Farewell 2007... Hello 2008

Well 2007 has been a good year for me in terms of my results, my voluntary work in The Organisation, CCA and relationship. :)

Results wise, I have seen a slight improvement in my grades and hopefully will maintain or push even higher.

For my voluntary work 2007 is the year I have been promoted to a mid ranked Zone Staff Officer, and not only that, have had the opportunity to mount parades on two occasions. Once as colour ensign and once as Parade Commander. There'll be more to come i'm sure as there seems to be shortage of mid-ranked officers to take up important parade appointments...

As for the other Organisation... well yet another of the instructors has called it a day citing academic committments. Well, his committment these 2 years is appreciated, after all it's understood that studies has got to come first. My committment remains a question mark there...

As for CCA wise (referring to Raffles Hall) it's been a good year of exposure. The most important thing which being part of the JCRC team has taught me is to manage expectations from the hall residents and SCRC which can be quite daunting and challenging at times. But it has also given me a new perspective when being at the upper management level (not top management yet - that distinction belongs to the SCRC), there are challenges and obstacles that those at the middle or lower management does not see.

Most importantly the end of 2007 was a time when I underwent a paradigm shift. Once which helped me see challenges such as academics and relationships in a new light.

Especially after my camp in dR forest, I realised that there are still many things I want to do in life, like someone once said "There are many things in this world to see and to marvel."

And for relationship.. hehe that's for another post!

Happy New Year everyone!

Obituary

A respected SJAB officer, Mr. Stephen Khit Joong Khee, O.St.J. , former Area 3 Commissioner and NHQ Staff Officer (Grade I), passed away on 22 December 2007. He was 74.

Perhaps what my fellow officer wrote about him sums up pretty well:

"Mr Stephen Khit, as far as I remember, was a very nice man. Despite having stroke, he continued to work. The last time I saw him, was probably when he was manning the St John Supplies Shop at HQ.."

I first got to know him in 1998 when I was in Secondary 2. Back then it was because of buying uniform accessories for my Corps. He always had his breadth of experiences to share with all of us from his experience in the British Army and after that, the SAF. Needless to say we had many things to talk about and he kind of inspired me to continue on as an officer after graduation.

I just returned from bidding my last farewell to him. His wife recounted fondly his association and passion for SJAB, and the many wreaths from SJAB members spoke volumes.

Here is a great officer whom many look up to, and his loss is a great loss to all within the Organisation.

Goodbye, Sir, and rest in peace.

Aaron's wedding, SinMal Camp and more!

Been a long time since my last update which was when my exams were still totally not finished yet. Since that post, a lot of things happened... too busy to update... anyway I will do that now...

Immediately after exams I had to pack the stuff in my room for preparation to move out. Lucky one of my friends was staying for vacation so can park my stuff in his room, LOL! It took two days to pack my stuff...

I also wanted to collect my stamps from NPCC HQ and I did confirm with my cousin that the person in charge was around. Then when I reached there (and waited half an hour for him), he said that he was only in charge of the stamps for the UG conference participants. Mine was under another person who was overseas at the moment :P) Looks like I have to get him to mail me the stamps soon as I have no intention of making another trip down.

8 Dec was my friend Aaron's big day, so we went to his place the day before to stay over. And no we did not have a bachelor's party the night before, he still had quite a lot of stuff to settle and was up till late at night. Anyway, it was a fun experience not to mention I got to know a few of his wife's friends as well.. Not to mention that I observed for the first time a Catholic mass and its differences from the Protestant practices which I grew up in.

Congratulations to the newlyweds and wish you many years of wedded bliss!!!

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The following week was NTU Hall XI exchange on Wednesday 12 Dec. They have a canteen in the hall itself which means that the residents don't have to venture out for their meals (and unlike NUS, not all halls have meal plans.) The following day was the highlight of the whole holiday which was my SinMal Camp (Singapore-Malaysia Combined Camp, held at Malacca) which I will write about in another post, too long for one blog post haha.

Something interesting.

It is better to deserve honours and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.

- Mark Twain

Something which I find particularly true in light of my voluntary work with The Organisation, and the fact that there are people who will fight tooth and nail just for the particular honour.

Nick Vujicic

I met Nick Vujicic last Sunday at Faith Community Baptist Church and am truly inspired by his testimony. Here we have a man with every reason to give up on life but he refuses to, and in spite of his circumstances he lives his life to the fullest potential!

I daresay I had a paradigm shift after listening to him. All the 'challenges' which we face daily are nothing compared to what he has had to go through. Coupled with the fact that he is only 25, pretty young but in spite of that, he is making an impact on the world by sharing his story and motivating others to rise above their circumstances and live life without limits.

Above that, he's also a pretty humorous speaker and one who takes his disability light-heartedly (you've got to see the video, i shan't spoil it for you)! I think NUS should get him to speak to the students one of these days...

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Something to share:

Nick is the epitome of 'courage' and positive thinking.


Part 1:
Great motivational speaker This is a MUST WATCH !!!
Part 2:
click here
Part 3: click here

This shows snippets of how he copes with some of his daily routine :click here

Exams.. the end is almost in sight

Alrighty it's the end of another week and i have but one paper left (and it's open-book) so i can take some time off before the final push.

My take on the papers so far:

HR2002 - Pretty okay, as it's quite open ended... hope i answered the questions well
ME3122 (Heat transfer) - 'nuff said. Total screwup.
ME2151 (Materials engineering) - I found the paper quite ok but i hope that my answers are correct...

Argh, this sem has been super busy and not as productive as i hoped it will be! But next sem will be better!

Been clearing some miscalleneous JCRC work yesterday and catching up with friends. Then tomorrow will go to FCBC to listen to Nick Vujivic... a guy born without limbs.. and he's just a couple of years older than me. Amazing how God can use people in such a mighty way... but as for me still got some way to go ba...

I received an SMS today inviting me to take up Parade Commander for the Zone Presentation at the end of this month. Wow.. my pleasure and honour it shall be.

Just had a conversation with my colleague who left The Organisation and he is thinking of making a comeback. Well, good, we need you and look forward to serving alongside with you once again.

One of my colleagues from my workplace left after 2 years of service. Well, all I can say is at least I managed to say a proper goodbye to him... We'll meet again for lunch or something.

And, to you: thank you for lending that listening ear when it mattered the most, I really appreciate it.

Exam.

Ok, i just screwed up my first paper. Heat transfer. What I spent so much time on the last few days, in the end never came out. My all time worst paper in NUS so far. Now just to cross my fingers and hope that I get a decent grade for it.

Still got 2 more to go.

Career options

I got a rejection letter yesterday.

Guess I have to bear the consequences of some wrong decisions made during my JC.

But then again, there are better jobs out there than this. There has got to be.

The NS Song

NS is for everyone, NS is a crime,
NS is a must for all, NS waste of time,
Civil Defence and Police, don’t forget Army,
We cannot escape and we don’t wanna go DB!

Listen fellow Singapore, Listen carefully
Want to share something with you, don’t worry it’s free!
I served NS for two years, This is my story
Who is singing out of tune? The name’s Evil Bunny!

Some of them ayam sakit, Some are super on,
Some like to angkat Encik, Some are plain moron,
Mess boy, Provost and Medic, All have taste the whip,
But at the end of the day we’re nothing but conscripts!

Kena tortured day and night: this is BMT,
All your friends working fulltime You have no money
Everybody likes to keng Rub some soap in eyes,
Whack your knees with metal pipe And get MC as prize!

NS is for everyone, NS is a crime,
NS is a must for all, NS waste of time,
Civil Defence and Police Don’t forget Army,
We cannot escape and we don’t wanna go DB!

I tell you two years is no joke Tahan all the way
Grit my teeth and clench my fist They’ll free me one fine day
Difficult to find a job but I’m an optimist
Finally got interview but clash with reservist!

