K-drama: Empress Ki, Healer

The holidays have started and I rewarded myself with some awesome dramas!

Thanks to the great recommendation by Dion, I first got introduced to Empress Ki. I have always knew about the drama (Ha Ji Won is inside, obviously I would know about it), the synopsis did not attract me enough because it seemed really similar to Dong Yi (which I have watched previously). Furthermore, 50 episodes is a really long drama.

Luckily, I pushed myself into watching it since I had nothing much to do one day. I went in without reading any spoiler and I really suggest that you do that because I got a really good surprise, which is the fact that the main character (Ki Nyang) dresses up as a male in the first 10+ episodes!!! Seriously, it's been too long since I've seen dramas with a badass girl dressing up as a guy, and people acknowledging her without caring about her gender. 

What I really liked about Empress Ki is how it espouses feminism on so many levels. From Nyang cross-dressing and attaining praise from men around her, to how she rises up within the palace amidst an environment with so many men. 

The plot of Empress Ki is also really fast-paced and holds its own pretty well, although it does get slightly sloppy in the last 10 episodes. However, the first 40 episodes are pretty amazing. In fact, I do feel like the story has lost its momentum after El Temur was killed; it was the remaining desire to see how Nyang ends up as the Empress that led me to continue watching the drama. Oh, and the last redeeming feature of the last 10 episodes is literally Tal Tal; his character is incredibly nuanced and it helps that he has the smarts like Nyang does.

To be honest, I felt like the characters of King Wang Yu and Emperor Togon were annoying throughout the whole drama (save for the last episode which was REALLY the redeeming episode for Emperor Togon; how can anyone not like him after that?). They were unexpectedly very emotional, which I guess could be argued to show how there are no stereotypes (i.e. women are supposed to be more emotional than men). They were even more emotional than Nyang, which led them to made some really weird choices. Frankly, this made me as a viewer quite irritated.

And honestly, I never really liked both of them (I skipped alot of Wang Yu's parts lol). But I guess Emperor Togon was less annoying of the both. I especially liked his interaction with Nyang when he hired her as the palace maid and constantly teased her. And like I said previously, the last few episodes really redeemed him as a character, which showed how he could have been a pretty awesome ruler if not for the various villains and people in his way.

Empress Ki is definitely a good historical drama to add to my collection. However, its 50 episodes is definitely a little off-putting. Anyway, people who like Empress Ki should also watch Hwang Jini (with Ha Ji Won again) and The Princess Man; they all have pretty solid female characters :)

The next drama I will talk about is Healer. I mainly watched it because of a mild interest in Ji Chang Wook who acted in Empress Ki, and because I thought "action drama, why not?". I was definitely afraid that it would turn out to be like City Hunter which I got slightly bored of after watching 8 episodes. However, it turned out to be similar but different; in other words, I think that Healer is a better version of City Hunter (at least for the first 8 episodes since I did not watch the later episodes of City Hunter). 

I was initially reluctant to watch this drama because I was not really a fan of Park Min Yeong. However, this drama gave me a better impression of her. I felt she became more mature and acted better in this drama. Also, she gave off a more natural feeling and look. Was it the lack of make-up/ little make-up? Either way, I felt she looked better in this drama and became more in love with her as a character as the drama went on.

Firstly, this drama is really smart. The technology inside (the glasses anyone?), the information gathering techniques and the martial arts is just amazing. This drama makes Healer feel really high-tech without being overtly showy (since Healer is supposed to be unknown by the general public right??), giving it a very realistic feel. And everyone in this drama is really smart, or has at least a certain level of common sense (yes, even the main female character Sin Yeong), making this a really fun drama to watch as you see characters trying to figure each other out. 

Secondly, this drama is very realistic. Okay, what I mean is that we do not get characters doing things which would probably seem very stupid in real life, simply for the sake of developing plotlines. For example, there was this scene where Sin Yeong knows that Healer is going off to fight, she asks him if there is going to be fighting. And when he replies yes, she immediately gets off the car and leaves Healer to do his own badass fighting, without being a burden to him. I was really scared that she would be like normal female characters who say 'okay, I'll go with you and help.' When that usually happens, I think in my mind, "Exactly what can you help him with???" Although it could be because of her trauma towards violence, dramas always make a mistake with this kind of situation and I am really glad that they didn't do that here.

Thirdly, the chemistry between the two main characters is really amazing!! Episode 15 onwards will show how. Furthermore, I like how the love between these 2 characters do not get weakened simply due to misunderstandings - a plotline that dramas use too often. Rather, there is implicit trust between them, which makes it a very enjoyable love line to watch.

