And I was asked to update my blog.......

This is forgotten, mainly because life's good. =)

Well lets have a year in review...........

So 2018 started.

This year started with me, preparing for my Tourist Guide badge. It was a stressful beginning definitely. For those who knew me, I never was as hardworking for all my 24 years combined. But ofcoz, alls well ends well, I got my badge.

Being a Tourist Guide in Singapore was never easy. We have to memorize 14 itineraries of 3 sites and 3 coach commentaries, each with a different theme. Themes includes Architect, Culture, Food, Flora and Fauna, Engineering, Economy, War History, Colonial History, Development History, Independence History, Arts, Modern Events, etc etc. It was amazing how much this little red dot has! Literally wonders at every corner, a passion story behind every person.

My exam goes like this : Theme : Development of SG

Coach commentary:

I was the very first speaker, I briefly mention routes, then development of orchard frm plantation to 44 shopping malls, then stuck in traffic, i talked about CK Tangs, then lucky plaza cuz attraction of foreigners leads to melting pot of culture. Then talked about chicken rice, and passport holders got food sampling at basement 4 orchard,  then talk about layers of underground.

Feedback:

Coach commentary terrible, no mention on weather, location, basic stats of sg, too brief on route, too much on CK Tang, very good intro of chicken rice, but didnt say the price, and also didnt explain ion orchard, and nutmeg commentary too early, inconsistent voice volume, jump back and forth in timeline when talking about development, unnecessary jackson town plan

Site commentary: URA

Caught off guard, only tested on level 1 sg map, at this point I'm at my "que sera sera" mode, so I actually began with a song........... "We Will Get There". I briefly sang the few lines, where it states "Look where we are, we've come so far, and there's still a long long way to go", then straight to development of sg in terms of eco and land reclamation, development of diff industries, the famous water story of how singapore river got clean up at Marina Reservoir was formed, sheltered walkway to be built (5foot to 700km) , subways, automation, and more. My Assesors keep bombarding qn around the map, but later they explained it was due to shortage of time.

Some of the questions asked:
- Jurong Cavern
- Waste management
- Water treaty years
- Changi airport (and old airport)
- What are the blank spaces (military)
- How is sg a city garden
- Why shift JBP
- How to assess to nature reserves
- Whats the newest area to develop

Feedback:

Didnt mention basic stats of sg, too long intro about land reclamation which audience are looking at the map, no mention about sg map and directions, only mentioned land size and population, should mention gdp, import export, races and religion, qns are answered mostly, good reserved knowledge but could have better presented, flow could be jumpy, but passionate commentary, very clear direction of development of sg, voice can be too soft at times, but able to guide audience eyes to the areas of discussion.

Yepp so mainly thats how it goes.

Basically I had an easy time. I was lucky. REAL lucky. But at that point in time, on the test, I felt as if it was the end of everything. And this journey had taught me A LOT. I realize how naive and frog-in-the-well we are, living too comfortably, taking everything for granted, and not thinking deep enough of the bigger picture. This is not propaganda, but I genuinely think that this is such a wonderful city of order and opportunities and things are more amazing than what I thought it was ever.

Till now, on my guiding, my passion dont burn up. I really love to share all the fun fact and development stories, and the little off-the-beaten tracks places and stories of passion made possible in this little red dot. At this point I would say me, myself, is an example of a passion made possible. I really love the job, I guess i'm at the best of life I can ever be. I get appreciated, people love my commentaries, life goes by, I explore new places every now and then, I witness the small changes of things little by little. Everything is awesome.

But ironically, after I get my badge, I dont guide much, I'm back to Admin. But instead of operations, I'm more like a business developer. So I love this part of my job too. I get to go do whatever I like, going cafes, bars, events, and what I need to go is to get a group of expats to go with me. Then, I network, I open up new possibilities, new opportunities, new market. This is amazing! Years ago I never thought this was possible.

But then again, I have to take a tour or two from time to time. I cant keep my mouth shut all the time. I need to share! And I need to share with people that borders, people that got interest, not my local friends and juniors who find me a bore, not people who are narrow minded, not people who are too spoilt to appreciate what we already have.

Monster Day Tours turned 1! It was a really really wonderful journey! I remember the times when I had to pull people off the streets for a tour, and now, people just show up. And all the satisfied customers, and returning customers, its amazing! When I travelled this year, I did actually went for Walking Tours around Asia, and I come to realize we really have a VERY VERY VERY good progress! It's amazing how we have came this far!

All in all, im loving life, im loving my job. This is passion.

I actually went for a philosophical discussion on Passion. Obsession. Addition.

It's actually a whole lot of interesting perspective. But I shall leave that to the next time.