Saturday, July 25, 2015 12:35 PM
As soon as the degree scroll was handed to me by NUS President Mr Tan, I knew I have made it. 3 years of hard work has paid off. The journey was filled with ups and downs but it was really a memorable experience All thanks to my friends and uni mates who have completed my undergraduate stint.
3 years ago, I entered NUS MPSH with an exciting heart, ranging from all the CCAs to benefits such as signing credit cards and the handful of freebies. Ever since the start of JC, I have always positioned myself to make it to one of the 3 local universities. The curriculum that always gives you not only a "safe" environment, but also a world class university education. NUS was my choice and I did not regret it.
I had hell lots of fun in O'week, knowing helpful seniors and a bunch of OG mates who were supportive and interactive towards each other till today. Semester 1 in year 1 was super crazy with frequent meet ups and adjustments towards university curriculum. That was the semester where I kind of grew up a lot as I took a module alone, exposed to many new people, made new friends and of course, the challenging problem sets that were given. Thankful for SRJC for equipping me decently with the rigour that allowed me to push on and survived semester 1, with a relatively satisfactory CAP. From then on, I know roughly where I stand and I can say, I am not that lousy.
Second semester was better with 2 electives and 1 SS module. I managed to sustained my CAP even though I thought it would drop a lot. I remember clearly how badly I did for one of my core module EC2104, getting 6/20 for a 40% mid-term exam. I totally went blank when I received that score but I kind of knew it after the test. That was the semester that I thought maybe Economics is not my cup of tea. After a long thought process, I still chose to stay and decided not to do my honours. My passion for Economics is so strong and I would want to be an Economics major as compared to others.
Third semester comes, I worked extremely hard as I took 3 core modules. It was tough as I need to struggle with Mathematics as my H1 mathematics in JC is not at all enough for me to understand fully the mathematics behind it, especially for EC3303. Those Mathematical formulas and signs are just too foreign to me, which can be intimidating sometimes. Nevertheless, I worked very hard and used my UEs to pull it up. In the end, the most hardworking semester turned out to produce the worst results. My semester CAP is only 3.20. I was quite disappointed but I really had a fulfilling semester doing my OCIP, attended class with my 2 economics buddies and also taking my favourite sociology of food module.
Maybe it's a comeback, the 4th semester was a surprisingly good semester for me. The timetable was good, the modules are manageable and the results was the best. I SU one Breadth module LSM1301 as I know nuts about biology but the lesson was really fun, especially the lab. Perhaps the modules in this semester was mainly essay based and I am better at it. Took 1 module alone and I managed to find 2 nice guys who were from SRJC as well. This semester, I got my first A+ and it was a elective major module. I knew I made a comeback with a semester CAP of 4.25.
With a pleasant CAP(within my expectation) to begin year 3 sem 1, I tried hard to maintain or score better this semester. As usual, the timetable was not that bad and I managed to take a very interesting module call Dynamics Of Interpersonal Effectiveness. Although I did not score and SU it, this is the best module ever that I have taken, with very practical ideas and skills that can be brought throughout work, family, friendships and love. I highly recommend people to take this but the scoring is really subjective. I took it with an intention to SU it so doesn't matter. In addition, I started equipping myself with more knowledge about jobs, going to career talks, looking for career advisor and searching for more information about jobs. I really shifted a lot of attention to look for jobs and I wanted banking so much. I did it by being one of the six DBS REMIX YOUTH AMBASSADOR serving customers in NUS. This has given me an edge over others to work in the bank in future. I have given my best and I am sure I did well. To escalate the joy in that sem, I managed to pull my CAP up by 0.06 and did relatively decent. What more to end the sem with a trip to KOREA for an exchange tour.
Last semester in NUS, having a mixed feeling on graduation, I began to slacken off and focus a lot of job search. I kind of lost the motivation to study and don't really care about my CAP anymore as I am very satisfied with myself already. Nevertheless, I completed all assignments and studied hard for final exams. Went for interviews and also get myself ready for the working world. Things seemed to be unpleasant and I kinda slowly give up working in the bank. I really wanted HR but keep my options open. As expected, my cap dropped slightly but better than my expectations. This CAP I can definitely do honours but nah, just let it go. Haha. The day the results came, I am so relieved that everything has ended. I looked forward to graduation ceremony, which turned out fantastic with so many of my close friends being able to come down to give me their well wishes.
