There's still some residual energy left after coaching (unbelievable as that may sound), so i'll blog about some recent revelations, as well as about some older stuff.
let's do recent first...like "few hours ago" kind of recent. after some discussion with my boss, i've decided to go for NCAP level 1 practical this year. problem is, the week in which the course is held coincides with my finals week. so i'll be missing two half-days of the course due to exams. looking at it from another point of view, i don't know if i can spare the brain space for more bowling knowledge at that time. this semester's finals are pretty important as well (i still have CAP-pulling to do), and i can't afford to mess them up. there's only one saving grace...the NCAP practical exam is held about 2 weeks after the start of the course, by which time my summer break would have already begun. the best case is that there will be another course available, preferably set entirely in my summer break, but i won't look that far yet. i figure that i'll give the SBF a call to find out more before arriving at a final decision in whether to enrol for the course or not.
timing is one of the major factors affecting my decision. the other is cost. the total fees for the course and the accompanying exam is $300. not cheap by my standards. to think that it only cost something like $40 10 years ago. of course, there's the old argument that 10 years ago, policemen also wore shorts (not literally, but you get the idea), so yes. can't really compare directly. doesn't make me stop wishing and being envious, though. worst thing is, that's only one of the financial bombs i have this year. other similar explosive devices include black belt grading ($250 for the grading, $100+ or so for the belt), and school fees (there appears to be a problem with CPF deductions). not forgetting that i'm supposed to be saving for a car in the background. performing calculations based on what i've experienced so far this year, i'll be very lucky to hit my initial savings target. in fact, having any increase in my bank balance (comparing the end of this year to the end of last year) would already bring a smile to my face. once again, we'll wait and see.
so far, i've been talking about deductions from my bank account. let's now talk about additions instead. as far as i can see, tuition (and coaching, when it's available) is the only really viable way to keep money flowing into the bank. other methods i have thought of include being a paid volunteer for testing experimental drugs, signing up for paid psychological trials, selling some of my old stuff (mostly books), selling myself (though i doubt i'd have any buyers), operating a private taxi service for people who study late in school, renting out my brother's bed on weekdays when he enlists in 2 weeks or so, and other similarly less-feasible plans. as (i hope that) you can see, i'm bordering on desperate here. too bad i'm not senior enough to do TA work in NUS...i've heard that it pays pretty well.
while i'm talking about money, i might as well mention something my dad brought up last month or so. similar to what he's said before, it's about selling the house and moving to another less central location. somehow, it doesn't seem that bad an idea now. i'm not sure why...maybe it has something to do with the $300 000 (or so) cash in hand that we'll have if we do that. i don't think my family's poor enough to desperately NEED it, but hey, who'd say no to an extra $300 000? and even if say, $200 000 (extreme estimate) had to be used to pay off various loans, debts, expenses and whatnot, that still leaves us with a positive $100 000 balance, which can be used for investing, and maybe even getting me a car (i'm still making the sensible choice and targeting the second-hand market, though i'd expect to have a little more room for choice). on the flipside, the main thing holding me back is sentimentality and resistance to change. after all, i grew up in bishan, and i know where almost everything is...from the better hawker centres to certain obscure shops. not to mention the presence of cat high in the neighbourhood as well. despite all the reasons for me to want to stay, the thought of all that spare cash is providing some serious competition.
of course, another important consideration is where exactly we move to. personally i'd like to move to a neighbourhood that is of similar standard to bishan. by "standard", i'm referring to appearance, safety and the overall feeling of the place. if i had to pass out drunk for a night at the void deck of some HDB block, i'd probably prefer to do it in bishan than say, clementi or paya lebar. bishan just gives me a feeling of security. it's probably because i grew up here and never encountered anything really unpleasant. i'm fine if it's a little more remote on a whole (especially if i get a car out of the deal), but the new place should at least look decent, be/feel safe, and have all the essential facilities (library, supermarket, hopefully shopping mall, pool and stadium) within reasonably-walkable distance. maybe somewhere like sengkang or punggol? i don't know. ultimately, it's a family decision, so while my opinion counts for something at least, it's not the definitive answer.
