things about me.

1. We are brought into this world by our families, so it seems appropriate to start with mine. I am the youngest child in my family. My father married twice and had 6 children altogether, 4 from the first marriage and 2 from the second. I had an elder sister who died in a road accident long before I was born. So I have 3 elder brothers and an elder sister. We grew up together as brothers and sister, not half-siblings or step-siblings or anything like that. I’m close to my father’s first wife, and I call her Mum too. We’re just one big happy family, really. While I might sometimes complain that my family can be rather traditional, harsh, unforgiving and illogical, I am very thankful that they’ve always been a solid rock for me to fall back on. I never really do, but I know that they’re there for me if I need them.

2. Personality next. Myers-Briggs personality analysis (which is used by the US Military, and is both the most interesting and useful thing I’ve ever learned) describes me as an ENTP. As an ENTP, my primary mode of living is focused externally, where I take things in primarily through my intuition. My secondary mode is internal, where I deal with things rationally and logically. I love to understand things. I’m a flexible and resourceful problem-solver. I am more interested with generating ideas than with implementing them- there are always other people around who can do that, which leaves me free to come up with newer ideas. I’m a fluent conversationalist. I love to argue in the logical sense, in the pursuit of intellectual growth and understanding. I am ultimately an optimist, and I love life. My personality ultimately mirrors George Carlin, Weird Al Yankovic, Thomas Edison, Bugs Bunny and Chandler from Friends.

3. Academia. I’ve always had a thirst for learning. I did spectacularly well in lower Primary school. I never studied at all, and I remember getting 100/100 for several different papers on multiple occasions. I honestly never thought it was something to brag or be very proud about, but my parents certainly did. I’ve NEVER enjoyed mugging. I’ve never been able to do it. Never in my life have I sat down to grind for an exam- not even for my O Levels. I have absolutely no examination-specific study skills. I can never focus throughout the entire duration of an examination, too. I always end up daydreaming in the middle of my papers. This has resulted in mediocre, average results. I got 245 for my PSLE and 14 points for O Levels. Those results would please some parents and appease others, but my parents were absolutely disappointed with me because I didn’t meet their expectations. I remember my Dad slapping me in front of my friends when I went to collect my PSLE results.

4. I qualified for the Gifted Education Programme at the end of Primary 3, and transferred from Opera Estate Primary School to St. Hilda’s Primary School. Looking back, I’m pretty impressed with myself for being able to say goodbye to all my friends to dive in headfirst into a new environment. I always love that big adventure. I enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. It was my friends in P4 who started calling me Visa, which has stuck with me ever since. I got to meet some very intelligent people during my 4 years in the Gifted Education Programme, and some of these people are going to do great things in the future. One of the most interesting things about being in the GEP was the discrimination. Quite a lot of people assume that you’re elitist, even if you’re not. I think people really just have a fear or dislike of what they do not fully understand. That said, I made loads of friends outside the GEP who didn’t think any different of me just because I was there.

5. Going to Victoria School was one of the best decisions of my life. My seniors were the most inspiring group of people I ever met- fit, intelligent, honourable, passionate and successful. It was there that I learnt the true meaning of camaraderie, brotherhood, passion and a host of other things.Above all, I learnt what it means to be a part of something that is greater than yourself. It’s been three years since I graduated from there, but I still bump into my fellow Victorians (teachers, seniors, peers, juniors) everywhere I go and we always reminisce about old times. I could do a 25 things list about VS life alone. We never return to you mother, because we never really left. Nil Sine Labore.

6. It was my teachers at VS GEP that really kick-started my thirst for learning. I have to thank Mr. James Koh above all for being the most awesome teacher I ever met. I managed to piss him off countless times by being the worst possible student imaginable, but I always had a lot of respect for him nevertheless. He got me into Radiohead, theatre in general, and all sorts of things. I always thought he was really, really cool. Like a rock star. Teaching is a beautiful profession, and I think I’d love to teach at some point in my life. I wouldn’t want to teach full time as a career, but I might want to teach for a couple of years to try to make a difference to some youngsters’ lives.

7. I love people. I have friends from all sorts of different racial, religious, financial and educational backgrounds. I’ve learned some of the most important lessons from the people that I least expected to learn anything from. I do have a strong preference for intellectual company, but I do my absolute best to avoid passing judgement before I’ve gotten to know somebody. You never know what treasures you may find in a person that you overlook because of an unhealthy, elitist mindset.

8. Being a manual labourer is probably one of the most enriching experiences I’ve had. Meeting people who work in the the industry, and witnessing firsthand how all sorts of different people treat you. Working as banquet staff at Shangri-La was a similar experience. You learn a lot about yourself, the people you work with, and the people you work for. I was brought up thinking that hard work is tiresome, troublesome and undesirable- but I learnt that it can be enriching. rewarding and even enjoyable if you work with the right people and the right mindset.
I probably learnt more about life from working a month at Shangri-La than from an extra year at school.

9. One of the most life-changing things that happened to me was going to a local music show. It was called Sound Relief and it was held at Zouk. Some of the awesome bands that played that night included Ugly In The Morning, Fatskunks, B-Quartet and A Vacant Affair (who were just starting out then), but it was a band called Ronin seized me by the heart and balls and I’ve never been the same since. Following Ronin, their antics and their shows would become a big part of my life after that. I’d never before met people who had so much guts and balls to be true to themselves and what they stood for. Musically they were probably just average (although Sean Cheng remains one of the most awesome lead guitarists I’ve ever witnessed), but they managed to create an epic following unlike any other local band I’ve ever seen (Except maybe say Plainsunset, but those guys have been at it for over a decade now!). I learnt alot from those guys, and though they’ve disbanded they’ll always be my heroes.

10. I live for intense moments. Good music can get me ridiculously emotional. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s that beautiful moment where everything comes together and it just makes you want to cry. It’s not genre-specific, those powerful climaxes that pull at your heart. I’ve felt it while watching movies, plays, live bands (both rock bands and massive concert bands) and all sorts of other things. It’s just amazing, how human beings can come together and express themselves in a way that affects others on such an intimate level. I think it’s absolutely beautiful. Search YouTube for Paul Potts’s audition for Britain’s Got Talent. Gets me every time. Explosions In The Sky is another.