Official Opening of Megacash Corp Pte Ltd

My Brother and I went with my Father who was invited to the official opening of Megacash Corp Pte Ltd, a pawnshop, situated at Bedok Reservoir Rd.

Pawnshops are getting better designs.

Had an opportunity to venture into the shop to check it out. Didn't stay long though since most of the invited were in the trade and my Brother and I seemed out of place.

A Patient's Review on Pan Island Dental Surgery

Pan Island Dental Surgery
Tel: +65 6445 3852
Blk 632, Bedok Reservoir Road,
#01-804, Singapore 470632

Entering the clinic, one would be greeted friendly by the clinic attendant. I was there for teeth cleaning. The Dental Surgeon is Dr. Chan Chan Seng B.D.S. (Singapore), a graduate from National University of Singapore. His wife and daughter helped out at his clinic.

After a short waiting time, I met with Dr. Chan. He did some fact finding and began his work. The process was comfortable, unlike previous occasions when I visited the National Dental Centre and school dental centres. Dr. Chan is experienced in that he pinpointed the problem very quickly and very precisely.

Overall, I would rate my experience with Pan Island Dental Surgery as Excellent. 5 Star, despite the fact that it is a neighbourhood clinic.

Smart Investment Talk by Money Problems Solved (MoneyPS.com)

Attended a networking event held at the Regent Hotel.

The Advertisement:

*Find out how You can earn 3% interest on Your finances every month!

* Learn the best-kept secrets on Futures, Indices and Options Trading!

*Find out how you can Generate a FOUR FIGURE passive income within 2-3months, with just $40 !

"Money Problems Solved is a group of individuals like you and I, founded in Singapore in September 2007 upon a book of the same title that was written in 1992. MoneyPS members are interested in finance, property, and investments at the personal level, the family level, and also, the business level. Members are able to network and cross-sell their products and services through our meetings and soon, worldwide,through our upcoming web portal. Purchasers of the MoneyPS book automatically become members of the club. We also raise funds for charities including the Willing Hearts Foundation and Unicef through the sales of the book. Currently, we have over 7000 members, and 120 active members in Singapore of varying professions, experiences and backgrounds."

The Programme:

MoneyPS http://www.moneyps.com/ is founded by Lance Frederick Shaw, an Australian residing in Singapore. Lance presented the programme to the audience.

Purchase a book "Thrifty and Drifty", which is a colouring book with simplified finance and investment information. Even kids can read this book. Price = 20 Euro. Once a member, you can purchase the book at a lower price and resell it to referrals.

After book purchase, you may choose to invest a sum of money with MoneyPS, minimum S$1000. The programme guarantees a minimum interest rate of 3% per month even though it had reached 17% in some months. The investments are managed by traders. Therefore, you typically do not need to do anything with it.

There is also a MLM feature in this programme. For your direct referrals, you can earn a commission value equal to 50% of interests earned from the referral. For the second level and third level, you can earn 10% of interests.

Other than profits from investment, MoneyPS is also capitalising on the vast database of customers to derive an additional income. This is possible because customers have to indicate that they permit the company to use their information before they could purchase the book online.

How to start?
1. Log on to http://www.moneyps.com and buy a book with Referral ID: 8919
2. You will receive your own ID via an email from the Administrators.

For investments,
You would need to sign a loan agreement with Lance Shaw, with him promising to return you 3% returns monthly. Upon signing the agreement, you will have a 7-day cooling period.

Nick Kuan & Jasmine Tan Marriage

Held at Hilltop Garden Restaurant @ Civil Service Club, Nick Kuan and Jasmine Tan's wedding dinner was a great get-together for the soldiers who had turned operationally ready with the rest.

The Army guys occupied 4 tables, featuring platoon warrants, an ex-medic, officers, etc.

1SG Nick, my section mate, held his wedding dinner one month prior to that of SSG Koh's. According to superstitious belief, SSG Koh should not attend a wedding dinner 3 months before and after his own wedding dinner. Hence, both parties wouldn't be attending each other's parties. LOL.

This is the marriage season...

Just a few weeks ago, SSG Koh invited some of his peers to be filmed in his "tribute to friends" video which would be presented to the attendees of his wedding dinner. I felt honoured and deeply touched that I was included in this video, a video that would be preserved...




This is 草蜢 - 我們MV, the inspiration of the video...

[Updated: 18 February 2008]

15 : The Movie by Royston Tan

Banned in Singapore. Check out 881 Director Royston Tan's movie, 15.

PS: Censored scenes and expletives. Viewers Caution.

Police woke Man sleeping on the road

I was studying for my Economics Examination on the next day when my brother came back and told me there was someone sleeping on the road leading to the carpark.

We went down and true enough, he was topless, lying on top of the drain cover with his mobile phone on the steps next to him. After kicking him for some time, he didn't respond. For some time I thought he might be dead. He showed some of signs of life when I saw him breathe.

To avoid problematic scenarios, I called the police from Bedok North NPC to send someone down to clear this human blockade.

The police was efficient, coming at about ten minutes after the call was made. They had some hard time waking up the man though.

My brother quipped that it should be quite cooling to ly on top of the drain cover with the breeze coming from below. Haha...

My 21st Birthday

Lately I found out that one of my junior shared the same birthday as me. On November 10, the Today Newspaper was first distributed. The Escape Theme Park started operation in the month of November. From 8-10 November, Jia Yee, Mei Yi, Yilin celebrated their birthdays.

6 November, after a "strenuous IPPT", I met Yiwei, Hwee Peng and Wee Keat at a Japanese restaurant in Suntec City. After a sumptuous dinner, they surprised me with a Milo-Horlick icecream cake which was delicious. Received a book titled "You and Your Money" from the couple as a present. A perfect gift.

9 November, after the Thank-you dinner by Mr. Lakshmanan BBM and Mr. Lin Tze Kin PBM at Eunos C.C., I drove off to meet some friends at Cineleisure. After getting a bit lost, I finally got to Cineleisure after 1 hour of driving. After singing some songs in KBox, someone switched on the light and in came a birthday cake. It's an honour for me that Ms. Cecilia brought in the cake. All of us -- Gordan, Andrew, Jian Hao, Janice, Nigel, Lionel, Jas, Ms. Cecilia -- took a picture together before cake-cutting. Thanks to all of them for making it a joyous occasion. Received a Leonard tie, leather shoes and lucky leaf keychain (from Janice), and cufflinks (from Nigel). Thanks Janice and Andrew for coordinating.

10 November, after having some sleep, I went to Cineleisure (again) to watch a movie that I had just turned legal to watch. After dinner, I went to the new Pet Safari at Vivocity. It was quite disappointing. Not many hamsters and rabbits to look at and the shop was smaller than when it was at Eastpoint Mall.

Thank you all who made that day a wonderful one!

Maintaining good health for Elderlies

Currently working on a new website: http://www.old-age-health-tips.com .

For any of you who have Seniors or elderlies at home, do check out the one-stop info site to understand how you can ensure that they stay health and age gracefully.

Aljunied GRC Citizenship Ceremony @ Kovan - Paya Lebar CC

Aljunied GRC Citizenship Ceremony
19 October 2007
6.30pm

New Citizens from Aljunied GRC received their certificates of citizenship from the hands of MP Mdm Cynthia Phua and recited the pledge. There was a total of 150 of them, from more than 10 different countries.

