Aviation Passion

Wrapping up the year

2011-12-31T19:49:00.004+08:00

As 2011 comes to a close, it is time to evaluate and plan for 2012.

2011 has been an eventful year. With many things happening. Qin and I changed our jobs. Massive changes in Ministry for both of us. And I have been flying and seeing places that I have never been before. Brother moved to be my neighbour. Parents relocated to Central Singapore.

As I was flipping my passport the other day, I noticed for 2011, my traveling has significantly increased compared to 2010. Both for work and non-work.

1X Taiwan
5X Vietnam
1X Thailand
5X China
4X Malaysia
1X Macau
1X Hongkong

With most of the travelling happening af the 2nd half of the year, it is like 2 to 3 times a week. Interesting. Wonder what 2012 will be like.

Will probably blog more about food the next time.

Hanoi - Dec 2011

2011-12-28T16:05:00.007+08:00

Decided to put in some photos to my otherwise very boring blog. Hoping to revive this blog after a long while...

And so, my Final Trip for 2011 was to Hanoi. Huiqin came to join me for 3 days and 2 nights. It is a city that has nothing much. Or at least, nothing much caught my attention.

So I picked Huiqin from the airport and here we are in a cab.

After resting in the hotel, we decided to talk a walk out in the town area. We were putting up near the Hoan Kiem Lake. This is the place where there is the highest concentration of tourists.

Generally, it was cold, but not too cold that it was uncomfortable. The air was polluted like all cities and especially so in Hanoi.

We decided to watch the water puppet show but it was so dark inside and the photos didn't turn out well.

For dinner, we went to the famous "Cha Ca". It means grilled fish. Ca means fish. In fact, the entire street was named after this dish. There are a number of stalls selling this traditional dish, but this stall was the best or at least that was what I was told.

This was actually more like fried fish rather than grilled fish. The shop only sells 1 item and that is this dish. Plain Noodles go with it, however, I cannot remember what the noodles are called.

It was a really old building and I am sure it will not pass BCA checks. As you can see, this is really a touristy place. Ang Moh behind...

After dinner, we went to the lake for a walk. I was told that "when you feel stressed, just sit by the lake and you will feel very relaxed".

The Next day, we went to Halong Bay. This was what we have been looking forward to and seriously, this was the highlight of this trip. We were so looking forward to rekindling the times we had at Doubtful Sound in NZ. We are in a Chinese Junk here.

Halong Bay is famous all around the world and it is one of those heritage sites that conservationists are conserving. Imagine a hilly area that got flooded. That is how it is like. I was told that during the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese empire actually spread as far south as to Halong Bay. I'm impressed....

The symbol of Halong Bay is this so called "Fighting Cock" boulders. It is unique as it stands as if 2 fighting cocks are facing each other. I explain to Huiqin and she said I was "Talking Cock". but it is true...

There are people living here in the Bay.

We then decided to explore the inner caves and this was by row boat by the locals.

We walked the caves too...

The journey back from Halong Bay to Hanoi was again 3.5 hrs on a very bumpy road and in a very cramped van. It was not pleasureable at all.

Then it was more street walking the next morning before we leave for the airport back to Singapore.

Bought street food too. This is their "donuts". There's green bean paste inside too. The sasame flavor was the best!

Last cup of coffee at Highlands Coffee.

SMRT

2011-12-19T14:22:00.009+08:00

How can any blogger resist the temptation to blog abt this latest, most happening event in Singapore. It is as epic as the great flooding of orchard road. Citizens are screeming to get rid of smrt's ceo. Our PM has done the popular move to call for an Inquiry of the incident.

What more can I say? everyone's attacking SMRT's profits over the past many years. I personally am not affected at all as I was overseas then. However, i though it would be nice to recap what we are all familiar with 1 year ago.

Glad

2011-11-29T19:44:00.002+08:00

I was glad I was glad I went to the house of God last Sunday. Felt good listening to Pst Phil Pringle.

I'm happy also that our friend has finally got attached and to a Christian girl. Happy for him.

My project has also some progress, less stress now.

And my flight is confirmed. Leaving for China on thurs and back on Sat.

Next week, I'll be leaving on wednesday and back on friday...

Recently...

2011-11-26T15:52:00.002+08:00

It certainly is shocking to know that an impt man in church is leaving. And it seems for good... The takeaway I've got is Never be quick to judge. Better if we can Not Judge at all. Easier said than done. Let the judging be done by God.

I was talking to someone and this was the advice he gave me too. Do not judge.

I was recently in Guangzhou and had dinner with an ex-military colonel. What happen was that in his organizstion, there is someone who has a very heck care attitude. lazy is what some ppl call him. Totally bo chap. Basically, every other week, this staff will be on mc a day. He will come late and leave early. However, the ex-colonel said that we should try to understand him and know the history, then you will know why he is like that. Asking around, I realised y. Apparently, the company did some stuff to him and he was devastated. Perhaps that's y he is not sacked to date.

As I take on various projects in my company, I realise the importance to understand the history of things. Seek to know what was transpired before and know what has already happened. Then we will know how and why we are where we are.

I begin to see things in a different light after having that dinner in Guangzhou. Do not judge. What goes around, comes around. I must remember not to judge others. I hope others will not judge me too... Cos at the end, when we begin to see the reasons, we may look like a fool.

Ok, a quick update of what is happening in my life. I've been to Ha noi and Guangzhou. In fact, going back to China soon, perhaps this coming week. Not confirm though. Then next month, back to Hanoi. One day, I woke up wondering which country I was in and realised I was in my own home in Singapore.

My bro has moved his house. Abt 2mins from my place. My parents are moving soon too..

SGN now

2011-10-30T21:01:00.002+08:00

I'm in SGN now somewhere near cho ben tenh. Came here this morning and will be staying here till 1st Nov and followed by a flight to China within 6 hours after landing in Changi.

Qin's at home and saying that I miss her is an understatement. I think our hearts are intertwined. We simply cannot live without each other. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Miserable is how we feel without each other. No friend, No relative can ease that feeling. Come Feb, there will be a 2 -week reservice. How how how???

Any tips from anyone who have been through this?

Rugby World Cup

2011-10-06T18:52:00.002+08:00

The Rugby World Cup 2011 is in season and I got to catch part of it when I was in a hotel in China. The match I caught was NZ vs Tonga. Quite an early match, so expect to see some huge tries. Well, in that hotel room, something did caught my attention.

For those who are not familiar with Rugby, it is played with a team of 15. 8 of them are known as the "forward pack" as they are larger in size. They are usually slower and bigger, packed with power and great force. They are also the ones invovled in the scrum (the guys who engage in a circle with their backs bent). The remianing 7 are known as the "backs", who are typically smaller in size and way quicker. They are usually the sprinters who are capable of penetrating the defense line of the opponent.

So there I was watching the match in China, alone in the room and I remembered how it was like when I was playing Rugby when I was in JC. I was in the forward pack and often was caught in situations where it is tough, dirty (as we have to dig for the ball literally) and it as a thankless job as it is always the backs who score the try. They are the quick ones who will burst through the enermy and score by running into the try zone.

Back to the game, there was a moment when the NZ backs was in possession of the ball. One of them ran and boy did he run, offloading the ball along the way and passing it down the line. After offload, move down the line to creat extra man. Creating a confusion in the opponent, one of the backs managed to run through the line and he looked like he is going to score. He has gained a lot of ground and it was a bug break. Unfortunately, the fullback of the opponent was waiting for him and looking to tackle him. The NZ player knew he was trapped.

Then the NZ player turned and looked behind to try to pass the ball to one of his team mates(u can only pass backwards in rugby). However, no one was around. He had gone so fast that noone caught up with him. The other backs were also tackled in the previous few plays. The forward pack, that had all the muscle and mass were quite a distance behind also. Then this NZ player did what I thought was quite smart. He just stood firm. the natural thing to do is to go down and quickly release the ball (when you are on the ground, you have to release the ball). Usually, when a player goes down with the ball, the other players will then form a human wall over him and with the ball released behind his "wall", the ball is picked up and pass out. this is known as a RUCK. If the ball is not released, the player is known to have committed a foul.

So why did he stand firm and not go down? Standing firm will make him an easy target for the opponents to tackle. A deadly spear tackle can literally send him to the hospital. He stood there because he knew that if he were to go down, he will have to release the ball and without his teammates with him, they will most likely lose the Ruck and hence lose possession of the ball. He will be forced to release the ball to the hands of the enemy.

He stood bravely and from the look on his face, I knew he was asking the forward pack to hurry up to reinforce him. Yes they are slow, but when they arrive, they can do quite a lot of damage...

I was remembered of my JC days playing rugby. Every rugger in the forward pack absolutely hates it when we have to clear a ruck. Basically, we have to run in and swop down to pick up any opponents who are covering the ball so that your team mate can come in to pick it up and pass it out. When you are tired, you really do not have any energy left to bend down and lift up a 100kg piece of meat and throw him aside. And what's more, you have to form the human wall to prevent another opponent from trying to snatch the ball when you team mate is picking it up. It is pure hardwork, but that's the usual job for a forward.

Looking at the NZ player, the NZ forward pack quicking ran to his aid and seeing that they are coming, and that he cannot hold on any longer (at this stage, the opponents - Tonga were all over him, trying to drag him down) he is really struggle to keep both his feet on the ground now. Good thing he stood firm at the start and can hang on a lil longer for that few more seconds to buy more time for the NZ forwards to rush in. Standing creats no momentum and hence, will be harder to bring a person down. It is like when a Cheetah is chasing an animal, the animal needs to be running in order for the Cheetah to trip it. If the animal is standing still, the Cheetah will not be able to bring the animal down.

So why am I touched by this scene?

It reminded me of church. the NZ backs was like one of a church pastor who has gained great ground. But he cannot do it alone. He will need the forward pack to back him up by supporting him. Being physically there for him and with him. Until that happens, he will be mauled by the opponents and risk losing possession. He can only stand firm until reinforcement comes. I know how it feels to be the forward. You will have to make a decision against your desire. every part of your body tells you not to engage and let the others do it. even if you are going in to clear the ruck, you'll be cursing at the back for running so far ahead. However, deep down you know that it is for the good of the team that he did that.

When PK announced that we are going to have BF this year, That's exactly how i felt.

Is it courageously foolish or foolishly courageous? I do not know. I only know that I have to make a decision to either engage or to just sit back and let someone else do it. I'm tired, yes. But who is not? Am i going to see him being mauled alone by the enemy? Or should I run in and clear the ruck and be a team player?

Today, on the bus, I said a prayer... God, help me to love again.

Wisdom Tooth

2011-10-05T11:34:00.002+08:00

Went to have my wisdom tooth extracted on monday. Been quite an experience.

To start, I went for my regualr check-up at thie place called Profile Dental at Marina Square. The shop was a hole in a wall and I had a hard time looking for it to be honest. If not for the directions Huiqin gave me, I would have given up. It is at one of the most deserted places in MS and even then, only a signboard showed the clinic's name and there was this arrow that pointed to nothing. After walking into the tunnel, you'll find a dental clinic. I went in and realised that the Dentist is a Vietnamese. I thought he is a Phillipino. MY word..... but wat difference does it make?

He did the usual stuff of cleaning but said my wisdom tooth was very serious. Recommended I pull it out and also do braces. Piangz, easily going to cost me a few k.

And so i arranged to take an x-ray. An OPG to be exact. This is the x-ray of the whole set of teeth, not just 1 tooth. And this clinic has no such facility. So I need to get to Tampines. This clinic can only take the x-ray of a single tooth. The facility at tampines is an x-ray centre.

Last thurs, I went down after work. This is one run down place to have x-ray done. It was set in the 1980s. If you have seen Stephen Chow's movie, you will know there is one with a cracky doctor who invented a lot of crappy instruments such as a solar powered torchlight. This centre is exactly like that lab of the mad scientist. The admin staff was blur and the radiologist is a Phillippino. Another job that went to foreigner. The good thing is I bumped into my ex-colleague there too.... he was there to get his x ray done as well.

