Holiday Post..

Rog lost yet again to Nadal. Rog's only chance for a Grand Slam is Nadal's absence from the French. Poor Rog. Stupid Nadal. Rog's manager cum girlfriend is putting on too much weight. She seems to balloon each time I see her. It's perhaps a timely reminder for me to eat less and exercise more for fear that I may end up like her.

The month long holiday is coming to an abrupt end. It actual fact it is only a two week holiday in which I was down with a cold/sore throat for a week. So in my boredom at home, my laptop became my best friend. I actually felt weird staying at home on weekdays. For the past half a year, I've only been home on average at 5plus. Was initially not used to hearing Granny's naggings and complaints but after a while I got accustomed to them.

Met up with my nie buddies and was quite surprised to hear that one of them had broken her bond and has since started a new job. Another was highly stressed while the other two are still hanging on pretty well. I guess it really depends on one's character and mindset. Anyway ktv was a semi-disaster for me as I could hardly breathe properly and still nursing a sore throat coupled with occasional sneezes, singing was almost impossible. The only consolation was that it was ladies night so the charges were much cheaper. I don't know why but suddenly ktv seems boring. It might be due to the fact that I've not been keeping up with latest songs so I end up singing the same few songs till I'm sick of them. Another factor perhaps is the company or my reluctance to open up to them and vice versa. I get bored easily if I'm with people whom I'm not close to.

The recent HK drama serials are finally of high standard. Lawyer show is funny yet touching. I look forward to it every weekday night. 9pm show is too not bad but I'll make do with watching the repeat telecasts. Local drama serials still can't compete with HK dramas. All the new actresses look similar and the shows aren't funny at all. Not sure whether it's because Singaporeans lack humour or they are too sensitive to take sarcasm.

Now that my cold/sore throat has finally recovered, I'm going out with a vengeance. GSS has started a month back but I've not contributed to the Singapore economy. But I suspect in the end I'll just window-shop and come home empty-handed as always. I'm more than willing to splurge on food and accomodation but stinge on tangible goods. I'll rather spend on buying experience than branded goods which do not value-add my life.

In other news, property prices keep escalating. At the current rate, I can only afford a slum. Brother is lucky to have gotten his unit last year just before the property craze started. His new place is almost ready with most of the furniture and electronics already up. It's amazing what renovations can do to a place. When he bought over the unit, it was lifeless and dull. Now it seems almost brand new and I'm absolutely in love with his tv and toilet. Yes, I'm obsessed with toilets which is the main reason why I love posh hotels.

That's all for now. Though work is starting, I'm still in a holiday mood. Wonder how I'm going to get out of it.

Long Post..

Much has happened since the last time I blogged. Since this blog is used for complaints, the fact that I haven't written signifies that most things are going on smoothly so far. I have nothing much to whine about in terms of my job and anyway, it's pretty unwise to do so in here. On the whole, there are days where I get upset with a certain group of clients but there are other groups that keep me saint. It's just a matter of balance. I admit I still haven't mastered the art of winning them over but everyday is a learning experience for me.

Six months into joining this company and it's easy to see who are the efficient, kind-hearted, law-abiding, responsible, lazy, bo-chap, MC kings and queens, shrink responsible, all-talk-but-no-action workers. I like the majority of the colleagues who sits in the same office as me. Perhaps it's due to the fact that our age gap is not very big. Eating, mahjong and gossiping sessions help to keep us close and make life less miserable at times. But on the whole, everyone is friendly with one another except at times, a certain someone can be too sociable and irritating which disturbs me from doing my work peacefully.

The past month of so have been spent doing mostly administrative work and attending courses. Most people in my job loathe doing the former but I seem to enjoy it. I only dislike it when my "senior" throws me last minute work to do when he realises he has no time for it. I do not mind doing it if he tells me blatantly right from the start that he doesn't even intend to get started on it. Maybe next time I should just kindly volunteer my services. But then again, in this dog-eat-dog world, most people would only take advantage of your kindness or stupidity and even put the blame on you if something goes wrong. Unfortunately, this happened to a colleague of mine and it was witnessed by many of us. It just taught her and also us a lesson not to be too nice. More importantly, we learnt to be wary of a certain someone.

The deployment schedule is out and I'm surprised that there is no change to my workload. The only adjustment is an additional hour with my favourite class for a new module and I'm working together with my senior mentor. The colleagues that joined in together with me all have increased workloads. Perhaps the time-table committee considered the fact that I have 4 hours per week with the NT stream which is extremely exhausting for a BT. All in all, I'm pleased that I'll still be with the same groups of clients. A new group would mean building rapport and setting rules and regulations all over again.

Before embarking on this journey, the institution gave us a word of advice: Avoid workplace romance. Imagine my surprise when I gradually found out that there are 5 couples in my company. It shouldn't be much of a surprise actually given that 80% of us are aged 35 and below. And the quality in here is definitely much better than SDU (though I've never been to any SDU outings, I'm making this statement based on hearsay). The couples in here are quite compatible but personally, I find it weird if my significant other sits opposite me in the office, and we have to act professional in front of our clients and fellow colleagues. More importantly, I wouldn't be able to concentrate. Anyhow, I'm still making speculations on which couple would get hitched first.

Moving out of the workplace to other matters. The past 9 months have been an enjoyable journey for me. Thanks to my Significant Other, I had the opportunities to experience new stuff: watch Arsenal play, eat at different places ranging from Bedok Market to Morton's, window-shop at heartland malls, hang around Esplanade area, take photos, watch plays/shows, fix jigsaw puzzles, play sudoku (nerds), play playstation (yes, I'm childhood deprived, the closest thing to playstation that I played is Super Mario on the Nintendo donkey years ago), learn new English words, squeeze and jostle with the crowd at PC shows, drive around different parts of Singapore, play racket games and many others.

What I experienced in the past 9 months was probably more than what I experienced in my last 9 years. I never knew certain things existed and I never knew what the typical life of a Singaporean was. I am not lamenting about my family lifestyle or trying to sound like a snob but I remember once asking my parents why they didn't bring my brother and I to eat at hawker centres. Do not get mistaken. This doesn't mean that I dine in posh restaurants everyday. The fact is my family seldom steps out of the house to have our meals, or rather, go out as a family. It's really an eye-opener when I discover how other families eat at hawker centres, what Sengkang flats look like, the fact that many Singaporeans actually go to Sentosa and youths are getting more liberal these days. I finally feel like a normal Singaporean. Of course, it's not just experiencing new things that made my life more interesting. Most importantly, it is the person who goes through all these with me. Even doing mundane things like strolling around the neighbourhood or watching the last episode of a particular Channel 8 show starring Pierre Png can be enjoyable (when we start poking fun and laughing hilariously at the poor guy's acting and his Mandarin slang which is a 100 times worse than mine).

I know you are reading this, you-know-who-you are. I may appear quite unfeeling and expressionless at times but it's really not like that. I really want you to know that I'm appreciative of what you have done for me, especially tolerating my irrational grouchiness. A big Thank You to you : )