Lovely photo

Found this on Beatrice's blog

What a lovely photo of lovely people! :)

Taekwondo update

Went for my grading yesterday (Sunday) and am happy to say I am no longer a white belt! Have passed and gotten white belt with yellow tip... Next grading is about 3 months from now...

• 10th kup (white)
• 9th kup (white with yellow stripe)
• 8th kup (yellow)
• 7th kup (yellow with green stripe)
• 6th kup (green)
• 5th kup (green with blue stripe)
• 4th kup (blue)
• 3rd kup (blue with red stripe)
• 2nd kup (red)
• 1st kup (red with a black stripe)

The nine degrees (dans) of Black are organized into skill levels:

• 1st-3rd dan (Novice) with the title of Assistant Instructor (Boo-sabum)
• 4th-6th dan (Expert) with the title of Instructor (Sabum)
• 7th-8th dan (Master) with the title of Master (Sahyun)
• 9th dan (Grand Master) with the title of Grand Master (Saseong)

Latest "project" - My AIESEC Journey!

I was blog surfing around some of my fellow AIESECers' blogs.. both local and overseas ones.. and then it just came to me... this is my 5th year in AIESEC... and lots have happened... what would it look like to map that out and to tell that story?

so stay tuned! in the meantime, I need to start digging out some of my photos from younger days :)

Update update

Ok so I have been somewhat inactive on the blogging scene...

so what's happened since my last book reading marathon? Can't remember much really...

though some things that definitely stand out in memory include:

Meeting up with school friends
these people have been trying to book me since June/July but as most AIESECers know, that's like the busiest months with transition and planning, followed by the crazy period just before IC, the traveling to IC, then there was the craze with our National Induction Conference... yes I think you get the picture...

well things have moderated out since then (well kind of) so I've so far met with a group of high school classmates, and with a bunch of my Junior College training mates... been great to get back in touch with these people... pretty much talked about what's going on in life now that we've all graduated and are working... most people seem envious of my job even if it is quite different... think the opportunities for traveling, network and doing what I like at a kind of flexible working rate helped in that...

Getting fit again
Since studies are officially out of the way, and driven by the need not to get fat, flabby and decadent, I've signed up for Taekwondo classes... actually I joined the club in SMU which would make going to training easier once we officially move into our office which is located in the SMU underground... I just got back from my 2nd training actually... nice feeling to be a newie again... great feeling to be moving and stretching and getting back into shape... and definitely looking forward to more legwork and techniques to learn... not forgetting it's cool to meet new people outside of AIESEC :)

Doing AIESEC stuff
hey it's my job... of course it stands out in memory... been working quite a bit these days... even Saturdays are not spared (but I expected that when I signed up so it's cool)... but I'm enjoying the fact that now I'm more used to this full time thing, and am able to take time off on some weekday evenings to just chill and get away from work... been totally enjoying my Sundays as well since it's kind of reserved for my day off... definitely getting the hang of doing this full-time and still maintaining some sort of balance...

and that's what's been up these days... next travel stop will be KL, Malaysia in mid-October... looking forward to the makan sessions then...

Book Review!!

After getting hold of some discount vouchers at the book store, I treated myself to a book shopping spree...

Unfortunately, the 4 books were only enough to last me 3 days... but here's a quick review anyway...

A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pelzer

This is one amazing account of a boy's will to survive. Set in the 70s, it depicts the horrors of the author's childhood between the ages of 5 to 12 as he suffered, survived through and escaped from terrible abuse under his mentally deranged and alcoholic mother.

The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer

This is the sequel to A Child Called 'It' and talks about his life as a teenager between 12 and 18 years growing up under the care of different foster homes and parents. The book depicts his struggles of fitting in with society, something he has never learnt as an abused child. Despite his terrible childhood, he is still constantly drawn to his mother and father in his quest for answers to the kind of life he had to deal with. The author also never fails to talk about his learning points and his determination to survive and do good in life.

