Photos for Taiwan Hong Kong Trip (12 July to 25 July 2008)

Finally got round to uploading my photos somewhere. Not all of them of course.. only selected few are uploaded and I have decided to upload them onto my facebook. Here are the links for your viewing pleasure.

Day 1 & 2 - Arrival in Taiwan and sight-seeing around Taipei. Visited TPE 101, a lot of memorial halls, went ferris wheel, shilin and shida night market.

Day 3, 4 & 5 - On local tour to Alishan and Sun Moon Lake.

Day 6 & 7 - More sight-seeing in Taipei. Visited Jiu Fen, Dan Shui and went hot spring.

Day 8 - First day in Hong Kong. Technically speaking, we were in Macau rather than Hong Kong. Stayed in Venetian and had crab porridge.

Day 9 & 10 - My adventures in Disneyland. Yes, I spent 2 days in disney.

Day 11, 12 & 13 - Visited Lantau, Sai Kung and the peak. Of course and lotsa shopping.

I want to go overseas again! Do not mind going Hong Kong again.

Life and How to Survive It

I thought this was an interesting article. Just to share... Got it via an email from a friend...

The author of The Teenage Textbook (1988) - Adrian Tan, was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.

Life and How to Survive It

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It's a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practicing at home during conversations between her and me.

On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.

Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.

And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you've already won her heart, you don't need to win every argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.

The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You're done learning.

You've probably been told the big lie that "Learning is a lifelong process" and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters' degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don't you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.

The good news is that they're wrong.

The bad news is that you don't need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You're in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.

I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I'm here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you'll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.

Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they're 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn't meet their life expectancy.

I'm here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it's calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don't need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese have a term "Karoshi", which means death from overwork. That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there's nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There's a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are "making a living". No, they're not. They're dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.

I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn't do that, I would've been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction - probably a sports journalist.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don't imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I'll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don't, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I'm not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.

It's not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it's often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one's own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn't say "be loved". That requires too much compromise. If one changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It is far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work - the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We earn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn't happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.

You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don't, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don't work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

You're going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there's no life expectancy.

Record breaking

I have a love hate relationship with holidays. I love them coz I get to play and slack and do nothing. Or rather, do nothing work related. But I hate them because I spend all my money away, and the before and after holidays working hours are simply MADNESS! Argh... I hell of broke record now. I was away for 2 days to Genting, happily doing nothing except eat, sleep, walk and watch TV. Then I came back to office, to a table filled with queries, in-tray bursting soon and mailbox full of unread emails. And I still have my project to settle. So... end up, I broke my personal record today by leaving office at 1130pm. Sigh... who says civil servant very good life? Not if you hold a degree...

Anyway, I am so looking forward to my TW/HK trip in July. Taiwan... here I come!! Hong Kong.. here I come AGAIN!

Okay, back to work. Brought it back home coz I work better anywhere except at my work station (unless it is when everyone has home).

Something happy to share...

I received an email today informing me that I have won the Service Excellence Award for the period Jan - Mar 08 (amongst many others, of course). It was nice to know that someone recognised what I have been doing. =) JIA YOU!

More photos to share

I finally got round to loading my photos onto the computer and so here's some of them..

My brother has finally graduated! Congratulations brother! Wish you all the best with SAF. whahaa...

I had to take leave to attend the ceremony. Boring as usual. But the interesting part was the dance at the end. However, I still prefer the procession of my convocation. Feels grander...Aiyo... there is not need to fight for your diploma. Everyone gets ur share... Provided you work hard lah. My brother nv work hard enough so now have to fight with his friend for the diploma. tsk tsk... My cousin's wedding. Took all shots of weird photos.. although I was not feeling well and contemplated not going, I was glad I still went coz I had a lot of fun. Simply love my cousins...

This photo is so sweet....

My cousin's hubby looks very decent right? Heard that he is quite rich... Happy Wedding cousin!

Everyone said my cousin looks like my aunt. What's your take?

As usual, chinese wedding starts late. I am so hungry that I wanted to eat up my cousin...Was so bored that I tired to take some artistic shots. Also took the chance to take photos with all my cousins, uncles and aunties.

Isn't this cup pretty? It was clear but I dunno why it turned out purple. Probably due to the lights.The pretties and hunks sitting with me...

My parents. I think they are hoping that we all get married soon too. Sian...Gathering at the second table. We had a third table but the photo ain't with me...Well.. Chinese Wedding is very boring.. as usual.. so we decided to self entertain..

I love the chicken so much!! *muack muack* Candice was eyeing my chicken in the background...

