Wish Me Luck - Part 3

I had gone for the psychologist interview on 4 August 08 and the Final Board Interview had been fixed on 22 August 08 in the morning...

Didn't perform well for the mock interview prepared by my internal people on 13 August 08 and I expected it... was feeling kinda groggy after I took the cough syrup in the afternoon and the mood just wasn't there~ anyway I got the necessary advices during the mock session and shortly after I went back to rest... cos my eyes really cannot tahan liao~

Anyway, I'll definitely give my best for the thing that I wanted to achieve and hopefully things will go my way that important day. The remaining thing that I need is LUCK~ so wish me lots of it and we'll see how my career goes... hehe

2nd Trip To Racha

People might be wondering why we chose to stay at the same resort again...

Reason is simple - we know it's worth the $$ and the staffs are friendly enough to make us feel comfortable.

Well, this is going to be a long post cos I'm compiling the 8 days trip in Racha *hehe*.

The 1st day when we arrived at the waiting lounge at Chalong Bay Phuket to take the 1st boat to Racha, it started to rain heavily. We had to put on the disposable transparent poncho that the staff gave us cos we had to walk to the jetty area to ride on the shuttle bus, which would then bring us to the speedboat. (fyi: all timing in the photos are in Singapore time so please minus an hour for Thai time, in case you are interested to know when I took the photo *hehe*)

The Shuttle Bus

Shirlene said I brought the rain over cos during the previous trip at Racha on one particular day, it would start to drizzle whenever I took off my T-shirt for a tan or swim... and I did wear my swimming costume so dun think otherwise hor... that's when my new nickname appear - Rain God.

Anyway, coming back to my narration, it continued to rain for the whole day and so there was no outdoor activities for Day 1. The Sun came out to play on Day 2 and both of us spent almost 4 hours (unknowingly) under the Sun swimming, tanning and reading novels at the Infinity Pool... and because of the long hours, our 1st outdoor activity resulted in sunburns. And the worst thing was... we didn't apply the suntan lotion that we brought and left it in our villa, cos we were too excited to get under the Sun *stupid duo*. After we were burnt and became red skinned, we then started to apply the suntan lotions on the subsequent days, which we know it's too late but had to minimize further "cooking".

Our Deluxe Villa

Abit of sea view from our villa

New shades from Oakley

The Singapore NTUC plastic bag followed us whenever we went for our swim

The Infinity Pool where we usually hanged out

The swimming items + Racha's complimentary water + Shirlene's novel

The novel which I borrowed from the Racha Library to read by the pool
(the ending sucks and I even had a nitemare about it *nonsense me*)

The consequence for not applying suntan lotion during the 1st tan
(no afterburn lotion either - everything was left to Fate)

We finally tried the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) as promised from the previous trip and it was so exciting and fun... it costs 1000++ Thai Baht (subject to 10% service charge and 7% VAT) per person and a guide from Racha would bring us tour around the island using the ATV.

The patient tour guide called "Banthao" teaching Shirlene how to maneuver
the ATV using the gears cos we never ride a motorbike before

Ready to tour the Racha Yai Island on our ATV

Some free-roaming cattles we saw during the ATV tour

We visited another resort on the island called "BanRaya"
but I dun think any of you would want to stay there...
(ps: there was another couple who were with us on the ATV Tour)

Reason No.1 for Rejection: Insufficient chairs for tanning
(I only spotted 4 - maybe they know their occupancy rate standards)

Reason No.2 for Rejection: Who would want to sit on the chairs under the Big Creepy Tree?

Reason No.3 for Rejection: Check out the Public Toilet location
(guess they want to maintain a balance with the Nature)

My No.16 ATV could not get started on the engine after this photo shot
(poor Banthao had to "jump start" it for me down a slope and he is skillful lor, but he kept reminding me not to turn off the ATV engine during our breaks)

Another beach around the island which is quite isolated
(gives me a "free land" feeling when I see how empty the beach is)

Natural stream forming from the sand leading to the sea
(wonder if one day the whole beach would be split into two sectors)

Close up of the sand giving way to the stream *amazing nature*

Our Great ATV Guide - Banthao and my problematic No.16

We also went to the beach and got ourselves a body board each from the Sea Sports & Activities Centre to surf the waves... didn't get any shots of the surfing cos we can't risk losing my buddy's Samsung 8.2 Megapix DigiCam if we were to bring along and leave it lying around while we enjoyed lying along with the waves - my head will roll lor...

