Little Graces of Life

This week is possibly one of the most important week of my life thus far, and today being the last of this very memorable week, i'll like to give thanks to the little graces of my life. Alot has been said about thanks giving - that it is redundant - for life's victories are wholly created by us. But though i'm no believer of fate, i do believe in strokes of luck. Sometimes we just need luck you know, because we can try damn hard, but what's missing is simply that remote percentage of luck. And these are truly the little graces of life that we need to give thanks about.

But thanks giving is for Christians!

Not exactly, giving thanks is for everyone - Monotheist, Polytheist, Atheist, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Free Thinker or Moneyist [Worshipper of Money - My Dad]. The process of giving thanks humbles oneself to even the greatest of victories in one's life. It makes you think hard and long about yourself, and what you've done right or wrong, and be thankful for the chances to perform or to learn from mistakes.

This week has been a week of victories; life altering victories. Everthing that i've been wishing for has came true so far. I think it is indeed a great honour to be selected for 2 very good scholarships - SAF Merit Scholarship and SIA Overseas Scholarship. I've read through their formal letters of offer and found mini lack-ofs and certain questionable clauses, but overall, i think scholarships don't come better than these 2. Almost everything has been taken care of, save for accomodation. There are further negotiations to do, but i am one happy man as it is already. The victory is of course not about the money that i can spend; spending has never been something that i take pride in. The victory is about beginning my career without any debts. It has always been my dream to be debtless upon the completion of my studies, and for that, i'm tremendously grateful to both MINDEF and SIA.

I was lucky to have a great buddy during my Company Tactics Course. It was he who lent me his Scholar's Choice, and it was this same magazine that reminded me that i have not applied to private companies for an overseas scholarship. Follow which i applied to SIA, DBS and Keppel Corp. I was lucky because most of the questions that the 2 boards [SIA and MINDEF] fielded came with ready answers prepared prior to the interviews. I was lucky because i've got friends on either scholarships who helped me to anticipate what will happen to me on the big days. My heartfelt thanks to Helmi and Haresh for giving me their invaluable tips. I was lucky for i've sprouted some nonsense during the interviews, then ambiguously covered them up with further nonsense, and somehow the nonsense made some sense. I was lucky to have my peers and good friends behind me all the way. For these little graces of life, i give thanks to life itself - the Great Bully; the Great Educator.

My family is my inspiration. Its dire financial status and the great hopes placed upon me by everyone back home drove me to achieve what i have only dreamt of - going to the States for my education. Frankly, i have no choice; i'm no fortunate son. It was either to give myself a chance and take a shot or die working and studying and doing CCAs at the same time. My parents are helpless financially but they provided their encouragement in many manifestations, for which i'm very thankful. There are bastards out there who won't even care for their kids, let alone provide encouragement. Their care and concern were instrumental in moulding the confidence in me; to have enough courage to tell the interviewers the truth about my family each and everytime upon requset, without hesistation.

To be honest, the past few weeks were really stressful. Imagine having 3 SOH interviews within 4 short weeks. As it was, my SOH interview was shit tough already. Preparing for these 3 interviews [SIA had 2 rounds] and sitting in for them were even tougher. But i did get to sit down; yes, i stood up for a full hour worth of 'interrogation' during the SOH one.

Prior to the interviews, I would literally SEE my heart beat within the cavity of my chest as my rib cage and chest pulsated vigorously, in and out, while I waited for my name to be called. Time will stand still and everything goes hazy. Yes, it's that bad, no matter how much I've prepared for the particular interview. But once inside the interview room, a firm and lukewarm handshake [i tried to have warm hands, i really did try with the hand dryers and all. But the very warmth of my blood will seem stolen away within seconds of leaving the toilet. The hand was firm nonetheless] was all that is needed to settle in on the chair and get the conversations under way. Yes, they were conversations, good quality ones for i asked hell lot of questions. Here you see the differences between the private and public sectors. MINDEF dudes had no time for my questions and answered vaguely while lacking in enthusiasm; the SIA gentlemen cared to answer them in full [SIA interviewers said something that enlightened me: 'We thrive on adverse conditions.' That was enough to entice me to their ranks. See la MINDEF, don't have time right?]. I need to ask questions so that i can make better decisions as to which organisation will suit me better. Questions will always put you in better stead as you'll have to understand the organisation in depth in order to come up with good ones. Questions let you have a breather too, while you are still technically in the interview. For more tips on interviewees' questions, look up www.monster.com. I've got to thank the dudes behind Monster for their great tips.

Then i was reassured about the healing between me and Debbie when i got a reply from her after i've mailed her to share my joy with her. I think our July meeting should be very interesting! Just yesterday, i had my first clean sheet as the keeper of a soccer match, damn good shit. [I'm as lousy as a keeper can get man. The only good thing is that i make such a vocal nuisance out of myself that my defenders will work together]

This week has been phenomenal; a week of the little graces of life. This week changed my life. I will remember this week for a long time to come.