A happy recollection....

Around 2 weeks ago, an Alvin Tan called me on my phone, asking me if I remembered him, he was from 4S1 with Eugene Chen. I was thinking hard for quite a while; I should have looked up on the year book - what a waste of brain cells thinking. Anyway, I didn't see my year-book then so I was like, heck, I'll recall when I'll recall.

There is a few more conversations made through the SMS made me more uncertain of me knowing him. I thought I knew him from army days back in 2002 - 2003; as there's another Alvin from Catholic High; it turned out negative.

Only today, when I was chatting with Eugene over MSN did I had another image popping up and they are from my Primary 4 days - talk about the amazing sub-conscious - a few more checks with Eugene confirmed my suspicion, he is Alvin Tan whom sits beside me during Primary 4 year; I guess age does make it a bit more difficult for memory work, especially when it's like 16 years ago. LOL

Gave him a called back immediately to tell him that I recalled and sent him my seasons greetings. A short call though since he's busy for the moment, I guess it'll take a while before I could find out how he's doing over the years. Heard from Eugene that he's a doctor now and got married - sounds so much like a perfect life that Singaporeans parents wished for their children. But I believe that in between those years that we last met, there must be loads of interesting experience. =)

Sudden realisation...

When I was at Grace place today, someone asked me this question, what's the BEADS project about. I thought for a while then realised how little that I know of the project. So now back home I started searching the LC-NTU's blog and I came across this -

What is BEADS all about?
Being Engaged And Dynamic in Society

What are our aims?
Over the academic year 07-08 we aim to provide:

- Capacity building for Non-Profit Organisations
- Awareness building and fund raising around the issue of HIV/AIDS
- More volunteerism opportunities for young people

If you are interested in knowing more about social entrepreneurship, volunteering to work for HIV/AIDS patients in Singapore, embarking on overseas community building programs and work with other NGOs, then come and join us!

I then realised how little I know about the projects that are being organised. Even those conferences that I had joined - such as Ripples and START! conference that I joined earlier as a participant, faci faded away deep within my mind.

The fact of this realisation meant that I need to be more aware of what I'm doing, to have a clear focus / vision before, during and after each event so as to effectively share my knowledge that I gained from the conference instead of appearing like a dummy to those who seek that knowledge.

This will definitely be a work in progress and it does not only apply to AIESEC events but to all my daily activities - to know my goal, how my actions will contribute to it as well as a clear vision of what is to come.

Asking the Right Questions

A great article that I found while reading, I thought that it is something that we could apply in our daily life. Good examples that I found that I could use is "How can I improve myself to be a better person?", "How can I make make my friends feel more appreciated?", "How can I make my time more productive?" I hope that you too would learn how to ask the questions that has the most productive results. =)

Extracted from Steve Pavlina

Asking the Right Questions

Tony Robbins says that thinking is a process of asking and answering questions. He stresses the importance of asking the right questions to get the right answers and therefore the right results. I agree with him. Most people ask lousy questions that cripple their results. Lousy questions turn your focus away from what you want and towards more of what you don’t want. And since we ask and answer mental questions every day, our questions wield great power over our results.

Here are some examples of weak questions vs. strong questions:

Upon waking up early

Weak: Can I fall back asleep again? Should I go back to bed?

Strong: What would be the best way to start my day? How can I energize myself? Where can I find something inspirational or motivational to read right now?

When contemplating exercise (and feeling unmotivated)

Weak: Is it too hot/cold to exercise? Can I skip it for today? What difference will it make if I just skip a day? Don’t I deserve a day off?

Strong: Won’t it feel great hitting the showers afterwards? What should I listen to while I workout? Won’t it be wonderful to achieve my fitness goals? How can I make this session more fun?

When considering a dietary improvement

Weak: What foods am I going to have to give up? How am I going to deal with the deprivation? Am I going to have to eat like this forever?

Strong: What foods that I like will I get to eat more of? What new foods can I experiment with? Won’t it be great when I reach my goal weight? Won’t it be wonderful to finally master this area of my life once and for all? Once I succeed at this, who else can I help?

Nearing the end of the workday

Weak: Have I done enough that I can justify quitting for the day? Is this a good time to stop? Can I finish this tomorrow?

Strong: What’s next? How can I complete one more task? How much more can I get done today?

When spending time with the kids

Weak: Why do I have to do so much childcare? How can I keep the kids from draining my energy this evening? What’s the bare minimum I can do to keep them out of my hair? How early can I put them to bed?

Strong: What can I do with the kids that will leave me feeling energized? What do I appreciate most about my kids? What would I enjoy doing with them this evening? What would happen if I let my kids direct how we spend our time together?

When facing an unfamiliar social situation

Weak: How can I avoid looking like an idiot? What should I talk about? How can I keep from being too nervous or shy? How did I get myself into this situation? Can I get out of going?

Strong: Won’t it be fun to meet some interesting new people? If I see someone there who’s a bit shy, what can I do to make him/her feel more comfortable? What can I expect others at this event to have in common with me?

When feeling depressed, anxious, or otherwise negative

Weak: Why do I feel so down? Why can’t I be happy? How come I never get any time to myself?

Strong: What can I do to energize myself? Who can I talk to that would help cheer me up? What can I read or listen to that would inspire me? Are these feelings trying to tell me something — should I go journal about them? How long can I hold a fake smile before it forces me to start feeling good again?

What’s the difference?

Weak questions are disempowering. They keep your focused on your own ego, your problems, and your shortcomings. Weak questions keep you focused on what’s wrong… on what isn’t working. That might seem like a good idea, but all it does is further reinforce the situation you’d like to change. Weak questions will lead your brain to come up with answers that are useless, circular, or even destructive.

Yet weak questions are addictive. At first glance they may even seem helpful, and that’s why they’re so insidious. You might think that if you’re depressed, the best thing you can do is to ask, “Why am I so depressed?” Perhaps if you could diagnose the problem, you could cure it. But it doesn’t work that way. When you’re in a negative state or situation, you aren’t thinking clearly to begin with. You’re in no position to accurately diagnose yourself. Effectively you’re blind. So the answers you get back will be worthless. At best you’ll merely come up with a temporary solution, but the underlying condition will remain, and the problem will simply submerge and crop up again later, sometimes in a different form. Asking why you’re depressed merely feeds your depression. In answering the why question, now you’ve added a story on top of your depression. That goes way beyond acknowledging your depression and trying to do something about it.

Strong questions are empowering. They keep you focused on solutions, on what you can control. When you focus on what you can do, you avoid falling into analysis paralysis. Ultimately the way out of any negative situation is right thinking. Wrong thinking leads you in circles. Right thinking leads to action.

Going back to the depression example, the first thing you need to do is to get yourself to a more positive emotional state. And with practice that can be done in a matter of minutes — even seconds if you’ve studied NLP. Strong questions will help you shift your focus away from depression and the thoughts that reinforce it and towards action. When you focus too much thought on what you can’t control and don’t like, depression is a natural consequence. When you ask different questions to focus on what you can control and what you like, depression will lift.

