Feminine Beauty on Skates

I recently bought the VCD titled 'Ice Princess' & managed to find time to watch it tonight. It's a Walt Disney film production, which although seemingly like a fairy tale at times, the crux is that it brings warmth & hope to the hearts of those who watch it. Or at least to me...

I love Walt Disney films... not exactly those cartoon movies, but those with real actors & actresses acting in it. Despite it mostly being a fiction storyline, I find that such Walt Disney film scripts does encourage my heart & give me hope.

In this show, I watched this beautiful girl who struggles between being a scholar at Physics, as well as a championship figure skater. This actress' name is Michelle Trachtenberg... one of the most sweet looking, beautiful & young actress that I have warmed my heart. The previous actress whom I liked was Lindsay Lohan. But after she picked up some bad habits as she grew up, I stopped liking her already.

In this show, I saw with my own eyes who fascinating, thrilling & feminine, that cheorographed figure skating can be. It just amazes me how such feminine flavour could be portrayed when a beautiful woman does a cheoreographed figure skating moves. My heart just melted at such sweet femininity that shown forth through Michelle Trachtenberg. Especially when the camera filmed her skating at different angles... it was so amazing... Indeed, figure skating does bring out the feminine strength in a woman. Michelle just bowls me over... Wow... =)

Elfie's Cotton Nest!

I bought a new type of bedding for my hamster this afternoon. And Elfie loves it! It's so cozy to just see him gather pieces of cotton bedding together & snuggle right into the middle of it! Oohh! It just warms my heart to see Elfie so comfortable & happy, snuggled up in his cozy corner... Plus, this new material is much more absorbent & has a lot more cushioning too! Weee! =)

Deciphering Hidden Agenda

It was a great morning rush, as I hurried to get to office, wait for my supervisor to arrive & then zoom off immediately with him in a taxi to Changi. It was a totally new place that we were visiting, at least for my supervisor & me.

At wasn’t long before we discovered that the taxi driver too was unfamiliar with this place & he started mumbling in Mandarin that we need to tell him which road we are going to, so that he could figure out how to drive there. I wasn’t sure coz the online street directory map only showed me that the location is in the middle of Expo MRT & Changi Airport MRT station.

Thus, I decided to borrow this frustrated taxi driver’s road directory guidebook & finally found the exact street name to that location. After I told the taxi driver, he started saying that I should have told him exactly which road so that he would know how to drive there. I got a little irritated with him, coz if I knew; I wouldn’t need to borrow his road directory guidebook, right? In fact, I had expected the taxi driver to know the place better than me! After all, he’s the one earning a living by driving passengers around Singapore!

Finally, we reached this catering centre at Changi. We were slightly late & the company staffs that we were to meet were already standing outside the main gate waiting for us! My supervisor quickly got out of the taxi & walked towards to greet them. In the rush of the moment, I paid the taxi driver & forgot to ask for the receipt! Drats! And the journey cost $14.90! Cannot claim! Argh!

Security is very tight at this place & we had to surrender our ICs before entering the building, under earlier permission granted a few days ago. That visitor pass given to me was the only one that was not functioning at all! No matter how long or how many times I tapped the gantry, the door wouldn’t open. Sigh… finally the security guard walked over to tap his card, so that I could enter. So much for security… or the security card… whichever…

The company staffs, whom we were meeting with, were also visitors to this catering centre. We were introduced to two Malay supervisors, who directed us to this small office, where we had to put on white coveralls & a white wooly head dress. This is a very strict hygiene environment & no contamination is allowed.

Thereafter, we were brought to this narrow air-lock chamber where we had to put on mouth guard, before stepping inside, where strong gushes of air were blown at us, which emit some sort of ions that are supposed to kill germs on our clothes. It was very cooling & I liked to feel clean (imagining of course, since I can’t possibly see my clothes being disinfected). It almost felt like I had stepped into a small space shuttle for awhile, before stepping out a short while after.

After some general briefing by the two Malay supervisors, we were brought on a short tour around the whole floor, seeing first hand how in-flight catering meals were prepared, using all sorts of equipment & moved around several different types of food preparatory rooms. It was indeed a great eye-opener… & I really thanked God for this opportunity… especially when this place is absolutely tight on security. I felt a bit proud to be one of the few who were actually given a chance to enter & check out this place.

Halfway through the tour, we suddenly came face-to-face with a relatively short, but very stern & fierce lady. She wasn’t the security guard (later I found out that she’s the ground operations manager), but started questioning what we are doing here, do we have permission, what is our agenda, etc.

After getting her answers, she suddenly started pointing fingers & scolding those of us who were wearing watches! She scolded the Malay supervisor the worse, pointing her finger & shouting in a loud voice at him, while he just stood there looking down quietly at the floor. She said that we are not allowed to wear watches & other items, perhaps it may be some reason about contamination.

Immediately after this episode of reprimanding, she started to scold the director of this company for not wearing his head dress properly, as part of his left ear is still not covered by the wooly material! After this came, an intense round of interrogation about what we have noticed so far & what are the critical issues which we have to be very, very careful about when inside this food catering area.

She was literally blasting all of us visitors for this & that… & worse hit was the two Malay supervisors, coz they have already been working here for a short while. Although my supervisor & I didn’t say anything back to her, we felt wronged coz it’s our first time here & nobody warned us about any of such rules!

This lady was terribly strict & reminded me of Gladys. I stared at her intently whenever she looked at me, while shouting at us. I showed no fear, but not looking angry either… just serious & focused. Finally all her scolding stopped because she wanted to go to the management & report this incident, as well as all the mistakes made by us. I was feeling quite pissed off inside, but held my cool. Obviously this lady is trying to cover her own back, by complaining about this to her management… especially since we are visitors & she doesn’t want to be held responsible for any kind of food contamination.

After she stormed off, all of us guys shook our heads & muttered quietly to each other about this lady. Apparently, none of us liked her, though my supervisor found her a very strong & reliable source to speak to regarding how to redesign the job processes, since she has the most experience about what should & should not be done in this work environment.

We continued our tour, had a brief discussion about job redesign possibilities, then returned the white coveralls, threw away the wooly head dress & mouth guard, then proceed to the director’s car, where he drove us to NTU (another location where we had to conduct a site visit to assess possibilities of job redesign).

It was very long journey from one end of Singapore to the other, but I listened closely to the conversation between my supervisor & the director who were seated at the front seats of the car. Soon, my mind semi-switched off coz I felt mentally tired from all that happened inside the catering centre.

Upon reaching there, we had lunch at one of the NTU food court, before proceeding to check out the other sites where we discussed how to job redesign the jobs in those areas. This was a much shorter site visit, coz it’s after all still a school environment, which is very, very much less complicated than the in-flight catering centre which we just visited earlier.

We left in the director’s car again, this time back to his office, where we had another round of discussion with him & his staffs. All these while, I was paying attention & trying to pick up as much as I could about info, as well as how to respond to questions, how to answer & most importantly, how to ask questions.

Leaving the office, I thought that I had a fairly good grasp of what was going on, the next course of actions, etc. But soon, in the midst of a one-to-one discussion with my supervisor, I learnt that I had been too trusting & giving them the leeway to take advantage of my kindness & willingness to help.

It was stunning as my supervisor revealed another side of the situation, which he had observed & discerned from all that happened since the early morning with them at Changi. He explained his rationale about issues & also shared with me how crafty these company staffs are. I was shocked, coz I had never saw it this way before! But I began to see that his reasons for deeming so, was reasonable & true.

My heart started beating faster, coz I felt like I was ‘enlightened’ with some more added experience in how to answer questions, ask questions & decipher the motives & intentions of others that were completely unsaid. I started to feel very happy because I have begun to pick up more about being able to discern these matters, since this could be a common scenario, when faced with external companies. Everyone has their own agenda & everyone wants the most & best for himself.

I began to realize that I no longer view business people the same way as I did before. My eyes were more opened now, to a few more ways in which companies may want to twitch around for greater gain for their person agenda. I also learnt how to gain a mutual advantage in situations like this, such that each party taps on the other, totally unsaid yet discretely aware of each other. It’s a scary thing to realize & learn, but its part of the job. Not that I’m going to learn to be a bad person, but to become more aware about the tricks, ploys, decoys, up-sleeve manipulation, which business people sometimes use.

It was like a whole new world was opened to me & I begin to see people in a different light. There’s always another side to a person & in the working world, trust is not something that is easily earned or even wanted by others. True & sincere friendship is not something common or wanted, as I have discovered so far. It’s a scary world out there… & it’s important that I continue to learn from my supervisor how to see the even greater picture of things & scenarios, which also includes the upfront motives & hidden agendas of others working with us.

