Saturday, February 28, 2015

The MetroDBITan student series : Issue #041 - Zen Eng Junwei

Today is the last day of the shortest month in 2015, but I am sure, just like me, though the month was short, you must have felt like it is one of those months which you have done the most things ever!

Our cover model for February 2015, DBIT Year 1 student, Zen Eng Junwei certainly had a really busy month! Besides rushing assignnments, visiting relatives and friends during Chinese New Year, studying for the semestral exams, Zen also did some part-time work to earn himself some good pocket money!


About Myself

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I was born in 1996.

Most of the babies born in 1996 fell into the zodiac sign of the "Rat" as long as they were born on or after the day of the first day of the Lunar New Year.  Unfortunately, since that day was 19 Feb 1996, and my birthday is 06 February, I became a 'Pig' instead.

As such, since young, my family has been calling me '猪八戒', after the famous Chinese legend  “Journey To The West”.

Celebrating my Birthdays

I just turned 19 a few weeks ago.  Did I celebrate my birthday, you ask?

Well, yes, I did, but unlike last year, my birthday this year was celebrated in a smaller way

Nonetheless, I received a  BIG surprise from my poly classmates and great presents from my family!
This year’s birthday was also crazy because I lost my phone and got dead drunk, thanks to my friends! Overall, I still enjoyed myself!

My most memorable birthday was my 18th birthday last year.  On that birthday, I was working and coincidentally, it was also the Chinese New Year’s Ren Ri (人日).  Based on Chinese tradition, Ren Ri (人日) is "everyone’s birthday".  At first, I thought due to my work, everyone must have forgotten my birthday but at the end of the day, my colleagues, friends and even my family stayed up late till I reached home to celebrate for me.  I felt so so touched.



HOROSCOPE & personality

My zodiac sign is Aquarius.

Many of my friends used to say that my character does not match the personality of an Aquarius but I am a fan of Astrology and I think the description of an Aquarius is quite close to the real me.

My ex-girlfriend used to tell me about my horoscope; she always said that I’m short-tempered, sharp-tongued, stubborn and too loyal.  If someone was to lose my trust and respect, I would get very angry. She also said Aquarius personalities are very independent.

Personally, I believe what my ex-girlfriend said is true about me.  I see the same traits among my Aquarius friends as well.

What is not true, you ask? Hmmm, I guess everything seems to be quite true, haha! But still, it depends on the individual, and also on how he/she is brought up.

Childhood days


During my childhood, I remember my family used to be wealthy and we used to have the newest toys way before my friends had them.

In the family, I was my grandmother's most precious grandson among my siblings as I am the only grandson who can speak Teochew.  I love to listen to my grandmother's stories about my family's history; hence, I gained the most favour from her. Through her, I learnt that my family members are actually the descendants of Teochew Peranakan. However, we do not practice that tradition and not that 'pure' now.  That's a great pity. But I am trying hard to learn the tradition of my ancestors and I hope to bring it down to my next generation.

My beautiful grandmother
on her wedding day

My childhood was awesome because of my grandmother. My parents used to be quite busy due to their business and worked all day and had little time for us. Hence, most of the time, it was my grandmother, who looked after me and my eldest brother.  Since young, I loved to watch my grandma cook.  I would always stand beside her while she was cooking with the wok. Thanks to her, she imparted to me many moral values, and even made me fall love in with cooking, especially our Peranakan dishes.  Sadly, I am just too lazy and I would only cook for close friends or some special events.

Schooling days


Primary school was the worst days I ever had! I failed most or every subject every year until I was in Primary 6.  Somehow, I started to turn smarter that year.

I was from Hougang Primary School.   The most memorable things during those years was the time when I was catching caterpillars. I remember those times when I was staring at a caterpillar on a daily basis, hoping for it to grow as fast as possible from its tiny self to a beautiful butterfly.

Also, I remember that my language was the worst, due to myself speaking too much of my dialect at home. I was so weak in my Chinese that I was often shamed by my teacher in front of my whole class.

After primary school, I went on to Hougang Secondary which was just opposite my primary school. Life was much fun and crazy but thankfully, my studies got better and better.  Back then, I was a prefect and even managed to enter a Leadership Council which not many people could qualify. However, due to a higher study workload, I chose to step down as a monitor later.

