if every day in like all these situations then next time we can like learn how to better like handle like similar problems in like improve ourselves so that we can ya like, be ready for like new challenges that come our way even when its uh very very hard


positive experiences, , eh #wei qing# know right now COVID right I think now things are like quite different cause of COVID then


actually after experiencing like this huge saga how do you think like it change your life or like are you thankful or like, like things that you appreciate more or like you’ll think you will appreciate more after like


like this whole thing or like over,


actually I think there are like so many things to be thankful for doing this like COVID thing even if it's like maybe it's like the new normal that we may have or like I need to adjust and adapt to a new life, but I think like maybe ya like what you say lah like resources right I think there are so many free things available like even free dance


, free dance tutorial online or like IG live right like during like instagram there's this function that has like live video and I think they give a lot of like free things like because I also like to exercise then , I think there's this like organization then they really give they give


they give uh free exercise workouts so for example barre like B A R R E then I'll do that or like maybe do some hit workouts and I think that's quite fun and then is like for free some more cause I think barre exercises like if you want to buy


like the, ticket on like face to face tickets right to go to the physical studios it actually cause like twenty something dollars for one lesson or like maybe thirty something dollars and it's actually very expensive, ya so I think like really get a lot of like free things from like it's uh from this COVID and also like ya baking recipes or cooking recipes ya and I think


something else to be thankful for also to be able to spend time with family I think like pre COVID everybody is so busy right then, you like I'll always be very busy with studying or just meeting up with friends or like cause I stay on campus then like very hard like monday to friday I'll be in school so hardly have like time spent with family


so I think like really this COVID is like two whole months in singapore spending like like time with family I think it really helps so even though will have like conflicts and that I think like generally we bond and then we uh


like, I don’t know just learn how to spend time each other and treasure like time spent with each other yeah and uh another thing to be thankful for I think will be having like a lot of time to myself for like like I don't mind like


uh I think I'm I'm introvert so I don't mind like extrovert like going out, to like meet friends but then at the same time I think like this time like beings like staying at home like I really have a lot of time to like explore different things and like grow differently like maybe online courses then I can like do for fun and I think I like studying for fun I don't like to study do like do exam so I think really like no stress


studying is like very very like fun and very nice to do also lah, or like doing a lot exercises like more exercises than usual like monday to friday I get to exercise every day now got so much time then ya I think is quite good also or like


just knitting I learned how to knit also or like I learned how to sew my clothes then I think I learn quite a lot then what else uh I think, I also learn how to, to, like journal more so and like really reflect on like my thoughts and


I guess really also I feel that like COVID also helps me to connect more with friends even though is like very like contradictory, I think cause like being intentional with like texting and being intentional with like zoom meetings and zoom course is like there we get to like catch up and then we get to like I think it gives me more time to catch up also cause normally like daily life we don't have time cause so busy with our own lives don't have time to meet up


but then now is like you can have zoom just like, like, a call away so I think like very thankful for like COVID also, like I mean this yeah the situation it keep puts us in, yeah yeah yeah


yeah I travel before, like I went with uh my group of friends to taiwan before and I think is like very very fun to like travel and I think I missed it a lot so like, cause, cause like taiwan also quite cheap can save money and then also like is like got cold winter weather and I mean it's like


like spending time with like friends also without like without parents like uh like the act care taking care of us then is like really learning how to be independent and having fun I think I like that feeling also, yeah yeah I think yeah


yeah and I think yeah like lucky we can like take pictures now in this age then can uh uh yeah learned how to I think next time can reminisce over like all these times, , actually right I feel that like now we like


quite old already right I feel that this time like, we can really experience a lot of personal growth like what do you think actually right like what do you think, uh in what ways you grew the most,


ya I think I remember that time when we were in in school then we also like quite scared to voice out our opinions, then, like cause I think they'll be some people there will be like very strong they have a lot of strong opinions then I think like we will be like more afraid to share our point of views then we will just like silently like okay you just go along with the flow by I think also like grew a lot in that area I think like after like


cause, after school I have like holiday right then I also like forced myself to , cause I really wanted to grow idea that day I forced myself to , or I think like, go for jobs like serving banquet and I think like actually very scary cause it's like being like a banquet is like the lowest of like like the the like lowest like rang one in the like restaurant serving thing then actually I think they can be like the boss can be quite scary they'll like scold you and then


ya but I learned how to like stand up for myself I guess like like I learned how to like okay I don't be so scared then you learn how to like, don't take them back super seriously because I guess it's like just like work and trying to be professional just like listen then okay learn how to improve then like okay if like you feel that they say something wrong then I dare to like voice out a little bit but is like just yeah learning how to like face like deal with such situations and like speaking up


now I think that is like how I also learn or like I think, cause I also work in like this tourist industry before then I learned how to talk with like tourists or like like made I think sometimes is like customer service like learning how to speak up and


like, I think being friendly or like uh being outspoken lah ya I think like all these experiences like help me to grow in this area also, , and I, you know actually that actually can grow quite a lot recently this few years I think maybe another aspect which I grew in is


, I guess like trying to love my family more because I see like my very closed friend then I see that like she really like love her family a lot then I so feel like very inspired and I think I want to like grow in that area also and like some more like


COVID times like help me to really spend time with my family at home then like, even though ya I will have like frictions here and there I think that generally I also learned how to like be more patience and like show like love and like patience care and concern to family members yeah I think that is also another area which I grew in


yes, yeah


uh for someone that help me is it, I think I think is like, (hmm) okay I I don't know like I can't really remember anything about like being helped okay I feel that got people help me but I just cannot like like uh remembered anything I just know that like recently cause it's like my birthday recently and then like I was like very touched by my family and my sister cause like


like I tell my sister I was hinting them the entire week uh is eh must buy something for, me okay are you going to buy something for me then cause they know that I like Asari right then, they know what to buy lah or like, Asari or like Nonya Zhang like rice dumpling chinese rice dumping then and then they really went to buy it for me then they surprise me also then I think they also like


like, I don't I guess I will just touched it like, my sister say they spend like a portion of their money like to like for my birthday even though they quite young, lah, so ya quite, touch lor and then like my family uh


ya I quite, cause I think like , like, because I'm going to , probably going to study overseas like next year or something so then is like my last like, birthday with them in like singapore so I think is like very like memorable and like very like feel very appreciated a lot and like loved and like even like friends I think they like just celebrate and treat me to


birthday like I don't know like treat me to cakes and stuff yeah and then very touched all like like the cake was very nice as like lemon poppy seed cake , ya I was like very nice lah then I was very touched then, , ya I think I just genuinely like I don’t know feeling like a lot of love from like people around me is like ya like very like nice feeling


and like yeah I guess I just like simple joys in life ya recently that I experienced that make me feel like very touched and like I don't know like very kind, yeah yeah


think like very like very fortunate to like have like friends or like family like these ya, , I guess like so far yeah, really like appreciate like the things that we have right now yeah


actually yeah what are the things that you like other things that you look for to until like this period is like over already


yeah,


far future, , yeah I think yeah I think like cause I also want to like go out without the mask cause I feel that still quite like different I also forget to wear mask sometimes then when I wear masks I've talked to people I feel very breathless then I need


to keep on like lifting a little bit to breathe , yeah I think like there's something that I look forward to also like meeting in bigger groups because now yeah also like only five people now,


ya but I guess I'm still thankful lah that like now still like face like can can meet people face to face, oh ya ya ya


ya, ya I think now we more free to be more aware to like this type of thing on on social media and advertising here and there also, ya I think was very nice to hear like uh yeah I think it was very nice to hear what you share


financial related topic


uh, K I I spend my money but having a clear like need, need versus want so, I know, where I should spend my money and where I shouldn't so


for example like you know like uh, spending money on transport and food in my daily life I feel like, it's definitely necessary cause uh I would need it to get about in my daily life so, yeah what about you


okay, uh do you have the habit of saving, like for myself I try to save lah but I feel like I’m not that good at it but err in this few years I feel like I’m trying to, ensure that like my saving goals are met like


uh but it’s really hard, so in order to do these I try to set up like quantifiable goals so it helps me to keep like, like checking back whether I meet my goals of like savings, then for me also like


also I feel that it's good to have another bank account especially for saving, so is like you have a clear division between, like your expenses account and like your, savings account so like, I try not to touch those money in


the saving account so would, that that is better, like how do you try to save though,


