damian + turion

[240608] R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Sometimes, i think after having been in uniform organisations for so long that people at times forget the simple yet profound meaning behind the word, RESPECT. "Respect is one of the most (if not the most) important attributes for society to maintain, yet it is hard to define. On its broadest level respect is the acknowledgment that someone has value." as quoted on wikipedia.

The acknowledgment of value. Value to whom? And in what sense?

So in every day routine in NS, when we greet and pay compliments to senior officers and our superiors, do we acknowledge their importance? Their so called 'value' or are we blindly just paying them the respect that has been drilled into our subconscious mind that any superior officers deserve?

Respect is a hard word to swallow in my camp when i see practically daily instances of stupidity and idiotic behaviour stemming from the very people i am supposedly bound to respect. They do things not for the good of the camp or the mission and vision of the camp. They do things their way for fear of being critiqued and reprimanded by their own superior officers who in turn through their brilliant mis-management only serves to make matters worse.

Shit that comes from the top falls hard and fast and is ALWAYS amplified and multiplied so that when it reaches the bottom (read: bottom = NSFs), more often than not, we get the blame for the mess that they so brilliantly directly or indirectly created in the first place. It is NEVER the fault of the regulars, it's always US, US, US, US, US. Why didnt we read the TSR? Why didnt we know about the training and safety procedure? why didnt we do this? Why didnt we do that? ultimately, they know about just as much as we do, meaning to say, not much. We are just convenient scapegoats for them to push the blame onto. Pin the tail on the NSF, would seem to be perfect party game for regulars during their daily fixed break times at 1000 hrs and 1500 hrs.

Politics in the workplace exist in almost every imaginable working environment for we are but human, falling prey to our inner demons and ambitions. Some have truly an enviable character, hard working, honest and being modest to boot but life is never fair. The scheming, the sloths and the back-stabbers are often the ones being targeted for praise for work in the gah men sector is easy. Easy in the sense that you are assessed based on the work you do but these assessments are often not accurate. Wayang is a common word i hear around the workplace and it is all true. Everything from the top to the bottom and how the system works is a huge facade, a collection of lies, cover ups and acts. All in the name of appearing to be something other than what you truly are.

This picture alone stands for the most important attribute needed for one to succeed in the gah men sector - Flattery. The other 2 most important attributes being acting skills and ability to talk more than you work.

Hierarchy plays an important role in any workplace and in an uniformed organisation, heirarchy is merely based upon the rank in which you don. For one to climb sufficiently high, he would have trampled over many who were of a lower rank and once having attained the pedestal upon which to survey the world, he may forget one basic rule of thumb. Respect is EARNED, not GIVEN. SIR.

Repeating pointing to your shoulder and emphasizing the gulf between our ranks would hardly ever make me respect you more. On the contrary, it would only further erode the already bad impression i have of you and the incident only makes me loathe and despise you more. Using your status and threatening to demote people for failing to do work that doesn't fall under the given job scope only makes you unworthy to be holding such a post. For someone who's in a position to make decisions that can positively change the camp, you chose however to pick and critique on the most meaningless details that serve no purpose other than to infuriate your own subordinates. Life is already miserable enough without you adding more bitterness in our daily routines.

You expect discipline but yet condone harsh disciplinary actions when we seek to address the disciplinary issues. You expect things to be done by the book when sometimes flexibility and practicality are needed. You tie our hands behind our backs and expect us to give you 110%. Welfare and discipline are placed on opposite sides of a weighing scale. Too much welfare and discipline naturally decreases. Tis a simple logic but too bad, not many understand it.

We are a camp run by people cowering whenever a complaint is written in. We are a camp in which everything we do is a facade, an act, a wayang show. We are a camp where r e g u l a r s are more concerned over their bonuses and rice bowls than the work that they are supposed to do. We are a camp in which we are exploited and made to stay against our will. They complain endlessly of NSF's attitudes and how we are forever screwing things up but perhaps they should take heed and remember this:

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP, SIR.

turion at 20:05

Monday, June 23, 2008

[230608] Job hunting

'Tis the time as i near the end of my sentence in NS that i begin to look for a job to sustain myself when i'm finally free from the clutches of the gah-men and its regulars. Ultimately, despite my loathing for the industry in which i studied in, i have no other choice but to go back to it for my qualification would most likely ensure a higher starting wage as compared to other jobs elsewhere where a diploma in biotechnology might not necessarily come in handy. To this end, i've already emailed 2 former lecturers hoping for a job vacancy at my former school.

i CAN convert to and work full-time at marche BUT working one day per week already vexes me beyond all reasonable sense and i can only imagine the plight of my sanity should i have to work at that god forsaken place 6 days a week. As i plough through the endless adverts for jobs in classifieds and online at Jobstreet.com, i cant feel but feel a sense of helplessness as i try to find a job that i would enjoy and would pay me substantially to a degree of my satisfaction.