Here I am, looking smug that I have kissed the chicken. Meanwhile, Candice was trying to think of a way to get the chicken away from me.

After much wrestling, she managed to get my chicken away from and it became my turn to sulk. Not fair loh! She's so big sized and I am so petite. Big bully small...

My cute baby cousin! OMG.. he like a Michelin baby... gosh...

Just look at his cheeky smile... so CUTE!!!OH god... cutie cutie...

More photos up when I have time to write. Time to sleep...

Singapore Flyer

wow... I went up on the Singapore Flyer today... A magnificent sight at the top of the wheel. Except that the time passed too fast and we had to come down. Well... but I doubt I will be back again lah, maybe after the IR is up.

Well.. some photos to share...

Photo taking started from the bottom of the flyer...

My dear and I...

My family!

As the flyer is very very high, I could only managed to catch a portion of it from the bottom. Not a bad shot right?

Yeah! We are finally going onto the flyer. Was pretty surprised to find security checks...
From daylight... To sunset...
To nightview...

Magnificient!

How can we miss a group photo at the top of the ride?

Its finally time to go home! I am now pretty hooked onto the flyer. Cannot wait for IR to be up!

See you soon, Singapore Flyer! (PS: I took this photo by putting the camera on the floor. Quite pleased with the photo... hehe)

Today is "Eat With Your Family Day" !

A colleague forwarded this to me and I thought this is really apt since most of my dear friends would have just started working. And I believe that everyone will be fighting to build career and putting in super long hours. Even for those who are studying, all the work are going to occupy a lot of our time. Please take some time to spend with your family members. You seriously will not know what is going to happen tomorrow and I am sure you do not want to regret not having spent more time with them.

Anyway, here is the article for your reading pleasure. I hope I have not infringed any copy right.

Overwork: The socially acceptable addiction
By Chua Mui Hoong

THIS is the day you should stop work early, head home, whip up some yummy dishes for your kids and have dinner at home. It's Eat With Your Family Day today.

Tomorrow marks the start of a month-long calendar of activities to celebrate families, an annual fiesta organised by the National Family Council.

Chances are, you didn't know all that. Chances are, you'll be working late again tonight. Chances are, you'll say it can't be helped and anyway you can have dinner with your family and kids some other time.

Which are all true.

Except that often, that 'any time' becomes tomorrow, next week, next month - and before you know it, it's three months and you haven't made it home for dinner.

And one day you leave the office early because you're so sick that all your colleagues beg you to go back so they won't catch your nasty virus; you walk out of the building to your car, look around and wonder why things look so different - and you realise that, hey, it has been months since it was still light when you knocked off work.

Many career-minded professionals I know would identify with the feelings above.

But chances are, most would shrug it off as the nature of things, just the way things are in hard-driving, hard-driven Singapore.

But they would be wrong.

Many Singaporeans are hardworking. But some routinely clock in 12- to 14-hour workdays and remain glued to their Blackberries on weekends and holidays.

What they don't know is that hard work can cross the line easily into overwork. And that overwork is a disease that causes havoc in one's personal life.

At its extreme, it can kill.

Last week, I wrote in The Sunday Times about infidelity as a threat to happy marriages. One comment on this issue came from an astute woman, who said that infidelity takes many forms - and that work is the 'mistress' of many Singaporean husbands.

In fact, overwork is an even more insidious destroyer of families because it disguises itself as responsible breadwinning behaviour.

The key is to recognise when the line between hard work and overwork gets crossed.

To me, hard work is putting in effort to do your job the best you can - but without sacrificing your own health or mental well-being, and without sacrificing your closest relationships.

Things usually start well.

You love what you do. You're talented at it. You don't mind the long hours and the unpredictable weekends that get burnt to finish up a project.

Yet another year rolls by when you celebrate your birthday, or your wedding anniversary, at your desk - and you shrug it off.

It's just another day, after all. You can make it up to her, or him, some other time.

You miss your children's milestone events. Soon, you're scheduling all your family time around the spare slots you have on your work calendar.

Can't take a vacation in June, there're all these board meetings. Not in July either - it's the mid-year stock take. August is terrible as all the ang mohs go away for their summer leave, leaving us locals to carry the load. September is when next year's strategic review takes place.

And before you know it, another year has gone by, you haven't taken a proper break with family or friends - and the whole cycle repeats itself.

Those caught up in this cycle think it's okay because they get well rewarded as the responsibilities pile on.

I know because I once subscribed to that workaholic ethic.