A short video introducing the history of Singapore's independence was shown to the crowd.

CEO Unplugged Seminar

CEO Unplugged Seminar
Hon Sui Sen Auditorium, National University of Singapore
6.30pm - 8pm
18 October 2007

The guests invited this year are Mr Ivan Lee (CEO of Thai Express, Onyx Concept Restaurant, Pin Le, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, New York New York) and Mr Adam Khoo (Executive Chairman, Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group).

Adam Khoo graduated from Business Faculty, NUS while Ivan Lee graduated with a double Major in Philosophy and Economics at Faculty of Arts and Social Science, NUS.

Sharing some key points that they mentioned:

Adam Khoo

• Dare to dream and find out how to get there
• For goal setting, focus not on the amount of money you wish to have, but on creating value in doing what you love to do
• No idea is original. Everything is just an add-on to something else
• Knowing how to sell oneself is important
• Good marketing makes bad products die faster
• Making money is just one of many measures of success

Ivan Lee

• Never cast any philosophy in stone
• Ego and contentment will destroy you
• Business is all about being a leader and it is not a democracy
• Be pragmatic to the core
• Pay well, and give job satisfaction (Respect, Empowerment)
• Marketing research and R&D are important. Note: R&D = Rob & Duplicate
• Get people to like you and feel comfortable with you
• Fail in order to succeed, to gain more confidence

After a year of waiting, Start-Up @ Singapore '08 is finally here!

Hari Raya Celebrations at Mayor's Residence

Eunos Grassroots leaders are invited for a lunch treat at Northeast CDC Mayor Zainul Abidin Rasheed's residence.

Buses fetched us from Eunos Community Club to Mayor's house.

After wishing each other Selamat Hari Raya, we feasted on a range of cuisine including Turkish cuisine, North Indian cuisine and South Indian cuisine.

Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, was also spotted among the crowd...

NUS Political Science Society Website Hacked

Oh dear, hope someone rectifies this quick. Just happened to check out http://www.pssoc.org but instead found this Turkish Hacker's signature note...

Angel and Mortal Encounter

Today is a great day.

After SSA2214 lecture, I bumped onto my Angel! Well, it was her who saw me first though. We played the Angel-and-Mortal game when we were in TJC. It had since been 4 years since my last encounter with her.

We went for a drink at the Arts Canteen. Seems like there is a lot to catch up...


The Angel-and-Mortal Game:
One group of angels would write letters to their mortals, so only the angels would know the the identity of the mortals.

Good Samaritan returned my lost laptop

24 September 2007

It was a close shave. Nearly lost my laptop that contained priceless information.

After a long discussion with the Political Science group, the weariness had already got into me. Misplaced my laptop and cashcard while photocopying some materials.

At Jurong East, I saw many banks across the street from the interchange but when I went over there, I could not locate UOB. I thought all the big banks were there, and how could UOB not be there? Even Maybank is there. Sighz.

I succinctly saw some red lines and a blue background over at IMM. Walked over to find out that it was just a carpark label. As I was moving to my bus berth, the bus left. After 30 minutes, the next bus came.

Arrived at Bedok Central to deposit some cash. Left my laptop above the machine accidentally, and went over to retrieve some cash from another account. Phoosh~ laptop vanished into thin air.

I could remember how panic I was. Walking around the vicinity to see if anybody was holding on to my belonging. My efforts were in vain. Resigning to fate, I called the Bedok Neighbourhood Police Centre, jot down the ATM machine number (hopefully thinking that the camera above the machine could have captured the incident). Took a cab and flew to the police post.

While I was reporting my incident to the police, my phone rang and the battery died flat. When it was turned on again, I received from an SMS stating: "You want your laptop?"

The Corporal on duty called the number and after explaining the scenario, passed over the phone to me. The person who found the missing article was obviously frightened and worried that he might get himself into trouble. After some coaxing and calming down by both me and the policeman, he requested me to meet at his void deck.

His wife had picked up my laptop and had wanted to return it the next day. He, instead, thought that I might have been frantically looking around for the laptop, so he turned it on and successfully searched my contact details (until this point, I'm still quite puzzled how he got them).

I handed over my business card over to them and hopefully one day I can return this favour.

The departing message from the man was to return the favour to someone else, just like someone had helped him recently.

What a long day...

Aljunied GRC Post National Day Rally Dialogue 2007

23 September 2007

Grassroots leaders from Aljunied GRC gathered at Eunos CC Auditorium to attend the Post National Day Rally Dialogue.

The panel included Mrs Lim Hwee Hua (Minister of State, Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Transport), Mayor Zainul Abidin Rasheed (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Mayor, North East District), Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Mdm Cynthia Phua and a representative from Ministry of Manpower.

The dialogue session focused on the CPF issue. I see it in a positive view in the changes that the government is implemented. This makes the CPF better able to sustain.

I got to understand the CPF scheme a little bit better after this dialogue. Think it's time I should also start planning to prevent it from becoming "Cannot Provide Forever".

Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum 2007

21 September 2007

Attended the annual Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum 2007 organised by NUS Students' Political Association. The Guest-of-Honour is PM Lee Hsien Loong. He was accompanied by his wife, Mdm Ho Ching.

The event was held at Heng Mui Keng Auditorium, opposite the APEC office.

PM Lee addressed the audience on "Singapore and Beyond". He discussed about Singapore's relationship with our neighbours as well as the identity of the Singapore nation and the obstacles that laid ahead. Speaking to a young crowd, he did not talk about the touchy CPF issue which would otherwise bore the students.

During the Q&A sesson, it seemed that some people had asked questions that were related to their tutorials. However, most questions were generally meaningful.

I recall one question asking if Singapore is too economy-centric and whether this makes Singapore look immature as a nation. PM Lee's response was that with good economy, we tend to take the economy for granted...

Quote of September 11, 2007

During History lecture, Dr. Emmaneul shared this quote with the class...

Debating imperialism is a bit like debating the pros and cons of rape.

What can we say? That we really miss it? -- by Arundhati Roy

After the lecture, found a Sony Ericcson phone that was left behind by someone. Tried to catch up with the owner but lost sight of her. Tried to call her "Home", ended up calling some office...

Finally, she called and she looked so touched.

12th Term Eunos Community Club Youth Group Biennial General Meeting

8 September 2007, Saturday, 1pm.

The event started with an address from the Mayor, followed by presentation of the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer's reports.

As the committee was dissolved, the Presiding Chairman took over. There were 16 members vying for 15 positions. Each of us went forward to give a short introduction of ourselves to the voting crowd.

After some songs by a freelance guitarist-singer, the results were released.

Dinner buffet was then served and the newly formed Youth Executive Committee headed to the Conference Room for Office Bearer Meeting. PAYM staff and the Presiding Chairman conducted the meeting.

Formerly elected Treasurer. I guess it would be another wonderful learning experience that I'm going to have for the rest of 2 years.

Essence of Ratatouille

Movies often convey succinct messages through the plot and characters. Upon paying attention to these small details, one can further get them imprinted into one's mind.

Father Rat: " You can't change nature..."
Son Rat: "But Change is Nature... It happens when you decide..."

Food Critic: "Not everyone has talents, but talents come from anywhere"

Enjoy these quotes

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Trial Participation

On the very first day of September, grassroots leaders from Eunos went on an excursion to Changi Airport Terminal 3 for a trial participation.

We were guided by Airport staff in a tour of the new Terminal.




