History Repeating

History is repeating itself again...

When i stepped into the workforce 6 years ago, half the time I was bumping around, trying to fit myself into the job scope which i THOUGHT would suit me.
I had this illusion with an "ideal" work life because everybody else seemed to desire for it too.
I tried to convince myself that was the best for me.
Therefore, i started every new positions with so much enthusiasm and excitement.
But often within 3 months, i was already playing with the thought of quiting.
There were always tons of push factors for me to pin-point on.
Finding a correct job fit was near to impossible then.

Until 3 years ago, i was given a temporary position in my current company.
It didn't start off with the positive attitude i used to have as the job scope was boring and monotonous, totally different from my "ideal" benchmark.
Perhaps i was also fighting with my disease then.
Just as i didn't expect any breakthrough in my temp job, but as the days passed, i realised i began to grow fond of the things i was doing.
Although i was very poorly paid, the effort i put was the most ever before.
My performance was also recognised and acknowledged by my bosses.
Soon after, they decided to convert me to a contract staff (all new staff was recruited on a 2-year contract basis then), despite knowing my health condition.
They even agreed to hold the position for me till i recoverd from my surgery.
I accepted the offer and the HR department proceeded with the paperwork.
However, the little "Yes" tick in the health declaration column in the application form turned the entire situation 180 degrees.
HR withdrew the contract even though my bosses fought hard for me.
They said they couldn't hire me because of my health condition.
I tried all ways to assure them that i'll be well again but to no avail.
In the end, they counter-offered a 6-months temporary position, with the excuse of "monitoring" my condition after the surgery.
Well...fine...
After some "power struggle" during the 6-months, i finally got my 2-year contract a year later.
It was indeed a tough time of perserverance and hard prayers.

It has been almost 2 years and coming February will be the end of my current contract.
My current bosses have the intention of recommending me for a permanent position instead of just renewing my contract.
Just as my faith for the public sector was picking up, i was pushed down the cliff again.
Due to my previous medical condition, the Public Service Department (not HR anymore) couldn't offer me a permanent employment.
Reason being that i am still within the 5-years "risk period" after my surgery hence it's against their policy to hire a person like me.
Well, i hate to say this but i feel discriminated.
I would never thought that i'll receive such an unjust treatment from the Singapore Public Service.

Fear that i'll take too many medical leave?
For the past 2 years, other than the occasional 1-2 days MC for unrelated colds or flu, i only had to go back to the hospital for follow-up once every 4-5 months.
Comparing to others who maxed out their outpatient leave?
Or fear that i'll incurr too much medical cost?
My existing contract wasn't even covering any bills related to my medical condition.
Seriously i don't know what is their basis.
My bosses are still fighting hard, and this time, with the HR department.
Bonny is pressing on too, in order to stay on to the job i've been waiting for 3 years.

With the case pending, can i not be worried?
There is a possibility that i may lose my job in 2 months time.
My new flat is almost ready.
I'm still doing my bachelor.
Looking at the above scenarios, it's hard to remain cool.
But i know God is in control.
I'm thankful for having good bosses and making all other situations favourable for me.
I am definitely handling this better than 2 years ago.

I've learnt not to take the fact of holding a job for granted because it will not be always the case.
Treasure what you have now yah.
Do pray for me too... =)
Thanks..

Bonny's Amazing Weekend

Weekends have been hectic for Bonny lately and it will be more as December approaches.
Last Saturday, Bonny was found at Singapore Expo for Fish Leong's Live Mini Concert!
With Carol. She got a free pair of tix when she bought her mobile phone so she offered me!
If not i'll have to try my luck to call in 933 already man. Heh.
Thanks Carol, if you happen to see this! =)
Oh in case you are not unaware, Fish is Bonny's favourite!
I love her vocal, i love her songs and she seems like a nice person too.
Can be good friends that kind.
Hahaha....Bonny is siao.

These are the clearest photos i could find from the 40ish i took.
We were like seated at the last few rows loh!
That's the best my Ixus 30 can serve me. Haiz..old already.
I took a video when she sang <<暖暖>> but i was feeling kinda nauseous as i look at the blurry image so i shall spare you from it.