quick digression to today's coaching...i realized that i haven't talked about it yet. turns out that 39 kids showed up instead of 41. even though the reduction of 2 kids doesn't seem like much, i'll take whatever breaks i can get. as expected, it was pretty chaotic. thank goodness we got some of the P6 kids to take charge of small teams of juniors. it didn't work as well as intended, but once again, any relief is welcome. the selection process was easier this year. somehow, the potential choices were easier to identify. could be due to my observation skills improving, or a greater talent disparity amongst the kids. whatever it may have been, we have our 6 people. there may be another round of selection during the next session (after CNY), but i'll cross that bridge when i get to it.
during coaching, a few of the kids asked about my hair. somehow, they seem to form the following relation: long-haired guys = gay. i trust that they didn't learn that from school, but think in that stereotypical way because they're young and don't know any better. thank goodness they behaved reasonably well, and i managed to retain my authority throughout the session. as a reminder to myself, i'm there as their coach, so i can't get close to the primary school kids the same way that i do with the CJC/SJI kids (where i'm there as a senior). clear lines have to be drawn here, especially since i'm more than 10 years older than them. too bad that some of them are already becoming too close for comfort. have to make things clear when the serious coaching begins.
jumping to tuition, my random thought says that i have to decide by tonight, and decide i have. i've arranged for a phone conversation with the kid tomorrow, where i will lay out my conditions, expectations, and other stuff like that. one very important thing i've decided to add is that if he decides to terminate tuition again, he can forget about asking me ever again. breaks for some reason or another are ok, but if he wants to end it, the end will be permanent. reaching my decision to try again simply took too much unnecessary trouble (and killed too many innocent brain cells). i don't want to put myself through something like that again. i just hope that i made the correct decision to try again. normally after committing myself to a decision, i get some gut instinct feedback about whether it was right or not. so far, nothing in me has reacted to this case. maybe it'll come tomorrow, during/after the phone call.
right now, i have 3 confirmed tuition kids, and about 4 who are uncertain. the 3 confirmed are RJC girl, sec 1 RGS girl, and this kid whom i've just been talking about (assuming he still wants it, though it's more than likely he does). the 4 uncertain are ex-SJI-now-CJC boy, who hasn't chosen his A-level subjects yet, last year's RGS girl, MGS girl, and surprisingly enough, a st. gabriel's boy. i know this boy through judo. his judo is brilliant for his age, but apparently, that doesn't apply to his studies. as an added bonus (for me), he takes combined science, so teaching the chem component will be relatively easier. as for the physics part...i don't know. seems like he can cope, but i can TRY to help if need be, i guess. he has my card, so he'll contact me if he wants it.
out of the 4 uncertains, i'm expecting the guys to be more likely to give a favourable response. the girls...not so much. i mean, i taught them last year, and they know how to contact me. so, if they wanted to resume, they should have called me by now. i'm actually having mixed feelings about this. on one hand, i think that they should call me, because they're the ones who want tuition, and are hence in the weaker position. and yet, i could be seen as being in the weaker position too, because i need the money. then again, they don't know that, do they? i have been tempted to call them and ask about resuming, but i'm quite paiseh to do that. after all, i don't want to be seen as gian lui (greedy, money-minded). oh well. either it comes, or it doesn't. based on current estimations, i should have 4 tuition kids (5 if i'm lucky). that should be sufficient to at least keep my bank account at equilibrium by the end of the year.
taking the communication module (aka. ES module) has given me a lot of food for thought. for instance, what job(s) do i foresee myself having in the next 5, 10, 15 years? in an ideal world, i'd be a phd student in 5 years time, maybe an assistant or associate professor in 10, and have made some significant contribution to the chemical world by 15. the one possible kink in this chain of events is that i still am not quite sure about what exactly to research into. but well, i figure that i can work that out later. somehow, my plan includes living in japan for a bit. doesn't matter whether it's for the JET program or some other thing, but i really want to live there for at least a year or two. i can't really explain this urge. guess i just want to be exposed to a new culture or something. strangely enough, i find that my career may, just MAY, parallel that of my organic chem professor. he got his degree and went to japan for about 5 years before coming to singapore to assume his current position. i think he's one of the best people to answer my questions.
whoa...that's quite a substantial amount of stuff...and to think that there are still things i want to cover! well...guess that can wait for another time when the blogging mood strikes again. right now, it's getting late and i should be asleep, or at least getting there. until the next post, then.