In my 20s, I was as achievement-oriented as they come. Fourteen-hour days didn't faze me. I used to volunteer for weekend duty. I loved the thrill of travelling on back-to-back overseas assignments. Birthdays and Christmases were just another work day.

As my regular readers know, my wake-up call was a cancer diagnosis at 33. I'm in remission now, but I have learnt to approach work differently: not as the be-all and end-all of my life, but as a purposeful activity I enjoy but won't sacrifice health and family for.

What workaholics fail to see is that work can be an addiction.

But unlike more common addictions like gambling or pornography, they get rewarded and praised for indulging in their addiction to work.

Not for nothing is workaholism called the 'socially acceptable addiction'.

How does one know if one's capacity for hard work is actually addiction to overwork in disguise?

Litmus test 1: When those closest and nearest to you start to tell you so, or worse, start to discount you from their plans.

When your spouse complains of neglect. When your kids stop asking you to play with them because 'Mummy's always busy'. When relatives stop inviting you to gatherings because they know you'd never make it anyway.

But, as with any addiction, the common response to others' concern is denial and externalising of blame.

Of course you're not a workaholic, you reason. Why, you just spent the morning on the golf course (never mind that it was with colleagues, talking about work).

You don't have a problem. The problem lies with your family, who don't appreciate your hard work to give them a good life and, worse, are being so demanding.

This denial is common with addicts.

Those closest to us are often the first to recognise the symptoms of addiction and to urge change. Addicts avoid these people as they don't wish to give up their addiction.

Litmus test 2: What do you do on your days off and vacation? If you head back to your office to 'catch up' on work undone, you have a problem.

An article in The New York Times last year on this issue noted: 'Chances are you're a workaholic if you feel compelled to work for the sake of working and you feel panic, anxiety or a sense of loss when you aren't working.'

Another good reality check: When was the last time you had a weekday dinner with your family?

If it was more than a month ago, you could do worse than head back home to Eat With Your Family today.

MIA-ing

wah sey!~ I have not been blogging for like 5 months plus. For those who have been missing me, I am so sorry about it. But if you have noticed, I have been putting bits of updates on my tag board.. haha...

The past 5 months has been real hectic. I cannot believe that nearly half the year is just gone. 2007 still seemed to be like yesterday. Working has really taken the toil on me. I simply do not feel like doing at home except to check email and rot… cannot be bothered to touch anything else… And I have been really really busy with something during end April and I went home like at 9pm nearly everyday.

I really really miss school. Not pri, sec or JC but university. I really miss the long long holidays! I only have 18 days leave and a handful off days now. How can have enough rest? Sigh…

But I am trying to take a few short breaks here and there. I am planning for a long holiday to Taiwan and Hong Kong in July. Sigh… but holiday equal to spend money. Sian…

Some little highlights of the year to keep everyone updated on my life. Starting from the latest news. Nope, I am not getting married yet. I will keep everyone updated on that bit of juicy news.

1. I attend my cousin’s wedding dinner. 2nd dinner of the year and 2nd dinner at the Marriot Hotel. Will have another Marriot Wedding at the end of the year. Well, have not seen this cousin for donkey years but at least she bothered to come back to announce her wedding. Her husband seemed like a nice guy so I wish her all the best. We took some stupid photos at the wedding. Will upload once I get them from my sister. Josephine is also getting married at the end of the year. I am sooooo looking forward to being her jie mei to tease her hubby. Good Luck Mark! Prepare lotsa buddies to help you wor.

2. I went to the zoo on Mother’s Day. Finally. I have not been there like in donkey years. The last time I went was when I was in Secondary 2 and that was like 10 years ago. OMG… this goes to show how old I am. We walked around the whole zoo for the entire day and while it was very tiring, I had great fun. And zoo have this promotion that you can get all the photos you have taken in the zoo for $55 bucks, together with 3 prints, soft copy and complete with a thumb drive wor. Not bad right? Everyone who went to the zoo with me.

3. Went for Higher First Aid course and now taking the MOI course. HFA was quite fun but MOI is very boring. After I passed, I can teach and get an extra source of income. Now, maybe I should consider being a NRC accredited CPR instructor?

4. Fell sick dunno how many times. My gastric isn’t very healthy recently. I went Genting in Jan with my friends (going in June again, sian…) and I had very bad gastric pains. In the end I only spend half the day at the amusement park outside and a little bit of time inside. My gastric gave me problems over the last weekend again. Still feeling quite lousy now. Hopefully I do not fall sick while I am overseas again. Waste money leh…

5. Busy busy busy with work. Haha.. as usual…

I can only think of so much so far ba. The rest are not worth mentioning or were sad things and should not be mentioned at all.

