Episode 662: HQ Attachment Day 10/DPPS Day 0

Only spent the first half of the day in the office, but didn't have much to do today. (It was a relatively slow day, education news-wise.) Had to go down to Civil Service College for a half-day programme, which was basically the introduction to DPPS. It turned out to be not as boring as I'd thought it would be. The director who spoke to us first was so young! I worked it out, and he has to be only in his early 30s. I found his sharing refreshingly candid and frank though. I've also got a lot of respect for PS Lim now. It really gives me hope that when I join the civil service, it's possible to carry out your duties without compromising on your own personal beliefs. It's not about becoming a mouthpiece for propaganda. I was never quite that cynical, I think, but sometimes sessions like these just help to remind me of that. Something the director said really struck me, about how being in the public service calls for the paradoxical ability to hold idealism and realism in tension with each other. I thought to myself, isn't that kind of one of the most crucial aspects of studying literature? (Yeah, I'm just trying to make my teaching subject appear more important.) Okay, public service announcement over.