let's do recent first...like "few hours ago" kind of recent. after some discussion with my boss, i've decided to go for NCAP level 1 practical this year. problem is, the week in which the course is held coincides with my finals week. so i'll be missing two half-days of the course due to exams. looking at it from another point of view, i don't know if i can spare the brain space for more bowling knowledge at that time. this semester's finals are pretty important as well (i still have CAP-pulling to do), and i can't afford to mess them up. there's only one saving grace...the NCAP practical exam is held about 2 weeks after the start of the course, by which time my summer break would have already begun. the best case is that there will be another course available, preferably set entirely in my summer break, but i won't look that far yet. i figure that i'll give the SBF a call to find out more before arriving at a final decision in whether to enrol for the course or not.
timing is one of the major factors affecting my decision. the other is cost. the total fees for the course and the accompanying exam is $300. not cheap by my standards. to think that it only cost something like $40 10 years ago. of course, there's the old argument that 10 years ago, policemen also wore shorts (not literally, but you get the idea), so yes. can't really compare directly. doesn't make me stop wishing and being envious, though. worst thing is, that's only one of the financial bombs i have this year. other similar explosive devices include black belt grading ($250 for the grading, $100+ or so for the belt), and school fees (there appears to be a problem with CPF deductions). not forgetting that i'm supposed to be saving for a car in the background. performing calculations based on what i've experienced so far this year, i'll be very lucky to hit my initial savings target. in fact, having any increase in my bank balance (comparing the end of this year to the end of last year) would already bring a smile to my face. once again, we'll wait and see.
so far, i've been talking about deductions from my bank account. let's now talk about additions instead. as far as i can see, tuition (and coaching, when it's available) is the only really viable way to keep money flowing into the bank. other methods i have thought of include being a paid volunteer for testing experimental drugs, signing up for paid psychological trials, selling some of my old stuff (mostly books), selling myself (though i doubt i'd have any buyers), operating a private taxi service for people who study late in school, renting out my brother's bed on weekdays when he enlists in 2 weeks or so, and other similarly less-feasible plans. as (i hope that) you can see, i'm bordering on desperate here. too bad i'm not senior enough to do TA work in NUS...i've heard that it pays pretty well.
while i'm talking about money, i might as well mention something my dad brought up last month or so. similar to what he's said before, it's about selling the house and moving to another less central location. somehow, it doesn't seem that bad an idea now. i'm not sure why...maybe it has something to do with the $300 000 (or so) cash in hand that we'll have if we do that. i don't think my family's poor enough to desperately NEED it, but hey, who'd say no to an extra $300 000? and even if say, $200 000 (extreme estimate) had to be used to pay off various loans, debts, expenses and whatnot, that still leaves us with a positive $100 000 balance, which can be used for investing, and maybe even getting me a car (i'm still making the sensible choice and targeting the second-hand market, though i'd expect to have a little more room for choice). on the flipside, the main thing holding me back is sentimentality and resistance to change. after all, i grew up in bishan, and i know where almost everything is...from the better hawker centres to certain obscure shops. not to mention the presence of cat high in the neighbourhood as well. despite all the reasons for me to want to stay, the thought of all that spare cash is providing some serious competition.
of course, another important consideration is where exactly we move to. personally i'd like to move to a neighbourhood that is of similar standard to bishan. by "standard", i'm referring to appearance, safety and the overall feeling of the place. if i had to pass out drunk for a night at the void deck of some HDB block, i'd probably prefer to do it in bishan than say, clementi or paya lebar. bishan just gives me a feeling of security. it's probably because i grew up here and never encountered anything really unpleasant. i'm fine if it's a little more remote on a whole (especially if i get a car out of the deal), but the new place should at least look decent, be/feel safe, and have all the essential facilities (library, supermarket, hopefully shopping mall, pool and stadium) within reasonably-walkable distance. maybe somewhere like sengkang or punggol? i don't know. ultimately, it's a family decision, so while my opinion counts for something at least, it's not the definitive answer.