Fourth, every, and I mean every, character in this show is interesting to watch. Although there certainly are minor characters, these characters do not get simplified into one-dimensional ones. They each have their own motivations and you can certainly feel what's driving each of them; and let me tell you, their motivations are all very rational, a very delightful change from dramas with characters who just do bad simply for the sake of being bad - like, why would anyone in the right mind do that? Supporting casts are also developed very nicely, that little recap for Healer's teacher in Episode 15 was pure gold. I liked how the drama focused on different relationships, rather than simply the romantic ones.

Lastly, the soundtrack is amazing. They even got this Danish band Michael Learns To Rock to write an OST called Eternal Love. Like WOW. The sound effects are also really fitting for this drama - all the camera-zooming sounds really made this drama feel all that much like an action drama.

Okay, enough of my praise for this amazing drama. But seriously, its plot is amazing, even for the last episode (which usually ends up being a filler episode, but this does not happen in Healer). Although, I would have liked more of a complete ending which tied up all the loose ends. But then again, I guess the remaining loose ends is also part of what makes the ending episode a good one - it leaves you wanting more. 

Oh, and Healer made me start liking Ji Chang Wook, a much needed save after my dislike of his character in Empress Ki. He was just totally cool in this drama - smart, good-looking, knows how to fight.

And that's all for my drama praise! I am really lucky to have picked dramas which I end up liking; I would have hated it if I ended up feeling I wasted my time watching it. 

I shall now go on a search for another awesome drama before my term break ends hee.

University Life

It has been approximately 3 months since I started university.

Here's a few of my thoughts on what university life entails after having experienced it for 3 months.

University life requires you to step out. After having been in the same school for 6 years, making new friends is a skill that one will have to pick up again. Taking the initiative to start conversations and trying to keep conversations going is something that one will have to go through again. Yet, I realise that it is going to be a necessary skill to have in the future when we go to the workplace, where most of the time, you might be coming into contact with new people 70% of the time. 

Staying in hall is also kind of socially exhausting. Although you are simply staying in your hall room, you will always feel the pressure to be out there, somewhere, doing something, with someone. You will probably feel this social pressure for the first few months, but you will eventually get used to it (especially when the work starts coming in; all you want to do is to mug in your hall).

Also, it is actually kind of important to go for camps. They are a really good platform for you to just meet people. They are often going to be the first point of contact for most people. Cliques/ groups are often formed during these camps. Even if one gets adopted into an existing orientation group, it doesn't mean that one will instantly become close with the other members of the group.

Lastly, discipline is really important. The many breaks in between the lessons may seem useless in the beginning; yet, you will realise their usefulness later on, especially with things such as hall activities and ccas later on. Go for lectures, because you can never trust yourself to complete the recording later in less than 2 hours (but then again, if you can, then that can prove to be a time-saving option). 

It is always important to remember your purpose for being in university. Sure, it is important to play and make friends. However, always keep your studies in mind. Much more so for me - 3.5 is the magical number. 

Ultimately, university has proved to be a very eye-opening experience for me. I wouldn't say that it has been a super fun journey (people tend to over-glorify the image of freedom and university). I would think that university is a very important transition period in one's life. Not just in terms of studies and 'freedom', but really in terms of social life. I am interacting with a lot of older people (guys are usually 21 years old in university + ex-poly students). You expose yourself to the constant need to interact with strangers (there are no more 'classes' per say) and to adapt (especially when university is pretty confusing). 

I sure hope that I turn out better from this university experience.

My Latest Obsession: SHINee Taemin

Given that this blog has weathered the storms of my ever-changing obsessions, whether they be Katy Perry, Christian Bale, Hyun Bin, The Killers or 30 Seconds to Mars, it seems given that I should blog about my latest obsession: SHINee, or more specifically Taemin.

Now the question on everybody's mind (literally, everybody that I inform - my friends (who were VERY amused), cousins (who were genuinely shocked) and family (my mum was just happy that I am idolising a guy)) is how did this all start?

About 2 months ago, I was watching MCountdown because there was nothing else interesting on the television that day. It also happened to be the day of Shinee's comeback. Given that I knew the existence of the group (due to Lucifer and Ring Ding Dong), I was mildly interested in knowing what their comeback was going to be like.
They first performed Love Sick, which I wasn't very impressed with.
Next was their performance of View, which really impressed me. Okay, it wasn't so much the performance as it was the song itself. View is a song with a deep house genre, which happens to be a genre I really like to listen to for English songs. Furthermore, the song View sounded clean. It's very hard to explain this concept, but basically, I have never really been obsessed with Kpop because it has always sounded very 'noisy', for a lack of better description. There are a lot of messy EDM elements, along with the lack of a catchy enough chorus, that make every song sounds the same as the other.
I was truly, very surprised to hear a Kpop song sound like that. In my mind, I was thinking that "wow, kpop has finally got to this level". And that piqued my interest enough to go onto Youtube to find and listen to the song View (on loop).

