2014 Review

So in this one year that i barely blogged, what happened?

(1) 2 academic semesters have passed
and i find myself still not liking the course i'm studying.
I had never hate studying that much until i came to university.
up to secondary school was still fine,
studying were really just acquiring new knowledge & doing my best.
studying at JC was tough because the content is harder & wider.
it was challenging and demoralizing but not yet hatred.
studying at university was just so sickening.
oh my gosh.
annoying module bidding,
irritating projects, presentations, exams
unhelpful, judgmental, just-teach-and-retire professors,
bla bla bla
i know i know, being a student is much better than working as a adult
but still, i can't deny that i'm not happy from studying at uni.
well, in any case, i'm trying real hard to appreciate my time now yea.

The only time i actually enjoyed school time
is when i took elective modules that were outside of my faculty.
I took 2 social science modules this year,
Sociology and Philosophy, at introductory level.
Don't judge me for taking philosophy hor! Hahaha because many people did.
These are modules that i know i won't major in
but i felt that it's always good to expose myself to other disciplines.
and i did enjoyed taking the 2 modules.


(2) i took up several part-time jobs this year during the semester itself
the slightly longer ones i had worked for includes
being a receptionist at a country club in the earlier semester
(where i overloaded my modules & worked during the weekends)
and being a usher under 2 separate departments in the later semester
(meaning to say i took up 2 jobs concurrently while studying).

working part-time while still studying is tough though
but the salary earned did helped to provide some income for myself.
in some sense it kinda made me more willing to spend a little more on myself.
haha, i mean like, for people who know me well enough,
i barely go out with friends or buy things for myself
just so that i could save a little more money here and there ya.

At least 1 thing i'm proud of myself from such hectic schedule is that
i'm quite impressed with my time management skills though.
hahaha. like seriously lah, how did i even survived that.
I guess i would attribute part of it to Google calendar. =)


(3) i volunteered at the NDP
the one giving directions to the public and doing some ticketing.
hahaha let's just say that it's an experience
but i will never do it again.
reason being,
the hospitality management there were generally managed by youths
and working with a sea of youths who are much younger than i am
isn't quite what i could handle. hahha
i think i kinda lost that energy and drive that they had many years back.

Nonetheless, i made some really nice friends
in particular, Lionel Neo who was my group leader.
He isn't holding on to too high a educational qualification but
he is a man of values and doing something meaningful as his job.
Also met some old army friends who were there for the shows
and saw Warrent Keith who were part of the marching contingent's training team.
He is one of few commanders in my unit days that i really respected much.


(4) i helped out at a orientation camp
Surprising right? hahaha
but i really did
and i'm glad i did.
As i was involved with mostly back end logistical work,
i didn't really get to interact much with the camp participants i.e. the new freshmen.
Nonetheless, it was really an unique collaboration
between members of this small organising committee
that made the whole experience a really great one.
Made really great friends there ya.


(5) i got myself involved as a exco of a student society
like seriously. hahha
it was like one of the last thing i wanted to do and ended up doing.
oh well, it's a position i'm STILL holding on to,
so i shall not comment much.

but talking about student organisations, speaking generally
i always firmly believed in

#1 The quality of events organised by student groups CAN be as good as a professional body if and only if the organizing committee wants it to be good 

#2 Organised events are only truly beneficial when it's meant from the heart and not because of traditions (that it has been done for the past several years, so let's continue) or because of norms (that other societies are doing too, so let's do it too).

i always hate it when organizers do things for the sake of doing things
or following through motion
but as i took up the position at the committee level
i helplessly find myself ending up doing things i hate people were doing

oh well, youths these days have very limited view of what they attribute as fun
so whatever.
i will do my best nonetheless.


(6) I went on a museum hopping in June
because there are many places where i always wanted to go but had never did.
it was fun to be hopping around museum all by myself
and it feels great to be experiencing new things.
i need short getaways from hectic life like these from time to time.
so yea, finally have it checked on my list.


(7) I attended several workshops, talks and seminars throughout the year
which were to me, some form of self-enrichment.
I meant like since i'm in NUS,
might as well utilise the available resource the school have
and benefit from the programmes that is within my accessibility as a student.
While some workshops were truly beneficial, some talks were just plain boring.
Hahaha, Okay lah, truth is i just need some getaway from studies
because i simply hate the course i'm studying.


(8) I tried to be socialable.
hahahha okay, it's damn hard for me alright! hahaha
keeping conversation going is definitely not my strength. lol.
and it doesn't help when my energy span is pretty short.
like i get tired pretty easily once i step out of my home.

But i tried my best okay!
i went out a little more often this year
to places other than school or workplace. HAHAHAHA.
Dinners with friends, outing with family, etc.