quick digression to today's coaching...i realized that i haven't talked about it yet. turns out that 39 kids showed up instead of 41. even though the reduction of 2 kids doesn't seem like much, i'll take whatever breaks i can get. as expected, it was pretty chaotic. thank goodness we got some of the P6 kids to take charge of small teams of juniors. it didn't work as well as intended, but once again, any relief is welcome. the selection process was easier this year. somehow, the potential choices were easier to identify. could be due to my observation skills improving, or a greater talent disparity amongst the kids. whatever it may have been, we have our 6 people. there may be another round of selection during the next session (after CNY), but i'll cross that bridge when i get to it.
during coaching, a few of the kids asked about my hair. somehow, they seem to form the following relation: long-haired guys = gay. i trust that they didn't learn that from school, but think in that stereotypical way because they're young and don't know any better. thank goodness they behaved reasonably well, and i managed to retain my authority throughout the session. as a reminder to myself, i'm there as their coach, so i can't get close to the primary school kids the same way that i do with the CJC/SJI kids (where i'm there as a senior). clear lines have to be drawn here, especially since i'm more than 10 years older than them. too bad that some of them are already becoming too close for comfort. have to make things clear when the serious coaching begins.
jumping to tuition, my random thought says that i have to decide by tonight, and decide i have. i've arranged for a phone conversation with the kid tomorrow, where i will lay out my conditions, expectations, and other stuff like that. one very important thing i've decided to add is that if he decides to terminate tuition again, he can forget about asking me ever again. breaks for some reason or another are ok, but if he wants to end it, the end will be permanent. reaching my decision to try again simply took too much unnecessary trouble (and killed too many innocent brain cells). i don't want to put myself through something like that again. i just hope that i made the correct decision to try again. normally after committing myself to a decision, i get some gut instinct feedback about whether it was right or not. so far, nothing in me has reacted to this case. maybe it'll come tomorrow, during/after the phone call.
right now, i have 3 confirmed tuition kids, and about 4 who are uncertain. the 3 confirmed are RJC girl, sec 1 RGS girl, and this kid whom i've just been talking about (assuming he still wants it, though it's more than likely he does). the 4 uncertain are ex-SJI-now-CJC boy, who hasn't chosen his A-level subjects yet, last year's RGS girl, MGS girl, and surprisingly enough, a st. gabriel's boy. i know this boy through judo. his judo is brilliant for his age, but apparently, that doesn't apply to his studies. as an added bonus (for me), he takes combined science, so teaching the chem component will be relatively easier. as for the physics part...i don't know. seems like he can cope, but i can TRY to help if need be, i guess. he has my card, so he'll contact me if he wants it.
out of the 4 uncertains, i'm expecting the guys to be more likely to give a favourable response. the girls...not so much. i mean, i taught them last year, and they know how to contact me. so, if they wanted to resume, they should have called me by now. i'm actually having mixed feelings about this. on one hand, i think that they should call me, because they're the ones who want tuition, and are hence in the weaker position. and yet, i could be seen as being in the weaker position too, because i need the money. then again, they don't know that, do they? i have been tempted to call them and ask about resuming, but i'm quite paiseh to do that. after all, i don't want to be seen as gian lui (greedy, money-minded). oh well. either it comes, or it doesn't. based on current estimations, i should have 4 tuition kids (5 if i'm lucky). that should be sufficient to at least keep my bank account at equilibrium by the end of the year.
taking the communication module (aka. ES module) has given me a lot of food for thought. for instance, what job(s) do i foresee myself having in the next 5, 10, 15 years? in an ideal world, i'd be a phd student in 5 years time, maybe an assistant or associate professor in 10, and have made some significant contribution to the chemical world by 15. the one possible kink in this chain of events is that i still am not quite sure about what exactly to research into. but well, i figure that i can work that out later. somehow, my plan includes living in japan for a bit. doesn't matter whether it's for the JET program or some other thing, but i really want to live there for at least a year or two. i can't really explain this urge. guess i just want to be exposed to a new culture or something. strangely enough, i find that my career may, just MAY, parallel that of my organic chem professor. he got his degree and went to japan for about 5 years before coming to singapore to assume his current position. i think he's one of the best people to answer my questions.
whoa...that's quite a substantial amount of stuff...and to think that there are still things i want to cover! well...guess that can wait for another time when the blogging mood strikes again. right now, it's getting late and i should be asleep, or at least getting there. until the next post, then.
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