To make up for that, i'll show you the MV.
I love it! So sweet!!!!



After the mini concert, Bonny headed to Creator's for the usual worship rehearsal.
While the worship leaders and the musicians were sorting out the parts, Persi and Bonny were uber boh liao.
Kekeke... =p

***
Sunday was hectic x2.
After service, hung out with CG at SPC as usual, rushed down to Raffles City to attend the meeting for Jus' wedding, rushed back to SPC to meet Koko, proceeded to Parkway Parade to meet SK, cabbed down to East Coast Chalet for the Leadership 101 Graduation BBQ.
All in 3 hours! *sweat

At the chalet...
I decided to leave my cammy in my bag as i didn't want to be disrupted at any moment.
Ever since the course started in July, we went through seminars, projects, a 3d2n camp and finally this graduation bbq.
We shared the same fun, same hardship, same tears and most importantly the same burden for God and the church.

After the sumptuous dinner prepared by Uncle John, we adjourned to the beach for our "graduation ceremony".
Other than the "graduates", the ambience was completed with lited candles, the sand and the sea breeze.
Just a pity that the moon was too shy that night.
As we gathered in a circle, we began to share our learnings, takeaways and personal developments during the course.
It was solemn yet inspiriting to listen to the heartwarming personal testimonies of my fellow brothers and sisters.
The words that came from the bottom of the hearts became the best delicacies for the night.
And as usual, Bonny drama-mama-ed again. Haiz... 真没用！
It's really encouraging to know that i'm not fighting the war alone.
We may have experienced growth in different areas of our spiritual life but the ultimate pivot point remains the same.
Looking forward to witness the amazing things that will be revealed.

The 2-hour session was concluded by the council members followed by Pastor Tiak.
They gave their final piece of advice for the road ahead and boy...it's gonna be exciting man! Too bad Uncle Chua couldn't be there due to his ligament injury.
You missed a lot man! Hehe =p

We got back our assignments too and not surprisingly, i got a C for the book review component. =p
But Bonny got one of the 5 special awards wor! Hehehe.... Don't know how they graded too.
Nevertheless i'm thankful for the recognition from the Lord!

Yeah so that's it!
I hope Pastor LY will send us the photos soon.
See lah...that's the disadvantage for not carrying my cammy with me.
But it's okay...worth it! =)

第43届金马奖颁奖典礼－城城又得奖啦！！！

上个星期六在台北小巨蛋举行的第43届金马奖颁奖典礼已圆满落幕。

我竟然忘了收看！！！

啊啊啊啊啊啊！！！

简直无法原谅自己。

为何我的反应会那么大？？

因为我的城城再次夺得金马奖最佳男主角！！！

为了我无法在第一时刻分享他的喜悦及为他喝彩而感到有点遗憾。

可是当我得知这个好消息时，我是雀跃万分的。

太棒了！！！

不明白为什么他要剃光头。k lah...cute 咯。


城城是凭《父子》夺得影帝的头衔。

杨彩妮应该是他在戏里面的妻子。

而那个小男孩也凭这部戏获得最佳男配角。很cute hoh!!!

哦。。。他叫吴景滔。　前途无量！　

好期盼这部电影在本地上映哦！

周迅也凭《如果。爱》夺得最佳女主角的奖项。

我看过这部电影。她的表现的确让我刮目相看。

我喜欢她拽拽的模样。=)

正当我在搜寻城城得奖的相关资料时。。。

我差点因为看到这而喷饭。。。

你能认得他是谁吗？？

没错。。。金城武！

What happened to him ah?

他是不是受到什么打击？

还是Tom Hanks 在《Cast Away》里头的造型启发了他这身打扮。

哎哟！！！　很 sala leh!

还好杰伦还算正常。

可是他的pose跟他的脸部表情实在不搭。

要act cool 就不要 V 啦！又没有人逼你。

最后。。还是要再次恭喜城城，贺喜城城！！！！

我永远支持你！！！　

嘻．．．　

明天会更好...昨天也不错!

