Dinner at Siam Kitchen

A break from my usual routine. Joined Ling and friends for dinner at Suntec City last night.

Before the meetup, we more or less decided to have dinner at The Rice Table, but to our disappointment, it was fully booked for that day. Settled for The Siam Kitchen after a few rounds of scouting at the basement.

The fare was very much similar to The Rice Table's offerings though I have not patronise the latter previously.

My stint at the Commission coming to an end soon. I was offered yet another extension, but declined. Another tempting offer, to continue on after graduation. I'm keeping my options open for now.

Had the thought of creating a farewell gift in the form of a flash website for the friendly colleagues in my department. After spending a day self-learning how Flash works, decided it's not feasible to complete in such a short timeframe. Instead, decided to get them a gift each.

With the higher salary I am receiving now as a Corporate Officer, overspending should not be a problem. It's the least I can do for the wonderful people in the Commission.

Gotten a album by 鄧麗君. Need no further explanation, her distinctive and mellow voice says it all.

iTunes playing: 假如我是真的 from the album "8th Anniversary" by 鄧麗君

Foreign versus local degrees

Yesterday's Straits Times featured an interesting article on foreign degrees versus local degrees.

Quoting the writer, a third-year student at London School of Economics,

I have always seen myself reading law, and I was disappointed when I was not offered a place at a university back home in Singapore

Ah, I see myself in a similar situation as the writer.

I have the opportunity to make friends and study with youths from countries as diverse as Mauritius and Iceland.

Universities in Singapore have their fair share of foreign students, however, diversity is only limited to countries in the S.E. Asia region.

Tasks such as shopping for good meat cuts, cooking your own meals and scrubbing your own toilet bowl are all part of an overseas student's routine.

Hall accommodation in local universities are usually provided for students active in hall activities. Back to square one on learning to be independent.

No doubt, you can be independent even when you're staying with parents. However, laziness is a vicious cycle that ultimately lead to dependency.

In a year, I will graduate with a degree from one of the foremost schools in the world, which will probably open up job opportunities in several countries - something a Singapore degree may not necessarily offer.

Mention Singapore in the other side of the globe, most people would have thought it's a province in China, not to mention the universities in Singapore.

Nothing much I can derive from the write-up by a first year law student in NUS. For some reason, I sense that it was written for the purpose of 'self-comfort'.

I was heartbroken when I received my A-level results, which did not match my expectations.

It did not help to see my schoolmates go to exciting new destinations to embark on a whole new chapter of their academic life.

I had a dim view of local education, seeing it as inferior and less exciting.

The rest of the article talk about his realisation on his distorted view on local universities and the supportive coursemates he came in contact with. Not much was shared on the the experience in a local university.

To sum up this post, here's an extract from the first article,

An Education is only as good as the student. A successful career is sustained by one's willingness and ability to learn on the job, and is not built solely on one's formal education.

Entrepreneur at work

Read this off Temasek Polytechnic's website,

Chasing his dreams: three-time entrepreneur Lau Jiarong

TP graduate Lau Jiarong is a young man in a hurry to realise big dreams. Inspired by the rags to riches stories of his enterprising immigrant grandfathers, it has been his goal to become a successful entrepreneur. The 22-year old currently owns two companies, but he still has bigger dreams to chase.

One of his companies, Lobangz Pte Ltd, was set up while he was studying in TP. Under a scheme to encourage entrepreneurship, called Startup@BIT and open to students of the Diploma in Business Information Technology (BIT) course, Jiarong and three of his classmates set up the company to provide web hosting, networking and other IT-related services. Starting the business was not easy. They even had to build their own equipment before earning enough money to purchase their own server. The team persevered and today, the company continues to be profitable. In the near future, Lobangz Pte Ltd hopes to expand into Malaysia where the market is bigger.

Jiarong’s entrepreneurship drive began even before he joined TP when he started an online radio station called DreamstationZ in 2002. At its peak, the station registered over 200 simultaneous listeners and had a crew of 15 which included DJs, web designers and scriptwriters. Although it had to cease operations in December 2004, in accordance with new digital music infringement laws, Jiarong intends to revive it in the near future.

