Last Day of 2006

This is the last day of 2006. Have you done your reflections on what you have done well and not for this year? Are you satisfied with what you have achieved? Do you have any regrets?

Tomorrow will be a new year. Are you prepared for the coming 2007? Have you gotten your resolutions ready?

If not, get your pen and paper ready to jot down your resolutions, in preparation of the new year.

Oops, I better run off to get mine done as well.

Happy New Year!

Fitted Bedsheets

Kudos to fitted bedsheets!

I cannot imagine how life was before the advent of fitted bedsheet. Changing bedsheets must have a pretty fustrating experience with the degree of fustration increasing with the size of your mattress.

I was changing my bedsheets 2 days ago. Prior to this, I have not changed bedsheets singlehandedly and unaided. My mattress is only size single but rather thick. I was having such a hard time laying the bedsheets over the protector and the mattress. By, the time, I have gotten one side straighten, the other side would have loosened. It was certainly a physically exhausting experience.

Hence, before there was fitted bedsheets, the older generation must have undergone a tougher time changing bedsheets. Sigh!

Hypermart

Recently, there are many hypermarts sprouting out in many parts of Singapore, from VivoCity at Harbourfront, Ikea and Courts at Tampines to the latest member – NTUC Hypermart at Ang Mo Kio.

I joined the crowd today at the new NTUC. It is indeed huge with everything under the same roof, from the normal groceries which we have seen in other outlets, cooked food (peppered roasted chicken and sushi) to electrical appliances (including LCD TV, washing machines, irons) and apparels (men’s short sleeve shirts).

I was naturally attracted to the food section. The variety offered is simply amazing. Mushrooms offered range from the smallest Endoki to the largest Portobello. Crabs offered include the normally-seen flower crabs and Sri Lanka crabs to the seasonal hairy crabs. There is even a live seafood (live prawns and fish) section. (Some of my friends are going to "tsk tsk" me for being such an auntie when they see this.)

Despite its size, it was still packed with people. Many seemed to have traveled far from other parts of Singapore to participate in opening of one of Singapore’s most familiar names.

I am pretty excited about this latest mall as it is a stone throw from my home which means I can do most of the shopping here in future instead of going to town. Hurray!

In the Mood … for Shopping

Since the middle of the month (with the start of Mango sale), I have been on a shopping spree.

This is partly due to the festive mood and the many tempting sales. Generally, everyone was in the mood for buying with the impending Christmas season. The merry-go-round sales and discounts offered by the boutiques and departmental stores were determined to attract the dollars from our wallets.

I admit I am a rather cautious person when it comes to making purchases, ie I hardly go on impulse buying. Sometimes, I even go to the extent of making several comparisons or making repeated trips to ascertain that I really like the item and that it is the best value for money. I hardly go for the best with tight budget constraints. To some of my friends, this is a rather silly move as I spend more time and effort which more than offset the money saved. Notwithstanding, this actually accentuates the fun of shopping with greater satisfaction for getting the best with the least dollars.

The last time I have gone on such a massive shopping spree was 4 months ago. If you have known me for a long time, you would have known that this period is often the peak for my shopping. The post Christmas sale is when I will start ‘stocking up’ on a lot of things. It is often during this period I will indulge myself a little, especially so because during this time I can find things I like, especially in terms of the colours (more solid) and style.

This year I again have successful buys from Mango, G2000, Robinsons and Isetan. Their sales followed one another. Sigh! This also meant that my wallet will become thinner after the holidays.

Words That Light Up Your Day

Now is the time when you will receive many SMSes from your friends sending their well-wishes for the year. There may be friends whom you do not keep in touch on a regular basis, yet their wishes still warm your heart.

Similarly, I have received a SMS from a friend whom we have not been able to meet up more frequently because of our hectic work schedules. We are also not those friends who keep in touch regularly via SMS or emails. In fact, we hardly contact each other except when we are arranging any gathering. Hence, it was a pleasant surprise when I received his SMS.

Many friends are concerned about my well-being, especially how I am settling down in my new job. He is no exception. After months of trying to get out of me where I am currently working, he seemed to finally give up. He added that it did not matter anymore as long as I was happy. This suddenly threw me off guard and I was instantly touched by his words, especially when he is the sort who often teases and "suan" me.


To this friend,

Likewise, where you are working is also not as important as knowing that you like what you are doing. No matter how tough it can get, as long as we find meaning in and enjoy what we are doing, it will keep us going. Good luck.

Cozy Christmas Gathering

This is the first time I have spent Christmas eve with 3 of my closest friends - Hui, Jen and Onion (Hui's husband). We have decided to have a combined house visit cum pre-Christmas gathering at Hui's newly renovated house. *Grin.* Moreover, we had the honour of sampling the results of Hui's first culinary experiment, though I must admit I was initially abit worried.

When we reached Hui's house, she was only mid-way through the preparation of lunch. To keep us entertained in the meanwhile, Onion decided to first show us around the house. The house was quite spacious and windy. It was well-kept and cleaned with no visible mess. Kudos to Hui and Onion for being so conscientious in their household chores.

Soon, lunch was ready. Since it was Christmas eve, Hui has took the liberty to prepare an all-Western meal. We had mushroom soup and vegetarian pasta. For someone who is quite picky with her food, I must say that Hui has made a valiant and superb attempt at whipping up something which not only looked presentable but also tasted palatable. Although the mushroom soup was slightly saltish, it was well-cooked with no starchy globs. The French fries might be abit burnt, but they were still crispy. The spaghetti was springy but not hard. The tomato sauce was sweet and sour. Although most of the ingredients were semi-prepared when purchased (eg the sauce from Prego's, the canned mushroom soup), it was definitely still a remarkable effort. *Applause*

After a filling lunch, we have proceeded to dessert. What is Christmas without a log cake to commemorate the occasion. Knowing that I am a person who always try to avoid heaty food at all expense, Hui has decided to get smaller chocolate log cake (since I won't be eating much). Then, we popped the sparkling juice which Jen has brought to toast to good health, wealth, prosperity and, of course, world peace (Each of us was supposed to think of something to toast to and Onion took the easy way out by toasting to world peace).

Then, it was snack's time. Hui brought out "Hello Kitty" biscuits and "Famous Amos" cookies. We munched along while we chit chat about the coming new year, about the latest films and about cooking utensils and household products (eg vacuum pots, moth balls, roach prevention cabinet liner).

With Hui's very successful first attempt, we have decided that we should have such home-cooked meal gatherings more often. Jen has volunteered that she would prepare soups next time round, while I would try to make "Siew Mai". Hui has even asked her mother's friend to impart some baking skills to her and I have invited myself to the cooking lessons.

Maybe we can organise more of such gatherings, where each of us will teach the other 2 the recipes that we know so that we can be better cooks and can have more variety to our cooking. *Wink*

Merry Christmas

(Giant Christmas tree at the lobby of Ngee Ann City, dated 25th Dec 2006)

Merry Christmas to all my friends and may all your dreams come true. :-)

A Heartwarming and Cosy Wedding

It was one of the best wedding I have attended. Best, not in terms of grandeur nor food, but best in terms of the sincerity and cosiness. It was simple and relaxed, yet meaningful and heartwarming. It was the wedding of my uni classmate cum excolleague.

The couple displayed immense support for each other for the wedding. They were planning and coordinating almost everything themselves, except with the help of one of their friends as the main program coordinator. They have to call their own makeup artists and photographers, assigned jobs for their friends, coordinated with the venue captain, contacted the registrar and even prepared their own marriage certs.

There was a short but solemn solemnisation ceremony followed by a lunch reception. There was no elaborate fanfare with the couple rushing around the tables to take photo shoots with everyone. There was no long and draggy "yum sengs" which often drew little enthusiasm from the floor. As it was a lunch, there was also fewer guests who had to leave quickly before it became too late for public transport. Almost everyone stayed on for the dessert. Some had even stayed on for chit chats after the dessert for a leisure catch-up.

The couple has adequate time to mingle with the guests and even acceded to requests from guests to take individual photos with the them. They could stop at some of the tables to give grateful hugs to their close relatives or to surrender to the pranks pulled off by their buddies.

There were several touching moments. For instance, when the groom gave a thank-you speech to both their parents and friends or when the couple had their tea ceremonies and tears flowed down their parents and grandparent's eyes.

Hence, it was simple but meaningful where they could really share the most important moment of their lives with people who mattered to them.

First Time Being Wedding Emcee

It was a solemnisation cum wedding lunch. When my uni classmate cum excolleague first approached me to be the emcee for her wedding, I was honoured yet reluctant.

I was flattered that she has thought so highly of me. I was reluctant because this was not like any other presentation where a fumble only means a lost chance of promotion or a bad scolding from boss. Any fumble robs the new couple of a perfect wedding and life-time regret remains. I was even more apprehensive when she wanted me to do it in Chinese. Speaking in proper Chinese (ie with no rojaks of other dialects or languages) has proven more and more difficult. The last time I have made any serious attempt to pronounce the Chinese words distinctly was 10 years ago during my Chinese oral exams. However, after some persuasion, I relented. Since there was another emcee to help out, the assignment might not be as daunting. At least, I will not be the only one standing there facing the whole floor of expectant faces.