Unemployed for 3 long years Girlfriend dumped me too
Suddenly the news say ‘war’ Expect me fight for you
Listen fellow Singapore Listen carefully
I’m not against NS now Hope you not blind to see

I know of a better way Sign some peace treaty
Cut down on the arrogance Show humility
Lend a hand when they need help Deliver some aid too
God forbid we’ll burn in flames And friends to the rescue!

And who knows they’ll sell us sand Play soccer with Malaysia,
Sell us cheap water Majulah Singapura!

NS is for everyone, NS is a crime,
NS is a must for all, NS waste of time,
Civil Defence and Police Don’t forget Army,
We cannot escape and we Don’t wanna go DB!

La-la-la-la-la... Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee...

exams are here.

Just had my first paper yesterday. quite alright as HR2002 is pretty open-ended. Convinced me that i am more suited to take arts related modules but anyway... Now I'm left with three more which are all next week and the following. Getting in the mood too, just finished one section of heat transfer...

Earlier I attempted to play simul against the three apple laptops in IT Co-op. I now realise that the chess engine had been souped up, with a wider opening book (it's not always 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 now... or French Defence when I open 1.e4) and I lost all three games :(

I received an email today inviting me to a First Aid seminar in JB organised by SJA Malaysia. It seems that the Superintendent there is actually based in Singapore as he gave a local HP and fax number. Sounds really cool. Too bad it's still within my exam period, and moreover i agreed to conduct lecture for the kids on administration so I got to give it a miss...

Last Saturday I went for SJA's annual banquet (quite a few other NUS/NTU students were there too... tsk tsk...exams leh..) Just catch up a bit with my friends from other zones and met the new TIC of RVHS. Overall quite alright, the food also quite ok (considering the budget).

It occured to me that when we do things sometimes we tend to be taken for granted especially in the context of a voluntary orgnaisation... Worse still some others demand things as though they are automatically entitled to it and the worst thing is, they don't lift a finger to contribute to the organisation at all and expect to be recognised for just 'being there' for the past 5 years.

I leave the preceding statement open to interpretation by my readers. Nevertheless, the focus at the very end is to run the zone's admin properly and also help the cadets in their achievement of the prestigious CPBS awards (and NYAA too.. LOL).

After exams got to get my NYAA booklet and logbook in order, before submitting it up to achieve the pinnacle NYAA award!

Some food for thought

One should not be in a hurry for the right one will come when the time is right.

talanto

Last night we had the finals for 'Talanto', the final year special programme. Each of the performances was very well rehearsed and

Special mention to "Mother Shooter" and "Transformers"... i was especially entertained by "Transformers" as in every sense of the word they 'transformed' from a 'childhood' dance to a 'modern' dance like what we know. well done! (:

Scandalous

Ok, while out with dad today i bumped into a few hall ppl... we were
in the car and they were crossing the road. Haha. Well, scandalous
sia. I'll just say that a certain final year is closer to reaching
his goal :|

update

Thanks to all my friends for their concern and kind words recently. I really appreciate it.

Week 10 looms. 5 more weeks to the exams. Once again, for the fifth time (boy do i feel old), the time has come to stop slacking and start studying.. again.

(slacking? or rather busy with other stuff.. haiz... time management)

Obituary

Our pet cat, Tomok which we gave up for adoption a while ago, passed away on 8 October 2007 aged 12 months. He will be sorely missed.

Let's mind our language.

yes i think it is good for us to watch out for each other.

Update (again)... article on The Organisation

been a while since i last posted... cos been busy with various stuff.

activity allo is nearing the end soon.. almost finalised everything. And concert is coming very very soon. I am sure it is going to be a good one! Concert people, jiayou k?

Week 8 looms. Though I have no mid terms this sem (actually got la, but one was way back in wk4 and the other is not counted in the CA), I have two projects... time to get my act together. Been too distracted with hall stuff..

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I've recently come across an article on Stomp about The Organisation. Well... it's unfortunate that this had to happen. Though I understand that the HQ needs to prioritise its allocation of ambulance, the way it was put across is plainly inappropriate.

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost5826.aspx

Though i just wonder at the significance of the fact that I was excluded from the initial mailing list, when this was sent out. Anyway the comments section has degenerated into an argument and name calling section.. haiz

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Ever used friendster to check the availability of your crush? I have... Now facebook even tells you who that person is attached to...

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One final step to go to my NYAA Gold. Then to get my logbook done (need to dig up photos, certs etc and do my write up).. then submit!! Maybe do this after exams. but cannot procrastinate... i already procrastinated enough

I have realised...

that I am special.

Today, I went to NUS together with mum to settle some admin stuff. Since it was on the way, I got her to pop by the place where I work part time and introduced to my colleagues.

And two days ago, during the promotion interview with the Commissioner he expressed his appreciation for my dedication to The Organisation thus far. He commented that "it is hard to find officers like me now"... and alluded briefly to one of my outstanding, dedicated colleagues who decided to move on. A loss to The Organisation... At the end of the interview I knew that I would be getting the promotion. But the feelings are bittersweet. Because my colleague, my mentor, has left. Because now I am technically on par with the "Long Term Captains".

And I have realised that there are people out there who appreciate who I am and what I do. My dedication to the organisations I have been in, going beyond the call of duty to ensure that things get done. This, at the expense of being liked / being popular with my peers, many of whom do not understand why I am doing certain things certain way. But, like I have mentioned before, MINDSET... i mentioned in another post a long while back that i am not going to conform to stupid conventions. And like one of my hall friends said, we must discard old mindsets, old ideas and embrace change as the only constant in life.

The Commissioner also asked me if I wish to go for the SinMal combined camp this year. Well, it's where most of my friends from the Organisation (Malaysia) are, and I met a few of them the previous weekend when we went up there. They still remember me after all these years!

But there are certain people best avoided attending the camp. And if my fellow officers are not going to attend, i quite doubt that I will...

A question was posed to me (again) on why I am still so dedicated to the Organisation after all these years (apart from a brief hiatus during my NS days). After all, we are not paid to do the job... and the answer is basically to help the cadets during their most impressionable years... currently, it's by rewarding the officers who dedicate their time to develop the cadets by applying for their service awards. And with my new portfolio, I can begin to impact the lives of the cadets by improving on, or designing new programmes for them, such as the NYAA.

I'll be getting the NYAA Gold myself (one more category to go) soon and I hope to be able to blaze a trail for others to follow. Hey, after all others have followed in my footsteps after I was the first Chief Commissioner Badge holder from my Corps... and on another note, at last I have observed other officers wearing the badge too!

This is my hobby.

Update and some pics...

Thanks to all for the best wishes for my health and all, well i've recovered and hopefully can start to hit the pool again after a hiatus... one step closer to my NYAA Gold too!

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Well, it's now Week 6. How time flies! Soon it will be the recess week. Time to focus my efforts on what is truly important.

In the same vein, I have decided to cut down to 5 modules, thus reducing my workload and better enabling me to concentrate more on my 5 remaining modules... 2 of them are projects...

[blockquote]Nobody cares what class degree one gets nowadays, except for some really backward sleepy government offices. Money making companies are more interested in whether the graduate can deliver. That’s why the private sector is doing so much better than the public sector. The former got their priorities right.[/blockquote]

Coming from an NUS associate professor, indeed very encouraging. though of course we still must focus and try to score well but it's not necessary to be too hung up on it.

Interesting to note that the SAF also don't really focus too much on grades as compared to other civil service organisations.. Of course 2nd upper will have a different pay scheme, but after that competence and performance is what matters most.

Now if i can get the USB hub door gift to work...

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Oh, the E1 Lab TA rocks! Crisp, clear explanation leaving no doubt at all on the concepts that we are required to take home from this lab.

Week 4...

