Come! Or don't! As you decide...

Perhaps it's that time of the year again, where folks tend to look back in-review and look forward with new dreams/hopes. Just too many thoughts buzz through my mind as I passed the 3rd year of Canadian residency, entering my 4th.

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[20-Dec-2013 Footprints in the snow at dusk]

As I was trudging my way home through the snow 10 days ago, the footprints in the snow of each passer-by going one way or another made me think of how personal the migration decision and journey is. No 2 persons have identical situations, and thus each must forge his/her own way. 

Aside: Another thought I had was that until the 'aha' moment, I never thought that I -- known to be afraid of even the air-con while in Singapore -- would put up with living in a snowy landscape for a (hopefully) more stable/sustainable future.

For some, the decision to come (to another country) is the best one made in their lives; for others, it may make more sense to return to the familiar; and yet, for some it takes more than a few attempts at settling to decide which path is in their best interests.

E.g. Last week I met another PRC with a, by now, familiar story of PRC-to-Canada migration story. PRC comes to Canada with high hopes and expectations -- after all just being able to qualify for immigration makes him/her the crème de la crème since he/she has thrived in the cut-throat competitive environments of the major Chinese cities. First attempt at settling-in failed miserably (whether in B.C. or other provinces), and he/she quickly scooted back to China. At his/her second or subsequent attempts, PRC returns with more realistic expectations.

------------------------------

Indeed, over the Christmas period, I've had more than a few reminders (i.e. stories from various new acquaintances whom I've met) of a common factor which affects one's migration experience -- social support, or lack thereof. Migration can be a lonely journey.

E.g. My good friends EM and AA decided to host a Christmas Eve party given that many of our friends are immigrants who have "no family to return to for Christmas". [Note: Christmas in Metro Vancouver is like Chinese New Year for the ethnic Chinese in Singapore, very much a family-oriented event.] There were many last minute inclusions to the party troopers -- via my "referral" alone there were 5, excluding one that cancelled due to work. According to my last-minute guest R, his friend K called him as he was heading to the party and "she was almost crying because she had nowhere to go". Of course, EM and AA quickly embraced yet another last minute addition to the party. There was only 1 Canadian (EM and AA's neighbour) at the party  of 19. The rest were from France, the Caribbean (I don't know which countries exactly), Singapore, Malaysia, China, Iran, USA, Brazil and Japan. And the guest who cancelled was from The Philippines.

------------------------------

Last Friday (a day after Boxing Day), someone mentioned in sharing with me, "You'll never know what will happen. How long you'll live? How long I'll live? Maybe I'll die in 6 months. Maybe I'll die tomorrow. Maybe you'll get an accident and die tomorrow. Maybe I'll get an accident and die the following week. Who knows?"

I replied, "Yes, we just have to take each day as it comes. Count each day as it comes."

I agree, especially when one thinks about “天有不測風雲，人有旦夕禍福。” ["The skies have unpredictable storms, humans have sudden changes in fortune."] 

Indeed, when I arrived home that evening and logon to Facebook, I saw a Facebook post by a Singaporean ex-colleague of mine thanking friends for coming to his wake and funeral. It was actually posted by his widow using his Facebook account. My ex-colleague passed away suddenly on Christmas Day while shopping in a mall.

"You'll never know what will happen..."

------------------------------

I see that my friend Down Under has been writing a couple posts recently (click here and here) advising the potential Singapore-emigrant to make up his/her own mind about whether to take that leap of faith. IMHO, he is very kind and patient. I would usually ignore those who are essentially asking me to make a major life decision on their behalf.

Come! Or don't! As you decide... but remember, you'll never know what will happen either way. The future is unknown.

E.g. There are those who came to Canada without a job/kin/kith who nevertheless settled-in. There are those who arrived with a job-in-hand, but life did not meet their expectations and/or various conditions change and they find themselves back to square-one, asking if they should stay or leave.

As ASingaporeanSon wrote in his blog entry "13 Months of Perth":

"A committed decision means we rarely regret the choices we made, even if they don't turn out well. Each of these are opportunities for us to realise who we really are, the real self that we chose to veil due to societal pressure."

So true!

Old Man Winter

While my friend Down Under is fighting against Summer, I am wondering when I'll get used to Old Man Winter. He likes to play games, as seen in the advertisement below.

In fact, this year Old Man Winter gave a sneak preview of his plans for White Christmas 2 weeks ago. Thankfully he left after the weekend sneak preview.

[06-Dec-2013, 24-hour weather forecast]

Today, i.e. Winter Solstice, marks Old Man Winter's official arrival. However, the old one is ever so good with his publicity stunts -- he blew a good amount of snowfall all yesterday morning (and even into the early afternoon) to remind everyone to welcome the new boss for this season. See photo below of the "whitewashed with snow" school compound previously all-green in my other blog post.

