Crunch Punch

Kelvin came to my cubicle to pass me this modest looking kiddy snack, "Crunch Punch" so it was named. I look at it, and was so skeptical about him saying that it's nice. Hmm, can't really believe what he said cos you know, the packaging its so ... cheap!



I told him dun bluff me and he insisted that it's delicious. I opened it and took a bite, and really, it's crunchy and actually taste good. It did not taste like cheap product. Have it been in a better packaging and sold at some high class boutique shops, it probably could be sold at an exorbitant price judging from its taste.



Still cautious about the melamine scandal, I quickly scanned the wrapper for the manufacturing country, the few Korean words suggested that it must be from Korea.



You know, as we get more affluence, we go for more sophisticated things. Things with unimpressive packaging do not catch our attention anymore. Do that then brand us the "snob" label?



Isn't this true about human too. If your appearance looks unimpressive, be it looks or presentation, people don't even pay attention to you. You will simply fade into obscurity.



Living in obscurity by no means is a bad thing, I for one love to lie low in the background. I love to be in low profile job... but just pay me well. Ha! Ha! I don't mind not having the fame but give me enough money to lead a comfortable life. Isn't that wonderful, but more often than not, given a certain pay package, you are required to lead people and work with them. And that's when complications start.

“有人就有江湖”

Retreat

The 2 day retreat started yesterday and ended today with pottery class this morning.

I really love Thow Kwang which is tucked away in the western end of Singapore. One would feel so far away from the hustle and bustle of busy Singapore when one is there.

The place is tranquil and peaceful and you could hear birds chirping and fresh air fills the air.

Mrs Tan, the third generation owner was there to give us a run down of the history of the last two dragon kilns left in Singapore and how they manage to survive the pottery trade for over forty years.

I made a soap dish in the pottery class and very eager and excited to see the outcome after the firing. I've to wait till end Feb to see the output.

On the first day of retreat, we closed the day with the activity, cobweb of appreciation. The emo kid, Ginger almost broke into tears while extending her appreciation to me.

Today, we closed the retreat with giving feedback on AFI to each other.

Although I know my AFIs, but having seen them written down and given to me by my bosses and peers was like .... hitting a nail on my head.

Anyway, I've chosen to work on looking less a turn-off by smiling more and to watch my words, actions and how I carry myself as I could be very curt and hurting at times.

Sigh!

Poo - Boh

Sunny did something horrendous last night.

Normally, Sunny would poo once in the morning and once in the evening.
But yesterday, he did not poo before we left for work.
That means he carried his day of waste the whole day, as he does not clear his bowel when no one is around.

When I arrived home, as usual he was really excited to see me and greeted me by jumping on me.

I went to the toilet with him jumping along behind me. When I went into the toilet, he disappeared to the living room in a hurry, but I could still feel his excitement.

When I came out and went into the living room, to my horror, he had pooed all over the floor and had stepped on his pool and mess up the whole room. And because he had missed his poo in the morning, it was lots of poo around.

I spent close to an hour cleaning up the mess as the waste was stuck onto the floor and it took me quite a an effort to get rid of it.

Sometimes, Sunny just create mess like this for me!

He is such a Poo - Boh ( hokkien )

I can feel it

I was MSNing with Tom last night and he said that my blog is full of anger.

How interesting!

Sometimes, unconsciously, our state of being is reflected in our action, behaviour and writing.

Am I full of anger lately.

As I recalled back, it was particularly bad last year Oct to Nov.

It is a miracle how I even survive to face 2009 and still back at the same place of work. Ha! Ha!

The bulk of the stress came from work. At that period, I was feeling really ineffective and inefficient.

Even now, I am feeling tired and drained, the burnt out syndrome.

A few of my peers are also like that.

I guess it's about time we refocus our life and work!
Hope I'll find my focus soon yeah!

First Weekend of 2009

Ha! It's the first weekend of 2009 and it was rather uneventful.

Well, I went back to office to do a little of work and brought back work for Sunday.

The rest of the time I spent in front of the google box watching the most uninteresting programmes media corp is telecasting.

Nevertheless, looking forward to the concluding episode of Little Nyoya tomorrow, Cheers!

TwoZeroZeroEight

In just two days, 2008 will be history and everyone will be partying like maddies to ursher in 2009. And I wonder why they are so excited about 2009 when recently there have been so many reports that 2009 will be a bearish year.


How have your 2008 been?


