Monday, July 13, 2009

个人作业(二):老兵的故事

军营- 起初畏惧踏入,但最后令人回味无穷的地方。每一代的军人都拥有不同的回忆与故事,就让一位老兵分享他在当兵时候的种种体验和趣事。


洪俊煌是在1981年从军,属于现代士兵所归类的“第一世代军人”。而这位46岁的老兵在诉说这段往事的时候,显得感触良多。虽然已经是20多年前的事了,但是在洪先生的脑海里,这份回忆依然是清晰的。而从他脸上的笑容就能感受到他当年的精彩。

(右)洪俊煌当年的阅兵典礼                                              

洪先生强调说他们以前当兵的日子肯定比现在还来的加倍辛苦。他说:“那些长官采用的是地狱般的军训,有些训练方法甚至很蛮不讲理,但是都没有人投诉。我记得我的长官常对我们说:‘你们可以去告我状,可是要在服从我的命令过后才行’。”


渴想而知,没有人敢去投诉。“我们都怕说如果真的投诉了,以后的日子会更难过,”他说。根据洪先生所形容,他们那一代的长官们都十分严厉,每个士兵对他们保持着一副带有恐惧的尊敬。在长官们铁拳般的控制之下,只要有人不遵守规矩,一并处罚。而士兵们最讨厌处罚方式,也是长官们最爱执行的,就是假日不能回家,必需留营待命。不过有时候,长官们还会自创处罚方式,十分有趣。


 “有一次,一位长官抓到我和一群舍友在熄灯后赌博。他罚我们每个人背着一支迫击炮来回往山上跑,直到他满意为止。你知道那个(迫击炮)有多重吗?20公斤!你想想看是有多么的重!”他笑着说。那位长官过后还跟他们说:“你们要做什么都可以,就是不要被我们抓到!”


提到当年军中的伙食,洪先生不禁摇了摇头,发出无奈的笑声。他说:“我们当新兵的,只能吃煮场的食物。那些食物都是由和我们一样是新兵的士兵煮的,而且他们全部都没有什么烹饪技法可言。唯一的好处就是食物是免费的。当我们升级成为二等兵的时候,就可以到餐厅吃饭。那边的食物好吃多了,因为是由真正的厨师准备的。不过因为需要付钱,很多士兵最终还是选择忍吞煮场的食物。”


恐怖的长官、令人备受煎熬的军训和难以下燕的食物,这一切都没有导致洪先生有了不愉快的军中生活。这全靠了他在军营内结交的一群好朋友。和他相同被布置为迫击炮手的那些人,和他一样,都没有受过什么教育。其中有一大部分还是全身上下都是刺青的流氓。因为他们常常以福建话沟通,所以他们这一排被取名为‘福建兵’。


回想起他们当时新入兵的感受,洪先生说:“因为在陌生的环境里,我们很多人在第一夜都无法入眠,也有很多人开始想家。每个人的心情是低落的,因为不晓得未来的两年该如何度过。我们不断的想起在进入兵营前常听别人说当兵是多么辛苦的那些话,而这使我们的情绪彻底的陷入谷底。”


可是日子久了过后,洪先生发现自己和排友之间的感情越来越来好,也不再感觉那么的寂寞失落了。最让他感到意外的是,他能和那些流氓打成一片。

(左下角)洪俊煌与军中好友                                       

“虽然我们有时候会打架,我们还是很好的朋友。他们很爱开玩笑,尤其是说那些黄色笑话。其实,他们都是很有正义感的人。”洪先生在说起这一帮难兄难弟的时候,是神采飞扬的,肢体语言也跟着活泼起来。可见,他真的和这些朋友相处得很好也很怀念和他们共同度过的日子。


 “我记得曾经有一件十分好笑的事情发生在我身上- 我在冲凉的时候被我的舍友捉弄。在那个年代,厕所是没有门的,也没有热水。我冲凉到一半,突然感觉有一股热水往我身上洒。我觉得奇怪,侧身一看,原来是我的舍友在往我的身上撒尿!那家伙还捧腹大笑,问我说那热水怎么样。结果,我也把那件事当成笑话看待。”


