As we grow old..

Today is Chrismas Eve. Tomorrow, the world celebrates the Birth Of Jesus of Nazareth.

Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival.

Enough said of what the commercial world does on Christmas, but rather, what we as we grow old start to see in this festivals and more importantly, the value of life and the various events that start to face us as we grow older.

Birthdays, New Years, Deepavali, Chinese New Year, Good Grades for exams, Graduation, Convocation, Prom Nite, First Job, First Girlfriend/Boyfriend, First Paycheck, First Love, Weddings..

These are all events and milestones that draw tremendous happiness and true meanings of life in pple. Festivals where the mood is always upbeat and positive and filled with lotsa joy and love in the air. Family and friends are together, smiling and laughing.

However, in the last few months, i have faced with the demise of a few relatives and attended funerals. Now these occasions take on a very different tone of handling it. Its something more or less, everyone has to face one day, excluding your own, I believe we will have to attend the funerals of our loved one. Its only a matter of how expected or unexpected the news will come to us. As one of my long time friends mentioned with his grandma recently, he was more or less expecting her to move on as she was moving in and out of hospital for the past few days so I guess his family was already expecting her to move on.

Grief, Despair, Disappointment, Anguish, Fear, Loss of a loved one - These are going to be feelings or sentiments that I will have to bear and face from now on... To be able to be handle such sentiments in this world or country where merit and luck wins, would determine how much u actually move on.

The more you love something, the more you dont want it to ever leave. We as humans have been empowered to feel for each other, to care and be concerned abt others. Naturally, we can only handle so much. Definitely, that's why at times, family and friends support one another to tide them over tough times. To be able to support one when he/she is at his emotionally weakest is what friendships and relationships are all abt.

Lets celebrate and cherish the fact that as of 2009, we shall keep on fighting against ourselves to challenge ourselves and our friends and family to keep on living. To be able to handle grief and sorrow. To be able to put a smile on each other's face from time to time. To be able to overcome the many challenges that we will have to face in order to sustain ourselves in this world. And at times when we are down, dejected, depressed and absolutlely downcast, you will find the courage and mental strength to bounce back and start living once again.

As we grow old, keep on asking questions. Keep on thinking and wondering. Keep on imagining. Keep on growing. Let the fruits and fallen leaves toughen you mentally, emotionall and physically as we grow old. Cheers.

Now if all that didnt make sense, lets just enjoy the video below, the son-mother relationship, in true bollywood style.

Let the Show go on..

Dec 2008, wow. This year has witnessed quite a few highly significant events on the global stage. On a personal level, my vision has been gathering pace. Its just my mission that has been rather sketchy in the past few months. Figure by this date next month, things would be much clearer..

Met up with 0303 fellows at MaD Jacks recently. Glad everyone was all pumped up and enthusiastic to meet up and chat. Everyone was in good spirits and seem to be coping with whatever life had to offer them. I guess everything seems very rosy at this kind of huge gatherings and its not easy to speak your mind. Prob everyone has thier own set of challenges that they have to face from time to time and these are part and parcel of life. Let the 0303 Spirit burn brightly.

On a different note, we all have our means of expressing ourselves but I guess lets express ourselves responsibly. For now, let the month of december be left for us to meet up, reflect, reunite, rejuvenate ourselves and of course, how can i forget, dance!!! Here is another video from another movie recently. The girl's name is Anushka Sharma, from Bangalore.

A few questions for the typical Investment Banker..

Considering whats been happening in the financial market in the past few months and how events have unfolded down to hunger for more money (greed) which have resulted in many huge companies providinng jobs to millions of pple around the globe to downsize big time.. all in all, pple are losing sleep and their jobs. Lets ask this fellow Finance professional a few questions where I give him 2 choices and he simply has to choose which one he leans towards . (answer in red)

Check out this article from Bloomberg at the end of this all : http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aBabxZ9WD2cE

Qn 1. More wealth Money or Trust ? Ans: Money

Qn 2. Money or Invest ethically(lose some money) ? Money

Qn 3. Money or Sound Financial Decisions(lose some money) ? Money at all costs Qn 4. Company's money or my money ? Company's money is my money Qn 5. Cash or Credit ? As long as I get the cash, doest matter Qn 6. Money Or Professionalism? Money always Qn 7. Money or Lower Risk? Money at any risk

Check out this article from Bloomberg at the end of this all : http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aBabxZ9WD2cE

Desi Girl

Every now and then, there comes a song that makes me want to stop thinking abt everything that needs to be thought abt and just dance.. Yes this song below has entered the m9's Top 3 for the year 2008. Enjoy the song and tell me.. as said in the clip below.. Who's the hottest Girl in the World?

A thought provoking article...

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/12/studying-for-passion-not-preparation/

Right now, this article really brings out alot of my true intentions that I aim to achieve with my degree. I would like to gain World Knowledge. Knowledge that I can relate to on an emotional level, intellectual level and most importantly, personal level. That was what I seeked to achieve with the mods I took this semester which might backfire in terms of the grades but in terms of impact on my general knowledge and awareness of current affairs ; priceless. It has stimulated in a few ways to get me thinking abt living as a whole and living in Singapore yet thinking outside the Spore context..

Do read the article. Post your feedback as you feel. Cheers.

In One Lifetime

In one life time, a person can accomplish all his dreams and yet not feel satisfied

In one life time, a person can just complete one task and yet feel satisfied.

One can either leave behind a legacy of consumption or contribution. The majority choose to consume and then contribute. Thats how most of us will approach many things in life. Once we experience, then we emphatize and then we contribute.

Choose to help, advice and contribute. Just help one and you might feel more satisfied abt living.

On the road to conquer the high seas, Bon Voyage!!

The Article speaks out...

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_309485.html

The above article once again attacks the increasing growing frustration and discontent agst the education system in Spore - with an emphasis on an exam meritocracy instead of a talent meritocracy, we are probably going to be the best in memory work and churning out of factory education workers - the youth today want to express themselves, in terms of their idea of living, their interests and hobbies.. then again, i guess, there isnt a strong urge to work for the sake of financial independence...

Working for a Fundamental Need or A Materialistic Need..

This thought has been circling on my mind for as long as I can remember.. Some jobs in the industry have been churned out due to fulfil the materialistic needs of the society, no less thanks to a free market ideology which is necessary yet encouraging a culture of greed and free spending habits..

If you ever feel that you are working for a profession that might not put a smile on your intended target audience's face, turn to these few jobs...

1) Barber - Cutting and shaping a person's head of hair to his satisfaction can definitely boost up his self-esteem

2) Cobbler - Shoes are never NOT in demand. Wear and tear due to friction, climate and handling will definitely put the cobbler in high regard

3) Locksmith - These is a job that is definitely necessary with the amt of security most homes have for their homes - its a service that you might not need it on a daily basis, but when the need arises, one is not too far away..

4) Funeral Officer - Birth and Death are part and parcel of life - A job that is necessary to ensure that the dead are taken cared off - to provide the ultimate send off for them.

5) The Policeman - The man that tries to enforce law and order on the street has never been so necessary in the current financial crisis as pple turn to social crimes to get money- a job that will never go out of fashion unless the police force is automated..

6) The Teacher - Kids need their education - Enough said.

7) Finally, the Mother - These profession is only exclusive technically to the female gender but then again, emotionally, the male can take on this role albeit only provide nowhere near what a Mother can offer - In the hunt for the financial independence and success, these profession has taken a back seat. But then again, amongst all the jobs in the world, i think these is one position that ranks top. Not helping the PAP.

Rock on!!

On the edge..

India and Thailand are on the Media's radar right now due to the series of terrorist bombings and the massive demonstration by the Thai Public respectively..

Now, I have been trying to pinpoint the exact reasons for these terror inducing beings to do the many things that they have done and achieved on a rather global scale..

Globalisation = Terrorism ? These are 2 huge phenomena that are probably interlinked. If the various countries were not so intertwined and connected as they were now, terrorism wouldnt have flourished. I might be assuming alot of things here. Globalisation is abt the breaking down of the barriers between countries such that the shops that u see at one country would be available at another country. Globalisation has has had a massive impact on education systems, on our consumption culture, on our employment strategies, on our choice of holiday destinations, on our personal opinions and so forth..

Terrorism might have seen the rise of a global village and of course the global media as a means to promote their message across? Message? What message? I like to believe that for any action, there's always a reason behind it. You might not really know why you did that at that moment, but sooner or later you will realise it. A purpose, a underlying reason, a specific objective or goal...In this case, I really haven spotted anything credible that might be counted as a reason? Reports said that they were remorseless in their killings. They did not think twice before firing their weapons. I guess they chose to be inhuman in a human form. Nevertheless, we are on high alert.

Definition of Optimism

Optimism is finding an opportunity in a difficulty

Pessimism is finding a difficulty in an opportunity

Been a year and a half into my degree, well this sem just flew by... Now if i were to sum up what are the different majors on offer in just a few words here goes..

