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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

SOAR: the Motive behind the Motive

Before I say anything about the topic itself, I would just like to declare that this post is just a voice of my thought and opinions. Call me a critic, call me selfish, call me rude, whatever makes you happy, but I write this, just for those willing to realise, or those willing to read at the very least, to see what goes around in my mind.


SOAR Advisors, Student Orientation Advisory and Registration Advisors, so-called, were one of the first people I saw in Curtin. The first day of uni, they were the ones. The "Men in Black" you could call them, with their black shirts and pants, fitted with a tie to heighten the standard of their looks. Professionalism, was what it stamped in my mind.

The one and only purpose for the SOAR advisors, are to lead, to guide, to teach, and to advise students during the orientation. And after 1 week of my orientation, and another week of mixing around, I got to know more about what, and how SOARs were. And then, I decided.....


But why? A lot ask me, why I want to become a SOAR. In the interview, there was also this question, "Why do you want to become a SOAR advisor?". My answer to the interview, "To learn new stuff, new skills, socialize, get to know more people, and lastly, gain experience."

That wasn't, of course..... all of it......

There's always an ulterior motive to everything nowadays......



And back to the image that was imprinted by the 2 weeks orientation period.

What I saw was.... "SOAR...... what a beautiful name..... ", I thought. "But it's a pretty high name to live up to at the same time..." but then again.... ".... a bunch of people, wearing black, carrying the air of elegance around, but themselves radiating none."

And 1 week, that very 1 week, proved sufficient to analyze and see whether the SOARs lived up to their name.

Like I said before, the very first day I stepped into Curtin, the first people I see.... are these very SOARs. Speak of 'First Impression'. Yet, honestly speaking.... no harsh feelings.... but they were a letdown. The games, the activities, the handling, the leading.... the only thing I could see was a huge empty space, that had plenty of room for all of that to grow into, to expand, to improve.

Time keeping was somewhat befuddled; the games were desperately screaming for change and help; the group advisors themselves were walking on water..... not to mention with a croc below.....; the higher ups pointed fingers without knowing what and why they were pointing..... and more......


And so I thought, a person knows one's self best, and decided to be one of the 'Men in Black', to find out what lied behind the black clothings....

I wanted to bring about change. A change that would let the SOARs live up to what they are called. I don't know how, I don't know when, and I don't know why. It just makes me feel that I want to do this. It just makes me sick seeing such a beautiful name, given to people with so much opportunities..... and yet all used wastefully.

In things that I really AM interested and capable in..... I can say that I'm a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect, or at the least, as close to perfect as possible. Maybe that is why.... seeing others who deperately could use help just makes me feel awful inside....

And that was my ulterior motive..... to reach into the roots, and carry out some sort of coup d'état to this current pathetic organization.

Well.... that is all I can say for now...... until I soar.....




Hmm.... the post turned out to be somewhat different than what I actually had in mind, but anyway, haha. Some might hate me maybe, haha, especially if any actual SOARs read this. But anyway.... please comment!!!


じゃあ。

30 comments:

Anonymous October 29, 2008 at 3:32 PM  

Waiting for you to change it^^...Yet, there are a lot of thing need to change, a lot of 'space' need to fill in..make it 'colourful' and 'meaningful'..It takes a lot of time and effort to change..

Let's time goes by...See how it can be changed by you..Anything, you can ask for my help..I think not only SOAR you want to change..

Laetitia Chin 蕾蒂莎 October 30, 2008 at 12:54 AM  

haha~~

yah many things need to be changed,thats y we need new ppl to have new generation with new ideas

hehehe~~hope my expression to u is good.

at least we r still friend..

bleh~~~

nice to have u as my friend

haha~~bert bert

RayZzZz November 4, 2008 at 4:32 PM  

Well said bro.. hahahahaha... u have my support.. really wish u can join us... dun giv up on entering.. i shall wait till the day u join the big family!! hehehehe~

Anonymous November 4, 2008 at 10:29 PM  

yes~im agree with you~
actually we all try to change everything~
just we need time~
welcome to join us,i know you are willing to help up~
no worries~anything i will inform you to join us k?
welcome to a family away from home ya~
hakuna matata~
anything you can share with me one~keke~
BIGBIRD~!

