Current Status

Hi guys,

Just a quick update to my personal life.

Currently, I'm a final year student at Nanyang Business School and I'm currently on exchange at Singapore Management University.



I must say the experience thus far has been really awesome. The first week has been pretty chill where all the Professor merely briefed us about the project outlines and course outlines to give us a sense of what we should expect in the course. Also, I managed to finish forming all my groups for all my modules and I must say I really enjoy the company of these group mates. I can already forsee that its going to be an awesome experience, genuinely.


Also, I'm currently interning in the Treasury department at Temasek Holdings. Its definitely exciting to work during school and in fact, this is the first time I'm doing this so I'm definitely looking forward to how I'm going to juggle effectively between school and work life. To be honest, never in a million years have I ever dreamt that I could get into such a prestigious organisation like Temasek Holdings. Its really another milestone in my life since my internship at American Express. But this just goes to show that I can go on to achieve great things if I try hard enough and that anything is possible with hard work.


There's always the debate saying that hard work can only bring you so far, but I am always very against that idea per se. I think hard work can bring you very far and consistent hard work can help achieve a breakthrough in your capacity. I strongly believe that if one is serious about working hard, he/she will succeed one day. It doesn't matter how long it takes, so long as you get there one day. You can't be impatient with these kind of things. You must be willing to endure the seemingly endless journey ahead and make yourself believe that you will make it at the end of the day.



I'm also working on my Final Year Project over at NTU. It seems to be flowing very smoothly and we already got the whole picture on what we are working on, so I think it should be fine at the moment :)


At the same time, I'm busy with full time interviews for my graduation job as well. Hopefully, I will be able to be offered a job soon so that I can focus on my other priorities :)


It seems like I have many things on my plate and I must say THERE REALLY IS !!!!!!


Having said that, I think its a challenge in my final year and I think if I survive through this, I will definitely be a lot, a lot, a lot stronger and I'm definitely looking forward to this challenging, yet rewarding experience up ahead.


On a side note, I just received notice that I got into the Dean's list for the 2nd year running!!! So I'm really happy about it. I'm really proud about it because I have really worked hard for it and to be able to receive this recognition is really a feeling like no other. But of course this is no time to be complacent, its my final year so I must give it my best shot as this will be the end of the first phase of my education life, before MBA that is. So yeah, that's about it for the updates, I will update again as I go through half of my semester at SMU :) Good Luck to everyone out there in whatever you do too :)


Cheers,

Aaron Bay Mingde

This brought tears to my eyes

The man pictured lulling his arthritic dog to sleep in Lake Superior has revealed that his dog Schoep saved him from the brink of suicide.

John Unger, 49, adopted the dog with his ex-fiancée 19 years ago, but after the relationship ended, Mr Unger fought a desperate despair.

The companionship of his trusty rescue dog gave Mr Unger the courage to go on, saying : 'I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t have Schoep with me. I just want to do whatever I can for this dog.'

The water soothes the animal's pain, Mr Unger said, allowing him to sleep.

Mr Unger's good friend Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, who is a professional photographer, captured the heartbreaking moment between the man and his aging rescue dog in Wisconsin when Mr Unger thought his best friend was at the end of his life.

But thanks to the generosity of strangers, the MailOnline can reveal that thousands of dollars have been donated to Schoep's medical care, allowing the pair more time together than they ever imagined.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2186763/He-saved-MY-life--I-just-want-help-return-Owner-sick-dog-picture-touched-nations-hearts-reveals-loyal-companion-stopped-suicide.html#ixzz23JV0fvfw

‘Schoep falls asleep every night when he is carried into the lake. The buoyancy of the water soothes his arthritic bones. Lake Superior is very warm right now, so the temp of the water is perfect,' the photographer explained.

The story behind the special relationship behind this man, who works as a caretaker on a farm outside of Bayfield, and his dog is just as touching as the moment on the Lake.

Mr Unger, 49, adopted Schoep, who is named after a famous brand of Wisconsin ice cream, when he was just a puppy and it was love at first sight. 

He and his ex-fiancée had been searching for a rescue dog for a year, going to dozens of humane societies.

 

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'We wanted every single dog,' Mr Unger said to the MailOnline. 'We just hadn't found the right one.'

His then-fiancée they spotted the pup at the Ozaukee Animal Shelter 19 years ago.

'We fell in love with her immediately,' Mr Unger told the MailOnline. 

Schoep was in a cage with another dog, possibly his mother, crouched in the back quietly staring at the corner with his back to Mr Unger.

'I knew - that's him,' Mr Unger said.

Couple: John Unger, 49, adopted the dog with his ex-fiancée 19 years ago, but after the relationship ended, Mr Unger fought a desperate despair

Saved: The companionship of his trusty rescue dog gave Mr Unger the courage to go on, saying : 'I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t have Schoep with me. I just want to do whatever I can for this dog'

Together: Thanks to the generosity of strangers, the MailOnline can reveal that thousands of dollars have been donated to Schoep's medical care, allowing the pair more time together than they ever imagined

At the time Schoep was named Tramp by the shelter staff and showed signs of abuse.

'He didn't even know what toys were,' Mr Unger said. 'I really wanted this dog because I wanted him to enjoy life.'

The couple worked hard to establish the trust of the dog and eventually brought out its 'full potential'.

Though Mr Unger's relationship with Schoep has clearly stood the test of time, the relationship with his fiancée did not, and when the woman moved to Colorado over a decade ago, he retained custody of the dog.

Capturing the moment: Hannah Stonehouse Hudson is friends with Mr Unger and spent hours capturing the perfect shot though she says it came naturally and was not posed

Lucky that he did, considering he told the Deluth News Tribune that one night, while in the depths of depression in the wake of the breakup, Mr Unger contemplated suicide.

'To be honest with you, I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t have Schoep with me (that night). He just snapped me out of it. I don’t know how to explain it. He just snapped me out of it. … I just want to do whatever I can for this dog because he basically saved my ass,' he said.

Now that Schoep is in pain with his arthritis, it is Mr Unger's time to return the favor.