We have initially planned for a pre-event rehearsal but we could not agree on the time to meet. Finally, we decided to meet earlier on the actual day itself. Given my blurness, I have better had more prior preparation. Hence, I spent about 2 hours last Sunday at home reading through the script aloud to get all the pronounciation right, especially the "with H" and "no H" and "with G" and "no G" sounds.

We gathered at 9am yesterday at the venue. The groom called a meeting after all the helpers have arrived. He briefed us the program and everyone's task. Then we were off to the stage for rehearsal with the program coordinator.

It was the first time I have met my counterpart. He was the primary, secondary cum JC classmate of the groom. He and the groom were also from the same university but different faculties. He was literally the joker of the group. It was indeed a wise choice of the groom to select him as the leading emcee.

During the rehearsal, he was busy adding in sidelines, jokes and practically his own script (which involved jokes about the groom, Star Awards, etc). The jokes relaxed the tense and nervous ambience. Unfortunately, we were more occupied laughing and playing a fool than doing real work, including the groom. There was a scene where we were supposed to announce the arrival of the groom and bride. The groom held the hands of the bride and skipped down the aisle. Despite the other emcee's playfulness, he turned to serious practising of the script when the groom and bride retired to the room to change and do their make-up. We were both doing last minute running through the script to minimise tumbling over the words which happened often during our initial rehearsals.

Finally, it was the start of the real show. There were some events which did not happen as expected which caused us to do last minute improvisation of our prepared script. For instance, the registrar went up to the stage before we invited him. Then, we were also abit lost about when the registrar would finish his speech and that we should announce the end of the ceremony. Mid-way through, it also appeared that the position we were standing blocked the views of some guests and we had to keep moving around between our speeches and the photo montage. Notwithstanding these surprises, we have managed to deliver our speeches with no hiccups and the new couple and their family were impressed and happy.

This was the first time I am the emcee of a wedding. This is also the first time I feel that I have really participated in the wedding. This is also the first time I have witnessed the support of friends and between the new couple to make the wedding really successful, not just in terms of showmanship but in terms of meaning.

It is fun and I am glad I can be of help to my friend. I am touched that she has seen me as a friend to have invited me to be part of the most important event of her life.

Extended Wing of Centrepoint

Although the extended wing has opened for some time, I have not been there. For the recent times I have been to Centrepoint, I have zoomed straight to Mango. Reason? Mango is having their end of season sale now.

We were there to get the remaining gift for my boss. We have decided to get photo frame finally.

Anyway, the extended wing has a very newly painted smell. There were boutiques like Gap, Nine West, etc. We happened to stroll to Gap and we were entranced by their kids' collection. Some of the kids' T-shirt have an accompanying adult version, so that both the mum and the daughter can wear the same T-shirt. :-)

The shortcoming is that the extended wing is not linked to the main building ,except at the fourth floor via Robinsons and at the basement. Thus, it is troublesome if one wishes to move to the main part of the shopping mall.

Joy of Sharing

To many of us who are on 5-day work week, today almost felt like Christmas Eve where many are already in holiday mood.

Having received gifts in advance from some of my colleagues, I have made a last minute decision (last night) to get a small gift for everyone in my unit. It was literally preparation at the eleventh hour.

As you are probably aware by now that my gift wrapping skill is perhaps equivalent to that of a kindergarden student, it will be a tall task to finished wrapping 10 presents in one night. This is on the premise that I could get presents for everyone. Being uncreative, realistic and bordering on laziness, I have decided to opt for the easiest way out.

1) To be ‘equitable’, I will get the same thing for everyone.
2) To minimize any need to exercise my rather incompetent wrapping skills, the gift must be preferably presentable by its own.
3) It should be something practical and will appeal to all ages and personalities, given that I may not fully understand the likes and dislikes of my colleagues.

Tah – Dah. I found it!

It comes in packs of 3 and with characters from Winnie-the-Pooh ‘gracing’ its exteriors. There were the playful Pooh bear, blur-blur Eeyore and funny Tiga. They were simply adorable and I fell in love just by looking at them. Alright, we should not judge a book by its cover, though we are always inadvertently drawn to cute objects. I am clueless about its taste, but I guess cookies will not taste too badly.

Once, I reached office, I started giving out these tins of cookies. My colleagues also started to distribute their gifts. Soon, our tables are piled or lined with many gifts wrapped intricately (except for mine). Having them on your table brightened the day and enhanced the festive ambience.

We also had a Christmas lunch today. Despite the food was mediocre and it was relatively quiet as many were already on leave, it was still a fun experience eating ham and log cake, singing birthday song (it was a colleague’s birthday) and having lucky dip (I got a cup and miniscule bottle of honey from Crabtree & Evelyn).

The joy of sharing and gathering was heartwarming indeed.

Sleep Patterns

I came across an interesting report in Today about sleeping patterns. Contrary to popular belief, a person's sleeping pattern is not soley determined by habit and discipline but it could be genetically encoded. Hence, it may be next to impossible to change sleeping patterns. This means that if you are a 'morning' person, it is tough switching to a 'night' person and vice versa. We can only attempt to delay sleep by exposing ourselves to bright lights or exercising before sleeping time.

I must stress that this is NOT an excuse that I have cooked up to justify my sleeping hours but rather it is a scientifically proven fact. Strangely, there seem to be more people being genetically coded as a 'night' person than a 'morning' person...

Clingy Girlfriends

For once, I stand on the side of the guys.

I have witnessed another episode of clingy girlfriend drama. Initially, I thought I was extremely sensitive that day to get the feeling. When I chatting to my friend today, surprisingly she shared the same feeling.

This clingy girlfriend was hugging to her boyfriend for the entire evening. It was as if she was declaring to the whole world "This is my territory. Do not trespass". I do not know if it was her usual way of showing affection or she was deliberately trying to fan off any potential threats. The most amusing of all is I cannot decipher whether she was not confident about herself or her boyfriend, especially when it was meant to be an all friends' gathering.

My friend and I were reminding and cautioning each other that should one of us caught the other in such an act, she must try to warn, scold and stop the other.

This time, I am on the guys' side as I seldom see a guy displaying such possessive behavour. Unfortunately, it is often associated with the girls. Sigh!

Home Gathering

I was invited to a friend's friend's (very distant relationship) home for a pre-Christmas gathering last night. I was abit worried initially as I am not exactly the most outgoing person in the world. You can tell this by my need to go for EQ course to improve my interactive skills. Regardless, a promise is a promise. If there is really no one to talk to, I will just concentrate on the food or TV.

Initially, I thought there would just be about 5 to 6 people. It turned up that there were more people and among them, one of my colleagues. This colleague was the JC classmate of the host of the gathering.

There were 2 new born babies (about 3 months old) joining us in our gathering. They were the centres of our attention for the night, especially the baby girl. The parents were busy catering to her various demands - hunger, change of diaper, sleep, etc. The baby boy was the steady one, playing the perfect host and entertaining all the guests. Not once did he cry the entire night despite seeing so many foreign faces at once. In fact, he was busy smiling and laughing at his 'girl friend' (the baby girl). They were simply adorable. However, I declined when the baby girl's father offered the girl for me to carry. I still have qualms trying to hold them in my arms, as they are so vulnerable and I am so blur. Dropping non-living things on the floor may be embarrassing but not fatal. Dropping living things on the floor will be murder.

I have not been to any home gathering for a long time. The ambience was warm and homely. Although the faces were new, they have made me feel very welcome and at home. It was great meeting them. *Smile*

First Ride

Although Mr Lau has gotten his car for some time, I have not had the honour of getting any ride until yesterday, despite our living about 2 streets away, according to his mum. Being blur and direction sense hopeless, I do not know how far his house is from my house. In the first place, I cannot recall how to get to his house.

Well, I must conclude that he is quite a safe driver. Despite the hot weather and the long jam, I did not get any car sickness. *Smile*

On the day he was getting his new car, Dear and I were messaged and called him several times. We were excited about it. Since both Dear and I live in places along his way home, we were dying to be among the first to sit in a brand new car. Unfortunately, he was probably too preoccupied with getting used to his new car to reply our messages or return our calls. We went home on our own, disappointed.

I heard about his car from Dear on and off (like the car getting 'kissed' twice), but I have not seen it until last Saturday when I was returning Princess Hours to him after hogging it for about 2 weeks. It was a cobalt blue (my own definition as Dear told me Cobalt is not this colour) car. He was sitting inside the car while I passed him Princess Hours through his windows. It was too hot for any small talk. Anyway, we have known each other for so long that I have never bothered with small talks anymore. Even if there is any attempt of small talk, it will most likely end up as 'suaning' and words sparring. It was mere a 5-minute event, so I did not have a good glimpse of the much-talked about car.

Yesterday, as I was walking to the MRT station, he saw me walking by in his car and asked where I was going. When it turned up to the same destination, Mr Lau offered me a free ride. Finally! A chance to have more time to admire his car!