这一份小小的玩笑直到现在还是带给洪先生许多的欢笑。在当完兵以后的一段日子,洪先生还时常和这一群兄弟在酒吧里喝酒聊天。不过,时间渐渐的冲淡了他们之间的友谊,大家都失去了联络。虽然如此,洪先生还是十分珍惜曾经拥有他们这帮好朋友。


 “我最喜欢说我当兵时候的故事,我时常说给我的孩子听,要我说我能说上几个小时呢!”他笑着说到。对他来说,他在军中的生活是一份美好的回忆。无论多么的辛苦,他还是在其中找到了乐趣。洪先生在诉说故事时流露的真情感和欢笑证明了这份回忆的价值。

 

Friday, June 26, 2009

探听校园之午饭谈话

校园内的食堂是学生们休闲的地方,午饭时也是打开话匣子的最佳时机。而陪伴着午饭的闲话家常,不仅是八卦和一般的琐事,有时候还串有学生们对周围和世界大事的感受与看法。与学生的兴趣和生活方式有着密切关系的事件当然最受他们注目。


像是夜间娱乐场所Butter Factory被列为另一个H1N1甲型流感传播群地这则新闻就占据了学生谈话的一部分。两名淡马锡理工学院的学生在午饭时的对话中表明了他们得知这则新闻后的感想。


甲学生:“喂!你知道那个Butter Factory 中那个 swine flu 嘞!”


乙学生:“对咯对咯!heng 啊,我们那时侯没有去,不然我们 suay suay 可能就中了咯!”


甲学生:“Ya lor,but 现在少一个地方去了。Sian 啦。”


从这个对话可以看出两件事:现代学生并非毫无留意周围所发生的事情,但是他们看待这些事情的态度似乎显得有些肤浅。撇开内容不说,其实,谈话最重要的部分还是那份互相分享。分享自己的感受,聆听别人的故事,就像那两名学生一样,学生们之间的对话交流中就充满了这份分享。在食堂内,无论哪一桌,不管是什么谈话内容,学生们都是开心的。


Saturday, May 30, 2009

有趣的事


习不再限于课堂内:淡马锡理工学院的学生带着相机在校园内拍摄他们所看到的有趣的东西或事件。这是淡马锡第一次采取的新时代教学方式,主要是为了提高学生对周围的观察能力。 

Friday, May 15, 2009

热门地点:哈芝街

复古,另类,青春洋溢;在这个5月,1st Avenue为你呈献哈芝街的独特魅力。


负责1st Avenue的一名导师,陈爱玲,发表了她对哈芝街的看法:“我对哈芝街这几年来的发展与变化感到十分赞叹。现在,哈芝街是一个能发扬本地年轻设计师很好的台面。这条街象征了另类风格和冒险家精神。”


这次,1st Avenue 有些不同:它不只是一间店,而是五间。它里头的每一个角落都是一个独立的店面,仿佛是个 “店中店”。由零售管理系掌管的1st Avenue, 这次带进了五间由年轻人创立的服饰专卖店的商品。其中,有四间就位于哈芝街,像是Terra Plana,Galleri V,Ohsofickle 和 Victoria Jomo。Sscrazac则是由本系的一位二年级生,陈伟强,所开业的。


除了售卖学生喜爱的流行服饰品之外, 这次比较特别的是1st Avenue 也同步在店里举办了一项前所未有的迷你摄影展览会,主题当然就是哈芝街。


这项展览的摄影师,该系的一位三年级生张子翔,说:“我的目标就是要拍摄一些能带出哈芝街那种复古气息的东西。”


