Apathetic Avenger

Pre-University Seminar 2007 (Part One)

I really did enjoy myself during Pre-U Sem, which some of you may find hard to believe. I found it hard to believe myself, given the purpose of this seminar. Let me illustrate.

(This was copied word for word from the very useful file that was provided to all of us)

Objectives Of Seminar

1. raise participants' awareness of the changes and emerging opportunities taking place in the local and global scene and how Singaporeans can respond to and take advantage of them;

2. provide opportunities for participants to examine how young Singaporeans and Singapore must innovate and explore ways to adapt to new realities while remaining true to their values, beliefs, and the way they live;

3. allow participants to gain new knowledge and perspectives by engaging them in meaningful exchange with senior officials and experts from different fields as well as in discussion sessions among themselves;

4. engage students in Special Activities in which they will have to exercise independence, teamwork, inventiveness, and resourcefulness to deal with challenges in an increasingly complex environment;

5. encourage networking and bonding among young Singaporeans from different institutions and from disparate backgrounds.

I think you get the idea. It does seem rather dry, does it not? Read on to find out.

There is so much to talk about, perhaps I should start from the beginning. (I think this will be longest post I will ever have.)

It started out during the first 3 months of school. My GP teacher told me about something interesting, Pre-U Sem. Apparently it had been around for many years, and was quite prestigious. It sounded somewhat like propaganda, about how Singapore was the Centre Of The World. It sounded intriguing. I later learned that it comprised of a five day seminar, which was during the school term, meaning that I would have to miss 5 days of school should I get chosen to go. It would also give me the chance to hang around smart people. I signed up immediately.

It turned out that wanting to go, and being able to go were two very different things. First of all, I wasn't the only person eyeing the 5 week absence from school. ACJC could only send 25 representatives, so the field had to be narrowed down. One very effective way to do that was to have a compulsory written essay, with a very short deadline. The title of our essay was iSingapore: Challenge, Create, Connect. Which turned out to be the theme for this year's seminar. No hints were given, it was an open ended essay. Many people were understandably stumped, and gave up immediately. What kind of nonsensical topic was that? It didn't even mean anything! I, however, was made of tougher stuff. The night before the due date, I rushed out some nonsensical essay, filled with the ramblings of a desperate teenager. At least I was better off than one of my friends, who wrote his essay during ECONS LECTURE. I doubted that my effort would get shortlisted, but well, it was worth a try.

To my immense surprise and elation, I found out that I was selected! However, to my dismay, I found out that I was merely selected to go on to the next round, where the final list of participants would be decided by an interview. Why must they torture me so? Just let me go! When I was in the waiting room getting ready for my interview, one of the girls there told me that the interview was to be based mainly on our essay. Unfortunately, the minute I had handed up my essay, I completely forgot what I had wrote. Probably because it was so ambiguous and pointless.

Getting interview by two teachers isn't a very pleasant task. First of all, they asked me difficult questions. Questions that didn't really mean anything. So I basically just started talking, and prayed that I wouldn't stop. Second, there were two teachers. I didn't know which one I was supposed to look at. Was I supposed to look at the one that asked the question? Or was I supposed to look at the both of them? In the end, I just ended up darting my eyes at both of them, hoping that their nods and smiles were good signs.

A few days later, I found out that I had got in. I must admit, I was rather glad.

So, after I was told that I would be going to Pre-U Sem, that was pretty much the end of my meetings. There were 4 different groups of people that were involved in the seminar. Researchers, IT-savvy People, Presenters, and Participants. Of the 4, the least work-intensive was the Participants, so I guess you know which of the four I was. So while the 3 other groups of people had meetings, I was left out. Not that I minded.

The Saturday

Anyway, I was later informed that all Seminar participants were expected to go down to NTU on a early Saturday morning, for some... Pre-Pre-U Sem event. It turned out to be some sort of icebreaker event, where we would get to meet our groups, which would be called Seminar Groups, or SGs. (You can't make this sort of things up.) Little did I know that this was just the beginning of the Singapore Is Great idea that would be conveyed to us during our waking (and perhaps sleeping, who knows) hours. Each group comprised of students from various schools, so I was put together with a bunch of complete strangers. At that moment we felt awkward, as we had nothing to talk about, but during the actual seminar, we ended up having a great time together.

