I was appalled by what I saw this morning when I barged into the driving compartment of my instructor’s grey Lancer. A tidily scribbled note with Chinese characters greeted me beside my steering wheel. 从即日起, 学车费将提升于每小时$2.
That translates to an increase of $3 for every lesson I attend, and it was mutually accepted across the board of union, some kind of organization that governs those private instructors. I believe the instructors also don’t earn much from this adjustment, considering that oil prices are spiraling up over USD110 per barrel. But the value-to-price ratio we are entitled to, as private students, remains significantly higher what our school learners receive, provided we get an experienced and compatible mentor.

I can vividly recall the first day when I hit the road with anxiety and full of nerves, yet subtle eagerness and pride. Even now, I still think that it was actually very dangerous for me, a rookie, and adventurous on the part of my instructor, to allow me to maneuver my way through throngs of car along the narrow roads outside the driving center. I would give him the benefit of doubt, since he has accumulated 40 years of experience under his coaching belt.

Currently into my 15th lesson and 2 more months to my test date, my confidence is building up tremendously and at times, I tend to be complacent. I have committed almost all acts of reckless driving i.e. cutting lane suddenly, speeding, beat red light, did not shut my door properly, took my hands off the steering wheel, almost hit cyclist and pedestrian.
That poor old man had to constantly remind me to slow down and be gentle in handling his gear lever. Lol..I am always feeling the adrenaline pump when driving, so no doubt I would emulate the actions of a F1 driver.

All of us learn to drive for different reasons. We want to own a car, drive to work, impress others with luxury cars, follow others who are also learning, or simply to pick up a life-long skill. From my perspective, the greatest liability a person is bound to in his entire life is to own and maintain a car! It’s a blatant fact: a car is not an asset(inflow of cash) but a liability(outflow of cash). If I ever were to own a car, I will go for a luxurious and high-performing one, and that is when money isn’t a problem. I have no qualms with taking a public transport to work everyday. In many developed countries like Japan and US, there are CEOs who share the same public train with ordinary commuters to work.All in all, I deem driving as a life-skill and I will continue to pursuit my dream of driving a continental car along the picturesque countryside overseas.

Upon receiving the letter from the Japanese language school, I knew that I must and would surely pass the JLPT level 4.(an internationally recognised Japanese proficiency qualification classified into 4 levels, with level 1 being most proficient.) After having sat for the test on the 2nd of december last year, I have been waiting impatiently for the result, and I only allow one thing to linger within my soul: Success. The slightest possibility of failure never ever crossed my mind from the day I decided to take up this new language. I wouldn't want to invest my money on something that I was not confident of achieving success and gave up halfway.



It all started out in the summer of 2006, when I just passed out from my signal operator course in Stagmont camp and was posted to my active armour unit. The later months of 2006 were some of the most carefree and mundane periods of my NS life. So, why not take up something useful and meaningful to occupy my time in bunk instead of just napping, psp-ing and doing sai-kang.

The art and process of mastering a foreign language is never smooth sailing, especially when one has yet to even sharpen his own native tongue. Being a typical Singaporean who is well-versed in both languages is something laudable and admirable. Kudos to our far-sighted, bilingual education system that oversees the need to assimilate our workforce into both the worlds of East and West. But picking up a third language is simply out of my pure interest and time-killing strategy. I chose Japanese over other languages like German, Spanish, French, etc..because it is the easiest and economically practical language to master for a Singaporean. A Caucasian would encounter difficulty in writing out the kanji(Chinese characters) while a Singaporean who is bilingual in English and Chinese can simply breeze through the course through a range of methods.

And here is my result: Writing-Vocabulary: 96/100, Listening: 41/100, Reading-Grammar: 171/200, Total: 308/400(passing mark is 280)Not exactly impressive due to the listening component, and I can’t blame myself because there is really very little exposure to real-life Japanese conversation.

Looking forward to my JPT 3!