如果这次摄影展览能得到学生强列的反应,零售管理系会有打算再一次举行类似的展览。


学生们不妨抽空到1st Avenue逛逛。除了能购买衣服,鞋子,帽子,首饰等潮流商品,还能欣赏一些摄影艺术,何乐而不为呢。

Monday, May 4, 2009

理工学院:猪流感防范措施

由于最近备受关注的猪流感瘟疫正在散播全世界, 我国各校也提高了警惕,理工学院也不例外。自2003年的SARS风波,这是第二次新加坡再次大型的采用体温量测措施。

每个学生都已受校方通知;上学时都要把体温量测器带在身旁。只要体温超过37。6度,就需要立刻通知老师和有关校方人员,并且马上被送回家。这是为了避免任何的细菌感染到其他学生。

淡马锡理工学院就利用了电邮的方式通知学生这项措施,学校的墙上也贴了有关告示。上课时,老师也会提醒学生关于体温量测。但是,还是有不少学生没有把这体温量测当一会儿事。我认为这是错误的观念。首先,这项措施是为了尽早揪出病毒的来源而确保病菌不会大肆的传播。这样,受感染的程度或许能减少很多。不怕一万,只怕万一,所以学生们应该认真的看待这件事。

所以大家,请记得带这体温量测器上学,为预防猪流感出小小的一份力。

Sunday, May 3, 2009

早报 VS 晚报

联合早报:新闻资讯

联合晚报:八卦消息


以上是我对这两份报纸简单的分类。


早报是一份富有资讯的报纸。全岛和全世界的重大新闻都在篇篇文字中,一目了然。它所报道的内容通常会关于经济,政府,瘟疫,恐怖事件,之类较严肃的新闻。这些新闻报道通常都会受全世界的关注,我国也不例外。早报着重的是报道,所以提供的照片就不会很多。


而晚报呢,就不太一样。首先,它的封面是彩色的;照片占有整个版面,头条文字也登得很大。这和早报是相反的;早报的格式相当的朴素。因为晚报的内容属于比较轻松的,所报道的大多数都是类似八卦或其他另类有趣的社会新闻,而且都会有照片相伴。


早报是正经八百的,晚报是另类有趣的,所以读者群也会有所不同。早报专攻的读者大部分都是工作人士,而阅读晚报的应该就是比较爱八卦,无聊空闲的人吧。像我就还满爱阅读晚报的。


如果要了解各国大事,请看联合早报。如果不想那么认真,要解解压,请看联合晚报。


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

小学毕业了过后就再也没有写过这样的文章了。回想过去,小时候的我应该会这样开始吧。


我的名字是洪馥瑜,今年九岁。


只要把岁数乘与二, 就是现在的我了。十八岁的我和九岁的我到底有什么不同呢?


说说外表吧。九岁的我还留着一头厚厚的长发,到腰那儿长。真不知道我当年是怎么忍受得了新加坡那可恶闷热的气候。现在,我都理短发,有时候还会嫌它不够短, 不够清凉。有一天,我妈就告诉我说:


干脆把头发剃个精光,像阿兵哥那样,够清凉了吧!


想了一想, 还真有道理。可惜我没那么前卫。 


我五岁起就戴着眼镜,因为从小我就是个电视迷。直到现在,我都还坚持要戴。隐型眼镜是我没有勇气尝试的东西;因为我觉得弄瞎双眼的可能性挺高的。而且我的眼睛很小又单眼皮,所以有位朋友曾经说过:


“你拿下眼镜,眼睛更小耶!”


原来我的眼镜还有另外一个功能:就是放大双眼。这么好,都不用花钱整容了。


我一直都很矮。只要是排身高,我一定是站在最前面的那一位。什么矮冬瓜,哈比人,我都被朋友们叫惯了。但我一点也不介意,我可是个矮得骄傲的人。


其实在外表上,我没有多大的变化。性格上却随着时间的流逝和年龄的滋长而有所改变。可能长大了,会比小时候更看得清楚一些东西,更了解一些事情,所以无论性格,思想或感触上都会有些不同。



九岁的我,是个单纯的小学生,还有很多事情等着我去体会。


十八岁的我,更成熟了,但还有很多事情能让我学习, 让我成长。


Friday, January 9, 2009

Be a Manager: Wedding & Travel Fair '09

4 Jan: When I first stepped into Level 3 of the Convention Centre, I was awed by the number of bridal booths and the blissful couples who were buzzing around the area. Beautiful bridal gowns, modeled by mannequins, and each portraying a different personality (saccharine sweet look, an elegant look or even a funky one, you name it, they have it) decorated the entire level. Salesmen and saleswomen welcomed warmly each and every of the potential customers by handing out brochures and talking glibly about their shop's attractive packages. A few professional photographers posed ready with their DSLR, waiting for the perfect moment to capture.