I think for now as a uh, as I'm schooling I feel like, my, expenditure is do not as much as a working adult so I, mean, I usually spend on, like all my daily necessities


uh on transport to get about, and yeah maybe to pay phone bills, and all and I also save up, to, I cause I need to spend on like school fees so that’s a big factor for me also


yeah okay, but I do feel that I have a tendency to splurge on clothings so and food when I meet with, my friends uh yeah, yeah, do you have uh anything that you tend to spend too much on


okay


I agree, yeah I agree with you, I feel like is important to like keep monitoring your bank account, to make sure that you are not spending too much for that month like sometimes, I really do get a shock when I checked and then I'm like


where all the money gone to , okay


uh I feel like I do try to uh improve on my spending methods uh like, I will used to buy many pieces of clothing in a month, then I calculated and realised that I actually spend, and a lot in a year I can spend a lot in a year


and, imagine if I buy one piece of clothing a months and it costs around forty dollars then in a year will be quite a big sum already but for me personally so I try to restrict, myself yeah to that and then uh, I feel like the problem is when we spend day to day on a day to day basis we feel like


like, it is not a lot of money but, if you look at it as a whole then is quite, a lot yeah so I feel, like I'm still trying to improve on my spending methods I'm still not so, good at it but there’s room for improvement yes but then I do try to uh allocate my income llike a


side income and like allowance given, so that I can save and spend, so, how do you uh so for me I allocate my expenses like fifty percent of, what I have on


my needs then maybe ten to twenty percent on what I want then the remaining thirty percent I will tried to save lah, yeah, so ya, ya do you have any methods for like, extra income and to improve your income level for ya should do you want me to say first


like for my method yeah, so for me personally it is like, uh I think a great way is like part time private, tutoring so, it takes up a bit of my time and but


I feel like it's a great way to, earn some side income to help myself and another way I think, uh we can consider and I've also seen the trend especially after circuit breaker and during circuit breaker is that people set


up business on like so like, uh I see like baking or like, like clothing or jewellery like, feel like a lot of people are uh diving into it and I think it maybe a great way to earn also what do you think


uh


okay I'm not sure if I'm going to get married in the near future about okay let's say if I I feel like it's a really big feel like it's a really, yeah yeah, I feel like it's a really big thing in life


uh, before and after marriage is that what you mean, oh yeah I think one thing I’ll look into is maybe


I think as you grow older uh important things are like insurance and investment I feel like that's the two things that we, don't really like dive into right now cause we are we still haven't considered it but, but I think, now it's the time for us to, to, consider it like looking at insurance there are many kind of insurance right that we really need like health


at home like if you get married and you get a house you need home insurance then what fire insurances there's a lot life insurance yeah and, and, I think there's all there's a lot of things that we need to take into consideration that's a big part of where my income may go to


and also might consider investment since uh, investment, uh is quite important too, I I feel and can also help us yeah in the long run yeah


oh what about you


yeah, yeah I think with a child comes a lot of, uh, financial commitments also like uh if you if you decide to get a car then there's a car insurance also then if you decide to


get a domestic helper to help out then there's like maid insurance also, then yeah, yeah so I think is a lot more money cause I think they said everything that you think you can spend money all means you can get probably get insurance for it so it's quite I think


quite a hefty sum yeah,


yeah I did , okay I think that you brought up very good points also about like, err, these financial responsibilities in our life and they're small, that we need to take note of uh in future so


I feel like (uh) (uh), finance is really a big part of our lives and like yeah we should really take note of it and


negative experiences, uh, yeah I think I


I‘ve been through many embarrassing moments actually uh, uh I think, one embarrassing thing is uh, on the very first day of school while going uh while on the way to the campus that I've tried to squeeze on the bus


and the bus was really really full so when it were so I managed to squeeze on the bus with my friends so when it went on to the next stop, uh, and the door open I fell off the bus like, with my back out and my my butt on the floor so I think this was very very embarrassing because the whole bus was looking at me and uh


especially since it's like, the first day of school it's even more embarrassing because uh you have not have not been there and you feel so foreign in that place ya, I think, other embarrassing moments that have been through a lot is via school and like having to present or like


having to say a speech and forgetting my speech in front of everyone despite it being an important moment so, ya I think all these are very very embarrassing moments that, I’ll remembered, what about you tammy


I no I feel that


it's very disheartening because especially since you have tried so hard for it and then, you still didn‘t managed to like, do well in the end I think it's very discouraging at, times yeah


, I I agree with you I’ve, feel like I’ve been through uh all these like negative experiences also like


not being able to perform well in school and like, not being up to standard you know like that‘s the I feel like there was always like, an average uh good and I was never I was never part of it so if like you when we are in school we have the tendency to compare and compare with other people and you'll see that people are constantly doing well and then


for us it is like our hard work doesn't translate into the grades that we get so, some, sometimes it's very discouraging and feel, is like, we will never succeed so, I feel like that part that that


that was very tough and hard also and, and another thing about this is that, I feel like sometimes it makes uh other people look down like when I’m, when I performed badly so like maybe my relatives or


will compare like, results and be like oh how come you are doing like this in school I thought, thought, you should be doing better but, so it's actually very hurtful at times like this and but, there’s, like nothing we can say also cause we are trying our best already so at this point in time I'll feel like


they're looking down on us, and it makes you feel, yeah very upset


yeah


, yeah yeah


yeah I remember crying too , yeah I think it really made us feel like giving up at times right like, it’s so hard end, you have being choose multiple times is not even ones and it's multiple times of like failing and not performing well so it’s really I think really make us want to give up and then we like broke down and cried right it was so


at, I think when you look back it’s like oh, kind of silly but I feel like at that point was really so hard for us and disheartening, ya I think for yeah


ya ya embarrassed yeah uh, uh I think another


time when I felt, like giving up is when I'm solving a hard a coding problem and, , the code is unable to run even like trying for days like I can really think about it for days like weeks and I'm still unable to solve and usually


like, assignment is due in two weeks so I'm always in a rush to finish it and I spent like all my hours trying to complete it but in that way, doesn't run like when I click on the run button and, I see that it doesn't print anything out I I feel like it's very demoralizing and it makes me feel like


giving up and not continuing with it, anymore so, that’s yeah that’s the time when I felt like giving up


I agree like I I get what you mean like this embarrassing moments also but I feel like all these embarrassing moments actually keep us awake at night like some days like when you can't fall asleep you just think about all these embarrassing things you have done in your life like sometimes I can think about embarrassing things I’ve done ten years ago and


I just keep thinking about it yeah I think, uh speaking about keeping me awake at night and I feel like when uh I stress about thing and when I'm stressful right, I cannot fall asleep because I'll keep thinking about what I have to complete the next day but at the same time I'm not willing to stay up late to complete that work so actually I'm not I'm not doing both I go to sleep thinking that uh it'll be better the next day but when I tried to sleep I cannot fall asleep because I'm


stress about what, that has to be done on the next day so it's like such a uh dilemma all the time


yeah I think it's very terrifying actually like watch like thriller movie like us


or like annabel or insidious or all that and, uh, I think it's good to watch with friends also cause I definitely cannot like imagine myself watching alone I'll be so terrified and scared I probably don't need to sleep for two days


yeah,


it’s like, I think it is so worrying like for you because


you you want to keep their friendship and you know the person is angry so you try to ask what's wrong but the person is unwilling to communicate or like, tell you anything so like there's also no way for you to try, to


catch up or try to work out the problems in their relationship so, I guess right that’s that’s how you feel


uh, I’ve I


I feel that it will affects your emotion negatively right


, uh


, yeah, I feel like this negative uh feelings makes us understand ourselves, as individuals better like after we have been through it and, and like of course with life that, it comes with up and down so I


like this is part and parcel of what we have to go through in our life and through the years as we grow up


positive experiences, uh


okay ya, uh I think for me right one very practical thing is uh, uh, I'm really thankful for resources being readily available online it is as if you can do anything you want at home like you want to learn


I want to learn coding I can get it online I want to learn knitting or crocheting I can get it online I want to learn new recipes for baking I can get it online so there's like no need for us to step out of house and I'm really thankful for it in a way


after this uh during this COVID, situation uh another thing is like really spending time alone, and like having the time to be with myself and understand my, self better, think that's one thing I’m also very grateful for


let me think I think, another thing that I miss out on is also like, uh being able to get about uh, in singapore like going to school uh daily because uh COVID happen


at that period when we were still having school and suddenly we had to stop uh travelling to school and had all our lessons lectures, at, in house so uh I didn’t ever leave house for like more than a month like at all so I just spent that time just studying for finals


yeah so uh uh, I think it makes me really really grateful and appreciate the fact that I in my daily life basis I can actually like go out and have the freedom to to go to school when I want


to, ya what about you tammy


yeah I agreed cause uh, you mentioned about family and friends I feel like, uh this, it makes me really appreciative, of what I have because it’s like


event at this time where like uh maybe like, friends can choose to not, uh, connect with you they do put in the effort to try to connect and like uh catch up with you so there's something like which really warmed my heart and makes me feel thankful for and uh


yeah and having having time, with family is also one thing that is like, that makes me uh, very very touched ya and like uh thankful for yes, uh I think, during COVID it also makes me think about how we get to travel so easily previously and it makes me think of like the good memories I had with my err family when we go overseas together uh all the time spent together visiting like


places around, I think that's very heartwarming and then spending, uh, oh yeah and I remembered going to ski and have uh during a snowy day


it was for uh like I keep thinking back on these days and I want to go back to it and, yeah it makes me uh hope that we can go back to the new normal soon so that uh we can get back to traveling so that's one thing I look forward to when the pandemic ends


yeah, to be able to travel able to see the world with my family and spend time with them and borne and maybe even travel with friends yeah I haven't had the chance to do so


yeah yeah,


ya I think will form very good memory with your friends also like going overseas together it's like, I feel like, it is not something you can get in singapore, yeah, like good memories that you‘ll look back or when you grow older


