leona lewis - better in time + another entry

oops... apparently the link to the video didn't work as expected. so here, check out the actual hyperlink instead:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VrNoDUblAtE

it should be the one with the best audio and video quality.

thanks to MF for pointing this out over dinner today.

this song is ideal both as a pleasurable piece of music to listen to, and is sure to rake up in people bittersweet memories of a love once possessed yet lost. it does talk about some recovery from all that heartbreaking moments but it's frankly more on the pain.

in any case, whether you be one 1) seeking love, 2) recovering from a shattered relationship, 3) blessedly in a blissful union or 4) not in any of the above, this song is a must-listen.

met up with my primary school friend today for indiana jones 4 and dinner over at cathay / PS. yup, primary school friend... that's some long long history.

i always thought it's nice for somebody to still remember you after so many years, when so many things have happened and so many people have come and go.

over dinner, it was the usual - there was some catching up on the times since graduating from primary school (12 years to talk about!) and of course, what each one of us is doing currently / planning to do in the near future.

yeah, i learned that my memory is actually quite good - was able to recall many of the things that happened, even if they happened back in primary school. somehow my memory's geared to remember everything that was done, was said, was heard... no this does not apply to my studies.

that might work hand-in-hand with my own horoscope. yup, it's that horoscope that does not forget an attack, an insult... and then, when it is least expected, a retaliatory attack is unleashed. but i don't really like to dig up old stuff, or old wounds... just not my taste or style of doing things.

yup, that's the one... two pincers and a tail. usually not eaten. lives in deserts... ok, enough clues.

having said thus, the evening was pretty enjoyable. the movie kicked it off to a good start - i strongly recommend watching indiana jones 4 even if you have not watched a single film from that series; it is worth your money, though you may not be able to link some of the references made to previous indiana movies. but it does not affect much.

about the money part - don't claim anything from me because the movie's great. not that i would entertain you anyway.

i couldn't finish the pork ribs that i ordered even though i was super hungry... the size of it filled me up instantly (at least half of my appetite).

still, it was fun.

well, i'm knocking out soon. ja.

何谓成功?

何谓成功?

首先, 我们可从以下几个出发点来探讨这个名词的所谓定义.

一) 当我们谈成功二字时, 我们谈的是哪方面的成功? 学业? 事业? 净资产? 家庭? 个人 /人生等方 面的成功?
二) 是否需以某种标准来衡量一个人可否称得上是成功的呢?
三) 最后,说的是短期的, 还是长期的成功?

第一点

若谈的是个人 / 人生方面的成功, 这总会与学业, 事业和家庭脱不了干系. 毕竟, 如果谈到个人 / 人生之时, 这两者是较为笼统的. 当我们判断一个人是否成功之时, 经常会涉及到那一人的学业, 事业与家庭. 若是单单只从学业, 事业与家庭这三个(相对之下)较有特定规范的领域决定一个人是否成功, 我们就必须设下某种衡量的标准. 这也是第二点所要探讨的.

第二点

虽然我并没有做出正式的研究与考察, 逻辑会告诉我们, 每一个人对成功的定义是不同的.基于这一点, 社会对成功的定义也是不同的. 话虽如此, 社会大至上会设下一种似是而无的标准. 为何如此?

原因就在于社会里的每一个人都对成功持着不同的定义. 若以学业为例, 那么以下极可能是不同人口中所谓成功的定义:

学业上的成功可以是...

- 每一科考取一定的分数;
- 大专毕业时,考取某个荣誉学位;
- 履历表上, 考取学士, 硕士或博士等学位;
- 在班级内, 考获某一个排名;
- 等等.

如果对成功不能有一个共同的定义 / 标准, 那我们该何从下手来决定如何衡量一个人是否成功呢? 我们是否该采取社会所订下的标准呢? 我们必须记得, 社会能提供的只是一个模糊的概念. 这并不能帮我们达到我们要追求的目的.

切记! 社会的观点不一定就是正确的观点 (我们都知道, 提高人民的消费能刺激经济, 但我们在大量消费时, 是否隐约助长一种社会风气 - 无谓的物质追求和浪费呢?). 有时候, 人是很主观的 - 基于这一点, 我们就不能使用社会所提供的观点作为我们的标准. 我们所需的是一个客观的观点; 况且, 加上其它的因素, 如文化, 思想等, 我们不可能达到一个国际认可的标准, 因为个个社会所发展的程度与信仰是截然不同的.