A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer

The last book in the trilogy describes Dave in his adulthood as he starts his career in the air force. Determined to become a pilot, he works through countless challenges, starting as a cook and working his ass off before he got to where he wanted to be. As an adult, he has to deal with issues such as career, future, managing a relationship, marriage, fatherhood, divorce, while constantly still on a quest to get closer to his family and to find the answers to his childhood. In this book, he learns to forgive the atrocities committed by his mother onto him, he learns to love and open up and he finds his place in the world through a career as a speaker and helper around child abuse related issues.

All in all, the three books are written in an extremely real way... it's very real because the author reveals his emotions and thoughts in the way someone at that age would really do so... so it's not written from the perspective of "this happened back then and I reacted so" but more of "This is happening now and this is what I am thinking right now"... the issues brought up are also extremely real and pertinent, yet the author doesn't go overboard in self-pity or expounding the evil that he has witnessed in his life... Definitely a very inspiring set of stories that shows the power of love and the human spirit...

p.s. There's another book that I have bought and finished reading but the nature of that book is so different from this series by Dave Pelzer that I will save that book review for next time :)

Turkey photos with people in it!

The Turkey experience wouldn't have been as entertaining and enjoyable without the company of some wacky and spontaneously crappy people... :)

Us inside the Blue Mosque

Us having tasty Turkey lunch

Us at Cappadocia

Us taking a rest in one of the cave homes... we were visting this Greek cave city in Cappadocia that was destroyed by an Earthquake... the city was pretty much carved into the moutain side...

so we climbed all the way to the top of the mountain (more than 200m high for sure!) That's me, Cheryl and William sitting on the edge of the cliff... amazing view...

Us on top of the world at Capadocia

Us outside our hotel in Capadocia... the orange bag has a striking resemblence to Visayon smuggled into a body bag...

IC and You Can delegates at Global Village

National Leadership Team of AIESEC Singapore 2007/2008

and the poser version...

Sights from Cappadocia, Turkey

We spent 2 days in Cappadocia, which is about 11 hours south of Istanbul (Asian side) by bus... it took a while traveling and definitely wasn't that comfortable to be sleeping on the bus... but definitely a worthwhile trip to experience some amazing scenary and geology, all of which are unique to this part of Turkey due to the major volcanic activity in this area many many years back....
we visited underground cities, climbed hills, visited cave dwellings, hiked for 5km, went horse riding in fields and beside the river, learnt about geology, got sun-burnt and all in all had a really good time before the conference started...

Cappadocia for me was very special, partly because the sights in Istanbul weren't that new to me considering that I have been to Egypt.. of course the structures were still beautiful and the history of both countries is quite different... yet it no longer held that much of an awe factor... Cappadocia was all about returning to nature and exploring a part of history filled with persecution, fear and of course survival... it was more sporty, more natural and all in all a place to really feel... ALIVE...

Conical fairy chimneys, the highlight of Cappadocia. Volcanic eruptions led to layers of rocks of different nature, wind and rain eroded the softer parts away to form such unique structures.

you can clearly see the different rock layers from this photo. The pale rock at the bottom is soft as opposed to the harder and darker rock at the top of the mountain.

Mushroom fairy chimneys. This one with people in there just so you get a sense of size :)

Cities carved from stone by the Christians who lived in faith and fear of persecution

Beautifully painted interior of these cave churches

Town and nature.. hard to tell them apart here...

I have a photo like this from almost every country I have visited for an AIESEC conference... hahaha

Back from Turkey!

Hi everyone! I'm officially back in Singapore after spending an amazing 18 days in Turkey!

Still in the process of gathering back more photos.. my camera was out of action for 1 day of pre tour and most of IC itself but there're are photos for sure, considering that I was traveling with a bunch of at least 7 delegates from Singapore who are very photo trigger-happy people :)

It was a great experience, even if it is my 3rd IC haha... saw lots of familiar faces, met lots of new amazing people, enjoyed the scenary and history of Turkey, missed asian food like mad... hehe...

more on the trip soon but here are some photos anyway... for those who know me, you won't be surprised to see that my photos don't include people or myself.. those are coming from my delegates :)
Sights from Istanbul, Turkey

Basilisca Cistern

Blue Mosque

Hagia Sofia Museum

Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia at sunset, taken from Tokapi Palace

Bosphorus Bridge over the Istanbul Strait, that connects to the Black Sea and that separates the continents of Europe and Asia. The buildings in the distance are on the Asian side of Istanbul. This was taken from Tokapi Palace, the boundary walls of which can be seen in the lower part of the photo

Off to International Congress 2007, Turkey

Flying tonight, 13th August 2007.