These 6 semesters has been a really memorable journey. Too many to state it out but I will remember most things experienced. I am thankful that I have gone through quality education curriculum and I hope I will use this appropriately in my future career stint.
2 months plus after my exam wasn't smooth sailing. Fresh graduates finding jobs at this period is one of the hardest things that can happened. Nevertheless, I stay hopeful and expect nothing. After my convocation, luck changed. I managed to be offered a job and I took it up after 3 days of thinking through. I will just take it up first and continue to improve myself and see where it leads me to. Looking forward to 3 August, the next phase, career.
Thankful for the journey and may the next phase be even better. #thankyounus
Monday, May 18, 2015 7:37 PM
I have finally completed my examination and now the real worries come. Have been sending multiple resumes on jobs related to HR but I guess I have to spread more eggs into different baskets from now on.
Anyway, year after year, I have always been a big fan of Star Awards, the awards ceremony for the local entertainment scene. I remember when I was younger, it feels so exciting to predict who will bring home the best actor and best actresses and also the top 10 most popular artists. My childhood memory has incorporated this into one of it. Call me Localises, call me "cheena", it doesn't matter to me. I am just a true blue Singaporean who just like how this ceremony functions every year.
Over the past weeks, I have been streaming past years' award ceremonies to review who got the respective awards and who did not. I even went to Wikipedia to look at the respective name list of those past winners. It was a tough competitive between the actors and actresses but the most prominent and intense competition from my point of which is none other than between Hot favourite Rui En and Jeanette Aw, which I felt to give my views on today.
Let me start off with Rui En. To me, I have a very vague impression of her when I was in Secondary 3 (15 Years old) and she started off her career as a singer. She was named LIN RUI EN then and all I knew was she was a singer who pretty much performed decently in the local music scene. She was one of the NDP theme song singer for the year 2005, singing "Reach Out For The Sky" together with Taufiq Batisa. She was a very jovial young lady whom I felt really "fresh with her" performance.
Soon after, she appeared in Star Awards, getting top 10 best actresses award and that is when I was really surprised by her appearance. Such a young actress with little exposure to the dramas could make it, it must be her fans. Over the years, I could not care less about her as I do not have a specific idol per se but I knew about her existence.
Over the years, she has proven to the many that her acting skills have improved tremendously and I honestly began to give her a lot more attention. She has a very unique vibe every time she appeared and I thought that was very attractive of her. Her unique personality stands her out from the rest and at least she has a "signature" very dear to her. This kind of actresses do not come that easily I would say and it requires a lot of effort and determination to prevent others from manipulating her own and true styles.
Awards are given to those who deserved it. She managed to prove to others about her acting skills and was awards the best actress award for year 2011 and year 2013. I sincerely think from the bottom of my heart, she served the acting awards. In addition, she managed to grasp 2011, 2012 and 2013 most favourite female character award for 3 consecutive years, all thanks to her fans and others who have voted for her.
In a nutshell, I adore Rui En for being who she is and presented to us numerous excellent dramas. Every single character she acted was very meticulously thought through I supposed as I can feel from every of her drama. Of course she has some characters that performed slightly better and some were less outstanding but overall, I would rate her a 8.5/10. Good job!
Just a slight bit about her is that perhaps her "black face" is a little over powering which is why some people out there may not be able to accept. I personally feel that it indeed was a little black last 2-3 weeks ago on the star awards but she has explained herself when they interviewed her and I understand. What really matters now I guess is she will do her best as an actress and let us enjoy her show.
Let's move on to the next actress, Jeanette Aw. I started knowing her in SPH Mediaworks and then she was really young. A prominent character then appeared at Holland Village, a drama which I bet most people would remember. Her acting skills then were pretty average and not that natural. She was awarded best newcomer and also top 10 in 2003 with that drama. That was when she caught my attention with her potential.
