Photos!!!

Phew! I've not been blogging for about two months! Well, I've been very very busy at school but it's coming to end soon... Anyway, took some pictures recently for my birthday. Here they are...

Dinner at Projectshop - Blood Cafe

Beef brisket pasta, the sauce was fantastic!

Turkey cranberry sandwich - This was awesome!

Me with the Makuti ring, my eyes looked sleepy here though...

With the tulips that Joshua bought

A tulip in full bloom! Isn't it lovely!

幸福的距离

This is the song that Liu Genghong used to propose to his girlfriend of 7 years during Emerge. Simple melody and lyrics but very touching....

幸福的距离

词曲:罗文裕

窗外开始下起毛毛雨

云遮住了星星

夜深了还没有睡意

翻来覆去的想你

时钟滴答滴答的声音

像在说我爱你

转过2点3点到6点

恨不得快点见到你

幸福的距离

就算万公里

在你眼里有我想要勇气

从南极飞到北极

南京到北京

你的笑胜过那些美景

我们勾勾手　

就一言为定

我会傻傻的好好的爱你

你的名加我的姓

永远在一起

拥抱多过千言万语

Amazing strength!

Hey folks!

I know I haven't been blogging for awhile. All I can say is that my days are really very fulfilling now and before I know it, next week is my sixth week in SOT. One and a half months gone just like that and I am left with three months. Anyway, I'm really surprised at my strength. After starting SOT, I have never had enough sleep. If I had slept like that in the past, I would go to the office as a grouchy person.

Anyway, just last night, I only slept half an hour! I was busy mugging for my first assignment. It actually wasn't that difficult but the volume was enormous. I had to do a book review. There were 52 chapters in the book and I had to write a hundred word summary for each chapter. Being a meticulous person, I really spent a lot of extra time in recasting some of the summaries and before I knew it, it was four plus in the morning. So I took a quick nap and then went off to school. Its already 11pm now and I am still awake. I know I am tired so I am going to sleep after this. One thing I learnt: This is really leaning upon the strength of the Lord. Amazing strength!

Politics at work

"If you don't play politics, politics will play you".

The above is a comment from one of my colleagues. Want to know what I think?

To me, "if you play politics, politics will eventually play you".

Office politics is a vicious cycle. In the first place, things didn't work like this over here until this year. After seeing a record of thirteen good officers leave my department last year, the department swiftly hired ten officers to fill in the gap. Some of these officers are older than me while the rest are about my age. The ugly thing is, politics in the office is starting to show its ugly head. And the champion of these are actually these new officers. Perhaps they are still in their bubble. Things just don't work like that over here. No matter how much politics you play, it doesn't guarantee you a promotion. Face the truth. This is civil service. You might win the favour of the boss but the bosses themselves are playing their own politics too and you don't know when they are telling the truth. It doesn't take a genius to work here. We just need quality officers but the new ones are not showing it. All they know is to play politics. They can continue to do it because I believe one day politics will play them out.

School of Theology 2007

On 16 Apr 07, I embarked on one of the most exciting journeys in my life. This journey will last me for the next four and a half months. Yes, after much consideration and struggling, I finally enrolled myself in SOT this year. Everything started with a call from Steven (my cell group leader) in Mar 07. By then, the application for SOT had closed but it was extended so that more students could sign up for it. Although I had purposed in heart that I would enrol myself in SOT two years after I graduate from NUS but I did not take any action. In any case, the phone call changed my life. Steven spoke right into my life and because I was at the MRT when I took the phone call, I had to control my tears from falling...

Nevertheless, 16 Apr was the big day. It was orientation day. I reached Jurong West at 8am. Yes, it was really early since I leave in the east and I had to squeeze on the train with the students. I can't remember when was the last time I did it. Anyway, everyone's spirits was high and after registration, we proceeded to the main auditorium. We had a briefing and this year's enrolment was 469 students! It was a record. For the past twelve intakes, we had about 200 students or more, this was the first time it went beyond 400!

After the briefing, we started on the Amazing Race and we went to the places that was part of the church's history. So the journey took me from Jurong West to Chinese Garden to River Walk to Vivo City to Paya Lebar before ending at Marina South for a steamboat dinner. We were supposed to go to Simei and Expo too but my team didn't have enough time.

My fellow team mates in SOT: Max, Michelle, Carol and Valerie

My choir friends who are now my classmates! Michele, Kate and Helen.

The entire Team 6 at Marina South!

Michelle, my buddy in SOT! She's only 17 years old!

Our lovely ice kacang creation.

Anyway, I am into my second week in SOT now. Yes, it has been tiring - juggling work and school but I still look forward to it. Every new day is worth looking forward too and I am enjoying it.

Dinner at Man Fu Yuan

I just had a birthday dinner for my father at Man Fu Yuan. Man Fu Yuan is a Chinese restaurant at the Inter-Continental Hotel. Well, it was a nice place and the food was great. But it was kinda strange, this was Chinese fine dining. It was weird. I mean Chinese dining means chopsticks and spoons right? But they also gave us a fork and a knife?! Am I suppose to use it or not? Or is it meant for the ang mohs? Funny eh? And then the plates and bowls that they used were not the typical Chinese kind, it was pure white porcelain with, erm, funny shapes... And instead of having one big dish in the middle of the table, it was five small dishes for each person. Well, it was hygienic but weird for a Chinese dinner. I prefer one big dish where everyone could share and you could have more of what you like and less of what you dun like. For this, you were given a fixed portion regardless of whether you like it or not... Weird... Anyway, the shark's fin was nice. It was real fin, not jelly.

Evangelistic meeting with Pst Benny Hinn

In the span of half an hour, I fell under the power of the Holy Spirit four times... Need I say more? Anyway, this is indescribable... The way the Holy Spirit works through this man is just so amazing...

小情歌

希望大家都有属于自己的小情歌！

演唱者：苏打绿

这是一首简单的小情歌

唱着人们心肠的曲折

我想我很快乐

当有你的温热

脚边的空气转了

这是一首简单的小情歌

唱着我们心头的白鸽

我想我很适合

当一个歌颂者

青春在风中飘着

你知道

就算大雨让这座城市颠倒

我会给你怀抱

受不了

看见你背影来到

写下我度秒如年难捱的离骚

就算整个世界被寂寞绑票

我也不会奔跑

逃不了

最后谁也都苍老

写下我时间和琴声交错的城堡

不要对我大声说话

你大声地和我说话时，你是否想过我那时的心情？

在你不知道我的心情时，请你不要乱下定论，对我发脾气。

不是每一件事都需要解释，但我希望能有多一点的体谅和体贴的问候，不是大声地怒吼。

我说我很累，不只是身体上的累，我身心也很疲累。。。

你能够明白吗？

Chocolatey Sunday...

My Sundays are packed... So packed...

Went out on Saturday night and watched "Because I Said So" starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, a case of an overbearing and unwilling to let go mother with a daughter who is trying to break free. Anyway, it's a chick flick, some laughter but pretty average movie... And I reached home at 2am. Tired.

Anyway, by 11am on Sunday, I was out of my house. Went to get birthday gifts before I rushed off to Tiong Bahru for Bible study. By the time it ended, it was 3.30pm and we had to take a cab to Janice's house for Cayean's 1st birthday and Charles' 33rd birthday. Well, both father and son's birthday fell on the same day. How many fathers have birthdays on the same day as their child?! I bet lots of fathers are dying to be in his shoes!

Talking about their birthdays, it was an overdose of chocolate at Janice's (Cayean's mother, Charles' wife) house. She made chocolate fondue and it went with almond pies, mangoes, bananas, strawberries, pocky (chocolate upon strawberry), marshmallows, cookies, apricots, shortbread cookies and Julie's biscuits with rainbow and chocolate rice. In addition, we had a rich and yummy chocolate birthday cake! Need I say more? I am filled entirely to the brim with chocolate... Makes me want to make a fondue on my own... Hmm...

Its 10.30pm now, less than 12 hours later, I have to face the weird and odd newbie in the office... Wish me luck, I hope I dun lose my temper. Tsk.

Income tax & my new phone.

I just filed for tax. Upon looking at my income bracket and the tax rates, I realised I need to pay tax. How much? I do not know. Will wait for the notice. I can't believe this... Tsk...

Oh yeah, I bought a new phone.

It's a Nokia 2626. No camera. No features. Basic phone. The only consolation: it's pink.

On work

I have a new officer in my office. She's odd. Really odd. It's her second week at work and she's working 'til almost 8pm every day, and she's staying later than the quiet guy next to me. I really do not understand it. In fact, she hasn't really started on any real work, what she is doing now is just basic internet searches. You mean to tell me this takes up so much of your time?! Good grief. When real work starts, she can camp overnight.

Oh yeah, she actually went back to work last Sunday from 5pm to 10pm. Mad, isn't it? If she thinks that by working in such a way, she would gain a promotion, I am sorry. It doesn't work this way here. Besides working long hours, she's rude. While we were lamenting that staying till 7.30pm is late for us cos we live quite far away, she said, no, "Woodlands isn't that far", "7.30pm is not late" and "only working till 10pm is considered late"! What nonsense is that?! She also comes out with some questions that baffle me and Mr B, and for the first time yesterday, Mr B and I thought alike for 5 seconds! Imagine that. My nemesis and I on the same flow.

On another note, we realised that a few oddballs and well, evil people were hired by the same Deputy Director, aka, the not-so-smart one. Not sure about the officer in my office yet but the ones that are creating problems now are hired by him. Another case of comfirming his inability to hire quality officers. Full stop.

I need a new phone

I need a new phone. Once again, my phone has failed me. Unlike my previous Nokia phone which crashed and switched off itself automatically, my LG phone has problems with the keypad. The buttons '2', '0', '3' is increasingly getting difficult for me to enter. Moreover, I sms faster than the predictive text, so now I am sms-ing really slow and for once, I do not like to sms. That's because my thumb hurts by the time I finish writing a msg. Irritating. Going to buy a new phone over the weekend or next week when my salary is in.