So ends part one, where I haven't even started taking about the actual Pre-U Seminar yet. Wonderful.

Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

Blogged @ 9:42 PM

Pre-U Sem was fantastic.

There most definitely will be a post on it, coming up soon.

Blogged @ 4:50 PM

I will be away from the 21st to the 25th of May. I will be participating in the Pre-U Seminar, where kids from all the JCs and some of the polytechnics gather together to... do... stuff. It's all terribly exciting.

So for those of you who have to go to school for this whole week, enjoy.

:)

Blogged @ 6:20 AM

ACJC Council Elections (Part Two)

So, on the very Monday morning after week after The Week Of Campaigning was the Hour Of Reckoning. The dreary morning air, along with the shuffling of weary student feet was such a compliment to the mood for the event of that day. The Day That Would Change Lives Forever.

The morning began as always, with the singing of our two favorite songs, the ACS anthem, and of course, the National Anthem. I particularly enjoy Monday mornings, because of chapel service. So anyway, after morning assembly, we usually have about 80 minutes to slack around. However, much to the displeasure of the entire college, 40 minutes that precious time was taken away from us. It was wretched from our grasp! Oh, how I yearn for those precious droplets of time, how I desire to be with them again. I will not bear with this insult, this transgression will not escape justice. I will never let you go, I'm sure that you know. Sweet break time, you will be mine.

Alright, so after the morning announcements, the Elections were set to begin! This was the Moment Of Reckoning. All the Council-hopefuls prayed that their efforts would have payed off, the substantial amounts of money that they put forward to buying candy and printing our little stickers and posters and other thingys had not gone to waste. (But of course, it did.) All they could do now was to to put their trust in us, the most untrustworthy people of all, teenagers. (Teenagers are the most untrustworthy people. Honestly. Sometimes we say that we will do something. Then we just not do it. For fun. We don't forget about what said, we just choose not to honor our words.)

So, the entire college held its breath in anticipation, wondering who they could possibly choose to be their representatives in the future. So we waited. Waited. And waited some more. Soon our anticipation turned to annoyance. It appeared in order to appease us, the current Councilors decided to hold a fashion show, the draw our attention, whilst they made final preparations. However, we, or at least I, came to realize that the people who were walking single file down the middle aisles weren't fashion models. First of all, none of them were stick thin. Second, they were all wearing the same thing.

As the very first Council-hopeful walked on to stage, she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

The next Council-hopeful then walked on to stage, and she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

The next Council-hopeful then walked on to stage, and she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

The next Council-hopeful then walked on to stage, and she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

I think you know where I'm going with this. The first 10 or so Council-hopefuls were met with enthusiastic applause. However, there were about 60 of them altogether. The audience's enthusiasm soon waned, and soon what began as raucous roars of approval became mere trickles of pity applause. If a candidate came up with a a hilarious one liner, then of course people would laugh and respond, but if that person's one liner was not funny or very forgettable, then he would be met with UTTER SILENCE.

For example:

Some generic message about loving ACJC and being a nice person and doing the best may have come straight from the heart, and be totally sincere, however, it will have limited impact, and won't be remembered when one is thinking about who to elect as a Councilor.

However, something like "If you want someone who's tall, smart, and handsome. Vote for me. (Pause) I will help you find him".

This is a great one liner. First of all, it captures people's attention. After hearing the first part, people will be shocked. Who the hell does this guy think he is? People then become very attentive. It was also very well delivered, making people laugh. It is also a form self-deprecating humor, showing humility and the willingness to poke fun at oneself. Hence, increasing the likability of said candidate greatly.

Other methods that were used to great success in garnering attention including singing a song terriblly off-key, as demonstrated by JianDa, who was a former SJI boy, and silly wordplays, as demonstrated by SoeMin's "Don't be so mean, vote for Soe Min.".

After the final person finished, there was a final applause, and several catcalls, along with a handful of "woohoos". There was then a lull, as people were deciding out of the 60-odd hopefuls, to whom they would contribute their five votes to. Within a few minutes, the voting process was over. The elections were over. The students streamed slowly out of the hall, and the day was to continue as it usually did. The councilors took about 4 days to count the votes. On the Friday of that week, the results came out.

