Caroline Weathers

Our principal at SJC was a role model and she reminded me of a parent whose son I had taught. They were staying at Clearwater then, opposite the Bedok reservoir. The whole plot of land has since been redeveloped and known as the Waterfront Collection, Waterfront Keys, Waterfront Gold and Waterfront Waves. They had obtained TOP in 2015-16 and the project was launched just shortly after 2011-12.

Bedok is a huge estate with Bedok North and Bedok South. Many elderly who sell their old landed properties in East Coast, Siglap like to buy 5-room flats to live out the rest of their retirement years, as they are unable to continue upkeeping the house and they have mobility problems taking the steps up to their room. Most of them are living alone and they prefer to live in a HDB and utilise their CPF.

It has become a popular trend for people to renovate their landed homes to look like HDB. It's like fitting a rice measuring cup in a soju glass, where the house is costly but the interior is like HDB hence it accentuates the value of the exterior. The HUDC and some old condos runs on the opposite principle. It's like a soju glass within a rice measuring cup, where the interior is lavishly renovated and the cost of the flat is comparatively lower.

Most modern condos are like wine glasses and both the inside and outside are opulent. But some condos are like soju glasses placed in plastic wine glasses. You can't drink from it if the soju glass within is not a good fit to the plastic wine glass. Essentially, in order to be able to drink from it, the soju glass has to be taken out of the plastic wine glass.

Some modern condos are like a narrow wine glass. It looks ornate but it's so hard to wash. These are the condos with a high per square foot value and premium in status as it's not shared by as many occupants. Yet they are often limited in space.

A remuneration scheme based on loyalty runs on a similar premise or foundation as how insurance companies started. It's based on pooling resources or crowd funding into a trust. And in the event of misfortune – death, disease (usually organ failure) or disability, notwithstanding the act of God, like lightning strike, the claimant gets due compensation for his prior investment.

MLM and pyramid selling are commission-based businesses that reward those who bring in new people into the organisation. The new business owner gets a stock of, example tonic wine bottles. They would need storage space for this stock of tonic wine. For every bottle of wine that he sells and he makes $100, he would have to give a portion of it to the person who recommended this stock of tonic wine bottles for him to sell. This person would be selling his own stock of tonic wine bottles and is required to also pay a portion of his profit to the person who hired him for the job. This structure works because it allows economies of scale of production and it recruits people who are willing to help sell the stock and propagate this model of selling. It's one of efficiency.

It becomes illegal when customers are being harassed and sellers start touting for business – marketing gimmicks which involve getting attention or hyping to gain traction for sales. This touting kink has been smoothened with the introduction of online streaming, making interaction with customers less intimidating. Some sellers who get too excited or carried away selling their product, if it is done on a personal basis like through homes visits, may get complaint calls to their company. High pressure selling sometimes makes the buyers cave in and buy the products just to have peace of mind. Some say, I don't want to waste your time.

This type of remuneration structure came from insurance companies, only that they involved an actual product to sell, not security or assurance that in case anything happens to you, your family will be financially taken care of, based on the insurance premiums your family has paid.

When it comes to property, it's known as referral fees or commission-based earnings. Usually the agent earns 2% of the price the property is being sold for. And all these terms are agreed before the seller engages the agent to help him sell the property.

Keep Calm and let Nicholas handle it.

This year marks the 💐172nd anniversary of CHIJ. Nicholas Barre was the Founding Father and the school fund-raising and rebuilding effort has seen schools move from their former sites to new neighbourhoods. This enables them to reach out to a different community, not based on privilege. There is no means-testing in our enrolment based on family income. It is our resolve that everyone has the ability to contribute.

The Principals stand in uniformity when they reflect the core values of poverty, chastity and almsgiving of Nicholas Barre and his brotherhood in guiding the teachers in formulating the curriculum. The formula for success in today's dynamic world is not limited to any prescribed path but it believes in character formation. If you've watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S., you'll see how important forging friendships are in finding happiness.

Thanks to the examples of Darryl and Ivan, these two friends from SJI and Maris Stella formed a close-knit friendship and later in life, it helped them in moving on to greener pastures. They had received an education in Engineering and today have set up their own lives and families in Australia. Those who believe in themselves and have the motivation and perseverance to see their inspirations take flight are fine examples that words speak louder than actions.

They are not the happy-go-lucky guys that everyone knew them for, but they both became an inspiration for others just like them. It is not just the cream of the crop who succeed overseas, nor did they depend on foreign status by marriage or family support.