Jerry sent me this classic MV.



MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Hilarious right?!
Did you see 费玉清 in polo shirt?? So he was EVER in casual. Hahahaha!!!
Did you see 蓝心梅??? I think she would pay whatever amount to call back such videos!
And i think the most handsome was 齐秦. He looked super cute man.
Surprisingly of all the singers that were captures, i could recognise almost of half of them.
Yes i belong to that era!
Not in terms of age for sure.
As i've always mentioned..我很早就"出道"了hor! =p

As far as i could remember, i was exposed to pop music (then) ever since i could recognise and understand Chinese words.
I would sing along with the cassette tapes while clarifying with an adult the pronounciation of certain words in the lyrics sheet.
Perhaps that was when i master the proper Chinese pronounciation.
But of course, the adult must have taught me correctly lah.
Imagine 四 was pronounced as 是.
Heh!

The most unforgettable experience was when my aunt (who was working with a recording firm 风格唱片) became the crew of 凤飞飞's concert.
She brought me with her and it became my very first concert..LIVE! =)
So when she was running around like mad, there i was admiring 飞飞姐 (haha...maciam my friend) on stage.
Fortunately the control room was behind the audience and not behind the stage! If not, dunno see what! =p
The concert held at the musical fountain at Sentosa and boy...MAGNIFICENT!!
Imagine as she was "掌声响起来" and behind her was the dancing water!
How come such concept was abolished huh? Quite good mah.
Anyway it left a pretty deep impression in me. Her songs...her hats...to think i was only in nursery. No joke ok! =p
Since then, i have been a fan of 飞飞姐.
And when she made a comeback a couple of years ago, i was thrilled man!
I ALMOST bought the ticket for her concert at Indoor Stadium 2 years back.
It was just a pity that i couldn't find a companion.
True lah...who would like 凤飞飞 at my age? =p

Other than 飞飞姐, my favourites also include 高凌峰 (come to think of it, he was a bit sleazy then =p)，刘文正，伊能静，裘海正，方文琳.
Even to the local 新摇 veterens like 梁文福，许环良，许南盛.
Wait a minute...in case you are already getting the wrong idea...Bonny is only 25 this year hoh!

Oh boy...what a nostalgia.
Are we from the same era? =p

Lucia's Birthday "Drama"

Koko, Persi, Lucia and Bonny were at Wisma last Saturday evening.

The agenda of the evening - Lucia's birthday dinner!
We had to roam around for a while first before we cab to PS Cafe at Dempsey, due to the restricted reservation time.
The dining place was supposed to be kept as a secret from Lucia.

As we were walking aimlessly, Lucia was narrating her birthday dinners for the past week to Persi and all of a sudden!!!
Lucia: We went Dempsey for dinner then we proceeded to PS Cafe...
PS CAFE??!!! Did she just said that???

Bonny wasn't in their conversation but when she uttered that, i caught it instantly.

Immediately i alerted Koko.

Managed to find a resting place at Starbucks and Koko, Persi and I started our sms dialogue.

Persi - Bonny: You heard that??? She just went to PS Cafe this week!!!!! How how how???

Bonny - Persi: Yes i heard!!! Okok cool down cool down. We just have to find an alternative.

Bonny - Koko: Let's think of another place!!!

Persi - Bonny: What about Fosters at Holland V? If not JewelBox at Fort Canning??

Aiyah...Koko kept her phone in her bag!!!
Then i cooked an excuse that i needed the loo.

Koko exclaimed: The restaurant don't have toilet meh??

I gave her a stare followed by a hard knock at her knee underneath the table.

Somehow she regained her consciousness of the situation, took out her phone, repositioned herself and responded: Hmm...i also wanna go toilet.

Duh!

Meanwhile, Persi had to keep Lucia busy by making her narrate the story of <<宫>>.

Muahahaha!!!!

After all the ding ding dong dong, finally we managed to secure a reservation at Da Paolo, Club Street.

Phew...有惊无险!

