The day Heaven shook my hand ...

In bad economic times, people seek religion to subdue their fears of instability and I am one of those who do the same.

 

Frankly, I was astonished when I had such a close encounter with the subject and I never thought I'll ever stand that close to Heaven.

 

I always heard that Heaven and Hell were separated by only one thin line but not many can tell the story about what both places have in them. A rosy garden versus a fiery oven? I don't know.

 

As usual, I do think a little too much. Have I been good or have I been bad. Do I deserve the finer things in life or do I not.

 

As we often hear preachers talk about Heaven, I always wondered how heaven really look like.

 

Within minutes, the news spread. Heaven has arrived at her new work place.

 

While Heaven was introduced as she made her rounds with a HR colleague, I sat at my chair nervous.  Like every new face in the company, Heaven was shown her way around the many desks filled with files and more files. I too didn't escape from this really difficult taks. The number of people you had to meet and the names you had to remember did cause me anxiety then.

 

Finally, they made their way to my desk and as Heaven approached, she reached out her hand and introduced herself politely.

 

Aren't we all glad now that Heaven is going to be on our side at least for the next couple of months at work? What more can we ask for in times of trouble.

A rainbow birthday ...

In an hour's time I will hit the big 3. Yes, I will be 30.

So what happens when one turns thirty from twenty nine? The cake gets lesser candles.

As usual, birthday week is often lined up with dinners and get together with family and friends. What else can we do but eat in Singapore? Frankly, I enjoy eating and having the company of family and friends so this is always a great excuse to be with them or should I say, it is a very good excuse for them to be with me. Both ways only benefit me. Just think of all the delicacies one gets to enjoy in the birthday month.

All these 30 years, I had my fair share of birthday parties, surprise parties, get-drunk parties and sex parties. Ok, kidding. Haven't been to a sex party just yet.

I often try to recall the birthday parties I have had. From MacDonald's to high end hotel parties, I had them all. My parents dote on me so much that they make every effort to throw a party for me and my friends whenever possible.

I can still remember how I spent my 17 year old party at the Pan Pacific hotel and the gifts my parents and my godparents bought me. At that time, Sandy hasn't entered my life fully. We were only acquaintances from the January 1997 orientation at school.

That year's party had all my close friends with me. Hanwen, Edwin, Timothy and Yiliang. Sadly, am only in contact with Hanwen and Edwin. I guess that's life. We thread on certain journey together and after that phase of journey passes, we split ways.

Now as I am turning 30, I sit back and think of my life. Frankly, I have it all. I can be considered pretty lucky in life. In terms of affinity and career, it is sailing pretty well. The occassional storm comes and goes but I know at the end of it all, I make it and make it pretty good. So what more can I ask for?

At times I feel like a lost child even though I turn 30 at the stroke of midnight. I acheived most of my goals ( except for little Mark / Sandy) and I crave for more. Cravings can be dangerous if kept unsupervised. The more ambitious one gets, the harder he falls. I guess at the age of 30, I should just let the year pass me by slowly and gently and let loose the tight reins I have forcefully held on. It is time to relax a bit and enjoy a little.

For now, I shall sit back and enjoy the beautiful sound coming from the sound system that sits in my living room. Happy 30th Birthday Mark! May all your wishes come true and may you find lots of happiness in the many more years to come.

2 Nights with X-Japan ...

All it took was for Yoshiki's ivory keys to bring me tears and what was even more emotional was that after 14 years of dreaming that I finally made it to watch my first X-Japan concert live in Hong Kong.

Now listen, I watched it twice in Hong Kong in two consecutive days.

Of course, after the concert ended on the second night, reality became a dream of memories all again.

I am now looking forward to hearing news about the next concert and hopefully that'll happen in the next couple of months in either Beijing or Shanghai.

I will try all means to make the dream come true yet again. Of course, the biggest dream is to watch it on New Year's eve in Tokyo Dome. Hopefully, I'll have that dream come true by end 2009.

X-Japan sure played an important part of my life and I will always keep those memories close to my heart.

The moments I have been waiting for ...

This two weeks will surely bring me lots of unforgetable moments.

Firstly, I will be heading off to Hong Kong to watch my beloved X-Japan's concert and this has been something I have been looking forward since 1996 and my, that's a long wait of 12 to 13 years.

X-Japan has been my favourite musicians all these while and I have been waiting for this day to come whereby I can watch them right before my eyes. On Saturday, this will be a dream come true for me.

When I was younger, I used to urge my father to purchase as many LDs ( Laser discs) for me from Japan and thinking about it, at the age of 17, I already started online purchases by ordering their merchandise, CDs, books and posters. Frankly, I cannot wait to have all these displayed in my new home.

