My First 30 years -- A Timeline

Phew...(or should I say argh....!!!) that I'm hitting 30!!! 30 years past like that...can't imagine. So what have I really done for the past 30 years??? As a history buff, I suddenly have the urge/the need/the...whatever to chronicle my achievements, failure, happiness, disappointment etc. etc., especially since I don't keep a diary and I need something to keep for memory. However, writing a memoir probably will take up a few vols. of encyclopedia (or rather nothing too dramatic to write about). In the end, I decide to keep it short and sweet. And so the timeline...


THE BLUR BLUR YEARS (1978-1984)
(so named because I've scant memory of that era)


1978: Scene - KK Hospital. Me - popping out of my mother's womb. According to 老妈's testimony, it seems that I refused to pop out, so the doc had to use a clamp to pull me out. 老妈was 36 yrs old then and 8 yrs since the birth of my brother. Quite hard on her. No wonder birthday is also call 母难日(Day of a Mother's Ordeal) in Chinese.


1979-84: Dun really remember what I've done, but some bits and pieces here:

• Squeezing in a 2-room flat with my parents, elder brother and sister, my aunt and grandmother.


• Spent half the day at my parents' shop as they are too busy with their work. Since then, I've became famous as the "ah boy" of Woodlands central... Always eat at that wanton mee and yong tau foo stall at the hawker centre... It's a tough journey to the central at the beginning when there's no bus...that is until Transitlink bus emerged... Remember Mum used to put me to sleep in a cradle (we always call it sarong) until I've grown too heavy and the coil finally gave way...but somehow I survived the fall.


• Tried to play a joke on my brother by locking the door of our room, but ends up locking myself up. Thanks to a neighbour who managed to use a bamboo pole (those type used for hanging clothes) to unlock that hateful lock.


• Always suffered from constipation (if there's any, they always looks like chocolate chips). Dad finally found the ultimate solution -- date juice (枣汁)! Yucks! Can't imagine I've been living on this for most of my childhood.


• Seems to have visited Clifford Pier (now defunct, another memory gone) and the Merlion (now relocated).


• The most horrifying secret: Mum testified that I was dressed in girl's clothing when I was 2-3 yrs old...AHHHH!!! Luckily I didn't turn into an "ah agua".


• Was a cry baby at kindergarden. Dun do anything, just cry whole day in class. A certain 周老师was so frustrated that she left. Replaced by a 叶老师. She seems fierce, so I better be guai.


• Some of my happiest moment: playing 飞机棋with my siblings...just that simple.
  

PRIMARY SCHOOL (1985-1990)

1985:

• First day at Fuchun Primary School. We were the very 1st batch and the uniform was not ready. I ended up wearing my home clothes. Dad was my chauffeur in his scooter...and had been so for the next 6 years. Always very kiasu and carried all the textbooks in my bag (strangely, I didn't bother about my timetable at all). Still remember that CDIS textbooks and workbooks with that "students walking" picture on their covers and that 2 cartoon characters Mr Yakki and Mr Wallie -- they certainly brought some vibrancy to my learning experience.


• Also the year of 《雾锁南洋》-- remember my bro (who was then studying in Chinese High) always like to sing its theme song: “问世间有多少悲欢离合..."


• Moved from the old 2-room flat into the new 4-room flat across the street...and remain since then.
  

1986:

• Scored quite well in primary 1 and so got into A class in pri 2.


• Won the 1st prize in the Vitasoy "Master of the Universe" luck draw -- a Castle Grayskull game set. That day is one of my happiest moment in my primary school day.
  

1987:

• My body size suddenly balloned around this age. My aunt started calling me "ah fat".


• Likes to hang around with my sis and her friend. Always brought me to visit ulu ulu places in ruins such as those demolished houses in Sembawang and Pulau Ubin. Perhaps this laid the basis for me growing a liking to retro stuff?


• Visit my bro at Tekong during his BMT. The training was really tough then -- my bro had grown thinner. Start to worry about NS in future after the visit.


• First exposure to Science as a subject. Felt real fun doing experiments, especially growing green beans with wet cotton wool.