Mediocre results largely come about from asking mediocre questions. Great results come from asking great questions. If you don’t like the results you’re getting, try asking completely different questions from the ones you’re used to asking. Ask questions that turn your focus towards your goals instead of away from them. Ask questions that allow you to enhance the pleasure in your life instead of creating greater pain.

Short post on NLDS 2007

Well, once again NLDS came and left in a flash.

While I was half-hearted learning parts of a vehicle up north in Sembawang, the delegates of NLDS 2007 in Singapore are having a hell of a good time learning from experienced AIESECers like Sharon, Dei, Mayas, etc. It's somehow was depressing for me because I really wanted to join in the NLDS in a more delegate sort of position.

Right after Fri's evening class, I went back home, packed a bit and took a cab down to Sheares Hall to join their Global Village. It took the delegates more than a while to reach the venue, since they are engrossed in a sharing session that was prior hand. By the time they reached, the hall is turning warm since the booking was made till 1030. Never the less, we remained there through for the country presentations, it'd have been more interesting if we have more delegates from the same countries. The flow was not as smooth as last year, it lacked a bit of order. Still I think most of the delegates enjoyed themselves, and I think that's what matter the most.

Booths setup by the OC

Costumes and events going on

That evening, I had quite an unusual surprised, Zhang Xuan had only spare room available on a female floor; it didn't really matter much in the room, but I'm feeling kindda weird when I stepped out heading towards the ground floor where the guys toilet is, thank god that along the way down, no one is around to noticed my presence, which I think might take some explaining. LOL.

The next day was DLD, gosh, trying to help the OCs in the ways possible to settle all logistics stuff; a bit lacking this year was the fact that no one was trained to use the AV in SMU, and yeah, that definitely needed some training as the system is quite complex. Luckily I managed figured out with a bit of tinkling with the system. Noon was rush time as I and Hongyu settled the T-Shirts collections. Meanwhile, Soo Yan worked on her tasks of getting porcelain wares for the Gala that evening, thanks to her persistence, we managed to get the issue ironed out. One thing for me to remind future OCs, get the expectations of big events such as Gala dinner settled out - what may be practical for the budget might not help much in the image. We should however, work within the budget - thankfully, we had Jeremy to settle this out.

The OC and their "under table" business

Delegates enjoying sumptuous dinner

After the dinner, everyone is in a photo frenzy, taking photos with each other in their finest wear. It took quite a while before the OCs managed to shoo everyone to the waiting area for the bus to pick them up. We then proceeded to do a bit of cleaning up to do since the dining wares and the caterer are different vendors - meaning we are on our own for keeping the wares while the caterer keeps theirs. Every OC member did their bit - clearing up the plates, bowls and cups, piling them together then temporarily storing them in the AP office (hopefully it didn't smell bad) till the next working day where the vendor will pick them up.

After all the pack up, we took a few more group pictures before proceeding for supper at a prata shop where we chit-chatted a bit about prior to returning to NUS and discussed about preparations for the next day.

Group photo prior supper

Impromptu shot during supper

Less than 4 hours later, we are back on our feet, carrying stuffs and the lot to the NUS Business School where the remaining sessions are held. What's memorable for me on the final day is the simulation that's going on for the delegates. It's actually quite similar to what we had in the START! Conference in Taiwan, where delegates will use the skills that they picked up from previous sessions to seek out for potential TNs. The whole process was quite fun, and I thought that the delegates also gained a lot through the simulation.

Towards the start of the final session, I left for home in preparation for class the next day... missed out the best parts of the conference, still, life must go on. Hopefully, next year I would be able to just sit in throughout the whole conference and enjoy the process of being in it instead of out of it. -nic

Looking at others....

Well, it's been a day since the last post, felt like writing what had been or will be happening to my friends instead.

AIESEC in NTU
I just saw some of the great wonderful experience that my friends in NTU are enjoying, first, the post exams celebrations that was on 30th Nov. They seemed to have a lot of fun as well as delicious food. Kindda pity that I was busy getting sick instead of having fun :/

The next day, AIESEC in NTU had more fun, learning from experienced @ers like Celine and Sharon ranging from the topics of event management to conference agenda planning. Gosh. I think I should get a copy of the presentation slides.

AECians
As usual, the AECians will be having our own small Christmas party coming 22nd Dec. With a potluck party and many people bringing so many good food to enjoy and make merry; it just seems an awful day knowing that I'll be staying in my camp in Stagmont guarding the perimeters for the whole day.

Close Friends
Was surfing my close friends blog and discovered that my friend KM just changed job, working in a foreign bank as a wealth manager and is also doing a Masters Programme in SMU. He sure is good example of one who pursues his interests and does his best in developing himself.

Jason is also another friend who constantly motivates me by setting an example - he has strive hard in the line of IT work achieving a whole list of IT credentials such as MCSA, MCSE, CEH, CHFI, etc. and is still doing his best to develop his potentials by reading up on IT materials + he is taking a part time Degree. Now that's what I call motivation!

A lot of good things has also been happening to WeeBeng, a good friend whom I've known since Sec School. He's a motivated personnel that made losing weight seemed nothing of an obstacle but rather a matter of discipline. He has also took up so many responsibilities at work; though not willing, but still, put in his best to make each task a success. On top of all those stuff, he further pursues his interests / self-development by studying for the CFA level 1 exams. Now that what I call not resting on his laurels.

More interesting updates to come.... Meanwhile, I think I will rest for class tomorrow :)

1 month has passed

1 month passed in a flash since my last entry. Reflecting back, the month of Nov hasn't been a good month for me. Spent a couple of days in Tekong, did guard duty, spend a day in Sentosa for Coy cohesion; well, these isn't really the things that I dread - at least not for Sentosa.

What I dread was I fall ill towards the end of the month. Spend 2 days sick at home - one of the days was supposed to be my off-in-liu that I got for the weekend in Tekong. Thereafter, I skipped the Stand-Chart, the first time after taking part for the last 4 years, because of persistent cough.

Then I fall into a depressed mood that I spent my entire block leave at home rotting instead of doing something positive... Sometimes I wonder why I allow myself spiral into such a depressing situation - perhaps it's because I was sick pior hand so I didn't really draft the list of things to do. Or perhaps, sub-consciously, I just wanted to rot for a while so that I could know what good things that I could spend my precious time achieving. Whatever the case may be, on hind-sight, I could have spend the time more productively.

Perhaps what I should do from now on is to draft a list of items that I could do when I'm in top condition and some of the less straineous stuff I could accomplish when I'm not feeling that well.

Well, then I think I should act on this now.

List of things to do for the next 3 months; when I'm feeling well
- review and edit my resume
- CCDA revision and scheduling for exam preparation - target exam date is end of Feb
- Fitness regime

Things that I could achieve when I'm less well
- search for a suitable SN taker / also concurrently search for suitable positions
- Complete 2 books that I recently got from Popular Book Store
- Pros and Cons comparison of going on Exchange and working

Well, I think I will stick to this for the next 2 weeks. No point looking too much into the future. Meanwhile, I will just enjoy the activities that remains in the last 3 weeks of december which includes NLDS, Weekend guard duty on 22nd (not really looking forward to that but bo bian) Christmas as well as New Year which will mark the last 2 months of my National service.

