financial woes
Somehow for some uncanny reason.. i always end up broke towards the end of the month without saving anything.
No matter how much i tried to save.. like not eating breakfast at the canteen.. eat cookhouse food all the time.. try not to go clubbing.. so on and so forth.. i always end up with less than $50 at the end of the month. I don't buy clothes (that explains why im usually wearing the same clothes all the time to the point where i'm getting bored with myself) and all those fancy gadgets like mp3 players..camera handphones.. so where is my money going to..? Beats me. I always see others buying new stuff for themselves.. but they never seem to run out of money... haha :P
I should really write a budget down on paper and adhere to it.. and do a expenditures/savings account to ascertain where my money is going to. Thats one way to account for my financial woes for the time being :)
There are some things that i wanted to get for a very long time but never had the financial capability to get one yet.
Top of the List1) A DSLR.
I agree that this costs a bit too much for me.. considering that the cheapest is the Olympus E300 at around $1600. The ones i wanted to get are all at the $1900 range. Theres nothing worse than having the interest and passion for something and yet you are unable to go about doing something for it.
Maybe a 2nd-hand would suffice for the moment for a novice like me.
2) A road bike.
At least on weekends, i can still go cycling around singapore. Maybe even join SACA and participate in some roadrace or something.. something to keep fit at the same time too. A decent road bike would at least be in the $600 - $1000 range. Pretty expensive but at least its a worthy investment for healthy living :)
Lastly 3) A pair of shoes
I think my present pair of sneakers is wearing out pretty fast, considering i've worn it since poly year 2.. my feet is starting to get wet every rainy day already :(
save save save.. i foresee more hungry mornings and less spending on food. In a way.. i won't get fatter too.
thoughts..
Feeling pretty messed up today.. guess what. I went to the ATM to widthdraw some money this afternoon. After taking the card out from the machine and then instead of taking the money.. i just left nonchanlantly. I plain forgotten to take the money. I guess whoever comes to use the ATM after me is $20 richer. Lucky guy :)
Afterwhich, i went to Island Creamery at Serene Centre to get some icecream. I got myself a homemade single scoop mango icecream on a cone.. Audrey!! see this.. its MANGO!!! .. its pretty good actually, if theres a chance.. i will bring you guys here. Then while walking happily to the bus stop, licking my icecream with the enthusiasm of a 3 year old kid.. the mango icecream suddently took a leap off the cone. In the end.. the sidewalk had the last laugh and ate the icecream by itself. poor lil' mango icecream spend the rest of its life melting slowly into a pool of viscous yellowish pool of mango under the afternoon sun. Crapz... Today is certainly not my day.
Indeed..saw the NTU appeal letter when i came home from duty today. The letter felt abit thin.. i guess i don't need to elaborate any further on the appeal outcome. You guys should know the answer already. NUS and NTU.. goodbye to both of you for now.
Sometimes you guys might find that i'm always bitching about my life.. about why i can't make it to local university.. why i can't go overseas university.. why i don't want to get a correspondent university degree like with MDIS.. why i don't want to go SIM.. and why am i closing doors on myself like fiona told me once. But i shall speak out my heart tonight and share with you guys my thoughts and whims.
My grades have always been Bs all the time.. except for the last semester where i actually put in a wee bit more effort to scare all As except for one. Think about it.. in my first year where i failed my maths.. i actually retook the module the next semester on top of my usual modules, meaning i had 1 extra module and exam to tackle.. still i manage to clear everything and restart on a clean slate to graduate with everyone at the same time. How many people you know actually did that?
With my GPA of 3.14... its neither here or there. Although i have a fantastic CCA record, it doesn't matter anymore. People without any CCA records can make it to university too. I've tried the singular talent admission criteria thingy (or what is it called?).. but it did not work. I still got rejected by NUS/NTU in both initial applications and appeals for 2 years.
Next, why i don't go aussie university. Its a monetary thing. My parents can't even pay for normal household bills sometimes. Ever tried waking up in the morning to find water doesn't flow from the tap? So it means i have to take a bank loan in order to go overseas which also means i will have to spend most of my life after graduating to repay my loans.(considering i still have a poly loan to repay)When will i be financially independant?? I'm already technically considered a bankrupt. I do not have the luxury of parents paying for my education which some people do. I dunno how long i will take to repay my loans.. i'm a man.. i have the resposibility in the family. How can i settle down when i not even financially stable? How long will i take to be financially stable? I might be thinking too far here.. i don't even have a relationship yet.
