How to deal with betrayal

Ideally you see someone's true colors, find it unpleasant and make a beeline for the door.

Now how do you get rid of a lousy ex-friend who hasn't changed (still very much a taker & not shy about it) who's still hanging around the same social circles with you?

My Christian values says clearly to forgive, suck it up & love. But I just can't - not for a lousy person. It's not like charity, you just reach out and help. She's not needy, she's just a unrepentant taker, unabashedly so.

Telling her to her face what I feel about her would seem unkind. So what to do?

The reason for the season is Jesus.

Have a blessed Christmas everyone. May Jesus be in our lives always.

Jin boh eng

Other than a handful of meetings with headhunters and a couple of interviews, I should be free & relaxed. But I'm not.

Reminds me of Parkinson's Law, which states

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Jin bo eng! Gotta go.

Mental note to self : no spicy food at lunch

Probably after being in Taiwan where with the exception of mala hotpot, is a very bland cuisine in general.

I now cannot stomach firey Korean or anything too spicy at lunch which is typically my first meal of the day.

Bleeh!

Almost Christmas

I spent the last weekend attempting to walk 50km.  I was greatly humbled, when I decided to quit at the 26km mark when we walked by Buona Vista MRT station.  The soles of my feet, my foot arc, my knees and shoulders were aching, but most of all, my right ankle was starting to throb real bad.  I figured, I could endure the pain and finish the walk, but since I was that close to home and my good buddies were quitting as well, I might as well throw in the towel.

Walking, apparently, isn't all that easy.  I thought I could go on and on... My aged body didn't think so.

I've hung up the Christmas wreath, I've gone to Penitential mass, now it's time to prepare my list of blessings this year.  So here goes :
- traveled a fair bit in 2010 : US, India, HK, Shenzhen in China, Krabi again.
- my mom and I are friends now.  It's truly amazing.  I enjoyed India with her!
- my health is good and I'm healthier/sportier amongst my hardcore buddies.
- my hardcore buddies who are nice enough to know when to suck it in and when to buy me lunch.  Aww...
- the really smooth transition back to Singapore while balancing the demanding job in Motorola.  I love my car!
- enjoying the break and catching up with friends in a relaxed way not possible with a full time job.
- upgrading my status to Aunt-to-be cum godma-to-be with Ian & Michy's baby. 
- my family & friends who stuck by me through the icky times all thru the years.

Through the eyes of a tourist

I've been playing tour guide, showing Ashley around.  We had bak-kut teh then we had drinks at the Marina Bay Sands.  MBS I think that's what it's known as in short.  Place seems ok, if they were attempting at sophistication, then it's not quite there.  They did however, reject our entry to the top floor bar on account of my flip-flops.  I pleaded Ashley's Taiwan-ness to no avail.  They did accept my running shoes (thankfully kept it in the car).  It was a rainy day, and the bar was full.  So we settled ourselves for a drink at the downstairs lobby lounge. 

Tomorrow I need to take her to Sentosa.  She seems to know exactly where she wants to go, makes my job easy :)

I'm baack, anyone missed me?

I needed a break from writing, not from a lack of content (I believe I can rant endlessly) but to calm myself down a little.

It's been rough of late. Emotionally, on the job front, and also I guess adaptation - much like a delayed reaction to my return to Singapore, straight into the thick of action.

I took 2 trips since quitting Motorola. India was another one of my longtime dreams, to see the Taj Mahal. And it was everything I imagined it to be, and way more! http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157625460539261/

Since my return, I've been surprisingly busy. There're still the sport activities with friends almost every night and in the day time, it's been either errands, or catching up with friends over lunch. Amazingly, it wasn't til Thu and Fri (yesterday & today) that I finally had a chance to sleep in.

I've still got a few more appointments to keep, IPL with Karen and I need to go shopping. Firstly to get a royal blue dress for Jo's wedding - I am to be Chinese MC & also 姐妹. Of all the friends I've done this for, this one should be the most fun. Looking forward to that.

Also on my to-do list : Christmas shopping. I tried, I honestly did. But it is too overwhelming walking the malls. A friend is going to donate $ she typically spends on Xmas gifts to charity this year. It's a little bit of a defeatist attitude in my case, but honestly, it sounds more practical.

On a break

The writer is taking a 2 week break.

Back mid Dec for more exciting adventures of life in Fel-land.

On the cusp of a new life

This is it.

I'm once again, out on a limb.

Will it be a chance for a rest or will it be anxiety-stricken holiday season?

Tune in next episode!

Yesterday & today

Writing the date this month (quite a few days) feels totally binary.

E.g. today is 11/11/10.

-__-

The price of friendship

People are strange creatures. We are never happy.

Not too long ago, I was in Taiwan and hardly any friends. I was lonely.

Now I am surrounded by friends. But being around people brings with it the complexity of human relationships and in a few instances, brings back past hurts that I need to deal with over and over again.

Sigh...

Women Retreat at the St Ignatius spirtuality center

I declined the climb til your fingers break weekend with the gang.  And opportunistically, got an email invite from Diana Koh to join a long weekend retreat for women by women lay spiritual directors.  Since I am in a state of flux, I thought, perfect, time to spend the long weekend in deep prayer with God.

 

I admit, I wasn't good.  I checked in, found myself short of cash to pay for the weekend.  Right after lunch, I snucked out to the nearest ATM, ate ice cream by Ice Creamery nearby before returning to church reluctantly.  I snucked in naps during personal reflection time etc.. Alright alright, the solitary got to me cos it was a semi-silent retreat.  Which means, we did not talk at all the whole 3 days!

 

But I gained so much and am so glad I took the weekend out.  Especially :

• Ignatian contemplation is interesting.  I need to go find out more.  I always thought it was too severe or too tedious.  That God loves us and WANTS us to draw near to Him, why bother to make it so tough?  But there are some interesting points Diana brought up. 
• That prayer is quantity time, not quality time with Him.  Just give Him the time and who's to judge quality.  Which is so true.  Esp for someone who prays at the end of the day like me, it's like giving God the scraps from the day... ouch.
• And I had abandonment issues.  Whew!  That while I will accept love, I do it to a limited degree only as an internal mechanism to protect myself.  This is a result of my dad dying on me!  Well, I'm sure he didn't choose to die on me... but nontheless.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandoned_child_syndrome  So some of the symptoms are listed here... I have a close friend whose parents divorced some years back.  I'm pretty sure she suffers from this.  She displays some of the symptoms (different from mine) listed.
• That our God loves us very much, each and every one of us.  And that He loves us in numerous ways everyday, in the sunrise, in the morning breeze, in the bird's chirping. 
• One of the presenters taught us this.  Be aware always, and to choose love, choose life, choose Him.  It's from Galatians... I'll need to refer to my notes later.  Her point is, in everything we do and say, be aware and choose the response that is for Christ/for love.  So if you start an argument with a family member e.g. choose the path that ends with love, perhaps give in even if you are right.  Which I really liked cos I've been struggling with this for a bit.  I feel we ought to be encouraging and supportive of each other, ie choosing life and love.  Not do the typical Singaporean talk which is somewhere between sarcasm and taunting.

Final word on which ministry.  I had expressed fears to my assigned SD that I did not want to return to my old ministry mostly because I have recurrent nightmares about returning to life circa 2007.  She said that sometimes the ministry you are in is required by God - as a gem being polished.  Hmm... Never saw it that way.

