Thursday, June 30

I'm Sorry. I Haven't Used My Brain In 2 And A Half Years.

After all the relac-jacking that is NS and the 3 month post ORD break, I really hope that I can adapt back to the rigours of school life.

If today's matriculation was anything to go by, it's gonna be a very busy semester ahead. Sports Camp, SMUX, ASOC Camp, The SMU Orientation camp, Christian Fellowship camp, 80 hours of community service which I wanna complete before term starts. Oh and of course the usual lessons la. Ha.

By the way, Electrico and E.I.C. (the band that plays at Wala Wala's) are gonna be playing during SMUve, when SMU relocates from the cosy Bukit Timah campus to Bras Basah. Any SMUckers interested in going down? Amanda Ling!

$MU

Going down for matriculation later. So much stuff to pay for. #!**!!!!. It's pay day and more than half my wages will go to SMU. Chao cheesepie.

Wednesday, June 29


A walk in the clouds.

Tuesday, June 28

Here Horsey Horsey

Work has been damn sian for the past week. I mean I'm really thankful and all that I even have a job, but... just quite bored with it la. Especially after spending all that time with the BGB guys, work just seems really mundane and pointless now.

It's just been serving customers, making sure the shelves are neat, tidying up the counters. If it's not for the customers and colleagues to talk to, I'll just shrivel up and die of boredom.

Such was my enthusiasm to leave the store tonight, that I accidentally switched off the lights in the store before we were supposed to close. Think there was still one customer in the store. Oops.

The good thing about working in Suntec, is that you get to meet so many familiar faces everyday. Pamela's working at the reception counter, so I chat with her now and then, whenever I make trips to the toilet (haha). Daphne popped by yesterday, first time I've seen her in ages, and the first thing she comments about is how I should cut my hair and how gay my flag bracelet is! What the?! Huu Khanh popped by the store today with his younger brother! Haven't seen him since Fun-O-Rama 2002 man.

Anyway I've never realised that so many people wear Ralph Lauren shirts, it's damn scary. Seriously, I bet you can find at least one guy in every MRT carriage who's wearing something Ralph Lauren related. I'm seeing horses everywhere, it's not funny.

Toyota Trueno AE86

Dad's back from the wine expo in Bordeaux. Went to pick him up from the airport and then had dinner at East Coast Lagoon. Haven't seen him in close to 3 weeks, cos' he left the day I came back from KK. Great to have him back. I think I mentioned this before, but driving along the ECP at night is really relaxing, especially when you're driving past the Singapore skyline.

While we're on the topic of driving, Initial D is pretty darn cool. OK so Jay Chou can't act, but we'll still love him if he continues to sing. Don't quit your day job man. Just caught the movie with Daniel, Ah Loong and Yew Minh after fetching Dad, Mom and Dan home. I've never read the comic or seen the series, but I'm tempted to start now. I realise it's pretty boring driving an automatic car now. Haha. I wouldn't mind driving an AE86. Any car would do for me right now. Heh.

Nice meeting up this afternoon Eric. We WILL beat Winning Eleven 8 in one sitting NEXT TIME. I assure you. Italy just CANNOT lose to Serbia and Montenegro next time.

Met up for lunch with Iylia and Satiish at Suntec (of all places! As of I don't see the place enough! GARRRR!) Iylia's flying off for Melbourne this Thursday, so last chance to meet up with him till then. Take care la bro. Oh and Wen Zheng if you're reading this, Satiish will be staying in Hall 6 as well. Heh. You guys can go play soccer everyday in the field. No need to study liao. Ha!

Sunday night's DOTA session with April and Ling Li was pretty fun, even if we did get owned in the last game. =) Seriously damn funny la. Didn't think I would ever play DOTA with the both of ya. Go girl gamers! Haha.

OK I got the chronological order of events all mixed up in this post. Tsk tsk. Ah well it's my blog.

Sunday, June 26


More KK/Manukan Island photos. Ping Hau, Daniel (Loke) and April!


As much as I don't believe the evolution theory, you can't deny the similarities.


April sharing her testimony. Don't lean back!


The long walk up into the chalets. I thought we had enough of climbing?!


The view from the chalet.


Back in KK, we decided to get a good rubdown. Daniel (right), obviously not enjoying his massage.

Saturday, June 25

The Things We Do For Freebies

Had my off day yesterday, so was walking past CK Tang's with Isaac after a very unsatisfying DOTA/Battlefield 2 session. We saw this Australian girl running on a treadmill at the Tangs display window. The MC announced that it's a competition to see who can run 2.4km in the fastest time. The winner gets to 500 bucks worth of Shishedo Men's products.