Over the years, she was involved in numerous dramas and of course, different roles in different aspects of life. I felt that her performance was ordinary without any breakthrough all the until 2008. Her first breakthrough female character from THE LITTLE NONYA really inspired many Singaporeans watching the show. However, in the drama, there were many outstanding actors and actresses in that drama, making competition so intense and kind of making her performance bland. I felt really sorry for her not winning Best Actress that year as Joanne Peh's character was a much creative and interesting character. I knew Joanne Peh was better but I still hoped for her to win as I was starting to give her attention.
2010 and 2011 with her nomination, I knew she was not going to win as she faced too strong competitors like Rui En. In 2011, I actually thought she could win as her character in BREAKOUT was a character of a mentally disabled, which I thought it was very difficult to master but she was doing pleasant. Still, she bid farewell to that trophy and was given to Rui En.
I did not lose hope but liked her more since 2008. Whenever she smiles, I feel so happy supporting her as I felt the sincerity, passion, interest and enthusiasm in her job as a celebrity. Her gentle and amiable outlook caught my attention and that was when I knew she will definitely one of my idol for local drama scene.
Of course at the same time, I really appreciate RUI EN, JOANNE PEH, REBECCA LIM. I admire lots of other guy actors as well like DESMOND TAN etc, Jeannette just has her charisma. She has my support at least for me.
2014 comes when she was nominated for Best Actress for one of her favourite character Zhao Fei Er in THE DREAM MAKER. I love this show a lot and is definitely one of the most memorable shows that I have watched in Channel 8. I was glad that Jeanette won the most favourite female character last year with this character as I really like that character as well. I was very hopeful for her future from then on, with ever-growing fanclub Jeanius to her improvement in her acting skills.
Regrettably and expectedly, she lost to veteran actress CHEN LIPING for the 3rd time (2003, 2010 and 2014) for Best Actress. I was very sad for her last year but I continued to support her indefinitely.
Her appearance in front of TV at Star Awards never fail to be pleasant and appropriate. This year, she bagged home with 6 trophies in Show 1. She deserved it, with her growing popularity and her amiable and approachable outlook that garnered so many supports not just locally, but at places like Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia. This year, I level up my support by voting for her to win the most favourite female character to show some support that I can. I was happy that she won as the first few weeks she were placed second to Rui En. The power of voting in the end leaped Rui En, making her the first again this year.
All time favourite award was taken in Show for her 10 top 10 trophies over the years was touching. Her fall was very unfortunate but so glad that she stood up with the help of many colleagues.
In a nutshell for Jeanette, she is one of the actresses that I will support as I just like her as a whole. Her acting skills may still have room for improvement( Probably 7.5/10), I am VERY SURE she will get her BEST ACTRESS award one day. PAN LINGLING and LIN MEIJIAO waited for awards for 20 years and they are really good at acting. If I could comment her, all I can say is she will definitely get it one day. Probably she needs some LUCK and also her role. I am sure she will get a role that stands her out from the rest and get the award. I am hoping her role as Zhao Fei Er in The Dream Maker 2 would be her winning character for BEST ACTRESS in Star Awards next year.
Rui En and Jeanette, one for her excellent acting skills and one for her fame and amiable character. I love them both but if I were to choose, Jeanette suits me slightly more. Year after year, things may change. Rui En may garner my vote next year, who knows?
Sunday, April 12, 2015 9:41 PM
I was wrong. I thought things will improve. It did not but aggravated.
I shouldn't have brought it up and face such nasty repercussions.
I should have just be in denial and swallow whatever setbacks that I face.
I should have let things be in order to continue leading the life that I wanted.
Things will never be the same.
A food for thought for me this April:
Sometimes, being in denial can be a blessing in disguise.
I ought to learn to be less critical on stuffs or being too detailed. It can be very tiring and suffocating.
The is nothing in the world that is definite. I guess I need to be more mindful of that.
And the list goes on.
A deep in this period came at the wrong time. I am having my final exam real soon and here comes a hurdle for me. I am really thankful for the people around and I hope to get back on track real soon. It really takes time. Just give me some time. I will heal this would slowly but surely.
I need to get back on track, real soon.
