The Final Month of 2020 - A Month of Renewal?

So here we finally are, in the last month of a tumultuous year. Based on everything that has happened so far, it isn’t hard to imagine that many people are either still reeling or just starting to get back on their feet. Of course, there are some of us who have managed to turn crisis into opportunity.

Wherever we may be in the midst of all this, it’s probably worth planning for the year ahead, and the ones after that.

Certainly, the virus isn’t going to up and leave just because it’s 2021.

However, we cannot let it dictate the rest of our lives.

It may have left an indelible mark on us, but we are an adaptable species.

Somehow, we will rebuild and restore, recalibrate and reconnect, restart and renew.

After all, it is through difficult times that strength and resilience emerges.

Let us embody this and help others around us forge that better future.

Ship in the ocean


Should I Start A New Instagram Account for Professional Purposes?

Over the past 2 years or so, I’ve been actively taking pictures while I’m at school workshops and other public events. Of course I have older pictures, but I never took them with specific purposes in mind.

I believe I have gathered enough to start putting them together into an online portfolio of my work.

Most of the major topics that I cover have been photographed to some degree (some more than others, of course, due to differences in frequency).

So, of course, the next step is to decide what platform I should make the portfolio on.

Since it’s mainly pictorial, I thought about using Instagram.

The reason I don’t use my personal account is that I’d prefer to reserve it for my truly personal life and interests - namely food, travel, and photography.

As such, I’ve registered another Instagram account and I plan to start posting soon.

It’s definitely going to be slow-going, but I figured it’s worth a shot.

After all, it’s better to put up a short blog post than none at all.

Let’s get started soon!

Mixing it up

One Singaporean's Thoughts on the USA Presidential Elections 2020

As a Singaporean who has never set foot on American soil, it’s essentially impossible for me to truly understand the deepest issues that affect the country and its people.

That said, it is certainly possible to have formed views and opinions, from talking to people, watching videos made by Americans as well as about Americans, and so on.

So, this is that: An opinion piece. It’s not a scientific dissertation or a research paper. Take it as such.

I like to look at the culture of a place and people, much more than individuals.

My view is that America is culturally extroverted. It wants to be known, to be seen, and it values visibility and outward expression.

USA Flag

You can see this in the movies that they make, the songs that they write, the celebrities that they put on pedestals.

You can also see it in the way that they conduct themselves on any platforms that make them visible - Internet forums, television / videos, social media, and so on.

You are also able to see this in the companies that they build, the practices that they uphold, and the language that they use.

Their heroes are robust, confident, and quick to move into action or speak.

And because they emphasise outward expression so heavily, they imprint (some would say impose) their culture on other countries. And they do it with now-predictable methods and fervour.

Singapore is one of these countries. Of the East and South-East Asian countries, we are, doubtlessly, the most Americanised. Many here would say ‘Westernised’, but I find this to be a far less accurate term.

We see the seeping in on Americanised values - a fair number of which are deeply opposed to our East and South-East Asian ones. I don’t see this as a good thing, but that’s a story for another time.

Because of its culture, it’s no wonder that they are easily swayed by charismatic talkers and strongly-opinionated rebels. These are the traits that they value!

And, of course, of the 2 candidates in the upcoming USA Presidential Elections 2020, one of them truly embodies this set of traits.

As much as many all over the world ridicule and poke fun at the incumbent president, there are many in and outside of America who are passionate supporters.

In case you’re wondering, I’m not one of them. I’m not a fan of his fast-talking, word-flipping ways, and I find his views on science very perplexing. That said, there is no doubt that he is a charismatic man, polarising though he may be.

Donald Trump America USA

I’ve said this on many occasions to people that I discuss politics with: Better the evil you know than the evil you don’t.

At the end of the day, the incumbent president is known to speak his mind, without caring about what others think.

Some say that this is dangerous - especially considering he is in such a position of authority.

But this is something that many Americans value. As do I. Political correctness is both a pain and a recipe for weakness of thought and emotion.

And here’s the thing: Because he constantly speaks his mind, we are privy to his thoughts, and that he isn’t going to bother to come up with elaborate lies and deep cover-ups. The people around him may do that, but he’s hardly the kind of person who goes covert. He LIKES attention and undercover operations don’t seem to be his thing.

You have to admit that there’s a certain honesty about that - a rare trait amongst politicians. And I appreciate that.

I have no dog in this fight, and I don’t care if you agree or not. My prediction is simple:

Donald Trump will remain President of the USA after 2020.

Picture from The Boston Globe - https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/07/metro/shortest-presidential-election-ever/

Picture from The Boston Globe - https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/07/metro/shortest-presidential-election-ever/

And our lives will go on as they always have.

I Explored Some Certifications and Realised How Worthless Many Of Them Are

If there's something that bothers me during this period of explosive change, it's this:

Amidst the calls for self-upgrading, learning new skills, and modernising work / business practices, a large number of companies and organisations are relentlessly promoting their certification courses.

Everything from the too-broad-to-properly-classify Life Coaching to the supposedly-soon-to-be-indispensable Digital Design and Marketing to the pseudoscientific-cult-like NLP (I might talk about this rather insidious industry in the future).

Many of these certificates mean absolutely nothing.

Apart from the fact that you spent an exorbitant amount of money on a digital 'badge of honour'. At least, in the past, they gave you a piece of fancy paper with signatures and pretty foil circles.

I know serial certificate collectors and, when I ask them what they've done using their certificates, the answers are almost always "nothing" to "not much".

Oh, we certainly have our own local certificates that are worthless and meaningless outside of Singapore - some that 'certify' you to be training instructors for narrow-focused, poorly-designed courses aimed at uninterested individuals who attend to clock hours so they can get a payout after a certain amount of recorded time.

Others for attending these same courses and watching the clock tick by.

It’s almost baffling how certification has become a multi-million dollar industry in and of itself.

Does that mean that certificates are useless? Of course not! Some of the internationally-recognised ones are difficult to get because the screening processes are stringent and require a lot of real effort.

Some courses are truly useful and really do make the certified individual much more effective at what they are learning to do.

These are the certification courses that we should promote and keep.

All the rest?

Not worth the time.

And if you’re thinking that you can do more and better work after attending one of these courses, you might spend your time better by learning through some online courses and actually putting what you learn into practice.

Save yourself the money and stop feeding these parasites.

Certificate Course