- CAUTION ! LONG POST AHEAD . PLEASE PREPARE YOURSELF WITH DRINKS AND FOOD TO SURVIVE TILL THE END . BUT REST ASSURED ITS FULL OF FUN :D -BACK FROM PRE-U SEMINAR ! =D well . haven't use the computer or had any access to the outside world for like 4 and a half days ! ><" it was so AHH ! shows that i truly am a digital native ! i can't live without the technology and stuff ! okays . lets start with my pre-u seminar journey ! :DD
Monday 26th May ( Day 1 )
met at 9am in computer lab to have a look on what the JC2s have done . the presentation and stuff . it was great ! great job guys :DD then went out to buy slippers ! forgot to bring slippers ! so forgetful ! ><" then after that went back to school and have lunch . after that we started taking pictures and stuff while waiting for the bus to come and fetch us to NTU .
my mismatched purple socks with my black and green shoes . why was i wearing this you ask . because apparently i have only 2 pairs of black socks . so i had to wear this purple socks unless you want me to reuse the socks again which is like eew ! ><"
ling lan's shoes ! :D with apple's fingers xD
apple's shoes . nice ! :D
ling lan trying to act " shy " from the camera . you don't know how much she wants to have her picture taken seriously !
look at our bags ! guys are supposed to carry lesser stuff than girls yet on that day this theory was over thrown ! guys had haversacks PLUS luggages ! when i went with my bags and stuff i thought that i brought a lot of stuff already . then when i arrived, amanda and ling lan both had that shocked face . i was like what . they were there exclaiming that my bag is so small ! im like . hello ? we are going to pre-u seminar . not holidays . bring so much stuff for what ?
all the pre-u seminar people slacking ~ and more bags !
APPLE IS SO CUTE !! =DD KAWAI-NE ! xD
qian chi in a world of her own xD
after that, the bus came ! :D we boarded the bus and started our journey to NTU ! to say the truth at that time i was feeling really scared . oh yeah . forgot to say . when we were in school we were like joking and saying that we might get a weird room mate that will ask you to wake up at night, shine the torchlight on her face or like ask you " do you want butter or jam ? " and start spreading butter on you . LOL . really funny !
okays . i was really afraid that i would get a room mate that i cannot get along . really afraid that i would get a snobbish room mate from a top notch jc or something . in the end i got a really nice room mate ! talk about this later ! :DD
ling lan playing with a toy mr leong brought with him . its designed like a pool ball . number 8 black cue ball . so if you ask a question and shake it hard it would give you an answer . so we started playing with it . it was really funny .
linglan : am i cute ?
ball : most likely
ling lan was like so happy and bragging to mr leong then he was like saying there is something wrong with the ball and normally its accurate . so funny ! LOL . ling lan the continued to ask personal questions but got negative answers from it . then i couldn't stand the sight of it anymore and snatched it over . i asked lots of questions and got positive answers ! :D hahas ! and i asked about my block test and it said that i would do well . so .. if i don't do well, i would advice mr leong to throw this freaking inaccurate ball away =x hahas =pp
this was taken by ling lan . she said it was lights or something . but i didn't really get the picture still though .
when we arrived, we went to check in into our hostels . unpacked my stuff and waited for my room mate . was really happy to know that luckily marie, my room mate was from temasek poly and she is really nice ! then we started chatting .
after that went to find ling lan in the canteen . ate a little and went to assemble to play ice breaking games with our seminar group ! seminar group 2 rocks ! we played quite a few games . was really fun . my group was cool .
during supper, nikki's phone captured my attention immediately ! its supposed to be lime green . but i guess the flash was too bright .
her lime green watch ! seriously at that moment i was thinking that jaslyn and nikki can be good friends ! they love green so much ! ><" in the end couldn't eat supper at all . i didn't have the habit to eat supper at all . and its kind of weird for me to consume food at 10pm . i don't usually eat so late . at 10.30 we finished debrief and returned to our rooms . went to nikki's and vicky's ( victoria ) room to borrow contact lens solution and case from her ><" forgot to bring ! couldn't believe it seriously . its like this is so important yet i can forget . don't know what im doing seriously . thus THANKS VICKY ! xDD without your solution i couldn't have survived the rest of the days of pre-u seminar ..