After entering the Terminal...





























Natural lighting permeates the interior. In the dark, flourescent tubes would light up automatically.














The Terminal stands 4-storey tall.
1st floor: Arrival Hall
2nd floor: Departure Hall
3rd floor: Food and Beverage
4th floor: Viewing Mall

T3 has lots of glasses, hence one can see one's friend off literally...








Baggages filled with newspapers are used to simulate actual baggages and to test trial the system.

There is an underground pathway for luggages to commute between T2 and T3, for the comfort of baggages.
























Distance from Gate A9 - Gate A21 is approximately 1.2km long.

You can either use the travellator, or skytrain to trave from one end to the other.

(New training ground for 2.4km runners)










A further view of A9-A21













The Arrival Hall as seen from the 2nd floor. This is where passengers await for the collection of their baggages.

They do get the first feel of Singapore as a Garden City.

















Check in...















Isn't that cool to have real trees inside the interior of a building?

(They better not be durain trees haha)













Welcome to Singapore, carved in different languages.

Artwork of an Indonesian artist.


























The waiting areas are much larger as the new Terminal is to cater for the larger Airbus planes.














Nice food provided for Trial Participants

Goodbye Terminal 3. We'll be back when you open in year 2008 :)

The Supreme being will not give you what you pray for

After celebrating Wee Keat's 21st birthday at Settler's Cafe (Clarke Quay), I watched the movie "Evan Almighty".

In this parody version of the story of "Noah's Ark", I was empowered with a philosophical point of view from the cast that acted as the "God".

He mentioned that if you prayed for courage, you would not receive courage. But instead you would receive an opportunity for you to be courageous.

From the movie, it is only this point that I really dwelled on and ponder. It is more than just a stage talk to me.

If one prayed for more wealth, only the opportunity to create more wealth would appear. And it is up to the individual to seize these chances.

This links to the point that one should not be praying for what they want to happen, without taking any action to achieve what they prayed for.

Until one takes action, one will not have one's prayers answered.

Community Mediation 101

Early morning, some Damai teachers and ex-students (including myself) sent Mr Richard Wee off. Changi Airport has never been a place of good memory despite its first-class status, since I am always seeing people off.

At 1 pm, I arrived at Eunos Community Centre to attend Community Mediation 101 by Siti Hamidah Abdullah Bahashwan, Family Mediator and Counsellor, Owner & Founder of Emotion Works.

The instructor took Sociology and Social Work in NUS (FASS rocks!).

Anyway, initially I thought that mediation is a rather dry topic, very useful but not really interesting. I was proven wrong though.

Professional mediation course at a basic level would take 2 days, Intermediate 5 days and Advanced 10 days. The elementary course we attended lasted 4 hours.

In the course, I got to know Mr Veerasamy, a ex-RSM for 20 years. Interestingly though, is that he was an ex-RSM of my RC chairman. LOL.

Yes, and I am excited about the trip to Changi Airport Terminal 3 on 1 Sept. Yeah~

I Love my Grandmother

After meeting a prospect who wanted to recruit me as his associates in the morning, I hurried myself back to Eunos Community Centre to attend the appreciation lunch for Kampung Spirit Launch Day.

Soon after, I returned home to ballot for tutorials, something I find quite complicated until I formalised a system of my own to simplify the whole endurance process.

August 18 happened to be my maid's birthday. Ironically my maid's not staying at my place. Mother and I went to my Aunt's place to wish her a happy birthday with a cake and some gifts.

I was told that my Grandmother was unwell on the first lunar day of the 7th month. She actually lied on the bed with eyes rolled upwards. For the entire day, she lied on the bed without uttering any words. I can still remember how my maid described her. My Aunt and my maid were scared out of their lives during the period.

She forgotten my name and laughed over it. Even when I was talking to my Grandmother, her eyes were not focused at me for most of the time. When I was about to leave the room, she stared at an open space and began to talk, as if some one was listening.

When I looked at her eyes, tears filled my eyes. I Love my Grandmother. The same pair of eyes saw me through my childhood, my schooldays. They filled 90% of my life up to this date.

There are promises that have not been fulfilled. If I ever have to describe my Grandmother, I guess I would take forever to do so. If I can, I would sacrifice myself for this wonderful woman. The pain she's suffering hurts me. And I reckon that I have been dodging from this issue.

As I left the room the second time, I promised my Grandmother that I would take her out one day. I am grateful to my maid and my aunt who went through great ordeals to care for her.

I dare not think of the should-not-be-thought and I guess I would never be able to deal with that. As for now, I will go against time to deliver my promise to my Grandmother.

Completing 1st week in NUS

Successfully bidded for modules that appeal to me:

Introduction to Political Science
Introduction to Economics Analysis
History: Asia and Modern World
Singapore and India Emerging Relations
Nations and Nationalism in South Asia

Still trying to get used to the long, long, long route to school. Listening to lectures is enjoyable, at least this applies to most of them. Listening to stories and analysis by Academic Doctors.

In one of the lectures, the lecturer requested each and every student to introduce himself and share the reason of picking up the module. It's quite saddening to hear that a significant group of students either take the module for university requirements or because the module is of the lowest bid points. I sometimes wonder how can one live without a direction and purpose.

Another thing I failed to understand is why teachers are carrying chairs for students when there are insufficient chairs in the classroom. This is quite something I need to adapt to too...

After 2 years of anticipating to study Political Science and Economics, now I have the chance. It's a great feeling.

ARTS Oweek 2007

The theme for Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Orientation week is Pirates. We freshies were grouped into 4 houses - Ali Baba, Rajoo, Teh-O and Saofeng. Each house comprises of 5 OGs. My OG is Rum from Rajoo.

Day 1 was the learning of cheers and getting to know one another in the morning. Then we went for our first round of bidding in the Central library. I was lucky as I had Yiwei to help me bid. In the afternoon was Campus tour where OGs would play station games at different venues within the Faculty. After a long day, everyone left during dinner time and missed the night activity -- Speed Dating (sponsored by SDU) haha.

Day 2 was the making of mascot. With a pink robe, newspapers and cardboards, our OG came up with a bottle of rum as our mascot. When night came, we learnt Mambo/Mass Dance from our Faculty's Mambo King. I particularly like the segment : "Square Rooms". Lol... For dinner, we had Pratas...

Day 3's highlight was the Food Hunt and PSI. Had some nice food at the Longhouse eating place.

Day 4, we had Night Games and Night Venture (aka Fright Night). Shufen, Clarice and I formed a team and went into the "Tunnel". As we ended late, some of us stayed in. Took a bath at Eusoff Hall and then played cards till the morning with Cheok Hon, Elaine, Clarice, and 2 other members from another OGs...

Day 5 was Flag Day. Our location was at Jurong East. Tiring...

Day 6 was Beach day at Sentosa. Got sunburnt... Randomly got picked up to represent the House in talking cock. Lol... Enjoyed the mass games and of course the Mass Dance. Haha.

Day 7, we had war games at the Sports & Recreation Centre. Got muddy but it was fun. Then we had barbeque at night.

Day 8 was Rag day. Got sunburnt x2 at the Padang where the floats were displayed to the President and Ministers Khaw Boon Wan and Vivian Balakrishnan.

Q: Hey Rajoo, where are you?

A: Hey~~ Hey Baby. Ooo Ah. Do you know~~ that Rajoo's here!