So 4 weeks of the new academic year have just flown past..
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Oh, and may I categorically state thaat I have never written to the press before, much less about the recent incident involving a certain soldier who absconded with a rifle.

uncomfortable

urgh... been having runny nose these few days and now sore throat...
guess all the late nights are getting to me...

or... i guess my body decided to 'dong' until after AGI before 'it'
happens..

so.. now to give this time to blow over, hope by Fri it will be
fine!!! Sun is walkathon...

Exhausted

Endless cycle of meetings, so many things to settle, in the end no time to study, lagging hopelessly behind.

Must manage the expectations, expectations from my fellow committee members, expectations from the hall residents.

Must prioritise too, which is to come first, we've been getting our priorities all wrong there.

Again comes to the point about mindsets which need to change. People generally resistant to changes, and it's not just in my Organisations.

Fwd: URGENT: Platelets & Prayers Needed in Singapor

Subject: Fwd: URGENT: Platelets & Prayers Needed in Singapor

hey peeps

ookay i don't mass mail very often! A friend's friend's dad is in need of blood O+ (which is very common right), must be from the male species only. so if you're a female and reading this, just forward to your guy friends ya! much thanks in advance for being a blessing! :)

Details:-

Patient Name: TAN POK SUAN

Where: 7th Floor, HAEMOTOLOGY & STEM CELL CENTRE, MT. ELIZABETH

Preferably : O+ Blood & Male

Just inform the potential platelet donors to tell the people at 7th Floor that they would like to donate platelets to Tan Pok Suan and they will tell you the procedure.

God bless!

Random thoughts at the end of week two

Just a random thought occured to me during breakfast today.

There are people around who KPKB about a lot of things, but do not lift a finger to help.

Basically 'All Talk and No Action'.

Well as they say 'Empty Vessels Make the Most Noise'...

Something I am really beginning to appreciate especially after taking up The Important Responsibility in hall.

By the way, going down later today to support one of my friends in The Organisation. His Corps turns 10 today :)
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Some other random thoughts:

This friend of mine passed out from the Officer's Course only one year after me. Yet till this day, he still addresses me as 'Sir', a gesture which I do not demand but I appreciate it nevertheless. Compare to the younger ones 4 or 5 batches younger. Back then respect for seniority was prized, I don't know what happened along the way.

Come to think of it, about the officers who I trained under as a cadet. If they were to resume their service in The Organisation, will still be calling them Sir / Ma'am even though I'm of higher rank than them now. But sometimes, it's not about what it is on the shoulder, but about the experience that they have had. Therefore we must have mutual respect for one another. Otherwise, take an example from SAF. The 2WO will not respect the 2LT just because of his rank. But if the 2LT will respect the 2WO for his experience and wisdom gained from his 20-odd years of service, I am sure most 2WO will at least give face to him... Of course there are black sheep officers who come out from That Training School cocky and all that. Will they earn the respect of subordinates?

There are a variety of reasons why someone is below you in the pecking order. He could have not had sufficient experience or qualifications. Or he may not have 'apple polished' his way up as well as others. However, everyone is special in his or her own way. Everyone has his or her own way to contribute to the organisation, if you can find a way to motivate them and harness that potential in them.

Even in that particular district in The Organisation, there are a few officers being sidelined, jokingly termed the "Long Term Captains". I can't help but wonder if they actually have the passion to contribute, just that there has been some offence taken in the past which causes their attitude to be like this now...Could it be that now, they are like this simply because they have given up trying?

(I begin to sense I'm being overly optimistic here... but anyway)

We do not salute the man but the rank. But everyone is unique, everyone is special and we respect that. Respect begets respect. The golden rule: do unto others as you would others do unto you. Law of attraction (those who watch The Secret will know). I've seen it come true in my life in more than one way.

I am convinced that my life's purpose is to do something that benefits people. And ever since I have discovered this purpose, I daresay I have had a paradigm shift... and now I see a bigger picture... having said that, I still have lots of room for improvement... and it is my prayer that God will help me in this , for it is not by my strength but His.
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And this is for you, my senior in JC and now hall, you know who you are:

You have meant well for me during the period when my life had no direction. And I had inadverently clashed with you right here in this blog. But at the end of it all you meant well. I was simply not teachable during that period of time... and i am sorry if I had hurt you in any way. God bless.

On JCRC

It's been just a week since the elections have passed and boy, we've been through a lot of discussion, we feel every bit in the job even though it's still a few day before we officially take over. haha

Some random thoughts about my Organisations

A question was posed to me recently about my committments in general. Currently, besides my academic, church and hall committments, I have two Organisations that regular readers of my blog should know.

My involvement in both Organisations can be as heavy or as light as I want it to be. Of course, it's foolhardy to just dive into it for the sake of it. Before taking on any new project, basic economics demands we apply the principle of opportunity cost. Can the time spent be put to better use? Always ask this question first.

Also another economics principle, return on investment. What are the gains (in terms of personal satisfaction, such as knowing that what I have done has helped another person, or my own personal development? Caveat: not monetary gains of course..)

[[DISCLAIMER: I am no econs major, and my understanding of Econs is pretty basic, so pardon me if I applied certain theories wrongly]]

With these in mind...
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I have formalised my plan to call it a day in The Other Organisation. Strange to say, there are no feelings of loss whatsoever. It's just a feeling of emptiness as to whether it was the right choice to join The Other Organisation in the first place.

No doubt, I have been exposed to many new things which put me in good stead for my dealings with teachers especially now in my role in The Organisation. But after all the instances whereby my effort was put to waste (zero return of investment), I think it's been a very expensive exposure indeed.

For these couple of years in particular, my later half of my studies in NUS, I will not be active at all due to my academic committments... and also due to the fact that I am taking up a key position in hall. After that, I would start working and it would be a whole new challenge to keep on top of my working schedule. Probably I won't even be able to continue then, so might as well beat my retreat now and focus on the more critical stuff.

So, principle of opportunity cost and return on investment applies here. Nuff said...

So, I have cut back on one of my 'outside' activities. I am now left with The Organisation...

I received an email from my superior recently that was very much a pat on the back for my hard work. Nothing is more important than knowing that you've done a good job and others have benefited from it.

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It's okay if certain 'old people's mindset' cannot change... that is why younger ones are getting frustrated and leaving the organisation (notice it's not in caps, hence it does not refer to any particular Organisation). I do not find myself in this situation.. yet. But I couldn't help but wonder. One of my colleagues with sterling service has decided to call it quits.

In order for any organisation to change, we have to move with the times. The head of The Other Organisation once said to us, one of the excuses she hates the most is: "It was done this way last time". My formation RSM always asked us.."Last time, policemen wear shorts".

We should not follow what was done in the past blindly, rather we use it as a reference and brainstorm how it can be improved for this day and age.

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I saw a very interesting disclaimer on another blog that goes somewhere along the lines of:

"This author advises everyone that blogs are worse than porn. Therefore... If what I had said is untrue in any way, this author deeply regrets all distress and inconvenience caused, and advises everyone to go to porn sites instead for better entertainment."

Well... quite true to a certain extent... but i won't opt for 'better entertainment', thank you. I think I should write a disclaimer along the lines of 'if you don't like / don't agree, you are always free to hit Alt-F4 and go back to what you were doing before this'.

Whither the B Drive?

C:\> a:

A:\> b:
Invalid drive specification

A:\>


Most of us who use computers nowadays are familiar with the drive lettering system. The hard disk which stores the operating system and main applications is the C: drive and, in most systems, the hard disk which stores the data is the D: drive. The CD-ROM (or DVD for those more high-tech systems) is known as the E: drive (or basically the next letter after the last hard disk drive. USB thumbdrives, flash memory sticks when inserted take on yet another designation, probably the F: or G: drive depening on what else is already in the system.

In networks, a user’s ‘networks space’ is designated the H: drive and now, the network drive letters run all the way through to Z:; each one has its own purpose which for all intents and purposes, as lay users we do not need to know.