To me, it’s just sad to see the extent which some business people would go, just to earn more money. Lies, deception & cover-up are very common. In fact, so common that if we overlook & don’t see any, we had better be extra careful & seek to find these ‘quiet black holes’ coz we can’t assume that these aren’t there, just because we don’t notice them.

Hmm… Yeah, it’s a scary working world out there. Words are not always what they mean by the words that are said… not always…

My Choice To Honor God With My Money

I withdrew money from my savings account this evening, so that I could give to my parents, in support & contribution to the household expenditure, as well as an act of gratitude towards them. In a way, I felt a sense of lost of money, coz it's 10% of my gross salary (before CPF deduction). Yet on the other hand, I felt happy that I was now able to co-provide for this household.

Ever since I started earning in Year 2004, I have always faced the struggle of deciding whether to give 10% of my gross or net salary to my parents & to church. Especially now when I'm actually earning less than my last job at StarHub, it can be quite an amount. But still, up till date, I have always given based on my gross salary.

I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt, but I believe that this is a way that I can honor God with what He has given me. It's something which you can't teach or convince another person, for he has to make this decision for himself. Honor does come at a price, but I still choose to hold on to the promise that God will still provide for my needs & more.

My supervisor asked about this issue about giving to church this afternoon & I shared a bit with him. The conversation only lasted a few sentences, but I was glad that I was a good testimony for this God who loves me... =)

Not Size, But Depth

This morning, my last finger was pierced by a very small metal splinter, as I pushed open the office door to go to the toilet. Looking at this tiny shiny foreign body sticking out near my fingernail, I casually pinched it out with my two fingers, as it looked so small & harmless.

The moment I removed the tiny splinter, blood started to ooze out of that small little wound! I was in a semi state of shock coz I didn't expect blood to just start dripping out of such a tiny cut! I quickly rushed to the toilet & washed the cut. It was scary to see blood still oozing out.

So I applied firm pressure on that cut & counted to 100. During this time, I tried to reassure myself of the times in the past where I had such sudden cuts & bleeding that was much worse than this. I felt a tingling in that corner of my last finger & after counting to 100, I released the pressure & the blood had stopped oozing out!

I was so thankful, coz I had to rush back to my desk to continue clearing my work. After this incident, I grew wary of that door, whenever I had to push it. Lesson to be learnt - don't underestimate something as simple as pushing open a door... be it a wooden or metal door...

At that moment, it also dawned upon me that sometimes it's not the size of the infliction, but the depth of the infliction that really stirs up much trouble. Do not underestimate something as tiny as a very small splinter. Furthermore, it's precisely because we can't really see it, that's why we ought to be careful. It's not the size, but the depth...

Eight Versus One

I went for my first meeting with a training company (all by myself) this morning. It was initially quite a scary feeling, until I even dreamt that I woke up late & couldn't go for the meeting. Thankfully, Rebecca prayed for me & specifically in the area of confidence. And the meeting went well! In fact, very well! Praise the Lord! For He has definitely helped me gain a bit more confidence, especially when it can be rather intimidating being one individual relating to eight other people from the same company.

I also thank God for His favor on me so far in my job. My supervisor sent three SMS to me to affirm my efforts in my job. The director of that training company which I went to meet in the morning also called to compliment me for my efficiency! He was so pleased that he even told me that he wanted to work on another project with SNEF. Yippee! Thank You, Lord... =)

This evening was one the latest that I went home. I was so shocked that I left the office after 8pm! Even my Mum called twice to find out if I'm still at the office... & both times I told her that I'm still at my desk. Yeah, I can't believe it... I actually did overtime for an additional 2 & 1/2 hrs this evening. Wow...

And I got my pay today! Finally! It was such a weird feeling to see my own hard earned money inside my bank account! It has been so empty for the past 7 months! Thank God again. At least now I don't have to worry about not having any money to top up my Ezylink card, or worry that I don't even have $20 to withdraw from my ATM card. Most importantly, I can start saving (more like re-saving) for my future! =)

To Greater Heights

It’s always an adjustment back to working mode, when Monday comes. It’s like I became another person or another side of me, that’s forced to be, due to the nature of my work. It’s scary to step right back into the working world on Monday.

My supervisor gave me a piece of advice this afternoon. He commented that I cannot always think up reasons to defend another person from what he had done or not done. I told him that I’m quite soft hearted & would like to give the person a chance.

Then my supervisor remarked that my approach doesn’t help the person at all. Instead this keeps people at their lowest level / ability of performance because I’m not disciplined with them. As a team leader (hopefully in future), it is important that I learn how to bring people to greater heights & realize their true potential. Not just be nice & easy going with them.

I learnt this from him & will make it a point to remember this. Coz in a sense, discipline & healthy stress does aid people in improving & becoming better.

Punch-up Conclusion

I borrowed the 'Rocky V' DVD for Rebecca to watch this afternoon at my house. It has been quite a long time since I last watched this show & I must say that it really brought back fond memories. I'm glad Rebecca enjoyed the show too.

Though its less action-packed than 'Rocky IV', it has a rich storyline which really pumps up towards the supposedly ending sequel to the 5-part Rocky movie series... of course, till the real finale of the upcoming movie 'Rocky Balboa' to be shown in cinemas next year.

A Casual Saturday Morning

I wore my sandals when walking out to Siglap this morning. It wasn’t very weird, but it still felt odd wearing sandals, especially after wearing leather shoes for the whole week. Last Saturday I was on duty, so I wore leather shoes too. Plus I wore my sports shoes to church on Sunday, so it’s almost like I’m wearing my sandals after 11 days of wearing shoes… Hmm… It sure feels different to dress casual…

I went for a hair cut at the nearby barber… & this time I had one of the longest hair cut at this barber? Why? Coz this barber accidentally dropped his electric shaver, thus having to walk into the store room to find a replacement cover, which turned out that it didn’t really fit! So he spent the next 5 – 10 minutes using a pen knife to cut a bit here & there on the new cover, so that it could fit. Then screwed back the screws & stuff, before continuing to work on my half-cut head of hair! Aiyoh…

Is It Really Friday?

I woke up this morning, looked at my hand-phone & got a bit of a shock to realize that it is already Friday! So fast?! It’s shocking to not realize how fast time flies! Although I’m glad that it is finally the weekend…

My supervisor & I had a meeting in the morning with the Restroom Association of Singapore. As part of formality, I was once again tasked to prepare a pot of tea & Styrofoam cups to be placed in the training room. As usual, nobody drank from the cups & pot of tea. What a waste! A few tea bags are wasted each time we have such meetings with external companies at our training room. I commented about this to my supervisor & he said no choice, coz it’s just formality.

The meeting went well, with the Executive Director sharing with us some interesting action plans for his company & my supervisor listened to find out how this may be synchronized with what my team is currently doing. Interesting ideas, but fallible model… not very feasible, from the way he looked at it. To some extent, I agree with my supervisor too.

Lunch was rather different today, not because of the food, but because we actually started talking about Christianity! I can’t remember how this topic started, but one of my Christian team-mate & I started talking about Christianity to my supervisor. But alas, he wasn’t very receptive to what we were saying… not because he is closed up, but it’s because he is TOO open to all kinds of religion.

I found it difficult to carry on the conversation coz he’s very firm about respecting all other religions & it is considered insensitive to say that your religion is better than another. With such a mindset, I really don’t know how else to say. But oh well, my team-mate said that we could still pray for him. Nevertheless, being able to start a conversation about Christianity is at least one step towards creating an awareness or openness to discuss about this. It’s still a good first start…

Soon after lunch, my supervisor & I had to rush down to Keppel Towers to meet one of our SNEF consultant & research executive, to discuss about this salary survey which we have been tasked by the higher management to carry out. It’s so interesting how my supervisor can get so humorously worked up, coz everyone else unknowingly kept on focusing on the details, whereas he’s trying very hard to help us see the bigger picture.

But one thing I must say – that I really applaud my supervisor for his incredible analytical ability. He is very, very good at seeing the WIDE (not just big) picture about almost anything! No wonder he is able to lead my team this strongly. That’s why I said, my job is an intellectual one… not 100%, but to a very large extent involving much brain activity.

Returning back to the office, we found out that almost everyone from the other departments had left the office for their weekend! It’s left with my team hard at work, as usual… this time, my supervisor left for home before me! Coz my other colleague & I stayed back to work overtime for another 2 hours to clear our work. It’s quite surprising to realize after 2 hours of OT that there is still so much more work to do! But we were both tired & decided to go home… of course, bringing back some stuff to read & analyze for the next week of work.

