What's Wrong With These People?

This is something that has been on my mind for a while.

Recently I read about these two very sucessful men. One of them has his own real estate agency and the other is a pioneer in the local skincare industry. Needless to say, both are millionaires, the entreprenurial, rag-to-riches type. Both also won numerous awards for their achievement in their respective area.

So wat really bothers me about these two? Both of them are PhD holders, but the universities that awarded them their PhD are unaccredited (read: diploma mill). This means that they most likely paid some money and got themselves their PhD. So obviously what they want is the bragging right to go by the title of "Dr". Ppl laboured through years of study to earn their PhD and the right to be address as "Dr". So wat these two (and others like them) did wat really totally unfair to these honest ppl.

Since what they wanted is the bragging right, so obviously these two gentlemen went about to show-off their PhD status. One of them wrote about it in his book and his company's website (which inculde the photo of him receiving his degree), and the other, when giving interview to ST, insist he be called "Dr". I am really digusted. What is more amazing is that they actually tell ppl from which university they got their degree from, effectively telling ppl they got their PhD from a diploma mill. I will really want to know how they react when ppl asked them why are they getting their PhD from unaccredited universities.

These two gentlemen are successul businessmen, multiple award winners. They have good reputation and high social standing. Granted that both didn't receive much education, and might wanna make up for it. But buying a PhD? By doing this, the respect others (at least for me) have for them is being greatly reduced. So really, what is wrong with these ppl?

Hair, Shouldn't Be A Problem

This entry will not be abt the mundane things I did today. Neither will it be a deep discussion about my thoughts and feelings. I also dun wanna put up a long entry today, so this entry will only be 3 paragraphs long.

I cut my hair today. I had no problem cutting my long, unkept hair into the high slope that I am spotting now. Hair should not be a problem. There are many things more important than it and it should never come in the way of these things. If it had to be cut, so be it. As long as it's proper, I have no issue. So I dun understand this thing abt bad hair day. Maybe that is something that belongs to the beauty-conscious, man or woman. Yes, so I dun understand this thing about metrosexual, about man needing to look beautiful. Man should look like wat they do. If a man is tanned, it should be b-cos they trained and laboured long hours under the sun, and not cos they went for a tan (no, it's not healthy). In fact, man should look ugly, so as to complement the beauty of a lady.

This is the 3rs paragraph of the entry, so this is where it will end. Till next time, take care.

Drinks And Memory

Soft drink in glass bottle reminds me of my primary school days (how many of u remember that round 330ml Coca-Cola round glass bottle?)

Coca-cola's plastic contour bottle (and all other plastic bottles) made it's appearance in my secondary school days. So were those crystal clear drinks in clear plastic cans.

JC days were still about plastic bottles. Then there were wintermelon tea, followed by green tea, and all other flavoured teas followed.

Army days were about green water bottle and Camelbak. Plain water and cordials were the most common drinks. My personal favourite cordial flavour was green apple.

Uni days were about nalgene bottles. I had one that was cuboid-shaped. Lost it when I left it in a cab.

I am still trying to find wat drinks will remind me about this present period of time. Maybe I will know later, or maybe there will never be one. Coffee maybe?

It's In Your Hands

While window shopping at Popular bookstore at J8, I came across two titles by this guy on palmistry. Wat is interesting is that on the back cover on one of the titles was a sentence about pciking up palmistry to "take a peep into your future".

Now, I start to ask myself, why would you wanna peep into your future? I mean, if ur future is well and good, then there is nothing to worry about. You will jus let things be and so it's pointless to know abt the future cos wat ever will be, will be. If ur future is grim, then by knowing it, u will be depressed even before anything materialise, so why would u wanna have a pre-event depression?

Of cos, if you belong to a certain school of thots that ur future can be altered, then by knowing abt a bad future, u can do something to alter it. For example, do more good deeds. But isn't that wat u suppose to do in the first place? Be a kind soul, live by your conscience and follow the moral values. Be courteous, righteous, edified and dignified (school motto I lived by for 10 yrs). I mean, you reap wat u sow. Good or bad, you should be able to see it coming. Anyway, if u believe the future can be altered, you are also believing your fate is in ur hand, not the lines of ur palm (or anything else for that matter), and so you wun believe in palmistry in the 1st place.

I do have to admit though, that I myself did went to the temple at Bugis (四马路关观音庙) to ask for divination lots (求签）. It were times that I felt a bit lost and wanted some divine guidance (yes, guidance, which means advise, and not to be told exactly how my future will be). It does provide a sense of consolation and a sense of direction knowing a bit abt the future. But in the end, ultimately, how the future plays out is really dependent of wat I do now.