Sure felt much better after venting all my frustrations through writing. Okay. Time for rest.

What's up... LOTS.

Had been occupied by other business at hands recently - preparation for the StanChart Marathon and NLDS meetings (though I'm not really doing much) as well as preparation for the coming CCDA (which I'd be taking in January, although I hadn't booked the test dates yet). In the meantime, I have found an interesting article and I hope that you, my blog reader, will benefit from it ;)

The Key to Escaping Toxic Motivation

Motivation can be split up between two different categories. The first is passionate motivation, this comes from craving to do something. The second is wealth motivation. Wealth motivation is craving to have something. The differences between the two may be subtle, but the impact is tremendous. One builds enthusiasm, while the other can be completely toxic.

The difference between these two drives is almost completely hidden. You can’t usually make a distinction from a written goal or mission statement. But the results are far apart. Passionately motivated people can easily overcome stress, pain and obstacles. Wealth motivated people are often frustrated, impatient and depressed at the slightest failure.

Wealth Motivation is Toxic

What is wealth motivation? It isn’t specifically being motivated by money. It simply means being motivated by outcomes over process. Wanting to be rich instead of being interested in earning money. Wanting a relationship instead of being interested in other people. Wanting a healthy body rather than being interested in healthy eating and exercise.

Wealth motivation isn’t, in itself, a bad thing. The problem is when it is used to disguise a lack of passionate motivation. When you aren’t intensely interested in the process, getting to the goal is going to be painful.

The best way to tell which type of motivation fuels you is to look at your goals and the pursuits required to reach them. Which draws you in more? Are you more interested in school or the degree? Are you more interested in running a business or being a successful businessperson?

Toxic Motivation Doesn’t Last

Wealth motivation might get you started, but it can’t finish the marathon. Every successful person I know got to where they are because they had at least some level of passionate motivation. Of the extremely successful people I know, passionate motivation is almost so high that it can often be hard to discern exactly what their external goals even are.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Would you keep doing it even if eventual success was impossible?
• Would you keep doing it even if you couldn’t enjoy the rewards?
• Would you keep doing it even if failure was almost guaranteed?

How to Replace Toxic Drive With Enthusiasm

Just let go. The toxicity of your drive happens because you clutch onto it. The result has become so important to you that your willing to put up with the frustration, poison and pain that you have to go through to reach it. The first step (although certainly not the last) is simply to let go of this old drive.

When I used to run in track, our coach would explain that if you run up a hill lactic acids can build in your legs. It’s important to jog out the muscles a short time so that they won’t build up and cause problems later. I think sometimes the only way to get rid of a toxic drive is simply to jog it out. Get detached for awhile so you can begin fresh.

Win-Win or No Deal

Once you’ve detached from your goal, the only way you can create a healthy drive is to force an ultimatum. Either commit to finding a way to be wildly interested in the process AND the goal, or walk away from that area until you do.

Here are some applications you might want to use:

• Health - Don’t force yourself to get thin unless you can find an exercise, diet or health philosophy that you can become enthusiastic about.
• Money - Don’t try to earn more money unless you can find a process for making money that fascinates you.
• Work - Don’t do work that doesn’t make you passionate. If you can’t find passionate work do the bare minimum to survive and move up until you can find passionate work. Money can’t buy your soul.
• Relationships - Don’t force yourself to date, meet people or attract without becoming interested in other people.

Enthusiasm Hurts!

Passionate motivation doesn’t mean that everything you do should be easy or painless. Many of the things I love involve a lot of pain, challenge or scare the hell out of me. The point isn’t to have a pain free, relaxing stroll but to be involved in a process you are fascinated by and care about.

I’m not interested in being rich. I live a comfortable lifestyle and I could live on a minimum wage salary. Being a millionaire doesn’t motivate me. But the process of owning a business, investing, selling products and earning money does. I’m interested in becoming a millionaire, not being one.

Being interested isn’t the same as expecting ease. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be interested if I thought it were easy. It is because I expect it to be challenging that creates the drive.

A Drive for the Game

When you play a game, you are driven out of the fun of the play. The spirit of the game is what makes it worth playing, even if your goal is to win. In life you can also have strict goals, deadlines and objective results. But if you aren’t playing for a love of the game, you might as well quit because you aren’t playing at all.

Personal Finance

Just today, my mom told me that she lost a substantial sum in the stock market due to incorrect buy in of stock - Uni-Asia Finance. She had a tip saying that the stock was a value stock but when she bought the shares, it was way past the level of bargain buy.

One thing to learn from her lesson, please do your basic check on the stocks you want to buy - PE Ratio, stock fundamental, current economic outlook - of course, within a reasonable time upon receiving the tip. Also, set a target selling price as well as a cut-loss measures so that you could minimize your risk from speculations.

Most importantly, if you do not intend to hold the shares for long or you are not trading on a full time basis or you do not know how to minimize your risk from trading, PLEASE buy other types of investment products, unit trusts / funds, endowment, do also seek advice from a financial planner so as to ensure a proper personal financial framework is already in place before dealing with medium / high risk investments.

2nd wedding within a month

Just last Fri (19th Oct) was the 2nd wedding that I attended within a month. It's my good friend and neighbor - Jason together with Pearlina, their solemnise ceremony.

A simple but touching ceremony that was held within 30mins. The pastor talked about the wedding band symbolising the cementing of the love between the couple - like a circle, going round and round, never ends. (So touching) Then after with a few simple touching words of the vows including the "I Do" and "I will" just made the atmosphere filled with sweet enchantment.

Of course after the solemnise was the start of a feast - good food, fun and laughter - between their family, friends and relatives, marking an end to the wonderful event as well as the start of a new journey for the couple.

Well, for me, the event added my understanding of what relationship and wedding should truly mean.

Been a while....

It's been a while since I last updated my blog.


Time to fill up the space.

Some things that had happened during this period


Dental / Medical Check
It had been some time since I had a dental as well as a medical checkup so I decided to take a leave to find out my current situation. Spend a lot of money on my dental checkup :( - luckily nothing's wrong with my teeth as well as my health - though I'm still a bit worried of the upcoming marathon especially incidents of collaspsing atheletics in the past few months.


Cousin's wedding.
My distant cousin - my father's cousin's son had just a wonderful wedding on 29th Sept. Met up with many of my relatives and had a good bonding time :)


NTU String Orchastra night
Far from the best concert that I attended, but the standards that they are playing I would say is quite good for a starting orchastra. I'm also glad to see many familiar faces :)

Campaign to confer the Public Star on JBJ
Well, I'd just say that although some of the script has been played out very funnily, more could have done to improve the flow as well the plot, I also missed out what the actors are saying in parts of the play too (didn't managed to hear clearly what they were saying) Some parts are also quite artistic, requiring some interpretation. Defintely not a suitable play for me, though it ain't stopping me from viewing more, i'd however, be more discreet in choosing to spend my money.