I will try to post more blogs. See ya again till my next post! =)

2008 resolutions

It’s a new year. Time for a reflection of 2007 and to set 2008’s resolution.

2007 wasn’t a very wonderful year. My only recollection of the year was really a lot of work. First half of the year was spent in lab and rushing for thesis. The second half of the year was split between work and tuitions. Not to mention all kind of stupid incidents stuffed in between. Things only start to get better towards the year. The really big highlight of the year was probably my Hong Kong trip. I really enjoyed myself and I really want to go back to Hong Kong again.

Anyway, the biggest lesson learnt for 2007 is to learn to give myself some breathing space and to learn to communicate properly. So, here come my 2008’s resolutions.

Give myself more time for myself.
May all the pimple scars on my face disappear.
Pack my room. I want to get myself a book shelf.
Visit Hong Kong again.
Go Taiwan, Bangkok, Redang and Krabi.

I think these are enough to last me through a year. Let’s review in 2009 and see how many of these have I achieved. Jia you!

Missing in action

Wow.. have been a long time since I blogged. I guess working has really taken the toil on me.

December was a madness month. Work was crazy with the new policy changes coming up and lotsa testing to do. But it was a celebration month.

My office had a end of year party on 17th Dec but sadly, it was a very busy day so I couldn’t get away to attend the party. The first thing that greeted me when I got to office was lotsa balloons on the roof of the lift lobby. So happy. And I could not resist the temptations of bringing come back to my work station. And I was very happy when my colleagues gave me more balloons. Went for chalet after work and brought 8 floating balloons from Clarke Quay down to Pasir Ris by train. Haha..

Chalet was very wonderful. I simply love family gatherings. So many ppl, so noisy but always fun and happy. I finally got a chance to wear my blades out. I survived the 1st hr unharmed. But I wasn’t so lucky during the 2nd hr. My wheels got stuck in a hole and I tripped, scraping my poor thumb as a result. Well, a lesson learnt. And I really loved the playground at Pasir Ris park and I had a lot of fun with my cousins. Would really love to go back to Pasir Ris park again.

December was a time for my dear as well. Went batam for a short trip. Well, we really nv do anything much except to watch a lot of tv programmes. I have never watched so much tv programmes in a month when I am at home. Nonetheless, it was a very nice and relaxed trip. Except that the stupid custom at Harbourfront spoilt everything.

And finally it was Christmas and New Year. Never really went partying but was very happy to have a lot of presents from my colleagues. The presents were all left on my table while I was away on leave and it was really really a nice surprise to have time. But I feel so guilty for not buying them anything. Will do it the next time round.

Finally it’s the end of the year. Sending Huimin’s birthday away and welcoming Yong Kiat’s bday. It’s a new year so may everyone have a superb year ahead! Time to come up with some new year resolutions.

a pig test

A friend sent this to me and i thought that it was really quite fun. At first i seriously thought that this is only a game but I was surprised to find that it was actually a personality test. Quite accurate but 听听就好. haha..

anyway, here's the link for those who are interested.

Here's my pig!

And here's my analysis:

Your choice of background shows that you are responsible, straightforward and a realist but can sometime appear confrontational and challenging. (okay, this is kind of true. I sometimes come across as too confrontational. But I really wasn't thinking about anything except for the fact that orange suits the colour of the pig better.)

The direction your pig is facing indicates you being direct and straightforward, you will not avoid confrontation when hard decisions are needed. You will play devil's advocate to ensure that all possible avenues have been explored. (very true indeed. i hate to beat about the bush. As for the devil's advocate part, I always think of myself as too critical.)

The amount of detail in your pig means you are analytical, cautious and sometimes suspicious. (well, I dun usually trust people very much. =p)

Because your pig has four legs, some may say you are stuck in your ways but actually this reflects your strong beliefs and your stubbornness in defending them. (haha.. i am well known for being stubborn.)

The larger the pig's ears, the better listener you are. (okay, I admit that I am a lousy listener. But I just thought those small ears are so kawaii!)

The longer your pig's tail, the better your sex life – need we say more! (no comments on this...)

CPF changes

Hey all, long time no update. I am back, with something on a more serious note.