1988:

• Results falling. Down grade from C class to D class in pri 4.


• Sis left for Australia for her study. Saw her off at airport (also my first visit to Changi Airport). Felt lonely without her around. She was the one who brought me to interesting places (such as Bras Brasah and the World Book Fair at World Trade Centre to buy books). She was also the one who bought me my favourite soft toy: a whale which I named 大嘴巴for its bloody big mouth.


• Bro started to introduce me to 连环图(Chinese pictorial book), the earliest of which is 济公全传. It was during this time that many of the Chinese mythical characters I've read about in books started to appear in TV -- 孙悟空，钟馗，哪吒...


• My cousin from Australia came to visit us. Thanks to them, I had the opportunity to visit many places of interest like Science Centre, Jurong Bird Park, Aquarium (formerly at Fort Canning, now defunct).

1989:

• Results fell further. Down grade to H class in Pri 5.
  

1990:

• The year of PSLE. Met a fierce teacher who really force me to buck up. My result rose to 2nd position in class. Due to this reason, I was one of those rewarded to view the Youth Day celebration at National Stadium (and the only visit I've paid to the now defunct stadium).


• First time feeling so stress on the day PSLE result was announced. Not a bad result after all -- ended up in a neighbourhood secondary school -- Woodlands Secondary School.


• Became fan of TMNT (stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). That advertisement in Straits Times showing four cutie turtles with their ninja weapons and their rat teacher living in sewer plus those slimy radioactive stuff that turns them into talking turtles really left an impression on me. I was fan of many other super heroes of the day -- Superman (that Superman fighting the villains in dark suit in Superman II remains a classic); Ghostbuster (really likes the way they send electric current to trap the ghost and suck them in a vacuum cleaner like machine); He-Man (Remember "by the power of Grayskull" ? I had one whole lot of his adventure in the Ladybird series children books).


• Grew a liking to Bookworm series around this time. Even won a consolation prize in one of its lucky draw. Another of my favourite children classics is 《儿童乐园》. Miss that swordfighting-fantasy story of 画侠李子长 and that Doraemon alike character IQ蛋.


• Began reading swordfighting novels (amazingly) after watching Tony Leung's version of 《倚天屠龙记》. Begged Dad to get me 《射雕英雄传》as the prize for my good exam result. Still too young to understand most of the content, I'd stop reading after this.
  

BYE CHILDHOOD, WELCOME TEEN YEARS (1991-1994)

1991:

• First day in secondary school. A refreshing start with a) wearing a belt for the first time and b) having orientation for the first time.


• First exposure to new subjects -- History and Geography. Started to grow a liking to history (and change my career aspiration forever).


• Had an ECA for the first time by joining computer club. Quite an enjoyable experience playing around with that large size floppy disk and the now defunct WordPerfect (and some other programes with names that I can't remember).


• Began engrossed in Chinese fantasy novels. As a result, my Chinese getting better, but English grade began its decline.


• Felt the impact of a surge in male hormones when I started having pimples and ogling at 2 girls in class (but no further actions taken)


• Thought I could score well in Arts since I like drawing, but ended up with a struggle to pass.

1992:

• An unlucky year -- ganna chickpox (and had to spend endless of hours at home with nothing to do). Ended up watching Olympics (held @ Barcelona) at home.
  

1993:

• Finally ended up in the Arts stream after the streaming exercise. Arts stream were condemned back then compared to the more elite Science stream. But I stood by my decision. History remains my favourite subject, but the teacher really sucks...just told us to underline, underline, underline...and it's history of Sotheast Asia and Singapore/Malaya (again? sian!). The real enemy was English Language and Literature, really a struggle. Wondered why no Chinese Literature was offered in school...I can certainly excel in the subject. But the Eng Lang and Lit teacher did made an effort in making the subject interesting, and gave us remedial lessons --even organised a camp for this.


• Visited National Library for the first time when doing a school project. Little did I realise I would become its employee 10 yrs down the road.