During the last few days in Racha, Shirlene decided to learn some cycling. So the Helpful Ah Sze rendered her humble service after their breakfast (which ended at 11am - nice time) and managed to rent (for free and unlimited time) the smallest bicycle we can get for learning purpose. She practiced along the straight pavement near our villa, and tested the downslopes to get some auto movement started. Sweats dripped like free flow water under the hot Sun and still she persevere... it was a good try and we decided to switch to swimming which was more relaxing since there wasn't any success... anyway, you did your best Shirlene, *hehe* next time we try again k?

The Hardworking Shirlene

The Helpful Ah Sze

As usual, we took some photos of some nature creatures we came across outside our villa...

Oh, I remembered one funny encounter we had with the female staff over a phone conversation. We were preparing cup noodles in our villa at about 4pm plus (Thai time) when we realised that we needed one more fork. Shirlene called up Housekeeping thru the phone and requested for a fork.

This was the fork we requested

Shirlene: Hi, this is room 316. Can I have a fork please?
Staff: Mdm, you want fork? (based on what Shir told me from her hearing)
Shirlene: Yes, I want a fork.
Staff: Ok Mdm.

Then we waited for the 2nd fork while Shirlene started with her eating. After she was done with her noodle, I took over the fork and eventually finished my noodle... but the fork had not arrived. About half an hour later, there was a knock on the door and when Shirlene went to open it, this was what she received...

Newspaper + Goodnight Card + Orchid
(this was the standard evening items given)
+ Frog (meant for putting outside the villa door to represent "Do Not Disturb")

We were confused for a moment and wondered where was our fork, and then we realised that the staff had mistakenly thought that we had requested for a "frog" when we told her we wanted a "fork". Luckily I did not wait for the "frog" for my noodles, if not maybe I could have "frog legs noodles" bah~ *haha*

There was another nonsense incident we created... one particular day after our room had been made up by the Housekeeping staff, we climbed onto the bed to watch TV and suddenly I saw some blood stains (about 1.5cm in length) underneath the quilt cover. We were shocked and checked ourselves but did not spot any injuries. So we requested the Housekeeping to change the quilt cover immediately... but I kept thinking how was it possible that they could have missed out such an obvious red stain when the quilt cover was white in colour? Anyway the quilt cover was changed, and the staff gave us the usual Goodnight Card and Orchid (and it's not yet evening time *haha*). The next day, I used the towel to wash my hair and prepared to go for breakfast. Shirlene then told me that there was another similar stain on the towel. So I asked her to check my head if there was any cut and she said no... There wasn't any other cuts on my hands as far as I know so it remained a mystery... where could the blood come from??

Anyway, I dunno which day that I discovered that I had a 1.5cm cut (wounds already dried up) at the back of my elbow... and I really dunno when and how I got injured cos I didn't felt any pain and if I had knew that the mysterious blood had come from me, I would have wash off the stain on the quilt cover on my own in the first place liao *hehe paiseh leh*

My mysterious injury

Hmm... I wonder if Racha had put our Villa number under the "Beware" category during our stay since both of us are really nonsense *haha*

麦兜 (Famous Hongkong Cartoon)

I wana share two 麦兜 video clips that I had seen quite some time ago which made me laugh non-stop... although the other clips are also funny lah... anyway these are only in Mandarin... so, too bad for the others who dun understand~

The 1st 麦兜 clip that I had seen:

The other super-funny clip that Lionel had shown me about 麦太太 (麦兜's mother) - both of us were laughing like nobody's business lor:

Wish Me Luck - Part 2

Hehe... thanks for all the luck~

I'm gonna go for Round 2 of the GPO selection on 10 July 08 at 4pm!!

Hope I would not drift off mentally cos it's after my 24 hour duty that day.

Wish Me Luck Again!!

