Waydespectives

Perhaps this post will be the most expected post since the start of Waydespectives, given the date of 31 December 2018. I decided to write this post in a more personal format. Which means that I will be listing some thoughts as the year comes to an end. But unlike previous posts, I won't try to persuade the reader of my points, but rather this will be more of a reflection written in a personal tone. It may be a bit messy but for those who want to know how my year went, do read on.  I may sound unusually critical or overpositive about some things, but I will not name-drop as I do not wish to challenge anyone via blog; I'll settle my problems personally.  And now, here is my 2018 in review: 2018 indeed was a weird ride. It's really strange how our life can suddenly change path with just a letter, an action, an email, or even just a text, let alone a year. It's interesting how where I thought I was going on a clear path in 2019, but here I will be after ma...

I was definitely very interested when I saw the developments of the Anthony Ler trial on the Murder of Annie Leong on the news. To be clearer, the murder happened in 2001, and Ler was sentenced to death in late 2002. However, what piqued my interest was the release of the actual murderer in the case after being held at the President's Pleasure for more than 16 years. I first read about this case, not from the internet, but from reading the late leading criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan's book The Best I Could. This case was one of the more prominent ones discussed in the book, largely due to the shock spread in Singapore over the case, its circumstances, and how Anthony Ler kept a smile throughout his entire court hearings. As a summary of my uninitiated viewers: In 2001, Anthony Ler manipulated (my interpretation) a then-15 year old teenager to murder his wife, Annie Leong. He was able to "psycho" the teenager into committing the murder by taking advantage ...

I decided to write on the continuation to my Journey to the License as a result of a popular vote. It is also a good time for me to recount my journey so far as I am now nearing the end of Stage 3, about 5 to 6 lessons away from my test(wow time flies).  For those who wanted me to write on the 2001 Murder Case involving Anthony Ler, his wife, and the teen, I will be writing on it in the foreseeable future, given the recent interesting developments. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Continued from previous) After registering for my PDL on the Traffic Police website, I was able to start booking for practical lessons on 4 October 2018 (Thursday). To my shock and horror, the earliest lessons were the end of the month, so I could only start then. I followed the advice of the centre (and my friend) to block book 25 lessons first, as lessons get snapped up very quickly. Even if my schedule didn't suit the lessons eventually, BBDC...

Blogging about OCIPs hasn't been something that has crossed my mind, since I have views on the matter that could be deemed controversial and off-putting to many. I was lucky to have consulted a friend on the matter to have found my views are not as "radical" as once I thought it was. I was personally convinced to blog about my views on the matter as I feel that my points are strong enough to create a discussion on the matter. By now, one should get the feeling that I am not supportive of OCIPs. However, my objective of this post is not to demonize or vilify OCIPs, but rather to provide an alternative view to how we should view OCIPs, and whether they are truly serving their purpose. However, my views in this post will be blunt and rarely sugercoated, as per all my other posts. I hence welcome disagreement and am willing to engage readers in a civil discussion. I also put out this disclaimer that I have never been, nor applied to be part of an OCIP, nor do I have any ...

The news on the Singapore Cricket Club's denying of one of their member's maid's entrance certainly got my attention in the past few days. Not because I am a member at the club, but more of a funny (yet true) caption online I saw of this issue, "This is what Inequality looks like".  For the uninitiated, one can view related news articles at https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-cricket-club-allegedly-asks-maid-to-wait-in-carpark-while-employers-have-dinner and https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/good-old-timey-discrimination.  In short, Singapore Cricket Club has garnered negative attention for their longstanding policy on disallowing maids in their club grounds. They disallowed a maid from entering the club to dine, even when her employer attempted to sign her in as a guest. Such a move garnered much heat from netizens, many criticizing how backwards such a policy is, and how discriminatory it is against maids, who to many have been accepte...

The news of the People's Action Party (PAP) Central Executive Committee (CEC) deciding on their new 1st Assistant Secretary General (1ASG) and 2ASG came out in the middle of my trip to Bangkok last week. While I had a few other topics to blog about, I knew that this had to be prioritized immediately as it is one of Singapore's most "in" current affairs recently. For the uninitiated (really, can you be uninitiated about this?) but more importantly a recap, the group of 4th Generation (4G) leaders of the PAP, consisting of 4G ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs), have decided on Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat as the 1ASG of the PAP CEC, with Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing as the 2ASG. In other words, this means that Heng Swee Keat is the Prime Minister-Designate once PM Lee Hsien Loong steps down, which could be very soon after the next General Elections (predicted to be held next year, as I've predicted in a previous post). Before I co...

Dear Class of 2018, I believe that this word has been thrown a lot in the last 2 days, but congratulations. Congratulations, as I have told some of you, cannot do justice and cannot accurately summarize the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears you guys have shed over the last 6 years, but it is the least I can wish for all of you as your senior.  A graduate from the Class of 2016 mentioned that one is normally closest to the batch above and below them. I was not very close to the Class of 2016, but I tried (and I hope I succeeded) to get close to the Class of 2018. I have had the honour of working for y'all in many ways, such as my (unsuccessful) Student Council Application and SEP Inbound from Ritsumeikan, through Math Interest Group, MUNs and SDYC (yes I wasn't in OT, I know, but still loved interacting with you guys), Japanese Class, Drama Club, SEP to John Monash, and as a Boarding Leader just last year. Your batch has struck me to be one that is very hardworking, dr...

Last week saw an interesting poll battle for my viewers between a post on my Driving Journey or a book review on "Tall Order", a biography of Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Despite an initial close fight, the Driving Journey voters overcame the "Tall Order", and I will be writing on the former. For readers who wish to know my views on "Tall Order", I may blog on it some time next month (partially cus I haven't finished reading it yet, haha). So here we go, part 1 on my journey to the license. Part 1: Motivation, Registration, Theory MOTIVATION I had my sights set on the License for a very long time, even before I turned 18. It was something that I thought was not only a necessary life skill, but an important one as it could save lives some day. However, I did not get to learn it previously for two reasons. The first being my schedule was packed with school, NUS Modules, Uni Applications, Grad Trips, and the PSC Internship before ...

Last week, I gave an Instagram Poll on whether I should continue blogging on current affairs, or blog on personal thoughts. The poll largely tilted for personal thoughts, hence I will write on a more personal tone this time. I took in suggestions from my viewers, some suggestions (and my responses) are below Suggestion:"Something kids these days won't understand/relate to" Response: Uh, okay but I'm not that old... S: "How you did not qualify for Cambridge" R: I may blog on my uni applications to aid my juniors some time later this year (in December), but Cambridge may not be something I want to discuss in detail. To whoever suggested this though, you may enjoy today's post. S: "Your life in OETI/TTMSB" R: This would be a good topic, but it would not be professional of me to publicly air my dirty laundry against colleagues or my superiors.  S: "Your weight/love life/girls" R: This would also be a good topi...