But i have to say that we handled that pretty well. Cool and steady! Hah.

We had smoked salmon, pasta and we opened a bottle of white wine too!
The wine selection process was so comical.
Anyway, after the atas dining experience, we concluded that we are small girls who are more suitable for hotel buffets.
Kekeke...

This little street has quite a few unique restaurants and pubs.
Somehow they created a very special ambience for the entire street.
Like a peaceful and uninterrupted town in old America.
Rather hard to explain but i like the feeling.
It's such a contradiction from the cheena Chinatown just outside.
Oh i'm not saying Chinatown is bad hoh. I just wanna show the distinction k. =p

Ok i'll be back again! =)

Beyond Fun

Zi-char at Modena again!

Simply beyond FUN!!!

[Click on each collage for bigger image]

郭富城 - 爱情

城城出新歌咯!!!
还以为他拿了金马奖后就放弃了歌唱事业.

告诉你个秘密...我喜欢城城已经有16年了哦. 呵呵... =)
打从他的....对你...爱..爱..爱..不完...
哎哟...说起来还有点不好意思咧...
说真的...看着他一路走来, 我也为他的成就感到骄傲.
从他第一次得劲歌金曲最受欢迎男演唱人到他近期的金马奖最佳男主角.
每次看他拿奖, 我都会感动的为他落泪, 为他喝彩.
真的喔!
呃...好像有点"笑"hoh.
哎呀...总之他就像是我的老朋友似的.
只差他不认识我而已.
哈哈哈哈...

新歌 - 爱情.
周杰伦作曲, 方文山作词.
呃...有点失望哦.
唱得有点不自然哦.
或许不是每个人都适合唱杰伦和文山的创作吧.
咳...那何必勉强呢?
小美不是很好吗?

但是!!!!!!
他真是帅呆了!
他帅, 我呆! =p
实在不了解一个40出头的男人, 怎么能保养成酱子??!!!
他还是人吗??
百思不得其解...

可是hoh...那个girl年纪也太小了吧!
相差应该也有20岁左右.
有点uncle骗小妹妹的感觉咧.
但我很肯定的是...她一点也不会介意!
哎哟...谁会???!!!!

Anyway...
你自己看咯...

注: 请远离键盘, 以免被口水弄湿. =p

Jenny Yang - 不公平

这不是一首新歌，其实还蛮旧的.
好久没听见了.
前阵子在933再次听到这首歌, 让我兴奋了一下. =)

演唱者是 Jenny Yang.
没听过也不希奇.
她是在很多年前(真的很多年)在一个台湾华纳唱片公司主办的新秀选拔赛的季军.
她给我留下一个很深的印象.
因为她很能唱, 又是一个ABC.
连当时评审之一的包小松都力挺她.
但美中不足的是她的外表.
缺乏所谓的 market value.
因此无法进入大决赛.
可惜可惜...

我喜欢她的声制.
很响, 很亮, 很有爆发力.
这首歌就是她在比赛过后仅灌录的一首歌.
收录在台湾偶像剧<<斗鱼>>的原声带.

咳...就唱那么一首歌, 也不让她在MV露一露面.
真是的...
没关系, 歌好就够了!
洗耳恭听吧! =)

Staff Day

It's Staff Day today!!!

At Sentosa, Tanjong Beach!

People mountain people sea.


Bonny and Celyn.


Bonny likes this pic because the colours are very nice. =)

Weiyin, my new colleague and yes...she was having red wine.

She high class man... Heh.


Clockwise...Keat, Celyn, Bonny and Wei Yin.

We were chilling out at KM8 during lunch.

Bonny drank beer...sshhh.... =p

That's Tim...a new colleague whom i knew today.

He was the one who bought me the beer.

教坏我hor.... =p


Bengz! My good buddy!!!


Keat and Bonny.


These people really went all out.

牺牲色相 also nehmind.

But seriously, all thanks to them for giving us a good laugh!

See...that's what i meant...

敬佩敬佩!!!!


The Sector Planners rocks!!!


The YELLOW team!!!!

We got the Most Gungho award ok!

