Ardin

Because of personal reasons, I may not go to Junior College or Polytechnic after the release of my O Level results next year, like the rest of the cohort. Instead, I may go straight to National Service a few months later, and study overseas after finishing it. But what are the complications here? I may not be mentally or physically prepared for this. BTW, I heard that most people who go in as O Level graduates are posted to the Police Force (which I don't mind, in fact, I prefer the SPF over the SAF). Is that right? Let's say this is the path I'm taking, then what do you suggest I do to prepare for the change?

I know you may instantly tell me Junior College, but I heard it is very stressful, and can be compared to an O Level period (which I'm experiencing now). I also heard A Levels are not easy to score either. And for me, coming from an average secondary school, I do not know whether I stand a chance of entering St Andrew's JC (my No.1 choice), because my L1R5 is also 29 in my Mid Year Exams. And I heard warnings by some current students 'never to end up like me repeating JC1', 'it doesn't mean you did well in O Levels that you will do well in A Levels with the same study skills you used'. 'Poly is more fun lo' etc. But going to Poly also isn't right. Only the top 5% go to universities. I don't want to earn a miserable salary either. Besides, I'm not decided on which path to take, so that's why I abandoned the idea of Poly. But the consequences of JC raised the issue again, so I'm really confused. Please help me.

Currently I'm a student living in Singapore with a Singapore passport. I'm thinking of studying in New York when I reach university age. I've heard lots of great things about New York, as well as bad. But the reasons why I can't wait to get there is because I'm eager to experience American (college) life, have international college friends, explore new places, don't really have to get 'stuck in the rut' like other Singaporeans, be overwhelmed by the availability/variety of good and services, heard that cost of living in New York is lower than Singapore (a survey ranked New York 23rd in terms of highest cost of living, while Singapore gets 13th), availability of jobs after graduation (though maybe not at this time), get to benefit from the PlaNYC 2030 citywide program of improving everything, from transport to environment ( www.nyc.gov/planyc ), know that New York has a huge Asian community for me to get comfortable with, and finally, heard that Singaporeans who lived/worked/studied there enjoyed their stay tremendously, so I hope I will too. I might even want to stay forever. But first I need to know why some people have a bad impression of New York life (is it because of dull work, problems any city would have, crime levels, or what?). What will I miss out if I choose to live in New York instead of Singapore? I also heard New York is voted the 'safest large city in USA', but what precautions should I still make? I come from a very safe country (not trying to brag but it's true according to statistics), so I might very easily let my guard down. But I'm still positive about going to New York, so I can't wait for my one-way ticket. One more thing, if I find it expensive to live in New York eventually, what should I do to keep costs down (e.g. where can I find the cheapest apartments, the reasonably priced shops/supermarkets, etc.)?

Does it make much difference if you graduate with an architecture degree from the following universities: Columbia University of New York, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, or any other university in New York (I hope I can be a student of a good university located in New York)? And which city does an architect earn more, New York, Toronto, or Vancouver? How much would that salary be per month, assuming if I work from 9 to 6 every weekday?

I will probably be going to USA to study after the release of my GCE 'O' Level results, marking the end of my Secondary School education in Singapore (equilavent of USA's middle school and first 2 years of high school, so it will mean I'll join high school in the last 2 years.) Since I'll most probably join Lawrence North High School (Indianapolis, where my cousins live) in 2010, I have some questions to ask about the high school system:

1) What are the things I should do to enrol in high school?

2) What are the courses usually available in high schools? (or if you are from Lawrence North High School, what courses does your school offer, e.g. International Baccalaureate?)

3) How is high school systems better than Singapore's school system, and vice versa? I'll give you some information about Singapore's education system to compare (please try to compare every point):

-school starts at around 7.30am and ends at around 1.30pm.

-Extra curricular activities are known as Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) in Singapore, which takes place after school, and variety depends on how prestigious the school is.

-After Primary (Elementary) School, students will be split up into different courses in Secondary School, namely Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) (see http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/courses/...

-Teachers are nice and caring but this also means frequent nagging and scolding of the whole class.

-Friends are made when they like your appearance and character, and are further improved via CCAs and the few school events and activities throughout the year.

-Exams are usually 1-2 weeks before the national school vacation dates (1 week vacation in March, 1 month in June, 1 week in September, and 6-11 weeks in December), and compulsory holiday lessons (which I hate alot) take place if a syllabus cannot be caught up or if an exam is taking place soon, followed by a huge pile of holiday homework.

-Recess and lunch breaks are held in canteens with at least 7 stalls serving different kind of food in small servings at cheap prices.

-At the end of the Secondary school 4-year Express courseand 5-year Normal Academic course, we take the British GCE Ordinary Level Exams, which will determine where we can go to next (Post Secondary/Pre University education).