My Best Friend's Wedding (Photos)

Here are some wedding photos of my buddy and her hubby taken at the studio... I only chose 4 out of the many photos that she offered cos these are considered the most normal photos of her hubby (too much photoshop effects look weird lah *haha*).

Anyway, my buddy look awesome and gorgeous in her gown, especially the light blue nite gown she's gonna wear for her wedding dinner. I told her I'm posting her photos in my blog and I will dedicate this post to her in celebration of her new phase in life. Can't wait for the wedding day (the entertainment portion) to come on 10th Sept 2008... *hehe*

Wish Me Luck

Remember the GPO application that I had submitted in May 2008?

I'm going for the selection assessment on 1st July 2008 with the others!!!

Hehe... wish me luck wor~

A Tragic Death

I just witnessed the tragic death of a rat... at a stall... in one of the coffeeshop at AMK Central...

Anyway this was what happened...

I was standing in front of the recently opened stall looking at the signboard thinking of what to order. There were two female staff standing at the back of the stall doing something, with their back facing me. I then waited and channelled my attention to the noodle preparing area. You know the place where they put the uncooked noodles into the boiling soup and scoop it up after that? There were a total of 3 to 4 different soup and gravy pots placed into the surface... and suddenly I saw a full grown rat scouting at the noodle preparing area and it's big lor!! I continued to look cos no one else seemed to notice the "visitor". Suddenly one plump uncle behind me shouted "hey" and quickly came up beside me (after that I realised he's one of the staff). He then tried to "scare" the rat away by flapping his hand towards it and the rat was terrified!! I saw the rat running around the surface in fear and then the tragedy happened~

The poor rat fell into one of the gravy pots (yellow and orange thick base - looked like the mee rebus gravy) and it was covered with the gravy. Then it tried to jump out of the pot but it couldn't cos it was too hollow and slippery. I saw it jumped desperately for about 3 times... and some of the gravy splashed onto the surface. There was a scoop in the pot and the uncle tried to use the scoop to remove the rat when it was still jumping... but I could see that he was kinda scared at the sight of the poor rat because he gave up the idea after 5 seconds. After that... there was no more movement in the gravy~~~

Still remember the 2 female staff? They heard the commotion and went near the noodle preparing area, but did not know what had happened. I supposed the uncle told them that "something" had dropped into the gravy because I saw one of the female staff took the scoop and tried to stir the gravy... but suddenly she freaked out when the uncle told her that it was a rat. I thought I heard the uncle told them not to use the section for the night and to clear the stuff... but none of them dare to remove the cooked rat from the pot... and they just left the rat in there lor!!

I was of cos traumatised by the sight of the tragic death and I felt so sorry for the poor rat~ cos its kids might be waiting for it to bring back some food... but it would never be back anymore~

By the way, I still bought some other food from the same stall (not prepared from that area) cos I couldn't really think well after the incident and didn't know what else to eat. Well, naturally I lost some of my appetite and after some time, I turned around to look at the stall and guess what... the female staff was still preparing noodles for other customers using the other pot at the noodle preparing section!! I supposed the dead rat was still cooking in the gravy... cos they wouldn't run the risk of people catching them scooping up a cooked rat from the mee rebus gravy bah~ imagine the whole gravy contaminated with the rat's remains *YUCKS* and the smell from the gravy spreading to other pots at the area!!

I would NEVER buy anything from that stall again!!

The Urinator

There's a "Urinator" appearing in my block recently... you can find his traces of urine along the staircases or pillars, and for your info, those are big yellow puddles, which could flow across the surface and form a stream... I only took a picture of the pillar near the staircase along my corridor... and thank God... the pillar is located beside his residence~ erm... did I just gave away his address?


Well anyway, even though "The Urinator" had added some colour (yellow colour in this case) to our block, he's kinda cute looking... cos whenever we walked pass his house, he would jog (yes... jog... not run) to the gate and look at us with a dumb look.

Oh, and a good thing about him, is that he doesn't bark like a crazy dog~

His name is "Junior" hehe... and he would usually be around over the weekends.

I Want A Break...

I want a break...

