Ouch...

An email article I just read: =x Though I think that there might be a hinge of truth in it, but there are still Singaporeans out that who still have the drive to succeed. Not everyone is pampered you know...

Subject: FW: The Expats will Rule S'pore - An Interesting Article

Please take your time to read. This is true and it scary. So better
don't be complacent and wake up !

it's a good read for the younger generation, pass this to your kids,
nieces and nephew

Adam Khoo: The expats will rule Singapore

This is so true.....I hope it is a wake up call to many.

I have a prediction. My prediction is that in a couple of years, the
expatriates (from China, India, US etc...) will rule Singapore. They
will increasingly take on more leadership roles of CEOs, directors, heads of
organizations, award winners etc... If you observe closely, it is
already happening now.

Last year's top PSLE (Primary School Leaving Exam) student is a China
National. Most of the deans list students and first class honours
students in the local universities are foreigners and more and more CEOs, even
that of go vernment link corporations are expats. The top players in our
National teams are expats.

As a Singaporean, I am not complaining. I think that in a meritocratic
society like Singapore, it is only fair that the very best get rewarded,
no matter their race, religion or nationality. Like Lee Kwan Yew said, I
rather have these talented and driven people be on our team contributing
to our nation than against us from their home country.

The question I have been asking is, 'why are the expats beating the crap
out of Singaporeans?'

What I noticed is that these expats have a very important quality that
many Singaporeans (especially the new Y generation lack). It is a quality
that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers (who came from distant lands)
had that turned Singapore from a fishing village to the third richest
country in the world(according to GDP per capita). Unfortunately, I fear this
quality is soon disappearing from the new generation of Singaporeans.

This quality is the HUNGER FOR SUCCESS and the FIGHTING SPIRiT!!!

Expats who come here today have the same tremendous HUNGER for success
that our grandfathers had. They are willing to sacrifice, work hard and pay
the price to succeed. They also believe that no one owes them a living and
they have to work hard for themselves. They also bring with them the humility
and willingness to learn.

Take the case of Qui Biqing, the girl from Qifa Primary school who
topped the whole of Singapore in last year's PSLE with a score of 290. When she
came to Singapore 3 years ago from China, she could hardly speak a word
of English and didn't even understand what a thermometer was. Although she
was 10 years old, MOE recommended she start at Primary 2 because of her lack
of English proficiency. After appealing, she managed to start in Primary 3.
While most Singaporeans have a head start of learning English at
pre-school at the age of 3-4 years old, she only started at age 10.
Despite this handicapped, she had the drive to read continuously and practice
her speaking and writing skills, eventually scoring an A-star in English!

This hunger and drive can also be seen in the workforce. I hate to say
this but in a way, I sometimes think expats create more value than locals.

Expats are willing to work long hours, go the extra mile, are fiercely
loyal to you and don't complain so much. They also come a lot more
qualified and do not ask the moon for the remuneration. Recently, I
placed an ad for a marketing executive. Out of 100+ resumes, more than 60% came
from expats.
While locals fresh grads are asking for $2,500+ per month, I have expats
with masters degrees from good universities willing to get less than
$2,000! They know that if they can come in and learn and work hard, they
will eventually climb up and earn alot more. They are willing to invest
in themselves, pay the price for future rewards. Sometimes I wonder how
some of the locals are going to compete with.

Of course, this is just a generalization. There ARE definitely some
Singaporeans who create lots of value and show fighting spirit.

Unfortunately, I have found that more and more young Singaporeans lack
this hunger for success. Instead, they like to complain, blame circumstances
and wait for others to push them. Some hold on to the attitude that the
world owes them a living. I shake my head when I see local kids nowadays
complain that they don't have the latest handphones, branded clothes and games.
While I acknowledge that the kids of today are much smarter and well
informed than I was at their age (my 4 year old daughter can use my
Macbook computer and my iphone), I find that they lack the resilience and
tenacity they need to survive in the new economy. Some kids nowadays tend to
give up easily once they find that things get tough and demand instant
gratification. When they have to work first to get rewards later, many
tend to lack the patience to follow through.

So, how did this happen? Why is our nation of hardworking, hungry
fighters slowly becoming a nation of complaining softies? I think the problem is
that life in Singapore has been too good and comfortable. Kids today
have never seen hunger, poverty, war and disasters. What makes it worse is
that parents nowadays give kids everything they want and over protect them
from hardship and failure. Parents often ask me why their kids lack the
motivation to study and excel. My answer to them is because they already
have everything! Giving someone everything they want is the best way to
kill their motivation.
What reason is there for them to fight to become the best when they are
already given the best from their parents without having to earn it?