I think point where I grown is when okay personally I’m quite uh reserved like person quite, an introvert so being it would like, like, asking me to step out of my comfort zone to talk to new people or interact with other people is quite


a challenge so I feel like, when I've experience experience personal growth is when, I took the step and step, forward and the initiative to interact with other people, to initiate conversations example when I went for volunteering I


think, it requires a lot of courage for me to put myself out there and talk to other people or when I attend camps uh not knowing anyone there, uh yeah I feel like, this is when I feel like I


grown more confident in, interacting with other people, yeah what about you, I


I think it's really the little things in life that, counts yeah and, ya we should count our blessings everyday right, ya yes okay but like, I think another thing I thought of another thing that I'm really grateful for like from the group of friends I've made


made because uh, I feel like coding is especially tough at times or like uh completing assignment in school so, I feel that uh the group of friends I've met are really really helpful and they don’t


they don't feel like they are losing anything by helping you and they are very willing and very forthcoming and they they just, help you with all their might you know they don't, some some people might be afraid to help out


other classmate, uh for assignment as it may affect their own grades or like affect their own assignment mark, so I think for the group of friends I’ve, met, they are really, so nice that I in I’m so


what I moved to tears sometimes yeah really they are so nice cause, uh because sometimes, assignments really make me want so frustrated that I want to cry and they are so patience with me and like sit through hours is really hours uh of video calling and they just like help with my helped me with my assignment even though they're already done with their own so they can


actually they can choose to not help me, but, ya they are still very willing to help and it always make me, very touched what about you


I


I agree like uh for my birthday I think all my friends knew that it fall into like the circuit breaker period right so they and they can't meet me or like can't do anything so they were try to deliver, food or like things over like to to cheer you up and make your day you know


uh yeah


okay, maybe one thing taking a long walk without my mask I'm not sure when it will happen but I really look forward to that uh they're being like you know being free being able to meet up with


all the friends because like, currently the restriction is only at, five right so yeah, that's one thing I also look forward to, to , maybe also to travel overseas but


yeah that's one thing that I look forward to, to, in the near future I'm not sure when but I'm sure that day will come , yeah


, yeah oh yeah, yeah, I feel like thankful that there are more volunteering opportunities also now


like during these time where people need more help and then we can go out and help people I think that's one thing, also yeah


help out those in need right, say thank you (ppl)


part one financial related topic


hi my name is moses and my hobbies are uh photography, well yes I do invest in cryptocurrencies and I started in err about around three years ago when bitcoin was around two thousand three hundred dollar


so it first came to me when err my friends and I were discussing about the importance of cryptocurrency and when he started during the err financial crisis, in twenty O eight when the entire bank system collapsed so cryptocurrencies I would say that it came about when the question of having trust within err a middle man err


organisation to take care of the money that we have, and the importance comes in when, this middleman is being removed of the question so any transaction that is between any person from person A to person B would be


err decentralised which means that there is no organisation that's in charge of this transaction, so for me personally I see cryptocurrency as being a digital goal or rather bitcoin as digital goal instead of a day to day transaction because the transaction amount its


quite high if you were to compare if I would pass you maybe ten dollars and you'll be passing me uh ten dollars so this transaction is paid to the minor behind this, err cryptocurrency or rather this bitcoin to verify this transaction err rather as a proof of transaction so for myself I started off


investing in bitcoin the larger side of the err or I say the biggest proportion of cryptocurrency and as time went by we are always looking for growth and personally I started to move onto smaller cryptocurrencies


err which is known as pop coin so yeah, (mmhmm)


okay correct correct


okay so I I would say that that's a good observation but err so because that to to come into contact is that bitcoin is, since you started twenty O eight it's being it's a rather fresh uh commodity to uh invest in so at first people would would see as


err as a way of investment or rather err a way of seeing as digital gold but recently I would say that due to the market movements of the reason pandemic COVID nineteen


the the this movement has as rather change and is moving towards err following the S&P five hundred index so which


but rather I would say it's because, if you to look at the changes in the stock market right like for example now with the federal reserve printing money in the united states the movement of money it


unpredictable so for example when people predict that err the dow jones will be moving on to the, err the bear market but then with a sudden printing of money the the bear market, is its it it seems to be


non existable where people coming in into the stock market is just putting it to any speculative stocks or that they they they feel that would be going up for example, maybe hertz uh bankrupt company that uh a company uh automotive rental company that is going into bankruptcy and people just have this speculative that you be moving up towards


the positive side so after even after the the company filed for bankruptcy the stock went up to five dollars before coming back down err to a dollar plus so I would say that, with more avenue of like maybe a brokerage such as such as robin hood existed accessibility wise right


more people are just speculating stocks rather than looking at the technicality side of it so in if you were to point back to bitcoin as well, with more like avenues or more areas that people can come in to invest right people are more more speculative on these assets


so in iraq in in what rather wise we'll see that people are just being speculative or unless you do unless you do really compare with those uh large market capitalisation companies uh such as coca cola or


maybe currently err even that apple amazon and google then the movements will be more structured and more stable, but if you look at more rather like technology wise companies


or even tesla or even square it's moving in a more speculative err kind of movement, where within three months there's err a four hundred per cent increase err in growth and within a pandemic err such as COVID nineteen or locked down the whole entire


company or capitalisation is being wiped out in less than maybe two weeks and half of it is gone and then now it's back uh even four x four x of the original amount so, I would say it's more of


the danger behind it where as an individual you have to be , looking at all these concurrent trends at the same time when you invest in such investments and be it cryptocurrency especially because of this the small capitalisation so back to your question when I started


it was more of a demand supply thing where there wasn't futures involved, so there wasn't much a rather much speculative side of it and how I looked on to the smaller coins uh like be it litecoins or be it neocoins which coins we invest in


I did some research so I went to youtube I went to to read up about err the top ten coins at that at that time, and I I would say that the first point that I, moved out from bitcoin was neocoin and this coin started off at seven US dollars lah if you do to not be not wrong and at that time because it was a chinese tax coin where it was


founded in china and most people were investing in it, uh were were the chinese PRCs so, my thought behind it was that there will be a lot large amount amount of investments because the chinese in the chinese is a rather the the china market is developing and the chinese is putting in more money into investments like so being having a cryptocurrencies as a new


form of investment err the chinese would be, more invested into it because they see more growth in it but so within a a small span of time of I think four month or five month the coin grew seven times of super value and


I was wishing for more growth but that was when the the china government started to rather manipulate the market where they were, be publishing news on uh like the next move on banning uh bitcoin as it affects uh the market or the safety of uh individuals investing into into cryptocurrencies so at correct


, correct correct correct


(mmhmm)


, correct so correct okay


so as in ah get I get a point of view because at that point in time when the government in china, err came up with the banning of bitcoin or the banning of avenues, for the chinese people reaching out to buy bitcoin the entire chinese uh all the chinese tech coins dropped within I think it was two hours it drop value of fifty percent so I was also panic


panicking as well then I decided to to sell off all this coins, and but at the at the same time you know, what I realize that the trend was, that ever after the media posted this news right the coins would tend to drop within the first day or two then after the first year or two it'll climbed back to the price that it when


before the drop so I kind of use this as advantage to earn my profit as well because if you follow the news then once is dropped, correct, by that bit and then you sell at at once the news come out so it was kind of a investment kind of strategy until until it reach to a point where


the few just came in and that was when more speculative investment came in so the demand supply of it kind of reduced, so the err before that was just demand supply of the price of bitcoin but then when


the futures came in it changed, the entire situation where err there was options and people will be speculating the price in the future and before that so, the entire market system rather change and it was more of looking for a new way of a rather new investment strategy towards cryptocurrency and then back to your question


no because I feel that options is a very niche area where you have to learn how to, err put your option put your ability of that that price that you see the future and I wouldn't say it's area that I'm will take the risk in lah so I think back to your question it's is true that the government is scared of cryptocurrencies worldwide because


of it affecting the national, err dollar or the the dollar that be it the singapore currency or be it any currency in the entire, ya their own country so I think that that is why the purpose of cryptocurrency actually came out is to remove the reliance on middleman market as well as the manipulation of any


err authorities in this area because it's a decentralised err kind of


, but if you look but if you look at the the technicality side of it right because the entire cryptocurrency is


based on technology called blockchain and the entire movement of this is is is just like saying I want to ban internet but then because the internet has been already based establish there's no way of the government banning the internet only


the government banning , the accessibility to maybe the website for example let's say the government banned google so now I cannot access google but I can find ways to access by going through be it VPN or other or the dark web ya


correct


so ya so, uh uh the transaction so ya so, yeah so as in that's why that's why I at the start I said that like it's it's rather a way of investing rather than err looking at it as day to day transaction


because there's not much places where you can really use bitcoin unless be maybe the area that we're living in but if maybe if you move in to the US or, to to other places in japan then you'll see that there are shops that accepting or businesses that are accepting bitcoin as a way of transaction because


