looking back at my last post of 2010, i cant help but think indeed, it was a year that didnt go all too well. but i must say, i didnt expect to hit such a low in life. a big stain on a nice white shirt that will never go away. but i guess it's for the better that it doesnt go away, so that i will forever remember the lessson i learnt.
thank God for being the ever forgiving One. thank God for the life lessons He taught me. thank God for the trials so that I may hopefully come out of it a better person, a better follower of Jesus.
on another note, though i wasnt expecting to enjoy myself at my company's d&d, i did, like it, somewhat.
the cowboys that looked a little bit more like farmers..
to 2012, to a year i hope i grow closer to God.
i could never have planned a better approach to the return of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. a long chrismas weekend away from work, 5.5 days long, doing almost nothing.
8 months ago, on my birthday, i bid farewell to HWSNBN, thinking he is gonna be out of my life forever. was still in a shock then after hearing the news of his departure, half thinking whether it is an april fool's joke even though he is probably the last person i expect to pull off a joke. for the few days before i found out about the news, and the few weeks after, i wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or bad thing, the big unknown, the uncertainity looms ahead.
8 months on, though sometimes wishing that he is around so people cannot push us around so easily, i kinda dread his return. the unnecessary stress, the sometimes unreasonable scolding, the feeling that an explosion is just around the corner.
i told myself, this time round, i will not be fearful for no reason, to not be afraid of leaving at 6 plus especially if i have finished my work, to not be stressed out by his mood swings. only time will tell if i can do it though.
it's been a while since i dread going to work so much.. it was good while it last.. i can only be thankful his return wasnt a months earlier..
since young, as long as i can remember, i always have this thing with the cold breeze in the evening. no matter where i'll be, be it standing on the mrt platform waiting for a train, or sitting in front of my computer at home. it never fails to get me into a lonely mood, as if i am all alone in this world with no company. im so not gonna survive winter..
being in the month of december, other than being very wet, it can get really breezy here in singapore, especially when your house is 12 levels up and your windows are not obstructed by any buildings. so, once again, today's breeze got me into such a mood again, and after a while, i decided to cheer myself up by watching home alone 2!
i used to watch the first and second home alone so often, back in the days when vcr are still found in every single house and people record whatever they want to watch onto the tapes, and home alone just happens to be one of those shows we recorded.
seeing how kevin go around new york all by himself, it got me thinking about my lack of courage to go travel a unfamiliar country by myself, the many what ifs that holds me back..
but again, it can be such a nice thing too, like cameron diaz in the holiday, finding herself taking a holiday all by herself in a cottage in england, surrounded by empty fields, driving in a mini cooper to a small village center to get her groceries, to hang out at a bar, to be away from everything that has made her life so familiar and comfortable.
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uk in november 2012? lets see if i muster enough courage by then..
never gotten 500 pts at this before...
and i promised to do a screenshot.. so here i am sharing it.. hur hur..
i'm referring to getting christmas presents for others..
the story started really when i did up my christmas gift shopping list, and this time round, i decided to get presents for my colleagues in my department even though there was no plans for any gift exchange.
turned out that we decided to meet up for dinner tonight, and everyone secretly bought presents for the others too. i have yet to open mine, but it's two books from kinokuniya (judging from the wrapper) which means it cost a bit for most books. suddenly, i felt a little embarrassed that i got them something that probably cost half the price at least of theirs, which is quite silly really, since it was out of good heart that i bought them, and they are presents that i don't mind receiving myself.
it shows that i do still care about what people think of me, even though my motive was probably right and I just wanted to spread the joy of this season. so, i think i have somewhat managed to convince myself no matter whether people think im cheap or im lousy at buying presents, God knows my motive is good (or so i think), and that's all that matters.
it seems like mondays are starting to be my meet the friends night. it started with dinner with the chuckies folks and i realized meeting people on monday is actually quite a good idea, makes the monday so much more bearable. since then, i arranged to meet up with friends over 3 other mondays and i learned the reason why monday may not be a very good day after all.
it seems like monday is my most likely day to do ot. suppose to meet na and sue for the first time in a year or so but in the end i had to cancel on them cause i worked till midnight, the first time ever at this job. the monday after, supposed to meet huimin but ended up being an hour late cause of work. the usual problem is the for most of the day, i would feel like i wouldnt have to do ot, but somehow, at 4plus 5, some last minute work will come in that requires to be finished at the end of the day.
so today was no different. actually was quite looking forward to meeting a friend whom i was pretty close to but got further apart when things got ugly at one point. we used to meet often as she just stay a few streets away and it turns out that she's moving away from the neighbourhood in a month or two and thought it might be a good idea to meet up. and what a good idea it was. had a good conversation, almost as if nothing much has changed, though im quite sure both of us know certain things have. nonetheless, it was still a good time, more conversation within one evening that many others i see more.
