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..