Memories...
Friday, February 29, 2008
ON TH DANCE
Going for the TH dance production brought back a lot of memories.
And Irys asked me a question yest night on which i have no answer for.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
ON THE MOST WANTED MAN IN SINGAPORE
Dear friends, if u have not known by now, this man Mas Selamat Kastari, said to be the leader of terrorist group JI in Singapore, has just escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre at 4:05 pm today.
So please be careful if u are outside & if u see this man. He is known for being the mastermind behind the numerous planned terrorist bombings on various locations in Singapore, including hijacking a plane to ram it into Changi Airport.
I think e entire police force & military special ops ll be combing Singapore & on the hunt for this man. And if he really escapes, it ll be a big blow to Singapore & the region's counter-terrorism efforts. (How on earth did he manage to escape in the 1st place??? And in broad daylight??)
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On a separate note, I had a great time at Brewerkz yest afternoon with the Honours lads. Beer during happy hour is damn cheap la! It was like only $12 for 1 jug of wonderful beer.
And catching up with Lynette at night was great too. Havent seen her for such a long time man. And i realize its been 2 years since she graduated. Manz, time flies.
Today's project meeting with Daniel, Sean, Kelvin & Terence turned out to be damn interesting and another bitching session over lunch wahahah! I dunno how we ended up from talking about babes & careers to close encounters with the supernatural.
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Feeling a tad moody now. Maybe its coz I just woke up & still feeling groggy.
Maybe its coz I realize tons of deadlines are breathing down my neck.
Maybe its coz with each passing day, u realize that the end is near.
Maybe its coz u start to wonder where u ll be in 2 years time. (Esp after talking to Lynette, made me think a lot more about the future)
Maybe its coz u wonder, isnt a sad thing that 2 people cant be together becoz of religion even though they may love each other? (Esp after a conversation with Gabriel in the library today)
Too many thoughts. Too many questions. Too many uncertainties tonight.
Shall go for my customary jog to clear my mind.
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1 day i ll be on my Harley, with my wife behind me. And we ll ride into the sunset. Haha.
Then when I reach home, my dream dog Golden Retriever ll be at the door to welcome me, tail wagging excitedly. I ll wrestle him to the ground, play with him, n cuddle up with him to sleep at night. My little kitten ll cozy up together with us as well. Hee~
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
ON GOOD & BAD NEWS
Just came back from the marathon dota session. Had a great time. Thanks guys for coming, u noe who u are. =) Brought back a lot of pleasant memories of the past.
Feeling a tad melancholic now. Maybe its coz of the pattering rain..the quiet night/ morning..or the cold & gloomy weather..or the fact that i noe there wont be any such dota session for a long long time. Which explains why I was so enthu in organizing it haha.
Somehow rainy nights alone make us ponder over lotsa things...
Jennifer from CAAS finally contacted me again. =) The bad news was that I didnt manage to get the Honours Year Scholarship. In fact, none of the 7 of us interns got it this time round. Maybe the 18 days we had were just too short to prove ourselves fully, maybe we just werent good enough, or maybe they dun need more scholars now. I guess we ll never noe. And i m obviously disappointed. But hey, i knew I did & gave my best given the limited time we had. So no regrets. =)
Guess thats a double disappointment in a row. 1st not getting into Deans' List despite working so hard for a 4.7 last sem. And now not getting the scholarship. Lionel was also damn xian haha.
But the good news is that we were offered a permanent job. Prob going into either Airport Management Division or Commercial Division under the Civil Aviation Officer scheme, and ll start off as Assistant Manager. Starting pay's quite good. But most importantly, working at the airport is something i love.
In fact, Remy asked me todae why I liked to go into this industry. There's actually a lot of reasons, but I think the most important is that u must love what u are going to do for a career. I have actually received quite a few job offers previously in other industries (from friends, seniors, contacts) but I didnt feel any passion for them & declined.