In his final semester at TP, Jiarong started yet another business – Asia Business Communications Pte Ltd (ABC), providing competitively charged IDD and Call Back/Forward services to substitute costly roaming services. ABC is a joint venture with Asiatel Pte Ltd, a telecommunications company that provides technical expertise to facilitate IDD calls. Currently, ABC enjoys a vast clientele base from all round Asia and is looking into launching its latest service, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) which allows users from two or more countries to communicate at little or no expense.

Next year, Jiarong plans to pursue another dream – a degree in Asian Studies from the Australian National University. Jiarong is truly a man with big dreams!

During my stint in the interest group committee, had the opportunity to work with Jiarong and his group of friends. A bunch of friendly people, always helping us with our logistics and participating in a few events organised by us.

Read the full article here.

"Little red dot" Singapore now an international military player

Read this article published by Agence France-Presse,

SINGAPORE, Sept 25 (AFP) - From tsunami-hit Aceh to hurricane-battered New Orleans, Singapore's role in international relief efforts has thrown the spotlight on the city-state's rise as a Southeast Asian military power.

Thanks to billions of dollars in defense spending powered by explosive economic growth, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has left its neighbors behind in terms of sheer firepower, although it has yet to be tested in combat.

"The SAF lacks operational experience no doubt, but in terms of its training, its military hardware, and its doctrines, it is certainly the most developed and mature conventional military force in Southeast Asia," said Assistant Professor Bernard Loo, a military analyst in Singapore.

Singapore's new arms orders will further reinforce its position.

The ministry of defense has announced that it is negotiating with Boeing to buy a squadron of F-15 Eagle fighters, just two months after taking delivery of the first of six "stealth" frigates from French contractor DCN.

The fighter and frigate deals are estimated to be worth one billion US dollars each. The F-15 will replace an older generation of fighters and join F-16s already in Singapore's arsenal.

Singapore has been spending around six percent of gross domestic product -- its total economic output -- annually on defense, a legacy of its vulnerable early days as a republic.

In the fiscal year to March 2006, its defense budget is 9.26 billion Singapore dollars (5.5 billion US), up 7.4 percent from a year ago and accounting for almost a third of the national budget.

The island once contemptuously dismissed by former Indonesian president BJ Habibie as a "little red dot" on the map came to its giant neighbor's aid last December when a tsunami struck Aceh province, leaving some 131,000 people dead.

The SAF's C130 transport aircraft, heavy naval vessels and Super Puma and Chinook helicopters threw a lifeline to Aceh's survivors in the crucial days before a massive global relief effort could be launched.

The role was repeated on a smaller scale when Singapore's Texas-based Chinook helicopters helped in the post-hurricane relief efforts in New Orleans.

Four Chinooks flew more than 80 sorties, transporting over 800 evacuees and security personnel and more than 540 tonnes of equipment, humanitarian supplies and sand in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone.

Because of its limited land area and air space, Singapore has to station some of its air assets in friendly countries like the United States, Australia and France for training.

Singapore has also played a minor role supporting US forces in the Gulf. Last weekend, a KC-135 refuelling aircraft returned here after completing a three-month mission with the multinational reconstruction effort in Iraq.

-- Siege mentality --

While untested in combat, analysts say the SAF has become a formidable force thanks to compulsory military service, in addition to the hardware.

All able-bodied Singaporean men including permanent residents are required to undergo two years of full-time National Service training, followed by regular refresher courses until they are in their mid-30s.

This gives Singapore, which has only 3.4 million citizens and permanent residents, a pool of some 350,000 reservists who can, at least in theory, be mobilized within hours for combat.

Robert Karniol, Asia-Pacific editor of the military affairs journal Jane's Defence Weekly, said only Vietnam among the Southeast Asian nations could possibly be a military match for Singapore.

"In terms of a standing army and combat capability, the Vietnamese armed forces have an awful lot of combat experience which the Singaporeans don't," he said. "The Singaporeans have proven to be capable when called upon, but they've never been able to do anything as complex as the Vietnamese have.

"Before building up its firepower to current levels, Singapore used to follow a "poisoned shrimp" doctrine, he said.

"We're small but if you try to eat us, you will get very sick," Karniol said, summing up the philosophy.

"But it's not a relevant policy anymore because the SAF have become increasingly more powerful and their primary function as with any military force is to deter attack and if attacked to defeat an attack.

