donkey @ loose

time flies and donkey is biding us goodbye. i have worked with him on his first engagement and the whole team (with goofy, scallop & pp) hit off well since then. we had lots of fun and laughter during the engagement, making the work seemed less stressful then. it is great sadness that we are going on separate paths to pursue different dreams...

there are many characteristics of him that leaves ‘deep impression’ to us which i thought i should probably share a few here.

he is someone,

who looks like the donkey in the movie, ‘shrek’, but refuses to acknowledge it.

who spends time styling his hair but looks like a ‘bird nest’ to us.

who gives the nickname ‘tian mu’ to pp and gets his ears pulled by her every time he says something wrong.

who subscribes to the daily horoscope via his handphone and takes heed to them at times.

who shows others the ‘tube’ video clip and gets excited over it every time he watches it again.

who crumples up the schedules that the client gives him.

who plays the role of ‘christine’ and gets goofy baffled during the engagement.

who eats up the client’s biscuits and yet blames us of having a share too.

who talks very loud over the phone as if someone has owed him a great deal of money.

who reminds us of the after 5pm ‘happy hour’ when he will start cracking jokes and making us laugh till our stomachs are in pain.

who sings real good and gets high singing david tao’s and jay chou’s songs during ktv.

well versed in geography and teaches scallop that london is in england and paris is in france.

donkey and me @ dinner and dance 2005

donkey, thanks for the wonderful times and from the bottom of my heart, i wish you the very best in your future endeavors! you will be greatly missed…

take care!

wee hours @ one raffles quay

it is in the wee hours of the night and i am still in office... trying to finish the work so that i can have a peaceful break next week.. there are a number of things i want to do during my break.. well, probably going to be a busy week as well, but i guess i will enjoy it much more.. meeting up with friends, reading some books, watching some movies or simply just day dreaming at home.. time to recharge my batteries and have some quality time with myself...

are many of us too immersed in our work that we forget how to communicate and understand ourselves better? to find out what we really want in lives or just letting ourselves go with the flow? probably time is a main factor since we are always occupied with the daily routine stuff that drain us so much.. the first thing we want to do when we get home is just to lie down in our beds and sleep.. before we know it, the new day has begun and the routine starts again.. will we ever get out of the cycle or the environment/circumstances just does not permit us, leaving us with little choices? or are we brave enough to make a U turn and go against the flow?

i guess i am currently with the flow, trying to anaylse the whole situation that i have put myself into.. keeping myself busy by observing what others are thinking and doing.. this makes everyday more interesting and fulfilling.. haha..

i hope i have the courage to make my U turn at the next cross junction...

a week @ work

wow… it was a busy week with a number of things happening in office. i was assigned to a new job at macpherson this week since my other job could not start on time.. how fascinated i was when i saw the client's office. it was an open concept where all the meeting rooms were glass paned and the partitions of the cubicles were low. you could see the expressions of everyone when they were having meeting in the room. haha.. how amazing.. my team got settled down in a smaller meeting room called ‘think tank III’ and i thought the name sounded quite interesting too.. however, the round table in the meeting room was not big enough for the 6 of us and 1 of the assistants had to work on the sofa outside the meeting room.. he looked quite cozy working there though. haha.. the team members were friendly and nice and 1 of them was my final year project mate in NTU.. i finally got a chance to work with her ever since we joined the firm.. haha.. we got busy flipping through the files, enquiring the client and documenting our findings throughout the week..

i also attended my firm’s annual dinner and dance this thursday (7 december 2006) at swissotel the stamford.. it was my 3rd time attending the dinner and dance and i wondered whether there would be a 4th time.. haha.. i shall wait and see till then.. everyone was dressed up for the occasion and it was a round of eating, drinking and photo-taking with the colleagues. as part of the entertainment programme, those new colleagues who had joined us recently were asked to put up performances according to departments. 6 departments participated and my department won the 3rd place, while the tax department emerged as the winner, 2nd time in a row. it brought back sweet memories when i recalled my 1st year joining the firm. i participated in the performance that year and we won the 1st place! it was the team effort of everyone and some of us got closer ever since.. i left around 11 plus after the lucky draw, winning nothing this year. a colleague in my department won the big prize of $5,000 travel voucher! haha… she was real lucky!

the team and our manager, chih shyan (4th from the left)

finally, my firm was busy shifting to our new office premise at one raffles quay on friday. all of us were busy packing our stuff last week, taking those that were needed and throwing away those unwanted ones. i was looking forward to the new office with new furniture and a pantry as well. haha.. i shall see the new office next monday then.. for remembrance sake, i took a few photos of the office where i had spent my last 2 ½ years busy working in before moving to the new working environment.