-The Junior College is basically a school that provides a 2-year pre university course that prepare you for university entrance exams, called the GCE Advanced Level Examinations. Alternatively, secondary school graduates head to 3-year Polytechnics and choose from over 40 courses (depending on GCE Ordinary Level results and interest) and graduate with a Diploma, but graduates are less likely to get into universities with their Diploma.

-Study attitudes vary from how prestigious the school is, e.g. in my school, which technically is not very prestigious, the immature ones don't bother to listen in class, do homework and study, while the more mature ones participate in class, do most of the homework, and, with some exceptions, study only a month or so before the exams. That is why we get 200 class-wide scoldings from teachers a year. In more prestigious schools, I heard students are more arrogant about their good study habits and exam results.

If you want more information, visit http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/

4) How are school fees like in USA for foreigners, and do I have to pay any extra for events and activities?

Please provide as much information as possible, as I am new to the new education system. Thanks!

I only can think of the following advantages of Singapore being a Special Administrative Region of Malaysia, like how Hong Kong is an SAR of China:

1) National Service to be reduced to 3 months

2) We will still have Singapore passports and currency, like Hong Kongers do, but immigration policies to Malaysia will be alot less strict.

3) We will still have our own government, laws (including multiracial policies), flag, 5 star airline, etc., like Hong Kong.

4) Natural resources can always be imported from Malaysia without international taxes

But of course this is not to say that Singapore would be like when it was still an ordinary state of Malaysia in the 1960s, when trouble was brewing, but like the '2 governments, 1 country policy' which China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan is using now, so that not only we enjoy the advantages of being part of a larger country, but have our own government to lead the city the way residents like it, and that is Singapore being an SAR of Malaysia. What do you think of the idea, and the disadvantages?

I'm interested in Architecture and Business. But based on what I want to be or have in the future, I'm not sure what to take in university first and part-time course later. Since I want to have a company that mainly specialises in Architecture and building transport systems, should I take an Architecture course in university, work as an Architect in a company & take part-time courses in Business, and eventually build my own Architecture film when I have the capita and skills, or take a full-time degree in one university and a part-time in another school? What do you think?

My former best friend, Wilson, was my closest friend till February 2008, when we 'broke off' and never made up. This is how it happened: Wilson requested in December 2007 that as we would be in the same class in 2008 but in a different school location (i.e. my school moved away to a place further away from the original location) that every morning while my mother sends me to school in my family's car, we would pick him up on the way as it was more convenient for him. I agreed, so we did just that in January and February 2008. But while in school, when I asked what the homework was for the day (at that time I kept forgetting the homework and since I couldn't see or hear very well, I did not jot down the homework myself), he purposely said 'I don't know' or start giving me all the wrong information (whether purposely or not I really don't know). I constantly reminded him about him promising himself to give his best for the academic year, but instead I find that he had stuck to his old bad attitude of 'heck-caring', thus I was very disappointed in him (that's what best friends are for, to care for each other's welfare right?), and I found him unreliable in terms of homework help, which he promised earlier. This continued for a while until 1 day, I conditioned him that if he gave me all the wrong homework on purpose on that day (i.e. not caring whether he got the info from the teachers or not, or whether he got it correctly), I would not allow him to use my car the next day to go to school. But guess what happened? He said 'there's nothing for homework'. The next day, I got punished and he was let off for 'at least doing something on his paper'. I was outraged and I scolded him, disallowing him to use my car the following day. And guess what? The following day, he is still standing at the waiting area trying to look innocent when my mother drove past. WOAH you should imagine my anger the moment I saw his scawny little body and guilt-free nerdy face. I told my mother to ignore him, but she insists that there is nothing wrong to pick him up, despite whatever he had done. I scolded Wilson in class but he refused to admit his mistake and kept adding 'not my problem', 'my mistake is unavoidable' and all that nonsense to his argument (and still keeping that sick-looking guilt-free face). And unfortunately for me, this went on for weeks. And this was the period when I started to hate him, more and more everyday, and sometimes I argued with my mother over this, complained to my other friends, and scolded Wilson face-to-face until he gradually became mute towards me. What made me rage even more is that he wanted to come to my family's Chinese New Year party for free and for fun. I couldn't believe he could be so shameless, take advantage for me like that and be so irresponsible. But finally one day I called him to tell Wilson that no matter what I could not pick him u[p the next day as my father is using the car to go to the airport for his early morning flight. That was an opportunity for me to stop picking him up altogether, and he knew it. So that episode is gone, but not my newly formed anger and hatred for him, as all his bad attitude is still there. So in the following weeks and months, I called him names baesd on his attitude weaknesses, taunt him, pestered him, sabotaged him, and do whatever that school bullies do VERBALLY. This is the result of what happened in January and February, from best friend to verbal bullying. I know what I do is wrong, and since he is not my friend anymore I shouldn't be bothering him, but everytime I see him or hear him, my blood pressure soars and I get irritated to the point I must say something in order to teach him a lesson. I still have the same hatred now, and because of this long-lived hatred, I've unintentionally influenced my friends to hate him as well. At this moment Wilson is still a heck-caring person, while still 'flirting' with girls (he always hang around with groups of girls since before we broke off, so people, not only me, classify that as flirting) and interrupting conversations of boys to socialise. And his current reaction to me? Silence, ignorance, mute, which someone told him to use this method to ignore bullies. But now I'm tired of trying to get even with him, as this took place a long time ago, and I don't want to get unnecessarily miserable, so I pose this question after reading all this, should I forgive him for what he had done, or should I just not forgive him but control my anger towards him? Please help me with this.

