And Welcome to Singapore!

so daddy and i arrived in singapore last wednesday at around 11 in the morning. much to my surprise, singapore didn't look a bit different than kl at all. the only thing which i couldn't quite get used to was seeing all the security guards and traffic policemen there being chinese people. in kl, you can hardly see that. ok im being too observant. and thanesyah would have soo called me a racist by now lol. (thanesyah if you're reading this, i'd like you to know that you're the biggest racist i've ever known. but i love you :p RACIST!!)

anyway, that evening itself after checking in, i got to meet the other 8 kids who were picked. then caroline brought us all to capital tower, where the GIC is based. there we got to meet mr oops-i-forgot-his-name, a cambridge graduate who gave us a talk on interview skills in the holding room. basically tips on how to prepare yourself and stuff. i found it pretty helpful.

at night, we had dinner together at a fancy chinese restaurant in amara hotel. too bad the food wasn't as fancy as the place was. lol but i didn't mind too much. later that night, i went back to my room and found daddy watching some news on the tv. believe this or not, they've got RTM 1 in s'pore! they worship us too much, don't they?

the amara hotel, where we put in. our deluxe room. i sooo wanted to bring those sinking pillows back when we left!look they have a huge grand piano in the lobby! that night when i couldn't sleep, i wanted to play my ballade but i didn't because daddy said i might get into trouble if i did so. me in the toilet getting ready to go to GIC.daddy at breakfast. i was the only kid who came with a parent. i felt sorry for him. i could imagine how boring it was for him waiting in the hotel. but of course, he didn't mind.my room.

the next morning, after barely closing my eyes the entire night, i got up, took my bath and got ready for the interview. daddy and i went down for breakfast, where we met the others. then the 9 of us kids made our way to capital tower for the second and well, last time.(except for jamie;p)

that's capital tower!

i took this pic myself. it's my favourite. everybody seems to be looking to the future!

kelly, jamie, kim.

my fav group pic!! standing -meng kit, basil, dat han, jason, weng jun, wee lim. seated -kim, kelly, jamie and jenny from gic.

us 9 having lunch with lily, jenny and kah yie

us girls with lily, jenny, kah yie and caroline.

the interviews

ironically, i wasn't at all nervous before the interviews. i guess it's because i was so amused listening to the other kids talk about our malaysian politics that i didn't bother to think too much about the interview. it helps get rid of the nerves you know, get your mind off for a while.

i had two interviews. the first, was more of a personality test. it's the second where the real evaluation begins. i had mr chua lee ming and ms vivien for my second. i was required to talk about 3 things basically, - economics, law and music. ok, honestly, i totally screwed up the economics part. LIKE BIG TIME la ok.

after i was done with my part, mr chua took a couple of seconds to himself and then looked at me, " look. here's the dilemma i'm facing," he said. "you're a very intelligent girl, but i'm not quite sure if you have the passion for economics like you have for law and music". true enough. "and i don't think you'll be happy working here at GIC", he added.

wtf? he's jumping into a conclusion already? i didn't come all the way here just to be judged in 10 minutes, did i? i swear i felt my insides start to burn like an oven when he said that.

then it was my turn to ask questions. without any hesitation, my first obvious question was "why don't you think i'll be happy working here?". i was really really serious at that moment. i remember fixing my eyes on his as though no one else existed. not even vivien.

"that's because i don't seem to see a spark in you when you talk about economics. not like when you speak about law or music."

i told you he can read people! but as creepy as things were, i could see where he was coming from. and although i had no plan in my mind to do economics, i knew i had to give this interview my best shot. after all, i've come this far. it's just going to be forgotten when it's all over.

so i went on. "that's a totally unfair comparison, sir. i've seen my dad as a lawyer since i was very little and as for music, i've literally been doing it my entire life. economics is something totally new to me. how would you know i wouldn't grow to like it later in life when i do the degree?"

he turned to vivien and smiled. "look," he said, "you're right. i can't say you won't enjoy it. there is of course a possibility that you will have the passion for economics later on." yeah so why jump into such a conclusion?

..."but from what i see in you now, i don't think you don't seem to have it."

ok you win.

i just gave up challenging somehow. probably i was too tired. or maybe i realised there was no point. he and vivien did, however tell me to carry on to pursue law. mr chua said he thinks i'll make a great lawyer when i grow up.

i guess there's no point for me to lie about liking something i don't. because i'll be the victim at the end of the day anyway. there's no use doing something just for the fame or name. it's the dumbest thing to do.

after the interviews

daddy and i decided to round the city a bit before we left. we only had 2 hours, there wasn't much we could do. we were supposed to go to orchard road, until the taxi driver told us that we wouldn't make it in time. so we walked a little along robinson road and china town. that's when i realised i wanted to go home.

boy, wasn't that like the longest 2 days of my life.

it was a phenomenal experience, this entire thing. it really was. when i got back to kl, i had a gazillion things running through my mind and that's when i realised i had brought back everything else good with me. no regrets.

xx kelly xx