Anonymous November 4, 2008 at 11:32 PM  

nice word. and datz da reason y i don wan to re-join SOAR. to give some spaces to newbies.

and i really luv changes. and guess wat? we had da chances to change before. jus those ppl who have da authority at dat time were bloody stubborn to change. well, this is wat was happening since da first time im joining in.

and now we have dat chances back. i donno u well but u'll have my support if u really meant it.

like da wise man said... action speaks LOUDER than words.

and if u don... u're be another pathetic person. no offense btw.

Anonymous November 5, 2008 at 5:03 PM  

Change? it'll be easier to just kill dem all and start from scratch though...

Bert November 5, 2008 at 5:13 PM  

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments. And thanks for the support.

Actually I wished I could join next sem, but it just so happened that there was some problems coming up back with my family, since my mom's a single parent and all, and she (we)'ve got to move out of our home. So I had to go back early and deal with that and some other stuff.


Hakuna Matata, surely. I'll keep trying, until the day I leave curtin.

Yes, I've also heard about some problems the SOARs and maybe also the CVs were having with their higher ups previously. Don't know about now though.

All in all, I still have to agree that actions speak louder than words. And it's always easier said than done. I accept that, and also know that sometimes I say too much, but only manage to do too little.

But only time will tell.... or maybe I'm just another pathetic person after all, hahahaha....

Regards,
-BiRD-

Bert November 5, 2008 at 5:15 PM  

Haha, I always thought that when I was young, but as I grew, killing really starting not being an option lol.

Anonymous November 5, 2008 at 5:41 PM  

Well, just tone it down a bit... kick them all out and start your own group to do this things...a revolution works better than negotiation with skulls of steel...

Bert November 6, 2008 at 12:15 PM  

Yea.... agreed. But I guess it ain't as easy as said.... that's why the first step is to get IN. After that, it's all a matter of time.

Anonymous November 6, 2008 at 1:04 PM  

hmm..maybe u can do it without getting in first though... as long as u got a proposal and a group ready for it... the management won't be unwilling to listen to what u have to say though.. hehe

Bert November 6, 2008 at 11:56 PM  

Haha, thanks for the suggestion, I'll see what I can come up with.

Anonymous November 7, 2008 at 10:34 PM  

"blah~" u speak as if u know these ppl, do you have ur brain in your @ss or something?those ppl have to work day and night to get the oweek going, they even have to go to campus during the frekin' holidays, it's not changes cannot be done, just it's not that easy.Think b4 throwing crap around.Grow up, kid.

Anonymous November 8, 2008 at 12:13 PM  

~ WILL ~ dun feel bad for WANTING to be a perfectionist ... go ahead and DO IT!

let tis jolt yr mind - " DO IT RIGHT THE 1st TIME "

only if people can hv such attitude, many mishaps CAN BE AVOIDED ! ! !

chill dude ...

Anonymous November 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM  

Those ppl walks around during oweek as if they own the place.I'll have to say some of them are even @sses bcoz dey think they're better den the rest of the ppl there.Dey have to know that they can be such an @ss bcoz of the title! Without it, they're just another guy walking around the campus.Basically no one cares whether they stayed in campus during holidays or work whole day and night there.It's wat ppl see in front that matters.And from what i see, is just a group of ppl trying too hard to be someone they aren't...Adding new ppl in just not gona change anything if the old ones remained.A whole reshuffle is needed, no original members should remain.A full reset.

Anonymous November 10, 2008 at 7:01 PM  

good Bert. u're optimistic.
hope to work wit u in da near future.