so, i should really start a meet a friend on monday thing, and hopefully people would stop giving me extra work at the last minute and i dont have to be late!
so the story of the week is all about how our local train system is behaving like a twin of the infamous england's tube. breaking down 3 times in the past 4 days, twice lasting more than 4 - 5hours. with such unusual occurance, i can't say im at all surprised by the amount of unhappiness expressed on social media. i can say im thankful having avoided having to travel over those days as i was at the youth retreat. though i have to wonder if i would really be as unhappy as so many of my peers and the so-called noisy netizens (a group of people i have since to perceived as noisy, self centered, and narrow minded)
just because we are singapore, are people here expected to be perfect when mistakes occurs in every single country? it's not like the tube doesnt break down. has anyone ever took a train during peak hour in hong kong? you literally have to start waiting 10 metres from the door and basically let people push you into the trains. true, the trains there do arrive much more frequently but it's not like there havent been improvement right here. some people even go so far as to demand the resignation of the ceo. really? how much do these people really know about the contribution of the ceo over her stint as ceo? one mistake means you are an awful leader? im sure these people dont have to be reminded about their idol mr jobs not all perfect resume?
so lets examine what were the loses? errr.. no lives lost, not property destroyed.. basically people have to manage their schedule and probably cancel certain plans. compared this with, lets say, the nuclear disaster in japan. dont see people reacting as violently to that as they did over the past few days. i can only say it is because we are a group of self centered being.
today's sermon was on a verse i remembered so clearly, the theme of the first youth camp i ever helped organized: "strangers in the world". it is all about how we are to be different from the rest of the world, behaving in a way Jesus would have done. annoying as it is, i can understand the rants of those who has yet to know Him, but its another thing when christians, a lot that knows Jesus way longer than myself behaving in a way that is as if you havent met Him.
needing lightsticks for the christmas lamps i was putting up for church, i made my way down to beach road despite the pouring rain. got a little hungry then and decided to buy a blueberry waffles from one of the bakery there.
serving me was a china guy who i found out just moved here from china just a few months ago, hence his english is very much still lacking. having to work with chinese currently, i suddenly felt what customers were complaining about when i tried to tell him i wanted a blueberry waffle without knowing what is blueberry in chinese. i managed to say the word 蓝 and from there, a few guesses later, he realized i wanted 蓝梅 which was blueberry in chinese.
even though he doesnt know english, i dont see not knowing english as a reason to complain, unlike many other of the customers i hear from. in fact, he went one step further to provide better service. looking around to see that the lady boss wasnt looking, he decided to splatter a few more scoops of blueberry sauce onto my waffle. risking the wrath of his boss and providing me a more decently filled waffle.
i dunno if it's right to do such things as an employee, but it certainly made me the customer happier. =)
a day that should have happened yesterday instead occured today due to last minute work once again.
it started with lunch with my favourite duck noodles at whampoa. it's a pity i dont get to eat it more often as it closes really early. hair got shorten and it was off to town. it is so nice not having to rush anywhere, just hop onto a double decker bus, taking the almost empty and very quiet top deck and just enjoy the view and the ride.
got myself a brand new fossil watch for $55. ermm.. not exactly like it sound but my fossil watch is one whereby the strap cant be changed and also not covered under waranty. 1.5 years into it, the strap broke and the service center people said that i couldnt change it. this being my second fossil watch with the same problem, i decided to write in and "complain". of course having to deal with complains at work, i phrased it as nicely as i could and in the end, they were willing to give me a brand new one but i have to pay $55 for what is the cost of the strap.
i also took the opportunity to finally walk around ion.. like so long after it first opened. the guy who doesnt like to shop walked through every level and every corridor available. with a visit to ngee ann city and $100 poorer, i took a nice break at the coffee club inside kino and had a quite nice ice lychee passion fruit tea:
only thing was other than the lychee floating on top, i couldnt taste any lychee flavour in the drink. walked around a bit more and spent more money. i end the day having walked through ion, ngee ann city and raffles city, and like $200+ poorer but i think my christmas shopping is more or less done!
nope, not the dance but a new rhythm that i learned today during keyboard class. i never learned music so i do not know what all the different genres were previously but this sounds pretty good, a little bit like those music in castlevania where there is a touch of creepiness and eerieness.
i also realized how weak my fingers individually are.. maybe that's why i could never throw a full field huck. waltz has an emphasis on pressing single keys while holding down others and its taking me a while to get used to doing it properly. i guess it's the same for most people, that's why the keyboard teacher sent us back with a finger strengthening exercise.
