Quotes from Obama

If you ever step into Borders, go to the politics section and you’ll see a book title something like, “100 events which changed the world”. It’ll show events such as D-Day, Kennedy Assasination, Collapse of the Berlin Wall and so on. The recent event that had Obama bridging the USA and the Muslim world towards a new beginning, is indeed a highly cosmoethical act which will benefits millions now and more in the future. Change indeed is happening and taking place. How about GM then?

“The interest we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drives us apart.” President Obama and President Kennedy

“For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.” – President Obama

Broadrick 39th Speech Day

Last Thursday was Broadrick 39th Speech Day. This’s the prize I got – Friends of Broadrick Award, for contribution towards the school’s Red Cross Youth unit after graduation. Junie (GG), Fann Howe (NCC) and Asvin (NCC) got this award too. In fact, my friend’s dad, being the ex-trainer of the school’s netball team got the award too. It’s my first time back after stepping down as the unit’s VI (Volunteer Instructor) in March.

I saw changes in my juniors – most for the better especially Chris, Wei Han and Guo Xin, who had grown to be more capable of command and control of the unit, being more serious and disciplined. I’m so proud of Wei Han, Guo Xin, Benedict and Zhi Hong for making it for NDP 2009! They are the 3rd Generation of Broadrick RCY cadets to ever made it to NDP. The firstwas made up by Alfian Sir and Kevin Sir sometime between 1997-1999. And then it’s me only back in NDP 2005! And now, its four cadets in NDP 2009! Kudos to Brd RCY! Anyway, my last trip to RC HQ was last year, around Sept. The Happy Meal’s Olympic Toy which I got for Nicky Sir is still with me!

Caught up with some friends as well. One of them is Esther. Hadn’t seen her in months and I do miss her. She look pretty much – the same!

Tomorrow’s the start of my SIP (student internship programme) and MP (major project).

A new start.

Had A Bad Fall

While training at the chemical plant, I accidentally fell over a ladder. A two-storey ladder, one which did not fell even when I knocked it. Shin went hit-first with the metal shaft between the ladder sides, but what makes me limb is my right knee cap injury. Perhaps the metal shaft injured my knee cap. Right now, every step forward is a painful one. Climbing stairs is even worse.

On the bright side, I feel that this very fall is a message from my higher-self, guides and helpers. As with my understanding and knowledge of the sub-conscious and the universal laws, that it is a consequence from what goes on inside me these days, and a warning that worse will be impending if things are left unchanged.

International Human Trafficking – Prostitution, Sex Trade and Slavery

To us they’re human beings, to them they’re incomes.

Every year, millions of women and children around the world were forced to leave behind their normal lives at a tender age, and began another filled with nothing but despair and sufferings.

These innocent people were at the mercy of those people. Those people who are corrupted in their mind. People who were misguided to live in violence and pain, deception and unethicalities. Those people gathered and form organisations, gangs. Organisations which are known by the authorities yet they still stand firm but operates underground. How lucrative this business is that it becomes a multi-billion international business.

Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, China, India, Eastern Europe, Latin America – these are just some of the areas where the “resources” are gathered. Captors exist almost everywhere, as long as they can get their ways around the laws of the area.

Countrymen harming their own countrymen. Deceiving and kidnapping their own people. Mutilating children to become handicaps, turning them to become street beggars. Kidnapping teenage girls to become prostitutes and sex slaves, drugging and raping them. Deceiving young men and women of good careers overseas, trapping them aboard to become forced labour and ill-treated.

Empathise the feeling of being taken away from who you are now, being brought to a place far away to be violated and feeling helpless. How unloving the world seems to be, where all your rights are being taken away, and knowing there is no escape. With no dreams and hope to live for, dying seems to be a better choice.

No less unhappy are their loved ones and families who longed for their return to their arms. Worrying and upset over the missing ones yet unknowing to what they are suffering.

Let us be aware of such tragedies happening around us. Let us protect and love our loved ones whenever we can. Let us live to know that the day will arrive where humanity has evolved enough that these unnecessary sufferings will cease to exist.

P.S. Above is just a tiny narration of this topic. To see the bigger picture, you may like to view the following articles and reports around the world:

http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/03/08/women.trafficking/index.html – Sex Slavery

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/23/48hours/main675913.shtml – Victim of Sex Slavery

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/06/MNGR1LGUQ41.DTL – Sex Trade in San Francisco

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/22/sarajevo.rape/index.html – Violence in Eastern Europe

As well as many more articles on the net.