And will only be back 1st September 2007.

In the meantime, will be getting the most out of Turkey and of course the conference itself...

see you around!

Guess who's in Singapore?

Amy from NZ is here!!!


All we need now is to find a way to bring more of the AP sisters to Singapore :)

Randomness of Randomness

Last Saturday, I got a phone call from the school office. The lady told me that NTU is holding a convocation dinner to end off the year and invited me to join. The main reason was that the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation, who gave me a scholarship for my final year of university, would be gracing the event and the school felt it would be a good chance for them to meet us (myself and the other scholars) and for us to show our appreciation to the foundation...

so anyway, I figured it would be quite a cool networking opportunity and besides I didn't have anything lined up that evening... so I agreed... the lady told me before hanging up that it wasn't too formal and that dress code is similar to the Convocation ceremony itself (meaning collared, long sleeve blouse with slacks or skirt)

Fast forward to Monday evening 6.30pm... I arrive in the auditorium foyer where the dinner was to be held, only to see real extravagent decor in the foyer, a stage set up, plus about 20 tables for formal and served dining.. and guess what.. the stage front said "Guest of Honour: President SR Nathan and Mrs. Nathan"

and in case you are wondering, that happens to the President of Singapore and his wife!!!

as the evening went on and more guests started arriving, it was quite amazing to realise that this is an annual NTU stakeholders dinner, bringing together the deans and vice dean of faculties, management of the various NTU offices, management of various foundations and organisations that have supported, sponsored for funded NTU in any way, the NTU board of trustees and so on... very high level indeed...

and aside from myself and another guy who were Tan Chin Tuan scholars, the only other students were the Lee Kuan Yew scholars, the top students in each faculty of study... they got the privilege of speaking with the President himself..

It's kind of hard to describe how I felt.. but I was glad to gave exchanged a few namecards with some key people that day, to enjoy a 4 course dinner served by hotel catering, to enjoy some really cool performances (aerial display, electric violin and rhythmic gymnastics performance, choir performance, to share a lot about AIESEC, to learn how a Foundation works, to learn how university corporate development works..

amazing how a random opportunity can turn up so much... :)

Next stop: Turkey!

Leaving for Istanbul in 2 weeks!

Another book review

Yesterday was Saturday... after settling some AIESEC stuff in meeting, I got really restless in the room in SMU... so cold and so bright... just made me wanna get out of there into some light or temperature that was more natural...

anyway, so I headed to the nearest book store, hunted around for something good to read and bought this book

"the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" by Mark Haddon

the book has been around for quite a long time now so I won't be surprised if most of you have already read it...

But for those who haven't, definitely a book I would recommend, simply because of how uniquely and differently the story is told... it's written in 1st person perspective, by a 15 year old boy who is autistic.. he struggles with emotions and deeper meanings, and he thrives with rules, processes, logic, math and literal meaning...

I think the story's very real and Mark Haddon did a great job of getting the reader to sink into the world of an autistic child... it's a point of view that that most of us never consider so reading this book definitely challenges one's views...

by the way, Mark Haddon has another book titled "A Spot of Bother"... I'm thinking to get hold of that one as well...

And like I was telling Pui, I do think I need to read slower... cos now I am out of books to read again...

Graduated!

I know I still owe an update from Taiwan... and I promise I will post more photos... but in the meantime...

with the AIESECers from NTU

Diana, me and Nicholas

Someone commented that the graduation robes make us look like wizards and witches from Harry Potter... I still have my robe... so perhaps will take one with a chopstick/make-do wand :)

Feels kind of cheated to spend 4 years of life working so hard to get this piece of paper... at least the transcript says "Completed the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) (First Class) with a Minor in Business" oh well...