[20-Dec-2013, Children having fun in wind and falling snow]

Still I can't complain, I could be fighting Down Under's Summer like ASingaporeanSon instead. Or worse, Old Man Winter could have decided to extend his preview period, much like how Singapore's Orchard Road Christmas Lights come up one month before the actual event. In fact, back in 2010 when I first landed, Old Man Winter launch his preview a month early, on 20-Nov-2010! Back then, a normally 15 minutes brisk walk was turned into 30 minutes worth of trudging (including several slips and "break-falls") thanks to Old Man Winter's frosty blessings. For now, his frosty blessings are expected to slowly melt away, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[20-Dec-2013, Dirty road-side slush from melting snow]

[21-Dec-2013, 14-day weather forecast]

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes to all for 2014!

------------------------------

p.s. As they say in life, there's always a silver lining in every grey cloud. E.g. The snowy wintery weather makes for beautiful photo shots. E.g. If one has the time and is warmly dressed, it is nice to sit and observe what the creatures of nature do during this wintry season. I have seen squirrels (mainly brown ones and a black one) scampering around doing their "last minute Christmas shopping". Sometimes I also wonder about the birds -- the lone seagull who for whatever reason did not or could not travel with its flock. What would it do? How would it survive?

Barbaric posse

I just saw a shocking photo of how "Passers-by catch, tie up 'thief' at Chong Pang Market" in Singapore today. You can read The Straits Times online news article here and see The Straits Times Facebook photo here.

IMHO, it is shocking how some commented that the accused deserved the barbaric treatment. From the photo: the accused was tied like an animal for slaughter and his hands and legs looks like they've turned purple -- a clear sign of insufficient blood and oxygen flow. Who will support this guy if his hands and feet are amputated due to tissue death? What makes Singaporeans think that it is ok to be a barbaric posse -- regardless of the crime committed?

[Note: I am not opposed to tying the thief up, but the posse should ensure that it is done in a way that does not harm the suspect. Deterrence should be just enough force applied, not excessive, otherwise IMHO the "deterrence" is really a flimsy excuse for assault.]

In contrast, another story (from Oklahoma, USA) shared on the same Facebook thread by another commenter illustrates how the story could have had a different ended. Long story short: Man stole woman's wallet, woman caught man, offered to pay his groceries, man cried and apologize profusely.

"The last thing he said was, 'I'll never forget tonight. I'm broke, I have kids, I'm embarrassed and I'm sorry.'" -- Yahoo! Shine, Ellen's Good News, Tue Oct 22, 2013.

Think again. Has Singapore devolved back to the Charles Dicken's era?

------------------------------

[Extracted from The Straits Times online]

"Passers-by catch, tie up 'thief' at Chong Pang Market"

Published on Dec 04, 2013 at 8:33 AM

Alert passers-by foiled a theft yesterday, when a man allegedly tried to steal a fishmonger's takings while he was serving a customer.

The 50-year-old stall worker, who gave his name as Mr Ye, had been chopping fish when the thief was said to have snatched about $200 from a container on the counter at Chong Pang Market.

"He stuffed it into a plastic bag, turned around and ran," Mr Ye told Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News. "That's when I shouted for help."

His plea caught the attention of other tenants and passers-by, who caught the 55-year-old man and restrained him with cable ties.

Schooling in Metro Vancouver

After reading the guest blog entry "Secrets to Success (Part 1)" on ASingaporeanSon's blog, I guess maybe I should share my replies to reader NGS on my other blog entry "Boyfriend-brand dinner" and add a couple more comments. [And I'll litter the blog entry with some school-related photos at random.]

NGS was asking about where to stay in Vancouver, presumably with regards to his/her children's education. See his/her comments dated Thursday, November 14, 2013 9:20:00 PM: 

Hi, thanks for your comments. Actually I was referring more to Vancouver, which we intend to settle now.

A bit of myself, I have two young children, Primary 5 and Sec 1, and 3 teenagers ( two of them will be serving NS, and one of them will be following with the mum to settle in the year 2014.Thanks

------------------------------

[My reply on Monday, November 18, 2013 6:16:00 PM was as follow.]

Hi NGS,

I do not have any children and thus I have not done any research on education for the young. Here's some info and/or opinions that I've gathered from some locals and immigrants. Disclaimer: Take the info/opinions at your own risk.

For public schools, you will need to reside (i.e. official residential address) within the "catchment area" to enrol your child in a specific school. The school districts, covering each city, in Metro Vancouver, include (not full-list here):

1. Vancouver School Board

http://www.vsb.bc.ca/schools

2. North Vancouver School District

http://www.nvsd44.bc.ca/Pages/default.aspx

3. West Vancouver School District

http://www.sd45.bc.ca/

4. Burnaby School District

http://www.sd41.bc.ca/

5. Richmond School District

http://www.sd38.bc.ca/

6. New Westminster School District

http://district.sd40.bc.ca/

For a full list of B.C. school districts, check Guru Wikipedia and ask Professor Google for details.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_districts_in_British_Columbia

If you're looking for private schools, then it is an entirely different ball-game. Please ask Professor Google about it.

Generally, DTES (downtown East Side of Vancouver) is a poor-men's area, so poverty-related issues do creep up in schools too. West Vancouver is dominated by wealthy households. North Vancouver and Vancouver-west (i.e. Vancouver, west-side of Main street) has a more-even cross-section of the social demographics.

The folks whom I spoke to generally like bringing up their children in North Vancouver or Vancouver, west. That's all the opinions I've gathered.

Once again: Take the above info/opinions at your own risk.

Cheers, WD.

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Yesterday when we were helping our friends (a PRC couple) move to their new home in Burnaby, the wife mentioned that they chose their home's location because it is within the catchment area of a good or highly-ranked school. That's when I heard about school rankings in Metro Vancouver. [Click here and here for more information.] Do note that the rankings are done by Fraser Institute, a research institution whose "research" invariably carries "right-wing" conclusions, so take the rankings at your own risk.

[Nov-2013: Kindergarten registration opens Nov-Jan]

One elderly Singaporean couple whom I spoke to told me that they were not too concerned about which school their children when to when they immigrated decades ago. In fact, they just enrolled their children in the public schools nearby as they were confident of the quality of education in B.C., Canada. Both their children are now adults holding professional/executive jobs. The caveat: They lived in North Vancouver. [See my reply to NGS above about North Vancouver.]

[Sep-2013 Classroom covenant at a private Christian school]

There are also private schools that market themselves to specific niche. E.g. Schools with a strong Christian emphasis. E.g. School with a specific education methodology -- say Montessori. One of my East Asian classmates believes in the value-add of a private education, despite its much more costly academic fees. She came from an East Asian society that is highly conscious of social class and, as a couple, both she and her husband were from the upper-middle class. Those who send their children to private schools should be prepared for endless rounds of donation drives and parent-volunteer activities.

[Nov-2013: Part of a public school compound]

Personally, here's what I have observed amongst the youths at my previous part-time retail job as they discussed about the differences between their school experience. [Note: This is a very small sample size, so please take my comments at your own risk.] Those from private schools were given the mobile phone numbers of their teachers and encouraged to speak to their teachers if they had any issues. At work, IMHO, the private school students/grads tended to "expect to be served" (e.g. "you have to train me for the job"), "treated with respect" and were more willing/confident to speak with (and/or take an issue up with) authority figures (e.g. managers). Those who went to "public schools" (mostly Vancouver, East side) were more likely to be treated as "just another student on the education assembly line" at school. At work, IMHO, they were more ready to adjust to their roles of being "cogs" of the retail chain (i.e. "just shut-up and follow the chain of command, and plot revenge later") and seemed better at the street-smarts of managing inter-personal politics at work.

[Mar-2013 Urban farm program in selected Vancouver public secondary/middle schools]

Some of the Canadians whom I spoke to preferred to put their children into the "French-immersion" public school system. One theory is that private schooling is beyond the average-family's affordability; parents who chose to put their children into French immersion obviously read and found out about the additional steps needed to apply for this "special" stream; and thus they (the parents) are likely to be more interested in their children's education; and thereby more likely to raise their children in "educationally-supportive" home environment which in-turns leads to their children mixing with others from such similar background.

[Nov-2013: Stream of Dreams mural that frequently adorn the fence of public schools]

[Nov-2013: A distant view of a Stream of Dreams mural that frequently adorn the fence of public schools]

I have also come across children who are home-schooled. These generally fall into 2 groups. E.g. Parents who think that "schooling is a form of brainwashing" and refuse to submit their children to be "stripped of their independent minds". The other group is wealthy and/or have "gifted" children; and the parents believe in developing their children's knowledge/skills as fast as they (the children) can learn/absorb.

Since I am not a parent myself, I do not hold entrenched views one way or the other. I think each parent will have to decide on what he/she thinks is in the best interest of his/her child/children. That said, don't be surprised if/when the child grows up and voice issues/disagreement with the parents' choice. There are no guarantees -- individuals can react differently to the same stimuli.

Bang, bang!

Yesterday (Saturday), a group of friends stayed behind to chat after helping a couple to move to their "new" home.

It is generally considered a happy milestone for Asian immigrants to "own" (i.e. pay mortgage) for the roof over our heads. For around half-a-million, it was a nice 2-storied duplex with (IMHO) enough living space for 2 families.

Somewhere along the way, we talked about the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". ZS the neurologist amongst us had always been interested in memory -- how it functioned and how it was stored -- which lead him to specialize in neurology, albeit his current research is not related to the memory functions of the brain.

------------------------------

Anyway, combined with Friday's indoor shooting session, it made me think about the current assumptions on childhood amnesia and how it may possibly lead to under-treatment of childhood PTSD.

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For decades, I have had a recurring dream whereby I was with my older sister (as toddlers) and an adult (possibly an aunt). For some reason, we were squatting in a small alcove created by the concrete sides of the letterbox-mount and metre-tall concrete fully-covered banister and balusters*. In the dream, there was a sense that we were hiding from "bad people" ［坏人］ who would make use of us toddlers in their evil plots if we were found. After waiting for a while, my aunt decided to check if her friend who lives a unit away was home, as my grandparents' unit was too far down the block. My aunt cautioned us to remain in our hideout and await for her return. My sister said something to me about keeping quiet, and I responded that I understood by making a gun (thumbs up, index finger pointing straight, with other fingers bent) with my hand and mouthed-silently, "Bang, bang!"

[2013 photo of Blk 178 and 177 Toa Payoh Central

Photo from SRX Online - PropNex listing]

*Those who have passed through the "tunnels" (painted with orange strips in the photo above) of Toa Payoh Central apartment blocks would probably understand what I'm talking about.

Sometimes I would wake up at this point in the dream with my heart thumping quickly. Sometimes I would continue to dream on and the "next episode" in the dream would appear. We were now in a "friend's home", i.e. a 2nd or 3rd floor unit of that apartment block. The adults were awaiting anxiously for news that "all's clear". In order to hide their fear and to calm the children down, the adults plied us with yummy sweet warm drinks and a choice delicious cookies. [IIRC, the drinks were Milo, Ovaltine or Horlicks and the cookies were the delicious Kjeldsens Danish butter cookies.] The adults did not even dared to open the windows for fear of attracting the attention of the "bad people" ［坏人］ and/or stray bullets flying through the window. We kids were also told to stay away from the windows and the door. Eventually, "all's clear" was declared and everyone seemed relieved -- everyone except me. While my heart was no longer thumping, the fear just did not go away.

"It's just a dream", I would coax myself upon waking up, "Everyone gets nightmares of being chased by bad people sometimes."

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One interesting thing that I noticed (as a child) one Chinese New Year was that I had suddenly grown frightened by the loud thumping of the drums during the Lion Dance performances. I have vague memories of previously enjoying those festive performances, so I could not understand that new found fear. In fact, even other loud and sudden "bangs" like the bursting of balloons would make me jump.  I concluded that, too bad, I just grew up to be a Scaredy Cat and tried my best to hide my fears, especially in social settings to avoid being teased.

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One day in 2006 after I got my driver's licence, I was speaking with my older sister on a long-distance call. I remarked how nice it was that, "Now that I have a driver's licence, I no longer have the dream* whereby I was chased by bad people and I found a car (escape vehicle) but I could not use it because I did not know how to drive."

[*Note: That is another recurring dream that I had.]

My elder sister went, "Oh, we were ever running away from robbers before."

I was totally surprised, "Is that so?"

My sister replied in affirmative. We were toddlers strolling around with our aunt at Toa Payoh "New Town" -- at that time it was a newly built satellite-town, when suddenly there was a robbery at a goldsmith shop nearby. Our aunt took us through a "staircase tunnel", crossed the carpark to hide in a "staircase tunnel" of the opposite apartment block. She followed with, "You even made a gun with your fingers and mouthed 'Bang, bang!' Don't you remember?"

I replied hesitantly, "No... Yes... I thought it was just a dream."

But then, my sister proceeded to tell me pretty much the contents of my recurring dream (see above). 

So I went to the public library and researched the newspaper archives. There were 2 goldsmith robbery in the early days of Toa Payoh New Town. [See appendix below.] Based on the dates given, I was only around 2 years-old when the events happened, yet the memories were seared into my brain and returned to me via my subconscious mind (i.e. in my dream state) through the decades. Up until our fateful conversation in year 2006, no one in my family mentioned about that scary event in my young life. Thanks to my older sister for solving this mystery, I no longer have that recurring dream anymore since.

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[APPENDIX A] 

22-Jun-1972 The Straits Times

$10,000 GEMS SNATCH

Five armed men took only 3 minutes to grab $10K worth of jewellery from a goldsmith's shop in Toa Payoh Central this afternoon.

The robbers, 4 armed with parangs and one with an axe, walked into Ban Loong Goldsmiths in Blk 185 shortly after 3:30pm.

They herded 3 sisters of the owner and a male employee to the side of the shop and warned them not to make any noise.

While 4 of the men stood guard over them, the 5th with the axe smashed the showcases.

They were scooping jewellery into a paperbag, when the owner Mr Chia Kia Gin, 28, who heard the commotion from the rear, pressed the alarm bell.

The robbers panicked, ran out and escapted in a green car pared at the rear of the shop with a 6th man at the wheels.

Later tonight, police said they were uncertain whether the car was a Morris or Austin 1100. Its number plate was SK 8122. They appealed to those seeing a car with the number plate to contact them.

Mr Chia said he was at the rear when he heard the noise of smashing glass.

"I peeped out and saw the robbers holding up my sisters and employee."

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[APPENDIX B] 

05-Oct-1972 The Straits Times

$200,000 double by gangs

- Gerry de Silva, N.G. Kutty

Goldsmith shop and a factory robbed

Armed robbers got away with nearly $200,000 in cash and jewellery in 2 hold-ups just before lunchtime yesterday.

Some 300 girl workers of Atlas Electronics Co. Ltd., a flatted factory in Lower Delta Road, stood petrified as 2 armed men robbed the firm of $70K just after 11:15am.

The money was part of a $107K payroll which had been delivered under police escort only a few minutes earlier.

An arrest

An hour later, 4 armed men strode into Fu-Heng Goldsmiths in Toa Payoh Central and escaped with jewellery worth more than $120K.

The robbers spent only 10 minutes in the shop. But they thoroughly ransacked it of all expensive jewellery.

Late last night, a police party, led by acting Deputy Supt. Sidek Ismail, arrested a gang leader in connection with the robbery. 

Escape

Robbery no. 2: 4 robbers, 2 armed with revolvers and 2 with parangs, walked into the goldsmith's shop, 30 minutes after it opened for businesss at noon.

They held up one of the 4 partners, Mr Quek Ah Heng, 42, and 3 employees and ordered them into the rear office.

While 2 of them -- one with a revolver and the other with a parang -- stood guard over them, the others opened the show cases and scooped up all the jewellery.

An off-duty policeman, Constable Donald Soh, 25, of Kandang Kerbau Division saw the 4 men getting hurriedly into a car.

Mr Soh went after them, "thinking it was a gang clash." But they escaped in a red Colt Galant.

He got into his Morris Minor and followed, but lost them in Lorong 4.

Road-blocks were set up all over Singapore but there was no trace of the getaway car.

Police were struck by the cool way the robbery was carried out. Unlike the usual smash-and-grab raids, none of the glass cases were damaged by the robbers.

Police spokesman Mr Lawerence Loh last night appealed to people who saw the Colt Gallant to report immediately to the nearest police station.

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[APPENDIX C] 

09-Dec-1972 The Straits Times

$120,000 goldsmith hold-up suspect arrested

POLICE yesterday arrested a man believed to be the mastermind of the $120,000 Fu Heng Goldsmith robbery In Toa Payoh on Oct 4. The 26-year-old leader of the five-man gang was arrested at his home In Lim Teck 800 Road, off Faya Lebar Road, ... [Note: News article truncated.]

Shooting for fun

Went with some friends to Coquitlam for indoor shooting last Friday. It was really fun. 

[29-Nov-2013 - Some of the guns we played with]

In our group of 5, there were only 2 of us who have ever used firearms. AA was trained by the French navy. I was trained by the Singapore Police as a teenager. [See NPCC Training from wikipedia.] It is a fun teaser when you tell others, "Oh, the last time I used firearms was a long time ago... as a teenager" and leave it hanging. Akin to the fun PN and I had when we told others that we met at a police station.

Having tried the above firearms, including a .38 revolver (not in photo above), my preference is the "heavy" automatic gun for its easy aim, thanks to the lower recoil. If you look at the Hello Kitty target that JD shared with me, it is easy to understand why.

[29-Nov-2013 Hello Kitty target]

JD was using the "light" automatic and her bullets left traces of gunpowder on the target. You can see that the recoil from the "light" automatic made her bullets go upwards towards the top of the target. I was using the "heavy" automatic, and most of my bullets hit Hello Kitty's chest (imaginary heart) thanks to the lower recoil factor.

All in, it was a fun experience and not too expensive either given that it was "Ladies Night", i.e. cover charges are waived for ladies that night. See total bill for the 1+hour of actual shooting fun for the 5 of us below -- 3 ladies, 2 gentlemen.

[29-Nov-2013 Bill for indoor shooting fun]

For me, there's an additional benefit that I know now that I have overcome my fear of loud "bangs", albeit with ear-muffs on.

BC stands for Beautiful Community

In my previous blog entry "The Suay Kuan" ["the unlucky ones"], Xianlong (Frugal Introvert), Gintai and DotSeng all commented about the "big fish will always eat small fish" culture that prevails in Singapore and that anyone who does not toe the line risks being "blacklisted".

As I've replied, my view is that we are society -- each of us, as individuals, contributes a sliver of behaviour that aggregates into "social norms". Each person has to make his/her own choice and live with his/her conscience. There is no right or wrong answer.

Just to share an upcoming donation drive in B.C., Canada, to illustrate the kind of community that I chose to be a part of.

[17-Nov-2013 Poster for Blanket BC drive]

Blanket BC Society 2013 Drive on the Line Campaign (PSA)

"The BC in Blanket BC actually stands for beautiful community", said Gregory Ould, the founder of Blanket BC.

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To quote Brian Hare, an assistant professor of anthropology at Duke University, as interviewed by Discovery.com on 07-Feb-2011:

http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/shrinking-brains-intelligence-110207.htm

"The chimpanzees are violent because they want power, they try to have control and power over others while bonobos are using violence to prevent one for from dominating them," Hare continued.

"Humans are both chimps and bonobos in their nature and the question is how can we release more bonobo and less chimp.

"I hope bonobos win… it will be better for everyone," he added.

The Suay Kuan [The Unlucky Ones]

Just to share a real-life story from Anonymous who commented on Thursday, November 07, 2013 8:14:00 AM on my blog post "It's not so simple". If you want to believe how Singapore's healthcare system is "world class", then perhaps people like Anonymous and I are the just "the suay kuan" [i.e. "the unlucky ones"]. Otherwise, you'd question whether the occasional reports that leak about the aggression and violence faced by healthcare workers (nurses in particular) in Singapore are really the tip of the iceberg of an endemic issue.

Thank you, Anonymous, for sharing your personal story.

------------------------------

[The following is copied from a comment left by Anonymous on Thursday, November 07, 2013 8:14:00 AM on my blog post "It's not so simple". Changes in font size, bold, italics and underline are added by me for emphasis.]

As a student nurse in Singapore, I bore witness to the most horrifying situation that happened in the hospital. There was a patient which was coding, and there were only 2 student nurses (one of which is myself). The emergency button was pressed. Guess what...a registered nurse (foreign trained) appeared but she took a look and walked off saying she needed to fetch her patient from OT. Needless to say , patient died because there were only 2 of us to do cpr and suction the bloody emesis while yelling for help after she left. Worse timing was it happened during break and the other nurse was in the private room doing a tracheostomy dressing. After she heard us, that nurse ran out of the private room and immediately took action. I reported that foreign nurse.

HO HO HO. I got blacklisted for pushing the matter. The senior nursing officer was telling me to keep quiet if I wanted my career. I stuck to my principles. Worse of all , I was bonded. So you can imagine what happened to me.....

When they made my life a total misery and told me that I was the most useless nurse etc , that I will never make it anywhere else ...etc ....making my rosters 12 days in a row and one day off at each end [checked, I have experienced that]. Even better, making me work when I was having a fever [checked, I have experienced that too], and landing me in ED with a 40 degree fever and a fit. THEN telling me that if I take more than 3 days leave, I can forget about my performance review. That went on for more than 3 months. 

It broke me down. For doing the right thing, I got marked. All the time, I kept it from my family until my father found me at the edge of our study window deciding whether I should jump or not. He decided to buy out the bond. 

Even better when I sent the resignation letter in, matron called me down and asked me if I can 'even afford' to pay off and I would be 'stuck' with the debt as well as saying 'you know....your family is not that rich and you might need to wash the dishes ' when she did not even know my family background. I looked at her and said "cash ,cheque or credit card? Which payment option to take". She retorted at me "how dare you talk to me like that girl [again I have a similar experience]... your family is poor and you want to drive them into debt" [again similar to my experience].

The day after my father came, suddenly I was called down.....the matron met my father. HAHAHAHA She asked me if I told him anything about the hospital and the complaints I was making. I looked at her and informed her that whatever I said to my father is covered under lawyer client privilege and I know my rights. She was frightened. My father's old classmate was the CEO of that particular hospital and he told me while the matron was coming out, the CEO was just walking out to lunch and greeted him. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Suddenly the matron decided that I was the poor nurse getting bullied by senior nurses and she will discipline them ...and that every ward would be happy to take me in if I decide to withdraw the cheque and my resignation. My final words to her : Go to Hell. 

I was naive and never used my dad as a connection. Had I revealed who my father was sooner, perhaps they would have licked my ass and gone after the incompetent nurse.

------------------------------

To my readers: The stuff that I wrote on my blog about nursing in Singapore has already been "censored" by me to avoid stuff that may cause lawsuits to my previous employer, etc. So I am not surprised at all by the stuff that Anonymous shared. Nursing in Singapore has a long way to go before it is truly a respectable profession.

Boyfriend-brand dinner

Further to my boyfriend-brand lunchbox blog entry, my friend Down Under wanted to see what boyfriend-brand dinner looks like. See photos below from our dinner last Sunday.

[03-Nov-2013 Vegetarian version for me]

[03-Nov-2013 Fish for boyfriend]

Not only does DD cook and plate the food, he also cooks a vegetarian version for me if it is a meat-based dish. Btw, that's home-made pesto sauce on the fish and tau-hoo ［豆腐］。 DD loves cooking and sharing the product of his culinary skills. My role is to eat, appreciate and be happy!

[03-Nov-2013 The works behind home-made pesto]

A Rafflesia by any name stinks as a corpse

As the saying goes, "A rose by any name smells as sweet."

IMHO, the reverse is true. "A Rafflesia by any name stinks as a corpse."

Poverty exists in Canada. Click here for information from Canada Without Poverty. The cut-off is not known officially as the "Poverty Line" but "Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO)". Click here for the official definition of LICO from Statistics Canada. Or click here for the actual statistics -- ACCOUNTABLE, OPEN and TRANSPARENT for all to see.

Unlike a little red dot with officials who deny the existence of poverty, Canada makes no pretense that poverty exists in this first world nation.

Quote Chan Chun Sing (see online news article below), "other developed ones such as New Zealand and Canada also do not subscribe to official poverty lines."

Canada does not have a SINGLE official poverty line. This is because the reality is that the cost of living varies greatly from province-to-province, from community-to-community. Instead Canada defines a range of LICOs that "vary by family size and by size of community".

So what is the Singapore minister trying to say? Your guess is as good as mine. But as the adage goes, "The first step to solving a problem is to recognize that a problem exists." Thereafter, it is often useful to have a method to gauge/measure the success/effectiveness of a solution/policy -- regardless if the measure is called "Poverty Line" or "Low-Income Cut-Off".

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[Extracted from The Straits Times - Singapolitics on 24-Oct-2013.]

Why setting a poverty line may not be helpful: Chan Chun Sing

Posted on Oct 23, 2013 5:03 PM Updated: Oct 23, 2013 5:03 PM

By Robin Chan

Singapore is not considering having an official poverty line, as it would not fully reflect the severity and complexity of issues faced by the poor, and may also lead to those above the line missing out on assistance.

Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing made these points on Monday, amid renewed calls for Singapore to look into having one after Hong Kong set an official poverty line last month.

In a written parliamentary reply, he said the Government's approach is to use broad definitions for the groups it seeks to help, set clear criteria to identify and assess those in need, and come up with tailored schemes.

"If we use a single poverty line to assess the family, we also risk a 'cliff effect', where those below the poverty line receive all forms of assistance, while other genuinely needy citizens outside the poverty line are excluded," he said.

They were the Government's first comments on the issue since Hong Kong's policy change on Sept 30.

Mr Chan said a poverty line would also miss out other issues that poor families face. These include ill health, lack of housing and weak family relationships.

Replying to questions by Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong and Nominated MP Laurence Lien, Mr Chan said Singapore's assessment process for providing help to those in need is "rigorous but also flexible" to cater to the genuinely needy.

This means that those who do not meet certain criteria in help programmes are also able to receive assistance.

The Government also conducts regular reviews to ensure that ComCare assistance remains relevant to the low-income and vulnerable, he said.

ComCare is social assistance provided to low-income families.

Mr Chan said different nations tailor their methods to identify and help their needy according to their circumstances, and other developed ones such as New Zealand and Canada also do not subscribe to official poverty lines.

Hong Kong set its poverty line at half the median household income level according to household size, with about 1.3 million, or a fifth of its population, living under it. So the poverty line for a four-person household is HK$14,300 (S$2,300).

Like Singapore, Hong Kong is grappling with high levels of income inequality. Its Gini co-efficient, a commonly-used measure of income inequality, is 0.53, compared with Singapore's 0.47. The closer the number is to 1, the higher the inequality.

Mr Yee also asked what the Government's internal measure of neediness was when it distributed N95 masks to 200,000 needy households in June during the haze.

Mr Chan said that the one million masks were given to households with a per-capita income below $900.

Their income was verified through their membership in the Community Health Assist Scheme Blue Scheme or by self-declaration of income at the community clubs.

Boyfriend-brand lunchbox

I brought boyfriend-brand lunchbox to work yesterday. It was leftover casserole from last Saturday's brunch cooked and packed by DD, specially for me.

[21-Oct-2013 Boyfriend-brand casserole lunchbox]

It is not the first time that DD had cooked and packed lunchbox for me. We often joked that since he posted photos of his exquisite food in the online dating website where we met, our "deal" was that he would cook, cuddle and pamper me for the rest of our lives. So far, DD has lived up to his end of the deal, he would either cook (DD really enjoys cooking) or we'll eat out (often we split the bill, but sometimes we treat each other). [In fact, my vegetable curry and rendang dishes for Thanksgiving were the first time that DD tried my cooking.]

For last Sunday's brunch, I was too lazy to head out. Thus, DD cooked the macaroni while I cooked the assam soup with ingredients to go with the macaroni. Happily, DD commented that the shrimps were nicely cooked by me (i.e. tender and juicy). [Note: I did not eat the shrimps given that I'm mostly vegetarian.]

I teased DD that our deal still holds, notwithstanding the compliments. He joked in return that he need to speak to his lawyers to re-negotiate for better terms. Funny thing is, DD really enjoys cooking, cuddling and pampering me. It is so refreshing to be totally pampered by a man. *Feeling blessed*

[20-Oct-2013 Boyfriend-brand home-made gourmet crackers]

Late Sunday afternoon, DD got inspired and made his own gourmet crackers. They were delicious! What a man!

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Click here for boyfriend-brand dinner.

Goodbye family nighmares?

On Sunday night / Monday morning, I had 2 "interesting" dreams involving my family members.

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Firstly, I dreamt of my mother. It was a street-side stores setting, like a "pasar malam in Singapore" except that it was daytime. She was shopping for a round-cut clear colourless semi-precious crystals/stone and I was accompanying her. The stall-holder casually took out her bag of crystals and showed it at a short distance to my mom. Mom pointed to a particular round/brillant-cut that looked really shiny like a diamond from the distant. However when the stall-holder passed that crystal into my mom's hand, it did not look as shiny as before, in fact it looked a little clouded on one-side, covering half the table surface. Mom seems disappointed but she did not want to admit it verbally. Thus, I told her, "Let's think about it. I can buy you another one from elsewhere."

The above dream is very interesting to me. Not because I am interested in sparkly diamonds -- the only diamond that I currently have is from an old flame. The above is very interesting to me because it marks the first time in years that my dreams featuring my mother is not a nightmare. Click here and here (see my comments on StorytellERdoc's blog) for examples. In fact, I cannot even recall the last time my mother appeared in a dream that did not turn into a nightmare. As far as I can recall, "a dream with mother = a nightmares" has been the case even before coming to Canada in 2010.

Is the dream a sign of things to come? I don't know. Still, one less nightmare is a good thing, I guess.

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Secondly, I dreamt of my 2 sisters. We were physically adults in the dream but behaving like children. We were all in our shared bedroom at my parents' home. There was a pile of masak-masak (children's toys) on the floor. Some of these were toys of miniature food items, except that in the dream these miniatures were edible. I was sorting through the toys, putting the food items aside, and eating/trying some of them (including some miniature sushi). My elder sister was sorting through the toys with me too, except that she did not eat any of the stuff. 

Then my younger sister entered the room, having just returned from her latest tour. She passed us a plastic bag of more miniature food items toys (souvenirs from her trip). Then she told us that she was too tired to join us and slept on the bed instead. I opened the plastic bag and took out what looked like individually-packed chocolate-like snacks and tried one. I found it delicious. Thus I quickly opened another one, pushed it in front of my elder sister's face and insisted that she tried it, telling her that, "It is delicious, too good to be missed". My elder sister hesitated initially, but then popped it into her mouth after my insistence. Somehow my younger sister was awake (on the bed) and saw us sharing, enjoying and complimenting about her snacks, and she grinned happily.

It is nice to feel the warmth of sisterly love, even though it is just a dream and that in reality we are really miles and miles apart (halfway round the world).

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All the same, happily those dreams were pleasant and I did not wake DD up from his sleep this time round.

Migrating via Student Visa - Part 3

DECLARATION and DISCLAIMER: The following is my personal opinion. I am not any way qualified to give education and/or migration advice to anyone, and thus any content from me shall be construed as a sharing of personal opinion, not advice. I do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided by me. Under no circumstances will I or anyone related to this content be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from any reliance on the information or other content posted or linked by me.

This post will cover some odds-and-ends relevant to the issue of migrating via Student Visa. See links to previous posts on this series at the footnotes.

1. Popular sources of information on Canadian university rankings

Those interested in pursuing education in Canadian universities can check out the various popular sources of information on Canadian university rankings.

The Maclean's university ranking website is a well-known and popular source of information for Canadian high-school students heading to universities here. However, its university ranking is not without controversy. That said, it also publishes university rankings done by others, seen from a Canadian perspective. Thus, it is a useful website to read consolidated information related to Canadian universities. E.g. The 2013 Shanghai Jiao Tong University ［上海交通大学］ (China) annual Academic Ranking of World Universities is reported by Maclean's here.

[15-Aug-2013 Maclean's report of SJTU's Annual Ranking of World Universities]

The Globe and Mail (a well-established newspaper in Canada that was ever unsuccessfully sued by one old-man in a little red dot) reports on Education in Canada. E.g. 23-Oct-2012 Canadian University Report 2013: Student satisfaction survey results.

Of course, one can hardly forget the world-famous Time's World University Rankings.

2. Consider the option to transfer university

My understanding from speaking with the locals is that the 1st year of undergraduate studies here is usually a broad-based education (i.e. course credits from various fields). In order to sign up for these courses from such a wide variety of fields, it is not uncommon that one ends up having to do extra courses/certifications prior to entering the university in order to meet the course pre-requisites.

I have met students from China who do some preparatory courses (e.g. 1 year of studies) at, e.g. SFU, in order to gain admission to undergraduate courses in their target universities.

• For a guide on your transfer options in B.C., Canada, check out www.bctransferguide.ca
• As mentioned previously in Part 1, to search on your post-secondary education options in B.C., Canada, check out www.educationplanner.ca
• Finally, to understand more about post-secondary admissions and transfers in B.C., Canada, check out bccat.ca (BC Council on Admissions & Transfers). The BCCAT runs both Education Planner and BC Transfer Guide websites.

3. Consider the weather and economy of the region/city

Please check out the weather and economy of the region/city where you plan to study before making a decision. You don't have to travel to Canada to do so, but at least do some online research (e.g. Google, Wikipedia, region's tourist information, etc). In a country as big as Canada, it can be "too hot" in one city and "too much snow" in another on the same day. Understanding of the local economy will also help the potential students to consider what skills they may need (i.e. training, certification, and/or preparation) to help them clinch part-time work near their schools.

Note: When looking for a job B.C., Canada, employers will typically ask for "2 Canadian work reference". Therefore, it is important to have regular (e.g. once weekly) part-time work and/or volunteer assignments while studying so that one can get one's managers' and/or volunteer co-ordinators' references* to support one's job application after graduation. *That is, get their names, contact numbers (cell/mobile and work number), and their consent/agreement to be your reference.

In B.C., you will need certain certifications even for the "blue collar" jobs. E.g. Waiters need "Food Safe Level 1 Certification" and perhaps also "Serving It Right" (for premises that serves alcohol). E.g. Even volunteers at summer camps may need a current CPR Level C Certification from an approved B.C. authority.

Good luck on your student/migration journey!

Footnotes:

• See Part 1 "How to sort out the paper mills from the really "recognized" education centres?".
• See Part 2 "Factors to consider when selecting an education programme for the purpose of immigration".