PSSC Fair / RSAF Open House

Secret War Journal[29 May 2011][Photo-heavy]
Yes, me deciding to attend the Public Service Scholarships & Careers (PSSC) Talk was long decided. I had planned to invite some guests to the talk but because I was asked to register for them beforehand which I did not, I was wondering if they would be interested and didn't had the time to ask before the deadline as the decision to go was rather last minute too.

Johnston and I meet up earlier at Plaza Singapura for Lunch. This is perhaps a good time to inform you all, we are all pretty sick of fast food due to excessive eating of fast food during all our study sessions, dubbed Mugfest.

Much to our dismay, we couldn't find a food court in the shopping mall. I could had sworn I had seen a food court in there before. Oh well. We decided to dine at Pizza Hut.

Student meals were not available during weekdays. Johnston decided to order Baked rice while I ordered Hawaiian Pizza for lunch.

Keller arrived around 10 minutes later. At that point, our food had not arrived. I was starting to wonder where's our food and if the waiters forgot our orders.

Around 20 minutes passed and Keller started to complain about how long our food is taking to arrive because we were going to be late for the fair at this rate.  As a result, we went to ask a waitress when is our order would be ready.

It was only until then we released they forgot our orders. Mine was prepared in haste while we were given a free plate of garlic bread since Johnston's baked rice would take a long time.

Well, eventually, we got our food though we missed some of the talks for the fair.

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The fair was not bad. There were really a lot of information about the scholarships. In addition, there were talks scheduled by various organisations to inform us in depth what their organisation is about.

As it turns out, there wasn't a need for worry about not registering your name before the deadline. The fair was pretty much open to the public, if you were aware of such a fair in the first place. The event was pretty much hushed up.

I guess I'm helping them to do some publicity for them right now. Hahas. The event was at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel this year. I wonder where the event would be held next year. :)

In the fair, I met the other Leroy. Actually, he spotted me first. Hahas.

After the talks, we headed off for the Royal Singapore Air Force(RSAF) Open House!

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RSAF 2011

For this, I had prepared an image slideshow for simplicity. Unfortunately, it's in the opposite order, my apologies.

Time to rise the curtains, for I shall let the photos do the talking. *Walks off*

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"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." ~Bertrand Russell

NCHS Prom 2010

Secret War Journal[19 November 2010][Long Post]
Okay, I know this is weird. No, JC1s in Singapore do not have Prom Night. That would be crazy to have Prom Night yearly, I think their parents would scream. Hahas!

No, it's not a Prom night by MJC nor am I the organising committee for a Prom Night. It is...

I guess the picture above spoilt things pretty much already. Hahas!

I guess you people must be wondering, "Didn't you already graduated from NCHS? How in the world were you allowed in?"

Well people, to answer you questions, I was there on official reasons as a NCYM exco. Together with the rest of the exco who were present that day, we were sort of advertising during their prom night about NCYM and hope they would join us next year. :)

Joining us tonight are

• Leroy (Vice-Chair)
• Yee Teng (Secretary)
• Keller (2nd HR)
• Leroy (Public Relations)
• Yong Liang (Member)
• School Staff
• Secondary Four graduates

This year's theme seems to be similar to mine - Live Your Dreams. Hmmm....

This year's venue would be at the Holiday Inn, Attrium and they would be having dinner served! This is a far cry from my Prom Night where we had a conference room and had a buffet-style dinner. Theirs is so much more high class. T.T

Hahas, to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting myself to be attending their Prom Night with them, since I had CCA before the Prom Night which was virtually a clash of events so I was intending not to attend the event but lo and behold! My CCA ended earlier than expected so I was able to go home and attend their event.

Furthermore, chances are that we are not allowed into the prom night since it's not our Prom Night. It should be like the last time the Alumni people did, having a booth at the entrance, asking people if they're interested to join.

Well, this year is a bit different. Firstly, we hardly used the booth. We decided to change tactics for this year, something like an experiment. We would distribute the registration form to each and every one by entering the attrium first and placing them on the tables. This would help to increase the outreach of our target audience. :)

After that, Keller was nominated to go up to the stage to advertise in front of the whole cohort. His speech is right after our Principal. :)

(I bet Keller must swearing at us for 'nominating' him. Hahas!)

