So nice wor~

Greetings,

Heres a little something I received from from one of my specialists who has since ORD-ed. Nice guy..

Dear Sir,

Wah lao why go NTU? Come NUS! Haha. Anyway time really flew ever since we started working together since mid June 2007. It has been a memorable and fruitful seven months of partnership. All the EXs ah, the admin stuffs and platoon related issues that we overcame with flying colors. All these experiences have forced [me] to become a more mature person. This "forced" growing process was an invisible force. I did not even know what hit me until the process was complete. I was transformed from a spoilt kid to today an ambitious youth with lofty dreams in mere months. All these would not have been possible without your influence.

Yok Zuan you are an awesome commander and a good friend. You are like an owl of our platoon. An owl with sharp eyes that watches over us all the time, swooping to our rescue at first sight of trouble. A good friend that offers a listening ear to all who needs it and golden advices it comes with. This is starting to sound like a testinomial but even if it is one, this one is really from the bottom of my heart.

I want you to know that i really appreciated all the [care] and guidance during my time in our platoon. I have been excited about this day for as long as I can remember with all the hype about fresh start and new chapter in life after ORD. Now that the day has finally arrived, I do feel reluctant to leave behind such a wonderful company. I'm only leaving with a tinge of reluctance but no regrets because I know our guys are in good hands under your leadership.

Yours sincerely,

Yi Xin

Awww... thx for letting me post this up, Mr Yi Xin. haha. Cya at TSG. ORD loh~!

Are you Social?

Greetings,

I recently came across somewhat of a revelation on what it means to be human. While I take pride in thinking that I knew much aplenty on the physical and biological aspects of what makes a human being, it has never quite occurred to me the importance of one particular facet of humanity. That humans are, very much meant to be social beings.

I sometimes resign myself to being anti-social. Even to the extent that I tell myself, “yes, it is a good thing”. Its a way of preventing oneself from getting into difficult interpersonal situations. And sometimes it is even a requirement in our working or learning context to be somewhat anti-social.

So why does things become this way? Many people blame it on “Society”, but why does society, the very definition of which is the extension of the human social instinct, drives people to the state of being anti-social?

Individualism. No doubt this is the inherent and hidden buzz word of many a cultures one can find abound. In fact, if you take a little time to listen to any commercial or speech you will be hard pressed to find any mentioning of phrases like, “our success”. You will be more likely to hear phrases of, “your success depends on..” or “my success depends on...”.

When it comes to relationships, individuals think it is a choice for one to choose whether to enter into or to withdraw from. We increasingly think in terms of “what you owe me” rather than what we owe others. We feel that one has the rights, the rights to certain possessions and we think very defensively.

Have you ever thought of what you will teach your children next time to help them succeed? We expect to teach our children the street-wise skills of doing well in school, fighting for jobs, surviving in politics, fighting for your rights. How about the skills of how to maintain relationships or cultivate good ones? Have you thought of that?

With the age of individualism, the law has provisions for human rights. And while it is indeed important to prevent exploitation of people, no one has ever bothered to explain that these laws are "legal negotiations, not ethical statements". Your rights are legal, but how you exert them should be based on your own moral and ethical beliefs.

Our doors have never been stronger, and our window grills never been safer. Surveillance and security cameras have never been more advance. And suicide rates have never been higher.

We can have wealth and health and many an intellectual pursuits. You can build defenses around your life to minimize social contact but without this very human, very innate element of being social, are you ever as much as you can be? Are you happy?