Early morning late at night,
Rajoo goes out to fight.
Hearts united, all as ONE.
We will win the war this time!

Ohohohohoh, Square rooms~. Ohohohohoh Square rooms~
They don't listen, They don't care...
that a man is in despair~

Good memories... Embarking on 4 years of fun and mugging!

42nd National Day: City of Possibilities

On National Day's eve, Yong Sheng held his birthday chalet at Aranda Country Club. I believe it's my first visit to the club. The executive suite was spacious and comfortable. Spent the night and the early wee hours of National day until 5am.

At 6.45am, I was already dressed in my "Eurasian" outfit, doing rehearsals for the National Day Observance Ceremony at Petal Garden. 4 of us from Eunos YEC would be reciting the pledge to the residents of Eunos.

After the pledge, representatives from the 10 major religions in Singapore came forward to pray for harmony and prosperity for our nation.

After the ceremony, I rushed home to catch some sleep... Zzzz...

At 1pm, my family and I headed to Intercontinental Hotel near Bugis Junction. We checked in to the hotel shortly after arriving at the hotel. The room was awesome. As we would be staying there in September again, I didn't utilise the camera. So I slept all the way till the commencement of the NDP on tv.

Managed to feel some vibration through the windows when the fireworks were splashing across the Esplanade. When my brother returned from the parade, we enjoyed steamboat buffet at Tan Quee Lan Street.

Returned to Oweek the next day...

Stepping into Uni Life

After more than 10 months of waiting, finally University life is commencing.

First, it was the Qualifying English Test (QET) for those who didn't obtain B4 and above for General Paper. After months of losing contact with the language, I was in for a pleasant surprise when I achieved Grade 5 - the highest grade. Yeah!

Second, it was matriculation day. After receiving the matriculation card aka student card, I visited the CCA booths upstairs. There was a whole lot of CCAs in NUS. Some CCAs are quite interesting -- 1 club promotes corporate responsibility, then there's also the Democratic Socialist club.

Guess I would be joining one of the 3 voluntary clubs and perhaps Political Science Club.

Also met several members from Christian fellowship who did a survey with me.

Thirdly, the Dean and lecturers briefed us more on the school system and courses via the Orientation talk which took 2 days.

And then, CORS bidding - bidding for modules for the semester. Bidded for Introduction to Economic Analysis, Introduction to Political Science, Singapore and India Emerging Relations, Asia and Modern World, Introduction to World Religions. Bidding can get thrilling...

Now, I would just enjoy whatever I can from the Orientation week (Oweek).

Why some people get rich but not happy

Each of us possesses a distinct financial blueprint which reflects from our subconscious mind. The way we are brought up and the environment that we are in contribute certain materials and influences to our subconscious minds.

Every one of us has our own goals and dreams. They inspire and provide the energy, passion and enthusiasm that drives us into doing certain activities to attain them. There are two different sources of energy -- I call them the Dark Energy and the Light Energy.

Dark Energy

Have you ever been despised by someone and vowed that when you turn successful and rich one day, you will throw money on his/her face?

Using hatred or jealousy as a main form of energy source to drive you towards your goal will not make you happy when you are really rich or when you obtain your goals. You might actually end up lonely and lose a sense of purpose. Initially there might be a grin as you finally outperform your rivals. But the happiness is short-lived when you use the Dark Energy.

Light Energy

In contrary, when you use a positive form of energy, the Light Energy, you will actually end up enjoying what you are doing even though you have achieved your goals. This is because when you use the Light Energy, Love and Compassion are driving you towards achieving them.

When you attain your goals, you will then aim higher because you have a deeper sense of purpose in life.

To be continued... (zzZ)

Eunos Heights Family Day cum Mayor's Dialogue

The precinct day event this time round is organised by my Residents' Committee, Eunos Zone 3 RC. After 3 weeks of planning, the RC came up with a Eunos Heights Family Day event which turned out to be a hit among the residents.

At 0630 hrs, we began to set up the games stations and some decorations. Soon, the music began to call for the residents.

At 0830 hrs, the residents began to start playing the games. I was tasked to manage the "Wheel of Winners" game station. The game was so enticing that the moment the queue started at 0830 hrs, it never ended until after the whole function at 1300 hrs.

My Father came and supported my Uncle in managing the durian stall while my Mother assisted me in mine. 2 Aunts came to attend the function too. It's really fulfilling to spend the time with loved ones for a Sunday.

During the Mayor's Dialogue, I assisted the notes taker in recording of the dialogue.

There are still much for me to learn ...

Aljunied GRC Youth Dialogue 2007 with BG George Yeo

When we arrived at the Paya Lebar Kovan Community Centre, Minister of Foreign Affairs BG George Yeo and Madam Cinthia Phua just arrived. Eunos YEC members had a chance to have a handshake with the Minister.

We had a nice buffet dinner before the dialogue started at 8pm. The hall was packed with students from Yuying Secondary, Xinmin Secondary, Bedok North Secondary, Serangoon Junior College, Nanyang Junior College and voluntary youth organisations.

BG Yeo initiated the dialogue by getting the youth to ask questions they have in mind as the audiences' concerns were diverse in nature.

The key issues raised were regarding the sudden withdrawal of UNSW, GST offset package, Ministerial pay rise, etc.

Metta Charity Walk cum Family Carnival

Did my first volunteering with Metta Welfare Association.

National Achievers Congress 2007 :: Power Of Success

This is the first NAC I attended. I have previously heard of the event from my teacher who attended the NAC in 1995 where the guest speaker was Bill Clinton.

Held from 24-25 May in Singapore Expo Hall 2, the event saw a group of successful individuals coming out to give success pointers to the international crowd. The speakers included T. Harv Eker, Mark Victor Hansen, Andrew Matthews, Jerry Clark, James Skinner, Roger Hamilton, Stephen Pierce, Jay Abraham, John Childers, Tung Desem Waringin and Dr. Clemen Chiang.

I found Roger Hamilton's speech the most entertaining. He is the founder of the XL Magazine (Extraordinary Lives). (Check it out at www.worldwidewealth.org). He shared a point that I will always remember. Butterflies have beautiful wings... but they can't see their own wings.

Andrew Matthews cheered the crowd by his on-the-spot drawing of cartoons. He was the first speaker of the 2-day seminar and he set the right mood and right way to perceive success and happiness. Diagramatic expressions of how to be happy.

Dr. Clemen Chiang gave a concise and clear picture of the trend in stock market. He is the creator of the Freely Method www.freely.com and mentors in the field of options trading. He predicted the slowing down of the world's largest economy, United States and then said Singapore would be the next big thing. He also offered some tips in which land to secure to benefit from the developments.

T. Harv Eker, the author of "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind", was the most powerful speaker. He emphasised the importance of having a healthy financial blueprint mind. Built in our subconscious mind are some negative thoughts that we have on money and the rich. These need to be deleted in order to do well financially.

I brought home a spectrum of perspectives and some key success pointers that are common among the speakers. I am looking forward to the next NAC :)

Income = Value x Time x Scalability

Value

Why are handphones more expensive than others? Because of the difference in functions and the difference in the value that is added on to the users.

Whether you want it or not, everyone carries an invisible price tag. This is also what some calls the perceived value of oneself.

To increase income, we need to constantly increase our value by upgrading ourselves to adapt to the new environment. Only through increasing our value can we then deserve more than what we are earning at present.