A starting salary of between SGD $1,600 - SGD $1,900 would suit me nicely and help me along the months as i prepare and aim for my real job in the service and hospitality sector.

Dr Cui emailed back regretting that he doesn't have a vacancy at the moment.

~Dang. One down. One more Chance.

life was much simpler then as a child.

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On a sidenote, enjoyed the class outing on saturday. Steamboat buffets are the best but felt kinnda wasted, for an all you can eat buffet, i only managed to eat 3 prawns. Hmmm.. so unlike myself that day, probably because i was too busy trying to finish up the sliced beef and lamb that others ordered but didnt eat. Oh well, there's always space as i used to say.

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Don't mess with the Zohan is your typical slap-stick, no brainer kind of movies. Zero plot line, zero acting but tons and tons of laughter guaranteed with each viewing. The concept is so outrageous and dumb that it tickles the hell out of ya and is bound to leave you either laughing til tears or rolling around on the floor. I must say that it IS very biased against people of Middle Eastern origins and would not endear the movie studio or its makers to the Arab population. Israelis and Palestinians would also likely frown upon the movie as a slap against their nations.

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Finally managed to visit the much fabled Botak Jones last friday at their Boon Lay place outlet. Must say that it does feel out of place when i order a 200 grms ribeye, medium rare and pay $15 bucks for it in a kopitiam setting. Somehow, the whole idea and concept didnt sit nicely and easily for me. just feels plain weird. In the end, kinnda disappointed. Just another case of 'I've had better'. Fries was excellent though but the accompanying black pepper sauce could have been better.

Their signature fish n chips didnt fare too highly either, i could name a dozen other places selling much better tasting fish n chips than Botak Jones. Even fisherman's wharf's fish n chips tasted better and if you've been reading my blog, you would have known how 'highly' i rated FW's fish n chips. Ultimately, maybe it's just over hyped. Not bad for a coffeeshop kind of store but not good enough.

I NEED A JOB!!!!

turion at 20:17

Saturday, June 21, 2008

turion at 10:19

Sunday, June 15, 2008

[150608] day of coincidences

a clan outing after many months of absence, simple yet truly enjoyable. Caught The Incredible Hulk. Interesting with the direction of MARVEL studios these days, actively intertwining all its MARVEL movies together to form a chain of linked movies. For those who do not understand, play close attention to the details and the ending scene of The Hulk to get the picture.

Liv Tyler is still hot (but looks bloated somehow) but during some scenes, i thought i saw her appear suddenly with pointy ears... her portrayal of Arwen still stuck in my mind. Her lips are seriously damn pouty in a natural, cute and nice way though i doubt any gals i know of would be able to pull it off, ~~i'll probably slap them first.~~ (just a figure of speech, thou shall never lay hands on a member of the fairer species)

Bought another pair of shoes, missed out on an extremely cool shirt.

"I wiped out the 60s"

dang. Just treat it as saving on unneeded expenses.

Visited Mind's Cafe for simple and brainless fun. Thumping on the table and more often than not, each other's hands, playing charades when the game we're playing is Taboo and having a go at memory games which win and I sucked at.

Bumped into many people today. 'it's a small world afterall! it's a small world afterall!" remember that song from childhood? that's what it felt like.

Dec 2009 - Super overdued secondary graduation trip to NZ.

Anybody willing to contribute to Damian's Down Under fund?

turion at 10:59

Sunday, June 01, 2008

[010608] note to organisers

I've finished it. That's all that matters. As of right now, thousands of other singapreans are like me, bed ridden until the after effects of the marathon wears off, a handful would conveniently head to the nearest doc asking for medical leave on the premises of sore knees, pain in the ankles, tight muscles or whatever ailments you can think up of associated with running. I might be one of them. heh.

It was nice running in the night, cooling temperatures but the event kinnda screws up your biological clock... closed my eyes while running a couple of times and had myself run and langa the railings on the side. Looking back, the event was not too bad, not too much cock up. Just some minor details the organisers might want to look at if they decide to come back with Sundown marathon 09:

1. have more water points (wasn't enough)
2. have more volunteers with deep heat (most i asked, they pointed and said further down. All in all i only saw 2 such stations, deep heat is the life line for us runners, so pls...)
3. find an alternative route whereby we can skip going across FOUR overhead bridges. (i think this is pretty much self-explainatory)
4. have an alternative finishing route.(i mean, we were all cramped with the out going runners as we hit the home stretch while trying to cross a bridge)

ultimate respect for those finishers of the sundown ultra marathon. *salutes*

i may be smiling in the pic but my knees are killing me, i feel like an 80 year old man...

turion at 18:04

Yesterday's memories

My past