 

O and about returning to life circa 2007, fact is I have changed.  I'm not the same Felicia I was pre-Taiwan.  Sure I remember the past hurts and all, but I've taken it all in stride, changed and moved on.  Just dislike it when people from my old life assumes they know me well.

 

More later, I'm busy >_<

I have tendovaginitis?

My right hand ring finger & left hand middle finger are both rather sore from overclimbing.  Saturday's climb session in particular was pretty bad seeing how the soreness which usually recedes after a day or 2 did not, despite my taking enough care to ice the tweaked fingers on Sunday morning.


I skipped the usual Tue climb night pleading that my fingers need a break.  Ms Hardcore expressed concern and even did some research for me.  She sent me an email saying that I have a condition called tendovaginitis.  I reprint excepts from her email :


Tendovaginitis is the inflammation of the tendon and its surrounding sheath, also known as the synovium. Some tendons are covered by the sheath but there are others which are not. The synovium produces a small quantity of oily fluid that is released in between the tendon and its overlying sheath. This oily fluid helps the tendon to move smoothly and freely as it pulls on the attached bone.
The common signs of tendovaginitis are pain, swelling and tenderness on the affected joint. In most cases, movement of the inflamed joint must be reduced immediately to allow healing to take place. At times, the pain lasts for a couple of days and goes away without any need for medical treatment and medication. But in other instances, the pain and swelling continues for months especially if the injury is left untreated


If you're thinking, aww, your friends care so much.  Think again.


Jo nagged me so after the climb, we found a 24hour clinic nearby the coffee shop in Yishun.  And she was sweet enough to accompany me to see the doctor. 


We had this really young-ish male doctor.  He muttered something like he didn't know what to write as diganosis.  So in a ta-dah moment, I offered him help, whipped out my iPhone and found that very helpful email on the condition I have.  He did very well not to burst into laughter.   Then he wrote tendonitis on a piece of paper for me and said he assumes my vagina is fine - just the finger that's hurting.   >_<


Of cos Jo laughed hysterically all the way back to the carpark.  Bet she's telling Eric and they're both laughing again.


I need new friends. 

Squashy feeling...

All Saints day at noon mass in Novena church.  Warden goes - can we squeeze so we can fit more people in each pew please?... Felicia ends up praying like a T-Rex.

All souls day at evening mass in St Mary of the Angels with mom so we can visit Pa's niche afterwards.  Church was packed even though we arrived early.  Probably cos of the blessing of the niche service after mass.  Mom went to chope us seats while I visited the bathroom.  Again, Felicia had to pray like a T-Rex with her bag on her lap the whole time.

I wanna roar now!  Gimme space!  I am feeling claustrophobic!

Immigrant Job Gains, Native-Born Job Losses

I have a feeling, Singapore is the same case.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/foreign-born-job-gains-native-born-job-losses/

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

Tweaked fingers

Swollen finger.  Ow, ow!

Tried icing it down on Sunday but it is still painfully swollen.  Ironically I hurt it first during river tracing in Taiwan flying down a waterfall badly.  Must've splatted the hand against a rock. 

Everyday is sports day

I remember someone who meant something to me at that time, ask me "does everyday need to be sports day?"

Ironically, it's where I am today. 

Monday - Macritchie trail run then play badminton
Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday - Climbing
Sunday - Cycle East Coast

Leaving me only Wednesday nights for now since I still have the PLT meetings to run and Friday nights to recover

Whew!

The day my neglected/forgotten faith collided with my world

I've been back in Singapore some 3 months now, but have not gotten around to thinking/working towards rejoining ministry nor meeting up with Sister Lily.

I did however, sign up for a retreat over Deepavali after receiving a very timely email from Diana Koh.  Plan was to use that as an opener.

But God has His own plans, on His own schedule.

After lunch time mass at Novena, I bumped into Gwen.  She was really warm and excited plus a little annoyed that I didn't tell her I was back for good!  Wanted to throw me back into my old ministry again!  She kept repeating, we need young people, even after I leaned closer to say I ain't that young no more! 

While talking to Gwen, I spotted Sister Lily.  Very unexpected that she would attend Novena church lunch time mass - since it is so far away from her place of home/work.

I promised Sister Lily I'll come by her home so we can catch up and talk.  And promised Gwen that yes, I will catch up with her as well - as for returning to Cafe, well, let me think and consider about that.

Nike City 10K race results

This year's Nike race pits our northern neighbours versus us.  Interesting.

Naturally Singapore won overall.
http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_SG/plus/#//challenges/detail/538217368

Also my 2nd race since back on home soil.  I am glad to help contribute my 10k worth of sweat towards Singapore.  And am glad to run faster, making up for the slow race at the Sheares bridge.
http://www.nikecity10ksingapore.com/tools/results/index.php

Majulah Singapura!

For we walk by faith, not by sight!

From One Way Jesus :
You are the way, the truth and the life.
We live by faith and not by sight. 

Was feeling a little down, a little unhappy again.  As I drove out to lunch, I reminded myself of my blessings and it took me a while to list it all down.  I am comforted.

On the drive home, this song played loud. 

A good reminder that while I may not see His path for me, there is no need for anxiety, but to walk by faith in Him.

Need a job...

Need a job... and soon.  Time's running out...

The link between earthquakes and volcano eruptions

The scientists have been saying this, without conclusive reasoning, but with statistical info, that earthquakes seem to trigger volcano eruptions.

But a 7.7-magnitude undersea quake epicentered off to the south of Sumatra, the remote Mentawai Islands followed by the eruption of the nearby Mount Merapi.

Sadly, the earthquake also caused surge as high as 10 feet and advanced as far as 2,000 feet inland on Mentawai Islands. 

I hope Singapore will reach out to help the Indonesians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/asia/27indo.html?ref=world

A small part of me was hoping the tsunamis will douse the forest fires in Sumatra, producing smoke and haze into the air affecting neighbouring Malaysia and us.  A quick check of the hotspots charts shows the rainforest fires are too north and too inland.  But of cos right... Sigh...
http://www.weather.gov.sg/wip/web/ASMC/Haze_Information/Regional_Haze_Map

Bladeless fan

I hear there are KIRF versions available for US$50... Hmm...

http://gizmodo.com/5385011/how-dysons-blade+less-fan-works

And it ships finally...

My last product before I left HP shipped finally. 

Hmm...

http://www.gadgetglass.com/896/windows-7-powered-hp-slate-500-is-now-official-price-and-background/

How to die over a weekend

I wanted to climb bad, had arranged with SB and Moo to go climb after breakfast. 

But I couldn't say no to my old friends.  So I stayed to play badminton/ping-pong with them.

It was 4 hours of badminton with mad-cap/hardcore people who do not just hit the shuttlecock back, they WHACK it.  Just hearing the piak-piak sounds makes you cringe inwardly.  Thankfully they were really nice to me.  Against each other, they really WHACK it. 

Tired?  You can take a break from badminton with ping pong against a ping-pong machine.  It spits balls and you try your darnest to return the balls.  Every couple of minutes, you need to stop the machine cos the badminton players will start yelling when your errant balls all over the floor starts to roll over to where they are.  As you pick up balls, you need to sing Derek's son's song - pick up balls, pick up balls... my fair lady!