One wonders, why does it all start with the C: drive? Why not A: or B:? One must look to the early days of computing for the answer…

In the good old days, when the (510KB?) 5 ¼” floppy was being used (the high density one was the 1.2MB, the 720KB/1.44MB 3 ½” floppy was still unheard of, much less the Zip drives which by themselves are nearing their demise)… hard disk drives were still quite rare. By the way, instead of the immense 20GB hard disks we have nowadays, hard disk sizes back then were still in the range of 100 – 200MB. Most computers had two floppy disk drives, one for the OS (MS-DOS, DR-DOS or PC-DOS in those days. No Windows yet, that invention came with Windows 3.0, followed by Windows 3.1 which still depended on MS-DOS up to 6.22, which was superseded by Windows 95 in 1996?) One would insert the boot up disk into one of the floppy drives and of course, the other floppy drive was required for data, which in those days was WordPerfect for documents, Lotus 1-2-3 for spreadsheets and dBase for databases, and printouts were from dot matrix printers. Colourful printouts from inkjet printers were unheard of. RAM of 4MB was considered luxurious. Back then CPU speeds were the 8086 (XT), 80286, 80386, 80486 (which included the 486-SX and 486-DX), then the Pentium which superseded the 80x86 classification, and as we all know now, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium MMX, Pentium III, Pentium 4 and after that a range of processor chips by Intel's competitors.

Anyway, as you guessed, the boot up disk drive was the A: drive and the other floppy drive was the B: drive. When hard disks became commonplace and the OS started to be installed on the hard disk, computers started to ship with only one floppy drive. By then, the 3 ½” floppy began to supersede the 5 ¼” floppy. For a while, computers had one of each floppy drive for compatibility reasons. However, after a while the 5 ¼” drive was phased out totally. There would only be one floppy drive, the 3 ½” floppy which was designated the A: drive. If you are kiasu, you have two. Anyway, by the early 2000s the floppy drives started to be superseded by Zip drives and then, thumbdrives, Flash drives and what have you. As of this writing, the laptop I am using has a removable 3 ½” floppy drive which has not seen any use recently. Most of the data which I used to keep on diskettes have been transferred to my thumbdrive, and the diskettes trashed.

Nowadays, new computers do not even ship with a floppy drive, meaning simply that the use of the designations A: and B: is moribund.

I wonder whether there will be any new convention to eventually reassign the letters A: and B: to some other drive, once the older generation which used floppy disks retire and pass on. Only time will tell. By then, probably the convention of using C: for the main OS disk will have stuck for so long that people will still continue to use it. Perhaps there will come a time when the ‘legend of the lost A: and B: drive’ abounds… but by then, perhaps hard disks, and even computers themselves are already superseded by some nanotechnological device.

Remember cassette tapes? Already been superseded by CDs, themselves superseded by MP3 players. I wonder what nanotechnological device will the technologists of the future use. One that combines the function of a laptop, MP3 player, phone, portable hard disk (a souped up, much less problematic version of the iPhone, most importantly Not dependant on a computer to sync with). And this device will be no bigger than a phonecard, can just fit in a wallet. Just half a century ago, with the big mainframe computers which filled a whole room, laptop computers were a dream. Even the tall servers the size of a cupboard were referred to as ‘minicomputers’, and desktop computers ‘microcomputers’.

dotz.

One of my friends out there has a special message to his gf at the end of every post in his blog. So sweet! But anyway...

Holidays coming to an end soon! well... It's been an interesting and enriching one for me. Given that next holidays I am likely to go for VIP, this holidays would effectively be the last one I can take time out to do whatever I want, especially for either Organisation. Anyway, especially in a very microscopic level of The Organisation, it is better to let the 'younger ones' take charge but it is also very sad that a lot of the old traditions and practices are no longer being practiced.

I remember as a cadet, when we greeted our seniors we were supposed to 'bend the left knee' before paying our compliments. Later this practice was abolished as it was found to damage the tiled floor in the old RV. But I would have preferred it to remain though...

Today I went down to RV as they had their annual handover parade. Coincidentally, I bumped into an ex cadet of mine who just happened to be visiting the school... This handover parade is especially poignant for me as this batch of cadets are also the last one I've overseen in my current capacity. Anyway, they have done well and my best wishes to all of them in their O levels and future endeavours. Looks like as of today, I have closed the chapter on my time as a uniformed group trainer at the schools level... future involvment will be in the form of a co-ordinator role rather than a trainer.

I saw a couple of friends from The Other Organisation conducting training for their cadets from a distance..

---

It takes 4 years' engineering experience to be eligible to attain Professional Engineering certification. After that I am no longer known as Mr. Chua, but Er. Chua. But well, it's the same I guess... Having said all that, a few days ago ST published an article on 'The Boom Time Grads'. Hey, one of those featured earning $3,000 is my JC friend and she still remembers me (she was in the photo with George Bush when he came to Singapore..). Anyway, I hope that come my own graduation, it will still be considered as 'Boom Time' and I will be able to land a good paying engineering job that will put me in good stead to achieve my goal of becoming a PE.

Pay wise I'm not too concerned. But it's the prospects... Then after I've settled down on a career, can start thinking of the OTHER aspect which many of my friends feel I have long neglected... which is courtship and marriage. Well, it's all in the hands of God and no point trying to rush something before its time yeah? (Reminds me of my uncle -- actually my father's cousin -- who at 28 was single and already a high flying performer at some bank. Two years later I attended his wedding and today he is a happy father of 2 kids). But i had a close encounter a while ago... call me scorched by bad experiences, but I will rather reserve my 'energies' for 'The One'...

(:

Do you think it's the same cat? Tell me on my comments box.

Pomp & Pageantry

The past two days have been days of pomp and pageantry for me as a member of The Organisation. Why you may ask me..

This year, to commemorate 40 years of National Service, the SAF invited NSmen to witness the SAF Day Parade. I was one of them due to my involvement in the Organisation (they were also asked to send NSmen)...

This was my 3rd SAF Day Parade (having attended the previous two during my NSF) and the drills never cease to amaze me, especially the trooping of colours. How long and hard they must have trained for the parade is anyone's guess. Anyway, I wonder if either Organisation will be able to pull off a Trooping of Colours... Like one of my friends remarked, 'You see this, then you know our Colours Commissioning is crap!'

During the reception after the parade, I caught up with quite a few of my former superiors in my unit. Some of them had already been promoted to the next rank, am happy for them... Well one of them gave me a tip regarding my future career moves which I am going to take quite seriously...

---

The following day was one of great honour for me. I was picked to be the emcee for The Organisation Awards Investiture. For those not in the know, this Investiture involves the conferring of the Order awards on the distinguished recepients. Most if not all had served The Organisation for the greater part of their adult lives. As a Knighthood was being bestowed, the recepients had the privilege of the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr S.R.Nathan to present the awards.

Mr President is a pretty jovial person and I could see that his smile and handshake was warm and sincere. At the tea reception after that, my fellow officers and myself had the privilege to meet His Excellency. He shook each one of our hands as we introduced ourselves to him. No I did not get to take an individual picture with The President but we had a group photo with His Excellency which I guess is privilege in itself. Anyway, I appeared on national television that night, albeit for a few fleeting seconds and... one of my friends helped record the video clip, something which I am indeed grateful.

Wonder when the next Investiture would be, perhaps by then a new President would have been elected. I remember that when this President was newly elected, I was a cadet in one of the supporting contingents at the General Inspection... and I was able to pick out myself in the photo which appeared in the press.

This event is one whereby I can give myself a pat on the back, as a few of my colleagues in the Organisation did. I am glad I rose up to this challenge...