Marketing is a lifestyle that revolves around being innovative and effective

Human Resource is a mindset that requires just one trait, communication in this virtual world.

IT is a skill that no individual can do without in this computer savvy world.

Acturial Science is a profession that will exist as long as consumers are risk averse

Accounting is a life skill that every individual should possess, basic money management skills are a must.

Finance is a concept that one cant afford to not know - Defensive and Attacking

Well, i guess some skills have to studied and some have to be experienced. you cant teach a person to communicate but you can tell him that he will be graded for giving a good presentation, and there you go.. he can present now.

Now the point is : What exactly does an individual need to succeed in his life goals? well, he has to learn to sell himslf, communicate his thoughts, handle his/her money well,keep to up to date with the latest in the information industry..

Moving on.. back in the next post..

The Monday After..

"Thought of the day"..

In life, you will face the robber's dilemma from time to time. Thats is Money or Life.

If you choose the Money option, you are safe, you are doing the Spore way of being pragmatic and rational in our decisions for the sake of career development.

If you choose Life, you are taking a risk on ur short term future for the hope of knowledge gain and learning a new concept.

I mean both choices are equally justified depending on the constraints of the individual at that time. So make the right choice and if you are fortunate, that one choice might get you the money without the sacrifice on your life.

Life long learning or Life long training ?

Random thoughts abt Exams, being Singaporean and the Singaporean Animals.

Exams over and now this is where the the true test begins. Maintaining my focus on my studies and catching up with the more meaningful and significant people, things and goals in life.

Before I start off, here are some of the top exam jokes that must go down as a real genuine attempt at pissing off the examiner.

I went in for a paper today, I was really prepared and did all my past 100 year papers like a Solid Singaporean. I turned the paper over and saw the first qn. I got stumped. Now this what you do when you face such a difficult qn that you have no idea on how to solve it and no idea how in the world do these profs even come up with such a qn. This is what you do, this is what I did.

Raise your hand and call for the invigilator. Request to speak to the invigilator. When he/she finally reaches your table and looks at you, look at the person, and point him/her to the qn. And then APPLAUD. You have to give real credit to the examiner for the amount of time and effort the invigilator took to create SUCH a qn. I mean it must have taken their whole life of education to come up with such a qn. So, you have to give them the due respect by applauding the invigilator on a job well done. Coz, if you are gonna solve in it in a sec, all their effort and blood, sweat and years of education would have gone to waste. So next time, you face a tough qn during an exam, do the right thing. Applaud and give the examiner the due credit that he/she rightly deserves.

Another thing, you know all these Singaporeans are after the FIRST CLASS HONOURS. The stats prof says that when you graduate with a FIRST CLASS, you die a First CLASS. I tell you this la. You get your First CLASS with all that sweat and effort and go for your interview.

This is how the interview will go : You show the employer/interviewer your resume and she sees the first thing, Mr Nathan ( First Class Honours). They will go WOW!!! And you what they will do. They will APPLAUD you!! Yes they will. They will give you the respect deserving of a FIRST CLASS Honours graduate. In fact, they will have a small celebration party to give you the gong la. Solid la. With a First Class, you will definitely travel and move around First Class.

Another point to ponder. You know as Singaporeans under the PAP Regime of Pragmatism, Meritocracy and Elitism. We have become a nation of risk-averse, prudent and pragmatic bunch of individuals. Even the animals on the road think so. Dogs look left and right before crossing the road. Cats consider all options before sinking their teeth into the fishbone, thinking it might be a trap by the animal police. Whose next on the list ? The Mentality has won over the public, the animals, and next probably the ........I am not giving a judgement but rather just commenting on the situation as it is.

Just love it!! Rock on

My Quotable Quotes..

Life is a robber's conundrum : Money or Life? : You will be asking yourself this qn from time to time when faced with a decision: You will have to decide whether that decision which you are gonna make is gonna make u slightly off heavier in your wallet at the expense of the finer things in life, ie sacrifice. But then again, life is what you put into it.

Heard this quote recently : Give a man a fish, and he will live for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will live forever. Not the correct phrasing and all but still, the substance is well evident.

Finally, Success and Potential are the same piece of the pie. The more you succeed, the lesser your potential. The more you fail, the more your potential. Thus, failure is just a recognition of your outstanding potential which has yet to be unleashed.

Living life in Singapore is like driving on the PIE. You may think you are the fastest on the road, until someone overtakes you. You are shaken. You take it as a challenge and compete. Thats the power of competition. But then again, if you are driving on the KPE which has set a speed limit of 70km/h and cameras all over the place, thats not a reflection of Singapore's competitive mentality but rather descriptive of PAP's belief that we are all middle class. So we are all driving at 70km/h with no overtaking.

To score the winning goal..

Its been a while since I wrote abt football.. Just felt the need to write something abt it today..

Had another game today at my neighbourhood, it was down to the golden goal moment, the game was tied at 2-2. It was close to 830pm.. then the moment came.. my team mate took a shot, it deflected off the defender and bounced in front of me. That was it. I braced myself, leaned forward and SMASHEd the ball towards the keeper. The ball zoomed thru the keepers legs and IN. thats the goal, the winning goal.

Now, the past few days have provided moments for me to retrospect on, as it always is with exam periods. Realised one crucial, in this country, in this life. I cant take anything for granted. You have to sell urself all the time. You have to work hard. You have to really keep on proving yourself to others that you are up to the task. This is a real feature of a capitalist economic policy and elitist education system. We need to really do crazy things to get the results. There is no minimum standard because there is no such as thing as a minimum standard. Everyone is expected to always perform at their potential. Makes me wonder why we turn to material possessions to find solace. This elitism and capitalist mindset has bred greed, a sense of individualism and definitely single-mindedness. Everyone is just friends for reasons. No one is friends for the sake of friends. I dont know how true is this but I gather this from my general sightings on the general NTU public. This is something that I dont adhere to. Somehow, I feel like I have a socialist mindset. I would like my friends to do well. They should face their own share of problems and definitely if need be, consultation and advice can be given out. In the end, they have to conquer their problem. Lets just get this exam period out of the way. Cheers.

The 44th President of the USA

Its strange how the election campaign for the past 21 months has had an impact on me. To be honest, it has had no impact whatsover on my daily activities or flow of thought.. but what really impresses me abt Barack Hussein Obama II..

His delivery of speeches. He is a master orator, a solid conversationalist and a tactful speaker. He knows how to capitalize on the emotions of the audience to push his message thru. Thats what u want from a President. A president who can address the nation. His speech of acceptance today was oustanding. The manner in which he spoke and conducted himself was just immaculate. His use of words and the power of the English Language was highly impressive. He has proven time and time again that he can really stir up the nation thru his use of the word.

Americans were tearing as they listened to every single word that was lucidly and clearly coming out from the new president elect. Americans really want and expect change. They are hopeful and confident that Obama is the way to go. Based on his speech today, I would be really surprised if he wasnt able to live up to all his pre election promises. Nevertheless, he was clear in the fact that CHANGE might take one year, might take 4 years, might take it more than that.. He is realistic and at the same time optimistic. He has signalled the intentions clearly from the start, that he means business. Lets see how it goes. In a nation torn by the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and more recently, the financial turmoil that has seen economy growth stunted, and pple defaulting in their payments, his words of optimism might offer a temporary source of solace and relief. He may have won the battle, but he has yet to win the war agst capitalism!!!

Let see how it goes. Singaporeans can only look in awe at the scenes happening over in Chicago. I guess Americans are open and expressive with their emotions and actions. Singaporeans need a Tan Kin Lian to voice out their opinions. Its the way we have been engineered from the start of our education. We are risk averse, prudent and calculated in our decisions. Arts and Entrepreneurship might take a long while from really bursting on our scene if our mindsets dont change. But then again, such rewards are only achieved with high risks. Might take a generation to change that risk averse mentality..

We need to believe that Education and Life go hand in Hand. We need to destroy the line between what we are taught in our textbooks and in reality. We need to believe that its ok to lose, its ok to fail, its ok to be stupid, its ok to be dumb, its ok to be foolish and be stupid. Lets rock on!!! Cheers

Lets clear the air one and for all..

This song is a must watch to all those non Bollywood fans doubters who believed that the element of song and dance is only confined to the trees and forests.. Just felt that I could sense this general sentiment brewing in the air..

Feel free to voice out your thoughts and comments.. Join me for a dance one of these days.. Haha.. I guess those days of behind the tree dancing have long gone, and it is more or less no longer accepted by the general indian population..

Living the Singapore Life..

Been trying to really figure out why I always feel that I am always pushed and harried to always pursue a reasonable academic grade.. why do I feel that if i dont perform well, I am not gonna land up in any profession..I mean, i feel that wherever i walk around in my university, its filled with stress and tension.. No one walks around with a smile on their face any longer..