Congratulations to class of 2007... at last we are out of university!

Fun in Taidong (East of Taiwan)

the very tasty 黑松羊肉炉 we had for lunch...

米台目- type of noodles... served with superb chilli sauce!

Road Trip with our own rented car

Admiring the wonders of nature at 小野柳

Breathtaking scenary at 三仙台

the view from about 100m above sea level.. while we attempted to climb the mountainside (via man-made steps) to see 八仙洞

Updates long overdue

Been a while since my last posting... major stuff that happened since then? definitely my trip to Taiwan. was chairing their SNCF followed by a short holiday in Taidong and Taipei...

I owe photos and a description of the entire experience.. but somehow I am finding it hard to organise everything into a blog posting...

you know... it's the kind of feeling where you know you've been through some really amazing experiences across 12 days... lots of memories and flashbacks of great moments, great conversations, great people.... learnt so much about myself and another country... admired so much scenary... enjoyed such great company of friends...

to type it all out... at this point... that somehow seems to be spoiling the moment... I think I wanna enjoy the moments, in their original random and chaotic order in my head for a while more before organising them into a post..

but till then, I am doing very well... back in Singapore and hyped up about what's more to come... :)

Nice picture...

I found this cute little picture on Heidi's blog... Don't you think it's so physics? hehehe....


Seems kind of apt though... thinking back about the many many weekends spent on AIESEC transition and planning... each weekend flying by so so fast...

now that the hustle and bustle is kind of slowing down slightly, it feels weird to be sitting back home, communicating not by voice but by words through MSN and gtalk and stuff like that...

guess it's times like this that one really appreciates the company of those around...

missing all of you guys... you know who you are :)

New Books!

Went to Borders bookstore today and finally used my book voucher...

and bought two books!


For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom was the author who brought us Tuesdays with Morries and The Five People You Meet in Heaven...

Both are very much about life's little lessons and appreciating life, so this one is not that different... but it's told from a very different perspective as compared to previous two...

But all in all, still a very heartwarming story with a message about relationships between a mother and a son...

(if you are wondering, yes I have finished the book. Couldn't help myself!)

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

I haven't started on this book yet but I think it might be in similar style as The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell... The authors take different real life scenarios and explores the implications and cause and effects within these scenarios...

Read a few pages once some months back... and definitely looks interesting...

will update once I have finished the book!

The Tipping Point

Amidst all the busy-ness with AIESEC and all, I managed to take some time out to finish reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.. this is the same guy who brought is Blink! and in similar fashion, he presents very thought-provoking way of looking at our environment and at changes...


The excerpt below is taken from http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/

1. What is The Tipping Point about?

It's a book about change. In particular, it's a book that presents a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does. For example, why did crime drop so dramatically in New York City in the mid-1990's? How does a novel written by an unknown author end up as national bestseller? Why do teens smoke in greater and greater numbers, when every single person in the country knows that cigarettes kill? Why is word-of-mouth so powerful? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? I think the answer to all those questions is the same. It's that ideas and behavior and messages and products sometimes behave just like outbreaks of infectious disease. They are social epidemics. The Tipping Point is an examination of the social epidemics that surround us.

I would definitely recommend this book! So much implication on how to do marketing, or to communicate with people, or to generate hype... not that it's meant to be taken as a guide book... but well.. if you're looking for something to challenge conventional thinking, THIS is the book to read...

Tagged by Shub

Shub tagged me some time back... haven't had the time to finish the whole list at one shot but after multiple attempts, it is now complete!