Financial Planner

On Monday I met up with this financial planner. I was referred to him by a mutual fren. Having met up with a few financial planners already, I more or less knew wat this fella (let's call him Blue Stripe) is gonna say. Predictably, the meeting is very typical, with all the essential elements of a meeting with a planner.

If nothing else, this meeting confirm once and for all that I had a problem dealing with financial planners. I jus feel so.... not myself when I was talking to them. Maybe it's the attitude towards them that I wanna present (that I knew wat they're talking abt, and that I dun wanna reveal too much of myself to them) or something else, somehow I jus can't articulate my thots or even say things out smoothly when I am talking to them. Like the thots are there in the head, but I jus can't express it in words. In the end, either wat I said doesn't make sense (to me at least) or I can't seem to string together a sentence.

Anyway, it is not as if the financial planners are helping matters. Take Blue Stripe for eg. I really dun understand why financial planners like to ask no-brainer qns that ranks even lower than qns like "wat is the colour of a red rose?" Or "today is Wednesday, so wat day is it today?" At least when u asked these type of qns, acknowledged that it is stupid and said it matter-of-factly, instead of pretending it requires deep thots. It jus makes me feel so insulted.

Printouts, diagrams, drawings and sketches help in visualizing and makes the explanation clear, and I welcome such presentation. However, is there really a need for metaphors when things are straight-forward and easy to understand? In fact halfway through Blue Stripe's "Money Making Machine" metaphor, I had already lost him. Yes, his metaphor only served to confuse.

I was so fustrated that I wanted to say "hey, Blue Stripe, why not u jus get straight to the point. And please, stop asking stupid qns that even a 3 month old fetus can answer". However, I was reminded that he is a fren of a fren, so I have to be nice. More importantly, remember I can't articulate my thots in front of a financial planner? So I ended up not giving him the answer he wanted (I gave him nonsense; wanted to break his rhythm), and had to endure him pondering deeply over no-brainer qns. ("This is the only money making machine in the world and u own it, u need to protect from theft right?" No, I need to set it up on fire and dance ard it....Of cos I need to protect it!)

I dun think much abt engineering graduates becoming financial planners. Less if they jus graduated. Much less if u start praising ur boss and mentioned him in every sentence, about how he showed u the way, how u decided to follow him and joined his agency, and how u feel so happy under his guidance. I am talking to u, not ur boss. If u dun have any individuality and independence, I dun wanna be ur client. At least if the next day the charm of ur boss wears off of u and u decide to persue a new flavour, I wun be worrying abt wat will happen to my financial plan. It also doesn't help that u seems to contradict urself. First ur business modules doesn't count for much, then suddenly they helped u see how big the world is.

Seems like I am being too critical. He is still a fren or a fren, so I shall stop here. This is a very long entry. Thanks for reading.

Stage Manager For A Day

Yes, so I went to help out in the 95th anniversary of my alma mater, Zhonghua Secondary School. Tried to be busy but really didn't have that much to do, especially since everyone has a mind of their own and jus simply went auto. Everything turns out well. The lesson of the day is that communication is very impt. Try to communicate as much info, and as clear, to each other as possible. On a added note, PSG and Alumni performers tend to disregard arrangement and do watever they like. More attention should be given to this grp (should I be put in a similar position again, of cos).

Feeling nostalgic again. It's useless. I'm way over that stage of my life now, and time can't be turn back (do I really wanna turn it back anyway? To be a struggling student one more time and keep worrying about my grades?). The present is the reality. Let's focus on it.

4th In A Row

Came back from Sports Ball a while ago. This is the 4th Sports Ball I attended, and I have to say it is probably the worst of all.

Why? First thing is the ballroom. It's too small, and too bright. The 2nd Sports Ball I attended was also held in a small ballroom, but at least the lights were dim and the atmosphere were good. The Sports Ball last yr (the 3rd one I attended) had the best ballroom. It was held at Fullerton, and the ballroom was grand. Once u opened the door, you'll see a short flight of stairs leading to the ballroom floor, and the lights were dim with smoke all around. It really feel like those movies abt mafias and gangsters in the 1950s (think 上海滩). Standing at the door, you feel like you are obliged to take out an automatic weapon and start shooting.

The next thing is the emcees. Unlike the previous 3 Sports Balls, this yr there are 2 amatuer emcees (previous occassions the there was only one pro emcee) and their inexperience really shows. The frequent hiccups, the inability to engage the crowd, and then the lack of understanding between the pair really makes me wonder why do they get these emcees to do the job. Lack of budget?