破财消灾

Spent an enormous sum on my office keys today. Right from the first day I stepped into the office, the keys are a bane to me. This is the second time I spent so much money on my bunch of keys. Ah! I was happily on my way to the office when I realised that I had left my office keys and pass at home! No choice. I had to return home. No keys means that I can't work. So I took a cab back to my house. Cab fare was $10. Fine. My return trip to the office was a killer. Peak hour surcharge: $2. ERP charges: $7. Total cab fare: $25.20. Screams! $35.20 of cab in a day. Ahh!!! All because of a bunch of keys.

In love with Fahrenheit and Wu Zun

I knew that 花样少年少女 was hot but I didn't know the effect that it had on me...

At first, I wasn't really keen on watching this drama serial but as I read the synopses on I-weekly, the storyline began to attract me. So... I finally logged on to Youtube to catch the drama serial. Once I logged on, I was hooked. Totally hooked on the serial and the leading male actor - Wu Zun.

Gosh, he's so good looking! He's from Brunei and used to be a model and fitness instructor. No wonder the body looks so good! Now you know I am mad cos I seldom leave such comments on artistes in my blog, not even when I was nuts on Hyun Bin, Shin Goon and Yul Goon. I think I am going mad. I went to buy the OST and even Fahrenheit's debut album! I can't remember when was the last time I bought a boyband album! Screams! I am going nuts!

专属天使

Heard the theme song of 花样少年少女 which was sang by Tank and totally fell in love with it...

我不会怪你对我的伪装
天使在人间是该藏好翅膀
人们愚蠢鲁莽而你纤细善良
怎能让你为了我被碰伤
小小的手掌厚厚的温暖
你总能平复我不安的夜晚
不敢想的梦想透过你的眼光
我才看见它原来在前方
没有谁能把你抢离我身旁
你是我的专属天使
唯我能独占
没有谁能取代你在我心上
拥有一个专属天使
我哪里还需要别的愿望
小小的手掌大大的力量
我一定也会像你一样飞翔
你想去的地方就是我的方向
有我保护笑容尽管灿烂
没有谁能把你抢离我身旁
你是我的专属天使
唯我能独占
没有谁能取代你在我心上
拥有一个专属天使
我哪里还需要别的愿望
要不是你出现
我一定还在沉睡
绝望的以为生命只有黑夜
没有谁能把你抢离我身旁
你是我的专属天使
唯我能独占
没有谁能取代你在我心上
拥有一个专属天使
我哪里还需要别的愿望

人日快乐！

It's the seventh day of the lunar new year, so here's wishing everyone - Happy Birthday! 人日快乐!

Well, so far my Chinese New Year has been fun and tiring! On the first day, I went eight places! And on the second and third day, I went to two or three places, but that was enough. That's why I told my parents that going on New Year visitations was more tiring than working! Anyway, the plus point was that I received a lot of ang baos but the amount decreased! Haha... Cos my relatives siad that since I am working now, they would not be giving me as much. Hmmph... The ills of growing up, no wonder sometimes I like singing "不想长大" from SHE. Hehe...

Oh yeah, I also managed to steer quite clear of the "when are you getting married" question. So far, only four "interested" parties have asked me about it. Considering the number of people I meet and the many places that I went to, I figure that this is a good record. Kudos to me! Yea!

This is my year!

Hey folks!

Happy Chinese New Year! Yup, that's right, this is my year, the year of the pig! Just had my reunion dinner, steaming steamboat and wine! Yummy! Anyway, the new year celebration in the office yesterday was fun and my team won everything! Haha... It made people jealous... Well, too bad... It's my year. Haha... Enjoy the long weekend!

Red obsession

I bought something red today. It was something that I wanted for a long long time. In fact, I've been thinking about it since Christmas, but I finally satisfied that longing today. Haha... I bought a digital camera!!!! Yippee! I finally have one! It's a Casio Exilim, 7.2 mega pixels, slim and sleek, 2.5 inch LCD screen and it's red! Watch out for photos!

生日快乐

今天终于看了《生日快乐》。早在两三个星期前就想要去看了可是却没有时间，不过今天终于做到了。一直以来都很少看爱情文艺片。《生日快乐》却吸引了我，除了美美的刘若英和帅帅的古天乐，这故事的情节真得很感人。

小米（刘若英）和小南（古天乐）深爱着彼此不过两人的感情却没有结果。小时候的阴影使小米没有安全感，一直很害怕失去深爱的人所以选择和小南作比朋友更好的朋友。小南深爱着小米所以尊重了小米的决定。即使多年来两人分分和和，身边有不同的人出现，但永远都在彼此的最深处，无论有什么高兴或不高兴的是都会在第一时间通知对方。而小南每一年无论身在何处都会给小米送上生日祝福，这是唯一他们能关心彼此的方式。今年的祝福却迟了42 个小时。结果，小南原来在三年前患上直肠癌过世了。死的时候是听着小米的音乐录音带，三年来的祝福也是他在死前一再嘱咐姐姐替他寄的。姐姐希望能瞒多久就瞒多久，朋友知道后也决定隐瞒小米。或许这样对小米很残忍不过这是否也给她一个希望？三年前，小南不忍心对小米说他生病了所以谎称他结婚并移居上海。对小米而言这就是事实所以每年生日的时候都希望受到小南的祝福，因为这是唯一让她知道小南还在关心，想念她的方式……

New hair

I went for a hair cut today. Actually I was thinking of splitting the session into two days, one day for a cut and another day for colour but well, things were in my favour. Upon reaching the salon at 7pm (I was rushing!), it turned out that the evening crowd wasn't there yet, so Alan had more than enough time for me. That was good news, he had three customers that night and I was his first. It means that he could colour my hair personally (cos when the other customer came,the assistant did it. Haha.) In the end, we decided on having red hair for me again. This time round it would be redder with a hint of magenta. Nice isn't it? Heh... And that's what we did! Alan did a bob for me and after washing off the colour from my hair... For the first time, I really felt my hair was too red. It was so red that I wonder if my bosses could accept it. But it's just hair only right? Colouring doesn't make me dumb and it doesn't affect my work right? Ok, I admit I am trying to justify myself but what's done cannot be undone. Anyway, I love my new hair colour and hair cut!

Peaceful week with a hint of thrill

Mr B went on holiday this week. This means I am free from Mr B for a week which means peacefulness, nobody singing loudly in the office and no hint of extra flesh from clothes that are too revealing. Great. I love it. It just makes my week at work tick.

Anyway, the crucial issue was this. The bosses had their weekly meeting in then morning and the moment it finished, my boss told us to see him in the office. Important decisions that changed my work environment was made. All along, we've been sending our reports to Mr B for approval. As of today, I no longer have to do that. Apparently, the decision made at the meeting was that from now on, with immediate effect, my boss would approve our reports, no longer would it be Mr B. In fact, I was trying very hard to hide my excitement and prevent myself from laughing out loud when my boss announced the decision. That means, no longer will my reports be disapproved because of a spelling error, grammar error or because Mr B doesn't understand the meaning of a certain word. Great.

I really think that my bosses are shrewd. To think that they made this kind of decision when she is not around. Imagine how would she feel when she comes back next week and realise that her authority over us is stripped. This is exciting. I can't wait to see her reaction. Tsk...

Farewell for Brenda

Brenda tendered her resignation on the first week of Jan. If Brenda can leave this place, it means serious business. That shows how frustrated she is since Brenda is such a mild person. And Brenda is number one for this year!

Anyway, we had a farewell lunch for Brenda at Yan Ge today. Yan Ge is a Chinese restaurant with long history origins with good food. We had a personal room to ourselves and a table that was big enough to fit all 15 of us! The food and dim sum was really yummy, especially love the "Yuanyang Pork Ribs". The pork ribs were deep fried and one was smeared with salad dressing and the other one was coffee! Special isn't it? The lunch came out to $40 odd per person but it was well worth the money. Lots of good food with a good company makes the lunch extremely enjoyable!

But, the main thing is still Brenda. So glad that Brenda is stepping out of this place. Although she received a pay cut but at least she would be happier. I got to know Brenda better when we went to China last year. We stuck together throughout the trip and vented our frustrations to each other on you-know-who and she's a good shopping pal! Here you go Brenda! Jia you in your new place!

Babel

Went to catch a movie with Joshua yesterday night. Initially, we wanted to watch either Pan's Labyrinth or The Last Dance but GV at Marina didn't have The Last Dance and Pan's Labyrinth was showing at 12am! We didn't want to spend two hours waiting for a movie when the other shops were closed so we decided to catch the sneak preview of Babel. Sounds like a good choice right? Sneak preview, movie starring Brad Pitt, nominated for awards and it was like the talked about show for awhile... But it was a mistake. The show lasted for two and a half hours and the movie line was intertwining one event with 3 storylines! Brad Pitt's part, the Japanese part and the Moroccan part! Screams!

Anyway, Babel was really Babel. Bringing a story across three countries with different languages and everything started all because of a rifle! Not that the whole movie was bad but it was a wrong choice to watch it at night especially when you are tired. Sigh...

Choir Appreciation 2006/07

Its 12.30am now. I should be asleep but I just felt that I wanted to write this blog. The choir appreciation ended at 10pm just now and I'm still reeling from the goodness of it.

I reached the church (at Jurong West) at 4pm and a flurry of activities began. I was moving around giving out name tags, touching up on my make-up (cos Belle caught me without lipstick!) and fellowshipping with my choir members. At 6pm, we went up for dinner at the cafe. This was a first. It was the first time that we had dinner for the choir appreciation. The church didn't shortchange us on this. It was a fantastic buffet. The cream puffs, chocolate puffs and eclairs tasted fantastic! Yeah, I preferred the desserts to the main course. Haha...

Anyway, at 7.30pm, we went down to the main auditorium. There we were treated to the grand finals of the Talentime and we had a singing competition! We had to sing various songs according to our parts and yeah, some of us sounded really off without the warm-ups. Haha. Well, we were treated to the hilarious video of the "do nots" in choir and we had a fashion show to showcase the choir attire! Woo hoo! This was something definitely not to be missed!

The appreciation ended at 10pm. I left at 10.30pm and got a lift from Gary before we were stuck in a traffic jam for half an hour. So here I am now blogging... And it's time for bed... Yawnz...

Reply from a long lost one...

It was a boring day today. Except for going to Bugis during lunchtime and meeting Hui Juan after work to go home together, nothing really excited me, until...

