The semester is drawing to an end and with it, business presentations have come to pass. (It says a lot that I still don't know the module title and code though.)


The module I had the misfortune of choosing is heavy, uninteresting, and thoroughly nasty. Case in point: there are 4 projects (1 individual and 3 group, amongst which demanded the construction of a prototype, and a report detailing the entire process of idea generation to product retirement), lectures on Saturday mornings, and a slew of assignments. The module is, of course, carefully put together to be this cruel.

Nothing of interest can be said of the first 2 projects -- the fact that we forgot to submit our 168-paged report and thus received a nil grade is more tragic than interesting.

Project 3 was slightly more engaging, and so far from anything I've ever done in my academic life -- prototyping.

It was a perfect Saturday that we sacrificed for this task. That morning I arrived in school far too early, lugging a toolbox filled to the brim with weirdly-shaped metal pieces and -- most importantly -- a twin pack of plasters.

My primary task (i.e. to bring the tools) fulfilled, I was thusly (and gratefully) assigned the job of sand-papering bits of wood.

I promptly sand-papered my fingers and was delegated to sitting on slabs of glued wood that were waiting to dry.

Don't get me wrong; I would dearly love to say I had risen to the occasion and was a great, if unexpected, carpenter and an overall indispensible member of the team. Truthfully though I am a bit of a klutz, and in this case it wouldn't be quite as magnificent to say I did a splendid job of helping the glue to dry. (I did though.) In other words, I'm afraid I did womankind no favours whatsoever.




We eventually progressed onto wrecking umbrellas (needed the telescopic umbrella shafts for our model), an enjoyable but shortlived activity.





Then came the arduous process of sticking all the separate components together.





Behold, our prototype!


(A bedframe, in case you, O most myopic and dilettantish reader, are unable to make it out. But I shall forgive you on the basis that we have not yet furnished the model with the right, bed-like decorations.)

We then set about sewing sheets and cutting out a foam mattress -- which, to my chagrin, I did all wrong too. I must be the most unhandy person alive. I however take solace in the fact that I am a rather good cook, an attribute that is unrelated but comforting nonetheless.



Vlog of the day spent prototyping:



On the morning of the presentation, we whirled into school abysmally early to finish up our 220-paged-and-still-growing report, and to rehearse for the first and only time. We work best under pressure, we 6 procrastinators.



Michelle came toting the spruced up prototype -- very clearly a bed now, and if you missed that, you're aren't my friend anymore -- complete with pink bedsheets and a teddy, eliciting squeals of "oh, so cute!" from every girl we bumped into in school.


The only person who seemed sorely unimpressed was our lecturer, who pronounced it "too girly" and proceeded to stare at us with mouth agape as we trudged through our presentation.

("Are you going to be sitting here watching presentations till 9pm?" I asked (it was 4pm).

"Yes," he replied, "It's going to be a long day."

"Well, you don't have to pay the strictest attention to our presentation," I assured him in jest -- on hindsight, perhaps he took me too seriously.)

With the presentation settled and the right, sycophantic/sentimental drivel said, we exited the room for the last time. May not have been the most fun module to take, but my group's been awesome and I hope we all stay in contact. (:














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Song of the day: Because You Loved Me, duet by Celine Dion and Charice Pempengco. Goosebumps, chills and more goosebumps!