It’s an interesting job, I must say… though complex & tiring. I’m beginning to see myself evolving into a much more intellectually responsive person. To a certain extent, this has become a fair bit of occupational ‘hazard’ coz people working in my type of job scope tend to or is required to analyze matters in all possible angles. I find that I have difficulty laughing over silly or lame things at times… I don’t think that it’s because I’m too serious, but perhaps because my mind is processing my thoughts differently nowadays, especially at work. Thankfully, it’s not an entire change of mental tendency… just sometimes…

Responding To Rebuke

"He who listens to a life giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding."
- Proverbs 15:31-32

Strange Restrictions

After much grueling, I managed to survive my 4th work day of the week. One more work day to go before my weekend, coz I’m not on Saturday duty this week. It’s surprising how fast two weeks of work has just passed. Suddenly, I realized that I have been working for half a month already.

Today’s work was relatively fine, though I discovered through our department tasking chart that I’m actually holding a portfolio that is 60% more than what my fellow executives are handling! Although I could guess that this was possible, I didn’t expect the proportion to be 60% more than the others! That’s a lot!

Work aside, there were a few weird happenings today. Firstly, my colleague & I were quietly warned by the receptionist that we are not allowed to help ourselves to the workshop refreshments until all the workshop participants have eaten their fill & gone back into the training room. Ok, so took note of that.

Secondly, my supervisor told me that I’m discouraged from putting Christian related phrases as my PC ‘3D Text’ screen saver. The words of my ‘3D Text’ screen saver were – God is our refuge. Of course, it’s definitely Christian related, it’s not like I’m going around evangelizing to everybody. It’s just my screen saver to remind myself that God is taking care of me!

My supervisor also told me to tell my other Christian colleague to remove those Christian words from her PC screen saver. Her words were – Jesus is the way. When I told her, she was very surprised & a bit unhappy coz it’s not stated in the rules or regulations that an individual is not allowed to quote Christian phrases as their PC screen saver.

In the sense, I felt like it was like a bit of persecution, but in a tactful & gentle manner. I thought I could use it as a reminder to myself, as well as a possible testimony that I’m a Christian. Who knows… one day, someone may even ask me about Christianity! But oh well… so now my PC screen saver is a smiley face.

On the bus journey home, I suddenly received a call from my supervisor & his first sentence was, “How come you are not in the office?” I was taken aback. It was already past 7pm… is it wrong to go home? Other departments go home at 5:30pm sharp & since I started work in SNEF, I have never left the office on time before! Besides, it’s already after 7pm… even if I wanted to continue to work; I still had to take my dinner, right? I was so shocked…

I understand that my supervisor’s work is piling up a lot… & my work tasks are also getting more. And with occasional full day meetings with companies & unions (like tomorrow), there is very little time to clear work. But everyone still needs a rest, right? Especially since tomorrow is going to be a long day of meetings in the morning & afternoon. I wonder how much work I can get to do tomorrow, with all these meetings. But these meetings are necessary, yet it adds on more work to be done. What to do… this is the nature of working on projects.

Meeting after Meeting

Today is a full day of meetings. I didn’t manage to get any work done at all. Sigh! In the morning, Andy, myself & Hock Seng (consultant) went to this recruitment & training agency to discuss our strategic plans & share about the incentive funding scheme.

It was located next to Jurong Entertainment Centre, a place which I have not visited in a long time. Not that there are much to shop at that shopping centre, but I guess it does bring back a little bit of memories of going to Science Centre.

Soon after lunch, I had to open up the training room at our office, prepare drinks & arrange the layout of tables & chairs for the meeting with NTUC later in the afternoon. The meeting went well, though the last part of the meeting involved much thinking while my supervisor & I debated with the representative staff from NTUC about our strategic plans.

It was another tiring day of work, but I managed to chat a little bit with Tony, as both of us were walking towards Orchard MRT station. We lamented about how low our salary is (without actually mentioning exactly how much we are earning) & wondered about the prospects of working long-term in this company.

I met Rebecca at Orchard MRT station to go for dinner. Unfortunately, we reached the delicious chicken rice stall, only to find it closing the stall for the day. Never mind, we will go there on a Saturday instead, since it closes during dinner time on weekdays. The chicken rice, as in the rice, is just so fragrant!

So I recommended her to eat at this fish ball noodles stall near to the chicken rice stall. It’s very cheap… just $2.50 a bowl & it’s filling too! And for that price, each bowl of soup comes with 6 huge soft & juicy fish balls! Yummy!

We ended the evening with a movie titled ‘Date Movie’. It’s a super lame show, mimicking a few movies in a humorous way. Nonetheless, it’s good to get away from work for awhile. It’s very tiring, day after day, without rest… coming home just to sleep, coz your eyes are so tired & mentally drained. Tomorrow’s a new day… Lord, please guide me…

Brain Juices Consume Much Energy

It’s another tiring day at work. I’m beginning to realize how draining I can be at the end of each work day, solely because my job demands a lot of intellectual & diverse thinking, as well as people-relation skills.

For the first time since I started work two weeks ago, I was literally dragging my feet, while walking home from the bus stop at 8pm. Even the two aunties walking behind had to overtake me, coz I was trying to exert energy to take step after step forward towards my house.

Seriously, I’m not exaggerating… this is by far (in my series of temp, contract & perm jobs) the most intellectual job that I had taken on. Working with companies, vendors & unions on projects is really no joking matter. It’s really about ‘cracking your head’ to come up with solutions & work process flows… & making sure it gets implemented & works out as planned.

Yeah, every night when I come home, I’m like almost zonked out. This evening when I came home, I didn’t even greet my parents, nor utter a single word till halfway through my dinner. I wonder if it felt weird that there was so little talk during dinner, coz usually I’m the one yakking away. But I couldn’t be bothered just now. I just wanted to shut up & try to think as little as possible… after having used up most of my creative & constructive brain juices at work.

Work carried on as usual today, except the highlight when I & the consultant were working with these two staff from this bed linen company. We had to discuss & come up with ideas on designing a new kind of bed sheet which makes work less strength-focused for older workers, for example having to lift up the heavy mattress to fit in the bed sheet corners.

It was a perplexing time, as I had to ‘entertain’ them, while my other colleagues were elsewhere rushing something else. I talked about the usual superficial matters until there was almost nothing else to say. So embarrassing… & yet I couldn’t just leave them in the room to look for my colleagues.

And of course, the brainstorming about the bed sheet design… which made us all brain-tired at the end… or maybe it was just me & my supervisor, coz I was blinking my eyes & he was occasionally taking off his spectacles to rub his eyes.

I didn’t really know how to feel about it, when my supervisor shared with me (at the end of the day) that it is difficult to get people who are willing to work in projects jobs like what we do. After all, the pay is lower than elsewhere & most importantly, the hired employees need to have a strong passion for what they are doing. I have the interest (passion has to develop over time), but it’s really tough starting out from scratch… but I’m very sure that we will all learn A LOT at the end of our journey. And hopefully the bonus would be good too… =)

Destructive E-mail Routing

My first screw-up at SNEF… on the 10th day of work…

It all started when I drafted an e-mail to send to one lady from the Training Department, asking about the attendance of an upcoming workshop & requesting for permission to make a short presentation to the workshop participants.

My e-mail was directed to another lady in that department & this lady replied to me, ‘cc’ to her manager. Unsuspecting of me, I ended up with a harsh e-mail sent to my supervisor (i.e. Andy) from that manager, complaining that I have to ask permission from her before intending to give a briefing at any workshop being conducted.

Andy replied to her e-mail to explain the situation & tried to ease the situation, followed by a short verbal warning to me, that I should be careful about crossing their tuff, coz this department is very sensitive about it.

I explained that it was just a simple question to that lady whom I sent that e-mail. I didn’t know that my e-mail would end up being routed to another person, before ending up in her manager’s mailbox! I mean, what’s this? Why all this e-mail routing? I’m just asking confirming about a workshop, so that I can make plans at my side for the briefing, if allowed. And I did request for permission in my first e-mail too. What’s wrong with them?

Andy quietly whispered that these are some of the things which we have to learn to be careful of. Fine… so I learnt a hard lesson, but thankfully at the early stages of my job at SNEF, so I will be reminded not to tread too closely near their tuff, coz I don’t know when the next e-mail might be shot at my supervisor.

My department colleagues were very curious when they heard about this news, asking me to explain what happened, so I let them read that e-mail trail from my PC. Yet in my heart, I was wondering whether they are being ‘kaypo’ about my unfortunate incident or they are really concerned about me. Or maybe they are just interested in knowing more about the happening, so that they won’t make the same mistake in future. It’s difficult to discern others’ intentions at times…

It’s really all about politics. So irritating! I don’t even know how I can really trust. It’s very sad. Nonetheless, I will bear this lesson in mind & not make this mistake ever again.