---

Is it time to call it a day in The Other Organisation? Looks like I should focus my activities, volunteer will only be The Organisation. I have already pruned away one of the activities related to The Other Organisation, although it's a meaningful activity but my schedule will not permit me to commit. Anyway I am just doing mundane stuff in The Other Organisation, whereas in The Organisation, under this leadership at least, I have the latitude to undertake more things to make an impact... however, of course once the leadership changes, it is pretty uncertain as to how the new situation will be like. I speak in riddles but no doubt regular readers (if i have) will be able to discern which Organisation is referred to without the need to name it yeah?

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish?

The 7% GST hike kicked in today. oh well, all the public outcry over the issue has fallen on deaf ears and the 'gahmen' has implemented the hike nevertheless...

Over the past few days the newspapers have been splashed with advertisements along the lines of "Buy Now Before GST Increase!" "Beat the GST Hike!" Obviously this is a very good marketing ploy... I ask... is it worth it?

Say an item priced $1000
GST 5% = $50
GST 7% = $70

Savings = $20... But not all of us buys $1000 items all the time...

How about normal day-to-day goods... say clothes.. electrical applicances. Guess a conservative estimate is $200
GST 5% = $10
GST 7% = $14

Savings = $4... Not enough to cover taxi fare back home...

Maybe those buying car will really save... Price of car: $50000
GST 5% = $2500
GST 7% = $3500

Savings = $1000... Maybe you save on one year's road tax or something (As you can see I don't own a car, therefore pardon me if my figures are a bit off)

So, what for rush to beat the GST hike? It's simply what is called 'Penny Wise And Pound Foolish'.

Why not cultivate good habits to save instead?
1. Take public transport... No doubt car is faster but with a bit of self discipline, wake up earlier... the cost of owning a vehicle here outstrips that of taking taxi to work everyday...
2. Don't subscribe to cable TV, the normal Channel 5 channels are good enough... if you wanna watch soccer, the coffee shops are showing them (ok, i'm not a soccer fan myself, so flame me)
3. Don't watch TV (i don't... hahaz).. use the time to do more productive stuff like write articles on your computer (get $$$ for that)... or for students, shouldn't you be using that time to study instead? :P
4. Don't rush to get all the latest gadgets like now we have the iPhone... the price will drop like nobody's business a few months after the release. So why not get it after the price dropped? Better still, get from eBay or Yahoo auctions, some stuff is available for a steal there...
5. Having said that, buy more 2nd hand stuff off Cash Converters / Yahoo / eBay, some of them are still in relatively good condition and the prices are a fraction of that in the open market.
6. (this will probably not apply for the ladies) No need to buy clothes, maybe just during Chinese New Year for those tradition stalwarts... for me, my wardrobe is more than fully stocked, in fact i think i have excess... LOL! Likewise for running shoes, I'm still using SAF running shoes plus another pair which I got cheaply in Malaysia... and dress shoes are my SAF No.3 shoes :P No necessity to get new ones for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses yeah? (Though i guess a lot of army guys will resent wearing SAF stuff outside.. but it does come in a bit handy)

haha... any more suggestions can just add here...

Who is clever, the students or the dean?

Hi.. Who is clever ? The Teacher or student??

One Night 4 College Students were Playing Till Late Night And Didn't
Study For The Test Which Was Scheduled For The Next Day. In the
morning they thought of a plan. They made themselves look as dirty
and weird with grease and dirt. They then went up to the Dean and
said that they had gone out to a wedding last night and on their
return the tyre of their car burst and they had to push the car all
the way back and that they were in no condition to appear for the
test. So the Dean said they can have the re-test after 3 days. They
thanked him and said they will be ready by that time. On the third
day they appeared before the Dean. The Dean said that as this was a
Special Condition Test, All four were required to sit in seperate
classrooms for the test. They all agreed as they had prepared well in
the last 3 days.The Test consisted of 2 questions
with the total of 100 Marks.

Q.1. Your Name.........................( 2 MARKS )
Q.2. Which tyre burst ?...............( 98 MARKS )
a) Front Left
b) Front Right
c) Back Left
d) Back Right .....!!!

My pet cat playing with a ball (:

SG Secrets

Read of this community in the papers a while ago...

http://community.livejournal.com/sgsecrets

A place where people can just anonymously send their secrets in to. Well it seems most of them are about relationship issues... or friendship issues... others are about self esteem issues. Goes to show that you never know, out of so many people whom you see in the streets everyday, each one of them has their own set of challenges and problems. I have mine too.

But each and every one of us is unique, and it pains me to know that there are those who would destroy that uniqueness by committing suicide... Suicide is never a solution to any problem, it leaves behind a trail of unresolved issues and will also hurt the people closest to you...

The lyrics of these two songs carried me through the dark valleys of my life... and it is my prayer that it will carry someone else through as well. I apologise for those who are not Christian but anyway... see life from a bigger picture and know that there is a higher power up there who is in control, whether we know Him as God or some other name.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know, I know He holds the future
and life is worth the living just because He lives.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Living Full Indeed

Have not had the time to update in a long while as I was busy with various stuff such as:
---
8th Certified Hypnotherapist Course

This was a 10 day course which Dad recommended to me in the hope that I would learn something useful. The course introduced to us hypnosis as an accepted modality in psychology, which when used in a therapeutic setting can help clients overcome a wide range of problems.

I must say that this was a great experience learning the skill of hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis, and more importantly how it can be used to help others.

More information on hypnosis and hypnotherapy can be found here.

---
Leadership and Mentoring Skills Course

This was, like one of my friends put it 'back to the days of going to and fro HTA'. It was the one which i took up the challenge to take one of the lectures. And it was indeed a confidence boosting experience, hearing the positive feedback from my fellow officers and even cadets.

The end of the course was an anticlimax really... but the main thing is that we have imparted useful skills to the cadets. Skills which they will not only be able to apply in their main CCA, but in their life in future.
---
Saturday

My colleagues in The Organisation conducted an interview for the upcoming Sec 3s. It's only now that I appreciate what we are doing in LMSC by imparting the skills to the Sec 3 cadets. No such thing in The Organisation, I really wonder what they are teaching the cadets during Advance NCO course nowadays... Because a lot of them are still stuck in their comfort zone and do not wish to take up Heads of committees, telling us that they are not confident, et cetera.

I hope my juniors will really step out of their comfort zone and not just follow the rest of the crowd. No doubt you always have the right to say 'No' and we respect that. However, our challenge to you is to take up the challenge and take up Heads of committees and other leadership positions. Do not say 'No' just because you will be working with teachers that you 'do not like', because in the working world or even in JC/Poly there will be lots of people who you not necessarily see eye to eye with... but have to work with them nevertheless. This is no doubt a good training ground. Screw up in CCA and at most you get a scolding, screw up in your actual workplace and the consequences can be much more severe...

This is where I really hate the Asian mentality of just going along with the flow and not bucking the trend... See my older post on this issue here...

---

One of my colleagues is leaving The Organisation after 19 sterling years of service. It is sad to see him go, but happy for him that he has made his stand clear and is not allowing others to push him around. It is sad, however, that 'upstairs' has not gotten the message...

---

I have got to know that one of my acquaintances from secondary school had passed away a few years ago... may he rest in peace.

---

I've put on weight these days and found that I had to loosen my belt by one notch... but it's a good thing since I am considered borderline underweight...

---

I alluded to the book on the subconscious mind given by Dad for my birthday and wow, it indeed blows me away. The subconscious mind is indeed a very powerful tool for change and re affirms the truth of the Bible verse: "So as a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

Live Full and Laugh More

Sunday

Celebrated my birthday with dad and a few of his friends. We went to the Gun Club at Rifle Range Road and had fun shooting clay pigeons. Though one thing I must admit is that technique for firing shotguns is totally different than that for M16 or .38. I don't think I scored any whereas Dad scored three out of 26, not bad for a 1st timer...

After that we went to IndoChine, a restaurant along the Singapore River for dinner and birthday celebration.. The food was good, but the company was even better... and the server was pretty jovial as well.

