Days of consecutive raining finally stopped! Isn't that great =) Plus nothing went wrong.
I saw Kang Qi (1st 3months classmate) during lunch at PS Kopitiam. He was so properly-attired, office wear with shirt neatly tucked in. haha ;) But we didn't greet each other. I don't know if he had seen me before I saw him, but when he walked past my table (with a guy I presume is his friend-colleague) he didn't look at me. Ha, I guess it would be awakard, since we never really talked at all though we were classmates for 10 weeks.
I spotted Weng Qing Hai (MediaCorp celebrity cum Wushu expert) eating at Gelare PS after my lunch! He looks just like on TV; was with another small-part actor. Everyone else was behaving normally. Most Singapore celebrities are so fortunate, no stupid paparazzi who haunt you day and night or crazy fans.
Realised that my workplace is so near Civil Service Club! That's great =) So convenience to get there after work on Fridays to play badminton. Yay! Haha, I was so lousy, only realised after Mom told me. I had wanted to go to Novena (which is nearer if I'm going from school or home but I just realised actually going Farrer Park Station is nearer from school...) where her colleague will usually pick me up.
After badminton, I saw Geraldine (from 4/10), or rather, she saw me. Haha. I was walking around outside HDB Hub 2nd level food court and was looking at the items on sale at Bengawan Solo when someone from inside the shop called me and when I looked up, it was Geraldine! She's working then till before CNY, and it looks like hard work. Sigh, I feel for my friends who are working for the pre-CNY season. The busy long hours. When I meet Geraldine, it was already past 10pm! Fancy working till so late. And there's Jiayun who is supposed to be working from 9 to 7 but she says she is working till 7/8 or later.. Plus there's work on Saturdays and alternate Sundays and Public Holidays! Gosh. And she's not even sure of the pay. Its admin lo, but cos its at Hoya Hampers, for the CNY rush... There's also Adeline, working at Taka Gucci. I didn't really expect there to be so many people shopping there. Just a dull looking towel costs $430. Crazy.
Remember all the effort I put in in trying to find a job? All the phone calls I made, the interviews I went, the resumes I emailed? All of which had no or negative replies? Now I think its a blessing in disguise, because this job I've got now is quite good, 9 to 5, at dohby ghaut. My lunch break is like more than an hour. Haha. Cos Joseph and I will usually go for lunch between 12.30pm and 12.45pm. Then the others in my office will go probably at 1pm so the office will be locked till about 2pm. Whenever we're back at about 1.40pm, its locked, so we'll hang out at a small 'meeting room' at the other office. But we stay till after 5pm, so it adds back the working hours.
This other company, Ming Ri, publishes and sells Chinese study aids like magazines and bao zhang bao dao sample essays. That was on Monday before the boss of the accounting firm, Ms Chan, came for work at 11+am. I was waiting for her in the meeting room. Both are very small companies, family set-ups, grand total of less than 10 employees. I think they are really entrepreneurial people. Members of the family write the articles and essays so its really profitable. And the standard was so high that last year some schools didn't buy because the students found them too difficult. Haha.
I'm working at a company which provides accountancy/auditing services. My colleagues are friendly people. The person whom I'm helping out, Lee Wai, has a 15-year-old son. She's quite a jovial person, calls Fiona, another nice middle-aged lady, "Auntie". Heehee. On the 2nd morning of work after I arrived (she was the only one already there), she told me just to call her "Fiona" and that the others are just joking by calling her "Auntie". Ha. There's also a Jimmy and a Jamie. Jimmy's a middle-aged man and Jamie is the youngest among the four permanent employees.
Oh ya, to fill in my empty nights, I decided to bake cookies to sell! My mom's colleagues tried the samples I made and there are now orders for 11 containers of cookies! But the profit margin is really low, so its mostly just for interest.