Along the way, I spotted Taemin's danger at the suggested playlist on the side. I clicked it and viola! Was I surprised by the whole image change of Taemin! I remembered him most recently then on Henry's Trap. His new image was really sexy and all grown-up (which I really liked!!).
Furthermore, Taemin's Danger was actually pretty catchy for me to add it to my playlist. The dance choreography was really impressive as well.
Next, I listened to an OST song he sang called U. That was then I decided that I really liked this guy. I had actually listened to U before (while watching To the Beautiful You), but didn't know it was sung by Taemin. And his voice while singing U is really good/smoothing.

So there you have it.

After obsessing myself over Taemin's solo album (yeap, I was 1 year late and missed all that), I decided to listen to Shinee's albums. Since Taemin was a member of Shinee, in order to listen to more of Taemin, Shinee was the only way to go haha. Basically, my like for Taemin developed into a like for Shinee.

And... Shinee turned out to be a group that really suited my tastes. Now, note that at this time, the last Shinee song that I listened to properly was Lucifer / Sherlock (which I didn't really like at that time). That was really long ago. 2013-2014 was my A-level study period so... yeap, I was also more obsessed with English music at that point due to Katy Perry's Prism.

Turns out that 2013 was a massive year for Shinee, with Dream Girl, Why So Serious and Everybody. After listening to their most recent albums (I kind of went backwards in my timeline with Shinee), I was genuinely surprised at the various genres present in their albums. I also really like their songs, which are slightly influenced by American pop I think.

The Misconceptions of You (Dream Girl album) was probably the first Shinee album that I fell in love with because it had a lot of catchy songs like Punch Drunk Love, Girls Girls Girls, Aside and Beautiful. Overall, it was a very good album to listen to if you were, like me, transitioning from US pop to Kpop.

Afterwards, I became more and more impressed with Shinee's vocal and dance performance. Yeap, they sing and dance live.

It helped that I was right in the midst of Shinee's comeback (Odd album) so there was always some new material/ performance at those music countdowns.

And now....  there is going to be a repackaged album for Odd (Married to the Music)!! Will I buy it?? Hmmmm probably hahaha. I shall see.

Anyway, I just thought this was interesting to share. This is a 2014 interview between Jonghyun and Taemin (both are members of Shinee) at Jonghyun's radio show called Blue Night. I guess it is because it is a talk between members, that's why the interview turned out to be quite insightful and meaningful with regard to the Korean music scene and the idol life.
[ENG SUB] 140818 SHINee's Jonghyun & Taemin - MBC Blue Night - Video Dailymotion

And that's all from a new Shawol and Taemint (yeap, that's what the fans call themselves haha).

Book Review: Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

Book summary:

Tokyo prostitutes Yuriko and Kazue have been brutally murdered, their deaths leaving a wake of unanswered questions about who they were, who their murderer is, and how their lives came to this end. As their stories unfurl in an ingeniously layered narrative, coolly mediated by Yuriko’s older sister, we are taken back to their time in a prestigious girls’ high school—where a strict social hierarchy decided their fates — and follow them through the years as they struggle against rigid societal conventions.

Shedding light on the most hidden precincts of Japanese society today,Grotesque is both a psychological investigation into the female psyche and a work of noir fiction that confirms Natsuo Kirino’s electrifying gifts.

It's been a really long time since I did a book review. It's because I have been falling into a bad habit of stopping a book halfway through and not continuing it.
As such, Grotesque is the first book that I have managed to finished reading in these past 6 months.
That calls for a celebration, and a review, I suppose.

Grotesque's premise is without a doubt, extremely interesting. In fact, I borrowed the book from the library precisely because of its interesting premise, seeing as how I have been so bored with recent books that I gave up on finishing them.

The book is told from various perspectives: Yuriko's older sister (whom I have only realised at the end of the book, is unnamed), Yuriko (whose beauty is so great she could be regarded as a monster - I know this sounds ridiculous, but let's just go with it), Kazuo (a naive hard worker who is unfortunately slowly embroiled in prostitution) and Zhang (the murderer of Yuriko, and possibly, Kazuo).

Having the book told from different perspectives was really refreshing for various reasons.