Sorry readers no pictures, did not bring my camera though dad did take a picture of me blowing the candle on my birthday cake :P

Dad gave me an interesting book on the subconscious mind, promises to be an interesting read...

Monday

I went to SANA House to help with the SANA Anti Drug and Inhalant Abuse Badge Scheme courses. For those not in the know, SANA runs this programme for the 9 uniformed groups in Singapore to spread awareness of drug abuse and anti-drug messages to the youth in Singapore. They work with the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and a pool of volunteer course instructors (of which I am one) on this.

It is a fulfilling experience helping keep the youth off drugs. My hope is only that the youth will not just be motivated by the badge alone but learn the real message behind all these. The teenage years are an impressionable time where peer pressure is strong. Hopefully, they will not merely be deterred by the punishments (they did show a video of how an actual caning is conducted) but KNOW that even though it may seem to be 'cool' to engage in vices like drugs, alcohol and sex, it serves to destroy their lives (and their family members's lives) in the long run.

Tuesday

Morning was speech day rehearsal. Now, as to how I got involved in the first place... my unit is pretty short of manpower as the other volunteers are busy with their own committments. But things went smoothly, and we were fortunate to have external help. Now i hope it continues to go smoothly for the other trainings, especially where I cannot make it due to my CH course.

Went for LMSC IPC in the afternoon. Now, this LMSC (Leadership and Mentoring Skills Course) is part of the NCOs training package conducted by The Other Organisation. They needed a lecturer for one of the modules, though and after some hesitation I decided to step out of my comfort zone and take this up.

Wednesday

I received a note that my promotion has been finalised. On to a set of new challenges. No more shall I duck challenges for fear of failure. I'm proud that I took up the challenge to conduct one of the lectures for LMSC.

I am confident. I am sure of myself. I expect a good outcome. Everything I do is blessed. I am grateful to God for the infinite potential He has placed in me, and I am equal to all challenges.

The upcoming semester will be the most challenging one yet. Not only will I have to restrategise AGAIN for my studies, I will also have the added responsibility of being a member of the JCRC. But I chose to take up the challenge and I am equal to it.

For those who wonder where the title of this post came from, it was actually the server's birthday greeting to me on Sunday. And I feel that is one of the keys to being happy and satisfied with life. Well, not satisfied as in complacent but satisfied as in, content with what we have, but yet working hard to achieve better standards. Not sure if you all know what I mean but anyway...

I'll have a 10 days Certified Hypnotherapist course starting tomorrow. It is going to be an interesting, challenging yet fulfiling course and I am looking forward to every bit of it.

NS What-if

What-if...

I was combat fit and went through enhanced BMT.

I will never know... would I be a specialist or an officer instead of
just a CPL?

Results

Got back my results. Suffice it to say that i didn't do *fantastically* well but on the bright side i didn't screw up as badly as i feared. it's somewhat like my 1st sem results, but slightly worse.

Corporal First Class rank

I discovered yesterday that the SAF has introduced the rank of Corporal First Class. It's supposed to be for deserving Corporals who are unable to be promoted to 3SG due to estab requirements.

All I can say is why didn't they introduce this rank earlier? I wonder if I would have been able to be one... I was kind of disenchanted with the system whereby an NSF with A level/Diplomas would be promoted to CPL irrespective of his performance. Granted, with better performance he will get the CPL rank earlier, but the end state is that everyone ORDs as CPL (if the estab does not permit them to hold 3SG).

And plus, I hear the pay for a CFC is $500... (green eyes)...

Wonder if I can still become one! CFC(NS)? Based on my 'Very Good' COS... But then again, if that means being given a key appointment and having to come back more often i rather not...

Stained Glass Masquerade

Is there anyone that fails

Is there anyone that falls

Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around

Everybody seems so strong

I know they'll soon discover

That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay

If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too

So with a painted grin, I play the part again

So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people

Under shiny plastic steeples

With walls around our weakness

And smiles to hide our pain

But if the invitation's open

To every heart that has been broken

Maybe then we close the curtain

On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who's been there

Are there any hands to raise

Am I the only one who's traded

In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing

And we know every line by heart

Only when no one is watching

Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free

If I dared to let you see

The truth behind the person

That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open

Or would you walk away

Would the love of Jesus

Be enough to make you stay

200th post...

Just taking some time to blog about my life since the last post a week ago..

Most of my friends are on internship now while I'm helping out at my relative's company on an ad hoc basis (not engineering related, sadly, so can't claim VIP for that :D) while also helping out at the Staff Club.. as one of the executives is on leave. Anyway, the job is pretty routine - helping with data entry and compiling a database - more like freelance, really, than 8-5. Helping out with SANA, again, but only for a couple of days. Well, at least I'm able to contribute to teach young people not to take drugs. So this holiday (June) will be pretty packed for me. July will be a different story but will cross the bridge when it comes to it...

Attending a workshop by Stuart Tan (Adam Khoo's associate) on Internet Marketing together with my friend this Sunday, the one i talked about in the previous post. He has a website for his own business, so does my relative, both of us are cracking our heads on how to increase traffic to our websites.

To all the mothers out there: Happy Mother's Day!

Last day in hall

Right now most of my stuff has already been shifted back home and here I am, on the last night of my hall stay in AY 06/07 in my hostel room.

Bittersweet feelings if you ask me... I have a challenging holiday of part time work, courses and community service ahead of me which is sure to broaden my experience during these three months. I lived on the top floor of Raffles Hall and at first did not relish the thought of having to climb 4 1/2 flights of stairs to get to my room... but the view is terrific I must say. And as much as I would like to get back the same room, that will really depend on whether anyone else eyes this group of split level rooms.

I had a conversation with one of my friends recently, he bucked the trend by the fact that although he graduated with a pass degree in civil engineering, he's already been promoted once and is being considered for another promotion (with an increase in salary that will bring him above that of a good honours holder). How many 2nd upper holders can get 2 promotions in a year? He's a live example of the fact that a good honours, or honours for that matter is not really the matter - working attitude and competence are what matters.

Of course I will still try my best to get at least a 2nd lower.. i will know on the 26th how close (or how far) I am to that aim.. :P

Some trivia: I reclaimed my Pink IC 2 years ago today.... 12 hours to the exact time.

exams are over

Finally... exams are over... Now what to do during the 3 mth break?

1. Restart my long overdue exercise plan.. my sequence of running, swimming and frisbee during Sem 1 kind of died a natural death... and the swimming pool renovation didn't help that at all.
2. Take some of the Learning Portal courses on IVLE... it's a gold mine of info there...
3. Read the books which have been languishing in my library untouched...
4. Sell those which I have no further practical use for (at Bras Basah Complex)

This month I have not been too uptight (read: more relaxed) about my studies so far... and only time will tell whether this approach has worked.

But for now, it's the holidays! time to hang loose and enjoy it while it lasts... before i plunge into the 2nd half of my education in NUS.

4 sems under my belt, 4 sems more to go.

Mug Parade (warning: strong language)

After reading xin's blog about how she made her pens fall in, i remember this incident which happened during my formative years in The Organisation...

Basic NCO Course Camp back then at the Tuas makeshift campsite. Back then, all of us were issued with a green mug (SAF type). On one of the nights the guys in my tent could not sleep and were just chatting ... and that annoyed some of the instructors. The next we knew...

Instructor(I): "ok, all of you take your mug, come out and fall in."

The first thought that came to my mind was... siao liao... sure kanna tekan liao..

I: "ok, want you all to fall in your mugs... in ranks of three..."

the instructors happened to be having a drink of Sarsi (in one of those 1.5l bottles)...

I: "ok this Sarsi bottle your I/C..."

I: "okay, ready? Skuad.. sedi-A!" .. and we had to lift the mugs up and drive it into the ground together! Then the instructor marched around the mugs and even knocked them down ... and we had to 'move' the mugs according to what they were supposed to be doing... until one of my fellow trainees let out a "kan nee na beh!"