Going to school is really more useful than working. You get to fully utilise your brains; move your limbs often enough (walking from classrooms to lecture theatres to canteen etc plus PE lessons and climbing the staircases of our dearest fortress) - my shoulders are aching because I'm seated upright most of the time while working (during lessons/band you can slouch while listening, heehee); wear sports shoes instead of flat soled footwear - my feet are hurting now just after a week of flat soled; eat and take public transport without feeling the pinch that you are spending too much (adult fare is just so ex) etc etc
after k lunch at Parkway on 2 jan '06! Jiayi is still the same, gave me a shove on my head when she came! even after 6 years not seeing each other. She has a fabulous voice, and her scream scares the guys ;) ha, I was 'stoning' away while enjoying their singing most of the time. We played pool, cycled (it rained towards the end although the clouds were already grey 2 hours before when we were walking to ECP), had pastamania, and played pool again. Weilin & Ivan (not in pic) shared a double bike and I was usually riding behind them till I couldn't catch up and lost sight of them. Poor Minrui and Wei Chen (not in pic) were individually separated from the rest of us for the whole 2 hours.
Ha, I had planned to leave earlier but we started playing the seaweed story and time just flew. Some of them were unwilling to play cos its kind of serious, still, we lasted till midnight, and suddenly the fireworks were up! We had missed the counting down! hahaha
there's beehoon in the blue-lid box (fried by Kaiyun's maid - would be inedible if she did, in her words ;) ), fruits in the red plastic bag by Weilin. Cookies in the foreground are baked by me! Assortment of finger food on the left fried by Yiyun, cake with knife on top brought back from Indonesia by Liming's dad, seaweed chicken and tissue box (haha) by Amanda, Want Want by Linyan. So silly, we (ok, I) forgot to take group photo..
"like fenella, the quiet but will response to you type"
Ha, I didn't know Kai Yun typifies me like that. She was likening her neighbour cum tutee to me.
Anyway, we had a 4/10 gathering today. We were supposed to go sentosa but it rained the whole day so we went katong shopping centre but the k lounge there was full so we ended up shopping at parkway.. Wah, the scoopz ice-cream was so worth it. $3.20. "1 scoop, 2 flavours" was like 2 scoops full. yum.
Amanda's a good primary school teacher, cares about morals. She said the new teachers now don't even bother. She's taking a primary 3 form class at her ex-primary school. Teaches practically everything. She said the other teachers treat her very well, lucky her.
Better not sleep too late today- first day of work tomorrow! Yay, thanks Joseph!
Ha, these few days I'm into typing tests. My speed is between 35 WPM and 47 WPM, 'cos I took the tests quite a few times so there are quite a few results. But I think normally I type at 30 WPM.
Qingyang's really amazing. Edo says his typing speed is 107 WPM!!!
I suddenly feel that its really a pity to lose contact with your primary school friends, people whom you once shared the purest of friendships with (and could continue it till you are old, if you are willing to). These are the people whom you'll somehow trust, never thinking that they'll harm you. Even after you haven't met them for years, when you see them again, there'll be some sort of connection.
I can't find anyone who is willing to give me a reasonable adminstrative job... (by "reasonable" I mean at least $6 per hour with overtime pay)
Before the band trip:
Went for interviews at KPMG and PwC, not offered either jobs.
Wednesday:
Checked several job websites and classified ads, called up some numbers- either they don't need/want me or weird people like one who asked whether I use M1, SingTel or StarHub...
Emailed resume to a job opening on the net, awaiting reply.
Thursday:
Went for walk-in interview at a small law firm, awaiting reply.
Called at least 4 employment agencies, no clients willing to employ fresh 'A' levels for admin.
Visited an employment agency at Int'l Plaza and another at Ngee Ann City, no clients willing to employ fresh 'A's for admin either.
Today:
Applied to IRAS (but Teck Kuan says, according to his friend, that currently there are no vacancies)
Called another employment agency, client willing to employ fresh poly graduates but not 'A' level.
Emailed resume to an agency recommended by Justine, awaiting reply.
How I miss having an "identity"... a "student" or a "current band member"... As long as it gives me something proper to do.
AHHH!!! A few people I know have already gotten admin jobs... With reasonable pay. Sigh... Is it because they applied in Nov/Dec so there were still vacancies or is it just that I am lousy...