Three things that scare me:

• Cockroaches: the most disgusting and terrifying living things on Earth.. even worse when they fly
• Complacency: letting achievements get to my head can lead to complacency if one is not careful or aware… and complacency can easily lead to pride or too much ego which affects performance at the end
• Being very expressive: sounds kind of weird.. but being expressive is something that is not very part of me.. perhaps it is because my own true feelings scare me.. or I am scared of being rejected on my feelings
  

Three people who make me laugh:

• My brother: we talk all sorts of crap, and have the same quirky sense of humour…
• My AP Sisters: Can I group them all as “1 entity” in this case? They really do cheer me up.. love talking to them about everything and anything
• My dad: he’s funny, he’s quirky, he tries to be “lame” at times…

Three things I love:

• Music: soft rock, some instrumentals, I think I enjoy most music as long as they’re not too rap or too vulgar or too pop
• Company of good friends: nothing like the company of good friends… doesn’t matter where we go or wat we do.. the company is enough really..
• Traveling: AIESEC has gotten me hooked onto this! Can’t get enough of seeing all the amazing things and meeting all the amazing people in the amazing countries and sights of the world!

Three things I hate:

• Being ineffective: I think I kind of built my life and schedule around being as effective as possible.. yeah I get my lazy days and stuff but somehow it irks me off.. especially if I’m spending my time cooped up in a waiting line.. or in a class with a lousy tutor
• The rigidity of the Singapore education system: I suppose it happens with most education systems… but just can’t stand the one in Singapore… where things are all based on grades, on fulfilling processes and procedures and requirements… whatever happened to real learning?
• Cockroaches: I’m terrified of them.. so I hate them to bits…

Three things I don't understand:

• Myself: why am I who I am? Why do I find difficulty in being expressive? Why do I value these things more than others?
• Love: What is love? How do you know when it is love? Where does love stem from?
• Life: I don’t think I ever will.. and that’s where the wonder of life comes in… some things in life, you don’t need to understand.. just need to appreciate

Three things on my desk:

• My laptop: how else do you think I am typing this?
• My passport: was registering for AIESEC International Congress 2007 earlier today
  
• Lots of papers and notes from sAIESEC: have to confess.. haven’t started packing my things

Three things I am doing now:

• Listening to Class 95 on radio
• Replying AIESEC emails
• Chatting on MSN

Three things I want to do before I die:

• Fall in love
• Visit at least 1 country in each of the continents (Except Antarctica probably)
• Go hang gliding

Three things I can do:

• Chinese martial arts and Taichi
• Burp at will
• Think random thoughts

Three things you should listen to:

• Song: Nickleback’s “Far Away”
• Silence: in a far away village in northern Thailand, or in the forest of Arnhem, The Netherlands on a wintry Sunday morning
• You heart: don’t stop talking to your heart, don’t stop listening either… I think I listen… I just need to act more on what it says…

Three things you should never listen to:

• Too much praise: that gets you big-headed and inflates your ego.. and as I firmly believe, Pride comes just before a fall
• Words that are meant to put you down: you don’t want to get too ego.. but at the same time, there is worth in every single human being… who are you to put others down? Or put yourselves down? Who are they to put you down? Do they know you enough to determine and judge your self worth?
• Peer or societal pressure: they act as good feedback and good guidelines.. but sometimes, we can be strong enough to go beyond them and to break into our own realm, our own niche and pursue what we really believe in

Three things I'd like to learn:

• more Taichi
• Thai
• More about myself

Three Favourite Foods:

• Fried sambal ladies fingers cooked by my Grandma
• Seafood
• Tom Yam flavoured instant noodles from Thailand!

Three beverages I drink regularly:

• Coffee: my MC teams will know this very well
• Plain water: not as much as my mom would like me to drink but well.. common beverage nonetheless
• Milo: lower caffeine intake than coffee… sometimes gets me high too!

Three TV shows I watched as a kid:

• Cartoons like Captain Planet, Ninja Turtles.. err.. transformers, He Man and all those stuff from that era…
• Earthvision Documentaries! I love them
• “funky” local chinese drama serials.. like The Invincibles (the gambling one) and one other series about Vampires whose english name I can’t remember

Three books I read as a kid:

• The Three Investigators
• Tin Tin and Asterisk comic series
• Osbourne Book series: stuff like Amazing Animals of the World, or Inventions of the World and geeky stuff like that.. hahah

Three people I would love to tag:

• Pui: because you have more time now to put something interesting on your blog
• Amy: I miss you AP sister!! Update update 
• Eeling: gosh we haven’t met up for lunch these days yet!!