my workplace

this summed up the busy week and i could only get busier when the peak period is approaching.. shall brave myself through it one more time..

will it still be sunny?

the photo album was finally in her hands and she held it with thanks.. that was all we asked for.. it was a farewell dinner for our manager, swee ing who was leaving the firm on 15 November 2006.

she was the manager of the sunningdale (aka sunny) job for the last financial year. ms universe, babe and i would not have survived through that tough period without her. despite so many years in audit, she still had that sense of humor within her, making her a nice manager to work with. it was sad that she was leaving, but happy that she was going for greener pastures.

the 3 of us decided to make a photo album for her to remember the sweet memories she had with the firm. the sunny team members (past, present and future) gathered around to have their photos taken with her. of course, we wouldn't miss out the partner as well, chen.. haha..

the sunny family

ms universe bought the album, babe developed the photos and i brought the colour papers and markers. we went back to the office on monday night to rush out the photo album for dinner on tuesday. suddenly, it was back to the late nights, only this time, it was different. it was the thought of wanting to show our appreciation for a manager whom we had learnt so much from and would be greatly missed.

we set our creativity to work in designing every page of the album, from flowers to butterflies, from rabbit to snail or a page full of stars... it seemed like going back to the school days doing our art and craft.. haha.. everyone was contributing ideas and putting efforts to make the album look better. after 7 hours of cutting, pasting and writing, the album came 'alive'. we could not stop 'admiring' our hard work... cailing and ah tong lent a hand to make this happen too.. though we were mentally and physically tired, it was all worthwhile at the end..

this was what i had never anticipated when i was doing the sunny job. the job was tough, the hours were long and the only thought during that time was to get out of the job. it was easier said than done and we could only push on.. maybe the bonding and friendship built up along the way.. we encouraged and helped one another to overcome one obstacle after another.. luckily, swee ing was there to handle the bigger issues and the partner.. i guess tim was right, when i looked back, i treasured the tough times that we had together, gossiping and cracking jokes..

i guess everyone of us has to move on at some point in life.. i can only be glad that our paths have crossed..

swee ing and me

to our sunny manager, thanks for everything and take care.. = )

forever love

the song, 'forever love' by lee hom was broadcasted over the pa system and all the guests stood up to welcome the newly weds, patrick and judy.

the bride is my polytechnic friend for almost 10 years. it was great joy to attend her wedding dinner (11 November 2006) with xiao mei nu, another good friend of ours.. the 3 of us had wonderful memories of our polytechnic days and i am amazed that our friendship has lasted till now.

the 2 of them have registered for marriage for almost 6 years before having their customary ceremony. from interacting with patrick, i know that judy has found a good husband, patient and caring. although they have gone through a lot over the last few years, he has never given up caring for her and be by her side.. maybe he hasn't done well enough for her, but i know he has done so within his best ability.

there is still a long road ahead, a lot of things to learn from each other.. i hope they will learn to treasure and appreciate each other, to continue to care and love each other.. there will be ups and downs in the marriage life, but if they have the strong belief and trust towards each other, i'm sure they can overcome whatever obstacles ahead..

this blog is dedicated to them and from the bottom of my heart, i wish them happiness always.. forever love..

happy birthday to me

the clock stroke 12 on 6 November 2006 and pp (aka tian mu) sang me a birthday song with a sara-lee cake in her hands.

both of us were pathetically working in the office on sunday (5 November 2006) until we went for dinner around 7pm. while we were walking back from china square after our dinner, she suddenly had the craving for haagen dazs's cookies and cream ice-cream. so we went to the nearest 7-11 to buy her ice-cream and she also bought a sara-lee cake as well. she suggested that we stayed back in office untill 12am so that she could be the first one to celebrate my 26th birthday with me. haha.. how nice of her..

yes, it was an unique way to start off my birthday celebration this year, having a close colleague/friend/sister to be the first one to wish me.. i had a bite on the cake before we packed up to go home. i didn't think much about it then until i reached home. this year's birthday was a strong contrast from my birthday last year.. for some reason, i had a sad birthday last year and i was determined enjoy my birthday this year. emotions overwhelmed me and i was really grateful that pp was there to celebrate my birthday. tears came flowing when i sent her an sms to thank her for being there.. she had been a great listener and advisor over the past year, in work or life.. she is more than just a colleague to me.. thanks pp.. = )

i am 26 years old today, or you could say slightly more than half a century old.. haha.. personally, it had been a tough year as i thought i was undergoing my quarter-life crisis (or mid 20s crisis). i have no study loans to pay off, i have a good job, i have my friends and family with me, but.. i am not happy.. i don't know what i want in my life.. i have been searching for answers over the past few years and i thought the answers would come as i grow older.. but it didn't really come or maybe i hadn't seen them.. it got me frustrated and no one could really give me a satisfactory answer.. well, everyone has their own lives and probably i should be the one answerable for my own life, to know what i want in my life.. it was after the tahan climbing trip and reading some books, that i thought i had found my answers.