Now, this is the x-ray that I took before. Not the one at tampines. I will never get to see the one I took at Tampines. However, it should look similar. Oh btw, the horizontal tooth is my wisdom tooth that I'm going to extract. Dun ask me why it's growing horizontally...

That night (thurs), the wisdom tooth started to give pain. In fact it was so painful that I woke up in the middle of the night. Perhaps the x-ray has induced it and i really felt the push. It's like someone trying to break your bone. not at a go, but slowly adding pressure. It is unbearable. Popped a few painkillers but not useful. Used an ice pack to numb the whole left side of my jaw.

I then spend my Friday looking for a clinic desperately that can allow me to do the operation immediately. I was willing to go collect my x-ray from tampines and bring it to wherever. Then, of all the clinics I called, they were all booked. The best part is, Profile even asked me to go find a nearby clinic. Thanks for trying to get rid of me. Profile then gave me the next avail date, wednesday... I think i would have died by then.

Then i came cross Asia healthcare. It is in Wisma. I was there before to extract my baby tooth. Now I'm planning to go back to remove my wisdom tooth. Of cos, the doc to look for is Dr Egwin Yeo. As I'm on my wife's company dental coverage (that will expire end of this yr), I'm happy to know that Asia healthcare is now on the panel of dental clinics. Oh, Asia healthcare also have their own x-ray machine that could take OPG...

The best thing about Asia Healthcare is that it can give me an appt on Monday. Which means I just need to endure through the weekend. Ok, I'll take that I said.

When I was finally there on Monday, the place is as usual - high-class. Classical music greeted me. As well as the bright smile of the receptionist. Totally different from Profile. The magazines on the table were well-arranged, unlike Profile's that were chucked one side. Then I went over to the pantry and noticed there were fruit juices in a jar... there's all sorts of hot drinks. Coffee, Tea, hot Choc, etc. Not that I can drink all that, but it feels good to know those are available. It was like Business Loungue over at the airport.

So Dr Egwin came out while I popped my medicine. Well, I think the last time I did my wisdom Tooth op during NS, I didn't have any medication before the op. No wonder it hurt so badly the last time... After the meds, i proceed to sign the papers and went in for the op.

Seriously, the injection of anthestetic was painful. My tongue felt numb, followed by the lower side of the left jaw. After chatting with Egwin for a while, the chemicals took full effect. Then I was wrapped up and it all starts. The sawing, the hacking, the pulling, the crushing, the stitching, the unwrapping and I'm done.

Totally different from my NS experience. The discomfort was so minimal. So wisdom tooth extraction can really be this comfortable. I remember waving my hands to the army dentist when I was back in camp as the pain was excrutiating. He then called out for the assistant to inject more anesthetic. It was like an operation out in the field. those we see in movies like "saving Private Ryan"... Totally horrible.

If anyone wants to remove ur wisdom tooth, I highly recommend DR Yeo from asia healthcare.

Btw, here's the product of the operation...
The crown (top of the tooth) is on the left and the long part is actually the root. Disgusting? Yeah...

The start of a nightmare

2011-09-16T22:39:00.002+08:00

I was looking through my electircity bill that day and a thought came to my mind. Since water is relatively cheaper than electricity, I need to have a better water flow, to save on the electricity bill I'm paying for that extra few minutes of toilet light that I'm on-ing each day. When I moved in to my current place, the water pressure has been low but it was just high enough to prevent us from making a fuss over it.

So, I called PUB and asked if they have a prescribed benchmark for water head (or aka water pressure). Knowing that they are the govt body, I'm sure they have standards for everything.

So I dialed 18002846600 and complained about the low water pressure. Then I was told that for HDB units that is above 5th floor, they fall under HDB, if it is 4th floor and below, the water source comes from PUB straight and falls under PUB. Then I realised from HDB that it is actually Town Council that I should be looking for as it concerns the water tank that my water supply is suppose to come from.

After all the mambo jumbo, I finally lodge a complaint successfully with PUB and at the same time, I called Town Council again. So last night, the PUB man came and opened up the meter, etc. They foundd the meter was working perfectly fine... not surprising cos I DIDN"T complain about the meter... I may not be a PhD, but I'm certainly not dumb. To say the least, a huge time of my NUS life was spent doing pressure heads, and valve controls. Anyways, I got PUB to help me make a complaint to Town Council also. The PUB chap claimed that Town Council needs to clear the choke and that PUB is clear from this.. They left. Yes 2 of them. To be more specific, 2 M.

Then today, the Town Council plumber called me at around noon. He came and tried to have a look at the situation. Then he claimed that the problem is actually just before the meter. That part, however, belongs to PUB. He tried to clear the sediment and has been successful he reported. "Tonight you come back, sure pressure big big".

Tonight came and the water was tested. Other than lots of bubbles at onset, nothing has changed. So i called the plumber. His HP was off. So I called the PUB 1800 number again. Then a Faridah told me to call maintenance. The number is 62824344. Then I spoke to a man and he said this is the SOC. It is an operations control centre. Not Maintenenace. He tried to brush my away and then I said I'm pushed by PUB and Town Council already, please do not brush me off. He said he will get the officer to call me. The officer from Maintenance. Till now, still no calls. I tried to call 62824344, no one picked.

Thank you civil servants. You bunch of marons.

I've decided that this game is quite fun. I'll continue to play it until I get a satisfactory result or until I get busy with other things... I am a Singaporean afterall.

Precedence

2011-08-20T21:24:00.002+08:00

Will the guy in charge of security at SMRT lose his job?
No, cos when Mas Selamat escaped, they didn't sack.

Will any of the Tans be charged if they do any campaigning 1 day before Voting day?
No, because they will only get a stern warning at most.

The power of setting precedence.

Chasing Cars

2011-08-16T17:32:00.002+08:00

The COE prices have been crazy lately. It was introduced many years back in Singapore to prevent the number of cars to go out of control. Singapore being land scarced, and a growing population at that time, saw a need for such measures to curb traffic congestions, pollutions, etc.

Today, COE has a different meaning. The price of that piece of paper is like 40k? It is almost the price of a car itself.

So why did it balloon till such a state?

Singapore is hungry to be a vibrant first world city. In fact, she is very hungry and will do anything and everything to obtain that goal. we have 2 casinos in recent years to attract the rich and powerful. Not wanting its residents to be bankrupt and cause crime rates to increase, means to prevent locals from going in was established. SGD 100 was the entrance fee for locals who want to enter the casinos.

To be a vibrant city, the income of the citizens, type of housings, vehicles on the road, everything plays a part...

To give an example, I've been to Vietnam 2 times this year. There are many motorbikes. A lot more than cars. The traffic is congested and polution is high. In my opinion, it is not too nice for the image for Vietnam.

This year, I have also been to China twice. Once to a rural place. There were farmers working on the land when the plane landed. The vehicles there are tractors (on the road), trishaws, old cars, broken motor bikes. Again, bad image. However, the 2nd city I was in in china was different. It was a rich city with people driving Audi, VV, and other European brands. Though they were made in China, it still gave the city a very good reputation. It is a city just beside Shanghai. It is that league.

So back to Singapore. We have to up the quality of our cars on the road. How? Up the COE. Push out those who cannot afford big cars.

This is confirmed in the recent report by ST that China brand cars have pathetic sales records.

For housing, there are measures in place to restrict how many houses an individual can buy. There are rules in place. If we want to limit the number of cars on the road, we should apply the same rules. In fact, ERP serves to curb that problem also. An issue of usage. However, we are just allowing the COE to increase in price. So that the rich fella can have 2 lambos and a fleet of BMs while the poor fella has to squeeze in MRTs and the pregnant lady who has done her duty to up the population of Singapore will have problem getting a cab and having to squeeze in the over crowded public transport.

Update

2011-07-30T12:51:00.002+08:00

Realised it's been 3 months since i last blogged. Aug is coming, time flies.

Many things have happened since the last entry. For one, I've stepped down as a CGL. Many have asked why. Well it is not easy to explain as some of those who have stepped down as well will be able to identify with me. Did something happen? was it something I saw or heard? Was I offended by someone?

I doubt anyone will read this but I think I will want to pen somethings down before it gets deleted from my memory. It is a hard decision to make. After 6.5 years. Some 300 over sermon and cell grp meetings that I have conducted, I've decided to stop. Do I miss taking a cell grp, conducting a meeting? Yes.

the first ever cell grp meeting that I have attended was at jelaine's place. That was in Jurong East back then. When i was in secondary school. I love the warmth and the chance to see how a Christian house was like, how the culture is like. How serious people were with God and religion. That's my introduction to application Christianity. How people said grace. How people worship God in the confort of their home. How they shared about their lives and encourage one another in whatever trials someone is going through in the pack. How there was a strong hope for a better life. a vision to work towards. I wanted my life to be like that in the future.

Things have changed. perhaps after the incident, we were much more relaxed. Things are optional. Often it is not what happens to an organization that shows it's strength but how it reacts to a situation that shows its true character. So how did we react to the incident? How did we fair? Why ask for suggestions when it is only a talk-cock exercise? we do not want wayang bikin, we want real solutions to real problems. Why set up a school only so that someone's KPI is met? job creation? whatever generates more harm than good must be stopped immediately. Things have to be tracked. Lives we are talking about. Seriousness have died. A tree is known by its fruit. If I want to know a tree, I just need to look at the PA and I know what is acceptable what is not. You have no character whatsoever. It is disgusting. where is the progess? Where is the plan? and the continuity plan? are you all stupid or what? We need brains. God gave them, so use them. Perhaps only 1 man is using his brains. Not enough.

So well, I have decided to pull out my resources. No, I'm still tithing. My time is devoted elsewhere. My precious - my wife, has been pulled out. Crap. Not easy to answer the same questions in every interview... Finally. Hope that things will get better.

As for me, I've been traveling. Yeah, it is tiring. but it is interesting. After a few trips to vietnam with the wife and colleague, I went to Bangkok with my mom and the week after, to hong kong with the wife and the week after to China for work. Now I'm back, I'm told I'll be going to Taiwan in 2 weeks' time. And China probably a week after Taiwan.

Interesting to note that throughout all these traveling, I miss my wife. thought of her in the hotel room, thought of her in the plane. Remembered the time I hostipalised and she was there taking care of me. Someone once said that when you are dead drunk, and someone sends you home to your doorstep, you will always remember this person. I am never drunk. Almost in China, but no. But I remember who takes care of me. Who changed the dressing to my wounds. Who helped me when I needed help. Who was there to lift me up when I was almost out. I remember.

On another note, I just spent some time on a saturday playing "Take my life". Not the latest song. Been a while since I've been to church it feels. Most songs are foreign to me. But it;s good to strum the guitar once again.

Parable of the Policeman

2011-05-02T13:48:00.002+08:00

A certain policeman was patrolling the streets and at the foot of a block, he saw a heated argument taking place between 2 guys. He stood a distance away from the situation and observed. After some time, one guy took out a knife and stabbed the other person. The policeman continued to stand at the side and watched the entire incident unfold. The stabbing continued and finally, the person was fatally wounded and by the time the paramedics arrived, he was already dead.

In the court of law, the lawyers questioned the policeman and asked why didn't he react to the situation. "Weren't you suppose to stop crimes?" they asked.

In his defence, the policeman said, but I did nothing wrong. I didn't instigate them to fight. And I didn't cause the killing to take place. I'm not at fault.

So the question we all ask ourselves is if this policeman is not required to be accountable despite having the responsibilities by holding that positioin? Or is he totally innocent as he, technically, didn't cause the cime to take place?

Testimony

2011-04-25T21:35:00.001+08:00

Was looking at my CG blog and was just thinking of shutting it down when I stumbled upon an old testimony I posted back in 2009. Was very touched by it and so here it is...

Huiqin and I were desperate for a venue for our photoshoot as we were both too busy to get into serious planning. On the day where we met our photographer, we had to tell him where and we just gave raffles marina as the 2nd venue. After that night, Huiqin dropped RM an e-mail and it states that we had to pay about SGD 200 plus as we are booking it quite last minute.

Both of us are very tight now as we had just completed BF. SGD 200 plus is indeed a lot for us. Then, I remembered I had met a friend when I was in Malaysia about 1 yr ago. I dropped him a sms and he had his contacts. In the end, he got the manager of RM to call me and the total amount I needed to pay was 0 dollars.