I am pretty decided on which course to embark on after spending 2 years of analyzing the market and research on different courses. It takes a moment of impulse to decide, but an experience of a lifetime to affirm. Frankly speaking, I have neither of the above, but just 2 years of my life spent thinking through what I really want in life. I won’t say that I have wasted 2 of my youthful years serving the nation, in fact it may come across as a blessing in disguise, since I have adequately utilized my free time on self-development, reflective thoughts through books, seminars and networking.

Today was another fulfilling, but tiring day for me at the NTU open house. The former, being attributed to the wide range of new courses unveiled this year, while the tiring part came from our aimless, direction-disoriented walk up and down the 2 spines looking for that damn LT2A. Nevertheless, it was a meaningful experience because I got to interact with undergraduates and professor there, similar to what I did over the past 2 years in order to find out whether NTU is the place for me. Seeing all the young faces around me, I am starting to feel old…lol. Many people have asked me why would I choose NTU over NUS, and since I am majoring in a chemical engineering degree, isn’t NUS a more recognized and prestigious platform for me to excel? And I have with me the following reasons why I choose NTU chemical engineering and not NUS or other courses:

1)Although ntu is much further than nus from my home, I will still prefer the former which can provide me with a confirmed accommodation in the first year. And I heard from many peeps and relatives that ntu is famous for its hall living and all should at least try it once. I think it is a great platform for networking with different faculty members, and hopefully a chance to meet my future spouse:)

2)I pretty like the serene and natural environment in ntu, though I can’t stand the noise of live-firing if I were to reside in halls 12,13, or 14 near jalan bahar area. In nus, besides its concrete jungle appearance which doesn’t appeal to me, the science and engineering blocks are quite confusing and challenging to navigate in.( been there quite a few times for jc enrichment camps and SAF medical appointments)

3)NTU’s mission and policies resonate with my personal values. It provides numerous opportunities for every single student to go for an overseas attachment/exchange programme, and the emphasis on this really makes me want to try this out, as I have already planned to set aside half a year in America or Europe. Not only will it look good on my resume, but the networking and global interaction involved will be invaluable.

4)Their policy in making it compulsory for everyone to go for an internship/attachment is a pragmatic one. It ensures some kind of job security even before you graduate, as proven by the higher employability and starting salaries compared to her counterparts.

5)NUS beats NTU flat on food. Both offer reasonably cheap prices, but the quantity and variety of food in NTU leaves much more to be desired. A $2 bowl of wantan mee in canteen A(ntu) took me 2 mouthful to finish!! How can survive??

6)I like the “globalised” population in ntu, which I believe there are as many prc and Indian top brains in nus too. Many locals feel uncomfortable with these ppl around, fearing of competition stuff which I do not wish to discuss in depth. C’mmon man, the govt is not stupid to simply make up 20% of our uni with FT(foreign talent) and thus shortchanging our local students. I deem these FT as assets to our economy and also to my own development. Surely you will do some bootlicking or euphemistically, public relation, if your course-mate is some foreign white horse.

I think we may be an unlucky batch to enter university during this period. By the time most of us graduate in 2012, the economy will be picking itself up slowly from the debris. Yes, we are bound(not predicted) to face a global recession either this year or next year, and it could be one of the worst in history this time round. When commodities like gold, oil rise in value, the economy will dive like what is happening now. And amazing thing is every 5 years, it always seems that something bad will happen to the economy.( asian crisis 97, sept 11 01, sars 03, subprime 07…) So who knows what’s gonna happen in 2012? That’s why I choose to major in chemical engineering with an intended minor in either business or economics.An engineer will never become obsolete whereas a general degree holder in business or science can be quite vulnerable in a bad economy. Imagine what will happen in a few years time when banks start their massive retrenchment/downsizing campaign(it surely happens, not said by me, but by statistics), that’s when all the hype on studying finance and business course will die down., and the engineering sector revives like it did in the nineties.