Graduation Day 13th July 2005

It was a chaotic day.Took so long to get a cab, reached UCC ard 920am (ceremony starts at 10am) and quickly put on the "harry potter" gown and got seated...Only started to feel excited when every1 is seated and the profs walking onto stages in their 'funny' looking gowns and hats!!.. ha..

The national anthem was played... sorta feeling abit emotional here as i sang silently along with the nearly forgotten malay song which was once a song we had to sing almost everyday (in pri and sec, JC days) throughout the whole song, i was reflecting on my past schooling milestone, my 6 sixt years of carefree and merry-making primary sch days... my most important and unforgettable though most stressful sec sch times and the short but sweet JC days... and of coz the most recent and "happening" Uni life with never-ending projects and deadlines to meet... But of coz all these r now (or already) ending with a solemn ceremony that marks the end of my official education. I cld nearly sense a drop of tear in my left eye as the anthem ends..

" This is it... this is the end..." i thought to myself..

Anyway the sentimental moment was gone in a while as we were whisked off by the urshers to the sides of the stage to get ready for that all-important moment. I guess its only abt 10s for you to walk across the 5m distance to reach the frail-looking old uncle who handed us the degree scroll box (actually he shld be some big shot!) Lian got the longest screen time as Prof Chew read out her greatest acheivements as the TOP STUDENT, all the " Woas..." cld be clearly heard from the audience.. Ha.. congrats to u! Lian!

The whole ceremony took abt 45mins and i spent the next 2-3 hrs on photo taking.. with the whole cohort and profs, with the class, with parents, with friends from RE,with workplace new-found friends....N back to my school to take.... It's really a tiring but fun time!

What is Ur Greatest Achievement in Ur Life?

Had wanted to post this earlier on when i was 1st asked this question durng an interview.. but guess i've been too ill-disciplined to update blogs regularly...Alot of things has changed since the last 2 months, at least for me... Finally a proper farewell to my 18 years of schooling (kindergarten included hee..) and getting my 1st job.

It was my 2nd formal interview and i thought it wld be a plain-sailing one. Heard from my friend ( who was employed by the same company ) that the interview was rather simple and short...thus, i was sorta caught off-guard when i was interviewed by 2 guys in a big meeting room...(ok, the room wasnt that BIG ha.. juz seemed so since there's only ME Vs the other 2 sitting opp me) The main interviewer looked somewhat critical and strict, N they didnt really pose me much questions other than saying that my results r quite impressive so i juz smiled along and waited for the next question. He asked " So, Can you tell us more about u? What is Ur Greatest Achievement so far?" I was quite stunned for a moment as i tried to recall those interview tips on how to answer the common questions.. But, mind was in total blank at that point of time.. "hmm.. I guess my greatest achievement so far wld be my academic performance, I have worked hard towards my goals and made my parents proud of me.." That's abt all i cld think of at that moment... obviously, the interviewer's not very satisified with my short answer, coz im nt pleased with my own answers too..

Anyway, the whole interview experience was quite a scary and stressful one as i tried to think of things to say.... Not too sure how I managed to scrape out of that mess, but this question lingers on my mind even till now..

What exactly have I done in my 23 years of time in this world that i can consider it to be my greatest achievement?
I have not compete in a proper sports event (e.g. School Sports Day),
I was never in a leadership position whether in my ECAs or class,
I do not know how to play any music instrument, let alone read music scrolls or composing,
I have not perform (solo) on stage. (since i do not have any special talent..)
I have not climb any mountains other than Bt Timah hill ( N its juz a hill...)
I do not know any 3rd, 4th languages, other than plain old chinese and english...
I have not write my own book. ( while i cant even update my blog haha)
N the list goes on....

As a matter of fact, I'm juz a plain person with no special achievements to speak of... perhaps those listed above r some of my hidden dreams (Erm... not too sure of the climbing mountains one hahah) Maybe It's juz so happens that i have some exam luck that i managed to get those "nice on paper" results and a couple gold medals..Perhaps at least, I have fulfilled my parents' expectations of me. (N myself's too.)

Guess I will have to contine my search for an answer to the question. What's Urs?

To be Continued....