Meanwhile, we were watching the emcees for the night rehearsing. :)

Here's the seating plan:

After Keller's speech, most of our work is done. With our junior's Prom Night, we were deciding where to have our dinner since we're not allowed to eat their food anyways. Hahas!

We discussed for a good half an hour, I guess? Turns out we're allowed to attend their Prom Night. (Boy, look at their shocked faces). We even had a table (shared with the councillors, of course) hahas!

This is roughly where we sit(not the table that the hand was pointing at, it was table 22):

Yep, our table is all the way to the front, just beside our teachers, the VIPs. Hahas!

Our junior's Prom Night had a lot of amazing food! Their appetizers had a lot of variety of food!

That's the appetizer, crazy much? O.o

I mean, Keller was saying he was full after the appetizer. Wow!

After the appetizers came abalone soup! My Prom Night didn't have such high-class food, you know.

(I think it was a 7 course meal, not sure)

One bowl for each of us! Mmm!

Then came chicken, sea bass, mushroom with oysters, etc. 

 Pork but I'm not sure of it's official name. Mmm!

I was full when desserts arrived. Hahas!

Of course, Prom Night isn't just about food, we went taking photos with our juniors and teachers. These are some of them. :)

Infocomm Club unite!

Hahas, they were shocked when we appeared because....well we graduated already. There was no reason for us to appear in their prom night right? XD

NCYM Exco!

From Left: Keller, Leroy, Me, Mdm Teo, Yee Teng

Food! See Yong Liang there? Hahas!

Yummmmm---seh!

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Okay, that should roughly all. I shouldn't say too much about their Prom Night, it's theirs, not mine anyway. :)

After we finished what we came to do, we left after taking pictures and head home. Saw the Orchard Christmas Lights. Oh my god! I must say, as I'm sure many would, it is nicer than previous years. :D

Do take a look at the Orchard Christmas lighting when you can. :)

P.S: See Philbert, I did say I was going to gatecrash your Prom Night. Hahas, oops? :p Too bad, we never take photo together in the end. :p

Startup @ Singapore: Entrepreneurs Unplugged

Secret War Journal[15 November 2010]

Ah, business. I guess it's been a long time since I talked about that. Hahas!

Anyway, in case you guys didn't knew, 15 November 2010 was the start of the Global Entrepreneurship Week and to kickstart the week, there was panel discussion from Startup@Singapore and also a nEbO Biz Challenge [Finals] being held at the same day, same time.

Well, since I can't split my body into two (rather obviously, XD), I had to choose one.
I decided to go for the panel discussion since I didn't know what's going to happen at the nEbO Biz Challenge since no one I know is in the finals. XD
Furthermore, Johnston has questions for the panel. :)

Sadly, Johnston is not free for the panel discussion that day so I help him to ask the question the panel. :)
However, Keller, being my good friend, accompanied me to grace the event. I feel a bad for him though he was like questioning himself why he was present. Sorry! But I'm sure you learned a few things from the panel discussion and it was enlightening(I hope)! Hahas!

I must say Keller and I were rather funny that day. We were like constantly discussing what's the dress code for the event. I said business wear but Keller don't like that dress code. In the end, I sort of scam him since I ended up wearing Business wear to the event which Keller either claimed I was overdressed or he was underdressed. Actually, the dress code is loosely defined so it's alright for both of us.

We were almost late for the event which would be embarrassing since it's an official event and being late for a penal discussion is like super obvious! Hahas. I was rather clumsy that day, especially since I had no school that day, and I was actually later than Keller, who had school. Sorry, I was distracted by my phone. O.o

Not to mention that this is one of the rare times that I'm the travel guide given my pathetic sense of direction, I did not foresee Keller not having come to HDB Hub before and it's been a long time since I went there.
But I guess my luck was holding that day since I managed to get there without taking a wrong turn(which is to say get lost) unless Keller consider that going one big round when the place was just behind us is a wrong turn. Hahas, opps? (I would take that as a yes. :)

Apparently, we made it in time, still early in fact. yay! I was a bit retarded that day (I said that already, didn't I?) and went to re-register when I had do so beforehand. Hahas!

I was given the rare opportunity to become a nEbO member for free(normally, that cost money) but Keller dissuaded me from signing up. I'm still not sure if that was a bright move but what's done is done.

