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[Thursday
April 5th, 2007
9:20pm] |
Guess what???
I finally went to the GYM today... very first time in my life...... and i wanna say..
I LOVE GYM-ING!!!!!!!!!!!
did gym for like 1.5 hrs and then went for ballet for 1 hr..
happy!!!
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[Saturday
March 31st, 2007
11:25pm] |
Daniel rented a car to drive us around for fun cos i had nothing to do on Friday..(Thanks baby!! :)) Here's what we did..
FACTORY OUTLET SHOPPPINGGGG
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[Friday
March 30th, 2007
1:01am] |
Helloooooo havent updated in eons. SPRING BREAK! although i didnt get to travel........ :( long story... anywayssss,
tmrw i'm going shopping with Kim! Will take photos to let you guys see.. and on the weekend im heading to Indiana to the factory outlets! Happiness!! Meanwhile....... look at photos!
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[Tuesday
March 20th, 2007
10:31pm] |
Imaginasian 2007
ps: im in a rush so not much explanation. except for this: the dress i wear is not mine its damn big and i safety pinned like mad. lol
80s walk
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[Friday
March 16th, 2007
6:02pm] |
Random Thoughts:
- It's funny how i can read a novel by an American writer now and not have weird questions in my head like "wtf is a Sharpie??"
- It's sad ballet is gonna end soon. And i actually did it for 6 weeks without my ballet shoes. Way to dance.
- My fob earrings are here and i'm loving it.
- Getting kicked by Jess throughout the night isnt funny and it makes me tired the whole entire day.
- I have a WEIRD ASS walking partner for my fashion show. He freaks me out. ARGH!!
- Rehearsals for Imaginasian is from 12:30pm tmrw on a SATURDAY!
- ONE week to SPRING BREAK. Olala.
- Exams are next week AGAIN.
- I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT MY INTERNSHIP. Spring break. yes.
- Weather in Chicago sucks. From summer-weather to winter in TWO days.
- I think i'm beginning to love it here.
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[Wednesday
March 14th, 2007
7:01pm] |
JT's concert was really quite awesome.
PINK was the opening act she was great.
THE SHIT was TIMBALAND man. He spinned during the intermission it was the BEST spinning i have ever heard in my life. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo GOOD. I don't think I will ever get to hear such an awesome hiphop music ever again in my life.
JT was cool. Beatbox and dance moves were WOAH.
Ok lazy to update pics.........
been really busy!
byeeeeee
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[Friday
February 23rd, 2007
6:17pm] |
I fucking hate my 24 yr old roommate. Seriously ur 24 stop being so immature and clean up after urself and ur bf. im not ur maid.
Sick of all this drama. Gosh.
That shit aside,
Maddie- Yeah I am in accounting club and i sign up for alot of stupid stuff la. Like being a peer mentor to freshmen in Fall.. haha. IM DAMN SAD!!! I FINISHED WATCHING FULL HOUSE! RECOMMEND SOME MORE TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Yeah and i'm helping jess' friend to model at the Art Institute of Chicago.. Apparently it's a really big fashion show. No la, im just doing it as a favor for Jess cos shes been so nice to me. And i have to help out my friend for another fashion show for the asian americans in alliance. ahhhhhhhh. soo many stuff. BUt all is goood :D
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[Tuesday
February 20th, 2007
11:49pm] |
Hi people, very quick update.
Happy new year to you guys.. Although it really is a very different CNY for me this yr without my family..
Hmm busy as usual with meetings (again) and stuff.. Getting more involved with school which actually makes me happier! I like doing stuff. And maybe cos the weather is WARM!!! YAY! it's only abt 3-4 degrees wooooo. Its warm by Chicago standards. Better dun wish for so much. Haha.
To Jie: WIsh you a good flight back to Aussie and have a good yr in Aussie.. Wont be seeing you for awhile. :( I LOVE YOU!!! and miss you!!!!!!!!!
Yin: Be good! I havent heard from u in a long time esp after u take down ur blog! =( do another blog leh. do u even come and read this anymore! and pls show daddy and mummy these pics for me? They'd love to see it..
Mummy and Daddy: Miss you everyday!! :) i love youuuuuuuuu
Chinatown
the clothes make me look so fat right. maybe im that fat hahahaha.