Michelle Thye November 10, 2008 at 7:01 PM  

oh~look like "blah" got many feedback to SOAR le~
If you dun mind,maybe we can share a bit ~
sharing is caring~
We value your feedback~

Michelle Thye November 10, 2008 at 7:04 PM  

Dear bert,
HAkuna matata~
i know you can make it~
and i understand your situation~
no worries~
Do join us ya~

By,
Michelle

Bert November 10, 2008 at 8:23 PM  

Sure thing. Thanks for all the feedback. Hope to working with you guys too in the future.

blah~ do has some points, but unfortunately, the option of a whole new committee and system doesn't exist in today's society, not unless there's some very serious problem and the whole organization has to be disbanded or smth, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

For the meantime, let's not worry about this, haha, and get going on exams first. Wish you all all the best in exams, yoku ganbatte ne.

Jaane.

Anonymous November 10, 2008 at 10:07 PM  

In the society, not gona happen, too many factors involved, too many ppl involved, too many ideas. In a closed community like campus grounds, possible...the only times u can attempt something like tat i during uni life.. u can't do that during sec school coz the teachers are in charge, u can't do that in society coz too many other ppl are involved. Here's the only chance, and the only possibility of it ever happening..just depends on whether u want to do it or not. . .Furthermore, i'm pissed with some of their attitudes anyway, i wun mind seeing every one of them gone. Even though they used to say,a bad apple in the basket doesn't mean that the rest of the apples are bad, but it sure made u hesitate to take the risk huh?

Anonymous November 11, 2008 at 2:41 AM  

woah woah woah.... blah~ take it easy.. I don't mind SOAR being criticized but come on, that's too much for being straight forward.

Well not to being an ass but i honestly tell you, how much person in Curtin are actually WILLING to lend their hands for the new students? Ok maybe you'll say seniors will help but do they seriously know everything? I bet there are even final years students that don't even know the proper procedure in order to get some or propose something with the Management. So you see, giving comments is all good but try to be realistic? I'm not nagging, your straight forward-ness is really appreciated but try not to put personal feelings into this issue because it's really sensitive. You have no idea how much SOAR had to sacrifice, not just to make US look good. No one is perfect my friend.. Yes you said that some of them do only carry the name of SOAR walking here and there. Not all, my friend. We're working till our asses are hurt and had to receive critics beyond your imagination.

If you think you can do what you suggested to bert, why don't you take up the challenge yourself? and let's see whether you can change everything and start from the scratch. I would be pleased to work with you since you had a lot of brilliant ideas.

Cheers =)

Anonymous November 11, 2008 at 1:47 PM  

wuar...so many comments left in this post...bert, i think this is the most comments u have been received for a post...

everyone needs to sacrifice the things that we want it to be the best of the best..but nothing is perfect, we try to learn from the mistakes and we improve it and can do better than the previous..

Anonymous November 12, 2008 at 12:19 AM  

Aren't critics being part of being soar? being soar is omost like being a celebrity, u bring urself in front of ppl, u do ur job and hear the criticism.Hearing too much probably will make anyone piss off,still it's still going to come.Some ppl breaks down from that,some learn from it while some just doesn't care.Some the final year student's doesn't know most of the procedure in the campus, but i believe that some of the soars have no idea as well, in fact no one in the campus knows of all the procedures in dealing with campus admins or anything else."You have no idea how much SOAR had to sacrifice, not just to make US look good", hehe, i know all too well, at least enough to talk about it. . .It's all about image,the image of professionalism,image of being capable, image of being reliable, image of being a leader....i believe new blood into the organization do have more noble purposes,but i oso believe what the old heads used to say before "U have to present urself as a professional"that already implies that image is the utmost priority isn't it?When u have that, all other effects will probably come along..

btw, being just a person who just read all these things.... sarcasm is a bit outdated nowadays... =)