'In this photo, people have said they see everything from pure love to hope for the world. They see peace, kindness, the relationship between man and dog,' Ms Stonehouse Hudson told The Pioneer Press.

'Two women, both whose husbands died from cancer, said they never thought they'd see love again, but this photo showed them love.

'People are leaving me messages, crying and opening up about dogs they've lost, spouses they've lost.'

Mr Unger told the MailOnline that the photograph was four years in the making, as Ms Hudson and Mr Unger couldn't find the time for a portrait session.

But recently, Mr Unger got some devastating news. 

'To be honest with you, I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t have Schoep with me.'

John Unger

'About two weeks ago I took Schoep in for a check up because he was limping,' Mr Unger said.

The doctor recommend pain medication, but said that it may be temporary or not help at all.

Then, Mr Unger said, the doctor told him, ' "If there isn't any improvement, we should probably..." a good vet wont say "put him down," but he said at that point I may start to want to think about it.'

Faced with the possibility of losing his best friend, he called up Ms Hudson for an impromptu session.

She met the pair at sunset on Lake Superior, because Schoep's cataracts prevent him from seeing in sunlight.

Compassion: Mr Unger adopted Schoep, who is named after a famous brand of Wisconsin ice cream, when he was just a puppy, and now that the dog has developed arthritis, he has trouble getting to sleep

'She couldn't believe he fell asleep in my arms,' Mr Unger said.

Ms Hudson watched the man and his dog float around the lake for maybe five minutes before Schoep began to get cold and shake.

Mr Unger said he had to take him out of the water to let him warm up and was worried she hadn't had the chance to snap an image.

AT FIRST SIGHT: JOHN AND SCHOEP

John Unger, 49, adopted Schoep, who is named after a famous brand of Wisconsin ice cream, when he was just a puppy and it was love at first sight.

He and his ex-fiancée had been searching for a rescue dog for a year, going to dozens of humane societies.

'We wanted every single dog,' Mr Unger said to the MailOnline. 'We just hadn't found the right one.'

His then-fiancée they spotted the pup at the Ozaukee Animal Shelter 19 years ago.

'We fell in love with her immediately,' Mr Unger told the MailOnline.

Schoep was in a cage with another dog, possibly his mother, crouched in the back quietly staring at the corner with his back to Mr Unger.

'I knew - that's him,' Mr Unger said.

At the time Schoep was named Tramp by the shelter staff and showed signs of abuse.

'He didn't even know what toys were,' Mr Unger said. 'I really wanted this dog because I wanted him to enjoy life.'

The couple worked hard to establish the trust of the dog and eventually brought out its 'full potential'. 

'I didn't think she even took one picture,' he said. 'But then she told me she got what she wanted.'

Mr Unger doesn't know how his ex-fiancée feels about the image going viral, or that it might be time to say goodbye to Schoep, but he is hoping that his love for Schoep might open the door to more romance.

'Women are also asking me if John is single!' Ms Hudson said.

The ladies are in luck because not only is Mr Unger single, but he is looking for a relationship.

'Boy, is it tough to meet women up here,' he told The Deluth News Tribune.

'So this might open up a new road.'

Mr Unger, who does not have a cell phone, said that while he got his first computer in February and is still confused by the internet, he has begun to explore online dating.

The most exciting thing to come out of the photograph, however, is the generous donations that people who have been touched by the photograph have been offering.

'A woman from Virginia basically paid for the latest laser therapy on his joints,' he said to MSNBC. 'She paid for a full treatment, and I don’t know how much it is, but I know I couldn’t have done that.'

He wept as he described how much strangers' kindness has helped him and his best friend. 

'People from all over are doing this. I can’t believe it. So much has come in already in donations that I don’t have to worry about anything at the vet anymore.'

He said that Schoep has already had two treatments and will get his third this afternoon.

'I have seen improvements in Schoep's ability to walk,' he told the MailOnline. 'He's walking faster. He's holding his head higher.'

Healing: Since the funds came gushing in, the clinic was able to treat Schoep with joint laser treatments, which reduce pain and swelling while healing the animal's limbs

All Better: Schoep will need these treatments every few weeks 'forever,' the vet said, but he should be able to spend his golden years pain-free

A spokeswoman from the clinic told the MailOnline that 19 people have made considerable donations to Schoep, amounting to nearly two thousand dollars in funds to help pay for his treatment.

Schoep's veterinarian, Erik Haukaas, said he was 'overwhelmed' by the generosity of strangers.

'John is a great guy but he doesn't have a whole lot of money. He does the best can to care for the dog,' Dr Haukass told the MailOnline.

He said that before the donations, all Mr Unger could afford was basic pain medication for his dog.

'He's failing. He's slowing down. Most dogs don't live near this long,' he said. 

'And then the picture came out and everyone wants to help.'

'Schoep is doing very well. I don't think John has to worry about Schoep for quite a while.'
Veterinarian Erik Haukass

Since the funds came gushing in, the clinic was able to treat Schoep with joint laser treatments, which reduce pain and swelling while healing the animal's limbs. 

Each session costs $200.

'It's like putting oil on a rusty joint,' he explained.

Schoep will need these treatments every few weeks 'forever,' the vet said, but he should be able to spend his golden years pain-free.

'Schoep is doing very well. I don't think John has to worry about Schoep for quite a while,' he said.

People interested in helping can call the Bay Area Animal Hospital at 715-682-8865 with a credit card number or mail a check to 3601 E Hwy 2 Ashland, WI 54806. 

All donations go right into Schoep's account at the clinic.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2186763/He-saved-MY-life--I-just-want-help-return-Owner-sick-dog-picture-touched-nations-hearts-reveals-loyal-companion-stopped-suicide.html#ixzz23JUtDXQb

How Google's Marissa Mayer Prevents Burnout

Many entrepreneurs don't even think twice when it comes to working around the clock. Marissa Mayer, Google's 20th employee and current vice president of location and local services, is no exception. When Google was a young company, she worked 130 hours per week and often slept at her desk. "For my first five years at Google, I pulled an all-nighter every week," Mayer said in a recent talk at New York's 92Y cultural center. "It was a lot of hard work." Hard work, she says, has been the key to Google's success, as well as her own. For young companies that demand so much of their employees, hard work can spiral into burnout. Learning to prevent it--for yourself and your employees--is essential to your success as a business owner.