There are great movies who explore such tragedies as well:

-“Slumdog Millionaire”: Homeless orphans in the slums being mutilated (blind, amputated) to become steet beggars

– “Taken”: International sex trade and slavery where kidnapped girls were sold at high prices to wealthy men.

House M.D.

House M.D. – A medical drama which I’d watched till Season 2, thanks to Mr. HHH who passed to me Season 1-4. I like this series alot, as it is nothing but pan-faced humour, intelligent conversations and watching geniuses solving medical cases which “general doctors” can’t solve and have to pass the cases to the Diagnostics Department of the hospital with Dr. Gregory House as the leader who specialises in Nephrology and Infectious Disease; Alison Cameron as the Immunologist, Eric Foreman as the Neurologist and Dr. Robert Chase as the Intensivist.

So the drama is within these people in the department plus Dr. James Wilson who is the Oncologist and is House’s bestie! (and his only friend), and Lisa Cuddy who is the hospital Administator. The main character, House, is what makes the show interesting and defines it.

This show introduces me to loads of medical terms, and various experiences of the hospital whether in the point of view of the doctor, nurses, patients or their families.

What’s admirable is that the guy starring House, Hugh Laurie is actually a British who had to act in the American accent during filming!

If you’re looking for intelligence, wittiness and humour all in one show, look no more.

Check out the various webbies to get more info:

http://www.housemd-guide.com/

http://epguides.com/House/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_m.d.

Recognising A Stroke When It Happens

The content below is one of the most useful and informative chain-email I received, which I want to share here.

Story:

 During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall – she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance)

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food – while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – at 6.00pm, Ingrid passed away.

She had suffered a stroke at the party. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

A neurologist said that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke… totally. The trick is getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

Recognising a stroke:

Doctors say a bystander can recognise a stroke by asking 3 simple questions – STR

S – Ask the individual to SMILE.

T – TALK. Ask the person to speak a simple sentence, coherently. (e.g. ‘It is sunny out today.’)

R – Ask him or her to RAISE both arms.

If he/she has trouble with any one of these tasks, CALL THE AMBULANCE!!!

Other sign of stroke:

Ask the person to stick out his/her tongue. If it is crooked; goes to one side or the other, that indicates stroke as well.

Who is Joo Koon? A Pioneer?

Can anyone tell me who is Joo Koon? Since last Saturday, I’d seen his names everywhere especially the entrance of the MRT station. I kind of missed Boon Lay, which appeared to had subsided to this mysterious entity called Joo Koon. Sources had told me that only those who stayed in the West heard of this big name before it appeared stations after stations across the Red Dot.

Legend has it that this entity will come to elevate the sufferings of those factory and industrial workers, so that they needn’t wake up as early before this great being has arrived. No longer do they have to queue up to be packed into a movable can of sardine. And so has this legend become the truth.

Just as Joo Koon had subdued Boon Lay, so will he be gone to oblivion in the Year 2015, when the great Tuas will arrive and take over…

Wealth, Success and Love

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said ‘I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.’
‘Is the man of the house home?’, they asked.

‘No’, she replied. ‘He’s out.’

‘Then we cannot come in’, they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

‘Go tell them I am home and invite them in!’

The woman went out and invited the men in’

‘We do not go into a House together,’ they replied.

‘Why is that?’ she asked.

One of the old men explained: ‘His name is Wealth,’ he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, ‘He is Success, and I am Love.’ Then he added, ‘Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.’

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. ‘How nice!!’, he said. ‘Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!’

His wife disagreed. ‘My dear, why don’t we invite Success?’

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: ‘Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!’

‘Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,’ said the husband to his wife.

‘Go out and invite Love to be our guest.’

The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, ‘Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.’

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: ‘I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?’

The old men replied together: ‘If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!’

Let’s be a Civilised, Considerate and Courteous Citizen

It’s nothing new, but for the past two weeks, I’d noticed and observed many acts which I would discourage people to do. It keeps occuring and occurring so much so that I find it very disturbing and just want to do something about it, and here I am, writing it here, reaching out to you, my readers, whom so happens to be a citizen of Earth, who maybe ought to be, or at least a little, civilised, considerate and courteous.