Singaporeans have lost the meaning of chilling out, not that I do it often. But still, Singaporeans have been engineered to work from day one. Education, NS, Employment, CPF, GST, ERP, Road Tax, Fines for everything that can be fined.. we are living in a glass enclosure that demands we behave ourselves if not we will be fined. We cant afford to have any political or economic unrest coz we cant afford to.

Our country is a country of many races, less on tolerance and more on acceptance. We have no oil reserves like Brunei and the Middle East, our popn is not huge enough for our products to profit from as seen in China, our politics are dry and bland which are a good thing if you were to see things happening in India, Malaysia and Thailand.. we rely heavily on export and import. Our strategic location is crucial for our shipping and airlines industry.

We have to work hard, real hard. Coz human capital drive our economy forward. We have to put on our best behaviour so as to attract foreign investment. We are supposed to maximise the free time that we have for our family and friends.

Put it simply, Singaporeans have to really make it a point to ensure that their Singapore is not run over by foreigners. Regardless of the workload, stress level, level of political freedom and expression, level of compensation, level of entertainment and leisure, we have to work to make our world in this short time on planet Earth.

Singapore, my past, present and future.. If u ever feel that things seem to much for you take, just take a break. Think and reflect.. Singapore is no longer owned by Singaporeans. Its a country where global citizens drop by, stake their claim, make some cash and move on.. we can do the same and rock on, or we can actually stake a claim and make Singapore a home where the heart is.

Thats it, in Singapore, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Or rather, the tough have no choice but to get going. If not, they will be a victim of the bell curve.. Cheers.

Getting a second chance in Singapore..

This is something that has been on my mind for a long time... A second chance. Its just seems to be that after spending 22 years in Spore, i have become risk-averse. I have lost the ability to take on risk in my decisions. I spend so much of time of thinking abt the consequences abt my decisions that in the end, i just choose the right thing.

For example, back in my secondary school, I was somehow agst the idea of taking up a really solid CCA as in commitment intensive activity due to my emphasis on studies which ended me up taking Computer Club. At the same time, I was rational and pragmatic. Let me put it this way...

I believe that if i were to take up a cca it was for the following reasons : 1) Friendship 2) Enrichment : Knowing a sport or activity that I enjoy. 3) Spent meaningful time learning an activity with a good bunch of friends.

Now, in TK, i wasnt really on the hunt for new friends as alot of my pri sch friends joined me from pri school.. so the hunt for new friends wasnt really a priority. Moreover, these grp of friends that I knew in TK were to form a really solid core grp of fellows whom I can really call as friends. As in the proper definition of friendship : where there is trust and awareness of our various differences and there is a sense of solid sincerity to our friendship. Therefore, studies always had time for me. I was risk-averse.

Now, so my emphasis on studies in TK finally reached its pinnacle once I reached JC. ENOUGH!!! Thats where Hockey came into the picture. Even then, the risk averse factor in me always prevailed. With having to miss a few lessons and always rushing off home early due to the need to study and revise and do tutorials which never really materialised due to fatigue. In the end, my average grades proved my inability to take on this new risk factor but in the end, it did not matter as my place in uni was assured rather fortunately.But I am definitely thankful and superbly greatful for Hockey la. Its open up many opportunities for me in my army days and with our hockey competitions and second place.

Now, in university, I have decided that there is no way I am going to mug and study without doing anything for others. Therefore, SIFE came into the picture. My newest project is something that I hold really dear to, our vision : Enriching and enlightening sec sch students to real life or rather reality. That is exposing them to see the bigger picture of life. The hardship, the struggle and the hard work. Life is not abt studies and ur maths and physics and chem.

This is a noble idea which I want to be implemented. I want these kids to really think big and think of pple in their society around them. Studies is just one step of the ladder to achieving self actualization. U might lose ur chance of getting a grade for ur GPA but never wait for a second chance to help someone.

Today, I shall endeavour to reduce my risk aversion to studies and grades and focus on the bigger picture of life : Learning!! Ironic as it sounds. An undergraduate degree provides book knowledge. Experience provides knowledge and skills. So a balancing act has to be in order, second chances have to be expected in the education world and always never wait for a second chance to help someone help themselves.

Thats all i gotta say for now. CHeers.

My Birthday Message

After a wait of close to 2 weeks, I have finally managed to gather my thoughts and pen my ideas into an entry to acknowledge my 22nd year in this world of greed, family, friends and obstacles and opportunities.

I shall start off by highlighting that very first g-word and what it has done for the our nation and the global financial landscape. Greed has driven relationship managers to falsify their facts that investing in a low risk yet slightly higher than usual rewards will be safe and secure. Bankers all over the world should look at themselves in the mirror and really question the greed in their approach to fooling these group of elderly, semi retired and non English speaking customers. Humans have a heart for themselves and more importantly others. This financial turmoil has proven one thing and one thing only, in the pursuit of material wealth, we have lost our values, we have lost our conscience, we have given into the greenback and we have submerged ourselves into the this cycle of greed. The very fact that they have cheated others have been avenged by their loss of their monthly salary and they start regrouping and rethinking and start looking for jobs all over again. These group of relationship managers have taken the meaning of greed to a new level. Yet once again, this is reality. You compromise the future of one for your own security. As they always say, its a dog eat dog world. This is not that I want, yet i will definitely fall into this world very soon. Its everywhere. With no greed for money, we would not have an active workforce. Money drives some pple to work their socks off. They work for one thing only, money. This is a fact of life. Money makes the world go round.

Secondly, I have to say this la. In the past few days, I have been reminded regarding my old vintage self and my take on many aspects and the pple around me. Yes, I have the tendency to be random, i have the tendency to make mock pple for the sake of mocking, i have the tendency to pinpoint out pple flaws all the time. Its just a natural tendency to always look for the good and bad in pple. If they deserve to be complimented or criticized, then I shall do it.

Now this philosophy of balancing your work, your family, your friends, your hobbies is an ideal situation. It never happens. Name me one fellow who is able to balance all his committments on a regular basis, and I will proudly congratulate on his continuous achievement.

Before I end, this is coming to my last few weeks of the sem. This semester has exposed me to modules from different departments, Sociology, Communication Studies and Human Resource. Amongst all three modules, the first two stand out and i guess i lean more towards the coms module. Its been a very refreshing change for students who are want to genuinely present for the sake of presenting. I mean there is no intention of breaking any standards or reaching a new high. Each student is determined and speaking is an art a life skill. I will talk abt the good and enriching times I had with my grp mates for another time.

Lastly, If given a choice to work for money or to work to help someone achieve his/her dream or basically help, i would choose the latter all the time. I hope in life, that I would never have to forego my values and principles for the sake of greed or revenge and when that happens, I would have done a huge dishonour to my existence in this lifetime, to my family and my conscience.

Right now, lets not hope for anything, lets just make it happen!!!!!

Pragmatism and Meritocracy : The principles of nation building might have backfired already.

The semester has reached the business end where everything we do is strictly for the grades and nothing else.

Its moments like these where i feel that the Sporean policy of Meritocracy and Pragmatism has backfired.

Students in a bid to be the best in the education sector has forsaken their own personal choice and opportunity of learning to opt for modules that are so called less challenging and ultimately as a means to maintain their grades.

In this sense, we have lost the art of learning and growing as a person. Meritocracy and Pragmatism pervades throughout my university.

We opt to get married later coz we see no point in getting married if it were to dampen our career ambitions and especially so if there is not sufficient income to sustain a family.

When our country was still young, the govt implemented this ideology of pragmatism and meritocracy so that we can pluck out the elites to run this country and our national enterprises. We always opted for the pragmatic approach : grades before substance. Its this mentality that has made Singapore one of the more desirable investor-friendly places. We are always seen as a culture of sub-cultures. We are engineered to entertain, to welcome pple, be polite and smile all in the sake of pragmatism.

Today, I lay a challenge to the pple of my generation, you shall make a choice not because its the right thing or pragmatic to do, but because you want to do it from the bottom of your heart. If you wanna tell the teacher abt her teaching style, go ahead and do it. If you wanna scream and shout all ur frustration, do it. If you wanna take up a module u dont think u will score but want to learn abt, do it. The point here is to start small. Dont think big. Start with the small actions. Be comfortable abt them and the gradually grow.

Start now !! Meritocracy only serves the brightest minds of our nations, the rest gotta work a biiitt harder to make it. As Joey has said, failures are part and parcel of success. I say lets fail now, lets fall, lets not be afraid of taking a risk, lets not think of winning. Lets think abt making a mistake once in a while. Once you fail, then u will start to realise how powerful the force of winning is. Fail to win, then fail and win!!

The Irony of A Birthday Celebration..

