Relaxed
The Post-Finals Void
It has been exactly 49 days since my last update.
Coming out of the intense stretch of Term 6 finals was jarring. When you spend months operating at maximum capacity, constantly juggling Bayesian Equilibria, System Dynamics, and the sheer mental load of academia, suddenly stopping feels strange. There is a distinct void that follows the end of the semester. You wake up expecting a deadline, only to realise the calendar is completely empty.
I have been actively trying to unlearn the crunch culture I wrote about in April. It takes deliberate effort to allow yourself to just exist without producing or optimising something.
Hardware and Sovereignty
Part of reclaiming my time meant finally putting together a proper desktop setup. I recently finished building a new rig, running an AMD 7800X3D with 32 GB of RAM (16GB x2) and an RX9070XT.
Beyond just having a powerful system, this build was driven by a specific goal. Last term, I wrote about the fear of outsourcing our critical thinking to un-auditable AI black boxes and participating in the extractive attention economy. Building this PC gave me the hardware necessary to experiment with a tangible alternative: running local Large Language Models (LLMs).
Instead of paying monthly subscriptions for proprietary models, I have been using the RX9070XT to host and test open-weights models locally. It is completely private, requires no subscription fee, and fundamentally demystifies the technology. When you have to configure the environment and monitor the compute loads yourself, the AI stops feeling like an infallible oracle and returns to being just another tool in the workflow.
Reclaiming the Day
Of course, the new rig is not strictly for machine learning experiments. It has also been the perfect vehicle for diving back into my regular gaming rotations. The setup easily handles the chaotic co-op of Helldivers 2 on maximum settings, whilst leaving plenty of room to keep MapleStory SEA or Old School RuneScape idling in the background. Throwing in some Teamfight Tactics matches has been a great way to engage with strategic systems that do not require a graded final report.
When I need to step away from the screens entirely, I have been making serious dents in my reading list. Westeros has provided the perfect escape. Getting lost in the A Song of Ice and Fire series on the Kindle has been an excellent way to disconnect from the frantic pace of the real world and just enjoy a slow, sprawling narrative.
Real-World Friction (The Good Kind)
Beyond the digital escapism, the best part of this break has been the time spent with friends. During the semester, socialising often gets reduced to grabbing quick meals between lectures or exhausted late-night study sessions.
Now, without the looming dread of assignments, hanging out feels entirely different. It is unhurried. We are actually present. Enjoying the company of friends, along with those quiet, grounding moments with a certain calming presence, has been the perfect antidote to the isolation of finals week.
Looking Ahead
I am enjoying the stillness of staying in Singapore for now. Term 7 and the Kinetic 104 capstone project have been firmly pushed to the back of my mind, and there are no major travels on the horizon until July, when I will be heading to Hanoi for a trip with my family.
Until then, the agenda remains delightfully blank. Just reading, tweaking local models, gaming, and taking it one slow day at a time.
There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither. — Alan Cohen
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