believe in yourself.. if i don't even believe in myself, nobody will.. this is what i have learnt from my climbing trip at tahan... it was this strong belief in myself that i made it through the tough climb. i couldn't believe it, but i did it.. there were some great lessons which i had learnt from the trip and kept them at the back of my mind as a constant reminder.. life couldn't be more tough than what i had gone through over that 7 days at tahan! haha..

learn to choose, learn to let go.. this is what i have learnt from a chinese book that i had bought in shenzhen during my last business trip. it teaches me that in life, we cannot have the best of both worlds and there is always a time where we need to make a choice. we can only choose one and let go of the other, no matter how difficult a decision may be.. just like that are 2 sides of the coin, you can only choose one.. in life, you can choose to see things in a negative way or a positive way.. and sometimes, success is dependent whether you have made a right choice at the right time..

suddenly, everything falls into place.. maybe, i haven't been confident about myself in the past, fear of making mistakes, fear of opinions and comments of others.. i let the fears consumed and controlled me until i wasn't making any good decisions.. it was a terrible period and i was at a loss.. probably it was a stage that i needed to go through to regain my confidence and overcome my fears..

now i want to live my life one more time.. and this time, i want to be confident, not afraid of making mistakes and not afraid to stand up for myself. if i fall, i just pick myself up and continue walking.. i want to take control of my life and not to let other opinions or comments sway me easily.. for some, this may be easily achieved by them.. but for me, i am glad that i finally find some answers.. the answers are just within me, when i persist long enough..

like what pp had wished me, to be contented.. i am learning to appreciate things that happened to me, for better or for worse.. to treasure and care for the people around me... this is a life learning journey and i want to sit back to enjoy it.. there are so much to explore and experience in life.. i am proud to say that i have found the happiness within myself and i hope to spread the same joy to the people around me..

look forward to a great year ahead at the age of 26...

p/s: many thanks to these people who have wished me throughout the day.. dl, wensheng, huifen, babe, ms universe (aka ah chua), wendy, ah kan, ms ee, mrs wong, xiao mei nu (for your wonderful present as well), april, yufen, xueying, peiying, lilin, scallop, philip, tim and bryan... = )

under the sea

3 days, 2 days, 1 day... seeing the days being counted down in ms ee's msn... yes.. we were finally on our way for our diving course at phuket! it was a quick decision for me to sign up for the course. ms ee had asked me few weeks ago whether i would be interested to learn diving and there was one answer in my mind, why not? life is full of uncertainties.. since there is an opportunity and company to learn something new, why not? it was a good timing since ms ee and i were on leave on the same week.. of course, we couldn 't forget scallop, who is avid in watersports too.. ms ee was kind enough to make all the air tickets, hotel and diving course bookings that scallop and i just need to pack our bags and turn up at the airport.. so off we went on the budget air to phuket...

it was a 4 days course, with classroom theories, pool trainings and finally the open water dives.. our instructor was marco, who quitted his job in holland and came to phuket to be a diving instructor 1 and 1/2 years ago.. wow.. really admired these people who are able to let go of everything to pursue their interests and passion.. wonder when i will ever have the guts to do that.. anyway, he was a really good and humorous instructor, kept telling us that diving was really easy once we mastered the skills.. haha.. highly recommended if you want to learn diving too.. i guessed diving was not that hard, just remember to ALWAYS breathe with your mouth! number 1 rule to take note.. most of the skills he taught were life saving skills, just in case we met with an emergency underwater.. life is so fragile and you could only save yourself in whatever circumstances you face.. just don't panic, remain calm and do whatever that is most right in that situation..

from left: ms ee, me, marco and scallop

have you ever been amazed of how fishes swim and breathe underwater effortlessly? well, humans manage to overcome this, with the help of an oxygen tank and diving equipment of course.. the feeling of being able to swim underwater freely was simply beyond words.. you feel like a fish.. n more than often, i felt that i was swimming in an aquarium during my open water dives.. haha.. i could see lots of different kinds of fishes and corals with different colours and sizes, so close and swimming around me.. just like there were different kinds of human beings of different colours and nationalities.. i guess there is a different world under the sea, living to their best abilities.. the nature has rules of its own, so let's just swim around to enjoy the beauty of nature...