It took me like 2 seconds to decide to give it a go. I mean, 500 bucks worth of stuff! Why not?! Even if I was dressed in T-shirt, berms and slippers. It was quite amusing running on the treadmill and have all the passer-bys stare at me. Some even took photos. D'oh! Damn heng I didn't see anyone I knew, otherwise so malu-ating man.

Anyway, I managed to get the fastest time so far, let's just hope it stays that way. Just for trying, I got a free Shishedo Men's manicure set (which I don't need but looks cool), facial wash, towel, ab toner (ladies, anyone wants it?), and a really cool toiletries bag. OK, so I don't need like half the stuff in there. BUT IT WAS FREE! Ha! I'll find out in a weeks time if I won. Please call me! Please call me!

Friday, June 24

Charm Is Deceptive. Beauty Is Fleeting.

Chris attempted to read my palm today. Judging by the many complicated lines on my hand, he concluded that I think a lot, and worry about the future too much. I don't believe in palmistry, but can't deny that about me I guess. Tend to keep playing the past over and over in my head, thinking if I could have done things differently, and tend to worry about the future as well.

One area I think a lot about is what I hope to see in my future partner. Pastor Joshua's message about "finding an excellent wife/husband" and the sermon on "Lady Wisdom and Madam Folly" during the church camp made me rethink a lot about what was important to me in finding a partner.

Sometimes we're just so blinded and captivated by someone's physical appearances, that we tend to overlook the person's character. I guess it's more an issue for the guys, not that we're all that shallow (umm, not all of us anyway).

Proverbs 31:30 reminds us: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

That's right. Beauty is fleeting. No amount of botox you pump into your forehead can keep you looking youthful forever, so it's so much more important to find a partner who has a wholesome character, and one who fears and loves God.

I hope it's something I won't have to struggle with in the months to come. Not going ahead with a relationship because she isn't a believer. It's easy to say the right thing to do is to choose God above the person you're infatuated with (assuming she doesn't fear God,or believe), but if it really happens, it's a different story altogether. Such is the foolishness of Man, you know what is the right thing to do, but you hold back because your heart tells you something different altogether.

Argh. The heck. I've not even started uni yet. I think too much.

Thursday, June 23


Manukan Island

Wednesday, June 22


By Clare's request. Hello Paul.

Blessed

Just caught Batman Begins. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised! It was pretty darn good in my opinion. Christian Bale makes a much better Batman than uh...George Clooney (To the folks that did the disaster that was Batman & Robin... bad, bad casting guys).

Haven't had the time to blog about the 10days in Malaysia. 5 days in Putrajaya for church camp, 5 days in Kota Kinabalu for the BGB Mt. Kinabalu climb. In short, the trip was really such a blessing.

I felt really blessed by the messages, blessed by the church people whom I came in contact with, blessed by the opportunities to serve during church camp and blessed by the company of the BGB kids who were just such a joy to be with.

Will elaborate soon. Gotta work later. Weekdays are sooo quiet. Thanks for popping by the store Nydia, Joel. Come visit me folks! Makes my day pass by so much faster.

Tuesday, June 21


KL.


The funniest 12-year old I know. Josh!


Oh yeah. We were there.

Monday, June 20

We'll Meet Again Fei

Kang Fei passed away 2 Saturdays ago on 11 June.

Was at church camp when Elliot and I got calls from friends about Fei's passing. We couldn't fly back home for his wake or cremation. We only just got back this morning slightly after midnight after taking a bus home from Senai Airport.

Fei was an great testimony to me personally. He was a source of encouragement in my walk during our OCS days, and even when he was hit by leukemia, he showed so much courage and faith, in the face of such overwhelming adversity.

I guess as Christians, it's good to know that even after death there is eternal life. Although death is painful and separation from loved ones really sucks, eventually the day will come when all of us will be reunited in God's kingdom. Knowing this, we shouldn't say goodbye, for we know separation is temporary.

Continue to pray for his family folks. I hope they're coping well.

Fei, we'll see you soon.

Saturday, June 11

Off To Redland

...Or Malaysia. Army guys you know what I mean.

Be taking the coach up to Putrajaya. Gotta be in church by 645am. What am I still doing up?!!

I feel like my preparation has been inadequate. Always have this nagging feeling that I forgot to pack something important. Ah well, i guess I'll find out when I reach Malaysia. Haha. Don't worry I won't forget my passport.