I logged on to my email and saw a reply from Mr Chua! In case you're wondering who Mr Chua is, he was my Civics and Economics tutor in JC. My class was his first civic class and we saw him from a teacher-in-training to a full-fledged teacher. In the two years that I was in SR, he was the one that made the difference. I never really did well for my Economics but he always had the faith and believed in me. He was the one who gave me "The Alchemist" and it was the book that inspired me!

Anyway, Mr Chua left Singapore for the US about two years ago to pursue his Masters degree. For the past two years, I emailed him a few times and did not receive any reply from him. I seriously wondered if he had received my emails or was I sending to the wrong email address all the time! I decided to take a chance anyway. I sent him an e-card about two days ago on his birthday and today he gave me a reply. Well, he has graduated and now he's still in the US and working for HSBC! Cool man! Now, the most touching part of the email reply was this:

"It's great to hear from you again, one of my best students".

Ahhh!!! How sweet... Very short and simple but makes me happy! Yippee!

Happy New Year!

Woohoo! The first blog of 2007 and to everyone... Here's wishing you a Happy New Year!!!

Didn't went to count down on new year's eve but I had a quiet and peaceful entry into 2007. After last year's madness at the Esplanade and Gotham Penthouse, where we couldn't get cabs and had to jostle with the crowd, Hui Juan and I decided to have a quiet entry into 2007. So she came over to my house and we cooked spaghetti, made snacks, had white wine and sat in front of the TV to countdown. Boring? Well, it was more peaceful than boring. Quiet, simple and sane...

Joshua was more happening though. He was working the night shift and he and his other two colleagues bought food, party hats and drinks etc and really turned the office into a party. In fact, when he called me at midnight, he sounded like he was in a party!

Anyway, to all the folks out there... May 2007 be the best year yet ever for you! It will be my best year too! Yippee!

Last blog of 2006!

So here it is... The last blog of 2006...

2006 has been a fulfilling and trying year for me. It marked my first year into working life. Working in the organisation has been... I won't say that it was uneventful but I know that there are better opportunities and more challenging jobs out there for me. Am I frustrated? Yes, I am but not all is bad. Personally, I finally recognised the significance of my work but significance put aside, I know this is not the place where I can grow and maximise my potential. I also became more politically aware and start to see things beyond where they are.

I also saw the worse of myself this year. While handling Mr B, I literally saw my worst. And I know that I can really turn nastry when pushed to the end. But I also learned to be more tolerant, this thorn of my flesh is not gone yet but I will continue to manage Mr B. Wish me luck in 2007!

2006 has been marked with ups and downs but these peeps made a difference...

Joshua - Thank you for listening to my incessant complaining and bearing with my mood swings. I know that work hasn't been that eventful for you either, let's look forward to better career opportunities in 2007! I love you!

Hui Juan - Hey babe, I know that 2006 has been a tough year for you. But I believe 2007 will be the best year for you. No more tears and upsets but it will be fulfilling and prosperous!

Wendy - Your presence in the office has made a difference in my life. If you were not there, I don't know how I would have cope. Thanks for your support and faith in me! Let's continue to shine for the Lord!

Last but not least... GOD...

Dear God, thank you for giving me the grace to move through 2006, especially under the claws of Mr B. You are the one I can run to in times of crisis and Your presence has been comforting. 2007 will be my best year yet and I want to continue to love You!

Merry Christmas!!!

Hello everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Its been a month since I last blogged... Well, I do try to blog once a week but once I entered December, I had no time at all. It was my own wishful thinking that I could rest in December. Not only did I not rest but for the past three weeks, I had been sleeping after 12 every night. This is really too much for me, considering the fact that I love to sleep...

Anyway, this has been a real fruitful Christmas for me! I spent a lot of money on gifts but I received a lot too! By the time I finished work on Friday, I brought home two bags of gifts from my colleagues! One thing about this place is that there is really a spirit of giving... So to all my colleagues out there: Thank you for your pressies!

Other than that, I spent the entire Christmas weekend in church... And it isn't boring. It was meaningful and although I kept singing, I was really happy to be doing so. We had five services this year and every service was fully packed. In addition, this year's Christmas drama was the best that I've seen so far! A father's love for his child... That's the meaning of Christmas - God sending His son, Jesus Christ to the world. Not for anything but His love for us.

This last part here is for Hui Juan: Hey babe, thanks for coming on Saturday. I am so glad that you made the trip in the end and enjoyed yourself. I am also happy that you like the X'mas gift I bought for you. Hope it will bless you. Thanks also for your eye massager, and I am so honoured to be the only one receiving a present from you! The eye massager will work well for me but hopefully the USB drive in the office is enabled otherwise... But I can still use it at home! Love you babe!

Looks are deceiving!

Sometimes, people with the mildest manners and the mildest character are the ones who can be the most irresponsible.

Got the picture? I am going to complain. This is going to be long...

I have a colleague who is very quiet, mild, unresponsive, hardworking and in a nutshell, totally shut off from the world. Yeah, that's the person (I dun want to name names but let's call this person Mr A). But I never knew that Mr A was so irresponsible too. It all began last week but it dragged on till this week and I really saw his true colours.

Here goes...

As part of a welfare committee, Mr A and my job (together with others) is to organise activities for my department once a month. Now that it is the end of the year, we were geared up for our annual function. The first meeting took place on the second week of Nov and we decided to have a X'mas cum annual function during the week before X'mas. Things got bad last week...

Last Wed and Thu, Mr A was on leave. When I went to work on Wed, I saw that Mr A had sent me a email on Tue evening (apparently, I had left by then, you see, I say he is harrrdddwwwooorking). In it, he told me that the clubhouse had been booked on the last week. As such, we had to bring forward the function to the third week. Fine. So he told me to email my Director's PA to check if he was available on that day. Director was free and so we could have it on the third week. Well, besides minding the Director's schedule, we had to be mindful of our Deputy Directors schedule too. This, I left it to him. Amazingly, he didn't ask about their schedule. Great. But I was not in the loop yet.

Then came this Tuesday...

Director's PA realised that the Deputy Directors were on leave on the third week. One of them would be on overseas leave on the day we had the function. Out of goodwill, the PA called Mr A and told him about it. In this case, he had to check with the PAs of the Deputy Directors right? He didn't...

Wednesday morning...

At 8am, I received a sms from Mr A while I was on my way to work. Mr A said that he had dropped me an email. He told me to read it before he called me at 9am. So I thought "what's so urgent"? It took me another five minutes to realise that Mr A was on leave on Wed and Thu! You mean he went to the office so early just to send me an email?!?!?!

That was just what he did... I reached the office, checked my email and true enough, the email was sent at 7.40am! Hello? Need to be so early meh?! The contents of the email got me boiling... Apparently, there was a miscommunication with the clubhouse and the date that we wanted for the function had been booked by another department. So, what he wanted me to do "in order" (in his exact words) was to call the clubhouse, call the person who had booked the clubhouse on that particular date, plead with the person to exchange with us, booked the Director and Deputy Directors' schedule, get Director's approval to change the date of the function. Last but not least, he wanted me to resolve it at the end of the day.

What was this?! What was it supposed to mean?!?! Resolve it at the end of the day?!?!?! Hey, I am not grumbling about the extra work. It is fine if you want me to do it. But... DO NOT throw things at me when you are on leave can? Just because you are on leave, it doesn't mean that you can shirk from your responsiblity! Aren't you the one who is always not a team player and do your work independently?! Aren't you the one who is always so possessive of your portfolio? Argh... This is ridiculous!

As angry as I was... I did it... Not much of a choice since I am part of the committee...

On Friday...

Mr A was back at work. I came into the office in the morning and all he said was "hi". Shortly after, he sent an email to the committee. He said that the clubhouse, Director and Deputy Directors' schedule had all been successfully booked. The message brought across? He had done all these things himself! Hello?! I am not looking for credit but at least recognise my efforts! Although he didn't say "thank you" in the email but at least can say it verbally! This is really rubbish...

Seen his true colours... Once bitten, twice shy...

Embarrassed!

I had my most embarrassing moment in my life today. Note and I repeat: It was my most embarrassing moment. I didn't know that I could be so embarrassed.

Well, I had knocked off from work and was on my way to the MRT. I was walking briskly and I was almost at the gantry of the MRT when my left foot stepped onto empty ground. Fine. I thought my slip-ons slipped off my foot. I walked back and realised that it didn't slipped off my foot but that I had lifted my entire left foot off my shoe. Yes, the strap keeping my left foot in place broke. Horrors of horrors! I was stuck. I couldn't walk back to the office to get another pair of heels, my colleagues had left the office and I couldn't get anyone. Great. Hui Juan welcomed me to the club some more. Haha... I had no one to turn to literally.

Finally, I managed to get Wendy. She was at Citilink and would pass by the MRT while on her way home. So she went into Charles & Keith and bought me a pair of peach-coloured heels. She rescued me! Haha... Really appreciated that, plus the heels were a match for my nail colour! Woo hoo!

Nevertheless, it was my most embarrassing moment ever.

My weekend

Went to VivoCity today and it seemed that the whole of Singapore was there! Gosh... It was so crowded and so noisy (because of kids screaming away). Vivo is big, very big, very very big... The first two times I went there I didn't really shopped cause many stores were not open yet, and today when I went, I felt like I was in a maze. Big. Period. Went to Pull & Bear, Ted Baker, Zara, Gap, blah blah blah... Was impressed with Ted Baker. The man's shirts were really really nice although it was quite expensive but the designs were really really nice!

A note to all my friends: When you get married, can don't have your weddings all in the same month can?! I am flooded with weddings for the next two months! 6 weddings in 5 weeks! Dun like that can? It burns a big hole in my pocket! Very siong leh... I know it's hard to liase. But please try lah... Thank you ah...

Oh yeah, gave my first fruits this weekend... Excited... Hee...

Arise & Build 2006

The second Arise & Build for the new building today... Really went through an emotional roller-coaster...

Sometimes, I am just amazed at the way God works... I was sitting in the service listening to Pastor Kong's preaching and the whole time I was reasoning or rather bargaining with God the amount I was about to pledge. Sometimes, God really challenges you beyond your wildest imagination. Anyway, after giving to the building fund six times, I should know that there was no point "bargaining" with God. In fact, I shouldn't be doing that! What was I thinking?! Nevertheless, after much emotional struggle, and when I was filling up my pledge card, God spoke again. Alright, no point in struggling now. The key - listen and obey.