Time

The next factor that contributes to income is the time used on value-adding activities.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

Take some time at the end of each day to plan what you need to accomplish and rank the activities according to the importance. By doing so, you add value effectively and efficiently.

Scalability

Does a heart surgeon or a pop artiste create more value to the individual person? It's definitely the heart surgeon who saves lives. But why does a pop artiste earn much more than a heart surgeon? The answer lies in Scalability.

To illustrate the point on scalability: A pop artiste is able to reach out to hundreds and thousands at one time whereas a heart surgeon can only be operating on one person at a time.

The Multiplication Factor

Failure to input any factor result in Value x 0 x Scalability = 0.

Got my Driving License... Finally

After 8 lessons of practical driving lessons with Comfort Driving Centre, I finally obtained my Class 3 Driving License.

The ladies tend to dress very well for practical driving tests. Some even looked like they were attending a prom night party. Haha, why are there no female testers?

After the test, the new drivers sat in a room to watch a safety video, which featured people who got their license revoked and who got involved in accidents.

Very excited! Going to find a vehicle to drive soon. Haha

Surprises in my Inbox

Recently, I received a pleasant surprise in my email inbox. Some day after my Emailcashpro account turned into gold member account, I had lots of referrals starting to join under me.

Below is a snapshot of my statistics. Notice the number of referrals I got. This number jumped from 20 to 60 within a week!!!

Below is the snapshot of me becoming a gold member this week.

Now, I just wake up to see more and more referrals coming in. Wahahaha.

Join EmailCashPro as soon as possible to start referring the programme it's potential is at the highest.

Log on to http://www.earnalittlecashonline.blogspot.com to find out more about earning a side income online today!

Garskin Franchising Opportunity

Coming back from a chalet at 5am, I had to rush to a meeting with Garskin Business Development Managers at 11am.

I was greeted by two young man dressed in style and coat. A very great contrast with my attire.

Mike and Jimmy shared with me useful information on the franchising opportunity and I am impressed by their achievement.

Anyway Garskin is the No. 1 in Laptop Skins. Garskin is founded by a group of Singaporeans, including Mike Sim and Jimmy Han. The skins are like stickers but they are easily detachable and re-attachable. Even the mousepad can be skinned. If you are keen in getting one garskin, you can log on to the Garskin website.

Now I have to discuss the plan with some friends. It would be a great chance to accumulate business skills and experience.

Cyber Wellness Talk in Temasek Junior College

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

In the morning after my driving lesson, I headed to Temasek Junior College where I'll be delivering a talk on the topic "Cyber Wellness". I arrived too early so I found a corner at the neighbourhood to do some final rehearsing.

At 12.30 pm, I entered TJC and met up with Mr Terence Ong, my former Civics Tutor. He gave me a treat, the food that I used to eat when I was a student. After consuming our lunch, we went into the Auditorium to set up the projector system and sound system.

As this is my first time speaking to a large crowd (half of TJC year 2 cohort) which filled the entire first floor, I rehearsed a few times and prayed that nothing would be amiss.

As Mr Ong introduced me to the audience, I was already in my top form. I started off introducing myself and my purpose for being there giving the talk. And then I told a fictitious story which got majority of the audiences laughing. From then on, my confidence increased which lasted me through the entire talk of about 40 minutes.

I learned that it is important not to be distracted by audiences who are not receptive. By focusing my vision to the students who are listening attentively, I feel more comfortable and the talk seemed like a one-way conversation to a friend rather than a large group.

When the whole talk ended, I heard the applause. Whew!

I had a full lunch, but at the end of the presentation, I felt emptiness in my stomach. So much energy expended haha.

An online forumer from the ex TJC forums came to the front and informed me of the new TJC forum at http://www.tertiaryessayist.com.

Forgot to request photographs from the photographic society. Anyway I'll be back to Temasek Junior College next week for a talk to the rest of the year 2 cohort. I am beginning to enjoy public speaking.

QSTR Business Opportunity

I got to know of this business opportunity through a flyer pasted on a pillar near a bus stop in Tampines.

After getting in touch with the people from QSTR, they sent me a free online manual which would only appear for a limited period of time. The online manual did not reveal much on the operations of the company. It only featured heaps of testimonials from people who have benefited from the programme.

Upon expiration of the online manual, the lady gave me two packages to choose from. S$25 for an online gold manual and video download, and a S$60 for DVD and an offline gold manual. She refused to reveal anything related to the business model. To fulfil my curiousity, I signed up for the S$25 package.

The online gold manual contains information on the current world and the future trend of businesses. After watching the videos and going through the manual, there is a questionnaire to fill up.

When the package expires, an online Skype interview was arranged among myself, the introducer (the person who pasted the flyer) and a mentor. The entire interview lasted for 2 hours.

QSTR is a home-based business. It is a network marketing company, marketing products from Herbalife. I didn't choose to take up this opportunity however, because it requires one to buy the products and consume them. I was asked to buy and eat the pills without knowing the ingredients and effects. And I would need to also buy the pills every month to sustain the account. Not for me...

Update on 9 July 2008: Saw another flyer. This time it's called Systeway Home Based Business System. http://www.systeway.com 62343515. It's also QSTR under a different naming. Take Note!

Update on 13 July 2008: According to a reader who commented on this blog, QSTR also comes in the name of Rich1818.com

Update on 16 July 2008: Saw another flyer at a traffic light. This time the website is www.ccy2u.com . Tel: 62342372. I reckoned that QSTR members uses unique domain names so that when you search it through google, you can only find the site.

Decided to compile all the QSTR sites:

• www.syh75.com
• www.rich1818.com / www.rich1818.uuu.to / rich1818@pacific.net.sg
• www.ccy2u.com
• www.systeway.com
• www.jcm777.com [Contributed by reader]
  
• www.dream1688.com [Contributed by reader]
• www.wfh88.com [Contributed by Damsel in Distress]
• www.enter-priser.com [Contributed by Yifang]
• www.vios2628.com [Contributed by Viv]
• www.free28.com / 62341892 / 92717183
  

Ticket for National Achievers Congress 2007

My mentor recently just gave me a ticket to the National Achievers Congress (NAC) 2007. He had gone for one NAC event before and told me it is a powerful seminar that would benefit me a lot.

The NAC ticket is a GOLD seating arrangement, which is the area right behind the VIP seats. The other category would be GENERAL seating arrangement which formed the bulk of the area in the hall.

The theme this year is "Power of Success -- Fight On, Don't Quit Until You Win". NAC 2007 will feature speakers such as Mark Victor Hansen (author of Chicken Soup), Stephen Pierce, Andrew Matthews, Dr Clemen Chiang, T. Harv Eker and many more. All of them are World Class Speakers and have seen success in their respective fields. The sharing of their experiences on how to succeed and their knowledge would certainly be overwhelming.

In that year when my mentor attended the NAC seminar, former President of the United States, Bill Clinton appeared as a guest speaker. I wonder who it would be this year.

I would seriously like to thank my mentor for giving me a chance to attend the seminar. I am looking forward to blog the event come this May. Thank you, mentor!

When Sharing becomes a Sin

Have you ever tried sharing something nice with someone and get a very nasty remark? Well, that happened to a friend of mine and I feel so sorry for this poor chap.

If you possess an elixir of eternal life from an elf, what would you first do? I believe you would try it on yourself first to see if it has any harmful effects on your body. Then, if it is indeed an elixir, you would pass the remaining to your family and close friends, wouldn't you?