Continue to pray for Kang Fei folks. I'll see you guys back on the 20th.

Thursday, June 9

Fight It, Fei. Fight it.

For all those that have been praying for Kang Fei, please don't stop. He's in NUH ICU right now, and was admitted yesterday after getting a really high fever. His situation was complicated by a fit and the doctors say that he's suffering from an infection. At one point the doctors said that he had a 10% chance of survival if he continued in his current state. His blood pressure and blood count has somewhat stabilised now, but it's still too early to tell.

His parents say that they're gonna start him on a new treatment tonight, and hopefully he'll react well to it. All that's left to do now is to pray and wait.

Pray for his parents, who are really going through a lot right now. While we were there, Fei's Dad and Mom were really putting up a strong front, going to everyone of Fei's friends explaining the situation. Really admire their courage. Pray that God will sustain them in this tough period.

Pray for Fei's older brother who's studying in the states. He's taking his exams now, and I don't know if his parents will tell him, but if they do, pray that he takes the news well and that it won't affect his studies.

Pray for Kang Fei. That he'll fight this infection and that he can be on the road to recovery again. His mom was saying they're not even thinking about the leukemia right now, it's just getting past these few crucial hours that matters right now.

You're in our prayers Fei. Fight.

Meetups. Baybeats. Prata.

Yawn. Just got home. It's becoming routine. Wake up at 8 plus, take the train down to work, retire at about 9pm, come home and surf the net to blog a bit till about 2am plus. Repeat cycle. Today was a refreshing change though.

Met up with so many pple today, and it's just great to know how everyone's getting along with their lives.

Eric's back from Sydney, without the Hooters T-shirt I wanted (Yes Eric. It's my fault.). Met up with him during my lunch break. (Welcome home bro. Thanks again for the Hillsong's CD. I will definately pop by your place to view the photos.)

I asked Doreen (my manager) if she could let me off at 6pm so that I could meet up with Vanessa, Liping, Weiliang, Yee Lin, Sarah and Elliot. Doreen was really nice about it. Phew. Thanks again Vanessa for organising. Next time my turn ya. The baton has been passed eh. Too bad Yee Lin couldn't make it. Hope she's alright.Chilled out at Citilink Delifrance (cos' that was the only place with space, Thai Express was packed). Was really good to see them all again la. Wanted to go Max Brenners' for dessert, but decided it was too ex and went out to check out some mini concert that was taking place at the area outside Esplanade, you know, the tentage where they held Baybeats?

Dunno what was the name of the band, but they were doing some really good renditions of Sting songs. What's the title of that song? If I Ever Lose My Faith In You issit? Anyway quite nice la. They even did a smoother, less noisy version of Jet's Are You Gonna Be My Girl with nothing but acoustic guitars, bass, bongo drums and vocals. Quite cool la.

Took the bus home with Weiliang and Vanessa, then took the car out to Thomson to meet Yuan Wei and Joyce. Siang was down with a fever (Get well soon brudder!). Was great chatting with Joyce and Jumpy, just like the good ol' days. Sat down for prata and chatted for about an hour and a half.

Hearing Joyce speak about her night out at DXO with the crowd consisting of married chee-ko-peks made me wonder, is it really the norm for guys to cheat on their spouses? I sure hope not. It'd be so sad.

Gotta sleep now. Zzzz.

Wednesday, June 8

Tuesday

Off day on Tuesday. Woke up early to cycle to CDANS for a swim, then followed by gym. Damn paranoid about my bike being stolen man, even if I did lock the rear wheel and take out the bike seat.

Anyway, you would never guess who I saw at the gym, guys (speaking to ex-ACSians here). I entered the gym toilet, to find KENNETH SEAH sitting on the bench! Mr Seah, or Uncle Kenneth as we all affectionately call him, was my physics and form teacher during those memorable Sec 3&4 years.

He'd just came back from a run...after coming from Driving lessons at BBDC! Which is damn funny cos' we all remember him telling the class to wish him all the best for his TP one day, and then he came back with a black face. Obviously he failed then. I was under the impression that he was still trying to get his license for the past 6 years. But he clarified that it was his riding license he was trying to get while I was still in AC la. Heh.Was fun chatting with him.