I want to go Racha (Phuket) again~

I want to stay there for 8 days 7 nights this time!!

HAHAHAHAHA... I'm so excited about my getaway trip!!!!!


** Below is the website for Racha **

http://www.theracha.com/

** And my posts on my previous trip there (must scroll to the bottom) **

http://pager21.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html

Where's The Key?

Sometimes I can't help but think...

Will people still remember me if I'm no longer around?
Have I done anything GOOD enough to occupy a small space in your memory?
Am I a good friend?
Am I a good person?
What am I here for actually?

I seem to have misplaced the key to start my engine recently... and I'm kinda lost~

Life Goes On...

Gonna submit my GPO application on 16 May 2008 - last day of submission for 2008 application. Wonder how is it going to be after that... it's an annual thing, so if I dun get it this year... maybe I can try harder next year~

Well, life goes on... not everything in life can go according to what we want... and this is especially so for the past one year after I'm posted to my new environment. So many changes to adapt, so many mistakes to learn from, so much time spent on work, so many pimples on my face (the worst experience, but now seeing some signs of recovery on the pathetic face), so many projects to juggle with work (no time to attend those meetings and members started to complain about us being "too busy"... but it's a fact) and so many other stuff which I do not want to bore you further~

The whole of April 08 was like going through a black hole for me... yes I do enjoy my birthday celebrations with my pals and going Bangkok for a short trip... but I don't seem to feel any productivity in myself, regardless at work or updating my blog (NIL post for April 08!!). The whole month just brush through like that, and it's scary to know that time is passing too fast. So before I lose myself in time, I wana tell all my friends and loved ones:

"Thanks for being there for me one way or the other"
(aww... so sweet of me right? *haha*)

"Smoking Strictly Prohibited By Law"

I'm not going to ask you guys to quit smoking if you are a smoker... just wana say this to some of the INCONSIDERATE smokers >>>

"Can you PLEASE have some kind of BASIC courtesy NOT to smoke in the lifts?!"

Can't you just wait for a few minutes to light up that "stick" of yours after you get out from the enclosed metal box? Maybe you thought that the smell would not be so obvious if you held that "stick" in between your two fingers at a lower position... but our nose is not as bad as yours... cos it is really very SMELLY and UNHEALTHY!

With the current signboard in the lifts stating "Smoking Strictly Prohibited By Law", it seems useless. I wonder if we could have a more effective way of getting the message through to those smoking blacksheeps... such as installing sum kind of water sprinkler in the lift which will be activated upon the sensoring of smoke. This will definitely help them to wake up their ideas with waters from the top...

A Good Reason To Sleep More Hours

Read this news online just a minute ago... sounds very interesting and somewhat true...

TOKYO (AFP) - - Men who sleep fewer than five hours a night run greater risks of becoming obese and of having high levels of blood sugar that could lead to diabetes, a Japanese study showed.

Lack of sleep triggers a hormone in the blood which stimulates the appetite, said the study's lead author, Nihon University medical department associate professor Yoshitaka Kaneita.

"It increases a sense of hunger as well as an appetite for high-calorie food," he said Thursday, calling for people to pay due attention to how much they sleep.

His study, released Wednesday, looked at 21,693 men in 1999 and followed up to see how they were doing in 2006.

Men who were not fat in 1999 were 1.36 times more likely to become obese if they slept fewer than five hours a night on average over the next seven years compared with men who slept more.

Short-sleepers were also 1.27 times more likely to have high blood-sugar levels.

Comparable data for women was not available.

Hmm... I think it's kinda valid for me cos after I was posted to this current job, I slept lesser (much lesser than before) during the 1st few months... and after half a year, I gained some weight!! Remember I said my current weight is 45kg in my previous post not long ago? Wah I cannot imagine myself being obsese in the future if this carries on... I must start to sleep longer hours liao *haha*

By the way, dun assume that I'm sleeping more because I'm having my Disease... no lor... I only have problems waking up in the morning~

The Disease

I think I'm suffering from a very serious disease... been having it for quite a long time... and I dun tink it can be cured (completely)... sometimes I may look "healthy" for a period of time... but eventually I'm down with the disease again~

By the way, I'm talking about my sleeping habit... or should I say I have serious problem waking up in the morning, to be precise? It started way back in my Poly days... and my course-mates would rarely see me attend morning lectures *haha* but thanks to those who lent me their lecture notes to copy, so that I could pass my exams.