In view of the recent CPF changes that is going to affect all of us, I strongly encourage everyone to read this article. Start saving for retirement now. Meet up with your financial advisor and you will be very surprised with how bad your financial status is and the amount of money you will need to save for your retirement nest.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/mom_speeches/2007/20070919-Speech_by_Dr_Ng_Eng_Hen_Minister_for_Manpower_.html

I know many of us are still finding a job, changing jobs and the furthest we can think about is getting a car and a house. But, seriously, it is always much better to start planning for retirement young as compounded interest will result in a substantial sum of money.

Seriously, I am sure those who read my blog are my close friends. As a friend, I really encourage everyone to meet up with a fiancial advisor and start planning your money now.

On a side note, yesterday I was a super duper blur girl. I cannot believe I actually mixed up the date for my exam!! OMG...

long time no see

This is a long mia period. I really think that working can really make someone age very fast and gets very tired easily so I have not been updating. Sorry wor…

October was supposed to be a happy month. It is my birthday month and its signifies the official end of ALL my tuitions. So happy!

Talking about my birthday, really got to thank my JCs friends for the very pleasant surprise. It was very sweet. Thanks ppl! Also got to thank my family for the nice birthday cake. Thanks Ailing for meeting up with me on my birthday despite not sleeping for 24 hours. Thanks Joven for her birthday wishes from Japan. Thanks Chris, BY and Ju for the nice company and dinner. I especially enjoyed the super hilarious pool session. Thanks my uni ppl for the super early celebration. And not to forget, thank you all those who remembered my birthday! I think I have got to a point where meeting up with people during my birthday is more important then bothering about birthday presents. So far, I only have 2 birthday presents wor. Haha…

But apart from tuition, and birthday, my happy days are limited.

Work was really okay. Apart from having to deal with irritating people who kept calling me, stupid ppl who ask stupid questions and dumb ppl who do not know how to follow simple instructions. Work load was fine but I just get very irritated when some ppl are just so irritating. Already say cannot, then still come and ask. How stupid can they get? Plus I sit in front of the section who have agitated people coz they work with even more irritating ppl. Sometimes, I just get irritated listening to them. If not for my music, I will probably.

To add to my troubles, I had my placement exam this month. OMG.. they all bluff me. say very easy one. Where got loh? Open book not very much use leh. And listen in class oso not much use coz they nv explain much in class oso. End up, I smoked my way through the entire paper. Pray hard that I can pass. In addition, I had my first FA paper. I finished a 2hr paper in 45mins and passed. Heng ah.. coz I did not have much time to study. I speed read 5 chapters in half a day in office. Feel so guilty loh.

I cannot explain why I do not feel happy. Somehow, I simply feel down. Anyway, I hope this feeling will pass very soon. I do not like it when I keep complaining.

Resolution of the month: BE HAPPY!

Some last thoughts: Love is really like a journey. You went on it without knowing what is in store. The further you walk, the greater the inertia to stop moving or turn back because you always tell yourself: I have already gotten so far. So sometimes, even if you know that you are on the wrong track, you might just ignore the signs and continue walking, hoping that somehow there will be a different ending or that this road will bring you to where you want to in the end.

life is so short.

Exactly. So we should be making full use of our lives and do something meaningful with it right?

I have been living on earth for more than 2 decades. But why do I feel like I have not been making good use of my 24hrs a day. I am always rushing from place to place and making use of my time. I always thought that waiting is a total waste of my precious. My life is packed with activity but why do I still feel so empty?

For many months, I have not been able to have a good conversation with my parents. I have never had time to think of what I want to do today because my calendar is forever packed with stuff. I have not been able to play games with my cousin, chase them around the place and read to them. I have not been able to notice the rising bright sun as I am always running off. I have never been able to notice that pretty little flower that was sprouting from the grounds. I do not have time for my friends. No time to go to the gym. And my shopping time is actually time between tuitions.

I simply do not know how to put down everything. But all I know is that I have failed to realize that life is much prettier if I simply slow down my footsteps and give myself some breathing space.

I just feel so tired… I want to be a good friend, good gf, good daughter but I seemed to be failing in everything I do. I am really tired of running around. I want to slow down my footsteps and appreciate all that is going around me. I want to be able to stroll home without worrying that someone will call me and start scolding me for being home late. I want to sit in the library and read my favourite books and drink a nice cup of smoothie. I want to go blading in East Coast. I want to go Hume Park swimming. I want to go Sentosa and sit them and bask in the wonderful sun. I want to try out Settlers' Cafe. I want to go Essential Brews and chat with my friends just like the good old days. I want to meet hz everything weekend like we used to. There is so much so much I want to do but 24hrs a day and 7 days a week is simply not enough.

I wish time can fly faster so that this year can be over. If I was given a choice to start my life again, I will definitely not choose this path today.

