Job Search

I officially have a job...

Consider myself quite fortunate... and quite ironic that among my circle of friends I have the lowest CAP but yet, am the first to pin down a job... proves that CAP does not matter yeah? :D

Class of honours only affects the starting pay... but it will all even out in the end... If it was on the basis of my grades, i would never have even been shortlisted... but in spite of that, having a good honours comes as a bonus but not the be-all-and-end-all that some make it out to be.

I was asked recently "what's the use of getting an NYAA Gold? what does it do?"

The experiences and character development one gains through participating in the programme is priceless... It's a pity some cannot see the point of participating in CCAs.

Although I have little exposure to culture and sports CCAs (having been a strong uniformed groups and committees person all my life) I consider my CCA experience to have been pretty enriching, culminating in achieving the NYAA Gold this year.

And now, nearing the end of my formal education I look back at the past 25 years and ask myself: what would I have done differently?

The thing I would have wanted to do differently was, I would have wanted to be combat fit and have at least a chance of trying out for command school during NS... Not because I want the pride of being an officer but I want the experience of undergoing the process...

But then again everything works out for a purpose. Due to certain reasons (which may in the end be a blessing in disguise), I ended up not being combat fit and as such, unable to pursue my dream of a career in the SAF. But 2 years and 4 months in that organisation (and seeing a side not depicted in the recruitment ads) made me think long and hard about whether is it worth it?

It's a blessing in disguise that I am not saddled with the liability of taking IPPT and pushing my body to certain arbitary standards. Yes exercise is good but everyone's bodies are designed differently...

Perhaps more exposure to sports in my younger days would have done me good.

Recording

i wonder why some people think NUS Faculty of Engineering has the facilities to do recording of TV / Radio shows. Even if by a long shot they have, it's not Department of Mechanical Engineering for crying out loud.

just invest in a DVD recorder, how much does it cost?

Not that i don't want to help you. I just don't want to tell you that it can be downloaded from MOBTV when in the end it cannot (and the recording is lost forever)

i wonder...

Warrant of Appointment

You are hereby appointed an Officer in the St. John Ambulance Brigade in the rank of

rank

Zone

Corps

You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duties of that rank by exercising and disciplining both the subordinate officers and members in the said Brigade.

I do hereby command them to obey you as their senior officer, and you are to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from the Chief Commissioner or any of your senior officers according to the regulations of the St. John Ambulance Brigade (Overseas Edition) in pursuance of the trust hereby reposed in you.

Given at St. John Ambulance National Headquarters under the Seal of the said Brigade, 1 January 2008

By order of the National President, National St. John Council

DR CHEN SZE HUA

Chief Commissioner

Projects: 2 down 1 to go (excluding FYP)

Today was the ME4105 presentation.. finally.. *phew* what a relief...

however I missed all my lectures today.. so far it's 4 hours worth of ME4223 lecture and 2 hours worth of ME3112 lecture... for ME3112, not much use anyway since i still don't understand the module...

If you love something set it free

In past semesters I will always have at least one module which I am confident of scoring in... there will be modules whereby 'it can go either way'.... this semester, ME4105 & GE3880A -> 'can go either way' because based on the NUS

ME4223, SIGH! I screwed up the mid term and screwed up the make up even worse! And for ME3112, SIGHx2! Guess I have to do my best to gain at least an understanding for the module.. especially since i have seen enough of the C+ grade and do not wish to get it again...

If it comes back to you it was meant to be

then again, i have not seen enough of A, A- and not seen A+ at all... lol..... maybe next sem with only 2 modules on top of FYP I will go for that....

Tomorrow I'll have my interview with, and this time I have to travel all the way down to their premises. Got to be there by 8:30am, and given the 'ulu'-ness of hte place, I have to be on the bus by 7am. How crazy is that? Good thing that when I actually start working there, it will be MRT from home... not that bad at all. I may have to acquire a personal transport though due to the low frequency of the connecting bus service...

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was shortlisted. I had never expected it. In this era of economic uncertainty, when I have 'Chicken Little' seniors talking about how difficult will be to get a job, recession etc... it would be good to confirm my placing by the end of this year.