Don't play play ah!

Bonny wasn't giddy.

Bonny had a good tan.

It's such a fun day. =)

我的生命

生老病死本来就是人生必经的路程.
虽然如此, 当需要面临某些阶段时, 都会感到速手无侧.
奋斗或是放弃。
选择在于自己。

很久以前问过自己，“我为什么活？” “我为谁活？”
当时找不到答案。
如今我已不再寻找解答。
因为我庆幸的是。。。我还活着。
世上有许多人连这种基本的权利都没有。
所以。。。何必质疑呢？

我珍惜生命。
我热爱生命。
我相信能来到这个世界并不是巧合。
很多生命都无法来到这世上。
上帝创造了我，而我的责任就是保护好我自己。
兵来将挡水来涂掩，是我现在保有的态度。

验血报告查出我的肾出了点问题。
但我没慌。
什么感觉？我也说不出。
或许已经习惯了吧。
伤心难过又怎样？
怨天怨地又怎样？
问题会自动消失吗？

我没想刻意“通知”任何人。
因为是我的问题，我的责任。
我不应该期望别人的同情和谅解。
但我没有隐瞒的意思。
对那些“有心”人，我心存感激。
知道你们心意，已让我感动不已了。

因为有主的恩典。
我会好好的活着。
我会精彩的活着。

Giddiness and...Settlers!

Bonny telecommuted on Friday so that i could go for my blood tests in the morning.

And i went.

And spent 150 bucks!!!

Bonny's heart ached like anything.

But I was pretty amazed with the number of tests that can be taken with that 3 tubes of red liquid.

Dr Wong prescribed a stronger dosage of medicine for my giddiness.

The irony is...it caused drowsiness.

I took one when i got home in the late morning and i concussed for the next 3.5hrs.

I tried forcing myself to get up to reply some emails but..... =p

Finally managed to crawl out of bed at 5.30pm.

Feeling even more giddy than before. =(

Took some food and recognised that i had to go out.

If not, i might feel worse.

So i went for CP at Whampoa (church community work).

During the activity, i felt as though my soul was disconnected from my flesh.

The happenings were moving so rapidly and it was as if i was watching as an onlooker.

It's hard to comprehend i know...neither could i.

In summary, i was groggy lah.

Wrapped up the work at about 9pm and headed to Icekimos with Persi and Xf for some ice-cream.

And followed by supper with Persi.

Went to bed at around 3am...still feeling giddy.

Rose at 12pm the next day!!!

It has been ages since i wasted the entire morning in bed.

Still giddy...haiz.

Lunched, took medicine and napped for 1hr before i met Xf for a movie.

Giddy giddy giddy....

I turned in at about 12am but had a bad night sleep with several disruptions.

I was on duty this morning in church and seriously i contemplated whether to be upstage or not.

I was afraid that i might lose my balance and knock out anytime.

With the big movements and the glaring lightings...quite possible.

I didn't want to put up a drama during worship man.

But i felt a strong sense of assurance from God after praying.

So i decided to perform my duty by faith.

Thank God, it went well. =)

For the rest of the day, i felt better miraculously.

No giddy spells. Yay!

God is indeed my Jehovah Rapha!

The blood tests results will be out tomorrow.

Worried?

Yeah...guess so.

But i'm taking it in stride as i know God is with me.

Well, we'll see...

***

My CG went Settlers today again!

We went to the branch at Katong.

I love this pic with SK and me along the Katong shophouses.

Very 古色古香 hor... =)

I like the Katong branch coz they got pink walls!!!

I tried to take my revenge but!!! Aiyah... missed target!

Bonny had to take cover because someone tried to do the same on me!

Persi and Koko's Birthday

We celebrated Persi and Koko's birthday two Sundays ago.

Coffee at The Coffee Club at Takashimaya.






Dinner was at Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe at Wheelock Place.
Cosy ambience...


Mouthwatering cuisine...


Bonny couldn't resist the lil cute pink mochi. =)


Fuji apple??? Nah...it's a diary bought by Koko for Persi.