Here are three steps to get started: Step 1. Watch for signs of resentment. "Burnout is about resentment," Mayer told the audience at 92Y. "[Preventing it is] about knowing yourself well enough to know what it is you're giving up that makes you resentful." Her assessment is right on target. "The question is whether you can replenish your energy when you get tired," says Michael Leiter, professor of psychology at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. If you can't restore your energy or resolve your values conflict with your work, you feel exhausted, cynical, and discouraged--the hallmarks of burnout. Related: 3 Postures to Boost Productivity Now


Step 2. Find your rhythm. Mayer's theory is that you need to figure out what your "rhythm" is, meaning the activity that matters so much to you resentment sets in when you can't do it. In Leiter's words, it's the activity that restores your energy. That might mean sleeping eight hours a night, practicing yoga daily, or getting out in nature once a week. Whatever it is, it's essential to your satisfaction, so don't skip it. "People--particularly entrepreneurs--can put in huge amounts of energy and time," Leiter says. "Overwork doesn't burn people out per se, but it's doing that without knowing the things that replenish you." Related: A Secret to Creative Problem Solving


 Step 3. Grant employees one must-have freedom. When Mayer suspects an employee might burn out, she asks them to find their rhythm. They've come back with, "I need to be home for Tuesday night dinners," or "I need to be on time for my daughter's soccer games." She grants those needs--no exceptions. "You can't have everything you want," Mayer cautions. "But you can have the things that really matter to you. That empowers you to work really hard for a long period of time on something that you're passionate about."

Credits -entrepreneur

Immortality by 2024?

Russian media magnate Dmitry Itskov is heading "Avatar," a tremendously ambitious and far-reaching multidisciplinary research project that aims to achieve immortality in humans within the next three decades. He plans to do it by housing human brains in progressively more disembodied vehicles, first transplanting them into robots and then, by the year 2045, by reverse-engineering the human brain and effectively "downloading" human consciousness onto a computer chip.

Fact or fiction?

When speculating on seemingly unobtainable goals such as this, one must be careful not to believe that improbable technological advances automatically become more likely simply by looking further away in the future. This is the cognitive trap that, for instance, has seen many leading IT experts predict the development of a human-level artificial intelligence at roughly twenty years in the future for at least the past five decades.

Looking at Avatar's proposed timeline, Itskov's project seems to suffer from the same fallacy. Certainly, if we borrow Carl Sagan's rule that "extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof," the project comes up short for the time being; it does, however, have the merit of basing most of its steps on technology that is either in the works or of general interest. And with the rate of technological change continuing to accelerate, the project's goals may be within reach, although not necessarily within the project's aggressive timeline.

The roadmap to immortality

The first of the proposed steps, to be completed before the end of the decade, would be to create an android "avatar" controlled entirely by a brain-computer interface. The system would at first be of interest to physically challenged people, but might also enable people to work in hazardous environments or perform dangerous rescue operations.

As futuristic as this vision may seem, Itskov is not the only person to share it. DARPA allotted US$7 million of next year's budget to the development of interfaces enabling a soldier to guide a semi-autonomous bipedal machine and allow it to act as the soldier's surrogate. Other researchers have reported being able to exert basic control over the movement of a humanoid robot using brainwaves alone, and many are working on refining this technology.

The second step would be the creation of an autonomous life support system for the human brain, which could then be integrated into the previously developed "avatar" by 2025. If the efforts are successful, immobile patients with an intact brain would be able to regain the ability to move via their new synthetic bodies, and a varied range of bio-electronic devices might become possible, creating superimpositions of electronic and biological systems.

Not a great deal of research is going into this at the moment – in fact, the closest match would have to be the research of Dr. Robert J. White who, back in the 70s, managed to perform several head transplants in monkeys. Building an artificial environment in which a brain could not only survive, but also continue working to full effect, is sure to prove a much harder task.

By 2035, Itskov hopes to be able to reverse-engineer the human brain and find a means of "downloading" its consciousness to a synthetic version. Coupled with the previous advancements, this would allow humans to achieve cybernetic immortality. It would also lead to the creation of a human-like artificial intelligence, and even provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or enhance their own brains, for instance by manipulating memories.

While there is no current research going into transferring your consciousness into a silicon chip, there is plenty of interest among neuroscientists in better understanding the inner workings of the brain. Although we are just scratching the surface, recent advancements – such as a robotic arm that can analyze the electricity patterns of single neurons – are certainly steps in the right direction.

The fourth and final step is also the most science-fictiony. By the year 2045, Itskov would like to see "substance-independent minds" uploaded not onto a computer chip, but into bodies of different compositions. A holographic body could walk through walls or move at the speed of light, while a body made of nanorobots would be able to take on a number of different forms at will. "Humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species," he writes.

Funding and support

Itskov says he has invested plenty of his own money to kick start the necessary research, hiring 30 scientists to reach this goal, organizing meetings, with plans to establish offices in San Francisco later this summer. He is also working on building a social network to raise awareness in his initiative, and on a "business incubator" for the creation of commercial applications - mostly in the medical field - that would capitalize on the research and fund further development. In other words, as crazy as this sounds, Itskov is absolutely serious about this, and the wheels are turning on this project.

Of course, the sheer pace of scientific inquiry required to make this project succeed will require very large - perhaps prohibitive - amounts of capital. To address this, Itskov recently addressed a letter to billionaires in the Forbes richest list in an appeal for funds, but he is also looking for government support.

Surprisingly, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science announced its support of the initiative, and has scheduled talks to discuss a specialized research and development center. Oddly enough, the initiative has also received the support and blessing of the Dalai Lama.

