide which are the main features to be done. We will go through with the programmers what can be done and they'd come up with the basic framework that would support these extra features in the future. We then make sure the basics of the game is up and going before we invest more time into either improving the existing features or slowly add in more features though basics are always an important part of the project we focus on.
Before you read on, what are some of the potential hazards that you have found in
the decisions made for the Final Project thus far?
I believe it might have been a decision flaw to do such a major change of structure to their game. For one, they haven't managed to get the game going for the first assignment and now they're going to change the whole program in order to cater to one programmer that's good in another language. I believe that is a very huge decision flaw. There's always the time factor and considering how huge their whole project is, it isn't a very wise choice. They should have make careful decision on their programming language and stick to it instead of just changing the whole thing for one programmer. Secondly, it's the whole issue about basics. They did not have the main basic features of the game out yet and they were focusing on the real time conversation which could have been a bonus feature. It is a rather poor decision on their part i believe to invest so much time in this real time thing that is not a main feature of their game, especially when prof have advised against it (meaning if they can achieve, it'd take them SUPER long time to do it). Well, it might not be my place to say it, i do believe that their initial idea of story progressions is much better then what they decided to do. As i said, no matter their decision, they have to make sure to stick to it and at least make sure that the basics are done first. Having such major decision changes require time which they obviously do not have enough, judging by how they haven't managed to finish their game on the first assignment.
How different was the environment for working on the project during the school term as compared
to the vacations?
Frankly speaking, it's all about discipline. Most of the time, you do the work you are required to do at your own time and space, not when the group are huddled together. I believe, a group discussion is just that, discussion about the project, piecing the thing together, getting opinions and not time to do your own stuff. In that case, you can always do it over vacations. Moreover, with msn and dropbox e.t.c. communication isn't a very big issue as most of the time, you only need to discuss with certain group mates not the whole group. Isn't that how things go without group discussions, need anything, the other group mate is just a chat or phone call away. I don't see how it is much different other then school term facilitates group meetings better. Vacation gives you more time to complete your job and communication is so easy nowadays. Environment, to me, isn't much change. It's just how much discipline you have during the vacation to do your part. That is determined by how passionate you are about this project.
What were the main reasons for VC’s failure during the vacation? What would you have done
differently to prevent it?
Well, im not their group mate so im not really sure but i believe a lot about it is to do with discipline as well as how close knit is the team. If they are more passionate about the project, they'd have try to complete their own parts and communicate with their groups better and fork out time for group discussion when they really need it. Communication is so easy nowadays that i don't think it could be used as an excuse. My group always keep each other updated, through dropbox or msn. Other that decision that affects and requires the whole group to be present, there isn't much need for group meetings since other communication could be done over the internet. I can't advice much except that for me, it's more on the issue of discipline and passion regarding this project. Im not sure if that's the case but to me, those 2 are very important factors that make project over the vacation possible. Of course communication between group mates are also very important.
seriously, i believe that working with people you know is much more efficient, you can get straight to work and not worry about bouncing ideas off each other. moreover, you do not need time to break ice and won't feel as awkward and won't be as "reserved" in how you react. Moreover, you'd feel more comfortable in setting dates and times to get together for work. You'd already know your group mates and how they work as well as their strengths and weakness, that makes the project proceed smoother. Though i must admit that perhaps working with people you are already acquainted for will make one more vulnerable to be lax with how they work or their comments / expectations of others though it might work in reverse for some people. Overall, i believe it's a good experience since you need not the time to build strong relationship between group mates to work well and allow the group to work at their potential level with much less time in comparison to working with new people though the latter provide more learning experience. Moreover, working with people you already know makes you more comfortable with throwing out comments and criticism(though some may feel other wise, taking into consideration their existing friendship) then when you try to "hold back" with those you do not really know.
List out the important traits that you would look for in a team member. Share and compare them
with your team mates. How similar or different are they?
*** being able to work in a team
well, this is quite obvious, i do not need nor do i like having people in my group that can't work with others, it's a waste of time, energy and effort. My group mates all have their own strong points and we segregate our work rather nicely. i would say we work quite well together and since we already know each other before hand, communication isn't really a problem for us:)
***willingness to work / learn
if you're not willing to work, why are you here at all. I won't accept people who do not do their job or at least contribute to the group work. It's called leeching and i absolutely loathe those kind of people. It's also important to have the willingness to learn. If you know you aren't good or need to get something done, go learn it, those who don't want to learn will never grow and i neither need or want these kinda people in my team. Your team-mates aren't baby-sitters. Well, for me, i believe that everyone in the team should contribute and learn together. My team mates are wonderful in that sense, we work overload and dun have a single problem with learning and exploring new stuff on our own.
The members of VC considered their team “ideal”. However, what are some of the problems
that you can foresee?
i doubt there is ever a really IDEAL team. well, dream team yes, you can see yourself working great together to achieve something big but i doubt any team can be a ideal team. There are flaws in every team, even in my team, which i think is the dream team for myself. I guess the most important thing is not to be too full of oneself and no matter what, make sure you work hard. It is because it is a dream team for yourself that you owe it to yourself and the team to work even extra harder to make things work. Always know your limit and not be too overconfident.
Is it better to work with talented people or people you like?