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[Friday
February 16th, 2007
12:14am] |
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been extremely busy and sick.
oh wellllll
meetings, ballet and stuff
i think its inevitable that all overseas will start to lose touch with friends back home sooner or later. especially when i start coming home less than a month once a yr................
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[Tuesday
February 13th, 2007
12:49pm] |
It's crazy outside.. terrible snow storm. 12 inches of snow!! (which is 30 cm. yes your long ruler.) and i think there would be more.. its up till my knees! I dont want to go to school because im coughing and having a runny nose.. if i go out in that crazy weather.. i will get worse and i have ONE hist paper due this week and TWO exams!!!!
Argh.......... why didnt they cancel school?!?!
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[Saturday
February 3rd, 2007
5:11pm] |
It's superbowl on Sunday. Yes the great American Superbowl! The biggest event in America.
It's the Chicago Bears against the Indianapolis Colts for the title. First time in 22 years that the Bears are in the finals.
It's gonna be crazy with all the parties. Soo crazy.
GO BEARS!
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[Friday
January 12th, 2007
1:26am] |
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i dont wanna leave....... :(
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[Friday
December 22nd, 2006
6:59pm] |
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Yeah back finally..
i'm happy to be back. yet i feel damn weird. thank god i get to come home every 6 mths. and hopefully i will be coming home for good soon.
COS I REALLY FEEL LIKE IM LOSING MY ROOTS!
its weird to feel weird in ur own country. and thats so much stuff i dont know that is going on in singapore. i feel like a foreigner.
:(
its gonna take me another 10 yrs to come home for good and that thought just SUCKS
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| Ridiculously cold weather |
[Tuesday
December 5th, 2006
1:51pm] |
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The weather is sooo gross.
The average is like a -10degC each day..
Everyone looks like a penguin with eyes only. Everyone has scarves wrapped ard their faces.
oh my god.
i so miss warm weather!
PLease let it be in the 40s next weeekkkk. (40 Fahrenheit that is... about 5 deg?)
=(
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[Friday
December 1st, 2006
4:37pm] |
I woke up to this...
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[Thursday
November 30th, 2006
4:36pm] |
Found this on Facebook group of Overseas Singaporeans:
Regrouping the Singapore diaspora (Article Featured on Straits Times Sep 30th 2006)
Regrouping the Singapore Diaspora
Singapore faces the prospect of a population that will not be able to replace itself. Is wooing back emigrants a solution to make up the numbers? How dire is this outflow, and is it set to continue? Peh Shing Huei and Lynn Lee examine the issue and talk to those who have opted to stay abroad.
WHEN two Members of Parliament suggested in 1991 that Singapore woo its emigrants to return home, few Singaporeans agreed.
As education officer K. S. Yuen told The Straits Times then: 'These people have betrayed their country, and are ungrateful. If they want to go, let them go. We shouldn't encourage them to come back.'
Sharp words indeed, but the sentiment then was that these people had reaped educational and other subsidies, only to run off with their harvest to what they saw as greener pastures.
It led to some of Singapore's population and its political leaders adopting what demographics scholar Yap Mui Teng called 'a more belligerent attitude' towards Singaporeans who had migrated.
A different tune is being sung today.
With globalisation, the movement of citizens across borders is seen as commonplace. It is accepted as a means to gain experience and an understanding of how the world outside works.
The focus is now on wooing these people home at some point.
As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong put it in his National Day Rally speech: 'We worry because if every trained and skilled Singaporean is abroad, then who's going to be here in Singapore, jaga rumah, looking after the home, keeping Singapore dynamic, vibrant, beating?
'And if we have so many people overseas but not many in Singapore, where will the next generation of Singaporeans come from? How will we get talented and skilled Singaporeans to keep this place going?'
Tussle for talent
IN HUMAN resource-dependent Singapore, the loss of even one Singaporean is keenly felt.
Plummeting birth rates have not helped the situation. Just around 36,000 babies were born last year compared to 47,333 in 1997 and 52,957 in 1988.
It has prompted the Government to adopt a three- pronged approach to boost the population: encouraging couples to have more babies, opening the doors to immigrants and wooing home overseas Singaporeans.