即使能设下某种标准, 我们是否能准确无误地衡量呢? 在某所大学学府所考取的文凭是否与其他学府的成对比呢? 校方是否愿意提供每一位莘莘学子的排名呢? 须了解的是, 在这个大量提倡透明度和透明化的时代里, 某些方面还不是彻底的透明的.

第三点

最后, 要说的是短期 / 长期的成功. 我们都听过 "小时了了, 大未必佳" 这一句话. 意思浅浅, 今天的成功并不代表明日一个人的成功. 可以知道的是, 我们须以今天的成功, 作为我们迈向下一个成功里程碑的基础. 我们所该看的是长远的成功, 因为旁人不会一直以一样的所谓标准及眼光来判断一个人的成功. 简单的来说, 一个理性的人不会单单以一个人在学校或前一份工作的表现来决定成功的. 他们所要看的, 是长年累月赫赫的战绩!

结论

综上所述, 成功是没有一定的定义的. 固执的强辩只会让人贻笑大方, 并显出自己的幼稚及愚蠢. 还有一点必须提到的是, 当事人也会有自己成功的定义和标准, 这两者也不是永恒不变的. 它们会随着时间的过去, 不同的人生阶段, 与及当事人所向往的目标而改变.

我们活在世上的目的虽然不免是为了别人而活, 但我们必须在看似杂乱无章, 匆匆的生命中, 找回一片属于自己的东西, 一片自己专属的天空 - 而这一片天空, 就是最当初我们本身最想做的事情, 最想到达的终点. 我相信这就是一个人存在的真正意义: 让自己的生命有自己独特的价值.

hahahahaha

yup, that's the reaction i made from looking at what my teachers wrote about me back in pri / sec / jc. and, of cos, those grades. oh my.

just for laughs, think i'll post them up. alignment sucks.

pri sch

year semester class position conduct teacher's comment
1 1 3 / 34 A neat in work / has done well / keep it up
1 2 5 / 31 B has done well / keep it up
2 1 - not shown - good vocal person / neat and consistent in work
2 2 13 / 35 A neat and consistent in work / quick in grasping concepts
3 1 - not shown - good hardworking / must read more books to improve english
3 2 18 / 38 good has done quite well / keep working hard
4 1 - not shown - good cheerful and active pupil
4 2 - not shown - good performed well in exam / keep up the good work
5 1 10 / 35 fair capable of better results / active imagination / must learn to work well in a group
5 2 14 / 35 fair expresses himself well / has keen sense of humor / quite
individualistic at times / should try to participate more in
class discussions
6 1 14 / 26 v. good polite and well-behaved / definitely has potential to do better
/ continue to strive for better results
6 2 8 / 26 v. good aim for A* at psle / well-mannered and pleasant

note: in p6, the class position was based on ranking within students taking HCL only. did not incl. whole class. looking at the results i got in p6 and converting them into the 300 mark standard (for psle), i got more or less the same as my actual psle mark. hmmm.

yeah, learn to work well in a group and stop being individualistic (p5). participate more, huh... humorous. pleasant... well-mannered and polite. that sounds like me 12 years down the road... like now! good conduct some more.

sec sch

year semester class position conduct teacher's comment
1 1 29 / 40 v. good achieved creditable grades in eng and sci / keep up the good
work
1 2 33 / 40 fairly good capable of producing better results if less talkative and
playful in class

ok, here i need to break for a moment. see the drastic drop in class position and performance? my mom, at that time, actually threatened to change my school. to gan eng seng sec (lucky, never go there). yeah... and the drop in conduct. see attached comment. the reason was that in my first year at MSHS, i had 4 different form teachers... that's right. 4. and the last one was smoky. hot and pretty... lol.

i was one of her pets then. so-called, as there was often a group of boys (me incl) hanging around with her... oh my. i still remembered her. driving her daddy's merz to sch on a sat morn clad in a white polo tee and blue denim skirt. i think most of the guys in the class became wolves overnight. and so did many others in the school... they must be cursing us at being such lucky bastards.

