Tang Wai Lreng, 22

Hello again everyone! Bet you guys have been wondering where I’ve vanished to.. Alright, alright, it’s just wishful thinking on my part. Haha kindly pardon my narcissism, ok?

As a comeback post, I’ll be showing you guys what I’ve been up to the past few months. Dance, music, twisting my tongue in ways I’ve never tried before (keep your dirty thoughts to yourself please), & last but not least, also the most time consuming of all - school work/examinations. 
Aside to Tommy & Yen Ling - no, I’m not going to translate my Jack Neo post to 15 other different languages. Thanks for the “fabulous” suggestion though (:

I know I don't look like much of a dancer (& honestly, my spasm-like movements do not even remotely resemble anything like dancing), but I was given the opportunity to be part of a flashmob & I thought, ah what the heck, just gonna give it a shot. Who else offers people with 2 left feet, a.k.a me, the chance to dance, much less a spot in a flashmob, right? & besides, the thought of having friends with similar predicaments alongside me dampened the fear of being embarrassed (sorry my flashmob comrades!) q:

Well after a few weeks of hard work & rehearsals (& a whole lot of NGs), here's the finished product! 

Me & my bunch of enthusiastic (sometimes overly so) friends

While I shall politely decline to go into my academic woes, I'm more than happy to share that after years of hesitation, I've finally taken my first step out in my pursuit of my 4th language (ok technically it's 3.5, but no 1 minds me rounding up right?). Since I've just started out, I think it'd be unwise to employ any use of it until I become reasonably proficient; no 1 likes people who blow their own horns too much, right? Hmm.. But if you're really, really, really, really curious.. ... ...

Anyways, this is the end of my comeback post. Look forward to my (almost) daily postings from now on! A hearty thank you for staying with me & my blog even as I went through 1 of the most hellish semesters in my school life. As a reward, anticipate some interesting posts from now onwards!

Wai Lreng

Credits:
Photograph belongs to Changi Airport Group

Other than the Romanian diplomat's hit-and-run incident, the other hot topic in the local news has to be the exposé on Jack Neo's numerous trysts. 

From left to right: Wendy, Mr Neo and Mrs Neo

Curious, I went to the Straits Times website and clicked on the "Jack's sorry affair" link, only to find as many as 10 (I'm sure there're many, many more featured on the other publications) different articles covering the issue at hand. So I wasn't too surprised when I saw that 10 out of 10 of the "Most Popular" stories were all related to the disgraced film maker and his affairs.

I was initially just surprised and not too bothered about the issue. But the more I found out from the articles, the more unnerved (well, disgust settled in later) I got. It was tough to imagine that a renowned comedian/film-maker like Mr Neo - whom in many people's minds, was the perfect family man - could be involved in something as damning as an extra-marital affair.

Another thing that I couldn't make sense of was Foreign Minister George Yeo's call for support for Mr Neo and his family. While I agree that more Mrs Neo and the children would need all the support they can get, I am unable to comprehend why we should "rally around Jack". This is the rightful consequence of having/attempting to have affairs with at least 11 women, some even younger than his own daughter. That very last revelation - that he lusted after a 16 year old girl - was the final straw for me. I'm glad to know that I wasn't the only 1 who shared this view; it was also first and final nail in the coffin for Mitsubishi, which didn't hesitate terminating his endorsement deal.

Girls who've stood out to speak against Mr Neo
From left to right: Wendy (a really unflattering photo, I must add), Foyce, and Maelle

I find it almost extremely tough (toeing the line of impossibility) to forgive any man who harbours lustful intentions on girls who're young enough to be their daughters. Why, it's as high up there on the condemnation scale as lusting after your own daughter. So please. please do not just listen blindly to the Foreign Minister's calls and reason accordingly with your own head and heart (why a minister should get involved in this issue at all, I have no clue. But that's besides the point).

Although Wendy had her own share of fault in the whole incident, it was probably for the greater good that she blew the whistle on Mr Neo's affairs. Some might have proposed that this should have been settled amicably without the intervention of the media, but this whole incident would only serve as a harsh reminder to Mr Neo about the gravity of the situation, and the responsibilities and expectations that he has to carry as a public figure.