Although his parents were around, he still maintained his usual 'humorous' self. When he made a wrong turn to the car park, he has even commented this was a lesson to be learnt, ie if I ever need to go to the car park, I must remember that that was a wrong turn and avoid making the same mistake. Sigh! Isn't this an extension of his professional self or a manifestation of his job hazard?

In short, his driving skills are good. I have previously sat in cars which I felt nauseous at the end of the car ride. His parking skills are also good. It did not take too long for him to maneuver into the parking space. *Wink*

Christmas Tree

There is a real Christmas Tree which has been placed at the lobby of my office. Every morning or night as I walk past it to go to or to go off from work, there is faint pine fragrance in the air which constantly remind you that Christmas is near.

I have never seen or cannot recall ever seeing a real Christmas Tree, so I never know that a real Christmas Tree can be so enchanting and heart-warming.*Smile*

Tall vs Short

Do you always feel inferior or awkard about your height? Don't be, because tall people are intelligent and short people are smart. *Smile*

The above statement was meant to be an ice-breaker at the EQ seminar. When the trainer paired us up and wanted us to decide among ourselves who was the more intelligent person, we could not decide. Being Asians, it was already not in our culture to fight to be the more intelligent person. Moreover, intelligence could come in different aspects. It was tough to assess and conclude who outshine the other for intelligence. The trainer then told us that the taller one was the intelligent one while the shorter one was the smarter one. Thereafter, he went on to support this observation with real life examples.

It was meant to bring a smile to our face, but the message was clear. Regardless of how tall or short you are, there will always be another person who is taller or shorter than you. Hence, there will always be another person who is more intelligent or smarter than you. It is important to keep an open mind so that you can always learn from the next person who is either more intelligent or smarter than you.

EQ

A few of us decided to sign up for a free seminar on EQ while the bosses sweat it out at the budget moderation with CEO.

I have been wanting to attend EQ courses before I switched jobs, but sadly, I have not been able to attend any so far. It was supposed to be experiential learning, so there were many activities lined up since the start of the course. There were also many anecdotal illustrations which were hilarious. We did not have any time to stone or to doze off.

A Missed Handshake
One of the most important message that was shared was that of a missed handshake. We may not remember what another person has said or done but we definitely remember how the person has made us feel. Alot of unhappiness or grudge can arise from a trivial "missed handshake". A "missed handshake" can include alot of acts which basically create an impression upon us that the person does not like us, for eg, when your boss does not smile at you when they meet you at the corridors.

Hence, if you notice that someone has been giving you the cold shoulders, you may want to talk to the person to determine if at some point in time, you have "missed a handshake". If yes, it is time to do service recovery and bury the old hatchet.

Love Yourself
Some people complained that they are unhappy because they are stuck in jobs or with bosses they do not like. They complained that they need to support the family so they needed to bear with the less than ideal job or working environment.

The trainer told us that this arose because these people did not love themselves enough. If they did, they would not have put up with these nonsenses. if they love themselves enough, they would value their dignity and would choose a job that may result in less monetary rewards. However, they would be happier and would be able to bring greater happiness to their family.

Listen to Your Heartbeat
The trainer has asked us to feel our heartbeat. We had some difficult time trying to find our hearts to get the pulses. It is important to feel our heartbeat as it tells us if we are feeling angry or upset. If we are, we will need to calm down. When we are going through an emotional outburst, we often end up doing things that will cause hurt to another party and which we will regret later on.

Hence, we should learn to understand the emotions which we are going through and to control them. We should also learn how to feel for others so that we will not always act in our own interests.

It was truly an insightful and entertaining half-day seminar.

Christmas Shopping Again

Today, it is more of a personal mission than a group mission. I sort of needed to get some Christmas gifts.

I am visiting 2 friends this weekend, so needed to get them something. For one of them, my friend has specifically warned me against getting vouchers, though I was quite tempted to do so. In the department of getting gifts, I am not exactly those whom you will define as creative or imaginative. I fall into the category known as pragmatists euphemistically.

I already have in mind what I wanted, so I just needed to walk briskly to the place, make a selection and pay for them. Sigh! There were so many selections. In the end, I spent more time deliberating what designs I should be getting. Nonetheless, I still took the whole hour of my lunch break and had to quickly grab a burger on my way back to office.

P.S. I cannot divulge what I have gotten because one of them may be reading this. =p

Gifts from Bangkok

My sister has came back from a short vacation in Bangkok about 2 weeks ago. This was a postponed trip because of the military coup previously. Instead of shopping for herself, she has ended up with more purchases for me.

She has bought for me:
1) 2 tops
2) 1 T-shirt
3) 1 pair of shorts
4) 1 skirt
5) 1 pouch
6) 1 bathrobe (for swimming purposes, so that it will not be so cold walking from the pool to the changing area)
7) 2 pairs of earrings (though we can share this)
8) 1 pair of flip flops
9) 1 pair of shoes (which was a size too big)

In fact, other than the shoes, everything else fits. It was almost as if I have been to Bangkok myself. Feeling abit ashamed, I have decided to reimburse her for all the purchases.

Dust

I spent the last hour dusting and cleaning my room. My vacation leave towards the end of the year is not likely to be approved because of budget. Sadly, I will not get my routine break at the end of the year to do spring cleaning. Hence, I have better do abit of cleaning as and when I have the time on weekends.

Today, I have started with wiping of the cabinets, wardrobe, table top and window ledge. I have only cleaned the exterior. I guess cleaning the interior now is not especially productive when I have not cleared away the unwanted and old stuffs. I have cleaned the same places just about 4 months ago on my short break in between jobs. It was unbelievable how much dust has accumulated only in the short span of 4 months, especially at the corner areas. The water which I have used to wash the wiping cloth was murky and grey. Now, the room felt cleaner.

I still feel that cleaning is a very therapeutic process. Instead of going to spa to relax, maybe you can try cleaning. You can relax and at the same time you get some cleaning done. It is killing two birds with one stone.

Hui

She has seen me cry and vice versa.
She will be totally frank with me about my shortcomings and chide me when she thinks I am in the wrong.
She will stand by me when she knows I am in trouble, including dishing me advice on how to fight office politics and providing references to each other in job applications. *Wink*

Although we have been in the same school for 6 years, Hui and I have never been in the same class. We knew each other because we were friends of friends. We started to hang around each other more during JC days. We were the early birds and our classrooms were beside each other, so we have spent many mornings chit chatting to each other. That was when friendship between us strengthened.

Hui called me when she was undecided about which faculty she should enroll herself in. She called me again when she was undecided on whether she should switch firms. I could not give her the answers. I could only help her rationalize the answers which she should already have. Similarly, I have consulted her when I was undecided on whether I wanted to change job. Both she and Onion (her husband) visited me and spent half a day helping me decide.

Once, to spring a surprise on me on my birthday, she and Jen have even visited me late at night just to send her birthday wishes to me.

Many friends have gradually reduced their time spent with the clique when they became attached. On the contrary, Hui invited Onion to join us in our outings, so that Onion could know all her friends and vice versa. Simultaneously, she could spend time both with Onion and us – killing two birds with one stone. We did not lose a friend when she became attached, but we gained another friend (Onion) in the process.

In fact, Onion is the only husband/boyfriend among my friends which has become another old friend, instead of just the partner of a friend. Sad to say, for some of my oldest friends, I have only met their husbands/ boyfriends only on a couple of occasions. Other than some demographic (eg age, profession, name, etc) facts, I know next to nothing about them.

Whereas for Onion. I can be perfectly open in front of him, just like I have been with Hui. He has joined Hui in hearing about my complaints and my lackluster singing. He has joined Hui previously in rallying for me when I have finally decided to change job. He tried to stifle giggles when I went out of tune at Kbox.

Hui has stood by me for so many years and I hope I can reciprocate this support in the future years.

Thank you, Hui.

Afternoon Swim

I like swimming in the afternoon. Firstly, it is not as cold with the sun. Secondly, the pool is prettier when you are underwater with the sunlight filtering through.

I just came back from a swim. There were very few people in the pool, possibly because people were in town doing Christmas shopping or away overseas on vacation.

It was a very relaxing swimming. The quiet of being underwater provided similar effect to that of meditation, though I have never successfully meditated before. When I was tired, I stopped and rest at the pool side. As I closed my eyes and rest on the ledge, the warm breeze and the sun temporarily took away the hustle and bustle. It was as if I was on a beach relaxing.

There is one caveat to this though. I ended up looking more tanned because of the afternoon sun. Even an excolleague who has not seen me for about 3 months commented this when she met me a few weeks ago. Sigh!

Reconciliation Woes

Is this going to be a complaint session? Guess what? You are absolutely right!!!

One of the job hazards of being an accountant is at some point in time, regardless of which aspect of finance or accounting work you are doing, you will need to engage in some kind of reconciliation activity. It can involve tying numbers from one source to another, tying numbers among schedules, or tying numbers between years. It can come in ALL forms and formats and from ALL sources for ALL periods.

Since I started my first job about 4.5 years back, I have always been involved in different forms of reconciliation. From reconciling manual records to system records, system records to system records, sub ledgers to main ledgers, payments to statements of accounts, etc. To me, “reconciliation” is often associated with lots of headaches, nightmares and dread.