The results were very unsurprising. Except for one or two unexpected new Councilors, all those who were expected to get in, did get in. This is exactly what made me displeased with Council elections. Mind you, I don't have any problems with any of the Councilors. I'm sure they all are good decent people, none of whom are crazed ax-welding murderers or drug addicts or perverse skirt-chasers. All of the hopefuls needed teachers to endorse them, so thats an indication of the type of people they are. However, I do have an issue with the way the Councilors are chosen. It was a popularity contest. I admit, even I contributed to this. I voted in two of my classmates, two of my old schoolmates, not because I felt they definitely deserved to be Councilors, but because they were my friends. The last remaining vote I just closed my eyes, ran my fingers across the voting slip, and picked a random guy. I forgot his name, but I think he got in.

All the J1s did pretty much what I did. Vote for your friends. That's the way things go. For the J2s, things were even stranger. Since most of them didn't know any of the hopefuls, they just voted for people whom they thought were funny. One of my J2 friends admitted to me, that he didn't care about the person's character, and just voted for people who made him laugh. He went on to say that was what everyone did anyway.

Now how is this fair? The person who may not be the most qualified, but is the most popular gets in? Is that how things should be? Or could it be that being charismatic is part of the qualifications. Perhaps this is just the way life is. Ability is not imperative, and all that one requires to get through life is a pretty face or charisma. All of the hopefuls had to jump through hoops to get as far as they did, and only to be denied at the very last moment. Some of those who didn't get in were unable to hold their tears in, and I can't say I blame them.

Is this the way things should be?

Life sure can be cruel sometimes.

Labels: Musings

Blogged @ 8:51 PM

ACJC Council Elections (Part One)

During these past two weeks, ACJC has been swept up into this frenzied rage. For two weeks, the entire canteen/canteen walkway/candeck/void deck was plastered with colorful posters, each poster featuring the smiling faces of a handful of ACJC students with various numbers that don't mean anything somewhere on the fliers as well. Said students were also seen throughout this entire period of time with very gaudy and very noticeable neon green badges pinned near to their school crests. Each badge bearing the name, class, and random-number-used-to-differentiate-them-from-the-others.

I have been meaning to talk about Council Elections and the Week Of Campaigning, however, I've been busy. I would talk about how JC life sucks, the trivial difficulties and obstacles of my life, and the reasons my existence has completely lost its meaning, but I don't want to become a Javier. I've also seemed to have somewhat lost my ability to form rational thought and to suitably express my feelings regarding various happenings.

But I digress. (As I always seem to do) So anyway, today's post is about Council Elections. However, I am going to borrow a page from Javier's book, and cheat. Meaning, I'm going to include lots of pretty pictures so as to distract people from the woeful lack of other content. So, let us proceed.

Credit of all photos goes to my Sony Ericsson K610im.

We shall begin with a pointless picture.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

This sign is seen by the 1000-odd students who utilize our country's MRT system to get to school everyday. For those of you who do not fully understand the point my photo is trying to make, perhaps you should let me explain. I am not a professional photographer, so this quick snapshot isn't everything that it could've been. I was also surrounded by many other students, so I did not want to draw unnecessary attention to myself by stopping in the middle of the path taken to school, in the process disrupting the flow of movement, to take a picture of a stupid signpost.

Anyway, the "WALK THIS WAY" signpost is pointing towards the right, directing the unaware commuter to walk on the footpath, instead of walking on the road. I must admit, the idea of walking with cars is somewhat appealing, and it has crossed my mind several times before. I tried to include in the photo the rush of oncoming traffic for added effect, but alas, by the time I snapped the picture, the car had stopped moving.

So thank you, thoughtful construction worker, for putting up that very informative signpost. Perhaps the Singapore government would consider creating a nationwide campaign, alerting the public to the importance of walking of sidewalks instead of the road. Since we are Uniquely Singapore (tm), we must of course, create a stupid acronym for this campaign. I suggest Walk NORMAL (Walk Not On Roads, Men And Ladies!) Perhaps someone could come up with a radio jingle or TV ad to accompany my slogan, something similar to the highly acclaimed "Sars is the virus, that I just want to minus!" advertisements of 2001. With I.T. and various other technologies, using the different forms of media, it is very possible for us to succeed in our task of teaching the multi-cultural and multi-racial peoples of Singapore the importance of not walking on the roads!

