I would like to finally write up about the 'person of the moment': Dia Frampton (and her band, Meg & Dia). This post is purposely timed as her journey on 'The Voice' is just about finishing and millions of people will have a new artist to look out for on the charts. All the best Dia!

I distinctly remember how I discovered their music, and how I actually didn't like them at first! I followed a couple of links on a friend's purevolume one day in early 2007, clicked on Meg & Dia's page, heard the first few seconds of 'Monster' and closed the player! -- 1) I definitely wasn't expecting two demure girls rocking out hard, 2) I just discovered Paramore at the time as well, and seemed to reserve 'girl-fronted rock band' for one slot, 3) Dia's voice was definitely an acquired taste...but looking at situation now, I couldn't be more wrong :)

It was actually through Paramore (and I love that these bands know one another) where the two sisters popped up on my radar again; Hayley mentioned in an interview how M&D always worked really hard during Warped Tour and that they were 'troopers'. So...

I Youtubed 'Monster' again. And left it to play this time.

I am quite sure that I was only half-paying attention to the song and probably talking to a certain boy at the time when suddenly the music softens and its just Dia singing "Monster...how should I feel?" which LITERALLY stopped me in my tracks. Definitely an epiphany.

The lyrics were clear. The story was clear - gosh, it was so dark. The song even talked about rape! "These girls are not your average girl band" I thought. It was interesting to know the song was inspired from Steinbeck's East of Eden, and the book-inspired songwriting was a major factor to why I like Meg & Dia so much....but more on that later.

I immediately Youtubed 'Roses', 'Cardigan Weather', 'Yellow Butterfly', 'Strawberry Waltz', 'Rebecca', 'Lessons In New Jersey, 'Setting Up Sunday'...etc (their whole repertoire basically lol) and was surprised that there was not one song I did not love upon first listen. [edit: except 'Nineteen Stars' that everybody seemed to love and I didn't. But all it took was a listen at 3am, had another epiphany and I was hooked!]

The band seems to have it figured out in terms of music: Their lyrics are always thought-provoking, Nick is a skilled drummer, Carlo can always make a song better with his guitar solos/improvs, Jon knows exactly what to do on the bass, Meg is just a whole package of talent (She was my favourite sister to start with, but now I really do love them both equally) -- Girl can write and sing and solo it up on the guitar and piano like a pro!! Then there's Dia. The one thing I will always appreciate about Dia is her passion and honesty. I remember her blog on the story behind their 3rd album 'Here, Here and Here' which struck a chord with me and I'm sure with many others as well. I am now Dia's age when she wrote that blog and I honestly can't say I've been through half the stuff she has. This girl is meant to 'make it' after her struggles. And that was even before they got dropped by their label!

But being dropped was definitely the best thing that could happen to the band...Amazingly, they are still a band. They put out a home-made record (respect), worked even harder to get back on their feet, and their maturity through this shows in their recent record...what else can I say? they're just a band you root for through and through.

Furthermore, they are wonderful role models. Meg and Dia have 4 younger sisters so the responsibility does come naturally for them but I really noticed their impact once other fans started sharing how they had been reading some of the band's recommended books i.e. East of Eden, Brave New World, Atlas Shrugged etc...Woah, what? These girls were getting people to read books!! Not to mention, these girls are beautiful, fashionable and friendly to boot. I just hope that as a parent, my kids will be able to find role models like Meg & Dia.

This post is mostly to congratulate Dia for becoming a household name...(although its hilarious how she never expected to come this far...and to be honest, I do feel like she will be fine even if she doesn't win...but obviously #TeamDia ftw), and also to reaffirm my support for my favourite band who I've grown up with. Its funny that I haven't even met these wonderful bunch of people when they've been with me at the most memorable times in my life: From morning drives during high school, to the first night being away from my parents while in Uni, to dancing to them in my hostel room where I stayed in while doing my internship last year...to now. And I'm still a die-hard fan since that fateful day I gave them a 2nd chance.

They've taught me a lot about staying positive through the lows, keeping modest through the highs and to never give up on pursuing dreams and seizing opportunities as they come by.

Thank you so much Meg, Dia, Nick, Carlo and Jon!

Now please come tour Asia :)

Here are a few of my personal recommended tips on writing CVs that I've picked up as an HR intern:

DO's
1) DO leave your contact number or you won't be called.
Simple as that. Funny how a number of people seem to make this mistake a lot (if for some reason you don't have a phone, at least leave your e-mail address.)