The video below is a short presentation detailing the steps and goals of the "Avatar" project.

Source: 2045 Initiative

Marrissa Mayer's Secret Weapon

Everyone agrees that one of Marissa Mayer’s most urgent tasks at Yahoo will be hiring great managers and product people. Yahoo’s talent pool has been reduced to puddles, as the best techies have gone elsewhere and promising newcomers have come down with colorblindness when it comes to purple.  Some people wonder whether even Mayer can lure back the brains.

It turns out, though, that the new CEO has a unique advantage in fulfilling this quest. For the past decade, she has been the doyen of a collection of some of the most talented young engineers and product managers in all of technology. These are the hand-selected prime talents of an accelerated leadership program at Google called Associate Product Manager (APM).

Mayer invented this program, led it and never gave it up. It was a key part of her tenure at Google. And now she may reap some benefits.

Don’t be fooled by the modest title, prefixed by that timid word “associate.” The most coveted entry post at Google is spelled APM. This is an incubation system for tech rock stars. “The APM program is one of our core values — I’d like to think of one of them as the eventual CEO of the company,” Google’s Executive Chair Eric Schmidt once told me.

Consider the first APM, a fresh Stanford grad named Brian Rakowski. He became a key leader of the team that built the Chrome browser and now is the VP of the Chrome operation. The second was Wesley Chan, who made Google Toolbar a success, then launched Google Analytics and Google Voice. He’s now picking winners for Google Ventures. Another early APM was Bret Taylor, who earned his bones by launching Google Maps. He left Google and co-founded Friendfeed, then become the Chief Technical Officer of Facebook.

Though not all APMs achieve such glory, they are generally recognized as elite. At any given time at Google, there are over 40 APMs active in the two-year program. And since Google has been hiring them since the early 2000s there are over 300 who have been through the program.

And the glue to the whole shebang was Marissa Mayer, who was the APM boss, mentor, den mother and role model.

Mayer thought up the program in early 2002. Google had been struggling to find PMs who could work within the peculiar company culture — team leaders who would not be bosses but work consensually with the wizards who produce code. Ideally, a Google product manger would understand the technical issues and sway the team to his or her viewpoint by strong data-backed arguments, and more than a bit of canny psychology. But experienced PMs from places like Microsoft, or those with MBAs, didn’t understand the Google way, and tried to force their views on teams.

So Mayer came up with an idea: Google would hire computer science majors who just graduated or had been in the workplace fewer than 18 months. The ideal applicants must have technical talent, but not be total programming geeks — APMs had to have social finesse and business sense. Essentially they would be in-house entrepreneurs. They would undergo a multi-interview hiring process that made the Harvard admissions regimen look like community college. The chosen ones were thrown into deep water, heading real, important product teams. (As the first APM, Rakowski was asked to launch a nascent project called Gmail. By the way, I hear Rakowski is taking over the program now that Mayer is gone.) “We give them way too much responsibility,” Mayer once told me, “to see if they can handle it.” Also, Google had APMs perform tasks for top management, like note-taking at high-level executive meetings or drawing up white papers on ambitious potential products.

The program has a been massive success, with APMs filling key roles in dozens of key Google products, ranging from apps to search to ads. The program has been so successful that Google has created a variation for leaders of non-product teams. These are called Marketing APMs. Though not quite as prestigious as APMs, these Googlers are not exactly chopped liver. For instance, Kevin Systrom was an MAPM — before he left Google and founded Instagram.

The one constant in the program has been Mayer. Her staff ran the program, and continued to do so, even after she moved from heading search products to local services in 2011. You didn’t get to be an APM unless you connected with her; she was the last interview in a long series, and she’d typically make ultimate decision. (“Tell me about a product you love,” she’d ask candidates. There was no right answer. But not describing the choice with passion was the wrong answer.)

Marissa Mayer (third from right) leading APMs on a trip in 2007. Photo: Steven Levy

Once you become an APM, Mayer was available as mentor and counselor. She made time in her insanely busy schedule to meet. She worked behind the scenes to address any issues that arose.

Halfway through the two-year program, Mayer herself would lead the group on a summer trip to visit international Google outposts. (I accompanied the trip in 2007; we went to Tokyo, Beijing, Bangalore, and Tel Aviv. This year, one of the cities included Jakarta.) It would be a bonding experience for each year’s group of APMs — bonding with each other and to Mayer.

Many, if not most, of the APMs keep in touch with Mayer after they graduate from the program, meeting with her periodically for a career check, and consulting with her when they considered a move. This occurs even after APMs leave Google. (It’s not surprising that a high percentage of APMs go elsewhere. APMs are chosen for their ambition and independence. Those traits are often at odds with working at a big company.)

In short, Marissa Mayer has developed a deep connection to over three hundred of most talented tech people in Silicon Valley. They may still be at Google, they may have moved to companies like Facebook or Dropbox, or they may have started their own budding enterprises like Optimizely. But in some sense they are all Marissa’s acolytes.

It would be not be surprising if some of these baccalaureate APMs wind up at Yahoo. In addition, former APMs all have their own networks, and can tip off Mayer to promising hires. Naturally, one of the first e-mails that Mayer sent after accepting her new job was a blast to the entire APM network, informing them of her move and assuring them that she will still be in touch. She reminded them that they are all part of a very special family.

And Mayer would presumably be happy to welcome some of these family members to her new home at Yahoo.

Credits -wired.com

Robert Timms

Robert Timms is having a 1 for 1 so we went there for dinner ytd.

The food was really good but thank god for the 1 for 1 deal otherwise it would be very expensive.

One main course is more than 20 bucks.

China, India Grapple With Growth Challenges

China and India are both dealing with economic slowdowns but are on completely different footings to tackle the challenge. Beijing has a range of fiscal and monetary options to revive growth, while New Delhi must make tough political decisions to stem its decline.