And so... I gave my precious again... Wanted to give a comfortable amount but realised that it won't give me any breakthrough and my blessings will remain at the Jurong West level. So I had to go beyond it, breakthrough into the spiritual and natural.

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy... From this day forward, I will bless you...

God, I believe and trust in You...

For YQ...

YQ, this posting is for you...

My dear buddy, I was really happy to meet you for dinner today. It has been such a long time since we last met, it was so long ago that I can't remember when... Anyway, although our dinner was at a food court but in the end, it didn't matter. It was the conversation, catching up on each other lives and your sharing that mattered...

My dear friend, I just want to tell you that you do and deserve someone better. You gave a lot and I believe that one day you will receive it back. You will find someone that will love you for who you are, appreciate you and love you just as much as you love her. Leave the past behind and look forward to a new day, a new friend, a new life... You may not be the best looking person around nor are you the richest but you have a heart that is filled with love and you never hesitate to give it to someone you love, so I believe, one day you will receive the same measure back. My dear buddy and friend, I'll always support you!

只对你有感觉

Another new song! I like the lyrics of this song, very sweet and tells of a couple very much in love with each other... 只对你有感觉 by 飞轮海 and Hebe...

无解的眼神心像海底针

光是猜测我食欲不振

有点烦人又有点迷人

浪漫没天份反应够迟钝

不够谨慎花挑错颜色

但很矛盾喜欢你的笨

微笑再美再甜不是你的都不特别

眼泪再苦再咸有你安慰又是晴天

靠的再近再贴少了拥抱就算太远

全世界只对你有感觉

玩的再疯再野你瞪一眼我就收敛

马路再宽再远只要你牵就很安全

我会又乖又黏温柔体贴绝不敷衍

我只对你有感觉

体贴却黏人爱哭却温顺

有时天真有时很邪恶

对你耍狠就是舍不得

请吸收养分让脑袋平衡

要你现身动作慢吞吞

怎么承认我非你不可

Hung up on titles?

Are you hung up on titles?

Are you happy only when people address you as "brother so-and-so" or "sister so-and-so"?

Well... The big boss has spoken. No more addressing of each other "brother so-and-so" and "sister so-and-so" in the church anymore.

It ain't a problem for me... "Sister Charlene" sounds old to me. I'm happy just to be known as Charlene!

白色巨塔

前两天看完了由言承旭主演的白色巨塔。原以为只是一般的连续剧，可是看完之后却感触良多。白色巨塔原本是一部日剧，因此我以为台版的也会以同样的方式呈现，不过我错了。它完全脱离了日版的白色巨塔，反而以自己的方式和故事延伸了这部戏。总共39集，看到我要疯了。。。

在那白色巨塔里，各个都是穿着白袍的医师。但在那白袍后面，许多人是抱着自己的理想和抱负，甚至不惜一切，以病人的生命当成赌注。为了争一个院长的位置，一个外科主任的位置，这些医师竭尽所能的表现自己，忘了自己为何当初要当医师。可是，在这之中，仍然有一些医师没忘记自己的本分。言承旭主演的苏怡华医师就是一个例子。有着一个正直可人的笑容，从不把病人当成编号反而仔细的记住每一个病人的名字，一切从心里出发。怡华没有想过要当什么院长或主任，但在那恶劣的政治环境中却被卷入其中，成为一个棋子。虽然爬上了最高的位置，但却从来没有失去本性。怡华很深情，自始至终还是爱着一个人 — 关欣。两人始终无法在一起，唯一能做的是郑重的说一声“再见”和给彼此一个深深的祝福。虽然分开，但两人最终还是找到彼此的幸福。生活永远是不完美，但你不顾一切去争时，往往会发现得到之后其实没有怎样，反而失去更多。无法和最爱的人在一起，但能给他一个深深的祝福，或许就是爱着他的方式。

最后，这两句话给我的感触最深。和你分享吧。。。

“大部分的事情并不像表面看起来那么单纯，而人活着，也不一定总是能够自由自在地选择自己喜爱的。”

“人生其实是一场骗局，到最后你就会发现，最重要的都变成不重要的。”

这两句话，引人深思。。。

Mundane?

What is the mundane?

Mundane can used to describe our work, our studies, and in fact our daily lives. Aren't we living the mundane every day? Doing the same things over and over again. Sometimes, there might be problems, obstacles, frustration but as you cross over and get over the problem, you resume your mundane life again. The truth is - we spent most of our time doing the mundane. I won't say that I totally enjoy my work but I love the people and that makes a lot of difference. Wendy and I spoke on the phone last Friday. It is without a doubt that she has learned new things in her new job, found new colleagues and faced new challenges but she felt that people in her workplace take their jobs for granted and felt that her new work was not as significant as what she was doing before. (Wendy, correct me if I am wrong ok?)

Anyway, I didn't really get the significance part until Sunday when Pastor Kong preached about the marketplace. The marketplace, otherwise known as the "secular" to Christians, in fact, means mundane in Greek. So the world out there equals to mundane. Interesting isn't it? People always think that the world is exciting but the church is boring. But this is no longer the case. At least not for City Harvest. Over the years I've been here, we have moved by leaps and bounds, in ways I would never have known but yet, I am still flowing with the church, and very happy to be part of what God is doing over here. So much for significance, this was further amplified when I met a few friends for dinner...

I haven't met this group of friends for quite sometime, so I was really looking forward to seeing them. After a year of not being in contact, all of us were naturally interested to find out what each other was doing. As the night wore on, I started thinking. Not that my friends' work is not important but in terms of significance, I realised that I was doing more. I am not trying to put anyone down but somehow through the conversation, I realised the significance in my work. Reading the newspapers is no longer a chore for me now but rather a necessity. I read beyond them sometimes and I've come to know a lot. In any case, please dun think that I am paid just to read newspapers! I do a lot of things ok?! Anyway... Too much thoughts going on in my mind now. I need to organise. On this topic, so long for now...

Youtube is my new friend!

Hey friends!

Here I am! Blogging again! Yipee! Anyway, one of the reasons for my absence for the past three weeks was because I found a new friend in Youtube! I love Youtube! You can watch a lot of shows on it! So what if each clip is only ten minutes long?! The main thing is that is free (may not be for long cos Google just bought over Youtube and definitely there will be a lot of copyright problems!) and watch it while you still can!!!

Anyway, I watched two drama serials using Youtube. Korean drama - Goong aka Princess Hours and a Taiwanese drama - The Hospital. I almost went crazy watching these drama serials. Me being me, I am impatient and once I get started, I just want to get through the whole show and I won't have a sense of peace until I finish watching it. So I almost went crazy. In fact, I think I did much harm to my eyes. Imagine staring at the computer for hours watching a show. My poor eyes... Never mind, I just bought some eye cream. Hope it reduces the puffiness and dark circles resulting from the late nights staying up to watch the shows.

Watched Goong and was completely blown away. Love the two male leads but especially Yul Goon (thanks to Hui Juan for the collage, I think we are going crazy!) Well, this drama was really fantastic. A little bit like Kim Sam-soon - funny, simple and sweet - something that any sane (but I am going insane!) girl likes. Although the show got a little draggy in the middle but there's fast forward! Shin - the male lead and "Crown Prince" was especially sweet towards the end, sometimes I wished Joshua is just as sweet as well! Haha... I seriously need some sanity!

And yes, I think I am going to get the OST for Goong. The songs very nice...

Song of the moment

Hey guys!

I am back! I know I haven't been blogging for the past three weeks. Well, I was too occupied with watching drama serials and yeah, I had a lot of things to do as well... Anyway, I'll be blogging quite a lot over the next two days to share some thoughts and update things that are going on in my life... In any case, this is my fave song at the moment: 退后 by Jay Chou... I love the lyrics and the melody... Enjoy...

天空灰的像哭过

离开你以后

并没有更自由

酸酸的空气

守住我们的距离

一幕醉心的结局

像呼吸般无法停息

抽屉泛黄的日记

找到了回忆

那笑容是傻气

你我的过去

被深深真的忘记

缺氧过后的爱情

存心的眼泪是多余

我知道你我都没有错

只是忘了怎么退后

信誓旦旦给的承诺

全被时间扑了空

我知道我们都没有错

只是放手比较好过

最美的爱情回忆里带去

If, dun, because...

If it is not edifying... Dun say it... Cos it discourages me...

If you're not concerned... Dun do things that display it... Cos it disappoints me...

If you're not interested... Dun behave as if you are... Cos I can see through it...

If you're not willing... Dun do it... Cos it turns me off...

Give me more Sun!!!

Sun flew in to Singapore and gave us in CHC a big surprise. Well, she was not suppose to back this week but since she had a few days off, she bought a ticket for herself and Dayan and flew all the way back from LA! Woohoo! The last time I saw her was in June and its been three months. But too bad she couldn't stay longer, she had to fly back in the evening today and she won't be back until probably next year. Sigh... But she's doing really well in LA. I hope she continues to do well and shine for the Lord!

And today, we had the most touching service. For the past seven weeks, Pst Kong had been preaching about marriage. No, no, no, I am not getting married yet. But if you know Pst Kong, he can preach about anything. At least half the church is not married but he is preaching about marriage cos he wants to teach us and prepare us. Anyway, today was the grand finale and Pst got all the married couples to renew their marriage vows in the service. They prepared corsages and roses and so it was like witnessing a "mass marriage" of sorts. And mind you, the roses were not ordinary roses, they were English roses! The big and pretty roses not those tiny about to bloom ones. Ha... It was really touching, saw some people crying and of course Pst Kong and Sun renewed their marital vows! Aww... So touching...

Btw, this is the not so nice part. Went to Orchard after service today and while I was walking at the linkway to Wheelock, I saw B (thank God B didn't see me)! Screams! I literally stopped in my tracks and gasp. No, that was no exaggeration. I really did that and Joshua wondered what happen to me. So I told him and he turned around and saw her back. Guess what he said? He said "Wah, the hair flatter now, not like last time"! Haha... Classic ah... Hair impressions last!