"The SAF was a puny force in the early years after Singapore was ejected from the Malaysian federation in 1965 and its survival as a republic was in doubt.

When other countries refused to help, Israel sent military advisers but they were officially disguised as Mexicans to avoid offending Singapore's Muslim neighbors.

"They looked swarthy enough," independence leader Lee Kuan Yew wrote in his memoirs.

Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, maintained that Singapore still has an "Israeli siege mentality".

"That mentality is I think embedded in the psyche of the Singapore leadership, the Singapore people and the military," he said. "Singapore is surrounded by the Malay world.

"But others point out that instead of a hardline stance, Singapore has opted for what Karniol called "defense diplomacy" to enhance its security.

"It effectively involves using your armed forces as one of your tools of diplomacy. It's an established function for armed forces, except that the Singaporeans are much better at it."

Singaporean analyst Loo of the Nanyang Technological University said the city-state "has always maintained that it sees no direct military threats coming from the region of Southeast Asia".

"Its deterrent posture is one of general deterrence, derived from the basic assumption that international politics is one of self-help, and if ever a direct military threat arose, the country would then need a strong, well-trained SAF that can deter a more immediate military threat."

I would have doubted the creditability of the article if it was published by the local media. But from a foreign news agency and a reputable one, it is something that should not be taken lightly.

Kudos to the singaporeans out there who helped in the tsunami disaster and the Hurricane Katrina operation in New Orleans.

Catching up

Life has been rather routine these days, the usual 9 to 6 working life, jog, eat, sleep. That's how I spent my life away. For the cold comfort, at least, I am occupied with work instead of rotting my life away at home (Though it can be tempting sometimes).

The release of exam results through SMS always caught me by surprise. Each time, it seems to be the moment I least expected. Anyway, things went well for me. :)

Here's some photos to share before ending my post.

iTunes playing: You're Beautiful from the album "Back To Bedlam" by James Blunt

Thoughts, endless of it.

After 3 years of blogging here, I find it hard to part with this blog and at the same time, a tad strange to the new blog's platform - WordPress.

Made up my mind instead of totally abandoning this, I shall continue to blog here and the new blog for intimate details of my life.

Life has been pretty much the same, I'm still with the Commission except for the change in job title. Much has happened since my last blog entry, Sharon in France for her month long vacation and Bin encountered a near-death experience after crashing his car.

Lately, I had given considerable thought on my future after tertiary education. This was after a spate of thought-provoking conversations with ex-lecturer, Mr. Peh on overseas education. His opinion on local and overseas universities echoed that of my dad.

As much as I yearn for an overseas education, a rational thought arise, will an overseas degree be worth its value in term of job prospect, future earnings and intangible benefits compared to a local degree?

After all this thought, it still boil down to whether am I able to enter any of the local universities.

Depressing thoughts away, felt humbled and excited after my supervisor at the Commission broke the news to me. Nothing negative, it's good news but I'm spilling the beans as for now. *grin*

A new background music, yea, it's french. That's for you, Sharon. Have fun!

Woohoo!

Unbelievable, the two campus' photocopy shops ran out of binders! At the 3rd one, they almost ran out of clear plastic cover. A series of unfortunate events, yet things still go my way in the end.

I'm moving. To be precise, I'm moving my blog. It was after the spate of events, the infamous Sri Lankan who terrorize fellow friends' blogs, being questioned on the motive of my blog (My project mates' incident), and so much more, that I decided a move would be in my best interest.

As a matter of fact, I worked on the move since the weekend with the burden of the report off my mind. Had this little cool program that extracted out every posts since 2003 for my migration.

I treasure my privacy, in fact, a little extreme I felt. Therefore, I won't be revealing the new blog to everyone as it's back to square one when everyone start updating my new blog address in their blogs.

I will still update this blog occasionally, if I have the time to spare.

Anyway, started work today back at the Commission on a contract basis. Back than slacking off during the school vacation, I guess.

iPod Nano is just so cool! Photos will be up soon. *grin*

iTunes playing: Luzir from the album "Meuanjo" by Lisa Ono

Life's good when you're feeling great.

After countless late nights and consuming continuous flow of caffeine-ladened coffee and tea, the SIP report is finally completed! Allow me to breathe a sigh of relief before continuing.