2) DO include your results and results slips of Form 5/Year 11 exams onwards.
If you are very vague with your results, or you leave them out entirely, the impression you're giving is that you have something to hide. I see this happen a lot where people have impressive co-curriculars and cover letters but suspiciously claim they've done well in school when that isn't really true. Results paint a better picture of an individual; whether they are willing to work hard and improve for example. (N.B. The only result that matters though is your final CGPA/Degree classification - DO your absolute best in your final year to bring your overall grade up!)

3) DO write a cover letter.
This demonstrates your written communication skills and also shows more of your personality to employers. The ones I particularly like are from people who link a strength of theirs to the position they applied for. For example, one applicant related his passion for basketball with the strategy and teamwork required of a credit analyst. Really grab the chance to be creative and sell yourself here!

4) DO proofread your CV.
It only takes a few minutes to correct grammatical mistakes and, believe it or not, good grammar equals an intelligent candidate. If you are applying to several companies then proofread to make sure you haven't addressed your application to the wrong company. Otherwise, that's just embarrassing...

5) DO answer your phone calls when you know you've sent out copies of your CV, and immediately call back if you received a missed call.
Take initiative! If you wait to be called again, you are going to miss the chance of securing an interview that could get you a new job.

DON'Ts
1) DON'T take 'Myspace' photos.
If your arm is visible in the photo holding the camera, then you're doing it wrong. Wear a formal suit, comb your hair, position face-on to the camera and exude professionalism!

2) DON'T lie about your credentials.
Both public and private databases are checked for the accreditation of your university/college/course/degree. The necessary people may even be called to obtain original copies of your certificates.

3) DON'T forget where you applied to and which vacancy you applied for.
Make an Excel spreadsheet with a list of the companies, positions, dates applied and final outcomes of your application.

4) DON'T use song ringtones!
For one, they are always at a very high volume. Secondly, its just not professional (imagine if you've indicated a Managerial/Executive position on your CV and 'Baby' by Justin Bieber is blasting away). Lastly, together with the last point for DO about answering your phone, HR will just stop calling if you don't bother to pick up.

5) DON'T assume you've got an offer.
After sending in your CV, expect an interview first. Some fresh graduates will get excited about being called back and think they are given the job straight away...if you're still not sure, always ask "So when and where will the interviews be held?"

Hope that helped a little bit!

ps- Here's some funky CVs I found online: http://www.vizualresume.com/archive (I really like the film student's one: http://www.vizualresume.com/visual-resume-cartoon-154.html). I don't think a visually appealing CV will make an applicant any more qualified, but I wouldn't deny that I'd look on at these applications with interest!

I managed to catch Michael Jackson's memorial a few times on television, and as sad as I get whenever I think about how he is truly gone, what's even sadder is how all that love shown by his friends and family could not save him. Instead, the lethal cocktail of medication he was taking tried to solve his problems,...as normal as we want to believe his life was, I doubt it ever could have been. Only after his demise are people giving him a 'halo'. When he was alive though, we were unfair.

Just another crucial reminder on how we should love others, and accept their love in return.

To everyone who let me know they were with me these past few days.

You know who you are!

Thank you!! :)

I've always wondered what it took for one to break down or to become crazy.
As a psychology student, you'd learn that its due to chemical imbalances in the brain, or that having certain personality characteristics could develop into psychological disorders as you get older (that one surprised me too, its like oh, that old habit? yeah, you're going to be institutionalised for that.)

I wonder whether its completely by accident: Seeing something, touching something or remembering something from your 'unconscious', as Freud's theory suggests, that you've kept supressed for a long time. It could be that picture on the wall, or that stranger's clammy hands you brushed against with yours, or even remembering to use double-sided tape for your school project. These may be ephemeral, but can strongly affect a person if each held a certain meaning.

For me, its rafia string.
I nearly wept the other day just having it in between my fingers.

My grandmother's currently on a hospital bed, 'not doing very well' is just to generalise it. She's been such a warrior throughout her life...and that's me looking on the bright side. Its the truth, but its just there to help me. Death is nothing new to me but dying is, and in any case, they both take a lot of courage which I still find questionable in myself ever since I've moved here.

In any case, they both take a lot of courage...

