Though I had a long weekend cos of my leave on Monday, I didn't feel like I had worked a day less.

________________

My mom is so cute - she was using her lappie when suddenly her mouse wheel let out a lil cracking sound.

She said, "Woah, the mouse got sound one. It's hungry."

The darnest things moms say.

Anyway, I have been having a wide variety of buns/cakes/pastries for breakfast. Haha. Nice. Surprises at 9.30am everyday.

Recommending her latest discovery - black pepper minced pork bun!

_____________________

I did it! 2 and a half days!

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Happy April Fool's Day tomorrow! Haha. The best time for jokes......whether u mean it or not. =P

Pink IC I choose you!

Today there's a new addition to my wallet.

Finally received my pink IC!

Hmm, though I still think a blue one looks nicer... (and the picture on my pink one looks vomitable - lucky 3 more years can change liao), I am still happy to be accepted. And thankful for what the country has given me. Safety, opportunities, shelter, vibrancy, family and friends... just to acknowledge a few.

While the Noose was showing "We are Singaporeans!", 150 new citizens attended the Citizenship Certificate Ceremony - at a CC very near my house, yay! Dinner was provided too - local dishes like rojak, chicken rice, laksa and chendol.

I took a glance around and analyzed that about half were from PRC and India. The other half would be Malaysians, Myanmese, Vietnamese etc. Just my guess...

When everyone had assembled in the auditorium, three videos were shown - the first one depicted the history of Singapore; followed by the rights, privileges and obligations of being a citizen; lastly "Tampines, Our Home".

Then all 150 took turns to go up onto stage to receive our cert and pink IC from the GOH, Mr Ong Kian Min.

The ceremony ended with a pledge and the national anthem. I realised the last time I did this was like.... prolly when I was doing NSF? That was a good 6 years ago.

My official date of Citizenship is 20.01.2011. Purposely chose this date cos it looks auspicious. Haha. (And I'm very very glad too because....)

________


Anyway while having dinner at the foyer with the new citizens, I accidentally knocked into a small girl, resulting in her spilling half a cup of cordial onto herself, dirtying her dress. I felt really bad and immediately apologised to the girl and her mom. The expression on her mom's face was priceless. =)








She shot back a stare of disgust.

Let's see how much longer I can take it like this!!!

Do you miss this ?

Xmas off-in-lieu

MERRRY XMAS TO ME!

Haha, finally cleared my Xmas off-in-lieu today. Your Sunday really feels different when you know that you don't have to face the Monday blues the next day.

Remember that I shared that I bought a voucher off streetdeals.sg? It was for a one-time facial. So I went for it.... all the way at Holland Village -_-

Damn, I was cursing at myself while at it. IT WAS FREAKING EXCRUCIATING PAIN! The nose area is super sensitive and I was tearing uncontrollably while the lady used her tool to extract those stubborn black heads and whatevernots. She saw that I was winching and desperately trying to hold back my nervous system and assured me that "it's gonnna be over soon." lol. I replied, "you are so bad - everyday you make guys tear."

Anyway after 1.5 hours of facial 'surgery' she tried to get me to sign up packages with them but I politely declined. Though she was a very pretty lady, I don't need that frequent of a facial maintenance... I think I must have lost 2kg of excess. My face hasn't felt this smooth and flawless since I was born.

HAHA, ain't trying to advertise here but if you're interested, it's called ONLYaesthetics. Though the pain was regrettable and I swear I wouldn't go for another facial in my life again, I think I would la. Haha. Like for ROM/wedding photos/big occasions. (Will there be such a day anyway?)

___

After the satisfying facial I headed over to NUS to meet Irritating Ivan. He too, had taken 1/2 day leave. Many friends we bumped into gave us the same "=O" expression when we explained that we were here really because we miss the school.

We had lunch at the all-so-familiar Technoedge. I haven't stepped in here for almost 2 years since I grad but the environment felt very familiar; like it was only yesterday.