First off, Yuriko's older sister is really annoying after a while. I probably would not be able to stand an entire book written in her perspective only. Yuriko's older sister is self-obsessed, inconsiderate and hypocritical. But then again, I guess this is all on purpose, as the book is essentially a study of characters and what drives them.

Having the book told from different perspectives also really put me into the minds of the characters. It allowed me to understand how they felt and why they did the things they do. The only 'diary' that I was truly skeptical about was probably Zhang's because it was written as a form of confession to be read out to court (where he was trialed). His accounts were also mis-matched with Kazuo's, though, that could also be explained by how things are interpreted and appear differently for different people.

Although I did not really understand some of the foolish actions some of the characters made, I did understand how it was possible for some of them to be so driven to do such extreme things. Some of them, like Kazuo, are very easily affected by things, such that they tend to magnify a single event and interpret it in exaggerated and warped ways. Though this may sound silly, I know that it is possible because I (and possibly most people) have experienced this before.

The characters take unreal actions that are guided by realistic emotions.

That is possibly the most interesting aspect of this book. Is it bravery/courage/stupidity/recklessness that drives them to express their emotions and vent frustrations in this way? Why won't normal people (like you or me) ever do something as extreme as the characters in the book? Is it because of the social norms? The difference in the circumstances surrounding us? The difference in the desperateness and despair of the situation?

The book offers an interesting look at how each character struggles to find some form of control and power over their own lives. Particularly, the book focuses on characters who are inevitably stuck in their fate and unable to crawl out.
For Yuriko, the fact that she is only pretty, with no other redeeming features such as brains.
For Yuriko's sister, the fact that she is always compared to Yuriko.
For Kazuo, the fact that no one acknowledges her hard work. Her hard work can never compensate for the world of power and connections.
For Zhang, the fact that he is a poor powerless immigrant, always scrimping and saving.
Some of them choose to embrace their innate fate (Yuriko), while others resist it in small ways (Kazuo and Zhang).

The book also has a few other notable characters with interesting developments: Kajima, Kajima sensei, Mizuki (not sure if this is her name.. haha)

All in all, the book was really interesting and mind-blowing (because of the way characters react).

The only disappointment was perhaps the ending of the book. It felt too rushed for me. There was also a lack of meaning behind the ending. Well, I guess it could have been reflective of how all the characters were all simply looking for a way to 'feel alive', whether in legal or illegal ways. However, the ending for Yuriko's sister did feel slightly awkward compared to the much more well-developed backgrounds of the other characters.

Rating: 6.5/10
Anyway, I recommend this book for bored readers (like me haha).
The plot is really interesting and the characters are intriguing enough. I could not help but sympathise with some of them. Read it for the characters rather than the plot, I guess.
However, it is only for mature readers (i.e. ages 16 and up) because of the material involved.

The Journey of Crossroads (Or Not)

The period of frantically applying for universities and scholarships is finally over.

My feelings throughout this period probably went like this:
Excited - Depressed - Apathetic - Hopeful - Resigned

Excited

It was the beginning of everything. I had gotten acceptance into a few UK universities (of which I was really keen on Warwick). I got offered the Nanyang Scholarship. I was going for a lot of interviews. Basically, there were many things going on and it felt like anything was possible, even the idea of possibly landing up overseas!

Depressed

However, harsh reality then set in after going for numerous rounds of interviews.

Here were a few that I went for and some of my experience (in case anyone's reading this in order to prep for future scholarship interviews):

CAAS

I only went for the first round. Overall, I thought that this was one of the more fun interviews I had. We were made to discuss certain issues and scenarios in a group. Luckily, I had nice members in my group, making the whole session much like a friend-making session rather than a competitive session. The only thing I could have probably improve was my oral skills. Having not spoken publicly for almost 4 months, it felt really difficult and unnatural for me to immediately get into debates and speeches.

Outcome: Rejected

PSC

Somehow, the entire PSC journey felt the most tiring to me. First, the psychometric test which I encourage everyone to take it as soon as possible; they are basically just MCQ questions.

Next, there was the 3 hour long psychological interview that felt the most torturous to me. If your answer was deemed to be not detailed enough/short, the psychologists would keep probing you. Although I get that they are supposed to probe in order to know you better, I thought the method of probing was rather vague and ended up making me feel frustrated as I tried to find out what exactly is the issue that they wanted me to answer. There were also times when I felt that I had nothing else to add on, but the psychologist continued probing. I was just wondering in my head, 'What else do you want me to add on? That's all there is to it!'