Thank God for this saving and truly God is good. Savings here and there goes a long long way...

- Kenneth

Bus Routes (2)

2011-01-06T10:09:00.001+08:00

Here's the reply from the authority.... What can I say???

Dear Mr Teo

We refer to your email of 18 October 2010.

Feeder bus services play the important roles of feeding coumuters to/from the MRT stations as well as connecting residents to key amenities within the estates. In the case of Service 334, it connects residents in Jurong West St 42 and Jurong East Ave 1 areas to the MRT station, bus interchange and amenities like the library in Jurong East. Being the transport hub for the area, residents can conveniently transfer to other bus services or the train via the East West or North South Lines. If residents wish to access Lakeside MRT Station, they can still do so using Service 98 or 187 along Jurong West Ave 1. The situation is similar for the case of Service 229, which connects residents to the MRT station, bus interchange and amenities like the hawker center and Polyclinic at Bedok. For Bedok South residents wishing to go to Tanah Merah MRT Station, they can do so using Service 12 or 14.

Given the above considerations, we find the connectivity to MRT stations for these two areas to be reasonable. Nevertheless we note your feedback and we will keep it under consideration for future review as land use and transport development evolve over time.

We thank you for writing in. Yours sincerely

SIGNED IN LOTUS NOTES)

CHAN HON WAI SENIOR
TRANSPORT PLANNER

*We invite you to share your views on land transport related issues with us at http://talk2lta.lta.gov.sg. Now, you can also send us your feedback via SMS at "77LTA" (77582).

Bus Routes (1)

2010-12-29T13:59:00.001+08:00

I wrote this to LTA some time back.... Wanna see their reply? Stay tuned...

Hi, I understand that LTA is reviewing the existing bus routes. If I can add in my suggestion, I would like to suggest that the bus routes of feeder bus services be looked into. Feeder bus services (to the heartlands) have existed for a long long time. Especially in old towns, the routes were in place even before MRT stations were built. I would give 2 examples. Service number 334 from Jurong East MRT station serves Jurong West st 42. However, the nearest MRT station for residents staying along Jurong West st 42 will know that the nearest MRT station is not Jurong East but rather, Lake Side or Chinese Garden. I think the feeder bus services should send residents to the nearest MRT stations. This will inprove productivity that is in line with PM Lee's message. Also, the bus service 229 from Bedok MRT which serves residents along Bedok south ave 3 should pass by Tanah Merah MRT station, which is the nearest MRT station from Bedok South. I hope you will consider my feedback. It will greatly reduce the traveling time for many Singaporeans and thus, giving more time for rest to all sleep deprived Singaporeans.

Tie-Pin

2010-11-27T18:09:00.002+08:00

I was made when another piece of metal melted. You can say that I got to live because someone else died. Made in around 1998, I was placed in a nice box and was shipped to a shopping centre in sunny Singapore and it marked the beginning of an exciting journey.

I was placed in a departmental store like many of my friends but I was lucky anough to come out of the storeroom and be placed in a glass display. Everyday, I would see many of my friends getting bought by new owners and getting to leave the departmental store and most importantly, getting to come out of the box that we were all placed in from day 1. I too wished that my owner would come and pcik me up real soon.

One afternoon when I was fast asleep, I suddenly felt some movement as the sales girl picked me up. I thought I was dreaming but then I saw that it was real. Someone was considering buying me. I opened my eyes and I saw, to my surprise, not a businessman, but a young gentleman. He looked like a teenager and I thought he must be buying this for his father as a present. After much, deliberation, he finally paid $60 for me and brought me home.

After some days, my owner took me out from the box and marked the beginning of a very exciting journey for me. To my surprise, he didn't give me to his dad but rather, used me as his own. He was a teenager in a shirt and tie and needed me to pin the tie down. I felt a little strange but didn't bother too much. It was a sunday and he was rushing to church.

As I followed him, he made his way to Paya Lebar MRT station and soon, I find myself going to a church. I realised that the place was called City Harvest Church and the building was what people called Hollywood. I was so excited as I wondered how would it look like to be in Hollywood. The gitz and glamour... ah... It's good to be like a celebrity.

Then after the corner round KFC, I was shocked to see the building a run-down, almost collapsing building... There were so many people, easily a few hundred and they too were all clad in shirt and tie. It was like the norm there. I had always expected myself to appear in formal dinners, or boardrooms, fancy D&Ds, but not a church!

Well, I do not have a choice but I thought I'll just make the best of the situation and notice the people there. One thing I must say, they were all rushing. Even when my owner was walking from the MRT, he was walking real fast. Even as he was walking, his pager was beeping. the people around him were all walking very quickly as if they were late. I now it was only 8am and I cannot understand why. Soon, I realised that people were there in church 45 mins before service starts to pray. It was called the pre-service prayer meeting. I mean almost everyone was there. It was like the service before the service. The pre-service meeting was like the seperation between the new friends and the members. After the prayer meeting, or even during the prayer meeting, there were some people who left and they rushed to the MRT station again to pick up new friends that they have invited for the weekend's service. I felt that it was really funny why one can be so serious about religion. However, one thing I noticed, each and everyone of them were very happy. They wore this bright smile on their faces and they were so genuine and warm. They were so passionate and were all so willing. Young they may be, they certainly do not look young, especially with fellow tie-pins like myself to help bring out the mature looking side of them. Were they trying to act old or act rich? I don't know for now, but one thing I know, they were all very passionate.

There are the leaders who wore suit and they looked even more formal and much older. There were also people who carried big bags with lots of files in those bags. I soon realised they are the 2nd in charge in the cell group. They are like the up and coming leaders. Those files contained the admin for the cell group. The larger the cell group, the more papers there are in a file and there are many names inside, probably an attendace sheet or something. However, almost in every church goers; bag, there is a letter or a card of somesort. Yes, everyone has one. Either you are giving one this week or you are receiving one this week. Everyone was hot and sweaty but no one complained and just waited patiently for the service to start.

Ok, service started. Man, the place was jammed packed and the chior started singing. There were so many flags on the stage. I wonder why... Then the band started playing, oh man, it was so so so lound, however, as I looked at the faces of the people around me, I can see real joy during the faster songs and tears were flowing when they were singing the slower songs. People were so genuine.

People here are definately excited as they jumped and jumped during the songs and dance time and I nearly fell off my owner's shirt a few times if not for the chain that chained me to his button.

So that marked the end of the day when he said good bye after lunch with his cell group mates at the coffeeshop nearby. I noticed, having lunch together was only done by the committed members, the not committed members usually leave straight after service. The real committed members will also wait for the cell group leader to come out after a meeting. I mean these people really follow closely to their cell group leaders. I wonder where on earth would the cell group leader have so much time to entertain all of them? It's like every cell group had at least 5 to 8 people wanted to hang around the leader. and the leader only chooses about 3 to be his super close. In some cells, only 1 is selected to be in the innermost circle.

So I was placed back into the "Sunday bag", which was the church service bag and I stayed in the bag for a week. Meanwhile just thinking what the pastor has preached about on stage. He is quite an interesting speaker and the things he spoke about surely made me look forward to the next meeting.

Then the next sunday. Same thing, running from Paya Lebar MRT to the church and this time round, we had breakfast. A drop of chilli nearly landed on my owner's shirt of not for me. I saved it but got myself dirty in the end. My owner wiped it off and then very quickly, we went in for the prayer meeting.

Service was fun today as there was a pastor from Africa and he thought us some dance moves. We were moving to our left and then to our right. Haha, everyone ended up laughing and laughing.

And so this continued for weeks and months and years. Over time, I noticed the church had changed. Slowly, they shifted to Jurong West. The people changed too, slowly, more and more people were coming in T-shirt and jeans, nomore the formal wear. It is out of fashion? As for my owner, he changed too. He has already completed his A levels and will be going to the Army soon.

For a period of time I didn't go to church as my owner was in Pulau Tekong and boy, I do miss going to church. I missed seeing the happy faces of the people there. I also noticed that my owner uses less and less of me as he changed his dressing. I was spending more time in the bag.

Months became years and soon, I was under a stack of bags. Perhaps I've been forgotten.

It was on 24th of November 2010 that I got to see my owner again. As he took me out of the bag, I knew it was him, he has aged. I was greeted by his unshaven face. I noticed he wore a ring on this left hand now. He is married. He has completed his studies and his graduation gown was just beside me. I'm glad that my owner has matured and has started working. I looked at myself under the light and I noticed that I have rusted on my sides. I do not look as nice as before. Seems like everythign has changed. even the room colour. They have painted it. The furniture all changed. I know my time has come. I must die and be melted, so that someone else will be formed. I am glad that I was able to attend City Harvest Church for that period of time. The time where everyone wore a shirt and tie.

2nd best

2010-11-18T12:49:00.002+08:00

In life, we will all encounter failure(s) at a certain point in time. An individual who has always been winning or has been successfully may not know how to accept defeat or how to handle it.

I recently read on the papers 2 differect individuals who faced defeat in that sense. How did they react to it and can we draw some logical conclusion / lessons from their reaction?

I shall not name names here but one wept bitterly after losing. There was nothing much the person can do but cry... It's a release of emotions, not necessarily a bad thing. However, after that, what should the person do? Keep on fighting? Or retreat and re-evaluate?

There is a school of though that promotes the "never-say-die" attitude. Keep fighting and keep pressing on until you see the results. Well, I personally think that this type of mentality depends on situation. Fight on if you know that it is your strength or rather, you are battling in your field of expertise. If it is a foreign ground, then move on. It may not be your playground afterall.

Then I noticed another individual. He was not promoted to be the big boss of a huge company and he chose to leave the company altogether. Was he foolish? Is he a person who possess no tenacity? Gives up easily? I do not think so. I think it is wise to know which are the battles that are for you and which are the ones that you must engage in and fight to the end.

There are certain things that one do not have a choice. Must fight on. Basically, there are no other options. However, there are also back-up plans that one can fall on. In such situations, think, plan, seek counsel and see if the battle is worth the effort. Else, move on and go conqueur land that is more suited for you. Do not fight a losing battle. You may succeed in the end, but at what cost? Why operate the concord when it is not cost-effective. There are certain things, we just need to achieve it once and that's it. Move on.

As I begin to reflect on this, I am reminded of my IPPT silver that I got when I was serving my NS. I'm not a physical hunk and will not consider physical fitness to be my strength. While all things are possible to those who believe, it will be an uphill task for me to achieve something in that area as conpared to other individuals who have a natural flare for it. I'm glad I didn't sign-on or else I will be struggling. That is not my strength.

So in everything we do, focus on what we are good at. However, we need to know what we are bad at too so that we can avoid the situation that we need to utilise that skill set. Move in the direction of your strength and you will be much appreciated. Moving upwards will also be easier....

Let the weak say I am strong

2010-11-16T09:51:00.004+08:00

There is a verse in the Bible that says "Let the weak say I am Strong" It is actually found in Joel 3.

Well, the weekend's service by PK was great and it set me thinking. There are 4 season of our faith. Therefore, our faith actually moves in a cycle. There will be different seasons for us. While we all love the fun times, we must know that the tough times are for us to grow. Pst said that he is glad the winter is cold and tough as if it is not cold enough, the bud will grow out prematurely. How true...

I begin to wonder and started looking around at the Christians near me. Are they weak or strong? Regardless of the seasons they are in, what is the attitude and outlook? Sad to say, there are certain individuals that give me an impression that they are pretty much weaker than they are stronger.

Let me give you a scenerio. There was once, I was reaching out to this girl and she came to church for a while and after a few weeks, she stopped attending as her boyfriend didn't allow her to. I asked her to invite her boyfriend as well so that he too, can enjoy the love and blessings of God. Well, she said that according the her boyfriend, Christianity is for those who are weak. People who are too weak to do anything in life and thus, need to rely on God's power and strength. It may sound like a sure issue about pride at first but if you think closer, it may not be too hard to understand why he has that perspective.

When I meet up with new friends who join us for service or cell group meetings, I would like to hear from them what do they have to say about the people in church. The recent comment I got was "Wow, the people here are all so young". It can mean two things: 1) high energy, enthusiastic, youthful kind of young or 2)immature, childish, naive kind of young....