It reminds me of the cartoon movie MADAGASCAR where Alex the Lion and
his animal friends were born and raised in the Central Park Zoo. They were
well taken care of and provided with processed food and an artificial
jungle.When they escaped to Africa, they found that they could barely
survive in the wild with the other animals because they had lost their
instincts to fight and hunt for food.They could only dance and sing.

I see the same thing in the hundreds of seminars and training programmes
I conduct. I see increasing more and more expats attending my Wealth
Academy and Patterns of Excellence programme in Singapore. Not surprisingly,
they are always the first to grab the microphone to answer and ask
questions.

While many of the locals come in late and sit at the back. The expats
(especially those from India and China) always sit at the front, take
notes ferociously and stay back way after the programme is over to ask
questions.I feel ashamed sometimes when I ask for volunteers to ask
questions, and the Singaporeans keep quiet, while the foreigners fight
for the opportunity.

For my "I Am Gifted!' programme for students, I have the privilege to
travel & conduct it in seven countries (Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong,
China, Malaysia etc...) and see students from all over. Is there a big
difference in their attitude and behaviour?

You bet!

Again, I feel really sad that in Singapore, most students who come are
usually forced by their parents to come and improve themselves, Some
parents even bribe them with computer games and new handphones to
attend.

During the course, some adopt the 'I know everything' attitude and lack
the interest to succeed until I kick their butts. It is so different when I
go to Malaysia, Indonesia and once in India. The kids there ask their
parents to send them to my programme They clap and cheer enthusiastically when
the teachers enter
the room and participate so willingly when lessons are on. I still scratch
my head and wonder what happened to my fellow Singaporeans to this day.

So mark my words, unless the new generation of Singaporeans wake up and
get out of their happy over protected bubble and start fighting for their
future, the expats (like our great grandfathers) will soon be the rulers
of the country.

At the rate at which talented and hungry expats are climbing up, our
future prime minister may be an Indian or China PR or may even be an Ang Moh!

Yay! I finally managed to setup my phone even though I spent the whole morning. Feel so proud of myself *big, wide and smug smile =D* My first time owning a touch phone screen. =p Yeah, took me long enough to change my phone and get use to a touch screen, but I like what I see now =D

No more keypad problems =) and there is wifi, GPS(using satellite so I don't need to pay), 8Gb + 1Gb external memory etc etc. Haha. And no, it's NOT a iphone =p It's Samsung Omnia 2 =D I think that iphone is overpriced and not really worth it. The battery life dies so fast. Ahahhaa. And don't try to spark off a debate with me on whether iphone(yes, I intentionally made the words smaller. Muhahaha. =p) or Samsung Omnia 2 is better. You know why? because... in this blog, I am the queen, king, emperor, empress, an all in 1 moderator. So what I say goes. Muhahhaa. Just felt like being a dictator for once. Hoho. =p

I shall activate my GPS system on my phone, add in yahoo mail to my outbox, and download games soon. All in due time. Hoho =p

And phone aside, why haven't the interviewer sent me a mail yet to inform me of the outcome of the Taiwan trip??! Come on, make my day even more. So that my grin would be even wider, pretty please? =p

And..... watch the video through the link below. It's really interesting. I never found Physics interesting till the lecturer changed. I just love the way he packaged the Quantum theory topic =) Makes science all the more interesting. Watch the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc

And you will agree with me that Quantum is cool. Till today, no ones knows what the electron really did. No wonder there is the theory of passing through walls. =)

And back to studies, before configuring my phone later again =) Busy week ahead of 3 labs, and Practical Exam(no, not the one in science but programming) on sat. Yes Sat. =( They wanna eat up our sat to give us papers. Boo-hoo..

At 2am yesterday, my sister's alarm kept ringing. With a headache pounding hard, I nudge her awake to off and remove her alarm. This whole process continued every 5 minutes, with exchange of not-so-nice-words, until she got irritated, woke up with bloodshot eyes said something and went out to the sofa to sleep. She was obviously tired, but she did not remove the alarm to remind herself to wake up, for she has to reach school at 4am.
Has our society gone crazy with work? Our government is always telling us to improve and upgrade ourselves, like during the 1970s, where there was the restructing of our economy from low-skilled to high-skilled as seen by the doubled increase in wage. This is in line to compete with our neighbours who are catching up with us in the low skilled jobs. We then found another niche, the manufacturing industry if I am not wrong.