Next was the panel interview. The panel interview asked the weirdest questions. It's not that it's weird, but rather, everything was very hypothetical such that it made answering very difficult. They asked me about the moral values that a public servant should uphold. They also asked me about whether I would still go overseas if I had my own funds - basically, they were trying to insinuate that I might have the consensus that as long as it was government money, I was more willing to spend it without care/concern. They also asked why did I not choose Peking University even though I was from Dunman High.... (this question did annoy me a little) My interview was very short - less than 15 minutes only! This was compared to the person before me who took almost 25 minutes. An advice: please try to last about 20 minutes for panel interviews. Although people say that the duration does not matter as much as the depth of your answer, it does say something if they decide to cut the interview short as they are expected to fully assess where their investments go (aka you).

Outcome: Rejected (which was totally expected considering how my interviews went). Yet, at the end of the day, I did feel like I probably did not deserve it. I did not have a clear objective in mind when I went to the PSC Scholarship interviews. What was I going to do in PSC? Which ministry did I want to go to? Why PSC? Why public service? These are probably questions that everyone applying for PSC should try to answer. If you cannot answer any, then PSC is probably not for you, at least not yet. If that's the case, one should not bother wasting time applying for something you are not even sure about.

SIA

SIA's first round consisted of a series of written tests (time to brush up on your GP skills). There was also an interview in which they, again, asked me very weird questions:

- If you had your own funds (again!) to go overseas, would you still take up a scholarship bond? I replied no, saying that considering the risks (probably the wrong word to use) that I might not like my future job, it would be better to take the choice that avoids uncertainty. The guy interviewing me said that he agreed with my choice, but I think that answer probably left a less favourable impression of me.

- Do you think it's realistic for majority of the youngsters these day to go into their first company with the mindset that they will stay on for 6 years? Again, I said no, which was probably the wrong answer. I answered with the focus being on 'realistic'. No, it wasn't realistic according to statistics etc. However, after reaching home and asking my parents about it, it turns out I should have say something along the lines of: It may be unrealistic, but it's not impossible. As long as the company proves to be one that is willing to invest in the workers and provide opportunities for growth, it is not impossible for the young person to stay on for 6 years. 

Lesson: Always try to add anything negative you say with something positive. They are probably looking for someone optimistic and my reply probably didn't help my cause.

Outcome: Rejected

SMU

I basically went there without knowing it was scholarship interview; I thought it was an admissions interview, which would have been in a group, needing little preparation. I was very ill-prepared and answered questions very badly. Basically, I think it showed that I was practical. 

One of the interviewers asked me what my plan was. And I stupidly answered that if I got a scholarship from an organisation, I would go overseas. BAD ANSWER. Please, let no one ever make such as silly mistake as me.
Overall, I thought that I 'wasted' this interview because I absolutely had no preparation, both technical (reading up on SMU) or mental. My answers to their questions were mostly what I thought of on the spot, which tended to be very incoherent/ shoddy. Even I could tell I was obviously smoking my way through!

Outcome: No reply (Uni scholarships are a continuous process and they only offer it to the next best person if someone rejects it). But I am probably rejected.

Apathetic

MINDEF DMS

Mindef was probably the scholarship I wanted the most as I was really interested in being part of the organisation and contributing to policy work. 

Mindef's first round of interviews was the last few (it was near the end of April). By this time, I had already gone through so many interviews and rejections that I was feeling apathetic. "Whatever comes my way, shall come." I basically went in with that kind of mindset. Strangely enough, I think it was this mindset that made me perform better at the interview. I was quite calm during the interview and managed to do quite well, I would say. More importantly, they didn't ask questions related to funding (money questions), but questions on their organisation, my experiences etc. They even asked me what I thought about demolishing Lee Kuan Yew's house. This interview was probably one of my best.
Lesson: Stay calm and go in with a neutral mindset. This is probably the hardest lesson to put into practice though O_o

(More shall be continued later)

NUS

I went in with the same mindset as Mindef's first round scholarship. I went in and basically put what I learnt into practice. Be calm. Mention positive things when saying something negative.

I think I did pretty okay for it. They did ask me on what basis/ criteria would I choose between the 3 local unis, so the others might want to watch out for that.

Outcome: No reply

Hopeful

MINDEF DMS (continued)

I got invited to the second and final rounds of interview. This was when I thought that after all those rejections, there was actually a glimmer (?) of hope that I might be able to join MINDEF and go overseas (or even stay local because the idea of going overseas alone seemed scary at this point).

They would probably expand upon what you said in your first interview, along with your answers there and then. They asked me about what I thought regarding the policies towards South China Sea, since I mentioned it in one of my answers. I did think I was slightly more nervous compared to before. 