RayZzZz November 12, 2008 at 1:49 AM  

Hahaha.. well it fine being criticized. All feedbacks regardless good or bad are fine. It makes us improve. So, nothing much to say here but well like wat 'current soar' said no one is perfect. but still we will try our best to do so. Of course we wanted to give the best to the new students. Popularity or not i seriously don't care. Maybe some of the people cares bout it and that mayb their motive. We can't tell, but then just they the best to make the o-week successful shall we? And yeap not all SOARs knows all the procedure. I agree with that statement.. Everyone is still learning. Life long learning, learning for life. Hahaha.. so yeah.. It's ok to give feedbacks but try not to create any issues by starting any attacks towards any parties ok. Hahaha.. Thx thx.. i hope i din say anything wrong @_@

Anonymous November 12, 2008 at 1:34 PM  

From wat current soar said, u work till ur @sses hurt huh... i guess that depends on how's ur attitude wen u take the job i guess.I'm sure that many of those who took the job doesn't even thk it's that hard after all(dun ask how i find this out).Those late night stays(oh yea, from what i heard, it doesn't even have to be late night,it just ended up being so after adding everything non-work-related), the staying in campus during holidays preparations and stuff, when u did it on your own and no one forced you to, u really lost the right to whine about it.Even when you're using it in defence for yourself.It just make sound like all those things are excuses for wat u didn't do well...

Anonymous November 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM  

Cool, undeniable, some of the negative feedbacks are true and indeed Soar advisor needs to be improve. And one of the condition to be Soar is being open minded.

To current Soar,
Don't worry,if those feedbacks are not true, you do not need to explain cause Soar can't satisfy everyone. If what the negative feedbacks are true, no explaination needed, just improve it and do it better next batch. I don't know who are you(current soar),but I do appreciate you are being so defensive to Soar. But, Soar advisor are profeesional, please do not use this identity to reply especially with those Dirty words. I would like to clarify, Your opinions are not from all the Soar's members, and you are not solving the problem, instead of it, you are ruining Soar Advisors reputation. Sorry to say that but Soar doesnt need to explain/argue to anyone, Soars are professional, quote from Michelle, we value all the feedbacks no matter it is bad or good, and we do appreciate it. And again, thank you for being defensive to Soar. Cheers =)

Bert,
Good! keep this attitude! We need changes and you may be the one who drive Soar to higher achiever! hope you can join and help up more =D

Anonymous November 15, 2008 at 2:01 PM  

Well, TO MAKE IT CLEAR, below are all based on my personal view, I did not say on behalf of SOAR and any person. I (and everyone else) have the right to say what I want, please do not link my statements to SOARs and any individuals.

Here are my statements (especially to Blah~):

1. SOARs are Curtin Students who volunteered themselves to HELP students. THEY ARE VOLUNTEERS, not EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS. EVERYONE SHOULD RESPECT SOARs.

2. SOARs willing to sacrifice their time and anything to HELP students WITHOUT ANY PAYBACK. EVERYONE SHOULD APPRECIATE for what SOAR have done and sacrified to students.

3. Yes, SOAR's image is important. However, SOARs are HUMAN. They are not GOD, nobody is PERFECT. They no need to be like celebrities who are trying to SELL THEIR IMAGE. SOAR did not earn any profit like celebrities.

4. Completely new people eh? Is it possible to handle the o-week without any help, guidance and experience sharing from the seniors? Impossible. Do they know everything? No.

5. Yes, everyone may satisfied and disatisfied to certain person or SOAR, but PLEASE DO NOT think that they are the whole "SOAR". Let's use one example: do you want us to said something bad or criticize your 'innocent' friends just because of you? Say they are all the same just like you?

6. Everyone have different attitude and behaviour (just like you Blah~), and it is true that personality reflects name. Everyone can change (including myself). Yes, SOAR practices professionalism, but THERE IS NO RULE that stated NEED to change your real personality to a completely different person. SOAR they all have individual personality and behaviuor, but they still can apply PROFESSIONALISM.

I appreciate to all the feedbacks and comments. SOAR will keeps improving.

Last but not least, can you improve yourself without any mistakes and criticism?

