fill up my tumblr.

I HAVE MOVED TO TUMBLR
AND THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED.
Click the screenshot below to go to my tumblr.

hello love.

I’m blogging again! There’s nothing much going on in my life seriously.
I’m just blogging cos I realised I miss miss miss loads of people.

I miss the PLASTICS, I guess seeing them almost every day in school, I got used to it. And now it’s semester break, not seeing them often is very, very weird.

And of course, the MATS AND MINAHS in W64P. Okay joking. Don’t get insulted. We agreed on going out during the holidays and let’s hope it happens. (:

I miss my Year 1 Sem 1 clique. I don’t know what we call ourself except for LEPAK. I feel so guilty for skipping out on the last 2, 3 outings cos I had other commitments. How do you expect me to go to Haji Lane at 11.30 pm with no transport back home? But seriously, I miss lepak-ing with them and just saying random stuff and cracking random jokes. (:

I miss my RP FRIENDS & OUTSIDE FRIENDS. Got a chance to meet up with a few of them already, but I would really love to meet up with the rest and continue hanging with those I met. Especially those who I am close with, but over time, we kinda lost contact. You guys know who you are. (: We all agreed to meet during the holidays and again, let’s hope it happens.

Of course, I can’t get enough of my BEST FRIENDS. Let’s hope we’ll meet much more during the holidays. Cos you guys know you all mean the world to me. (:

So to all these people, let’s hope we really meet up soon. I’ll be away till 11th September, so I’ll be free after that. Hopefully this holidays will be a fruitful one.

Oh, and speaking of best friends.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE KAM!
See. I texted, Facebooked, Tweeted and blogged your birthday greetings.
BE HONORED OK. AND DON’T GET DRUNK IN ZIRCA TOMORROW.
WE DON’T WANNA DRAG YOU OUT OF THERE. =/

onward

I don’t think I wanna stall life anymore,
it’s really time I seek to move life forward.

So to the person I said hurtful things just now,
things that have pent up over time,
the decision’s up to you.
Whether to continue our friendship or not.
I’ve already said my sorries, admitted my mistakes,
I really don’t know what else I can do anymore.

And to this other person,
I was pretty shocked by your message just now.
I know you won’t read this blog but whatever.
But I didn’t want to meet you not because it was already so late,
but cos I just didn’t have the guts to.
What if I faced hurt and pain again?
What if I faced rejection?
But then again, I realized I kinda miss you too.

I’m so tired of life as of right now.
Having to wonder who will have lunch with me during breaks in school,
hang out with me after classes and on the weekends,
comfort me when I need comfort
and who’l hug me to sleep in the night.

Gotta learn to own my life.
Live it not as a reflection or service for others, but for my own.
Gotta learn that friends and family, and the people around you,
don’t decide what your life should be like.
It’s up to you to decide what life should be like for you.

Selfish as it may be,
the fact is we came to this world alone and we shall leave it alone too.
We can’t bring anything with us,
not even our physical bodies.

And that, everyone, will be the moral Ashley’s gonna learn to live by.

life isn’t always easy

Mom stuck this poster on the wall opposite the stairs.
Read it and found it helpful.
Gonna learn to apply it in life, I guess.

Life Isn’t Always Easy

Life can be unfair at times
when you must maintain faith
and never let go.

It is especially during the difficult times
that you must live life
to its fullest potential.
Those are the times to triumph
over circumstances

Life isn’t always easy,
but if you keep going and persevere
to the very best of your ability,
you will gain strength to manage
the new challenges ahead.

Each goal that you reach
is another important step forward.

Believe that there are bright and wonderful days
ahead and you will find them.

– Mary A. Rothman

in life…

… hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
You never know what surprises await you.

the red money-sucker

Today, I received a $400 cell phone bill, of which $80 is from one single phone call. FML.

SingTel, SingTel.
You red money-sucker. Fuck man.
$400, mainly from roaming charges.
And guess what? I roamed on Optus in Australia.
Which is 100% owned by SingTel.

So how the fuck it got so expensive?
Even more expensive than roaming on networks not owned by SingTel.