2 1 34 / 36 v. good (none)
2 2 33 / 36 good displays right attitude towards studies / applies himself well

now, that made no sense at all! since i had the right attitude, you're telling me that i advanced only ONE position? and to think that, i actually can fail my maths in my streaming year and ACTUALLY get a-maths in sec 3? WTF?!


3 1 13 / 30 v. good (none)
3 2 14 / 30 v. good quiet and honest student / shown some improvement in final
exam / still, room for improvement

yeah, honest because i found a cashcard in the toilet and returned it to my form teacher. should have kept it.

and, did better because after streaming, the composition of the class was tended towards the worse. and in sec 3, i failed all my subjects except languages - not too shabby eh! and still, position no. 14. how could that be?

4 1 15 / 31 (none) (none)
4 2 (none) (none) (none)

testimonials... another time. and so are the grades for jc.

every year from sec 1 - 3 inclusive, my grades were so spectacular that my form teachers invited my parents to school just so that they could show my parents my achievements. and, along that, they would ask the following questions:

1) does your son study at home?

2) do you supervise your son when he is studying?

to which my mom would reply:

1) yes

2) yes

somehow, this combination of answers made my teachers puzzled. if it was a different combination, what would they have said? note that it is only because the answer to q1 was yes that's why q2 was like that. and q3 was:

3) then why did your son perform thus?

to which my mom would reply (after meeting my teacher in sec 1, she kinda rehearsed it and prepared it as the standard textbook answer):

oh, we stay very far away from sch... that's why, when he's home, he's too tired to study (then when did i ever study?) and we're not very highly educated, so we don't really know what he studies in sch (then where's the so-called supervision)?

talk about conflicting statements. but this answer did answer q3 v well... dun u think??

lol.

苏慧伦 - 被动

is quite an old song, but nice to listen to nevertheless.

however, i just can't seem to take tarcy seriously... most likely it's because of the lemon tree song.

first interview

first interview today. a quick summary...

location: tanjong pagar

position: marketing & sales executive

interview result: offer

status: unconfirmed

after action review: "if it's too good to be true, it usually is."

learning points:

1) know the company well: do thy research.

2) check the resume you sent to that company: if you are like me and mass-produce your cover letters / resumes with some cut-and-paste, not much to look out for. be prepared to answer questions about your letter /resume.

3) have some definitive areas which you know you are interested in. even in marketing, there are many different components of it. be specific - branding? A&P? services marketing? retail?

4) the job outlines as advertised in the media is never detailed nor specific. asking intelligent questions like the following may help:

• where is the company going?
• how is it going to get there?
• what time frame is it looking at?
• what business model is it adopting?
• what sets the company apart in terms of its product / service offerings to its customers?
• how does my role contribute to the objectives set out by the company?

of course, this list is not exhaustive. remember, as much as the company is looking out for prospective employees from the pool of candidates, you are also looking out for prospective employers from the pool of candidate companies.

not only are you marketing yourself, companies are also marketing themselves, attempting to attract the best.

5) estimate your market value: my current approach is to look at the minimum salary offered to employed persons with calibre similar to yours; data from kelly services should suffice. then, assign a monetary value to areas in which you are different from other candidates (i.e. your points of differentiation) and add these values to the minimum salary, thereby arriving at a final figure.

there's no textbook answer to this. perhaps an easier way is to determine if you are closer to the minimum / maximum salary figures, the mid-point, or anywhere else. somewhere along the continuum is where you stand; having a rough gauge creates a mental cut-off point for job offers not meeting your expectations (this works on the assumption that you are evaluating jobs on a salary basis).

if the company is open to negotiations, you may attempt to negotiate your salary towards your desired level. during the negotiations, highlight the reasons why you deserve a higher salary: the points of differentiation should be helpful here.

6) bring a pen!

frankly, i'm writing these points as i experienced them during my interview today. whether it's true or not, i've no idea...

but these shouldn't be taken "as is!" don't get me for misrepresentation.

which reminds me, i was recalling what i learnt in business law during the interview... about contracts, offer and acceptance...

well... accept? i was asked this question. apparently, the interviewer wanted to get an answer out of me.

what did i reply?

