The Calm Before the Storm
Lull week. Booked in on Tuesday, followed by nights out. Nothing on Wednesday, and booked out after lunch. Unluckily my platoon was the duty platoon. So we had "day out" and returned to camp in the evening to help clear the setting of an ORD parade. Coy cohesion on Thursday, and booking in only on Monday night. Army life at its best.
Coy cohesion was at Orchard. We played something sort of like "Amazing Race". 5 clues leading to 5 destinations, and needed to complete a mission at each of the places. It wasn't that bad an experience, at least we took some photos as a section, but I don't know if they would be uploaded. After the cohesion I would have liked to join some platoon mates for lunch or something, but they did not have anything planned. Sometimes spontaneity is the fun of it, but then I somehow I decided that it wasn't a good "time". Actually I am beginning to find some fun in my platoon. It would probably make life in camp a more positive one albeit not wholly jolly good. Like what I said before, sometimes I wonder if they are genuine towards others. Plus, there is just this invisible barrier that keeps us apart. We are apart, not a part. Haha... A platoon mate of mine whom I spent the time at JGL in the control room with, told me that he buay tahan I am so on, in response to a message I texted him. What I didn't tell him was, that was my way of contributing. Say, I be the one who opens the door/answer the radio communications, he and the other platoon mate can watch television without disruption. Maybe he thought I was distancing myself, but sometimes, I think they are the ones distancing themselves, because they conspicuously exclude me from some stuff :/ In a nutshell, we don't know one another well enough. Need more interaction.
Friday went out with gang to have an early celebration for Yanping's birthday. Have not met them for considerably long, and it was a good get-together. Silence can be awkward, but true friendship is feeling at ease in one another's company despite the silence.
Coming Tuesday would be the start of a torrent of things I dislike. The thought of the next deployment would be a fuel to keep me going.
And something to share from NUS confessions: (Cheers to whoever came up with this post, despite some language errors)
For the confessor who extolled the benefits of SMU vs NUS and NTU, here is a few words for you. NUS is GLAD to lose potential students like you. I give you the benefit of the doubt and hope you are not a troll. I actually suspect you are female given that you got your A-Levels results and can enter Uni on the same year. But no one cares about your gender anyway. Just pointing out it is possible not all trolls/confessors are male.
Having not experienced Uni life yet, it is a complete and utter generalisation to pigeonhole NUS as a rote-learning university. It clearly shows you know nuts about NUS, modules with projects and classroom interaction are common even for a technical student like I am.
If distance is such a significant factor for you, you are welcome to stay in the halls. The journey to your class will then be just a short shuttle bus ride away. Probably better than traveling from home to SMU right?
Are you aware that NUS students are required to take General modules and modules outside of faculty? You don't need to be forced to take a second major to increase your breadth. In fact, a second-major may limit the number of modules you can take outside of your 2 main majors. For a generally business focused Uni like SMU, my opinion on this is that it is a disadvantage compared to NUS. You cannot deny that SMU offers far less and a smaller range of modules compared to NUS or even NTU. If you wish to argue on breadth, I claim that it is NUS and NTU that "wins hands down".
In my technical major, foreign competition is definitely proportionally greater compared to non-technical fields. You are wrong to say all of them are scholarship holders. Some of them are, but many are not. Nevertheless, it is just a matter of time before you face foreign competition. Maybe not in your major but definitely in the workplace. We may be a high-wage country, but I dare say the quality of our graduates exceeds many of the millions that the world's universities produce, not just China and India. Do you want to swallow the red pill now or eat the blue pill in the university life then a bigger red pill when you graduate?
With that remark of yours, you may have made an (un)intentional personal attack to students in Faculty of Science, Engine and School of Computing. The choice of major is not taken lightly by everyone. It is true some students have not much choice because of academic results. But I'm pretty sure the vast majority in those faculties knew of the competition they would face but still chose the course. It is the interest despite the difficulties that drove us to select them. Who are you to criticise our decision?
Business in SMU better because it is a business Uni? Have you heard of this term T-shaped professionals? From the evidence I have given above, I dare say NUS and NTU are more likely to produce such graduates given the exposure we get across multiple disciplines. I shall also point out a fact that an NTU business prof has been recently rated to be the best in the world. Don't let me even come to the faculty rankings.
You also hit a contradiction when you said you preferred a curriculum with has breadth but want a university specialising in business. So what do you want?
