Free Milo Peng

I've still got a couple more module reviews + SQ related posts sitting in my drafts folder but since this just happened today and I'm too lazy to do the post about Cambodia, I shall recount my Milo queuing experience. 

'Twas ...conflicting...

The sister and I saw this post on FB last night and decided to go for it because free Milo (and I LOVE Milo; everyday must drink at least once) + both very eng.

The sister (henceforth S) woke me up at the crack of dawn  8am so we could get ready and hopefully reach Tampines Mall at 9am. Managed to reach TM at 9am but they were still setting up + we didn't see any queues. So off we went to get macs breakfast (such typical Singaporean youth).

We finished our macs pretty fast (no prizes for guessing what drink I chose). Purposely kopped a seat where we could see the queue (near the glass/ Yoogane)... or so we thought. S was like some kan chiong spider and after we finished the food (like 20mins max) she wanted to go see the queue and made me leave my lovely air-conditioned seat at macs but the queue area was weirdly empty?? 

I mean, this is Singapore, land of the kiasu where queuing is a national past-time and anything free confirm + chop will have the aunties and uncles braving our massive 30℃ heatwave for hours to get the goods. In hindsight maybe we were inexperienced queue-ers, two young uns navigating the cruel kiasu world of freebie grubbing. 

Anyway, we didn't realise anything was wrong (yet), so we STOOD around TM entrance waiting for someone to queue first because paiseh mah, didn't want to be the first to queue but still want the goody bag. #typical

It wasn't till around 9.45am when a group of young people happened to stand near us and I kaypoh-ly overheard that the queue for the Milo was incredibly long.

👀👀👀👀

SAY WHAT??????

I looked up at the Milo booth they had set up, THERE WAS NO ONE WHAT. Nevermind, I decided to walk out and as I turned the corner (with a bewildered and not as kaypoh S trailing behind me) 他妈的 THE QUEUE LONG UNTIL CANNOT LIAO LOR 

We begrudgingly joined the queue and all S could do was laugh. This one is really 哭笑不得 lor 😪 Reach so early end up queue still so long.

So for those who know the TM area, the queue started slightly behind the Newstand (the one in front of the traffic light), reached the carpark entrance of Century Square and turned into a U-shape so it was LONG ASF. When we joined the queue it was like a 3/4 U but after awhile it blossomed into a full U. 

As I was complaining to S about the lack of signage displaying where the queue was and being generally pekcek with my inability to secure the goody bag. 老娘七早八早醒来去淡滨泥就是为了拿赠品好吗？😤 S was busy fiddling with her phone and complaining about the heat. 

(Apparently people started queuing as early at 7am wtf and by 九点五分/九点五个字, Milo rep couldn't get her story straight, all the goodybags were spoken for 😓)

Thankfully Milo had sent representatives to give us updates on when the queue would be moving (they officially start giving out at 10am) and for the lucky ones who had the number (for goodybags!!) to hold on to their numbers as goodybags are limited. Only complaint is that the rep's voice was too chipper; like to the point of being annoying, but thats her job, to be nice to potential customers so bo pian.

Queuing in front of us were a couple of aunties (1 slightly younger one) and thank goodness for them. I love how aunties really 敢讲 and dare to complain LOL. 

Keeping in mind that it was really hot, almost mid-day Singapore sun with no aircon/fan, naturally everyone in the queue was hot, sweaty and angsty. So when this poor representative (NP) came to my section of the queue at about 9.59am to announce that they are starting to give out the free Milo, everyone was happy. 

All can finally get out of the heat and I think the older aunties were also a lil' confused about goody bag what 100 people etc, so they just wanted the Milo.

10.10am: Still standing in the same place, queue didn't move...

I casually (and loudly) remarked to S that 10 minutes had passed but the queue didn't seem to have moved. S joked that they were giving out the goody bags prize-presentation style LOL #foreshadow

Then poor NP came and again announced that they were starting to give out Milo now...poor NP because, poor girl didn't realise the aunties in front were getting du lan of queuing + heat makes people angsty. 

The aunty basically told her off nicely, saying that 10 minutes had passed and she had hardly moved when previously NP said that they were already starting. She knew she and the rest around her were not eligible to get the goody bag and just wanted her Milo Peng bottle.

HOOOBOY.

NP apologised (because what else can she do?) and said she'd check. 