Mentorship nights

Met my mentee Yunzhou, talked a bit about what he wants, will be meeting with him this coming Sat to clarify his goals and steps I could do to help him.

I have also met up with a lot of new faces, whether it's within NTU or newies from other AIESEC LCs. Overall, it is a very relax experience, very similiar to a networking session, less that we are there to learn about mentorships.

First AID course in army

Had a first AID course in the army, it has provided me with quite a bit of knowledge, I had some experience using the needle too on my friend to perform an IV aka drip - not very successful though, got to do more practice on it.

Running
I've been missing out a lot of running training outside as well as in camp, been making up for that by running more often after work in the camp gym. lol

What's coming up
This Fri be meeting friends from SE for a gathering at MindCafe for a fun session.
Sat be having lots of AIESEC activities
- LC Gathering
- Mentorship session
- NLDS Meeting
- Evening with @ers at Holland V

Sure sounds hectic, but I think it'd be great fun too - I'm planning to make each and every week this exciting, ie if my body could tahan. LOL

Another story

Another good story that I read that shared with me by Ryan Kong.
Indeed, as the Chinese proverb says - 人比人,氣死人. - which meant literally you can compare with others and die with anger. There can be no end with the comparison. On another hand, I'm not encouraging you to be satisfied with what you had, because, you are always capable of more. Moral of the whole story, compare with yourself, make sure you are making improvement every single day, be it how slight it may be, in short, seek for excellence.

CELEBRATING YOU
by Steve Goodier


An old story tells of an unhappy and discontented stonecutter. One day
he came upon a merchant and was awe-struck by all of the marvelous
goods the man had for sale. "I wish I were a merchant," said the
stonecutter and, quite amazingly, his wish was granted.

Not long afterward he saw a parade pass his little shop. Spying a
prince dressed in splendor such as he had never before seen, he said,
"I wish I were a prince." And he became one.

But it wasn't too many days later that he stepped outside and felt the
discomfort of the hot summer sun beating down upon his head. "Even a
prince cannot stay cool in the sun," he said. "I wish I were the sun."
This wish, too, was granted.

He was happy being the sun until, one day, a cloud came between him
and the earth. "That cloud overshadows me," he said. "I wish I were a
cloud."

Again, his wish was granted and he was happy until he came to a
mountain that he could not rise above. "This mountain is greater than
I," he said. "I wish I were a mountain."

As a tall and mighty mountain he looked down upon the affairs of
humans and felt that he was finally happy. But one day a stonecutter
climbed up his side and chipped away at rock and there was nothing he
could do about it. "That little man is more powerful than I," the
mountain said. "I wish I were a stonecutter."

So the circle was completed and now the stonecutter knew that he would
always be happy just being himself. He would never dress like a
prince, shine like the sun nor rise as tall as a mountain, but he was
happy to be who he was.

A sure way to unhappiness is to compare yourself to others. Like
someone aptly said, "The grass may be greener on the other side of the
fence, but it still has to be mowed." You are who you are and that is
to be celebrated.

A story to share

This is a story that my friend Adrian shared with me, and I thought all of you might want to ponder upon it. :)

The ghost of memory has a name.

It's called Past, and the living knows him. Like a distanced friend whom you've long stopped speaking to, but still sometimes dreamed about. Past was born a loner; he deserts the tangible, the sounds and the laughter. He contents himself in his quiet dwelling that is murky solitude, and often seeks the companionship of no one, except, on occasion...

Present.

Present is a living being; Past didn't fancy her initially - he thought she changed too much. There were days when she shone with irrepressible joy and optimism, her face plastered with what he still recognizes as an expression of elation. At other times however, a pair of lost, vacant eyes greeted him from afar, and he would stare, transfixed as she trudged away wordlessly, her
movements heavy and limp.

Having long had a penchant for the peaceful constant, Past wasn't immediately drawn to her.
Gradually however, he found Present to be strangely fascinating. And so he decided to befriend her.

He materialized in front of her one breezy night and Present looked up, only mildly surprised.

"I know you," she said.

"You do? How?"

"I just do."

And so he stayed.

Soon, Past began to suspect that his sporadic appearances, and the timings in which he made them, had influence on her increasingly shifting tempers. One dewy morning, when Past glided into vision, the wan smile that was on Present's face was replaced with a look of ecstasy,
and Past knew she had missed him. When he surfaced again the next night however, she told him irritably to leave, and when he refused and persisted in shadowing her for days, she broke down, begging shakily for his departure in between sobs. He couldn't understand it, and so wounded, he retreated once again, into aloneness.

A few months later, he felt unable to contain his one, nagging desire. The inexplicably inextinguishable desire to tail and be with Present, to live with her, to remind her of his existence. When he found her this time, the air was pensive and as he drifted down to sit
beside her, Present was unperturbed, a small smile playing on her lips, her gaze wistful and lingering in the distance.

Past
followed her eyes and made out a handsome although indistinct figure in the silvery midst. This silhouette was smiling, and beckoning in their direction.

"Future," Present sighed.

A wave of jealousy overcame Past and he prodded her sharply. "Stop looking."

Present looked momentarily startled.
"What? Why?"

"Because you should be with me."

She gave a nervous laugh and shook her head.

"You know me," Past went on. "I was a part of you, and always will. We belong together."

"We...we used to. Not anymore, no."

"You can't forget me."

"What? No... I can. I mean, I want to. I try."

"Stop trying. Just be with me."

"No," she said desperately. "I don't w-"

"I'll follow you."

Present looked at Past for a long time without saying anything.

At last, she rose and gave him a sad smile. "I know..."

Then she turned her head again towards Future and contemplated the promising figure in
the near distance.

"...but not for long."

End of JumpStart! 2007

After 2 days of intense conferencing, JumpStart! 2007 has finally come to an end. This induction time is really a wonderful experience for me. Going back to the Boys Brigade / Girls Brigade Campsite at Sembawang this time round as an Alumni when one year ago I was there as a AIESEC newbie.

I did a lot of sharing and reflection this round with many of the newbies and it seemed to have helped me a lot in return, like realizing how I had benefited from AIESEC.

Knowing so many new friends from other universities as well as other countries - SMU, NUS, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Korea, Britain, Indonesia, Thailand and even Egypt (though I think Yasmin is actually a Singaporean, lol) As well as how passionate and friendly my new friends can be - eg, my friends in Taiwan actually fork out a lot of time as well as money to take me and my other friends to sight-see in the beautiful country in Taiwan.

AIESEC has also provided me challenges in many ways - it taught me to do proper networking, presentation skills, courage to speak to strangers, the background work of doing facilitation work as well as others; I not perfect in those yet, but I do believe that I will in time to come.

This short one year has really allowed me to grow in many ways, I do hope that the newbies too will contribute as well as grow in ways that would allow them to future leaders.

What I take away from movie - "Huo Yuan Jia" aka Fearless

Well, I watched this movie about a week ago. I re-watched it again so as to condense what I learn about in movie.