Life at work

well.. after graduation is working time right?

I started work even before i graduate and even before i went to hong kong. Well.. most ppl tell me that i am wasting my leave but i am totally okay, because i get a paid graduation trip. Not many ppl do, you know.

Well, first few days of work was a lot of theory. There are so manyyyyyyyyyyyyy policies, new rules and stuff to learn. Den my computer took very long to set up oso loh. Initially it was a lot of reading and learning. After a while the work load starts to come in.

Now I am nearly 2 months into the job and I am swamped with work. Got letters to send, appeals to look into, courses to attend and briefing to go to. To make things worse, I am sick now which means that work is going to be even more on Monday.

But then, even though work is very heavy, I love my colleagues.

Those who sat near me were very helpful and funny. I am always disrupting them to ask questions but they are always very nice to me. My other colleagues are also very nice. Lunch is usually a lot of laughter. But as we have too many ppl, it wasn't always very easy to find seats.

But still, one has to look towards the future. I am still looking forward to my 10k job. whahaha..

Convocation 2007

Convocation took place on 23rd July 2007. After 41 modules, 7 exams, 4 years of university life, 2 months of waiting, 1 FYP, 1 poster presentation, 1 oral presentation, it is finally graduation time!

Ceremony was boring and most ppl choose to skip it. But to me, a graduation ceremony is the only reason why we need our gowns. haha.. and its a time to catch up with friends and take photos. My only regret is that I nv took much photos with me parents and my ah ma.

My parents, my sister and my Ah Ma who came down to see me graduate. The day my parents have been waiting for.

While most ppl chose to buy flowers, my sister decided to make me a bouquet of flower. So sweet hor...

My dear who came down for my ceremony as well. =) thanks! muackz....

My bro rushed down from school to come oso. The only photo i took with him leh.. haha.. should have taken more. But its okay lah.. I am intending to go take studio shots.

Another pseudo-studio shot. I realised that I really quite looked like my father. haha.. But i dun want to be as fat as him. whaha..

My all time best-est friend. My labmate, tutorial mate, gossip mate and complain mate. haha.. this girl helped me through boring university life. I will miss you girl!

My uni clique. Aiya.. so sian loh.. we can nv get a group photo. This is the best we can get liao... even then, we still have 3 missing heads.

Huishan (my fyp mate), Dr Liang and Me. Finally managed to get a photo taken in Dr Liang's room. haha.. I am really grateful to Dr Liang for all his help during FYP. I really nv thought what my life would have been if not for him. He really made my FYP days much better. Thanks Dr Liang!

And how can i forget my labmates who have gave me so much help? Especially to Rao Feng who has taught me a lot of things and to Kong Rong who is always there to help me pick up my FPLC mess and solve my problems. Thanks guys!

Congratulations to me! You are finally an NTU graduate! Oh.. i forgot to mention that i simply love my gown colour. I think its very natural and nice. Matches our course prefectly.

hong kong trip 15th to 20th

wow.. i TWO months nv post blog liao leh.. anyway.. since i am on MC today, i shall do some work and start posting some blogs...

This Hong Kong trip was the first that I have been where I do not have any buses to bring me around, I have to pay for my own food and I have to think of where and how to get to a certain place. But still, I quite like the trip, despite some unhappiness here and there. Anyway, let’s jus let the photos do the talking…

Day 1
Daddy sent me and willie to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. Den my cute ah ma wants to come along too. I think she bu fang xin her dear granddaughter fly off on her own. Anyway, looking at the photo, I realized that I actually bear resemblance to my Ah Ma leh. Right?

Yeah! Finally at Hong Kong airport. My first meal in HK is not dim sum or anything near. It’s the ramen at Ajisen. I heard that they have different things from SG and it tastes better than the ones in SG. I tot the ramen was really quite nice and I think I should check out the ones in SG. My plane mate, Willie. We were supposed to fly to HK to meet Guan Hua and Huimin and the best part is that we have never met each other prior to this. =p

The hotel which we stayed at. Very small but still.. it is wonderful. I will recommend anyone to stay there. They have free internet access within the room and outside the room. And the place is not too small and very clean. The best thing is that the place is very accessible. Wonderful!

