Sem 5, Week 3: Seeing The Light

OK, so the 3rd week of the semester 5 was just over. I am still not doing as much as I like to.

However, instead of just complaining every week about how little was done and how slow the progress, I am gonna focus on the positive side of things. No, I am not trying to delude myself. Just that I believe it is more constructive to encourage myself and to be optimistic. There's no point to beat myself down all the time. Other people can take care of that...

So anyway, I don't think I had mentioned that Advanced Topics in Medicinal Chemistry is a 4-lecturer module, with each lecturer taking turn to give lecture for 3 weeks. The first lecturer had concluded her part of the module this week. Her part of the module doesn't seem so difficult and that's good; but still, there's lots of reading to do. Luckily next week is the Lunar New Year holiday. I can use the time to catch up.

Haven't started on the assignment of Contemporary Organometallic Chemistry. The presentation schedule was out this week and the presentation topics were assigned. Yes, assigned by the lecturer. Another take-home assignment was given out today, and so all the CA stuff for this module was given out. Maybe I should start getting busy over this module and gun it down first.

It's lecture as usual for Graduate Organic Chemistry, and I am kinda getting the hang of things. Definitely I need to bring in a jacket to keep myself warm throughout the long lecture. As for what is being taught, I can still follow. Just need a bit more revision and I should be up to speed.

No reaction done for my MSc project this week. It's kinda challenging managing both work and project at the same time, but I do have a plan. Will be rolling it out next week. Let's see how it will go...

Next week is the Lunar New Year, so there's no lecture for all three modules. Perfect time to catch up. If I am able to do that, then everything should be fine.

Already I am seeing some light...

Sem 5, Week 2: Failure to Launch

Ok, so the 2nd week of semester 5 was just over. Very little, if not nothing, was done.

The assignment topic for Contemporary Organometallic Chemistry was given out today. It's not a big assignment actually. In fact, compare to other assignments/ projects I had done previously, it's quite easy. What is more challenging is the presentation, which according to the lecturer, will constitute to a significant amount of the CA. I selected my topic area, let's see whether I can get it next week.

Presentations and test always worries me, simply because there is a lot of work involve, and not that much time to get them done. After doing this course for two years, one of the thing I know very well is that time is tight, very tight. From the get-go in the first week, the pace of study should already be fast and furious, everything should be organized and efficient. If not, the outcome can be quite undesirable.

Which is why I am kinda bothered that I'm not getting things off the ground and running yet. It's already two weeks and a lot of things already been covered.

And it doesn't help matter that lectures on Advanced Topics in Medicinal Chemistry is not recorded. As much as I try, I still fall asleep in lecture, and I still have a very short attention span. Maybe it really has to do with the way my brain is wired. But until I find the real cause and solve it, the only way for me to keep up with the lectures is extra revision. And that equals to studying at a fast and furious pace in an efficient and organized manner, simply because I can't possibly devoted anymore time on this module by compromising on other stuff on my plate (e.g. work...).

Graduate Organic Chemistry is the only module that is going OK at the moment. Only problem is the lectures are 2.5 - 3.5 hours long on a Friday night. Yes, this is another situation where previous experience from doing this course for 2 years comes in handy; it's not something I never encounter before. I still can manage.

What I don't have experience in is my MSc project. Started my first reaction and for the first time in a very long time, I am staring at a empty RBF after rotovaping down all the solvents of the organic extracts. Yes, there is no product; the product is missing. And this is the first step of synthesis. I planned to get my first compound out by end Feb, and that is looking like a distant possibility now...

Anyway, the new week starts tomorrow. Seriously hope to get some momentum going and not be stuck in another week of failure to launch.

Sem 5, Week 1: Running Out of Time

OK, so the first week of the semester had ended.

I had registered all 3 of my modules (plus my project module). Didn't really have to consider too much as I had already planned what to take along ago and don't really have much choice. The three modules are:

1) Graduate Organic Chemistry
2) Contemporary Organometallic Chemistry
3) Advanced Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Now, module 1 is an essential module, so I have to take (and I had taken all the other essential module; this is the last one). As for module 2, I need to take it to satisfy the criteria for the area of concentration in synthetic chemistry. As for module 3, I could had use it to satisfy another area of concentration (medicinal chemistry), but that will involve taking another practical module. That will be too much work, so I am just taking module 3 out of interest. Besides, it's closely related to my work.

So after going through the first week, I would say this semester is quite manageable. The syllables seems reasonable and the workload seems fine too. I'm hoping for an average A- this semester. If I stretch myself a bit and put in a bit of focus, that should be achievable.

But of course, reality almost always doesn't play out so nice. There's the project bit which needs quite a bit of attention. Then there's work and other commitment I need to manage. Plus I can always count on unexpected/unforeseen situation popping up. Oh yah, and there's Murphy's Law. From experience of previous semesters, what is likely to happen is that, after seeing to everything else, there is only little time left for studies. So if I really want to get the grade, that means careful planning with delicate balancing of everything, taking in account everything mentioned above, with little margin for error. And there's a timeline for everything.

Already I am running out of time.

And So It Begins (Again)....

This morning, I registered the modules I'm gonna take for this semester.

Yes, the new semester had began. My first lecture will be on this Wednesday.

More than just the beginning of the semester, this Wednesday will also marks the beginning of my final year (at least that's my plan...)

And this year, on top of the usual coursework, I am doing my MSc project (more details on that next time)....

So this year, it will be al a bout balancing work, study and project... on top of everything else.

From this Wednesday onwards, this year is gonna be so fun...