I got a nasty feeling it's the 2nd one...

In church, we believe in love, in care and concern for others and it seems like it's always spring time. The time for new born. New Christians who have joined us can have this new life of love, joy, peace and hope. Yup, don't get me wrong, it is true. However, there will come a time whereby some pruning will have to take place. That is in preparation for the next level. It is necessary. I do not want to sound like a hard man or some militant general who wants to "tekan" the people for growth, but it is needed. Else, how would you grow? I have seen Christians who are forever in their spring time. It's been 3-5 years in chruch and to date, they still cannot take hard knocks. Totally dependant on aid. External aid. Cannot stand on his/her own. So WEAK. At the slightest defeat, they need all the attention from the CG and the rest of the world. At the slightest sneeze, they reported sick. At the slightest persecution, they give up and say that they cannot take it anymore.

Probably the most frustrating thing is that the people around them actually condole such behaviour and thus, they will never grow out of it. Instead of saying "Come on, you can walk out of it! you can do it!" they agree and together, they take pity with each other. It becomes a circle of boo-hoo. Job's friends? Haiz. Instead of helping them grow stronger, they are promoting weakness unconsiously.

When people try to intercept and push them a little, they are blamed for being to harsh and unloving.... ok, in love I'll leave you to die. Come on! the Bible says be strong.! pick youself up!!!! keep running, keep going!. It's like trying to train a BMT recruit and when he feels tired, let him rest. Come on! His 2.4km run will never be less than 12mins. His pull ups will forever be zero if he doesn't push himself more....

Faintz*

In companies, there are certain positions that state only Degreee holders need apply. The average salary for a fresh grad is about 2.5k to 3k a month. That of a Diploma holder is around 1.8k maybe? Both of them are clueless as they are both fresh. WHy is it that organizations are willing to pay that few hundreds more to hire a degree holder? well, I believe it is because of what a degree holder had gone through vis-a-vis a dip holder. Traditionally, it is more stressful in the uni than say, a local poly. This was told to me by poly graduates who took on undergrad programmes in NUS. People pay more to hire people who are able to take more pressure. Who are willing to inconvenient themselves more. Are they necessarily smarter or can perform the job better? Not necessarily. But, they are suppose to have better attitude. Those are the kind of people who can stand strong. They make things happen, they find various solution to solve a problem. Not the weak ones who just wait for people to take pity on them.

I want my CG to full of people who are strong, not weak. I pray they can see this and the benefits of being strong. What a blessing they will be to society. What great value they will be. Leaders are to be strong. They make things happen. They provide solution. They are problem solvers. They influence the situation. They take ownership. These are stuff which we have learnt in church. How many actually put it in action?

When we face tough situations, we be an overcomer. Yes, it is hard at times but our attitude stands firm. Our values are put to a test. PK's under fire at this point but look at his attitude! Trusting in God! Knowing what Jesus can do and will do. Awaiting deliverance but at the same time, there is so much to learn from this experience. I know that after this episode, Pst's sermons will be better as he has been through stuff. There will be more examples he can share.

I know of individuals who want to be CGLs. Great vision and goal but with the current lifestyle, what kind of examples can you put in the message of your sermon? Can you pack the punch? "Oh, I was unable to attend church for 3 weeks as I had a mosquito bite. Praise God I recovered." or "I learned that MRT will not arrive on time as I have been late 8 out of 10 services" or "I'm sorry guys, I do not know how to start a prayer meeting as I am always late for prayer meetings"... How on earth are you ever going to lead a crowd?

OK, enough said. Let's get stronger.. Together Stronger!

Races

2010-11-15T21:11:00.002+08:00

Someone once said that there are no different races. There is only 1 race that is the human race...

well, I think that is Brother John Avazini if I'm not wrong.

After leaving the previous company, I start thinking it through and wonder what actually went wrong. Perhaps I am a thinker. I believe it is good to think it thru so as to prevent such incidences from happening again.

So after much reflection, I think one reason that I decided to leave the company was that it is a pretty racist company. Yup, one of the reason why I'm leaving is that it is too racist for me. Well, it may sound shocking but it speaks volumes of their moral character and it is something I do not feel comfortable with. Well, let me be more specific.

According to anthropology, there is a difference between prejudice and discrimination.

Basically, prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. That is from dictionary.com. whereas, discrimination is an act or instance of discriminating. OK, that may not be too helpful but the main difference is that one is a thought while one is an action. It is one thing to joke about stuff and one thing to actually commit it or simply put it, making it into an action. It is like mother-in-law jokes... well, we love our MILs of course but we do share MIL jokes, same for dumb blonde jokes. However, for a company to have a policy that recruits based on race preference, that is really racism to the max. There is not a single Malay or Indian in my previous company. and they are open about it... Well, it's time to move on.

So I'll start work in Dec. Shall not reveal the company's name here but it's aviation related alright. I'm excited to go back to the airport and Huiqin's god a great word from the Lord about this. hope all will turn out fine and will end the year well...

It's Christmas very very soon. My first Christmas in the new house. Should I decorate it? That means spending $$$...

Posts

2010-11-02T21:21:00.002+08:00

Just realised I've been blogging on this blog for a couple of years now. Eversince I started work I guess. The first few posts were about the proposal and then the marriage and the honeymoon and there was the house and then there was me quiting my previous company to join my current company.

Well, as of Monday, I fired my boss. Well, I tendered basically. It's no secret now. I tendered without having another job. It is simply too boring and I think I should never fake my way in. Basically, be truthful during the interview and that will ensure that you get the job that best fits you. Well, I must say that we all behave not quite ourselves during interviews. Maybe I was just better at acting. But I cannot simply put on the mask everyday from 8.30 to 6.30 right? So I've called it quits. I have something in the pipeline, something exciting....

Shall not reveal it for now, well, it's aviation related I must say. and that is why it made it to "Aviation Passion" blog... haha

OK, 2010 is a year that I've been very busy, and hence blogged very little. It's a year of switches, career switches in fact. Ok, I'm going down to help carry the groceries now. Qin bought them from Carrefour and is back in a cab...

Chaoz.

Attitude

2010-11-02T13:38:00.004+08:00

I spoke with a gentleman some time back. Basically called him to ask if he wants to leave for another company. Asked him to share with me more about what he is doing and man, what attitude.

"I tell you technical things you also don't know" "I can understand cos you are not technically sound, so it is normal for you not to understand what I am doing"

Nevermind, I see you can zuai for how long. Finally asked about the pay. He is earning SGD2,600 on contract. Ok, forget it. Earn so low and still so zuai.

Guess what, today he called and asked if the offer still available. Well, according to him, the contract has become very unstable. He needs to look for another job.

My reply...... "Sorry, the position is closed"

Lesson: always have a good attitude. You'll never know when the tide will change.

Heavy

2010-10-31T14:35:00.002+08:00

Service just ended and it was about Hope. Great preaching by PK and my heart weighs heavy.

Is there anyone? My hope is for us to feel the heartbeat of God, the heartbeat of CHC, the heartbeat of our leaders. To be urgent of the things God feels urgent. To celebrate the things that God feels worthy to be celebrated. Pst asked me if Huiqin and I are the only ones booking seats for the CG. I said yes. Pst asked if we are the only ones who came for the morning PM. I said yes. The look on his face made me feel bad. Where is the support, where is the firepower. Are we in this alone?

Are we fighting a losing battle? People are fleeing, people are not giving, people are holding back, but why? Are we afraid? Have we lost hope? Lost faith?

I need to do something about it. I tried. I gave liberty, I gave lattitude. It was disasterous. My heart weighs heavy... Is it so hard to choose to be teachable. Went for a wedding yesterday and Pst Zhuang said, make a choice to love and love the choices we made. Character is questioned. How can one make a choice only to regret. This is not like a simple lunch, or a job or an educational course. It is abt life and death, about destiny.

Can we make it happen? Yes, I have invested in every course mate. Have the hearts grown cold? Have we become complacent? Distracted? If only there is one. There was no one.

Heavy... Perhaps I need more HOPE.

Career Opportunity

2010-10-27T09:54:00.001+08:00

My client is an established SPA centre and is recruiting due to their expansion into the SEA market.

I am looking for a Spa Tester (full time)

The incumbent must be able to travel to places such as Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey etc to experience the SPA treatments and provide a comprehensive report after the course of treatment.

Strong passion for massage and spa treeatment is required for this role. Strong ability to write well in English is a must. Knowledgeable in massage techniques will be an added advantage.

Degree/Diploma need apply.

Salary range S$ 3,500 - S$ 6,000. With AWS and at least 3 months annual bonus.

21 days annual leave.

Ya right, dream on.... back to work.

3 weeks

2010-09-22T08:47:00.002+08:00

It's been 3 weeks since I started on this new job. Must say it is pretty boring. Well it's kind of like fishing and there's lots of waiting. Patience is definately needed. So I shall not talk much about this job... One thing good about this job is it helped me understand the job market better...

Well, Qin and I recently celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. I mean time really flies. I cannot imagine being married for 1 year already. We celebrated by watching the video/photos of our wedding tgt. Haha.. what hilarious time. Back then it was really quite madness come to think of it. There was so many things to do with so little time. The house, the honeymoon, the banquet, the matri, photos, bridal gown etc... madness. But glad they are all over. One year on, we are happily living in Bedok South and enjoying every moment of it. In my opinion, my house is the best house... I'm sure everyone thinks that way as we all design our house ourselves. Everyone will think his/her house is the best. I truly enjoy living in it that I still struggle to leave the home for work. Esp when I see Qin still sleeping in bed. Last night, she switched on the a/c... we seldom on it. I slept well but still woke up at 1am and then again at 5am. Why? I dunno.

I'm happy that my friend Wanyun is getting married soon... Like real soon. Happy that she is settling down and joining the club. Life'll be different. Happy to see people getting married. I think cos that always reminds me of my own wedding. In fact, just had dinner with Qin's family at boon lay raja restaurant. That was exactly 1 yr anni to the day.

Ok, tmr's Christine Too's birthday. Gentle reminder... haha.

HDB rising

2010-09-11T10:28:00.004+08:00

As I read today's Straits Times, I find a familiar face. Dr Tan Ern Ser was my NUS prof who taught me sociology. I remember him as he mentioned that he just had an accident while jogging over the weekend when the lecture first started. I do not know a lot of profs who exercise so he is one good role model.

In any case, I was more interested in the HDB news in today's papers... As I read the various comments from your average Jo from the street, I cannot help but spend more time reading the view of a Mr Alex Teo who is 28 and is planning to get married 2 years later. He works as a bank executive. He intends to purchase a HDB flat just only to upgrade to privateproperty few years down the line. However, with the new HDB ruling, his plans may be changed. I can understand who he feels and I was scouting around for a flat not too long ago. He is looking for a 4-room HDB with a decent COV and most importantly, it must be in the East... Pretty close to my requirements too. One comment that he made caught my attention. that is: "It looks like the Government is trying to tell everyone that your first home should be your dream home." The reason for his statement is because he has to choose his first home wisely as he has to live with it for the next 5 years. Previously, he had the option to dispose it after 3 years and upgrade to private property. With the 30% new ruling for private property, he may not see himself owning a private property for some time...

This statement caught my attention as I recall sometime back that one person once said that we should not be too choosy and that do not expect the first home you own to be your dream home... At that point, i thought this is rubbish. It is so "unexcellent" to think this way. It's like telling a Primary school kid, dun worry, if you fail your PSLE, it's ok. Don't expect too much from your first major exam. Ya right, maybe this person will have success in life much later... like being a successful druglord... Well, I shall not comment further in case I get arrested. My point is that whatever a leader preaches, you'll know if it is successful by looking and hearing what the end users received. Remember in all messages, it is not what comes out but what is absorbed that is important. That is effective communication....

Thinking back, my secondary school Chinese teacher once said that the best govt ministry is HDB....

New Job

2010-08-11T10:23:00.002+08:00

It's been some time since I've last blogged. Seems like after getting BB, twitter is the more convenient way to post.