Shortly after lunch, my team & I made a trip down to Fujitec to watch how my supervisor would present & explain the ‘ADVANTAGE! Grant’ to the managers at Fujitec. It was an interesting meeting, with a tour around their manufacturing factory, giving my team & I a really good eye-opener to what goes on inside such factories. Mr. Teo & Henry are quite nice people (i.e. uncles) too.

I met Rebecca, Cheryl & Colin for dinner at Orchard in the evening, looking so worn out & tired from this incident, as well as the trip down to Fujitec. We ate at this place at Takashimaya called ‘Pepper Lunch’. There wasn’t any pepper in the dishes (or at least I didn’t taste any) & we weren’t there to eat lunch (it’s already dinner time)… strange name.

It was nice time of frank sharing, which I believe Cheryl & I bared our true thoughts & feelings about church issues, work & others. Colin & Rebecca were quieter than us, but they shared at some parts of the conversation too.

Apparently, we realized that we were actually feeling the same negativity about church & finally concluded that we would re-start our CG at Cheryl’s house, every alternate Friday. This time we need to seek the church leadership’s approval in a timely manner. As for our more senior adult person in-charge for accountability purposes, we will leave it to God to direct to us…

It was a very tiring day, with my eyes feeling very worn out & a bit ‘biting’ while I was waiting for them at Orchard MRT station. But oh well… this is how life is sometimes… I better go sleep now… Gdnite!

Like a Pre-Primary School Teacher

The topic of today’s sermon is titled ‘Living Life in the Kingdom of God Today’ by guest speaker Ms Jeanette Hui. Almost 60 years of age, she has a tone of voice that made some of us feel like we were back in pre-primary school, listening to the teacher with a very motherly voice. The strangest part is that she occasionally refers to us as ‘children’… & it feels so weird…

Despite these motherly gestures & tone of voice, I really thank God for using her to bring us new insights to learning how to live in the kingdom of God, referring to ourselves as the kingdom, with the Holy Spirit of God living within us.

One of the most impacting words that she shared was about this man who chose this phrase to describe his life. And this is what this man said – “My life cannot be explained, except that God is in it.”

When I heard that, I had to ponder for the next few seconds, coz it is a very deep statement to make of a person’s life. Yet it is a life statement which the speaker Ms Jeanette Hui wanted to describe her life… & after some thought, it is also a life statement which I want for my life too.

I thought about my job & all that is laid before me to do… & decided that I will give God the glory for all the good that I will be able to accomplish in this job which He had provided for me.

The second point that spoke to me was the words - “Giftedness without Godliness can be very dangerous.” I find this very true coz something good can be bad, if manipulated to use in the wrong way.

The third point which impressed on my heart was about God’s word telling us not to worry. Jeanette Hui explained that when the Bible tells us not to worry, it does not mean to tell us that we should not plan, but rather not let our distracting thoughts worry us so much that we end up having sleepless nights. In short, unhealthy distraction that leads to inflictions on us.

Jeanette Hui went on further to illustrate the story of the Israelites wondering in the desert for 40 years. During this time, they did not worry about their clothes or whether their sandals would wear out (after all, it is 40 years), etc. Was that a miracle? I don’t know, but the point that God wanted to show was that He’s trustworthy! His word can be trusted!

Finally, the speaker shared about how obsessed people are nowadays over chasing after material wants… & her study showed that Christians & non-Christians do not behave any different in this manner, which she finds very sad. How are we to share the good news with non-believers, when there’s no difference that they can see in the way we live our lives?

She shared that it is very important to know what drives us… & warned us not to fall into the trap of getting all bottled up by all the economical factors like recession. Thinking about it, it’s strange… coz people can be rather extreme in this aspect. Either they are obsessed about storing up wealth, or they are fearful of economic downturns & recessions that may befall them.

Jeanette Hui shared that - “If what drives us is economics, then our god is economics, not God.” It is very important to learn how to discern, coz there are many messages being communicated to us all around. And it is essential that we "listen to the voice of God, rather than the voice of advertisers" who keep on sending messages to create more wants & that having more is better.

Waking up to 'Jingle Bell Rock'...

It's strange... I woke up this morning, with the song of 'Jingle Bell Rock' playing in my mind! I don't recall ever waking up to a happy song playing in my mind! This is the first time, I think....

I started to sing it to myself while shaving till all the way to waiting for the bus to church. Slowly, I began to realise that it was actually an idea being revealed to me from God... an analogy that I can use for a certain aspect for my presentation to various companies. Praise the Lord! =)

Daddy's New Job!

Praise the Lord! After some months of being unemployed, my Dad was finally offered a 1 year contract (renewable) financial services job at NTUC! Yay! It's the area of work that he wants & it pays a reasonably good basic salary too! He's going down to sign the contract tomorrow & start work this Thursday! Thank You, God! =)

Husky & Romantic Voice...

Yesterday my Mum commented that my voice sounds husky & romantic whenever I talk to my hamster! I was shocked... but I found this comment rather amusing. When I shared with Rebecca this afternoon, she agreed too. Hmm... =)

A Seed Definitely Sown...

Aunty Katherine drove grandma, my Dad, my Mum & I to my church this evening. There was an evangelistic event held at my church at 7pm, with Dong Fang Billy coming to my church to share his testimony. I had invited grandma & my Mum, but in the end, my grandma brought along Aunty Kat & my Mum brought along my Dad! *Laugh*… Praise the Lord!

Getting to Tekka wasn’t a problem, coz I knew how to direct the way, having taken a cab to church occasionally. But we ended up at a dead-end while trying to find a place to park the car! Worse still, there were also other cars wondering around that area, finding a place to park & two of them ended up at the dead-end where we were!

Finally, we decided to park at one of the open parking spaces in the middle of nowhere. For the first time, I really appreciated & gave thanks for the excellent transportation system that our Government had designed… coz it seemed so much easier to get to places by bus & MRT! There are MRT stations located around Singapore, with even more stations opening up over the next few years! Even if we were to take a taxi, it would cost less than using & maintaining a car… as well as absolutely no fuss about trying to find a place to park!

These thoughts continued in my mind, as I watched Aunty Kat tear out parking coupons, 4 of them in total, coz it costs 50 cents for every half an hour of parking. I don’t like tearing parking coupons… it’s such a hassle! Must look at all the small numbers & holes... It would be difficult for the elderly as they get older with far sightedness. Someone ought to change the font of the parking coupons soon. Singapore has a growing ageing population…

After parking the car, I brought them to Tekka market for a quick dinner. It turned out to be a slow walk coz grandma had difficulty walking steadily. It wasn’t a far walk, but I could see that my parents didn’t look happy. I think they are just too ‘soft’… it’s just a few minutes walk…

Thankfully, the food that we ordered turned out quite tasty, since all of them were first-timers at Tekka market, except me. I made a mental note to remind myself that Tekka market stalls are mostly closed on Saturday evenings. The fish ball noodles that I ate tasted pretty nice too. I like the way the noodles were cooked…

During our walk back to church, my Mum suggested that we cut through the wet market, despite my advice against it. In the end, we had to walk through puddles of water, which made me worry for my grandma. Plus there was a short flight of stairs which we had to walk down at the end of the wet market. Grandma slipped nearing the end of the staircase, despite Aunty Kat holding her hand. See… I warned my Mum against going that way…

We went to the washroom before the event began & my Dad was a bit unhappy coz there was only one cubicle for men at the first floor. One church member suggested that we go to the 3rd floor, which we did… & found out that there was also only one cubicle there… & likewise, it was occupied. So we had to go up to the 4th floor… & finally managed to use the washroom. I still don’t understand why there has to be one cubicle for men in this church… why not just build a few urinals instead? Takes up less space & more men can use them…

The sanctuary was crowded by the time we reached, so ended up having to sit near the back of the sanctuary. It was warmer behind & I had a bit of difficulty trying to read the Chinese wordings of the song lyrics from so far behind…

Christina Ong led the short worship session of a medley of Mandarin Christian songs. As usual, I had difficulty trying to read the Chinese characters, but I tried to follow along. I’m not sure if grandma sang the songs, but I noticed that Aunty Kat wasn’t clapping along, so maybe she wasn’t singing. But it’s okay; it’s a good start that she didn’t object to coming to my church. A very good start already…

After the worship session ended, a short video clip was shown about Billy going through the painful moments of his agonizing struggle against Leukemia. It was a terrible experience for him & I winched in my heart at the scene where he was spitting blood out of his mouth. The blood wasn’t exactly being spat out… it was more like flowing out of his mouth. It was scary… I really thank God for healing him… though his body is still recovering…

At the beginning, I had to adjust to all the Mandarin that was being spoken, coz I’m so used to listening to English church services. I wouldn’t say that I managed to adjust entirely by the end of the 2 hours session, but I did try to listen as intently as I could, though some of the Mandarin words & phrases spoken were rather ‘cheem’.