Anonymous November 15, 2008 at 6:20 PM  

Diff ppl got their own way of doing things even though they're in the same team.Guess it's normal that some pisses ppl off while some are the exact opposite.The prob wif soars usually isn't with the way the owwek run or about the way they do things. It's usually related to the individuals.Soars are unfriendly, they duno what they're doing or they look fake, usually, it's more aimed at individuals than the team.And wif the soar members being rotated every sem, old ones go and new ones come, it's still a team wif different individual personalities. Changing the oweek schedule or "training" method wouldn't make much diff because that isn't the main factor...

Anonymous November 15, 2008 at 9:39 PM  

someone aimed at me, guess it's only appropriate that i do the same.

1. just because someone volunteered to do something, so respect comes with it?There's a lot of ppl hating u, in order to help those who hate u, i volunteered to beat u up. Should i get respected? Respect is earned, not demanded.Demanded respects are forced to begin with. If what u did impresses ppl, u dun even have to demand respect.Some of them earn respects by just being themselves and doing their job.As for you, i doubt u get that kind of treatment huh.

2.It sounded stupid, u keep saying they're humans huh, everyone does something for their own sake of doing it.The payback you mentioned probably not the usual payback that people see, but people do things for their own purposes. As for doing it for helping students, let's see, how many of them actually does things JUST for that purpose? 1%? 5%?.U said so yourself, they're humans after all.I'm sure even u joined for a certain purpose too isn't it?(even though you probably won't admit it)

3.No one expected soars to be perfect to begin with, problems are expected even before the week starts. And yet, the image is still important to them as their lives are and they live with their image(at least for the week)The moment they stepped in front, they're already branded celebrities, not to the scale of public celebs, but still in a way.Even though they do not earn monetary profit, profit still comes with the title and the image.If you're saying u got none, you're lying to yourself.Deny as you may, only yourself know the truth.

4.Can a group of new people run the week by themselves?A group of noobs probably can't.You're assuming i'm calling the team to be replaced by total noobs.Do you even use that squishy thing situated nicely on the top of your body?

5.i dun remember saying just because 1 person is bad, it means everyone else is.I just say that just because of one is bad, it makes people suspect that others are as well.Reading your fifth point only confirms that you're writing those things without using your head nor do you read properly what others wrote."do you want us to said something bad or criticize your 'innocent' friends just because of you? Say they are all the same just like you?" Will u voluntarily go near a group of ppl where 1 of them is like u?Logically thinking, there's a chance that not all of them is like that, but seriously thinking, you probably prefer not to take the risk and join another group.

You talk as if you're willing to take criticism , but your strong defensive way of talking speaks otherwise, and it made me going offensive to counter what you're saying.Lose the CAPS, it's lame...

RayZzZz November 19, 2008 at 1:02 PM  

Hmm... arguing on this won't bring us anywhere.. Seriously.. The more comments on this, the more issues it is. So might as well let's just end here or talk about something else shall we? Well some of the people here might be aggressive and including me. But just keep it as a lesson then. Good or bad feedbacks, it's fine. Just try to improve. Oh by the way blahh, i think one of the reason why people are aiming at you because you are a big aggressive and getting rude as you most more comments. Anyways, no hard feelings. Your comment is all good, some might not be very acceptable but mostly it's the truth.

For everyone here, giving feedbacks are good and truly appreciate it and i'm sure Bert will said the same as well but do mind your words and sentences because this is not just a random discussion but this is SOAR Advisory that we are discussing. Let's keep everything professional and no hard feelings to either one here alright? Please kindly do not use aggressive words to attack certain someone in order not to create anymore misunderstanding. If i said something wrong here then i'm sorry as for the rest of it do mind your words. Thanks~

