All of Us TOgether Sure CAN - Thanks.Pardon.Ciao

Moving on again...today is my last day at work and will be taking 2 weeks hiatus from work. Well, am actually kind of glad to finally got out of the wretched company. But just 2 weeks ago...when Sichuan earthquake took away many lives and families, the company had an earthquake too...the ED, MD and the BD Director are all leaving by July this year...woah...lucky I made my move 2 months earlier huh? Hmmm but the MD had the same last day as me, which means he tendered earlier...serving his 6 months notice...hmmm...to believe he actually "try" to ask me if I would reconsider on a counter-offer or a job switch.

Oh well, wasn't really shocked about the news, rumours have it that the MD and the BD Director is leaving but was surprise that the ED is also ousted from her own company she started nearly 2 decades...office politics to the fullest...better than mediacorp drama!! Somehow these are all expected...it's only time.

Frankly I wouldn't really miss the people I'm working with...those foreign "talents" whom I've "grown" so fondly of and everyday I always ponder what are their talents? Skiving? Smoking out? Acting busy? Oh...the ever so difficult task of shaking their heads and not blinking a bit while they say things are tested and done!

Those I would miss are my customer and the users whom I've worked so closely with for the last 14 months. They, who see the worth in me and my contributions to the projects. They, who are ever so patient and understanding despite the problems due to the talents' incompetencies...and most importantly they, who encourage me to move on...haha...Well, I really wish them all the best. Thank you all!

Double Standards?!!

Everyday I ponder as I walked out of the door from the comfort of my sanctuary. Do I look like the world owe me a living? Or do I just look ultimately unfriendly? I'm vexed. I'm amused of the reaction that I get sometimes. I'm not sure.

I wonder are those "red haired" foreign talents - read ang mos - really more friendly than me or locals simply loved to suck up to them? Whenever I get out of home lately, I psyched myself to flash the best smile my facial muscle can flex after a night's rest to anyone I see but frankly more often than not, all I get were blank stares or even the "see through you" look. But amusingly, the ang mos who just shared the same lift as me walking behind, would get such a big "Good Morning!!" from the uncles sitting outside the lift lobby.

What the f**K was that?!! What did they do that I did not?!! Was their smiles more "colgatey" than mine?!!

Everyday I wonder do I not smile as "sunshinely" as them? Or maybe I should greet those uncles and aunties ever so loving-ly and loudly next time. I wonder "Did the ang mos recently gave them a treat of donuts and coffee or what?"

Recently a colleague of mine just mentioned that I always make her smile when she sees me in office and I joked "Do I have a funny face?" Her reply was that I had a cheerful personality. (Haha...how very wrong of her...maybe that's because I'm seldom in the office to begin with.) I was like "Yah..sure" Haha...then how come I don't get to see the uncles or aunties smile at me when I walk out of the lift lobby every morning?

Maybe it's time to practice those colgate moments more in the mirror or to admit that sucking up to ang mos - who are indeed more 'tua kee' than me - are the way of living in this Asian society...

Oh well...we see such double standards everywhere...starting from the time these ang mos boarded our national carrier...don't we?

Britain's Got Talents...Do We?

Have heard about Paul Potts for a while...so here's the clip which made my eyes wet everytime I watch it.

Though we do have all sorts of talent shows locally with the most recent one where 16 male and female contestants shows off their...erm..."talents" in acting cool, cute , slutty and whatever. But well to each his own...I'll reach for the remote everytime...

I wonder do we have gems like Paul Potts locally yet to be discovered and be polished to be a shining star...Just like what Simon Cowell sums up at the end of the clip..."...where somebody who isn't a professional and has a talent and isn't aware of it, has a normal job and you see something else..."

Commercial Breaks

张 - FedEx

Which is correct?
哪个张？弓长的张！哪个张？弓长的张！
Or is it?
哪个张？工厂的张！哪个张？工厂的张！

耳东＝陈
双木＝林
木子＝李
三画＝王

弓长＝张

Deh...Mumbai lah...India! - M1

欲说还休

少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼。爱上层楼，为赋新词强说愁。 
而今识尽愁滋味，欲说还休。欲说还休，却道天好个秋。

丑奴儿 ﹣辛弃疾

Selamat Jalan

(Extracts from CNA dated 10 March 2008)

The Police maintained that they believe he is still in Singapore as there is no evidence to show he has managed to leave the country. They also said there is no evidence that his escape was a result of help from others, although they are not ruling out the possibility.

警方是根据以下几点，认为他还没有逃离本地，这包括：他在逃离拘留所时，没有交通工具、身上没有携带钱或者是护照。此外，没有证据显示他获得其他人的支援，也没有消息指出他目前人国外。

Huh? WTF?!!