At the end of the testimony sharing, there was an altar call by Billy. There were a handful of hands raised, though I noticed that my grandma & Aunty Kat wasn’t one of them. Yet I knew that there was a seed sown in their heart, if not, they wouldn’t have even bothered to come for this event… after all, it is a church & such messages or songs can usually be expected.

We went outside the social hall for some light refreshments. I asked for a plate of ‘siew mai’, but gave it to Aunty Kat in the end. Never mind, they are the guests. But I got one ‘siew mai’ in return from my Mum. It’s okay lah… it’s only ‘siew mai’.

Uncle John & Rebecca managed to chat a little with my parents, grandma & Aunty Kat… while Evelyn stood quietly alongside. So I chatted a little with her about her job search with Ritz Carlton Hotel. She’s still hoping that the hotel calls her soon… I hope so too…

All in all, it was a good experience… & I even heard my grandma saying that name ‘Jesus’ twice in the car. In my mind, I was thinking – if an unbeliever can call the name ‘Jesus’ (of coz not in a resentful manner), there might a chance that the person is quite open to the gospel! Plus grandma even referred to Jesus as ‘Lord’ in one of her words! Praise the Lord! I will pray for her & invite her for future events…

I also felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask Aunty Kat & grandma whether they could understand the Mandarin that was spoken, or would they prefer English. Their unison answer was still Mandarin, coz they are better at reading Chinese characters & speaking dialect. My heart felt warm, as I had a better idea of what kind of evangelistic events to invite them in future… maybe even to the Chinese Ministry… Praise the Lord!

Two Affirmations in a Week!

On Thursday, I was leaving the office with my supervisor, when he said a word of affirmation to me, in the lift. He told me to “Keep up the passion & good work… & don’t burn out.”

I was stunned to hear this compliment, coz I really wasn’t expecting it at all. I acknowledged that I’ll be doing my best & thanked God for giving me favor in this new job that He has given me.

Today (Saturday), I received another SMS from my supervisor stating, “Matthew, I’m glad that you have joined the team. I’m confident that if we maintain the passion and drive, we will be contributing significant results to the nation.”

Once again, this totally caught me by surprise! I really thank God for granting me favor in my workplace (so far I haven’t had negative encounters with anyone). I also told God that I will not let Him down, coz this is the job that He placed me in.

I still can’t believe how I could possibly get into this job! There are tons of people out there more qualified & experienced than me… & I was the one who received an e-mail from the Executive Director of SNEF, posted straight to my mailbox one fine day, asking me if I wanted to come down for an interview for a job. I mean, its like, “Wow… how did that happen?!” Amazing… Praise the Lord… & I love my job… & the meaning behind it… Thank You, God. =)

First Saturday at SNEF

Today is my first Saturday working at SNEF. It's been 9 working days since I started work here & I still enjoy my job. In a way, doing projects is kind-of like 'my type' of work, coz it isn't all routine, neither is it all outdoor. It encompasses a mix of intellect & communication skills. Intellectual, in the sense, that analysis needs to be done of each of the grants & policies put forth by the Tripartite Committee (Tricom), of which, my team is spearheading its implementation efforts.

It was a quiet Saturday, with the air-con making the office much colder than normal, when most of the other colleagues are present at work. I managed to get some planning & research done... so all in all, it was a rather fruitful morning. Now I can fully comprehend why one of the admin & finance staff commented that Saturday is the best time to clear your work, coz most of your customers & colleagues are off for the weekend. But I won't come back to work on Saturday, unless I really need to... coz my Sabbath is very important for me to recharge for the new week ahead.

Not surprisingly, I was one of the last three to leave the office, having worked another half an hour, after the Saturday working hours have ended. Sometimes its difficult to stop work halfway & go off, coz there's always work left to do. I got talk a bit with Pei Qin & Yati, coz we were the last three that were left to close up the office.

Finally... its the weekend! I need a break! I worked for almost 60 hours this week!

Job Nature Complexities

My day of work began with a surprise e-mail about a meeting that my supervisor & I had to attend at NTUC Centre. We came into the office at 8:30am & suddenly had to rush off in a taxi there at 9am!

It wasn’t a very long meeting with the various unions & associations involved in a nation-wide Job Re-design Program (JRP). Minister Lim Swee Say was there, though it was chaired by the CEO of WDA & Director of NTUC. Somehow, these high profile people seemed to look different on TV, compared to when I actually see them in person, sitting right across the table from me.

Coming back to the office, my team & I went for a slightly early lunch coz it was almost lunch time anyway. I’m glad for the rapport built up so far, coz we got to chat, joke & laugh over lunch.

I have been noticing that Tony can have quite a split personality. At times he can be serious & moody, whereas on other times, he can be jovial & talk nonsense. And this can change a few times a day. I told him that I can pray for him, if he wants to share, but he just laughed & brushed me off.

The afternoon went by quite fast, with lots of work to do & seriously not knowing where & which to start with. In this job, it doesn’t seem that there are many, many small tasks to do. In fact, there are just a handful of tasks to do… but these are long duration tasks which are complex & may take weeks to complete.

After almost everyone had left for home, my team & I rushed back to the NTUC Centre for a short dinner before attending the briefing seminar conducted by NTUC for its union employee representatives. The seminar went quite smoothly, until the Q&A session where we heard & watched employees of mature ages raising questions at the panel of speakers. It can be shocking to see how demanding Singaporeans can be. And I totally agree that it’s the employees that are making things difficult, coz the Government & Unions are doing their best in the midst of all the situational complexities. We are trying to help, but the people are stubborn & resist change, even when it is reality.

The Start of Active Marketing

The first highlight of my day of work began at 12:45pm, when my supervisor brought our entire team of 4 into one of the meeting rooms to brief us on our individual KPI for this year, till the end of the third year.

This was the moment that everyone was waiting for, so that our roles would be laid out more specifically & expectations set. Yet, this was also a stressful time, when each of us were told about our specific roles & responsibilities that link towards achieving our KPI for each year.

I was rather apprehensive when I saw that my responsibilities were slightly more than that of my other team members. Perhaps my supervisor felt that I could do more & wanted to test me, but just looking at specific responsibilities (which was longer than the rest) was already rather scary to me.

Nevertheless, I took it in my stride & mentally told myself to just do my best, taking one step at a time & not to look at these responsibilities & KPI as such an intimidating achievement all as a whole. ‘Bit size bits’… that’s how I should see it.

My second highlight of today’s work day, was when my team & I had to rush down to Novotel (hotel) near Clarke Quay, to actively publicize the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) funding schemes, as well as other programs.

We reached there late because our discussion meeting on our individual KPI took longer than expected. Rushing into the reception area near the Phoenix Ballroom, we were advised against giving out our flyers near the registration area. That was reasonable since this was the area where guests had to register for this Budget 2006 seminar.

Just as we started to move to another location to give out our flyers, one of our SNEF staff walked over to reprimand my supervisor for coming late & disrupting what’s going on around here. My supervisor was tactful in his response to the registration staff & this SNEF staff, but later told us angrily that he was very mad at that SNEF staff.

Coz firstly, we were not interrupting the flow of people going into the ballroom. We were just walking around, taking our initiative to talk to those who were still waiting for other colleagues to arrive, or those who were going to make themselves a cup of coffee or tea. Secondly, it was very inconsiderate of him to reprimand us right in front of the registration desk, in full view of the guests! Later we learnt that this person isn’t very well liked nor respected by the staff in our office. In fact, it seems that he has been known to be quite a troublemaker. I haven’t worked with him before, so I shan’t comment…

It was initially scary to just walk up to guests & start introducing myself & the schemes that are currently available. I felt like I was doing aggressive sales once again… but this time, it was for a good cause of helping organizations. My hands were quite visibly trembling when I spoke to the first few guests! Thankfully, after a few minutes, I started to ease into this activity & managed to talk more at ease. I even managed to get a business card from one man! But it was odd coz I haven’t received my name card to give out yet. I hope it wasn’t too rude…

My third highlight of the day was when I returned back to the office, just about to resume my work, when one of the colleague from another department walked over to ask if I could brief this man (waiting outside the office) about this Advantage! scheme which we are currently marketing. I was shocked, but I composed myself & walked out to talk with him.