(9) I have learnt that i just have to get comfortable with myself.
Because this is a critical step to doing other things in life as i move on
and to a happier self. =)



With that, 2014 has been a busy year but one full of new experiences, both good and bad.
2015 is expected to be tough year for me.
The upcoming semester will be quite a heavy and challenging one
while the semester following after is one where most of my close friends
go for their SEP (Student Exchange Programme).
Plus, according to the fengshui forecast,
it says my luck for the the next lunar year is pretty bad.
Hahaha, better to believe and prepare okay!

Hahha alright, whatever happens, no matter how tough things get,
i just wished for a happy year ahead
for myself, for my family and for my friends who i care for.

Elements of Strong Bonding

It's been nearly a year since I posted anything
and it's holidays again.

I feel a review on how my 2014 has been is necessary
but i think i will leave it for another day.

Just today, as i was nua-ing at home
my sister was watching some Korean show called 'Mix and Match'.
It was basically a competition to choose 7 guys out of 8
to form the members of a boy band for debut.
Just as i was sitting beside her to watch part of it,
which so happened to be the ending of the last episode,
it somehow got me to the memories of my army days.

At the ending part, it was recapping how this group of boys
got together (with 3 new trainees added to their original composition),
get through the several months of boot-camp style of training & practices
(i.e. they don't really get to go home during that period)
all the way to bidding welfare because someone will eventually fall out of selection.

On the last night in the house they stayed,
they gathered in the living room for a group sleep (as they called it)
where they talked their hearts out and kept really closer to each other.
From their final competition day to the last night and the following morning,
they kept giving each other hugs & held each other hand to support each other.
By that, i don't meant romance but the brotherhood (or bromance, if i can called it).
It is not hard to see the kind of close bonds between each of them
that they had formed over the few months.


This somehow got me thinking about the days when i was in my unit.
From initially, getting posted to this signal unit with 8 other guys
whom i was barely know (don't even talk about close)
even though we were posted from the same platoon back in training institute.
So then, we spent the next 1.5 years together in the same bunk,
did saikang together (from scraping numerous Bronco internals
to cleaning nearly a hundred sets of radio for 2 years of Exercise Wallaby),
went for 2 overseas exercise together
and lived with each other in the same bunk every week.
Some minor conflicts here and there
(like say for me, i had one major one with Yuheng for his excessive talking
& a minor one with Zhaofeng for his noisy magic card games)
but along the way, as things happens,
we become more aware of everyone's likes and dislikes,
we also become more understanding towards each other
and eventually we got closer altogether.


And then, as we try to relate this back to our university/working life
do you find it hard to find friends around you who are really close enough?

So what's the point i'm trying to make?
Perhaps i feel, the best way to build relationships with your friends is to
live together under one roof & sleep together in the same room
for a considerably long period of time.
Only then can it get us to understand more about each other & get closer together.
Of course, important thing is that we must not putting a front of resistance
which is a problem i faced when i went back to school during my repeat year in JC.
I had a hard time trying to blend in
because not everyone was willing to open up to my unexpected presence
more so when they are already settled with their own clique of friends.

Some people say if you haven't go on a overseas trip
with your boyfriend/girlfriend and stayed together for a few days,
you would probably not have seen the real him/her.
While there might be some wisdom in that,
i shall end this post for today.

(For O-Level Results Takers) Open House Dates 2014

PDF versions of the above image are available upon request by dropping me a email at zhenwei91@gmail.com

2013 in Review

well, my 2013 is relatively good i guess.

spent the first 7 months working part time at Kaplan

and completed a semester of studies at NUS the last 4 months.

pretty fruitful year i would say.

working at Kaplan was really a great experience for me,

especially when i got the chance to work across various departments.

seeing lots of things and learning lots of things.

really got to thank my bosses & colleagues there for taking good care of me! =D

and then i went to university. like finally. haha.

2 years of ns in between made it felt so long. =\

i won't really say i enjoyed what i'm studying

but i think signing up for those workshops/seminars/talks outside my curriculum 

did enriched me a lot and kept me going through the dreadful semester

(particularly so when i'm not very passionate with what i'm studying).

after some thoughts, i think i still learn best without commitments.

but then again, when it comes to things i don't like but have to learn,

structured rigid curriculum still works for me.

nothing new really happen, so yea, it's the same few things.

haha, okay. perhaps it's the year that i finally got silver for IPPT
other than the final IPPT i did for BMT.
so congras to myself! =)
and now the new window of torture is opened again.
this time can pass can liao.
other than that, i haven't been blogging much this year also
and a check on the dashboard gave me 8 counts of post, including this. haha 

blogging is not longer the 'in' thing already. twitter days now.

actually i don't know if i will keep this blog going on but

i think i will leave it here for now ba.

it's going to be 2014 soon. in a few days, it's another year gone.

plenty of concerns for the future

and getting increasingly restless with life.

i'm just hoping things will just smooth out eventually ba.