their their country warmly welcomes this way of transaction and I think with libra coin which is err facebook, uh back err a way of cryptocurrency it's moving into a more a day to day transaction kind of err


way of transacting because libra coin it's not more it's not really face it's not really about speculating the price but its a flat, flat value so it's just like the dollar but its more of being backed by the mechanism of


err where the money goes and err how this money transact, err in in this day to day transaction its it's more about seeing the parents being transparent in the transaction rather than


being in the speculative side of it for for now I would say if uh in rather a cryptocurrencies side so that the uh authorities would see as a reliable way of uh a source of transaction for digital digital wise ya


correct, another coin yeah, so it is more of saying how this technology works out in the future rather than just looking at speculative value of it because like if you if you go to china err like how we how we had our trip in china then we see that in china they use


why why why do you think so leh


, I think I think that's a that's a good way of seeing as well because some people would would say that this is a very new area of speculative investment rather than a stable investment or rather err it's just like gambling like that but maybe


ya ya gained traction recently, and and as well as all the the brokerage that is allowing cryptocurrency into, the way of transaction so I think it's quite fulfilling ah for for cryptocurrencies because you don't don't need to buy one share or one stock that you are investing in rather you can by zero point five or zero point six so it is a way of trying out or testing out


when you're jumping into the area of investments, ya fractional share so I try ah, so can try here and there lor maybe your investment strategy what kind of investment strategy that that you want to put in a place so


, ya the entire portfolio ya to diversify


part three negative experiences


(hmm), I think it was during I think it was moving from like after taking my A level like getting the A level result like wasn't it wasn't what I expected it to be err because its the results I wasn't able to go to university


and then after that I was thinking like what's the next step lah I I will be taking in life so after that I try to like kind of reconnect with my friends in school or rather my classmate


but then the thing was that even though we were friends for like two years right everyone just disappeared like everyone just disconnected after the the A level, results so during during the the two years everyone was everyone was very close right after after two years


everyone just like don't know each other already I don't want you as you as I feel that was quite sad to see that way that like the friendship you build over the two years, kind of turn out the way they don't want it to be like you think that you will last throughout your lifetime but rather it just ended after the two years ah so I felt that everyone was like very realistic very down to earth like everyone just go for what they want


and then, but through the through the bad times that people go through everyone just ignore each other


maybe cause at that time I felt that I think at that time I felt it was more of like thinking about other first, rather than like thinking about myself first so that's why that's why like like even through the the bad times that they were experiencing I was like be trying to like help them then but when it was on my side then it didn't go the way that I wanted it to be ah so


I just felt that it wasn't it was something that, it wasn't I I mean I learned something that like, it was more of having closer friends rather than just having like a lot of friends that that we know superficially but it was more, getting to know like the deep down of the other person then that's when that person will stay there for you lor like like that's why we we still we still talk to each other right


ya like even after like five five six years so that's the difference lah I don't know that's that's that's the saddest moment of my life lor I think I that I can remember


ya but after that I think I mean after I mean after that year then we I went, I mean I took A levels private candidate and kind of the sad thing was like you study by yourself in the national library over the weekend when everyone going out then you feel also like you feel like a bit alone also for the entire year


yeah but, ya after that like for the whole for the whole year lah cause try to like buck up my my grades lah to to get in a yeah and then you feel that you have to be err independent lor you feel that you have to you have to


do right for yourself lah so I guess at that point in time like kind of the studied I rather learn that it's more at the at different points in time you have to be independent at different points of time you have to do things for yourself lah but


no leh as in I feel that like I always felt that, the academic results is just one part of your life that is to show or to progress to the next stage or rather it just part of it is not is not the entire thing that shows your value so like for example university also like GPA is only a number what like it doesn't really show


how your character be like or what are you gonna be like in your working life right like even the, a a a person who scores full marks, won't have a good attitude it at work might not have a good attitude at work so is kind of different lah like


even like grades is one thing like even though you have for me also like my first year of university also then I also didn't do very well cause, like I jump from humanities to studying computer science, then I kind of struggled like that from the transition of like studying computing after like two years of army then I also like I mean I failed one module also so at that point in time also quite sad cause


you have to retake the module then with other other people actually like as a class lah like you also feel that like you're one step behind others, but then at the same time you also pick yourself up to to push yourself lah to to go for that goal that you initially had


ya so ya, !wah!


why not ya for you,


so that's what makes you stress ah, (mmhmm)


further further from your goal ah


but, I think for but and actually from my point of view I don't know as in I feel that like the starting point doesn't really matter cause everyone begin from a different background everyone goes up in a different err entire experience so


like ya, oh


that's true and , I think maybe for me like before I graduated like this year I also feel very stress because like everyone finding for job also


then and I I didn't know like that's the as in you don't know what's the next step of or rather the next place that you want to pursue in your life like is it the one that you already have uh right in front of, you or will you want to go all the way out to go for another goal lah because I don't know like like you know my my goal is to to move overseas right so now is always trying to find avenue to or another way to turn back to do that goal lah to eventually like


move overseas cause


yeah that's true


I don't know why but as in I also feel that feel that like at the end of the the day its there's always the alternate path that will turn you back to, to somewhere in life lah just think positive yeah so I don't know as in


that's how I feel lor but at the think at that point in time like that's not what I worry often lah, it's more like cause next year I'm going to start work so I I also don't know ya work work from home hor like everyone else yeah work from home make


funny but I also don't know like how is the next year gonna be like because its after like you spend twenty years studying or rather twenty or more so years studying then you don't know like everyone goes different paths, everyone there's no there's no like fix fixated path that your peers will be going through or that you can look at to so it's a different a different it's it's kind of sad to see like your friends move away also lah like and then also your safe boundary moving away


then you have to take the next step in life like what is it going to be for you for the next sixty years or the next eighty years if you live to hundred ya, ya I still have their as in ah my plan is to like after two years lor to


now ah I think it's covid [bah] like because all the other countries or I think because of COVID right there's a lot of


unrest in other countries, so and it's especially against you like against chinese because like my angle is the move move to like the west western countries like america canada so you feel that you're not in a safe boundary if you


not say in a safe country ah but in a more say not the country because, everywhere you go people will treat you like an enemy or alien cause because the this like entire COVID situation lah so ya I think like that's the that's the biggest thing that holding me back lah but I wouldn't say that is entirely holding me back because


maybe like five year down five years down the road I would I would say that people more or less forget about this entire situation and move on from it, then, ya I think it's it's more time so I just try to kill time as in not kill time but to focus on what I have first and to make sure that I do it well long before I move on to another country but I also don't know I don't like if if circumstances don't make it through then


no choice , correct lah but I mean think positive I think will be better


yeah,


(mmhmm)


okay ya


I think I think uh I think also true lah cause like my my batch also graduating this during this time also got a few of them like their job offers get rescinded, so ya because of COVID like like they they very happy that they get a job then after that they like they tell me that oh the job offer get rescinded so is also like quite stressful for them lor to to


like find a job alright especially when you see like everyone moving it like like what you said or different starting point then then you feel like you're one step backward and if you are losing out also that at the point in time you also feel very stress from the entire experience yeah


oh yeah yeah


I think for me I don't really as in for me I don't take all these hurts at heart I mean that's a that's a good that's a bad and good thing lah like, somethings that you you want to leave yeah got constructive hearing also so like sometimes I I mean most of the time I I just


forgive a person that that criticise me or say hurtful things to me than the next I mean then after that I will just forget about it but, I think the most, as in most helpful will be like what is more of like personal relationships or like you build a relationship with the other person for like very long time then after that


the other person just say something that is not what you expect then its kind of like pull your own expectation down, so, I think that's more hurtful like like in a way that is like a more personal attack rather than just like a friend to


friend thing err depends on, like who you love more like the closer people that that you feel more hurtful when they say hurtful stuff,


(mmhmm), a, yeah but maybe maybe sometimes like people just give in ya best for you lah best for you in mind but maybe they they don't say like your goal that you want to reach up to


they want to expect that's why


maybe the I don't know sometimes I feel that like sometimes people some loved ones will say the opposite of what is the, what they really feel so that you go opposite direction then you will you will like you stepped into the water then you know like how hot it is then you step out like you if you kind of like you experience it for yourself then after that experience then you come back and say like like


to to the people around you like you are right something like that,


yeah I I I guess the sense of like culture wise or like western cultures are different


part two positive experiences, (hmm), ah !wow!