China is better positioned to handle a shock than it was in 2008. It relies less on trade for growth: In 2008, China's net exports amounted to 7.7% of GDP; in 2011 the share had dropped to 2.6%. Beijing reported on Monday that inflation declined to 2.2% in June, compared with a year ago. With government debt at an estimated 22% of GDP, China has plenty of levers to pull to stimulate its economy in the face of declining demand.




"China is in a very comfortable position compared to the rest of the world," said Luis Kuijs, project director at the Fung Global Institute, a Hong Kong think tank. "It's more a matter of choice of what policy measures it will take to stimulate the economy, rather than whether it will be able to."








A large portion of China's economy is in the hands of its state-owned companies. That means the government can more easily get its economic decisions carried out—though it does present long-term problems for China as it tries to shift to an economy based on more innovation, competition and private enterprise.




The Chinese government recently has stepped in with stimulus measures. To boost demand for commodities and construction among other industries, the government approved two steel plants and several energy projects. On the monetary front, the central bank has cut interest rates twice in the past few weeks—the first such moves since December 2008—and in May reduced the level of reserves banks are required to hold. China has plenty of room for additional monetary moves.

"India's hands are tied, and because of that it's much more exposed to the global slowdown," said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research for HSBC. "It has no fiscal ammo left to pump-prime the economy, so it has to endure a slowdown and take it on the chin."

India's main challenge is to stimulate business investment, which is drying up amid wariness among both domestic and foreign companies about shifting tax policies and regulations. The country's currency, the rupee, has tumbled against the dollar in the past year, partly due to growing investor concerns about India's high current-account deficit, which is roughly 4% of GDP. The rupee's fall has driven up real import costs for Indian companies and made foreign-currency loans more expensive to service.

The Reserve Bank of India in April cut interest rates for the first time in three years to fuel business lending. But when industry was looking for more last month, the central bank said it couldn't cut rates further with inflation uncomfortably high at 7.6%.

Self-Motivation Spirit

Okay, before I start this entry. I must say its really random but I was inspired by my long-time neighbour who is one year older than me.


I have not talked to him for a very long time because he's quite a far neighbour, he stays one storey below me.


So cutting to the chase, I saw him today in the lift and had a small chat. He told me that he's currently working in Logistics right now and that he's going to Uni next year. He mentioned that he should have studied hard last time because for him to go Uni at age 24, its very straining especially when he's working part-time as well.


What caught on to me was the tenacity he had, not the lateness of him going to the University per se. When I heard that he's going to the University next year, I was thinking oh wow, this guy actually is really determined. In the past, he used to be from the Normal Technical stream which is technically the worse class and he was extremely playful. But seeing the person he has become today and his perseverance to go to Uni even though he has to work, I can't help but be inspired by him.


Many a times, I hear people complaining about school and work. To be honest, I'm kinda sick of it and I think they are really lacking the resilience. People give up so easily these days and I don't see the hunger in them anymore.


There's no drive in them and there's no ambition at all. They are just getting by as the days pass, happy with being just the average.


However, personally, I don't just wish to be above average, I want to be the best and I work towards being the best.


Coming from a neighbourhood school background, I constantly live in the shadow of the elite students and since young I always thought to myself that they are of a different league and that there's no way I will be the best like them.


However, as I progress to Junior College, I got to be the first in my level and that was the first moment where I actually thought to myself, "Hey you know what? I can be the best!"


As I went to University, I knew it was going to be tough especially in Nanyang Business School where you get all the students coming from Raffles Junior College and Hwa Chong JC. Of course it was intimidating going head to head with these top students.


Nevertheless I fought hard and again I managed to achieve first in my level and I'm near the top student in Nanyang Business School right now. On hindsight, I'm quite disappointed with the level of the Raffles & Hwa Chong students. I mean no offence to them but I had way higher expectations of them. Perhaps its partly due to the marketing of their schools. But I'm certainly no where near impressed with these students at all. They lack the drive and ambition. I don't see them aiming high or even aiming at all.


And today, I see my neighbour even at this age, still striving to be a better person even with so much commitments. These are the people that give me goosebumps, those people that work hard for things.


They fight for everything and they give it their all each and every time.


I hope to work with such people as I enter the workforce and together, we will conquer that corporate ladder!

The people around me are the people I chose.

Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of your customers are obnoxious. Some of your friends are selfish, all-about-me jerks.

You chose them. If the people around you make you unhappy it's not their fault. It's your fault. They're in your professional or personal life because you drew them to you--and you let them remain.

Think about the type of people you want to work with. Think about the types of customers you would enjoy serving. Think about the friends you want to have.

Then change what you do so you can start attracting those people. Hardworking people want to work with hardworking people. Kind people like to associate with kind people. Remarkable employees want to work for remarkable bosses.

Successful people are naturally drawn to successful people.

~This is so true.

Credits -inc.com

Truth behind my JC life

Hi everyone, I got this from a friend's friend blog. It is very insightful but very long as well. Nevertheless, I think its a worthwhile read personally. I understand where she's coming from but I'm not saying I'm feeling very pressured so don't worry okay? In fact, your encouragements and faith in me keeps me stronger and my personal drive and hunger pushes me to the limit everyday. :)


Today is currently day 5 after the release of results. Life has been going on fine for me since i've got things to keep me preoccupied but it was a little tough keeping the optimism going today.

From sunday night till last night, my mind has been flooded with so much thought about the past 2 years. Everything that has happened, which is prolly going to determine some of the things that are going to happen this year.

Yesterday morning, I chanced upon a friend's facebook note which I could relate to so much, and was just somewhat the stuff that has been running through my mind the entire night before. It felt so real and I couldn't help but cried a little to myself again. Not out of self pity or sadness but rather, out of this "lost" feeling I have been carrying with me for 2 years.