While this strategy is played out, the world continues to beckon Singaporeans away for work and study.
As Mr Lee said in the same rally speech, Singaporeans not only find open doors in many countries, but are also being headhunted.
American Ivy League universities offer full-fee scholarship with no bonds. Australian colleges have cast their net beyond Singapore's polytechnic students. They welcome Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates too.
And when companies in China look for chief financial officers, Singaporeans are the preferred choice.
The PM made the point loud and clear: 'We are getting targeted and our workers are getting targeted.'
The 1990 Census of Population gave Singapore the first glimpse of the size of its diaspora: about 36,000.
Today, the Overseas Singaporeans Unit (OSU), set up to engage Singaporeans overseas, reckons it has quadrupled to 143,000.
But given that many Singaporeans do not register with the overseas consulates, it is likely that the actual figure may be far bigger. The unit admits that it is unable 'to know exactly how far short, if at all' this figure is.
The aggressive hunt for talent and the growing desire for overseas experience also mean the numbers can be expected to spike.
Figures from Australia, a popular destination for Singaporeans, show that the outflow has been increasing over the last decade.
In 1993-1994, only 502 people born in Singapore moved there and took up permanent residency. In 2000-2001, it doubled to 1,361. In 2005-2006, the number doubled again to 2,685. Figures for the United States were not available.
In July , a survey by Singapore Press Holdings found that two-thirds of young Singaporeans would like to work abroad. And more than half - 53 per cent - would consider emigration. This compares with 39 per cent of their counterparts in India and 28 per cent in Malaysia.
'The absolute number of Singaporeans leaving may be small compared to other countries, but our small population makes the percentage very high,' says Dr Terence Chong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas).
Anecdotal accounts also suggest that the Singapore diaspora is growing.
Mr Ho Seng Chee, who works for the International Monetary Fund, says he realised some two years ago that about 20 per cent of his National University of Singapore law school class of 185 were living overseas.
'And you wonder why there is a shortage of lawyers in Singapore!' he quips.
NUS sociologist Tan Ern Ser explains: 'Our country has been encouraging young people to go overseas. Even the universities have exchange programmes. It should not surprise us that many have taken up the challenge.'
Factor in the fact that those who stay abroad are likely to bring up their children there, and one can see why the outflow is a cause for concern.
It means real problems for Singapore: a brain drain, labour shortage and potential shortfalls for a military dependent on conscription.
A greying population would also increase the burden on the state. By the year 2030, one quarter of the population - almost half a million - will be above 60.
Assuming those who are working are between 15 and 59 years old, it means there will be three working adults supporting every two non-working persons.
It would also hamper the economy's ability to transit into new sectors if the pickings for younger workers trained in these areas are slim.
Iseas' Dr Chong cites another implication: Changes in Singapore's collective memory.
'A local born and naturalised Singaporean will have very different ideas of what Singapore means because of different childhood memories,' he says. 'Even the children of migrants who are born and bred in Singapore will be different because many parents would want them to have some contact or knowle`dge of their own ethnic culture. The idea of Singapore will never be fixed.'
Push and pull
BEFORE the Government knows how to draw them back, the question that has to be answered is: Why are Singaporeans going overseas?
The oft-cited factors are limited job opportunities, stressful lifestyle, high living costs and joining families. These seem to apply even in buoyant economic times.
From interviews and a look at past trends, it can be argued that three factors contribute to this phenomenon.
One, the global phenomenon to travel and experience life abroad. IT consultant Ramesh Dharma, 34, who uprooted his wife and two sons to move to Sydney last July, says: "I attended university in Australia and enjoyed the quality of life there. So I wanted my family to experience what it's like for a few years.'
Two, Singapore, ironically, has done too spectacular a job in its surge from Third World to First. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew noted last month that the 'brand name' of Singapore has given local talent a boost, with many Singaporeans sought after because they are honest and capable.
He cited a few examples, including the Russians' invitation to Changi Airport International to be their consultant for the upgrading and administration of the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport.
Three, the socio-political ethos and the existence of a Singapore ideology that does not impede emigration.
