A Sight for Sore Eyes - NOT! A Random Rant of Various Things

I just realised not too long ago that today is Friday the 13th. And to commemorate this most unluckiest of days, I got myself a sore eye.

I don't know how I got it. I just woke up this morning and looked into the bathroom mirror and behold! Was greeted by a red right eyeball. I must have rubbed it while I was sleeping yesterday. Wait a minute...its almost 1am now, so that means that I got me sore eyes yesterday!

Well never mind, the sore eyes are the least of my worries. My first exam is next week saturday. Exams on a saturday...what fun...

My last sore eye incident was when I was in the Army. I woke up from me bunk, walked to the toilet and looked in the mirror and behold! Was greeted by red right eyeball! To be honest, I was bloody happy I got that sore eye, cause it meant I could get an MC and go home! Now is a bit inconvenient though, cause exams are really round the corner. Should be cured by then though, saw the doctor in Campus, got an eyedrop and some other meds, should be fine.

Today as I was riding the MRT home, I overheard a couple of kids comparing their school results. From the looks of them they were secondary school kids, and by the look of the uniform (and what I gleaned from their conversation) they were probably from River Valley High.

They were comparing how many As and A*s they got. As and A*s!!! They were talking about it like it was nothing! They weren't talking about how many Bs or Cs they had, they were talking about how many As they had! Seriously is this normal? Whats happening to our kids nowadays? Have we breed a race of super over achievers? Or are they just super smart whiz kids, which is probably why they are in RV in the first place? Well...they looked appropriately geeky enough (woah look who's calling who a geek...).

If its one thing I know, especially after my stint in the army, its that academic qualifications don't really amount to much. Sure you get the job because of your qualifications, but those As are not going to assure you of that promotion, not going to ensure that people respect you, not going to assure you that your career will be a success, not going to assure you that you'll live a good life, and it most definately is not going to assure you that you become a better person.

Amongst my mates in the bunk, I may have been one of the more academically qualified, but it didn't make me any more efficient or capable in my work and it certainly didn't win me any respect. You want respect you earn it the hard way and you learn from your mistakes, School of Hard Knocks style. You'll be surprise how smart ITE and Poly guys can be when it comes to street smarts and dodging arrows. You gotta respect them for that.

I was one of the better scorers back in my secondary school class, the downside was that I was an absolute f**king bastard. Truth was that I was arrogant and proud and put myself on a pedestal, thinking my mental faculties superior to my peers. I even deceived myself to the degree that I thought I was actually quite humble! All because you don't brag about your results doesn't make you any less arrogant or more humble. It was only in JC that I was able to look back and discover, to my absolute horror, what a f**king asshole I was.

And now we have our kids talking about As and A*s, like its nothing...yet as though it were everything. We should teach our kids in school that grades really aren't everything in life. Instead of obsessing over grades, perhaps they should obsess over their civic mindedness (like not blasting music out of your handphone in the MRT when people are trying to study or sleep), and becoming caring and respectable individuals.

Haha...look at me go, ranting like that. Fact is, I'm a hypocrite. Cause while I criticise kids for obsessing over their results, I too am obsessing over my own grades. Worrying about how my essay went, worrying about getting that A for that module, worrying about raising my CAP score above 4, and dreaming of making it into the Dean's list. So much for being less concerned about grades eh?

So why am I worrying my head over grades? Why are our kids worrying their heads over their grades? Why is mummy and daddy worrying about whether they will get that next promotion? Its the Rat Race I tell you...its all one big giant Rat Race. And in this rat race you KNOW that if you don't get that pretty piece of paper with the official looking signature you;re pretty much screwed. Screwed in the eyes of your fellow man and family, and worse, screwed in you own eyes.

That's why we study, work, plot, scheme, scavenge and compete. Cause the truth is, everybody wants to compete, wants to get ahead, wants to get those 5 Cs. Myself included (though I can do without the 5 Cs no problem). Brian I'm sure you'll agree after all those stories you told me. We're all eyeing that big FAT paycheck, that BIG FAT floating island in the sky.

I guess that's a fact of life in our fair red island. We compete, we strive, we push the limits. Always on our toes, always busy, always eyeing that no. 1 spot. Until effectively lose any sense of identity. We exist for the competition. Our identity is competition. I hate crowds, you know why? Cause whenever I'm in a crowd, I not only feel enclosed and besieged, I feel like just another insignificant digit. In a crowd I lose sense of identity.

But you know something...there is a certain grace, a certain something that we glean from the Rat Race. The thrill of the race, the adrenaline and the knowledge that with competition we strive to become better and better. And in that sense we should keep going...keep going forward, keep flying upwards, keep striving to be the best. Above all, we strive to be recognised, strive to be significant in this bloody big world that we live in.

But still, even if we attain that recognition, even if we become significant (or already are), we pay a price. We sacrifice our identity, and sometimes perhaps our humanity towards our fellow man in favour of such superficialities as that condo or BM...or good grades...like I once did in secondary school.

But still we go on, still we forge ahead...because given the world we live in, I really don't think we have much of a choice. So students continue to worry about getting As. Mummy and Daddy continue to worry about getting their promotion. And the big movers and shakers in parliament continue to worry about the economy, making Singapore the best there is...and a question of how much pay they and the civil service should be getting.

As for me...I shall continue to worry about my exams and my irritating sore eye. Speaking of sore eyes...this rant has gone on long enough...time for me to apply my eye cream and go to bed. For the hour is late.


If there are any government agencies out there reading this blog, I'd just like to state that though this blog entry has somewhat political overtones, this entry is not meant as an attack to our country and our institutions and the leaders who lead them. This is just a random rant of various unconnected things that I have decided to write on a spur of inspiration. If anything I think you chaps are doing a mighty fine job! And I really do mean it most sincerely. Oh yeah...I'm not criticizing the civil service pay raise issue either. I myself hope to join the civil service, so in all respects, I view this as a good thing! ;-)

Good Night! My bed calls to me.