Tuesday 27th Maywoke up at 5.45 . im like so tired ! how can someone sleep at 12 plus and wake up so early ? its even worse than my normal school days . its like normally i sleep at 12 plus too but i wake up at 6.30am . so i have more hours of sleep . felt like i was going to die or something . turn into a zombie x.x lols .
breakfast was really heavy . if i didn't remember wrongly it was packed food . noodles or something . i couldn't finish it at all . i have never ate noodles or such carbohydrate food for breakfast . it was always bread and and jam .
then we went to the opening ceremony in auditorium . the guest of honor was Dr Vivian Balakrishnan ( minister of community development,youth and sports) . we discussed issues about singapore being a global city . besides the usual mikes where we can use to ask questions, there were also this sms system which was used for the first time in pre-u seminar where we can send in our sms to ask or talk about the issues . it was cool .
my name tag ! nice right . at first i thought it would be sloppily done . but nope ! its really beautiful =D
the slippers i bought !
these were part of the discussion with the minister during the opening ceremony drawn by vicky and her friends . talent in art !
somehow it looks like i took a photo of the shelve, bottle and cups then just used computer software to include the other pictures in . the presentation was great ! good job vicky ! :DD
after that was parallel presentation where schools present the project that they have done which would address problems that singapore is currently facing and methods to of course solve them .
first school up was
SRJC ( serangoon junior college ) - Baby Steps : Toward Targets 2.1 .
basically the issue here is to solve the declining fertility rate . they presented through a really interesting and funny skit with videos participating as a minor role . i had to say . their presentation rocked . the presenters were really fluent and as a whole everything was really attracting . it captured every second of our attention . their solutions involved government policies and all of the different marital status such as single, married and with kids respectively.
next school was
TJC ( temasek junior college ) - Singaporeans Abroad : Foreign Soil, Local Roots
their project was on the problem of migrating singaporeans to other countries and eventually giving up citizenship when they are abroad . they mentioned that being psychologically committed to singapore was important even though singaporeans are working abroad . i think this is the best one i have ever seen . they had this TV show named Ms X . i forgot what was the slogan ! ahh ! it was really a good one ! if anyone knows please tell me ! in this tv show, they " invited " a roti prata man and someone from moe i think . the roti prata man was really funny . the student was really great . he really opened up and just fit into that character well adding random humor to the whole skit when needed . the person from moe more or less focused on answering with solutions to the problem but it wasn't boring . the entire thing was well-organized . great job ! =D
after that was
MJC ( meridian junior college ) - Ageing with Vigour : Health Care and Financial Wellbeing
i thought that it was pretty interesting . their form of presentation was also a skit . probably because of the great skit presented by TJC earlier their skit seemed a little boring but it really ok . i doubt anyone zoned out or anything . its just didn't seem as appealing to TJC's one . but it was stil great . they focused on the problem of old people with financial difficulties trying to afford health care in singapore .
the last school for that day was
NYP ( nanyang polytechnic ) - Enabling The Disabled And Their CareGivers
their issue here targets the disabled in singapore and what can be done to help them . firstly, great job TC ( teng chung ) ! his presentation was really fluent . i was fascinated by their video . i thought that the part when all the words such as blind, disabled and others all formed up together to form a wheelchair . i thought that it was really creative . their solution was to involve both young people like us who wants to help the old and disabled . so in their plan, they would match up both parties' interests and then both parties would hang out together . this would then encourage disabled and old to be reintegrated into the society and not feeling left out or left behind by the world .
Then was Q and A section where relevant questions were asked . in my opinion, the presenters were able to answer the questions confidently . so it really impressed me . overall it wasn't as bored as i though . in fact the whole parallel presentation, i enjoyed it . a lot . seriously . it was really interesting.
After that we had special programme for that day ! DIGITAL CHASE ! we lost by a little ! ><" but still congratz to SG 1 who won . and i have to say that i had fun in this game . the interesting thing in this game is we had to use laptops and softwares such as the 2D barcode reader . so when we found the correct venue, we would need to find and scan the barcode to get a hint to the password to the file that leads us to the next venue . this whole game is to solve the mystery of who killed the scientist Soloman . i thought that the game was really well-designed and was a whole new experience . After that we went to wash up and hanged out in our neighbor rooms .
FIRST TIME LOOKING AT THE SMALL VERSION OF DARK CHOCOLATE TOBLERONE !