I love my grandmother. She was like any loveable old lady with chubby cheeks and toothless (well, without her dentures) smiles to readily give to anyone of her grandkids. I can't remember if she ever got angry at us, even when playtime got out of hand and my cousins and I were throwing water at each other inside her house. She was the Empress. She always chose the places to go for family reunions. She had 7 children, was widowed for 18 years, survived Tuberculosis, pneumonia and a terrible fall.

Even in the last few days, she looked like she was still fighting. And that truthfully just broke my heart...how strong she will always be to me. Even when it didn't seem like it at the outset...

...

Rafia string.

I was holding some for Ashmita during a charity event we were helping out with on Saturday. That was when I got a message from my mum saying my grandmother was in the hospital. I knew she had been feeling frail even before then, since I last saw her when I went back the previous week. Everytime I do go back to see her, there wouldn't be any actual communication between us (because I'm a white-washed, disgraceful Asian, and therefore never learnt Cantonese) but I'd join her by tying rafia strings in knots...(These strands of plastic are actually pretty damn useful, rubber bands be gone, 'cos these can lift up heavy objects too)... And although I never spoke Cantonese to her, I made it a point to learn simple phrases like "sek choh :)" whenever she asked me if I wanted food.

I made it a point to tell her "Ngo Oi Lei" when I saw her yesterday too.
There were tears in her eyes, although she couldn't open them.
But she heard it.

I also hope she saw the view from her window. It was beautiful.
But not as beautiful as her strong will to live.


Anyway, even with my exams coming up in about 2 weeks...I had to make a choice. Staying on campus would be too far from what's happening, and not being there for my mum ('cos its probably ten times as hard on her than on me) would make it too lonely as well, and although I knew I could end up being emotional and being here would be too difficult for me,...I had to make that choice. It seems that I always choose whats too difficult. But I've come to learn that quite often, its the best thing to do. As corny as that sounds.


Thank God for my friends who were online last night. I just needed to be around people, not mattering if it was virtual.

And Thank God for still being able to laugh. Case in point:
Me: Nurses REALLY are short. There must be some height requirement to be a nurse.
Sangeeta: Now you know what you can do if psychology ever fails.
Me: My life calling!

Me: During dinner, they served patients chicken (With bones) to eat. There was a woman in the same ward who was there in the first place because she choked on chicken bones. sidenote: seriously, i don't blame her for rejecting her food
Sangeeta: That was stupid of them.
Me: Yeah, SICK JOKE!
Sangeeta: Literally.

And thank God for Meg & Dia, my favourite band EVER. 'Fighting For Nothing' has been on repeat. These lyrics in particular: "Cos these things take time love, these things take backbone..." just makes me feel a lot more courageous.

Still, I'll never be quite as courageous, or strong, or tenacious as my grandmother.

Ngo oi lei, popo.
I hope that everything will be alright.



Take care everyone,
I know none of you will go crazy :)

Working on my 2nd Economics assignment at 4.26am. Woo-hoo.

Disney wasn't as likeable as his cartoons. The man was an A-hole to his workers; thinking women were unable to draw by thirty because they had unsteady hands. His basis for wasting good talent? Skin colour. Communists, Jews and friends were considered Unamerican. If that doesn't convince you yet, he didn't draw Mickey Mouse!

Where do instincts come from?

I find the growing lack of faith in Obama sad. Still hoping that tax on fossil fuel consumption goes somewhere. :(

Yesterday, I was officially done with learning Malay (fingers crossed, results aren't out yet!)

There's a line across my laptop screen. Techies, help?

I think I like Economics.

So tired.

I'm going to have a hard time not liking this when it comes out in theatres:



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Updates: Exams in a month. Status: Screwed for them.

Also: The internationals are already planning their trips home for next month and have booked flights and such. I won't be going so soon, only in July perhaps. Weird thing I realised is that everyone's going home. I'm in that awkward stage where I am home, by law/by birthright, but I can't call it home.

Anyway, its "deferring the satisfaction" (/obvious application of things learnt in class! ) so I can just picture the relief when I finally do go home.

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Alright back to work. Its been such a good distraction lately but I was a bit slow up-taking that information.

My housemates are so uncool.



( They really are. )

HAHA! This is the best dramatic reading ever.

http://youmakemetouchyourhandsforstupidreasons.ytmnd.com/

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September the 1st! Yikes.