1994:

• The year of another major battle -- O levels. A very difficult year ahead, struggling with the various subjects (except of course Chinese). Remember the days doing that Technical folio, doing all that design drawings, struggling with the tools and materials to turn that concept into reality...Remember the days struggling to understand what that passage in comprehension was about, but ended up getting one "X" after another...Remember that moment of happiness after solving a difficult maths question. However, that aim remains -- the aim of getting into a JC.
  

TURNING POINT AND NEW CHALLENGES (1995-1997)

1995:

• Spent my 1st 3 months at Jurong Institute bec my prelim grade is insufficient to get me into any of the JC -- even after appealing at Yishun JC. But the 1st 3 month remains an enjoyable experience and eventually change my mindset -- so what if I can't get into JC? I told myself I would need 3 yrs instead of 2 to build up my prowess to take on A level -- JI just provided me with the time and environment to do that. True enough, I failed my O level (due to failing English and Lit) and ended up in JI. However, this 2 subjects had evolved into A level GP and Eng Lit to continue to haunt me for the rest of my 3 yrs. Worse still, I had to retake O level Eng again and pass the subject...if not, I would be kicked out of JI!!!


• I'm now in 95A, the one and only Arts class in JI, and spent the next 3 yrs in the same class. My classmates and teachers had since became another family to me.


• Got to represent JI in NUS History Quiz -- though not winning, it's still my 1st achievement in JI.
  

1996:

• My 2nd achievement in JI: awarded with 1st in Chinese on Speech Day.


• My 3rd achievement in JI: rep JI in National Chinese Essay Writing Competition and won the consolation prize.


• Another setback: retook O level English and failed again. My GP teacher was kind enough to sacrifice her time to give us extra lessons on this. I began to spent long hours reading Straits Times (this had since became my daily hobby) and Eng story books, taking notes of new phrases to improve my Eng.


• My 5th achievement in JI: finally get to participate in school camp (I've missed the one in Pri 6 due to knee injury and opted out the one in Sec 3 -- still quite anti-social then)


• Finally Woodlands is linked to the rest of Singapore by MRT. And finally I got more opportunities to take a ride by MRT from school to home.
  

1997:

• My 6th achievement in JI: awarded for outstanding peformance in History.


• My 7th achievement in JI: got a B4 for my O level Eng exam -- pass finally!!! Now ready for the battle for A level.


• 23 Dec (a few days after Titanic went on screen): 1st day of my NS days. The moment of getting my "Alibaba" bag and all that parang parang; sleeping with a bunch of total strangers from all walks of life in the same bunk remains unforgettable.


• 24 Dec: this day is my first book out day -- surprisingly -- just because it's Christmas eve. I'd became the envy of many for being enlisted during festive seasons.
  

NS DAYS (1998 - 2000)

1998:

• BMT: seriously I don't considered that tough because I was sick quite a number of times... and managed to get excuses a lot of time (incl. one @ sick bay a day after field camp) -- really "chao geng" ah!


• Me and my buddy posted to 21SA. Voccation -- Mechanic. Responsibility -- fixed an amphibious armoured vehicle called...forget the name.


• A level result announced. The result was what I expected: A,B,C. The greatest surprise came from GP - a B3. This not only guarantee me a place at NUS, I don't even need to take that English module (for those B4 and below)


• Training to be a mechanic at OETI: That Malay stall selling Roti John and fried chicken wings remains the favourite civilian makan places in camp during NS days.


• Horray! Ganna posted to GSMB (which is a better life than in 21SA). The camp is at Sungei Gedong, a ulu place in Lim Chu Kang, but quite near to my house.


• A bunch of new birds joined our company. Some of which had became my close friends.
  

1999:

• The whole world counting down on 31 Dec for the new millenium. Y2K bug was the catch-phrase of the day, but nothing of an IT catastrophe occured.
  

2000:

• 22 Jun, the Year of the Dragon: ORD loh! Suddenly felt like a dragon after getting my pink IC. Finally got the opportunity to study again (more importantly, got the opportunity to see "cheo bu" again, after suffering in silence for that 2 and a 1/2 year).


• Got that 2 major subjects I wanted: History and Chinese Studies. The time had arrived to compete with new and greater academic opponents.
  