The night before A level results were released, I tweeted this:
"just looked thru my report book from primary sch to sec sch.. what does life offers me 13 hours later?"
(pls pardon the grammatical error lol)

Life has always been great and kind to me since primary school. Producing grades that were above average were not a problem for me and for a few occasions, I could just bag home some model student award or the top 2/3 in level award home back then. I did decent for PSLE but I already had a place in Anderson because of DSA. In lower sec I learnt that I have to work super hard to prove myself worthy of my spot in the school because it's not going to be easy if I didn't try or work hard for it. In Anderson, my life had so many changes that I can't be more grateful for. I am extremely thankful for such a holistic education in a neighbourhood school, the abundance of opportunities given to me to excel and perform. To prove who I can be. I knew I was someone who dared to speak but I never knew I was capable of achieving so much within 4 years. I have done so much, invested so much time in what I enjoy and was given so much back in return. I met so many people and friends, teachers included who had an impact and made a difference in my life, even till this point in today.

My grades, as I proceeded into upper sec, were far from being those expected out of the top class there. In my sec 4 year, I didn't pass all my subjects even till prelims. I had an L1R5 of 17 then and but I didn't lose hope in doing well. I could tell my teachers were all worried but I could also sense that they did not feel that I could not make it there. & yes, a miracle did happen and I made it. But I knew for sure that I wouldn't have made it without the constant encouragement from my teachers and even my principal. (I was recovering from a back injury back then and I will not forget the days when our principal will just approach me and ask if I am recovering well and all) I had a great ending at 16 years of age before I began to embark on a new journey.

With my score, I could go anywhere I wanted. But I believe fate has brought me to this place. I could go anywhere I wanted, but then, I only had HC as my choice in mind. I don't know if it's all about the packaging and imaging and "overglorifying" of everything as mentioned in the previous post, but I still chose it as my choice even when my parents told me i should have put Raffles as first choice.

And that was when, life decided to stop being so kind to me.

Life was of course a breeze during the first three honeymoon months. But when things started getting serious, the ugly side of such an elite education begins to surface as well. In an extremely big cohort of 1.2k, to stand out, there are only a few ways:

1) Be those "high profile" people back in high school
2) Be those who are extremely intellectually gifted to bag home almost 1000 achievements
3) do extremely bad to have a nice tea session in the office with the dean/vp/p

If not? You are merely part of the "hwachong stereotype" which is defined as "WA A LEVELS SURE DO DAMN WELL" by the public and other jcs. Which is what, ultimately hurt us and stresses us out the most.

Even the opportunities to shine and even for OCIP/school trips is to be the "top 60%" of the cohort and blahblahblah. Everything you do, you have to be the top x% of some exam or test. Every single day of my Jc life, I felt like I was in a competition that I mustn't lose.

I didn't lose, I was simply the last few.

I remember there was this week in July 2010, when I was in J1 where I cried every single day, even during school time because I just cannot accept the environment here. It was too.... elite for me to handle. I was even judged for having come from a neighbourhood school.

In the first place, I came here almost all alone because I had no close friends with me. It was hard to find someone that I could actually pour everything out to and relate to and it just seem like everyone was just too busy trying to run to the top of the mountain and all I wanna do is to back trek. And the point is, even if you back trek, nobody really notice because you are just 1 out of the thousand.

So small, so insignificant, that I was almost invisible.

I told myself back then that if I couldn't clear promos then, out of this school I'll go. Eventually I cleared promos and stayed. Well, actually I will most likely stay because I actually enjoyed CCA lots because dancing has always been my stress-reliever and like I've already said for the 10000th time, HCCD was one of the main reasons why I actually did want to come to HC and did not regret coming to HC.

I was just thankful that there was actually something about this school that I could enjoy, and that SALT centre (where my CCA is usually held at) doesn't feel like part of the school.

Stepping into 2011, being a J2 then became a completely different thing with a totally different story. I made the grand decision to downgrade my Econs to H1 even when I could comfortably continue and sink into that sea of Us for H2 Econs, and wait for good grades to drop from the sky during A levels. Many people were against my decision because to them, "HC Econs is tough and you'll eventually make it there". To everyone, every bad grade that I got in HC could be easily accounted by using such an excuse. But I was glad I followed my own decision and know that I really am not a single bit talented for Econs and didn't force my way through. If I did, I really don't know what will become of my A levels grades, considering how badly HC did for H2 Econs this year. It really, as of now, didn't matter who judged me at that point in time saying I was incompetent anymore. Because I know I made the right choice.

I spent and gave all my time to dance in December holidays and the first term of school that I didn't study much, and flunked my Block Test 1. I got a UUS/UD (in the order of H2 math,chem, geog/h1 econs, gp) and my mum was invited to meet the dean or whoever it is (seriously? the school is so huge that i wouldn't know who is who unless they taught me before)

That was the first unpleasant thing that happened to me in 2011 because in my entire life, nobody had asked to see my parents even when I was failing so bad in Sec 4 SA1. oh and thanks to the school's system in establishing a strong parent-teacher relationship, they initiated the sms without even notifying yours truly. I didn't even have the chance to inform my mum what the heck was going on in my life at that moment and it panicked her out so bad like I was going to be a drop-out or something. From that point onwards, I knew I wasn't the kind cut out to be part of an elite top school or whatever because I just couldn't stand the way things functioned and all.

I couldn't even find a reason to go to school and I don't know who to turn to to confide and all but I was sure I was mentally stable enough to handle it all on my own, even if there wasn't a single person out there who could empathize with me entirely about my situation and feelings of being in here. I was a regular customer to the college reception for the green slip (known as the out-of-campus pass) and I have even mapped out my own "escape routes" out of school that I won't be caught or questioned by the security guards.

For every single lecture test/block test, you'll never fail to see 10S68 being the symmetry with the top classes. It got so often that we would even rejoice when we finally make a rank up to the 2nd last (but the last will still belong to us eventually the next round). Sometimes, you'll even see us kid with the neighbouring S69 for "stealing" our 1st position from the back. I don't know how anyone else actually felt, or if anyone else from the better classes actually noticed that we're at the other spectrum, but for one thing I know, it was almost like we're almost invisible and we barely heard any nice words of encouragement from the lecturers and all. Yes, they did present to us statistics that 50% who got U will eventually make it to A/B but that's not what we are really interested about. Some of us, we struggle so hard to even get that E. Perhaps to them, we're just a slack class who don't turn up for tutorials and pon lectures and that we're happy and used to being last. But do they actually see our effort to do well too? Do they actually think we really actually enjoy being the last everytime? It was so hard for them to even know that we're still alive and breathing, because all they could care was the laughters from the rest.