I: "who scolded KNNB? Ok... nevermind... the IC sweat... sweat into the 'NNB Ka Cheng'!"

at that i was like 'sir, really ah?' then i unscrewed the Sarsi bottle and poured into each of the mugs... so they allowed us to take a drink... haha... still remember it to this day very comical... the instructors even called it "The Sarsi Advertisment" after that...

The end is in sight

tomorrow... one more paper.... then... after that.. that's it. ORD LOH!

just as well it's on the last day of the month.

Condolences

On Sunday, a group of 4 teenagers were swept away by strong currents. 3 of them were rescued while a search was still ongoing for the fourth one.

I just read the news today that the body of Debra Koh, a student at Hillgrove Secondary was found yesterday. Although I do not know her personally, the fact that she's from Hillgrove - the school which I help with their NPCC Unit - and my cousins' school - kind of resonated with me. There will definitely be people I know who are close to her... and who are affected by this incident.

Words itself cannot bring forth my feelings about this tragic incident. I just want to convey my deepest sympathy and condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.

--

Same go out to the families and friends of the 2 boys who were lost at Pasir Ris a few weeks ago, too. May they rest in peace.

--

"A Shared Tear

As the sun goes down, we realize
that another day is coming to an end.
We feel for your family and close friends
at the loss of your loved one.

We wish you the peace and assurance
that the reasons are there.
There may be beyond our understanding
at this time, but they do exist

We pray you are comforted during this
time of grief, through your friends and family.

We just want you to know, that
our thoughts and prayers are with you."

a moment's pause to reflect

My heartfelt condolences to the families of the 33 victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. This random, senseless act of violence which should never have taken place has snuffed out 33 lives. My thoughts prayers are with the families of the victims - from the young college freshman to the professor in his 70s.

May the Lord God watch over them in this tough time. My prayers are especially for the family of Seung-Hui Cho... as they must be reeling from the shock now, that one of their own flesh and blood has committed this atrocity... and that there will not be reprisals against them, nor the Asian American community at large.

God Bless America.

My Imagini VisualDNA :D

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On Raffles Hall JCRC Elections

The elections are over and done with and most of us are back to our books, mugging for the exams. As it's an individual nomination, we've had a President and Vice-President from both 'teams'. Good or bad, for the time being it's too early to say - but I hope that both are able to have a good working relationship in time to come.

After the exams the potential secretaries will have three months to think and mull it over. I will categorically state at this point that i am considering it, but at this point it is too early to say anything.

At this point I must express my thanks to Junda, Kah Yat and Ying Ting for having the courage to put themselves forward and stand for this election. Especially for Ying Ting whom, knowing it'll be an uphill battle, still stood forward. Even despite people posting disparaging comments on his tag-board (under the mask of anonymity). This resident has the passion for hall, just needs a bit more time and experience, do not be disheartened... I'll be looking forward to seeing him run again next year, or even later this year for one of the secretaries.

Likewise for Junda and Kah Yat who have also stepped forward and put themselves up for election. Hope you are not disheartened by this result... Both have passion for hall and hope they will also continue to contribute to hall as one of the secretaries.

Finally for the successful candidates, Keith and Fu Qi. Having known Keith for quite while (and more or less know Fu Qi, being in her block) I hope to have a good working relationship with both of them in time to come, in whichever capacity I finally assume.

Will take some time to think of some stuff for hall and etc... but that can wait. Now, time to 'clutch in' and shift to the next higher gear ... for exams. I have twelve days left. Supposed to be in fifth gear now but I am still somewhere below there. But I'm not so concerned about the outcome, just going to do the best I know how to, and trust God above all else.

The Two Organisations Meet

Today was The Other Organisation's Annual Event preview and they approached The Organisation for first aid coverage. By sheer coincidence it was my school which sent ppl to help... and requested for officers to help too. After some hesitation I stepped forward...

It was a mistake to wear the uniform of The Organisation there... because my friends from The Other Organisation recognised me and were pretty surprised. I had half a mind to pretend to be my twin brother but decided against it, after all same name tag? I should have just worn a neutral T shirt (like a normal white polo tee) then at least, ppl from either Organisation will have felt that I was there on the premise of their Organisation. Now the people from The Other Organisation all know about it, and they also probably know that I did not grow up in The Other Organisation... anyway

I had a short chat with a few of my friends from The Other Organisation today and found that currently, they are experiencing a bit of disarray due to some movement at 'the top'. I have not been involved in The Other Organisation HQ activities for very long (after SYFOC), moreover that was the period that I was reappointed to a more active position in The Organisation...

So now, what done is done, I wore the uniform of The Organisation at an event of The Other Organisation. Pretty much takes the cake eh? But I guess most of my friends from either Organisation are pretty cool about it. It's just that I would have preferred not to let the cat out of the bag, but anyway..:D

I still wonder in the end if I will continue long in The Other Organisation as it seems that there are a lot of changes taking place now. But anyway, The Organisation also experiencing a lot of changes... haiz... Guess I just continue what I am doing and concentrate on what is important for me now...

On a totally unrelated note, UniSIM currently has courses for working adults, where they can just take additional courses in their spare time to upgrade themselves towards a degree. I wonder if it would be possible for me to enroll in UniSIM after i graduate, and work on a Masters or even a PhD 'own time, own target'?

After all i really admire those who go back to university when they are already in their middle age, to study alongside people young enough to be their children. They really embody the spirit of 'huo dao lao, xue dao lao' (Chinese translation: Lifelong learning.)

I have a list of courses in mind which I hope to attend to upgrade my knowledge, some pertaining to my training in The Organisation. Time now does not permit, and I regret not making use of my time serving The Nation to take these courses... but anyway, it's never too late to start planning. Anyway, my time serving The Nation has brought to me some intanglible benefits, not to mention a few relevant courses.

Raffles Hall JCRC Elections

And so it's the time of the year again when we elect the next batch of leaders for our hall. And this time round, the positions are contested, which means that residents will get the chance to vote...

Wasp nest!

Of late I've been wondering why dead caterpillars have been showing up at my doorstep. Today I found out why. There was a brownish looking mound on top of my door frame and it turned out that it was indeed a wasp nest. The dead caterpillars was a result of it. I only realised it when I came back after lesson and saw to my chagrin an adult wasp on top of it.

A quick call to Siew Teng was the result and he came down, efficient as he is, to take a look at it. A few hours later one of the cleaner (the very nice uncle) came to remove it. After removing he told me he saw a few 'green worms' inside and I finally realised the source of all these caterpillars! :P

Just Follow Law?

Taken off a comment on a blog somewhere...

The one thing that the sucky NUS engineering education really drove into my head is that anything is legit to achieve your target. Following the rules is just NOT emphasized or properly rewarded. Mostly, honest folks who follow arbitary rules are made to feel like idiots.

'Re-engineering' term papers, rehashing lab reports etc, these are common practices in a mad schedule. You think the deans list people and 2nd uppers aren't doing it?

It is a sad revelation rather than a heartening englightenment. Yet it is something most wonderfully relevant in the dog eat dog world. There is no black and white, only greys.

Real people in the real world will 'cheat the system' as much as they can get away with. On one end of the scale, there are jaywalkers. On the other, there are lawyers, accountants and politicians.

Well said! I couldn't agree more.

To quote Fann Wong's character (as in the 'rehashed' one) in the movie Just Follow Law, 'it's not about whether we can do or cannot do... it's about whether we DARE to do or not'

But that was a pointed jibe against the red tape in the civil service which I experienced for 2 1/2 years.

How about in NUS?

Copying lab reports (a.k.a. borrowing senior's/friends' lab reports 'for reference')? It's obvious that most lab reports are just a rehash of some great(^n) grand senior's lab report done in 1996... even the errors are still there and best of all the TA failed to spot it...