And one soon learns in life that there is no such thing as a perfect job. Everyone has their own version and definition of their 'dream' job. So as long as u love yr own job and have passion for it, u dun really have to care much bout what others say. I mean at the end of e day, u are living your own life and choosing how you want to live it, not living out the life of others.
I also had a long chat with my sister, who's currently a middle manager at American Express. I often seek career advice from her haha. She was telling me that it prob took her 5 years last time to reach my possible starting pay, & reminded me that its good to join an established & renowned organization from the start. Becoz u get to learn so much more & gain more exposure.
She also reminded me, (as what many others have said before) that one's 1st job does not necessarily have to be his/her last job. And that I should consider myself lucky to have a stable job awaiting me while most of my peers are still job-hunting.
Point taken. Thanks....
Sunday, February 24, 2008
ON SILENT MOB
Yest was like the 1st silent mobilization exercise for my reservist unit. So basically what happens is that once u are notified via sms or call, u have to report back to camp within a few hours with all yr barang barang.
Hehe, it helps a lot when one stays sooo near to the camp.
Anyway, its always good to catch up with yr army mates on occasions like these. After our mob, around 15 of us had coffee nearby & spent practically the whole late afternoon trash talking. But i guess this time, we didnt really miss each other as much coz we just had ICT last July...and we have been occasionally meeting up (for ktv, beers, dinners etc).
Next ICT in 1st week of June. It ll be interesting to note that by then, the rest of us in Uni ll have graduated le. And so e whole platoon ll all be working liao haha. How time flies.
And oredi a few of them are married and even have kids lo. Wonder whether all of us ll have gotten married by the end of our ICT cycle somewhere in 2016 haha. Most of us ll be 33-35 by then.
U guys rock man. =)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
ON THE FUSION OF KNOWLEDGE
Many (Note: many, not all) Arts students, esp in their 1st 3 years of studies, often assume that they know best about their own area of expertise.
In other words, if u are an Econs major u often assume, either outrightly or subconsciously, that u noe best about Econs. And say if u are a Pysch major, u think u noe best about what goes on in the human mind. Etc etc.
Nothing wrong with that. But something is odd when one discounts the utility of cross-major fusion of knowledge. In other words, do not be too quick to dismiss your Philosophy friend who tells u something about CNM when u are a CNM major. He could very well provide a perspective which u are never aware of in your limited scope of study.
In fact, some of the most enjoyable Honours theses which I have read, are those that blend various academic disciplines into a unique fusion of knowledge.
As for Political Science, modules such as International Political Economy, Geopolitics, Sociology of Power, Politics of Popular Culture, International Politics of Communication and others provide a wide range of perspectives into other majors. And I realize that level4000 modules do delve quite a lot into other majors as well, which makes things much more refreshing haha.
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I went to the Singapore Airshow yesterday, and had a great time! =) Took a lot of pictures, and it was wonderful to see the Airbus A380 up close and personal. Got the chance to see a lot of the industry's leading companies and planes as well. If only they have like a tour guide ushering me around, then I m sure i ll have learnt so much more.
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Honours friends gathering at Damien's place last night. Manz, he lives in this wonderful place in a far corner of Pasir Ris that really looks like a villa haha. It was so peaceful and serene there, and the poolside area is damn shiok for chilling out under the moonlight. I cant wait to visit his hometown in Mauritius 1 day haha.
Had a great time. =) More trash talking, good food, and Texas Poker haha! It was great to noe Grace, Nidia & Farah much better as well.
Looking foward to the next chilling out session next Tues.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
ON TRIXIE!!
Isnt she' gorgeous? I love her haha! And I love the picture where we both blinked when the camera shot us haha
ON A DIALOGUE SESSION WITH CEO OF STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
Wow, I just checked my mail and received this invitation to a Roundtable dialogue session on Mar 5 with Mr Lim Cheng Teck, CEO of Standard Chartered. What a great honour! Thanks once again to PS Dept & Deans' Office!
