My Covid19 Vaccination – Part 3

The fight against covid19 continues.

Monday 6 December 2021 was a normal work day. I received an SMS text message from the Ministry of Health (MOH) during lunch break, inviting me to get a covid19 vaccine booster dose for getting an increased level of protection from severe illness resulting from covid19 infection, particularly with the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in which it was first discovered in South Africa last month.

On Saturday 30 October, MOH had announced in a statement that all Singapore citizens aged 30 years old and above of whom have had their 2nd covid19 vaccine taken 5 months ago or earlier, can just walk-in to any Moderna vaccination centre for their booster shot with effect from Monday 1 November onwards. This means they need not wait for the MOH SMS invite being sent to their mobile phones.

Yes, I’ve chosen Moderna for my booster shot hence I went back to Woodlands Community Club (CC) for taking the jab on Saturday 18 December. I booked my 8am appointment via the SMS invite link given.

This week I was working from home, due to my work office undergoing renovation and hacking stuff. On Friday I thought I could go down early to Woodlands CC for taking the Moderna jab early so that I can have 2 full days of rest. However I had worked quite beyond my knock-off hour. Thinking that the vaccination centre would not be closing early and the last slot opening could be 8.30pm, I went to Woodlands at about 7.20pm, hoping to get the vaccine and doing my dinner thereafter.

Boy, I was wrong.

The last walk-in timing at Woodlands CC Moderna Vaccination Centre was 7.30pm!

Oh well, it is okay. I was just trying my luck. lol.

When I arrived at the CC at 8am the next day, I didn’t have to wait for my turn at all upon registration. Everything was completed within 10 minutes. Then I was ushered to rest and wait for about 15 minutes before I am called to be briefed by vaccination centre staff before leaving the site.

The same rule applies – If I feel feverish, I can take 2 fever pills each time every 6 hours. I should rest more. I am to drink more water. In the case of fever, I shall go see doctor if the fever occurs and persists on the third day. I was also advised – no strenuous exercise activity for 2 weeks after taking the vaccine.

I had a deep sleep rest. I did take my body temperature reading. It was 37.4 degree celsius but I felt okay. I did drink more water.

Fortunately, I was allowed to continue working from home the following Monday (20 December) “in the event if I do not feel well on Sunday”. 😀

Take care and stay safe, everyone!

PeaceJam Singapore 2017

Started in Feb 1996, PeaceJam Foundation is a global movement whose mission statement is “to produce young leaders committed to positive changes in themselves, surrounding communities, and the world”. With its 2 co-founders Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff, 14 Peace Prize Laureates came together to create an educational programme to teach youths across different countries the art of peace.

There is an ongoing global campaign titled “One Billion Acts of Peace”, which aims to tackle tough issues facing mankind such as inadequate access to public education, environmental awareness, extreme poverty, violence to children & women etc.

The first one was held here in Singapore last year.

The second one was held earlier this month.

I managed to take time off studies to participate in this activity.  (Coming to Term 2 of my 9-month course.)

Happy and privileged to be among the 15 PeaceJam Mentors to share knowledge about social change to a bunch of 70+ youths coming from different schools in Singapore, locals or foreigners. I guess I am the only tertiary student who is a non-NUS undergraduate.

I mingled with them, taking interest to find out more about the course of studies they undertake.

Tapping on past training and experiences gained during Young ChangeMakers (YCM) stint, I broke ice and facilitated an exchange of viewpoints with my group of bubbly youngsters on social impact, partnering with Ms Aishwary, who is an NUS biomedical engineering PHD student.

My hearing issue isn’t much a problem to communicate with these youngsters.

Last but not least, I’m grateful to be able to listen to speech made by Nobel Prize 1996 Peace Laureate, Mr Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, former President of East Timor.

To National Youth Council (Singapore), I thank you for this great opportunity to allow me to be part of it. 

Back to Textbooks (My 9-month journey)

It has been quite a while since I last penned a blog entry.

I took initiative to apply for SkillsFuture Study Awards at the beginning of the year, and I had successfully been awarded a sum of S$5,000 to further upgrade myself.

For the uninitiated, SkillsFuture is a national movement to encourage all Singapore citizens to develop to their fullest potentials by taking advantage of a wide range of learning opportunities from tertiary institutions and continuing education trainers alike. This is also to motivate Singaporeans to develop a growth mindset for employability as well as a positive outlook for lifelong learning.

To be employable, I think staying nimble and having learnability skills is the way to go. Hence this is why I decided to go back to textbooks this year because I wanted to expand my current knowledge and skill-sets on media & communications.

This has been my area of interest, particularly Public Relations.

This is a photo of me with Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, former Minister for Social Development & Family (currently the Speaker of Parliament) at a post-event reception of the SkillsFuture Study Awards ceremony held earlier in May 2017.

I am presently pursuing my Advanced Diploma in Mass Communication studies at Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), in a tie-up programme with Oklahoma City University (OCU), USA. Over a nine-month period on part-time basis. Since August 2017. 6 modules to undertake.

I may proceed onto undergraduate level programme if I fulfill all requirements of the course.

Learning is an ongoing process, ever since the day we are born.

We are never too old to learn new knowledge.