"i have the answer in my mind."

so what's that answer? no prizes for guessing it right.

many happenings...

in a little less than two weeks we have two natural disasters that ravaged the lives of many.

heaven bless the souls of those who perished in these unfortunate incidents, and bless even more so the ones who lived on to witness the harsh reality of their loved ones' passing.

yes, i'm talking about myanmar and sichuan, china.

the common thing running between these two countries, apart from the fact that they were hit by nature's wrath, was their rejection of foreign aid personnel into their borders.

i'm not so concerned about china because i have faith in their abilities to deal with a public health hazard. the very least is that they have a dedicated armed forces devoted to the rescue and liberation of victims.

with president wen's personal visit to the site, this comes as a morale booster - both to the victims and rescue personnel. it has also been reported that he was adamant that the victims be evacuated quickly and safely; supposedly, he barked orders at military personnel to save the victims at all cost, reasoning that:

"it's the people who's feeding you - you see how it gets done!"

comparing this to the military government over at myanmar - the junta reportedly kept foreign rescue teams away, siphoned the better foreign aid for themselves, imprint the commanders' insignia on the aid boxes as a form of propaganda, and make no efforts to conceal the fact that they are going to bias the votes in favor of Than Shwe in the upcoming elections, whether the votes are for or against him.

bastards.

a natural disaster does not culminate with ravaged landscapes or corpses. the true aftermath of disasters of such magnitude is the public health hazard that threatens the lives of those lucky to be alive.

take myanmar for example: with death tolls on the rise and corpses floating around, these are conditions favorable for the propagation of disease. furthermore, with all that water, water-related diseases are bound to start crawling their way into the cramped refugee camps and quarters. malaria and diarrhea, i'm afraid, are beginning to inflict themselves on the burmese.

let's hope that these two asian neighbours get over their woes soon, and begin the long and painstaking process of rebuilding homes, rebuilding lives.

oops, i almost forgot the US. prayers for them, too.

and, this sounds really cliche, but for those who perished - the only hope is that the process was instantaneous and hence, painless (or at least kept to a minimum).

technically, there's no difference because the result is the same: they're gone.

if it only helps to lessen the pain suffered by the living, a difference frame of reference might just help.

tonight, i shall sleep with my heart keeping a vigil for the victims of nature's rage.

a gathering of many hellos and farewells.

gatherings are always good times to have some unrestricted and senseless fun.

they also are times where you understand people beyond your usual contact with them.

and today, it was a time of hellos and farewells.

hellos in that it was a great time, with much laughter and recollection of fond memories.

and farewells as we move on to the next phase of our lives, united by common heritage and experience.

farewells are not exactly goodbyes, though they are often said when we say goodbye.

broken into its root words, farewells are just what they are - fare well.

fare well, in future endeavours.

fare well, in life.

and fare well (instead of farewells) to the friends i met up with today, and all whom i know and know me.

had dinner with three of my friends, whom i knew previously as project group mates to people i can really talk all kinds of stuff about. a common tutorial class / group was what brought us together, though i admit we held beyond just mere project partnerships.

i'm sure we'll meet up again one day, when we will then share the latest happenings in our lives. but for now, here goes my fare wells (order does not indicate preference or importance):

jasmine: for the long chats over msn on late weekday nights, thanks for being my confidante in certain matters and teaming up with me for the cerebos competition. every bit of effort and sweat from you is deeply appreciated. though the champion cup was not ours to keep, it sure was memorable and sincere wishes for your career and relationship ahead.

chai ling: for being downright frank and funny, thanks for keeping me ever on an alert state as you perk me up with your well-meant sarcasm. there is nothing i would like to say except to keep your wits with you at all times and stay sharp and focused. i do hope things will turn out perfect at the end of the day but there is no harm in "opening your eyes wide."

erienne: for being an excellent study mate and mixed pot of candies (colorful, vibrant and sweet), thanks for your witty comments and valuable tips on a very interesting topic. great job done in getting my lazy ass off the chair to join the cerebos competition, and a wonderful outcome it was (though not the champions but it's alright). what else can i say? enjoy your trip!

till then.

p.s. it wasn't needed, but it sure came in handy. over the long trip home i made up my mind - first i'll sleep it off, then do what i have to do.

i thought it was going to be a surprise, but it wasn't exactly what i expected. in any case, it wasn't about admiration at all - but it doesn't matter now.