So he must still be in the country because he has

1. No Transport - cannot run away because he needs his EzLink card and he also forgot his car keys
   
2. No Money - cannot run away because he is cashless and we are still holding on to his ATM card and cash card
   
3. No Passport - cannot run away because he will need an immigration chop to cross the causeway or immigration at the airport
   
4. No friends - cannot run away because all his friends have turned their back on him BUT there still some possibilities that he still help from law-defiant friends
   

Woah...Such great press statement and such great criminal intelligence...

ORZ (五体投地)

Inaugural Flight

Was very grateful to have the opportunity to take the Singapore Flyer on it's Inaugural Flight. It was a nice experience but the hiccups and delayed departure definite was a damper. With unbearable hunger (supposedly to have food and drinks but there was not enough food to go around the 20 odd guest on board...almost everyone got only a miserable piece of 2cm x 2cm finger food) and basically not much to see up there as it's already dark and the reflective window doesn't help as if you don't stick your face (which I believe one is adviced not to) to the window, all you can see are the reflections of the cabin lights...haha...

I wonder if I would want to pay to go for another ride on my own in the near future...Hmm...not on my 'must-do' list at the moment I guess... ;-)

Sunrise

Turning 35

我笑了， 我又哭了

在晚报上看了一则报道，标题是：觉得很‘显’啊！工作倦怠症找上门。报道上写的一些症状，大多巳乎我都有。

• 类似自闭现像，不愿与同事接处 ﹣checked
• 身体容易疲劳 ﹣checked
• 工作成就感低 ﹣checked
• 失眠 - checked
• 工作效率降低 ﹣checked
  
• 感情疲怠 - Hmm....erm...don't think so
  

OMG!!

但看了建議，我笑了。

• 沟通澄清自己 ﹣谁不想，落花有意，流水会听吗？
  
• 了解自己的长处与短处 ﹣erm...
• 提升自己 - erm...
• 沟通, 沟通, 再沟通 ﹣哈哈哈哈
• 假设情况恶化，公司需要给予协助 ﹣erm...上司会怎么看你呢？

哈哈哈哈! 有点无聊吧。A Textbook guide on stress management...我看我也能成为顾问医生了！

今天听广播，听著那母亲的焦灼，突然感受到她的无助，孩子失踪了一个晚上，怎么办，怎么办？半小时后，听众捎来了找到孩子的消息。突然感受到她那一刻应该是喜极而泣吧。顿时，我哭了。新加坡还是人间有温情的。 再看了一些MC的相关报道，我又哭了。人真的要在走了后才会知道自己有这么多好友，有多么受爱戴吗？想想自己，如果走了有多少人会想起我？

有点无聊吧。我看我该去看医生了！

My Love Will Get You Home

If you wander off too far
My love will get you home
If you follow the wrong star
My love will get you home
If you ever find yourself lost and all alone
Get back on your feet and think of me
My love will get you home
Boy, My love will get you home

If the bright lights blinds your eyes
My love will get you home
If your troubles break your stride
My love will get you home
If you ever find yourself lost and all alone
Get back on your feet and think of me
My love will get you home

If you ever feel ashame
My love will get you home
When there's only you to blame
My love will get you home
If you ever find yourself lost and all alone
Get back on your feet and think of me
My love will get you home
Boy, My love will get you home
Boy, My love will get you home

- Christine Glass

如果还有明天

听到了MC King过逝的消息，当时在驾车，眼泪却在眼里打滚。真不知为什么，我从不曾与他认识却突然想到了此时丽梅的感触因该比我更大，更难过。很多画面在脑里闪过，这35年里从身边逝世的友人都突然闪过。由其是CM，我真的好想念你。和你的约定，至今还是我心里的一块遗憾。真的好恨，好恨。连你最后一个SMS也没有回到，连你逝世的消息也是从国外回来后才从同事口中得知。

刚上了丽梅的blog, 我哭了。

如果没有明天，我会做什么？真的无法回答。
如果还有明天，就好好的渡过吧。人生无常，就活在当下。

Ｓ謝謝你。

Days Gone By...Farewell 2007...Hello 2008...

Last year really went by in a flash...So many things happened in 2007.

Happy New Year!

Reality Checks

Expectations can be such a dangerous thing. When one is looking forward to something...one must also be prepared to be let down or disappointed one time or another. Some have commented that I often have a pessimistic outlook of life. But I guess I'm somehow trying to soften the blow of a disappointment if things don't work out as I hoped it would be.

Be it a relationship, a promotion, a meeting or many more goings in my daily life. I often tell myself to take it easy and be ready for the worst. Still I can't say I don't feel the tinge disappointment and frustration when things happened at the other end of the scale. Some say I don't take too well to things that don't turn out well...but do I? Maybe.