The extension for the report doesn't help much if you ask me. Working in the day, the only time I can touch on my report is during the night.

To start off with the completion of the report, went window shopping with dad in the afternoon. Everything seems to be moving in a pleasantly slow motion with the biggest burden off my mind.

Ah, that reminds me about the Final Year Project report. Apology to my group members, just let me enjoy for today and I will get back to work in full force.

Moon Festival approaching the coming sunday! I am already gobbling up the boxes of rum and raisin and champagne truffle and ganache mooncakes from Raffles The Plaza!

Eyeing greedily at the box of flaky crusty yam mooncakes from Crown Prince Hotel.

Sister holding a little celebration with lunch buffet for Ethan's full month over at her place. Looking forward to see my little nephew. :)

PSD Active Day

Today was the Public Service Division Active Day, decided not to join after much consideration. It's really hard to commit myself to any activity right now with the SIP report clouding my mind.

Headed to Delifrance instead for my evening cup of coffee and doing up the report. The whole of Funan the IT Mall is WiFi-enabled, pretty neat eh? Still can't get my Powerbook to work with McDonald wireless though.

Report at its fourteenth page and still remains there without any progress. Suffering from severe writer's block just can't think of a superb finish for it.

Much work to do, guess I'll stop here. Bonne nuit.

Drained.

Have been rushing through several school reports, explaining for the lack of updates these few days.

SIP Report progressing well, at my twelve pages and still going strong. Just afraid I might exceed the page limit.
Settled most of the stuff before my non-physical departure as an intern, organisation endorsement, testimonial, allowance, etc.
Spent quite a sum during Comex 2005 IT Show. Thought of getting a cheap tiny mp3 player during the IT Show. Quite unsightly to jog with a brick-size iPod neither do I bear to bring my delicate iPod shuffle.

Anyway, I'm glad I did not get one in impulse because Creative Warehouse is coming. So much for Comex 2005 when things are gotta be much cheaper at the warehouse sale.


This friday would be Public Service Division (PSD) Active Day. Seem a little crazy to come to work in sports attire when the air conditioners are running at sub-zero temperature in the office. The event will be launched by Prime Minister Lee followed by 2.5km jog around the Esplanade area. There will be a 5km route for extreme sportsmen.

Thoughts.

Shopped around Sim Lim Square in the afternoon. Nothing much, got myself a new stick of memory for the computer.

Next was the Scholarships' Seminar at Suntec Singapore International Convention Centre. Familiar faces around, but felt out of place since almost everyone there are from junior colleges.

Another round of research at Comex 2005. Saw a few friends there, our BIT resident bear, the other Ivan and ah loong, who thought I'm weird for coming down a second time. Just wait till he sees me the next day again. *grin*

After spending 3 hours, already had in mind what I'm getting for my next visit the next day.

An auntie chatted up with me while I'm on my way home. First thought that comes to everyone's mind when a stranger chat up with you, "Is that person mentally stable"?

I ponder a while on that before speaking up. Anyway, it's just a normal chat with a nice auntie showing concern.

I guess this is the common mentality when human contact are scarced in the sterilely clean Singapore.

Back in Australia, I remember having a jolly chat with this australian who stayed in the same hostel as me. And we were strangers to start off with.

Friends, or rather, one of my friends, not keen on the short trip out of Singapore. Guess I'll be spending the few weeks of my holiday in Singapore. They suggested chalet instead, oh well. With that kind of turn up rate, I guess I'll rather stay in the comfort of my house.

Maybe I should just extend my work over at the Commission until school starts.

Friday night out

Met up with Sharon and friends after work at the Starbucks outlet at Raffles City Shopping Centre. Did some catching up, you know, the usual gossips and rants, before proceeding to formal issue.

Sharon leaving for France in 2 weeks time, remember to take more pictures to share with us, yeah?

Parted with them and joined Ling and Ron at Suntec for Comex 2005. As usual, don't usually spend my dough on the first day. Will be making another trip down tomorrow after attending the scholars' seminar at my manager and supervisor's invitation.

Headed to the street alley near Bugis that's lined with bistros and cafes for our dinner.

What a hectic week, balancing SIP report with office work. Time to get the engine on overdrive mode.