I decided to work doubly hard since SYF ended but that didn't mean the dramas to my JC life was going to end there. Apparently if you fall below the 30th percentile for this/that test (you get my point), you'll be suspended from CCA and all that shit. (& my BT1 results placed me at the freaking 8th percentile) Of course I wasn't suspended but I was given a choice between doing 2 items (SYF included) for Dance Night or staying as the Logistics i/c in the planning committee.It was understandable considering the level of commitment and all and since results was all so ever important, such drastic measures has to be taken. I was just thankful I could finally have a say in this and eventually, I did 2 items and stayed in the logistics comm but wasn't the i/c anymore. It didn't matter that much to me actually since I already knew the way the school functioned but it did matter alot to me that I could finally speak up for myself for something that I wanted to do. Like finally, for the first time in 1.5 years, for something that I feel so passionate about.

Because I finally had my voice heard, I decided I will work super hard to show that I am worthy of this place in HC, I am not going to let anyone who think I'll be a straight As student down. This was also during the June holidays where I began my revision, or more like catching up my work. I also began booking consultations with my tutors because I wanted to do well. I made slight improvements during Block Test 2, with grades of DUD/ES. (okay funny that it spells dudes like that) It was nothing near great but I was happy I made an improvement and I was just thankful some of my tutors saw the improvement as well. At least it didn't make me feel so invisible and insignificant. But it was still bad enough for me to easily place myself at the bottom 30 percent of our cohort.

Time got lesser, everyone tried their best to make it to the cream of the crop as prelims and A levels approached. Truth is, I didn't do well for prelims either. I got a grade of SUD/UD for prelims when everyone else has already improved all the way up to As,Bs and Cs. It was close to the A levels and time was running out. Everyone was panicking and so was I. I felt so close, so close to giving up. I broke down several times, mainly the days when I got back my prelim results because I felt so lousy and helpless that despite putting in so much effort, results barely showed. I feared that I wouldn't make it in time for A levels. I feared that my A level grades wouldn't differ much from my J2 performance.

But there was nobody to turn to, because everyone was too engaged in this race to the top and nobody has the time for you. All you have is yourself.

It was like at that point in time, everyone was so busy doing up their personal statements and applying to the UK universities and all I could do was to sit there and envy, and get back to my work, feeling all lost because where I'll end up will be determined by what's coming up next. I was thankful that there were still friends who were there for me during those times to tell me not to ever give up.

I told myself that if a miracle happened to me during O levels, anything is possible for A levels. I didn't give up. I just kept going on and studying like that was the only thing I could do in my life at that point in time. I went for consults with my tutors who gave me so much encouragement and all. My math tutor, who also happened to be my CT tutor told me that she believed I will do well for A levels and I am truly capable of getting straight As for A levels despite all the grades that i've been producing (none of them were above D) and she always had such nice things to say about me under the remarks column for our progress report. I was truly thankful despite some misunderstandings that happened in J1.

It gave me so much strength to work hard and persevere on till the end because there was someone who finally believed in me, besides all my friends, where most simply assumed I'll do well "because I'm in hwachong". Even though when the results were out 5 days ago and I didn't make it there, in fact I was really far from being there, I felt that my hard work has pretty much paid off.

I didn't achieve any fantastic grades or even something that any of my friends had expected me to get. Or rather, anyone who thought a HC student will get. Because to them, I am from HC and I'm supposed to be at the top. But I have to quote Sarah from here (she's the friend aforementioned above)

" Yes I'm in hwachong, but I'm not part of the majority who pulls through the A levels with flying colours. I struggled very badly."

It has truly been the toughest 2 years of my life to get through. Even during A levels itself, I ran a fever during my H1 Econs paper and Chem Paper 2, which developed into a high fever during the Physical Geog paper the next day. Life didn't favour me even till the most crucial moments to prove myself of my worth. I lived under tremendous stress and neverending competition daily, having to meet the expectations of people from outside.

That fateful day:

My phone, and twitter were influxed with people asking me how I did and all, all sounding excited because well, of the stereotype. but guess what was my exact feelings at that point in time? I really didn't know how to answer anyone. I felt like a freaking loser who got 6 points and end up with lousy A level results that everyone will gossip/judge about. I felt like I had nowhere to go from that point onwards. I wonder if these 2 years were ever worth my time at all.

I had every negative thought about this HC stereotype and for that moment, I wish I didn't exist. I wished I could have just ran away from every single question in my life posted at me, I wish I could escape. I even had friends asking me if I DID NOT STUDY AT ALL for A levels which resulted in my results.

I felt so freaking offended but I can't blame them. To them, I have always been someone who achieve academic excellence because I work very hard for it. If I were not in hc and my hc friend did the same, I will probably think that way too. Like "hello? are you kidding me about your results that you studied for it? your school is like a top school....." blabla yada yada.

In my opinion, this whole "top school" thing is a partial scam. The fact behind all this glory is in selective publication. All you have to do is to tweak the way you present your results. What used to be a 80% distinction rate for H2 Geography now becomes a 80% A&B for H2 Geography. Hey, 80% sounds so great right? Who knows actually if you count distinction alone it is only about 50%? and that'll make us lose face because we prolly lose to our arch rival Raffles and other schools. The point is to not publish your bad results(take GP for an example. Anyone saw a slide that wrote 30% distinction for GP that day?)  than to publish them and allow your own reputation to go down, and allow room for criticism.

This realisation seriously came in too late. Outsiders, or even myself in the past would think that "wow, such results are really fantastic" but having seen the truth behind everything, it all just seem like it's for marketing purpose. It's like we're all invisible to them. The disparity is so great that if the other 600 of us who didn't score at least 3A or above, we can form another school and be ranked last in the jc list.