Outcome: Rejected. I was a definitely disappointed at being rejected even though I knew the chances of getting a MINDEF scholarship was extremely low. Still, the whole experience of going through the Mindef scholarship gave me a good impression and I might still apply for it as a job after graduating :)

Resigned

This is basically what I am feeling this week. 

After all the running back and forth to various locations (especially the West area), I am left with the Nanyang Scholarship (and NTU USP actually). 

There are also personal circumstances around me that changed, forcing me to basically limit my choices. Which I am actually quite upset about because I do not even get to choose amongst my local universities.

However, as a form of duty/obligation (? I have no idea how to even express why I do what I do), I need to choose the option which presents the least burden to the ones around me. I know that my family might not have pressured me in any way, but I am the type of person who cannot help but take certain issues into account. I guess I am left feeling disappointed because no one actually understands how I WANT to at least be given the choice to choose. Others might have felt relief that some of my options are closed, but frankly, that puts me off. 

Either way, even though NTU might not have been my first choice in the beginning, I am still going to enjoy my time there and make full use of the opportunities that my time at NTU would offer: lots of overseas exposure, staying at the newest halls, free tuition fees, USP opportunities and the experience of freedom/independence! 

I just really hope that my appeal to change courses gets through ._. Wish me luck!!!!

An Affair With Expedia

This post shall be about my virgin experience with Expedia and basically, booking online for a trip.

It all started when my friends and I decided to go on an overseas trip. Anyway, long story short, the trip evolved from going to Taiwan to going to Hong Kong.

So, I was on the train one day when I saw one of those hangers (I don't know what you call those) advertising Expedia, which was having an online travel fair. Me being me, I was extremely excited. 

Thus, I immediately went home and searched for some travel deals on Expedia. And... I found that booking a flight and hotel on Expedia was much cheaper than I had thought; my friends and I went to a travel expo fair recently so we kind of knew the market rates. 

I was super excited and encouraged my friends to book using Expedia. 

As events progressed, I ended up calling Expedia to see if they could guarantee us an extra bed for one of the rooms; the no. of people we had on our flights and hotel were different, spawning this complicated booking process. 

However, by this time (several days had already passed since I first checked Expedia out), the flight rates had increased (I HAD NO IDEA HOW AND WHY). But I still decided to check with an Expedia agent. 

Now, the rough estimates of prices I previously calculated using Expedia's online booking was inclusive of 20kg luggage check-in. 

Using online calling, I asked an Expedia agent if he could guarantee an extra bed. And what was the difference in rates if we booked the flight and hotel separately versus together.

To cut the long story short, the Expedia agent promised me a rate of $800+ for flight, saying it was inclusive of luggage check-in. I decided it was cheaper so I proceeded to ask him to book the flight (this was after approximately 1.5h of talking and waiting on the phone). 

It was only after booking the flight and hotel, then did he tell me that there "seems to be a bit of a problem". I was just thinking to myself, WHAT KIND OF PROBLEM.

Turns out, he booked the flight wrongly. The dates were correct but he didn't include check-in luggage. IMAGINE MY HORROR because this would mean the actual cost of the trip would have an additional $200+ in total. 

The agent didn't even apologise to me, and made it seem like it was due to a sudden rise in flight prices. When in actual fact, it was he who gave the wrong quote and booked the flight wrongly. He then transferred me to the Customer Support team, where no one picked up and the call got terminated.

I was very frustrated given that this happened at around 11pm at night (my stress levels tend to go up at night haha). I called the Customer Support team and they directed me to the flight team (they said for this case, we had to directly coordinate with the airline) and the call terminated again. I was very unhappy and irritated, especially since I was the one who pressed my friends to book via Expedia; we initially had other back-up plans to book cheap flights in order to lower costs. I felt as if the rise in costs for my friends was partially my fault.

The next day (which was the day of my PSC interview), I called Expedia again and they said I had to coordinate with the airline directly again. I was basically angry because the issue was with their booking, not the airline. They also did not have any form of back-up plan should the agent book wrongly.

Anyway, I proceeded to email both Expedia and TigerAir, asking for a cancellation of flight.

The complication comes in because TigerAir is a non-refundable airline, so I could not cancel my flight to change to a cheaper one.

TigerAir replied by saying the booking was made by Expedia, not them, so any changes should be made to Expedia. They could not offer me a fully refunded cancellation. This part kind of made sense, though I could not help but feel annoyed at their strict non-refund policy.

Expedia replied 5 days later; frankly, I was surprised that they would even reply me. 

They said that they had passed on this case to the relevant department and that I should expect a reply in 3-5 working days. 

