What do you want to be when you grow up?

"When I was 5 years old,

my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.

When I went to school, they asked what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I wrote down 'happy'.

They told me I didn't understand the assignment,

and I told them they didn't understand Life."

- John Lennon

The Road Ahead...

Prepare for 3rd Nov 12, 10:15 a.m.

The date and time has been set for my driving test on the road... the true test of it all. 3rd November, Saturday, 10:15 a.m. Finally, it's like a load off my mind because my driving has been going for quite some time... and now the end to this chapter is just around the corner. In between will be an additional of four driving lessons before the actual test. I can almost picture myself passing the test *fingers crossed*. 

The things I can/will do after getting my license - late night suppers, drives around town, convenience in driving to ulu places for pak-tor'ing... of course then I'll need a car in time to come. Endless possibilities...

God bless,

Mr. L

My New Workplace.
SAF Centre for Leadership Development, SAFTI MI
(the place where I lead, excel & overcome...)

So I've started working at SCLD for coming two months now. Everything has been happening at such a fast pace, with so many (more) things to learn! But so far, I'm loving the workplace environment here and the work I'm doing so far.

One thing as part of a CLDian, we always espouse reflection - especially our own reflection... to think about our own learning and development. And this is best demonstrated by my BIG BOSS with his never-failing weekly self reflections for everyone in the Department, which I feel maybe I should start practising myself too...

19.04.2011
HAPPY 30th MONTH-NIVERSARY ♥

How fast time flew by... without noticing, it has already been 2 & 1/2 years. Sure we have had our quarrels and unhappy moments, but we have overcome it all. And I believed that that has made our LOVE even stronger... and our commitment to each other stronger.

And I believe if we walk together, we can walk together hand-in-hand till we turn old, till our hairs turn white...

Last but not least, I know I don't say this all the time, even when I know I should but -
I LOVE U, BABES. I REALLY DO... =) Happy 30th.

"The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

The date was 2nd April, 2011 (a Sunday). I attended Mass with Charmaine today. Coincidentally, it was a period of time, when I was going through some turmoil & uncertainty...

I had just recently got a new job offer during reservist, which by no doubt, is definitely a good thing that happened in the least expected way. However there is still the uncertainty as to whether I can get through the HR Department's screening & interview stages... as well as whether you really made the correct career switch? And it's just so coincidental that here I was, looking for a job... and there it is, someone offering me a new, interesting job. I have to quote a phrase from LTA Shaun (my reservist friend), "It's as though the stars have aligned." So now, all my fingers are crossed~!

Next, is something I always sorta dream of but never really expected to happen in real-life - becoming a Model. It all started when I was queuing in front of the ATM machine to draw some cash after walking about @ NEX Shopping Center, getting dinner & bubble tea before heading over to Charmaine's house. Just then before it was gonna be my turn next, I was approached by two "model scouts" who have apparently stood at one corner, observing me. Of course, at first I was thinking to myself, this must be some kind of scam... but thinking back, this wasn't the first time I've been approached by model scouts in a shopping mall. So I decided to give it a try & hear what they have to say.

Anyway, one thing led to another, they gave me one of their name cards & we exchanged contacts. And by the next weekend, I received their call, asking me to come down to their office for a casting. I went after much consideration - thinking to myself, even if I don't make it big as a model, at the very least, I will have gained some experience about modelling, or learn a new thing or two about better presenting myself to others. Most importantly, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone & try out new things in my life. I don't wanna leave a blank page in the chapters of my Life (this has become my new motto in Life)...

So I went down, filled out a particulars form, walked my first ever walkway, had a short "interview" session with one of their models, and agreed to their model grooming class over a period of 7 weeks, all within two hours in the same Saturday afternoon...

The problem was: all these happened so quickly (& out of the blue), that I couldn't come to terms with it. To tell the truth, I never thought I would (or could) make it one day, as a model. I don't know what ever did the model scouts saw in me, thinking I could even make it as a model... I was never totally 100% comfortable with my looks, especially my smile. And right now, after going through all these, I even beginning to doubt my self-worth, and whether I was being a "toad lusting after the swan's meat".

That is why, it's time like these when I start to question myself & undergo a stage of inner turmoil & uncertainty.

But somehow, it's during times like these, that God somehow works his magic & answers your prayers. The scripture reading this Sunday was 1 Samuel 16: "David Anointed King". The story was that the Lord has sent Samuel to anoint the King of Israel, choosing him amongst one of Jesse's eight sons. The story goes as the Lord sending Samuel to Jesse. When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab (one of Jesse's son) and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him". But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." And so one after the other, Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." He then asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons that you have?" He answered, "There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Send for him; we shall not sit down to eat until he comes." Jesse had him sent for. Soon, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing came before them. Just then, The Lord said, "Come, anoint him, for this is the one." At this, Samuel took the horn of oil & anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David & stayed with him from that day on.