Yesterday Pam and I went around Tanjong Pagar looking for jobs (after I looked up classifieds the day before). And guess what our dearest Pam, anti-school girl, wished -
Wow, I wonder whether I'll get to finish blogging about the band overseas trip.. Everytime I want to blog I don't feel entirely compelled to so I sign in to MSN and end up chatting instead.
By the way, Laura got a relief teaching job at NY! Teaching Sec 2s and 3s bio! So pro
Have Read
'04 year-end holidays (highest number of books read in a long time)
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (gd read)
-Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot (fun read)
-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (must read - inspirational)
-Slab Rat by Ted Heller (full of office politics and R21 stuff - not for kids)
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (makes u want to finish it)
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks (simple but meaningful)
-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (can identify with)
-The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (romantic love story with too much R21 stuff)
-Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (even more R21. ugh)
-The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
-Unstrung Heroes by Franz Lidz (autobiography about his four uncles and father)
-The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (very unique POV of an autistic boy)
-The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (love the breadth of the plot, one of my favourites)
-Wild Orchids by Jude Deveraux (alternating between two first persons' view - unique, but don't like e plot)
-Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (philosophy tb in a story; gets abit dry though plot saved)
-forgot what i read...-
-Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan (story of an urban planner)
-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (impressive intelligence with bits of great humour)
-Just between Us by Cathy Kelly (thickest bk i've ever read-600+pg, too long for me but not bad)
ha, started a few bks but didn't enjoy them enough to read more.
'06
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel (novel based on true story; a lot to learn from the book - animals, religions,
survival, appreciation of simplicity; marvelous descriptions of both the tangible and the intangible,
such that I could feel their realness; bits of very enjoyable humour; a must read)
-The Complete Analects of Confucius, Volume 1 - Asiapac Comic Series (some good teachings.
didn't read everything though)
-The Parable of the Pipeline by Burke Hedges (lent to me by Shujun; like she said, its a short version
of Rich Dad Poor Dad - good financial tips)
-The Alchemist by Paul Coelho (simple story with deep meaning)
-Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(hai, doesn't seem to be working for me - cos im not applying..)
-haven't been updating from Jun'06 to Jul'07-
'07
-Take a Chance by Sarah Webb (very interesting twist towards the end)
'08
-A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer (very saddening. made me realise how significant family is in how a child behaves)
-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden (refreshing book with many pics)
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Rui Zafon (amazing how people can think of so much plot to pack into one book, wld b a gd tv series)
-The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the story is interesting but i think the ending cld hv been better written)
-This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes (a bit thought-provoking on relationships but i didnt like e abrupt ending)
-Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (gd knowledge but partly qte repetitive)
-For One More Day by Mitch Albom
-The C Words by Mark Mason (made me keep wanting to read on. light & funny)
'09
-Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (another good read from Deveraux)
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (gosh such vivid descriptions! very well written book. i liked d theme of friendship and the realness of the story)
'10
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (a must-read!! i love the expressed thoughts of the protagonist, esp those about friendships, and the writing style - it seems like she's telling me her story specifically to me)
How to Save Your Own Life by Michael Gates Gill (an inspiring read, for emotional liberation and greater joy in life)
Reading
on hold
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Waiting for chance to get hold of
The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Gotai Fumanzoku or An Unsatisfactory Body (Translated into English as No One's Perfect) by Hirotada Otatake
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Other Recommended Readings by Marc
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes. Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s emotional and moral life. Dickens states that we must learn to go against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”
Lolita – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each. The story is as devious as it is beautiful.
Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done. Nuff said.
How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating. Pretty much the greatest cookbook ever written. Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll be a master chef by the time you’re 30.
Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful fiancée. Life was good. But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him. So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years. This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self discovery.
Self-note: Tip for my future business =D
give employees reasonably high pay to keep them- otherwise they are unlikely to stay loyal.
treat employees not according to how well they treat me but how conscientious they are at work
(of course, musn't expect them to only do work throughout the entire working hours -
give some breathing space too, we are humans, not machines) Movies watched(listing started on 6jan08)
in cinema from VCD/DVD
1Sep07: "Hairspray" w TK, GH & SH
14Sep07: "Ratatouille" w mom & extended family
28Dec07: "The Pianist" w Jus & Pam (heartbreaking but good lessons; i recommend!)
