CAAS TALK

7th nov, fri- been some time since i had a mini class event. we had a physical-fitness-day after school. 7 of us (excluding bulging-dragonboat-monster shaun), we went for a 2.4 km run. looking at our timings (2 DNF), it was hard to contemplate how we could skip that extra 2 months in NS. in my case, it's still perennial SBJ. lest we buck up and intensify our remaining trainings (5-7 more i reckon), we stand no genunine chance of enlisting later. after the run, i remember telling myself how i had to train at least 3 times a week and to stick to a healthy diet until my napfa test. well, the latter was incinerated the very next day.

8th nov, sat- after numerous months of ps-ing them, i finally met up with the 48th people (rather, what was left of 48th). we arranged to have steamboat at bugis. guess what. i was the first to arrive! the sun must have risen from the west today. we strolled across the many steamboat shops before deciding on the "one". it was not the usual one i went to. this one was slightly more expensive ($21 compared to $18), but the difference in class was highly significant. they offered both hot pan and soup. yes, back to the old marina-days time where you could literally slap a mountain of chicken chop onto the pan and watch it sizzle and turn brown. yes eileen, i agree. this steamboat affair was quite tame compared to the past. we have all matured, some way or the other. i took several photos, but blogspot is giving me problems. i can't upload them. but hey, some things just don't change. that ubiquitous chee hong (intended or unintended) was in 3 out of my 5 shots. -.-"

10th nov, mon- this afternoon, there was a scholarship talk by people from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). it was a pleasant surprise for CAAS had never before extended their scholarships to polytechnic students. wow. this was really something to cheer about. if you didn't know, CAAS is a highly prestigious and well-known company to be associated with. i shall skip the first part of the talk (mission, values, international reputation, etc). i'll go straight to the q & a part.

we: "can you elaborate about the interviews?"
CAAS: "there are 3 rounds. 1st round is with my colleague and I. 2nd round is an enjoyable talk with senior management. if you make it to the last round, you will be meeting our Director-General and other senior management." (most of us went woooow. uhhhh huhhh)

we: "how many scholarships are you offering?"
CAAS: "there is no quota. we give to all deserving students." (we started giving megawatt smiles).
we: "are there any numbers" what about previous years?"
CAAS: "we gave 4 last year. 3 overseas, 1 local. we gave more scholarships the year before that. 6 for 2006." the lady smiled. our smile thinned out as a sense of hopelessness took over. we were all expecting a two-digit number like 20, 30, 4o, in short, the more the merrier.

the "staggering" amount of scholarships they give out reiterated the prestige of their scholarships. -.-" however, all is not lost. looking at their pamplet, i can put a tick to most of their requirements. though, i'm pretty confident it will look better if i can clinch the nyaa gold award and more volunteering experience. these days, academic excellence serves as the ticket to an interview. what happens during it is somewhat more on how you present yourself, your values, personal character, ccas, etc. i have re-shuffled my most-wanted-scholarship-to-get list. CAAS, you're high up there. i shall have a sanguine approach towards this.