I'm 15 years old this year now living in Singapore. I'd like to move to Toronto in 10 year's time to work and live there, but

1) What are the differences of jobs/business opportunities between these 2 cities (is it easy to find a job/set up and run a business here)?

2) How are the salaries like in Toronto as compared to Singapore?

3) How different is everyday life between these 2 cities?

4)Will the MoveOntario2020 benefit all residents living and working in any part of Toronto?

5) Which part of Toronto would most foreign expats live (especially Singaporeans)?

6) Finally, what will I miss out (in terms of jobs, life, only-in-Singapore products/services/experience, etc.) if I move out of Singapore?

You may leave out any of the part questions that you cannot answer but those who can answer as many part questions as possible will have a higher chance of being selected for the best answer and winning 10 points.

I have this DVD, where I want to upload 3 videos of it (permission granted): 1 is in the Bonus Material section, the other 2 is using the music in the credits at the end of the movie (1 is in Korean, the other is Thai). So how do I take the file out of the DVD, modify in Windows Movie Maker and upload?

I'm either going to graduate with A levels or Singapore Polytechnic Diploma in Architecture. So which good universities (you can list more than 1), any one around the world, where good architects graduate? Please provide details of whatever universities you have mentioned.

Currently I'm in the Express stream and will take O levels in 2009. I know that Junior Colleges have the following advantages: It's only 2 years versus 3 years in Polytechnics, and taking A levels means that you will have a broader base to have more career choices in the future rather than a specific pre-university course that leads you to fewer choices because of the choice you made at the beginning. But what if I want to do Architecture in university and because now I'm taking Combined Sciences (Physics/Chemistry), I'd be only granted 1 H2 science subject in JC while universities in Singapore requires 2 H2 science subjects for the architecture course? Should I just go to JC and after graduation, find a university around the world to support my A level results or should I go to Singapore Polytechnic's Architecture course to confirm a place in a better university (assuming my results are good)?

I'm going to my school's singing audition soon but because I know that once I'm up there on stage I lost confidence once I see the audience and soon the next thing I know the judges say "Next!" (this happened before; so I want to know how to avoid this in my next audition). I still signed up this time because my friends told me I have a great singing voice, but I cannot stop thinking about how little support I have, especially from my enemies in school (who are good at boo-ing because they hate me for whatever reason) and the few friends who are willing to support me. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but with little support, I'd have no confidence to even go on stage. So someone please give me some advice on how to solve this problem.

Personal trainers are too expensive...do centers like Planet Fitness and/or Fitness First have such classes? Please help me find one!

I'm doing Body Sculpting instead of ordinary weight loss programs because it not only helps me lose weight but also shapes my body to look and feel fit

I watched a horror movie (The Maid) a week ago and I couldn't sleep for the next few days, as I kept thinking of ghosts, darkness, the 7th lunar month (the Chinese Hungry Ghost Month), and the evil antagonists. Can you tell me some ways I can recover from horror movies the next time I watch one (if I ever do)? Thanks.

You probably think that National Service (NS) is essential for Singapore and will change me from a boy to man. I think that everyone should have freedom rights and not be forced by the government to this miserable place (I heard LOTS of horrifying folk tales/warnings about NS, as usual/expected), especially when I'm only half Singaporean (my other half is Malaysia). Even in Malaysia, their NS only lasts 3 MONTHS. Then why 2 YEARS for Singapore? And what makes you think that I, who already cannot adapt well in school, is extremely sensitive/impatient and cannot tolerate camp instructors, will be able to enjoy a nightmare like this? MINDEF has alot of answering to do.

If a university student graduates with Masters Degree or higher, how possible is he/she going to be a CEO of a big company within the shortest time possible? And what positions/processes must he/she go through first?

I had my Mid-Year Examinations recently and could not finish some of the papers on time. Why wouldn't they give us extra time? What are they trying to do?

I want to buy a original and plain white/black polo shirt that is not too expensive (not more than $35) but also good quality. Where can I find them? I found out that Raulph Lauren's is too expensive, and the collar of Bossini's is not up to standards, even though the rest of it is fine.

I know that the 2 languages are almost similar, with only great difference in pronounciation and vocabulary. But is it possible to substitute word-for-word when translating from Spanish and Portuguese and vice-versa?