However, how would you feel if your close friend tells you "Hey, why are you giving me poison?". I believe it hurts.

As we grow up, we begin to face a more realistic world. In this world, everyone is out to hunt the other one. In this world, only the fittest survives. A group of people tried to change this sad fact by introducing Communism so as to implement group effort rather than the individual effort. We can see how Communism is slowly going into the past.

Everyone believes every other one has an agenda when the other one is sharing good stuff to him/her. So, to this friend, I would like to just give a pat on your shoulder and "face the real world".

My Love Chapter

I officially launched MyLoveChapter.com today.

MyLoveChapter is the first online web portal that allows you to post your love stories and share it with every one else.

Registration is free. Visit http://www.mylovechapter.com today!

Geylang United FC 3 versus Liaoning Guangyuan FC 1

Dilah from 4PM (Malay Youth Literacy Association) gave me a free entry pass to the football match. Her organisation had been sponsored the tickets. When she called me and say it was a match between Geylang United Football Club and Liaoning Guangyuan, I immediately gave her an okay as it sounded interesting.

Took the transport catered by 4PM and arrived at Bedok Stadium.

My Game is Fair Play

Marching in

The players

Penalty Shot in the first half

Applaud the winners

Very soon after the match kicked off, Geylang United incurred a penalty. Liaoning Guangyuan seized the opportunity and scored an early goal.

The Geylang United "Eagles" had a great team of fan support. They cheered and sang for most part of the match. Sitting beside them, I felt the mood and rhythm.

The Chinese team suffered quite a few injuries, in particular the only goalkeeper suffered leg injury. So the defender took shots in place of the goalkeeper. He couldn't be replaced since there is no substitute goalie. This led to the Eagles leveling the playing field to 1-1.

In the second half, the Chinese team had no choice but to replace the goalie with a non-goalie substitute. This didn't really improve the situation.

About 4 yellow cards were shown to the Chinese, and one red card. 2 yellow card was dished out when a player and the injured goalie fakely fell down onto the ground and shouted foul.

The Eagles continued to score another goal soon after the commencement of the second half. And then at the last minute, they scored another, ending the match at 3-1.

I saw Lim Tong Hai, the legendary figure in Singapore football history. He's currently the coach of Geylang United FC.

The Cat outside my Bathroom

Forgetful me have to wake up early in the morning to visit my friend's place to retrieve an exercise book that I forgot to bring back with me.

As I open the bathroom door after bathing, I was stunned by a stray cat. My first gasp wasn't "What the hell is a cat doing at my place" but "Are my hamsters dead?".

I attempted to outflank the cat to reach the kitchen door and shut it inside the kitchen so that it doesn't run to the other rooms. However, the cat was frightened by me moving towards it, and it dashed out of my house door.

Luckily, the hamsters were all alive and sleeping. The cat remained at near my doorstep.

Some Chinese believe that spirits can come in the form of animals or insects to visit living people, mostly with good intentions. A few years back, an exotic bird flew into the master bedroom. My whole family was amazed and did not disturb it, allowing it to stay till it decided to leave. On another occasion, a bird built a nest on the bougainvillea plant and laid eggs. Many baby birds hatched out of the egss and chirped every now and then. I believe it was the same bird that built the second nest a few months later.

I went out and carried the cat back into the kitchen. After patting it and it brushing my legs, I gave it some food.

It was really hungry. After finish feeding on the meat, I then led it to the lift and back to the first floor.

I would have been keen to keep it since fate brought it to appear at my bathroom door. But it would not be welcomed by the family so it had to return to the streets...

In-Camp Training for my Birthday

Seems like my birthday will be spent in Seletar camp doing in-camp training. Just received a call-up notification from the Ministry of Defence. Right...

Currently working on two major projects.

The first is the games for an amazing race competition which would be organised by Eunos YEC in the June Holidays. Scratching my head over how to make the games exciting and attractive for youth. Lousy games would leave a lousy impression on participants.

Secondly, I am working on my presentation on cyber wellness which I would be presenting to my alma matar. It would mark my first personal one-man show on stage facing JC students. Whew. I recall my first group presentation in Damai Secondary School. It was a presentation based on a school excursion to Vietnam. I still remember the nervousness and the intensity, and of course the wobbly legs. This time round, I will make it better. Good content, entertaining speech.

So many business opportunities are available in the market. Tempting good deals around, but one who focus will outdo the fickle-minded one.

Qing Ming Festival 2007

As in previous years, I woke up at 6 plus to eat my breakfast and ready myself to move out. And as always, my family is on standby way, way way before my Uncle arrives to fetch us. So I got back to sleep while the transport arrives.

My Uncle drives a lorry. So during Qing Ming Festival, my family and some relatives will hop on to his lorry and travel to the temple. I always enjoy the strong breeze as the lorry speeds up in the highway. This year, only Uncle Francis, Eldest Aunt, Youngest Aunt, 4th Uncle, Father, Mother, You Xian & You Chun (Cousins) went.

Qing Ming Festival is a special occasion when the Chinese offer prayers to the ancestors or those who have passed away, and the day they are remembered.

The day's weather was good. Came with a bit of sprinkling but turned out to be breezy at noon time.

The temple is packed with lots of people. We managed to place a table in front of our ancestors' urns. Food was displayed on the table and prayers were made. While we were all waiting for 4th Uncle to return from parking his vehicle, my cousins and I did a bit of chit-chatting and catching up. And then halfway through, we saw Felicia Chin (Mediacorp Artiste) walking pass in front of us. She didn't put up make-up, unlike the previous encounters, and she smile and looked at us a she walked past. And yes, we noticed her. My cousins then went to track her but she was leaving already.

The temple houses the ancestors from Hakka descent. With this, we deduced that she is a Hakka. Hakka RuleZ!

Big Aunt had a bad news to share. Their Elder Paternal Cousin had passed away while in Australia. She had gone there for her daughters' graduation ceremony. She was watching the television when her nose and mouth bled. "Could be a burst in the blood vessel," said 4th Uncle.

My cousins and I also observed one lady trying to park her car but did not dare to move her vehicle after being driven to an awkward position. At least 10 men were watching but none helped. We had no driving license so we tried not to add on her pressure by staring at her. Alas, she made a call, and a man appeared to save her day.

After burning the incense papers, we hopped back on to the lorry and got on our journey home. Along the PIE expressway, both directions had car accidents. Tragic. One had been burnt in the engine that the whole front of the vehicle was black.

This is how Qing Ming Festival 2007 went

Assistant Treasurer

Appointed Assistant Treasurer, Eunos YEC.

The Maths Show by Mr Divesh R. Shah

I yahooed my name today and was quite surprised that my name appeared in a page, it's linked to MediaCorp Singapore website. Puzzled. Wonder how I got there, but the link is broken already.



At 2.30pm I reached Farrer Road to have lunch prior to meeting Mr Divesh. I dined at this restaurant called Bamboo Residence.

The ambience was alright. A comfortable dining place situated among HDB buildings.

Mr Divesh R. Shah, the creator of "The Maths Show" (http://www.mathsshow.com) came to Singapore upon invitation by government schools to give a short lesson on mental Maths to students. I met him after his lecture in St Margaret's Secondary School.