Updates.Complaints.Wishes

Ta... Was so busy over the past two weekends that I didn't have time to blog. Anyway, lots of thing have happen since then. Let's start from today. Finally sent Wendy off today! She made it! She left the organisation! Haha... She gave me a hug before she left and I so WISH that it would be my turn to leave soon. Of course, her parting shot was telling me not to stay so long! Haha... Read the papers recently and realise that Bloomberg and Barclays were both hiring. I haven't check them out yet and it sounds so tempting. Ha... Then where do all my plans go??? Must think think think.

Went to visit Susanna yesterday. She freaked Marvin and I out. Marvin smsed her in the morning and she said that she wanted to hide at home! This set alarm bells ringing in my ear! In the end, we sprang a surprise on her. Only called her when I reached the void deck of her house. Bought her cookies and her favourite peanut butter waffle. Drew her out of her cave and began to crack endless jokes to lighten her up. I think she burnt out. She had been working so hard for the past few months and she really needed a break. As for me and Marvin, it had been such a long time since we really made the effort to visit a member under such an "occasion". We thought we became CGLs. Haha. Anyway, I certainly hope that she is feeling better now. She smsed me in the evening just now and said I made her day and now she is not afraid to on her laptop (on laptop=work). So I assume that she is out of the cave now.

For Sunday, went to send Fiona off to Australia. Everything just seemed so fast. Barely two months ago, she had wanted to change CG and when she made that decision, God gave her the breakthrough. She found a job in Australia and now she is in Australia. Things do happen isn't it? Just when she thought it would take her sometime to find a job in Australia, it happen. God really has way of making things happen. And He really gives surprises. Anyway, I spent two weeks making a memento for Fiona and I was really proud of the finished product. I haven't done personalised presents for quite sometime and it gave me a kick this time. Most of all, I felt I had done something meaningful. She had seen so many disappointments in this CG and I really wanted to bless her before she left. I seriously hoped that the memento did the job. It took me many nights but I was really sincere in making the gift and I hoped it really touched her. When I sent her through the gates, we gave each other a big hug and tears were brimming in my eyes. It took me quite a while to collect myself and the tears didn't flow. Thank God ah. Anyway, she's joining Pst Mark Conner's church. It's a good church for her. I like Pst Mark Conner's preaching.

Last of all, this is a complaint. As usual, its about Mr B. Mr B wrote an email saying that officers like me (which means all the officers in the same position as me) cannot make it and had to plough through waiting for a promotion and if we youngsters could not wait then we would leave the organisation! Arrgh! Is Mr B very old? 40? 50? No! of all ages, just past mid-20s! And we cannot make it?! What aspect?! And I wonder who can't make it in the end! Humph!

Thoughts...

I haven't been in my best condition for the past two weeks. I am tired, not just physically, but spiritually, mentally, emotionally and probably socially too. Probably I was bogged down by the things at work, I've been so busy since HX was posted out. Been leaving the office late, I certainly don't like it but there are things coming in everyday and I certainly do not want to go back during the weekends to complete my work. I am tired but at the same time frustrated. Frustrated at the things at work, I am sick of the work that I am doing, sick of doing the same things over and over again, sick of sitting down and facing the computer the whole day, sick of facing Mr B at work, sick of putting up with her nonsense, sick of putting up a front that I am on cordial terms with her, sick of "entertaining" her when she talks to me. I do not want to gripe about her, neither do I want to gossip about her anymore. I think I had enough of her. I just hope that she would just go away although this might be a little difficult. So, what can I do? Seriously, I do not know. I am just leaning onto God, for that extra bit of tolerance and that extra bit of strength. I just want to be fruitful in the things I do.

A better tomorrow...

Didn't really have a good week. Was upset, frustrated, irritated. Had an one and a half day course last week. Nice course, good lecturer full of experience. It was good save for the lousy building with lousy toilets and facilities. Anyway, had to go back to work after the half day course on Wednesday. Seriously, I hated that. It was irritating. I dragged my feet back. I went into the toilet and poured out my frustration at Peiyun. Went back to my cubicle, checked my email and went into delirium. B was on course too! Haha. Went next door and exclaimed to Peiyun. She burst out laughing. Great contrast from frustration to sheer delight. Well, I can't help it!!! Haha. Anyway, I became moody again. Frustrated with what I was doing and didn't know why I was still in that place. Felt demoralised. Ended work at 7.30pm. Nevertheless, I am sick of facing a "duh" person every day. Giving you that blank look and not being a team player. But this is the weekend. Things will get better. For sure.

Leave, leaving, left.

Drats... Was on MC yesterday. This is the third time I took an MC this year. It's a record broken. While I was studying, I could just take one MC over two years or none at all. This sucks. Big time. Either the air in the office is not good or it's my body disliking my workplace. I think it's both. Hahaha....

Anyway, there's a mass exodus in the office. Two more people resigned yesterday. I woke up from my afternoon nap and Peiyun called me and said that either I would sleep soundly or I would be unable to sleep. And then she told me the good news! Two more officers from the same section quit leaving only the PA in the section! Muahahaha... This is so exciting! I just laughed loudly on the phone. Call me evil but I dun care... And I definitely slept soundly last night. The officers must be so "terrorised" to the effect that they quit their job! The management should wake up their idea! So now, 8 officers have left! Exodus ah! Now people are fighting for the 9th and 10th position. I know this sounds crazy but people are just waiting to leave! Muahahaha (pardon my laughter...Haha)... Two of them even suggested going to Gelare for ice cream to celebrate the exodus! I think we are going nuts! Hahaha!

By the way, I saw the new Nokia phone - N73. It's so cool! 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, visual/FM radio with MP3 player with a swappable mini-SD slot! So cool! Arrgh... But my workplace doesn't allow me to use a camera phone. So irritating. Nvm, I'll just wait...

Anyway, just saw Hui Juan's blog. She changed template! So nice! I want to change also. Girl ah, when you figure out the thing, teach me ok? =)

Monday is wear green day!!!

Haha... You must be wondering what "wear green day" means??? Ta... Just wear green lah! Wear green shirt, green pants, green earrings, green specs, whatever! As long as it is green, it is allowed for work tmrw! Hahaha... But that is for my department only. A gang of girls (me included) have declared (unofficially) that Monday is "wear green day"!

Well... How did this came about??? Hmm... Let's just say that last Monday was a usual day when an email from a certain boss came in. There was much flattery and in a nutshell, he was too busy with his other duties and someone had to cover him. That was Monday. But on Friday, another email came. This time, after reading it, my body system went "tink"! Apparently, this boss won't have someone to cover his duties but he has to relinquish his duties. What a difference four days made. Hahaha... So what has green got to do with him? Well, he dislikes (or should I say hate?) green. So to "commemorate" his absence (or leave), we decided to wear green. I know this sounds really bitchy but its once in a blue moon that you get to hear me writing (or talking) like this... I dun care and you shouldn't care too... Should be wearing a green shirt tmrw... Hehe...

Anyway, except for Sunday morning, which I was in church, I spent my entire weekend at home. Was down with flu and all I could think of was to sleep. Its only 9pm now but I feel like sleeping. In any case, I spent my entire Saturday at home and finished Torey Hayden's book. Haven't read her books in ages, maybe I'll start reading them one by one.. It feels good to be home actually. No crowd. Just me, my bed, my book, my magazine, my laptop, my radio and I'm a contented woman.

Happy 17th Anniversary, City Harvest!!!

Happy 17th Birthday, City Harvest Church!!!!!! Yup, that's right, it's CHC's 17th anniversary today. As usual, we had our celebration at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Once a year, this will be our only chance to have the whole church come under one roof to celebrate our anniversary. Looking at the crowd, I must say that we have grown tremendously. The first time that we were at the SIS, it was for our 10th anniversary. At that time, we filled only half of the stadium, but slowly we started filling up the place, from half to three-quarters, then the entire stadium and now even the overflow rooms! This is just so amazing and you can't deny God's grace in this.

God has given us us 17 wonderful years and from 20 members, we have grown to 20,000. This is a growth beyond what we could think or imagine but God has given it to us. 17 years... The first anniversary I attended in CHC was its' 9th anniversary, and now, 8 years have passed... Amazing... I was a teenager then, was in secondary school, then JC, then uni and now I am working. I spent my entire teenage years in CHC and it has moulded me to where I am today. It is my second family... Pastor's teachings, my CGLs and ministry leaders discipleship, they have touched me beyond what I could expressed in this blog. But without them, I wouldn't be here today. And I look forward to another magnificent 17 years with CHC!

Not only is this CHC's 17th anniversary, it is also Pastor Kong's 20th year into full time ministry! Of course, the church made special mention of it and the pastors surprised Pastor Kong with an item at the end of the service. Words of appreciation were said and a gigantic (it's really gigantic! But it's fit for a man like Pastor Kong!) trophy was presented to Pastor Kong. Sun even called back from LA and spoke words of appreciation to Pastor Kong which moved him to tears! Pastor Kong is the pillar of this church, his teachings have never failed to motivate me, it has made me a better person, daring to dream and believe. God is the source of all things but he needs a faithful servant to minister His word. And for CHC, it is Pastor Kong. He walks the walk and is our example. Life in this church is never dull because he has given us a vision that makes us look forward to go forth with him. Pastor Kong may not get to read my blog, but truly, he is my hero of faith!

Thank you Jesus for CHC and Pastor Kong!

Happy 23rd Birthday!

Ta da! It was my birthday yesterday but the celebration began on Monday! My colleagues bought me a cake and I received a lot of gifts from them. Wendy bought me a shoe wallet, TSH & SSH bought me a Kipling purse, Peiyun bought me an ornament from a German shop, Swee Han gave me a choker, and Huixia & Carol gave me a necklace. The best thing was Carol bursting into my office to place the necklace over my neck in full view of my colleagues, my boss and Mr. B. Needless to say, I knew the plot. What a contrast between Mr B and my birthday... Haha... Evil...

Anyway, I met Hui Juan after work on Monday and we to K-box and sang for more than 3 hours! It was great fun since it had been a long time since we sang. And I am still waiting patiently for my present... Hehe...