Sunday, March 22, 2015 1:14 PM
Not too sure what stars have aligned. The yearly march deep emotions are looking for me once again. It has always been difficult to handle but I guess this year I am more well equipped to handle it.
Life has been really good to me and I am well aware of that. I treasure every moment of happiness with whoever I interact with. Good times spent overseas to experience a getaway from the hectic and fast paced environment in Singapore has always been something I look forward to once to twice per year. I am very thankful for the trips that I have been so far. Hopefully, more to come.
I lack some luck. I lack something that everyone needs in order to have a fulfilling life. I have always been praying hard for that luck to come but to no avail. Sometimes I thought it is coming, but the actual fact is it is a fake one. When will this luck be here? I am still searching.
Complexity is all I can say for this emotional feeling. Right now I am feeling very much calm but inside is a little chaotic, much lesser than the previous time. When I am not reminded of it, I am fine. Whenever I am reminded of it, it is always detrimental to my emotional health. What can I do?
I guess being emotional is really my biggest enemy. I really should be dealing with this problem in 2015. 2014 was the worse but I guess I still have room for improvement. I think I will be able to make it one fine day. Time is the best medication.
Less than 2 months to my last paper and I am feeling the pinch. Finding a job may not be that easy nowadays as the job market is saturated. I am just wondering how are fresh graduates going to be employed amidst this situation. Maybe I would end up doing something that people might this that it is lower tier.
Whatever it is, I will look forward to a new life very soon. I am hoping to have opportunity this year and I really want to value-add myself gradually.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 8:54 PM
I guess this is the first blog entry that I am writing for the year 2015. Have been swamped with stuffs to do since the year started.
The year started off very well with a study tour in South Korea. I have truly enjoyed the time there, especially the food and the weather. I am so glad to have met up with my online pal whom I have started chatting with since 2009. Opportunities don't come that often and I am glad I have took the plunge to meet him after and stay connected. The exchange is really an interesting one and I hope to have more of this chances in time to come.
I embarked on my last semester on January 13 and my mood was kind of stable and I have sensed that I would not be pushing that hard for this semester anymore as I have decided to graduate after this semester. Not doing honours has always been my choice and never have I changed my mind. Life is quite good now as I only need to do whatever I am supposed to and I should be able to pass decently.
Here comes Lunar New Year and I have been waiting for this for almost 2 months. After hearing from Feng Shui master, I have come to understand that those who were born in the year of the horse will expect a very good year this year. As horse and goat are compatible signs, this year will be a year filled with opportunity for people born in the year of the horse. Although this sound superstitious, I am more inclined to believe it than not but not to the extreme. I really hope this is true as this year will be a transitional year for me.
Right now, I am feeling slightly nervous in my job search but I am still in denial to graduate. 3 year passed in a blink of an eye and I so not ready to work. Being student always has the triumph card. How I wish my brain is smarter so that I can continue doing honours.
Well, having said that, the perks of working is the experience and of course the money that enables me to make ends meet. I will push hard and be successful one fine day.
I realised that I seldom blog nowadays and I will still say I will try my best. I would not post any more photos here as all photos are posted via Facebook and Instagram. But I still pop by occasionally to pen down some thoughts. For now, take care guys.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 12:22 PM
Today marks the last day of 2014 and I would like to give a summary of this year for me.
The year started with an emotional setback that was really uncalled for. Words were directly crushing my heart and it was a helpless period in January but I tried very hard to divert the attention away. A few weeks later after CNY, I was faced with another challenging experience that took me a few weeks to get over. That was when my friends were really there for me to guide me here and there. It wasn't that serious but having them around helps a lot.
In March, a mishap happened to MH370 and the plane was yet to be found till today. That tragic incident left a great impact on almost everyone and I was really deterred to take planes that often after seeing that.
I was occupied with assessments and term papers to write as year 2 sem 2 was really a sem that requires me to do lots of assignments and I only have 1 midterm. Also met an Ang Moh exchange student from Germany to be our group member for labour economics mod.
Soon after the final exam came and it was another sem filled with uncertainty but the most confident sem ever. Results came in June and it was the best result ever after S/U. Got a 4.25 sem CAP for that sem which was a leap from 3.2 the sem before. Anyway, I was elated and would like to push further.
