PMP Certified

After 2 months of studying and preparing, I finally got the PMP Certification.

And I’m glad that I passed the exam on my first try.

Studying for the exam while dealing with my work wasn’t easy.

Being extremely bad at memorising, I tried to understand the meaning and concept behind each process.

Ricardo Vargas’s video and diagram really helped me a lot to understand the overall flow of the processes.

After that I just focused on the Prepcast practice exams, making sure to understand why I got the questions wrong each time.

Reddit was a great source of information and tips.

However, 1 thing that didn’t make me very happy about getting the certification was the way the exam was conducted.

This is a lesson learnt which I will definitely transfer to my lesson learnt repository…

The lesson learnt is…

Either you don’t drink too much water before the exam, or bring a pee bottle with you in your room.

I’m not joking.

I opted for the safer choice of taking the exam at home (I think the exam centres are also not open in my country), and I didn’t expect that the protractor would not allow me to go to the toilet at all.

I saw that there was a 10 minutes break in between, so I assumed that I could go for a toilet break during this time.

To my horror, the exam rule of “not leaving the webcam” also applied during the break!!

They expected us to take a break on the spot without going anywhere!!

I pleaded several times with the proctor to allow me to go to the toilet.

I even said that I will be back within 30 seconds.

He simply repeated the same sentence: “It is against the policy to leave the camera view, and I will have to disqualify you if that happens.”

Zero concerns were given to the state of my bladder and the possible implications to my health and modesty.

In the end, I had to go through the excruciating experience of holding my bladder and trying my best to prevent it from bursting while answering the questions at the same time.

I wanted to end it quickly by doing the questions faster but I simply couldn’t because the brain’s functionality drops when you are in such an urge.

Thankfully everything ended without much damage, but this experience is not something that I would like to go through again.

And the trauma from this experience is having a bigger impact than the fact that I passed the PMP…

I can’t believe they expect you to sit there for 4 hours without going to the toilet even once.

I didn’t even experience that in school last time.

I understand that they are afraid of cheating, but can’t they grant just 30 seconds of toilet break?

I mean, what can you do in 30 seconds?

If you don’t have the relevant knowledge I don’t think 30 seconds will make any difference.

Sorry for the long rant, but I’m just sharing this experience so that other people can take note of this very important yet easily missed issue.

Please remember to put it in your risk register and prepare the appropriate risk response in advance, otherwise you will have to find a workaround…

Graduation from Self-Search Travels

After deciding to continue scribbling on my blog, I have decided to change the name to a new one and graduate from “Self-Search Travels”.

It’s not that the travels have ended.

In fact, they are far from ending.

In fact, I’m doing a self-search much more than I was doing last time.

And I will continue to write about it here (if I feel like it).

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It’s just that I have not really been writing about these “travels” a lot, so I feel a bit bad for keeping it as my title.

By changing the title I will feel better in writing about the casual and nonsensical stuffs.

And sometimes serious stuffs.

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Another reason perhaps is that a big change will come into my life soon.

So I wanted a change in my blog as well.

Well, maybe.

How People Decide Whom to Vote for

I seldom talk about politics, but with the elections coming soon, I thought it would be interesting to note down how exactly people decide whom to vote for.

Below are my observations based on the social media.

Please let me know if I missed out any.

1. The Loyal Guy

This guy is forever loyal to the party that he likes.

No matter what wrong the party does he will always find excuses.

No matter how good the other party is he will always find faults with them.

2. The Hater

This guy hates a certain party so much, as though the party has done something very bad to him, that no matter who the other party is he will always vote for the other party.

3. The Incumbent Supporter

This guy is afraid that if the opposition wins something “bad” will happen to Singapore and all the “good” that has been built up will be gone.

He will do his part to try to make the incumbent stay.

4. The Opposition Supporter

This guy believes that the incumbent has been around for too long and they’ve become too complacent.

He feels that it’s time they learnt a lesson and it will do more “good” to have more opposition.

He will vote for the opposition no matter who the opposition is.

5. The Wise Guy

This guy will scrutinise every single detail in each party’s manifesto, watch every single rally, check out every single information about each member in each party before deciding whom to vote.

He believes that he should vote for the party which has a concrete plan that will provide a better future for Singapore.

I understand that the above are extreme cases and most people’s decision making process would be a combination of the above.

However, it is also interesting to see how extreme some people can be in falling into one of the above types.

Note that I did not include those who can’t make up their mind and will throw a dice at the last minute or those who can’t be bothered and will just vote blindly on the actual day, as those people are not really making any decisions.

What I want to say is that before you make your decision, it may be better to think through one more time why you are making that decision.

And no matter which of the thought process above you belong too, just remember, every vote counts.

The Forgotten Blog

Oh my god, I had totally forgotten that I have a blog here.

What happened to my self-search travels?

Have I found myself yet?

Well, obviously not.

And I’m not sure whether I will ever find as well.

Anyway, I do have things that I want to write about, and sometimes I turn to other mediums like Instagram as well, which are easier to post.

But who knows… Maybe I will come back here one day.

Till the day comes.

Ghost of the Past

Sometimes it’s quite scary how people would suddenly discover your past, be it from other people or through what you write last time.

It’s not like I have a dark past or anything… But there are some things which I’d rather people not know or bring up.

I remember there was this one guy in army who went to the same secondary school as me, and he still held a grudge against me for not lending him erasers in school.

Past is scary, and it is also something that can’t be changed. Facing the past is something that everyone needs to do.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I like to talk about it.