I think like my best present I received so far is a guitar when I'm JC when I JC, no leh no brand ah


ya the thoughts I think of cause like at that time at that point in time right like my friend brought he brought a guitar to school then, every day after school my friend and I will be playing the guitar at the back of the class lah then we cause that time I I don't know how to play guitar so he always teach me how to play guitar then I'll spend all the the time after school and like in between of lesson playing guitar then my teacher ask me to like eh stop playing the guitar go study ah


, ya then after that my friend they all gave me a as in like the my classmates as well as the class next door they they like dark together the money then they like for me a birthday present lor so I got shock when they bought a second hand guitar for me ah


but until now ya it's a second hand guitar but until now as in I just place it there for like memorial for memory sake ah, as in I bought


how to frame sia, or there you put I think my mum will scold me collect dust leh but okay lah after that I bought a I bought a electric guitar so


the sound is better ya so I moved away from that guitar okay now's back to you what's your biggest blessing in disguise, yeah


you don't do that sad happy thing , okay why


no you'll be working in the hospital , I mean hospital is another also lah


oh I agree that's true that's true ya like travelling up and down right as in that's that's that's the main goal that you I mean that's the main purpose what you wanted to try it right


to try like joining the SIA joining SIA, ya to travel right


so lucky luckily you went china before that, no leh like in, I think


I think for me !wah! most memorable is err twenty seventeen where I went to china also so I went with, #jiu zhai gou# ya so ya


twenty eight no it was twenty seventeen cause my first year oh no no no twenty seventeen twenty seventeen ya so twenty seventeen my friend and I we, backpack across from hong kong then we go Guilin #shen zhen# err #chong qing# then Chengdu then turned to then we took a twelve hour bus bus ah right and yeah we took a twelve hour bus up to #jiu zhai gou# then on the first night where we went up already right


then got earthquake , yeah no supposed to cause we plan a four day trip right to


no eh we are allowed to leh it it's allowed yeah we're allowed to stay in uh #jiu zhai gou# overnight, no leh I planning to I planning to go back #jiu zhai gou# like next year yeah haven't decide I think march then we I'm going Tibet but I don't know when you want you want to come along ah


, never mind ah can as in can pay for the guided tour, , no Tibet is okay its Bhutan that is difficult to apply


really meh, oh I didn't know that, never mind just you just quote my name can already ,


but okay lah let's say you are you want you can tag along I I going with my two of my schoolmates one of them is the one that went with me to the err to #jiu zhai gou# then we earthquake ah just that I scared we jinx we jinx it again,


, what the heck then as in you can have a memorable experience as well, right , oh the so what was the japan about


, I thought you went with benjamin


which one, oh, oh ya okay okay okay I can remember I remember I remember I don't know leh like I feel that solo trip is a bit a bit you did


I did I I did I went to I went to vietnam to to do a solo trip, but it it kind of feels very, so one week one week [bah] but as in I was looking for the trip but I guess felt that like vietnam wasn't the place like you feel that is


it is backdated if there's a lot of things you find out about but I think its because of the language barrier then you feel you don't feel part of the environment you feel like you're in an alien country they don't understand anything


but the weather is nice eh the weather is nice


eh you get now I think hotel uh cost the I think was seventy per night but it was already like a five star hotel, ya


I don't know I bring a lot of stuff that's why I scared like I bring all the camera equipment then after that get stolen or that ah so I I don't want to like stay in a hostel but actually in china the other time I I stay in hostel though but it wasn't like it was a separate is a room by itself not shared with other people


ya there's a common area then got but there's no there's no international tourist there it's all at's all err mainland chinese over there,


as he tried to start a conversation lah but my chinese not so good what , , play halfway you stop the conversation err how to continue this conversation, ya lah just blank lor then you like uh uh <mandarin>对不起我的华语没有:dui bu qi wo de hua yu mei you</mandarin>


, , good good good way of jumping ah


I would say being able to leave the next day I will be thankful for that for that like that wait leh, I haven't I haven't explained haven't explain


I think after after like going through the the earthquake in china right then then I feel that life is, more of at the moment, I think I mean before that already I I feel that way lah but, after going after experiencing the earthquake


because at the moment of the earthquake you kind of feel that like what will happen the next second then you're you're running up to to safety and then your feeling is I mean the whole place is, like the train the train is running around you it's like you're standing you're standing next to MRT and then at the same time you know like you take O level exam or A level exam right


for for oral exam then then your your heart will be pumping very fast right then that type of feeling of nervousness, like you just want to get over and done with that that present moment then you are just looking forward to like the next second whether what is the the buildings going to


oh no my phone turned off , , no my phone my phone turned off also ya


okay


, okay oh ya ya


so at that at that point in time I don't know you feel you feel that like what what am I how am I going to like when's the next moment I'm going to talk to my parents when the next moment I'm going to talk to my love ones, then you feel like in a sense of disbelief lah like cause before the trip my friend and I like will you all kind of keep on saying like eh what if got earthquake lah like why do you have


for for #sze chuan# is common leh for #sze chuan# province but for #jiu zhai gou# it was I think was five years before where a major earthquake happened so, where at a point in time where we were there it was a major earthquake because it was I think six point five or seven magnitude earthquake then as compared to like the daily movement of like three point four three point zero so plus plus at that point in time like I was talking to the people over there lah


then then like those people who stay over there like the tibetans right, they they are quite , receptive leh like they didn't know what to do they they they know how to like comfort us or comfort to people around at everywhere around us there were tourists all of them like they they will crying cause I thought I thought that caucasians are very like


as in they yeah used to used to this type of experts more more dare daring right then then like like then they were all crying so so as in like I kind of get got a shock lah like like,


, ya so I think for me lah so for me like it was more of a life changing experience lor that's why that's why I feel like to be more thankful for that every second, that like now one second two second


, ya lor then as in you feel feel that is is kind of the the next point in life


!wah! I love myself more ah I wouldn't say that experience changed me to love myself more I would say I would say that like breakups help you to love yourself lor,


I don't want to , what do I love about myself most ah, I think it's a very I wouldn't say there is a specific point point of like I love myself most but it's more of


taking the opportunity to reflect because not every I'll say not, I would say it's a difficult transition to like to be able to sit down and and say I'm going to reflect on this and think about what's going to happen and why is this happening before you really take the next step of action like


, , I think my optimism meh I I I think I feel that like in every every situation I'll be optimistic about like about life or like I always see the bright side of it but then I also will of course see the negative side of it ah and the more realistic side of but then I'll always point back to the positive experience like


positive side ya which is good lah but, then again also like in in certain points in time then you you feel like there's doubts or areas that that you have to work on that's when like reflections keep saying all


ya lor so then, it comes to a point where were you always like reflecting on on like why are you doing this why, what's the purpose of it like why do you fall


why do act why do you feel this way why do you experience this way ah and and also how how it affects the people around you, so I don't know I just feel that that from from the view of it like even looking at positive side of it you you will see you kind of like learn more from the experience that you go through


so so I don't know but as in positiveness is err my way of being perfect what's your way of being err perfect day, I try so hard


so this morning was quite difficult for you to talk ah , just nice just like


then during a lockdown eh ya lor then then what do you find difficult


, so you rather you rather lockdown continues ah


no wonder yesterday you never come ah what the heck , no ah, no if if julian if julian didn't come will be it's four of us, because there were because you don't wanna come


ya julian didn't come at first so you you will come at first then julian replaced you ah, then there's the question lor we went to buy bubble tea then after that cause we cannot think of anything to do eh then we ya everything is closed like the cinema closed the arcade closed the LAN is closed


, not really actually I'm not a fan of bubble tea eh cause I I sometimes get diarrhoea because of bubble tea


it's called playmade I think playmade I haven't heard of that yeah they use the dough to make the about the what's that, the <mandarin>蜘蛛:zhi zhu</mandarin> ah <mandarin>珍珠:zhen zhu</mandarin> the pearls ya the pearls then then Liho like #bo lang# Liho like nobody


ya lor then as then after that we we we went to HDB downstairs to we walk around actually we supposed to go to the park that, aaron stay nearby then we realise there got dengue so we walked back to the HDB flats that's a question that I cannot disclose


please please don't thank you for the compliment but most


nicest thing ah err, I think we I remember like ten seconds ago #me he# just complimented me, ,


that's the question I short term memory why not I throwback to you , yeah


when was it, , yeah you start first you start first ya it's part three negative experience


part one financial related topic yeah so hi my name is #ma he# and my hobbies includes going to the gym and meeting my friends


oh okay so moses do you invest in cryptocurrencies


uh


yeah, (mmhmm)


okay but, adding to your points right like how with the amount of cryptocurrencies in the market how do you decide which one to use for example there's bitcoin litecoin dogecoin ethereum and or all of those right and you said it was like err alternative to gold


I agreed to some extent but don't you think gold eh is a store of value right but as a store of value it is supposed to be less volatile but it if you have been following the bitcoin prices you can see that is clearly super volatile and it moves


in in, concurrently with the market so, if it if it's a store of value it supposed to move inversely to the market if you get what I mean like gold does so when the equity sell off right it's supposed to rise but bitcoin is not doing that recently lah


ya so basically is become more of a speculative tool ah rather than a store of value like gold is


(mmhmm), yeah but ah ah


(mmhmm)


apple amazon yeah, yeah (mmhmm)


(mmhmm), yeah it is


(mmhmm),


ya that was exactly what I was about to ask you like, imagine imagine the government just outright bans the the coins because the the end game of all these cryptocurrencies is actually to have mass adoption right to use it as your daily currency but the government can just come in at any point of time and say okay bitcoin is now not legal for tender


and that's it the coin is over for the coin I think they done it somewhere in the south america states if I'm not wrong either brazil or syria because the US has actually imposed sanctions on syria, and then but syria it relies heavily on imports so they actually need the US dollar's but because of the sanctions imposed right so it becomes that a lot of syrians need to sell off their syrian pounds for the US dollar's resulting in a huge drop off in the syrian pounds


so what what this means is that a lot of people actually turning to cryptocurrencies as well but then the government can just come in and say that is not for legal tender because it's devaluing their own, country's currency so that becomes a real problem and then, in addition to that the government can come up with their own cryptocurrency as well and yeah