A change of working environment and a change of work scope did not relieve me of this drudgery. Now, I have to do reconciliation among similar sources, ie between manual records, between manual record and system and between systems. In addition, I have to reconcile numbers before elimination, elimination and post elimination. For someone who has not had consol experience, I practically was clueless on where I should start (Consol is a accounting term used for aggregating the accounts of related companies).

My latest challenge? To reconcile last year balances to this year’s and to quantify the financial impact of the changes in various parameters. This took me 2 weeks to do. I even had to come out with a simple example to determine how the numbers change with each parameter, so that I know what to subtract and what to multiply.

I hate reconciliation! Urrghh!!!

Stiff Neck

I have been having a stiff neck and tight shoulders for quite some time. I wonder whether it is due to my sitting or sleeping posture.

To seek some relief, I have been getting my mum to rub “Yoko Yoko” on my neck and shoulders for the past few days. It is really amazing. The ointment worked so well that I slept very soundly for the entire night and I refused to wake up in the morning.

For a long while, I always have stiff neck and tight shoulders. I have changed pillows, tried to stretch around after staring at the PC for some times and even tried changing my sleeping posture. Some of these helped for a short while. Some practically have no effect at all.

Suddenly, I thought of my FYP mate who was really good at shoulder and neck message. She has only helped me message twice – once during JC days and once during Uni days. Her massage was really comfortable. Too bad, I have no kept in touch with her after Uni days.

For all we know, she may have opened her own massage palor, given her entrepreneurial spirit. *Wink*

Budget Grief

This is the first time I have encountered such a candid response to budget queries. Maybe they were dying to get rid of me after my incessant pestering and harrassment or maybe they were cornered and had to come clean.

For the past 2 weeks, we were busy reviewing the numbers and calling our line managers to check their assumptions. They grumbled and complained about our 'interrogation' while we grumbled and complained about their nebulous responses which seemed to say alot but mean nothing. Finally, the revenue budget is coming to its tail end. We are in the last leg of the race to do a sanity check of the numbers.

When I was doing a projection of some of the revenues from past trends, I noted some deviation between the submission and my projection. When I pressed the line to share their assumptions and to explain for the variance, the line managers blatantly told me that they were being conservative.

Hang on!

Thank you for being so forthcoming with me, but a budget is supposed to be realistic not conservative!

A budget is supposed to be providing an outlook of the next year's performance so that the company can better allocate its resources. A conservative budget can lead to wrong decisions. It is not meant to be cushioned so that one can always outperform expectations.

Sigh! I must really drill down more...

One Musketeer Away

Ah Peng just flew off to Taiwan for her holidays about 4 hours ago. She will be out of action for a few days. We are one musketeer less for this week. Ms Chan will also be flying off for her holidays end December. I am the only one stuck here. *Sob, sob*

Ah Peng, enjoy yourself. See you next week.

Christmas Shopping

I admit we were slightly atrocious today, but it was all done for a good cause. The 6 of us took a 2.5 hour lunch break today and wondered all the way to Takashimaya.

We were on a mission.

We were getting Christmas presents for our bosses and the Junior Officers (JOs) in our Department. In total, we needed to get 9 presents with a budget of $10 per person.

The Event Hall of Takashimaya was bustling with the pre-Christmas crowd. There was so much selection and many were simply so adorable that we were more occupied looking at things we liked rather than what we should be getting as presents.

We finally decided we would get some rather glamorous looking handphone pouches for some of the Junior Officers, it was yet again a difficult round of deliberation - what colours to get, what sizes, what handphones they were currently using. Some JOs were more practical, so handphone pouches might not be a good choice for them. It was tough decision on whether we should get them towels or mugs. Apparently, Aussino towels come in a set of hand, facial and bath towels for slightly above $10. In the end, we decided on cups for the rest of the JOs. For one of our bosses, we have decided to get hand cream from Crabtree and Evelyn.

This was actually the promotion period for Takashimaya, so we saved about 10% when we used Takashimaya card.

Sigh! For the other boss, we have yet to decide on what to buy because he seemed to have everything. Maybe we could brainstorm while we wrap the presents during lunch on Friday. ;-p

Slow Culinary Skills

I am well-known in my family for being slow and blur. Maybe this is a chicken and egg issue. I am slow because I am blur. As I am slow, I appear more blur. It is pure vicious cycle.

I treated my mum and sister to dinner yesterday to cheer them up. After the dinner, I asked my mum whether she has found the dinner satisfactory. She replied positively and added that food would taste especially delicious when someone prepared for you. Sensing the BIG hint, I willfully replied that if she liked, I could cook for her.

Suddenly, my "beloved" sister interrupted that if I were to cook, they could probably have the first dish at 9 pm and maybe the second dish at 10 pm. I am not blind to the sarcasm that she was driving at. I retorted that if she wanted the first dish at 9 pm, I probably would need to start preparation from 12 pm.

She was not exaggerating and neither was I being humble. I am really that slow, forgetful and blur - an extremely potent combination in the adverse manner when in the kitchen. My mum has become so exasperated and has literally given up on me the few times she has tried to teach me how to cook. She ended up watching out for me instead of taking a break.

My best friend - Dear, has informed me today that one of our friends has fallen ill and alone at home. He was too weak to go and pack, so he has to cook instant noodles for dinner. He happens to live in my vicinity, so Dear was hoping I could help him a little. It was definitely beyond my expectation that when I jokingly asked Dear if I should cook for him, she has actually felt that it was a good idea. My first response was no way was I able to achieve that. In fact, I said the same to the unfortunate friend as well.

Apologies to him for sounding so callous, but think he will end up in a more dire state waiting for me to finish cooking. He probably would not get his dinner even by tomorrow morning and this was provided the "dinner" was edible and poisonless in the first place.

I am really quite hopeless and slow when it comes to cooking. I guess the best I could do is to pack for him. The caveat is I have better not lost my way in reaching his house, given my blurness and poor direction sense. "Sheepish Grin"

Christmas is Around the Corner

Christmas will be here in around 20 days.

Have you bought your presents? If not, you may need to start thinking and acting real soon to beat the crowd (thought my friend felt that it's more like joining the crowd instead).

Have you already made plans on how you are going to spend Christmas eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day? If not, you may want to start planning for the slightly extended weekend.

Have you seen the Christmas lighting along Orchard Road (stretching to Cityhall)? If not, you may want to pop down for a stroll this weekend (personally, I prefer a stroll for admiring the lightings than by driving through).

Christmas is just around the corner. :-)

Peace

In war, no one is a winner, regardless of whether you have managed to protect or extend your interests.

This was a strong message brought across in "A Battle of Wits". In summary, "A Battle of Wits" is about wars between a big and a small country. Ge Li helped the small country put up a strong defence. However, his success and the trust and respect which he has garnered from the people attracted unwarranted jealousy from the King of the country. His opponent decided to put up a last fight which has resulted in more deaths among the people. The opponent opined that whoever lived to see the next day is the winner. Yet, Ge Li felt that many innocent lives were taken when they became the pawns of the generals. In war, no one is a winner. If peace has ensued, no one needs to die.

Sometimes I felt that people in the current era and generation seem to have a better life. To some extent, we seem to take peace for granted at times. The biggest takeaway from the movie is that there is a high price to pay when we go into wars.

P.S. Fortunately, this time round the dialogues are in simpler Chinese which I still can understand. This time, I watched it at GV North Point. Frankly speaking, I have not been to North Point since it first opened many years ago. *Wink*

National Library Tours

Last week, I went to Central National Library. This week, I went to the new Bishan National Library.

It was not the first time I went to Central National Library. The last time I was there was a few weeks after its official opening. Thereafter, I have never been there again. It was by chance we have decided to visit it. Our original destination was Raffles City but the long traffic jam caused us to change our minds and we made a turn to National Library instead.

Today, it was yet another "accident" that we landed up in Bishan National Library. We have wanted to go to Causeway Point but a wrong turn made us change our minds. We have decided to go Junction 8 instead. While there, I decided to pay the National Library a visit. Afterall, it was brand new and I have never been there. It was a 4-storey building which was bright and spacious, with many drop-floor glass panels and ample sitting areas.

Maybe tomorrow I should drop by my nearest branch to see if there is any interesting read. =p

Bilingual?

Singaporeans are becoming more and more bilingual. In the past, distinction between the mother tongue and our first language - English was clear. This was evident from the media which we were exposed to. On Channel 8, you would hardly see anything in English, except for the subtitles. In the Chinese newspapers, you would not see any English article.

Nowadays, the distinction has blurred. Sometimes, we will see Chinese show trailers (in Chinese) on Channel 5 or English show trailers (in English) on Channel 8. We will also see English articles in Chinese newspapers or Chinese articles peppered with English words. Some columnists can write well both in English and Chinese.

Singaporeans sometimes have been criticised for speaking improperly, especially when we tend to mix a language into another in our conversations. This was sometimes perceived as inappropriate especially in more formal settings or in front of foreign delegates. There seemed to be a shift towards mastering one language rather than attempting to be bilingual which was encouraged when I was still in school.