Details aside, it was both an enlightening & distressing experience for me. The positive part is that I learnt about the perspective of this man, since he came in as an independent consultant for a few other companies. The negative part is that I wasn’t prepared to answer some of his queries clearly! Thankfully, Tony came to my rescue & managed to explain it greater detail to this consultant. Oh boy, I really need to work on better understanding all sides of these schemes!

The day ended with OT as usual, till past 7pm… when I was actually supposed to meet Rebecca at Bugis at 7pm! When I called her after leaving the office, she was already waiting there. Oh dear… & she ended up waiting for half an hour before I reached coz traffic was heavy along Orchard Road.

It was a very short time of meeting up, coz we went to the gym & did our own exercises, without much interaction, followed by a hurried dinner coz the food court was about to close & started to turn off some of its lights. After dinner, we had to go home, coz it would be another long day of work for us tomorrow. Plus I’m on Saturday shift this week too… Argh… but I still find my job meaningful…

Invitation to my Grandma!

Thank God! My grandma agreed to come to my church’s evangelistic event this coming Saturday! I was praying before I called her this afternoon to ask if she was free & wanted to come for this event.

For the first two tries, no one answered the phone. But at the third try, the phone wasn’t answered for quite some time too. I was walking back to the office after coming out from the toilet, so I told myself that I would wait till I reached the bottom of this flight of stairs, then put down the phone if nobody answered.

Just when I reached the bottom of the stairs, my grandma picked up the phone! I quickly walked up that flight of stairs & went back inside the toilet to continue to call. I didn’t want to be talking loudly at the staircase, since there is a lot of noise coming from downstairs due to the construction across the road.

Grandma was surprised that I called & we chatted a little bit, before I asked if she is interested in coming for this event at my church this Saturday evening. She thought for a few seconds, before saying that she can come! I was so happy! This is the first time I’m asking my non-Christian relative to come for an evangelistic event at my church! And she’s my most treasured grandma…

And guess what? When I told my Mum that I had invited grandma, I asked her if she wanted to come & my Mum immediately agreed! Wow! I was so happy! Now, it’s left with Aunty Katherine. She’s quite a devote Buddhist, so I’m quite worried if she wouldn’t want to come, or even discourage my grandma from coming. But I’m praying about it & will leave it to God to speak to their hearts.

As for me, this is a bold step of faith & I’m glad that I took it!

Dear God, please prepare their hearts & the way before them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Grandpa’s Death Anniversary – 8th March

I heard from my Mum that it’s my grandpa’s death anniversary tomorrow (8th March). It has been quite a number of years since he passed away. I didn’t really count… but if I remembered correctly, I was still in JC when he died from the sudden heart attack at the coffee shop just across the road from his flat at Dover Road.

I still remembered that it was the first time I saw my Dad tear a little bit, coz he said it’s just the wrong place for someone to die… not at home, not at the hospital… but at a coffee shop with no one to help him when he fell from his heart attack, bruising his head & there was no relatives or family members around. I feel so sad that it had to happen that way… & I don’t recall him accepting Christ as his Savior when he was still alive. Plus, with the pain from the heart attack, I don’t know if he could have thought about calling on the name of Jesus before he died… Sigh…

There are so many stories & memories that have of my grandpa. And I still miss him, whenever I think about it. I don’t visit his urn at the temple, coz I feel that it can be a stumbling block for other non-Christians if I do so. Plus, I don’t like all the smoke & dust inside the temple. But I remember grandpa inside my heart…

Some of the memories include…

1) Staying over at his flat during my primary school holidays

2) Buying lots of toys for me

3) Buying packets & packets of stickers for me to stick in the sticker album

4) Playing with his type-writer in the middle of the night & trying to form soldiers from typing certain characters

5) Pinching him inside the taxi for waking me up from my sleep

6) Bringing me to watch the ‘Care Bears’ movie at the cinema (that time, the price was $2.50)

7) Bringing me to borrow cartoon video tapes

8) Walking around IMM with me

9) Making tea & bread for me in the morning

10) Singing ‘Oldies’ to me

11) Teaching me how to use the cassette player when he bought me the ‘Rocky III’ soundtrack cassette tape

12) Going to the library to photocopy & write down notes on how to draw art

13) Learning about math like LCM so that he could teach me

14) Buying a magnetic paper clip holder for me

15) Telling me stories about the Japanese Occupation, making his own swimming trunks & swimming in the river or 60 rounds inside the pool

16) Bringing me to eat at my favorite Wan Tan Mee stall at the hawker centre across the road from his flat

17) Showing me the list of 14 generations of my ‘Sum’ family tree, which he went all the way to China to trace

18) Wearing his underwear & walking around the house… even when answering the door bell

Now that I have thought back on some of these memories, I really miss him a lot, but I can’t go back to those younger days again… though I REALLY wish I could…

“To Those Who Have More, More Will Be Given”

I heard from my department colleagues that our boss is a Christian. And his motto is - “To those who have more, more will be given.”

When I first heard our boss say this phrase, I vividly recalled it being from a certain verse from the Bible… just that I haven’t really heard of anyone using this verse as a motto at work. And since that day he said that, this has become the most often mentioned & recognized phrase in my department.

After coming home from work this evening, I decided to search out the Bible & found out that this phrase came from Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, stated in 3 of the 4 gospel books. It’s interesting to see how the different authors phrased it –

“Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” – Matt 13:12

“Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” – Mark 4:25

“… Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” – Luke 8:18

I tried to analyze these 3 separately mentioned Bible verses & I found them to be almost identical. It seems that these verses were implied towards what we hear & listen, then acted out through our behavior or character. So in a way, it can be linked to being diligent at work, if viewed from my boss’ perspective.

It also makes sense from the secular perspective, coz bosses normally would assign more work to those subordinates whom he or she trusted as capable… though overload can be more detrimental than beneficial.

This motto presented itself to me again this late afternoon, when my colleague Shaun, remarked to my supervisor Andy that I managed to get a lot of work done in such a short time! I was shocked when Shaun suddenly said that, coz I never expected this compliment.

Tony followed up by saying that I’m very organized & detailed… before my supervisor Andy turned around & said, “Yah… that’s why I just sent him an e-mail giving him another project to manage.”

I just sat there totally stunned. I really didn’t expect THREE compliments from three of my colleagues in the short time frame of just a few seconds! I was beaming quietly from inside & I could feel smiles forming in my heart!

I really thank God for helping me do my best & granting me favor in my work. Compared to the kind of colleagues & boss that I had at StarHub (Tai Seng), this has been my first positive remark at work! It was indeed a refreshing experience!

I will still continue to do my best & take initiative to do things better. Of coz, everyone hopes that this would reflect well on their career, salary, prospect, etc… which I also hope it does… who knows… maybe even early confirmation as perm staff? Nonetheless, I just do my best & give glory to God for giving me this job, which I enjoy, though complex & challenging.

To God be the glory!

What’s with East Coast Road?

After dinner last Sunday, Rebecca & I were just walking along East Coast Road, when we started to notice that small eateries normally do not last long when situated along East Coast Road.

One of the rare long surviving small eateries was ‘Heng’s Porridge’, which has lasted quite awhile already & seems to still be doing well (though I haven’t tried it coz I don’t really fancy porridge).

Other than that, unless it’s an eatery that is set up as a chain of food outlets around Singapore, e.g. Café Cartel, Coffee Club, KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Thai Express, etc… most small independent eateries don’t usually last long along East Coast Road.

I’m not going to wonder if this is like a ‘curse’ coz I would just see this as the risks & complexities of operating a small independent business. There are so many environmental factors to consider & often, the situation can suddenly change rapidly. Besides, I’m not an entrepreneur, don’t have the heart of one & don’t wish to be one, so I’m not bothered by it. Just that it’s strange to see small businesses just start ‘folding up’ its operations, in just a matter of months to a year or so. Hmm…

Moral of the story – If you are not running an eatery from a chain of outlets, don’t risk opening your small eatery along East Coast Road.

The End of Thaipan

Last Sunday, Rebecca & I decided to walk over to the nearby Mandarin Gardens condominium to eat at the restaurant ‘Thaipan’. It’s very reasonably priced, air-conditioned & the ambience is quiet. We stumbled upon this place early last year & even invite a few people there for a meal.

Sadly, the quality of food & service dropped drastically over the later part of last year, so we hardly went there to eat for the past 6 months or more. Last Sunday evening, we decided to try the food there again.

Strangely, we had this odd feeling that we weren’t sure if it was still open, coz we haven’t visited that restaurant in a long time. So I called the phone number while walking there. Nobody picked up the phone, but we decided to just walk over to check it out, since it was just across the road from my house.