, okay


yeah using the advantage to buy the dip yeah it's called buying the dip ,


so you invest in the options and futures of the cryptocurrencies as well


okay


their own country yes


but wouldn't you say it's not working very well if the government can just come in at any point of time and just go ahead and say okay bitcoin is now not for legal tender then then it totally it totally becomes, err null and void in its in its mission that it wants to become the next


widely used currency that is decentralised from any government bodies or any third party that can manipulate it right because of the ledger in the, blockchain system but, yeah


yes I totally I totally get what you mean but the difference here is that when you want to use err when you want to use bitcoin for example as your day to day exchange right, and the government says is not for legal tender unlike saying it's illegal to go on to the internet you can still use internet illegally on your own through VPN or whatever usage like china like scott jumping over the wall right in china


but when you're trying to use something for your day to day exchange let's say you go to a store and the merchant doesn't accept your bitcoin then it defeats the whole purpose of bitcoin of course you can still use bitcoin on the website and other darknets for example for illegal usage assuming the government does deemed illegal lah


you know what I mean but when you go to the store the merchant is going to reject your, reject your or accepting your bitcoin ya reject a transaction so you cannot use it as a transaction anymore so it defeats your purpose


ya of course lah hundred percent agree lah it's it's all about the blockchain is not about the coins because all of the coins can easily be replaced


by a government government watch coin ya


digital payment systems ah, but I think digital digital payments systems are also different, from bitcoin because


because bitcoin you are using it as the currency itself, but a digital payment system is you are actually using the underlying you know what I mean so it's just a platform to, exchange your currency so if your if your most widely used currencies bitcoin right now are a digital payment system would be your wallet


your coin wallet that would be the payment system so right now the wechat is a payment system for your currencies but bitcoin itself is the currency so there's a difference there in my opinion lah ya


I wouldn't say it's new it's been it's been around for more than ten years that bitcoin just that its gain traction recently lah because of all the, the media yeah


yeah


so it's got a fractional shares right actually ya, but I think is widely available now as well also, yup, ya I mean it's it's definitely good to be to have it as part of your portfolio but being as volatile as it is I certainly think you should not put


more than yeah probably like a small speculative portion of it


part three negative experiences, oh ya so, do you have a time where like things didn't turn out your way like you didn't meet your expectations


(mmhmm)


ya but that that is true for, all aspects what like even for me like in poly I don't think I'm still in contact with any of my poly friends like a grand total of one in three years so it really depends on how much you want to stay connected with the person I would say


but sometimes it's just very difficult cause of everything in your life like you already have so much on your plate, then you really don't have the time and then you have to, I would say you people always prioritise what's in front of them first so you'll always give that time to, your current friends as opposed to your older friends


per se


so


yeah that's true yeah,


okay okay


oh you mean you mean you were studying alone in the library


, ah because yeah because because going back as a private candidate means you're not part of any groups also right, okay


so would you say that you like worry more about your academic results over your personal relationships


, okay so if academic results are not, what you worry about then what do you often worry about


I mean for me ya for me it's like it's more like uh I feel like after you graduate right then there's like I've thought about it like initially it's about not being able to find a job but after some time right you start to realise it's not that you cannot find a job it's more like


there are too many options out there and it becomes so stressful because there's no longer anybody to tell you what to do so you really don't know what to do with your own life so you really have to just put yourself out there and try and that, that is what puts a lot of stress on


me lah at least or people our age, yeah and what I worry about the most as well of course I mean these two are like closely related because, if you don't get started then it's like time is slipping away right so as you as you start later and later you your your starting line is becoming further and further lag lagging lagging not yet you are lagging behind your


competitors lah not from your goal, you can reach your goal at any point of time like even if you are sixty you can reach your goal but then your starting point becomes, more drawn behind other people so people is getting other people is getting headstart ahead of you because you are not starting your live out in a in a in a way lah


I mean I mean yes in yes but the reality is that


the people during the hiring the HR the employers they don't see it this way so they actually see it as yeah they see it as you not doing anything on your resume so you don't have anything good on paper it becomes harder and harder for you to compete in the current market and with your own age cohort


you know what I mean ya so that's that's the that's the really stressful part I would say, (mmhmm)


(mmhmm), ya that's what that's why that's why now is like, I think even for both of us is like


we can keep trying but, so nothing is going to change unless, unless there's an no unless there's like a outside catalyst to help you along lah, so that is also like relatable to how nothing you do is good enough like you can keep trying but sometimes you just you just cannot get it cause it's not it's out of your control like for example you wanting to go overseas even now it's like you had the opportunity but then


COVID also came along so it's an outside catalyst that you cannot control, ya so that one is very stressful also I would say, right


oh yeah are you


are you starting it online or office oh you still work from home


, okay but is your goal still like going overseas as in working overseas, but what's a


but what's the biggest thing like holding you back from doing it now, yeah


okay


ya that's true


yeah so the biggest factor for you now is just actually is just time ah right ya,


okay, ya that's why is like it's it's like everything is like circling back to the point where, we can say that nothing we do is good enough in this current environment lah


right, I mean it's hard to think positive when when you are trapped in this environment right so for me cause I I don't have a full time as you know so it's like I'm just freelancing right so sometimes when you just keep going and going to this


err so called job job calls lah or job offers lah random job offers like you keep going but sometimes you and you're just not selected and and when you find out the reason why it's like, it sometimes gives you a very negative emotion because it's not just about


it's not you didn't lose based on your ability you lost because like, somebody has a previous connection, to, the person so that's where you are missing out like people who say nepotism are dead in, nepotism doesn't exist it's like fooling themselves like it's still very much alive even in public companies not just private companies


ya so that's when that's when that's how you feel very trapped and helpless in this situation and I think I speak not just for myself but people in our age cohort like a lot of people experiencing it lah, that is what I feel


oh because of the COVID situation


yeah


yeah that's true, like obviously obviously you you would wish that, everybody can have the same starting point but sometimes that is just not the case then imagine when you you are lagging behind then you have to meet up with your cohort and then people just start asking you about oh what are you doing now you're you're just like ya you have nothing to show for you know what I mean


after even after maybe like one two years then I feel like sometimes the what people say to you will be very helpful also in that situation so do you have some of that experience as well where somebody had said like very hurtful words that you wish to forget


ya constructive criticism is good sometimes ya


ya ya hundred percent true it's like when it's the same for me lah it's like when I decided not to go the corporate path I think a lot of my friends also


keep questioning my my decision because I had really good grades in school mah so it really just like uh such a waste such a waste but in my opinion is like a choice of lifestyle, then it's like it's not what they say but it's rather because of how close they are yet they are not supportive I think there's the hurtful part


you know what I mean ya, I mean obviously ya obviously they're they just have the best for you in mind lah ya obviously obviously it's that way yeah yeah


ya but I think it's important to differentiate whether it's like a rash decision for that person, then if it's a rash decision than you should definitely, talk him out of it or him or her out of it but if that person is really convicted to it then I think you should support him or her that is how I feel


you know, because if there is no support for the person then obviously, there this saying that goes the childhood is not embraced by the village will burn in down to feel its warmth, ya so if you don't show support everybody don't show support for that person right then the person is going to


rebel lah kind of in a way rebelled in his own way then he's gonna go even more extreme towards the direction he wants to cause it it works something like reverse psychology right so if you support him then he's he's gonna try for it then after awhile he say !hey! maybe it's really like what my friend say this is not for me


but if you don't support him then his mindset will be like I'm going to prove these people right that I'm right then he's just go and go all out in that direction and never turn back which is even more harmful if it's really not for that person


especially especially in our asian culture yes


you were right like ya but exactly that was what I was saying like if that but that's the, because the people around that that person has also shown support otherwise that person will just go into the hot water and say this is hot but I'm going to endure it just to prove those people right you know what I mean so his thinking is really ya his thinking is really gone that way


part two positive experiences moses what is your best birthday present, and why and who gave it to you,


, , or is it or is it like a branded one


ah so it's not the monetary value that counts lah is the thought is it, ah okay


, and so that guitar holds a lot of memories ah


ah is the second hand guitar, so so it's basically , not being in used anymore you should at least go and frame it up okay frame it up in a glass box


you can you can go and find people to do it in a glass box and then frame up the guitar ya , , , , I I did it they show me that time I think I remember


, what is my biggest blessing in disguise ah, I would say


I would say , I would say my biggest blessing in disguise was ah, not being able to get in to SIA, actually yeah because because look at the current situation now imagine if I gotten in last year I'll have been laid off by now actually so there's a


exactly that's why that's why it's a blessing in disguise in hindsight right don't you think so, like I mean I mean I mean like for me lah because it's not my area of interest what right yeah then will be so tough for me right now


yeah and then having, to try what, as in as in what do you mean the main purpose like to travel


yeah I mean of course lah right I I think ninety percent of the people there are there to travel actually, nice ya, is that your most memorable, travel experience so so what is one of your most memorable travel experience