The following examples are some of those acts which disturbs me:

• A colleague of mine littered his/her workplace.
• A man whom I saw red-handed spitting on the concrete ground while seating on the bustop seat.
• A woman who shell prawns in the bus and throw it all on the bus floor.
• Buses with the last row of seats especially vandalised with contact numbers for sexual services.
• A man who spitted chewing gum into a woman’s hair in the train station.
• A man who wanted two seats for himself in the bus and unwilling to share.
• A friend of mine who I caught red-handed, spitted under a cinema seat.
• Groups of people who left the tables along East Coast Park without throwing away their leftover rubbish.
• Dog-owners who don’t dispose their dogs’ faeces along parks.
• Smokers who dump their cigarette buds anywhere and step on it.
• Residents urinate and littered their own lifts.
• Residents who throw unwanted flyers out of the block while walking along the corridor from the lift.
• Passengers who squeeze their sweet wrappers into the small openings at the side of the buses.
• Customers eating meaty food in the hawker centre or food court, who left their seats, with the bones and chewed parts on the table, expecting cleaners to pick them up and throw them away.
• Customers who sweep leftover bits of food from previous occupants, off the table.
• Passengers who remove their shoes and rest their legs on bus seats.
• Passengers who does not take the initiative to move in in crowded buses, leaving a big gap at the back while the front people are squeezed, worse is until people can’t even board!

The list just goes on…

Some of it are featured on The New Paper on Sunday. On the 14th December 2008 edition, the cover story is: “Are We Growing Old Disgracefully?” I felt that the fingers shouldn’t be pointed solely on our elders, because people of all ages does it. I do often see elders spitting and littering, there’s when I’d then ponder on this thought: “Hey, I thought that these elders worked hard to make Singapore what she is today, and now you’re dirtying it, instead of taking care and loving it? It doesn’t make sense! It’s like, will you dirty your house, which you have a sense of belonging to?”

Sometimes I just feel very disappointed, and pissed especially when I can’t do anything about it. Sometimes in buses, I feel like telling those people off who don’t move it, but I didn’t. I’d just stare at them and shake my head, hoping they get the hint. Most of the time they don’t, or they don’t care. When I see people spit, I feel like teaching them a lesson and punch their punch so they spit out blood instead of phlegm.

I really feel disappointed that we humans, who can fly to the moon, make thousands of nuke that can destroy Earth thousands of time, yet still commit to such acts! Hey I mean if I’m an alien and I come visit Earth and I see a crowded bus with people trying to squeeze in from the front, but I saw a huge gap at the back and no one’s closing in… I’m like, What the F*ck! What’s wrong with Humanity!!! It’s certainly ludicrous – pathetic and absurd. Just that its disappointing rather than laughing at it.

Why I like Star Trek and why some many does is because, we are watching a series which portrays humanity’s future, which is more evolved and mature from the present. That’s the age where humanity has no greed and violence, and we explore space as a civilised race. Do you think at that time humanity will still spit around? Will people drink and conveniently dump their cans anywhere? In the future, humanity is a model of civilisation, of consideration and of courtesy. Evolution is inevitable, its just a matter of time. Why not now?

In terms of this post, there are two types on human; the human of the 3 Cs – Civilised, Considerate and Courteous; and the human who is not the 3 Cs. I strongly urge you and everyone else to be the human of the 3 Cs, and spread the message around.

What we can do at the very least is to do the act of the 3 Cs ourselves and be a role model. Certainly we can’t force people to do it – would you want to punch blood out of people who spits too? I’ve done my part and would like to share it with you:

• When eating in public eateries, I clear all the leftovers into one plate and stack the plate and wipe the tables. Cleaners just have to collect the plates and utensils with one hand and wipe the table once.
• When I drink finish from a disposal container, I’d throw away my ice or liquid onto drain or grass patch and throw the plastic cup/can/bottle into the bin. This helps to prevent leakage and pungent in the bin and lessen the load and smell for the cleaners.
• In the bus, especially crowded ones, I’ll move all the way back to the maximum I can and hint others to move as well, if they doesn’t.
• I always throw my litters in the bin. When there isn’t one, I’d keep it in my pocket and throw later into a bin.