I just felt like bringing up this topic as I approach my 22nd year.. I realise that as I grow older, somehow the whole signficance of a bdae celebration sort of diminishes. Why do i say that..

Well, lets put a pessimistic twist towards it. If i were to just do nothing for one year and lie in a cave and just spend my time eating and just burning time, and my birthday, whats there to celebrate? Celebrate the fact that I managed to survive another year in a cave.

Now, birthdays just creep up upon you, I mean even when I had my 21st bdae celebration last year, I was thinking, was there a need to celebrate my 21st year? I mean its not like as if I am officially financially independent, got my degree, got the job that i wanted or just managed to achieve one of my aspirations for the year. But then after much persuasion by my family and all, i managed to convince myself that this celebration , that yes maybe, it was an appropriate moment to bring together my friends that I knew and cherished in my past 21 years with a few absentees of course.

I guess bdae's are moments to treasure as u grow old when you are young. You know, celebrating you 1st bdae, then maybe ur 10th(as u go into double digit), then maybe 18( as u enter the army). But then as I am always told , some are not that fortunate to be given the opportunity to celebrate their bdaes and all on their bdaes.Some choose not to. Some dont even realise that their bdaes have come.

So with that in mind, I will strive to wish everybody that I know a Happy Bdae from now on. If a simple happy bdae with some words of positive wisdom of my own making of course, is able to raise their spirits and put a smile on their face, then why not.

On a personal note, every bdae from now on would be a chance to self reflect and take note and reflect on what I have managed to do right in the last year and what i need to improve on. Basically the 4Rs : Reflect, rejuvenate, recondition myself and rock on!! Cheers.

The Aftermath

Looking at the responses by Joey, Fahmi and Annonymous, i think its safe to say that my attitude and opinion towards the academic profs is definitely very skewed and at times , rather demeaning of the prized possession. But nevertheless, they are referring to the profs from the science field where the wonders of R & D have indeed developed new technologies if not you wouldnt haven heard of names such as gene transplants, nanotechnology and ........ cant think of any more at this moment. The commerce profs are still living in their own world. They create their own theories to save their own jobs.

The main issue that I am concerned with. These business or commerce profs have a lack of experience to back up their theories and whatever research papers that churn out sem by sem. Yes by all means you can say that these theories have been backed up by analysis of past information and data. But the next point of contention, can these theories be implemented.

Take for example : I am currently attending this module : HR & Consulting. Till today after 6 classes, the only piece of knowledge that has entered my mind is that HR Consultants are seen as "Change Champions", now thats a load of bull. I tried very hard to really assess the rationale behind this whole module every class coz i believe that there should be a reason for each module which can be reflected in the objectives and course outline. However, I find that this module has indeed put in place to ensure that the prof is indeed employed. Now that could be seen as a rather baseless accusation. But at times, i think that could be the fact. Nevertheless, I will ensure that my feedback on this course is indeed reflected back to him.

Moving on, the financial markets have gone into chaos. We all know what happened to Merrill Lynch being bought over by BOA, and the sinking on Lehmann Brothers, similarly AIG, BearSterns and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac all being bailed out by the Fed. Its safe to say : that the Financial world is really based on greed. In the pursuit of continous wealth, they have foregone their own ethics and morals. The financial advisors have recommended home loans, be it collateral backed to these fellow Americans when they jolly well know that would not be able to pay back their loans based on their income level. However at the same time, the plunging property prices ultimately caused the backlash. I put the whole blame on the greed of this fellow advisors who were on one hand providing shelter to this americans but on the other hand, jeopardising their own companies stability.

Truly amazing. Cheers to a solid week ahead.

The Credibility of Academic Professors

Professors are made for each other. They live in this world of academia that is sheltered from the real world of supply and demand for everything. They dedicate their life to research and at the same time, spend a bit of time, sharing what they learnt with their reluctant audience : the undergraduates. At times, I feel like i am being force fed information that doesnt really have any significance or any form of relevance to the real world.

Theories, theories and more theories. They rely so much on past information and do all kinds of statistical models that I ever wonder whether they are living in the present. They have dedicated their souls to the past.

Lets take an example here. Now, take a finance professor. He goes on and on and on abt financial theories abt this ARBITRAGE Theory model, this valuation method of a stock, this method of buying an undervalued stock. Looking at technical analysis. Grinding out numbers and doing statistical regression. All is just a bunch of bull la seriously. If you spent so much time analysing a stock and its past information, you will grow old researching.

Just focus on the fundamentals as our great Warren Buffet always champions. A business with a solid management team and solid business concept. Its bound to grow. Share prices are dependent on various factors and trust me, I have come to realise that the stock market is just one super cranky and moody person. However saying that, the stock prices are dependent on the trading patterns of the investors. So once you feed information to the investors, they go abt buying and selling till the appropriate valuation of the stock is reached.

Now back to my assessment of the professors, they go on and on abt finance theories, do they own their own portfolio ? Nope they dont!! So the irony in that is, theories always land u in a educational institution.

When I pay 6000 plus dollars per year for my education, I expect top notch quality education. I expect tutors who are able to provide us with valuable insights in to the working world. I expect tutors who have been experienced in their field. I dont care if you are a PHD holder or an A level failure, you gotta speak from experience. You dont have the right to talk abt entrepreneurship if you are not an entrepreneur yourself. You dont have the right to talk abt marketing if you are not a marketing consultant yourself.

Now, thats why university education is just abt theories if you dont go beyond the classrooms and go for activities. But one thing standing in my way usually, grades are the bread and butter and employers believe that students who dedicate their university to grades are solid employees. So we have to give in to their demands.

Ultimately, I give in to the professors to get the grades regardless of whether i believe in their method of education. In the end, you get the grades but nothing on learning value. Thats the price you gotta pay for a degree in Singapore. They squeeze you dry , real dry. We are the ones paying for the education, yet as customers we are the ones who have to give in to the demands of the professors interests. Professors , I salute you all for your courage to suppress us now. Trust me, I cant wait to unleash my frustration when the time calls for it. For now, lets just give in to them, get the grade, be an all rounded student who can speak, write well and work like a dog. Cheers to this philosophy.

Dreams + Constraints = Reality

Where does all the money go to in our Country?

A very good evening, its come to my attention that although most of my views are really based on my perceptions and opinions on what makes up the Singapore Inc but the latest comment on my entry has really made me really stop and think.. really what is the ulterior motive behind our country policy makers ?

I ask this qn with a rather worried outlook coz I am on the brink of making one of the most crucial decisions of my working career, the first job. Now, I agree completely that few of the most impt needs that we need to sustain in this country have gone over the acceptable limits of sensibility.

The latest reader commented that we really need to stand up and question the government why do the values of cars and houses are really so overpriced, especially when you compare to the prices in Malaysia, Indonesia and USA. We can be cynical and start faulting the government yet we have to provide constructive feedback on this issue.

Now the issue in consideration, as brought up by the reader, we need to step forward and raise this issue? i agree, coz in a few years time, i will be out there, drawing a salary and creating value for the country. Very interesting prospect!! Just exactly where does that leave me now... start researching and building up a case. No point raising arguments without statistics.

When it comes to the point of persuasion : You can either appeal to logic, emotion or ethics. Definitely, as "PRAGMATISM" is one of our core values, logic and ethics stand out as the main bases of consideration..

Majulah Singapura!! For now, there is no perfect solution. But we can, minimize the imperfection by being ourselves . " Help ever, hurt never"

The Art of Staying Focussed

Now this is an art that I would like to master asap, there are so many things on my plate right now, that you just get confused. and amazingly, not all are relevant to my interests but they are necessary.

Before I start off like a 19 yr old and go on and on and on and on, giggling and laughing at anything that is worth laughing abt , I shall stop and just enjoy this video clip.

Enough of rest and rejuvenation, time has come for an assault on the paper machine!!

Everyday is a day earned

Enough of all these university education issues and lack of political freedom topics : these are 2 things that the Spore Govt holds very closely to their heart. Political stability is crucial for our country to progress(duh!). What the govt is trying to show here, just dont think the GOVT exists. Just think abt working, working and creating more value for our country. Once we start voicing our views of discontent towards the Govt, we get distracted from our aim of value creation. We need to show a positive growth of GDP every quarter to indicate that we are progressive country.

I just figure fellows who get so incensed by whatever the govt does are just a bunch of damn free fellows la. What else would you expect from them, if you got a point to prove, prove it to yourself and your family. Let the Govt be. You gonna end losing sleep over something that you have no control over. If you ever meant to be in politics, you would have taken up a scholarship long ago.

I mean there is a limit to always portraying negative views abt the country. For once, just praise their effort at trying to create a national spirit by investing millions of dollars into the national day parade. Issues over ERP gantries popping up everywhere, education issues coming up, issues of lack of social graces at public places, issues of kiasu-ism, issues of being super competitive at everything we do.. from secondary school, to jc to army to the university, these country is not meant to be criticized, its meant to be polished and rubbed everyday so that the joints dont creak. we are instruments of the machines that contributes to the output.