S and I being very 贱 said maybe they really were giving the bottles out like they were prizes, must shake hand and take picture LOL. And also joked that NP ain't gonna come back to our area liao and  added a lot of 风凉话 saying they should just bring a carton over and we'd take and leave, or they should just hand it out to passer-bys as they walked past the Milo booth instead of making us queue and wait 😞

Shortly after (less than 5 mins; power of complaining) the queue started moving and NP came back and apologised again for the delay. (Props to her🙌) 

That was when we saw.. 

the Milo "booth" was just a decorated queuing area with fans. /faints/ 

But at least we were moving forward so all's good.

AND THEN WE SAW HOW THEY WERE HANDING OUT THE MILO BOTTLES.

😂😂😂😂😂😂

It was almost like a prize presentation!!! Must individually go up to obtain an OPENED bottle of Milo Peng.... S had something on in the afternoon and was intending to use the bottle as her water bottle after and she realised that everyone who already got the Milo didn't seem to get the cap back???

When it was our turn she asked the girl ushering if she could have the bottle cap back but the girl said no, she asked why not but the girl didn't know and said it was Milo protocol 😕

OOOOOHKAY...so we decided not to pursue with more questions and gratefully took our bottles of opened + capless Milo Peng. Thankfully the Milo was COLD. According to S not cold enough but chilled lah. 

After walking away S 越想越不甘心 that she didn't get her bottle cap. (She deliberately didn't bring her bottle along because she thought she could re-use the Milo bottle). So we walked back and decided to approach someone who seemed more "senior" about the bottle caps. As we were walking we discussed the plausible reasons for the curious protocol of giving bottles but not the cap.

Here's what we came up with: 

1. Recycling purposes

To help reduce plastic waste, it was possible that the bottle caps were being collected to be recycled. But if that were the case it'd make more sense to simply place a recycling bin near the Milo area so that they could collect the bottles after drinking to recycle too right? And there were no designated Milo bottle bins so...I guess not?

2. Re-use bottle caps

S postulated that maybe they were keeping the bottle caps to be reused for future Milo Peng bottles but...then shouldn't they also do the same for the bottles (see point above)

3. Top-secret company policy about bottle caps

....?????

Walked back to the booth and S walked right up the the announcer guy and asked about the bottle cap, and he explained that it was to prevent re-sellers from getting the bottles of Milo Peng and selling them at a higher price.

OH.Okay, understood.

BUT

IF THEY ALREADY OPEN HOW TO RE-SELL THE BOTTLES???? 

Plus I think most people take a swig of the drink so...? 

I then asked but what if I drank my drink halfway and couldn't finish? His response...

"Throw away lor." 

A bit taken aback but errr okay can. S then asked if they wanted back the bottles since she'd already finished hers (I was still drinking mine). He replied nicely that they were only keeping the caps so S jokingly asked if he'd dispose of the bottle for her and he agreed. 

We walked away and S was very happy that she got rid of the bottle because she knew the area around the booth hardly had trash bins. Her logic being since she now had to spend 30-50¢ purchasing bottled water, might as well make them/Milo work. Petty sia 😂

Taste

Milo Peng is claimed to taste like the Milo from Milo trucks (the ones that always appear during school sports days). CLAIMED AH. 

My Milo rating is like this:

Randomly made Milo < Homemade Milo < FASS Milo < Milo from Macs < Milo from Milo truck

The Milo Peng is just after randomly made Milo. In all honesty I thought it tastes too milky??? The taste kind of reminded me of Magnolia Chocolate milk, which is not what I was expecting. 

As S and I were leaving TM level 2, I was drinking my Milo Peng with the bottle and happened to lock eyes with an auntie who was also drinking her Milo Peng bottle with a quizzical expression as she drank it. She probably also thought it was an unexpected taste for Milo and we both laughed at each other as she asked me 好喝吗 from across the pathway. I gave her a somewhat forced smile and said it was probably and acquired taste as we passed each other. 

So I guess I wasn't the only one who found the taste of Milo Peng interesting 💁

p/s found out what was in the goody bag. S's friend reached super early and got a goody bag. 

1l full cream milk, 1 Milo van, 6 bottles of Milo Peng, 6 cans of Milo & 1 packet of 3-in-1 Milo.

Probably somewhat thankful we didn't get the goody bag because WAH CFM HEAVY LOR. Must lug it back to Pasir Ris somemore.

So yes, free Milo Peng made me happy but the journey to free Milo Peng and after tasting it left me perplexed.

Recap of life (aka modules taken) in NUS (part 3)

Year 2 Sem 1

ES1541 (Ms Shantina)

Compulsory module for all Science students, especially if you're intending to go for overseas exchange (SEP etc). If you don't like writing then this mod super suck thumb, had a total of 3 essay assignments to submit + SO MANY PRESENTATIONS. Presentations weren't as formal as GEM2027 (Intro to Public Speaking) but dress decently; no flipflops, berms etc on presentation days. 