As Dr Chong says: 'Our nation is built on pragmatism and...it doesn't inspire people to stay. They are actually exercising the inculcated pragmatism by leaving for better opportunities.'
Dual citizenship?
TO DEAL with the increasing number of overseas Singaporeans, the Government has set up the OSU to engage them to retain their 'Singaporean-ness'.
Says OSU director Roy Quek: 'We want them to stay Singaporean even while they are abroad, regardless of how long they choose to be away. The decision to come home is theirs to make, and OSU is and will not be in any position to decide for them.'
Another solution could well be dual citizenship, which has always sparked off a mixed bag of responses.
The proposal continues to find arguments on both sides.
Dr Chong feels dual citizenship will not stem the outflow:
'Stemming the outflow would require a greater sense of belonging and the belief that Singapore is bigger than the sum of its parts.
'It would require Singaporeans to have a bigger say in the decision-making process and greater ownership over national issues. Until this happens, Singaporeans will only stay because they can't leave, and leave because they can no longer stay.'
But NUS sociologist Paulin Straughan says the move into an increasingly borderless society warrant`a look at whether a global citizen can also be a loyal Singaporean.
' I don't think dual-citizenship concessions will necessarily mean these citizens are less loyal to their countries.'
Would dual citizenship be the magic bullet? No one can tell, but as long as the subject of brain drain is discussed, you can expect it to surface.
At the moment, the Government looks like it is relying on the OSU model to mitigate against the effects of the brain drain.But the truth is, there is little the Government can do if people refuse to come back.
Maybe, however, the challenge for the OSU and other similar efforts isn't in getting overseas Singaporeans to return home in times of plenty.
The test is whether the bonds that are nurtured across the seas are strong enough to persevere through difficult weather.
Can the diaspora be counted on to help Singapore in times of need, say, in the same way the Koreans in the US did during the Asian financial crisis? Can they be counted on to think of Singapore as the place to invest in when they expand their businesses?
It will not be easy keeping in touch, but there is no other choice.
NIce.
:)
Seems like brain drain is a huge problem for Singapore but I don't think it is only happening in SIngapore but in many other countries. However, the issue is that Singapore has only one resource, that is, their people and judging from her ALREADY small population AND greying population. What is to become of Singapore if brain drain continues?
For me, I feel that no matter what, those who were brought up in Singapore and regard SIngapore as their home, no matter where they are and how long they have been overseas, Singapore is undoubtedly home especially if family is there. Will I help Singapore if there's problems back home?
You bet.
IN OTHER NEWS,
SINGAPORE: From 1st December, everyone in Singapore can enjoy free wireless access at public areas islandwide. Not only does this come a month ahead of schedule, the offer has also been extended for three years, one year longer than announced previously. Surf for free online from laptops, PDAs or mobile phones at downtown areas, major town centres, libraries, country clubs and shopping malls. SSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTT
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[Friday
November 24th, 2006
11:14pm] |
 Munnie in Chicago  Random shots  Silly girl bought me a abercrombie scarf  Hot pot yayyyyyyyyyyyyy  Never take picture of my cooking before  Yummy right?  I'm so cold that i put on many different layers. HAHA the utter mismatch of it!!!!!!!!! [Unknown LJ tag] |
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[Tuesday
November 21st, 2006
3:11pm] |
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SIngapore-Chicago
Funny how this already feels like home.
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[Sunday
November 19th, 2006
12:58pm] |
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So.. Mun Yuk has arrived in Chicago.
:D
I went to tour around with her for the first day.. Brought her to Millennium Park. Chicago is AMAZING! Yestrday was the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. Magnificent Mile is the 5th Avenue of Chicago. The festival was to light up the whole city at 6pm (it gets dark at 5) and they had a road parade and fireworks to officially start the holiday season!! Wow its not even Xmas or thanksgiving and its already so grand! Oooo Xmas! It really feels like Xmas here!! Sooooo niceeee with the lightings and amazing window displays and cold weather..
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[Wednesday
November 15th, 2006
7:56pm] |
MISS ME????
I MISS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!! cant wait to go home and hang out darlings.
mommy daddy big sis small sis
maddie yasi eve nise jess clara von adeline
aunties uncles
cousins
blablabla
i miss u guysssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
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