Thats the Spore Identity : Cynical, Super-Competitive, Socially unaware, Loves food, Enjoy their drinking sessions and enjoys working.

We have lost it, each day that passes is a day earnt and goes to our CPF. This is the pragmatic way we do things in Spore.

Now, I would like to do things a bit differently: I would tell the fellow that scored an A for his exam ; "congratulations ", i would tell the malay cleaner whom I met at the lift : Good Morning, i would tell my prof that he just gave a damn solid lecture just now : I would tell my parents that they coooked an excellent meal just now, i would tell the girl who fell off the staircase " Are you ok?'"

now its hard to maintain a very diplomatic to our very critical and cynical sporeans, at every opportunity we are trying to poke fun at the other communities. we are not multi-racial at times, we are just a country of races. but things are changing, i see it around me.

Fri Freeze..

Finally had time to pen down an entry.. Weeks just fly by when the sem starts..

Really amazing... Had my first speech delivery assessment today. Well, I knew from the start that a speech on my own personal experience would definitely appeal to the audience who were my age and range but did not really appeal o the tutor or the only one in the audience that I should really care abt, the Marks Man. This poses a unique dilemma.

anyway, I got to mix up my style with a bit more of substance next time round. Put it this way, for the past few months, I have always been put in a situation where my style of approach is considered unique and comfortable to the ear, but substance-wise, still needs brushing up.

Substance is something that we pick up thru experience, through knowledge.

Fri is here once again, lets look forward to a weekend or revision, reflection, relaxation and rejuvenation.

Interesting thought " Alcohol is a good servant but makes a bad master"

The Meaning of Being the Singaporean..

After attending a lecture titled "The Singaporean Identity" for my module, "Understanding Spore Society ", I think I have finally found and hit on the ultimate test of nationhood, trust me as Sporeans compared to the other nationalities, we have found it very hard to really find a common bond or ideal or goal or identity that we call our own.

I had asked the Prof, what are some examples of other nationalities that share a common identity , goal or vision.. Here goes:

1) The American Dream : Its the vision of every American to be the next president. (true?)

2) Each Palestinian craves to for their country's independence

3) Taiwanese aim for their state to be recognized as an independent nation..

So based on these examples, where does this leave us.. What is our Sporean Identity ? or more imptly, lets not talk abt what, but rather what is the ultimate test of whom do you call a Singaporean? Pls read on

When I hear the "Majulah Singapura" being played at any event or on TV, be it at a football game between Singapore and Bahrain, be it during the National Day Parade, be it on the radio, be it at 6am on the television, I feel this sudden chill up my spine, this chill is usually what we call goosebumps, the kind of feeling that makes the hair at the back of your neck stand. When you experience this "Goosebump" feeling, that I can certify for sure, you are a true Singaporean. Regardless of whether U can sing the national anthem 100 times in a row in 4 languages or recite our Pledge backwards, the Goosebump test is what makes you a Singaporean. Its not up to me to decide abt how Sporean are you, being and feeling Sporean is a personal choice that you develop over the years.

What's in a speech?

Ok i have to say it, the next best thing after talking to a grp of pple, is to give them a speech.. and not just a speech, its a conversation with purpose and conviction.

I have been attending this module titled Speech and Argumentation for the sole reason of improving my public speaking skills. So far it has gone well. I have been able to contribute constructively during lectures and class. What was more impactful was that I was given the opportunity of analyzing one of the most powerful speeches ever!! by Martin Luther King Jr, a civil rights activist. It was titled simply, " I have a dream". You know what, its just solid. I have started to speak the way he is speaking. I have started to add more conviction to my speeches. But one thing is lacking, I am fighting for simple causes such as telling a few of the freshies to believe in their own speech and just be themselves in front of the audience.

Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Mangal Pandey: These were individuals who wanted to make a difference to the country that they were living. THey wanted freedom. But at the same time, they got assasinated or killed or murdered. Now, ever wonder why our LKY did not get killed or assasinated after giving many of his speeches? He used to go into hiding after he would have delivered his speeches.

But seriously, every now and then, when u think u dont have a cause to fight for in life, listen to this fellow called Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream!! This guy is just solid. An African American of the highest pedigree!! What a role model for his country men. I just marvelled at his use of imagery and various phrases in his speech and the way he used to drag his voice every now and then. Too good la. I am gonna have fun in this module and definitely perfert the art of public speaking, or rather public conversational speaking!! Cheers.

The Weekend is here..

Just confusion, sheer confusion. Its crucial to have a vision and mission in life. For now, I have a short term mission that I have and must achieve at the end of my degree. I need to destroy my confusion regarding my career plans. I need to sort it out. Ultimately at the end of a university degree education, I would like to say that yes, NTU has been able to shape my path into the future and more imptly, I was able to discover my path.

Life skills, survival skills : I hear over and over again abt these skills that one needs to possess in order to manoeuvre in the working world. Well here they are

1) The power of speaking up , confidently and accurately

2) The power of handling relationships , indirectly and directly

3) The power of dressing appropriately, for the right occasion

4) The power of always being dynamic in thought and action

5) The power to constantly want to learn new skills and practices

All in all, we have to move beyond being humans. We have to forego our own personal emotions for the sake of others. Haha. As I always say, the sweet talkers and small talkers always end up doing the least work. So I shall stop here...

I have a Dream for Singapore

I have a dream for Singapore

1) Singaporean will not be self-serving all the time

2) Singaporean will not shy away from smiling at others

3) Singaporeans will not attempt to put the blame on the Govt every single second of the day

4) Singaporeans will always think abt family first.

5) I have a dream for Singapore.

Singaporeans, we have a dream.

My National Day Message. Mind Over Heart

After seeing, hearing and watching the numerous National Day Activities in the past few days, starting off with the "sombre" message released by our PM with regards to the cut of the growth forecast to the culmination of the NATIONAL DAY PARADE 2008.

The time has come for me to deliver my National Day Message and here goes :

My fellow countrymen have lost the meaning of being human, we have chosen to think with our minds and not with our heart. We have become robots in the hunt for financial stability and the lure of a successful career. We have lost the personal touch. Everything has become abt chasing the pot of gold. Now, I am not saying its a bad thing to think with our minds and forego what our heart thinks. But, definitely when we dont think with our heart, we lose the right to be called a human. Let me address this statement with a few examples.

Working women are foregoing kids just for the sake of their career. They are definitely thinking abt the financial costs of bearing a child. Mind over heart. They see the point of achieving a fat bank balance so that they can retire peacefully. At the same time, they risk losing everything that they have worked for. As couples grow older, their ability to start their own family gets tougher. Now the fault doesnt only lie with the woman, raising a family is a team effort. The working fathers have a responsibility to the mother in assuring that bearing a child makes life all the more worth living. Whats the point of living life just for the sake of your own pleasure. I guess my pro family viewpoints would definitely differ from you.

We start questioning the impact of National Service. We have come to realise that 2 years of serving our country have put us 2 years behind in our career path, our marriage plans, and ultimately our family plans.

But then again, this 2 crucial years of our youth are indeed crucial to our country. For our Armed force's policy of deterrence rather than attack. All this years of training during the 2 years and reservist training for another 40 years i believe, all this are seen as mind over heart.

Now, even our country's pursuit of mind over heart policy can be seen in the arts scene here. For the arts student, they will find that the natural sciences are definitely given more respect and fame with all the various scholarships by the various research companies. Coz research in natural sciences would definitely go a long way in new medicine discovery with the aim of curing the various illnesses such as AIDs and cancers which dont have any cures right now. So definitely, the social sciences have taken a back seat by quite a distance. Would I even consider taking up subjects in Anthropology, Sociology, Economics, Psychology back in my jc years if given the opportunity. No I chose the mind over heart option by going for the natural sciences coz although i recognized that i was never ever going to pursue any form of degree in the natural sciences but still i chose it for the sake of parsimony and simplicity. These were tried and tested subjects that I had done well in my previous years of education.

Taking up an arts degree might be frowned upon in my country. But do we have a choice for a country that is still very young compared to our regional giants India, China. Mind over Heart. Our economy model was focussed on Manufacturing back in the early days, thus the need for engineers back then. Now as the Financial Sector sector goes boom to boom to BOOM, the need for finance professionals or rather professionals trained in mathematics and numbers crunching and more imptly, stocks and shares all the various securities u have in the market. Securities aside, there is a growing market in the field of derivatives with options, swaps and futures and forward contracts. This shall be my field of choice in the these 2 years.

Thus, ultimately, where is the heart in my country. Do we have a choice!! We do have a choice. We have the choice to fight for our own lives to gain a financial stronghold and then focus on the heart issue. Even the ideas of a Social Enterprise can not be achieved unless we have enough money for ourselves.