Headed down to Crystal Jade Xiao Long Bao @ Taka for dinner with Jeremy (Yap) and Deneng. Too bad CPT Evelyn couldn't make it. Jeremy's leaving for London next week, so I had to meet up with him before I leave for Putrajaya this Saturday. He managed to get a job as an analyst at Merrill Lynch's London office! Damn happy for him. Investment banking is really where I hope to get into. I know I haven't even started uni, but at least it's something to work towards. Security analysis and EBITDA eh Jem? I'll remember that buddy.

After dinner we went our separate ways, and I spoke to Deneng while we were walking towards the MRT station. He told me that his younger sister's boyfriend had passed away in a motocycle accident. Her boyfriend was Jing Wei. I guess the six degrees of separation theory is true. Deneng says that she's a wreck after Jing Wei's death. God help her.

Am I selfish if I do decide to get a motobike? I mean, if anything does happen to me, then so be it. If God wants ya to go, ya gotta go. What would break my heart is the hurt and pain that I would have caused to my family and friends. I can't imagine what Deneng's sister is going through, having your loved one taken away from you so suddenly.

Sigh. Hope she'll be fine soon.

Tuesday, June 7


We seriously took a lot of pictures in Europe and I mean A LOT. Think if I posted one everyday, it would take you guys 7 years to see them all. Here are 3. Cycling in Holland.


Beaujolais. Party. Party.


Quick everyone! Do the Heineken dance! Ba-wit-ta-baa-da-bang-da-bang-diggy-diggy.

Funky Monks

We were just about closing today when this group of 4 monks came in to the shop with this Singaporean lady. I was quite amused when one of them whipped out his 3G Sony Ericsson phone and the others started trying on the brown cudouroy jackets for size. The colour really matched their red and earth coloured robes I must say. Good taste.

I'm just curious, are monks allowed to do that? I thought they were supposed to live lives of simplicity. Not saying there's anything wrong but just curious la.

Imagine the Dalai Lama in a BMW Z4.

Sunday, June 5


Who needs guns?

Wants

The Caesars' Paper Tiger. Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business. Coldplay's X & Y.

Time flies when you're busier. Let's hope Sunday will be a mad rush then.

I was serving this lady who had her 4 year old daughter with her. The little girl was munching on something, so I asked the little one "Hey, what's for lunch?"

To which her mother told her, "Tell UNCLE what you're eating."

What happened to "kor-kor"? Sigh.

Saturday, June 4

The Day Off

Woke up late. Swam. Gym. Dinner with my parents. Service at ARPC. Supper with church pals. I'm happy. Back to work tomorrow. The weekend crowd is gonna be crazy.

Thursday, June 2

Ugh....Ne..ed.....Co..ff..e..e.....

Coco Latte was fun guys. Great meeting up with everyone, especially those I haven't seen in ages. Welcome home Mark Seow!

I was dying at the boutique today. A few cups of coffee and talking to Michael, Esther and Chris throughout the day kept me up and about. By dinner, I was spent. There were quite a few customers coming in just before closing time and I really felt like hiding in the storeroom or pantry cos' I was really in no condition to serve the customers. Thank God I didn't fall asleep while searching for clothes. Haha.

Before closing, this elderly man and his wife came in looking for polo tees, but I couldn't find his size at all! I felt really bad, cos' he must have chosen at least 6 designs, but somehow they all didn't have his size. I just said it was the sales period so all the smaller sizes were snapped up, since Ralph Lauren's smaller sizes are more suited for Asians. Eventually he did get something, but I just feel that we could sell so much more if we had more stock on smaller sizes.

There's just something so satisfying about securing a sale. Too bad part timers don't get commission. =( As soon as a customer says he's gonna pay, I pass the customers to one of the full timers, since they get commission for every item sold. I should ask for a share hor.

Got something to share. It's amazing how things work out. I have to work weekends now to make up for my 10 day absence in Malaysia, but I still get offdays. Working on weekends means I'll miss out on church services, but without me asking, Doreen put most of my offdays on Fridays, which means I'll be able to attend the Friday evening service at ARPC. Praise God.

Probably hit the pool and gym tomorrow morning. Haven't been exercising at all this past two weeks. I've resorted to doing bicep curls with the fire extinguisher in the storeroom, and doing calf raises when the customers aren't looking. Ha ha. No time to exercise? Make time.

Wednesday, June 1

Mid Week Ramblings

Work. Encountered one really snobbish lady and one really sarcastic guy in his 40s, otherwise a very pleasant day. Drove down to Thomson for late night prata supper with Tse Siang. Always a pleasure chatting with you bro. Everything will work out for us somehow. So no worries.

Coco Latte tmr. It's Wednesday.