And the iPhone 3GS. I’m a so-called valued customer to you, eh?
$600 for an early upgrade fee. Are you fucking kidding me SingTel?
And that does not include the price of the phone. Which is free in my instance.

Continue sucking money from me, and I shan’t be your valued customer soon.

Opinion: RP & H1N1

My school, RP, has been under the media spotlight recently due to the recent H1N1 outbreak in Singapore, which has grown to 878 cases island-wide since the first reported case on May 27 2009. RP has so far been the largest community cluster, with 91 cases in just about a month. The school has implemented a series of measures that has caused an uproar among both students and staff, as well as the public.

Just a brief overview of what has happened so far:

• RP confirms first few cases of H1N1, students of that classes sent home. Classrooms affected were locked and disinfected.
• Number of cases still increasing, mostly among the Year 1 blocks. Few days later, RP announced that all Year 1 students are issued a one week Leave of Absence (LOA) starting 25 June 2009, and have lessons online. Staff are to continue reporting to campus as usual, but are required to have their temperatures checked every time they enter the Command Centers of their respective modules.
• Year 2 & 3 students are not happy with the measure, and started a petition. Their main reason was that they felt RP is only concerned with the health of Year 1s, but not Year 2s and 3s.
• In the meantime, all school activities and co-curricular activities will stop till 2 July 2009.
• Cases continue to rise as Year 1 students are on LOA. RP does contact tracing, issues LOA to all students/staff who are at risk or has been in contact with affected students/staff.
• On 30 June 2009, Principal Yeo Li Phew sends an e-mail to all students regarding his thoughts about H1N1 and the measures implemented by RP.
• All school activities and co-curricular activities will stop till further notice. All sports activities in the Sports Complex will also stop till further notice.

Year 1 students returned to campus on 2 July 2009. On their return, RP implemented the following measures:

• 1 July 2009: Announces that timeout windows for the 3 different module groups (Group 1 – Year 1, Group 2 – Year 2, Group 3 – Year 3) will be implemented starting 2 July 2009. Students are to only leave their classrooms during specific time periods during breaks, and remain in their classrooms at all other times. Also to leave the campus immediately after their lessons end.
• 2 July 2009: Announces that random thermometer checks will commence on campus starting 3 July 2009. Students/staff without thermometers will be asked to leave the campus. Staff will check whether students in their class have their thermometers, if not, the student(s) will be asked to leave as well.
• 3 July 2009: Announces that students are to only patronize the food court assigned to their building starting 4 July 2009. There are 3 food courts in RP. They are not allowed to patronize the other food courts.

While these measures may bring us inconvenience, I can understand that all these are done to prevent any further spread of the virus. However, I feel that RP’s management is not doing enough to contain the virus. In many ways, it is putting everyone on campus at further risk. Let’s look at it this way:

• Even if you assign students different timeout windows or food court allocation, how will this decrease the risk of the virus spreading? Students may unknowingly contract the virus on the way or back from campus, on their outings with friends and family or even at home.
• People have different preferences for food. Even if you may argue this is not a time to be choosy, I cannot deny the fact that the food quality of the food in the 3 food courts vary vastly. Furthermore, we pay our fees to be given the right (it is NOT a privilege) to use the facilities in the campus, and that includes the food courts.
• Queues and lack of space in food courts. RP officially does not allow students to eat in classrooms, for the usual reasons of hygiene and cleanliness. However, by using these break out windows and food court allocation, the queues will be longer and there will be no space to eat in the food courts.
• When preparing a presentation during the second study period, we may allocate different times for different team members to eat. Mostly, we will get the basic information done first before going off to do our own stuff. Through these measures, I am sure it is going to decrease productivity because everyone will be rushing.

So why don’t RP implement the following measures?

• Close school for a WEEK. Use this week to thoroughly disinfect the classrooms. Track students health for the week and make sure those who are sick or are at a higher risk be given LOA. Then push back the entire semester by a week, instead of conducting useless e-learning lessons with materials meant for PBL, and therefore team discussions. Furthermore, e-learning grades do not count towards any final module grades. So it doesn’t make any sense.
• Use THERMAL SCANNING. RP has done a good job of implementing thermal scanning when the first H1N1 outbreak happened somewhere further away from Singapore. It seems to me, all these are only done for the sole purpose of attracting the media, that “RP can deal with H1N1”. Well, you got your international media attention RP, because even AFP reported on it.