When we reached there, we got a shock of our lives! Thaipan had closed down! There were no lights on (its Sunday evening & it’s usually open) & the furniture was all still in place. Rebecca & I tried to peer through the glass door to see if it’s really closed down or maybe temporarily closed for renovation.

Suddenly Rebecca looked down & noticed that there was a huge spread of bills sprawled all over the inside of the entrance! I got a shock of my life coz I have never seen so many bills being slipped under the gap underneath the entrance! That confirmed that it was the end of Thaipan. The business is over… In fact, from the spread of bills on the floor, we wondered how long has this restaurant being closed down. Hmm…

As we walked back to East Coast Road to settle for KFC (both of us recently renewed our craving for the original chicken flavor), we were discussing about how much vision the owner Paul had for his restaurant business, which he co-owned with his fellow NTU Engineering graduate, Kenneth Lo.

Both were professional in serving customers, with Paul being the more outspoken one who would open & close the door for his customers, as well as occasionally sharing his vision for his business with them! In fact, one of the customers whom he shared his vision was with Rebecca’s Dad, when she brought her family there to eat last year. It’s just too bad that the business ended up closed down.

It sure was a scary amount of bills sprawled out all over the floor…

Elfie's New 'Ladder'

I bought a small piece of rolled up wooden logs for my hamster Elfie, while stopping by Parkway Parade after work. The unique thing about Elfie's new 'ladder' is because these are small short pieces of wooden logs fitted together using two malleable metal rods. It allows these small wooden logs to be rolled into all sorts of shapes, so as to entertain the pet!

Elfie loves it & I have taken away the connecting tube which allows him to climb all the way to the top level of his cage. In place of this tube, I curled up the wooden logs to form like a wooden curled up platform that leads up to the upper level of his cage. Elfie likes it a lot, chews on the wood & even sleeps underneath the curled up wooden logs! Yippee! =)

Humorous Tony!

My colleague next to me behaved exceptionally 'nonsensical' today. His name is Tony, 33 years old & he's from New Creation Church. In a way, I find that I kind-of like to have him as a colleague. He's very light hearted (though it can be detrimental when it comes to rushing work at times) & crap about all sorts of things... In short, he's the one in the group who 'softens up' the tense atmosphere, coz my supervisor is a very focused & intense person... & Tony is the exact opposite. So he kind-of balances up how things feel like in my department...

Tony started asking me strange & humorous questions today. For example, he asked me if I watch soccer & I said no. Then he jokingly remarked, "What kind of guy are you? Don't watch soccer? I tell you ah, nowadays less & less guys watch soccer..."

Occasionally throughout the day, Tony would ask me other questions like how many siblings do I have, etc. One other thing he asked me was, "What kind of hobbies do you do?" I replied that I don't have time for hobbies nowadays, coz I'm busy... but if I have the time, it's the usual things that Singaporeans do lor... watch movie, eating, etc.

Tony replied, "Ya lah... Singaporeans very boring... hor..." So I replied that I do run & swim at times too (though I haven't done that in a long time)... then I paused before saying, "Oh ya... I like to trek mountains too..."

Both Tony & Josherine (the only female colleague in my department) turned around & Tony exclaimed, "Climb mountain? Singapore where got mountain for you to climb?" So I started to explain about my trekking expedition to Kota Kinabalu last year... & Josherine nodded in response.

This was when the most powerfully humorous thing was said to me today. Totally out of the blue, Tony asked, "Why do you go & climb that mountain for? Mission trip ah?"

Hahahahaha... that was when I totally roared in laughter... & Josherine laughed too! She said something like, "Mission trip? What mission trip?" Then Tony went on to explain that I trekked up there to visit the people staying up there... like the natives & all those people... It was totally crap, coz there was NOBODY staying on Kota Kinabalu... well, not anywhere near the top anyway.

But Tony is funny... he really makes me laugh... sometimes the things he says are just so ridiculously nonsensical! Dry humour, with a tinge of crappy nonsense! I find him so cute... coz he can be cute when he's 'bo chup' about things & people sometimes... very 'happy-go-lucky' fella... =)

Theraputic Ducks...

Rebecca told me last week that she went for this healthy lifestyle walk with her colleagues at NIE. Although busy, she actually found it theraputic to watch ducks swimming! She was excited to see terrapins swimming too! I guess its true that watching nature & animals does help to slow down our pace of life...

3 Packets of Milo & Broad Beans...

My boss uttered this remark at the big meeting yesterday. He said that there are 7 areas that we need to focus upon & whoever comes up with the best acronym will get a prize... then he paused before saying... 3 packets of Milo... & 3 packets of Broad Beans! Everyone laughed... Hahahaha... =)

Strange Clinic Hours!

I just called the clinic (assigned by my company's HR) to arrange an appointment to come doen later in the afternoon for my pre-employment check-up. And I really was shocked to hear that the clinic only opens from 9:30am - 12pm on Saturdays!

Of course, this is not wrong to work half day on Saturday, but isn't 2 & 1/2 hours rather short to come all the way to work just to work that meagre 2 hours or so? Plus, since this clinic also sees pre-employment check-up for newly appointed staff, the duration should normally take about 20 - 30 minutes or so, considering the waiting time & all.

So how in the world would the clinic only open & be able to see only a handful of 5 patients on Saturday? Wouldn't it be like almost redundant to everyone else? To me, my thoughts are - "Duh! What's the point?"

Might as well open for slightly longer working hours on a weekday, so that more people can go for the check-up or see the doctor, instead of coming down all the way to Orchard on an early Saturday. Btw, the clinic closes at 4pm on weekdays too... what kind of working hours is that? Just hire part-time staff? Part-time doctor? What kind of management is this? Terrible!

Delifrance’s High Carbohydrate Meals!

Dinner at Delifrance with Rebecca was refreshing, after a whole day’s work, just to catch up about each other’s work life. I recommended her to try the Potato Gratin, which she liked very much! I like it too… though not just potatoes every day. It can get kind of dry after awhile of just eating potatoes… plus it’s all carbohydrates!

It suddenly dawned upon me that Delifrance set meals are largely carbohydrate concentrated (vegetable is a carbohydrate too), making it not exactly a very nutritious meal, without a portion of protein & fats. This is particularly detrimental for people like us with O+ blood group, coz our blood requires an average of 20% fats, 40% carbohydrates & 40% protein, for sufficient food absorption in order to stay nutritionally well.

But it was a good, but short time of meeting up, before I sent her home via the bus 14 service, which was particularly freezing cold! We were so cold that we decided to sit at the lower deck, just a few bus stops before we alighted. *Laugh*.

Though complex & challenging, I still enjoy my job… but still thank God for this weekend… finally can get some rest & recreation! *Stretch*

Orchard Road’s Juicy Chicken Rice!

My stomach was growling since the middle of the inter-department meeting with our Executive Director… but my ‘sacrifice’ was paid off by the delicious plate of chicken rice which I ate for lunch!

It was incredibly tasty, even though it was a little bit oily… but the rice was fragrant & the chicken juicy! It’s located at the small food stall shop at the basement level of Orchard Towers, opposite Forum Shopping Centre, along Orchard Road. A definitely must-try! =)

‘Blasted’ at the Big Meeting

My third day at SNEF began with a 2 hours meeting, where various department managers presented their latest progress updates & achieved Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets till date. Reason being that end March is the closing of the financial year, something widely known, accepted & adhered to by almost every company, big or small.

Our Executive Director, whom every department reports to, was present at the meeting to keep abreast with every department’s latest updates. This meeting was quite an eye-opener for me, as I got to listen & view first-hand, about what are the other roles & KPI of the other departments at SNEF. Although I do not understand everything that was mentioned (some things are departmental lingo), it did give me a greater understanding & appreciation for how SNEF operates.

Strangely, my department ‘Projects’ took the longest duration for our presentation because there were so many things to be mentioned, lots of queries from other department staff, comments from our boss & corrections to our PowerPoint slides.

It must have been tough on my supervisor to handle all this bombardment, as the rest of us are still very new to be able to respond together with him. But I know that we will pick up & soon be able to stand our ground as a department, coz I can see that we are interested in our work & want to do it well. It sure wasn’t fun to get ‘blasted’ by other departments… but it was a good learning point for me. At least we got several issues straightened out during this unintended thrashing out session at the meeting.

My department colleagues & I went for a late lunch because we had to stay back for another separate briefing with the consultants from the Singapore Business Federation (SBF). It was quite an experience trying to explain things to them & them trying to explain things to us. Reason is because these consultants are in their 40s & older, whereas my department comprises entirely of staff of relatively the same age range, mid 20s to early 30s.

