Wordless

Today is such a special day that I have to make 2 entries. An especially bad day I must say. One which I shall not mention here, but the other was that a blackout occured soon after and my house was in total darkness for almost 3 hours. Had to order pizza delivery since cooking was not possible and forced to eat in the dark. And this was when I thought things could not get any worse...

The "True" Cost of Everything...

Total investment of overseas studies = around $100k.

Total return from overseas studies = unknown.

I would like to rationalise with people who might find it crazy to fork out that kinda $$ for 1 year of overseas education, especially for a MSc degree that doesn't seem to be valued much by employers. Initially I thought so too.

$100k could do so many things, not forgetting the opportunity cost of me not starting work and earning $$ makes the costs even higher. I am not young anymore (25 this year). Compared to my female peers my age, some of them will have already worked for 3 years by the time I graduate. That's a lot of headstart which I have to make up! Also considering the state of the finance industry now, it's difficult to secure a job I want. My options after graduation seems pretty bleak at the moment, but I am not worrying so much about it now. My priority is to do well and hopefully graduate with distinction so as not to let my parent's money go to waste.

Nonetheless, I believed I have grown as a person and gained some new perspectives in life with my decision. While i totally agree the education is not worth the obscene amount of money LSE charges, but there are some positives to come out of it. Some intangibles that are difficult to quantify in monetary terms. For example, I learn to be more independent aka doing housework and cooking. Indeed, I find shopping for groceries quite thereupatic and cooking quite a nice departure from the monotony of school life. I also become more aware of things I am previously impervious to. Before coming to London, I admit to being politically and religiously insensitive. Looking back, I attiribute it to exposure. For example in Singapore, I do not follow the political elections because I take it for granted that PAP will always win. As such, there is not much say one can bring and therefore I do not have an opinion. In London, I started coming into contact with politics through newspapers, television and conversations so much so that I have been catching up with the US presidential elections with much interest. Indeed I recommend anyone who is free to go check it out. It's really quite interesting, especially the parliamentary debates.

So to answer the question whether it is worth the $$ and time, I seriously cannot answer. Perhaps only time will tell...

ROCK ON Singapore!

For some of you who are unaware, Singapore has won the bid to stage the inaugural Youth Olympics! As a Singaporean, I must say I feel proud that we are selected to host a multi-disciplinary sporting event of such a magnitude. Sure it might not be on such a grand scale as the Olympics, but at least it's a small step forward indeed. I am sure Singapore will stage a very successful event that will further showcase and sell the "Singapore" brand name.

Even before the announcement of this good news, I was already looking forward to being part of the first ever street night Formula 1 race to be held in Singapore this coming September. In fact, I managed to get tickets for the event and I am so looking forward to it! Imagine cars speeding down our roads at 300+km/h in street conditions at night with the skyscrapers as the background. How cool is that?

It is indeed incredible how a small country like Singapore with no resources but its people manage to transform itself into a country that boosts of several first. In fact I came across this website - http://www.singaporebookofrecords.com/index.php which compiles a list of all the records that Singapore or Singaporeans currently hold and I am shocked to see that there are quite a long list.

So for all you Singaporeans out there, you should be proud that you are part of a nation that has overcome the odds to be one of the most successful stories in nation building. At least for me, I am and also confident that Singapore can and will continue to progress with the passage of time.

Title-less

It's so troublesome to think of a title for every post, so to keep things simple, shall just name this entry title-less.

CNY came and pass, had steamboat at home with friends from all over the world including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, UK and Netherlands. It was a struggle to have everybody to squeeze into our humble home, but we managed by all standing instead of sitting for dinner. Immediately after the dinner I found myself packing for a short weekend trip to Porto, the last in a series of weekend trips. While Porto was pretty nice and cheap, it din't blew my mind away like Kiruna.

This year din't get to spend V-day with HL, but instead with SH due to her flight schedule (she's a stewardess). A trip to Primark (1st time for me but 3rd time for her already) blew all my previous misconceptions about London away! It's actually possible to shop cheaply in London. You will be hard pressed to find anything that costs more than double digits in the department store, and I must say some of the stuff are really value for money! The only item I could remember selling for more than 10 pounds is a suit which costs 17 pounds, which is still ridiculously cheap! Think I will be making my way down there more often.

The next day we made our way down to Greenwich and it was a pretty enjoyable trip. Surprisingly to find a place in London that does not feel like London at all. In fact, Greenwich feels very much like a quaint, peaceful town outside London, which is just what I like. Nonetheless there are lots of stuff to explore including the National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory,Cutty Sark and Royal Naval College. An over-enthusiastic tour guide gave us a very comprehensive tour that lasted 2 hours when it was supposed to be half that.

On the Prime Meridien Line (0˚ longtitude)

Anyway, I just learnt a new word today - enochlophobia - which is the fear of crowds. Seriously think I have a mild condition of enochlophobia , which explains why I am not looking forward to facing the reality of being cooped up in London for the next 2 weeks after the past few weeks of travelling.

Updates

Finished a gruelling schedule of travelling for 3 weekends - Sweden, Liverpool/Manchester, Porto. Each trip brought a very different experience and looking back, did not regret going ahead with the travel plan. However, I am now suffering from an overdose of travelling and actually looking forward to spending the next 2 weekends at home. This should provide enough time for me to rest till the Iceland trip 2 weeks later followed by Southern Spain in mid-March before I head back to Singapore for my Easter break! Can't wait...

While I seem to be enjoying myself over here, it does gets quite bad sometimes especially when I did not get to spend CNY with family and friends back home and also VALENTINE'S DAY tomorrow with HL!!! Will make it up to you when I'm back k? Guess that's life, you cannot have everything. There is always gives and takes. Looking on the bright side, at least I do not have to spend time thinking about how to celebrate V-Day (presents and dinner) this time round. Ops!

To Ling - Wish I could be back spending V-Day with you! Miss you and see you at the airport in 6 weeks time!

Chinese New Year (Home and Away Edition)

It's the time of the year again - Chinese New Year. Think it's the first time that I am spending it away from home, but guess for me personally, I don't find it such a big deal.

For me, CNY at home means...

1) a welcome break from studies/work
2) a time to spend with family, girlfriend and friends
3) a time to gamble
4) an excuse to indulge in some retail therapy
5) a time to collect lots of angbaos

This year, CNY away from home means...

1) a welcome break from studies/work (only partially true because I am going to Porto for a short trip over the weekend but I have been taking short trips every other weekend too)
2) a time to spend with family, girlfriend and friends (no family, girlfriend and most friends, so only partially true)
3) a time to gamble (hopefully true with poker session tomorrow night)
4) an excuse to indulge in some retail therapy (not very true since I have been doing it on a regular basis and not only during this period)
5) a time to collect lots of angbaos (true although not in person but I am sure my mom will collect on my behalf)

Here's wishing everyone a happy CNY! Hope the year of the rat will be a wonderful one!