Having heard this reading, my worries & concerns were somehow lifted from me. I was as though I was enlightened. I came to realise that what you're worth shouldn't be based on looks & appearances, but what's within you - the heart. And so, I shouldn't doubt my self-worth, for everyone was made to do great things. However the choice of whether you are doing great things, come from you alone. Life is all about making choices. No one can force you. Opportunities can be presented onto you, but you have to be the one who steps forward & seize it.

At the end of the day, I think I should be glad that I did all these. Because I knew that I would certainly regret it in the future, if I didn't force myself to go through all these... to have this one chance to expose myself to the more new experiences in Life.

Today is the 4th of April, 2011...

Tomorrow is 清明节 (Qingming Festival), according to one of my aunties. Seriously, I don't know all these traditional dates & stuffs though I feel that as part of being Chinese, we should take note if not know at all when these important dates are (if only there was a easier way of remembering or counting these days).

Anyway, nearing this time of the year, our family will gather together and go pay our respects to my late-grandmother at the temple where she's rested. There will be my grandfather, my uncles and aunties, as well as one of my cousins going down together to pay their respects. Taking this chance, this will always be some sort of a gathering since Chinese New Year...

As usual (and fortunately), my smallest auntie will fetch me to the temple from my place. And today because we were pretty early, we managed to get a parking space along the road outside the temple. But I can't say the same for my other two uncles who came later, as the place soon became very packed.

But so it was, one after the other, my aunties & uncles including my grandpa eventually arrived. We then laid out the tea, fruits, food, hell notes (the usual stuffs) that were to be offered to my late-grandma. My grandpa, aunties and uncles will then pay their respects and offer their joss sticks to the Deity. And in between these sessions of paying respect and offering joss sticks, we always gather around & chit chat, with my grandpa sitting & resting beside on the chair (He has difficulty walking and standing, due to his weakening legs).

And so in times like this, the warm sunny morning covered with smokes from the burning joss sticks, as I stood amongst my aunties & uncles during their conversation, looking at each of them. I couldn't help but noticed how much my aunties and uncles have aged over the years. Their greying hair, their looks of tiredness from the hectic of lives, their aged & wrinkled expressions. How time has left its passing mark on them, as it slips away from each and every of us bit by bit. Suddenly I recalled the days when my once-young aunties and uncles used to play with me when I was a small kid. How they took care of me when I was younger, before each of them got married and had their own family & kids.

And then it also dawned upon me that I was no longer that kid they used to play with. I was getting old too. I will soon be approaching 30 in a couple years' time. I will soon be getting married myself and starting my own family. Just like that, the harsh reality of Life smacks you right in your face... That's how real Life can get. That's how harsh Life can be. Life doesn't cut corners for anybody. One moment you're still in kindergarten, the next you're in the Army, and before you know it, you've graduated from the university and thrown into the workforce. That's how fast Life can steal time away from you, without you paying attention.

And so you think to yourself, what have you done all these while?

Have you been living your Life? Or has Life been living you?

~.~ A Self-reflecting me, someone seeking answers ~.~

You took my breath away...

You are the only one girl who can take my breath away.
And you did it again this evening... just like you did for the first time at your sister's wedding.

But the thing that amazed me was that you knew it, even before I told you. Even when I thought I didn't show it...
You told me it was all over my face.
It's true... you read me like a book.
And I love the feeling of this evening.

It's like You made me fall in love with you all over again... and I can't stop loving you.

Voyage de la Vie
My first theatrical circus experience...

I was glad that I managed to catch my first ever theatrical play, especially with all the hoo-ha circulating around it in town.

The "Voyage de la Vie" is Singapore's first circus theatre spectacular with an international cast of circus stars from 16 countries. The performance acts are fantastic and breath-taking. It's definitely worth catching it at Resorts World Sentosa.

The story is about our Singapore Idol 2006 runner-up, Jonathan Leong who plays the main protagonist, a young man named 'The Boy' who goes on a journey of Life and his encounters with Love, Temptation, Imagination, Conflict, Life and Death.

He is brought into the world of his own imagination by 'The Game Master' (Alexey Goloborodko). Guided by the mysterious 'Lantern Keeper' (Viktor Kee), the Boy meets other colourful characters like the illusional duo 'Maestro & Magician' (Jarrett & Raja), the seductive 'Diva' (Melanie Chy), the charming 'Crystal Cat' (Aurelia Cats), the graceful 'Life' (Liina Aunola) and the sinister 'Death' (Martti Peltonen).