Personally, I still feel that I have benefited from having English and Chinese as my first languages in secondary school. In daily conversations at more casual settings, sometimes a certain situation or feeling can be more aptly expressed in one language than another. For instance, when we want to encourage someone, we often use "Jia1 You2" in Chinese. If we were to express this in English, despite wracking through my brains for a long time, I cannot find a synonymous phrase. The closest I can think of is "Keep it up!' but somehow it lacks the punch as the Chinese version.

Or maybe my failure to come out with an appropriate term in English is a sign of my poor grasp of either language?

Horoscope

“A chance encounter will bring you wealth. Take advice from your family before going into business ventures”
“Tensions between you and your loved ones are likely. Keep calm and refrain from acting on impulse.”

Sounds familiar?

Are your days guided by these snippets of advices dished out for your signs daily? Do you fervently search for the latest prophecy when you grab hold of the papers or a glossy magazine? Will your mood be affected by whether it has been a “happy” or “sad” day prediction?

Some of us steal a glance at the latest prediction covertly out of curiosity. Some of us openly read the predictions as if our success or failure of the day depends on the forewarnings. Our interests are often piqued when we come across the horoscope section, be it the Chinese, the Western or the Tarot. Regardless of whether you are a believer of the horoscope, your smile will inevitably be wider when a lucky day is predicted.

I used to be an ardent fan of the horoscope, always wanting to know what the stars have to say about the current day, week, month or year. Be it growing maturity or increasing cynicism, nowadays I take such predictions with a pinch of salt. This does not mean that I discredit the accuracy of the predictions, but that my mood and decisions will not be driven by the predictions, ie adopt a more blasé attitude.

Sometimes, the predictions become self-fulfilling prophecy. For instance, when you read that you will have a bad day, it somehow gives the day a gloomy start. The low morale adversely affects your confidence which also leads to higher tendency of errors and misjudgment. This compounded the likelihood that something will go wrong. When things go astray, we then blame it on the bad luck as predicted by the astrologers.

Once you read the horoscope, it is almost impossible not to be affected by the predictions. The solution to ensure one’s mood is not influenced by any prediction is to avoid reading any horoscope. If you still have a dying urge to know what the stars are forecasting, read only at the end of the day, unless you have so short-term memory that you forget the minute you read it. "Wink"

Take a Breather

I have just completed a book which I relate quite closely to and for which I am aspiring towards.

It is about a an upcoming lawyer who was aiming to be made the youngest partner of a law firm. A trivial oversight of missing a filing date wrecked her career. Having an urge to escape from the world which was crashing around her, she took a train to nowhere and ended up in a picturesque village. Unintentionally, she undertook a job of a housekeeper. Although it was a menial job, she was enjoying herself. When she decided to stay on as a housekeeper after she was offered reinstatement to the partner of the law firm, she was portrayed as someone who was burnt-out or who was too distraught to make a rational decision.

For once, she knew when her work for the day would stop. For once, she had her personal time during weekends. For once, she was not an empty shell.

Last weekend, I came across an article about happiness. People are always searching for happiness. Some feel that having a job and earning their bread and butter will keep them happy. To the contrary, they are not. The writer felt that it was as if people were selling their happiness dirt-cheap when they were bound by a job in which they were not happy. The selling price of happiness hovered around $3K or $4K per month - the average salary of some people.

We are often so caught up in our work. We spend, on average, 12 to 14 hours per day, hurdle in our cubicle and in front of our PC. We hardly see the setting sun. Some of us even bring work home. Weekends may also be wasted clearing backlogs. Holiday plans are shifted and shifted to accomodate more and more pressing deadlines. We forego time with our family. We do not have a past-time. We dislike our situation.

How many of us can or have tried to put a stop to this?
How many of us are brave enough to abandon everything, including taking a huge pay-cut, to change things for the better?

We long to be wilful yet we are constantly bound by responsibilities. We thought that by advancing to a more senior position, we can get out of our current situation. However, the price for the more senior position can be longer hours and more personal sacrifices.

I hope that when the time calls for it, I will be brave to make a wise decision, just like the ex-lawyer in the book...

A Beautiful Mind

Nash Equilibrium. A familiar but distant term. We have studied this during one of my Economics class, yet the theory and concept behind this term has totally eluded me. Pity, pity.

John Nash. The man behind the idea. He has fought against schizophrenia while seeking the understanding of the different phenomenon and further advancement of knowledge.

"A Beautiful Mind". The poignant biography of John Nash. It traced the battle of the mind, the set-backs which accompany the illness and the support from family of John Nash. When Nash finally acknowledged that what he thought was real was mere figment of the mind, he had decided to overcome his schizophrenia with his own determination. When he knew he would not be able to completely shake off the hallucinations, he chose to live with it, yet clearly demarcating them from his real life.

Despite the film receiving rave reviews and winning many accolades in major film festivals, I have not seen "A Beautiful Mind" until last night. It was broadcast as one of the commercial-free movie. The film was truly inspirational and touching. It has been ages since I have been this moved by a film. The last was a film starring Robin Williams and was about a young boy whose body was aging extremely rapidly. Despite the physical constraints and the ostracism from his peers, he persevered and finished college (I cannot quite recall the title of the film). Both characters have never given up their dreams despite the set-backs and the constraints. They were brave and determined to pursue and fulfill their dreams.

Kudos to Mediacorp for introducing commercial-free movie which certainly enhances the movie-watching experience. It is no longer disruptive. Both the momentum and climax are also not broken by the 5-minute advertisement interval.

Christmas Decorations

The Christmas lightings this year was touted to be the longest ever. After dinner on Friday with my friends, we have decided to take a little stroll along Orchard Road to see the lightings a little.

Before we even ventured out, the lobby of Wisma Atria has already offered some adorable Christmas decorations. There was a little hut erected and framed by 2 medium-sized Christmas trees and a decorative arc. Inside the hut, there was also a small Christmas tree. Milk angels were stacked and placed beside the hut.


Outside Paragon, there was also a huge Christmas tree with dazzling lights which would warm your heart even when you were across the road.

In Singapore, we may not be able to enjoy a white Christmas, but we will definitely experience a colourful and bright Christmas. :-)

Newton Circus

Newton Circus Hawker Centre has been upgraded for some time and I have not been there since it underwent renovation. We popped by yesterday again on the spur of the moment. Frankly speaking, we have started to run out of ideas on where to eat.

We were quite disappointed as stalls after stalls were selling barbecued seafood. This was pretty unrepresentative of local fare. In the end, I have decided to try on sliced fish bee hoon which again turned up to be a disappointed for a well-known hawker centre.

Although the food was less than "exciting", we did chance upon a rather pretty actress "da paoing" her food at the hawker centre. ;-p

Morbidity

We have always known that life is unpredictable, including when it will end. Thus, there is always the saying of “Live life to the fullest” or “Live without regrets”. As life expectancy gradually increases with increasing affluence, medical advancement and emphasis on healthy lifestyle, we have again take tomorrow as granted, especially when one is in his 20s, 30s, or 40s.

There seems to be a recent spate of sudden unexpected deaths of seemingly healthy people. The reasons for their passing away are often not completely explained. The many unanswered questions to their loved ones’ passing away made it more difficult for the surviving family and friends to bring a closure to their loss and grievances.

Although we know death awaits everyone at the end of our journey, we do not know when and how we will leave this world. Many wish that they can leave with dignity, wishes fulfilled and perhaps without being plagued by prolonged sickness. Many hope that their passing away can be as painless as possible for both themselves and their loved ones. Yet, just as we cannot choose our births, we also cannot choose our deaths.

Since we do not know when it will all end for us, we should treat each day, hour, minute or even second as a gift. We should fully utilise this gift to minimize any regret. Unfortunately, when we are so preoccupied in the rat race, dreams are shelved, loved ones are neglected and happiness forgotten. We assume that there is always a tomorrow.

What if there is no next second, minute, hour or day?

50 Most Romantic Things to Do

I have recently received a forwarded mail from my friend – 50 most romantic things to do. Among the items which I can recall from the list include:

- Give her a ring
- Giver her flowers
- Take a walk along the beach
- Call her in the middle of your vacation to tell her you miss her
- Hold her hands

These may be considered typical romantic things which many can think of.

However, in our daily lives, there are some mundane and trivial things which your special someone has done for you ta should be equally, if not more, lauded for their romanticism. They are not big gestures which literally scream “ROMANTIC”, yet they warm people’s hearts and should be appreciated.

Below is my rather informal compilation, gathered mainly from the experiences and anecdotes of friends, friends’ friends, colleagues and excolleagues to share with you.

1) Send her home after a date even if you live in the east and she lives in the west.

2) Buy her a second ring if she has unintentionally misplaced the first one.

3) Try to find as much time to see her as you can, even if this involved sneaking out during lunch hour while you are having a course near her workplace.

4) Remember to call her when you are overseas, regardless of whether you are overseas for work or vacation to tell her that you are safe. Of course, call only during rest time, and not in the middle of a meeting or when you are driving (Safety and concentration during work are still more important).

5) Accompany her when she meets her girl friends even if it is a girls’ talk gathering or even when they are having a meal which involves food you do not like / have to abstain from.