Some philosophy that I find quite useful.
there's a portion about JinWuMen core values which are 三育 - 育體, 育智, 育德 which means development of the body, the mind and the heart through which one can strengthen oneself as well as the country - I found this to be a very interesting concept and it is quite align to my personal beliefs.

there's also a scene that talks about fighting in 擂台, which is a fighting ring - the scene talked about that the reason of fighting in the ring is not to undermine others but to understand oneself better as the greatest enemy that one could have is not others but ourselves. I take this as an analogy to life - each situation / obstacle that is presented in life is not to pin us down but to make us understand ourself better, to allow us to correct our weakness and to conquer our greatest enemy - ourselves.

In short, this movie is sure a good watch, providing exciting WuShu moves as well as displaying great life principles that one could apply in his life. :)

One month of National Service (NS)

Just a blink of an eye and one month is gone, re-enlisted in 30 Jul and now is 2nd Sept.

Time sure goes fast when you are living in the moment. For the past few weeks, I had been busy with the unit's reservist In-Camp Training (ICT) which ended earlier last week. Then a relaxing time involving in the Unit's National Education trip to Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) as well as the Army Open House - those two trips had allowed me to refresh myself on Singapore's tough trip on how it became what it is today as well as how Singapore is preparing for the future.

Well, with 17 more days of leave on my disposal, I'm actually left with about 5 months of NS-life. Better make full use of the available days to strengthen myself physically, mentally and professionally to handle the many years of working life that I'll be handling in the years to come.

Completion of my 6th Army Half Marathon

Yesterday was a good run - weather is good, I'm feeling well and the roads are not as congested. I managed to complete the AHM in a timing of 2:35 which I haven't been able to achieve in a long time. The only thing that irritates me is the long hours that I took queuing up for baggage collection - I spent 2 hrs on that alone.

Also bought myself a new pair of Reebok for the StanChart later this year, hopefully I could reach my new planned timing of 5:30 when the time comes. :)

My new motto for the week - You can excel and will excel and overcome all obstacles because you are born a champion.

Running for another full marathon....

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is back again. This year will be my 4th attempt on the Full Marathon. Different from the previous years is that this year I'm back in army service. So, I should have sufficient training to at least run a timing of 6:00 hrs or so I hope; previous few timings are around 7 - 8 hrs.

My first milestone for the Full Marathon will be the coming Singapore Bay Run (previously known as Sheares Bridge Run / Army Half Marathon ). Sixth attempt this time but I will not strive for better timing since I haven't been running for quite a while - at least for the past 6 months. I think it'd be good if I could complete the AHM within 2:50.

I think this goal should stretch me a bit since it's definitely more challenging than completing the marathon. It'll also definitely get me more in shape - just nice, it's part of my goal for health.

Hmm.... I think I should also have a detailed training plan in order to achieve the timing. Let's do a search and see what I can get - okay, I think I'll use this with some modification since there's also training in camp. Think I'll have this blog serve as my running log too... haha~

An article that I read on Mr Brown Site

An article on Mr Brown site

Just before I'm going off, I saw an article on Mr Brown site featuring some Taiwanese show that's penalizing on the government of Singapore. My only thoughts on this are, true, there are a lot of debatable points that has been raised out but which government is 100% perfect? Even developed countries such as UK and USA also has a lot of issues with their government systems.

I think that as long as the system works in a whole, is able to provide good and effective infrastructure for it's citizens and is continuing to evolve for the better - it's a good system and I think Singapore has done well to ensure new bloods are in the government for a more stable tomorrow. All those said, I still will not want to work in government sector.

A simple reason - I like the dynamic environment in the private sector. Period.

First week after enlistment...

Hmm, my first week of re-enlistment...

Hectic time, initially though I would be able to go back in the end, it turned to book in no book out from then.

Lots of things unsettled, busy with shopping lists in e-mart (where army staff can be brought with credits from army), getting used to the pace of life in the unit - 5BX (5 basic exercise), equipment checks, Army open house poster design, fitness test, conformance to unit standards, army half marathon. All these sure has taken a toll on me and somewhat I feel the effect on Fri evening - body aches, fever - not feeling well in general sense.

Think I will feedback to my supervisors that I'll need to go on a slower pace this coming weeks to get myself used to the pace, otherwise I will fall in no time.

Luckily on Friday, I managed to meet up with other AIESECers to at least makeup my social needs - they had been a good bunch of friends whom had been sharing my life and supporting me in this time :) Sat - further meeting with other AIESECers at the AGM, more catch-up as well as meeting new people such as Grace Yuan from China who's down in Singapore as a CEEDer as well as Yasir from AIESEC in Canada who is down in town for an internship at Phillips. Had a long AGM going though all the constitution as well as the compendium - 4 hours at least.

There after, we had a BBQ - not that good though, think the fire wasn't really setup properly, so the food wasn't really that well cooked. But, I would have to thank those who had put in effort in BBQing the stuff since I wouldn't have anything to eat if they weren't there. Was not feeling well yesterday to help out with the cooking. Luckily for panadols from SY - felt much better after taking those.

And now, it's Sun 3pm in the noon. 7 more hours before I'll be back in camp. Think I better start packing my stuff, meet them for dinner and go back to camp. My first weekend sure has been gone fast. Praying that the second week will be better adjustment for me.

Second day...

Second day... Posting received... Will be doing something similiar to what I do... Don't know heng or suay... Will be a very busy year ahead, I think. Still, I want to complete my CCDA or one of my CCNP papers when possible.

I think I think too much already, I was thinking of getting a relax admin job to last me for the next 7 months but something more challenging appeared and was presented to me. So, what will this led to? I'm not sure at this point - but for sure, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger and I think and am looking forward to a stronger character imbune in me after this period, so that I can live a better tomorrow.

Think I'll stop for now.

First day back in army

Well, the first day back in army. Impression of my unit - in much better condition than I left. cookhouse seemed to be giving better food, my only impression from lunch. The toilet is also in much better shape, totally renovated with pots of flowers making it really a "relaxing" place.

Oh and the gym is also fully furnished with equipments that I can only see in those paid gyms - a vast improvement compared to the past. Too bad I can't take any photos in-camp - securities issues, at least that's what protecting Singapore from spies.

Currently still awaiting for my job allocation as the minute ticks. I guess I won't be staying over for today since I haven't got my bed assinged - talking about the bed, my unit is no longer using form matteress (hip hip hurray) it looks like a kingkoil style matteress which is like at least 10 inch thick.

Hopefully I could get settled in within the next 3 days - administration and stuff.
Life will be damn bored without some work to occupy my time. I think I'll just start surfing friends blogs, it's a good time to stay in touch with their lifes. Meanwhile, I'll just have to wait for the decision as to where I should go.

New handphone for army 為服役所購買的新手機

Can't use my old phone due to its camera feature as well as it's external storage. Luckily for me, M1 is selling a M-Kit (prepaid card with a new simple hand phone) at only S$78. The best buy I could get after walking around. There might be cheaper product around, but I guess this will do for me.

A sleek phone that will meet my needs for the next 7 months

It also comes with FM. So it's a relatively good buy

應為我舊手機有攝影功能, 所以不能帶入軍營. 沒辦法啦. 只好買一個新手機. 好在M1正在推銷一個預付費的配套,只需S$78就能購買一個預付費的手機號碼以及一台手機. 還算滿合算.