2Jan08: "I Am Legend" w Sherm (scary! but good acting; thought provoking; i recommend!)
5-6Jan08: "A Good Year" alone (excellent show! i like the acting; funny; good lessons; touches my heart; i recommend!)
11Jan08: "Le Grand Chef" w WLing, JT & Irene (good! funny, very touching, :) nice; watch if like humour+meaning+food)
7Feb08 (CNY 初一): "Ah Long Pte Ltd" w parents (pretty hilarious - but u gotta understand dialects, some teary parts. wells typical of jack neo movies but with diff content)
11Mar08: "The Leap Year" w Sherm (so sweet! :) and apart from couple relationship it touches the theme of mother-daughter and best friends too)
6Jun08: "P.S. I Love You" w Sherm (don't know if its coz we watched it on laptop, coz it didn't impress me as much as it did for him in cinema)
8Jun08: "The Forbidden Kingdom" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (ums..guess i'm really not into kungfu)
8Jun08: "What Happens in Vegas" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (simple,relaxing show)
7Jul08: "我和狗狗的10个约定" w Sherm, his ma & sisters (very simple,touching but actually not my type of show)
10Jul08: "Before Sunrise" w Sherm (hmm maybe watchg on laptop really affects appreciatn of movies..)
30Sep08: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" w Sherm (i didn't like it as much as i thought i wld when i saw the ads)
31Dec08: "Yes Man" w Mom (inspiring and funny)
11Feb08: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" w Mom (not as impressive as i thought it wld be)
1Jul09: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" w Yumei, YY & Matt (the best thing was the soundtrack. heh.)
14Aug09: "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" w Joyce (it was awesome! best action movie i've ever watched)
17Aug09: "Food, Inc." w SYL & RuiQ (learnt some stuff abt the American food industry but it was a bit boring and not worth the $10)
22Sep09: "The Time Traveller's Wife" w WB, VanD, WLing, CHL, Irene, VanQ, Mf, Pg (i liked it. having read the book really helps w udsg)
21Nov09: "Gokusen" w Mf, Eva, Tony, Sarah (funny inspirational movie)
24Dec09: "十月围城" w Tony, WLing, VanQ (action action and a bit funny? tony criticised the plot. my fav scene was the running n jumping through the crowd along the five-foot ways w/o cuts)
30Dec09: "Sherlock Holmes" w Irene, Tony, Sweetee (my favourite genre of books made into a movie - what else can be more cool? acting effects humour excitement suspense all in)
12Jan10: "Avatar 3D" w Mom (didn't appreciate the digital effects which everyone wowed about. content etc was so-so. cathay's 3D glasses were too heavy for me)
8Feb10: "The Truman Show" w Ky n sis n Yuhshin (a must-watch. very thought-provoking, funny. reminder to be spontaneous and create your life the way you want, instead of falling into a typical routine
14Feb10: "New York, I Love You" w Mom (I loved it! a good couple movie with meaningful pointers to keep it going. but i think some stories could be more developed)
16Feb10: rewatched "The Pianist" (still find it good, tho i still feel first viewings are the best)
17Feb10: "Valentine's Day" w CHL n WB (laughed throughout - a feel-good movie; liked the fact that the various stories binded tog so well with the little surprises here and there, vs NY ILU in which each story was separate)
20Feb10: "赤壁二" w Addy, Karen, Sharon, SJ (should have watched the first one first cos i ended up not knowing who's who and what's happening and had to keep asking :/ and couldn't pay attn.. if not i think it should be a pretty good movie..)
4Mar10: "Alice in Wonderland 3D" w Mf (i found the 3D effects of this @ CCK Shaw SO much better than Avatar @ The Cathay =/ and the movie was much more enjoyable too! - cheered a sad me up :)) favourite quote - the Mad Hatter: “You used to be much muchier before. ... You have lost your muchness.”)