So my message to all my fellow countrymen and country women, In your journey of life, you will always be tempted to follow your heart but then in the end, your mind takes over. Most imptly, pls achieve a strong equilibirium between the heart and the mind. For me, my choice of pursuing a finance degree was a choice of the mind, but my choice of pursuing a social enterprise was a choice of the heart...

Mind, heart and the soul. I have known u for 43 years. Till date, you have my heart. My mind slowly is being taken over by your charm. Soul, i guess not really. Here goes to many many years of constant "economic growth of 4%(haha)" but more imptly, in the pursuit of the decisions made by our mind, lets not forget to be human as well. Happy Birthay Singapura.

MAJULAH SINGAPURA!!!

School has begun, so whats going to be different this sem?

3 months of a break, now I am back to my daily bread and butter. I am paying the sch a yearly fee so I can leave with a passport to my next stage of life. When I paid this school fees, I had expected a few things in return.

1) A robust and holistic, all rounded education approach. I wanted to participate in an education system that allowed me to not dwell in the past but rather give me a true reflection of the outside world. More than that, I wanted to formulate my own personal opinions abt the pple around, the world around me and of course, whats in store for me after this. I came to University to not kill time and get a passport to my next job, I came to Uni to find myself. To find what responsibilities I possess in myself. What am I able to do that can help others.

2) To explore my various career paths open to me. I have yet to decide on a career path but why should I. Nothing is fixed in Life. I will make this decision after consulting the various stakeholders in my life. I owe a responsibility to my family first and foremost. Just for them alone, I will never stop working. I will never stop thinking abt others who deserve it more than me.

Finally,I would like to believe University is not where u find ur true friends. University is where u find urself. Primary , Secondary , Junior College and Army was more abt growing up and getting the basics completed. I am on my way there. But to live in this world, being ideal in ur thought process is not enough. Ideals have to be pragmatic and realistic.

One step at time, I need to grow out of the shell and realise what I am in this world for. Everyone has a life mission. I like to believe that everything that happens around me, happens for a reason. Here goes to one hell of a journey this semester. When in doubt, take a step back and reflect. Cheers!!

The Game is On!!

With just 2 nights remaining to the start of the new and improved semester of my university education, its always good to end the week on a high and I guess it probably did. Initially this Saturday was planned to attend the NDP Preview which did not happen as I passed the tickets to my friend whom I felt was more deserving than me. Then, there was the planned Minds Cafe Reunion Revisited with the 0303 class which just fizzled out I guess due to our own personal commitments, but then again, it will prob happen in the next few weeks.

Returned from Bintan recently a day ago with a group of solid friends. It was definitely a great getaway from Singapore. Less of shopping and more on just chilling and having a good time with friends I have grown up with over the years. Well on one hand, Bintan is an island catered specifically for tourists, locals are barred from the island except for the resorts personnel and on the other hand, prices are definitely very catered to squeeze out our wallets at every opportunity. I would recommend Bintan for a short getaway after a tiring period of work or study. Its only a short ferry ride away. But i guess, the prices might want you to think to spend your money elsewhere. All in all, a vacation thoroughly enjoyed. When the company is good, even hell can be fun i guess!!

Just came back from my first ever PRAWNING experience at this prawn pond over at Bishan. Managed to catch a hat trick of prawns down to a series of technique, skill and most of the time, luck. As they always say, Success is when Luck meets Opportunity.

Anyway, more than the prawning experience, it was a good time to bond and interact with my SIFE brothers and sister whom I have spent a good few months with over the past few months and even more so in the past 3 months break. We have been united on all fronts and there is more to come. Damn impressed with my first 3 catches of my whole life!!

My First Prawn Catch of the Day. Lady in picture is Diana, First Lady of NTU SIFE

Cheers to a good semester ahead!!

Bollywood to Hollywood

Rumours, rumours , rumours = I love hearing them and love to be part of them. But nevertheless, its always not right la to create nonsensical rumours just for the sake of it. I think all these orientation camps on going now are just a circus act, based on the account of the fellow university mates that I have met in the past year = its just a time to have some good bonding, literally with everyone.

Oh yeah, paul, you mentioned that u wanted to learn some dance moves. Here you go. Watch, listen and dance!! Actually, more than getting you to run, would like to see you dance!! Its a real workout if you are really zoned into the moment, you can really sweat it out on the dance floor. Thats always the case with me. Haha..

Somehow, MRT Rides get more and more interesting by the day la. Sporeans all kinds of nature are there on show. People watch is at times more interesting than animal watch. But nothing beats watching a young toddler chasing a cat and getting all excited. In the end, its always the simple things in life that we love thinking and feeling all teary eyed about. U know all these different paths that we take to fulfil our career aims, its just a path la. Ultimately, in the end, all these different paths that we take always serve 2 purposes : 1) Either you help yourself or you end up helping others. All these degrees that we get so hyped up abt are just a path within the education system. Ultimately, you would want ur good friend to be doing reasonably well in handling life's issues. So, assuming each friend has at least one good friend, each friend definitely has the support of one good friend in times in need. Not always the case. Nevertheless, I will never stop helping, be it an enemy or a stranger. Putting a smile on someone else's face is the next best thing after putting a smile on your own family member's face. Enjoy the video!! (back in action on saturday - off for an island retreat)

Singapore Brazil

Went for the Spore Brazil game at the last minute due to the sudden appearance of 2 complimentary tickets thx to my brother's happening friends..

brazil were disappointing but nevertheless it was still a nostalgic moment to be inside the Grand Old Dame, a stadium that I have seen many matches, Sports days during my pri school days, couple of NDPs, and of course, the Closing Ceremony. Kallang Stadium, I will miss u man. We had great times together.

Pics and videos to follow.

anyone up for getting involved in an ultimate frisbee tournament held at east coast park. Check out ultimatefreezebee.com.., signing up as a game marshall!!.. should be good fun and its for a good cause as well so should be doubly good. Still remember the tournament together with a few of my classmates back at TJC. came in second in the end but was great fun. Then, there was the super solid football tournament. Nostalgia is in the air. Reunion on the cards? Time for a game of football anyone?

Time is always well spent in small quantities..

The irony of the mind at times :

When we have been working too long, we feel like taking a break for good. When we have been taking a break for too long, we feel like working.

When we study for too long, any tv programme or any article suddenly seems damn interesting that you would not even look at prior to that.

When I meet someone for the first time, i draw all kinds of conclusions abt who the person is, what is he/she thinking abt me right now, what kind of mentality does he/she have of me, what/s her/his personality.. s

Sometimes, I have realised that i would rather talk a person over the Internet as in MSN, coz my eye for detail often takes over all conversation topics.. I just cant help myself to tell him/her regarding his hair do or dress sense... but guess its always good to make ur friends or a stranger to feel good abt him/herself especially... just ensure that the compliments are in good taste ONCE in a while.. if not mocking is always good.. Criticisms are always good for the soul. Cheers and Let The Sunday be upon you..

What's in a Hairstyle ?

Ok, with my personal eye for detail and mastering the art of pple personality profiler.. i have realised that the person's hairstyle reveals quite abit abt the person's profile..It also gives an update on the person perspective on life.. When the hair do changes, it also reflect a change in the mindset of the inidividual..

Lets start with our 0303 fellows ar..

Bird's crewcut : simple, straightforward and almost innocent like cut

Birds hair on fire look at our last reunion : It was prob a one off, but still it wasnt outlandish, it was still simple, straightforward and innocent in the hair do preparation

Joey's side parting (gelled up at times) : The hairstlye is always neat, tidy and well maintained. Its never messy. So in a way thats joey : he is very organized and disciplined.

paul's new hair do with the fringe : sort of portrays a change in mindset : from gung-ho and on the ball student to a much more mellowed , settled and calmer working woman.. makes u think abt what working a full time job does to the individual..

Does the Hair-do really maketh the man? I await your comments..

What are friends for?

One of the most overused word in the English dictionary.. " Friend"...

I like to believe that no one person offers the same level of friendship like another person.. ok that was not well portrayed to you...

Different "friends" offer you different perspectives on lifes, thats for sure.. but to put it simply ? what are friends for? this friend whom u have no blood relation but you still call him your friend? Time makes a bond stronger... time has the ultimate healing power..

Friends serve different purposes.. To put it simply and bluntly. I think I have made an entry on the meaning of friendship I believe... it went something like this... "True friends are friends that tells u on ur face a particular negative point that you possess and you are not angered by that remark..."