The U (2000 - 2004)

2000:

• First exam in U. First time writting long essay in Chinese for my Chinese Studies papers
  

2001:

• Felt "bo liao" without an ECA, so finally decided to join Chinese Society and involved in organising for an activity camp.

2003:

• Nearing the end of U days and my cap was below 3.8 -- most likely couldn't get into honours class. Ready for working life -- even got myself a handphone for the 1st time (it's a freebie from Marigold, but the costly part is a 2 year subscription from Starhub).


• Surprise surprise. I actually found my name among those admitted into the Chinese Studies honours class. So the game continued, and it's here that the 5 of us from Brotherhood became best friends.


• The bond as a class was revived over here -- previously it's just lectures and tutorials and off everyone gone. Held a class outing to Kukup in Dec.


• First time writing a thesis. I overturned the suggested thesis topic from my supervisor and proposed a new topic I interested in: 唐代广州的海上贸易(Maritime Trade of Guangzhou during the Tang Dynasty). He seems worried, but I managed to convince him. I didn't realise then that my thesis play a part in influencing my career path.
  

THE WORKING LIFE (2004 - ?)

2004:

• Graduated with 2nd class lower.


• First interview: trying to pursue a career as a curator in ACM. Left disappointed -- a) there's no vaccancy at the moment; b) specialised knowledge in artefacts required; c) couldn't stay on as an intern either, the pay too low. The option: try another job


• 2nd interview: MINDEF researcher-whose-job-scope-is-too-secretive-to-reveal. Need to take a test (MCQ and essay) to assess aptitude. It requires not only much analysis, but also taking the shortest possible time to provide the best solution. Friend from Brotherhood got the job (and still doing well), I ganna kicked out from this game.


• 3rd interview: NLB. Was asked about my thesis and some knowledge on Chinese maritime history. The result: I got the job as researcher for ZHMA exhibition.


• Start work: 12 Jul @ Marine Parade. First pay day: 12 Aug (The day Goh Chok Tong stepped down as PM. Coincidentally, he was also the MP of Marine Parade. More coincident - I was his tour guide when he visited the ZHMA exhibition)


• 26 Dec: The day the tsunami hit much of the region (again coincidentally most were the places visited by ZH). New year celebration became a fund raising event at Marine Parade office.
  

2005:

• Jan/Feb: Suffered from my worst fall ever crossing a huge drain while hiking at McRitchie. Leg swollen like pig trotter. As if it's not worse enough, it's occured near Chinese New Year...damned suay.


• Apr: Became RO (for the 1st time) of 4 interns from Temasek Poly. Finally I had some subordinates to bully..heheh!


• Jun: Office moved to new NL building


• 8 Aug: worked till 11.30 pm to rush out the captions for ZHMA exhibition. Even then, I couldn't finish my work and had to bring back home to continue the next day (ie National Day). Tiring experience, but I derived the greatest job satisfaction from ZHMA project. It fulfilled my dream of becoming a curator.


• Dec: Transfer to a new work environment @LKCRL

2006:

• Travelled to Manila for conference. This was my 1st official trip overseas.


• Jun: Ganna transfered again to involve in a new project -- 5 yrs to finish and this was the 1st year. 1st time involved in recruiting part timers and 1st time learned how to manage manpower resources.


• Dec: A friend from Brotherhood joined me as a part timer in this project. 1st time being the RO of a close friend--real weird feeling.
  

2007:

• This seems to be a daunting project -- sometimes really no idea what I'm doing. Should I leave for a better job?


• 22-27 May: 1st time travelled with a friend to Vitenam on an OTOT (own time own target) basis (ie without following tour group). Truly a new interesting travel experience, doing our own planning and handling all the unexpected .
  

2008:

• 8 Aug: Beijing Olympics. The opening ceremony was the most impressive I'd ever seen.


• Nov: Set up my mind to go for my Msc next year (and to continue my career path as a librarian)


• 10-12 Dec: 2nd time on Star Cruise, but tis time was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my life. Whither should I sail to for my next 30 yrs?
  

Huh? Written so many already? Ok, that's it.

*Special thanks to my ex-classmates with the above class photos. Dun sue me for the copyrights hor!*