Great fun.  I am glad I stayed.

Sunday was truly choc-a-block, full day of activities.  I ran the Nike City 10k race then rushed to mass.  Towards the end of mass, all expectant mothers were asked to stand for a special praying over and during the prayer, church bells toll!   Hmmm... I like to think my little godson is made for big things in life!
We then had lunch on mom cos she lost the bet :) After lunch, I played with Kino for a bit (he's so cute when he's been playing in the rain and is all semi-wet).  Drove mom back in time to catch her weekend afternoon Korean TV hour.  Next stop - Vivi's prawn noodle party.  By the time I arrived, the vultures had had their fill : some had 4 bowls, others even tabao-ing 2 tingkats.  2nd lunch for me!  And washed it down with 3 bowls of soup.  Possibly the best prawn noodles in the world.  All natural and freshness.  I barely itched!  I didn't even need to anti-histamine myself that night. 

Ah, but the day is not yet over!  Drove back home, nap 15mins, back out to cycle with the gang.  I kept with the peloton up and down the slopes of Loyang, through sheer grit.  But died on the return ride to the carpark.  From 30km/h to 28, then 24, finally it was between 20 to 21km/h as I rolled into the carpark.  Pengsan!

Great weekend, I cannot ask for more when there is God, family, good friends, great food and lots of fun sporting activities.  I can die contented now. 

NParks tree pruning

NParks has been busy pruning tree branches ahead of the monsoon season.  As you can see, they've been erring on the side of caution, think they chop too much off.  Trees look positively botak now.



Bad air again :(

The Indonesians are at it again - slashing and burning the rain forests.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1088052/1/.html

PSI is now 80, creeping towards the unhealthy mark...

Egos

While washing my cup this morning in the pantry, this lady next to me asks if I were a runner. 

Ego inflated, must be my toned calves and my athletic gait - I think to myself.

I reply her, sometimes, why?

She gestures at my Timex watch.

-__-

Another weekend in KL, another set of swollen fingers

Jo/Muk had arranged to take a bus up to KL again to climb.  It sounded great on paper : Aeroline bus, staying in the heart of KL city, the hardcore group together again...

But things started to unravel even before we set off : Derek was in another of his moments, he was driving up with Corinna.  Jo stubbed her toe so bad, losing a toenail and had to bail on the trip.  Viv was all emotional, stressed over OBS and job applications.

This time, there was less camaraderie (in fact felt like almost 0), a lot of solo moments.  Which is a huge departure from how it used to be. 

So I focused instead on climbing.  I know I used to climb pretty hard with Derek as well - but somehow this trip's toil on my fingers is bad - I know what Michy will say : 老了!

Feel like taking the afternoon off to sleep.

Chilean miners are free

I can't imagine surviving 4miles underground for 69 days.  Thankfully they were safely rescued. 

Job offers - 0 ; annoying calls from insurance agencies - 5

I keep getting calls from insurance agencies asking if I am still looking for a job, I answer yes.  And then they will ask if I am interested in being a financial consultant.  Sorry, it's a no. 

As good as it gets?

I'm touched by
- a few ex-colleagues for their efforts at playing job placement agents
- being able to eat fantastic chappati/naans anytime and with great companionships
- being able to go to mass almost everyday (even though I only manage perhaps 2/3 week day masses a week)
- madcap & competitive kakis who will race me to the car at all costs...
- a very comforting Michelle who will chat with me over MSN daily even though I'm no longer in Taiwan. 

Perhaps this is as good as it'll get... I am glad.

Macritchie trail running

I've been running at Macritchie for a long time now.  I've ran there through good times and bad.  With my ex-bf, with friends...  It's just that in the last 4 years or so, I've grown accustomed to running alone (and my IPod). 

My point is :
- I'm familiar with Macritchie - even with the newly spruced up carpark and the no longer free parking :(
- Running alone, you listen to your body better.

Yesterday I ran with Ms Hardcore at Macritchie.  She doesn't slow down at the downhills, she just tears down.  It took quite a lot of effort (run harder at the uphills) in order to catch her.  Then we ran the last bit together, and out of trail onto road. 

At the last slope before the carpark, I attacked her (figuring that 1, she's tired from the sound of her heavy footsteps and 2, she probably wasn't aware of that last slope, surely feel demotivated on seeing it).  But to my surprise, she had more in her, she ran faster! 

In short, it was a sprint to the car.  And I won.  And yes, it hurt doing so, bringing back memories of our hardcore past.  Nice...

Speed demon

Anyone who knows me knows I do not drive fast.  I'm not limited by engine capacity, I'm held back by my mental capacity for speed (or rather, the lack of it).

Since I started driving and working in Motorola, I've received 2 warning letters from the traffic police on excessive speed.  Where are they hiding!  Grr...

That's it.  I'm taking PIE/CTE from tomorrow.  I can't risk the $130 + 4 demerit points.

On leaving at 4pm from work

Starting this week, I have started to leave at 4pm, if there are no more loose ends to tie up.  Since I have night conference calls to take, might as well leave early.

Yesterday afternoon, things had wound down enough to leave at 4pm again.  And I had sent out the agenda for my PLT meeting on Tuesday, so nothing much left after lunch to do.

I left at 4pm with Viv and we went to attack the muddy trails of Macritchie reservoir.  My 2nd this week and Viv's first ever trail run (yes, I questioned her Singaporean-ness, she has never ran at Macritchie?!!).

As we left Motorola, Viv noticed a few police outriders, some VIP she commented.  Then we noticed there were people lining the streets gawking.  So, I did what was most natural - put my shortsighted glasses on.  Next thing we saw this gun carriage go by...  I assumed it was LKY's wife's (what is her name? who cares?) funeral cortege going by.  Much later that night, watching the late night news confirmed that yes, her cortege went by Upper Thomson Road and that she was given the honour of a gun carriage for the final ride to Mandai crematorium.

I'm a little on the fence with regards to her contributions to Singapore.  LKY - yes for sure, undeniable.  But his wife?  The late Ong Teng Cheong didn't even receive that honour and his contributions to nation building are unquestionable.

Sigh.. politics. 

Back to more interesting matters - Viv and her first time at Macritchie.  Her natural running pace is faster than mine, so she'll run, then slow down when she is unsure of the path to wait for me.  At the turnaround point, we chose to run the boardwalk so she can get a view of how beautiful the reservoir is (and I get to run on level ground instead of the hilly trail).  Once on the boardwalk, level and easy, she flew ahead.  Suddenly she appeared running back to me.  When she approached, she said "monkey!".  All 1.53m of Viv cowered behind me, afraid of the monkey troup sitting on the boardwalk nonchalantly picking their fur.  Once we cleared the monkey danger, she flew ahead again easily....  I really doubt her Singaporean-ness, she has not seen monkeys?!!

Back at the car, she said to me, 'Oh you mean that was trail running?'.  That's what happens when you spend too many years overseas.

Of Tuesdays, conference calls and climbing

I left Viv in the lurch (potentially no belayer), Zi slogging at her desk to return home and then at 7pm I received an SMS to say I did not need to attend the 9pm conference call?

The good news is, from next week onwards, Tuesdays are gonna be climbing nights again!