18Mar10: "Nodame Cantabile" w Irene, Mf (i thoroughly enjoyed some of the orchestra pieces - SO impressive! the expressions of the actors were really amusing :D)
23Apr10: "Ice Kacang Puppy Love" w Mom (funny, touching and meaningful - about love between friends and family. i cried 3 tissues! cos some touching parts i could really understand the feelings of the characters involved)
Inception
Letters to God (very simple Christian movie)
22Nov10: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" w Ame, Irene (they loved it. pretty good, i guess the main problem i had was that im not familiar with HP :X)
13Dec10: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" w Sj (not bad, could follow the story unlike HP. like the meaningful teachings, too long - in a post)
2Mar11: "The King's Speech" w Ame (hilarious, inspirational, tho it doesn't impress me that much to understand why it's the Oscar winner)
Mar11: "10 Things I Hate About You" very funny. silly sweet high school romance. just right for having breaks in between doing homework
23May11: "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" w Wb Yl Ame Pg (pretty good - scenery, freakish parts, fighting scenes, dressing, humour, bits of Christianity like when the Spanish said "only God gives life")
6Jun11: "Xmen First Class" w Wb Ame Pg (i was very keen on watching it and it was really good! intellectual, makes sense, cool action, some humour)
9Jun11: "Legally Blonde 2" w Irene (seems like some dumb blonde movie but kind of meaningful too - speaking up for yourself and what you stand for)
17Jun11: "Something Borrowed" w Sandy Lisa (quite funny, somewhat meaningful wrt friendships. they didn't like the lack of sense for one part tho)
16Jul11: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" w Irene, Sweetee, Kw (not bad. i didn't understand some parts again but the humour and effects were pretty good)
Aug11 "Horrible Bosses" w Ma (she fell asleep! gosh. the movie was very crude i must say but there was the humour)
25Oct11: "The Three Musketeers" w H (i would rate it 3.5 for humour/intellectual language and 4 for action. it's by the same producer or director as Sherlock! but a bit less awesome albeit a good chill out movie)
5Nov11: "Real Steel" w Hl (action packed but not too hardcore for me. i liked that there was the father and son element and how the father eventually softened his heart and especially the part when charlie was having trouble telling max sth and max was so understanding saying "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." touching and demonstrates true fighting spirit)
12Dec11: "50/50" w L (adopting her words - a heavy topic put across in a lighthearted way, but not taking away d meaning. most of it was rather hollywood-ish trashiness but there were a couple of punch lines "u can't change ur parents, but u can change d way u respond to them.")
25Dec11: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" w KY (ultimate action packed! super tense almost throughout the movie, and interesting Tom Cruise made it such that not everything happened smoothly - he would jump and misland and get all sorts of injuries..it's really the courage to jump without hesitation even though you are not sure you'll be alive after that. KY loved d movie and said she would watch it again!)
3Jan12: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" w KY (i love mystery (: and the witty sarcastic dialogues. good level of excitement with the action. didn't understand some parts as usual. i like Holmes and Watson they depict such a true pair of buddies ;D)
23Jan12: "You are the Apple of My Eye" w mom (now i understand why guys like this movie so much - the anxiety of chasing after a girl and the acts schoolboys do to get the girl's attention and hopefully affection. the initial fluttering and the subsequent quarrelling)
22Mar12: "The Iron Lady" w KY (really love Thatcher's sharp words. inspiring and thought-provoking, tho i was still left uncertain of what to do with my life, the movie is definitely an encouraging one)
29Mar12: "Barney's Version" w SJ (a funny movie of a screwed up life of a man who had 3 wives, smoked and drank but very heartwarming at the same time, the relationships with the dad and the 3th wife - quotable quotes!)
27Apr12: "The Hunger Games" w Mom
4May12" "Avengers" w MF n PS (funny, action-packed)
7Jul12: "The Amazing Spiderman"
21Jul12: "The Dark Knight Rises" (fantastic depth, loved the twists)
20Aug12: "ParaNorman" w Mom (simple funny animated movie, heartwarming support)
Performances watched (listing started on 25Apr10)
20Jan10: Patrick Marber's Closer by outoftheBLUE, NUS Science w Pam (
13Mar10: The Rain Came Down Like Pearls the Night I Died... The New Musical - Sing & Tell by Mark Chan w Addy & Jy
21Mar10: Quintessence by NUSCO w CHL