During secondary, I joined the Lion Dance CCA and when I was in Secondary 5, me and a few classmate manage to help our class achieve the Hougang Secondary Warrior Award.




My Lion Dance Friends

Likes and Dislikes


What I love best is watching English and Hong Kong series as these series can give people plenty of ideas.

I always believe that life is just like drama where there’s plenty of ups and downs, twists and turns and all sorts of emotions. Although it is hard to stay happily ever after, but still, we are able to make our choice to stay happy or sad.

I also love cooking as mentioned earlier. I also enjoy the nightlife and travelling whenever when there is a chance for me.

I simply love nightlife because I am someone who loves to enjoy and relax myself and expanding my social circle by making new friends at these nightlife activities.

On to my dislikes. I HATE spiders as I have phobia since primary 3 or so. I can’t really remember how many years I being hating spiders, but yeah, I just HATE them.


Memorable Moments

I guess the most memorable and tragic moment I had, was something that happened to me last year in 2014.

Last year, before Chinese New Year,  my grandfather passed on.  It was the most heart aching year I have ever had in life.  I could not celebrate Chinese New Year nor visit friends.  Moreover, that year was my 18th birthday.  Although I was glad that my friends and family celebrated for me, I wasn't happy at all.

A few months later, during my mid-semester, another tragic incident happened. My god-grandfather accidentally tripped while he was on his way back home and hit the back of his head badly. He was then admitted to the ICU and entered into a coma. During the first two days when he was in coma, everyone was trying to wake him up by talking to him and staying by his side in case he woke up. We all thought there was hope at first as his fingers did move and when we were reminiscing about stuff that he once did, he teared.

After spending 4 days in the ICU, all of us were getting worried and exhausted. We had too much of crying and too much of sleepless nights. Tragically, the doctor shared with us that they would have to remove the life support from him because he had no signs of reacting to any stimuli. It was a very very tough decision for my family to agree on removing his life support. After some discussions with the doctor, we all decided to go home and have a rest and give the doctor our answer the next day. Unexpectedly, my god-grandfather decided to make the decision for us. He left peacefully when we were about to leave the ICU room.

On the 2nd day of the funeral, my god-grandmother left us too. She was too heart-broken when she heard that my grandpa had left us.  The two of them were like two love birds who could not live without each another. Their sudden absence in our family made us felt lost and unable to accept the fact.

My God Grandma

To add on to the unfortunate events, a few months later, my god-grandparent’s daughter left, and weeks later, my cousin’s father left as well. It was the most tragic and terrible year I have ever had. I hope in my heart that such days would never come again

3 important people in my life

I have 3 beautiful ladies in my life:

  • 1st lady I wish to thank is my grandmother, I am thankful that she was in my life for 15 years and imparted in me many important moral values. Although she has left me, but what she has taught me still stays with me.
  • 2nd lady is my mum, I know it is a very  tiring task to take of me, my sibling and also this family. After my grandma left, it was even more tiring for her.
  • 3rd lady is my god-mum. It was my luck to have her as my mother after my grandma left me. For a long time, I had no chance to taste the food that my grandma used to cook for me.  But thankfully, I have my god-mum, and her cooking is just like my grandma. I also appreciate that she treats me just like her real son.
Mummy

My god-ma and god-sisters

DBIT

To be frank, DBIT was not my choice of course. I wanted to enter a business course, but with my grades, I could not qualify for any.

The day after I collected my O level results, my grandpa passed on.  I dropped to the lowest point of my life during that period, and almost made a wrong decision while choosing my course. I was planning to enter the army first instead of continuing my studies as I felt so demoralized after knowing that my results could notget me into any business course. Luckily, my brother introduced to this course before I made my greatest mistake.


MY LIFE IN POLY

Life is poly is very busy and stressful, but thankfully I have a bunch of great classmates who are very fun to be with.  They planned a birthday surprise for me this year and made an awesome birthday card for me with a wonderful ‪#‎Fabrix‬ laptop bag present as well!



My Posters Designs

One of the the most hectic module I took in poly this year was Social Media Marketing in which I had to work with a real industry client called Dough Culture, the largest youtiao manufacturer in Singapore.

My group had to plan social media posts for them, filmed a promotional video for them and designed many posters for them.

Below are some of the posters I have designed for the company!





Other photos





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