Who is spreading bad rumors about me anyway…

Engaged

 

They say propose to the girl who treats you better as time goes by, and I did! We finally decided to be together for life! Sorry it look me so long… It was not easy both mentally and physically to make her dream proposal come true, and until now I’m still surprised that I managed to do it. #ShuuShou

 

P.S. This is not the end. This is just the beginning. 🙂

The Last Trick

 

Saw this random book called 「最後のトリック」(The Last Trick) by 深水黎一郎 (Fukami Reiichirou) and decided to buy it.

What attracted me was the name of the trick: 「読者が犯人」 (The Reader is the Murderer).

 

 

 

What? Is it really possible? I decided to give it a try and read the book…

 

 

 

After reading the book, I really felt like I was the murderer…

 

 

The whole book itself was a trick. The moment you start reading, you are already involved in it.

 

 

Unless… of course… if you decide to stop reading halfway.

 

 

The ending was really unexpected.

 

 

I’m not sure whether there are any English translations available, but I think everyone should read this book if they have the chance…

 

 

And join me in becoming a murderer…

 

 

 

P.S. I checked up on the author and realised this was his debut novel released in 2007. They only repackaged it recently.

 

Now I’m interested in his other works as well.

 

 

The First Step

 

 

Who would’ve guessed that Singapore, or even the world would be shaken by a mere 16 year old?

 

 

 

While everyone is busying watching the drama revolving around the kid, here I am, an “adult” 10 years older than him, taking my first step into the working world.

 

 

 

I will be flying to Japan tonight for my 3 months internship in a Japanese IT company.

 

 

 

I am both excited and nervous at the same time. More nervous actually.

 

 

 

Because of this internship, I am not able to attend two of my friends’ weddings. I feel guilty for that. I hope they can have an everlasting marriage and a great life ahead.

 

 

 

Back to the job. I guess I was lucky to get the offer. I didn’t think that I would be able to get this job.

 

 

 

Taking this step is considered “dangerous”, because this industry is totally different from my major. But then, who says that you must do a job that is related to your major after you graduate?

 

 

 

Every job has its challenges. Every job has its pros and cons. The most important is how you choose to accept it, and what you gain out of it.

 

 

 

I hope through this job, I can become a more mature and independent person, attaining personal growth.

 

 

 

Finally, I’m stepping into this society, albeit a little late.

 

 

 

It’s time to step out of my comfort zone as well.

 

 

 

 

April is Your Lie

 

 

 

 

 

WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD

 

 

 

 

 

 

この気持ちをなんていうのかな。

How do you describe this feeling?

The feeling you have after watching a very touching movie… The feeling you have when you keep thinking about it… The feeling you have about all the characters… The feeling you have when the music keeps playing in your head…

I have no idea what to call that. But that’s what I’m going through right now, after watching 四月は君の嘘, or April is Your Lie.

First of all, the OST is really great. A good anime with good OST = a lot of emotions.

The story is great as well. Even though the anime has 24 episodes and the manga serialisation lasted for 4 years, this feels more like a movie than a series.

The name of this anime is also very interesting. “April is Your Lie”. April? Why April? What’s the lie?

April is a month with great significance in Japan. It’s the start of Spring, and because schools usually start in April, it also marks the start of a new adventure. And it was during this period that Kousei met Kaoru, who brought him back to his piano.

The exact lie was revealed in the last episode. But in my opinion, Kaoru’s appearance itself was a lie. She forced herself to dress up, pick up violin, do things she likes, and force Kousei back to piano. She “lied” to herself, and forced herself to “lie” to Kousei.

She knew that she was just a “come and go” person. At one moment she even asked Kousei to reset everything just like pressing a button. But she still could not bear to let him go. She could not bear to let him suffer, and she wanted to bring him back to where he should be.

There are a lot of lines in this anime that are very cliche. But they still succeed in bringing out a lot of emotions from the audience.

It’s very saddening that Kaoru passed away in the end. It’s the same feeling I had when I read that Sai disappeared.

She achieved her objectives. To bring Kousei back to piano. But she couldn’t achieve her dreams, which was to play the violin for Kousei.

I want to learn the piano pieces in this anime if I have the time. I hope the music can help me express my feelings.

 

 

 

Parasyte

 

 

WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD

 

 

 

 

 

I knew about this anime/manga quite long ago. I just didn’t watch/read it at first because it didn’t really appeal to me. Parasites feeding on humans… Humans deforming and getting slashed… It just looked like a normal gore anime/manga to me. The word “parasyte” was even spelt wrongly!

Now, I’m glad that I watched it.

It wasn’t just a normal gore anime where people get brutally killed by enemies. It was actually an anime which makes you think about life. Why do we live? Why do we do what we do? Why do we behave this way?

The story was also very well written. There were quite a few tear jerking moments. The whole process about Shinichi becoming more and more like a parasite and then turning back to human was very well portrayed.

I like the fact that it was never explained how the parasites came about. Maybe it’s due to some experiments. Maybe it was a natural phenomenon. Maybe they were aliens. It was not important.

The question is, as a living organism on Earth, how much do we care about other species?

We always say that we want to protect Earth… We want to protect the animals and plants. But how many of us really think that way from the bottom of our hearts?

Just like Shinichi said in the anime, it would be too arrogant for us to claim that we knew other species and we are doing things for them. In the end, all we care about is ourselves. And that’s what humans are.

However, at the same time, we also have emotions. That’s what makes us humans as well.

We are just a small living thing in this huge universe. We can only do as much as we can to defend ourselves and our loved ones.