Didnt noe he was an FASS alumnus haha, and he studied Econs & Sociology. Hmmm..sounds like Bobsie. Maybe I ll see Bobsie like this in 20 years time? haha.
Anyway, how could i turn down this invitation man. Its not everyday that u get to have a personal conversation with CEOs of huge organizations. Which also explains why I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with Mr Lim Kim Choon, CEO of CAAS, previously. Do u noe that u can learn soooo much from these leaders when u converse with them. So soooooo much which is out of your damn textbooks & lecture notes.
When I was Arts Club President, I met quite a number of CEOs & founders from other organizations as well. Some of them run smaller or private businesses, but one can also learn a lot from them, esp in terms of leadership and management styles, & how they start up their respective companies.
Anyway, the roundtable discussion with Mr Lim ll be focusing on leadership styles, specifically on what makes a good leader in today's globalized economy & corporate world. I think it ll be super interesting man. And I cant wait haha.
ON A GREAT RESULT IN LYON!!!
Tevez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We deserve it man!!!! Lyon was outplayed at home!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
ON NO SLEEP FOR ANOTHER NIGHT
Me and my big mouth about last minute-ism and how it produces the best in me. Well, i still think its true (wahahhaha!) only that I forgot to mention that the process is painfully slow..and err, torturing & excruciating. heh.
Look Hock, on the bright side, there's Liverpool-Inter to keep you company later. True. Well, most people noe that I dislike Liverpool very much (no offence to all Liverpool fans, anyway i m sure u guys absolutely detest Man United in return) but I actually think they ll beat Inter haha. When u expect Liverpool to win, they dun. But when u expect them to lose, they win.
Prediction: Liverpool 2 Inter 1. Torres will score.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
ON THE MAGIC WORDS TO SAY TO ME
You know, its actually very easy to manipulate me and my thinking.
Just say these magic words to me, which my ISM supervisor Prof Bilveer Singh did on Mon morning:
"I am trying my best to push you over the cliff. I am setting a challenge to you, to stretch yourself to the limits."
I couldnt stop grinning to him when he said that you know. Its like some sort of a trigger reaction in my nerve system.
Ahhh....the good o magic words: Challenge to me. Considering that I always consider myself an adventurer in life, how can I resist this magic phrase? Maybe thats why I m always so restless in life, always on the lookout for new things to explore, new lessons to learn, new experiences to taste, new horizons to expand, and new human relationships to be forged. Self-actualization, ahh..I think thats what psychologists term it?
Anyway, I m so happy la. I spent the whole weekend grinding my brain for my ISM, and didnt sleep on Sundae night..writing the 1st 1200 words and then rushed straight to school to present to Prof Singh. And as any academic ll probably testify, the hardest part of writing a research paper is the beginning, where u have to formulate your thoughts down and start with a bang..and then lay out the roadmap for the rest of your paper.
At least for now, its a relatively good start for my ISM I guess, being able to meet my 1st deadline. Now for the 2nd part.
Dun think I ll sleep again tonight la. Got another presentation tom, and I havent start anything on it at all. Wahahaha. Call it laziness or procrastination, but I think my mind works best at the 11th hour, when deadlines are dangerously close and u can literally smell them. Worked for me for the past 18 years of education: pri, sec, jc, uni.
Might not be a good habit to bring into the working world though.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
ON BEING IN LOVE AGAIN
You noe, I realize that I miss u a lot.
Your deep beautiful watery eyes...
Your serene & blissful smile...
Your cheekiness...
Your radiance...
The way u walk...
And you snuggling up to me...
The world seems to stop when I see you...
And all troubles cast away when I hold your hand...
I...I..I guess I m in love again haha. =)
I miss u Trixie! hahahah *BIG HUGZZZ*
I wish you could be with me forever.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
ON PROCRASTINATION
"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
- Theodore Roosevelt
ON THE WEEK OF THE VALENTINE
Ok, this is a little late, but happy belated Valentine's/ Friendship Day to everyone. =) For those of you who are attached, hope ya guys had a wonderful & romantic date over the past few days haha.