Today, our education is aimed at the development of the "whole person", who is a critical, creative thinking life-long learning students. This means that not only do we have to be academically strong, we now have to participate in other non-academic to show our active participation. We even have a system of rating our CCA!

So when my sister has to reach school by 4am for her external cirricular activities, it's normal. The school gates were even opened for them. Because it's one of the elities school in Singapore after all. What's surprising is that no one protested when the unholy timing of 4am was suggested. And she's only secondary 3 in the chu chu train programme (IP).

So tell me, will we be so burried in studies and our external extracirricular activities in the future, that sleeping 2-3 hours is normal? Not like it is absurd to sleep at that time and wake up at 6am now anyways. Will we also end up like Japan in the future, with high suicide rates because we simply cannot cope with the high stress? I don't doubt that the day is far.

Noooo... I have been hyperventilating more frequently. Guess it's time I googled how to cure it =x

What is Hyperventilation?
Hyperventilation is the state of breathing faster and/or deeper than necessary, resulting in reduced carbon dioxide concentration of the blood below it's normal level.

Because of this reduced level a number of symptoms may arise such as numbness or tingling feeling in the hands, feet and/or lips, dizziness, headache, lightheadedness, chest pain, muscle-aces and sometimes fainting. The symptoms are as varied as they are inconvenient and can lead to all kinds of problems during everyday life.

Causes of Hyperventilation
The most common cause for hyperventilation is stress or anxiety [So true =x I should start clearing my to-do list faster! Someone build me a Priority tree to do it =p], although hyperventilation can also be caused due to various lung diseases, coffee abuse, head injuries or for example a stroke. Another cause could be metabolic acidosis in which the body starts to hyperventilate to reduce the acidity of the blood.

What is Chronic Hyperventilation
If the body is in a state of hyperventilation quite often and for a long period of time, the neural system will get used to the lower levels of carbon dioxide and slowly starts to accept these lower levels as the normal levels to maintain. If that is the case the body is suffering from chronic hyperventilation. The person suffering from chronic hyperventilation will have a constant feeling of discomfort and usually displays a number of symptoms. The symptoms themselves can be quite scary which in turn could trigger to hyperventilate even more than the body was already doing. The actual cause of hyperventilation might already be gone (anxiety/stress etc) however the neural system has adjusted itself to maintain lower levels of carbon dioxide.

So true. And the only way to cure it is therapy. I think I can do that myself. Definitely. =x

----------------------------------------------

Breathing techniques

• Breathe through pursed lips, as if you are whistling, or pinch one nostril and breathe through your nose. It is harder to hyperventilate when you breath through your nose or pursed lips because you cannot move as much air.
• Slow your breathing to 1 breath every 5 seconds, or slow enough that symptoms gradually go away.
• Try belly-breathing, which fills your lungs fully, slows your breathing rate, and helps you relax.
  • Place one hand on your belly just below the ribs. Place the other hand on your chest. You can do this while standing, but it may be more comfortable while you are lying on the floor with your knees bent.
  • Take a deep breath through your nose. As you inhale, let your belly push your hand out. Keep your chest still.
  • As you exhale through pursed lips, feel your hand go down. Use the hand on your belly to help you push all the air out. Take your time exhaling.
  • Repeat these steps 3 to 10 times. Take your time with each breath.

Ahahaha. Alrightes, I admit that my blog entries has been really depressing lately. I hope no one gets depressed after reading my blog. =)

On a happier note, I think I am going to Taiwan during the semester break. Alone. Without my family. But You are going with me =) So it's all right. Hahax. I hope both of us pass the interview =p And I hope I make lots of friends =)

And, I think I may want to change to wordpress. It gives greater control over the entries I type =p

I find myself struggling with school work even more, and getting more stress (more pimples too =( ) after getting involved in the project. It just started last week, but I am already lagging behind, thanks to mid terms. Plus, the new technical terms and the extra time I have to devote to learning about the new project and keeping updated is quite time consuming.

Whenever I devote time to the project, part of me remind myself of the numerous things I have to do on my to do list. And how I could have devoted the extra time to my studies. it's not like I am doing things fast enough either. And if I am tired or I don't get enough sleep, I just can't concentrate. Nothing goes in.

Yet, another part of me wants to continue on with the project and see its completion, before building one myself too. And then I can start thinking about the marketing aspects and profiteering (if any) from it. I still see no advantage in going into this project, Yet. It forces me to be more disclipined though.

I guess I will have to try to do work faster, concentrate more, and make do with lesser sleep. I have to.