Updates

The last time i wrote was 6 weeks back.
There we go, another 1+ month is gone.
Half the semester is over & today marks the end of the recess week.
Next would be the second half of the semester and then exams.

To be honest, i'm still not liking the things it is now.
As i had been asking around,
everyone seems to be doing well with their life and all
except me.
Perhaps a few complains about the struggle for more time
to do tutorials and readings, other than that
most of the guys i spoke to are generally fine with life.
Me?
I'm still feeling quite unsettled with life as a university student.
I don't find that sense of purpose and direction to work hard for.
I have zero motivation to study
(okay, maybe the only one that i had is just for the degree)
It really made me wonder how the hell did i get all those energy
to study THAT hard during secondary school.
I know i'm lazier when i was in JC than i was in secondary school
and i can say i'm even more lazy now than i was in JC.
I don't know if it's after going through
the 2 years of army and 6 months of work at Kaplan
which gotten me seen through things
that life is more than studying,
and that education today has became less meaningful
or perhaps, i just got plain lazy.

I simply don't understand how topics like project management
could be so theorised that it's like 80% on planning.
I don't understand why we pay that amount of school fees
just to hear very surfaced explanations
and asked to refer to the reference textbook for details.
I don't understand how almost all my group projects could end up
somehow or another related to the green environment
even when the module/topic of study is not.

Praying that things will improve for the better.
I'm really getting increasingly demotivated.
Let me end up with this song ba. Hai. =\

 

Back to School!

I'm not really that excited for school
but well, it's time that i have to go.


26 July 2013 was my last day of work at Kaplan.
A meaningful 7-months worth of working experience
where i learnt a lot in a very fast-paced environment
and i am really glad that as a temp staff,
i think i was really well treated and taken care of. =)
If i were to say one of my key takeaways that i learnt
it was that i truly understood what it meant when people says
a team comprises of different individuals,
each with his/her strengths as well as weaknesses,
it's all about helping each other out with your strengths
and to cover for each other's weaknesses within the team.
Everyone is bound to be weak is something, we just got to be understanding. =)

The week after that was my orientation week
which i was kinda disappointed with the way how it's organised
if i were to compare with the previous orientation camp i attended in early July.
First of all,orientation are meant to orientate
i.e. introduce freshmen to the new environment
second to that would be to forge friendships and build bonds
Both of which are best done with some fun so that it will be enjoyable and memorable.
Apparently, this orientation week i went just failed to facilitate that.
It just felt like we are following through motion;
because orientation requires games to be played, that's why we are playing.
Something that like.

Attended the Freshmen Inauguration Ceremony and
my school Dean's Welcome Tea
the following week
which many people skipped. haha.
Oh well, i just felt that it is only completed to attend the full series of activities
from orientation to the ceremony and welcome tea.
If you just attend that more full-filling orientation and not the potentially boring ceremony,
it just show so much of a person you are la. That's how i see it.

Talking about the ceremony (sidetracking a bit),
i find it very disturbing when people leaves the venue half way through the ceremony
because it is simply too boring for them.
Perhaps it's because i was from Band last time and went for a number of concerts before,
i just feel that it is just not right and so rude to leave the venue half way through a event.
Number 1, you just neglected that all the effort put in by the organizers to make this event happen.
Number 2, you know how fucking long does it takes for performers to prepare for such events.
Recently i just went for a industry talk organised by the institute,
strings of people are leaving the auditorium throughout talk
even when the speakers are presenting
and quite a number people left after the last speaker spoke but before the Q&A session begins.
It is just so rude, i felt.
People just need to learn some etiquette, like reallyyyy.
Speakers take time off their schedule for the talk which could have been better spent, you know?

Anddddd just this week, school started.
From the chats with my friends after our first week of lectures,
it seems like that most of them are doing good and adapting well.
I think i'm not. =(
It's just first week
and i'm already feeling kinda stress.
I felt a little uncomfortable with this course that i'm studying.
(it's Project and Facilities Management, in case you guys don't remember)
To be honest, i kinda regretted that i choose this course.
Perhaps, this is not exactly the industry (building) that i wanted to be in
but this is also the next nearest thing that i can find in the course list (management related courses).
Although when i applied for this course, i'm aware that it's going to be project-based.
But it's now that i am in it that the fact sank down my mind 
that this module is really very heavy on projects
and it's not something i'm in favour of.
Or maybe i should put it this way:
this course i'm taking is beyond my strengths and comfort zone
and i'm quite worried that i would just screw my grades up and fail to graduate.
After all, A-Level itself was quite a huge hurdle for me
that i actually took it twice.
What make me think i could go through university?
Hai.
Shall see how semester 1 goes before i take any actions ba.
Let's just hope things will not turn out to be as bad a i thought.