Talking about my new home, I am going to move in next Friday and wait till you hear this - I have yet to collect my house keys and will only collect it next Tuesday after I return from my trip.

Sandy and I will rush through everything. From painting to cleaning so that we can move in before the Lunar New Year and yet again, another dream come true for me because all these years I have been waiting to have my own home and my own living space.

Am happy I will be able to have a place where I can sit happily to appreciate my DVDs. I wonder if I will be able to get my hands on a Laser Disc player because if I did, I will be able to entertain myself with the numerous X-Japan concert discs.

Wish me luck and I certainly hope in two weeks time, I will be blogging about my new home and what joy it has brought me and Sandy.

Worrying ...

I just recently read a book by the name of 'Why Worry!' by K Sri Dhammananda. It isn't exactly a religious book despite it being written by a Buddhist teacher but there was a very interesting metaphor he mentioned.

He mentioned something about people with lots of worries and paranoid by nature and these were people who made the lives of others unhappy especially those in the family.

I kind of felt that this was a rather true reflection and I have learnt that one should not worry too much or show others his worries. One should not be paranoid and instead of filling the head with negative thoughts, one should try to fill it joyous thoughts that influence others.

I guess I'll share more about my thoughts on the book in another posting as Sandy is now rushing me to get off the computer as she wants to use it to watch her DVD.

ERP and transport fares ...

Just in the year 2007 / 08 and those were when times were better, the government increased ERP fares as well as public transport fares and I repeat, it was when times were good.

Articles splashed all over the papers nowadays show slow or even negative growth and yet the government has not made any adjustments to bring such living costs down.

When the bus fare hike was announced, it was mostly on the basis that oil prices have risen so much that bus transport companies were losing bits of their profits and thus a rise in fares was required but today, the explanation was different. The prices have to stay where they are now and not come down because competition was stiff and bus companies needed to expand their business and maintain the fleets of buses.

I sort of found it silly but what to do? That's life isn't it? When such fares increase, our salaries hardly increase and I wonder employees in such public transport companies, are they also not getting an increase despite profits raked in? Is this fair? I dare not comment.

After 10 years ...

I remembered reading the bible 10 years ago and I was pretty close to completing both the new testament as well as old testament. Bet you didn't know that and this might be a shocker too, I used to go to church pretty regularly too.

Anyway, don't ask me further but I thought I'll share my experience about my visit to a church after 10 years.

My mother-in-law was baptized this afternoon at a church in the eastern side of Singapore and Sandy, Beatrice and I witnessed the event.

I sat and listened to the sermon patiently and pretty attentively. I heard every word the pastor spoke but at the same time I looked all around me. It was quite a big congregation that was present at the chapel hall but I was rather disappointed with the behavior of some fellow church goers.

There were people who talked loudly on their mobile phones while some were dozing off and sending text messages. This wasn't something I experienced when I was in the previous church I attended. I felt really uncomfortable seeing the many people who were not sensitive to the people around. Perhaps, Singaporeans really don't know their manners. They don't know how to behave.

Forget the incident at the church. If such a thing can happen at a church, why not cinemas? We still experience fellow movie buffs having their phones ringing in the middle of a show. Again, I think Singaporeans really need to learn to be graceful just like what our government campaigns are about. It is sad but it is true that this happens in a country like Singapore. Maybe the government should put a hefty price tag to this - yet another fine imposed.

Back to the church event earlier, I felt like visiting old friends at my previous church at Cambridge Road. Pastor Richard, Collidear and if Timothy is still around, it'll be nice to re-visit those days with him again. Frankly, I miss that chap.

Farewell 2008 ...

2008 brought me lots of joy and it sure will be one of the years which I will remember most.

At the beginning of the year, a big party awaited us as my buddy Hanwen and Clara had their customary wedding dinner in February 08.

The months that followed were also very exciting as Sandy and I prepared for our own wedding in June 08. Wedding invites, schedules as well as work kept me busy.

On 7 June 08, Sandy and I finally tied the knot at the Amara Sanctuary in Sentosa.

Just right after our wedding, we embarked on a honeymoon that went very well. I guess it was the companion of best friends as well as a splendid choice of location in Japan that made the honeymoon a perfect honeymoon.

In the second half of the year saw a change in job for me as I explored other opportunities within the same industry and that was when I joined GMAC in August 08. It was indeed another good choice I made.

In Oct 08, my younger brother Weisheng entered the army to do his duty for the nation just like every other able bodied man in Singapore. I have to say this is going to be a rather life changing experience for him and it is only now that we all know he is a grown up and will be able to fend himself along life's journey. He is no longer that little boy we all had. He is now a soldier that will fight enemies when the time arises.