Buddy Blogs

101 Things to Do Before I Die

02. Make video logs.
03. Skydive. On my Own.
04. Throw a dart onto a world map, and travel to wherever it lands (if possible)
05. Learn a new skill from a friend.
06. Own a 4 acre piece of land.
07. Experience Jetlag.
08. Camp on my own land.
09. Learn not to say yes when you really mean no.
10. Write a novel about myself... or an autobiography.
11. Do something completely crazy and out of character.
12. Sit on the scariest roller coaster ride in the world.
13. Find a job I love.
14. Photograph an eclipse, both solar and lunar.
15. Learn to ride a horse.
16. Own a horse.
17. Go skinny dipping.
18. Throw a mega party!
19. Bury a treasure/time capsule.
20. Visit Antartica, or better yet, get a Job on Antartica, if possible.
21. Build something that will outlast myself.
22. Drive on the Autobahn.
23. Keep a daily diary for one whole year (in detail)
24. Dance in the pouring Rain.
25. Have my own photo studio.
26. Keep a pet (most likely a dog) watch it grow up, grow old, and pass on.
27. Make someone weak in the knees just by looking~
28. Climb one of the world's Seven Summits.
29. Bungee Jump.
30. Fall deeply in love - helplessly and unconditionally.
31. Own a BMW.
32. Win a lottery.
33. Walk the Great Wall of China.
34. Design my own house.
35. Learn Diving.
36. Hike up a Glacier.
37. See the Northen Lights.
36. Fold 1,000 origami paper cranes and give them to someone special.
37. Witness the Sunrise with a loved one.
38. Act and dress up like a tourist, and visit all the places in Sabah like I've never been there before.
39. Draw my own self-portrait.
40. Get a complete makeover, and probably might as well add a photoshoot.
41. Sleep under a starry sky.
42. Live through the 4 seasons of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
43. Learn Stunt/Professional Driving.
44. Watch a Meteor shower.
45. Walk into a restaurant and order the whole menu
46. Say "I quit." To a job I hate.
47. Seduce a straight guy.
48. Photograph the Milky Way.
49. Be at Sea for a Week.
50. Master Poker and Win BIG in a Casino.
51. Tell someone "I Love You", and mean it.
52. Test Drive a FERRARI!.
53. Ride a Hot Air Balloon.
54. Dive and see the Great Barrier Reef.
55. Make someone burst in tears of happiness.
56. Go nude for a week.
57. Learn to say "I'm sorry, it's my fault." Even when you're right.
58. Publish an article.
59. Learn to make a Fine Dish. Perfect it. Master it.
60. Learn Skiing, and go Heli-Skiing after that.
61. Visit one of the 7 Wonders of the World.
62. Perform a striptease.
63. Take a midnight stroll along a beach.
64. Sit on the World's Fastest Rollercoaster!!
65. Find my fetish.
66. Get myself so drunk I don't remember anything.
67. Have plastic surgery.
68. Drive a car faster than 160km/h
69. Be in a warzone.
70. Give someone a fake name, just for kicks =)
71. Shoot a scoped rifle at a target 200 meters away. And HIT.
72. Learn a Self-Defense art. Thoroughly.
73. Take part in a motorsport.
74. Have a collection of soft toys.
75. Spend summer solstice above the Arctic Circle, and experience 24 hours of daylight.
76. Touch a Tiger.
77. Write a letter to my closest friends to tell them how much they mean to me.
78. Make a short film.
79. Listen to a Live Orchestra in a world-class theatre.
80. Go BASE jumping.
81. Make a pop up/out card and give it to somebody special.
82. Get a piercing.
83. Get a Tattoo.
84. Perfect my Japanese. And go to Japan to use it.
85. Build a 1km in diameter man-made island.
86. Spend 1 year getting my body in optimum shape, and keep it that way.
87. Look close into the eyes of someone I've just met, see myself, and smile.
88. Make love on the beach.
89. One day donate 10% of my wealth to charity.
90. Take an amazing portrait for someone.
91. Build myself a beach house.
92. Have something named after myself.
93. Watch the Launch of a Space Shuttle.
94. Visit a live volcano.
95. Join a Caravan in the Sahara Desert.
96. Go Rock-climbing.
97. Build a Giant Sandcastle.
98. Save a Life.
99. Disappear from Society for 6 months in attempt to complete as many goals on this list as possible.
100. Change the World.
101. Be happy with who I am.

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