Fiona, thanks for telling me about the CQU degree course your friend took. It gave me more options to ponder on :) But.. i decided against taking it. Firstly, its not recognized...nobody ever heard of a Central Queensland University. It does not matter if the exams are hard.. its still theoretical stuff.. do they provide me quality laboratory hands-on? Even NP have better lab facilities. You mentioned your prof said that any bio degree is sufficient. But that only works if you are the only person applying for that job. How do i compete with other potential candidates holding NUS/NTU degrees, Unimelb/UQ degrees? Audrey.. Thanks for introducing me UWA degrees at PSB too.. :)
Why i don't go SIM?.. simple.. im not interested in business. Unless i convince myself in the near future.. i might. :)
In conclusion, i'm a person who thinks alot about the decisions that could possibly turn my life around for better or for worse. I'm don't simply just close doors on myself without giving much thought about them. I do consider my options and continue looking for more. I practically think about all this everyday.. yes .. i mean everyday. Sometimes i wish i was a more simple-minded person... i guess i would be more happy :)
1 year left before ORD to think. Please leave me some comments for me to think too.
*ThAnKs~
appeal
never read an appeal letter reply before? heres your chance :P
APPEAL FOR ADMISSION TO THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE ACADEMIC YEAR 2005-2006
I regret to inform you that your appeal for admission to National University of Singapore (NUS) has not been successful.
Please be assured that our Appeals Committee has given your appeal very careful and thorough consideration. We have re-evaluated your application, paying close attention to your strengths and expressed interest, and reviewed our decision made earlier. Unfortunately, the competition for admission is extremely keen this year and owing to the limited number of places available, we have to disappoint many promising students such as you.
We thank you for taking your time to submit this appeal and wish you the very best in your future endeavours.
Your sincerely,
Assoc Prof Tan Thiam Soon
Dean of Admissions
mm.. another one bites the dust. Sigh...
condolences
Recently, a member of our SAFPU family has left us. Although i don't know him at all.. he was part of S3 branch before i came. I must have met him somewhere in camp before but i don't recall how he look like at all. I must have at least done duty with him once, went running with our SAFPU family every week or even seen him when he comes down to our office to collect stuff.. but my memory fails me. Sometimes when i think of it.. i feel so sad. A young officer in our SAFPU family was diagnosed with leukemia ... a few weeks before his ORD.
I just want to say 'Goodbye Sir, our small but united SAFPU family will miss you.'
I pray that God will look after his family and that you will accompany them through this difficult phase of time where they would need encouragement and support the most. Amen.
Nowadays if you look at the google box, there would always be advertisements and shows depicting cancer patients.. just like the show that ended just now. The 9pm show on tv 'youfu'. Has our lifestyle changed drastically from the past? Why do we always fall sick so easily nowadays? For the rest of us that are still living healthily, maybe its high time we should take account of our lives.. and spend more quality time with our friends and loved ones and with God.
You never know when disaster might struck.
Think about it.
this came in the mail
this came in the mail on sat..
Dear Mr Tan
APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2005-06
Thank you for your application and your interest in studying at our university.
We appreciate the time and effort you took in applying to us. Each application we recieve has its merits. With the record number of applications we recieved this year, competition for limited places has been very strong.
We have reviewed your application thoroughly but regret to inform yout that you have not been successful in your application. We assure you that the University Selection Committee had considered your application to the fullest extent before arriving at this difficult decision.
With best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Prof Lun Kwok Chan
Dean of Admissions
Ironically, in my mind, this letters appears to be an exact replica of the letter i recieved last year. Even the signature by the Dean seemed to be photocopied.
Thats assurance and sincerity for you.
once again
once again.. i'm suffering from writer's block for some time .. mm or should i say blogger's block.. hee..
nvm.. well im back again..
miss you guys~~!! although its for one week only.. sorry that i could not make it for yesterday outing for ktv.. havent sing ktv with you guys for quite a long time already.. still missing that melodious vocals of audrey .. 'b.a.d' songs by siewling... and so on and so on.. no pun intended okie!! you guys really sing well.. !! hee :) at least you guys won't have to endure my monotonous.. squeaky singing of jacky cheung's old time sad songs... haa..
Had a 1.5 day church camp or rather a guys retreat to discuss issues facing men in this modern day society in a biblical perspective. I've learned that its not always about me me me.. in modern day context, its always about me.. me want to do this.. me want to do that... its not always about I.. me.. aloysius. We have been become so caught up in this rat race and the momentum for the society that we have grudually excluded god from our lives to the point that we do not even realise it. Its high time for to stop in our tracks and considered the irony of the situation. Although inevitably we will be caught up in our work to provide for our loved ones.. we must still have a healthy balance in order to maintain a life dedicated to serving god's people.
I've learned much and i thank you guys for all the guidance and help.. kudos!
mm.. sunday comes again... at the back of your head... i'm suddently reminded of the terrible fact that tomorrow is a monday.
Sadly.....Reality has reared its ugly head again.