It’s weird watching this discussion go on, with the consultants speaking to us in [slow] English & speaking among themselves in dialect, usually Cantonese. As for us, we spoke [fast] English… with two of the three consultants requesting for us to slow down, coz they can’t keep up with what we are saying. One consultant (he looks like he’s in this late 40s) even said that he can’t understand what we are saying, coz he’s old & we are talking too fast.

Hmm… It’s weird, coz my department wasn’t intentionally speaking at a fast pace, although I could observe that our responses were quick because all of us could think fast. I really don’t know what to think about this situation… or whether to consider this happening as something good or bad. But they are the consultants assigned to us, as & when we need their assistance, so we have to learn to work with them. There are pros & cons, I would say…

The rapport among my colleagues was much better during lunch today & we managed to chat about more casual matters, apart from just work itself. It was also great that our broken down lift was working again… & this time, the other two lifts which were previously under repair, were now working too! Yeah! Now we have three lifts, instead of just one!

The afternoon went quite well, with more discussion among my colleagues about the next steps to be done. I kind of like the rapport built up so far… Furthermore, my supervisor praised me for good phrasing of English, when I showed him my latest draft of the project reference paper that I have been working on. Yeah! Thank God for helping me with this… plus, perhaps my reading of books & typing Blog entries have really improved my command of English writing.

The work day ended with a short chat among my supervisor, another colleague & I. It’s always heart-warming to chat a little bit about how we feel that things are running in our department, before we end of the day. This is not something formal that we intended, but it kind of naturally evolved into an occasional casual feedback session on certain work days.

What’s After Work?

Today is my second day of work at SNEF. Challenging as it is, I still find it rather enjoyable & meaningful. Rapport is average within my small team of 4 guys & 1 girl… though I find it difficult to establish friendships beyond working relationships as colleagues.

Perhaps some may think that I may be over-expecting or over-reacting to this aspect about friendships at work, especially when it’s just two days in my new job. Yet, to a certain extent, I can sense that there are limitations to developing good friendships in my department… although I do hope I’m wrong…

Surprisingly, although I find it less complicated & more comfortable working in a team of mostly guys, I think there is some truth as to why females have a greater tendency to bond together than guys (provided they can click, of course), coz guys seem to very objective in getting information across & getting work done, without much real emphasis on the bonding factor.

I noticed this during lunch today, coz all the 4 guys (including me) were sitting together eating our lunch & there was almost nothing much to talk about. In the end, my supervisor started to talk about work & what we are going to do later in the afternoon, etc.

In some sense, I felt unhappy coz I do look forward to cultivating friendships, but apparently, being in the projects department, which comprises of nearly all guys, everyone is very objective & systematic in getting their portions of their projects done. Communication is largely regarding work issues, apart from my occasional “Eh, are you thirsty? I’m going to get a cup of water…” or “Do you want a sweet?”

My supervisor is quite a workaholic. I understand that time is tight, especially for him, but it’s scary just seeing my team of guys just walk right back to the office immediately after getting up from our lunch table. They don’t go anywhere else & just straight back to their desks! Scary! Not because I feel the pressure or stress to keep up with them (thought it’s important that I keep up, since we are working as a team), but it’s almost like his work is his life! He comes in early in the morning & goes home after everyone has left the office. Even though we are required to work on some Saturdays, he is at the office nearly every Saturday.

I guess, to some extent, I feel the pressure to stay on par with them… coz they are very good at their work & come from related job backgrounds. Yet, I’m not sure to what level of friendships can be established with them.

Anyway, I told them that I’m going to walk around by myself after lunch, coz I don’t feel comfortable sitting down with a full stomach. So I strolled around the nearby shopping centers, enjoying the air-con & appreciating the opportunity to take my eyes of my work & PC for the remaining 20 minutes of my lunch break.

The only lift (out of the three that were available) broke down when I came back to the office building, so I decided to walk up the stairs with this Indian man. It didn’t take much effort from me, coz it’s only 10 floors to my office, especially when I was walking up 300 floors during my training for Kota Kinabalu last year.

This Indian man was also going to the 10th floor, so we chatted on the way up. I found out that he was here to attend a seminar. At the 5th floor, he was sweating profusely & decided to visit the washroom… *Laugh*. I wasn’t even sweating… & it was only the 5th floor! See how spoilt Singaporeans can get nowadays?

Just after this Indian man went off to the toilet, another formally dressed Chinese man opened the door to the staircase on the 5th floor & started to walk up the stairs, following behind me. I eased into my standard pace, just like I did during my training for KK & maintained it at that relaxed speed, so that I can walk up stairs continuously for about 30 minutes to 1 hour non-stop, but at a regular pace.

I noticed at the corner of my eye that this Chinese man tried to keep up with my pace, maybe he was trying to overtake me or prove something. But after the 7th floor, he was lagging behind already… Hahahaha… & his pace got slower & slower… though he was still in sight behind me, coz the staircase is spiral.

When I opened the staircase door at the 10th floor, I decided to disturb him a bit by holding open the door for him… smiling as he walked towards me… then he smiled & turned… he was still going upstairs! He’s not coming to the 10th floor! Oh dear… I thought to myself… I didn’t know which floor he was going to, but I didn’t want to guess. But I’m glad that I wasn’t even huffing & puffing… & not having sweat at all. I mean, come on… it’s only 10 floors!

The rest of the afternoon went well… & as usual, I totally KO on the bus journey home, just like the day before. But I felt different while I was walking home this evening. I felt quite down… or listless, whichever it was. Suddenly I felt like I didn’t know what to do after coming home from work. It was a weird feeling, like I don’t have anything to look forward to, when I reached home. Maybe the usual routine of dinner, bath, check e-mail, type Blog, chat for a few minutes on the phone with Rebecca, then sleep.

Is there anything to look forward to, after coming home from work each day? I have yet to find out… It’s not that I love to stay at the office to do work, but just that when I’m focused on my work during the day, suddenly I feel lost at what to do which interests me at night… Of course, I’m thankful coz others have to work even longer hours than me. But why am I feeling this way? Hmm… Maybe it's because I feel lonely at home... & I miss being with Rebecca... yet I have also almost lost all enthusiasm to exercise regularly… I wonder why… what happened?

Funny but Lame Jokes

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow (He got an A).

Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby.

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section"?
A: The caesarean section is a district in Rome.

Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman emperor.

Q: What is a terminal illness?
A: When you are sick at the airport.

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Making a Difference at Work

This morning, I reported to SNEF for my first day of work. The Admin & Finance Executive introduced to my supervisor, department colleagues & handed some documents to fill up & sign.

My department consists of 4 guys & 1 lady. It was a great change of comfort level with regards to department gender composition, since I left StarHub. Personally, I still enjoy working & relating with guys, maybe coz it’s I find it less complicated to click with guys, than with ladies. But I do enjoy relating with females, just that working in a department as the only guy can be very intimidating. More often, I’m kept on my toes than trying to work effectively with them.

The morning passed quite smoothly, with lots of readings to do, most of which can be quite numerous to remember. But then again, it’s only my first day, so I tried not to stress myself too much.

Lunch was good, as I got to know my department colleagues better & enjoyed a delicious bowl of dumpling noodles at the nearby food court. The culture in this department is much different from my previous departments at StarHub, where almost every staff takes their full one hour lunch break (& some take slightly longer). Here, most of the staff come back straight to the office to continue their work… even though we only had 30 minutes of lunch break today.

Well, this can be both good & bad. On one hand, if one slacks too much during lunch break, it can be quite difficult to regain momentum, especially after a heavy lunch or short nap. However, on the other hand, it can also be good to enjoy some time shopping or reading a book during the remaining lunch break.

The first part of the afternoon consisted of about 2 hours of orientation around the office, venues & even a detailed briefing of the regulations & benefits as a staff at SNEF. The lady who oriented us seemed nice & shared some stories with us. Over long years of working at an organization, sometimes interesting things do happen…

The last few hours of the afternoon started to get tough… & complex. I won’t be sharing what I’m doing in this Blog, but my work is definitely very challenging, yet beneficial, if successful. My supervisor also had a good 1 hour chat with me after work, about expectations of being in this department. It can be scary at times, coz my department is dealing with large scale projects… but I look forward to making a difference, with all my effort put in to my work. May God bless & guide me, as I serve Him in my work.

Warfare Prayer for the Lost

Warfare Prayer for the Lost

"I present __________ to the Father in the name of Jesus."

Then claim every detail of that life for God, using the power of the blood against the enemy.

With the authority of Jesus, we claim their deliverance from the power and persuasion of the evil one and from the love of the world and the lust of the flesh.

Pray that they will be convicted, come to repentance, listen & believe as they hear the Word of God. That all God’s purposes and will be accomplished in them.