It's getting late now, guess i shall sign off.

May Updates

at the blink of an eye, it’s May already.
it’s been 6 months since i ORD-ed, 4+ months since i started working.

over the course of 4+ months that i worked,
i’ve actually transferred department 3 times across 3 departments
and probably 1 of the few rare temp staff who does so. haha
Hopefully that helps with more things to write in my resume. LOL

Also, i made an attempt on IPPT last month
which as i expected, failed. =\
for the month after, i did tried training up by going for more runs and workouts
but seems like still no improvements.
looks like i really need to start booking IPT before it turns into 20 RTs
and probably alone. can’t seems to find any accompany. hai.
SIAN.

in another few months, school is going to start.
which goes all the way back to 3, 4 years back
when i didn’t do well enough for my A-Levels the first time round
and went through the trouble to disrupt NS just to go back to school
to repeat JC2 and retake the papers again.
I did better the second round and i’m glad i did.
However, things didn’t just end as that.
When i was still halfway through NS, i see my friends ORD-ing one by one
and now that i’m finally going to enrol into uni,
i see my female friends graduating.
Well, after experiencing 2 years of NS, few months of working life
and now that i’m finally going to university,
i can’t help but think
whether the 3 years of hard work that i took for A-level is worth it?
I know i know, i definitely need to get a degree
considering that i still didn’t managed to get a full A-Level passed
but going back to studies just seems so not appealing.
Not to talk back the finance and all that needs to be taken care of.
Hai.

Well, besides all that,
things hasn’t really been going smoothly for me these days.
So let me quote my BMT company 2IC’s words
”Shit happens in life. Be a man and suck it up.”

Updates

It's been a long long while since i updated this
but well,
life just get increasingly busy and boring
when you start to work.
Not that i hate my job or what
but stepping into the society out there and work
just brings about a rather monotonous life.

Job wise, i'm certain that i have learnt much the past few months
and i do hope i will continue to.
If not, it's really going to be meaningless to be just working for the sake of it.

Life wise, much struggles to endure,
much challenges to face.
Besides the occasional helplessness,
i still do secretly hope something pleasant comes out of it.
Let's just take a step at a time ba.

Look Out!

anyone have job opportunities in the sector of graphic, web or product design? helping a much-deserved friend (who i'm indebted to) to look for one. let me know okayy! thanks =)

Resume

For the past few weeks that i was working,
as part of my job to tidy the P-files of trainers
and arranging interviews for potential new trainers,
i have seen many different types and forms of resume
and thought it will be good for me to write some points down
if you happen to came across this post of mine while doing your resume.

1. Keep your resume really short
(maximum of 2 pages; 4 pages if you really have much experience to write down)
Honestly, no one actually will read every single thing you wrote on your resume
and long resume is a turn off. Anything more than 4 pages is really too much.
I've seen resume as long as 8 pages.
By short, i don't mean squeezing lots of words into one page.
Summarise. Space out appropriately. So that each word used is of its value.

2. Use standard and presentable font
Mostly used appropriate fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, etc.)
however, i did see one that used those typewriter kind of font.
I'm sure you can imagine how his resume would be like.
His resume is on the keep-in-view pile now i think.

3. Refrain from putting a photo of yourself
Best if you not put, if you want to be judged based on what you have written.
People have a tendency to judge someone by their looks
and if you happen to not look good,
it will definitely affect your chance of getting a job.
Even if you looked good, i doubt you want to be employed just because of your looks.
You are definitely worth more than that.

4. Keep your cover letter short, if you want to include one
Resume itself is good enough, to me.
Cover letter is more of showing your interest in the job,
leave how good you are in your resume.
Fyi, cover letter is seldom printed together with your resume,
so if you want your cover letter be seen, make it the 1st page of your resume.
That is if you want to.
I don't really see the importance of a cover letter.
Oh, and don't start it with a question.
(Eg. Are you looking for someone who has ....... to be your ......?)
It's like -_-

5. Don't be constrained by a standard layout or format for your resume
Feel very free to do your resume
with your own style, own format and own layout.
I've seen many nice, neat resume with very clear points.
So be creative about it. =)


There are definitely many other tips on how you can write a good resume
(just google and you will find lots of it)
but i thought the above-mentioned are the more significance ones.
Hope it helps.
You can leave your comments below, if you have similar advice, or better.
=)