It's like that Pet Shop Boys song, goes something like, now I can climb all Tuesday nights, forever... how am I gonna get through, how am I gonna get through?

Sigh... I need a job! *whine*

It's 9.38pm and I'm in the office...

I scheduled a conf call for 10.30pm Monday evening since I had a dinner date with my girlfriends.

But one of the members had a time clash and requested that I pull in the conf call to 9.30pm.

So I eat with my girlfriends nervously, left at 9pm, returned to the office (it's nearer than home).  Came in, sat down and saw that one of the key members did not accept the call.  I dial his mobile and he's not answering.  Then I postpone the call to tomorrow, since Mike's presence is very important.

Bah... this is not fun at all.  What am I doing to myself, Felicia Cheng?

Recounting a dream

I woke up Sunday morning remembering my strange dream.

I dreamt I lost 1 side of my Crocs slippers at what seems like a rockclimbing area.

I asked a lot of people to help me find.  But people though nice, made tokens efforts, most produced an obviously wrong slipper then went away.  There were maids, some were my friends, others strangers...

In the meantime, I'm walking around barefoot, holding the 1 side of the slipper I still had...

Finally I woke up, still missing the slipper.

So this morning, I googled what it would mean :
To dream that your one of your shoes has been lost or stolen could denote you will have a loss, but will gain in some other pursuit.

Linked to the job situation is my guess.

I survived!

It's pretty strange :
1. yesterday's first reading at mass was on perserverance.  On Job praising God even though his friends blamed his bad luck on him!  So much for lousy friends.
2. I learned a new word - 自强不息.

I survived the rerun of the M11 checkpoint which prompted me to quit in the first place.  It strangely went through smoothly.

Guess the pressure's off now.

Last night's climb session was good.  The whole gang was there, and when that happens, it is more talk and laugh then actual climb.  Got arm-twisted to join a 50km walk in December, along with 5 other mad people. 

Let's Take A Walk 2010

www.letstakeawalk.sg

Poor injured Yili also offered me her place in the year end Standard Chartered.  Her impending surgery means she'll be on crutches for a while, so guess I get to run the half-marathon after all!  She did however, asked me to please run faster and not to ruin her good name.  Duh! 

The week is starting to turn good.  Thank you Lord!

Monday Blues...

I could sing an Elvis blues song today...

Feeling tired and I guess depressed from the aftermath of last week - possibly among the worst encounters in my work life. 

Hopefully I find something new soon, or the blues will extend.

Sigh.

The Great White shark

After another painful conference call, where we argued back and forth until almost 12.30am, I went to the living room, turned on the TV - yes, it's that bad.  I had to de-stress. 

There was this program on about scientists who tagged Great White sharks and wondering why they swim 6 months to get out to the middle of nowhere (off US).  The purpose was to find a Great White in that area, check its stomach contents to see what it eats.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/great-white-shark.html

I'm reminded how huge a Great White is... averaging lengths of 6m ; weighing 2000-ish kg.  See the picture from the National Geographic site : HUGE!

Tough decision to make

Sigh....

My new colleague - Yingzi

Zi joined Motorola this week.

Like me, she also received a used NB, lack of support with productivity tools... Groan.

But the difference is, she hit the road running.  Seemingly doing well.  She was working well when I walked by her to chat.

Me, on the other hand, hit the road with my face and got dirt up my nose and in my teeth.  Sigh...

Of shocks, nots and rocks

Shocks :
Met up with my best friend and we sat down at Haagen Daz after sticking her boys at the Animal Kaiser arcade machine with the maid.  While chatting, she told me that a lot happened in the 3 years I was away.  One of our mutual friends found out earlier this year that her husband had a 2nd family.  I was blown away.  David has been with the PAP forever and at every upcoming general elections, we expect him to be a new MP.  Now you're saying he has a 2nd family complete with 2 kids?!  WTF.  I feel so sad for Q, she's sweet and smart and a really cool mom - I really don't know what she'll do now.

Nots :
I am not enjoying my new job.

Rocks :
Zi joined Moto yesterday.  The toilet stinks now, but it's nice to have her as a colleague!  Especially when she walks up to my cube and grins her silly chesire cat grin.

It's only Tuesday, I can hang in there...

What do people do on their smartphones?

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/report-looks-at-trends-with-mobile-apps/?src=tptw

So true, I play the dumbest games but I do it everynight!

Little joys in life - driving home at dusk

So ok, I often get the setting sun in my eyes...

But I really like these moments, driving my car in the evenings, relaxed, on a route with lots of green. 

Got a song in my head...

I know people raise eyebrows at my choice of music.  But I like Eminem, the edginess in his songs is so real - life is exactly like that, people never the way you expect or want. 

So his new song - Love the way you lie is so cool!  I think it is reflective of human relationships, beyond BGR... 

Last race as a 30-something...

A watershed moment for me as far as races goes - my last race as a 30-something.  Sigh..  I can still recall my first race, Sheares Bridge 10K run in 2003 and the starting point was the National Stadium.  Feels like a lifetime ago.

This year, they renamed it to the Safra Singapore Bay run/Army Half marathon, or whatever the real name is.  It's a nice new route through the new Singapore bay, through the Helix bridge, the F1 grand prix circuit by the grandstands, past the spanking new Marina Sands casino so new that I can smell the concrete still.  Nice route, very enjoyable.

Since I'm still a little sick since last week in HK when an inconsiderate man coughed square into my face, giving me a throat infection.  And I have not done a run longer than 5k since probably May's 17k trail run in Taipei.  My game plan was to go slow, keep running til at least the 15k and enjoy the run as far as I can.  So doing a time of 2.55 is good enough for now.

So I'm reaching for my little plastic bag of salonpas... my legs (every single part from the hip joint to the calf muscle), my shoulder blade area, my abdominals, all hurt.  Good news is my ITB held, not a twitch from either side, the left patella ached around the 18k mark & went away after I slowed the pace (cos I was too exhausted!).

You know how they often have uplifting messages along the run route?  I loved this one :

Sign 1 - Run run run!

Sign 2 - Walk if you can't...
Sign 3 - Crawl if  you must!

Oh I want this so bad!

I want the new iPod Nano.

It's shrunk to a size that is simply perfect!  And you can wear it as a watch?

*drools*

We are no. 20 - Newsweek’s list of the 100 best countries in the world

Singapore is listed as no. 20 in Newsweek's report of the best 100 countries.

We're behind our fellow Asia + Pacific countries - Australia (ranked no. 5), Japan, NZ, Korea (no. 15).

As expected, we were marked down for political environment, scoring only 53.26%.  It's kinda hard to stomach this, considering Croatia had 70+, even Philippines had 58. 

I'll take our "police state" status versus an unstable/inept or corrupted government - so if it means the world scores us down for that, I could live with it.

Go Singapore!

Cheated!

On the cusp of a long weekend, I decided to try for evening mass at Holy Spirit church.  It's more along the way home than Novena church.  And I was leaving office early anyways, so 6pm mass is better.

Guess what.  I was cheated of mass.  Mass on that day was either 7.30 or 8pm that night - the lady I asked was not sure.  Cheated of mass!

Called Michelle and we both had dinner, played a little with Kino - he barked at her when she caught his toy while playing catch.

Then went home for another painful conference call.  This project is starting to really be painful....