And then the clock hit 12! Joshua called me and gave me a touching "speech" and after that, he was off having supper till 3am with his friends. Haha... Not that I mind though... He needs to enjoy himself too. Anyway, I immediately called Hongda after Joshua hanged up. How could I ever forget Hongda?! The guy who was born on the same year, same month and same day as me! For once, I beat him in wishing each other "Happy Birthday"! Usually he is faster than me and this time I beat him to it! Haha... This kind of thing also want to compete...

Well, the best time was of course reserved for Tuesday. Met my laoshi in the afternoon for lunch and was really challenged and motivated by him by the time we were done. He is really doing well in his career now and he is willing to teach me to get the best of his job. Right now, all I need to do is to convince my parents, establish my goals, take the risk and off I go to a whole new world. This will be my line of thought for the next two weeks. To make a decision and stick to it. No regrets this time.

After that, I finally met Joshua. I was waiting for him and shopping around Raffles City Shopping Centre when I saw him. Well, too bad, he wanted to give me a surprise but I caught him. Nevertheless, he was still very sweet. He bought me a bouquet of tulips and an Ed Hardy t-shirt with my favourite design!!! Woo hoo! I was really really touched. But that's not all. For dinner, we went to Ritz-Carlton for their international buffet. I was literally filled and fed to fullness with the desserts. Yes, I ate more desserts than main course. They were simply irresistible! Anyway, the night went well, the ambience at Ritz-Carlton was simply wonderful and I was literally touched to the core of my heart!

Last of all, I was simply touched by all my friends who remembered my birthday. Most importantly, they were from my friends in secondary. They made the effort to remember... Yuan Qian, Kam Choy, Justus... 3 guys but they remembered...

Dinner at Jack's Place

My godmother came over to my house today, and since my birthday is just two days away, she decided to give me a dinner treat. Initially, I suggested having Sakae Sushi but she wasn't really for the idea as she did not really like Japanese food. As such, we ended up having dinner at Jack's Place. All those talk about me deciding the place for dinner just came to nothing literally. Haha... Anyway, this wasn't the main thing. The food is. Well, its been a long long long time since I had a meal at Jack's Place. It just doesn't seem so tempting anymore. In any case, my food came and I was quite right. The food didn't taste as good as it was. The mushroom soup was thick and nice but the onion soup was too bland. As for my sirloin steak, the meat was too tough, I chewed for ages before I finally shoved it down my throat. As for desserts, there was a lack of variety. Hmm... The service was good though. Perhaps Jack's Place should consider revising their menu...

NDP Preview 2006

Yipee! I went for the NDP Preview yesterday. Although it was not the actual parade but who cares! As long as I enjoyed myself and its been ages since I last attended the NDP. I reached the stadium around 4 pm and the sun was really shining right at me. No doubt it was hot but the cap and the mini-fan provided in the goodie bag made the difference. Speaking about the goodie bag, it was really heavy. There was a Nokia 3250 handphone torchlight (the kid behind me exclaimed: Daddy, there's a handphone!), an Akira mini-fan, lots of vouchers, snacks and of course, Newater. Hehe...

Anyway, this year's NDP is a little different. Although as usual you have four items of performance but the visual impact was really impressive. The effective use of lights and colours really worked very well and it really awed me. And of course, the most impressive item was the fireworks! They were really fantastic! Can't describe them in words, you got to see it yourself!

Sadly to say, this is the last NDP in the National Stadium before it is demolished. So attending this preview (so what if it is not the actual day!) seemed significant. Probably, this would be the last time that we see the Kallang wave too. Thankfully, there were no ugly Singaporeans at work (at least I did not get to witness them). Everyone moved in an orderly manner although there was a little bit of pushing and shoving but it was still pretty alright except the humid weather didn't do any justice to the crowd.

On another note, if you are there for such a celebratory event, please be excited ok? All around me, people were cheering, clapping, whistling and enjoying themselves except this family behind me. They did not bring out any goodies from the goodie bag. No clappers, no torchlight (when night had fallen) and no cheering. The son had this glum face that looked as if someone had owe him a million bucks. Hey, you need to be loud and excited for this kind of event can?! If you are not doing anything, then why be there? Duh leh...

Nice ending to a crazy Friday...

Friday was a crazy day.

It all started in the morning. I was doing the usual in the office, I had my breakfast and I was reading the papers. Halfway through, the fire alarm rang. Nobody in my office reacted and I continued to read, thinking that it was a false alarm again. The fire alarm had gone off so many times that it no long mattered. It was only ten minutes later when my colleague next door pushed the door open and exclaimed: "Haven't you all locked up your stuff?!". Me being me, went shrieking and wondering what was happening. Well, it turned out that there was a short circuit and there was really a fire! A fire in the office! But it was small and was already put out by the time I had reacted. The entire corridor was filled with smoke and a burning smell. By then, we were told to switched off our PCs and we were effectively shut down for two hours. Early happy hour.

Anyway, things were restored and I did a mad dash for my work. I had something urgent to handle. So from 10.30am onwards, I was working and typing like crazy and I ended my work at 7pm. Shucks. I hate to work so late on a Friday. Didn't feel like going out though but I badly needed some fresh air and I wanted to chill out - desperately. So, I met Justin. We finally had dinner at Raffles Hotel after a long walk from Marina Square to Raffles City Shopping Centre then Purvis Street before making a detour to Raffles Hotel. Every place we went to was crowded and we wanted to avoid the crowd. We had a super filling dinner and talked and talked and talked. Well, we had not met for a long long time. That's why. Chatting during dinner wasn't enough and we continued on and on till 11pm before we gave up. Too tired. Justin said he felt better after talking to me. I really hoped so. It was nice talking to him too. What a better way to end my Friday.

Get behind me!

To all the negative people out there: Get behind me! I do not need someone to put me down nor do I need someone to refute me in whatever I say. No doubt, we live in a brokendown world but that doesn't mean we have to be negative. The world doesn't revolve around negativity and it is not as bad as you think. Stop saying "it's impossible", "it's too difficult" or "it cannot be done" because I do not believe in that. I believe that everything is possible and the one living within me is greater than the world. So if you are a negative person, get behind me! You won't put my will down but you will just be an annoying pest!

Work and World Cup

Ooh... It has been a month since I blogged... Anyway, here are some updates on my life... The past three weeks has been a breeze and trying in some ways. I've been watching some World Cup matches and it's really tiring especially when I need to go to work the next day. Most of the time, I behave like a zombie. Haha! And I haven't met Hui Juan for the past 3 weeks also! And this is a long time! Let's hope that we can meet next week!

On work, well, Mr B has been extremely nice to me. In fact, too nice. It's so nice that it is too good to be true and I can't help but feel like a storm is brewing. You can call me paranoid but after 6 months of "torture", you can't blame me for feeling this way. One bad thing though, I have to continue to work with Mr B, actually not only me, but everyone has to work with Mr B although we can't wait for Mr B to be transferred somewhere else. On another note, Mr B's recent efforts to be nice has made work more bearable. Hee...

On World Cup, there were a few matches that made me mourn... When both England and Germany lost, my heart sank. But one thing that made my heart leap was when Portugal lost to France! Haha! Serves them right! Portugal is a good team but their antics lost them my vote. In particular, Cristiano Ronaldo. What's wrong with him?! He's really a good player and Man U is good to have him, but after the match with England, I hope Ronaldo doesn't go back to the EPL! He is so irritating and such a good actor! If there was a best actor award in the World Cup, he will be the winner! Argh! Irritant!

Audition...

Went for BV audition today, and... I didn't get in... Haha... I should be sad and disappointed right? But I'm not leh... Hehe... Not that I didn't take it seriously but it was a very good exposure and experience. Sister Alison said that I have a sweet voice and nice tone but I was too airy... Sis Bel agreed that I had a sweet voice and nice tone but I was too airy and I needed to improve my diction. She said that I surprised her, a nice suprise. Hmm... The whole thing felt like Singapore Idol...

EMERGE Session 4

To be in the world, but not of the world.

EMERGE Session 3

Went to for Session 3 of Emerge tonight... Didn't go for Session 2 as I was working. Nevertheless, at least I could make it! And never in my wildest dream did I expect to see Kelly Poon, Hong Junyang and Taufik Batisah performing in church! It almost became a mini-concert! As I was wondering why did the orgainsers for Emerge invited them, I realised that it was a simple message that the pastors were driving at. That is, to pursue our dreams! Pst Kong preached that all of us have dreams and God can use us in a way that we can never imagined. Through the years, I had many dreams, some have been broken and is dead but I am waiting for its resurrection. These dreams can only become better and will be fulfilled in time to come...

Every year in Emerge, Pst Kong would begin Session 1 on why we need to have a campus ministry and day 2 would be focused on spiritual hunger. It was the same this year. After the fantastic performance, Pst Kong wasted no time in getting into the message. It was a simple and short sermon but the message was driven home. To have spiritual hunger, to spend time with God, the simple basics but the most essential for God to use somebody. Once again, I was touched, my commitment strenghthened and my spirit revived...

EMERGE Session 1

I am feeling high... Not high on drugs but high on God's presence... I know this sounds flaky and after a series of angry blogs, the last thing you expect from Charlene is something spiritual... But this is how it is like, isn't it? We can be overwhelmed by emotions but once you step into the presence of God, everything changes...

Emerge is into its' fourth year now. This annual conference was started by Pst Kong in 2003 with the purpose of encouraging the youths in church to live a frutiful life in God... I totally agree with what Pst Kong says, the youths in church should be the coolest, hippiest, most successful in the world but yet at the same time, we uphold good moral values and is determined to live out God's purpose in life. Emerge is a time of consecration, kneeling before God and experiencing his presence. This year's Emerge holds extra meaning for me because it is the first time I'm attending it as a working adult. It's a different feeling altogether but one thing that does not change is the presence of God... I can't describe it, you can only experience it. As we sang Sanctuary, the lyrics echo my feelings and thoughts...

When my world was in darkness
You spoke Your word
Night turned into day
Your beauty filled this place

When my world stood in silence
You filled my heart
With songs that never end
Forever I will praise

To think that the universe
Could not withold Your glory
You choose to live in me
I'm so amazed

And I worship You Lord
My life in You restored
Here is my heart
Make it Your sanctuary
For nobody else
But Jesus only You

You are faithful and true
Glorious Lord
All my life, it is You I adore
You've touched my soul
Completed my world
I surrender to You

Little things that touch me...

