Long needles = lots of pains

Besides taking blood sample, got jabs for meningitis and Tetanus at the NUS Health & Wellness Centre yesterday. They were excruciatingly painful, especially the meningitis shot both during and post execution (Avoid it as meningitis shot is not mandatory. It was just me planning for my mini Haj to Mecca too early in advance. It will only happen in March next year, God willing). There were 7 of us there including Hadi, Dr Zhang, Liwei, Shuyu, Bora and Ye Minn. Being among friends took some anxiety away. Some photos at N7 Photoblog, here.

Hey, good luck for the exams results this Saturday. I am not expecting much myself.

Guided Tour of Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin - 7 Jul 2008

As circulated in the email, a visit to Chek Jawa has been planned on Monday 7 Jul 08. Please fill in the return form and email back to the class Secretary the soonest. Check out what Check Jawa has to offer. More pictures here.

Happenings in Singapore

Thinking of buying gifts for loved ones? Go shopping at Great Singapore Sale 2008 from 23 May 2008 - 20 Jul 2008. Sales are up to 70%. Other Singapore Happenings are found at this website. Don't miss them.

Sri-Zest Myanmar

Dear All Friends,
May I appreciate Mr.Rahman's creation of blog for MPM, 2008 and want to share some photos of us.

Transport Systems Around SIPA

I hope this link on the transport systems around SIPA helps the SIPAian friends.

Subway Routes in Cambridge

I grabbed this link of the subway routes, price and schedules from the ether and hope it helps to plan your life around Kennedy School later in the year. I think HKS is on the Harvard Station on the Red Line and the Marriot Residence is at Kendall/MIT on the same line.

Greetings from Stockholm (Rathi)

greetings from Stockholm. . . hope your attachment is going well. Weather here has been now kinder to me. . . 14 degrees or so. . . on a school visit today... have met many kind and helpful people. . . have a week to go here. . . ie before my holiday starts. enjoy and keep in touch...

Rathi

A note from Shuyu

Dear All,

As you may know, I am doing my attachment work with MICA on creative industry. Their Media Development Authority is organizing an International Communications and Information Technology Exhibition & Conference on 17-20 June in Singapore Expo. It was said to be the largest event in this field in Asia. Is anybody interested to have a look of it? MDA said admission is free but registration is needed. They are doing a registration for me and those who would like to participate can register under my name. Anybody who is interested please inform me as soon as possible then I can give a list for the MDA to register.

Further information can be found on the website .

Wang Shuyu

Happy Wesak/Vesak & how are we attached?

Happy Wesak/Vesak to everyone. It has been a fortnight that everyone last stepped on school grounds. Some are abroad and some stay local on attachment. I started the session with my mentor (his representatives) today with administration procedures (getting security pass, declaring my handphone etc). I am allocated an office on the 19th floor of MINDEF Human Resource Department (MHRD) on Depot Road. Not an actual penthouse, but MHRD looks like a good place to work full time, not just for an attachment.
They will also be issuing me a laptop on Thursday, how cool is that!!! (the truth is it is more security hassle to clear mine than being issued temporarily with one). That was how far I got today but hope to hear how everyone else is doing. ARB.

China Earthquake Claims More Than 19500 Deaths

More distressing news in the world. Most sincere condolences to the people of China for the recent earthquake.

From Brunei, with warmest regards

Wishing everyone a very good week ahead.

spread your wings

I am quite sure by today everyone would have completed all their examinations. Well done all for surviving thus far. With the examinations out of the way, it is hoped the blog will have inputs more than just from yours truly (as it has begun to look like my personal blog already), especially now and the next few weeks people are flying and traveling all over the place, locally, regionally and globally on break and on attachment. News and visuals from where you are will surely liven this space up. It is also hoped that this will be a useful communications tool for us when we get on our own ways in the States later this year, and beyond LKY SPP.

Public Servants - a joke

Two bone weary public servants were working their little hearts and souls out. Their department was just too busy for staff to be able take flex. But there had to be a way ...

One of the two public servants suddenly lifted his head. "I know how to get some time off work" the man whispered.

"How?" asked the second worker.

Instead of answering, the man quickly looked around. No sign of his Director. He jumped up on his desk, kicked out a couple of ceiling tiles and hoisted himself up. "Look!" he hissed, then swinging his legs over a metal pipe, hung upside down.

Within seconds, the Director emerged from the Branch Head's office at the far end of the floor. He saw the worker hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he thought he was doing.

"I'm a light bulb" answered the public servant.

"I think you need some time off," barked the Director. "Get out of here - that's an order - and I don't want to see you back here for at least another two days! You understand me?"

"Yes sir", the public servant answered meekly, then jumped down, logged off his computer and left.

The second worker was hot on his heels.

"Where do you think you're going?" the boss asked.

"Home," he said lightly. "I can't work in the dark."

Condolences and Prayers for the People of Myanmar

Our most sincere condolences and prayers for the people of Myanmar after being hit by cyclone Nargis. Dr Yee and Ye Minn, our prayers are deep for the safety and health of your family members back home. MPM2008.

LKYSPP Survival Kit - live document -updated

Lets try this again. I just realised that somebody in the Philippines was reading this part of the blog. We may be able to give him or her and other potential LKY SPP students some 'soft help'.

In the past 2 school committee meetings, all members of the school were invited to generate some sort of list, a survival kit list, which comprises any tips, hints and ways to help students and potential students prepare before joining the school. I emailed this to MPM2008 about a month ago but we have not been able to generate any. Let me just start that list, we might be able to go somewhere from here.

For International Night for Foreign Students - before leaving home country

• Consider bringing along to Singapore some national gifts;fabrics, mugs, fans, keychains or what have you, for gifts exchange.
• Take along your national flags to be displayed at that same night.
• Consider to bring ingredients of your home cooked food and prepare to cook, for country stalls.
• Musical instruments & CDs, documentary or tourism clips to be displayed.
• National dress to be worn.
• Most importantly, bring along your singing, dancing & acting talents.

What to Bring to Singapore in General

• If you like your movies on the go, on your ipod etc, rip copies of them from home into your hard drives. iTunes does not have Singapore as a registered country. Apparently it is due to the strict copyright laws.
• Voltage in Singapore is 220-240 V. So if you are from the lower voltage countries and want your items to work, bring along transformers and adapters. The electrical plugs are the three square pins.
• Your medical records and proof of jabs. They will turn useful, trust me.
  

Driving in Singapore (for foreign students)

• This guy gives reasonable (and negotiable) rates for renting cars, Jeff (+6592762662)
• This website is particularly useful as reference to road regulations, ERP and parking rates, road directory at onemotoring.com.sg.
• Bring along International Driving License if you can.

(This is not complete. I invite authors to contribute. You can do so directly to this post by clicking here. I suspect the list will be put again as an agenda in the next school committee meeting).

Bon Voyage & Safe Journey

Shuyu and Yang are flying back to China this weekend for a well deserved rest and rejuvenation in home country after completing the exams of all their modules. Enjoy the break and see you in 2 weeks. Meanwhile, please visit and if you have anything to post here whilst on holiday, photos or thoughts, please do. (I am not aware of any one else flying home for a break in the coming few days. If any of you know please update. Appreciate).

What not to draw in exams tomorrow!!