  So isn’t it now due time to actually implement thermal scanning since the real thing is here? Or are you really doing so just for the media, and now since there’s a H1N1 outbreak, you guys can’t do anything about it or don’t have the financial resources to handle it? Thermal scanning will screen those who are unwell more accurately, instead of just “looking out for people who don’t look well”.

We pay our school fees in the thousands, some of us even pay tens of thousands. So isn’t it time for RP to actually put the student’s health first? Above just attracting the media or just to finish the syllabus?

A note to the RP management: if you want us to stop speculating, then make your Business Continuity Plan available to either the students or to the public. We won’t know what is going on if you do not tell us in advance.

A note to readers of the blog: The recap of what happened in RP was taken from various sources, namely e-mails sent from RP to all students, RP’s internal H1N1 website as well as news sources like ChannelNewsAsia. The opinions expressed above are solely mine, based on observations and speculations, and do not constitute fact. They are merely suggestions, and not protests or demand.

Comments will be turned off for this entry. If you want to share any comments, ideas or thoughts with me, or if you want to use this blog entry, please e-mail me at blog@ashleychan.net

Of H1N1, MJ, Stomp and English

As many of you would have known by now, my school has been in the spotlight recently for being the worse-infected H1N1 community-transmission cluster in sunny Singapore. There are now like 51 confirmed cases. Personally, I think that the entire H1N1 crap is just a big hoo-ha for world governments to show off how much their countries are prepared for a pandemic.

Most H1N1 cases are mild and are comparable to the common seasonal flu, which hits around this period. Also, the risk of people who may develop serious symptoms or lose their lives because of this virus are the same people who may die from the seasonal flu. Furthermore, people actually recover from it and vaccine are currently being produced to treat against it. Shouldn’t they focus on more critical issues like finding a cure for HIV or feeding the hungry when there’s a huge surplus of food that’s being wasted? Then again, I’m not a doctor, humanitarian or a government/UN/WHO official, so who am I to comment about this issue?

I just don’t want to be served a HQO (Home Quarantine Order), because it’s such a bloody waste of time. And if the school wants students to stay home and continue lessons for six hours a day, then they better have an incentive. Like daily grades that actually count towards the final module grade, perhaps?

The second “big” news that’s affecting the world right now is the passing of Michael Jackson. It was sudden and really took the world by surprise. In a way, it reminds me of how Elvis passed away. Although MJ did had a weird personality, he really contributed a lot. Not only to music, but also towards the world culture. For example, he is the first Western artiste to enter China. And when he passed, everyone that mattered released statements. From Justin Timberlake to Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Government of Japan (yes, they mentioned him on their morning press briefing a day after the announcing of his passing.)

Well, even if I wasn’t a fan of his music, but I cannot deny his contribution to humanity. So cheers to you, Michael.

And now, STOMP. Seriously, I think STOMP should close. It really shows how childish and jealous some Singaporeans can be. STOMPers, or so they call the web site’s registered members, post on every minor issue. The most common is what’s going on in the MRT trains, like people drinking plain water on the train (the article’s title was “Girl having picnic on train” or something like that). I mean c’mon, she wasn’t even eating a sweet. She was drinking plain water. Freaking H2O!

However, nothing IMO beats this article: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/viewContent.jsp?id=76489. Really gives people the impression Singaporeans are dumb isn’t it? There’s a fine line between being attention-seeking and being socially responsible.

However, I do believe most Singaporeans are far more intelligent than them. We, not only the government, made this little island nation one of the strongest economies in the world. Look at our contributions, our inventions. So really, I think STOMP should close down. Stop these attention-seekers from spoiling the image of Singapore.