There were a couple of books to read (you CAN get by NOT reading them, just don't expect to score participation points for it unless you've got a lot of scientific general knowledge stored in your brain), I stupidly bought one of the books since the final essay we were supposed to write should be based on an issue in the book, total waste of my money because it was super tough to even pinpoint 1 scientific breakthrough from the book 😪 Ended up writing my essay on something that the book touched on (like one line LOL) and my essay was accepted. 

Some of the readings were pretty interesting, like the numbers and their applicability to safe guarding our online transactions etc. 

Definitely prepare well for your personal presentation, super important. And please don't voice out opinions for the sake of getting the class participation marks, thought-provoking questions or clearing doubts are fine, but merely repeating the content covered and disguising them as questions is just..😬annoying.

PRO-TIP: If you think your standard of english isn't that good (but not bad enough to have to take the bridging mod), take ES in Sem 2. Logic being all those with better english would have taken in Sem 1 since they don't have to take the bridging mod so if you take it in Sem 2 you'll be "fighting" with those who can't grasp English as well. 

Grade: A-

MA2311 (Leung Man Chun)

This prof was adorable. His class, not so much. It was a compulsory stats mod so...urgh. Attended all his lectures but didn't really pay attention. I was more like...everytime he started writing I'd also write down note but without understanding it. I do remember that he'd always enter the LT with a coffeebean cup in hand, like every single lecture without fail LOL. I was almost tempted to ambush him with coffeebean so that I'd pass the mod. 

Friends are everything because god knows how much I relied on my friends to help me. 

Grade: C+

PC1327 (Prof Benard Tan)

I only took this module because I heard it was "easy" and to clear my faculty requirement. Content-wise it was easy peasy (if you do the practices etc). Bell-curve though, that's the one to watch out for. I skipped most lectures because the prof was super monotonous; the notes were good enough, but I'd recommend this mod for those with musical background. Because one of the assignments (like 20%) was to create your own musical composition lasting about 30secs using one of the software the prof will teach (like basics only, or you can use whichever software you're already comfortable with). 

There was also some review of a musical performance which I cheapo went to google for the schedules of free performances and attended one of those. The mid-term tests and final paper basically tested how fast you could do the calculations. As long as you did the pyp you'll be fine. The format is exactly the same, questions only changed  a couple of numbers/notes, but overall concept was the same. Like all the qn 6 would be on a certain topic etc, you get what I mean. 

I think the musical composition and review pulled me up because my midterms was terrible (didn't fail but terrible nonetheless) and I think I did average for finals. Don't forget to attend tutorials because attendance marks 😂

Grade: B

ST2132 (???)

I thought that doing decently for ST2131 would have some sort of help...I was wrong. But okay maybe if you got like A's for it then ya. But nope, B didn't do much to help with 2132. 

The first few chapters was essentially a rehash of ST2131, the later chapters were...difficult. Don't remember anything else LOL I think I actually remember more about my non-core mods than core mods. 

Grade: C

ST2137 (Dr Lim Chingway)

Basic R, SAS and SPSS is taught. SAS and SPSS is pretty easy (SPSS is the easiest, just explore the buttons and can figure out already). Everyone did crazy well for mid-terms median was like 45/50? so be prepared. 

Lectures were pretty manageable + be familiar with the softwares, (SAS & SPSS) can get it from seniors (if you know who to ask) and install it on your com so you won't have to keep going to the lab to do your work. R is free so just download and use. It'll be good to be build a good R foundation as it is super helpful for other 3000 stats mods. 

Grade: B-

Clearly I can recall info from non-core mods better since I didn't really enjoy doing stats. I'm sorry if you came here for legit module reviews on stats mods LOL but judging from my results can tell that I'm not gonna give proper reviews about stats mods lah. 

Recap of life (aka modules taken) in NUS (part 2)

Continuing from where I stopped previously.

Year 1 Sem 2

MA1102R (the other guy who wrote the book, not VT)

I retook this mod after failing in Sem 1. I found it so much easier??? Also because I took the module alone (without Stats/Math) friends so I could only rely on myself. I attended all the lectures+tutorials, did (almost) everything and tried to understand material covered in lectures. 

Oh, I also really did all my Matlab worksheets very diligently + kopped the software from my friend for additional practice. I was that scared of failing the mod again. 

So the second time round I was a fairly decent student (nothing outstanding lah), still had some concepts that I was unsure of but could mostly do all the questions. Didn't score full marks for all my assignments though (because no friends to check with, all careless mistakes somemore), else probably could have gotten a higher grade. 

Grade: B

ST2131 (I don't remember who taught this...maybe GFF?)

Honestly I don't remember much about this mod, I know it's a core mod so stats majors all have to take it. It was reasonably difficult? Had a lot of calculating expectations/variance of distributions which was pretty gross LOL. 

(kinda) Busted my ass for this mod because I didn't want to be perpetually cui. Skipped tutorials and most lectures though, #teamwebcast.

Grade: B

EC1301 (2 lectures, Connie Chung(?) & Georgios Geogiou)

BELL CURVE STEEP AF. TAKE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I think the method of assessment has changed for this. My time had online tutorials that contributed to the overall mark + mcq midterm + mcq final. And it was only 1 3hr lecture each week. Needless to say, I ponned almost all the lectures after like the first 3-4 lectures. 

The mod covers a lot of content from H2 Econs (which explains the steep AF bell curve) + a bit more(?) and some topics are not as in depth as in H2. Did all the online tutorials diligently and attempted so many pyps, still didn't score well. 😑

Used my very first (not counting 1st Sem's free SU) SU on this mod. 

Grade: B-

SSA2211 (Tan Chye Guan)

This mod is fairly interesting. It teaches the history of Singapore prior to the "discovery" of Sir Stanford Raffles ie; Singapore wasn't a sleepy fishing village yo. Mr Tan is a super lively lecturer (although the same can't be said for the content). I somewhat enjoyed this module despite constantly shopping online during lectures 😅

There is a fair amount of essay writing to be done for this module, I think I had like 3 essay writing assignments. So either you're comfortable with your essay skills (read: smoking) or you just wanna SU this mod. There's also class participation for this mod + forum discussion if I remember correctly, so those who are super quiet are at an extreme disadvantage (I hardly talked), also POST EARLY for the forum discussions else you'll just be rephrasing someone else's points LOL. There were readings to be done but I didn't manage to finish them all. I did try to finish most of it so...I guess it may have helped?

I still have the TB if anyone wants it! $2 just take it from me, barely used. 

Grade: B+

GEM2901 (????)

This mod is no longer offered, but just in case it is offered again...

I think I may have only attended the first and last lecture for this mod. The suggested TB was SUPER HELPFUL for this mod (borrow from Sci Lib). A lot of content from the lecture notes was very brief so this was where the TB came in handy. Much of the topics covered was applicable to real-life so it was fairly interesting.

There was a group project and as all group projects are...pray hard your groupmates (even if they are your friends) aren't lazy shits. 

Grade: B+

Recap of life (aka modules taken) in NUS (part 1)

Initially I wanted to do all the module reviews in one sitting, but I discovered that I'm actually a slow typer/very naggy/add in alot of 有的没的 so bo pian must split into a few parts.😅

As a former NUS kid, I've relied heavily on module reviews online to plan my modules. However, I've come to realise that the kind people who post their module reviews are FREAKING GENIUSES. 😱

Their scores are always A-/A/A* or god forbid B+, which is jolly well for them but as someone who prefers a more laid back lifestyle (ie; I hardly study/study last minute) THEIR MODULE REVIEWS DON'T DO SHIT FOR ME since I can never attain (have never attained anything higher than a B for core mods. Fml).

So, this recap is for all you other non-geniuses like me. 

Since I'm already graduating (WEW commencement this JULY), IDGAF if yall bo liao enough to calculate my CAP (it ain't pretty) or think I'm dumb 💔

I was from NUS Faculty of Science (Statistics). I did a 3 yr course (no honours) so the major modules probably not very helpful for non-stats kiddos. Will try to put the prof/person teaching the mod if I can remember their names. 
***I took some of these mods 2 yrs ago so my info may not be that accurate/might have forgotten some info.

Year 1 Sem 1

I took freaking 4 cores + 1 fac req ON SENIORS RECOMMENDATION. FML. This was the year that NUS introduced free SU for the 1st semester. 10/10 would NOT recommend unless you're incredibly smart/have great time management skills/have no social life/don't plan to sleep. Granted maybe my seniors all thought I was as capable as them, but no. And I SU-ed EVERYTHING, but I woyldn't recommend that especially if you intend to pursue a scholarship/aiming to be on the Dean's List.

CS1010S (Prof. Ben Leong)

OH MY GOODNESS. Can I just say I DID NOT know what I was getting myself into. Basic Python skills are taught but seriously, you have to devote time (and effort) into understanding + doing all the tutorials, recitation, missions, extra activities (if you wanna be CS god). 

For me I literally slacked my way through this course; didn't pay attention during lectures, hardly did recitation work, did tutorials the night before (with LOADS of help from friends) that kind of thing. I think I learnt the SUPER hard way that this module required me to be disciplined + seek clarification early. 

I cannot remember much about the kind of mid-terms that was set but I had to take the re-midterm because I failed the midterm very badly. I only can recall that I was struggling to even understand while and for loops FML. And that I had a super patient tutor (Vietnamese I think) that agreed to super last minute 1 on 1 consults. Forever super grateful for his help, otherwise sure cannot pass CS. 

I did fairly well for the practical (If I recall correctly it was 3(?)qns, managed the 1st one + the OOP one. Couldn't even begin the excel qn but I was only aiming to pass so 💁). Then came the final which I just tried my best and prayed I'd pass so wouldn't have to retake. LOL.

But in all seriousness, if you're planning to take this mod you should ensure that you will set aside time to do all the practices (miscellaneous activities/extra practices). I found out (all too late) that they were super useful 😪

Prof Ben Leong was a very interesting lecture (add him of FB after finals, I find that he posts pretty interesting articles). And I think I will always slightly regret that I did not put in much effort for this mod as I could and should have because I think I'd have scored reasonably well (B and above) if I did.

Grade: C+ 

LSM 1302 (Dr. Leslie Gapter) 

Had no alternative but to take this mod because I took H2 Bio in JC so couldn't take General Bio. I took it thinking the mod would be a piece of cake since I already had a bio background. 

I could not be more wrong. First, my bio background was not THAT strong (but I hao lian lah) only B for A level H2 Bio. That together with 8-9 months of not touching Bio during the super long break, my bio knowledge shrunk to like 0.05% of what I learnt in H2. 

The module was essentially H2 Bio + a bit more but I SLACKED SO MUCH. Ponned lectures like crazy + my project was only a B/B+(?) can't really remember. The finals was MCQ (60 qns I think) but I studied super last minute because I geh kiang, thought that I could still remember all my H2 stuff 😭

Grade: B-

MA 1102 R (Prof? Goh Say Song)

I remember this prof because he was very cute (in the adorable old man way lah 😒), he always greeted us before he started his class like the primary school way so it was very amusing in a LT setting. 

Anyway this module was not particularly tough, as long as you put in effort (which I did not) you should be able to score decently. The many theorems may be overwhelming at first but I think the finals hardly touched on them? Once again I was just aiming to pass this module. 

Oh, there was "lab" sessions....COMPUTER LAB sessions. So diligently attend those (had attendance marks I think) and learn your MAPLE software. Pretty easy to use and the Lab test was easy enough (Check answers with your friends, confirm can score full marks). Lab test was OTOT anyway, just submit answers online upon completion of the worksheet.

Scored close to full marks for all the assignments (referred ALOT to the notes) but didn't study much for finals. Abit sian now that I'm reflecting on my lack of effort.

Grade: C+

ST1131 (Prof Gan Fah Fatt)

This module is easily the easiest I've ever taken BUT THE BELL CURVE FOR THIS IS SO DAMN STEEP. It is a legitimate recap of H2 Mathematics (the statistics part) with a few simple things being added. 

BUT ITS SO DIFFICULT TO SCORE WELL BECAUSE YOU'RE COMPETING WITH STATS, ISE AND A BUNCH OF OTHER KIDS IDK FROM WHICH FAC. COMPETITION WITHIN THIS MOD IS INTENSE.

So if your statistics background isn't strong you've really got to pull your statistic socks up. I ponned lectures towards the end and I think I hardly attended tutorials. And I didn't know GFF's personality, super jian one, must attend lectures + tutorials then you'll have some idea of what will be tested. 

Grade: B-

MA1101R (Prof Victor Tan)

First, before I even share my thoughts, I FAILED THIS FREAKING MODULE. Who the heck fails a level 1000 mod??? ME. 

Okay, I literally put in ZERO effort when I took this module. It was legit NO EFFORT in this module at all. The clicker class participation thing? I relied 100% on my partner (FHL). Assignments? Asked for help from friends. Midterms? Failed terribly, I might have been the lowest in the cohort if I remember correctly since VT showed some graph thing that displayed the scores for midterm + the numbers for mean, median, lowest, highest. 

AND I STILL NOT SCARED SIA. I have no idea why, maybe because I heard from seniors that it was close to impossible to fail a module. Yeah, super 活该 that I failed. I think I only began panicking when I was making the cheatsheet for this mod. It was like knowing you'll sure fail but must still make cheatsheet. The feeling was horrible. 

I retook this module in the following semester under a different prof.

Grade: F