Then finally, the food. Unlike previous Sports Balls, where it's a 8 course dinner (or was it 7?) where ppl wait to be served, this yr it's buffet. Ppl need to walk from their table to the buffet table to get food, and when ppl start walking around, usually they dun stop. So you have ppl gathering at the buffet table, or walking around when the pagents, award winners, or whoever were on stage. Empty seats were everywhere, especially towards the end.

The lucky draw wasn't that exciting either. When the event was good, ppl will wanna hang around after it was over. If it's bad, ppl can't wait to leave. For this Sports Ball, I can't wait to go home, take a shower and sleep. Speaking of which, I shouldn't be typing anymore. Time to shower.

Bye.

3 Schools

Was out the whole day.

1st destination was Catholic High School. Went there to get a form from my Sis. Met up with Paul (my sis bf) who led me to the classroom that my sis was teaching at that time. 1st time seeing my sis in action teaching. The classroom setting reminded me of those days when I was inside a classroom having lessons. Those were carefree days gone by...

2nd destination was NUS. Went there to submit forms for my sis. It was lunch time when I arrived, so I decide to have lunch too. But first went to meet Andrew who was having TA duty in organic teaching lab. Ate Chinese rice at sci fac canteen. Missed the Chinese rice. Was starting to miss my Uni life when I was reminded how a struggling uni student I was. Oh, forget it, ppl always make the same mistakes again and again. Sometimes past wrong can never be righted, it's best to let it pass....

3rd (and last) destination was Zhonghua Secondary School, my alma mater. Its 95th anniversary celebration is this Sat, and I am the stage manager for the performance. Went there late and clueless. The school culture seems to be still intact, and the students seems to be still of the same kind from my time there. Maybe youth will be youth, they are all the same. Looking at the students, I realised I had came a long way.

Nothing had change, except myself.

What I Did Today: Swimming

Was preparing for another day of sitting in front of the laptop when TH sent me an sms. Called him back and found out he planned to swim at Bedok Swimming Complex. I decided to join him and suggested he swimmed at Safra Tampines instead cos the usage of the pool there is free for members (which we both are).

Bought a pair of goggles before setting out to Safra Tampines. It cost $18.90, the cheapest I can find. I thot if I want the goggles to last and be comfy wearing it, might as well get a good one. So I dun really mind the price. It turns out quite good, anti-fog and all, I am not a serious swimmer anyway. So no complains.

The pool at Safra Tampines is quite good. Although there is a lack of female presence, the pool is not as crowded as the public pool, and so there is a lot of space to swim. Beside, it is free. Initially I thot the free use of the pool sounds quite good, then I realised I was being penny-wise, pound-foolish. I spent $1.35 to get to Safra Tampines, and about the same amount back. So it's about $2.70 for this swim. If I swam at Bishan Swimming Complex, I only need to paid for the entry ($1.20 I guess) as I can walk to the pool. Also the total travel time to and fro Safra Tampines was abt 2 hrs, so it's not time efficient also. But since I was swimming with TH and not alone, it's ok.

Had not swam for a long time and it felt good. Didn't really count how many laps I swam but did try to swim a lap in front crawl. Almost succeeded. Tried again for the last lap, but was even less successful. Maybe I should swim more often.

天造地设

王菲 (Faye Wong) - 你快乐(所以我快乐)

I initally wanted to blog about my visit to the newly-opened (less than week old) Bishan Library, about it's floor area, it's nice architecture (all glass, and little reading area protruding out and walled up in tinted glass), and its crowd (lotsa teenager and a bit crowded for a library. Hence a bit noisy too).

However, I had just linked up my blog with youtube.com, so I thot I will post a music video instead (much better than reading about my library trip, right?). Enjoy......

Corrective Measures

Spent most part of the day re-editing my blog template cos I found out last night that my blog turns up a blank page in IE (I use Firefox). I found out about this from Weilun (to be refered as WL).

Re-editing the template wasn't difficult, but it was time consuming. Basically what I did was revert my blog back to the original template, copied the template's code, and compare it with that of the edited template. Then according to the edited code, changes to the code of the original template was made one by one. With every change, the code was saved, the blog republished and then viewed in both Firefix and IE to see which part of the code went wrong. After hours of this repetative work, finally the blog is completely re-edited, viewable in both IE and Firefox, although the new edited code is not much different from the previous edited code, and I still dunno what is wrong with the previous edited code (I strongly suspect it is cos I left out a width:100% in one of the section...). Re-editing the code also produces some weird problems, like for e.g, cutting and pasting a line of edited code resulted in IE turning up a blank page, yet a step-by-step editing of the original code to produce that same line of edited code produces the desired effect. Also some new problems arose from areas that were previously unedited. I still dunno what causes these problems, but since they were rectified, it's ok. I am more concern about whether it works instead of why it works. Beside, my understanding in coding is too limited for me to find out and understand.