In November 08, Sandy and I found a place we'll call home at Melville Park. This is going to be the biggest investment that both of us have made together and this is also going to be the place where I can hide from the world. With peace and serenity, I am sure my new home is going to be the place I want to be most of the time. We are looking at moving in Feb 09 - hopefully.

I guess the main highlights of the year was my wedding as well as my purchase of home therefore 2008 is the best year for me despite the numerous negative news that impacted the market, causing it to fall into an economic downturn.

However, there is something which I wasn't able to fulfil in the year and that was to move into my new home before 2009 as that was one wish I had when I counted down to 2008 but nevertheless, I have found a place and that is what is really important for me and Sandy.

Ups and downs we faced together, Sandy and I will surely keep these memories of 2008 and these memories will surely last a lifetime ... but before we chuck aside these memories, I guess we would like to thank the many people who attended our biggest party in our lives - our wedding. We want to thank everyone for the well wishes as well as the many foreign guests that took the time and effort to attend our wedding.

We would also like to thank our families especially my parents and godparents for helping me out with the wedding preparations, of course not forgetting Beatrice and my other close friends who also played a part to make our wedding a success. 2008 is a highlight of our lives and we thank you for contributing postively to it.

As we bid farewell to 2008, I am sure 2009 will be a better year for us all. Let's look at it postively and walk the journey together.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ...!

I know it has been a while since I last updated this blog and this could likely be the last blog before the year ends but I hope in 2009, I would be able to carry on posting regularly to this blog as this is a platform for my friends and family to know more about what's going on with my life.

 

Perhaps you can look forward to reading about some of my accomplishments for 2008 and what I want for 2009.

 

Until then, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the days of 2009 be filled with lots of laughter and joy.

The rainbow after the rain ...

I hear this pretty often but I never really gave it much thought about it.

Rain often brings people like us lots of inconveniences. Umbrellas and getting our selves soaked wet but what happens after a downpour?

A cooler climate which Singaporeans tend to enjoy better and a possibility of a colorful rainbow across the skies. Without rain, rainbows will not present itself. Without bad days, what good are happy days?

So the next time when you feel like life is getting tough and you are feeling miserable, believe this. Believe that even after a fiercest storm, a rainbow could still appear in the skies smiling as you await better day ahead.

Again, it is easier said than done but I at least I am trying ....

Terror attacks at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai...

I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I saw a familiar hotel with blazing fire from its rooftop. It was the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai. It was burning yellow and red with lots of dark fumes arising from the blaze.

The first person I thought of was Ratan Tata, a good friend of mine. I immediately rang him at his residence and asked if he was doing ok. Thankfully he picked up the phone almost instantly with only one ring. He must have been by the phone all night as he mentioned that he didn't catch sleep at all. I managed a sigh of relief.

The Taj Mahal Palace brought me pleasant memories of Mumbai. It had a beautiful architecture and the service was just splendid. I wondered why was the Taj Mahal Palace chosen as the place to execute such terror acts. Afterall, it belonged to the House of Tatas.

Tatas are one of the very few conglomerates left that believes much in corporate responsibility. They are one of the few drivers of the Indian economy so why hit them? Wasn't this hotel built for Indians to show case that they weren't inferior to the British during the Commonwealth days? Did Indians forget that while other foreign owned hotels rejected them, the Taj Mahal Palace welcomed them?

It is sad but that is life. We know the House of Tatas will grow from strength to strength and after this ordeal,they can only grow bigger.

Horrible report

The New Paper published photos of an unsightly incident that took place at the Singapore Zoological Gardens and I felt really disturbed seeing those pictures of a man being mauled by the ever popular exhibits – the white tigers.

 

We don't know for what reason the man entered the exhibit area of the otherwise tame tigers but we know the reason TNP decided to splash such horrific photos and that was to boost sales.

 

I think it is very selfish on the part of the papers to publish these photos which might have already traumatized many visitors who witnessed the incident and what about the victim's family members? Do they want to be reminded of the visuals that they missed? I really don't think so.

 

Singapore's media authorities should step up with stricter controls of its contents published even on tabloid papers. I simply cannot believe a 6 page write up on the incident with full color is acceptable.

Happy Halloween ...!

The long awaited Halloween Party at GMAC GRS has happened and gone all in just 2 over hours but I sure had lots of fun being able to cross dress using a piece of black thrash bag.

Halloween often associates with the color black and practically seventy percent of us in the office came dressed in the darkest color ever known but of course, there are always people who decided to think out of the box and came in white drapes of cloth.