Darryl and Ivan did not choose a life of materialism or they would not have chosen to be engineers. Due to that, God had other plans for them. They gave their time to one another in school more than their books. Maybe they didn't graduate at the top of their cohort but that did not stand in their way of aiming for the stars.

A friend once shared that if one were to give up something important, it has to lead one to attain something of higher value and even more precious, and not the contrary.

We are often victims of circumstances and our actions, often compelled by reasons and realism. But ignorance is not an excuse when it comes to judgment. Those for whom you are standing for and against must not cause you to suffer resultant loss holistically and realistically.

Those who engage in wars of civil, territorial or historical feuds rack up billions of dollars worth of sunk cost. They are fighting for lofty goals of freedom and a less oppressive and better regime. Many of them pray for divine intervention. Marion apparitions have predicted which countries would prevail in wars.

The famous story of Joan of Arc depicts a girl who claimed she had visions of St. Catherine, which led her to lead the French army against the English. Surprisingly, a woman who was so convicted helped her country to win in the war of blood and vengeance, after she convinced the King of France that she could do it.

That's why leaders of the state need to be in tuned to the sufferings of the people to understand the intertwined nature of Man vs. God, the state of currency and the journey to the past. Those who embrace Christianity, the church leaders will always encourage their members to share about themselves.

It often exhorts them to being less calculative and less striving for material things in life, as your colleagues are actually helping to purify and help you become more aware of your surroundings, and the problems that you can't see through fogged lens, being so engrossed in the present moment.

These things become amplified and accented when time catches up with ageism and retirement, and you realise their good intentions. I'll always remember the kind-hearted goodness of those colleagues of mine who made me feel so welcomed in the kingdom of God. Otherwise, those not in research will forever not know that an outlier can't be counted in the experiment.

Sometimes when the tide is too high, you have to ask yourselves what the will of God is for you and not be too persistent because of old ways or habits. There are quite a number of people who have made a better call of judgment and are enjoying happier and less encumbered lives today.

There are many ways of solving a Math problem, just as there are, today, paths to achievement in life. There are people who have made a great start in life and also those who have suffered false starts. Sometimes letting go a couple of months later brings victory, other times, it may mean the loss of a better opportunity.

If you remain loyal to an organisation, they will often compare you based upon your previous performance within the organisation, and not in the overall scheme of things. Well, today we know that France and England are great friends. Both are inclusive of each other and the comparison could have been made to the later performance.

Nevertheless, I am still humbled by the experience. In a month's time, it will be National Day and I'm fortunate to have attended a few National Day parades. It's quite enjoyable watching the parades and foreigners who see it often quip that it's the moment to witness the nation's pride and honour.

Truly, nation building is challenging and demands a lot of sacrifices and growth. Often, there is pain and struggle involved when growth takes place. If you resist the call to grow out of your comfort zone, you will eventually crumble under your own resistance to change. Meaning, those who resist the opportunity for growth will eventually destroy themselves.

That brought me to a thought about a Motivational Speaker, called Adam Khoo. Adam Khoo was from a neighbourhood school. Because of the innate nature of Chinese (I won't include Asians), he taught us to do the reverse, that means telling everyone what you want to achieve. So that for fear of losing their pride, they will be motivated to succeed.

He was the one who went around schools, asking them to give him an opportunity, to teach the students mind-mapping and public speaking skills. And he was one of the pioneers behind publishing a localised series of books which were best sellers then, on motivation and using mind maps to frame ideas during a presentation. Before that, was the Bookworm classics and I think the Mr Kiasu series could have been around that time too.

The concept of self-belief is so important that it made Adam Khoo stand out from his peers. Because be preached a different ideology from what many parents taught their children, it appealed to the masses who found his methods very interesting and because it was very new during those days.

Gone are those days they dressed shabbily to drag down the image of the faculty. Now they're all wealthy business owners, living and driving well. And they want the best life has to offer for their kids as well. Looks like they were trying to distract me from going after what I wanted.

I remember I was giving my best shot at short distance running and a girl purposely stopped running halfway, as a result, I also slowed down and clocked in a less than ideal timing. Seems very similar in terms of modus operandi, even till now. It's an art I never mastered and used on anyone, Praise and Thank God that our dignity is clean and clear.

When someone has accepted an offer of employment to work, in Israel, it is important that they receive an employment agreement that takes into account the potentially dangerous work environment. 

