It is going to be another stressful week, although I do consider myself lucky to only have 3 test next week. I would have to start studying mostly for Geography and Chinese, and I hope I would be able to make it in time. However, studies aside, I want to comment about the article in this week's Time Magazine on Rwanda's President and his successes. Firstly, I would definitely like to congratulate Mr Kagame for how he has gone against the norm and refuted the stereotypes of rebel governments by showing his capability to manage the country and mostly to understand the feelings of the people. Mr Kagame has ruled for 16 years now, and if he wins the August elections, he would have another 7 years to his reign. Mr Kagame was raised in a refugee camp in Southern Uganda, although he was a Rwandan, and he grew up to become a rebel. He helped Yoweri Museveni seize power in Uganda, and co-founded the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which invaded Rwanda to overthrow the government. It was then the civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi broke out.

The controversial issue about Mr Kagame's rule was that he has been accused of war crimes, and also being blamed for pushing the country towards dictatorship after he arrested opposition members and banned the Human Rights Watch. However, we should have to understand the basis of his actions. His purpose was to abolish any memories that would remind the people of the genocides. Hence, he decided to ban the newspaper UMUSESO, which according to Mr Kagame, would bring bad blood between the two ethnic groups. Mostly, Mr Kagame has been efficient in ensuring that he would make the country prosperous. Its economy has grown an average of 6.4% since 2001, and it was ranked the most improved country by the World Bank last year. To me, this is the marks of a good leader, as it shows how Mr Kagame has reached out to his coutrymen, trying to mend the ties without breaking relationships. How he managed in his country's rebirth convinces us the importance of his reign has overwritten and redefined Human Rights.

He has solved the people's problems. He is taking the country out of its worst history. He has gained the support of the people. Let us embrace such leaders who put their concern for their own people.

In reference to the stomp article about HCI students

In reference to this article, I would like to discuss on the issues in this article, and also to question the student's integrity on this matter. Firstly, after reading this article, I believe that the real cause of the problem is that students in this generation are easily offended, quick to make judgements and do not think before they act.

This article was written by a HCI student, and I definitely could not believe my eyes when I saw this article in the news. This student could not have done anything worse in degrading the reputation of the school, and I believe that he should be dealt with severely. In the first place, all students, no matter what school they come from, should practise having respect for the school and its reputation. In this case, the student failed to realise that what he was posting was something that the public can view. It is obvious that he should have resolved this petty matter internally than blow this whole thing up and make it appear on the headlines of STOMP.

Moreover, this issue at hand is very insignificant, and I do not believe that a HCI student would have done such a thing. Portraying the teacher as a thieve and not an educator is also definitely not the right thing to do. In the article, it was clearly stated that the teacher had good motives for the students, to teach them the value of responsibility. However, this student failed to take this as a lesson learnt, and instead makes a fool of himself when he STOMPed this article. This article not only brings shame to himself, but would also develop a stereotype for all HCI students.

On hindsight, I believe that such an incident could be avoided if the student knew the value of respect. HCI has strongly emphasised on this value, and it is important that we as students know how to uphold it. This issue does not have any arguments for the proposition, and I hope that the student would realise his mistake and send out an apology.

Students not only have the responsibility of studying, but also to learn life skills, and mostly to uphold their moral values. What are the values that each person should uphold as a Singaporean?

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/what_bugs_me/418626/teacher_takes_students_belongings_to_teach_them_a_lesson.htmlhttp://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/what_bugs_me/418626/teacher_takes_students_belongings_to_teach_them_a_lesson.html

Optimistic Pessimism

After my projects day competition, I did not want to know the result. My flash website could not open and I was not expecting to get into the finals after that experience. My months of hard work would have gone to waste. But wait. The results are not out yet. Do not fret so early. Maybe my powerpoint was good enough to put me through. No. I cannot lapse into delusion.

So frequently we are met with such troubles, that we always put the executioner swords to our necks even before the results are announced. We should always remain optimistic. It is the only way to getting over with things. Why should we unsettle ourselves before even knowing the outcome? I have become a firm believer of waiting and hoping for the best possible result. And then I realised that I would always be wrong. Is there another way other than being over optimistic such that we would be disappointed after knowing the result?

That is why I have adapted this mentality of "optimistic pessimism". It is a mental state by which one calculates the worse possible outcome, prepare oneself for the truth, and may surprise with the result. It is the process where we lower our standards, and maybe get a surprise if the result favours us. People who have "optimistic pessimism" will always have a good balance of reality and hope in their head. They are the one who would be the best to prepare themselves for the truth.

With this attitude, I held my breath when the results were out. I would not be too confident of getting in nor getting out. The result which read was "Finals". I was overjoyed. It was unbelievable. My mentality has enhanced the element of surprise. I thanked God for how he gave me the chance to get into the finals.

So that is how my theory goes. Do not expect too much, nor feel an ultimate sense of hopelessness. This is why we should know how to balance between encouragement and pragmatism before judging the outcome.

Causing Controversy

The octopus has gotten it right again. I have agreed with Paul until the Germany-Spain match. Being an avid German team supporter, I was obviously hoping that Paul would be proved wrong for once. However, I was obviously beaten by that sotong. Paul only became famous after he correctly predicted the Germany-England match, and by then I was hoping that he would be rooting for Germany all the way.

There have been many reactions to this creature's accuracy in his prediction. I definitely did not believe that he had "psychic powers" or anything like it, only by pure coincidence. I was not particularly angry with the octopus, but joked that I would eat the sotong sashimi after the world cup. However, many others have taken the octopus' predictions personally. They realised that the octopus was spoiling the fun of anticipation, and his predictions may have a demoralising effect on the supposed losing team. There are even recipes to cook the octopus after the world cup. Haha, I thought. What a waste of time for people to be so angry because of football. This octopus has caused a stir among the football fans, and some hope that these sources of predictions would stop. For me, I do not mind controversy, and I was very happy when Sepp Blatter did not introduce the goal line technology. I still hope that he does not.

The octopus has predicted that Spain would win the world cup. I would be rooting for Netherlands. It seems like Paul is turning the tide against me now.

Redefining Youth Day

It has been a long weekend, with the heavy workloads which spoilt my world cup fever weekend. I have been struggling to complete my Projects' Day website and also with NSCC lurking around the corner, coupled with two tests in the week ahead, and representing Singapore in the coming WALA track competition, it is not difficult to feel stressed. As a student, I definitely expected this sort of sudden piles of workload ahead of me. However, this is the first time I have experienced such extreme amount of work being piled ahead of me.

This "fateful" event somehow coincides with youth day and also with the world cup fever. I was fully hoping that I would have enough time to catch this once every 4 years event, but obviously I did not have the luxury of watching an entire match. I believe that this is the result of a competitive environment, where everyone is competing to find his own significance to others. There is nothing wrong with that, but I do not think it is right to fight to be the best for the sake of glorifying yourself. Youth day was more like rushing to get work completed, no time to be youthful.

Anyway, I think you might be wanting to know what my solution to this problem is. I have decided to postpone youth day, which would fall on this Sunday, which would coincide with the world cup finals. However, I began thinking about my "plight". I believe everyone is experiencing just as much stress as I am, maybe even more. It does not matter whether it is youth day. Youth day has become more like another holiday to catch up with work. Stress becomes a sense of belonging to a teenager. Stress keeps up with people. People keep up with stress. It is impossible to break this cycle. Hence, I decide that it would be a better resort to manage your time and taking short breaks in any way you like. This is the only way how stress can be conquered.

The society has redefined what youth day is to many people. Do you accept this form of redefinition?