On to another issue, today is Dihe's (to be refered as TH) birthday! Regretfully, I forgotten all about it. What makes me feel more guilty is that he reminded me about his birthday not too long ago (less than 2 months I think..). I always feel bad about forgetting ppl's b-days, especially those of my close frens. Must put in more effort to remember ppl b-days. Time to keep a record of ppl's b-days and make constant reference to it.

Why I Like To Watch Live Match

Jus came back from watching Singapore vs China football match.

It is very different watching a live match compare to watching the match on TV. The most obvious difference is the atmosphere. In the live match, you are watching the match together with thousands (yes, it's that many) of fans of both sides. The cheering and jeering, and the occassion skirmishes makes it all the more fun. Before you know it, u will start to join in the crowd in all the cheering and jeering. I did. Booed the player who dived, jumped from my seats when it looks like the Lions are gonna score, and when the ref approached a player who committed a foul, I shouted at the ref to "send him off!"

Another thing abt watching a live match that is different from watching it on TV is that you get to see more things. From the action on the pitch to the reaction of the fans, or even the going-ons on the sideline, you get to see them all. Instead of letting the camera and the editing team decide wat you see, you get to choose wat you want to see. If the action on the pitch is getting boring and there is a fight going on the other side of the gallery, you can turn your attention and watch the outcome of the fight. You jus can't do that watching a match on TV.

So in the end Singapore drew China 0-0, which is a good result. It was an enjoyable match with action on the pitch and passionate fans on the stand. The quality of cos was not of EPL standard, but hey, I'm watching it live and I am supporting the Lions. These made it all the more interesting. I overheard one teenager remarked to his frens that "for $2 you get to watch all these. It's a good deal." I paid more ($6, and then some on food and drinks), but I totally agree with him.

Running In The Rain

It was 6.30pm and the sky was gray and rumbling. I thot "Perfect. Let's go", and I changed into my running attire and out the door I go.

Jogged my way to the stadium. It started drizzling when I was almost there. Didn't hasten my pace cos there is no need to. I was there to get wet, to run in the rain, so why bother?

Reached the stadium and realised there was a match going on. So I decided to run along the canal. The rain got heavier but only slightly. It wasn't the big downpour I was expecting. Did my stretching my started running 5k. When I started running, the rain seemed to become heavier, but it's jus an illusion. It didn't become heavier, it jus sounded like it became heavier. Maybe it's jus that way when one starts to move fast.

The rain remained at this heavy drizzle state. It wasn't dense, it wasn't heavy. It wasn't even enough to blur my vision, and the raindrops landed softly on me instead on beating down on me. It jus wasn't fun.

Towards the end of the run (last 800m or something), the rain did get a bit heavier, something like a prelude to a downpour, but the big downpour jus didn't come, although there was the distant lightning. Oh well, guess that's all I gonna get today. Maybe better luck next time.

What Do You Want In Life?

I really wanna blog about how disoriented I was when I was taking a nap jus now, but I thot maybe I write about something deeper and more meaningful instead.

The 1st time I was asked the qns (or something like that) in the title was in the NUS Career Centre. I was playing this card sorting game that will help me understand myself and identify the careers suitable for me (or so it said). After the game, the career counsellor asked me the qns and I was stunned: I couldn't give a clear ans. I simply dunno.

I answered by saying I want to acquire knowledge (that's true). The counsellor said that's very vague and I should be more specific. She also said the card sorting game was not perfect: it is subjected to personal bias of the player, and thus might not give an accurate analysis. She advised me to do some self-exploration.

I heeded her advise, and so now I.... still dunno wat I really want in life. I know I want a PhD, but that's really for self-satisfaction (in fact pursuing a PhD dun really make much economic sense, but well, anything for my ego). Of cos, I also need to earn money so that I can take care of my family, but still, that is wat I need (who dun need money anyway?), not wat I want.

So, wat do I really want in life? I figured that is something I might never know, or something that might come to me later in life. For now, maybe I'll jus hang on to wat I have and do wat I can do. Jus count my blessing and be happy.