He is an energetic man. He speaks with enthusiasm and easily connects with others. Through readings and people he encountered, he came out with his own formula of mental Mathematics and methods to simplify and make Mathematics interesting to students.

In India (his homeground), he operates a tuition business which deals with tuition centres and tuition agencies. For home tuition, he trains tutors himself and then dispatch his tutors (only when qualified) to students. His tutors only serve his company and receives a salary. The parents will pay in full via 2 times of instalments for the tuition fees for the whole year. Tuition fees are fixed irregardless of the qualification of the tutor being sent to the place. All the tutors teach with the same method. The company collects the money and then pays the tutors. A huge contrast to the tuition agencies in Singapore.

He then invited me to have a preview on his lesson later in the evening at Kent Ridge Tutors, LaVonsier Tuition School in Toa Payoh.

At LaVonsier Tuition School, I met Mr Dennis Ng, Executive Director/Chief Principal. He is a very friendly and warm guy. He was a good host to Mr Divesh Shah and myself.

The lesson featured one method of doing multiplication at a faster speed. Mr Divesh Shah can square 2-digit and 3-digit numbers faster than by keying into the calculator. Cool.

Was amazed by these 2 guys for the day.

The maids that ran away

My Uncle is having a hard time now. His maid had requested for permission to return to the Phillipines to visit her sick family member. She said it would only take 3 days. That was 2 weeks ago.

Now my Uncle has to take care of his toddler daughter and his work. Kindness to the maid didn't get reciprocated back to him.

Maid runaway incident has happened to me too. More than 10 years ago, a Filipino maid that my family had, mentioned that she needed to return to her village to visit her aged parents. My parents gave her some money to bring along. That was the last time we ever see her again.

My Aunt who popped by my house told me that she knew of one maid who tortured the old folks at home by pinching them on their hind neck, the part that is hidden by the hair. When the family got to know of that, it was already too late. There was swells and sores.

She continued to talk about maids who add "extra ingredients" into food and feed their employers, in hope that they would listen to her after they eat those food. The most disgusting ingredient I heard of would be menstrual blood. *Puke...

Luckily, the maid that is currently taking care of my Grandmother is a good one. She is very patient, and even learned our dialect and communicate with my Grandmother with dialect.

There can only be two types of maids. One that cares for the money, and one that cares for the people. I have seen how maids cry with my relatives when they lost their dearest. I have seen how maids understand my Grandmother more than her other children do. And yet, there are always maids that do the vanishing act.

A Business Opportunity on Photography

The morning rain did it. It made me ignore my alarm clock. I would love to be immersed in that cool and breezy, go-sleep kind of spirit in the air. And then, I received a call from Adrien Johns, a friend I met while he was conducting a survey at Tampines interchange. He's an insurance agent from AIA. His call got me out of the bed. Right, I'm going to be late.

If not for Adrien who postponed the meeting time, I would have been late. Luckily, I reached Han's cafe on time. Had a chit chat with Adrien over a Tuna Mayo sandwich and Milk Tea. Found out that he's in a Toastmaster club. Cool, that's a club that I have wanted to join all along. He actually wanted me to teach him some conversational Mandarin, but we ended up just getting to know each other better.

Went to Eunos Community Club to use the toilet before going for breakfast. The toilet auntie was cleaning the toilet, so I asked politely if I can use it. Her response was funny:

"You can pee, but you can't shit."

Outside of the toilet, I saw an eviction letter at the door of the cafe. Amazingly, the owner Lawreena Place is demanding that the current occupier evicts out of the building due to illegal occupation of the cafe. Then I wondered if I had eaten from the illegal party or the legal owner. Still remember that there was once when the chef actually apologised to me because I had ordered Chicken Noodles but he didn't put the chicken meat in it. He then gave me 50cents since the price of Chicken Noodles and plain noodles differed by 50cents. Hilarious. They made good pratas. Goodbye to them...

In the evening, I went to United House to attend a business opportunity session. The business opportunity was a very good one. Right time, right market, right opportunity. It's targeted at the increasing trend in digital photography. I believe when the office is set up here, the local photo shops would have a harder time. If you want to find out more about the business opportunity, feel free to contact me or drop a comment.

I also measured my health today. It's a wake-up call to me that I need to exercise regularly. My body age is 32, a steep difference as compared to my actual age. So sad. The layers of fats coating my organs are approaching high risks standard soon. Argh!

The people at the business opportunity session were great. Made new friends and enjoyed their sharing. I am privileged to be exposed to such opportunities at this age. Usually the youngest to appear in these sessions.

The Monk Scam

I was awakened by the conversation between my Mother and a Monk at the door. The Monk was soliciting donations from my Mother. Finding it strange, I stayed stealthily near the door and listen to the conversation.

My Mother had wanted to give S$4 to the Monk, after the Monk gave her a card and a red charm. When the Monk see the S$4, he put a wristband on her and requested for S$20 since the wristband is worth at least that value. When this happened, my Mother stared at me and hinted for help.

So I came to the door. The Monk greeted me with Amitabha. I returned his kindness.

YK: May I know where are you from?

Monk: Toa Payoh

YK: Shaolin temple (no such temple exists in that area)?

Monk: Ya, ya.

YK: Can monks ask for donations from door to door?

Monk: Yes.

YK: So can I check with my neighbourhood police post regarding this matter?

Monk: Yes, yes. I went there just now too.

So off I went to make a call to my friendly neighbourhood police post. The police officer told me that monks would require a permit to request for donations. When I got back to the door, the Monk had long been gone.

I also learnt from my Mother that in the donation booklet that the Monk presented to her, there were entries of S$50. Damn that Monk. Called the police again and the officer gathered some information, then sent some policemen to patrol the area.


These are the items that the Monk gave us. He played with religion to cheat others of their hard-earned money. So indespicable.

May all the dollars and cents being cheated be converted to stones, and may these be casted upon this unethical Monk!

Temasek Idol 2007

Went back to my Alma mater, Temasek Junior College at 6.30pm to attend the Temasek Idol 2007 competition. Stepping into the school, old memories kept pouring into my mind. The furniture and the interior looked exactly like that in 2003, when I first entered the school, less the lift near the auditorium.

I made my way straight to the auditorium, since roaming around the college in home clothing would not be a wise idea.

At the entrance, the student councillor chopped a 30 year anniversary logo on my hand, and passed me a goody bag.

The goody bag comprised of discount vouchers, arm bands, 2 bottles of NEWater, postcards, pamphlets as well as the programme sheet. In 2004, the first Temasek Idol had no sponsors. In 2007, the sponsors included Mr Bean, The Wallet Shop, PUB, Chapter 2, The Cocoa Tree, Mark Music.

The student photographers brought back memories of my previous stint in the TJC photographic society. Now, students are equipped with the latest digital SLR cameras.

The ticket stated 6.30pm but the programme commenced slightly after 7pm.

I was seated just beside Arthi's fans. They were the smallest portion of her fan but appeared the loudest (and highest in terms of pitch). The auditorium was filled with a very high spirit, and it was fun to be involved in it. The audience nearly brought the whole auditorium down with their constant scream and shrieking for their idols.

The panel of judges comprised of 2 General Paper (GP) tutors from TJC, and a special guest -- Alex Tan from Project Superband's J3 band. He also performed a song by Cao Ge.

Actually intended to take a picture with this Alex, but he hurriedly left the auditorium when the results were announced. He happened to be a friend of my cousins, who supported him and his team during the Project Superband competition.