So there was the Engin bridge; the flight of stairs that led to our tutorial rooms; the wooden table that we finalized on our WAT decision (that changed our lives); 6th floor EA block that Blur Bee used to wait for my lessons to end; my FYP lab; Olive Cove (same menu, same deco, same fav snacks); 'socksville' at LT7a.

Ivan and I crashed a lecture at 3pm at LT7a. It was a one of Chem Eng, I assumed. Cos the Indian lecturer was talking about bond energy, 1s1, 2s2, 2p6. We sat at the extreme top right hand corner. A leopard never changes its spots - I dozed off halfway and when the lecture ended at 4pm, I stepped out realising that I had missed out on everything - JUST LIKE OLD TIMES HAHAHAHAHA.

After that we hung around at Arts Forum and Burger King, watching the crowd and reminiscing old times. It was nice that I had Ivan's company which I could share memories with. Still miss the vibrancy and dynamics of tertiary school life, especially orientation camps?

Saw my fellow ME mate from my same batch doing post-grad inside my FYP lab. Even though he works in a very fun place (e.g. young girls), I don't very much envy his job choice - cos I think I won't be able to stand a desk-bound job. And at that doing research, conducting experiments, drawing statistical charts... I already had enough of that for my FYP. Besides that, I think the corporate world is much more interesting, though you gotta be ever-wary of the land mines, arrows and potholes that may besiege your path....

2703

H B, B.

I k u a h. I a v h u h s m o s h.

S I m u. N g c r h m u s i m h. u w s a d t m. i h u r d.

d m a f. f u h. w s m a i o n l. a i p i t u b.

ATCD

An awesome event put up under very pressurizing situations makes it a whole lot more memorable and fulfilling.

And I really can't believe my luck - a 1 in 3 chance to win a lucky draw and I ain't got nothing!!! I NEVER WIN LUCKY DRAWS AT ALL!!!!! *sulks* ALL MY LIFE! However I'm sure if I play Russian Roulette with the same chances, I die on my first trigger.

Anyway despite that, I'm happy cos there were a few minor cock ups but things fortunately turned out well in the end. HURRAY! Credit goes to the committee members who did sooooooooo well with their roles.

It was my first time singing on stage in front of an audience too. I think I pretty enjoyed myself and engaged the audience too. HAHA! Thanks for singing along with me, Ms K. It was my honour =)

And I realised that after feel-good events like these do you have an urge that says "HEY I LOVE MY JOB!" You see friendly faces and heartwarming smiles. They share your jokes and laughter. They shake your hands. Your efforts are appreciated.





HEY, I LOVE MY JOB.

Trends:
1) In the far west
2) Drop dead
3) Miss lead
4) N.A.

___________

Chen Hanwei has been diagnosed with malignant lung cancer.

In the 9pm show at least.

It sparked a thought in me; how would you live your remaining time if you knew you only had a few more months?





I would draw out a timetable and plan everyday to the fullest.

-

A few days ago I was just chatting with my friend. I asked if she had a "to-do-list" of items while she's still alive.

Mine are:
1) Sky dive
2) Return to USA, to all the places I've been
3) Scale a mountain
4) I should start thinking

I'm going Mt. Kinabalu in August. That kinda eliminates no. 3. I plan to do 1 within the next few years. I'll do 2 when I'm in my 40s. Okay, maybe 50s.

I have a friend who tendered and had some time before his next job and guess how he chose to spend his time?

A month at Shaolin. Now that's something damn interesting.

I realised time passes too, too fast for us to apprehend. I'm just living everyday like a high-speed train - chiong and chiong, looking forward to the weekends. Saturday and Sunday whizzes by even faster, and then the cycle repeats itself.

And I'm already turning 27.

Have you ever taken your foot off the pedal, and reflect hard about this - 20 years later, would you think back and sigh, "I should have done this when I was younger?"

I know I do not want to have that thought. And time is on my side.

SIM went MIS-sing

This afternoon my phone just went bonkers, all of a sudden. Without warning.

I was whatsapping with my frens in a group chat when suddenly my phone displayed that no SIM card was detected.