Thoughts after convocation 畢業後的感想

When the convocation ends all of the sudden, I had a thought in my mind, where should I go from here? What are the opportunities out there for me? Is what I planned to do really suited for me?

Well, I guess that I do not have an idea yet. Times are changing really fast, what is required today might be obsoleted tomorrow. All there is is a constant stream of change.

On hindsight, maybe I'm worrying too much. Indeed, what I should focus on is the next 6 months with less emphasis on the next 10 years; after all, I'm not the prophet who can read 10 years into the future - that however does not indicate that long term planning should be ignored.

In conclusion, I should be executing what I had planned for the next six months with a view for the long term.

當畢業禮結束的一瞬間,我突然想到 - "我今後該何去何從? 以後會有何機緣? 是否我所策劃的真的適合我"

對於以上的疑慮,我還沒有一定的想法. 這世界一直在變. 今日所需可能明日就被淘汰. 可說是日日求新.

我或許是杞人憂天. 或許我該做的是專注於今後六個月的方向而非十年的長遠計畫; 我畢竟不是個術師,能預知十年以後的未來. 當然,這並不代表我不該做長遠的企劃.

長話短說,我所該做的是執行我對未來六個月的規劃,同時關注我長期目標與短期目標的一致性.

Taiwan (Part 1 of ??)

Reached safely at Tao Yuan Airport

Bus stop, a pub like venue for students: the drinks are quite affordable

Interesting decor at bus-stop

First-sight at Brian's place

On the left is the water dispenser. Apparantly, most of the units have one of those because the tap-water is not suited for drinking. This would have been a queer sight for Singaporeans.

Yuan Zhi University!

A nearby primary school

A bit of Wii after a good lunch at restaurant "59"

A stop-by at a police station to settle Jessie's Visa matter.
Lunch at a eatery within YuanZe's campus. The meal's quite okay.
Can anyone advise me the name again?

A group-shot of all of us at the eatery.
A shot of the counter. The atmosphere of the place sure is good.

YuanZe's Library - It sure looks pleasant. :)
A short break + snacks from the nearby convenient store
What I had for the snack - papaya milk from 統一 ;which is good; and a ham hand-roll.

A view of YuanZe central's from the top.

A view of me against the evening sunset at YuanZe.

Dinner at a local shop that sells 扁食;which is dumpling like food.

A view of my dinner. A bit messed up since I took the shot after I started eating. Hehe.

Hmm. After the food. Which drink should I get - so hard to choose.

Well, and here comes the end of part 1. Be sure to wait for the upcoming sequel.

More Convocation photos

I think I look better without the hat.

With the Convocation ceremony, my life in NTU has officially come to an end. The many fun, joy and laughter as well as agony and sufferings will be a part of my growing experience.

隨著畢業禮的落幕,我在南大的人生也正式的畫了上句號. 這些日子的酸甜苦辣將會是我成長的一部分.

Just sidetrack a bit...

Wednesday was the convocation for Diana, Dei and Sharon. I too brought down my gown for some fun snapshots. =)

Yahoo! @ers united as one!

@ers unite!

Fun pose shot.

Alvin - must work hard for 07/08 term hor.

Me acting cute... Kindda regretted it....

From left to right: Diana, Sharon and of coz, me...

This is a bit serious.

More photos

I had been in AIESEC for less than a year, but I had found some great friends in AIESEC - local and overseas. This will be a part of my wonderful memories for the years to come. :)

Taiwan Trip (Overview)

The Taiwan trip has sure been a challenge. Both mentally and physically. I'll explain more in the days to come. Meanwhile, I'm still busy with consolidating materials I have on hand to pass to Tom. Also, Convocation will be around in 2 days + army in 4 days. Time sure has flown. Okie, I'll continue tomorrow.

Eventful day...

Today's quite an eventful day.

First, disappointment of the day, I didn't clear my CCDA; second time, need to put in more solid hours reading up the materials. Oh well, I'll need to take the revise syllabus since the old exams is going to phase out in.... 8 days.... and I'm going Taiwan. Well then, that's that. Hopefully National library bringing the new editions of the self-study books in so that I could save money on those. Meanwhile, I'll just stick to my current edition and familiarize myself with all the design concepts.

Secondly, more of a happy event. Went to Serangoon Broadway for measurements of the graduation gown and stuff. It's sort of signifies the ending of the University life. There goes all the wonderful memories of participating in CCAs. If only I had been more consistent in my studies as well, it would then be perfect. Oh well, one has got to get on with life, I guess I will be having a long way of learning and catching up to go.

During the evening, met with Alvin and Jessie to discuss about TW conference preparation - done a bit of handling of the agenda that we are in charge. We should do fine for the coming week conference.

Oh well. Time to rest in a while. Will be looking for a brighter tomorrow.

Financial talk in Aberdeen Fund House

Went down to Aberdeen Fund House for investment seminar. It focused more on analyzing current market situation and explained some reasons behind their recommended markets - Singapore, GEM and Europe. Perhaps to share with more who are interested

Singapore
- Strong corporate governance
- Stable government
- Anticipating steady growth for next few years
- Moving up the Food Chain - going into more value added services that will bring growth for the next few years

GEM (Global emerging market)
- Hmm... Actually, I'm don't really recall the key points for GEM but GEM is still growing and will provide potential upside for the portfolio

Europe
- Self sufficient economy, hence less affect from the sliding economy of US
- Economic restructuring; eg France. Promoting economic renewal
- Region is developed hence a culture of strong cooperate governance

This seminar also gave me the opportunity to talk with the fund managers. What i felt from them is that the market is in a situation where value buys are harder to find. Hmm - prepared a sum of money for stock investment; really need to look hard to find good buys that I can hold on the next few years.

Aside from the tips on market sentiments and stuff, there's also some refreshments as well as dark chocolate from Swiss - haha, my favorite.

Major portfolio re-shuffling

Did a major portfolio shakeup today. Did quite a bit of fund transfers between the various investment acc. How I wish I could get them unified under a single account.

Side aside some money to start some stocks investments. The major thing now is what value stocks are there out there in the crazy market that I could hold on for 3 years or more earning at least 30% upside. It's will be a good training for the next 20 years.

Around 20 more days till Taiwan trip, got to speed up the preparation. Also, my CCDA is out there waiting for me. Oh, and my FYP handover, still haven't pass the stuff to my sup :P Opps.

CommunicAsia

Visit the annual CommunicAsia today. Didn't really see the products that i'm looking for; network products for SOHO and SMEs; they don't seem to appear in the fair. More stuff are for the large enterprise level and telco level. Still I get to see quite a bit - especially the mobile phone line up for the next few months from Samsung, SonyErricson and LG, all of them are quite sleek and cool so if you are waiting for phone, hang in there.

Those of you wanting to see more, here's hardwarezone's review

About the past one month

Well, exams have passed - I didn't really do much preparations for that... Maybe there was still some fear of how life would go on without the so called "studies" Well, I'll set my intentions out to the universal and await for the reply via the results.