We had some who really looked ghostly with bleeding nose and blood stained dress and what’s best was a pirate who came back to life from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh, we also had a mummified corpse that walked around slowly and God knows how many tissue papers were used in the making of the mummy but it was really funny seeing my colleagues all dressed up. I wonder how they’ll look when it comes to other themes like ‘Back to School’ or even ‘Saturday Night Fever’. That’ll be really fun!

Anyway, what is Halloween all about? What’s with Trick or Treat? Frankly, do you have any idea why in western countries people celebrate this? Is it something close to our traditional Ghost Festival celebrated by the Chinese?

I took a read on Wikipedia and found out that this tradition actually started from early Irish immigrants who celebrated the festival of Samhain and it is often regarded as the Celtic New Year.

This is perhaps my second time participating in a Halloween party and if memory doesn’t fail me, the first time was likely 10 years ago in Sentosa which included a Ghost Tour of a former British barrack. Spooky!

Nevertheless, we had lots of fun painting our faces and making it look as scary as possible but the effect on me was meant to be pretty. So tell me, chio bo? ( Am I pretty?) Seriously, when I saw myself in the mirror, I wanted so much to laugh out loud and yes, I somewhat freaked a man who was doing the pee in the Gents. My presence really startled him and I had to assure him that whatever he had between his legs, I too have it.

If given another opportunity, I won’t mind putting on some make up again and turning myself to look like a girl especially since we all know there is some feminine side of me that’s hiding deep inside. : )

Now between me and Sandy, am sure you can tell who the female is.

Finally we made it ...

The idea has been lingering around for a long time but we never ventured nor explored but just on Saturday, we decided to commit to a place we found in Simei.

Not a very big apartment but it is enough for the two of us to live in and of course there is still room for the occasional visitors who want to sleep over in the guest room.

I have to say it was almost love at first sight with the apartment at Melville Park and don't get me wrong, it wasn't because the development was pink that finalized the decision. It was the 'feel' of the house. We just felt good in the apartment upon stepping in.

For 89 square metres, we need not spend the whole weekend cleaning up the place thus it will be much easier to maintain.

The apartment will be handed over in January 2009 and it is likely I won't get to move in until later on unless the seller decides to let me have it in December 2008 but I doubt it as I understand it is currently tenanted to a lady artist.

Sandy and I have decided to keep the apartment simple and likely will not go for much renovation works unless there really is a need to. Maybe just the basics like wardrobes and cabinets but other than that, don't think we'll need it.

I sure am looking forward to this new phase of life where Sandy and I can have our own love nest. Something I have been waiting for many years and it is only now that I take the courage to make this investment possible.

We'll now be making use of weekends to look around for furniture and home appliances. The list doesn't seem long for now and like I said, we'll try to keep it as simple as possible. A simple home would allow us simple chores and who will be doing the chores will be the next big question but I seriously look forward to contributing even though I know I suck at such jobs.

Whatever it is going to take, we finally made it with the first step.

Yet another fine city ...

I read in the papers recently that any person caught sleeping on the bench at a park can be smacked a fine. This is really surprising especially when I ever took a quick nap at East Coast Park.

Sometimes it is really weird how our government comes up with such strict rules and regulations. Littering, jay walking and speeding are quite the norms when it comes to fines and court summons but sleeping on a park's bench can result in a hefty fine sounds pretty weird.

It is not wrong to say that benches are meant to be sat on and not to be slept on but what harm can it do if one decides to take a quick nap during office hours at the park just below the office? As you can see in the photo, even the Japanese take naps in their office attire and it just seems so normal in a busy park. Don't you think the government should allow a little more freedom to what we can do in parks?

So remember, don't you get caught dozing off on a bench if not, you'll end up paying more than a night's stay in a 4 star hotel. : )

A queue so long ...

It took several hours before grandma was able to see the doctor and that was quite a long wait.

The Cancer Centre was filled with patients and accompanying relatives. Seats were limited and some patients were left to stand around while waiting for their turn to consult the doctor. There were those luckier ones who owned a private seat - the wheelchair.

Seated with grandma and godma, we joked and laughed our time away and mainly at fellow patients as well as doctors. Ok, I know. We are a mean bunch but what to do? The time was crawling and the timing of the appointment wasn't kept as scheduled.

We joked that every patient who visits the centre would likely end up queuing at a Singapore Pools buying lottery and that was the main reason why Singapore General Hospital decided to use the queue number system with 4 digits. Our number was 1034.
Now that you have read it, go and buy it. You might just get lucky reading my blog.