Below please find specific key provisions your company should consider including in any employment agreement to be used for employees working in high risk countries:

Acknowledgment/Assumption of Risk. This provision should include a non-exhaustive list of the risks of injury or death that are present in the host country, such as political unrest, war, or kidnapping.  It should also require the employee to acknowledge that he or she has had sufficient time to research and ask pertinent questions about the living and working conditions in the host country, and risks of injury or death.  Lastly, this provision requires the employee to acknowledge and assume the risks.

Hazard Duty-Related Pay. This provision will explain the base rate of pay plus the amount/percentage of pay attributable to “danger pay,” “post hardship differential pay,” or any other hazard-duty related pay per federal regulations and/or company policies.

Payroll Deductions. Since Singaporeans sent to work overseas are still subject to taxes, this provision should clearly explain that the company will deduct income and payroll Singapore taxes and other required or customary deductions from the employee’s paycheck.  It should also explain whether the company will pay the host country’s income taxes on the employee’s behalf, and if so, how such payments will affect the employee’s gross compensation.

Work Schedule. This provision should explain the employee’s standard hours of work or shift length, particularly for employees who are not being paid on an hourly, “daily-rate” or some other non-salaried basis.  Keep in mind that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply extra-territorially, so its minimum wage and overtime rules won’t generally apply to employees hired to work overseas. Therefore, it is important that the employment agreement clearly lay out, in detail, how the employee will be paid.  For example, the agreement should explain what activities the employee will and will not be compensated for eg. “the company will not pay the employee for travel/wait time to and from Singapore and the host country.”  Also, consider whether you want to include language that will limit the availability of overtime pay, such as a statement that the employee will not be paid for pre- and post-shift activities or will not be paid if he or she works longer than the standard shift.

Expense Payments and Reimbursements. This provision should explain what expenses the company will pay or reimburse the employee for, such as visa fees, work permits in the host country, and air travel.

Housing and Meals. The company should explain whether it will provide the employee with housing and meals.  If meals are provided, this provision should specify how many meals will be provided each day and the maximum amount to be paid per diem.

Medical Treatment. In this provision, you should explain where the employee can obtain medical treatment in the host country and what services the company will provide if hospitalization is required (i.e., transportation to Singapore, payment of uninsured costs incurred prior to return to Singapore).

Not to belabor the point that the employee is working in a high risk area, but your company should explain the steps it will take should the employee die in the host country, such as paying expenses for transportation of remains.  This provision should also encourage the employee to arrange personal affairs (i.e. designating beneficiaries in a last will and testament and for retirement accounts) before heading to the high risk country.

Waiver of Claims Related to Injury and Death. This is a broad waiver by the employee of any and all claims against the company for injury, illness, impairment, disability or death resulting from or related to the employee’s work in the host country, including training and travel.

Jurisdiction, Venue, Governing Law. Your company does not want to be hailed into court in the foreign forum of a high risk country to address an issue with an employee.  For that reason, the agreement should clearly state where any action arising out of the agreement or any aspect of the employee’s employment or termination should be filed (i.e. the “venue” for “forum” for such a suit) and require the employee to consent to being subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in the identified venue.  Usually, you will want to pick a venue with an obvious nexus to the company, such as where your headquarters are located. The agreement should also clearly inform the employee of the state law that will be used to interpret and enforce the agreement. This will usually be the state in which the company is located or incorporated.

We have another 2 – purchasing staff to handle medical supplies and lawyer to handle ICC. Both will be the liaison for Mercy Relief efforts. They will be able to station in Israel if you allow 1 pet dog (brown poodle) to follow.

We are implying that all these 11 delegates from Singapore will be provided with free accomodations, the standard of a public flat in Singapore, but we ask for 30% more in remuneration to be remitted to the Development Bank of Singapore, DBS or Citibank, in a single joint account for all 11 parties partisan to this contract. The Singapore government will match dollar for dollar, according to the time period each delegate (with or without their spouses and children) continues to provide their services. The banker will liaise with the delegates and the Finance Ministry on the apportionment of the paid salaries to each of these delegates from this joint account, pegged to their last drawn salaries while working in Singapore. Make us an offer if you want. Thanks!

We have 2 Admin to ensure all the bodies are returned to the grieving families.

Group 5

(Qualified Skydiver, Civil Defence, Banker, Teacher, Biologist) [Joshua, Cheong, Zech, Denise, Joan – in any order of preference]

English – Fluent (Class Presentation)

Background – Asian heritage

Skills – Crisis Relief (Women and Children)

Aptitude – Warding, Medical Aid, Disaster Relief