I thought it was a one off electrical error or sth. Restarted my phone. Same shit.

Attempted to scratch my SIM card, hit my phone (the American way), shake shake, tried lucky fingers - they were all futile efforts.

The whole night I was out, I felt so left out, so shut off from the world. Crap!

I wonder if anyone left me a msg. I hope nobody's thinking why I'm not replying. haha.

the old guys from past

Just a few days ago I was thinking about my NS days.

I knew 2 guys who were great workers and company and after I ORDed, I totally lost touch with them.

Today at my workplace, I bumped into one of them!

Immediately I called out his name and he recognised me almost instantly. Haha. We caught up a lil bit and I was very very happy to see him again.

I asked about 2 WOs who took great care of me back then. He shared that they had left the force many years ago and rejoined the work society.

One joined as a security officer; the other is a bus driver.

I am more stupefied than anything else.

Doesn't it interest you to know how/what your friends think of you? I've always wondered how I would think of Min Hui if I'm another person in the group. Is he a boring person? Does he crack ppl up? Is he spontaneous or a spoil-sport?

My friends recently visited the night safari and came back sharing that they found the perfect job for me - the host for the animal shows. HAHA.

More recently during our attachment to a training course, they chose this card that most describes me:






















And then just now my friend shared this link with me: http://jobscentral.com.sg/viewSimpleProfile.php?eid=45246&jid=265732

She said it "sounds like u".

HAHA! =) I'm glad the above are positive ones. At least they sound like they are!

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Just had a real Monday. An authentic one. I posted that I "need a Friday" on FB. Spent the morning sitting through quite a productive meeting - that was good - received great guidance and direction. But a colleague was damn AP and displayed unfriendly body language and disrespectful commments. I seriously don't know why some ppl are like that. And I need to work with him on the same project..... it's not going to be easy.

Sure work can most of the time seem fulfilling, with colleagues greeting you in the morning, returning warm smiles and sharing jokes, but there're bound to be a few black sheeps whom I think I shld learn how to manage work r/s with them.

Then, I spent a significant portion of the afternoon dealing with customer complaints. They were really frustrated customers who lots to lament about, I assure you. However, I think I did fine to appease them! I believe I did apply some skills I remember reading up on.

Just to share:

(I'll just take the customer to be a 'him', to generalise)

1) LISTEN

- Do not take scoldings/swears personally. The customer might raise his top of his voice or scold vulgarities but bear in mind that he is only venting his anger at the MATTER and not AT YOU.
- Give ample room for him to express his anger and complaints. Do not interrupt. An angry customer just wants someone to hear them out.
- Empathise with him. Let him know that you understand how he feels. Repeat his points so he knows you have been actively listening.

2) EXPLAIN

- Explain to him what happened/reasons behind the cock up. Every complaining customer seeks a reasonable answer.

3) PROVIDE

- Tell your valued customer what you can do to salvage the situation
- Go beyond expectations; if you can, give him some freebies. Meet him personally to apologise. He'll be delighted to know that he is a valued customer.


And of course, remember to be sincere and friendly throughout your conversation! Even behind the phone, anyone can easily tell whether you are true and mean what you say. If the situation allows, joke to melt the tense situation. :)

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I was chatting with my friend about horoscopes and their common characteristics. For example, my friend is a Leo and she said she's the fierce one. Haha. I'd think that a Saggitarius is happy-go-lucky, welcomed by all and enjoys freedom and fun. I hope that's true for me haha.

While at that, I suddenly realised that I personally know two Saggitarius friends who had sort of almost laid their hands on the keys to their new house with their partners however, suddenly backed out of their previously seemingly stable relationships.

Reason? They came to enlightenment that they were not prepared to spend the rest of their lives with their respective partners.

How the sweet love stories had to come to an end seem rather sad and heartbreaking but, don't everyone want the best for themselves? Better be sure than sorry, I'd say.

And in case you're wondering, both of my Saggi frens above are females.

Girls know what they want. They sure know.

I don't have anything to blog about already, do I?