Realised that I've been getting quite a lot of comments from people I do not really know in this blog. This is quite surprising as I thought no one reads this. Hahaha.

Just an update, I'm leaving the airport and am going to work in town. yeah, found a new job. Pays better and I believe will lead to a better life too. So I'm leaving this "more better" place for a "most better" place. Seriously, the longer I stay here, the more I'll lose my English. Nothing against the lower educated people, but seriously, I do not know what are you talking about. I secretly recorded one of the meetings I attended recently. I went back and replayed the recording but I still am clueless what was discussed... It confirms that it was time to move on...

Twisted Media

2010-06-03T22:07:00.001+08:00

Recently, the media has really twisted facts and muddled things up. I heard from a colleague today that 17 of CHC guys have been arrested. I wonder what more can the media say? How abt...

Pst Kong was handcuffed and brought away in an armored vehicle. 30,000 angry protesters marched along orchard road with banners requesting for the release of their church leader. Just as the armored vehicle was nearing the detention centre, snippers were spotted at the high rise buildings nearby. A fire fight broke out and the SAF was called into action.

While all this drama was going on, investigators searched for more edvidences. It was finally found that Kong Hee had indeed misused church funds. As he is constantly fasting, he wanted a mint sweet before an urgent counselling session. His PA took a mint sweet from the reception counter and gave it to him. This was recorded by a church goer and was posted on Stomp-ST's interactive news portal. That was the only criminal breech of trust investigators found as the sweets at reception was for church members and not church pastors.

Back to the war at orchard rd, more Christians gathered and the total number of protetors has crossed 100,000. Due to the similarity of this scenerio with Thailand's red shirt protest, the SAF had engage their Thai consultant Mr Sawadi-cup to advise them on how to handle this angry mob. While Mr Sawadi-cup's suggestion was to bring in his Thai army, the SAF was apprehensive abt it. Will the Thai army proove to be better than the SAF?

As the Thai moved towards orchard rd, there was a sudden change in the faces of the Thai people!!! They started shooting the SAF! Oh, apparently they had erroneously sent their Thai farmers instead of their Thai soldiers. The Thai farmers prooved to be better shooters when it comes to shooting SAF commandos... And 2 commandos were shot. However, news of the incident were not immediately reported. Oh no, what a media boo boo...

It's Over

2010-05-13T09:38:00.003+08:00

It's over... I'm typing this with a heavy heart. It's over. People who know me - Kenneth Teo, will know that I am a faithful and loyal person. At least that was the image I projected. This time round, I think I'm far from it. I'm sorry to let the people around me down. I thought this relationship that started back in Secondary School would last a lifetime, who knows? I keep asking myself why?????

I'm sorry for physically abusing you from time to time. I just cannot control my anger. At times when you cannot meet my needs, you know how frustrated I am? I should never have shouted at you, I should have protected you, but I didn't.

I know, we have been through the thick and thin, I know we have been to NZ and US together, but..There are good times though.. I love to look at you every night before I sleep, and I like to wake up with you just beside my head.. well...

Some people may ask if it was a third party. I cannot deny that fact. Someone else introduced me to her. I was attracted by her beauty. Please, people reading this post do not blame her. If there's anyone to be blamed, it is me.. Everyone's doing it, why can't I? I never thought my heart would change, I have finally decided...

Today is a very significant day. Today, is a day I will sever all relationships with Nokia, for I, Kenneth Teo, am now a proud user of BlackBerry 9700 BOLD.

Thoughts

2010-05-12T10:52:00.003+08:00

I've been thinking... I'm tired. I so so so feel like going to NZ for another honeymoon. I close my eyes and I see myself at Queensland and having a nice burger with thick fries at "Fergburger". More info here : http://www.fergburger.com/fullscreen.html .I see myself driving with Qin beside me and pulling somewhere along the road and the beautiful scenery is just in front of us. There's water and the sun is shining, the birds are singing, everyone's happy.

On a more realistic note, I stayed at the new house over the weekend. It was so cool. I fell asleep on Qin's lap while watching TV in the dark. I need no climb any stairs and I'm in my bedroom already, ready to sleep...

2nd furniture

2010-05-07T15:50:00.000+08:00

The first to arrive was the coffe table. Today, the TV console will arrive. It's 2.4m and pretty heavy in my opinion. As it's long, it cannot fit in the lift. I'm quite interested to see how they are going to move it up 11 floors. The guy assured me there'll be no damages as he will send his best mover.. There's only one person who can handle such cases according to him.... Let's see.

Getting to the House

2010-04-27T11:58:00.004+08:00

Many have asked.. Well, not too many actually. But a few. So, I did some research and found out that there are a few ways to get to Bedok South Ave 3...

1. Cab in from Tanah Merah Mrt, alight just before Temasek Pri Sch. The taxi meter will only jump once, so it's either $3 or $3.20 cab fare if you take the common taxis.

2. Take bus 38 or bus 12 from Tanah Merah MRT station. It's 2 bus stops, about 3 mins journey not including waiting time, then walk for about 5mins.

3. Take bus 14 from Tanah Merah MRT. This has to be taken from the opposite direction (i.e. on the side near the condos/open field). Approx 8 bus stops, I haven't tried this route.

4. Take buses like 10, 13, 14, 43, 48 from town and get off at Upp east Coast Rd, opp Fairview Ct. The walk from this bus stop should take less than 5 mins.

5. Take feeder bus 229 from Bedok. Takes 20 mins as it goes to Chai Chee.

6. Walk from Tanah Merah MRT. Cutting through the private housing. It's a nice 15 min walk that brings you through the nice houses. Enjoy the architecture and before you know it, you're at Bedok South already.

In my opinion, I think method 1 is the best for people coming for CGM. Cab-polling will cost less than a dollar each.

Personally, I use method 6 when I visit the house after work. When it rains or when I feel lazy, I'll take method 2.

For Huiqin, she uses method 4 as she comes from town.

From this image, you can see where is the place with respect to Tanah Merah MRT. The redstar shows the location of the block.

From the following image, you can see where are the nearby busstops with respect to the house.

Love Nest

2010-04-24T23:36:00.002+08:00

We started this project round about the 15th of March. It's been 5 weeks now and based on estimation, we'll be getting the keys to the new gate around the middle of this upcoming week. Was just looking at my previous few posts, the pictured showed piles of sand. Well, things have changed much now. I have been going down to take snapshots of the place off and on. Just that I haven't been posting them. No one knows how the place looks like except for Qin and myself and out immediate family members. Of cos the contractor - Cheng himself. The floor is not the typical glossy white.

Today, we just procured the TV console. This should be the final big ticket item already. It cost just under 1k. I think we are a little crazy but ya, that's how things are to be. We have been going to the shop for about 5 times already and finally decide to get this. I think we are too fickle minded. Or, in my company's terms, we adopt a more dynamic approach in our development.

I'm not too sure if I have mentioned about this before, but a child's brought up must be in a centre of Excellence. I just noticed this and man, it really blew my mind when I discovered this truth. My Chairman says he is a person of excellence. He elaborated further and said that everything that he sees, touches or comes into contact, must be excellent. He is a multi-millionaire. In CHC, we generate many millionaires too. Most of them grew up in the church. Pst has a spirit of excellence and this is shown throughout the whole building and the projects CHC takes part in. Growing up in such an env, will cause one to know what is the bare min standard and hence, pushing the level of excellence up. Same for a house, it may cost more to get furniture from a certain shop as compared to another one. But well, if your next generation is going to be brought up in this env, it might just be worthwhile to invest a little more...

Efficiency

2010-04-23T23:25:00.003+08:00

Just had company function. A group of clowns giving out prizes to another group of clowns. Had 20 plus 30 people organizing for an event with ten plus tables. I remembered my wedding had about 10 people planning for 20 over tables... And the best part is an events company was engaged, still 20plus people were invovled. haizzz. I think I'm so not used to the non-CHC way of running things.

House

2010-04-20T11:40:00.002+08:00

We were so close in getting the TV console but no... haha. We went to the place yesterday and the fans are up, aircon is working fine, lights are up and running. Doors are also up. Next up, paint touch up and also the installation of glass doors. Need to install the door of the storeroom also. All doors need to be vanished. Followed by installation of carpentary works. Then all's completed.

Yay.

Updates on the house

2010-04-13T15:06:00.002+08:00

Just went yesterday after work and just a quick update. Walls are painted. Wiring all done, Tiles all laid, Toilets all up and running, Toilet pipes are painted as well. Slight hic-cup about the main door but it's settled now. Plastering of walls also completed (duh! else how to paint?)...

Pretty much completed. Lights will be up today and left grills and Carpentary works. That's the update on-site.

For off-site, we have bought the firdge, washing machine, TV, Sofa, Bed, other minor items such as iron and toaster are also available... haha. Really looking forward to moving in...

Trust

2010-04-08T15:02:00.003+08:00

For the past few weeks, CHC has been on a roller coaster. Up and Down and being a member, I can feel the emotions that ran with it as well. What essentially is the root of all the news and accusations was the fact that CHC has bought shares of Suntec. The latest and most ridiculous piece of accusation is that CHC has bought over 1 of the 5 towers of Suntec.

OK, back to the main point, I can tell that PK has been quite dissappointed. Perhaps not because it came from outside but from within. I too had that feeling before. In fact, just recently. When the people whom you trust to fight along side with you suddenly becomes your attacker, the feeling is really bad. You'll feel like erm.. I start to wonder if what you've done is correct or not.

Well, maybe only those who have gone through it will understand.

6-month Anniversary

2010-03-21T22:08:00.007+08:00

Last Friday was the 19th March 2010 and it has been 6 months since I married Qin. We tied the knot on 19th Sep 2009 and how time flies. Since there was no CGM, I brought her out to the place where we wanted to go for a long time... Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia Walk.

Qin feeling happy... With their brown bread.

It's Me... in my new shirt for this event.

Great Starter-Cheese fries...

I'm such a fan of fried mushrooms...

Before we start..

The surrounding

Their staff.

More surrounding

Yummy, sizzling steak.

Black Pepper steak

Qin eating

Qin eating still

Artistic shot 1

Artistic shot 2

Artistic shot 3

Everything...

Total damage = SGD 100 plus

Renovation Day 4

2010-03-16T00:35:00.007+08:00

This are the last few pics I'm going to post on my blog. No time to tidy them up.. so a little messy. Those close up ones are the toilets.

Renovation Day 3

2010-03-16T00:20:00.004+08:00

Renovation Day 2

2010-03-12T00:20:00.003+08:00

Renovation Day 1

2010-03-12T00:09:00.004+08:00

Hacking Operations Commencing....

2010-03-09T09:47:00.003+08:00

So it's time to start the drilling and hacking.. Tomorrow is the date. Well, it's been a long wait. After obtaining the keys in early Jan, it's been quite a while. Infact 2 solid months before anything started moving. well, it's partly due to the Chinese New Year and also I went to the US of A and hence didn't manage to really look for a contractor and quotations etc.. After our RFQ excercise was completed, we have awarded it to Cheng.... haha.. A slight delay in the project but ok, at least things are moving.. Excited in the Spirit...

Building Fund 3

2010-03-06T21:12:00.001+08:00

So I was correct.. hha. Indeed it is Suntec and it's the convention centre. It's good cos there's so many MRT stations nearby. However, they're not really along the east-west line la.. So must change train. I think 2010 is really a year of many changes. Financially, there are many implications. After pledging... ok, I feel good.

Building Fund 2

2010-03-05T23:09:00.001+08:00

So with more reliable information coming in... It's at Suntec.. Yea... This is Kenneth Teo bringing you the latest information. Live updates.

Building Fund

2010-03-03T22:46:00.002+08:00

It's this time again and it's time to sow. I do not know how many times I've participated in the BF campaign but every one is different. The feeling, the times we are going through is all unique for each campaign. This round, there are so many things that I can expect God to be moving in. The unit in Bedok, the Church building in southern Singapore, career, family, ministry... Wow, the though of it excites me.

Back to the new building, I really think I know it. It is actually at Kallang. This is according to insider information. Pretty reliable source.... So good la, got water, good fengshui. And it is new our new place at Bedok so that means lesser traveling..