6) Show support when she is going through her doldrums, be it work related (her boss is bullying her) or people related (she fell out with her best friend).

7) Be willing to share embarrassing moments with her, even if this includes lame jokes which has failed to bring a smile to the audience’s faces the last time you told them.

8) Watch out for her when both of you are crossing road.

9) Send her a SMS to ask her how her day is at the end of each day to show your concern.

10) Be sincere in praising her when she has done well or when she has made special efforts to dress up well when meeting you.

11) Eat the food that her mum has prepared for you, even if it is hum ji beng (fried flour dough with red bean paste) and when you just had a full lunch.

12) Switch to the music / radio station she likes when both of you are in the car.

Except for item (1) and (2), please remember to reciprocate the care and concern of your boyfriend / husband by doing likewise.

If you find the list above idealistic or daunting, they are not made-believe acts but are indeed real-life experiences of some of my friends. As the list is adapted from all my friends and if you happen to find some of the items vaguely familiar, perhaps it was your story which I have related above.

Do not envy them. Perhaps you should start looking around and you will realize that your boyfriend / girlfriend has already done many romantic things for you. Soon, you will have your own 50, 100, or even 1,000 most romantic things he / she has done for you. :-)

Interesting Watch on CNA

I like the weekend Channel News Asia (CNA) where there are some interesting programs to watch out for. Two such interesting programs include “What’s That About” and “Japan Hour”.

1) “What’s That About”

There is often a topic to be discussed each week. This week centred around sleep. Interesting, relatively unknown yet important facts surrounding elements and tools for sleeping were revealed. Here are some of the highlights:

· A spring bed is better to jump around in than a water bed.
· The average loudness of a snore is 93 decibels which is slightly higher that of a chain saw (90 decibels) and only slightly lower than that of a jackhammer (100 decibels).
· Cows can produce more milk when they sleep on rubber mats than straw.
· Milk contains a chemical which aids sleep which can also be found in turkey.
· The best comforter is made with goose feather. Before goose feather can be used, their static electricity has to be removed, then they are filtered, washed and desanitised.
· Dust mites will grow in all mattresses and pillows. We cannot prevent them but only minimise them. One good way to kill them is to place them in a dryer as both heat and dryness are lethal.

To find out more, tune in to CNA next week.

2) Japan Hour

My colleagues all love it. The food and sceneries will entice you to visit Japan.

Japan Hour has evolved since many years ago. During my secondary school days, it was a 0.5 hour show with 0.5 hour of entertainment news and music pop chart and 1 hour of variety show on food where celebrities were invited to participate in a food game show.

Now it is an hour show which featured visits to some of the more obscure ryokans (inns) in Japan for the food, the suburb peace and sceneries and hot springs. Sometimes, it would be city tours which introduced the best restaurants in the city.

Oishi (delicious)!

Atrium Lounge

It was really relaxing to sit down at the lounge, sipping my chamomile tea and listening to melodious singing with soothing accompaniment of the piano and violin. The high ceiling enhanced the acoustics of the live performance. Having feeling slightly lethargic, I nearly dozed off in the comfortable seat with “Over the Rainbow” and “Beauty and the Beast” in the background.

The more spacious and open environment provided a totally different ambience and feel to the lounge at Conrad International which also offers live singing in the evening.

I was referring to the Atrium Lounge at Marina Mandarin.

If you would like to give the place a try, you may want to go there a little earlier as the tables are filled up by around 9 pm.

Singing Session with the Musketeers

We went for our long awaited Klunch yesterday. We have never gone signing together. Ms Chan and Ah Peng were extremely curious about how I sound like when I sing.

Despite my rather desperate attempts to get out of this session, I was still unsuccessful. I have assured, reassured and even warned them of the dire consequences associated with my singing, ie the possibility of glass shattering. Yes, I am THAT bad when it comes to singing. I have even tried to dissuade them when we were all complaining about the likely development of sore throats.

Once we settled down, we immediately brought out our windbreaker, cardigan and shawl. The room was freezing. Then we made ourselves at home by removing our shoes and sitting cross-legged. Of course, Ah Peng jumped straight into Jay Chou’s - her favourite artiste, songs. We have then decided to try out duets together. It was a relatively new duet which was rather unfamiliar to me. In the end, Ms Chan has to direct and orchestrate our singing (who to come in at which part) which we have tried futilely to follow. The effect? Extremely hilarious where we were more serious about our laughing than trying to sing decently. Ms Chan and Ah Peng also introduced me to some touching songs which I have some difficulty trying to make sense of the lyrics. Eventually, they have to explain which are the touching parts to me. Sigh! My Chinese has really deteriorated to a rather obscenely lousy level.

The 3 hours passed by rather quickly. Somehow we felt abit exhausted. I am uncertain if it was due to the hot weather, the emotionally filled singing, our laughter or simply a hectic week. Initially, we have wanted to do some shopping which we gave up after an hour. We decided to “retreat” to a nearby café at Pacific Plaza – Cream Bistro to drink, chit-chat and look at people.

The next outing’s organizer is me again. We have already settled on the date but not the activity. I must start thinking of where we can go and what we can do…

You are Caught on Camera

There is an interesting report today on My Paper (the Chinese free newspaper). By the way, I am still getting My Paper delivered together with my "main" papers, so I am still able to enjoy my daily read of My Paper without having to queue at MRT Station. Oh dear, I have digressed again.

Well, the report was about conflicts caused by aggressive "paparazzi". These "paparazzi" are not the reporters with an astute sense of newsworthiness and with their professionally-looking high-tech cameras. These "paparazzi" are ordinary people like you and me or anyone around us. Their tools range from camera phones to digital cameras. When they encounter unhappy incidents, they will take out their cameras and start shooting the antagonist who may retaliate with their own cameras as well. To some, this can constitute some form of harassment. One may get upset over the incident, but will shrug it off as an unfortunate event. To others, the heated aggression can result in physical assault.

The legal consultant opined that the people whose pictures have been taken without their consent often cannot take any legal action against the photographers.

With the prevalence and the general affordability of digital cameras, be it standalone or as a feature of mobile phones, many own and even bring along their cameras everywhere they go. To be more paranoid, one can walk along a street and has his photo being taken unknowingly. In addition, his photo may even be published in a public medium again without his knowledge. When you caught people staring at you, normally you will immediately wonder if you have dirt on your face. Now you will wonder if there is an unflattering picture of you posted somewhere in the internet.

For those who guard their privacy, this can be seen as a severe intrusion. For those who crave public attention and even stardom, this will be an avenue for gaining publicity. Regardless, to prevent the worst side of you being shown to the rest of the world, this means that one will have to ensure that he is at his best in a public place all the time. Sigh! This really sounds like we are losing more and more freedom.

Smile, you are on camera!

Warm Gesture from My Boss

There was a sharing session today where senior management communicates the performance for the last quarter. It was meant to be a day of interaction, fun, food and even movie.

I have to give it a miss as there were 2 meetings scheduled with other Departments and big boss. They could not be rescheduled due to my big boss's extremely tight schedule. Although my boss had asked me to go for the movie if I liked, I thought it would be irresponsible to leave my boss in the lurch. It would be totally unprofessional and immature. On the selfish side, opting for the movie could perhaps jeopardise my job and land whatever career I have in dire state.

To make up for my missing the movie and the food, my boss actually brought me out for lunch. We went to Fish & Co and had quite a fun chat on holidays (again, this seems to be a common interest among our team).

I have not been to Fish & Co for ages (literally, in multiples of years, not months or weeks). There seems to be changes to the menu since the last time I was there (which vaguely could be when I was in JC). I had the black pepper stingray which was quite good, though I have found the sauce to be slightly salty.

It was really sweet of my boss to do that. After all, going for meetings and doing my job were part of my responsibilities. However, this gesture at least made me feel appreciated for the hard work I have put in and not being taken for granted. This has also motivated me to work harder and really sweat it out for my boss.

Extra Mile

More often than not, it seemed like the less than satisfactory service level was highlighted. Seldom do we hear about Singaporeans encountering excellent services in Singapore. Is this a sign that Singaporeans are more critical or even demanding on service level, or that Singapore still has a long way to go before we can attain world-class service level?

Recently, I have encountered surprisingly pleasant or even professional services. Perhaps when you hear about my experiences, you may think the service level mere mediocre and not worthy of special mention. Just as we are harsh on bad service, we should commend and encourage when there is good service, no matter how insignificant the gesture is.

The first was encountered at Taoz Restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I have mentioned in a previous post that the staffs were warm and friendly. To-date, I could still recall the friendly welcome as we stepped into the restaurant. The staffs were also knowledgeable about the food being served and was able to make suitable recommendation. The highlight was when I could not finish some of the food, one of the staff has inquired if there was something wrong with the taste. At the end of the meal, they have even offered another complimentary dessert which was on the house. After being used to more impersonal services elsewhere, this was indeed a delight.

The second was last week at Original Sins. Since it was Mediterranean vegetarian food which few of us has adequate knowledge on what was nice, we have asked the waiter to recommend. He was humourous in suggesting that everything was nice and he has to be impartial to all and not showed any favouritism for any item. It was rare to find an engaging waiter who could definitely enhance the dining experience. Eventually, he proceeded to recommend some of the food which might be suitable for the big group of 9 of us.