Spoke to laoshi on Wednesday and he was so so so nice and encouraging... I was just rambling and complaining to him about work and he was listening to me and giving me advice. But the best thing came after I hung up the phone, he smsed me and this was what he wrote:

"Put d past behind you n make sure you learn as much as poss, network as far as poss, leave at d end of d yr with a positive impact, so as to make tis last 6 mth really worth it! Jia You..."

Simple msg but it touches my heart...

Bureaucracy sucks!!!

I dun mean to blog only when I am angry but I need an outlet to vent my frustration!

What is it that they do?! What do they read?! Dun they know what they are doing?! They are one of the highest paid up there but it seems that it is a waste of money! When it is their oversight, I have to pay the price?! What rubbish is that?!

Fuming.Angry.Upset.

I dun mean to have an angry blog, but today was too much to bear. Brace your eyes for some angry words!

Bad day today...

Who does she think she is?! Stubborn as a bull and has such a big ego! Always think that she's the smartest and the rest of us are fools! Low EQ without a thought for others! Takes pride in being difficult! Such an ass in your face!!! Always believing that she is right and all of us are just wrong! Whatever is that?! I just wish that she is out of sight, out of mind and out of my life!!!!!

People say that she brings out the worst in us! I totally agree with that! She brought out the worst in me today! I haven't been so angry for ages, haven't curse and swear in ages but everything came tumbling out today! Whatever is this?!

I had three days of peace while she was away, but once she came back, all hell broke loose! Doesn't she realise that no one (except perhaps the bosses) can stand her?! Dresses inappropriately for work and thinks that she is so pretty! Haven't met someone with such a sucky character as her!

Now... You saw the worst of me!

Day 1 - Shenyang

After a six hour flight, I finally reached Beijing at 7.20am! It was a tiring six hour flight as I could not sleep comfortably at all. SQ is nice but when you're taking a long flight in the economy class, it just ain't that good especially if its a midnight flight... Anyway, Beijing Airport is big and spacious just like Changi Airport but of course not as impressive lah. Upon touchdown, Brenda and I felt so cold! We were imagining how cold it would be in Shenyang since Shenyang should be colder than Beijing.

Anyway, we went to collect our luggage and had to go through immigration before taking the domestic flight to Shenyang. At the immigration counter, I discovered that people dun queue! They just squeezed as long as there was some space! All I know is that I need to queue so I ended up with quite a few men jumping into my queue! Hmph!

Due to a delay for whatsoever reason, my flight only took of at 11am instead of 9am. For the two hours that I was stranded in Beijing Airport, I fell asleep due to the lack of sleep the previous night, absolutely no image as I slept there! No choice! I am tired! Anyway, by the time I reached Shenyang, it was already 1pm. It was indeed freezing cold! I took a half hour ride to the Intercontinental Hotel and finally checked in. However, by the time I left the hotel, it was already 3pm and it was too late to go any scenic spot as tourist attractions in China closed at 5pm. Thus, Brenda, she and I went to the city square. Over there, we saw Chairman Mao's statue and we went towards the shopping district after that. We went to try the local snacks and had Starbucks. The hot chocolate was too milky but the local snacks were nice. I tried their "satay" which consisted of either beef or mutton and was seasoned with chilli powder and sesame seeds and it was yummy! After that, we went to Xinhua Bookshop which consisted of 5 storeys! The books were real cheap...

She was ok...

Home on a Friday night...

Surprise surprise! Charlene is home on a Friday night! This is the top news of "Charlene's Daily"! Haha... I am crapping again... Seriously, sometimes it feels good to be home, spending time with myself (I am not egoistic!)... But sometimes you really need to quiet your heart and think and sit through somethings. For me, I finally started reading The Chronicles of Narnia which I bought two weeks ago... Just finished the first chapter of the first story, still a long way to go though...

As for work, I am just discovering some ugly truths every day and they say I learn fast... Now that I have some good colleagues that I can complain too and they being like-minded with me really spares me the agony of "suffering" alone... Haha... But it ain't that bad actually... Except for the bosses ranting, nothing has fazed me much recently. Well, I discovered that almost everyone (seriously everyone!) has some opinion about a certain person and their extent or version is worse than me! Good gracious! I think its really pathetic for a person to have such a reputation...

Anyway, I am enjoying my Friday night... *Smilez*

Talk less, listen more!

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" - James 1:19

I am totally in agreement with the verse above. Call me slow or whatever but recently, I just found out how important it was to listen and talk less. Yes, I may ask for your opinion but I need you to listen as well. When I say listen, it means being a good listener and absorbing what I've been saying, not just listening for the sake of listening and letting my words fall on deaf ears. Right now, I am totally frustrated with a certain someone who hasn't been listening to what I said. How many times do I need to repeat myself before you remember what I say?! It is totally irritating to keep repeating myself. For those of you out there, remember to listen! Sometimes, your personal opinion doesn't matter much, the most important thing is to be a good listener to your friend and that to me is what matters the most...

Monday blues...

I am suffering from a bad bout of Monday blues... I am feeling moody and melancholy... Gosh... no wonder Wendy says I'm a bad case because I've only started working for 3 months. Haha... You can't blame me when the people around me are so boring... Hehe... Anyway, it's no doubt that I survived the day! Yay! 3 cheers for Charlene! Hip hip hurray (*3)! This is real bad... Its only Monday and I'm cranky. Speaking of being cranky, my "beloved" Nokia 6610 is just as cranky, if not even more cranky than me! It switches off on its own when I pick up calls! But today, it didn't! In fact I was on the phone with Hui Juan for 20 minutes and the phone didn't switch itself off! Amazing! It proves me right too. The phone has to "rest" before it functions properly! Haha! I think I am going nuts over my Nokia phone. I just wished that I can use my trusty Samsung but its got a camera so I can't use it at my workplace. Speaking of phones, I want to change my phones! (Screaming aloud in words!!!) I want to change both my Nokia and Samsung! Extravagant? I think so too... I need a non-camera phone on the weekdays and a savvy phone on weekends... I just can't stand being so low tech. Arrgh! No choice...

Occupying my mind

I need to occupy my mind. Seriously. I need to get away from reading newspapers and political news. If it wasn't required for my work, I wouldn't be reading political stuff at all! Half the time when I am working, I am thinking: 'What has this got to do with me?!' But can I really get away with it? Not yet. At least for now. Which makes me so happy that I got my radio at my workplace. But I need something else. My "healthfood". More reading in this case. Contrary to what you read earlier on, I love reading! Just that I want it for leisure and not for work. I've run out of books to read. Just finished 'Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt" by Anne Rice and I feel empty not reading now. I need to meet Hui Juan and exchange our books. Or try to rent more. I want my chick lit, fiction, non-fiction, self-helps and biographies to occupy my mind...

Dilemma.Choices.Decisions

Whoever said that making decisions are easy must be out of his/her mind! True, its just between saying 'yes' and 'no' but you have to weigh the pros and cons and put in a lot of factors before you can really decide on anything. As much as I want to do the extreme now but I need to have enough finances first before I can do anything. Really thought that it was a blessing to be able to go to China with Mindef sponsoring the whole trip. But there's nothing such as a free lunch in the world. There's a catch to it. If I make that trip, I will be bonded for another 6 months to Mindef. That really got me thinking. Is it really worth my time and effort to be there for another 6 months? I don't want to take this uncalculated risk. What's worse was that they didn't tell me about the bond! Thank God I was talking to a fellow colleague over lunch and she told me about this otherwise I'll regret big time! Anyway, I am glad to have this colleague. She shared a lot of things and for once, I realised I had a likeminded colleague in Mindef. Haha...

I love my friends and Projectshop!

I had a happy Friday, Saturday and Sunday last week! Met up with Hui Juan and Justin on Friday.... Then Hui Juan and I went to K-Box and we sang for almost one and a half hours! It was really awesome! Both of us did not meet for 3 weeks and we haven't had karaoke together for a long time! So it was a great time catching up and we laughed, sang and talked to each other non-stop. It was really great!

Then came Saturday... It was Team A's first duty in the Singapore Expo. Things were pretty confused because many of the members were singing for the first time. But everything worked out well in the end. We sang 'Paint the Town Red' and its a smashing song! Hoo!

And there was Sunday... I reached church at 8.30am for choir and had a cappucino nougat before going on stage to sing... Was really hungry by the time service ended. Together with Joshua, we went out with Alvin and his girlfriend to a hawker center near Bedok market for lunch. I had chicken chop and it was yummy, yummy! After that, Joshua and I went to Orchard, and we each bought a T-shirt from Zara! Later, we also bought each other a bag from Projectshop as a Valentine's Day gift. Isn't that wonderful? I've got one more bag from Projectshop! Yay! And the sales assistant was impressed by the amount of Projectshop bags I have! Heh... I'm an ardent fan.

Oh yes... Joshua bought a bouquet of pink roses for me... Hehe...

Delirious?

Delirious? came last weekend... They are one of the best Christian bands in the world. Their music has certainly been changing through the years and it is just getting better! Bought their new album: The Mission Bell. I am still in the midst of listening to it but I like the lyrics of this song. Very real and reflects the world of today... Here's 'Our God Reigns'...

40 million babies lost to God's great orphanage
It’s a modern day genocide and a modern day disgrace
If this is a human right then why aren’t we free?
The only freedom we have is in a man nailed to a tree

100 million faces, staring at the sky
Wondering if this HIV will ever pass us by
The devil stole the rain and hope trickles down the plug
But still my Chinese take away could pay for someone’s drugs

Our God reigns, Our God reigns
Forever your kingdom reigns

The west has found a gun and it’s loaded with ‘unsure’
Nip and tuck if you have the bucks in a race to find a cure
Psalm one hundred and thirty nine is the conscience to our selfish crime
God didn’t screw up when he made you
He’s a father who loves to parade you

Yes he reigns, yes you reign, yes you reign
For there is only one true God
But we’ve lost the reins on this world
Forgive us all, forgive us please
As we fight for this broken world on our knees

Happy New Year!!!