The first local delicacy which I tried in HK was 许留山. And I tell you… I am totally in LOVE with it!! OMG… I wish I could just bring it back to SG… the mango is so thick and nice… omg…yummy… simply heavenly… While we were at central, I decided to try my hands at some artistic photos. I love this. Although I think it can be improved. Can u feel the clouds moving? The sky is always blue in hk and the clouds are always so huge and fluffy.This was the roof of Times Square which I tot was very nice. While trying to capture the roof, I got this very nice photo of huimin. But she insists that its is not nice…For dinner, we went to try 唐朝. I think we had 鲜虾云吞面 which was only so-so. But the 杏仁paste was very nice… Yummy……… At night, we did a night market marathon. We started walking from Prince Edward’s MTR with Fa Yuen Street and ended up at Jordan MTR with Temple Street which was just to our hotel. The best part? We only took like 1hr to walk through.

Day 2 We went Ocean Park today! Wow… so nice.. I felt like I was a child all over again. The rides were quite fun. I had a virgin ride on a roller coaster that turns 360° turn. I oso went on the free-fall drop. Wow… tt was shiok… but it was so high up that I dun dare to look down.

Our first stop was to visit panda bears. So cuttteeeeeeee……And their souvenir shop has this very cute panda bag. Well… since I cannot foresee myself carrying such a cute bag, I shall take a photo as a souvenir.We also went on the cable car which was built along the mountains and right beside the sea.

Look at all the other cable cars! And the drop below… We got magnificent view of the sea on the cable car…so pretty… At night we went up the peak. Very wonderful view! But my night vision still not too good so I cannot really see very well.We also went to the wax museum. Here's huimin and me or rather only me, trying to act like a star.. wahah...Here’s me as the acting president. Whahaa…And this is my fav photo. I think I merge really well into the painting. Dun you think so? Well, realized no photo of food? Coz today’s meal was boring… morn was hotel breakfast. Lunch was mac at ocean park. This was slightly interesting though, coz I get to eat sausage mcmuffin in the afternoon. Dinner was burger king up at the peak, since we cannot find a decent eating place.

Day 3
Today’s a nice and peaceful day coz we went to Lantau island to visit the big bronze Buddha. *ew.. i look so fat....* The view up there was so super wonderful! And it was so windy!

Since we were there, we decided to try out the vegetarian meal at the temple. Surprisingly, the food was quite nice… look at the spread! To make our trip more interesting, we went in search of wisdom along the wisdom path. No regrets, although it was a long walk. It was very very very comfortable and cooling. So much so that I dun want to get down.

Can you see the wonderful view behind me?Oh, and I love this group photo. One of the very few that we took. Look at how insignificant we are posed next to the gigantic wooden sticks onto which the words of wisdom were engraved upon. Dinner was back at Citygates and we had fastfood again. This time it was KFC. Well, at least this meal was interesting as their KFC sell different things from ours. They have a greater variety of food apart from chicken. But I think the chicken in Singapore still nicer.And it was the start of a series of shopping. Wahaa...

We shopped at citygates and while we were going back, we did more shopping IN the mtr station. Wow.. if I was living in hong kong hor, I think my salary forever not enough for me and I will nv reach home. Oh… and we spotted this very pretty hello kitty cabin on display in the MTR. If only a real train was so pretty. Wahah…Total damage done:
1 jacket, 3 tops, 1 bag, 1 piggie cushion for my seat in office and 1 packet of sweets.

Day 4
Today is a feasting day.

We slept till 12 noon! Whaha… and we went out to have dim sum and roasted pigeon. Hmm… dim sum okay lah. The fried stuff quite good, but the rest only so so. And the pigeon very salty leh. But I love the porridge! Very nice…

See.. its so small...... Tsk tsk.. pigeon oso want to eat spring roll...
Den we went to kum tong to visit a factory outlet. Majority of the shops were not around already but I managed to buy a nice superman t-shirt.

After that, we went tsim sha tsui to shop around. Well, all the super high-end shops lah, nothing for me to see oso.

At night we went to see the symphony of night. Haha.. actually quite boring leh.. coz no fireworks. And quite confusing oso… trying to follow the lights.

But the view was very nice...

And there was a lee xiao long statue right in the middle of the avenue of stars. ah ta!!It was a super tiring day so not much photos taken. But we made an attempt to take a group photo while the four of us were squeezed on the same stretch of bench and trying to catch our reflection in the mtr. Our dinner cum supper. Well, coz we dun have time to have a proper meal lah. Only had a sandwich. This bowl of wanton noodles is pretty nice and its only S$2 wor. Yummy…
But the place is actually quite small.. very typical of the hong kong eateries we see on tv.. Day 5
For breakfast, we finally broke away from the hotel and went to try café de coral. Not bad leh… too bad we dun have time to try it again, other than a super rushed dinner at the airport.