, , or is it oh the the the Zhang it's not #zhang jia jie# the #jiu zhai gou# yes I wanted to go that want but that was twenty seventeen no way


no I thought it was twenty nineteen something, okay okay, (mmhmm)


#sze chuan#, (mmhmm), ya I know you almost died there right but I thought you not supposed to stay overnight at #jiu zhai gou#


as in I as in you're not allowed to right it's basically all the all the <mandarin>宿舍:su she</mandarin> there all the hostels there are like illegal, oh its allowed to oh, okay it's just after it's maybe it's now lah like too many earthquakes and they don't allow


really when, but Tibet, ya but Tibet is Tibet is very hard to get in you need like a guided tour


oh is it as in it's not that easy to apply right, Bhutan is easier Bhutan is just like ya you just have to pay like err two hundred and fifty USD a day


for for for everyday you are inside but Bhutan is nice, quote quote your name for a fifty percent discount ,


so the that the the two earthquakes survivors I don't want later you all jinx it


that is true yes but I already have a memorable experience already it's like the solo trip to japan that I did earlier last year for two months, what was it what do you mean what is it about it's a solo trip so we just go there and then you explore japan


, no but the only reason why it's memorable is cause is solo as my first time solo, no as in that was the second time so the first time I actually did full solo


remember or not then after that I went to find I went to korea from there to find #chin han# ya ya so that were that was the that was the solo trip


I thought you wanted to try right do you do you say you wanted to try, how long was that ah how long did you ah okay


I mean


I mean even even in japan also it's also like that what japan got even less even less english speakers over there actually like we speak to them in english right they will, just like have a question mark on their face you know what I mean, and you know do you go there for the weather cause I don't go there for the weather but do do you stay do you stay in hostel in vietnam


yeah but that that's why there's a reason you traveled solo right and then you stay hotel then you're not gonna meet any english speakers but we stay hostel its its guarantee that you're going to meet a lot of international people than you can travel alongside with them


oh ya ya oh ya I remember you told me yeah


ya but there's a common area right, but you didn't go , I mean mainland chinese is international hello so you can also make friends with them what


right, ya ya ya, , , they will say that meh I mean like you just like blank is it


oh see that's why this, I guess that is what I am thankful for because my chinese not too bad so what are you thankful for ,


look at my seamless transitions nice right you like my transitions ya as you okay so what yeah what are you thankful for


why is it so, I mean it sounds good it sounds good but there's like a there's a, there's a depressive undertone there's a depressive undertone to it okay please explain


what the building's gonna do, why, yeah I mean it's not for you that message is not for you so , ah your phone also turn off eh mine also leh so


click on stop there's no stop button it's just like play record submit, okay press submit here


okay okay its crashing again, , okay so anyway you were saying yes yes eh yeah


but don't you think that is like so common for them actually I think they like experience it ten thousand times throughout their lifetime already, ya it's very common lah exactly, that's why I think


yeah (mmhmm)


ya cause I, ya err


used to it used to it like I'll more more more daring yeah, yeah they all there, I think in the tibetans mind they are just like oh come on this is just another day now please, that's why you think don't you think that it's so weird


like if like depending on where you stay right it can have like very different experiences like to them is nothing but to you it's a life changing experience,


so you already count counting down it sounds like you are counting down your days


like do you do you feel like you do you feel like you love yourself more nowadays, ya okay


okay so what do you love most about yourself (ppc), , , , why it's a good transition okay, ya


but it's like what when I ask you like what is what do you love most about yourself like what is the first thought either have to be very deep like maybe your nose or your, jaw line your jaw line ,


oh so you so you skew towards the positive results ya which is good lah, that's true that's true


but that's but that's natural that's only natural


yeah


ya that that was not a regular that's like cannot connect very well, but in my opinion my perfect day would be starting out in the afternoon because I hate the mornings so you start out in the afternoon right then you


at least consider afternoon lah come on it's like borderline borderline difficult but it's still okay, , then obviously like actually my perfect day right is to just to be able to do whatever I want in a day it's as simple as that you know that I think I think like being


but during a lot of time you were not able to do whatever you wish to right because got restrictions outside, yeah err, I mean like most of the time what I want to do you just lie in my bed so so I'm actually having a very good time so that's my


perfect day it's like I want it ah like I want it to, I actually would you know like I I've come very comfortable being alone in my room, , no ,


yesterday was because you all reach the limit of five people already what right or not if not I sure go yeah you all have five, but he go but he went that's why I didn't ah that's why I didn't go no but if julian didn't go I will go hundred percent


, , but what do you all do after dinner, what you all do after dinner because everything is closed right


but at least at least bubble tea is open so I believe we are thankful for that, are you so what are you thankful for if not bubble tea


, ah but I didn't know there's bubble tea at at nex what is it is it #sze cha#


the pearls, the pearls ya ya, yeah


oh how how did you all wait wait how how do you determine that there is dengue somewhere in the park okay okay , , okay so moses actually


right I got something to tell you it's like you are very handsome, so on that note right on that note right what is , what is the no what is the what is the nicest thing someone ever told you, yes remember ten seconds ago


, , so you is that the nicest thing you ever like somebody has ever told you what's the nicest thing


what's the nicest thing somebody has ever told me err I would say err, that you are very hardworking and somebody has told me that and I and I appreciate that, you know


(ppl), yeah, yes part three


financial related topic, uh so michelle, just wondering do you actually take uh any HDB loan or a bank loan


okay, ya I also think so uh because for HDB maybe it's easier because the bank loan card you need to have enough uh, uh, five percent cash and CPF which actually I think a lot of people forgot about that part lah


so for me uh I myself I actually took up a bank loan uh because uh me and my husband we bought a EC I don't think EC is eligible for HDB loan at all so we have no choice but we picked up a bank loan instead lah, so the bank loan wise for us initially uh we got


uh, very good rate from uh from our relative uh from stan-chart bank, but then (hmm) because we we we got the bank we got the bank loan in two zero one, but shortly after one year the is a floating rate so after that the interest rate increases quite a lot we started with one percent and then after that subsequently like more than half a year later they just keep increasing all the way to about two point five somewhere around there so we figured that


, this is one thing about floating rate also so we I discussed with my husband we decide to actually switched over to uh, uh, fixed D rate so we actually took up a three uh three year fixed D rate with, uh bank of china in last year but then


we took up rate at about one point nine close two percent but then now the interest rate has dropped so, uh dropped quite a fair bit lah but then is a risk that we are taking because we wanted tag to the fixed D rate so overall I still think that uh, , we are okay with it with a


fixed D rate instead of a floating rate so that is for, us lah, so michelle if let's say you were to go for a bank loan do think you will choose fixed or floating rate


so you'll choose a fixed rate lah, ya I also think so because I think because I think both of us are like quite risk uh not so risk uh risk taker so probably will want something that is like safer we know for sure that it will be that kind of rate throughout that we are paying right


yeah so do you uh so do you intend to use your CPF to pay your down payment when buying a house


(hmm) for myself I don't have much CPF because uh, uh, I'm actually a self employed throughout since since I started working so back then I only use the, government grants that goes into my CPF to pay off but my husband used all uh his CPF to actually pay for the house


for for our house so I think but I really think it's quite a good thing to use CPF to for down payment lah because, , if not like our is quite big sum of money so without the CPF I think is quite difficult to come up cash as well


so it's good to have CPF I guess but I do not have so I need to save up more, so what do you think of uh investing in property


true true okay, (hmm) as for myself uh we actually, started with uh investing in not really investing lah it's more for our matrimonial home so we got a


uh, executive condo but uh we actually thought of we really I mean both my husband have think that, , investing property is probably the way to go in singapore because we are also not very savvy is like


stocks lah uh or the bonds lah or other other, kind of investment vehicles so to us we thought property is the safest as you mentioned I also agree with you that like the land is very limited in singapore so like we also see like over the years I think ten years ago the price versus


the price now we all actually got a pretty shocked of the increase in prices especially for private property so we did actually back then we thought that, that like, uh maybe thousand six I think it was just two years ago we thought thousand six hundred PSF in is east coast was like crazy high


but then, now actually thousand six PSF like a norm even in sing in Sengkang area Punggol area so, really we thought property is really the way to go in singapore uh and for us we have discussed because both our names are used up for EC so we also discussed how we want to actually invest in property in future so probably we are


we are toying around the idea maybe uh, we will we will actually do a decoupling or we'll actually uh maybe sell off the EC at the, at the end of the MOP and then , probably use two names to buy because this is to avoid the ABSD which is quite high now lah


but, uh yeah in the long run we think that uh we will continue to invest in property also lah because we think that is the way like a stepping stone to accumulate the wealth then maybe subsequently we will settle down in the HBD also so , I do agree with you like investing property is a long run gains in singapore as well lah


yeah, so michelle you you mention you going actually buy a probably buy a HDB next year before right, uh next year right, oh okay so have you thought of like which area you want to buy


but you know that buying a house right, uh will also incur other, other fees right in the transaction, I'm not sure if you know basically actually I think buying a property even if is a HDB you need to pay the buyer's stamp duty are you aware of this


oh okay maybe I just share with you because when we bought the house there's actually a lot of there are some other fees incurred which beforehand we didn't really uh, thought about it so actually besides, the, price of the house itself we also need to pay for lawyer fees and then uh there's also this thing called stamp duty buyer's stamp duty which is like if your house is less than one mil is like three percent then they have a this they have this actually calculations formula to get


lah so if is less than one mil is like three percent minus five thousand four if is more than one mil is like four percent minus fifteen thousand four so , we're also a bit confused because somehow some for some, uh, like if you buy it for us I think we can actually deduct this uh buyer's stamp duty via our CPF


ya if our CPF actually have enough, money, and then lawyer fees sometimes I heard is like you can deduct from your CPF some you cannot you have to pay cash so these are actually all the fees involved that we need to know because buyer's stamp duty actually when you calculates quite a sum of money as well


then other than that, I think uh other fees, but if HDB I think there's a, uh, uh lawyer fee if you use HDB you if you take out HDB loan you can use a HDB lawyer I think it'll be cheaper so maybe you can consider that


