Blood Relief

Went to do my 12 weekly donation today at the Bloodbank. Today was my 20th donation! I wonder where has my previous 19 packets went to? Hmmm......

It was really surprising to see the big crowd at the Bloodbank. Alas, this only happends on Fridays. Sigh.

When my colleagues heard that I am a regular blood donor, they mentioned that it could be a reason why my size just does not seem to come down. Apparently there is a myth that blood donation will make you fat?!?!?! However, a check on Wikipedia states that a person burns 650 calaries in a blood donation session. Hmmm...... Oldwives tales or internet myths?

Short verse from Clannad

I was watching the anime Clannad and there was a scene where a character's parents, upon their impending demise, wrote this beautiful letter to her:

The world is beautiful
Even when they are filled with sadness and tears,
Open your eyes
Do what you wish to do
Become what you want to be
Make friends
Don’t rush,
And take your time in becoming an adult

Lousy Singapore Airshow

Sigh. Went to the Singapore Airshow today but the event organizer obviously had never intended the event to be public friendly. The crowd control was non existent and when they realised it was getting out of control, they panicked and quickly got the police in action.

The much talked about 6 lane carriageway is wide, really spacious but they forgot that the route to that 6 lane carriageway is served by a very tight and narrow 2 lane carriageway! The free transport had to fight with other normal traffic going towards Changi Village and Changi Cargo Centre.

When arriving at the exhibition site, the alighting points and the pick up points were one and the same! Confusion would certainly set in. Not only that, there was only one pedestrian bridge linking from the entrance to the halls. There was no proper demarkation of entrance or exit lanes! Those who wanted to enter were met by a wave of people who wanted to leave. Neither side was willing to budge and temperatures flared! The crowd controllers did absolutely nothing! Arggg!

Having been through the grounds and getting ready to depart the site, again the bridge was a bottleneck! The police had to resort to using ropes to cut off the flow to allow for safer passage on the bridge. That was not the end of it though, at the boarding of the free shuttle back to Pasir Ris MRT, people were rushing and pushing to get on to the buses. The police at a couple of times almost lost control of the crowd and had to resort to shouting to get the crowd to be orderly again.

When the organizers of the Singapore Airshow claim that they were experienced in organizing such events in the past 10 years, it is sad to note that they are so well organised for the Trade days but utterly shambolic for the public days. If they are not prepared to handle such a crwod, then don't have public days. If you want to have public days for the public to come enjoy themselves, do proper planning. Past Airshows are cases where they can draw experience from but obviously they have learnt nothing. This is a clear case where they did not follow the 6-P rule - Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Sigh.

However, on the flip side, the static displays were ok. Only disappointment was that the Osprey did not come.

Civil Service and the way it delivers and interacts with the public

Just to share a little something I wrote:


Over the years, people’s perception of the Civil Service is of one filled with red tapes and compartmentalization of information, leading to much discontent among the general public. However, with the introduction of PS21 many years ago, the Civil Service has started to shed the part of its stone cold image.

Given that changes cannot be expected overnight, it is still welcoming to Singaporeans in general to feel that the Civil Service is finally doing what it was meant to do when it started out in the first place. That is, for the people by the people. It is understandable that many a times, it may have been the prerogative of the Civil Service to think that some information are better left unannounced, leading to the unwanted sounding term of a Nanny state.

When Singapore had first started out after independence, it can not be denied that withholding certain aspects of information might have been for the betterment of the general public, given the many undesirable aspects that were around back then. However, we have come a long way since then and so has the Civil Service. People have grown out of their shell and are better educated and equipped to deal with information. Information that could help make the lives of their fellow Singaporeans better. Even if the Civil Service thinks it is not of use to the general public, let them make the decisions, else, we would never evolve out of the Nanny state mentality.

Through the years, the Civil Service has softened its image and has begun to be more proactive, than reactive. It has also started looking out more for its fellow Singaporeans than pander to the foreigners. It is really a sad case when we see how much better the foreigners, especially the Caucasians, are treated when compared to fellow Singaporeans. However, this is very much a society fault brought along by too much Western influence. Such snobbery of the country’s own people are evident everywhere, such as in Shanghai and Kolkata. It makes fellow Singaporeans feel as if they are the aliens in their very own country.

With the streamlining of information between various departments, many Singaporeans can now get information readily. No more constantly being put on hold or being transferred from one department to another. It can really be frustrating when sometimes all a caller wants to know could be just the operating hours of a particular department. Well, such things do still occur but at least it is not as frequent as before. This could well be an aspect that the Civil Service can look into in improving itself in the eyes of the public.

The Civil Service has also been viewed as being more receptive to ideas from the general public on improvements. Little things like shortening the waiting times at service counters by manning all available counters instead of insisting on keeping some close so that the employees can have lunch. It is understandable that Civil Servants are very much like any human beings and would also need to have breaks but by staggering their breaks, not unlike banks, they have managed to keep everyone satisfied.

Formerly, when one needed certain information, one had to dig through newspaper articles or publications. However, with the advent of the Internet, the Civil Service proactive approach in embracing it, has allowed many to get the information they require at their fingertips, instantly. It has also streamlined the process for many applications, leading to a shorter and less stressful time when making applications. This convenience is a blessing for the Singaporeans in this day and age as many of us have been too caught up in the rat race to be able to find time to go through all the hassle of running from one location to another.

However, with all the convenience of the Internet, the Civil Service has not forgotten about those who have no access to the Internet or those who are illiterate. It has provided more service counters to answer the queries of the general public and many Civil Servants have strived to provide the answers for them. This is especially important, as even with all the advances in technology, the importance of the Human Touch must never be forgotten. Nothing can be more intimidating and off-putting to someone who is illiterate and has no knowledge of computers and be told to head over to the self-service kiosk and get the answers for themselves, even if there is a service officer to help them.