Attended the EYLN conference shortly after exams; in fact, I rushed from the exams halls to Golden Mile and took a comfortable ride up to KL. Spent the next 2 - 3 days in UKM (University Kembengsan Malaysia); I ought to be glad that I'm studying in dear old Singapore, the buildings, the facilities are much better - analogy : if UKM is a 3 Star Hotel, then NTU will be a 6+ Star Hotel. Hmm, will post up more stuff later.

Shortly after the conference, I moved out of Hall 3 in a rush, did a little little bit of packing and lots of slacking. Anyway, time to pick up as my CCDA test date is moving close - 15th June which is about 3 weeks exact from now.

Oh, another thing that I had done over the past 3 days - I went for the lasik surgery - my vision is still quite blur for now, but the doc says it'll clear up perhaps after a week or two. Sure spent quite a bit on that, luckily, the markets have been doing well to boost my income from the portfolio.

Hmm... Just picked up a notice of a registered letter from the door - seems that dear old army is calling me back, got to check with the postal office tomorrow.

Well, that's all for now.

Thoughts about last few days...

Haven't been living my week well for the last few days.
Can't sleep properly, headaches with studies.

I think I lived life better when I am not in Uni...

Well, last few days to go, I pray for divine Mercy.

"Believe In Tomorrow" by Sunflower's Garden

A song from the anime "Hunter X Hunter" OVA3 - Greed Island Final

The lyrics are quite inspiring - describing what I aspire to be...

Getting to know AIESEC... My Story...

Hmm... Well, let me see, the first time that I see the name AIESEC was actually when I receive the freshmen orientation package - I recall seeing the AIESEC's phamlet recruitintg for their FOC, but the phamlet was really a lot of words but nothing visual. More importantly, other big clubs such as CAC, SU, Sports Club etc are promoting with really attractive colored phamlets which made them hard to ignore (in the end, I joined the CAC's FOC and Hall 3 FOC - which are also fun :) )

The second time that I see about AIESEC was when my friend joined the welcome tea, the idea that she had about AIESEC then was that it's an organisation that allowed members to travel overseas - it did sound attractive to me, but I had already committed to Hall Activities as well as a main comm. position for an event, so I didn't really think much about it. She joined the orientation later on but the details about the camp was explained in quite a blur fashion, so my feeling was, it isn't really that good.

Then later on, my impression of AIESEC just died off, till there was this seminar about leadership development, which really struck onto me since it's on personal empowerment; time management etc. I was really interested in it but I had some tight schedules and the venues wasn't really accessible (Yes, you guessed it, it's in SMU/NUS far far away from Pulau NTU) Well, there goes my chance to know AIESEC better.

The next seminar that attracted me was the "Cooperate Social Responsibility Seminar Series" which I felt intrigued to know then. Also I noted that one of the speaker is Ms Claire Chiang - Just to sidetrack a bit, Ms Chiang is a person that I respected. I got to hear her speak a few years back when I was organising NP's student forum on the issue of "Family Matters". Her charisma as well as wisdom back then left a deep impression in me. - Anyway, back to the seminar; I was quite impressed by the way the seminar was organised as well as some new insights that I learned about AIESEC – that it’s more of a student society about student empowerment and not "*blah* in excessive *blah* every conference" (an AIESEC joke) Something else that quite struck me then was that the facilitator had been on an internship to taiwan - I was thinking - that's really cool and something I am looking towards to – international exposure.

The conference really left a good impression of AIESEC so much so that I looked more information on AIESEC and eventually sent an e-mail out to Sharon (then VP Learning) as well as Terrence (hmm, this is something new that I realised when I looked back on the email, wahaha...)

Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:24 AM
To: sharon.tan
Cc: terence.seah
Subject: Interest in joining AIESEC

Hi,

I’ve attended the CSR Forums conducted by AIESEC and was quite interested in AIESEC activities.

I am interested to join in as a member and would like to know what are the commitments that an AIESEC member has.

Thanks

Nicholas Ong

And soon enough, I got a reply from Sharon addressing every single concern of mine.

From: Sharon Tan
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 11:14 AM
To: #ONG YUH SHEN#
Subject: RE: Interest in joining AIESEC

Hello Nicholas,

Glad to know of your interest in joining AIESEC. Well, traditionally our recruitment for members is only open once a year in the period of July and August, which means that you might have to wait till next year 06/07 to apply and join us.

Nevertheless, we are working something out and there may be a small recruitment in the next semester in January. I will keep you informed about this.

In terms of commitments, AIESEC members start off by attending our Recruitment and Orientation camp. After that there are gatherings and training sessions so build up the knowledge of what AIESEC does, why we do it and how we do it. Some activities are held on a national scale (involving members from NTU and SMU as well) and these are usually held on Saturdays. We also have learning activities with our AIESEC interns, these are either in the evenings of on the weekends as well. At the same time, members are involved in a department which they have chosen and will be doing the core of each department (under guidance of seniors). October and April being exam preparation periods don’t usually have many activities, though things do pick up after exams, like conferences in Dec, Feb and June.

That’s roughly the kind of activities our members get involved in so I hope I have addressed your question. In any case, should you be interested in applying to join us as a member in 06/07, I would recommend that you join us in the meantime for some of our activities that are open to non-AIESEC members. We are having a Developing Leaders Day in Dec as part of our national conference and it would be great if you could join us. J

Anyhow, just feel free to drop me an email if you have further questions. I will be glad to help answer them.

Cheers
Sharon Tan
Vice President Learning
AIESEC in Singapore 2005/2006

I think this e-mail I received made AIESEC activities and commitments quite clear, it'd also gave me quite a deep impression about the people in the organisation - commitment and enthusiasm. Sharon sent out further events updates (I didn't managed to attend due to other commitments) reinforcing my impression about AIESEC as a very enthusiastic organisation (and it is!)

After my IA, back to school for 06/07, and the rest, as they say, is history (of coz it is not to you, if you didn’t took part in AIESEC activities =P )

Venting my anger about Creative... (updates)

*Just a follow-up on this post*

Well, friends at the hardwarezone forums pointed out that the issue was more of a lack of knowledge on how lithium use...

Well, I guess I have to read more on new technologies...

For those who don't know about lithium
- heat shorten it's lifespan, hence when using it in the power supplied laptop, remove it when fully charged.
- it's okay to do frequent short charging for lithium batteries, meaning whenever possible, just charge your lithium batteries, same principles does not apply to NiMH (commonly used for AA/AAA)
- most of the devices are using lithium rechargeable nowadays, however, do check the battery's label to be sure.

Hope this will help other tech dummies. ^_^

-------------------------------------------------

Something for those who are considering Neeon 2.

Well, I'm a techie and techie normal do stuff in the most efficient way, meaning, batteries are supposed to discharged completely before a recharge. And what I know next, my Neeon 2 blacked out, unresponsive to any charging via computer USB port or by self-powered usb hub.

My mom helped me brought it to Marina Square and according to the staff, the issue was a totally flat out battery cannot be recharged using either method - what a design failure - you must get the Creative Charger to charge the Neeon.