CNY is just over, loved the fact that this year, I can be with Qin, my new wife.. I remember the very first CNY we had in 1998. I asked her if I the dream will be a reality and she considered so long. It was over the CNY period that she said "Just don't let this affect your studies." "Huh? What you mean?" "You know it lo." "So it is a yes la?" "You know it la"...

Ha, and so I scored that night.

Sold! Sold! Sold!

2010-02-17T21:32:00.000+08:00

Yay, sold another Coach wristlet... God is good.

Alexander McQueen is Dead

2010-02-12T08:55:00.002+08:00

Fashion Designer Alexander McQueen is found dead...

I remember watching his fashion shows when I was in Secondary School/JC and I felt that he was quite good in what he was doing... Indeed his career really took off and I would say he is really at his prime now... In fact, lady Gaga recently wore a pair of lobster claw shoes in her "Bad Romance" performance and that was designed by McQueen... Haiz, a huge loss in the Fashion Industry...

Apparently, his mother passed away on 2nd Feb. McQueen had made some remarks online and many have jumped to the conclusion that he had committed suicide following the death of his mother. However, there was an online comment that he wrote "Life must go on!!!!!!!!!!" Hmmm... strange isn't it?

McQueen was 40. just about 1 month shy of turning 41.

Sick again

2010-02-11T15:22:00.002+08:00

I'm sick again.. Seems like I've been falling sick often in 2010. Hmmmm, I wonder why? Must go bath in 7-flower water...

Coach products for SALE!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-07T09:33:00.010+08:00

WRISTLETS

Model 41995: SGD 78

Model F43520 (Khaki/Pink): SGD 98 (LAST PIECE)

Model F43520 (Black): SGD 98 (LAST PIECE)

Model 43262: SGD 118 (SOLD OUT!)

HANDBAGS

Model 41991: SGD 188 (LAST PIECE)

Model F40024: SGD 188 (LAST PIECE)

Model F14481 (Purple): SGD 328

Model F14481 (Khaki/Pink): SGD 328

Model F14045: SGD 448 (LAST PIECE)

Model F14010: SGD 398

Back with the good stuff

2010-02-07T08:49:00.002+08:00

So I came back broke indeed. Bought a suitcase full of bags... Coach / Kate Spade / Kenneth Cole products... Well, it's mainly Coach as it's cheaper. Will be unloading the products on my blog soon I hope... Looking for buyers.

LAX here I come!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-20T15:21:00.000+08:00

Finally, got the ticket application done and collected my 2 e-tickets. Also bought a ticket for my mother... So the 3 of us will go NRT followed by LAX. Just 1 hr in NRT airport only.. Then it's really "WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!!" haha.. I think I'll come back a broke man..

Food

2010-01-17T11:45:00.001+08:00

I wonder why nobody sells Fried Duck since there's Fried Chicken...

Foreigners and Locals

2010-01-12T10:36:00.003+08:00

I was reading the papers recently and I realised that Singapore's news is really... erm... non-Singapore.

Let's see... A "CD" plate car from the Romanian Embassy knocked down 3 pedestrians in a hit and run accident. To date, Mr Tong Kok Wai, a Malaysian has died. Centre of attraction at present is Dr Silviu.. None of them are Singaporeans.

Indian national Madhuri Jaya Chandra Reddy admits killing Sri Lankan prostitute.

Quoting from Straits Times online "THIS year's top O-level student Lai Kai Rou, who is from Selangor in Malaysia, was initially averse to the idea of studying in Singapore."

Bangladeshi worker, Kamrul Abdul Hasan Quddus, 35, was found guilty of killing Ms Yulia Afriyanti, 25, an Indonesian maid and will be hanged. Both non-Singaporeans.

Singapore has 30% foreigners in our workforce at the moment. I quote migrationinformation.org "The most rapid increase occurred over the last decade; Singapore's nonresident workforce increased 170 percent, from 248,000 in 1990 to 670,000 in 2006" According to the website, Singapore is THE country in entire Asia with the highest proportion of foreign workers.

In 1970, the percentage of foreign workers stands at 3.2% in Singapore and 10 yrs later in 1980, it's 7.4% and later in 1990, it's 16.1%. According to the Department of Statistics, it stands at 29.2% in Yr 2000.

From the above graph, we can see that it's increasing at an increasing rate.. Based on my projections, we will reach saturation point (i.e. 100%) in 25 years. That is from 2000 which means we will have 100% foreigners in Sigapore by 2025. Well, of course, we will not have zero Singaporeans on this sunny island we call home.. it would just mean that the locals are so few that we are negligible... There is only one solution to that problem and it's a no-brainer..

Give away Singapore Citizenship.. Have more "New Citizens" Yay... Yipee..

Goals 2010

2010-01-10T21:51:00.002+08:00

It's the time of the yr to set resolutions again. Most of the time, my goals are very demanding.. such as losing weight by when, getting how many points on my CAP.. it's usually all abt hard work, but this yr's goal will be diff...

1. Go USA by end of the year (for holiday and NOT for work)
2. Go Batam for spa by end of year
3. Move to new house that is beautifully renovated at lowest cost possible by Mid-Year
4. Attend at least 2 BBQ events. (I love BBQ food)
5. Watch at least 10 good movies.

These are the top 5 goals to please my soul...

Back at work

2010-01-04T09:29:00.001+08:00

It's the end of the holiday season and I'm back at work. With a new boss though. I have yet to see him as I'm stuck in my office. I think it's time to walk around the terminal. I've got a feeling i'll blog more this year... Somehow it's only the 4th day and I've posted many entries...

Paul Potts

2010-01-03T11:49:00.001+08:00

So, we have all seen Paul Potts' performance in Service as Pst Tan shows it on screen. So what happened to him after that outstanding performance? Watch on and you can even see a short interview with him.

The house...

2010-01-03T11:18:00.002+08:00

Few months back, I posted an entry that states "Searching the world, the house will be found". We were still trying to search for our place back then. From Punggol to Marine Parade. We even looked at Tampines... Finally we've decided on Bedok and even in Bedok, the search was terrible. With housing prices to high, we really had to look well. Finally, after months of searching, we got one and then the negotiation started. Ding Dong Bam Boom, finally the S&P was concluded and we had to wait for 6 months. Then it became 7 months as the previous had to extend 1 more month. This 7months wait is at its final 1.5 hours now.. later at 1300hrs, we will be collecting our new key. This key costed us SGD 398k. I wish to say we paid in cash fully but no. I'm in debt now. Hope the prices of houses will rise and then we will increase in our assets. Ok, going to leave home now, suppose to meet him at his place to inspect the house. God, please give me good eyesight to spot anything that's amiss and creativity as we do our space planning.

Sad end

2010-01-02T08:48:00.003+08:00

This should have been posted some days back. My colleague
s mom passsed away and I went to the wake last Wednesday. So this was what happened a few days before.

The mother (Mrs) was diagnosed with some eye problem, I'm not sure if it's cateract detachment or what but it needed to be operated else she'll go blind. She went for the op a few weeks before Christmas and as part of the recovery process, she has to look down to allow a vacuum to be formed and had gases being pumped into her eye to aid the recovery of the tissues. she did that faithfully for 2 weeks but there're no results. She even extended for 1 more week but stil nothing seems to be recovering. She called the doctor and it was Christmas season already. The doctor was on vacation and recommended she looked for another doctor. The family got involved and a second doctor was called in. He confirmed that the first operation was a failure and recommeded a 2nd op, this time round, the recovery will require the use of ointment.

On Boxing day, she was operated and she has to let her eyes rest after the op. On Monday she was listening to the news after dinner with her husband (Mr) when she heard something that caught her interest. Intuitively, she turned and opened her eyes. She noticed her right eye's vision was blur as well. So from 1 eye, it became 2 eyes that needed medical attention. She told Mr and Mr said, don't worry, it'll recover. Mrs asked what will happen if I'm totally blind. Mr replied that even if you're blind, I will take leave and take care of you. I can even stop working and push you around in a wheel chair and we can travel around the world. They are pretty well-off btw. Staying in a 3 storey landed property. If i'm blind, I do not want to live Mrs said. Mr assured her and planned to accompany her to visit the doctor tomorrow morning. They both went to bed.

At approx 4am, Mr woke up and noticed Mrs wasn't sleeping beside her. He knew that something was amiss. He searched and went downstairs to find the main gate opened. He instinctively knew that she must have turned right, in the direction of the HDB blocks. He went in that direction and upon reaching the HDB flats, he saw the police tape at the foot of the block. Mrs was only 54 yrs old, leaving behind my colleague, who is 25 and another son who is in uni and another son, who is the youngest at 16. He'll be getting his O'level results this week.

2009-12-14T23:07:00.001+08:00

Days at home

2009-12-02T16:28:00.004+08:00

I was on MC on tues. well, it's a big thing as I seldom take MC. In fact, i think the last MC i had was when I in the army. So my clean sheet was stained. Well, it was still a good thing to be at home though. I uploaded some honeymoon photos onto facebook and realised that there're really a lot a lot of photos to upload. Guess it'll take forever...

And oh ya, it's days and not day cos i'm on leave today.

Oh

2009-11-29T12:21:00.004+08:00

I saw a Malay couple getting married and all their friends were on motorbikes. They clutch in and ramp up the engines until it's very loud and the entire street turned and looked at them. They were very proud to own a Bike. Then there're lorries following as well. They belong to the company of the entourage.

There was a Chinese man who owned a Ferrari and it was soaked to the bone during the flood at Bt Timah. During the interview, he said it's ok as the insurance would cover it.

I went to a Mama shop and bought 2 packs of yakult. It costed 2.90 per pack. I gave SGD 10 and got back SGD 2.20 as change. I went back and asked and the Ah Neh said sorry, counted wrongly.

Taylor

2009-11-29T12:11:00.000+08:00

Saw this on Sinamex, thought it's quite cute.

What to tell your wife after buying a Taylor guitar...

1. I'll be home more often.
2. I want to sing to you with only the best guitar.
3. There are too many mediocre things to deal with in life and guitars shouldn’t be one of them.
4. I have done full research and Taylors are the most durable guitars made.
5. Among all guitars, Taylors have the best re-sale value.
6. Since you have always been such a supportive wife, there is really no need to give you any reasons.
7. I have good taste, why do you think you are my wife?
8. Taylor’s lifetime warranty reminds me of my everlasting commitment to you.
9. This guitar reminds me of how perfect you are.
10. Anything less than extra-ordinary is a waste of my time, It’s the same reason why I chose you to be my wife.

Honeymoon - NZ (P3)

2009-11-16T20:09:00.005+08:00

OK, it is quite impossible to upload all the photos day by day.. So here's a few random ones.
In a coffee house near Meta Caves. Meta Caves is the place where they made the props for LOTR...

Check out the size of the Fish & Chips.. This one was one of the best F&C we've ever eaten...

In one of the caves near Waitomo. The glow-worm cave has a "no photography" rule so this is not the one...

My ears were so so so cold... Brrrrrrr.

Suppose to be the mirror lake - Lake Matherson.. However, it was drizzling.

This was taken while i'm blogging my first post on Honeymoon in Picton - Just crossed over to north Island

Honeymoon - NZ (P2)

2009-11-08T09:50:00.007+08:00

1st Macs meal @ NZ

1st close-up cow we saw

Our Dinner in the first town outside Auckland... Shiok. and it's Qin's birthday celebration.

Honeymoon - NZ (P1)

2009-09-29T15:49:00.008+08:00

So we left for New Zealand. It's really the trip that we've looked forward to for so so so long. It was Australia but in the end, due to N1H1, we decided on NZ. Flew to Auckland and will spend one week there. Let the photos to the talking...

The Hotel that we stayed was Heritage. The SQ cabin crew stayed there too.. When we saw them leaving, we were checking out as well.. Just that our journey just began.

Breakfast in Auckland..

Went to Uni of Auckland

In the Winter Gardens in Auckland...

A cute car in the form of a shark near Sky City Tower...

Can't sleep

2009-09-19T00:38:00.003+08:00

I had Butterfly paste with bread for breakfast,
I had stir-fried sauteed Butterflies in Chinese sauce with rice for lunch,
I had McButterfly meal upsize for dinner...