In the mean time, I had an awesome experience working in BreadTalk Group as the wages are pleasant and I have seen a lot more things than before. I felt old then but I have to face the music real soon. The internship was definitely a good platform to learn but I knew I could have gone somewhere for a better opportunity.
Went Taiwan with family for a 8-day tour that simply just feel so good. Eat, shop, sight see are things that I always yearn for in a trip. Staying 5 star hotel everyday is just too shiok. A good family bonding session too, which I hope we can do so once every year.
School started in August and I suppose I felt it. I felt the impact that this will be my last academic year and soon after this, off I go to the scary corporate world. I even have intentions to stay for my year 4 just because I don't want to work that soon. However, I have to. Not because I don't qualify, but because I of many other reasons.
The semester was great actually. I was juggling between keeping up with job vacancies by attending various recruitment talks and fairs, meet the career advisors and participate in FASS mentorship program that allows me to meet an awesome mentors and many more people. I allocate a fair bit of my time to such things and forgo my school work sometimes as I felt that it was more practical knowing that I am graduating after year 3. It was quite sad that none of my closer friends are graduating with me, which makes me doubt a bit about my capability. Well, I have accepted it today and moved on.
A pleasant surprise came struck me when an email was sent by OAM regarding job vacancy in DBS REMIX NUS. When I saw that, I knew I will have to get it. I prayed hard and prepared well for the interview. I may not have performed that well and hence I had sleepless nights thereafter. Perhaps the good deeds that I have done have resulted in fate allowing me to have a chance, I got the position. I put in lots of effort in working as an Ambassador and always give in my best. I knew I did it for these 3 months was filled with many opportunity to learn, make new friends and serve customer. I might be luckier in future working in a bank branch given enhanced resume from now.
This year's birthday was splendid. I had about 4 to 5 days of celebration with various groups of people. Although not very big group, I appreciate all their efforts in planning and the gifts. Experienced G2Max that I have all along wanted to, all thanks to PSK'13 for their surprise.
And so, the sem was filled with much planning between spending time on such job-related matters, fun and academics. All in all, I still put in lots of efforts into studies and it eventually paid off a little. I fare quite well this sem too but was disappointed with Dynamics of Interpersonal Effectiveness as I got a B- eventually, with much hope that I can score a B+. Perhaps I just do not have the MCQ "luck" but ok, I do enjoy that mod a lot. Best mod ever.
Overall sem CAP after S/U is a 4.0 which I am really happy. Didn't feel like I have done a lot but still can hit a 4.0, I am really elated. The logic of the more stress I am gives a poorer results applies for me. Hence, the more I take it easy, the better I fare.
This sums up what happened in 2014 for me. I felt that this was a year filled with a good mix of both positive and negative feelings compared to 2013. I have decided to go for a study tour in Seoul on 1st Jan till 6th and back on 7th jan as this is my last chance to travel as a student. Having seen the tragic AirAsia flight happened a few days back, I am really scared now. I really hope I will fly there and enjoy as much as I can amidst the freezing cold weather. I wonder how much I can take it.
May 2015 be filled with hope, luck, wealth, pink of health and love for me and everyone else. Cheers.
Saturday, December 6, 2014 12:48 PM
It has been a while once again. I realised that although I seldom blog nowadays, it has been part of my life and will occasionally turn to this venue.
Year 3 sem 1 in NUS ended on Monday for me as that day was my last paper. The sem ended really fast as perhaps I was doing more things other than studying during the sem and did not cater much time towards my academics. I was merely following the motion and listening very attentively to catch key concepts and words so that it would be easier for me to do tutorial and for revision purposes. I think this sem was not too bad but I still miss Year 2 Sem 2 as most of the modules are writing essays and learning interesting things that is applicable to daily lives.
Just thought of doing a simple review for this Sem(AY 2014/15). Here it goes.
EC3102 Macroeconomics II taught by new lecturer was a blessing in disguise. Although I suppose the final exam wasn't as hard as compared to the one set by previous lecturer, the standard is still there and the exam seems difficult for me. On the bright side, I like the lecturer's diligence and his explanation in tutorial class is quite clear and easy to follow. One key thing I have taken away from this course is that it will be very useful for understand almost all the economy in the world. Another thing is that, while I was doing my final exam in the hall, I am quite sure I am not going to do honours as it is really vexing doing those type of questions that requires you to think very deeply and with great uncertainty. I am expecting a C+ in this module and if I am lucky, B- .