So, I waited. After 5 working days passed with no updates, I emailed the person again, changing my stance from wanting a cancellation of flight to wanting a complimentary top-up of check-in baggage for all passengers. That way, the quote that the agent offered me (flight + baggage = $800+) would still hold. The person replied by saying the case has already been passed on and that I should called Customer support to check out what the progress was. After calling, a woman picked up. She proceeded to help me check out the case.

She initially said that they could not find the call log with my booking. I was shocked. All calls are supposed to be recorded right??? But apparently, there might have been a technical glitch. (Wow, what a coincidence.) I think she could tell I sounded disappointed in the phone call. She then proceeded to provide 2 options. I could:

1) Wait for the case to be approved by Management before I add on luggage

2) Add-on luggage first then wait for approval from Management to reimburse

I obviously chose option 1 because my friends and I were considering the option of sharing the check-in luggage to lower cost, should we not be able to get a complimentary top-up. 

She then told me to call back after 3 working days to check on the progress of the case. I was a little disappointed about the case still being unsolved, but I said okay.

3 working days later (on my birthday!), I called Expedia. A guy picked up this time. As usual, he read up on the case. He then proceeded to talk to the Management to find out the outcome.

And.....

They said that they would be willing to refund me the amount for the baggage check-in. 

I WAS ECSTATIC. (I mean, who wouldn't be?)

After so many days of waiting and going back and forth, I finally managed to get a complimentary baggage top-up. Frankly, I thought that I was never going to get it because I assumed that they would try to defend themselves and refuse to give any form of compensation. I was truly surprised and really happy (especially since this was my birthday). 

Even though my booking experience was initially less than satisfactory, the outcome made up for it. There were obviously many areas for improvement but I think that I would really have to thank those individuals within Expedia who helped me to forward this case and put it up for escalation.

That being said, I have learnt my lesson not to make bookings over phone calls because it is very hard to verify that the agent has booked the correct thing for you.

Overall, I think that I was really lucky for this issue to have been resolved with the outcome that I wanted :)

With lessons learnt from my first booking experience, hopefully my next one will be one without any problems.

Goodbye, Lee Kuan Yew

23 March 2015 marks a significant day in Singapore's history.

No matter what others say about his iron-fist rule, there is no denying the contributions that this man had done to develop Singapore into what she is today.

He will always have my respect.

Goodbye, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. And thank you for all that you have done.

Stay-at-home Moms

I refer to these article: 
Unfair to subsidise childcare for mums who opt not to work
Nothing for stay-at-home mothers in govt Budgets
2 nights ago, there was a discussion on whether stay-at-home moms (SAHMs for ease of typing) should get paid. Although I did not listen in on the discussion (as I was busy watching Let It Go on Channel U), I have a rough gauge on what the discussion was pertaining to (after searching the net as well).

Should families with SAHMs be subsidised for kindergarten/ childcare? (And wait, there's a difference between kindergarten and childcare?!)
Do SAHMs deserve the same subsidies on childcare as working mums?
Under what circumstances should SAHMs be compensated? And in what ways?

Now, for the first question: should families with SAHMs be subsidised for kindergarten/ childcare? Do they deserve the same subsidies as working mums?
First off, the difference between a kindergarten and childcare is:

• Childcare: FULL day care for your children, with meals
• Kindergarten: HALF day care for your child

So, working mums would typically belong in the child care category given that they are probably working all day. This explains the government subsidies on childcare for working mums only.

Now, let's look at the agenda behind the government subsidies for childcare for WORKING mums: the government wants to make it easier for working adults to start families. Furthermore, it is a kind of 'reward' for the mother who has decided to sacrifice time with her children in order to work. Hence, the government's aim is to basically encourage adults to work and have children at the same time. The reason is quite clear in that Singapore does not have much resource other than manpower, which is also tightening due to recent foreign labour policies.

In that case, if SAHMs are given subsidies for childcare (which would be weird, because didn't SAHM stay at home precisely because they wanted to take care of their kids?!), it would definitely discount the working mums who chose to sacrifice her own free time to work and pay taxes, which SAHMs do not.

In the article Nothing for stay-at-home mothers in govt Budgets, a SAHM Faith A Tan wrote, "... all these years, the annual Budget has had nothing for stay-at-home mothers. This is disheartening, as we are contributing to raising the next generation."

While she has certainly made a valid point about SAHMs raising the next generation, this applies to working mums as well. Are they not raising the next generation as well? In fact, if I may add, they are not only raising the next generation, but also contributing to the workforce. 