Its 'chu qi' so its not too late yet, so here's wishing all 'Happy New Year'!!! And its 'chu qi' so 'Happy Birthday'!!! I had a tiring but fruitful new year, went out at 9.30am and reach home at 10.30pm on day 1 of the CNY. Its tiring man! Its like working overtime! Haha! But I did enjoy myself... Catching up with relatives and making fun of people... Hehe... Ang bao takings haven't gone up but it hasn't gone down yet, so it's maintaining its standard. Hahaha... Call me money-face or what but I don't care! I'm going to take ang bao while I still can... Hohoho... Money no enough so have to depend on this once a year... Heh...

Allow me please...

I'm trying hard not to make all my postings an angry post but allow me to to do it today... Sometimes I wish she can just disappear into thin air. Hey, its a nice morning and I don't need someone to bite my head off ok?! That's figurative speech, in case you dunno... Once again, I was pissed off today. Absolutely pissed off! Now you know I am angry because Charlene always used "turn off". Ta da! Yet another not so good breakthrough from Charlene... Tsk tsk...

Angry...

I am angry...

Fuming...

Absolutely irritated...

My patience is tested...

I wonder how long I can last...

I am on the verge of doing the extreme...

A day of relaxation...

Today its one of the most amazing day that I had in a long long while... I took leave from work today and its just so wonderful! The night before, I slept at 11pm and I woke up this morning at 9am! Woohoo! Its 10 hours of wonderful sleep! After that, I took my time to have breakfast and surf the net before having a shower and leaving my house at 11.45am for Orchard for a day of shopping! You know what? It feels so good not having to wake up early and rush out for work. It is even better when you know that others are working and you don't have to! Haha... Although I may have work to clear tmrw, but... I am just happy to have this kind of luxury once in a while. In NZ, this is known as mental health day. Haha... Strongly suggested: Anyone who is working should always try to have a day off once in awhile. You need to pamper yourself and relax. It is a luxury. And I really felt like a princess... Haha... Anyway, I had a wonderful time shopping. I bought a pair of shoes, a pair of jeans and 3 tops! Its just so wonderful! I can't remember when was the last time that I had such a shopping spree. The feeling is just so... I can't describe it... Its just awesome...

Charlene's yakking...

Been 2 weeks since I blogged. Time to give an update yah? Am feeling melancholy now... Anyway, been feeling real tired for the past one week. Not just physically but emotionally as well. It takes a lot to smile and act as if you are not upset by people. Sometimes, people just want to make your life difficult. The only consolation is that I am not the only one. If you think you are capable, that's great, but a good character matters much more. And if you know how to treat people well and not just keep demanding, that is even better... My neck and back is aching now, and it doesn't help when you have to sit in front of the computer the whole day. My eyes are feeling tired and dry too... Wonder how long it will take before my short-sightedness gets worse. Am not feeling that good either, wish that I can have a day off and sleep the whole day but I can't do it now. CNY is coming and I need to bake cookies. I haven't bought any new clothes, shoes, bag etc yet... Money not enough too...

终于明白什么是事业和工作，
真得觉得很累，
现在的心情跌倒了谷底。
不要整天说我只会说累，
事实上， 我真的很累，
不是我想摆一个脸色，
其实我已经尽力了。
不奢求什么，
不渴望什么，
只希望有着被人宠的感觉。。。

Never judge a book by its cover

Arrgh!!!! I am so angry! Finally realised the term "never judge a book by its cover", and its like "Charlene, welcome to the real world!" I am still fuming... Angry and provoked... How angry was I? To the extent that I almost swear! Now you can imagine my anger cos I hardly ever swear at all!!! Grrr....Anyway, I realised that the more quiet, decent and nice person is, he can be the worst of all... No longer going to put my trust in all these people (except for that 1 or 2)... This people can be the ones that provoked you the most... I am so angry and upset that I am taking it out on potato chips and peanuts now. They ain't good for my skin and body but they are my outlet for frustration! Arr!!!

Its 2006!

Ta da! Its 2006! For the past two weeks, I've been on a holiday mood. Christmas shopping, giving gifts, eating lotsa good food and enjoying the long weekend! Yea! No need to face the computer and type and read the whole day. It does give my eyes some well-deserved break. Anyway, went out with Joshua, Hui Juan, Lindy, Aaron and friends on New Year's Eve. We wanted to go to the Esplanade to catch the fireworks but it was soooooo crowded. So we decided to go to Clarke Quay instead. Yet in the midst of it, we stopped over at the old Parliament house and caught the fireworks from there instead. It was really beautiful! After that, we went to Clarke Quay, had a drink and spent a little time dancing till 2 plus. From there, I walk walk walk all the way till Stamford House trying to get a cab with no avail. Finally, I decided to call a cab, but I had to redial at least 10, 20 times before I finally got one. In the end, I reached home around 4am which was approximately one and a half hours after I left Clarke Quay! Gosh! I quickly went to sleep and I put my alarm clock on snooze for one hour before I finally woke up at 8am and realised that I had to rush in order to get to church! Anyway, I finally made it to church on time... Heh...

Well, I must say that going to church on the first morning of 2006 is currently the best decision for the year... Haha.. I mean, what a better way to start the new year?! The first morning of 2006 and you are fed with spiritual food to start your new year right. Indeed, the sermon was appropriate. I am going to look forward to all challenges in the new year and forget those things that are behind... *wink*

Its Christmas time!

I caught the Christmas mood last week when CHC had our ever-first candlelight service. I've never been to one before so it was really quite an experience. The whole hall was lighted up in candles and the scene was so nice, we sang carols and I was immersed in the Christmas mood. Then came Monday and the office was buzzing with activity cos we were looking forward to the half-day on Friday. Besides that, my boss treated us to a hearty lunch. Then on Tuesday, we had turkey, a cheese platter, a gourmet platter, a sashimi platter for lunch. The bonus was that we could drink during office hours! Woohoo! When Wednesday came, I started receiving presents. I was really touched because I was only in the office for a month. My colleagues were really nice and I received good and practical gifts. By today, I've already received 10 gifts! That's a pretty good record isn't it? I think its the first time I receive so many gifts for Christmas. Hohoho... I received that much gifts but I also bought a lot of gifts too. Went to Toys R' Us yesterday. I haven't stepped into it for years, but when I went in, I bought 9 toys! I think its the first time I bought so many toys at one go. In fact, I felt a little gross for buying so many toys! Haha... Anyway, the office had Christmas lunch today and I was fully fed again. Very full... Well, here's wishing all my friends: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Twentysomething

Ok... I haven't reach twenty something yet, I'm still in my early twenties but I really love this song by Jamie Cullum. I dun wanna say much but I'll just let the song/lyrics do the talking. It echoes my sentiments right now...

"After years of expensive education
A car full of books and anticipation
I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot
But the world don't need scholars as much as I thought
Maybe I'll go travelling for a year
Finding myself, or start a career
Could work the poor, though I'm hungry for fame
We all seem so different but we're just the same
Maybe I'll go to the gym, so I don't get fat
Aren't things more easy, with a tight six pack
Who knows the answers, who do you trust
I can't even seperate love from lust
Maybe I'll move back home and pay off my loans
Working nine to five, answering phones
But don't make me live for Friday nights
Drinking eight pints and getting in fights
Maybe I'll just fall in love
That could solve it all
Philosophers say that that's enough
There surely must be more
Love ain't the answer, nor is work
The truth elludes me so much it hurts
But I'm still having fun and I guess that's the key
I'm a twentysomething and I'll keep being me
THESE ARE THE DAYS
These are the days that I've been missing
Give me the taste give me the joy of summer wine
These are the days that bring new meaning
I feel the stillness of the sun and I feel fine
Sometimes when the nights are closing early
I remember you and I start to smile
Even though now you don't want to know me
I get on by, and I go the extra mile
These are the times of love and meaning
Ice of the heart has melted away and found the light
These are the days of endless dreaming
Troubles of life are floating away like a bird in flight"

Absolutely irritated!

What's the problem with middle-aged man nowadays?! I don't want to generalize but I am not the only one feeling it... Came home straight after work today and was feeling absolutely rotten cos I was so bored and my friends weren't free. Had dinner and sat down to watch tv. Wanted to watch Superhost cos my JC junior was in it. Changed my mind and switched to Ch 5 to watch Extreme Japan cos I haven't caught an episode of it since it started to air. I was barely halfway through when my father started mumbling and complaining that he paid for SCV, and that I was wasting his money by watching local channels! I mean, what's the point? Star movies was showing Vertical Limit which I had watched before and HBO was showing Rome which I had no interest in. If he wanted to watch other programs, he could have said it and not start complaining about how he was wasting his money. Worse still he kept on mumbling. When I watched the Star Awards on Sunday, he was doing the same thing too! How irritating can that be?! And when I was having dinner, he complained to me about the pianist Melvyn Tan who didn't do his NS and how he managed to escape it. Then he kept on complaining and said that the SAF personnel didn't have a good explanation blah blah blah.... For goodness sake, I dun want to have anything to do with it! All I want after a day of work is to relax and live in peace with no one humming at my ears! Man shouldn't be nagging and he has to do that! I am absolutely irritated!!!!

Bored, bored, very bored...

I am very tired and very sleepy... And this is so strange, it shouldn't be this way. I am being paid to read the newspapers and stare at the computer screen everyday and yet I feel tired. Charlene is bored... Literally bored to tears... I am so bored being coop up in an office, facing the computer screen, reading newspapers and being stuck in a routine. Can life get more boring than this? I am so amazed... I seriously wonder how long can I stay sane this way without pulling my hair out? Haha...

Finally met up with Hui Juan after 3 weeks. We didn't see each other for 3 weeks! Can you believe it? We miss each other like crazy lor. I can't believe it... Anyway, shopaholic started ringing bells in our heads once we went shopping... Haha... Had lotsa food yesterday, we ate sotong and gyoza from Old Chang Kee, then we had ramen, and after that we had ice cream. Yummy! A lot of calories? Dun care lah, eat already then say... Anyway, the food was like a reward to us for working hard... Keke...

Met up with Justin for lunch also... Really miss the guys at fin-exis... Glad that JP is finally out of BFC while Justin has 2 more months. Work hard my friend! Miss you guys like crazy! And I wanna go ktv with JP! Inject some life in me man!