Weight

Stood on scale this morning. 

Weight - 49.0kg ; body fat % - 22.5.

Climb 2x a week + run around the Yishun block before each climb.  Cycling 30k every Sunday. 

It is all working well.  This is inspite of my crazy conference calls almost every night.

Not bad indeed. 

Not bad at all.

I am grateful, Jesus.  Thank you Lord.

I am RC

Chatting with an ex-US colleague this morning and I commented that I am happily indulging in my 3Cs these days : catholicism, climbing and cycling.

He commented that they're all RC :
- rock climbing
- road cycling
- roman catholic

Hmmm...

Ok, I am RC then!  And very happily so!

To be honest, it's part of the reason why I chose to return to Singapore.  To be a better RC : roman catholic and rock climber, road cyclist came as a bonus.

Luke on TV

This is a notebook I helped work on.  Cost a lot of pain, grief, and it ended up being nicknamed 'tippy'.  Sigh.

But it made a lot of news (good news, at that)
http://wn.com/HP_TouchSmart_tm2_on_Lifetime_series_Project_Runway

Life's strange like that.  What/who you anticipate to succeed, doesn't, and the reverse strangely often does.  Hmmm...

First fight with mom

Yesterday mom and I had our first verbal war.

Mom's prayer group had secured some tickets to the play "A Reluctant Saint" on the life of St Alphonsus.  I said I wanted to go, so mom got me a ticket as well.  She told me, Sep 6 Tuesday.  I wrote down Monday Sep 6 on my calendar. 

Yesterday, Monday, Sep 6 morning as I was leaving for work, she started talking about Tuesday arrangements.  I said "isn't it tonight? I even canceled tonight's conference call!".  She starting yelling at me.

But I have 3 conference calls on Tuesday, first one begins at 7.30pm and they are back to back until 11pm.  What am I to do?  I was exasperated so I said I will pay back for the wasted ticket but really what to do at this last minute?  Then I left the house for work, in a huff.

By the time I had arrived in the office, I felt bad.  So I called her back and surprisingly she was nice.  She said she'll ask Calvin to drive her and her friends there instead and Calvin will use the ticket so no wastage. 

Last night when I got back, she was a little pissed still but she wasn't angry.  Whew!

Living life with a vengence...

When I work, I work feverishly...
When I cycle, I push and my thighs burn and I push some more to hit... 34.5km/h top speed...
When I pray, I pray beggingly... humbly...

Life of late, has been full of superlatives. 

And I miss Ms Hardcore...

These days...

Boss puts in 2 tasks in my performance review that are due end of Q3, ie end August.  And yes, end Aug would mark my 6th week in Motorola.  So yes, I'm a little harassed these 2 days!  Am I done with the 2 tasks?  Not really - still waiting on other people for info.  Everyone's busy, I understand - wish he does as well.

Yeah, my new boss is impatient, but, I'm still grateful that he offered me a break and a chance to return to Singapore. 

I just need to somehow muddle through Mon/Tue, then I get to go to HK Wed to Sat!  Yay!  Looking forward to a nice quiet break where I can slack off without needing to bike like mad or run hard and hot or climb scary leads.

Interesting conversation with mom

Mom : go shower already, it's 11pm
Me : ok
Me : no wait, I need to call my Floridian colleague
Mom : *displeased* mutters, 'mak lu' (Peranakan for your mother)
Me : er, mom, that's you u know...
Mom : yes, I just scolded myself
Me : -___-

My 2 wheeler change

Traded my little Taiwanese red foldie (再见了！）

With this, hello speedy!

The latest thing in Singapore - durian home parties

Here's how it works.

No. 1 and most key - you have a contact that knows someone who owns a durian farm in Malaysia growing 猫山王durians no less.  You place your order - in denominations of a basket of the obnoxious smelling fruit.  You can share with a buddy, go half basket each.

The durian seller trucks your order into Singapore.

You meet durian seller somewhere along Bukit Panjang road - it does sound all very clandestine doesn't it?  You put your durians into your car boot.

You drive home to eagerly awaiting family/friends.  You gorge.  For the next few days, you worry about how to get the stink of stale durian off your fingers; out of your system when you burp.

Begs the question - why this fixation with 猫山王durians?  I understand when Singapore loved the D11, D22 durians, those were based on a species breed no. .Is there a 猫山?  Or is it also a species name? 

I guess I will never know since I don't care much for durians.  I did however, partake in 1 such party when my cousin invited me.  And I've just text-ed her asking her for another shot of it cos my mom's going into durian withdrawal mode again.  And the clandestine operation begins again with durian guy getting my order....

Father Frans De Ridder on "Who is my God?"

I had met Father Frans on my last Sunday in Taipei.  He was the visiting priest and on behalf of the parish there, he had presented me with a certificate of participation since I was a lector there.  When he found out I was Singaporean and going back to Singapore soon, he very warmly slapped me on my back.  There were too many people that day to talk to as it was my last Sunday at St John Bosco's, but I remembered Father Frans from Holy Cross days.

Upon my return, I googled Father Fran's email address and dropped him a short email message.  He replied to say he is now transfered and based out of Taipei.  And he also sent me a Word doc with this message, which I will reproduce here because I think it is really helpful!  It's a little long though... happy reading!

*******
Frans De Ridder, cicm

Beijing, 15th March 2009

1. Who is my God?

Of late the word “God” evokes in me something like a warm caring benevolent, healing energy and presence. I think this is a good development, a healthy evolution. It has to do with presence and not with existence. Christianity is not about to prove the existence of God, but rather His presence. This keeps surprising me in the Gospel of St. John 14: 7-11

If you know me you will know my Father too.

From this moment you know him and have seen him.

Philip said: “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.’

Jesus said to him:”Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say:

”Show us the Father?”

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me?

You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me,

or at least believe it on the evidence of these works.

I tend to believe that in fact many people who call themselves believers practice “de facto” archeology. Many a Christian thinks that these wonderful words were true 2,000 years ago in Jesus Christ, and that we have to believe that as we do believe past history. This makes many a believer look backwards, maybe with some nostalgia and vague wishful thinking, fast fading away in the demands of modern hectic life. Christianity however is not about archeology and past history. It is about our history, it is a burning reality. It is actuality! It must become our experience once again. The reason why in the West the churches are empty…Maybe also why in Japan Christianity has not made any significant break through as it is too cerebral, too much enshrined in Western philosophy and scholastic thinking.

God’s life and God’s love were not incarnated in Jesus of Nazareth only. God’s love and God’s life are flesh and blood in our flesh and blood. Incarnation is not relegated to the past. We believers in 2009, we are the incarnation of God’s life and God’s love. We are called to be and to become the visibility of the invisible God: the way we love one another.

That is the calling or the revelation in Christ. We could call it faith in the divinization process. All of us have to keep growing into our true divine nature, wherein we become our true selves, human beings filled with the utter fullness of God. Ep 3,19

The great challenge, the vocation of each and every believer is the awareness. We have to become aware of who we really are, and not what/who we think we are.

2. How do I nurture this relation with God?

Meditation/contemplation is my answer!

