D&D was great! The theme was ‘Back to School’, so naturally we all had to come in schoolwear. You could see people coming in a variety of school uniforms; some dressed as sexy Japanese schoolgirls (oh yummy), nerdy schoolboys, as teachers as well as parents (these are the people whom were lazy to dress up).

I finally met the rest of my users, hahaha what a great and talkative bunch. The rest of my colleagues were there too, and it was nice having everyone in one place and in one table, chatting and enjoying each others’ company.

Daniel Ong was the host of the show. He was uber lame, but I guess it was okay, he was cool and made everyone feel good and have fun.

My headmistress was sooooo cute! I took a picture with her with my colleague’s camera and I hope to get it soon to show everyone. It was a cool sight seeing most people dressed according to the theme. Bravo for being such good sports!

The after party was crazy. You see the bosses and senior executives dancing away and having a great time. I joined in with everyone else! This particular colleague was jumping around crazy, knocked into me, and I knocked into someone with a glass of beer in hand. So the next thing you’d have guessed was that the drink fell onto the floor, shattered into pieces (like anyone could hear, lol!). I felt bad, of course I apologised, but my colleague did embarass me HAHA.

We stayed awhile, and then I drove one colleague to the nearest MRT station, and the other home cos he lives in my area. Dropped him at Prime Supermarket cos he said he was hungry and wanted to buy some bread.

The bar has been set pretty high, and I want more. I’m looking forward to more company functions now! Well, it’s only January. Gotta work hard and look forward to the next D&D!

Ok well, I’ve been trying to get in shape lately. Apart from weekly inline-skating or running/sprints, I now include pushups, weighted squats/lunges, some weighted arm and shoulder exercises, and sometimes HIIT during the weekdays. I’m weak so my body aches everytime and I take about 2 days of rest in between exercises. Well, that again depends how sore I feel.

I don’t want to feel useless or resigned, nor do I want to look out of shape. These are some of the things that I do to please myself and justify more unhealthy eating habits! Muwahahahaha.

I wanted to try something new, so I found an Indo Mee Maggi in one of the kitchen drawers, grabbed an egg and a cup of milk. I boiled the noodles first, poured out the water. And in the same pan, I poured in 1/4 of the milk in (downed the rest down my throat) and added the egg. I also stripped open the seasonings and mixed the in the pan.

In low heat, mix it well and dry. Then, pour it out onto a bowl and start gobbling it down!

It actually doesn’t taste that bad! In fact, the MSG seems less present (by taste of course, duh), plus you get the goodness of the egg. And milk.

lol.

You should try it and let me know how it goes. I’d probably cook the same way I did the next time I have Indo Mee.

Thanks Maggi for the awesome, 5 minute dinner.

Of course along the way there were some more. But of course, the social standing of Malays in Singapore have improved alot over the years. I believe Malays study better, work better, are smarter and better positioned as compared to the older days. I am Malay, and I graduated from NUS in 2009 with a Bachelor in Computer Engineering. Many might think that there are only a small number of Malays in the Singapore universities, but I was quite surprised that this isn’t the case! I mean if you take into consideration the ethnic ratio in Singapore, there’re actually an exceeding number of Malays in the universities. Meritocracy in progress.

During my time, there were more than 10 Malay undergraduates in the faculty of ECE for the graduating batch of 2009. Now if you look over to the Science faculty, there are more. Now over to Arts faculty, an even greater number. Off to Business, there are a few. Now if you go over to NTU/SMU and repeat a similar count, you’ll find that the numbers are impressive and will definitely improve over the coming years. Keep into consideration the many students whom decide to pursue overseas education or private degrees, sometimes because of fortunate/unfortunate circumstances.

But where does my worry come? When the new Malay graduates go out into the working world. Why? Well, your education is only part of the equation of how someone judges your race as a whole. Your job matters as well. In fact, it’s the most important part of the equation. There are good jobs out there, good jobs that pay a good amount. By good, I mean jobs in the private industry.

What worries me exactly is when it seems to me that the educated Malays are “ponding” in one area, particularly the Ministry of Education (MOE). It’s a waste of talent, and definitely a missed opportunity to do justice for your race. It is simply another opportunity for the majority race to build on existing stereotypes. I do not like it when people stereotype the Malay race. Because I know and I have seen the value that we can offer to companies and corporations. Indeed, we have got what it takes to do better and get to a better place than we are now, and I believe we have the capacity and determination to do so.

So do not settle for less, do not settle for comfort, do not settle for that iron rice bowl, do not settle for complacency. Take risks, of course calculate them, aim high, diversify, push further and always want a better life for yourself or your family.

I’ve seen MANY Malay ex-JCmates or friends whom upon graduation, settle for an MOE job…to become a teacher. Passion you say? Believe me, when you listen to all their complaints and plans to resign after their bond ends, you wonder why they signed up in the first place. Some tell me 2009 was a tough year and they couldn’t get any job offers. Some wanted the high starting pay of $3,200 (for basic degree) and the huge bond completion bonus. Some just didn’t know what else to do.

But more importantly, aren’t there better private jobs out there that pay better? Why settle for less? Why volunteer yourself to work under a hierarchical system that would probably take you maybe 15 years before you are called a senior teacher? Why sign up for a job which binds you for say 5 years, and thereafter ruins you of the chance to do something else? What if you found out teaching wasn’t your thing? What are you going to do AFTER the bond ends 5 years later?

Please, diversify. You guys are Malay degree holders man, that alone is valuable. In fact, it puts you at an economically greater advantage. Look, Singapore is surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia. No problems there definitely. China and its influences you say? Well then, learn Mandarin!

The people I know, they are hardworking, have a good personality and definitely could do well in the private sector. But why they decide to “pond” in MOE, remains a mystery to me. I think that such “ponding” attitude will only serve to reinforce the existing stereotypes that the majority race have on us.

:)

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Petrol prices in Singapore has risen by about $0.20 per litre over the past 3-4 months. My pumps are getting more expensive. Although I’m using some discount vouchers my colleague gave me, 98 pumps are just too expensive and not worth the extra mileage/power. I am downgrading back to 95. I expect each pump to cost about $42. And then after the $3 discount coupon, the final price will be ~$39.

I pump at 1/4 tank, so if I pump at a mark lesser than that, of course the final price will be greater.

One plus point is that I am car pooling with my colleague, so I manage to reduce my fuel costs as well :)