For those who are single like me, chill yeah! Cupid ll find u 1 day. No need to get all so uptight or gan chiong that u dun have a date on V-day haha.
Anyway, as I correctly predicted, week 5 have seen the tempo increased vehemently. Glad I cleared 1 presentation liao, and another 1 coming up next week which I havent even started phew. And I got my 1st ISM deadline coming up on Mondae morning which is really niggling me. But then, I thought to myself again, that if my supervisor & I dun set all these sectional deadlines, I ll prob just continue to ba long long which ll be disastrous when 31 March approaches.
Well, as a first yesterday, I act went inside the National Library for the 1st time in dunno how many years hahah! Went to zap some books for my ISM, and I must say that they have really new and updated literature there, compared to our NUS Library. The super down side is that zapping 1 page costs 8 cents! Compared to our library's 3 cents. Phew~.
Dialogue on the Singapore 2030 was fantastic. I was especially impressed by Dr Catherine Lim, as were my Honours friends. She was extremely charismatic, entertaining, and truly wowed the audience with her imagination & eloquence. She didnt prepare any scripts in front of her, but yet she could go on and on and on and capture the attention of everyone. While talking a lot a lot of sense. What a brillant mind! It was really an honour to see & listen to her in person.
The other panellist which impressed me substantially was our NMP Mr Siew Kum Hong. I truly think that this is a man with a lot of character, who believes in his ideals and dare to speak up for what he believes in. A great Singaporean.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
ON A LONG LONG DAY... *_*
This was me trying to be like Yan Fei from Shuang Tian Zhi Zun at Daniel's place wahahah! Basket we pattern pattern liao2 liao3 then in e end never play Big Small at all ahhahaha.
I m feeling sibei shagged now. Shall go to sleep early and wake up early tom.
Some quick thoughts:
Yay! I got the invitation card for the 5th Singapore Forum on Politics organized by PS Dept le! The forum ll be held this Fri 630 at LT11. Guest speakers & panellists include renowned personalities such as Dr Cherian George, NMP Mr Siew Kum Hong, Mr Afian Saat & Dr Catherine Lim. Feeling quite excited about it hee.
CAAS came down for a recruitment talk in the evening, and I was so happy to see Jennifer! Haha. =p Asked her again with regards to the scholarship & she mention that they are still assessing and ask me to wait a little while more for her magic phone call. *Fingers crossed* Hope I really get it man! I waited for 1 whole month liao haha.
Anyway, quite a lot of students came down for the recruitment talk. Filled more than 3/4 of Engin Auditorium. And when they showed the corporate video of CAAS, it was quite a heartwarming feeling for me..esp seeing my beloved Budget Terminal!! I spent sooo much time there during my internship that I realized that subconsciously wo3 dui4 BT you3 le xu1 duo1 gan3 qing2.
Ya man. Watching the whole video made me realize how much I miss working at the Airport!!
And Debbie the HR Manager who was presenting today was so right. Its always tougher when u are the 1 of the top airports in the world and u have to think how to stay ahead of the competition and everything else. When u re in 2nd, 3rd or 4th place, u can always look ahead at how your leaders are doing & then copy what they do, plus yr own modifications. But staying at the top means u really have to be a visionary & craft out something more exquisite & unique to build on your current success. N u often have little information to build on.
If u dun innovate or sharpen the saw, u end up like Friendster. Completely overshadowed by Facebook. And once u lose that edge or comparative advantage, it is not easy to gain it back.
Monday, February 11, 2008
ON DOGS & TEXAS POKERWahahahahah, what a fitting picture!!
Visited Justina's pet shop (its the one at Fong Seng hehe) during the afternoon for our Animal Behaviour presentation group trial run. Had a fantastic time playing with like over 15 breeds of pet dogs!! =) => =p
Went to Daniel's house after that, and its another successful Honours class gathering organized by him haha. Thanks dude, for everything. One thing we PS folks love is Texas Poker wahahaha! Damn fun playing with them.