it was truly relaxing in phuket.. besides diving, we went shopping, eating, thai massage, photo taking, snorkeling and island visits.. a good getaway from the hectic working life in singapore.. back to the basics of living where we are away from the work stress and worries to recharge.. enjoying the sun, the sea and the sand..

now with my diving licence, what's next? sky diving! awaiting for another opportunity to come... meanwhile, maybe i should visit other dive sites as well.. till then..

dreams vs reality

i believe everyone has dreams, like what you would have written in your primary school essays. when we were young, we dared to dream big, but as we grow older, we don't dare to dream. maybe because we are hit by the reality of the world as we grow older. we gradually learn that dreams are dreams and reality is what it counts now.. how cruel.. when people around me keep telling me to live realistically, i wonder if there will ever be a day i will live for my dreams?

nevertheless, these are the dreams that i have from young till now..

1. i want to be a teacher
(inspired by my primary school teacher, mrs tan)

2. i want to be a policewoman
(inspired by the popular police tv dramas in the 1990s)

3. i want to be a deejay
(inspired by dasmond koh when he was a deejay with yes93.3)

4. i want to be a writer
(inspired by ng king kang, a reporter cum writer of lianghe zaobao)

5. i want to be a baker
(so that i can bake cakes and pastries for my family and friends; and coincidentially, kim sam soon is a baker too! my favourite korean drama so far.. =p)

the reality is, i am an auditor.. the nearest i came close my dreams is being a deejay, when i applied for the 'film, video and sound' course by ngee ann polytechnic after 'O' levels. however, i didn't make it for that but got shortlisted for the mass communication course instead (as i sat for the tests for these 2 courses). eventually, i didn't go for the interview, because i wasn't confident at that time or probably i didn't know whether i could make it through for the course.

eventually, i chose accounting and finance of temasek polytechnic, by way of elimination.. haha.. because i couldn't do engineering, IT, design or science. and probably accounting is more specialised than business as told by others. my road in accounting was 'sealed' as i went further to get a degree in accountancy in NTU.. i finally ended up in auditing and still working as auditor now...

i have been searching for an answer within myself over these 2 years.. whether i am doing a job that i like or just because it's just a 'natural' career path since i graduated from accountancy.. auditor, sounds professional ah.. but no one will truly understand the struggles auditors have been through, unless maybe the fellow auditors.. haha.. it was a real tough journey and i almost wanted to give up.. but i am glad to have real nice colleagues and managers that support me all this while.. i wouldn't have come so far without them..

looking back, though it was tough, but i came out stronger.. maybe this is what it is all about.. fresh out of school and step into the working world, trying to understand the mechanics and of course, learning the cruelty of reality.. with a better understanding of myself as well.. now, it's time to apply what i have learnt.. in my own way.. haha..

i am beginning to see auditing in a different perspective after 2 years.. it's becoming more managable when i change my mindset.. though the hours may get longer as well.. haha.. i hope to learn and gain as much knowledge while i am an auditor.. and by then, probably i will be more ready to pursue my dreams in this realistic world...

don't give up your dreams.. keep on dreaming.. that's what keeps us going from the daily routine in lives... isn't it?


p/s: just want to say a word of thanks to some people... alvin, mrs yong, ms ee, ah kan, sheep, ms huang, ah chua, babe, tim, wendy, tian mu, donkey, scallop, goofy, wk, swee n chen... = )

deprived of sleep

sleep... when is the last time i have a good night's rest? been coughing in the middle of the night these few days, disrupting my sleep. i had to get up with my sleepy eyes to get a glass of water. i didn't manage to sleep well and affect my concentration in the following day. things are piling up for me to clear but i just want to lie in my bed a few more minutes.

when is the last time you have a good night's rest? are you too stressed or troubled to fall asleep? since when does sleeping become a difficult task for the city dwellers? when the night comes, our minds are still working hard, running through the tasks that need to be completed the next day, refusing to rest. when are we going to give our minds and bodies a well deserved break? probably when we retire, i guess. but then again, when we have too much time, we lose sleep from wondering what we should do tomorrow. ironic...

don't deprive yourself from sleep.. i hope i have a good rest and sweet dreams tonight... >_<

a late boomer for blog

it was first a thought, then it was action.. sometimes things happened with a reason, but many times, things happened without a reason.. or is it because we have not seen the reason behind it yet?

welcome to travel with me in search of the art of simplicity.. =)