While his wife might have given him a second chance, the public would probably not be too quick to forgive this infidelity. Of course, it probably would not undermine his talent for film-making, but it definitely would changed the general publics' opinion on his morality. Like what many forum-goers say, he could actually make a quick buck of this incident in the future in the form of an autobiographical film. 

And to be perfectly honest, although I have my own reservations about what I saw on TV yesterday with regards to the press conference (which I deem inappropriate to be written here anyway), I'm pretty confused by the course of action taken by Mr Neo. I thought it might've been a wiser mvoe if he had done a Tiger Woods (not that he hasn't already, pun intended); waiting till the frenzy dips before resurfacing to explain matters. Well, I guess most of us could care less about the adulterer's apologies and tears, but we sure couldn't ignore Mrs Neo's pleas for support and blessings.

May God bless her and her children with the courage to move on. And I can only pray that Mr Neo, along with all unfaithful spouses, learn from this.

Have any of you held a part-time job, or a temporary full-time position? I'm sure many of you have done so at least once during your spare time, much like I did. In this post, I'd like to share with you guys my recent experience with work during this holidays. Feel free to share your experiences (if any) with me (:

Have you ever spared a moment to think about what the word "work" really means to you? Let's face it: majority of the jobs out there are dreadful. And part-time jobs like the we take up really makes us think about the kinds of things that we want or don't want to do in the future. At least, they help us in deciding what we definitely do NOT want to do. Haha. 

Well, in my case, I would definitely think twice (thrice, or maybe even more!) about being the frontline service staff for any company in the future.

To keep things short and sweet: I was working for 1 of the local service providers (going to keep some level of confidentiality here, sorry!) as a customer service officer. And because it wasn't the 1st time that I was in working in this line, it allowed me some additional insight on how numerous factors and not just 1, affect 1's psyche with regard to work.

The work conditions and requirements in both places where I was a CSO were more or less similar, with the only differences being in the pay and the people. From here onwards, I'm going to refer to the 1st service provider as Y, and the 2nd as Z. 

Y offered really attractive remunerations. At $9/hour (I see some eyes lighting up!), it was $2/hour more than Z. Though it's just $2, trust me, it really makes a difference when as it snowballs. And besides, it's not easy finding a job that offers $9 an hour to 'A' Level graduates. However, the working environment in Y was really fast-paced, and despite the place housing so many customer service officers, there was hardly a trace of humanity left there; it was a scene where everyone worked with machine-like efficiency. Why, you could practically hear the buzzing of machines! (I'm just exaggerating q: )

At Z, you were only paid $7 an hour (which is pretty much the market rate for undergraduates/students). I don't mean to say that the work at Z wasn't fast paced; in fact, it was comparable to Y. However, the air at Z was refreshingly different - superiors bothered to make small chat with you, some occasional laughter floating around, and also some random treats from them, of which I thought was really sweet on their part.

Now that you've seen both scenarios, which do service provider (aka employer) would you prefer to work for? Is it Y, where although the environment is a little icier, the pay is significantly higher for a similar sort and amount of work? Or would it be Z - where the pay is considerably lower, but you feel a sense camaraderie among you, your colleagues and superiors? I chose Z, and I would really like to hear how you guys feel about it.

For me, the reasoning is simple: I feel that money can be earned anywhere - in any field, any job. Pay ($$$$$$), while being important, is secondary to the combination of the nature of the job and the environment that I have to work in. In other words, I'm relatively more inspired through intrinsic motivation as compared to extrinsic motivation (terms sound familiar? Try looking up your HR texts). But of course, it is a delicate balance - I believe anyone would leave their job despite having the most fantastic work environment if they feel that they were being shortchanged in the salary department.

What do you guys think? Would like to hear everyone's opinions in the comments box below! (:

P.S. This is totally random but.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANICE! (: (:

Before we start, here's a short teaser video on what I'll be writing about. The actual video will be linked below, so enjoy this 1 in the meantime (:

Ever wondered what went into the making of whatever you're wearing, using, or holding onto now? Although it may seem trivial to think about something like that right now, you'll probably feel differently after watching this video aptly titled, "The Story of Stuff". I did. 