And of coz, more mahjong.
Only xian thing for the day/ night was Man U losing to Man City. Sigh. Nuff said.
A super xiong week coming up. 1 presentation, and the 1st of my ISM deadlines by Fri. I oredi can forsee Wed & Thurs no need to sleep liao.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
ON SINGAPORE AIRSHOW 2008- ASIA'S LARGEST AEROSPACE EVENT
Anybody keen to go to the Singapore Airshow on 24th Feb? Its the 1st Sunday of mid-term break. If interested do msg me asap yeah. I ll be purchasing the tickets soon.
Each tic is $20 btw. Inclusive of 1 ride on any plane u pick. Haha, no la, of coz not.
The event ll be held at Changi Exhibition Centre.
On a separate note, CAAS ll be coming down for a career recruitment talk next Mon 630pm (Feb 11) at the Engin Auditorium. Do register and come down for the talk if ya interested yeah, esp those who may consider doing its internship programme (from May-Aug) as well. =) The aviation industry is really quite dynamic, no harm getting to noe more about it.
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Thank you Shuning xiao indu and Camy for being such wonderful hosts todae! Really enjoyed myself! =) Days like these are what makes life worth living for hee.
Tom is time to pai nian with Honours classmates haha. Yayz.
Friday, February 08, 2008
ON AN INSIGHTFUL QUOTE
"We are the ones we' ve been waiting for."
- Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, Illinois, Super Tuesday 2008.
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Such a simple phrase, but so powerful & inspiring when he said it in front of his hometown supporters.
I have always been fond of collecting quotes, and I think that truly beautiful and insightful quotes are those that leave you with an aftertaste in your mind, that leave you thinking and reflecting, that touches a corner of your heart..and invites you to ponder over your immediate & conventional horizons.
If Obama becomes President, this phrase ll surely go down into the historical records, just like many of Martin Luther King's or John F Kennedy's quotes. In fact, this quote by Obama is almost akin to JFK's famous words:
"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country...and you can change the world."
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We are the ones we've been waiting for.
Its fascinating isnt it? All thru our lives, be it in love, career, politics, marriage etc..many people often wait for that "special someone".. "The One" that can come along and "save" us, make this world a better place, or make our own world a happier place.
But we often fail to see that many a times, we ourselves are the ones that can make the changes we desire deep in our hearts. As long as we work hard, and most importantly, believe in ourselves, we can overcome the hurdles in our life and reach for our dreams.
Dreams thrive on idealism, idealism thrives on hope, and hope thrives on belief.
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On a separate note, I wanna take the chance to wish all my friends a very happy Chinese New Year! =) I have sent everyone of u my new hp no as well.. Hope that all of u have a great and fun-packed weekend ya!
Monday, February 04, 2008
ON THE GOOD' O DOTA DAYS =)
My my, I just have to blog about this, dun I. Wahaha.
There used to be a time 2, 3 years ago when Arts Club had a huge Dota Gang. Beng Chong, Kevin Wee, Timmy, Steven, Ivy, IK, Jason, Giang, Luke, Leon, Joshua, Yaozhong, Khid, Guan Guan, and me.
Sometimes we couldnt even play 5 v 5 coz there were more than 10 persons heh heh.
I rem how excitedly we ll chiong down to Ginza Plaza at West Coast for LAN gaming in between or after lessons. And how subsequently we all switched to being members at HQ at Selegie Rd, which was the most wu3 hua2. The times when we played from evening all the way till 3, 4 am. haha. And how sometimes the tempers flare up esp when we were playing against strangers/ challengers. How Timmy, Leonie, Joshua & Kevin Wee must always have a smoke break after each game haha. And how we ll go for supper after intensive sessions and discuss all the interesting happenings...
And of coz, how Bobsie always frowned at us whenever we go, and termed it as Defence of the Asses whahaha!