My stomach is so full that I cannot sleep now...

Good bye...

2009-09-15T21:33:00.006+08:00

Good bye, you've been a great friend in this journey. It is time to say good bye and I do treasure the relationship that we've had. Trust me. However, a man's gonna do what a man's gonna do. It's time to move on and it's time to get uncomfortable again. I do not know how long I've known you but one thing i'm sure is that you're always there when I needed you most. We've had some really good times, and at times when I cry, you were there by my side. However, in my new life, there's no room for you..

You know, they say that time is relative. Time flies when I'm with you. How I hate it when it's time to part with you... Why must they seperate us? Why can't they leave us to be together forever? Ahh, the pressures of this world.

All I can say is that I love you, from the bottom of my heart and I am grateful for all that you've done for me.

Good bye pillow.

5 more days

2009-09-13T20:54:00.002+08:00

It's 5 more days. Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri and that's it. We'll be married. It's over, all these smses, phone calls, emails, planning, discussion, late night meetings, all over. Qin and I are so tired. My eyes could hardly open every morning...

People have been asking if we need help. Well, the fact is that we do. But what can be outsourced? If it has to be done well, we have to do it ourselves.

Generational Curses

2009-09-06T00:04:00.002+08:00

The question is... Is hereditary balding a type of generational curse? I have heard of poverty as a generational curse where spiritually, this curse is really passed from 1 generation to another. Also, diseases can be also generational curses as well. I had someone telling me that don't worry, this person is a Christian, she will not be cursed with poor health like her parents are..

To solve this mystery of the hereditary balding, I went to google and found out more. "Hair Loss like any disease comes about as a malfunction of one or more of your bodies systems. Much if not most of the time this is a result of a slow degenerative process due to the lack of adequate bodily supplies of the elements necessary for normal function and rejuvenation of affected organs. Commercial Farming and natural erosion has depleted global farmlands of most essential elements therefore it is not wise to assume that your diet contains enough of these elements for normal body function and maintenance" This was what I found from one webpage.. From the looks of it, balding is commonly passed down by genes. Balding is also a form of disease. Since it is a disease and we know that disease comes from the devil. We also know that generational means it is passed from one generation to the next.. Thus, is hereditary balding a type of generational curse?

What do you think?

The day I got into my first Car Accident

2009-08-27T15:02:00.003+08:00

This happened on Sunday 23rd. Just when I thought that my life was getting too happening, it became more happening. I was rushing to Gleneagles and wanted to park at the botanical gardens. As I was driving in the car park, an Audi just came out from his lot without looking and before I could react.. Bamp.. On the side. Slight scratched. I horned for a long time. A Caucasian stood out and acted like nothing happened.... First accident in 5 years.

The day my home Kitchen Cabinet gave way

2009-08-24T11:37:00.002+08:00

It was last Friday when it happened. A support piece that was holding the wooden board gave way and came crashing down were many many pots and pans, plates and bowls etc... Mostly were made of glass and porcelain.

All these happened during the day and after visiting my Mother on Friday, I came back home to a very messy kitchen. I thought a burgler had broken into as the kitchen was littered with glass and porcelain chips. After inspecting, I realised that it was one of hte support that had given way.. It was too dark and I cordoned off the area and decided to leave it to Sat before starting on clearing.

Then Sat came and Huiqin and I started work at 1000. By 1220, we had finally finished clearing the Kitchen... haiz... how tiring.

The day my Mom got a stroke

2009-08-19T22:00:00.003+08:00

This is the first time I'm blogging this down. This happened on Sat - 15th Aug 09. Stroke, also known as Brain Attack, is as sudden as heart attack. There are some factors that lead to it but what actually triggers it is always a medical mystery. Some people say it's stress, some it's high blood pressure... etc.

On sat morning, my mom was as usual doing the household chores when she decided to rest and I wondered if it's because she just came back from a 4 day trip to KL/Genting hence feeling tired. She said she was giddy and I thought it was due to the poor air ventilation at home. I opened the window and didn't think much about it. I was busy preparing wedding etc and just last sat, it was guo da li where I brought all the stuff to Huiqin's place to ask for her hand from her parents. My mom called for me as I was upstairs but once again I didn't think much about it.

Afternoon, I left for church and when I came back, I received a call from her that she's on her way to NUH. At once, I knew that something was amiss. Rushed down to NUH and my fear seems to be real.

She was on a wheel chair and the doctors felt that it may be a mild stroke. They wanted to admit her but we decided to transfer her to Gleneagles. It was a big decision as transfering a stroke patient is not the best idea. Still we did it.

Now, she's in Gleneagles resting. Will be starting physio soon. Really pray she'll do well and recover fast and full. It's possible according to the Specialist. Rom 8 :28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Once this stroke thing happened, a task force was immediately formed. Special Agent Kelvin Teo took on this case and immediately sprung into action. Coordinating and making decisions of transfering and getting specialist and all that. The one running the show was Veteran Negotiator Cheong Jun'er who did all the arranging and insurance coordination. Chief Administrator Seet Hui Qin did what she does best and everything was in order as soon as possible. Well, I just fed my mom and tried to be useful..

People who have visited so far included Thomas, Fen, her colleagues, relatives, ex-colleagues. Special mention goes to Annabelle from CHC choir, JE, ASK, various CGLs etc.. There are also as many as 10 flower baskets and fruit baskets in the room. We have cleared some already. We can only conclude that Mummy should be a CGL given her influence....

Lady Gaga

2009-08-14T09:20:00.002+08:00

I was in close proximity with Lady Gaga yesterday. As close as 2 meters. Well, can't see her face as she wore shades. However, she had such killer heels... She is not a very big women as what we would imagine caucasians would be. She slightly shorter than myself even with the heels on. Totally blond. However, I'm surprise why there was no shouting crowd following her... Quite nice to see her walking pass me. Nice outfit too. Purplish jacket with a matching skirt. Not sure which flight she's taking but definately not SQ as it was in T1. Hee...

Morning PMs

2009-08-10T11:08:00.002+08:00

Just came back from the morning PM. It's a public Hol so quite a number of ppl turned up at JW. Well, it's not easy as it's pouring this morning... Struggled with the flesh, but I guess it's easier for me as I wake up at 6am everyday. Quite used to it.

Later going to Ion.. but for now, got to prep for CG. Quite excited about this fri's combine meeting. During PM, God impressed upon my heart... It's going to be awesome.. Exciting excitement is in the air.

Test Post

2009-08-07T23:12:00.001+08:00

Test Post

Wedding Preparation

2009-08-07T22:57:00.001+08:00

Wedding is in 5 weeks. In 5 WEEKS!!!!! There's a lot more to do.. This is the crutial moment. It's like having A levels. It's like having the final submission for FYP.. so excited.

Cantonese Post

2009-08-04T08:12:00.002+08:00

Li kor hai ngo dai yat qi yong gong tong wah lei post hai ngo ge blog. Gem oi post meh leh? Ngo lum lai bai hoi gor tong yan kai hai yat kor hoe hoe ge kum yen.

Ngo hoi zo tong yan kai ge yat kor hoe hong hoe hong ge pou tau. Yeng wai ngo oi wan ge lan bei Qin lei zou kao fun xi lei zong ge doi. Kor goh pou tau zhan hai hoe tat yee, yeng wai hoi lei bin meh yeh ham ba lan tou hai hong sek. Leen ge dei tou hai hong sek. Loi bin meh kit fun ge yeh tou yao. Long Fong zok tou yao hoe gei kor.

Yee kor lei oi kit fun leh, jao yat deng oi hoi kor tou wan lei saw yao kit fun ge yeh....

I am yours

2009-07-25T23:50:00.004+08:00

I was thinking if I would have a special performance during my Matri and I felt that this song was quite nice... This is the original singer performing. His name is Jason Mraz. Please spend some time listening to him and the drummer...

And then I found this CHAMPION.. Super Hilarious. Listen to find out why..

I salute you Brudder...

Strength

2009-07-19T00:13:00.002+08:00

Strength is not about what you can do now, but it's about what you can do in the future..

A strong person will be outstanding at this moment but it is the stronger one who will last till the end.

The end is most important as the reward is what follows after.

Strength takes time to build up. Often, it cannot be rushed but it needs to be monitored.

The Human Heart

2009-07-08T15:39:00.005+08:00

Revelation..

The bible says in Gal 6:9 (NKJV) "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

This verse made me think quite a bit although this is not the first time I've read this verse. In fact, I have used this verse before in one of my offering messages. However, strangely, the other versions such as NIV or NLT did not mention "do not lost heart" but rather, they used "do not give up" in those versions.

So what is it about the human heart? Why is it that when we lose heart, it gives a similar meaning as we have given up?

Well, the human heart is about the only organ that knows how to move on its own. Unlike the hand/feet/hips etc, they rely on the brain sending messages to them before they are activated. However, the Human Heart pumps and pumps without any instructions from the brain.. "The heart of a vertebrate is composed of cardiac muscle, an involuntary striated muscle tissue which is found only within this organ." quoted from wikipedia.

When I was worshipping God that day with this verse stuck in my mind, I begin to understand more about the Human Heart. See, the heart will go on pumping and pumping no matter what. It's like life will go on no matter what. At times, the heart can also pump even if the brain is not functioning. The heart speaks of a Man's ways and life.

Now, the bible says that Christ is the head. We all know that what's in the head is the brains. If Christ is the head, then the brains must be Christ's innermost part. The heartbeat of Jesus, the heart of hearts, the very intentions, thoughts, ideas, direction of God.

To function fully, the heart must be connected to the brain. That is like a man that is well connected to God, knowing His ways, His thoughts, intentions, direction, plans. This man knows not only about God but he knows God. Yea, that's a man destined for success.

There are also other scenerios, such as a man who's heart has stopped pumping (maybe due to heart attack). Is he dead? Certainly not. That's why doctors, can declare one to be brain dead but not heart dead. In other words, even if the heart stops pumping, the person is not neccessarily dead. As long as God is alive, there's hope for man. There's hope for salvation. Some tried to kill God but on the 3rd day He rose again victoriously. Unless the heart gives up on the brain, the brain will not give up on the heart. So long as the brain is alive, there's still hope.

The bottomline is that we must come to a point where we know the heartbeat of Christ, the thoughts of Christ, the plans, the desires, the intentions, the directions... Then only are we connected to the Head. Then only will our heart pump normally and still maintain connection to the brain and the whole body functions well.

There are people who are still existing and functioning. However, they are brain dead already as they have lost the connection to the Brain. Though they seems to still have connection to the head (still attending church) butthey have lost the connection to the inner part of the head and are clueless with what God is thinking or the way God is moving. These are the brain dead...

Financial Wisdom

2009-06-30T18:05:00.003+08:00

This is my 100th post and would like to talk about financial wisdom. Well, I do not think that I have all it takes to talk about this topic.. However, based on my little experience that I have and looking at the lives of people around me, I think I can conclude a thing or two...

Firstly, one must live within his/her means. Being prudent is a virtue and it doesn't mean that by reducing expenditure, it equates to no faith for God to provide more. However, for people who spends without thinking and especially when you're spending like a king while earning peanuts, you are really asking for it..

Secondly, to increase income, one must be reasonably valued in the market. else, you'll always end up doing jobs that no one else wants to do. One way to increase value is by education. With a better education, you will not neccessarily be able to earn much more, but the very least, you'll not be poor. Those people who says that higher educated people will not be able to find jobs as easily those with lower education, are often people who cannot get to that education level themselves. Sour grapes is the word. By not wanted to put in the hard yards, the next best thing is to say that it's not worth it.

Thridly, it's only with financial abilitities that one can even start to consider blessing others. If one is financially tight, he/she will find himself/herself getting caught in a situation where the heart is willing but the pocket is weak. This is when one wants to do something but financially it is impossible. Be it doing a visitation, paying for a meal, paying for a cab fare, sponsoring someone, everything needs money. In fact, the bible says money answers everything (Ecc 10:19)... Think about it. Start spending wisely.

Update..