And last thing, English. Someone close to me told me that whenever he speaks to me, he feels stressed because he needs to use “perfect” English to speak to me. I’m not being show-offy or anything, but I do realize that I get alot of miscommunication problems when maintaining an online conversation with friends and family. Especially when they speak to me in Singlish.

There’s nothing wrong with Singlish. However, the sentence structure of Singlish, and words used in the sentences, make it so that every single sentence seems “rough”. The sentences sound like you want to pick a fight with someone. For me, I respond to people according to how they are feeling. I mean it’s not right to be sarcastic to a person who has just been hurt, can’t you?

And since it is difficult to know how the other party feels online, I analyze their sentences. And this is where miscommunication happens. I think the other party is either upset or angry because they use phrases like “what lah“. So I’m sorry to those who think I am very sensitive, it’s just that I prefer to respond towards a person’s feelings. And Singlish really makes it a difficult task to do so.

6 days at surfer’s, what’s next?

So six days at Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland, Australia have passed. Today’s my last and final day. And I only have till 9am (7am Singapore Time) before I’ll head to the airport. I’m at the only Starbucks around town, drinking what I usually order while typing this blog.

Usually when I go overseas (or ‘out country’ as my mom likes to say out loud, which makes people think we live in the countryside), I would look forward to going home than the trip itself. Perhaps, its because in recent years, the only countries I’ve visited were in the region.

But this time its different. In order not to offend many people, I shall not say why. Ok, maybe I should. I’m, in many ways, much more familiarized with the Western culture (or so people like to say) than the Asian (Eastern) culture. Perhaps its because of a life-long ambition to be able to stay in the States in the future. And this, in recent years, is the only “Western” country I have visited.

I know many Chinese reading this would tell me “but you’re Chinese Ashley, how can/dare you embrace other cultures, especially the ang mohs?” Well, in terms of food, I’m not one for Chinese tea, herbal soups and daily cravings for rice. As much as I do communicate in Mandarin Chinese and Hokkien at times, English is my primary language of communication.

Personally, though, I don’t believe in a separation of Western and Eastern cultures, I believe everything boils down to personal choice. I’m proud to be Asian, and Singaporean, but my personal preference is definitely not in Asian clothing, food or other cultural items. I think I’ll save the elaboration for all these in another blog. Back to Surfer’s.

So what will I miss here? The first is the weather. It’s winter now, and temperatures in the day is about 15-18 degC and falls to about 9 or 10 degC in the night. I’ll miss wearing what I usually wear in Singapore, tee and berms here. Yes, I hardly put on a sweater or even jeans here.

As I said, I thrive in cold weather, and I melt in tropical climates. In fact, while most other Singaporeans I see are wearing 3 layers of clothing and a huge jacket (just saw a group walking past, if you see an auntie screaming “AH BOY COME HERE LAH”, you definitely know they’re either Singaporean or Malaysian.), I feel that it’s rather warm in the day. Too much air con at home, eh?

Second thing I’ll miss is Aussie English. Really creates a very casual atmosphere around town. And while I haven’t really learn their accent and way of speaking, I think it’s uniquely theirs.

Third thing I’ll miss is the laidback lifestyles of the Aussies. No wonder its called the “Outback”. Professionalism and competition is not key factors here, unlike in Singapore. Its not because you’re Asian and they choose not to serve you professionally, but really, over time, I realised its just their culture.

In most local (not stores meant for tourists) stores, if you ask them about a product, they’ll most probably just say “I don’t know, I’ve never tried that product before”. Even in hotels, “I’m not sure you know, I’ve never stayed in the rooms before” or even “I’m not sure about what the business center facilities are, in fact, it’s my first time here in the business center.”

Knowing most beloved Singaporeans demand formal professionalism, I’m sure if this happens in Singapore, CASE would be called in and the ST Forums/Stomp will be flooded with letters.

Fourth and last thing is the nightlife. While I haven’t visited any bars or clubs over the weekend, the area around my hotel are filled with bars and clubs. So when I was walking there, it’s apparently livelier than Clarke Quay. People are drunk, high on drugs, screaming and stopping cars. One group was shouting at another random group. While some may think its chaos, I think its fun. Hopefully I’d be able to do something like that in Clarke Quay one day.