It may be good and important to specify what I mean by Meditation. In fact I prefer the word contemplation. Why? For quite many of us the word meditation is related to thinking, analyzing and understanding. It is an intellectual process. It is matter of the head. This would-- among other things-- mean that only the bright scholars can enjoy God, excluding 99% of humanity. In that case God is very unfair. If my parents, and my grandmother who was part of my family of origin, cannot experience it, then God is unfair.

Contemplation is not an intellectual exercise at all in which we reflect upon theological propositions. In contemplation we are not thinking about God at all, nor are we thinking about his son, Jesus, nor of the Holy Spirit. In meditation we seek to do something immeasurably greater. We seek to be with God, to be with Jesus, to be with His Spirit. It is one thing to know that Jesus is the revelation of the Father; it is one thing to know that Jesus is our way to the Father. But is it quite another thing to experience the presence of Jesus within us, to experience the power of His Spirit within us and in that experience to be brought into the presence of His Father and our Father. (John Main)

The great question is How? The answer is here:

Sit down. Sit still and upright. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert.

Silently, interiorly begin to say a single word. We recommend the prayer-

phrase ‘ma-ra-na-tha’. Recite it as four syllables of equal length. Listen to it

as you say it, gently but continuously. Do not think of anything-spiritual or

otherwise. If thoughts and images come, these are distractions at the time of

meditation, so keep returning to simply saying the word. Meditate each

morning and evening for between twenty and thirty minutes.

Twice a day, morning and evening, for half an hour!

It leads us into: dwelling in my love, (John 15:9). Jesus self consciousness becomes our self consciousness. Jesus self awareness becomes ours… more and more. It is a never ending journey. Each time we meditate we enter deeper into God’s infinite mystery.

Every time we meditate we take another step into the divine life that enlivens, brings to fullness, everyone who opens himself to it by taking this step of turning from self. (id.page 105)

The simplicity, absolute poverty of the mantra, dismantles the ego, melts away the self centeredness. It is hard work. Yet, it pays off. It is very much an Eastern Spirituality.

This is my main task, my way of keeping in touch with God and nurturing the relationship. I would even say allowing God to grow in me: daily, twice a day sit in absolute stillness, saying the mantra. And the good news is also that practicing this way: twice a day, morning and evening half an hour, gradually becomes a 24 hour day and night habitual state of mind: dwelling in God, learning to do everything from within God, the God wherein we live and move and have our whole being. (Acts 17: 28).

Meditating, contemplating seeing things from within God, is being transformed until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. (Ep 4,13) It is the “spirit” of Jesus, the spirituality of Jesus. “And when everything is subjected to him (God), then the Son himself will be subject in his turn to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all! 1Cor.15: 28)

It is absolutely simple...but not always easy. It can be hard work. It calls for discipline, for “making time”. It calls for “focus-ing” on God, the only necessary. The one who has God, nothing s/he shall want. (St. Teresa of Avila)

Thank you Lord for the blessings

After I got cable TV back in the house again (mom had canceled it in my 3 year absence), I had to painstakingly teach her how to go to SCV Interactive screen, then navigate through the menu to get to lottery results.  Last night, she repeated the steps to discover her winning number.

Mom's been talking forever about IF she wins the lottery, then she'll blah blah blah... Last night, 4th Ah-Boh called to tell her about our house no. and the lottery.  So mom checks and yeah, she wins $500.

To celebrate she called Ian/Michelle, but they already cooked dinner.  So the celebratory dinner will be next weekend.  Mom and I then went out to get a pasta meal at Cafe 211 on top of Holland V mall. I had to pay :( and it wasn't good at all and over-priced too.  Should've gone to one of the numerous better restaurants in HV. 

Thanks Lord for making mom so happy!

Roar gets cleaned (only the inside)

2.5 weeks after I picked up Roar, I finally get him cleaned (the inside).  I had bought a can of Dettol spray intending to wipe Roar's interior cabin down before I get comfy.  But only got around to it last night. 

Got Roar Dettol sprayed, gleamed with a car solution and dusted down the mats.  Might take it for his first shower (carwash) if Mother Nature doesn't do her thing this afternoon by raining down buckets of water.

And the house is now wireless...

Got the last piece, wireless router in the home. I brought my Belkin wireless router back from Taiwan but it had a 110v power adapter. Finally went down to Sim Lim Square today over my lunch hour (alright, extended lunch hour since my boss is in HK) and had to purchase a new wireless router cos they don't do power adapter. Bleeh...

Linksys lives up to its name - setting it up was a breeze! Now I can conference call in my room instead of squatting on the floor using the sofa as my work desk while mom tip-toes around me and my cables.

While at Sim Lim Square, I also bought a car charger for my iPhone and it came with a little stand + wireless transmitter. So while it's charging, it's neatly propped up so the GPS navigator app is visible and it talks to me via the radio. Costs but $30! I was tempted to get the same but Belkin branded (looks way prettier, but costs $89)... Thankfully I was in a bit of a rush - extended lunch hour but cannot push my luck surely ;) Too rushed for temptations. Got the cheap one, but I am impressed! It's cool!

How to retire now

While brushing my teeth this morning, I was computing that, based roughly on my current lifestyle (with my own house, maintaining a car) and if I lived to 80 years (since my mom is 70-ish and going strong), I would need S$2.5 million to retire now.

Hmmm... gotta go buy me a Big Sweep ticket now.

Motorola's Strategic Objectives (3-5 years)

Blah blah...

Number 4 of Operational Excellence
- Be the employer of choice.

Motorola still cares to list this. Sadly my ex-employers have forsook this years ago.

Today's gospel "first will be last, and the last will be first"

Matthew 19:28-30
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

What did Jesus mean? Is the message to deny yourself now for eternal life OR, is he talking about heaven, where we are all equal regardless of when we get there?

Sold my little red foldie

Sold it to a woman who was really a tough bargainer. She pushed me down to $400, when I wrote $520 in my ad. So I removed my speedometer, should have asked her for $450 with speedometer, mistake.

I was nervous because 1, she's the ONLY one who ever came down to see the bike and 2, I had a conference call at 9.30pm and she came at 9pm and started to bargain which took a while and my call was starting...

Groan.

Mistake. Mis-strategy.

Now I have a speedometer and no bike.

I need better negotiating skills.

Bye bye my little red foldie, thank you for the few memories - the best of which is Zi zipping by on it yelling 31, 32, 33, 34km/h!

Marking first month back in Singapore

After a running start into Singapore - since I didn't get a break in between jobs, things were a little hairy and hectic for a while there.

Think I am ok now, fully settled in, rested and ready.

I remember my first thoughts on landing this job : 1. gratitude to our Lord and 2. that I did not want to return to circa 2007 Singapore life.

Right now I am happy with
- a good relationship with mom. Almost unreal but needs patience that I do not ruin what took a 3 year break to achieve.
- having kakis in the crazy hardcores who think that total muscle fatique is the best thing next to sliced bread
- a new start with a new company
- being able to attend daily mass again or going for an evening jog in a park with fresh air.

Is not the first month in a new company called honeymoon period?

Ok, I'm bitching.

I'm barely into my first month and already expectations are so high? Sigh...

I can't be driving a project if I don't know whose chains to rattle or who to go bark at for a schedule.

Sigh...

Just letting off steam after a really painful conference call where everyone had bad news or issues to raise, and the product needs to be ready to go by end Dec. If this is PC-land, I can hear all the people going - that's easy! Well not in 2 way radio land, the type approvals takes longer and we have not even closed the RFQ with an ODM yet! Yipes!