Well, i think its time to find different names of for various categories level of friendships and what do u call that person.. lets go for it.. Coz seriously, a friend is someone whom u can pass your bank account password to and a friend is also someone whom u just meet up for football... Friends, here goes...

acquaintance, adherent, advocate, ally, alter ego, ami, amie, amiga, amigo, associate, attendant, benefactor, bon ami, bonne amie, boon companion, buddy, catercousin, chum, cohort, colleague, compadre, companion, compeer, comrade, confidant, confidante, crony, devotee, familiar, follower, intimate, pal, partisan, partner, patron, playmate, quaker, relative, sectary, sidekick, supporter, wellwisher

Think abt it... pls dont call your friend a friend. Move away from it. Give him a different name. Trust me, its the personal touch that makes friends who they are..

National Day 2008 , Am I Singaporean Enough?

Every now and then ? I ask myself ? What am I ? Well first of all, I am the next generation that will carry on my family name, and everything else that comes along.. then what am I to the country that has provided me with an education and employment for a few years so far? Singapore, my home? my future? my past, definitely!!!

As a student, I can definitely say I am a Singaporean.. I have been brought up with the Sporean mindset of always chasing for grades and always putting me before everyone else. Its simple on a nation that has no resources that can generate GDP, I have a responsiblity to run this country by paying back their investment.. BULLSHIT!! I have a responsibility to my family definitely and parents most importantly. But Singapore, what kind of education have they given me ,what kind of values have they imbued in me, has the country made me a into a human being that cares for society and not only a robot that sees grades and being the best wherever we go.

Singapore, Should i care for your future ? Should i care abt whats your present lifestyle? Should I? Singapore, i cant say confidently with a resounding yes just as yet!! but i am getting to the answer. A country with a multi racial core that sees value first before sincerity and humility. Will we ever make social enterprise a beacon for the present and future. Will we ever stop to think abt the others who are not fortunate enough to earn a decent living? My definition of living a life would be to put a smile on the face others coz I was able to brighten up their day not only emotionally but functionally. Suddenly I feel very confused !! Who should I be responsible to? My family, myself or my community or my friends or my country? A patriot!!

Maybe this will help me!! and help you, my friend as well... mentioned by Barack Obama

What makes America great is not its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better. Our revolution was waged for that belief. That we could be governed by laws, not men. That we could be equal in the eyes of those laws. That we could be free to say what we want, and assemble with whomever we want. And worship as we please. That we could pursue our individual dreams but the obligation to help others pursue theirs.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/07/i-am-a-patriot/

The Sparkle will Come Alive!!!

Its Tuesday and some pple are working... Ok.. Glad that my previous entry managed to raise a few eyebrows .. Oh yeah, speaking of eyes.. Paul, its quite straightforward as in theory, the eye liner is used for the outlining of the eyes and the mascara is used to just curl up the eye lashes... now the tutorial would be fun as well...what u say?

Now our good friend, Mas Selamat has a $1,000,000 price tag on his forehead. No, the govt is not using our tax-payer money for that, but a 2 private entities have stepped forward to chip in and hopefully, this money will spur our fellow Sporeans at heart to start their own investigations and use their CID skills to go on the hunt for Spore's most wanted.

I have come to realise that the only reason why foreigners, businessman, foreign entreprenuers have chosen Spore as their home for one reason only... "SAFETY"....I think thats abt it. The Economic,political and social climate arent much to boast abt... Ok , our political climate has always been stable and its a good thing. Look at our neighbours across the causeway and the current struggle they are going thru. Now, just imagine if one of our ministers was caught in the act of trying to have a solid fling with an Escort.. what kind of sign would that send across the globe and to the fellow Sporean in the heartlands..

" That minister, all that tax payer money under his backside and having a good time ra-ra ing with a cha boh "

Presentation today. Once again, I will not lecture but just speak my heart out. My team is pioneering the Club for the Social Entreprenuership Movement in NTU. Today, we want to make it to the top 3. It's a must. Months of training and constant finetuning and revised editions of our biz plan are over. We want to make a difference. I want to help some pple get a job and feel wanted. I managed to do it in Punjab. I did not manage to accomplish/implement the Sign Language module back in our good old PW days( i wasnt on the right mental path then).... Enough of rag and flag days and karang guni work. We want to address the issue of helping a small slice of the under privileged sector of Singapore..

Let the Sparkle COME ALIVE!!

Sunday Salsa with 0303

Its Sunday!! Finally... the day that all Singaporean Employees who work 5 and a half days truly look forward to.. Sunday is definitely a day worth waiting for... Just what is Sunday all about.. Its abt doing the things that you would never imagine doing on the other 6 days... oh well lets move on..

Well first of all, had our 0303 gathering of the year at Fish & Co... Well this restaurant seriously seriously tremendously needs to silence its super loud rock band music.. cant even have a decent conversation across the table. Now this is the funny part, I spoke to the Fisherian(basically waiter), regarding this issue, he said he has received these feedbacks ALOT , ALOT !! but he gives them the same answer that he will look into it.. I mean come on!! Come On!!! What in the world do you think you are doing.. Cust's satisfaction and feedback is like conducting a free market survey.. But nevertheless, i guess Sporeans are a strange lot... they complain yet they still patronize the haunt, but trust me... these restaurant only attracts groups(more than 5) (likes us) and 1... Couples who want to have a quiet time together would have definitely given this place a miss.. There are definitely much more peaceful restaurants and hang outs out there who definitely give a damn for ambience..

In a way, this outing at Fish & Co was definitely a spark for us to explore new forms of cuisine. Sticking to the tried and tested of Western Cuisine is definitely a safe choice but doesnt really arouse the palette.. Pizza Hut might have definitely whetted Paul's appetite but it wasnt to be, and even the intentions our class had on Bird to whack a few pizzas down this throat didnt materialize as he ate and came!! Haha.. Smart guy.. So currently we are looking at either trying new cuisines... Possibly Turkish, Japanese, Indian!!! , or even Seafood at Pulau Ubin with a nature walk... Lets see how it goes.. Will get in touch with Eric & Kiang when the time comes...

Well, our class definitely hasnt lost its touch and class... Everyone was really inspired to meet up with each other.. THis is my best part with my eye for detail and the jocular, here goes...Haha..(take it with a pinch of salt)

Snippets : Kiang sharing his " How to woooo a lady in Ten days and marry her in the next Ten years" tips with Waldy and Me.. I think It was more like how to sms a girl and then talk to her and then converse with her.. basically, converse on a very personal level.. make her feel interested and engaged as well as wanted.. if not, just talk la.. whats wrong with talking ar... sooner or later she will spot the signs..

Bird and Poon with their Hair -Raising experiences.. Apparently poon said his was down to experience and practice, Bird said his was down due to a lack of experience and practice, You Decide!!

Martha is back in Spore for good hunting for a solid job as well as for a partner , quite surprised that she declined his invitation.. we shall see how it goes from here.. it was great chatting with her.. She took Finance as a major but not really up for a finance job as yet.. A situation that I might face in the next 2 years.. We will see abt that.. All the best Martha for that job search.

Eric is all the rave with the potential 8k /month job although it comes with a price. But this is what i mean by giving everything to your job, and being handsomely remunerated for the job...Money can be the only solace for all your effort at times when u are down and dejected with life esp in your bachelor days... once u get a family and all, the situation changes and your priorities change... haha.. i feel like I am speaking from experience.. haha NOT!!! Rock on ERIC!!

Oh yeah.. Paul(pong) and Shan with their eye-liners and mascara ED looks... When i first asked Paul, she was abit hesitant to talk abt it.. Shan was more than willing to share her story abt it.. Shan had to leave apparently coz her "brother, as pong as told me initially" (haha) came to pick her up.. amazing how this story of the year has woven yet another chapter.. on one hand, everyone is so hush hust abt it.. but on the other hand, everyone is sort of eager to know abt it. well as long as they are happy and glad to be together, I am glad for them... Cheers.. I know pong is as well.

Juliana and GL with their love for their same eye candy but apparently they couldnt get hold of his number , MSN, hair colour, blood type, eye type, nothing!! not even his matric no.. he has even graduated already.. DAMN!! Haha.. well I guess Juliana has an excuse to get his contact as her job as a research analyst entitles her to do so.. Go for it!!

SH ,aLOY, Ken spent a good 15 mins tryin to coax Bird into having the fried food but still failed and tryin to dig out any "siao mei mei" news from him but bird was resolute saying all of them were his sisters rite now.. Haha.. Lets see how it changes this sem... Bird and his tweety ...

ok.. enough of mocking and joking around, I might have angered a few good and sincere pple already with my words.. but i guess its all done with good intentions..

We shall have our next reunion of a lifetime at a different place, different venue with an even larger group. We were clearly missing our Scholars from Australia and USA , as well as our three fellow engineers who had other plans already planned already... as well as our working women who had sudden work commitments ... The 0303 movement is definitely up and running as we shall meet up in another place later on in the year. 3 cheers!! Now moving on to my next issue.. The NETWORKING SESSIONS.. now these are really fun sessions seriously.. but I will kickstart my debate in the next entry.. For now.. Good morning!!