The third experience occurred just a couple of days ago. I was shopping at M)phosis when I spotted a nice dress. I have asked the assistance for the available colour. She informed me the choices and recommended that I try on the black instead of the beige as beige will make me look paler. She is right as I have already discovered quite sometime that pastel colours were indeed not suitable for my skin tone.

This is professionalism. Not only was she not pushy in trying to close a sale, she was able to make a professional recommendation. Many sale assistants were often more occupied in selling something and to the extent of heaping flatteries (which were often far from truth) to the customers. Although I have not bought anything eventually, this has indeed left a very flattering impression of the boutique.

Applause for such commendable services. Keep it up! There will come a day where our service staffs will be professional, helpful, sincere and world class.

Change of Season?

The weather is increasingly chilly and rainy these days. Do put on a jacket if you are in aircon place. Shower with warmer water to prevent catching a chill. Remember to bring an umbrella with you when you go out to avoid being drenched... ...

I sound naggy, am I?

Uh-oh, another sign of age?

Finally, this is also a fantastic weather for hibernating. ;-p

Bravo for her Courage

I have just watched Channel U's 830 pm program which is a series about people professing their loves.

My initial impression towards it was not favourable. I have prematurely jumped to the conclusion that it would be mushy and superficial. Such impression was soon reversed as the few stories I have managed to catch bore sincerity and courage - the sincerity towards their better half and a courage to express their love.

In this week's episode, it is about a girl who has finally braved herself to profess her admiration for a friend. Her courage to pursue her dream and her sincerity to make known her feelings definitely command alot of respect and touched alot of people.

Although things did not work out as she intended, she has made a valiant attempt to ensure that she has not lived her life in regret. I am sure she will surely be able to find another more deserving guy.

Temporary Respite from Mon Blues

No peak hour rush. No spreadsheet to look at. No meeting to rush to. No incessant phone calls. Therefore, no Monday blues. :-)

This is my first vacation leave since I started my new job 3 months ago. This is a day of unrecorded leave as we have superb financial performance for the second quarter. Hurray! (More for the leave than the performance) We have to clear this day of leave before end of the year. Better clear it before my bosses change their minds.

I have nothing specific planned. I have just wanted to spend this day leisurely. Perhaps you may think this is a big waste of leave, but sometimes laying out detailed plan for every single minute of your life can be too exhaustive and even stifling. By allowing a little chaos to run loose or going along with some impromptu arrangement, you may end up with pleasant surprises, isn’t it?

I began the day with a long breakfast. Then I took a long shower. Then it was out shopping with my mum. Shopping on a week day is really a luxury, especially for people who may be a little claustrophobic.

We had lunch at Marina Square which was packed with the office lunch crowd. The food offered at each stall looked tantalizing. It was tough deciding on what to eat, not just because of the variety but also to take into consideration the estimated queuing time required. We sat outside facing the esplanade and Shenton Way. Despite this being the second time I sat there, the view was still equally mesmerizing. When one feels good and relaxed, the food became more appetizing than usual.

Things are getting more expensive. Is this due to the festive season or is this due to the buoyant economy? In the end, we were more of window shopping than doing real shopping.

What a relaxing way to spend a Mon. This is really one of the best way to overcome Mon blues. This break is meant to be a short respite before adrenaline needs to run high and continuously for the challenge that awaits in the next 3 months.

Ready, set, go!

Open Door Policy

Fear not, this is not going to be a lecture about some economic policy about improving competition. This is an after-thought from Princess Hours.

What?!?! Again?!?! Even if you are getting sick of hearing that 2 words, do bear with me again. *Sheepish Grin*

Xin seemed to start loving Caijing. Just as he was about to open his heart for Caijing, Caijing has decided that she was too tired of persisting her love for Xin. At this critical juncture, she wanted to turn away.

This reminded me of "open door policy" which I vaguely recalled I was commenting on sometime ago in a friend's blog. Caijing has been waiting outside the "door" of Xin's heart for some time, but Xin refused to open the door. Now that Xin has finally made up his mind to welcome Caijing, she has already given up waiting and went into another door. Perhaps knowing that Caijing has been outside, Xin should have opened the door earlier.

Moral of the story?
1) One should open the door when there is a knock in order not to miss any opportunity. Do not wait too long because the knocker may just walk away.
2) Waiting outside the door for a long time after knocking can be a very tiring experience. When the door refuses to open, perhaps it is time to knock on another.

This applies for all opportunities that come along, be it career, interest, self-development or even relationship related. Grab it when it comes before it slips away. Move on when it is no longer within your grasp.

Changi Airport

I have not been to Changi Airport since my last trip to Taiwan which was last year May.

Changes were abundant at Changi Airport especially Terminal 2. The renovated Terminal 2 was barely recognisable. The ceiling was lined with waves of lights which brightened up the place instantly. There were numerous eateries sprouting up, such as Sakae Sushi, Crystal Jade, Soup Restaurant, Swenson's, etc.

I have not been to the viewing galleries for a longer period of time. Now, it seemed to be a very popular place among the families. Many children were running freely and happily about while their parents watched the airplanes taking off and landing.

No matter how far we have gone to or how exciting was the vacation, we are always happy when the plane touches down in Singapore. No place is better than home and nothing beats coming back home.

The 3 Musketeers

You have probably seen and heard about the adventures of the 3 'Musketeers' for some time and wonder how the 3 'Musketeers' got to know each other. Well, today is THE day when I will pay a little tribute to the other 2 'Musketeers' - Ms Chan and Ah Peng, in my blog. Our relationship has evolved from colleagues to buddies.

When I first started my first job, I had quite a number of difficult tasks to resolve, some were projects while others operational. The resolution of these tasks require collaboration with the Business Group which provided numerous opportunities to interact with their officers. Ms Chan was one of the girls whom I had to work closely with, especially in terms of reconciliation of numbers and reports. Somehow, our friendship developed from the reports and numbers. As we were both candid and rather direct in nature, we were both very comfortable talking to each other. Soon, we were meeting for lunches and even for barbecue (once).

Although Ah Peng and I got to know each other from work as well, I could not recall exactly how we came close friends. Ah Peng and I shared similar interests and thinking on many issues. Then we also started having lunches, going home together and even went out shopping and dining on Fridays and weekends. She joined our Departmental dinner once while I joined she and her friend for gyms and dinners. (By the way, our first team of accountants were rather sporty and friendly and sometimes we would meet out for dinner, pool or badminton.)

When I felt fustrated over work, they would both encourage and help me think of solutions. Once, I was so upset that we had an emergency "meeting" after work at the nearby McDonald as my "complaint" session. We used to meet one another at 6 pm at the lobby to go home together. Whenever we have a bad day, we would complain to each other on our way home. If not, we will share jokes with each other and laugh all the way home - a good way to unwind after a hectic day. The way home is often the highlight of my day. I was forever looking at the clock for 6 pm.

They would also be among the first to chide me for my blurness, stupidity, pessimism or even naivete. When I shared with them I aspire to be "auntie", they would sigh and ask me NOT to work too hard towards my aspiration. They would also be very forthcoming with their criticism of my bad taste with clothes, shoes, bags and even people. Actually, we were equally forthcoming with each other on each other's taste. Whenever we went shopping together, we would always point out to each other "this is so you" or "don't you have a lot of this already?".

This is what real friends are - open to each other, supportive and yet will dish out true advice to you. Their support and true concern (including being very candid) with me are also what I have treasure and will treasure most.

Second Team Bonding Session

My bosses decided to call for a second team bonding session today before the 'flood' comes in. Budget has just kicked off, so we are unlikely to see the sun for the coming 2 months. Let's call for a celebration before we need to sweat it out.

We adjourned to Holland Village for our lunch. I have not been to Holland Village since the opening of the upgraded hawker cum market. We decided on 'Original Sin' at Chip Bee Gardens which served Mediterranean vegetarian food.

Frankly speaking, despite hearing about Chip Bee Gardens for ages (literally ages, about 4 years, since I first started work), this was the first time I stepped into Chip Bee Gardens. I used to hear it was a relaxing, bohemian with many al fresco outlets. Although there were some interesting shops, I heard that some of the eateries were gone. In fact, one of the shops has been vacated.

My initial reaction when I first heard we were going for vegetarian food was scepticism and apprehension. I have never tried going into a vegetarian restaurant before. Would it be just salads? Would I still feel hungry after the meal? I stepped into the restaurant with many questions.

The decor and ambience were similar to Esmirada at Orchard Hotel which also served Meditteranean food. The waiter was humorous. I could not recall most of their names (all in Spanish, I think, or was it Italian) unfortunately and neither did we attempt to pronounce, we have resorted to pointing to convey to the waiter what we wanted. We selected some mains, some starters and salads to share. Surprisingly, the food was rather refreshing and very delicious. anong them, the avocado salad, the tofu patties and magic mushrooms were among my favourites.