2009-06-21T21:45:00.002+08:00

A quick update.. we just registered for marriage. One can only do this 3 months before the wedding day.So on the 18th night, by the time the clock struck 12, Huiqin was waiting to log in to www.rom.gov.sg. I think she's really desperate to get married... hahaha.

Next update, we bought a sofa. Or have I mentioned this before? We bought this a few days back. Yellow and black. What we liked was that it was designed by Singaporeans. We support Singaporeans. Best of all, it met our needs, with high back rest and it allowed slide ways resting. Perfect for siesta... Also, it fitted into the budget. It's SGD 499, 1 buck short of the full budget amt. Oh, bt the way, it's for the study room, not the living room.

I have also checked with my HR on some honeymoon things. I think things will turn out well.. Really pray for favour.

Finally, I just read Sunday Times and in it there was an article on Vietnamese wives. I was at Tanjong Katong Shopping Centre for lunch on Fri with my boss and colleagues. The forth floor was full of such Vietnamese brides. It made me wonder if marriage can be structured as an agreement. Just like a contract, be it with maids/business etities etc. so long as it benefit both parties, it'll work. The brides will get their priced Singapore PR and soon citizenship and the husbands will not be left on the shelf. It's hard to imagine that true love exist from the time the customer steps into the shop to the time the customer leaves the shop...

L-plate

2009-06-14T01:11:00.001+08:00

I was just in office that day telling my friend how low our salary is. I told him that with marriage coming up, I really need money and it seems that the monthly take home I'm drawing now is really meager.

Then he said something. Look, we are still learning now as we just entered the workforce. So we have a "L" plate in front of us. Once we have removed the "L" plate, we can then remove the "L" plate from our L-E-A-R-N and start to E-A-R-N. It made me think a little....

Must be SMU....

2009-05-28T05:59:00.002+08:00

Well, the wannabe university has done it again. Being the first business university in SG, being the first uni with US style lecturing, the first university full of spoilt brats,

NOW, the first to bring in H1N1 to SG....

Result of never listen to instructions, want to act smart, thiking they are the monopoly of intelligence.

A Song for my Wife

2009-05-24T14:26:00.002+08:00

I'm so in love with Huiqin that I worte a song for her...

Your touch gives me warmness
All your tenderness
I love you
I love you

Every moment we are together
I feel as if it'll be forever
I love you
I love you

Chorus
Hazel Seet Huiqin
You draw me close within
You make me feel that I am "in"
When I am with you there's no din
I really love you
I really miss you

Bridge
And here's the song we all will sing
And here's the girl that I will cling...

Photoshoot

2009-05-24T12:58:00.012+08:00

Took 2 days off to go for photoshoot. Time flies and this is one more item that is completed as we move down the timeline...

Started at 10am. Of cos, we were there at 10 and the makeup artiste just reached. I went to look for Yi kang who was suppose to assist in this photoshoot. He thought it's in Bugis junction and so I had to guide him to Bridal Concept.

First up was the China contume in the studio, then it was the bridal down, evening gown etc. There's a pink dress that huiqin choose but it cannot be brought outdoors and thus, we took photos of it indoors at the studio. Better also as we do not need to change outdoors. This is the pic.

Of course there were some others which we took outdoors. We went to Pandan reservoir.

These were of course not taken by the photographer from the bridal shop, but were taken by our secondary sch friend Mr Feng. Thus, some shots were caught with us not looking at the camera. The main photographer was...

Some of the photos that we liked are:

SIN / PEK / SIN //

2009-05-16T23:50:00.002+08:00

Just came back from Beijing. It's a super short trip but yet, so much was achieved. Left Singapore on Fri early morning (effectively Thurs night) and reached PEK at abt 6 plus 7. By the time we left the airport it was abt 8am and was greeted by the local correspondants. Went straight to the hotel and boy, it was nice. Headed out to Yong He Dou Jiang for a snack and then it's lunch. Fully paid buffet and ate sashimi like there's no tomorrow. After that, proper work starts.

Well, it was quite a long day as we ended at 7pm plus. Then it's dinner. Tried some real authentic Sichuan food and there's this "shui yu". It's basically fish in oil. Yes, a whole big bowl of oil. The food generally were super duper oily...

After that went back to the hotel for a massage followed by foot reflexology. Knock out during the massage and the foot reflex was so painful and ticklish. At the end, got laughed at by her and I slept. The massage cost only RMB120 for 2 hrs. I was told that SQ staff will find this company whenever they are in PEK. I got a card too and it states that they specialise in attending to SQ staff, emirates and dragonair crew. haha.

Next morning buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then followed by work. In the afternoon, went for lunch at this very famous restaurant that our very own president went beofre. Then headed for the airport and I'm back after 5.5 hrs of flight. Chop Chop.

Talking Point

2009-05-09T01:03:00.002+08:00

If you're reading this, I want to ask you -the reader, what do you think of a couple sharing toothbrush? Is it ok?

I think this can be a GP essay. "Newly weds sharing toothbrush - appealing or appalling?"

Or this can be a SOT essay. "The bible says we should share in all things. Discuss to what extend do you agree that newly weds should share their toothbrush."

Reading...

2009-04-27T22:57:00.001+08:00

I'm now reading this book "Leaders" by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus. I recommend all to grab hold of this....

Short Film

2009-04-25T09:51:00.004+08:00

Just watched this short film. It's a winner at the Berlin International Film Festival - short film competition. Do watch it... only 6 mins

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

Wedding Rehearsal

2009-04-19T23:31:00.002+08:00

Qin and I just had our wedding rehearsal. While we are lying on the bed that is. She was reading out the proceedure from the wedding preparation guide and I was saying out the vows and all that. We kept laughing... There's a part that the Pastor ask us to join our right hands. And I started playing thumb wrestling.. Then when pastor was continuing with the proceedure, I imagined a last minute guest just walked in and immediately pinched Huiqin and ask her "What colour?" Then after everything when it's time to lift the veil and kiss the bride, I lifted the imaginery veil and attempted to lick her nose.. Hhaaaahhaha.

Money

2009-04-19T23:25:00.000+08:00

Qin and I were totally broke after our first appt with HDB. Paid up the COV and all our savings were wiped out. I was wondering what to do when I remembered that I have some claims that I have spent for my company before. Quickly I went to dig up the receipts and started doing the claims... And the total amount added up to be SGD 1001 worth of claims.. Ha, instantly I became 1k richer.. Hee, thank God I remembered to claim....

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-04-19T10:01:00.003+08:00

11th of April is my birthday. This year's birthday's really unique.

Some of my church friends forgotten all about it and called me to apologized. My cell group gave me a pair of shoes which I just got the correct size recently. My card was in a bottle. It's still in the bottle as I cannot take it out. There is a person by the name of "Fake Love" who sent me an sms "happy birthday" that's all. WTH!!! So insincere. To be honest, I felt insulted. Such a cheap sms might as well don't send. "Fake Love" really lives up to his name. Even a system generated sms can do better than that. Then on the actual day of 11th, I was in the office working. I bought a cake myself and gathered my colleagues and asked them to sing happy birthday song for me. I then cut the cake while they all went back to their respective areas to work. I distributed the cake and begged them to eat. Some did some were too busy to do so.

Nah, some of the above are true some are not... Ha.
This is a bo liao post.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Ken.

Human Resource Management

2009-04-14T23:29:00.002+08:00

As he came into the room, his tatoos were standing out like a rose in a desert. Under the warm light, his skin was glowing. Clearly, many years of hard work under the sun cannot be hidden under his simple T-shirt. As he walked closer, the tatoos became more obvious and the pictures start to come alive. It's as alive as the owner. Perhaps as dead...

The talk began and how heavy the conversation it was. Before long, tears flowed. Voices begin to change and the atmosphere shifted. The tough has relented. Relented under the power of the Dollar. It all boils down to bread and butter. It has already been decided. A decision that was totally uncomfortable and in my opinion, uncalled for.

In anycase, what can one person do? The vote has been casted. I was called in. Called in to do escorting. Something that was tough. The walk was so long and the silence was so deafening. The tension - unbelievable. There's was real stress.

I thought of his kid, my heart grew soft. He thought of his daughter, tears flowed. I asked "What are your plans now?" He only replied "Plans, What plans? No plans." What can I do? He is just one of the many to come.

Today I'm glad that payday is in another 6 days' time.

Today, I know a man is made jobless.

Parable of the 5 cockroaches

2009-04-11T00:48:00.003+08:00

Ahmad, Ali, Faizal, Hoirul and Kamaruddin are 5 cockroaches. One day they decided to move their home to Blk 410 rubbish chute. As they cannot take it that people are throwing rubbish down at their faces literally, they decided to climb up to the top. As they climb and climb, they saw some light and decided to creep into a HDB unit that has a gap at the bin.

As they got in, they were so happy and started enjoying themselves to the food and drinks. They roamed around like no cockroach's business. Suddenly, the owner came back and switched on the lights.

Ahmad who was on the kitchen table tried to run and the owner tried to scare him away. Then it was Ali who was at the fridge. When the owner open the fridge, Ali courageously ran into the fridge and hid behind the ice maker. The owner had a hard time trying to lure him out. As the owner tried, the ice box dropped and Ali ran to the floor. Faizal on the other hand, was hidding amongst the clothes and as Faizal usually eats a lot, he was an obese personnel. Nevertheless, the owner spotted him.

While trying to look for the insecticide, the owner spotted Hoirul who was at the computer table and also Hoirul was just trying to flap his wings. Then there was Kamaruddin as well who was at the kitchen cabinet.

The owner was furious and threw newspapers at them. Then out came the insecticide. As it was for mosquitoes, the owner had no choice but to spray this useless insecticide at Ali and he made his way pass the fridge area to the next insecticide. This time, the owner got hold of the stronger insecticide. He started firing at will and before too long, the bottle of insecticide was totally expended. 1 mag of 30 rounds was clearly not enough. 2 bottles were used and the whole house was filled with insecticide. The owner went to bathe but still the smell was overwhelming. It was a Mansionette but it was still extremely smelly upstairs. The owner decided to bring a laptop to a nearby 24 hr Mac and recorded this incident on his blog.

End of report.

the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2009-04-04T01:01:00.002+08:00

Since the DAY, I have slept a total of approx 10 hrs. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. There are people who make things happen and people who wait for things to happen and some wondered what happen.... I do not know why some people at senior positions can be so small in their thinking. No spirit of excellence. Cannot be bothered to think ahead. lazy. Incompetent. Some people are slow. They are very trying but seriously, you are way too slow. I want this piece of work done 5 hrs ago and you're still working on it? Poor IT skills. Is it my fault that you do not have proper training in IT? Sometime people like to blame everyone else for things. Is it my fault that you do not have a better education and thus cannot command a higher pay? Come on get real. This is life.

There are just so many things that I wanna do but cannot due to my time in work. Wonder how's Jan doing...Hope he is recovering well. Hope that everyone's BF will be fulfilled. Hope that Easter is well prepared. Totally no time to prep. I need to sleep. Working tomorrow. and probably the day after too.

D-Day

2009-03-31T21:19:00.003+08:00

1st April is the D-day... and it's 2 hrs plus away. Been preparing for this all these while. So busy, and tired too. It's been taking up to 14 hrs of my daily time. Today will be a long night. I wish all will go well.

The Doctor found dead in Melbourne

2009-03-11T18:27:00.004+08:00

We know his name is Alex. However, I just got an e-mail and it apparently is a suicide note that he send just before he was found dead at a bridge in Melbourne, Australia.

Here's an extract...

Well.... I will not put up the who e-mail. But it sure is sad to read about this young man who had such potential to seek death as a solution. I feel for him, perhaps cos I was in SAF before and I am around his age too....

Sad.

Interview

2009-03-01T19:51:00.002+08:00

Quick Update. Most people who apply for managerial positions / leadership positions read the newspapers. They are aware and they at least read up The Straits Times (one of the world's worst newspapers). People applying for lower level jobs generally do not read the papers and are ignorant of what's happening out there.

The impression is form when the candidate walks to his seat. The rest of the interview is just to confirm that first impression.

Attitude not only determines altitude, it determines if you'll every get to be airborne or not. People with lousy attitude will definitely fail the interview. Pride comes before a fall.