Finally, before the panel discussion started, someone shocked me when they knew about MJC BizClub and it being a company(of sort) when they found out I was from MJC Wow, I thought we were rather low-profile but we're rather well-known. Wow! Wow! Hahas!

They seems happy that someone from MJC came(though I don't think they know I am from BizClub :P). Hmm. hahas!

Time to get seated for the panel discussion!

Before the panel discussion start, perhaps it would be better for me to inform you who are the panelists and of course, the moderator. I would giving you a brief introduction later when the panel discussion starts. :)

Today, our moderator would be Ms Pranoti Nargarkar Israni, Founder of Zimplistic Inventions and Open Category Winner of 10th Start-Up@Singapore. The panelists are

1. Mr John Yap, co-Founder of Awfully Chocolate and Everything With Fries
2. Ms Christina Lim, Founder of Ocean Healthcare
3. Ms Susan Chong, CEO of Greenpac
4. Mr Leonard Tan, CEO of PurpleClick Media

 Now the panel discussion has begun! Here's the gist of it:

Moderator
Ms Pranoti Nargarkar Israni
Founder, Zimplistic Inventions and Open Category Winner of 10th Start-Up@Singapore

Only in her 20s, she left her job at a leading electronic manufacturer to start-up on her own. She recently won the prestigious StartUp@Singapore 2009 grand champion trophy, which comes with $28,000 in prize money and one free year of office space. Prior to this, Israni's Zimplistic was awarded the YES! Spring Singapore grant for young entrepreneurs valued at $35,000. Israni aims to partner or license with a consumer appliance brand to bring Rotimatic to market in 2010.

Panelists
Mr John Yap
Co-Founder of Awfully Chocolate and Everything With Fries
Mr John Yap co-founded Awfully Chocolate in 1998. Today, it is a popular dessert franchise with 22 stores in 8 cities. He has since ventured into the eatery business with Everything With Fries, which has outlets in Holland Village and Joo Chiat. A father of three, he runs the businesses with his wife, Ms Lyn Lee.

What I learned from him:

• Motivation to do well: Enjoying thecareer/field you're in
• Raising the barrier to entry
• Use of advertisement for endorsements
• Bulk purchase may not be wise for F&B (depends)
• Franchise enquiries: The importance of contract (best locally) and danger of imitation
• Sometimes, it is not that important to go to the most crowded mall

Ms Christina Lim
Founder of Ocean Healthcare 
Ms Christina Lim is a trained pharmacist and MBA graduate from Singapore, and she founded the Ocean Healthcare (S) Pte Ltd in 1995. Ocean Healthcare (S) Pte Ltd now distributes Ocean Health, Therapeutic Dermatologic Formula and Ocean Derma products throughout Asia. Christina still spends her time pursuing her passion: formulating new products, delivering lectures and sharing with people ways to improve their health condition for a better quality life.

What I learned from her:

• Importance of research/background information
• Importance of acquiring technology
• Importance of gaining support from others.
• Application (how to apply)
• Think of future plans: Venture aboard?
• Use of advertisements
• Difficulty in expanding to regional: Difficulty in acquiring factories and the importance of contracts
• Health supplements are not patent-able
• Importance of communications: Communication between clients to prevent imitation of products.

Ms Susan Chong
CEO of Greenpac
Greenpac (S) Pte Ltd (“Greenpac”) is a knowledge-based company that specialises in designing and distributing environmentally friendly packaging products and solutions. Since starting the company in September 2002, Susan grew Greenpac from a one-woman start-up into a thriving multimillion dollar company.that serves Fortune 500 companies and is the market leader for environmentally friendly packaging solutions in Asia. Susan has won several prestigious awards, including the Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 and the Enterprise 50 (E50) 2008, where Greenpac was ranked #4 in the exclusive list of 50 of the most enterprising privately-held local companies in Singapore.

What I learned from her:

• Importance of networking
• Identifying a niche market
• Identifying a hole/gap in the market
• The need to be hardworking
• Aware of your visions
• Getting aid from government
• Importance of perserverence
• Need for creativity
• Aware that SMEs have very little resources: Most operations done in-house
• Use of avenues to obtain financial help
• Seek advices from senior entrepreneurs

Mr Leonard Tan
CEO of PurpleClick Media
He founded PurpleClick Media Pte Ltd, an online search marketing agency, specializing in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and online media in 2006. PurpleClick Media is also the first and only agency in Southeast Asia to achieve accreditation from both Yahoo and Google, and has established offices in Singapore and Malaysia.  His ability to create a successful and profitable enterprise that is socially responsible also garnered him the “The Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009” and “Entrepreneur of the Year Award for eCommerce 2009”.

