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!!