We went macau today! We were all so broke (at least me and huimin) that we decided to buy the tickets online.. hwahaha...
And the others were so tired that they slept for the entire journey. Leaving me alone to take photos and to watch tv.
The ferry terminal was super duper packed lah. Wah lau.. the immigration at macau felt like a fish market. I wanted to take photo but was told that immigration cannot take photos. Too bad loh...

But anyway, it was a nice shopping cum eating trip. Although it was a very hot day..

Our first stop was to go shopping for almond cookies, rolls and peanut sweets. But apparently, even though i have already bought a lot, there was still not enough to go around leh. But they are very nice...... and the egg tarts were wonderful.. omg...

After that we made our way to St Paul's church. This was a way we had to pass by on our way to the church. I dunno its name but I just thought it looks very nice. see the clouds? so pretty...
St Paul's church. Or rather, the remains of the church. We managed to squeeze in time to take photo while we were waiting for a cab to go for our lunch. End up, we had to walk out to the main street to take a cab. 2 handsome and 4 pretties all in shades. haha.. only goes to show how sunny the day was...
This was the very very nice crab porridge which we had for lunch. For after lunch "dessert", we also went to try their renowned pork cutlet bun. Hmm… the pork too salty but the bun was pretty nice. wow.. tis looks really good in the photo right?

The last part of the trip was a visit to the casino. I tried my hands on jackpot and managed to won a little bit of money. And we shared money to bet on Big Small. We lost the first round but got back our capital on the second round. Den me n huimin backed out. whaha... we are very broke lah.. 50 is very precious to us leh...

We made our way back to hotel to put down all our biscuits before we went to try a seafood restaurant near our hotel. Hmm.. other the fish which was super super nice, the rest of the food was only so-so.

The highlight came when we went night market shopping. OMG.. Fa Yuen street is super nice to shop. We stopped at ladies’ street coz huimin cannot find her toilet den we have to go back to hotel. Den we continued at Temple street.

We really bought a lot of things and the guys were really nice enough to help us carry out stuff. They were helping me with my biscuits while we were in Macau (they were very heavy leh) and they still have to help me with my shopping.

Lesson learnt: always go shopping with guys around. Whahaa…

Total damage done:
8 tops, 1 skirt, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 t-shirts (presents for ppl), 3 bracelets and 1 necklace.

Day 6
We are going home today! We should be, since huimin and I are running super low on cash.

Breakfast was hotel breakfast since we were super broke. Wahhaa…

After which, we went to visit Wong Tai Sin Temple, a very big temple in HK.
After temple sight-seeing, we made our way to central in search of a very big LV.

For lunch, we went to eat roasted goose. The century egg very nice...The roasted goose was not too bad. the skin is very crispy but i still prefer duck though...
And on our way to the restaurant, we passed by Nine West which was having sale. As usual, huimin and I cannot resist walking in. End up, we each bought a bag from the same series but different designs. Very cheap leh, on 60% off loh. Wahaha.. so happy.

After lunch, we went to Mong Kok to buy 恒香 wife biscuits which was supposed to be very famous. Its really quite nice leh. I dun usually eat wife biscuits but this one is very very nice.

Since we still have time to spare, we went to try my 许留山 for the last time. As huimin and I needed the toilet, we went in search for it. At the same time, we went shopping and I was tempted to spend my last bit of money on clothes… whaah…

Sigh… after eating, it was time to go back to the hotel to pick up our stuff and to go home…

Shopping haven end yet. Haha.. it continued at the airport where I bought crispy kreme and some small stuff from the Disney store for my students and my cousins. No money to buy key chains for myself so I am going to ask my sister to buy for me when she is back in hong kong…

Time to go home!!
After a 4 hours flight, I am finally home!!

Total damage done from the trip…

Tonnes of food which I painstakingly hand carried up the plane.

Lotsa clothes, bags and shoes.

All these were bought at Fa Yuen Street. OF which 5 tops were bought at the same shop.
More tops accumlated from days of shopping. haha.. The t-shirts at the bottom were presents for ppl. They are very nice and damn cheap...My nice white nine west bag and my esprit bag. I oso bought a very nice esprit jacket...
My cute piggie!! And doremon sweets!Small trinkets for myself and a name card holder which i bought for hz at Lantau.And last but not least, stuff for others from the Disney store. The lollipops taste horrible although they are very cute. A bit waste money... but i thought the pens were very cute. I enjoyed this hong kong trip, esp the shopping! Wow… I am pretty sure that I will be back in hong kong next june or july for another shopping spree. Hong Kong, wait for me!!