What I have learnt from him:

• Marketing skills is important
• A need to have the ability to sell
• Must be able to market your products.

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With that, we adjourned for dinner.

AFA X

Secret War Journal[14 November 2010][Long Post][Picture-Heavy]
It's that period of the year again!

Anime, Cosplay, Jpop, Games, Vocaloids!

Wohoo!

Joining us this year are...

1. Johnston
2. Trevor
3. Keller

Zikry couldn't join us due to some unforeseen reasons. Therefore, this year, we have to come slightly earlier to buy the tickets which would be very long queue later in the afternoon.

No matter, Johnston and I came first and helped to purchase tickets for everyone else. Waiting for the rest to arrive but at this moment, I want to comment that there is very almost no crowd right here right now. Wow! I think all of them went to watch the Haruhi movie in there. O.o

Well, I'm not going to pay more for an animie movie which I didn't even watch. Hahas! I mean, I'm not even going to attend the AniSong concert later! T.T

When they arrived after some epic moments of finding us while standing in front of us and using their handphone talking to us (LOL!), we produced the tickets and entered the exhibition!

Okay, the previous post was the old narration-style so it's time to go photostory(not to mention that if I go write out in prose, this post could go on forever)! As I always say, "WIthout further ado" let the pictures do the talking!

Okay, you probably wasn't expecting this picture. I mean, "Where's the AFA pictures! This is not one!" but yeah, I couldn't find any other place to place this. :P

The "chop" to indicate we're allowed to enter the exhibitions.


Look at Trevor's face. So lustful. Joking!

Haruhi Figurines

Nanoha!

Hatsune Miku!!!!

Black Rock Shooter





Final Fantasy Cosplay. Not bad.


  Maid Cafe?! To think Trevor and keller thought there was only Butler Cafe this year. :o


This is one car that is bound to cause car accidents.


I mean, it definitely would distract male drivers, I think. Hahas! Opps?

AFA X Official Car. O.o


Gundam Car. Now this is one Cool car, until you scratch it, of course. XD





Power Ranger? EPIC.


Power Rangers to the Rescue! (Roll on the floor laughing, can't stand myself saying that. Hahas!)


Unglam shot of red ranger. We're so evil. XD


Dolls. Zi Ying has lots of this, I think.


A nicer shot with nicer dolls. O.oOkay, maybe the previous shot was nicer. :p


Domo! Group Picture!


Toradora! Taiga! My favourite character there! Woots!


Taiga and Me. How come she's taller than me!!! O.o Scary.


Johnston and Taiga. Wonder where's Taiga's boyfriend. Never see him. O.o


Animax Station is here, as usual. But the voiceover is..... let's just say I prefer the original japanese version. :p


Eh....


Princess or?


White Princess?


Emm...the princess is nicer. XD (Evil me...)


More of princess


Random Hatsune Miku cosplayer. Hey, where's your leek? XD


Naruto with an epic touch.





Pikachu epic win version. >=D


Black Rock Shooter Cosplayer, look better in reality.


Sorry for the eye issue.





Christmas is here already?! Joking!


You got to admit it's nice though. :)


I should not saying evil. (Like Christmas? ROFL)


Nice right? I hope. XD





Now we have Halloween. XP


Snow white?!





And this year's winner for Cosplaying is..... Trevor for best cosplaying a commoner. Congrats!


Gundam. Sweet!


???!!1





Hatsune Miku Project Dive now has arcade version. Wow!


I wish I could play that game...


Hatsune Miku Green hair version.


Our good friend Wei Siang, who was working there, taught us how to do play a Japanese card game. ^^


Wei Siang VS Keller. Who wins?


Fun with playing cards! :)


Epic Staff. Sakura.





They were fooling with their skirts. Ok...


The traditional epic face pose! XD


This is actually a fail shot but it's so cool though people would had thought we were stalking people. Hahas!



Last picture... Aww...



Finally, to end it off, a compilation of all the pictures taken that day!

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Credits: Johnston and I for the pictures.