EC2374 Economy of Modern China is my favourite economics mod this sem. I really like to learn economics in an intuitive manner. It opened up my mind to look at China in a different perspective. Very interesting content and the lecturer Dr Song is really knowledgeable even though he seems to be the less expressive kind of lecturer. Final exam was slightly harder than expected but the content can all be used to answer the question. Just find it demanding to answer 3 essays and didn't have the time to plan. I highly recommend this mod to students who wants to take a breather away from the other highly Maths-oriented economics module and I seriously think one can do well if you put in extra effort to plan, organise and write normally with the points learned. That being said, the bell curve is also quite steep(standard for lots of other econs modules). Hopefully things will go well for me. Aiming for A but I guess max I can get is B+ with the under performance during the finals.
EC3383 Environmental economics is most likely my second favourite econs mod this sem. The content is very interesting as there's very little maths involve. However, the readings were heavy but you don't have to read all of them, be selective and read those that lecturer goes through in class. That's what I did. I will write up summary and know the key points. Readings will be tested in the final exam(write about 1 page essay) and other questions will be on normal graph and simple calculation on optimal solutions. It can be tricky and the concepts may be hard to understand but if you study well enough it's actually very manageable. Midterm I didn't do well because of 1 question so be sure to know everything. Overall I do enjoy the mod as I have played a total of 3 games in tutorial class that is closely related to the lecture content. I highly recommend this mod to Econs majors like me who cannot take too much Maths to take this as it is manageable. Hopefully can get a B but if luck is not at my side, I'm expecting a B-. (Damn that 1 question in midterms)
GEK1006 Dynamics of Interpersonal effectiveness. This is my favourite module in NUS so far in terms of workload. To be hones, I have only attended 1 lecture in the whole semester as the lecture falls early in the morning at 8am. The tutorial classes are filled with interesting interpersonal activities such as role play, making new friends, active listening, how to resolve conflict in a relationship or work etc. The final exam was open book but it is highly subjective, especially for the essay aka case study question. The term test that falls on the last week of the sem(Week 13) was tricky and hence I got a B. Overall, not too sure but whatever results it is, this will be my favourite module as the tutorial doesn't require one to prepare in advance. Just go in and have FUN! Hopefully will get B+ but if not desired, my S/U is here.
SSA1201 Singapore society. I take this module for just one main reason, the lecturer is my lucky star lecturer. For modules taught under her such as SC1101E and SC2215 that I have taken, it's always positive results. I am expecting the same result if I take this module. That being said, I definitely have understand Singapore society through the lens of sociology and this would be great for general knowledge about Singapore and would be handy when talking to people. The midterm was 1 essay that last 45 mins and in tutorial, we share our thoughts about our understanding. There's no right or wrong answer but its great hearing different views for learning. Final exam is 2 essay questions that I think is very easy. Just need planning and you definitely can answer if you study well on the readings, concepts and content. I am expecting positive results from this module. Haha.
That sums up my take on the modules I have taken this sem. Doing 5 finals is a norm to me but it gets tired sem after sem. I am quite disappointed sometimes with myself and question my ability in doing econs. I have to blame myself for not doing A Maths during secondary school and that's why my understanding is hinder greatly. That's the reason why I am not advocating on Honours year as it would be HELL for me dealing with those level 4 mods that I really would see myself suffering understanding and studying.
On a lighter note, at least I am doing something in NUS. Have been actively keeping up with jobs vacancies and positions and also working at DBS REMIX in NUS. So appreciative to be given a chance to work to earn money and gain experience working in a BANK. Left with 3 more weeks there and after which, I will be heading to SEOUL for JOINT-University study tour with students from Hong Kong. Loving the travelling experience before embarking on my last sem and then graduation.
It's once again the festive season and I am feeling really happy now. Can't wait for gift exchange and catching up with love ones. It's the season to be jolly ..................