Then the disease followed me through my work life... and thank God I was working shift those days... cos I dun have to wake up early everyday... and it's a torture to wake up even before the first ray of sunlight appeared in the sky *urgh*

Now it's getting from bad to worse... ever since I change to a new working environment... cos there's no government (in me lah). I always say I wanted to change to a better person... by reaching the office early to clear my work... but it doesn't seem to last long~ not even more than 3 days *haha*

Will I be able to get rid of the disease permanently? I think it's still very hard at this point in time wor~ *haha*

Everlasting Love

Is there such a thing as "Everlasting Love"?

Of course there is... but it's not as common as we see it around us.

So how do we make sure that the love we currently have will last forever and ever?

Hmm... that's a tough question~ and I dun think I'm an expert in this area... but I'll definitely try my best to make mine last as long as possible~ so let me share some "typical advices" (sincerely from Ah Sze) that would help a relationship stay happy and healthy... until the day the ocean doesn't touch the sand~

1. Respect your partner's likes and dislikes (just like how you want others to respect yours)


2. Talk, gossip, laugh and share about everything under the sun... especially your feelings and thoughts (remember Point No. 1 and dun be narrow-minded)


3. Understand that your partner is not YOU (everyone has their own mindset - try to understand their thoughts cos you guys are SHARING each other's lives as a couple, not MAKING other people's life to suit yours)



4. Learn to love your partner's bad points (some bad points can actually be cute in its own ways... and you will find your life much happier)


5. Tell your partner you love him/her if you really do (add a hug or kiss... but need not go to the extend of taking pictures or videos of "other actions" *hehe*)


6. Lower your EGO and dun always insist on winning a quarrel (there's no point in being the winner when both of you aren't really happy in the end - might as well spend more time loving each other since life is so short)


7. Support your partner's decision (just a little support from a love one will make a person feel loved - even though sometimes you may feel that the decision is not up to your liking *remember Point No. 1*)


8. When a couple argue, continue to love each other after the "war"... things said in a fit of anger should be sincerely apologised and not to be brought up again... no acts of violence should ever exist in a relationship... understand each other more from the argument... and be the 1st to say "sorry" when the need arise (not because you are weak, but because you are in control of the situation - knowing when a crisis should stop)


9. Life is short, so make it a happy one... love your partner when you can... dun regret your loss in the end~

Overweight

When someone is being described as "overweight" by others, it's not a good feeling... especially when that someone is not "overweight" at all in the first place~

In order to prevent such "mistaken identity" issues from happening, let me share with you on the acceptable weight range for some heights... *hehe*

Wedding Planner

Preparing for a wedding is so troublesome, so expensive and so hectic... lucky I'm only helping out my buddy, with the assistance from Shirlene of course *phew*

The couple gotta find a hotel with the most acceptable deal among 6 choices, comfy and huge enough bridal suite, spacious ballroom with the least or even better, no pillars, and then bargain with the chosen hotel for more freebies and discounts before the contract is drafted out.

Next come the bridal shop... lucky we only stopped at the 2nd one and then it was done. Hehe... anyway the couple gotta bargain for more poses in the main album (in simple term - photos) in exchange for some stuff that they do not want from the package.

Then the couple need to crack their head on who to invite and who not to invite... and had to worry about the overall expenditure incurred on the whole thing... *tsk tsk tsk*... so hor... whoever read this post and are invited to their wedding (I think none wor *haha*), better prepare a "big" Ang Pow for them... cos they had been pressurizing me (non-stop) on that issue.