Actually, if you want to argue why are we littering and doing such stuff, you can actually observe our ancestors. Those early humans, who hunt with rockhead spears and cook with fire – do they do area cleaning after the fire died, and clear up the carcasses after consuming the preys’ flesh? I guess they’ll just leave it and move on, being nomads. Oh well, maybe those who stay in the caves did make sure their caves are clean. So maybe we are born to litter, or are we born to keep our habitat clean?

But now things are different. Those people can afford to litter – everywhere is earth and carcasses can decompose anywhere. But now we have plastics and metal wastes as well! And earth isn’t everywhere! Concrete is! So we can’t expect to throw a plastic bag into a drain and expect it to be disappear! Yes, it’ll disappear as wind or water will move it away but, it will still be around somewhere. It’s a common sight to see plastic bags floating along beach coasts.

Now, where do you think those plastics and all non-degradable stuffs will end up? You learn that oceans have current right? Apparently all these stuffs from all over the world clump together at one part of the Pacific Ocean, forming a swirling mass of plastic, which is currently known to be twice the size of the Texas, which is hundreds of time bigger than Singapore! This swirling mass is known as, “The Great Eastern Patch” or the “Plastic Soup”, as it lies between Japan and USA. Refer to the links below for more:

http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/health-fitness/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we_2.shtml

http://ourdescent.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/about-that-giant-mass-of-plastic-floating-around-in-the-ocean/

http://infinity.usanethosting.com/forum/messages/732.html

http://aquafornia.com/archives/category/beaches/pacific-ocean-garbage-dump

Another point we should take note is that, if we don’t clear our shit, someone will. When I saw my colleague kick the fries underneath so know one will notice and he/she doesn’t need to pick it up and rather let it rot, and some drops on the floor and doesn’t bother to pick it up. If you litter one day, someone and someday, it will be cleared. The point is, why let others be responsible for your rubbish? They don’t deserve to, it doesn’t make sense! Consumers are responsible for what they consume. Do you like to be responsible for something others consume and not you? Would you like to go around picking up soft drink cans when you don’t even enjoy drinking these cans you’re responsible for! I’ve heard that in Japan, there’s an ‘unspoken etiquette’ that in public eateries, people clear their own plates and utensils just like schools’ canteen, and that as there aren’t many public dustbins around, Japanese keep their trash and throw it when they reach home. If only everyone is a Japanese in this sense.

Irony is always present – Adults/parents will always say they don’t want to buy expensive stuffs for their young kids, as they don’t deserve it because they don’t cherish it and are irresponsible to those stuff. But how about ourselves? Do we deserve the convenience we enjoy right now, if we use it irresponsibly?

Singapore is known to be a Clean and Green City. Come, lets do our part to maintain reputation. And to all Earth Citizens, lets make Earth a Clean and Green Planet.

Let’s wait no longer and from now onwards be a civilised, considerate and courteous being.

O/A Level’s just over, I need a job!

Macpherson called me up earlier. I was surprised as isn’t it holiday right now? Well, I actually told to renew my relief teaching contract/registration online, as they express interest in getting me back next year. Woohoo! I’m going back Macpherson!

Anyway, this is what’s written on the MOE page about relief teaching,

“The objective of this casual employment scheme is to allow schools to employ relief teachers to fill classroom vacancies on a short-term basis. It is also an avenue for people who are interested in developing a challenging and satisfying career in the Education Service – but are unsure of their own suitability to be a teacher – to experience what it is like being a teacher.”

So if your ambitition is to be a teacher, do take this opportunity to take a peek into this career first, before enrolling into NIE.

O levels and A levels fresh graduate, congratulations! You’d just closed another chapter of your life! Now is Prom time for some of you. So how are you going to spend your vacation, which may spans 1.5months (for JC) or till April (for Poly). Well is the duration correct? Don’t mind me if I got it wrong, I believe the system was different from my time.

Let me share with you my experience back then. After O levels, I left Mac (finally, after two years), which rate at that time is $3.50/hr. I wanted to explore other jobs and find one that pay higher. I was paid $5/hr. So I went to Caffebar, the one at parkway Level 1, outside TopShop. Worked for 1 month or so, I left. My job was a waiter for a fine-dining restaurant. That’s where I learnt how to “fire” a table! And I learn some dishes and bevarages which I’d never heard of. However, I find that its not the type of job I like. I want something hands on. Like in mac, I get to make burgers, and shake the fries. That’s what I love.