Other stuff like cheating in those 'held-in-the-LT-tests?' and the one which takes the cake which is 'increasing the size of the real estate on the helpsheets via post-it notes'.

Seems to me that it's the other facs like FASS or Law which are anal about plagiarism. As for Engin, there's nothing much to plagiarise (though it bemused me that one of the examples in the 'plagiarism video' from the 'authorities' was that of copying a lab report. But the student in the 'example' was really asking for it by copying the VALUES, my goodness... everyone knows that different specimens have different parameters...)

Sounds pretty much like SAF Rule No.8: "Do what you want... Just Don't Get Caught"

April Fool's Day!

Wonder what kind of April Fool's jokes will be played today... haha

Did you know that the Ang moh's tradition is that April Fool's jokes can only be practiced in the morning?

wikipedia article - looks like there were some people who actually believed them, lol

Some thoughts about the exams and other stuff

And it is the time of the year that university students get stressed out over the approaching final examinations.

The judgement day that will determine how well we did for the modules...

Oh well, how prepared we are for it will determine it. Hopefully I won't screw up too badly...

At this moment people are still playing (there's some IFG or IVP, dunno which, competition going on at the hard court now) and of course the age old DOTA is still the rage. i have long deleted Doom from my system and made it such that it is very tedious to re install it. Probably will not re install it even after the exams due to my temp job which i am taking up...

My bicycle is getting pretty beat up due to the rain, the air in the tyres is also in need of some refilling. Guess it wasnt such a good decision bringing it here, will have to think about leaving it at home and letting my family members use it. I don't use it often anyway cos its not a very friendly cycling environment in NUS.

I spoke to my good senior within the Organisation yesterday trying to dissuade him from his 'decision'. Well, looks like his mind is made up. Now let's hope that some other people have good sense not to force him in this respect.

Today is the day when members of the Organisation will pound the streets seeking donations. Being stuck in school all day long (with revision and subsequently work) i dont think i will run into any of them. Anyway, hope the figure gets higher this year. I am still mulling over whether to go down tomorrow to help count the donations. Or, since technically I am supposed to be 'moved up', maybe I should let the 'younger ones' have the chance to take charge. That's part of the qualities of leadership I guess... to groom other leaders to take over. Else they will just grow frustrated and leave after a while.

Succession is at the top of my mind when it comes the the Organisation, even more than the on going problem (which i have put on the back burner till after my exams) regarding recognising members of the Organisation for a period of service equivalent to a decade.

Decade just took on a new meaning for me. For my fellow students taking ME2142 (Feedback Control Systems) they will know that it refers to every scale of 10 on a log graph paper scale.

Ok, based on my study plan that will be done on Monday... Today is still Maths day and I have finally mastered the PDEs (which was Victor Tan's stuff all along.) Ever wonder why I got a C+ for MA1506? :'(

I'm now trying to download old exams from the NUS portal but to my chagrin, the website has some problem!! now the only one i have is an old ME2114 and MA3501 paper.. guess that will have to make do.

(seniors, got any? :P:P)

Okay, time to take stock, 25 days to the exams means precisely 5 days per module and time to shift up to the next higher gear. All students having exams now Good Luck All the best... and remember... just do your best and not focus on the final result...

A4 helpsheet for exams

Another important reminder. Please take note that you are not allowed to increase the size of the real estate on the A4 helpsheet through the use of additional stick-on, or "Post It", notes.

I wonder how many people have tried to 'choot' this 'stunt' before... Real estate, haha

The Organisation

Today was a day of utter disappointment and anger at some things which are transpiring within the Organisation...

It turned out that the interview will result in me becoming a small fish in a big pond instead of a big fish in a small pond. And to complicate matters, one of my bestest buddies in the Organisation who has seen me from a young cadet to where I am now, has made the decision to leave the Organisation after serving for close to two decades. Sad to see him go, and feelings are made worse when it is because of a misjudgment made by the top management in the Organisation.

Another thing which made me very angry is one of the events held in the Organisation recently. Apparently, the organisers made a mistake which has repercussions on one of my stakes within the Organisation. Well, just have to see how things unfold from here on... meanwhile, i am in 'hibernation mode'... :D

in response.

EDIT: post removed.

Some thoughts about the Organisation

I received a note earlier today that I have been nominated to attend this interview that may see the addition of another 20 grams on my epulatte..a black cloth behind my collar lapel...

Somehow, after 10 years of serving the Organisation, and seeing my juniors rise through the ranks and are now same rank as me, I have grown ambivalent towards such things. Perhaps I have taken the cue from my senior, who despite involving in so many activities has chosen to stay put where he is and not move up. This I salute him, and it will take me some time to get used to being the same rank as him (if the interview is successful) as i always view him as my senior no matter what. And I will continue to address him as Sir. However, knowing the situation as it is, I do not wish to make any predictions as nothing is confimed until the rank is finally put onto my epulatte during the presentation ceremony. (EDIT: and I was darned right)

In coming so far, my success would not be possible without two people. You, who has seen me from the time when I was an impetuous sec 4 cadet and when I had to be reined in and told off to avoid making a fool out of myself. And you, who have silently always been there supporting the Corps, and filling in the gaps where I have missed out, while at the same time not compromising on your academics. I salute you both.

another interesting day!

today was NUS open house and i did quite a few things today...

1. in the morning, go there and pretend to be a freshie, which included get goodie bag but most importantly to support Raffles Hall's booth. was thinking of going to help out tomorrow but anyway...
2. the main highlight, i performed in the afternoon with a couple of friends from RH Unplugged! We had planned and practiced for this performance over the last couple of months and were now ready to give our best - which we did, it's very well done and i am glad to have had this opportunity!
3. after my performance ended, went for NUS The Other Organisation's AGM in the afternoon, at Bt Timah Campus (and got another goodie bag which included a very interesting book on the Supreme Court and the judicial system of Singapore.) think it was quite exciting and got to know a few new friends from there... :) congratulations to the newly elected exco, look forward to working with u guys...
4. after that went for dinner with my friends, and then to RV for UG camp...

Well the bane of any uniformed group officer nowadays is cadets who give attitude problems and we must now think of new ways to help them. I think they really need to understand the objective of the education system is to prepare them to step out into the world. Not just to equip you with head knowledge but also soft skills, how to deal with people, all these will be required of them in their future careers. Should they simply choose to kick against the goads, they are ultimately at the losing end.

As mentors for the cadets, ultimately we have their well-being at heart but sometimes, we have to come across harshly in order to get them to learn. Actually, a school setting is a very forgiving place towards mistakes (I wouldn't say the same about NUS where we have the CAP system and of course, not about life where a single misstep can cost dearly, depending on the circumstances.) One of my profs once said, he would rather we make a mistake in the course where at most, instead of A we get B, instead of B we get C. Rather than we make a mistake outside, where an engineer making a mistake, causes building to collapse; doctor making a mistake, causes patient to die; lawyer making a mistake, loses the case. Consequences are much more severe than simply getting a lower grade in school.

Something to think about, perhaps my comments may be applicable not just to UG training but also to normal school setting...

spring cleaning of my msn contact list

as i logged on to my msn from a different terminal today (using Windows Live Messenger) i saw that the contacts whom i have deleted in the past are still there under 'Non-Instant Messaging Contacts'. Began to delete them, this time permanently, one by one... At which i also started to look through my MSN contact list and decided to do a spring cleaning of my contacts.

Even when face to face interaction has been largely taken over by MSN, there comes a point when we speak to one another less and less often until one day, we look at this name on our contact list and wonder 'who's this fellow?'

So went the spring cleaning... All those people whom I deleted are those whom i have not spoken to in a long while... For some, I don't really know them, maybe they were a project group mate from two semesters ago, or an ex colleague from my temporary job, or even old classmates whom we've lost contact with. Oh well. Ppl come and go in our lives and it's a challenge to make an effort to maintain each and every one of these friendships...