It was, however an honoured role assigned by the couple to Shirlene and me, to be able to follow them throughout their whole wedding process, from the proposal up to their honeymoon... *haha*... yes! I didn't type wrongly on the honeymoon part... both of us are invited to their honeymoon trip (on our own expenses of course... you think they so good meh? *haha*)

By the way, I wonder if I looked too "capable" to them... cos I am having various potential roles in addition to the wedding planner:

1. Valet parking (dunno why also)
2. Security counter for Ang Bao Box
3. Soft drinks front-line defence for the couples (cos I'm non-alcoholic and I love soft drinks)
4. Montage assistant (supposed to come out with something special)
5. Security guard for Ang Bao Box (better dun come and hijack me hor)
6. Videographer (cos I am one during their Proposal Surprise and Solemnisation Event)

I feel so multi-tasked in this wedding preparation wor~

The Knife

I just discovered there's a knife on my back... with compliments from a fellow colleague~
I had once again trusted the wrong person... and this is just part of the bad luck I'm having since the start of the year... or should I say since February 2008 to be exact.

I gave the 3 files (1st belonged to mine and the rest were his) to him on 12 Feb 08 to help me deal with it... cos I was on course from 11 Feb to 13 Feb and since we shared the same case, so it was part of his responsibility anyway...

We were supposed to revert the file latest by 14 Feb 08 since the Deadline was 15 Feb 08.

On 13 Feb, I was on MC and I was told that he had not submitted the file yet. He said "worst come to worse, we submit on 14 Feb lor, kena scold only mah"... Ya thanks for saying that... but I will be the one to be blamed cos they only target the name on the 1st file~

On 14 Feb daytime, I asked him if he had settled the file and he said he will try and see how...

On the same day at 11pm, I received an SMS from him, asking me to send the files to see the Senior XXX on 15 Feb 08 morning cos he couldn't make it last min. When I took over the files from his desk and looked at the minute he had typed to our OC, he stated "I am assisting GPS (referring to me lah) to prepare the file for...", and the BEST phrase is this "the delay was due to GPS attending course last minute and she was on medical leave on 13 Feb 08".

#@*#@* I passed the files to him on 12 Feb 08 leh!! He sounded as if I had sought his help last minute and it was purely all my fault!! I was fuming with anger... but I only have myself to blame... cos I didn't see the blade piercing through my back~

I haven been able to spend much time at home for the past few weeks since the new year started... I remembered the Fortune Teller Master Chen said to me... that I would be very very busy with my work for this year and I should be careful with the "cunning people" (小人) around me... Hmm... this is so true~ so for those kind souls out there, help me look out for my back k?

Gold Miner

Weird Neighbour

I think I should call my neighbour ECCENTRIC instead of just weird... and I would rarely get into trouble with my neighbour unless it was really necessary cos I had never done that for the past... erm... 27 years.

Let me share a short background about him first...

I suppose he's a bachelor since he is staying alone with a male tenant. He's about 30+ years old cos he dun look young to me (neither is he good-looking *pui*). He thought my mum stole his umbrella which he placed along the corridor during the 1st few months he shifted here (he asked my mum and my mum said no, and since then he had that idiotic attitude towards us). He's got the same Espirit Polo T-shirt as me (damn!). He would do his laundry during the weekend cos he would hang alot of boxers and underwears (think about a week's supply for each type) along the corridor on the laundry stand. He would pack his rubbish in small plastic bags and leave it outside his house occasionally (think he's staying at private estate and the rubbish collection car would bring his rubbish away). He never smile at either of us, except for my late father cos my mum told me he did (but his tenant does and I do smile back... thou I may look kinda "attitude" at times *haha*).

Okay back to the main point that trigger my decision to post something about him.

On 28 Jan 08, Shirlene came home after her work around 11pm odd. As she had forgotten to bring her house key, she had to knock on the door to get my mum to open the door for her. It could never be those kind of loud banging cos she doesn't have strong hands, and we all know that *haha*. Suddenly, that ECCENTRIC fella opened his wooden door and commented in English "Purposely knock the door so hard in the middle of the night, not the first time already, always like that". Hello, not the 1st time?! I think maybe got something knocked onto his head frequently bah... that's why he said "always like that"... how crazy can he get? He better dun try and ignite my fire... if not *clenched fist*... *haha* dun worry lah, there won't be any Joo Chiat incident here wan... I will be nice to him and "talk" some sense into his injured head if he starts his accusation the 3rd time.