I think I, I don't know for like I'm not sure if EC is it consider under, private but, for us our lawyer fees is probably about like


two thousand I remember is two thousand plus less than two thousand five, but I think HDB is probably about, I'm not too sure I think is about five hundred plus or something like that so it's quite a big difference lah, but I know I know for sure if you take out bank loan you must use a private lawyer you cannot use HDB lawyer


uh, I know HDB if you will come up, uh HDB you need to come up with the


deposit which is like, uh five, thousand up to five thousand dollars then, I, think the rest you can just use your CPF money, I think HDB is like they before uh if they if you don't want to pick out HDB loan they will wipe out, your, uh CPF OA account, first


then any balance uh they will lend you via HDB loan, so probably is good for you I think if next year you want to buy the HDB you should go and do a go and do a, uh


uh assessment with HDB to see like how much your own you can get based on your income and everything so that you can roughly know how much you can purchase lah for your HDB, what's the purchase price, but you


yeah correct, will you will you you use your will you be applying for HDB one if you can, will you be applying for HDB grants if you can


I actually took a HDB grant but because , my husband already took once before so we only have half of it so I, I think I only managed to get, I don't is it fifteen K something around there yeah but what I heard is like if we take a HDB grant now then if next time I buy another new


example I went buy another BTO I will need to pay back some levy so these are the things that probably have to, uh check with HDB first, before you buy


ya I guess uh these are things that sometimes uh we don't know when we actually purchase, until the time when we sell then we actually know oh actually there are some levvies we need to pay back


anyway have you heard of this uh just now I mentioned and you know about this uh, uh for people buying private property like second property they need to pay uh additional buyer's stamp duty, well actually (hmm) we are thinking of it lah but just that this additional buyer's stamp duty like (hmm) it's like


they say for uh I think singaporean is like second property is twelve percent so if let's say is twelve percent do you think is worth it, to to buy again I mean to buy a second one to invest that means on top of the on top of the buyer's stamp duty ah like three four percent right or three percent if you buy a second property right you need to pay additional twelve percent on top of this buyer


I think (hmm) that's the reason why actually now so maybe a lot of people probably it's not that they don't have, money to buy to invest but maybe they actually not willing to come up with these additional buyer's stamp duty because if it's twelve percent ah that means


together with the buyer's stamp duty and everything I think they need to at least, find a property that can guarantee them to actually make a, make a profit of like probably more than fifteen percent then is worth it to get ah so probably I guess maybe that's why some uh some of my friends around me even though they have the capital but they're not willing to buy a second property or


will you, yes you cannot buy two HDB so have to be a private also, second property


your if your first property is HDB you can buy a second property private, provided that you pay the addition buyer's stamp, if I'm not wrong, but then if let's say now you owned a private right you cannot buy a HDB you must sell away your private first


then you can actually buy a HDB, this is the ruling lah, you have to sell off your private and you cannot you cannot buy a BTO you have to


you if you want to buy a BTO uh you need to wait for thirty months if not you have to buy from the resale market that means those are resale HDB lah


sorry your second property, !wah! that one I'm not too sure leh probably have to check HDB but (hmm) yeah you are right hor I'm not sure if let's say from private we go to HDB can we still buy it or not can we use a HDB loan


I think if you never if you never take out a HDB loan before probably you can leh but all these but HDB ruling that means they're always changing I think it's better for you to check HDB before you actually purchase lah


oh yeah so so now that you you you said I mean you are single right so I don't you can still buy BTO but you can only buy those like , two uh you call that two room flat, that means those one bedroom one living room one, that is for BTO lah but


if not you have to buy resale lor, I mean for you you can consider I mean BTO is good, because it's from government is cheaper resale usually is more expensive but then you also have to think whether like when you buy already then next time


uh is it easy to sell or not the two room flat also, so which one will you go for it


so you mean if let's say you if you have enough uh, uh, cash and CPF you can buy a resale bigger one if not you'll just and , take a two room BTO is it, oh


(hmm) okay


negative experiences, okay uh


what makes me feel stressed, uh, uh actually I think the, usually uh, I mean in all kinds of my life there're not, yeah, yeah bound to be things that makes me stress but I think the majority part of it comes from confrontation


I'm a person that I don't really like confrontation so when there's confrontation I'll feel very stressed, example like , from my work if let's say my client have any , they're very upset about certain things I


I'll feel very bad there, like, they are upset and then they if they start confronting about the situation I'll feel like very stressed out like totally stressed out like because I'm afraid of , facing it so this is something that I'm I'm I'm very stressed out I'm always like that including like with my


uh families and friends I don't like all these confrontation makes me feels very stressed, so, I it's the so I feel that is something that is very , it's not so good about me that, that, I've been trying to change but I think it's very hard to change because I think it's


it's a character, and uh because of that uh, uh because I'm afraid I'm always I'm always scared of confrontation I always worried about what other people might think they're uh about me and what what, uh what are they feeling in everything so it makes me very difficult to actually uh


put forward my, ideas or my my thoughts at times because, I may think differently but I know by saying that out will actually make them unhappy so , ya all these things are things that actually I have to consider and in the end ended up I'm the one that is being stressed out about it but then the other parties is actually just venting their anger or their thoughts


but I'm the one that stressing out about it so is something that I I think I need to try to manage as well, but these are the things that make me very stressed, so what about you michelle,


(hmm) describe a time when you felt trapped or helpless, for me personally , , I felt trapped or helpless a few years back uh because of basically is my work, I feel a bit lost in that sense


, supposed to be supposed to be on, uh, thinking of a overseas , uh overseas adventure with the partner, but turned out last minute just like a few probably I think is just like a few weeks before departure when everything is planned I give up everything uh


, my work in singapore planning to go overseas to china, and, then suddenly my partner realize that okay that's not route to go and everything was gone (hmm) we we uh I cancelled everything and I felt at that moment uh a bit (hmm) I was lost I I stopped working for like few months


very lost as to don't know what the next direction is and tried going for some uh interviews because uh, I started like working for myself since I graduate so I have never work in a, corporate world before, so when I start to go for interviews and stuff I realize that (hmm) I I I suddenly feel that I'm like my my job skills is like it doesn't fit the corporate world I feel very lost I feel very


like, I I don't know what to do next what is there for me, like, what what is the next job for me I mean even though back then I was probably about like maybe thirty or thirty two but, I felt very lost because it's like not here not there if I were to start somewhere in a corporate world I'll be starting somewhere low am I able to accept that the the the salary difference is so big


as compared to last time is starting from low even though I know that, in future like after working a few years there's a promotion and stuff and then you will be you will get better but it's just very hard to take that step up to accept a lower pay and but then at the same time what is there that can match the salary that


, I can do like I go for the interview I failed and everything I felt so I felt so like stupid and terrible, but, it it felt you felt very worthless at that moment but, yeah this I feel very helpless and, that point of time


but I was very lucky that , I took some exam and passed and then like, ya so my next, somehow uh my new job is that so yeah so I'm just grateful for like having a job now, all that stuff that's how I feel


oh shit uh, I'm so worried about money oh , , yeah I mean I guess is because, because of my environment uh, my dad uh loves to gamble


so we have been in this situation at home that, uh, I mean he actually earns a lot of money, but, he is an but he's a addict gambler so perpetually is like is the snowballing is like a cycle so perpetually my mum's always worry about money since young and that's why maybe when we grow up we're


always worried about whether there's enough money and yeah so even though there's enough but you still worry like okay what's next, uh, how is it how to make more money so that's something that you of I mean for me like often worry about and


for my future also whether is it enough so that's I guess is what I often worry about, what about you


actually you're right there because, now like health, seems like all the health problems might start coming in and it's like kind of worry like oh okay what's next will they lead to any I mean it's all pessimistic thoughts lah that whether okay is it going to be cancer