Happy Lunar Birthday

My lunar birthday very seldom fall before my actual day. Today is one.



These small little fruits are not peaches. Look and smell like one but not.
Look at the seeds for some clues. Hammer it open and you get something we call "almond".

I still don't know what is this fruit called. Almond fruit?
Anyone care to shed some light?

Tired

I have seen another week pass by me. Nothing much going on in office. Less physical work but still alot of running around, less lunches alone but would rather not eat with them sometimes. More of afterwork time being occupied this week and I'm happy. Happy that I'm not a boring office boy, for life is livelier after work.

Trained real hard for IPPT this week but still failed. I've never felt so good during a IPPT test after ORD but I just can't seem to run fast enough to pass. Last chance on Wed. Got to take a half day leave = $30. My future time is worth more than this. Let's hope I get 27 seconds off my timing and get $100 birthday present.

After the test, I asked if I could drive my friend's car. He passed me the keys without asking a question. I knew it is that easy with him. Gerald is the only other person whom will do that. I nearly lost the touch of driving a manual car after a year. But it was easy, just damn uneasy with the way a Nissan Sunny feels.

The only 2 manual cars I driven so far are Civic and Sunny. I must say the quality is of two different worlds. One is the Vtec engine and the other I don't even know what it is.. Too quiet for me. The difference in pricing is fully justified when I started changing gears. The plasticky feel of the gear shift and the configuration of the gears are real bad. Less than 3 seconds on gear two and I had to up the gear already. Now I know the reason why fuel consumption is higher. Not a pleasant drive.

I am going to pin some realistic goals up onto my vision board, with taglines to remind myself what those pictures meant to me. I will fill up the spaces. Yes and I will take them down when it's fulfilled.

Met up with Kiathaw today and he mentioned that I looked tired... My body is not tired but my spirit is. Which is true to some extent. Midlife crisis was what he used to describe my state right now. Talking things which makes no sense to other people and looking haggard and worst of all, losing weight. I'm not even in my midlife yet, please. I'm sorting out my thoughts for a colourful life ahead. Gonna leave my problems for the universe to worry.

UH~!

1 Week

Some time ago, I had comments from friends saying that Jacky is a name that they would call their dog. Now I agree with them.

One week has passed on my new job and I'm really happy that I'm working at Raffles Place again and my first job in a bank bank. However my job scope sucked pretty much. In the particular department that I am working in, the proportion of females to males is near 3, which can be pretty good if they are pretty. I admit it's good, but it also mean I have to listen to their instructions cos I am every single of their runner.

Let me go deeper into my job scope. To sum it up, I am simply the runner and the filing boy of that department. Just because the big boss is in my dept, they need someone to deliver documents fast. And my office is basically in the filing room. I file with speed and accuracy, scanning barcodes from files like a NTUC cashier. My hands are quite chui now with papercuts and swollen fingertips.

My tailbone hurts like shit now. Due to carrying cartons filled full of reports that are due to be sent to the warehouse. 50 of them each weighing at least 15kg stacked 10 X 5. My first task on Wed was to check whether the contents was correct. So I had to carry it to the floor, open them up and check 1 by 1. It was painful and uncomfortable wearing shirt and pants doing dirty jobs. But I told myself it was ok cos I am paid to do that. Then on Thurs my boss told me I need to stick the stickers on the cartons. knn nv say earlier. Some of the cartons that needs to be sticked on are facing the wall so I had to turn them around. Thanks leh. So I repeated the same routine again. The feeling was like doing gym in formal clothes, the worst thing without warmup. Completed the task like a man.

And on Fri , she just told me I need to seal up every carton. Excellent. I love her so much man.

Food is getting so expensive lately and that is especially true in Raffles. I haven't had a lunch that is less than $3 for food. Drinks are worse. I have decided not to buy drinks anymore during lunch. Plain water is best. I nearly wanted to refund my drink the other day on knowing that it was $1.80 for a small cup. Ah Mei milk tea also cost $1.80 now. wtf. Ah poh @ GS is still the best. One big cup for $1.10.

And not to forget my daily dose of coffee. The Coffee and Toast below my office opposite lau pa sat is really efficient. Place your order and before you dig out your coins, it's ready for collection. Unfortunately, it is suck. I cannot tolerate bad coffee, and near empty coffee. Serious coffee addicts will know what I mean. And I don't mean glamourous starbucks addicts who claims expensive coffee is good coffee. Nonsense.

