TGIF!
Much as I complain about having to interact with people, I actually ought to also give some credit to the pretty decent and thought-provoking lectures we get :) Yesterday was econs crash course/revision for me, with overview of micro/macro econs in public sector condensed in single day... Was seriously info overload, but you know, I realised that I still like econs very much... though I am now incapable of really applying concepts learnt previously. Today was part social safety net overview part entrepreneurship stuff... and in fact I also liked the sessions very much (except some PS21 thingy at end of day). Though I was presented with more open-ended questions than answers, I was glad to be made aware of some very real social issues/problems... Eg. sometimes like if ppl are not able to self-help/work even if they are willing to, yet dun qualify for govt assistance, then HOW?? The highlight of the day was Q&A session with successful local entrepreneur Ivan Lee (owner of Thai Express, Xin wang cafe and a bunch of other brands) and his anecdote (i think it was intentionally crafted on the spot for our class) how the monthly profit at just one of his soya bean stalls (the more popular branch) was abt $20 to $25k or so, easily more than that of our higher ranking civil servants.... :P I mean, he was just so frank and open about a lot of stuff that it made the dialogue really interesting...
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TGIF! I think I've had enough brain exercise for the week... though I'd better mug my driving theory books a bit tmr morning, before my refresher driving lesson in afternoon.... :P
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
On 2-week course!
Today is Day 3 of my 2-week course at CSC and though it's been pretty interesting it's also rather tiring! 7 more days of full-time lectures, active participation (technically i cannot complain since i am like one of most passive) and absorbing new information! Well, I suppose it is a good opportunity to actually meet and interact with public sector officers from different ministries/ stat boards... But after a while, it becomes a tiny chore. Like too much new external stimuli for the like-to-be-AS me... I mean, class is also deviously designed to encourage interaction among participants, so want to be unsocial also a bit the difficult. I suppose have to admit though that most of them seem like decent ppl, aside from a handful of questionable (but cannot conclude yet that i confirm dun like) cases. There are at least 40 participants and I wonder if i'll manage to get everyone's names by end of course... And the thing is, when you meet someone you haven't spoken to (either at tea, lunch, organised outing etc) the conversation starter is almost always, oh so where are you from? What do you do? Feel a bit like broken tape recorder already... Maybe from tmr onwards I should just be unconventional and ask ppl, so what do you do in your free time? It's like, why am I so conditionedly treating every participant as merely a rep from his/her respective workplace...
Today is Day 3 of my 2-week course at CSC and though it's been pretty interesting it's also rather tiring! 7 more days of full-time lectures, active participation (technically i cannot complain since i am like one of most passive) and absorbing new information! Well, I suppose it is a good opportunity to actually meet and interact with public sector officers from different ministries/ stat boards... But after a while, it becomes a tiny chore. Like too much new external stimuli for the like-to-be-AS me... I mean, class is also deviously designed to encourage interaction among participants, so want to be unsocial also a bit the difficult. I suppose have to admit though that most of them seem like decent ppl, aside from a handful of questionable (but cannot conclude yet that i confirm dun like) cases. There are at least 40 participants and I wonder if i'll manage to get everyone's names by end of course... And the thing is, when you meet someone you haven't spoken to (either at tea, lunch, organised outing etc) the conversation starter is almost always, oh so where are you from? What do you do? Feel a bit like broken tape recorder already... Maybe from tmr onwards I should just be unconventional and ask ppl, so what do you do in your free time? It's like, why am I so conditionedly treating every participant as merely a rep from his/her respective workplace...
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