It feels like I was fooled into this place because I was totally bought over by their marketing campaign of presenting the image of being so fun and everything. Our open house is all so warm and homely, orientation is so fun and enjoyable but when things get real, they get seriously real, and stressful, and competitive, and everything negative, for me at least.

I hope that from this, everyone from other schools will learn to erase this stereotype about us. Because it has been so hard trying to live up to the stereotype for so many of us in here but honestly, there is always such an ugly truth behind an elite education system. Very, very ugly in fact. It got us, even the students fooled till the day of results day.

But after I calmed down that night from all the crying and resentment over the school for the 700th day perhaps, I finally saw things in a more positive light. I did my fair share of feeling upset over a set of ugly results which wouldn't earn me any compliments from my friends( it was more likely to attract judgements) but it was also time to face up to reality.

The big reveal now is that I only had 1A for my A levels.
I scored a grade of BBC/BA. Just a glance at it, this could well be the prelim grades for anyone from the higher-end classes in school. But this was my A level results. There wasn't a single H2 A, and the A I got in the entire cert was GP. Even my PW was a B.

When I got my O level results, that moment was magical. But when I got my A level results, that moment was terrible.

But I realised that I felt so terrible that day was partly because there was too much comparison going on. Between my grades and everyone else from other schools who did way better. Eventually I shut myself up to all these comparisons and decided to analyse my results and honestly, I felt happy about my results.

It was totally a heaven and earth thing if you compare with my entire JC performance. My prelims had a rank point of 31.25 but my A level had a rank point of 77.5. I know to many of you, who easily hit above 80 rank point, my 77.5 is nothing to you. But it means alot to me. This is the result of the pain, tears, sufferings and hard work for 2 years. It is the outcome of my 2 years struggle in a place I tried so hard to survive. It shows that my hard work did pay off in a sense though not in the best outcome it could have.

And well, this brings me to another point about the things we say. I rmb when I said I couldnt make it for an A for Math, people around me all thought I was joking, like they had that mentality that "Hc's bad is still very very good". Yes, there are truly people in my school who are like that but there is really a group of us who truly mean what we say and there's often fear in our confessions like that. We fear judgement, we fear expectations, we fear disappointments. When I received my prelims grades and told some how bad it was, all they commented was "But HC's U is like other school's C what" I really had no idea how to reply to such comments because deep down, I really wasn't certain if I'll ever ever make it back up there. People always assume that being at the bottom of the top still places you somewhere in the middle but actually, we're all at the bottom all the same. These were the truly helpless moments where nobody could empathize with my feelings because everyone else around me either thought I was just kidding or they had good enough grades for them to not relate to this. There was so much uncertainty within myself yet so much expectations to live up to, it was suffocating but all I could do was to live with it and try to live up to it.

Final thoughts:

I have just spent 2 years of my life in a place I did not enjoy being in and the least I thought was to have a good outcome and ending to it but I don't think this is the best ending I want. This entire chapter of my life came at the price of so many things, it took away so much happiness and friends from me and brought so much more sadness to my life. But probably at the end of the day, despite not benefiting from the elite education system as functioned in hc, at least I am fortunate in an unfortunate way to be able to experience an education system as such. Maybe there are really the plus side to it, which is why they still never fail to produce top scorers annually but it's negative side is of course obvious and concrete enough in this year's results now.

I am super grateful for having been put into 10S68. We may be the worst performing class for every single exam, even the A Levels but I'm glad we're unique and so different in our own way. We're not exactly a bonded class but these are the people who've been through the exact same labyrinthine journey with me for the past 2 years. Our subject tutors especially, who never ever gave us up despite us bringing them so much troubles and being so hard to handle. Attendance problems, attention span problems and not delivering work on time. Thinking back, we were really a havoc bunch of students who didn't seem like we were much interested in studying. I never ever thought it was actually so tough not losing faith in us till I became a teacher/instructor myself and I have to work so hard to get the students' attention in class.

After I settled down my emotions for the night and overcome the whole results day drama, I am eventually thankful for all the people around me who've been there to comfort me and made sure I am alright, including some of my secondary school teachers. I'm sorry to all who I've disappointed because you had such high hopes that I'll do well but I didn't. But I know I haven't let myself down, because I survived this rocky road. I did not succumb to all the challenges that visited and I remained strong and held on to this tightly.

To me, I believe that whatever that has happened were all fated to be-- my decision, my experience and my results.

Life has been too kind to me and so decided to give it a twist. And I am glad I am out of it and have emerged stronger after this. Good or bad, it is all in the past and purely a learning experience that will follow me for the lifetime. Like what I had similarly posted when O's results was posted, this is probably what life has in store for us. No matter how much we avoid it, if it's meant to happen, it will happen.

The only solution now is to embrace the life we have right now and look forward to a better future ahead. the past cannot be undone or erased so there is also no need for us to feel sad over it anymore. I hope that all my friends in HC who hasn't done so well will learn to get over this little obstacle soon. Life isn't really all that bleak seriously, and that we've all been the strongest people to have pulled through this. You're not alone, you haven't been alone and you won't be alone. Look at the brighter side of life, because that's when the sun shines :)

The only way from here now on is to bounce back higher than before. Our grades will get us to somewhere, somehow and it will most likely be the best for us (:

This has officially marked the end to my education at HC. To me, it's a "omg finally" thing because I've been waiting for it to come but I am also grateful for these 2 years which has taught me and exposed me to another side of life, not possibly the best but I'm sure it'll do me good sometime in my life. Here's wishing everyone that I've ever crossed paths with in HC all the best in life ahead and thank you for being part of this experience I had!

PS: Everything posted above is true to my personal experience in the school. I know there is a bulk of people who'll not agree with what I have to say about the elite system because you've really benefited from it. But I hope you'll not judge me even if you disagree, because these are truest to my feelings. I have left this post in the draft page for a day before finally decided to give it the final touch up and publish it now.

With lots of love.

Credits -http://stopthe-pretence.blogspot.sg/2012/03/truth-behind-my-jc-life.html