You are right once again. that I jumped on the bandwagon because right now, my life is mundane. It's all studies and studies. To me, university isn't all about studying. But it's the bare minimum that I have to do. I have to get at least a degree, at least an honours. And I feel stagnated. I want to do something to feel better, to assure myself that at least I am doing something to reach it.

But perhaps, what I am doing right now is slowing myself down even more. How can I start building something if I don't get my basics right? When I haven't made friends with Laplace, Fourier and all the other mathematical equations and thinking process? When I don't understand how the structures, alpha and beta, phase diagrams works? Which material would be best and cost effiecient.

But I still keep to my stand that I want to continue with the project. I guess, I have to work harder to try and juggle both eh? =p I am stubborn after all. =p

And then, there's life and its unpredictability. I trust medical technology. But when it comes to the operating table, it's the doctors realm and god's. Not forgetting luck. With all the complications involved, especially when my grandpa is stopping his high blood medication, I pray that every thing goes well. And that it's not cancerous. Otherwise, it will be painful. Luckily, it was spotted early.

Politics in the office, in the medical world. Thanks to my aunt rushing the doctors and nurses, we got the report early. I can't believe they want us to wait for 6 months for a report to be out. By then, they don't have to do the test, because my grandad's cancer may be in the final stage. And it will be confirmed. What was found to be the initial stage would have become the final stage - curable to incurable. Goodness. Office and it's politics.

Till then, I pray...

I'm starting to dream again...

Talking to like-minded individuals spurs me on, encourages me to pursue my dream once again, and open my mind to more ideas. =) Their motivation and experience remind me that they are a plethora of opportunities out there. All it takes is just hard work, motivation, self-discipline and initiative, like everything else.

We've been socially engineered and constrained by society rules we were born, from the dos and don'ts, social ettiquete, goverened by laws etc. For far too long, we have been trapped in a box of our own mindset, shaped by our parents, friends, relatives and teachers. Perhaps it's time we should feel claustraphobic and break out of the box.

because, time is ticking away. 

Before long, we will find ourself 26. It's time to rethink whether we have been or at least started working towards our dreams.

Weird.

My moodiness was gone after getting a good scolding from my mother.

Perhaps it's the stress, and the alienation I felt that resulted in my moodiness and depression lately.

But after processing what my mother said, it's true. And somehow, miraculously, what listening to music and reading manga can't help, my moodiness just disappeared completely. =) Yay. I don't like being so moody, and being so pessimistic. =X

Thanks to everyone who were so concerned about me =)

Plus, now that I found something really exciting to occupy my time with, and pursue my interest at the same time, I have a feeling that I would have more drive to carry on with studies. =) More motivation. =)

I can't stop anyways, and I would gain more from pushing on. =) Yupx, I concluded that university is a test of perseverance and the ability to continuously motivate yourself =)

Thanks for being my "punching/tickling bag" when I was really pissed and moody, with your permission of course =p

Disillusioned...

I am beginning to lose hope in whatever friendship I have or had. Isn't friendship all about lending a hand to help your friend in need? Yet, when you need some help, all you get in return is silence. getting tao-ed. I dislike that feeling. =X

While I am still being the same me last sem(I think), everyone hasn't been exactly fortright. Have I done anything wrong? Or is it just us getting more distant? And why I wonder. why have we become distant?

why is it that our gang is no longer intact? because we have become more busy? because we have our own separate goals? Is our friendship so brittle? Is it there even one in the first place? I would like to believe that there is.

How long can I try to mend the gap between us, before I get tired of chasing after silhouette of the not-so-distant past last semester? Or am I the only one drifting apart? But I can't do anything if you guys aren't telling me anything. A conversation needs the particiapation of 2 people too. I can't be the only one trying to talk to you. Or maybe I just refuse to believe that I can't do anything to salvage the less exchange we have between us.

It's funny how so much can change after a semester. After 5 months. But then again, change is the only thing that is constant. Before I know it, the scenery I've become so accustomed to fades away, just like the distant star. I still find it difficult to get used to the numerous changes.

On an extremely random note, compelety unrelated to what I have been blogging so far, I am just wondering, so how long would it last? A semester at least? Or maybe that would be stretching it. Unless something changes, it might last longer than expected.

Btw, if you don't understand, it's okay. Because it just means that you are not supposed to understand whatever I am talking about. I am just musing, to keep myself sane and "entertained" perhaps? =p

As quoted from Jansen's blog(since I can't put it across as aptly as him), "i'm tired. but i can't stop. i'm only...halfway through=X" So true indeed.