This, is the first major wedding fair of the new year, 2009. The 3-day event was jointly organised by Singapore Press Holding's Lianhe Wanbao and Singapore's highly established wedding and travel magazine, W&T. A total of 23 bridal boutiques participated in this big event, where 18 are local boutiques and 5 from overseas. (www.wedding-travel.com/wt/exhibitors.asp

Goodie bags worth over $70 were given out on a first-come-first-serve basis. Strictly for couples only. 

The main objective of this wedding fair is for the bridal boutiques to display and offer their products and services to the potential customers. In this case, their targeted customers would be wedding couples. Holding a major event brings the bridal boutiques masses of potential customers all at one go thus, making it easier to introduce/promote/sell their products and services (rental of wedding wear, bridal make-up, wedding photography etc.) widely. However, they would be competing with the others on the left and right to bring more customers to their own booth. To ensure they have enough power to compete, each boutique offers different but equally enticing wedding and honeymoon packages at an affordable price. 

Here are two brochures I collected from the fair:

The Wedding & Travel Fair '09 was covered in both English and Chinese print media, namely W&T magazine and Lianhe WanbaoThe event was also introduced in several websites such as www.newasia.comwww.inkiti.comclassifieds.singaporeexpats.com and of course, www.wedding-travel.com. It was most widely reported in Chinese evening daily, Lianhe Wanbao, which had both print and online articles (WB eNEWs) on the event itself. 


In conjunction with this event is a competiton, The Singapore Couple 2009. Couples all around Singapore were urged to join and attractive prices could be won. 10 couples were already selected and the finals were held live during the event itself. I think that this competition is great publicity for the event as people would pay more attention.

They can also vote for their favourite couple at the event just by cutting out the coupons from various newspapers.  Local celebrities and leading couple in Jack Neo's new movie Love Matters, Henry Thia and Yeo Yann Yann, were the judges for this competition. 

The angle that the media took reporting this event was romance, which is what a wedding is based on. There were articles on how the popular practice honeymoon came about, true love stories and how the economy crisis is not affecting the desire to get married. 


Another angle would be the showcasing what products and services the participating bridal boutiques have to offer. 


I think the coverage is important. Besides letting more people know about this event, it may also provoke them to action. For example, after reading an article talking about how many people are getting married, a potential couple might consider it too and take a look at this event. The articles mentioned about the attractive wedding packages and couples who intend to save on their wedding would also attend the event to find out more. Wedding fashions would definitely attract the ladies; which one wouldn't be looking at those wonderful gowns? And they most probably would pester their boyfriends, fiancés to go to these event. 

All in all, I would say that this event is a great success. It attracted the attention of potential wedding couples with the wedding packages and the couple competition. Finding a newspaper publication like Lianhe Wanbao as a co-organiser was a very good move because it ensured wide media coverage of the event. Wanbao can promote the event to Chinese readers while W&T for the English readers. Besides that, the event was also publicised on the Internet which is easy for people to find out about new events as many serve the Net. At the event itself, there was a good variety of bridal boutiques for couples to compare and choose from. The competition was a successful gimmick of the event. 

The only thing I think should be improved of the event would be space. The space allocated for the whole event is a little tight. Therefore, the placement of displays were not very well-done. From the ariel view, the place looked a little messy. If I were the manager of the event, I would find a bigger space for the event to take place in. In this way, the booths and their displays can be allocated nicely and it would be better for impression. 

Many thanks to www.wedding-travel.com!