So funny it drew tears in my eyes - this guy is a fantastic columnist

Straits Times Aug 8, 2010
Magic of Marikita
By Colin Goh

It's been a long time since National Day brought a smile to my face.

Before you stalwart nationalists out there start writing irate letters to the Forum page demanding my ouster from this little corner of The Sunday Times for my lack of patriotism, let me say that my sourness isn't limited to National Day.

I feel equally curmudgeonly around Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day and practically any occasion where I'm made to feel obliged to be cheerful. You could say this is a defect of character but I'm also willing to bet I'm not alone.

This year, however, a stray bit of cheeriness managed to penetrate the Great Wall of Grump I'd carefully erected over the years. And it came from a place I didn't expect - a car rental agency.

I'd never rented a car in Singapore before but the combination of the heat, the crowds on the MRT and the taxi surcharges finally took their toll. In my last week before returning to New York, I decided to throw in my sweat-soaked towel and rent a gas-guzzling, totally environmentally unfriendly, congestion-contributing machine.

After some web searches and calls, I decided on an agency based on two criteria: price and price.

It didn't begin very promisingly. I called the agency (which will remain nameless because I really don't want to share this gem of a place with anyone else) and nobody answered the telephone. However, half an hour later, I received a call from an unknown number and the voice that wafted from the speaker was unmistakably that of an auntie.

'Hallo, you call to rent car, is it?'

Yes, I answered, and told her my preferred make of car and that I needed it from the Aug 2 to Aug 9.

'Aiyoh!' she exclaimed. 'Cannot.'

'Why?' I asked, puzzled.

'August 9 cannot. You must take it to August 10,' she said gravely. 'Because of the Marikita.'

My jaw fell but nothing came out.

'Hallo?' barked the auntie. 'Hallo?'

I cleared my throat, then replied: 'I must rent until the 10th because... because of what again?' I needed to be sure.

'The Marikita, lah. You donno the Marikita, meh? You not from Singapore, is it?

'I... uh...' I suddenly felt ashamed to say I was Singaporean because, clearly, only real Singaporeans knew what 'the Marikita' was. 'Okay, I'll take till the 10th.'

'Sorry, hor,' she said. '9 we all closed lah, because of the Marikita.'

By this time, a huge smile had broken across my face.

'You wait ah, sir, I check for you your car got or not.' After a few seconds during which I was biting my forearm to keep from laughing, she blurted again: 'Aiyah, sorry. You can only take to Friday, lair, sir.'

'Oh,' I said, disappointed. 'How come?'

'This weekend our car all fully book,' she said. 'Also because of the Marikita.'

I asked her to hold on, cupped my hand over the handset and roared. When I regained my composure, I resumed our conversation. 'Really, ah, even one car also don't have?'

'Yah lor, every year the Marikita, a lot of Singaporean like to rent car and drive to Malaysia.' I suppose an intellectual might read into this little nugget of data some measure of irony and symbolism. But I'm clearly not an intellectual because all I could think of at this time was how to get her to say 'the Marikita' again.

'So you still want or not, sir?'

I said yes, deciding not to check on the inventory of other agencies because I was thoroughly charmed. It wasn't condescension. I loved the name 'the Marikita'. Somehow, it captured the essence of the event while also letting some air out of its importance. And I loved it that someone could be so un-self-conscious to use it in a professional exchange.

Alas, when I went to the agency to collect the car, there was no sign of Auntie Marikita. Instead, it was manned by a rather stern young lady, whose sternness was no doubt due to the fact that aside from me, the majority of the clientele were young, P-plate drivers.

I decided to try my luck and inquire again about having the car over the holiday weekend.

'Cannot,' came the gruff reply. 'All our cars are fully booked.'

'All? How come?' I feigned ignorance, hoping she too would utter the magic word.

'National Day, lah. You not Singaporean, is it?'

I merely smiled and didn't tell her that this National Day, I actually felt even more Singaporean than in many previous years. And it was all because of 'the Marikita'.

Cycling again

Here is my little foldie all setup at home all ready for the first ride on Singaporean soil. I transported it on Roar to Changi village.  Unfolded it and got cycling.  Zi took over the return ride and pushed it to top speed of 34km/h, while doing so, yelling, 31, 32, 33, 34km/h!  Such a show-off.  I only mustered 26km/h top speed.

But it was also while on Zi's racer that the blood started pumping and I started to have that feel again - feel of cycling with the wind.  Oh what will I do now...

Gratitude

Thank you Lord for the various blessings in the past days.

1. Michy is pregnant!  Yay!  Mom becomes grandma!
2. Zi is joining Motorola as well!  With a nice increment!
3. I got an iPhone4 today...hmm.. now setting it up slowly

Everyone meet Roar

Meet Roar, my new SUV.  Yes, it is chilli red and yes, it's Singapore's National day this weekend.  How apt.  Plus, in Karen's words - huat ah, as in 发呀! 

Thank you Jesus for sending me this car, suits me well!

Thanks Francis for the little flag too.  Sits well!

To be vegetarian and not to fly for a while...

I decided I should not be flying and also need to turn vegetarian for a while.

So I innocently rushed to HK airport just now, top on my head is whether I can find the Krispy Kream store and buy loads of it home.  The check in counter staff told me that the flight is full and I need to be bumped off, again.  Yes!  NO!

After I threw a hissy fit and escalated to supervisor level with my hysterics, I was reinstated on the flight.

Happy, right?  No.

They lost my luggage.  It's still missing.  Didn't fly in with me, didn't fly in on the next flight.  Changi's SATs staff (very nice, very professional, very patience) are tracing. 

Cathay Pacific, YOU SUCK!

Oh, and I shouldn't fly for a while, too suay these days.

First business trip with Motorola

I traveled a total of 17 hours over Thu to Sat!  I'm pretty sure I have DVT!  I miss those Taipei foot reflexology places.

Learnings :

- visited a factory building walkies, different from PCs for sure...  way lousier conditions, but nontheless a big eye-opener

- sat through a price re-negotiation with an OEM (so famililar, the same excuses even!).

- revisited HK after Cal moved back in 2002.  Long time since I came back.  HK looks great, I wished I had more time around town

- business travels in Asia is nice - nicer hotels ;) Sheraton rocks!

- I hate making small talk.  The 2 Irish colleagues I'm with are interesting.  Been in Moto for 20-ish years, got loads of experience but they are also talkative (ironical, work for walkie-talkie), talk non-stop for 4hrs over dinner.  There's a story for everything... Groan.  E.g. what do you do for sports, oh, I run... He goes, oh I know this Olympic runner...

The road crossing from HK to Shenzhen... when I took this picture, my Irish colleague went 'there goes felicia, hell bent on getting  us all arrested'.  they are so funny!

The view from my room in the Sheraton Shenzhen... wonderful ain't it ;)

When shit hits the fan...

2 weeks after the Jetstar bumped me off the return flight incident, I have neither heard from them nor received any of the promised compensation.

Thankfully for me (because I've been focussed on the new job, finding a car etc), my fellow irrate passengers were not similarly de-focused.  In fact, the guy that tried to pick Rae up (his name is Matthew) has been rather busy complaining to the local forums and media.