I admit I do not know many things. I reflect and learn from past mistakes made. In fact, the older I grow, the more I understand about myself. In terms of strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes etc.

So what if I have a hearing handicap?

This is something which I can overcome, if I believe in myself. 

Positive attitude, self-awareness, teamwork, curiosity to understand new things, adaptability, perseverance are ingredients needed to succeed in anything we strive to do. Not just IQ.

I realise I like to analyze social issues, and understand the contributing factors behind them. Given the knowledge gained from this course, I can value-add by generating awareness and do an effective advocating of the social causes I care greatly about.

Being an excellent communicator is one of the requisites, to be in any industry besides media & communications.

Many things on my plate now. Need to do more readings too.
Having good writing skills is important too, so I will try to blog as often as I can… 😀

*For more information about SkillsFuture, you may check out its official website here.

 

 

 

Breaking The Sound Barrier (Part 3)

As mentiond in my earlier blog post, I was interviewed for a MediaCorp TODAY article.

The survey findings collected by my NTU student mentees are expected of sort. And that is the reason why they want to do this “Breaking The Sound Barrier” project.

There are many misconceptions about the deaf community.

There should be NO discrimination. Seek to understand them and their abilities.

I feel strongly that our employers should be open-minded to look at job suitability in accordance to abilities, and re-align work processes if possible. In fact, our Government is also trying to chip in to help, providing certain schemes to defray costs of creating an inclusive workplace.

Other than highlighting more deaf role models in press/social media, I also think it is important for these special individuals to work hard on expanding their capabilities at the same time. Learnability. Adaptability. Transferable skills. A positive attitude helps.

With confidence, aim to BLOW the minds off these employers out there –

I am MORE than what you think I am.

Here I reproduce the article:

One in two employers do not intend to hire the deaf people: Survey.

SINGAPORE — When he went for job interviews, Mr Alfred Yeo who is deaf, would be asked how he would communicate with colleagues, or if he could read lips.

Many of these companies would not follow up after.

But two years ago, the 38-year-old landed a job as an accounts assistant, and his employer made it a point to email all his workers beforehand to share details on how to communicate with deaf people.

Mr Yeo’s experience is a rare one, going by a survey of 77 companies conducted by a group of final-year students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Only one in 10 employers surveyed have positive attitudes towards hiring deaf people, and one in two admit they have no intention to do so.

Some of the reasons given include concerns that deaf persons would not be able to communicate with clients, bosses and colleagues. Some of them said they had not come across any deaf applicants — perhaps by design.

Born with a dead right ear, Mr Alan Soh would struggle over whether to make it known that he was hard of hearing when he applies for jobs.

Sharing his experience, he said although he has had cochlear implant surgery done on his right ear, he remained apprehensive about writing his contact number on job applications, for fear he would not be able to clearly hear what recruiters say over the phone.

“I (was) worried — will it blow my chances of being granted a job interview?” he said.

Even as they see attitudes gradually changing, deaf persons and associations that work with this group did not find the survey results surprising, noting that securing a job remains a significant challenge.

Touch Silent Club senior manager Danny Loke said: “The fear of discrimination is still very real among the deaf community as they often struggle to decide if they should indicate their hearing loss in their resumes.”

Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) executive director Sylvia Teng said the challenges facing the deaf and hard-of-hearing community can only be overcome with a “certain (level of) understanding from employers, to be willing to make minor adjustments to job requirements to engage the deaf employee in alternative ways”.

To engage with employers, SADeaf launched its job support service in January, and also found that many companies were receptive to hiring and offering equal job opportunities to deaf or hard-of-hearing persons.

Mr Soh felt that without being given opportunities, such individuals would not be able to show what they are capable of.

“Many of them could be raw diamonds, having the innate potential to go far in life,” he added.

This survey was conducted by a group of communication studies students from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Called “Breaking the Sound Barrier”, the group aims to encourage employers to adopt more positive attitudes towards the hiring of deaf persons.

The group had written to over 200 companies to take part in the survey. Most of the 77 organisations that responded were small and medium enterprises.

Random National Day Questions

1. What is your favourite National Day Song?
Answer: “Home”.

2. What makes you Uniquely Singaporean?
Answer: I use singlish terms such as lah/leh/lor/hor/wor/sibei/wah lau when I chat informally with people at social events. I sometimes also do use tissue paper packets to reserve hawker centre seats. Under the influence of another Singaporean friend, I now learnt to compare prices of same product (especially IT products) at different stores before making a final purchase decision. Hahahaha….

3. What is your favourite icon of Singapore?
Answer: I don’t have a favourite one. Maybe Singa the Lion (Singapore Courtesy Campaign mascot)?

4. What does Singapore mean to you?
Answer: Home. The place where I am born and raised. Where I served my National Service, strengthening my blood ties to this nation. A homeland free of natural or man-made disasters which I am truly grateful for.

5. What is your dream for Singapore?
Answer: A City of inclusive Possibilities & Talents, where success can be defined in many ways, not just solely academic success. Creative minds can be nurtured. Equal chances of social mobility are given to all born-bred Singaporeans, regardless of race/language/religion/educational or family background/gender/disability and sexual orientation, as long as one strives to improve himself/herself. Singaporeans becoming more civic-minded, polite, considerate and compassionate towards helping fellow needy citizens.