I believe a mixture of the two would work extremely well. If you work with talented people, you get work done but you won't enjoy it a bit, why suffer? If you work with people you like but they don't contribute much, why work with them in the first place? I think for me, the most important thing is getting to work with people you can work with, enjoy working with. It is also important that everyone will be willing to work and learn. Not everyone is talented but as long as you are willing to work and learn and i can get along with you, I'm most happy to work with you. Talent to me is not the most important trait unless your main purpose is to get things done. For me,3216 is to have fun and learn.
VC started out with an ambitious design, aiming to make many changes to many Facebook
game conventions (i.e. combat system, story as a reward, semi-exploratory quest design).
Would you have recommended them to pick a simpler design or would you have encouraged
them to go along with it?
well in the beginning i might say go ahead and aim big, there's always penguin award. Now, i know better. For one, i suppose you really have to study the market, fb is definitely not a platform for overly complicated games, and most of its users are idiots. For me, the most important thing is to get the basics done, if you can't even come out with the basics, you can never get anything done well. I believe, that's a over-achiever ideal and I would have recommended them to filter what is most important first and get the basics done. If they have the basics structure out and is well received, they can slowly add in more features (like what we do with gentoo, loads of ideas but we're going for basics first) and their game might have worked. One problem though with these kinda game design, i suppose, is that the game has a time limit. Once you're done with that stage, there isn't much else you can do.
How different would the situation have been if there was another strong programmer within the
team (a 5th member)?
In my opinion, it wouldn't have caused much different. They might get the coding done faster but i doubt it'd be much help. Their project is a very grand one that needs a lot work to be done on all parts. They try and achieve and get everything done at once before they release their game. As i said, i might have been a little bit too "overwhelming" and since they didn't just need the basics done as they "basic" is basically everything, it'd do very little different except for faster coding though that may not be the case since between the programmers themselves, they have to work out the details on who does what and how to combine the code e.t.c.
How would you decide on how much to do given the composition of your project team?
Oh well, for my group, we basically pool together all our ideas and decide which are the main features to be done. We will go through with the programmers what can be done and they'd come up with the basic framework that would support these extra features in the future. We then make sure the basics of the game is up and going before we invest more time into either improving the existing features or slowly add in more features though basics are always an important part of the project we focus on.
Before you read on, what are some of the potential hazards that you have found in
the decisions made for the Final Project thus far?
I believe it might have been a decision flaw to do such a major change of structure to their game. For one, they haven't managed to get the game going for the first assignment and now they're going to change the whole program in order to cater to one programmer that's good in another language. I believe that is a very huge decision flaw. There's always the time factor and considering how huge their whole project is, it isn't a very wise choice. They should have make careful decision on their programming language and stick to it instead of just changing the whole thing for one programmer. Secondly, it's the whole issue about basics. They did not have the main basic features of the game out yet and they were focusing on the real time conversation which could have been a bonus feature. It is a rather poor decision on their part i believe to invest so much time in this real time thing that is not a main feature of their game, especially when prof have advised against it (meaning if they can achieve, it'd take them SUPER long time to do it). Well, it might not be my place to say it, i do believe that their initial idea of story progressions is much better then what they decided to do. As i said, no matter their decision, they have to make sure to stick to it and at least make sure that the basics are done first. Having such major decision changes require time which they obviously do not have enough, judging by how they haven't managed to finish their game on the first assignment.
How different was the environment for working on the project during the school term as compared
to the vacations?
Frankly speaking, it's all about discipline. Most of the time, you do the work you are required to do at your own time and space, not when the group are huddled together. I believe, a group discussion is just that, discussion about the project, piecing the thing together, getting opinions and not time to do your own stuff. In that case, you can always do it over vacations. Moreover, with msn and dropbox e.t.c. communication isn't a very big issue as most of the time, you only need to discuss with certain group mates not the whole group. Isn't that how things go without group discussions, need anything, the other group mate is just a chat or phone call away. I don't see how it is much different other then school term facilitates group meetings better. Vacation gives you more time to complete your job and communication is so easy nowadays. Environment, to me, isn't much change. It's just how much discipline you have during the vacation to do your part. That is determined by how passionate you are about this project.
What were the main reasons for VC’s failure during the vacation? What would you have done
differently to prevent it?
Well, im not their group mate so im not really sure but i believe a lot about it is to do with discipline as well as how close knit is the team. If they are more passionate about the project, they'd have try to complete their own parts and communicate with their groups better and fork out time for group discussion when they really need it. Communication is so easy nowadays that i don't think it could be used as an excuse. My group always keep each other updated, through dropbox or msn. Other that decision that affects and requires the whole group to be present, there isn't much need for group meetings since other communication could be done over the internet. I can't advice much except that for me, it's more on the issue of discipline and passion regarding this project. Im not sure if that's the case but to me, those 2 are very important factors that make project over the vacation possible. Of course communication between group mates are also very important.
22 February 2010
Am I overdosed?
hmmm, im starting to think whether im overdosed on my medication..hmm... let's see, my current count of med is 7 different type, one of which is an anti-biotic, the third set im eating as of now... am i overdosed? shrugs, dizzy, i think it's the med's influence, i read one of them induces drowsiness...
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