(Click here for the link to the full-length video, or continue reading and watching with the embedded snippets of the video)

In just 20 short minutes, the narrator, Annie Leonard, unveils the relations between the environmental and social issues (that plague us today) with our production and consumptions habits. 

This 'story' is split into 8 smaller parts, namely: Introduction, Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, Disposal, and Another Way. As she ran through the first 3 segments, my initial thoughts were along the line of, "I already know that". However, it didn't occur to me that despite already knowing all the negative ramifications that came with these processes, I still occasionally went on crazy "consumption" sprees. Well, knowing something is just tiny step towards the finishing line, piecing it together and putting it into context is what's going to bring you across that white tape.

For me, watching the segment on "Consumption" brought about many thoughts. The notion of "planned obsolescence" and "perceived obsolescence" should not be a hard 1 to grasp if you put some deeper thought into it (Annie provides some really good examples here). But if you guys have already watched it (please, please do!), it would only make sense to assume that by consuming less, naturally the other processes would slow, and the with them, the backlashes caused by extraction, production and disposal. However, this is where it starts getting confusing for me. As we all know, the basis of our economies is consumption (remember the formula for GDP? GDP = C + I + G + [Ex − Im]). 

GDP is the most widely used indicator of the overall size and health of a country's economy. And based on the formula, growth and the sustainment of it (a.k.a the size and health) requires consumption, wouldn't it be detrimental to the economy if we all were to stop consuming? Though it's probably not a main cause, but if the cut in consumption is significant enough, we would enter a recession. 

Of course, it would be easy to say that we would have to strike a balance. But let's be realistic here - a resolution for an issue on this large a scale isn't going to happen anytime soon.

Hope you guys enjoyed the video and the valuable, new insight that it brought along! Feel free to leave your thoughts, comments in the comments box below (:

First and foremost, I have to admit that I really am NOT a fan of movies. I could never fathom why people would like to pay so much just to watch something they can catch in the comforts of their home alone, in another place with so many other people. Ok, the sound and visuals are probably better in the cinemas, but that alone just doesn't justify the kind of exorbitant asking prices by the cinema operators. 

But but but.. if it was a free ticket, any movie (well at least most of them) is definitely worth going for. As you can tell from the post title, I managed to catch Michael Jackson's "This Is It" on it's opening days, courtesy of my buddy Gabriel (who managed to secure a pair of tickets through means I shouldn't disclose here).

A visual stunner: a collage of Michael in his own shadow

In truth, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this movie (yea, I didn't even Google it!). So while I was seated with my friend, holding a unexpectedly large (it was really huge; probably the size of a KFC chicken bucket. Imagine that!) bowl of popcorn, I was busy pondering on what sort of a film they could've made - especially with the man in question already departed even before they commenced production for this. A documentary maybe?

What ensued was pretty surprising.

In fact, I think this might've been the best gift that The King of Pop could've left for his fans. Captured on film were entire footages of Michael's rehearsal for his upcoming "This Is It" worldwide concert before his untimely death, clips from his dancers, production crew, and basically the entire backstage process for the concert. It was interesting to note that Michael, even as the King of Pop, was involved in almost every aspect of the production: from the choice of dancers, the music, all the way to the theatrics of the concert. It really showed that Michael was a perfectionist through and through, putting in seemingly endless amounts of effort into whatever he was doing. Surprisingly, what seemed to just be a "substitute" for the forgone concert ended up as an alternative window into Michael Jackson's world - what he was like as a person and what he really cared for.

Though I really like some of the songs done by the King of Pop, I wouldn't count myself as a fan. However, it was rather heartwarming to hear his fans cheer in the cinema the way they would've during the concert. Why, some even came dressed as "Michael"s themselves! I wouldn't rate this film as a "jaw-droppingly awesome" 1, nor as an "awful, bound for rock-bottom ratings" flick.

I would recommend this film to people who've admired Michael for his music, his determination and would like a sneak peek at what he's really like as a person. Oh, and of course, fans really shouldn't give this a miss. Though not the actual thing, it's probably going to be the closest you'll ever get to seeing another Michael Jackson concert again.

Once again, credits go to the buddy, Gabriel, for inviting me along with him to the premiere!