Wednesday 28th Maywe were waiting for the second parallel presentation so we started to take pictures !
marie and me ! :D
marie, nikki and me . ( i have to comment that this picture was badly taken =X )
nikki, marie, jean and me !
my SLO ! we call her bindi :D she's really nice xD
Yuan Xia and me . have to say again . badly taken photograph ><"
lisa and me . took great deal of pain to make her take photo ! camera shy i guess xD
jean, madeline and me !
madeline and jean bickering ~ having fun .
the guys trying out different poses for photo shots x.x seriously .. camWHORE ! =x
vicky ! LOL . she is another instant poser . wherever the camera comes out . she would be ready with all her different poses . and its really difficult to take her picture because she can't stop moving ! she would have a lot of different poses continuously . somehow remind me of myra ~
our 2nd SLO alvin . reading storybook . he was so engrossed that he didn't realised that SO MANY PEOPLE were taking photos of him WITH FLASH ! it was super funny =x just realised did not take photo with out 3rd SLO jonathan . he is like always walking around . hahas ><" well . finally the 2nd parallel presentation started !
first up was RJC ( raffles junior college ) - Encouraging Social Enterprise. Growing Social Businesses their presentation was a little dry but it was covered up by the great presentation skills expressed by the fellow presenters . i have to mention that john was great . seriously . during Q&A session he answered every question confidently though many colleges and institutes were like asking really tough questions regarding the topic they have chosen .
second was PJC (pioneer junior college ) - The City District : Same Space, New Spaces had to say i learnt a lot from their project . about space allocation in singapore . URA makes sure that the shops do not take up excess space so that congestion would not happen which is happening currently in hong kong . the presentation was great as it was simple with skit and pictures . the presenters were great . DaeYeon hwaiting ! :DD
third was SP ( singapore polytechnic ) - Commerce or Conserve ? Balancing Heritage and Economic Needs i think the presentation was quite ok . i love the puppet part . its really cool . with the small body and stuff . appealed to the audiences fairly well . the slide designs were very interesting .
after that was panel discussion . we dicussed about the topic Active Citizenry : Issues and Possibilities . i admit that i have learnt a lot during this panel discussion . the panelists were Mr Zanudin, Mrs Ann Wee and Ms Braema Mathi . this topic talks about the issue of ageing population. i learnt that people always give excuses like im busy and others so that they would not help the old . one of the activities that had already been taken out by the government to reconnect the old people in the region . both parties, primary school kids and the senior citizens in the region would have breakfast with these kids weekly .
i thought a lot during the discussions . such as some of the questions being brought up during the Q&A session . for instance, how do people view ex-convicts ? even though there is the yellow ribbon project, there are few people who would accept them . then how can the people ? or the government solve this problem ? well but people shouldn't be blame also as everyone would surely have this fear in them and everyone wants to protect their loved ones around them . but im sure that if these ex-convicts want to turn over a new leaf, people would eventually accept them into their life as time goes by and see for themselves how much effort they are putting in to enable people to respect and trust them again .
the next question also struck me hard . it was why do people have to pay for additional costs when they are donating to charity ? i believe that everyone have watched charity tv shows where people would call the hotline to donate money to charities but yet why when we wants to help them, we need to pay for surcharge ? and in china, there is no surcharge . why singapore does not to implement this then ? mr zainudin then mentioned that although these surcharges which is GST, is still taken when calls are being made, a portion of money is still donated to charity . then i realised that actually if tax is implemented, doesn't it mean that more money is thus donated to charities in the end as the money that people donated plus part of GST where people pay when hotlines are called.
according to an american study, the leave taken by young people now a days are more than healthy old people . thus companines shouldn't have the opinion that people are a hassle and would take a lot of leaves due to poor health . and then hence hire younger workers instead . i feel that its so true . i mean look at it . young people now a days have so much reasons to take leaves even students have a lot of reasons to get MCs . in this century who have not faked sickness to skip school before ? usual excuses such as headaches, stomachaches and others have been given repeatedly yet these illnesses cannot be checked so there is no reason for the doctor not to issue any medical certificates . now that you have seen this , don't you think that even old people are better workers than these young people ?
next was why is it easier to talk to virtual friends online when you can't even bring yourself to say hi to your neighbors ? seriously, i have lots of virtual friends but i still don't ignore the courteous greetings when i see people i know . i mean now its getting really obvious . people in singapore are closing their doors on their neighbors, people that could help then when they are in need . if you close your doors now, who then would offer to help you when you are in need ? actually it isn't that difficult to just smile at people or say good morning when they walk into the lift .
then was the special programme Asian FlimFest . the show for our group was The Blossoming of Maximos Oliveros . when we just started watching the show, i really couldn't stand the uh .. different sexual preference the young boy had . seriously, i just feel weird . his behaviour and stuff . i wasn't the only one feeling that way . the whole audiences were like " eee " and stuff . can't really control it ><" but as the show goes on . i guess we all got used to it . overall the show was really great . it gave me a new perspective in not only the gay part of course but also life in Manila . corruption and poverty were both of them . people could get on in life with corruption . and the film also showed that family bonds is really strong . this i think, we can learn from them . we should stand for our family members, our loved ones when they are in need and not always argue over little stuff . this film also has lots of insights like the colours used plays a big part in it . the normal surroundings are all dull and grey but the things used by maxi were all red . it is to point out that though corruption and other negative things surround maxi, he was not affected . he was the " bright " part . he did not fall to corruption and get influenced by all these negative things .
after that was dinner ! last night for dinner already ! so i bought pasta ! its really great !
doesn't it look great ? forgot to ask the uncle add more cheese =x hahas ! during dinner chatted with the SLOs . found out a lot of stuff about their lives . and why alvin and jonathan is always bickering . hahas . childish =x
after that went back to hostel and chatted with marie till 12 plus 1 and slept :D
Thursday 29th Mayparallel presentations were relatively ok . DHS and NP were ok . VJC was kind of boring but the presenters is good . nothing is wrong with the presenters . its the format of their presentation was kind of .. boring as time goes by . other than that it was ok .
pictures before panel discussions .
me and tina .
then SPECIAL PROGRAMME ! SANDCASTLE CHALLENGE at east coast park ! WOOTS :DD
the sandcastle that the officers built . really nice ! i love the Lamborghini .
SG 2 hard at work :D
my footprint !
the night view . can't really see properly.
through the sandcastle challenge i learnt a lot . found out that people can work hard together to achieve a single goal . glad our group is kind of united though some people were left out in the middle . but in the end it ended well :D
ok . im a messy girl and i admit it totally ..
my hostel table ... apparently i just dump everything . so its like keep piling higher and higher ~ =x
my room mate's table =x oops . hehe ..
PIZZA FOR SUPPER ! we ordered pizza for supper because we wanted to of course thank the SLOs :D and also have a farewell party with everyone in the group !
happily munching of pizzas ..
more munching !
Friday 30th May
Apple is sooo cute !
gisela and apple .
apple trying to act out those snobbish kids look xD
everyone was taking photos ! so nice !
so many different colours ! i meant the blazers . hahas ..
PJC badge .
vicky's collection of badges ! republic poly one is rly nice !! :DD
what i got out of pre-u seminar :
when i first joined pre-u seminar, i didn't even KNOW what it is . i just knew that everyone was trying hard to get in and stuff . i got in somehow . but i don't know why . then when i was in . i couldn't see the purpose of this entire event until i stayed in NTU for the event . i realised the importance of realising singapore's issues and discussing how to solve them . no matter what we are the future of singapore . even if we aren't the top leaders, we still play a part to the economy, to the growth of singapore :D
before i stayed in NTU, i was afraid that those top notch JC people would be snobbish . being the worst jc . the one with the highest cut off point . its difficult not to think that way . that everyone will just look down on me because they are basically cleverer . last time i was really pissed off when people looked down on YJC . because they don't understand . actually it doesn't mean that wif you are in YJC means that you are stupid or intellectually more declined that the rest . there are people that just wanted to go yj for convenience sake and stuff . now im kind of used to it . i don't care whatever they want to say . i know im not stupid and my schoolmates aren't . on thursday, we had a group heart to heart talk and i was really shocked by all the experiences the people in top notch JCs have . all the backstabbing and stuff . i mean come on . we are in the same school and we are schoolmates shouldn't we care for each other instead of using all these underhand methods to bring the downfall of someone ? its kind of pathetic and sometimes comedic how people respond to people around them . okay back to the thing . i realised that what i thought wasn't true . the part where i thought that top notch JCs people were snobbish and did not care whatever the others think because apparently my group's people were friendly . we could get along well easily . i wana say that i enjoyed this whole pre-u seminar because of them . its like . when we reached there we were separated from our respective JCs then put into groups . each group only have one member from each school . so you are REALLY ALONE . its really great that we just bonded well . stood up for each other when in need . had fun and stuff .
last of all .. SG 2 ROCKS ! :DD gona miss all of you but fear not as we still can keep in touch !