So what will I not miss? The lack of Starbucks, definitely. Australia is flooded with Gloria Jeans, and Starbucks recently closed 80% of their stores here. So what’s left is 20 Starbucks in the entire country. Yes, it is that drastic. I am so, so lucky there’s one nearby my hotel.

And their public transport. The transport system is kinda complicated as there are 4 or 5 bus service providers. And they don’t tell you that you need to make a transfer! So I was on the bus yesterday for two hours because I went a whole round. Smart, eh?

To end it all, I think this 6 days here in Surfer’s opened me up to the culture. It’s not my first time to Aussie, been here a couple of times but at that time I was still considerably young, and the places we went the previous times were tourist-y. So this time, I decided not to follow my family and go around myself, visiting the town center of another local town and stuff (where the official Apple Store is, managed to get a transaction done at the Genius Bar and bought a couple of items there too (: )

I think a great lesson to learn from the Aussies is to stop, slow down and take a breather. There’s so much more to life than just paper chase and climbing up the career ladder. When you’re free, slack at a local Starbucks, read a good book, listen to great music, people-watch. You’ll get more out of life in that way, than just burying your head in books or working so late till the only time you’re home or the only free time you have is to sleep.

I know many of my friends would disagree with it, because our local culture is one where we have to constantly rush and compete against one another. But this is something I am definitely taking back with me when I’m back in Singapore, even after the memory card that contains photos of my trip has stopped functioning.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll study here in the future?

Have a great day, mate. (:

superficiality: a human default

I’m watching an old J-horror show right now, it’s a B-movie so it’s not that well-known. Overall, it’s about the ill-effects of plastic surgery. The story-line’s very predictable but it got me thinking, and therefore the urge to write this blog.

We live in a superficial, beauty-obsessed society. Or rather, humans are engineered to be superficial by default. That is why, when we meet someone, usually our very first impression will not be “he/she’s a nice person” or “he/she has a great heart”. Rather, we would be commenting about their looks, actions or the way they dress. Stuff like “hey look he’s so fat”, “why is she sitting with her legs spread so openly? that’s uncouth!” or “omg is she wearing an umbrella?”.

But think about it, we spend all our time obsessing over beauty and the likes, but sometimes is it really worth it? Some of us lose so much fat, sometimes fat that doesn’t even exist. Some of us go to the gym six or seven times a week, even if we injure ourself from gym-related injuries and told to rest, we still gym. Some of us starve ourself to serious malnutrition or even death by going on unorthodox diets. Some of us spend thousands on diet pills and harm our liver and kidneys. Some of us spend tens of thousands on liposuction and plastic surgery. All these to, while the story is pretty lame now, for the millions of girls out there, to get the face and body of Snow White and for the millions of guys out there, the face and body of Prince Charming.

And mostly, we would want to do that because we want to attract people of the opposite sex (or the same sex if you’re homosexual). And yes, we would most probably attract all the hot guys and girls, and get into relationships with them. But if these people are just as superficial, what are the odds of finding true love? Probably the same people would want to parade you as their “trophy catch” or just use you for sex. Some people just get trapped in this cycle over and over again because their relationship just seems to be on the surface and has no “depth”.

And when we’re aging and in our 70s, our muscles will sag, and our hot bodies will no longer be hot. And what would remain after years of hard work, pain, blood, sweat and endurance? Just memories?

We got to love ourselves more and not always try to meet what society expects of ourselves. The world does not need more people who fall to the expectations set out by mass media. The world does not need clones! The world needs individuals to make this world a better place, and not even more close-minded as it is getting now.

But don’t get me wrong! I’m not proud of the fact that my BMI is not in the healthy weight range. In fact, I am all for losing weight to become in the healthy weight range because being overweight has severe health risks. I’m okay with working out. However, what I am referring to is the people who are over-obsessed with getting a great body to the extent they would do anything and fork out any amount just to look good. And at the same time, ignore the dire consequences of their actions.

By the way, please do not ask me whether this article is directed towards you. Please read and reflect on it. If you think it is for you, then it is for you. (: