Review on 2012

2012 has been yet another interesting and probably memorable year for me. A number of achievements were made and lots of valuable experience was gained throughout the year. I shall make use of today's post to take one last look at 2012 before the new year arrives in a few hours.

Back in January, I started off the year by injuring my left foot in Pulau Tekong. This resulted in my inability to participate in the 24km route march and passing out parade. I felt frustrated as I had attended lots of parade rehearsals and had to endure the scroching sun when I was in them. Fast forward one week and I was posted to Stagmont Camp where my journey as a signaller commenced.

Eight weeks in Stagmont Camp and life as a trainee there ended so quickly. Before I knew it, I was living in another army camp. Sungei Gedong, located in Lim Chu Kang, can be considered (and probably guaranteed) to be the one of the top three least accessible military bases in little Singapore. There is only one bus service which happens to be a loop service and you'll have to ride in it for at least ten minutes before you get to see some civilization.

It was totally a culture shock when I first entered my unit, the reason shall to this shall remain secret. You can ask me privately if you are keen to find out. Blah blah blah, the first two months there was mundane as I was still a newbie. Then in May, I got a swollen eye. It looked so serious that I ended up seeing four doctors that range from polyclinic to camp medical officer to A&E doctor and finally the ophthalmologist at NUH. The swell subsided but came back at least five times throughout the year.

If my foot injury was considered one-time unlucky then the intermittent swelling of my eyelid should be called a continuous run of bad luck. Moving on to June. It was during this month that I had to accept the reality that my 21-year record of not travelling overseas since birth will soon come to a glorious end as I was confirmed to be part of the team that is going to Australia for Exercise Wallaby.

July came, followed by August and National Day Parade, the first time I was so eager to watch it for whatever reason. Then came September where I started counting down to Ex. Wallaby. As each day passed by, I felt as if my time "left" in Singapore was getting less and I had to manage my time more wisely. October arrived at last and there I was, sitting in an aeroplane for the first time in my life, on my way to a far away land.

Spent forty-one days in an area called Rockhampton. That is probably the only time in my entire life I will ever go to that city in Australia. Thankfully, it was beneficial, meaningful and most importantly memorable. I still think about the place and the people there every now and then since returning to Singapore for more than a month. I don't mind going through it again though, honestly.

After returning from Australia, I felt that it was high time and I take charge of my life and stop dwelling on the memories I had while being stuck there. I made a lot of changes in my lifestyle. I am even hitting the books now as I mark my return to studying (on an unofficial basis) after more than one and a half years.

2012 is also the year that will always be remembered as the "slim down" year for me. I lost a substantial amount of weight and fat under my skin due to a change in diet and lifestyle and massive spamming of exercise and sports every week. Many people who have not seen me for quite a while had commented on the new and slimmer me. 2013 will be the year I aim to put on more lean mass (muscle) as I believe that I had "overachieved" my goal in the process of losing weight.

With this post, this blog has a total of 885 entires to date. Looking forward to an exciting 2013 where I target to reach the 1000-mark by then. See you next year!

Top 10 People 2012

Once again, it's the annual top 10 people of the year post. This year proved to be the hardest so far as I took a long time adding and eliminating people to and from the list.These people thoroughly deserve to receive some recognition for their efforts and contributions in 2012.


















Number 10

Jeremy Lin

No Asian, including Yao Ming, had such an explosive start to his NBA career than Jeremy Lin. A string of outstanding performances for New York Knicks have earned him fame from all over the world especially Asia where the country which he emigrated from, Taiwan, is in. Words like Linsanity, Lintelligence, Lincredible and anything which starts with "in" and sounds legit when you add a "L" in front sprung up.

The 24-year old scored the matching-winning three-pointer in a 90:87 win against Toronto Raptors and was even crowned Eastern Conference Player of the Week once. Lin's fine form earned praise from Kobe Bryant after their match together and had the whole Miami Heat marking him when he faced Lebron James and co. He even made it to the cover of Time magazine's February 27 issue.

Jeremy Lin has proved that Asians are able to shine in a sport that has long been dominated by Westerners. His impressive performances have made Asians proud and Americans envious. He has transferred to Houston Rockets, Yao Ming's former team, this season. Coincidence?







Number 9

Michelle Obama
 

Enough of her husband. It is time to shine the spotlight on the First Lady of the world's largest economy. Mrs Obama do have a couple of achievements in 2012 to boast about.

She told a story to Americans at the Democratic National Convention. The story about her husband driving a screwed-up car just to look for a coffee table and she reminded them that Barack was the very man that America (and the world) was so enthusiastic about 4 years ago

Her pleasantness and sociability allowed her to trump her direct rival, Ann Romney, who appeared to look rigid and mundane at times. Like husband like wife, one might say. And I am not just referring to the Obamas.

She was also responsible for changing the menus of the National School Lunch Program this year. School canteens and vending machines are now selling healthier food. Although students are unhappy that their chicken nuggets are being replaced with more veggies, they will thank her later in life for forcing them to adapt to a healthier lifestyle.





Number 8

Angela Merkel

As the euro crisis starts to take a less negative turn, we cannot ignore the woman called Angela Merkel. The German chancellor appears to look emotionless in front of fellow leaders of Northern Europe while those from debt-ridden Southern Europe view her as heartless.

Heartless or emotionless it may seem but the German Iron Lady has earned plaudits for her persistence that Europe slash state spending has resulted in euro economies going further into recession.

Merkel is ranked the world's second most powerful person by Forbes magazine currently. She is also the magazine's most powerful woman this year and for the sixth consecutive time. No female in the world wields more influence than her at the moment. SNSD fans might disagree with me.





Number 7

Xi Jinping
 

The expected successor of China president Hu Jintao probably had his name appeared on newspapers many more times than Hu himself this year. Xi's unofficial assumption of power started during the autumn period. As China doesn't hold a presidential election, this guy had to prove to the Chinese people and the world that he is worth the post.

In order to do that, the vice president had to play between the lines of conservatism and liberalism. He has already begun the process of balancing both sides of the political spectrum. This month, he visited Shenzhen in Southern China which is seen as a feature of the country's endearment of a state-led style of capitalism. The trip was perceived as a signal of backing for more reforms to the economy.

As vice-premier (unofficial new premier), he has gone on a number of overseas trips which include America, a sign that he is ready to make his mark as the top leader of the world's most populous country. Xi is expected to replace Hu as president in March next year.





Number 6

Pussy Riot

Countless of people from around the world have been arrested and/or imprisoned for rebelling and protesting. However, Russian feminist punk-rock group appeared to be the most prominent of them all in 2012.

Three of the group's members were arrested in March for staging a performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour church in Moscow that was directed at condemning the church leader's support for president Vladmir Putin during his election campaign. It is no secret that anti-Putin is one of the themes that the group has in its songs.

Their arrest has led to a global outcry and an international support that includes Aung San Suu Kyi, Yoko Ono, Madonna and many more politicians and artists. One of the three arrested members has her sentence suspended in October while the other two, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, continued to serve their two-year jail terms.

Although protests against Pussy Riot's imprisonment were held in Russia and all over the globe from America to Europe, president Putin continues to exude a couldn't-care-less attitude to this matter. He explains that Pussy Riot threatened the "moral foundations" of Russia.





Number 5

Mitt Romney

For all his gaffes and blunders, we have to give credit to Romney for enduring a difficult year in politics. Before taking on a much-stronger Barack Obama, he had to deal with the never-ending nomination process within the Republican Party. Fighting with a bunch of shrewd people like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich (especially) for his party's nomination was already tough enough. Emerging as the winner undermines it all.

He might look lacking against an experienced Obama but Romney still managed to inflict some damage on his challenger at the first presidential debate where his sharpness and quick-wit made the president look flat. Although Obama turned the tables in the next two rounds and made Romney look like a joke, the 65-year old can still beat his chest and claim that he endured and survived a rough year.





Number 4

Aung San Suu Kyi

If Angela Merkel is the most most powerful female politician, then Aung San Suu Kyi deserves to be labelled as the world's most pitiful. In Myanmar, she is no doubt the de facto leader of the opposition. She finally took office this year which saw her being  voted as a member of parliament.

After more than two decades, Aung San Suu Kyi finally received her Nobel Peace Prize award, an honour that was given to her in 1991, this year in Oslo. She went on a number of high-profile overseas trips that include Europe and America where she met president Barack Obama.

Although she continues to appear humble on the development of political reforms in her country, we cannot deny that her efforts have finally paid off. 2012 marks the beginning of a brave new world for Myanmar, slowly but surely.





Number 3

Thein Sein

The fact that he was willing to meet Aung San Suu Kyi shows that the Myanmar president is somewhat of a reformist. The former general has begun to instill democracy into a country that has been ruled by the military for years. the 67-year old also lifted Western sanctions and opened doors for investors to do business in this resource-rich nation.

The positive steps which he has taken has not gone unnoticed in Southeast Asia as well as the rest of the world. A historic visit by American president Barack Obama to Yangon in November sends a strong signal that Thein Sein is prepared to allow more freedom in the country's politics and economy. America has also promised to abolish an import ban on Burma.

Thein Sein's efforts have put Myanmar back on track and gave its citizens hope that one day, they can live in a truly democratic nation.





Number 2

Psy

The runner-up for this list looks an unsuccessful spoof of Kim Jong-un. Or maybe a less unglam version of the once-famous William Hung? Whatever the description, we cannot deny that Psy is one of the most talked-about human being this year.

Carly Rae Jepsen with "Call Me Maybe" or Rebecca Black and her "Friday" may be examples of one-song overnight celebrities but none of them can match the dominance of Psy and his "Gangnam Style". The MV on Youtube has garnered more than 10 billion views to date since it first appeared in July, making it the most-watched clip in the video-sharing website's history.

Psy is already a legend and ranks together with Michael Jackson as the biggest pop-stars ever. His music and dance has made him the face of South Korea as "Gangnam Style" continues to spread the Hallyu Wave around Asia and to the shores of America and the West. The rapper is considered to be his country's best export this year after the Samsung Galaxy SIII.

What makes the MV so entertaining and successful is that Psy was willing appear stupid and laugh at himself. The high value of entertainment has overshadowed the hidden and indirect meaning of the song, showing the disparity between the affluent Gangnam district and its less well-to-do Northern neighbour, Gangbuk district.

It is widely expected that Gangnam Style will gradually lose its popularity and dominance next year but as for Psy, and all his creativity and hard work, he will always be remembered as the ridiculously-successful fat man with sunglasses from K-pop.


















Now guess who is number one?




























































 


Number 1

YOU

Who else? It's you again! Give yourself a well-deserved break tomorrow. You lived past another year and survived that doomsday which unfortunately did not occur due to technical reasons from the unexplainable side of the world. Oh yeah, and without your continuous support, how would this blog have survived another year? Thank you very much and look forward to 2013!

Heartlanders

I got a sudden crave for the theme song of this once-popular Channel 5 drama. Wonder how the actors like Vincent Ng and Steph Song doing now. Aaron Aziz is still fairly present in the entertainment industry. I still remember watching the show every Tuesday during my upper primary school years. Will definitely miss it.

Best and Worst of 2012

As 2012 comes to an end, I have compiled a list of the year's best and worst in my opinion. They are random stuff which I have experienced, came across or happened to know in 2012.

Best Channel 8 drama: It Takes Two (对对碰)

In 2011, I only watched 1 drama (On The Fringe) completely. I do not know what made me lose interest in Channel 8 dramas last year but at least for 2012, the interest came back.

Channel 8 broadcasted a few good shows that were worth watching this year. They include Unriddle 2, Pillow Talk, Poetic Justice (this one's subjective) and Game Plan. However, none of them can rival the realism of the scenes and conversations in It Takes Two.

It Takes Two also dwell on a number of topics like cost of living, mutual trust, social status and the undesirable side of society. Never mind that the ending was ultra-predictable, like in 99% of Channel 8 dramas, the show still provides lots of food for thought.

Worst gadget: iPhone 5

With a screwed-up Apple Map that replaced the wonderful Google App on its predecessors, iPhone 5 was clearly a flop. Not to mention issues about its screen, Wi-fi and the unreliable Siri app. Above all, iPhone 5 had a strong challenger in the market to deal with in the Samsung Galaxy SIII.

Best Movie: The Avengers

In terms of entertainment value and value for money, The Avengers trumps them all. How often do we get to see so many Hollywood stars in a single film? You might argue that The Expendables has an equally star-studded cast and boasts spectacular scenes.

But would most people prefer to watch superheroes showcasing their superhero abilities thanks to top-class Hollywood CGs or a bunch of middle-aged men armed with weapons embarking on a sure-win mission?

Best Victory: Francois Hollande, French presidential election

Hollande, a left-wing politician, defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy during the second round of voting in May where he garnered 51.7% of the vote. Sarkozy was expected to lose after numerous flops by his government. Hollande's victory signals a rejuvenation to the country's economy and foreign policy although his popularity has since dropped.

Worst and most unnewsworthy piece of celeb news: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

The Twilight stars broke, are back together and seem to be splitting up again. Lately, the male's parents seem not to be too pleased with the girl when they clashed with him at Christmas. More troubles? Like I care. I bet only (retarded) Twilight fans will care.

Worst Image Change for a Celeb: Taylor Swift

In the music video of her new song, I Knew You Were Trouble, goodie country-style girl Taylor Swift tries out an edgier look with pink scruffy hair. The new hairstyle looks like a half-hearted attempt as it isn't pink enough to be called pink.

More points deducted due to the length of the hair which ends at the shoulders this time. Taylor clearly needs longer tresses to pull off an impressive look. The shoulder-length cut makes her look like someone with an overgrown bob.

Best Sporting Moment: Olympics Men 4 X 100m relay

The team from Jamaica, which includes Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, clinched the gold medal by setting a world record time of 36.84 seconds. It also marked a memorable day for Bolt and his country as he made it a hat-trick of golds at the international sport event. And we can all see that there's hardly any animosity between Bolt and Blake after all.

Worst Quote of the Year: Mitt Romney's 47 percent

This was what the loser of the American presidential election said in May.

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what … who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. … These are people who pay no income tax. … and so my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

Mitt Romney was such a weak challenger to Barack Obama that since the start of the campaign, I reckoned that the probability of him winning was 0.00000000047 percent.

Punggol East: A hexagonal election?

The Singapore Democratic Party has become the latest opposition party to indicate their interest in contesting the vacated Punggol East seat at a press conference today. And if all those who have thrown their hats in the ring decide to go ahead, Punggol East residents will see a six-cornered fight in their constituency.

Before the SDP, four sides have already declared their interest in taking on the PAP. They are the Workers' Party, Reform Party, Singapore Democratic Alliance and ex-Singapore People's Party member Benjamin Pwee who may contest as an independent.

Benjamin Pwee's former party, SPP, and the National Solidarity Party have kindly declined the opportunity to contest in a possible by-election. Now, why the heck is there so much interest in a small little ward that only carved out in last year's election?

Conspiracy theories, here we go again. I managed to come up with a few which I think sounds good enough to be true.

A check on the elections department website indicates that the disgraced Michael Palmer of PAP won 54.54% of the vote in a three-cornered fight last year. WP's Lee Li Lian came in second with 41% of the votes while SDA's Desmond Lim aka The Extra garnered an impressive 4.45%.

Having seen a shift in voter preference in GE 2011, alternative parties are encouraged to work harder. Hence, with the possibility of a by-election rather high, these parties are confident that they can win due to the unconvincing amount of votes PAP garnered for Punggol East last year.

Michael Palmer has left the party and he left a stain on it. How often like this do opposition parties get the chance to throw bricks at the ruling party? Other than making the PAP look bad to the public, opposition candidates can also "market" themselves as well as their parties for the next GE.

In my opinion, WP is the only one that is eyeing the seat. The liberal parties, RP and SDP, are there to put forward their policies to Punggol East voters and Singaporeans at the same time. Win or lose, it doesn't matter much as long as they manage to get their message with the help of the media.

Unlike Hougang, which had a by-election earlier this year, Punggol East is not a stronghold of the Workers' Party. Moreover, during last year's polls, the party's main focus is certainly not in this constituency of approximately 31,000 electors. Lee Li Lian was (and still is) not one of WP's stars.

The WP also doesn't seem to have a strong candidate to field this time. If Lee Li Lian is the chosen one again, news of her as the party's candidate would have surfaced when WP announced its decision to contest just hours after Michael Palmer called it quits.

Clearly, the opportunity to contest as the non-PAP representative is up for grabs. No wonder Benjamin Pwee decided to join in the fun as well. I am wondering if Tan Jee Say (who is rather keen to participate in elections) or Tan Kin Lian (who seems to have a lot of cash to spare after losing his deposit at last year's presidential polls) will follow suit.

Last but not least, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong is still pondering over whether to call for a by-election or not. With so many parties declaring their interest, he might just call for one thinking that more parties means more splits among the non-PAP vote. However, only one candidate turns up on Nomination Day and thrashes his candidate in white on Polling Day.

Maju, Hentak Kaki or Bersurai for SMRT?

After news of him planning to hire ex-SAF personnel surfaced more than a fortnight ago, SMRT's new CEO, Desmond Quek, has walked the talk and employed four former senior SAF officers. The four military men make up half of the eight new people whom Desmond Kuek has selected to strengthen SMRT's management team.

They are director of human resources Colonel Gerard Koh, director of buses Colonel Tan Kian Heong, director of train operations Colonel Alvin Kek and deputy director of workers liaison and industrial relations Lieutenant Colonel Michael Chua.

One does not need to serve NS to know that the commercial world is an entirely different place from the military. Also, most can understand the fact that SMRT does not need former army regulars, where their professions have hardly any link to public transportation, to run the company efficiently.

General Kuek appears to be taking a risk by including so many ex-officers (still more to come) in this latest reshuffle. Surely, he can argue that he picked the right man for the job but before work commences, the public will be wondering why weren't there more talent poached from the private market.

The main perception by the public is that Kuek possesses limited connections in the private sector which is why he turned his head to his ex-SAF comrades. Or is it a fact that the best local talents all come from the military? Many over-qualified people would consider applying if it was an open competition.

For the post of train operations director, did Desmond Kuek and SMRT ventured into the employment market before coming to a conclusion that the man most suited for the role is a former army engineer? The expertise of combat engineers, which includes ordnance disposal, chemical agents and trench construction, doesn't seem to match the operations of a rail operator.

One big difference between SMRT and SAF is that the latter spends (some say splurge) with an essentially unlimited budget (some say there isn't one in the first place). With the recent bus drivers strike still fresh in the minds of everyone, how will SAF cope with its finances to ensure that the public and its staff are satiated?

Time will tell whether Desmond Kuek made the right move as CEO by injecting military blood into a company that is listed on the Singapore Exchange. In the meantime, he will have to deal with criticism that cronyism was present when he made the decision to appoint his former army kakis.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all readers Merry Christmas and spend the remaining days of 2012 meaningfully and happily before welcoming the new year. Oh yeah, in case you are wondering, this snowman is trying to act like its in some Matrix movie.

John Kerry: The smart choice

 America's president Barack Obama has picked John Kerry as secretary of state, a post that will be voided after Hillary Clinton steps down from it after four long years.

John Kerry is best known for being a navy lieutenant of the Vietnam War and the Democratic candidate for the 2004 presidential election where he was defeated by George Bush. After the withdrawal of Susan Rice, a favourite for the job, the nomination of Senator Kerry was widely expected.

Tested and proven, this man possesses adequate experience to be America's top diplomat. As quoted by Obama "few individuals know as many presidents and prime ministers or grasp our foreign policies as firmly as John Kerry.”

John Kerry, who is more pro-Europe than his predecessor, is expected to be welcomed in the continent. France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius has even endorsed the nomination and congratulated his potential American counterpart. Kerry will most probably make the U.S. shift its focus from East to West.

Kerry is also seen as the healing hand for the Middle East as well as South Asia. He has gone on trips to countries like Pakistan (after Osama was killed) and Syria (to meet its president) over the last few years and is portrayed as the person to mend Arab-Israel ties.

During his 2004 election campaign, Kerry gave a then relatively unknown Obama the opportunity to step onto the political stage by selecting him to give the keynote speech at the Democratic convention. Some may say that this is Obama's way of reciprocation.

After two women, John Kerry will become the first male secretary of state in almost eight years. The challenges which await him in his new job include Iran's nuclear issue and the ever-growing unrest in Syria.

But nobody else fits the bill as perfectly as Kerry himself.