If I had known of this sucky design, I would have stayed away from it.

What worsen the fact was I got it at staff price (from friend) just 2 weeks back, and they now seemed to have it on promotion sale at $238 w the charger, which cost a cool $49 separate. No way am I going to buy it.

Well, I'll need to consider my options next time I were to get anything made by Creative - to think I was a loyal supporter of the company...

Wishing all a blessed Easter =)

What is easter, you may ask,

Well, here's an extract from about.com

On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches.

Christians believe according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in Him, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Maybe for all my dear friends who are not Christ believers, you may just treat it as a day where delicious chocolate easter eggs can be found everywhere. Alternatively, treat it as a day for self-reflection - to think about our past behavior and how how we should act for the better. Either way, it's up to you :P

Life down the road... Are you ready to adapt?

It's quite amazing how the world changes...


Extracted from Nabeel's post

Prangstgrup - Reach! A Lecture Musical Prank!!

Rene shown this to us in NTU the other day when he came down to NTU's AGM.
It's quite a show of the student vibrancy in other Universities, but who knows, maybe something similar might happen in NTU in the near future.

More blogthings...

You Are a Natural Flirt

Believe it or not, you're a really effective flirt. And you're so good, you hardly notice that you're flirting. Your attitude and confidence make you a natural flirt. And the fact that you don't know it is just that more attractive!

What Kind of Flirt Are You?

300

Just a short after-thought seeing the movie - 300.

Put in your all when pursuing your dreamz. Never retreat, never surrender - only fight till the end. That what we should do to live a fulfilling life, face all challenges by the front and live through it.

Teaserz...

Hmm, okay, I'm gonna re-do the article on Ryan's visit, I didn't really put what I had learnt from Ryan into it... hehe

Also, I'm intending to put an article detailing about my AIESEC journey....
You know what - it actually started from Oct 2005... Wahaha, why? You'll know later...

AP Director visits LC NTU!

Indeed, the Wed that just pass was definitely an enriching day when the Ryan Director for Asia Pacific from AIESEC International dropped by LC NTU to share with us his experience and journey in AIESEC. Through the conversation with him, we somehow had a better idea what goes on in AI - some trivial,

• they had a rotation cooking team for each day
• there are 22 people in the team from 17 countries; can't beat that for diversity,
• working hours are usually 9am - 6pm or 10am - 7pm but our dear AP Director was there from 8am - 7pm since he needs to communicate with people in AP but the time difference made it difficult

Ryan's journey in AIESEC has been far from smooth sailing from day 1, he had lost in many elections as well as encountered many challenges along the way.

One of the most dramatic that I could recall is when he finally became MCP for NZ (btw, he lost his first - see, the virtue of persistence) , the NZ MC was at the brink of bankruptcy due to some financial issues. despite that, he managed to get the NZ MC to be one of the richest MC of all time during his term. Hmm, I'm not really sure what are the strategies that he used in the MC, think its time to send him an e-mail.

Another drama like situation was when he transfer over to another LC - literally by requesting to transfer to another University, look at that level of commitment - to help the LC in its management. That LC had about 25 members but it had been quite inactive, raising minimal number of TNs and SNs and was on the verge of losing its membership. Ryan ran for the LCP position. During the election speech he mentioned about being very tough on the members if he was to get elected, which he did and first thing he did was to shook up members, issuing an ultimatum - start working for the LC or quit from it. He explained to us that it is harsh, but he wants to waste nobody's time, which I fully agree, why stay if you aren't committed to the cause. Three members remained, but they fought hard bringing the LC to one of its highest time and revived the people's interest in the Uni to join the LC.

During the interactive sessions, one most valuable lesson that I had learn is value of persistence; to work hard for your dream, to know that the journey towards that end will be tough but to carry on anyway. The path that Ryan had took to reach where he is now, isn't a simple flat road with nice scenery along the way, but it really is a roller-coaster journey. And will continue to be as long as he working towards his goal. Through the journey where the ups is like the thrill of viewing the joys of your labour and the downs is like each passing day is like a lifetime - it has definitely imbue a strong character and leadership abilities in Ryan; just like a fulfillment of AIESEC's motto, the fulfillment of human potential.

To sum up, definitely, all Ryan had achieved made me felt jealous as well as inspired, he was 3 years younger than me yet he had achieved so much more. However, I believe that I too can make an impact like him by making each day an improvement over the previous - after all the road to excellence ends when you stop taking action. ;)

Are you inspired by Ryan as well? Well then, make a commitment and join us in the journey to pursue excellence ;)


Want to know more? Read Wan Xin's blog post that I extracted below

Extracted from Wan Xin's blog

Meeting with my AP director. It was awesome!

If action causes less regret than inaction, I see what it means today. Deciding to go meet Ryan Sheppard (the Asia Pacific Director for AIESEC) was a decision that I will be grateful about. It came as one of the most inspiring talks I have had so far. He shared with us so much that I wish my memory could be better so that I can remember everything he said.
Things I have learnt:

• When you are riding on a bicycle and you see a stone on the road, you look at it and keep telling yourself 'Don't hit the stone, don't hit the stone!' You will hit it eventually. Why? Your focus on the ston was directing you there. But if you choose to focus in the path you wish to take, you will get there eventually. So when things go wrong, don't JUST look at what is wrong. Focus on what you have done right. I don't mean you just ignore the wrong, but just, never lose sight of what you have done right. The focus on doing things right will help the wrongs to fade. To take it the personal level, don't just look at how to diminish your weaknesses. Focus on how to develop your strength. Your strengths will put off your weaknesses eventually. And why should you focus on your strengths? Because it is so much easier to be yourself than be who you are not!
• What comes out at the end of the discussion is the best that you can have. Don't hold on to your expectation. It will cause you to lose sight of the other possibilities, which are great too!
• Keep your eventual goal in mind. There may be a lot of ways to get there, but you should reach there eventually. Not lose track.
• As you get older, the high time will get higher, the low time lower. Understand that, come to terms with that, so that you won't get too emotionally affected by the low times. And whatever you do, the low times will always come. But if you quit at the toughest time, you may never be able to see the higher time which is oh-so-rewarding! Remember, the low time is there only to complement your high time.
• It'll start when it'll start. Don't force things happen, don't force people to speak.
• Disagreement is always there. Understand this as the normal phenomenon. Talk things out, smooth things the peaceful way.
• Finally, as part of the EB (executive board), you may have a lot of things you wanna do. But given your time and energy, if you set too many goals, eventually you can only do a bit of everything. Set few goals, and stick to it, and do a lot to them.

I felt that these are not all! I know I heard many many more. But sadly, I couldn't recall. *Urgh* Memory decay due to ineffective encoding. I must learn better information encoding technique to enhance my learning.

But, I must feel grateful to my eventual decision, more grateful that Ryan came down to NTU to shine some light to prepare me better before I embark on my EB life. During the session, there were moments of silence, but that's only because we were busy digesting his words! It was a really good talk. I'm lovin' it. EB path doesn't seem easier now, but I am more prepared.

Come what may.