Mine has been a turbulence year.

But of course compared to those who suffered in the natural calamities, I am far more fortunate than them.


But judging from a urban professional standard, my 2008 has been challenging in all aspect of life. it has been a long uphill for me this year. At work, I experienced passion drought and was toying the idea of quitting my appointment. In terms of health, I have fallen ill so many times this year. I used to be MC free the whole year. Even my December period was plague by Sunny's erratic toilet behaviour, and that stressed me up greatly.


Do one grow wiser as one goes through trials?

As I aged, I get more fearful at this period of the year, crossing over to a new year. Somehow, having to face another year with the same mundane tasks at work send a chill in my spine.

Is it time to do some changes?

I was reading Anthony Yeo's weekly column, and he wrote:

" ... One can begin by learning to want what one has in life, instead of yearning to have what one wants.

People tend to strive for what they want and when they have it, they may not want it but something else.

This demands a spirit of gratitude for what one already has. Being grateful means appreciating what you have, making the most of and being contented with what you have, without envying others for what they have.

Then you can learn to live within your means, being mindful of saving for a rainy day without being consumed with the desire for more. ..."

Though I have seldom envy what others have and I have not, I must be appreciative to what I have and make the most out of what I have.

What about you?

What is your resolution for 2009?

Hope the coming 2009 will be one of good health and smooth sailing for all of us.

Cheers!!!

Wii-ing with friends

Wii-ing @ home with friends is fun.

This is the first time Adeline Wii @ my place. And judging from the hearty laughters all night, I am sure she had a whale of time.

It was great to see her cheerful self again. And I am glad that we all had fun that night.

We didn't do a lot of Yoga nor Aerobic excercises. We played the balancing games and it was fun for the player and all of us watching. Wii Fit is such a creative idea and it is suitable for the whole family.

The girls also created their own mii. Cool man! With Sunny and Wii, I am sure my friends will not find coming my home a bore.

Well, I hope they will come more often and have a lots of fun again.

Toilet Train

After the longest battle,

Sunny finally begins to pee on the pee pan again.

I've devised a scheme to train him to pee on the pee pan again,

( why didn't I think of this earlier?)

You see, Sunny doesn't pee when he is alone at home,

only when I return home, then he will pee.

So every time when I return home or when he just woke up,

I'll put him in his cage where the pee pan is. You see, he has to clear his bowel as he has hold it for the whole day.

I will wait till he pee on the pan then I will release him, praising him and rewarding him with treats.

I did this a couple of time, and soon he knows where to go when he needs to pee. Oh, I also put anti-slip mat below the pee pan so that it will not slide when he is peeing. I thought that was the reason why he stopped peeing on the pan in the first place.

Occasionally, Sunny stills pee on the floor,

I guess you can never have perfection in life.

Snoring

Lately, weird things have been happening to me and one of the weirdest is that I started to snore. And everytime I snore, I will be awaken from my sleep. I no longer sleep anymore!!!

Christmas

Christmas for me is always spent with my group of friends. We have done this for the longest time, for the pass ten years I think. This year's celebration is at Siew Boon's home, a change from our usual Christmas haunt at Erinna's home.

Christmas will never be complete without food, drinks and gifts. This year, while everyone is cutting budget, I've spent more than a thousand dollars on Christmas presents.

When buying presents, my philosophy is to try to buy things the receipient will like. Of course it has to be something I like too. If I don't consider the recipient's liking, then my gift could be a white elephant or worse something useless to him or her.

I've received great gifts this year too. Especially love those bags which I recieved. Hmm... how my friend's understand that I am a sucker for nice bags.

Having said all the above, but I personally feel that Christmas goes beyond food, drinks and presents. Christmas isn't Christmas without our faith in Jesus. It is Jesus' love and grace for us that we are able to come together every December to celebrate together.

After you have achieve your milestones in life such as a good career, family and financial stability, what else do you look for in life?

Everyone needs a Faith and it is this Faith that will sail you through the storms in life. My greatest Christmas wish this year is for all my family members and my friends to come to know GOD in a very personal way the coming year.

May this Christmas be the beginning of enlightenment in your faith for you.

Merry Christmas and a meaningful and smooth sailing new year to you.

Secret Sorrows

I want to share this quote which Siew Boon text me this morning:

"Every man has his secret sorrows,

which the world knows not;

not often times we call a man cold

when he is only sad."

Henry wadsworth Longfellow