After lunch, we strolled to N.Y.D.C for our dessert. We selected beverages and cakes to share, just as prior. I have chosen Camomile tea as usual, deliberately avoiding coffee for fear of insomnia. I wanted something hot and soothing under the cool weather after the rain. Among the cakes, my personal preference went to the banana cake. It has the sweetness of the banana but not overwhelmingly sweet.

We ended our team bonding session at 4pm and the rest went home. Sigh! I have to rush back to office for a meeting with the big boss....

:-(

Blur Virus Spreading

I used to think I can at least keep my blurness separate from my profession, ie my blur nature is not very apparent in my work performance. Recently, it is getting harder and harder to keep my blurness under wraps.

I made more mistakes today is some files which I have been setting up. I have not checked the formulae correctly. Fortunately, my senior actually pointed to me the correct ones of doing. My goodness, how can I overlook this?

Lucky, it is my senior and not my boss who discovered this, else my boss may not confirm me after my probation.

Is this a sign of age or am I really retarding?

A Spooky Tale

Joan from Joan of Arcadia was seeing people who have passed away. God's explanation to her was that it was a test, while the people whom she was seeing told her that it was because of the electromagnetic waves. Joan of Arcadia was a series shown on Channel 5 on Sunday evening.

It was thundering outside with clouds gathering and looking heavy. A strong gust of wind was blowing. Everyone else in the family was napping except for me, who was hooked onto the TV.

The thunder became louder and nearer. The wind howled. The skies darkened. I rushed to close the windows. I had to close before the rain pelted down as I have quite a number of windows in the home. I hurried towards my room which was at the furthest end of the house. As I walked towards my room, I saw a flicker of colours and image in my sister's room out of the corner of my eyes. More occupied by the task at hand, I simply brushed it aside, thinking it was probably my imagination.

Finally, I have come to my sister's room. It was not my imagination. The colours and images were still there. Feeling scared, I went to wake my mum, telling her what happened. She walked into the room, while I continued to hold fort outside the room.

The colours and images were coming from her TV. It was supposed to have broken down 2 weeks ago.

We have been trying to switch on the TV to no avail for 2 weeks. Now, it came back to 'life' on its own, without anyone switching on. It cannot be a prank played by anyone in the family, because they were all napping except me. It cannot be due to timer set because we have tried to switch on the TV for 2 weeks, despite plugging in and out the wire.

Calm down. There must be a perfectly scientific explanation to this.

It could have come back to life because the transistor within the TV sort of 'tick' suddenly and it could be switched on? Or the lightning could have caused an influx of electricity which rectified whatever jam?

BUT I recalled that 2 weeks ago when I was the last one to watch the TV before it went dead, I was stopping at Channel U. Yet, now it was Channel 5 with Joan and the ghosts. *Shiver*

The rain starting pouring and the winds continued to howl outside...

The Musketeers’ Excursion to Vivo City

The Musketeers met again for an excursion to Vivo City. We have decided to venture south to see for ourselves what the hype about the latest shopping mega mall was about.

The NEL line was exceptionally crowded on the early afternoon of Sat, all in the direction of Harbourfront. Despite the spacious lobby, the place was still packed with people.

Before we started our shopping expedition, we have decided to satisfy our hunger. We picked Akashi Japanese Restaurant after making a tour of the basement where most of the eateries congregated. The tea was slightly stronger than other restaurants. The Musketeers concluded that the tea was stronger than other places and was not to our liking, yet we had cups after cups. We were laughing at ourselves for the irony of this.

It is fast becoming a ritual – we started taking photos of the food that was served before eating. I hope there will not be any rumours that we are the commercial spy trio among the restaurants. It was done all in the name of fun rather than any commercial. Well, below are the pictures for sharing, are they well taken? Do you feel tempted by the photos of food?

We have also decided to take photos of ourselves to mark each gathering. Is this a sign of age? Somehow I was not as opposed to taking photos than when I was a teen. In fact, I enjoyed taking photos which I looked at with fond memories of the happy moments once in a while. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the balcony of Vivo City overlooks Sentosa. While reviewing the photos which we have taken, Ms Chan discovered that our feet look pretty cute together, so we decided to take a photo of our feet standing in a circle.

Despite it being touted as the one of the biggest shopping area in Singapore, we combed the entire mall within 2 hours. The shops / boutiques were similar to those you would find in Orchard Road or even Suntec City. Most of the shops were also skewed towards the higher end (higher end in my definition). Although the things on the racks are nice to look at, they were beyond the budgets of the Musketeers. Window shopping consumed less time than real shopping.

We were soon bored with shopping and decided to adjourn to a dessert break. To break free from the crowd, we walked to Harbourfront – Coffee Club via the rooftop which has a man-made seaside and amphitheatre for dessert. We were disappointed that the tea time special of getting a slice of cake free for each beverage and cake ordered was now not available on weekend. WAIT! Before we can enjoy our drinks and dessert, out came the cameras again. The iced rambutan was indeed freezing. The walnut cheesecake was too sweet for our liking.

After a filling dessert, off I went again for dinner with another friend.

Guys and Cars

Are guys’ love for cars similar to girls’ love for shopping, albeit instinctive, edging towards irrational sometimes for some?

A friend was introducing me some car models when we wondered into a shop selling car models. The miniature car models were amazingly intricate where all details were taken care of, including the steering wheel, sports rims, gear, seats etc. They were almost like a shrunken version of their real counterparts, ie imagine using the machine in Honey, I shrunk the kid and shrink the real cars into these models.

Do you know that Mercedes have S-class, C-class, E-class or there is an Audi spider?

For a car-idiot like myself, looking at the car models ‘enhance’ my automobile awareness better than touring the car showrooms. However, I am still confused which model is what brand as there are simply too many for my small brain. The car models on sale include not only the current models, but also the older models which may no longer be on display in the showrooms.

The better made car models come with a hefty price tags. In girls’ equivalent, those with a scale of 1: 43 were more expensive than Mango tops; those with a scale of 1: 18 can probably buy you 5 G2000 suits.

Another guy friend was also talking about his car models a couple of months ago. Again he was equally excited about his collection. A girl friend was also sharing how a mutual acquaintance was channeling substantial financial resources to enhancing his car with state-of-the-art accessories and peripherals. The guys mentioned here all have different backgrounds, training, age, occupations, characteristics and personalities. Despite the disparity in all areas, they come united in 1 interest – cars.

Of course, the above may involve too much generalizations Just like not all girls love shopping (actually, some girls find it a chore to shop), not all guys love cars. Perhaps the love of cars among these 3 guy friends were just pure coincidence?

Fate

In last night's episode of Princess Hours, Xin related to Caijing that both the stars and humans have their own cycles. The cycle is 250 million years. Actually, I cannot recall if it was 25 million, 250 million or 2,500 million years. I could only recall it was starting with 25 and ending with millions. URGHH! There were simply too many zeroes in between.

Sigh! Anyway, back to Xin and Caijing. Xin added that the stars have a lifespan of 250 million years. Humans also have a cycle of 250 million years, ie in 250 million years' time, you will have the same experience as at current.

Coincidentally, I have received a SMS from my friend last week. The content was about if you have turned around and looked at each other 500 times last life, both would be able to walk past each other this life. If you have turned around and looked at each other 1,000 times last life, both would be able to acquaint with each other. To have a strong friendship with each other, you would have to turn around and look at each other for many, many times. In fact, you would have spent the whole of your last life turning around at each other.

Ok, you may think this is rather absurd. If you have turned around at each other so many times last life, both of you would have been acquainted in your last life and not wait until this life. Disregarding the incredulous statistics, the message is clear - people you are meeting now are predestined, be it from your previous life or 250 million years ago.

Do you believe in fate?

If you do, will you want to meet me in another 250 million years' time?

If you do, you have better start turning around more often now, else you will have very few friends next life.

Uh-oh, the same applies for me too. I better start turning around more often too. And before I forget, if the cycle of 250 million years is true, I will still want to meet all my friends then. :-)

Preoccupation

My newsagent now provides value-added service for loyal customers. When you subscribe to the Zaobao, they deliver "My Paper" (Wobao) too. Thus, for the past 2 days, we have enjoyed free My Paper.

There was an article which I have come across 2 days ago which was rather interesting and led me to be reflective for a while. To confess, I was first attracted to the article because the author's ID-sized photo looked cute (cute as in the good looking way and not the ugly but adorable way).

It was about how sometimes we could get so occupied with our work that after a while when we looked back, we could not recall what we have been busy with. Moreover, we do not see any achievements, ie very busy but end up doing nothing. This is so true!

How often did I hustle and bustle around and in the end did not finish any task? Then I will wonder what I have been busy with and where has all my time gone to. I wonder if this is a sign of age or is this a sign of inefficiency and poor management? To be colloquial, we are just being "gan cheong" for the sake of being "gan cheong"?

At least, now I know I am not alone suffering from this "amnesia" effect when I am busy. "Wink"

November

It is another 2 months to the end of the year. It is time again to take stock of your achievements for the year. It is also time to reflect about what has happened in this year and to buck up if you still have a long list of new year resolutions unfulfilled.

There is only remaining 2 months.

Hurry up. Time doesn't wait for you.