Walk NORMAL.

More pointless pictures.

Oh, I feel the spirit of creativity and artistic expression flowing through the very core of my soul! These pictures that I've taken do seem very artistic, do they not? The first one conveys a sense of gracefulness and smooth flowing movement. Either that, or lightsabres. The second one seems like some sort of design created by a professional. Oh, I am so proud of myself.

How did I create these works of art? I can teach you. First you take your mobile phone. Find a smooth surface, such as the top of a stack of paper. Take a picture, then quickly spin your phone. The lousier your camera, the better the effect.

This is what students do when boredom has set in.

I am really long-winded, am I not? Back on topic!

Campaigning Week

Two weeks ago, campaigning for Student Councilors began. Meaning, all the hopeful nominees try and become as well known as they possibly can, so that they can fulfill their hopes and dreams. All of them put up posters, but some went to even greater lengths, with varying levels of success, from zero to none.

I recall several Council hopefuls sticking plastic boxes to the sides of our void deck tables, with little stars printed with their names stapled onto straws. I have no idea why they thought anyone would be compelled to take the stars, unless of course, they dream of become fairies or Harry Potter. Here are the things that I'm talking about.

As you can see, the heartless students of ACJC have come up with another use for their boxes. Convenient trash cans. Now we don't even have to walk the 8 steps necessary to get to the nearest bin. Our spirit of inventiveness is astounding.

Other people came up with more practical solutions.

I tried to blur out the numbers, (hey, no free publicity here) but I now realize that one can still read the names and numbers to a certain extent. I must admit, the tissue boxes were a success. However, they only succeeded in killing more trees and providing us with free tissue paper in our times of need. Here is an action shot, modeled by my friend.

No one particularly cared who provided the boxes of tissue. No one thought, "Hey, xxx was so courteous, providing me with free tissue papers, hence I shall vote for him/her!". Most people probably went "Alright! Free stuff!". I recall one of my friends taking and entire tissue box, putting it in his bag, and using it for himself and our class. After all, it's good to share.

Those weren't the only tactics that the wannabe-Councilors resorted to. Stickers with their personal information were stuck everywhere, from bags to shirts, and, on rare occasions, near the zippers of pants. Little ice cream sticks were scattered about the grounds of the Campaign zone. Some even stuck stickers on the tops of bottles of drinks sold by the canteen vendors, or on the plastic wrappers of sandwiches and other tidbits.

Towards the end of the week, all of the nominees started handing out free candy, in a final attempt to garner attention. Once again, this didn't really have the impact they had imagined. After all, all of them were handing out free candy, so they weren't really outstanding. If a group of them didn't even give any away, people probably wouldn't even notice.

Once again, the effect of the sudden generosity of the 50-odd Council hopefuls wasn't really to expectation. I think they expected people to take the candy, see who had given out the candy, and vote for them to become councilors. However, I just don't see how giving away free candy can really lead to people thinking you deserve to be a Student Councilor, but that's just my personal opinion. The situation that usual occurred was that a person would take the candy, ignore the little sticker pasted on it, open it up, eat it, and throw the wrapper into the nearest bin, or little fairy wand box.

So ends part one of my post. I will talk about the actual elections and my opinion on them some other time. I was going to talk about it in this post, but this post is already quite lengthy.

Labels: Musings

Blogged @ 12:23 AM

Laziness Is A Virtue

Oh dear. I've realized that I haven't posted an update in 2 weeks. I cannot allow that to happen. So here I am, preventing the occurrence of a travesty of such epic proportions.

I'm not dead. I've not become a vegetable. My body has not been shattered to a million indiscernible pieces. I'm alive and well.

Anyway, I do still have opinions to force down other people's throats, and ideas that I believe everyone deserves to hear about, so watch this space.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in what goes on in my life, you can go visit Javier's blog. He should have a writeup/photoshoot-with-N95-camera-which-he-wants-to-show-off-to-the-entire-world regarding our activities this pass weekend so, go take a look. If it's not up yet, scold him.

Labels: Random Stupidity

Blogged @ 10:08 PM