I was particularly impressed by the act by the 15-year-old boy dancer contortionist who was so 'soft', flexible and seemingly boneless, that Charmaine even said that he looked like he doesn't have a stomach and intestines. And there was the thrilling life & death performance by the crossbow shooter who totally amazed me with his marksmanship and precision, especially the part where he shot an apple that was just above his head (like on television). Last of all, truly entertaining was the juggling act by the gifted world-class juggler with his smooth and elegant moves.

I wouldn't mind watching it for another time, given the chance...

The Cast of Voyage de la Vie

Eye Candy? No... Mak Sai~!

Charmaine and I were having a chat after dinner last night.
And our conversation went on to the topic of 'eye candies'.

C: Why do we think of our eye candies as the perfect guy or girl?
But when we get to know that person personally, he or she doesn't seem right for you anymore?
L: So was I your eye candy?
C: No... (with a quick blank expression)
L: So I am your 'mak sai' (means 'eye shit') lah.
Something that is not attractive but somehow or another, you end up with it every morning in bed for the rest of your life?
Both of us: LOL~!

And that was the best joke of the night... (But it does make sense on a certain level.)

Our Virgin "Prawning" Trip together!

Friday, 23rd July 2010

Though "prawning" has been in trend now for some time, I never really got the chance to go "prawning" until tonight, with Charmaine & two of her friends... So this is my virgin "prawning" experience, as is Charmaine's too.

There are many prawn fishing farms in Singapore. The one we went to is called Hai Bin U Enterprise - Prawn Fishing (Bishan). It's located at Bishan No. 603 Sin Ming Avenue (575735), right next to Nature Park Golf Driving Range. Apparently the place is quite popular because the car park just outside was packed! not that I drove there or anything... just saying.

The rate for renting their rod are:
$15 for one hour,
$25 for two hours, and
$30 for three hours.

We rented two rods (one for Charmaine and me, another for her two friends) and "prawned" for three hours, from 9pm - 12am. That's $60 altogether. The price, I guess was quite reasonable, compared across other prawn farms in Singapore. And the prawns I think are generally quite big. The family beside us caught one prawn that was HUGE! The head was HUGE! The largest I've ever seen in my whole life!

Huge head! Huge pincers!

The place was already quite packed when we arrived @ 9pm. And it only got worse as it closed in to midnight. Even when we were about to leave, people were still coming in... The thing with there being more and more people, was that it became increasingly harder to cast your line into the middle of the pond where I believe most of the prawns were. Not to mention the chances of lines tangling together.

There was also a coffee shop connected to the prawn pond. And there are always people walking around the pond, taking orders for food and drinks. I ordered drinks while the girls ordered some food. It's really quite convenient, and you can concentrate on just prawn fishing... without leaving your seat.

Before we set off, everyone was asking if I dared to handle the prawns as they had two pincers, and if I knew how to remove any prawns from the hook after being caught. Frankly speaking, I didn't know how to do either. I never had any fishing experiences... but I figured it shouldn't be any problem at all. After all, I'm JCC (Jungle Confidence Course) trained during my National Service. If I can kill a quail, I can certainly handle some prawns... No problem~!

Charmaine was the first to have a 'go' between the both of us. It wasn't long before she caught her first prawn for the night. And seeing the girls screech in terror as the prawn 'flew' out of the water and into their seat, is always a laughable sight to behold... hahahah.

Her first catch... My first catch... And the biggest catch of the night...

Catching the prawn was the easy part. The hardest part was what to do with it, once it got caught. And that was our first challenge for the night - removing the prawn from the hook without getting caught by the pincers. One way is to leave the prawn resting on the floor, stepping on the two pincers and breaking them off at the joint that joins it to the body - a bit cruel, I must agree. =| But that was the only way we knew at that moment. After the pincers are off, it still took me quite some time to remove the hook. Needless to say, by the time I was done with the captive prawn, it was already dead (probably from the pain I caused when I was trying to remove the hook) when I dropped it into the net, submerged in the water. The second way (which I slowly mastered and got the hang of, after several more catches) was just to use one finger to hold down the prawn's pincers while holding the prawn with the thumb and index finger at the head, just above the body, at the same time. Then, use the other free hand to remove the hook quickly (you'll get the hang of the trick after some practice). With that increased speed, I managed to keep them alive when they drop into the net... =)

My "war trophies"... All the broken pincers collected from the prawns...

After you're done with all the prawn fishing, you can actually barbecue your catch over their pits as I've been told, as they provide satay sticks, salt, charcoal and even sambal chilli. But by the time we were done, it was already quite late. So we decided to split and bring home all we've caught for the night.

"Our Catch of the Night"

I think I've gotten quite pro at fishing for prawns, with prawns taking my bait every now and then. Our catch was not that bad. The girls tell me it was beginner's luck... I say we can only tell on my next visit.