Speaking of which, I have serious thoughts of kicking my addiction. It's really bad to rely on caffine to start the day. Then again I couldn't resist the aroma of good coffee, especially the one just above Raffles station. I abhor addicts, cos it means that your life is controlled by other things. And without it, you will die. I am addicted to coffee. And you.

Discipline

Got a temp job in a bank (not local) which is considered quite high paying given that I will be doing admin and got it through a job agency. So I'm going to be holding 2 jobs again. I'm still doing what I'm doing right now and trying to be a superman again after a year. I have to adapt to fixed office working hours and I have to adapt fast. No more sleeping at home at all kinds of hours like a dead pig.

I am going to have some direction for this 2 months. Admin work is dull shit. So I'm going to make sure I go around learning skills out of my job scope which will be useful in the future and clocking as much overtime as possible ($$$). Then going home to continue my night job dedicating at least 2 weekdays to it. So the only time I can train for my IPPT should be in the morning before work. I must be disciplined enough to make sure that happens.

Money wise, I hope I can work hard enough to net $1.8k of income through both jobs and the little business. I will reward my own hardwork if I manage to do $2k. So it's time to pin up some realistic target into my vision board.

Dug out some old working clothes just now and found some of them quite ugly and dull. Realised that the only item I bought from my last work assignment was a grey pants and nothing else. I want to buy a new pair of working shoes and a pair of pin-striped pants.

I guess I have to set my priority clearly. It's going to be tough. Time to look for my cape. Superman is coming.

Mobilephone

Was looking at the phones on offer in the newspaper and Singtel website and I was actually thinking about changing a new phone when the time comes in September.

I always tell myself that I should never waste money on phones cos the only functions that I look for in a phone is just to make calls and sms. Maybe the alarm clock function will be good as well. I realise nowadays PDA phones are becoming so cheap that I should get one too. SE's P910i used to cost $1k+ some months ago and it's only $98 today. Unbelieveable.

But, no. I will never want a PDA. I'm not going to let a digital brain take over mine. As if people today are not forgetful enough, we give the excuse saying that we need a PDA to help us remember the little things so that we can remember the much important things. Bullshit. You will start forgetting everything before you know it.

I shall wait for the best offer to come along. And the time this usually comes is during the xmas period.

But now comes the biggest question that has been bothering me since last year. Should I buy a easy-to-remember number? Since everyone is becoming so forgetful and it will definitely be useful in the future when I become a businessman. Wahahaha

Happy Birthday to us
9th July at Singapore Flyer








I want you to be happy like this everyday.

Fairness and Equality

The recent spate of events made me feel that life is unfair. I know, life is never fair cos you don't always get what you want. If everything goes the way you want, we call that a smooth sailing life. But when the sea gets too rough, some just don't have the strength to keep fighting.

I am struggling. Struggling real hard to move towards the calmer seas ahead. I can't even imagine a day when my mum's savings account become zero but it's going to happen. The account will be wiped out upon payment of my school fees. It bleeds to be the one handling it.

I just hope I can earn enough to repay her. $24000 in total for my school fees and to be adjusted for inflation. I will only consider myself graduating after topping up that account and hope she is still healthy for our graduation trip. I have no time to lose.

Life is never fair, so just shut up and move on.

Be glad of the little things in life. You say that you would rather not have it while some people can't even get a glimpse of it.

Bad Luck

Exactly 2 weeks ago, I had a bad fall which I blamed it on some passerby. The following event can only happen to someone extremely suay.

Yea, you got it right. I fell again. On the wound that was recovering. I have nobody to blame this time. Over the past month I knew that particular drain gutter was not down fully and it got me today. For that split second in the air I was in disbelief. And everything just went blank. Blank as in nothing in my brain and cursing the flight, and not black out.

Recently I feel that there is a higher force at work up there and it has been trying to make things difficult for me. Fell down for the first time in so long, then lost money in soccer betting (fortunately I stopped before it's really too late), had a fall again on the same wound. This kinda shit don't happen much and had never happened as a string of events.

Ironically, in hokkien, gamble and fall is the same pronounciation. "pua" kiao (gambling) and "pua" tou (falling). Maybe I got my punishment for not learning and not keeping my promise. If that is the case then I think I fully deserve it and should receive no sympathy.

I broke down. Not because of the pain, because I can't believe my luck.

Send me a get well soon card. No, a better luck card will be fine. Thanks.