My mobile phone's camera didn't seem to perform optimally in dark conditions. Anyway, the group category comprised of Quaver, Kita, Sarah and Zhi Wei, and SPZ.

The solo category comprised of Arthi, Imran, Gordon and Xiang Yun.

The whole programme could have been perfect if not for this fogging machine which was so badly programmed that it obscured some of the singers.

It created a smokescreen on stage ...

which then also permeated throughout the auditorium...

and worried some people.

The overall solo and group champions are Arthi and Quaver respectively. Voting was done via SMS.

Quaver shook the whole audience with the song "Immortal" by Evanescence, while Arthi did her song with a clear and passionate voice.

Waiting for my Hamsters to mate

Have placed my male and female hamsters together. Waiting for them to mate so that I can give the offsprings to Wee Keat. And then take some pictures to for my new posts at my HamsterZ blog.

A guinea pig or a rabbit?

I gave a training session to Jackson in the morning at Marine Parade. When we parted, I went to the hawker centre for lunch.

Coincidentally, I shared the table with a young lad, eating the same food. A beggar came by our table and asked for money. The young lad handed over to her some coins, which prompted me to also fork out a coin to her. Then he started a conversation which broke the ice.

He's Yi Qing (like he said, One Green in Chinese) and he is currently a regular Police Sergeant stationed at the Airport. He graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in Chemical Engineering. HE lamented that the job market for Chemical Engineers is too saturated, with limited choices of companies that provide the job opportunity. During his National Service with the Singapore Police Force, he decided to sign on the bond with the Force. He's studying a part-time degree and hopes that the degree would bring him better career prospects, if not a conversion to Police Inspector from his current position. I wish him all the best!

Leaving the hawker centre, I went to a nearby pet shop. It is my hobby to visit pet shops and spend some time looking at the adorable animals. This time though, I was entertained by a young lady who will be entering University at the same time as me. Posed quite a lot of questions on different pets to her, and learnt from her answers. I was choosing between owning a guinea pig or a rabbit. Both had relatively long life spans of about 8-10 years, and a high level of commitment would be required to own them. Still puzzled with the choices, I left the store.

Later in the day, went to my mentor's residence. Did some work, met up with some unhappy issues, solved them. Relieved myself of the anger, got back to work. Then, someone prompted me to join a core team of a business called Raffles Biotechnology International Pte Ltd. I wasn't sure because it required an initial investment of S$2000. I didn't know what the plan was. I didn't even see the office. One of the agent who approached me previously was so persistent on me paying first before releasing more information about the company. I think I will be giving it a miss!

At the end of the day, I played with my hamsters and fantasized about having guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters to live together. Haha. Well the lady at the pet shop said it wouldn't be possible to let rabbits or guinea pigs live with hamsters. They might just get squashed! Haha.

So... Should I get a guinea pig or a rabbit?

Section Commander's Birthday Treat

Met up with my Section Commander from my platoon in the evening. We have met up with some others for his birthday treat. 1SG Chris drove us to an eating place near his residence. There, my Section Commander's former section mates and 1SG Chris and wife got to enjoy a feast.

As an operationally ready National Servicemen, the feeling is different as compared to the past. My Section Commander informed us that he would be holding his wedding dinner on the 31st of December. He even jokingly asked me to be his emcee. Haha, I agreed but hopefully he's just joking. We talked about our latest developments and chat a little, before we proceeded on to 1SG Chris' residence.

His new apartment in Boon Lay looked clean and bright. The theme of the interior has got to be associated with "White".

The programme has just begun when the mahjong sets were on the table. Since I'm a slow and newbie player, I opted out and just observed the 2-hour game.

Time has passed so quickly. It seemed like just a few months ago, my Section Commander gave us his birthday treat. Better start rehearsing as emcee for the wedding dinner before I really get to be the emcee though...

Irresponsible jewellery shop staff

Happened to pass by Eastlink mall and was disgusted by the mess left behind by staff from a jewellery shop. This booth was set up for some time to gain the most out from the healthy traffic of the area.

This T**a jewellery shop booth attendants should have the responsiblity to clear up the mess. Corporate ethics should be observed.

Fruitful Friday

Early in the morning, I received a sms from Jerison, asking me to call him when I awake। Through the handset, Jerison asked me out to do a recce in Sentosa for a game which will be organised by Eunos YEC with Bedok North Secondary school students.

At Eunos MRT, I met Taufiq, my ex-classmate from Secondary School. There's a marked change in him physically, to the better. We chatted all the way in the train till he alighted at City Hall. It's good to do some catching up.

Took the monorail into Sentosa from Vivocity. I can feel that the monorail is still pretty much in the beta testing stage. At one stop, signs stating that the station would only be open in 2010 were displayed. Alighted at Beach station and commenced the recce.

After recce, we left early since I had to rush off to meet Ms Cecilia.

Had lunch with Ms Cecilia and heard her work history. She was in the mood of sharing her past in the company and motivated me to achieve more in this field. Then, I left to meet Lai Yoong (http://www.tanlaiyoong.com) over some discussions on our progress since the World Internet Summit 2006.

PAYM Policy Forum with Mrs Lim Hwee Hua

This evening, I attended a Youth Policy Forum on Budget 2007 by Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State (Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Transport) and Professor Chew Soon Beng, lecturer in School of Humanities and Social Sciences, NTU. The Forum was held in Serangoon Gardens Country Club.

Mrs Lim spoke about how Budget 2007 impacts the future of Singapore and what is in for us.

Prof Chew gave a short presentation on a diagram which he used to teach mayors from China. It is a short but concise and easy to understand kind of diagram to see how the Budget can affect foreign investments and the economy of Singapore.

Regretted not having read through the Budget before arriving. Could benefit more if I had. However, through the Q&A sessions and comments from the panelists, I had a better understanding of the whole Budget issue.

Joined Eunos Zone '3' RC

Finally received the invitation letter to Eunos Zone '3' Residents' Committee (RC) meeting. I have waited over the Chinese new year for my application to be validated and approved.

After joining the Youth Executive Council (YEC) Eunos, I have come to learn of my zone's RC activities and decided to join in to contribute to the residents in the area.

Recently a YEC member told me that my zone would benefit from having a youth member because the committee is aging. Yeah, came at the right time!

Looking forward to be an active grassroots leader and learn from the experience of my seniors~

Rich Dad's Advisor : Blair Singer

At 10.30am, I attended a seminar conducted by the renowned Sales Communication Specialist, Blair Singer.

Blair Singer had arrived in Singapore to share a franchising opportunity to Singaporeans. He is going to train trainers who could represent him to go into business firms or companies to help them increase their sales. These 40 franchisees will join other global franchisees in SalesPartner.

In his seminar, Blair Singer mentioned about the ingredients in creating a successful business.

He went emotional when he talked about his reasons for setting up this training business. You would be able to see his passion and strong determination. As he had seen his own business go down and up and down and up, and finally reach to the number one position, and then again shrink into skeleton, he did not want other entrepreneurs to be facing that predicament ever again. If he had the knowledge and skillset, and he did not pass this on to businesses to help them succeed, then he would be in the wrong. Hence he started up a training career and is now franchising his knowledge and skillset.

Blair Singer authorised a book for me and also joined us in a phototaking session.

Friendly Blair Singer with Jiing Huey and Yoong Kheong