He finally succeeded when The New Paper published the story on front page yesterday!  Cool!  It's also on AsiaOne today - http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/420712/Jetstar_apologises_for_not_flying_some_passengers.html

I met Chris Ee at the rockwall at Yishun Tue night as well.  He now works for Jetstar's sales department, but was nice enough to get the customer support folks to look at my complaint letter on their website.

It'll be nice if I got something out of this, but I'm not optimistic.  It is afterall, budget travel.  El-cheapo people cannot be demanding people.

Already itchy?

Week 2 of Motorola
I discovered,
- there are thousands of people doing walkie talkie here!
- walkie-talkie technology antiquated though it may be, is pretty sizeable and complex.
- boss is a kancheong spider.  He made me do slides on my 6th day of work and I am traveling to HK tomorrow.  I barely know what I am talking about here!
- enterprise business is boring

So yesterday while packing up (Zi was on her way to pick me up for climbing), I received a call from a very Brit guy.  I thought it was my counterpart but it was a Nokia HR guy with a pretty interesting job but based in Farnborough, Hampshire in UK.  I can imagine having cows moo-ing me awake instead of an alarm clock. 

But nontheless, I updated my CV for Nokia and while I was at it, I also updated my CV into Monster, JobsDB, JobStreet and LinkedIn. 

There, all done.  Ready.

And I have cable...

Got cable TV & cable modem in the house.  Still short of a home use computer & a adapter for my wireless modem to complete the job.  Mom seems happy with cable TV back in the house.

I got to test drive the first Toyota Rush.  This one, despite the bright red, had prefered black.  But it's very low mileage and seems well maintained on the inside. http://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=113898&DL=1050  Bargained with the dealer for a long time, but we stalemated over S$500.  Sigh.  Cars are so expensive these days.  Guess I keep looking and test-driving and keep riding the bus in the meantime.

New experiences

To new experiences :
- taking bus everywhere (is a drag)
- searching for a used car on sgcarmart over my lunchbreak
- breaking into a new work environment
- getting into a near-death on the NS highway in Malaysia

Thinking positively, new job, new car (soon I hope) and a renewed trust in our Lord.

Welcome home to Singapore!

Leaving Singapore, there was a little hic-cup.  Jetstar bumped me off the flight (2nd time in my life) and after much arguing, and hassle, I eventually flew home on Eva (got to watch a movie too!).  I must say the eventful departure made me realize my friends (Rae, Elmo and Luca) were great.  Stuck with me, really concerned for me.  Sigh... I want to cry now.

This is a huge catholic church opposite the cable TV customer service counter.  I went there just before leaving for a cash refund of the unused portion of my bill (we pay 2 months at a go in Taiwan).  The last of the free cable tv, only in Taiwan do you get 100 channels (including 4 movie channels) for the equivalent of about S$28.

Church somewhere in Taipei.

Since being back, my daytimes are occupied by work.  Still trying to figure out internet connectivity for home, buy a car (with rising COEs, not aiding my cause), buy an apartment (still so expensive) and try to hang out with friends.  It's actually a fun time, so I'm trying not to let everything overwhelm me so I get to enjoy this process.  Me at the Volkswagon showroom over the weekend. 

Blow the winds away please!

Going home, but there's a typhoon in my flight path and I'm flying Jetstarasia.  Help!

Countdown - 2 days!

House is so empty that there's an echo upstairs of the loft.

Tomorrow, folks will come for the 22" LCD & my tv set. Sigh...

I want to go home, I'm happy to go home, but still can't feel a tinge of nostalgia...

Stuff ship back today, d-day countdown - 5 days

After the last 3 days of putting my stuff into boxes, Fedex guy came to take them away.  I estimated 50 to 60kg.  Total weigh in today, 109kg.  Hmm...  Guess that's my life in 109kg.

Tried to tip Fedex guy, he said he'll be fired if he took my tip.  2nd time I tried to tip someone in Taipei and it got turned down.  Sigh.. I will miss this city.

I could bitch a little about Derek, as much as I planned and timed my schedule/dates, he has procrastinated/delayed/dragged out what he wanted to buy from Giant.  If I could blame it on my poor planning, I'd feel better.  But despite the last 2 weeks email/text/calling him, I finally went down to the Giant shop last night, called him on my cell, passed the phone to bike shop guy, for him to decide.  Unfortuately they don't have stock of what he wants, his orders arrive Wednesday, so it will miss my shipment, I need to hand carry back.  Hate poor execution to a plan.

I should be happy though.  Boxes to ship back - check!  All that's left are the admin matters like bank, cell phone etc. 

Packing - day 1

Packing - final day

 

Packing is a real chore

I'm pretty sure unpacking is a bigger chore.

For the last 2 days, I have been waking up, pack a little, go to a farewell lunch, overeat, go to the office for a little bit, go home to watch TV all night.

Not a bad life.  Guess I am max-ing out my last days of freedom since I am going home to mom. 

How to write a farewell email

I was surfing for standard politeness in a farewell email...  And this absolutely killed me. 


Dear Co-Workers,


As many of you probably know, today is my last day. But before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what a great and distinct pleasure it has been to type "Today is my last day."

For nearly as long as I've worked here, I've hoped that I might one day leave this company. And now that this dream has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your unending lack of support. Words cannot express my gratitude for the words of gratitude you did not express.

I would especially like to thank all of my managers: in an age where miscommunication is all too common, you consistently impressed and inspired me with the sheer magnitude of your misinformation. It takes a strong man to admit his mistake – it takes a stronger man to attribute his mistake to me.

Over the past three years, you have taught me more than I could ever ask for and, in most cases, ever did ask for. I have been fortunate enough to work with some absolutely interchangeable supervisors on a wide variety of seemingly identical projects – an invaluable lesson in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium.

Your demands were high and your patience short, but I take great solace knowing that my work was, as stated on my annual review, “mostly satisfactory.” That is the type of praise that sends a man home happy after even a 10 hour day, smiling his way through half a bottle of mostly satisfactory scotch.

And to most of my peers: even though we barely acknowledged each other within these office walls, I hope that in the future, should we pass on the street, you will regard me the same way as I regard you: sans eye contact.


But to those few souls with whom I've actually interacted, here are my personalized notes of farewell:

To Rudy: I will always remember sharing lunch with you, despite having clearly labeled it with my name.

To Steven: I will miss detecting your flatulence as much as you will clearly miss walking past my cubicle to deliver it.

To Eileen: Best wishes on your ongoing campaign to popularize these "email forwards." I sincerely hope you receive that weekend full of good luck, that hug from an old friend, and that baby for your dusty womb.

To Felix: I left a new wristwatch on your desk. It is so that you might be able to still tell time even without your hourly phone call to let me know the copier is jammed. (Call Steven he'll come by.)

And finally, to Kat: you were right – I tested positive. We'll talk later.

So, in parting, if I could pass on any word of advice to the individual who will soon be filling my position, it would be to cherish this experience like a sponge and soak it up like a good woman, because a job opportunity like this comes along only once in a lifetime.

Meaning: if I had to work here again in this lifetime, I would sooner kill myself.

Very truly yours,
Chris Kula


PS: I will be throwing myself a happy hour farewell party at the burnt-out bar in the sub-basement of the bus station. Please do not stop by.