Part 2 ( continued ...)

Now.. this is a very interesting concept ... Finding the solution without the solution.. And this fellow reader mentioned that all this emotions that we see spilling out at the workplace is due to none other than the rise and fall in hormones... Now, this is definitely very interesting.

So now what causes this rise and fall of hormones? I am not too sure in regards to which is the cause of what.. Do moods swings results in the rise and fall of hormones or are the rise and fall of hormones result in mood swings.. this is something that I will read up and find out soon enough... But definitely, at times, the sudden hormonal urge indeed drives me at times to do my work but more than the hormonal increase, the need to stick by your principles... the need to be punctual at work, the need to be thorough in your approach to your assignments.. So principles are the rational approach and hormones can more or less weaken or strengthen your drive..

Now, moving to incident No.2: Female Employee No.2 - Fatimah, she is super pissed off with her colleague, Muthu due to all the mistakes he does in collating all the data into the invoices... more than that, for every single mistake Muthu does, Fatimah has to call up the supplier to inform them of the error... Now, initially, Fatimah tells Muthu abt his mistakes from time to time... but Muthu carries on making the mistakes unknowingly... then came the final straw...

Boom!! Fatimah just dropped the entire file on Muthu's Table and said this. "First few times, I can forgive you.. but this is too much...!!!" , Fatimah mentioned this in a super aggressive and extremely pissed off tone towards Muthu.... He was taken aback definitely. What he did next as a show of macho(ego) pride... he grabbed her by the neck and strangled her to the floor... Since his table was right at the corner of the office, away from the view from majority of the employees... there wasnt that much of a need to restrain himself... So now the two of them were going for each other's throat.. Muthu had it with Fatimah and all her constant remarks abt his performances and lack of professionalism... After a good 1 minute of continuous fighting and defending from both parties, they both suddenly just stopped, stood up, wiped off the sweat from their foreheads, straightened their shirts, apologized to each other, shook hands and carried on with work.

From that day on, Muthu improved tremendously in his job performance in terms of the number of errors and mistakes he used to make on a regular basis. Fatimah was definitely much more satisfied with Muthu's work... In the end, they are now on very good terms with each other.

So i guess, the moral of the story is... at times, when ur adrenaline(hormonal urge) gets the better of you, in a show of masculinity or feminine pride, just go for it. Get locked in a heated battle to just destress.. of course, the chances of getting the sack are very high. Haha.. Muthu and Fatimah were in a way very tactful in their mini tussle right at the extreme corner of the office. So, no guts no glory!!

Unlocking the Female Mindset...(Part 1)

After 2 months or so, I have realised that I just had to voice out my opinions and issues abt the Female Employee.... what has sparked me or motivated me so much to write on this particular topic... 2 particular incidents.. I will come to those 2 incidents in just a moment... But seriously, the fairer gender never fail to disappoint me by always leaving a lingering doubt in my mind whenever i come across them ( or rather lock my horns with them.. )..

I used to believe each person has their own unique identity, more than each person, each lady has her own unique story to tell you... Mind you, we have been brought up in the same planet Earth, gone thru the same education system, political system, and economic environment except for those 2 years in the Land of Green ( Army)... what makes them do the things they do and act in the way they do... at times they just stump me.. at times they amaze, at times they just leave me feeling like strangling them and asking them to wake up and smell the coffee(air) rather...

My Indian friend, who hails from India( born and brought up in India) says we Singaporeans are just too sheltered and gentle to the eye... we lack the guts to get into a fight and stone someone to death... to stand up for ourself and be counted... in the chase for grades, we have become weaklings, we have lost the meaning of being human and survival skills... we cant swim, we cant defend ourself, we cant sweat it out, we cant toughen it out in the real world out there... well, i told him... that most of our characteristics of being Sporean are borne out of our education system that is implements a factory - based system from the age of Pri 1 to University. We are slaves of our nation in the sense... we love to chase for grades.. Grades fuel our ambition.. any 2 schools would have the same policy and subjects... for all the changes that we face in the school environment, in the end, it comes to past year papers and answers to get us thru to the next round.. we have lost the art of defending ourselves.. but whats more impt is that we have to realise that our govt and society can only do so much.. we need to take whatever opportunity that we have.. and expose ourselves.. we gotta drown ourselves in the deep dark sea and be stronger as a person, mentally, physically, emotionall and definitely spiritually!!! now let me get back to my main story for today..

Incident 1 : Female Employee ( Amy) is damn pissed off with her low pay and her boss for being very rigid with the wages per hour system. Everyday she comes to work, she finds an opportunity during lunch time to complain, complain and ......... complain...to her colleagues , unfortunately.. me.. and few others Now, basically after working for a month or so... MEETING with boss to discuss our team's performance so far. Boss says keep up the good work and tells us to learn a few more skills to help the other staff during crisis... Now, this is where AMY loses her cool... goes up to the boss and just unleashes.. with tears and everything... for a good half an hour.. Boss says she cant do much coz its the company that has implemented the wage policy, so the boss's hands are tied...

Here comes the best part... Boss is a lady as well.. Boss passes her a box of tissues as Amy unloads all her emotions and stories and grouses and complaints and what have you.. everything... boss says she cant do much abt it...

Next morning, Amy is Happy. Nothing has changed ( no pay increase, no reduction in job scope, everything was back to status quo but she is smiling away...) Now this is where I realised something... She needed another lady to tell her in her face to wake up and smell the air... what are u going to benefit from complaining and ranting abt the job and the low pay.. Look at me, from day one I knew the pay was such and the job was such.. so I focussed on the other aspects of my job, my colleagues and the job content(which involved alot of phone conversations)..

So suddenly, she feels damn happy and over the moon, like she won a battle of tears with her boss.. A bit of maturity of thought in your thinking and definitely being realistic would have definitely helped to change your outlook towards the job... I just dont get it la..

Incident no 2 : Ok thats too much.. i will carry on another day... Cheers..

Check out this website below as well for our dear ladies at our workplace.

http://www.askmen.com/money/career/16_career.html

The Steven Gerrard Moment

After playing football for my whole life now, Sat afternoon at exactly 3.05pm. I had my Steven Gerrard Moment. Its definitely a moment I will not forget easily. Let me recap the moment once again.

The ball was bouncing aimlessly inside my own penalty box. One bounce brought it up to just slightly above my chest level. Now to just give you a short introduction of what was going thru my mind prior to that moment, I was super super drained out, been playing soccer for almost the whole morning and upto now at Opera Estate with my jc mates and now at Tiong Bahru with Jigar's friends. So therefore I guess it would have been easy to just smash the ball away. This is where the Spirit of Steven Gerrard set in...

I assessed the situation infront of me... it was an empty court in front me on to the opponents goal except for one defender but he was on the left hand side.

This is what happened : With one deep breath, I leapt forward and pushed the ball almost 5 metres ahead of me into the empty court, everyone was now stunned by my sudden movement... I chased after the ball and just abt kept the ball in on the right touchline... One touch to keep the ball in, one hand shielding away the defender that chased over from the left hand side and with one more touch of the right foot, I was primed and ready ..With the swing of right leg... I unleashed one hell of a screamer,scorcher, shocker, belter.. with my right foot... the ball was zooming in on goal.. The Keeper was stationed at the near post... The ball was heading in dead centre. Now due to the sheer speeed and venom in the shot, the keeper had no time to readjust his positioning and hands... the ball struck the keeper's gloves.. and flew into the top corner.. The keeper got sucked into the goal due to the sheer velocity and power in the shot. What a moment!! I turned round to my team mates. Jigar came up to me and gave me a high five.. so did the other team mates.. jigar mentioned to me the one deep breath "steven gerrard" moment that i used to always mention abt the no.8 from Liverpool FC.

Amongst all the various goals I have scored in my lifetime, aside from the winning goal in the final of the Temasek Carnival which clinched the cup for my class and another at my neighbourhood park, this goal ranks up there as one of the finest I have ever scored..

I have achieved my Steven Gerrard moment... and it will take another monumental effort to achieve another similar moment probably.. but these are moment that all football lovers strive for... excellence in technique, shooting, passing, movement, stamina, fitness and ultimately, the glory of scoring a goal... Just superb and mind-blowing.

Disclaimer : I am a fan of the Red Devils. But my love for football supersedes my support for the Red Devils...Attacking Players like Wayne Rooney, Anderson, Steven Gerrard dont come by often. They represent what football is all about. Passion, power and FIRE!!!

Steven Gerrard will never come to Man Utd, thats for sure... so the next best thing to do is to see wayne rooney and steven gerrard play football at their level for England.

Singapore : Probably Daniel Bennet or John Wilkinson or the other croat (cant remember his name right now).. Players like Khairul Amri or Shahril Ishak prob have the pace but dont have the shot power to unleash like the likes of Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney do it...