I often too ask myself what happiness is? I'm not too sure myself. Often little things that makes me happy are somehow tie to being having some expectations.

Waking up to see your loved one next to you...a simple smile, a peck on the cheek and a lazy "Good Morning". Enjoying a good cup of coffee and toasts while reading morning papers leisurely on a weekday. Taking a deep breath of the cool morning air. Running a good run. Holding hands. Having late night supper despite knowing the evils of it.

Not too tall an order I suppose? Only simple things that will be able to bring a smile of contentment on my face. But then again...when one has expectations of little happiness like these, it does come with the disappointments when one cannot enjoy it. Oh well...reality checks I suppose...

色易守，情难防

一句："快走"，带出了她心里的爱恨纠缠。也带出了当一个人在面对爱情的矛盾。

Vexed . Incompetence . Dejected

Received an interesting note from my senior management after urging the HR a couple of times over the last few months on my confirmation and pay adjustments which was 6 months overdue.

Dear Alex,

HR was brought to my attention that you have not been confirmed and we should rightly review your case.

Please make yourself available for a meeting between HR, you and I. We shall update XXX, your Operation Head, on the details finalized during our discussion.

Understand that the delay of your confirmation is partly due to YYY’s departure, your PM role expectation. We also want to take this opportunity to discuss about the intended plan of your PRD role next year.

Best regards

Vexed.

1. YYY (my current boss) only tendered his resignation in October but I was due for confirmation in June...so what got his departure got to do with the delay?
2. My PM role expectation. Was the delay due to my expectation of my role as the PM? Or was it that they think I did not meet their expectations as a PM?

Incompetence.

Just had lunch with my user last week and she made a comment. "Your company is famous for slipping the project schedule. The last PM had slipped the last project by a year! Thank goodness this time you only slipped a week."

Am I supposed to feel happy about the comment? I guess I should. Since taking up the project in March, step by step I try to solve the issues of hardware under specifications, incompatible in-house application software with the new proposed OS, near zero system administrator assistance, inexperience engineers over installation and network infrastructure or any system knowledge at all and buggy off-the-shelf software!!! Proposed deployment in end August but manage to deliver in 1st week of September. It was a great learning and hands-on (all by myself) experience for me no doubt but does the management see the efforts I put in? Incompetence? Was it really all me?

Two years in the row without any pay increment, bonus or even AWS since I left my 1st job while other's pocket just get fatter and coming with all sorts of reasons to adjust their own pay.

Time to move on...move on...

Feeling so so dejected.

Carpe Diem

The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn
There is no future
There is no past
I live this moment as my last
There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today

- RENT

Runspiration 2007

Did my first Singapore Marathon Run...okay...I only ran 10km...but at least I fulfilled my resolution of 2007 and did my personal best of almost under 1 hr...damn...hahaha :)

Home coming

In memory of 5 ordinary men - Stephen, Jeremy, Reuben, Boon San and Wei Cheng, whom left behind an extraordinary legacy to people like me whom never got to know them

Pulang marilah pulang
Marilah pulang bersama-sama

May you guys rest in peace and be always in the hearts and memories of many.

Random Rumblings...

Up Up

Bus Fare Up
Petrol Up
Flour Up
Petrol Up (Haiz...5 cts)
Bus Fare Up (Erm...wasn't it just adjusted in July?)
Petrol Up (Haiz...closing US$98...)
Paper Up

CPI Up Up Up

BUT

Petroleum Company's Profits Up
Public Transport Company's Profits Up
Ministerial Pay Up (Oh....that was in April)

How come my pay still not up?!


Screaming Vigilantes
Singaporeans had gone on the printed media and blog site of a "celebrity" blogger as the heroes to the damsels' rescue from an ang mo bullying the weaker sex. Wonder if one have seen the video on YouTube? Sorry for not linking here as I just can't stand the screaming and shouting of the vigilantes and the "victim(s)". See it to see who are the victims and who are the aggressors. I'm not saying that Singaporeans should not stand up to help other Singaporeans but then I do not know the actual facts of the events. So I shan't comment more.

If the one sided story published holds true, no doubt that the ang mo was wrong to hit on the girls...But the crux of the issue was that the self proclaimed "celebrity" blogger's bag did bumped into the lady, and did she remember to say sorry in the first place?

Come on, we get bumped by clueless people who had forgotten that their big bulky bag is part of their body once they donned it on almost everyday on MRT, buses and shopping centres. Most of the time we do not even get a word of sorry but instead some rude stares as if we are in the wrong to bump into their bag?!! The incident do not need to turn ugly if the "star" blogger in all her "celebrit-i-ness" could have minded her manners and said sorry in the beginning.