Well.. the Dota Gang eventually split and most of us moved on...but still, those were really sweet university memories in a way. =)
Maybe..just maybe a new gang may be forming up by the 28th..ahhaha
Sunday, February 03, 2008
ON EMCEEING
I had a lot of fun emceeing for Frenzy Night yesterdae at the Suntec City Guild House. Even though it was a relatively small event, but I still learnt quite a lot hee. I ve always enjoyed trying out new roles & activities, and emceeing is something which really interests me.
Esp as it involves lots of trash talking, cold jokes, mike work, & connecting with the crowd. And I love doing all the above hehe. At the same time, 1 needs to be quick-thinking in knowing what to say and what not to say.
Finally, I think emceeing is a skill & an art in itself, which can come in very useful during one's career, and for hosting of social events, corporate functions, D & Ds, etc. Looking foward to building my portfolio in this aspect. I still have tons to learn though. =)
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Bike Quest was fun for me. Haha, I didnt do much basically, just shuffling around the various stations to chit-chat with the station ICs hard at work. Glad that everything turned out well.
Manz, but its back to reality now. I have so much work and readings to cover that I m quite lost as to where to start. Guess I ll dig in 1 thing at a time aye. It is also the end of week 3 which means its time to be really really serious for me. Phew~
Saturday, February 02, 2008
ON ASEAN' S COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY
Hmm, looks like even 4.7 is not enough to make the Deans List for Honours year. I checked with my friends Kelvin (our top PS student) & Jingwen (top History student) and they didnt get in as well. I think even with Bobsie's 4.8 also cant.
Well, can't say I m not disappointed, but life goes on aye. =) Most important thing is that I gave my best last sem, and let me give my best again this sem.
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Met Prof Singh yest, who finally approved my ISM topic and gave some invaluable advice. I ll be doing an analysis & evaluation of ASEAN's counter-terrorism policy, something which I have an immense interest in since year 2. And I ll really enjoy the opportunity to do some independent research, thinking, & analysis.
As what Prof Singh mentioned, the value of doing an ISM or an Honours Thesis is often a times, not just in the end product itself, but in the process. This statement triggered a few thoughts in my mind, esp when I think about the many challenges or activities that we engage with in life.
These challenges or activities sometimes make us grumble along the way, other times we feel tired about them. But with each new challenge or activity, we are made to open our minds, expand our horizons, exercise our creativity, move out of our comfort zones, and dare ourselves to do something different. Even if that something is just a little bit different, but in the process of doing it, we have the chance to learn and to grow...Then that something has still been worth its while.
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I ll be helping my Bukit Panjang YEC do some emceeing at our event at the Suntec Guild House tonight. Which explains why I cant take part in this year's Bike Quest...unfortunately. =( But I sure will be glad to turn up a bit later n help out in whatever way I can.
Its been great to hear here & that that the participation for this year's Bike Quest has been wonderful. Great credit to Serene and her team, as well as the current MC. =)
4 years ago, when I sat down to decide that Arts Club Sports Cell was doing way too little, and that Bike Quest was just a word on my budget proposal, little did I know that 4 years later, I ll still be looking at it come alive. The 1st one led by Beng Chong, where we collaborated with SPCA, didnt do too bad. We got around 35-40 teams I think, and had some great fun that night.
All the best to everyone involved.
Friday, February 01, 2008
ON A HILARIOUS SHISHA GATHERING
I just came home from 1 of the Arab Street cafes. Very wonderful and successful Hons gathering tonight heh heh. There's like Daniel, Daphne, Jia Jia, Swi Swi, Alene, Adeline, Shaun, Jianwu, Jie Sheng & Jonathan, 12 of us in all.
We spent hours bitching, talking cock, smoking shisha and playing silly games wahahha! Food wasnt great and took really long, but hell, that was nothing compared to the fun we had man. Esp all the dumb forfeits heh heh.
Must thank Daniel for organizing, and yes, we must all do this again another day man. We felt damn full not from the food, but from laughing till the cows came home.
Haha, mad and funny friends make a great combo.
