I am annoyed, I am perspiring like crazy and I am feeling very, very hot (literally).
The air con construction works are STILL not yet, I'm wallowing in my room, sans fan, sans wind because today is a hot and humid day, not windy at all, not even raining even though it's supposed to be the freaking monsoon season right now! So yes, my fuse is extremely short now
It didnt help that the condo management gave me a non-halal BBQ pit for the squad's Christmas gathering when we have a couple of muslim friends coming over. It turns out that the idiotic management council has ruled that non-Muslims will NEVER be able to book halal pits. Hasn't it ever occurred to them that living in a multi-racial country, it is inevitable for anyone to have Muslim friends? So to prevent non-Muslims from booking halal-pits when we are willing to adhere to halal food (strictly) is ridiculous AND stupid. So now, I'm going to have to buy a few wire meshes(??) to lay on top of the pit so we can cook the food in a halal manner.
My dental visit went fine, except I was pretty shocked to see a crowd in the clinic. Well judging from the x-rays taken before I had my braces and the teeth , the wisdom teeth are unlikely to come out properly (in his words) so one of my options would be to extract, which really sounds like the only option. Anyway, I have a consultation with the surgeon this coming Monday because all the surgeons are on course today -.-''' For now, the extraction seems rather inevitable...
The planning for the gathering is sorta in shreds now, since we pushed it forward by 7 days. We have slightly over a week to pull this thing together, although I do think it wouldn't be a problem. We've got our venue booked, I will be running out to get the tongs and the wire mesh..... the dustbins are provided... I gotta get the disposable utensils.. and I think it would be wise for me to buy the drinks and keep them in my home... I couldn't possibly expect the others to buy it and tug it all the way here. The main problem lies with the food.
Who's going to prepare the food since it has to be halal and there's only a couple of Muslims around? Will my fridge have enough space to squeeze in the food when they bring it over in the afternoon? They want decorations?!?! Who's willing to skip the K-Box session (I will, do I look like the K-Box type to you?) just to settle the decorations? For the noodles/rice, where are we gonna get it? Hala to boot. Who's going to get the satay, otah and any other food that we wont be able to get in the supermarket?
By the way, to those who are attending, please don't forget about the $5-10 gift that you will have to bring. Any problems, please look for XQ. Lol.
I find it amusing that YEARS after the whole Edusave Merit Bursary was implemented, people are only openly complaining about the government's decision to exclude students whose family earns more than $3000(gross) a month. I find it annoying that some people have chosen to defend the govt by claiming if all deserving students were to get the $150, nothing would be left for the poor.
Coming from someone who has missed out on $1050 because for 7 consecutive years, she has gotten only the merit bursary and was told by the government (albeit indirectly) that she wasn't good enough, I find that rather annoying and discouraging. Given the fact that the government is annoying rich judging from our countless foreign reserves, I would think that the govt has more than enough to give the $150 to all 15% of students who rightfully deserve it. So don't claim that if all deserving students were to get it, poor students would only end up with $10. How else do you explain the $300-500 the other 10% receive? Why not take the cash from them? It does seem that flawed meritocracy doesn't work at all in Singapore, so why continue? Why not switch to capitalism? Let the market settle everything and completely do away with the shit we know as Edusave scholarships/bursaries? The parents who wrote in only have children in Pri 1. Sure, tell it to a 7 year old that children poorer than him need it more. But tell it to the teen who's now in JC2 who has gotten nothing but the merit busary (and missed it) for all 12 years. Can you imagine the frustration? The indignation? The disappointment? Every year you tell yourself that you'll work harder to get the scholarship, and every year you miss it. Yes, someone poorer needs it more, what about you? Are you that altruistic? That self-less? Who do you think you are? Mother Teresa? Jean Henri Dunant? Nelson Mandela? The thing is, most people aren't capable of that degree of selfless-ness.
From time to time, we all need some form of encouragement to tell us we're on the right track and to continue whatever that we've been doing. Our parents are not likely to do that, they're more likely to demand we top the school, get government scholarships and be bonded to jobs we will hate ourselves for after university for 6 years. They are likely to think that it's their "God"-given right that they be "blessed" with kids who have IQs of 140 and above, make the cut to the GEP stream(you take an exam to gain entrance, I failed, needless to say), to EM1 (through streaming when you're 10, I got into EM2, 2nd-class citizens, but EM3 students have it worse), to the Special stream (another form of streaming done for 12 year olds, i got into Express ), take the triple science combination (through streaming, again, when you're 14), enter a top 5 junior college (again, streaming, when you're 16), and then get a scholarship and gain entrance to the law/medical faculty. Yes, upper-middle class parents think it's their freaking right to be born with geniuses. With the whole Integrated Programme which allows students to go from secondary school to university, parents are now trying to flaunt this new found status to relatives.
This endless competition between relatives of whose kids did better, whose kids got scholarships, whose kids are studying where and what is nerve-wrecking for parents, mind-shattering for children. Every time a parent tells you "you're studying for yourself", how often do their actions reflect that? Especially when they announce your grades and school (and achievements) using built-in loudhailers to your relatives? You're merely a trophy-kid. Nothing more. Not even human. So if your parents are going to do shit to give you any form of recognition, and if the goverment decides you're always just not smart enough to be rewarded, what does that leave you with? Don't blame people for contributing to the brain drain, because eventually, it will be the government and the parents who will drive away students who lie within the 11-25% of the population. SO what's a few hundred thousand dollars to encourage the same group of people to make them feel appreciated. Getting a letter from the minister is MEANINGLESS, not when the same letter tells you "I'm sorry but you won't be getting any cash 'cause you're just not good enough". So maybe it's time for parents and politicians to actually listen to what the affected students have to say. The letter I got this year was especially poignant, since it more or less screamed out "it's not good enough being ranked 9th out of over 800 students in your school. We'll just be difficult and not give you any money, AGAIN. Good bye".
This will be the last time I have to hear the government tell me I'm not good enough for them. No wonder I'd much rather leave for greener pastures. Yes, I am a quitter, not a stayer. What are you going to do about it?
I'm a 3rd year student in what is probably the largest autonomous university in Singapore majoring in a Science-related subject (well it sorta IS SCIENCE). I'm known to be introverted, sarcastic (at times), funny when I rant (which isn't a good thing lol) and somewhat of a loner. I miss LA and would move there in a heartbeat :(
