16 May 2012:
But how does life go on?
My results ... they aren't exactly lousy, but certainly not good enough. I have an L1R5 of 19, which can only get me to Yishun JC currently. Of course, I do know that prelims are much harder so most probably this 19 points will reduce to less than 10 by Prelim 2.Life goes on rather good this exam season, or rather post-exam season. As compared to previous exams, this exam showed improvements in some subjects, and this has helped my parents overlook the not-as-fantastic subjects. That's not to say that they are all-smiles; perhaps it's true that Asian parents are simply never satisfied.
Never mind, I'm slowly but steadily improving. Life goes on right after two days of pointless debriefs, with normal lessons resuming. For E and AMaths though, our class has finished syllabus, so there's no more teaching to be done. So it's free periods or some rather relaxing ones.
Homework will start coming in soon; in fact, there's already my testimony to be written and submitted. There's also the final AMaths assignment to be submitted. There'll definitely be more homework in the coming days. I'm thinking: should I start my 'homework diary' system again, or stick to using my handphone's Reminders app? Also, should I rearrange the layout of my table to make it more productive?
Today my table was in a mess, with so many irrelevant stuff on it. Papers were everywhere like last time. This calls for urgent tidying-up measures. My 'three transparent files' system is also failing due to my laziness.
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Life goes on after reading two fantastic books by starting on What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures. I've finished about four stories in there. Frankly speaking, it's not as fantastic as the previous two books, or as his previous two works (Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven).
Perhaps it's because this time it's non-fiction, and with a more serious tone. Or perhaps it's because to me Gladwell seems to be rambling on with so many details injected all over the place. At the first story, I was already put off by the sheer number of names he introduced. No doubt Gladwell was trying to show some sort of lineage and legacy in the family (and extended family), it really made me want to skip it.
Even so, I will finish the book, since maybe the stories will get more interesting from where I've stopped.
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Study Source A. How different is Png Eng Huat from Desmond Choo in terms of their attitudes?
... Okay forgive me, somehow I was lame enough to do this like a History paper. But I am really driving a point here, alright.
My first reaction when reading this part of the article was disbelief. Why was Choo giving a 'thank you' speech? A 'thank you' speech is given when you need to express your gratitude to your target audience. You express your gratitude to your target audience only when they have done something in your favour or caused you to benefit.
In this case, did Hougang residents do something to benefit Choo during Nomination Day today? I don't think so. Choo - as well as Png - had received their certificates which made them eligible to contest; this both parties could have achieved without the support of any Hougang residents, matter-of-factly.
Hence, from this I infer an arrogant and high-handed attitude of Choo. From what I interpret, he is probably thinking that he is going to win Hougang over this time. And if it really was the case, then yes, it would make perfect sense where he says 'thank you', as I explained two paragraphs above.
More is to be unravelled if you examine Choo's short snippet. "... we have served the residents hard, the residents know." To say that this sentence is without motive is a lie. But what kind of statement is this? To me, it almost seems like a threat. The residents know that Choo and his team have served them hard, so they must vote for him.
If that is really what is being implied, then I would safely say that the margin would increase again, with the PAP losing even more miserably. It's been a year after the General Elections and it seems like this old-school style of high-handed and top-down campaigning still hasn't changed much. PM Lee has joined Facebook (in a bid to 'engage people') but ranks below, his people are still as usual. They make such statements (coupled with those from our two DPMs) to try and pressure voters to vote for them.
Png was direct and straight-forward in two things. (1) He wants to be their MP. However, he did not imply in any way that he was pressuring voters to choose him. He did not add a 'burden' to voters that he too has served them well, so they should vote for him. There is no 'threat' here. (2) This is a local election no doubt, but it is as well a "fight for democracy".
I'm no urging people to be populist and vote in the Opposition just to dilute the concentration of PAP members in Parliament. If the Opposition really is inferior to the PAP, then I'd rather stick with iron rule but with guaranteed stability.
However in current times, the Opposition has shown themselves credible enough to take on the PAP. Since they are both on 'level ground', then I would say 'vote for the Opposition' so that PAP does not dominate the political arena. When domination takes place, it is almost certain that this is no democracy, but perhaps socialism.
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For the daughter of the innocent taxi driver who died not long ago, life goes on for her. This is surely a big bruise to her emotionally and physically, as well as her family members. Fortunately she has received assistance from her MPs for her university education.
Today on the papers, there was an article by Peh Shing Hui (a reporter I like a lot). He was reporting about PRCs who scolded the PRC Ferrari driver as well. It turns out that he was indeed a 富二代. One thing I did not think about yesterday was that the past few serious road incidents happen to be caused by PRCs.
A PRC hijacked a taxi and killed an Indian cleaner; a PRC bus driver ran off an elderly woman (and killed her if I'm not wrong); and now this incident. Frankly speaking, the one reason why I detest PRCs is not really cos of their accent, it's cos they do not assimilate into local culture.
They think they since the government welcomes them here, they can do what they want, which includes the plethora of social ills that they have bred from back in China. Even in Hong Kong, mainland drivers are flamed when they recklessly use the roads.
Back in China, they can talk loudly, spit on the road, drive recklessly, and hijack taxis. Unfortunately, they are not allowed to do all these (okay talk loudly isn't really illegal but not usual) here in Singapore. Singapore governments should create propaganda specially for them to indicate to them the dos and don'ts of Singapore culture, since they are likewise bombarded by propaganda in China; maybe it works this way instead.
TTFN.