If not it was never yours to begin with

It's a good time to begin thinking about New Year resolutions for 2009. 2008 was a pretty good year for me in terms of my CCA. I served and completed my term as the 49th JCRC Hon Gen Secretary. I did the most for SJAB this year as compared to previously (and if I took up OTC, that would be even more). I achieved my Drill Instructor's badge, thus completing some 'unfinished business' left over from 2003. And my pinnalce achievement this year - the NYAA (Gold) award I received from The President on my brother's birthday.

But I also overestimated my capabilities in taking 6 modules this sem (even though I wanted to S/U the last one, but still, I feel it was not worth it.) Although I no longer had JCRC committments, all the miscalleneous committments from SJAB took up much of my time. Not that I was any good in those calculation based modules. To think about it, from year 1 Maths and Physics I already started off on the wrong foot... I've always scored better (including a totally unexpected A- last sem) for those 'theory' or 'description' modules whereby I can just expound on concepts in my own words. This is contrary to 'calculation' modules where there is only ONE (or maybe two) ways to get the correct answer.. anything other than that is wrong.

Improving on my physical fitness and spirituality will rank high on the priority list. The fact that two individuals close to me contracted cancer this year (one of them being only several years my senior) was a stark reminder that truly, health is wealth, and without health, one cannot enjoy wealth.

---

I've always wondered about love and relationships. I believe that there is this particular individual out there whom God has destined to be the one where 'till death do us part'. This individual is, by popular definition, 'The One'. And sometimes I wonder if that person for me is already within my circle of acquaintances, or someone whom I have yet to meet.

Our society has defined an ideal age for marriage to be between 25-35 (perhaps slightly earlier for the ladies), as this is the age where we would have completed our education and embarked on our careers. However, I believe only a fraction of individuals meet 'The One' during that window period. For others, they may meet 'The One' earlier or later in life.......

Is it possible that an individual may meet 'The One' at age 12-15? Yes, why not? But back then society will oppose such a union. Too young, immature, puppy love. But who are we to judge whether it's just another one of those puppy love cases or whether it is meant to be?

If it's meant to be, they will last... if not... they will be like the all too common 'break up after a few months - a year' kind of thing...

There are other factors too... maybe society opposes the union due to religious, racial, language or age barriers... or perhaps there is also the distance barrier...

I was a fool to believe LDR will work out...

It's like Romeo and Juliet whereby they ARE indeed 'The One' for each other but there were other issues which prevented them from eventually getting together (and very ironically, being together only in death.)

Likewise at age 25-35, that is when one's parents start to age and the pressure is on to get married and settle down before the parents pass on... when the pressure is on, one may not make the best decision...

wonder how you felt when you saw me after such a long time today...

The long weekend

Today after meeting with Sir Khor and Kailing I went to Jurong Entertainment Centre. Now to those not in the know, it will be closed down at the end of this month for renovation and revamp..

It was then that I realised how much memories the place holds for me as my growing up years were practically centered around JEC. I can't remember my first association with the place, could be during my primary school days when I went there for abacus class (at Blk 134)... still remember my favorite Burger King mushroom swiss meal (which was under $5 then...)

Remembered the only movie I watched in JEC which was Power Rangers the Movie with Mum and Samuel...

And of course during my 4 years in RV (and after that, when RV was still at the West Coast premises) I would go there after school, after CCA and hang out with friends... and I remember that Mrs Look would always chide us saying the JEC management complained.. lol!

Just realised due to some error while taking pictures of JEC just now, all the pictures were not saved.. Sucks, i'll have to go back there to do it again... Should have used my camera then, didn't realise the memory card was not inserted properly into the phone causing it not to be saved... But the weird thing is that subsequently the numbering of the pictures still reflects the existence of those pictures... very strange indeed!~

Anyway I'll be back there tomorrow. Let's see.
--

Saturday was not a very good day for me. Basically got into an unnecessary rush for my two appointments - one a lunch appointment, another a band performance which i ended up missing. Sorry ppl!