However, with a growing wave of anti-elitism sweeping over Singapore, it would do well for the Civil Service to re-look at how it presents itself to the public, especially the high flyers or the “elites” of the Civil Service, as they are the ones who are constantly in the media glare. Every word of theirs is scrutinized, every actions of theirs debated to no end. For the many Civil Servants who are not of the elite, they are the ones who often have to bear the brunt of their fellow Singaporeans, as they are the most visible ones out there. It would do well for many if the “elites” can tone things down and not put off their fellow Singaporeans, lest making the general public feel that they are third-rate citizens in their very own country.

All in all, it can be said that the Civil Service today is a far cry from the days when it first began. Be it technology-wise or human-wise, it has continually sought to improve upon its image, a far cry from the stone-cold image in the beginning, and working relations with the general public in particular. Nothing is perfect and everyday is a work in progress but kudos must be given for the effort the many Civil Servants have put in thus far to make it a smoother journey for all. With the continuous improvement, it can be said that the future does hold bright for the interaction between the Civil Service and the fellow Singaporeans.

Overseas?

Well......I have gave it some thought and I do feel that I will do better out there then staying in Singapore. Everything is just going haywire here. Being part of the sandwich people in Singapore, the latest budget announced by the government provides things which are totally insignificant to us. The government policies are alwyas geared towards the poor (naturally) and the filthy rich! Sigh. The way I see it, come the next elections, the ruling party will definitely lose one GRC. I wonder which one they will sacrifice then? Now that we are getting more credible opposition parties, I do really hope to hear more alternative voices. Them NMPs are just not up to standard! If you are an MP, you stay an MP, why are you working in some other business? The pay packet of an MP is already astronomical figures, why couldn't they concentrate on their jobs of being an MP?

Many many moons ago, when I was still in my teens, I often complained to my mum about people leaving Singapore and not giving the government a chance or Singapore a chance. Now many many moons later, I am starting to see the reasons why many of them leave. It is not that Singapore is any bad, great education system (well, mostly route larning), good security, pretty ok public transportation, pretty ok living environments. However, too many of their policies are geared towards getting people to come to Singapore. Recently, a senior statesman lamented the brain drain occurring in Singapore and how we had to get more people from overseas to come in to plug this brain drain. This policy though has often been laughed at by the foreigners who come in to plug the brain drain only to leave later on. Comments like, "Your government is so stupid. Give us so much benefits to get us here when they should know full well that Singapore is no more than just a stepping stone for us to Europe or US." really does make one wonder why we still persist in gettinng foreigners in. Just today, an article in the New Paper was talking about the Foreign Talent Scheme that the sporting faculties in Singapore and how, for those who have succeeded, have packed their bags and left after making a name for themselves here and, for those who failed, have deprived promising young local born and bred Singaporeans from being given the same opportunities. Let's be truthful here, how many of the students at the Singapore Sports School will really make it to the big stage when we have policies where the Sports Association can easily go out and pluck a prodigy who is supposedly more talented but due to competition in their own country is not being able to shine? This is just giving false hopes to these our very own born and bred young sporting talents.

I remember during the previous administration (well, since independence, Singapore has went through 3 administrations, albeit all from the same ruling party), efforts were made to woo Singaporeans who had left to return and make Singapore their home again. It is however sad to note that this policy has been neglected or maybe cold storaged for policies which will supposedly bring in more foriegn talents. The government has to realise that if they do not cherish their citizens, the very people who are born and raised in Singapore, they will soon be left with a country full of foreigners and elites who pour scorn on the less well to do.

Modern Malay Wedding

Attended Indra's wedding dinner today. Wow! Although it was held at the pavillion in a HDB estate, it was really grand. Together with the military sword bearers as well! The priviledge of an officer.

He had tried to get me to attend the dinner many times. I kept putting it off due to the passing of my granny last year but in the end, I gave in to his request and attended. Afterall, we were 2 blur sotongs on our first day at NTU. We just happened to be sitting together in lecture, G263 Fluids, and when we matched our timetables and found them to be the same, there began our friendship.

He has been a great pal through my undergraduate years and it was fun having him around. I never did really enjoy my undergraduate studies much but he was one of the few to make life at NTU that little bit more interesting.

Congratulations Indra & Yasmin. May you have a wonderful and blessed marriage!

Workplace changes

All that rumour mongering has finally been placed to rest. My company has been bought over by another company. Alas, roughly half the staff at my present company were former staff of my soon to be new company owner. Mostly left due to the cycnical and overly retarded poltical battles in office. Sadly, having thought that they had escaped from hell, only to be told today that they are going back into it again. Most of them are definitely not happy about it but there is not much one can do about it. Me? Well, this buyout does affect me in the sense that, WHY ON EARTH IS THE ONLY COMPANY THAT IS LOSING MONEY IN OUR INDUSTRY BUYING OUR PLANT? Damn, my bonus is going to go down the drain.

Anyway, today, I finally have decided on my way of working within the company. Sadly, the process team does not like to talk with the equipment team creating much unwanted friction between both sides. Maybe it is just me but I have done my best to be friendly. Since this is the case, I guess I shall not waste my time with trying to make things work smoothly. I am me and I am not my upperstudy. If they are not happy, they should have found ways and means to keep my upperstudy. I am always ready to move on, afterall, I do not like to stay at where I am not welcomed.

I like working with people. I really feel that I am wasting my time in the engineering line. True it is paying me that little bit more but it is not giving me any job satisfaction. I work better when given a free hand, like the initial phase in my previous company, and not when I keep getting put down or chased after like in my latter days in my previous company and current one. Sigh. Stupid office politics. I guess, as the saying at NTU goes, "When all else fails, cross the bridge."