If you term 'raising' in other terms, such as character, then I would like to ask for one not to be too quick to judge. Just because one is raising her child at home personally does not mean that the child would grow up to be one of great character, wholesome growth... etc (you get the point). A child's character gets shaped in different ways. A child who goes to childcare might learn to make friends and be sociable. A child who sees the mom working hard during the day might learn the importance of being independent in order not to be a burden to her. Some of these skills might not be learnt with a SAHM.

Beside, being a SAHM is mostly one of personal choice. If that's the path that one, as a mother, has chosen, then one would have to be prepared for the circumstances ahead. Asking for financial assistance while being an SAHM who chooses family over work is not being fair to the working moms who chose to sacrifice family time to lighten the family's financial burden.

Furthermore, quantifying how much a mother gets paid for looking after her own child would just be weird. Looking after one's child is a duty, an obligation. If one simply chooses to spend more time with her child, does that mean should one get paid more?

That being said, there are of course extraordinary circumstances where a SAHM should be entitled to some form of help, but these can be filed under other types of assistance schemes, not one specially for SAHM.
Older SAHMs who have a divorce - alimony would usually be given by their husbands. Or if the husband is unable to afford it, the state should step in. In this case as well, the payment should only last for a few years to help offset any difficulties that the woman may face in finding employment after so many years staying at home. Afterwards, it would be unfair to force the husband to continue paying alimony, especially if the divorce was something they mutually agreed on.
SAHMs who have no choice - the child/family members has a serious illness (e.g. Down syndrome) and requires an immediate caretaker. For such cases, financial help should fall under help given to families with disabled members. Not sure if MSF has any assistance schemes for this. Either way, help given to such SAHMs should fall under a broader category, rather than a special category just for SAHMs.

Anyway, while I understand the dedication and trade-offs that SAHMs may face, let's not exaggerate and excessively glorify their sacrifices. Being a SAHM is still ultimately a personal choice with personal consequences, and it should stay like that.

Singapore's housing and planning

I read this news on todayonline titled "Siting flats further from city ‘may widen S’pore’s social divide’". The basic argument here is this:

"There is a risk that relegating new HDB estates to the outlying areas of Singapore, while planning a glittering array of architectural gems, luxurious residences and material offerings for the well-heeled in the city centre, could alienate a large part of the population,” - Wu Wei Neng

I think that what Mr Wu is suggesting is already happening. The government's tendency to build HDB housing in outlying areas means that there is already a segregation between the heartlands and the city area. Already, when one thinks of people who stay in Orchard, there is this perception of the upper-class who are rich. This possibly not only applies to the areas in the city, but also areas like Bukit Timah, which is also valued for its high land prices and good schools.

Other than the social divide, another implication is the stress on transport networks as everyone heads to the same place for work. I have already written on how I think decentralisation is the way to go here. Basically, with decentralisation, there will hopefully be no cases where an area is designated as 'special' for its economic value. Each area is also supposed to have good mix of private and public housing. In a way, each area is like a mini town (as if Singapore as a city is already not mini enough).

Yet, I admit that Singapore might have already gone too far down the path to turn back on some of its policies. Furthermore, I admit the concentration of certain industries would have what we call external economies of scale. Decentralisation also possibly poses its own set of challenges (such as divides between different areas, similar to the subtle East-West divide in Singapore).

Ultimately, for a sustainable development that can withstand the load for 7 million people, some form of decentralisation is needed, whether the government does so through the avenue of housing or work (as in the development of the Marina Bay Financial Centre).

On a side note, I find this Creative Craftsman thing really interesting!! The fact that a minimum salary is guaranteed for the carpenters is praise-worthy as well :)

A-levels

Since this blog does function as some kind of diary of mine, I thought I should just dedicate a blogpost to one of my life's important milestones.

I finally got back my A-level results on 3 Mar 2015, Monday.

It was a little nostalgic to be back in school after all those time (actually, it has only been 3 months).

Anyway, after all that tension and waiting, I finally got my results and it was the best that I could have hoped for. I got 6 distinctions!! (I got a B for Higher Chinese - a lasting mark on my results that was made 2 years ago) I was obviously very happy and relieved, seeing how I was nervous a few hours before, wondering if I unknowingly screwed up somewhere in my papers.

Ultimately, there were definitely some people who were happy and some who were sad.

Yet, the A-level journey has finally had its official closure and is over.

In the future, we will probably look back and realise that this episode of our life was no more than a mere episode. However, both you and I know that at this moment, it is more probably the biggest thing in our lives. So, I think it's fine if anyone want to brawl their eyes out now. Because you deserve the right to do so. Just remember that while this is most definitely a milestone, there are still many more to come.

Which also leads me to my next note to self: there are many more milestones; you cannot start slacking off now.

And now... off to write applications for scholarships and universities!