The conclusion: There is no denying that NUS is not a perfect university. Some of the points you raised may have merit. However, you should experience Uni life first before attempting to suggest improvements in a know-it-all manner. The way you put things actually struck an idea in me. Perhaps NUS can open up the Part 1 of Special Term to enable potential students to experience what it is like to study in NUS before they make their final decision.
Coy cohesion was at Orchard. We played something sort of like "Amazing Race". 5 clues leading to 5 destinations, and needed to complete a mission at each of the places. It wasn't that bad an experience, at least we took some photos as a section, but I don't know if they would be uploaded. After the cohesion I would have liked to join some platoon mates for lunch or something, but they did not have anything planned. Sometimes spontaneity is the fun of it, but then I somehow I decided that it wasn't a good "time". Actually I am beginning to find some fun in my platoon. It would probably make life in camp a more positive one albeit not wholly jolly good. Like what I said before, sometimes I wonder if they are genuine towards others. Plus, there is just this invisible barrier that keeps us apart. We are apart, not a part. Haha... A platoon mate of mine whom I spent the time at JGL in the control room with, told me that he buay tahan I am so on, in response to a message I texted him. What I didn't tell him was, that was my way of contributing. Say, I be the one who opens the door/answer the radio communications, he and the other platoon mate can watch television without disruption. Maybe he thought I was distancing myself, but sometimes, I think they are the ones distancing themselves, because they conspicuously exclude me from some stuff :/ In a nutshell, we don't know one another well enough. Need more interaction.
Friday went out with gang to have an early celebration for Yanping's birthday. Have not met them for considerably long, and it was a good get-together. Silence can be awkward, but true friendship is feeling at ease in one another's company despite the silence.
Coming Tuesday would be the start of a torrent of things I dislike. The thought of the next deployment would be a fuel to keep me going.
And something to share from NUS confessions: (Cheers to whoever came up with this post, despite some language errors)
For the confessor who extolled the benefits of SMU vs NUS and NTU, here is a few words for you. NUS is GLAD to lose potential students like you. I give you the benefit of the doubt and hope you are not a troll. I actually suspect you are female given that you got your A-Levels results and can enter Uni on the same year. But no one cares about your gender anyway. Just pointing out it is possible not all trolls/confessors are male.
Having not experienced Uni life yet, it is a complete and utter generalisation to pigeonhole NUS as a rote-learning university. It clearly shows you know nuts about NUS, modules with projects and classroom interaction are common even for a technical student like I am.
If distance is such a significant factor for you, you are welcome to stay in the halls. The journey to your class will then be just a short shuttle bus ride away. Probably better than traveling from home to SMU right?
Are you aware that NUS students are required to take General modules and modules outside of faculty? You don't need to be forced to take a second major to increase your breadth. In fact, a second-major may limit the number of modules you can take outside of your 2 main majors. For a generally business focused Uni like SMU, my opinion on this is that it is a disadvantage compared to NUS. You cannot deny that SMU offers far less and a smaller range of modules compared to NUS or even NTU. If you wish to argue on breadth, I claim that it is NUS and NTU that "wins hands down".
In my technical major, foreign competition is definitely proportionally greater compared to non-technical fields. You are wrong to say all of them are scholarship holders. Some of them are, but many are not. Nevertheless, it is just a matter of time before you face foreign competition. Maybe not in your major but definitely in the workplace. We may be a high-wage country, but I dare say the quality of our graduates exceeds many of the millions that the world's universities produce, not just China and India. Do you want to swallow the red pill now or eat the blue pill in the university life then a bigger red pill when you graduate?
With that remark of yours, you may have made an (un)intentional personal attack to students in Faculty of Science, Engine and School of Computing. The choice of major is not taken lightly by everyone. It is true some students have not much choice because of academic results. But I'm pretty sure the vast majority in those faculties knew of the competition they would face but still chose the course. It is the interest despite the difficulties that drove us to select them. Who are you to criticise our decision?
Business in SMU better because it is a business Uni? Have you heard of this term T-shaped professionals? From the evidence I have given above, I dare say NUS and NTU are more likely to produce such graduates given the exposure we get across multiple disciplines. I shall also point out a fact that an NTU business prof has been recently rated to be the best in the world. Don't let me even come to the faculty rankings.
You also hit a contradiction when you said you preferred a curriculum with has breadth but want a university specialising in business. So what do you want?
The conclusion: There is no denying that NUS is not a perfect university. Some of the points you raised may have merit. However, you should experience Uni life first before attempting to suggest improvements in a know-it-all manner. The way you put things actually struck an idea in me. Perhaps NUS can open up the Part 1 of Special Term to enable potential students to experience what it is like to study in NUS before they make their final decision.
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