So after Caffebar, my aunt found me a job to work in the airport, T1. The company is called Mix. My job title is called ‘Mixer’ and my duty is to make fresh fruit juice and iced cold smoothies, cut fruits, toast wraps, make coffee and be the cashier, in a small kiosk in the midst of T1 transit lounger. And ever since the first day, I love it. I’m working beside airplanes! I serve loads of airstewardess (^_^), lots of foreigners, be it Americans, Australians, Russians, Indian and nevertheless, Japanese (^_^). But what I like most is what I do. I love making smoothies, I thought that I found the almost-perfect job! And my pay was quite good, $7/hr! Most of the time, I worked during graveyard shifts, from 10pm till 8am. That’s when I get to enjoy the cosy-ness the airport, as I explore both T1 and T2 during my 2hr break at 3am. My colleagues are great too!

After a few months, I was transferred to another branch at OUB Tower, Singapore’s tallest building. That’s where I served alot of businessmen and women. Unfortunately, after another few months, the company closed down (dots…). So much for an almost-perfect job.

So I checked the newspaper and called up one of the ads. Basically I have to be a street-seller, who go around selling $10 wallet and $2 pen. I won’t go deeper in this, as I already had in the recent post about my experience in Boon Lay and the industrial areas around there.

Also, while working in Mix, I was approached by two friends, or rather ex-schoolmates, who attempted to get me into the pyramid scheme for the company they’re in, Venture Era. I didn’t join. For those who join, I’ve two words for you, “All Best”.

Mr. S.W.’s wife approach me for a temp job for the bank she’s working in. Macquarie Bank. An Australian bank, which is financing the project up for bid for the Sports Hub, and I think it won? The stadium which roof can open and close ya? So my job was to do filing and arranging the graphics, documents, files, proposals that will be up for the bid. I was paid $25/hr. =D It’s a foreign bank, what do you expect? Well, its a one-day job, unfortunately.

There’s one time, my friend Robin, an event photographer, paid me for being his assistant for an event shoot. I was paid around $100. So if you’re looking for a photographer, feel free to approach me so that I can refer you to him!

After times of being a waiter, mixer, street-seller, project assistant and assistant photographer, I went back to Mac! It’s like after a long day, I went back home! It was a timely comeback, as coincidently, its hourly rate gone up to $4/hr. And I work in Mac till now.

There’s a period of time, I worked in a banquet at Ritz-Carlton Millennia. $6.50/hr. Its a good experience as well.

Fresh O/A Levels graduates out there, take this chance to explore! I’ve to agree that our age and qualification limits us. Well, you can’t be a banker with just an A level cert right? But there’s still so many other jobs out there! F&B, sales, retail, tuition, relief teaching and so on.

So here’s just a general guideline for the payrate for the different industries (for part-time):

F&B Industry (Waiter) – $4/hr to $8/hr

Fast-food restaurant pay the lowest, while (obviously) top-notch restaurants/pubs/bars pay the highest! So far from what I heard, the waiters from Equinox (top of Swissotel) get the highest pay among all other waiters.

Retail Industry ( Shop Assistant) – $4/hr to $8/hr

Admin Assistant – $4/hr to $9/hr

Relief Teaching – $65/day to $200/day

Tutoring –

Primary school students – $6/hr to $20/hr

Lower Secondary school students – $12/hr to $30/hr

Upper Secondary school students – $15/hr to $30/hr

One way to get students is to join online agencies.

With O/A level, you’ll never get more than $100/day, but its good enough.

Disclaimer: This guideline isn’t the “real” guideline, it’s accurate only to the best of my knowledge.

I’d suggest being a relief teacher. It’s one of my best experience among all the jobs I had. So click on the link below to apply!

http://www.moe.gov.sg/careers/teach/applying/relief-teaching/

(I’m not a MOE agent, who is promoting people to become teachers…)

I wish I can work in Broadrick and Macpherson at the same time. Maybe on alternate days? Let’s see how during my next vacation.

Friends, have a good holiday and a great time working!

If you, however, is ambitious, and want to work on your entreprenuerial spirit already, feel free to approach me. Having the same mindset, perhaps we can benefit from each other.