Anyway, while I was seated at the Cancer Centre, I realized that life is really fragile and along life's journey, we'll never know when we'll end up at that place as a patient and given a private seat ( once again, the wheelchair). It is kind of a scary thought as both the ladies I was with were patients who battled the same enemy - cancer.

Cancer is one of the main culprit that takes lives away, killing it slowly. I guess I somewhat know the pain as I saw two of my closest relatives, Godma and grandmother suffer from it. They went through it all. I learnt a lot from the experience they went through and whenever I saw them in pain, I too felt the pain and tears would well up in the eyes. It is something I'll try to forget but deep inside, I know it will not be forgotten as this is part of my life's journey with them.

Forget the sobbing stories. Three of us spent the day together laughing most of the time and that was important. Laughing helps kill germs and bacteria. : )

Sing a song ... sing along.

At GMAC, we work hard and we play really hard too and that's what "Team GM" believes very much in or at least, I try to make it look as if it is true.

We had an evening session of wonderful singing as well as beer drinking. It is a pity that not everyone from "Team GM" could make it but the turn out wasn't that bad either.

Everyone started off really shy and noone wanted to start the opening song thus yours truly had no choice but to break the ice with Bee Gees How Deep Is Your Love.
Frankly, I didn't sing the song. I only read it like I was uttering a prayer.

It took a little while to warm up but given time, we realised there were quite a number of song birds in the team. My, some of these vocals are pretty good.

We also managed to hear our fellow Filipino colleagues, AA and MM sing to the tunes of Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang. I couldn't recall the meaning of the song but well, music has no boundaries and that's good isn't it?

I look forward to more activities coming up and looks like the next outing is going to be on Deepavali at a colleague's place. Yahoooo ...!!

Folks from Kuching ...

Earlier in the month, we had some relatives from Kuching visit us. They are my granduncle and grandaunt, siblings of my grandmother.

Managed to catch up with them on two occassions and both were for dinner. That's what Singapore is good for anyway - food.

The lady on the right is my grandmother who dotes on me really much and we can all see how much she has aged over the years and I cannot believe my cousin Alexis adding on donkey ears to her greying hair. You naughty girl .. ! : )

SAF enlistment ... either a boy's dream or a mother's nightmare.

In Singapore, every able bodied man will have to serve the nation through conscription and I am no exception however, if you were to ask me about my army days, I'll tell you its lots of fun.

My younger brother Weisheng was enlisted last week and by counting the days, he should be in camp for almost 8 days now and I am sure he is counting down the days to his first book-out.

The military believes in a confinement period whereby new recruits have to stay in camp for at least two weeks and from experience, it is sheer torture. Can you imagine the mental torture that can bring? Argh. I don't want to think about it but too bad, Weisheng is now serving his duty towards the nation.

Having three boys in the family, my parents contribute quite a bit to the defence of the nation. Without us, the nation will not sleep in peace and comfort - something I always tell my friends and colleagues.

I guess it is also a good time to learn how to be independent and surely the best time to keep the body in shape. Going through national service was torturous and we were in it, we just want to get out of it but many friends tell me after having completed the 2 years of service, they kind of miss the life in there but for me it is a complete opposite. I am due for my reservist liability end of this year and I dread it heaps but for the sake of the nation, I will have to make this big sacrifice to be away wearing the color green.

A trip to Melaka ...

Once again my apologies for not being able to load up pictures and write about my recent outings as I have been really busy these days.

First of all, let me highlight one of the more important events that took place last month and that is our family trip to Melaka.

Melaka being an old Portugese settlement, it has a rich and diverse culture. About 2 hours by road, one can find simplicity in the small Chinese dominated town. Oh, for you who do not know where Melaka is, its in Malaysia. : )

It has been quite a while since I joined my parents and my two younger brothers for a trip and its a big bonus to have my godparents as well as another cousin join us. Its a pity we weren't able to have the whole family tree together but that'll happen soon I hope.

A one night two day trip can be quite a rush but frankly, we were there only for the food. Shopping wasn't that bad but the weather was really hot as we had to walk to Jonker Street from the Holiday Inn hotel.

My colleague Eileen provided me with lots of addresses for food but unfortunately we only managed to try Aunty Lee as shown in the photo. My, the food was great.

In another picture, you'll see a rather rare photo taken in a pub with my parents, brothers, cousin and my beautiful wife Sandy. Believe it or not, we played dice games and whoever loses will need to take a gulp from the Heineken bottle. The 'kids' enjoyed themselves and what's best was we had an underage chap drinking two bottles of the ever popular beer.

I am looking forward to the next trip and am planning for it to be Ipoh as well as Genting. That is going to be real fun but the traveling time is going to be a little long but with family, a journey can never be too long.