--

Friday was an interesting day for me. After Geography lecture in the morning, I went out to meet up with a friend at Singapore Poly. And quite unexpectedly, I received a phone call from the HR Department informing me that I am shortlisted for the scholarship! Good piece of news, now I have to attend another interview this coming Wednesday with the hiring managers to confirm this. WISH ME LUCK!

The Zone management wants to get the anniversary magazine done soon... well hope it can be settled to the satisfaction of all parties...

Today / Hari Ini / 今天

It's been a busy day for me...

Amazing how the weekend is more stressful than the weekday...

我有用过英文和马来文写blog。。。现在我也该用我的母语来编写几句话。

这几个星期以来，我感到十分压力， 因为现在有很多project要赶。
光阴似箭，日夜如梭。。。转眼间我已升上大学四年级。 再多七，八个月，我将毕业，进入社会工作。

下个月，我有朋友结婚了。我真的替他高兴。然而，这也提醒了我，我一不年轻了，应该做些准备吧。但是，感情上是不可逼的。。。如果不是时候，只能等待的确的人出现在我面前。我父亲说得对，我并不须为这事情烦恼，因为到了时候，“她”将会出现在我的生命里面。。。

... hingga waktu itu, saya mesti tunggu dan lihat sahaja...

我也在圣约翰服务了十二年了，明年将获得服务奖牌。 可是，我服务了这么多年，得到了什么？
我认识的人也不少，有经念丰富的senior officers，也有年轻的队员。认识得人也有不同的个性。。。参加圣约翰让我了解人们的心态。。。
但是，令我失望得是，有些officers不怎么对圣约翰那么热心。。。 也许过了officer course，他们在大学或poly已经有了其他的活动让他们有更多兴趣。。。圣约翰救伤队就没法把他们收留在俱构内。我也问自己，我还能服务圣约翰多久？

... and i wonder if we could have worked harder to save it.

it has been almost 9 months since it happened and this is one of the times when i wake up at night and still feel the loss, still feel that i miss you...

Story / Cerita (translation)

Dad told me this story...

"If a butterfly is in your hand, is it yours? What is going to happen if you hold on to it tightly?
However if the butterfly flits around and rests on the trees and flowers, but at the end of the day returns to you, is it yours?"

Answer is obvious

Cerita

Hari ini Ayah beritahu saya cerita ini:

"Jika anda mempunyai seekor kupu-kupu di tangan anda. Anda boleh kata
kupu-kupu itu anda punya tidak?

Jika anda tutupkan tangan anda, kupu-kupu itu akan mati. Anda boleh
kata kupu-kupu itu anda punya tidak?

Jika kupu-kupu itu terbang sini dan sana, pada sehari rehatkan
dirinya di atas pokok-pokok dan bunga bunga. Tetapi pada hari tamat,
ia pulang ke atas tangan anda. Dalam keadaan itu, kupu-kupu itu
sebenarnya jadi anda punya.

Jadi, jika anda kasihi sesuatu, melepaskan itu. Jika itu pulang
kepada anda, itu sebenarnya anda punya. Kalau tidak, itu bukan."

Jadi, jika kamu di dalam keadaan macam ini, jangan sedih. Saya boleh
beritahu kamu, tunggu dan lihat, mungkin itu akan pulang kepada kamu.

Semoga semua kamu sihat dan gembira selalu.

Closure

You know that you're graduating soon when your friends all start stressing about job interviews and career talks.

SembCorp interview next Thursday.

Hope that it goes smoothly and we can all find our dream, secure jobs :)


Thanks for the talk.
Harap Tuhan menyelamat kamu dan keluarga dengan kesihatan dan keselamatan selalu...

Busy week!

Well this week has been a busy week so far...

Wednesday - watched Mamma Mia, sweet love story and nice songs as well...
Friday - NYAA Gold Award Presentation Ceremony... (: Received my Gold Award from the President... videos are as follows (sorry, didn't embed as it caused problems with my tagboard)

Drums performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwx36lR152s

Receiving the award (the 2 before me also got captured :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2LlkNvR7pQ

Receiving the award (clearer version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SDXhAr8h0E

A good introduction video to NYAA done by Kaki Bukit Prison School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzzU99MxLTA