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We are all discoverers... travelling the world, learning its truths, its people and its meanings every single day. Grab your backpacks and let's embark on this journey of mine, one that holds a lot of meaning to me... Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker

Saturday, December 17, 2005

 

Lessons from King Kong

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I just came back from the movie "King Kong" with my friends and boy was it a very long show... 3 hours long... sit until backside pain.


King Kong,
courtesy http://www.kingkongmovie.com


An Experential Movie of Epic Proportions
Anyway, the movie was good and there was enough action to keep you at the edge of your seat. In fact, I think the movie was so experiential enough that the girl beside me was basically dodging left and right and retracting her legs very quickly when the dinosaurs came to chomp chomp chomp at the actress' feet. Everything was in gigantic proportions, including the gigantic centipedes and cockroaches so for those who are scared of creepy crawlies, do avoid this show :)

Inconsiderate Blokes!
A lesson to those who are inconsiderate when watching movies: STOP IT! You will never stop to be amazed how some inconsiderate some people are when watching movies e.g. talking loudly, taking phone calls in the middle of movies, continuously kicking away at the chair... this happened to my friends who were sitting behind me. Apparently, they did not really get to enjoy the show because these 2 teenage boys kept kicking away behind their chair. What nuisance!

Lessons
Now all movies will mean different things to different people and similarly, I took away different lessons from this movie.

1. Power of Influence - It spoke of the power of influence, how some people in the world are just so good with their gap that they can easily talk people round to pursue their cause or to influence perceptions of things. Just like in the movie how Carl Denham, who was the "never-give-up" movie director who used his gift of his gap to convince people to do his movie. There is nothing wrong with being focused and wanting to fulfill your dreams but it is a different thing to be so focused you forget others and use them as means to your ends. Someone mentioned in the movie that "man destroys the things that they love" and Carl Denham similarly caused the lives of 2 of his team mates and eventually the life of King Kong because he made everyone believe that King Kong is evil and dangerous, which in the end got King Kong killed at the top of the Empire State building because everyone thought he was a stupid primate out to make trouble.

2. Humans = Stupid - There was like almost a tint of sacarsm when King Kong was shot dead and feel to the base of the Empire State building with many curious on-lookers gathering around his body to examine him. There was this guy who called King Kong a stupid primate. Now, if humans evolved from apes and King Kong is a stupid primate, what does that make us? King Kong lived in a brutal world where it had to defend itself from dinosaurs, bats and many other dangerous creatures and have not felt empathy before but it learnt fast and he is considered stupid... what does that make us; people who are supposed to be more civilized, only to go round with weapons and weapons of mass destruction, wiping each other out from the face of the earth. Smart huh?

3. Our Behaviours Shaped by our Past Experiences - King Kong lived in a harsh world and had to defend itself for survivial. But yet it was tamed by the lead actress which King Kong grew to like and when he was brought to New York, he was chained down. Coupled with its life experiences of having live in a harsh world where expression of violence means survivial, it is no wonder it acted out so violently against humans after it escaped from the theatre where it was "exhibited". It was yet no so when he was with the lead actress who has taught him love (of course, I can't help but feel that some may even think that a sub-lesson here is that women=trouble, that's why King Kong died; because of a woman. But I leave you to draw your own conclusions on that).

I choose to believe that he attacked the planes in the end because he associated flying things with the loss of his "loved one" just like how he lost the lead actress back in the jungle when he was attacked by flying bats. So it may be argued that he was in a way attacking the planes to protect the lead actress and to prevent losing her again. But King Kong was seen, also thanks to Carl Denham, as a dangerous creature capable of being ruthless. King Kong was the way it was because of its life experiences just as how we are all different because of our different life experiences which shaped our values system and the way we think, feel and behave.

4. Love Transcends Language and Looks - Or at least I got a feeling that King Kong and the lead actress somehow like fell in love with each other, even though they didn't speak the same language. Do you call that love? Maybe it is just appreciation of each other? Up till today, I do not know if it is love between the lead actress and King Kong. Things are made especially more confusing when in the end, King Kong died and fell off the building but enters the male lead and after a moment of griefing, the female lead ran into the arms of the male lead... embracing each other like lovebirds.

OK, maybe I am just reading too much into a movie but then that's me... trying to always make sense of movies. Or maybe what I had just mentioned just doesn't make sense at all? Just go catch the movie and draw your own conclusions.

 

4 Months Old!

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10,540,800 Seconds
437,823 Characters
175,680 Minutes
80,375 Words
2,928 Hours
135 Posts
122 Days
17 Weeks

Yes! My blog is 4 months old today and it is amazing to see how things have been so different 4 months ago and 4 months later.

With 80,000 words sharing my life, experiences, thoughts, blessings, feelings, observations and lessons, my blog has come a long way, despite just being 4 months old.

It has helped me to grow both spiritually as well as a person and I do look forward to more growth. Of course, there are things which could be better but I have become a person who better appreciate things in life and sees every bad experience as a lesson that allows me to grow. Indeed, I am not so much affected by "things that go wrong" at work anymore; I am able to see these "things that go wrong" as lessons to help me work better. In fact, my friend has also recently reflected how I am more positive about this as compared to the old me... who would almost break down when things go wrong... feeling like a failure... I have also became more thankful and my eyes are open to the various blessings that have blessed my life, many of which could not be explained... things just seems to happen at the right place at the right time.

This is the chronicles of a discoverer and the discovery continues...

Friday, December 16, 2005

 

Laughter Therapy

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Smooth Chick'
Yesterday, colleague brought me to a place at Braddell where they sold nice chicken rice... the funny thing is that I have always passed by that place on my way to college and did not know they sold chicken rice there. Surprisingly, the place was not packed even though the food was good... the rice was fragrant and soft and not oily like some chicken rice. The chicken meat tasted tender and juicy. However, lunch is a bit on the expensive side... about $11 each.




Was too busy eating and didn't managed to take photos
So here's a few photos, taken by yayapapayaz.com

Mass Slowly Transit
Sometimes I just feel that Singaporeans are just too uptight and are getting more and more impatient with the hectic lifestyle... Was making my way down to Clarke Quay for a reunion with my xinyao friends but the whole journey took me 1 hours instead of the usual 30 mins. Why? There seem to be some track problem or problem at Dhoby Ghaut station so we were all made to alight at Toa Payoh station to board another train.


Source: www.smrt.com.sg

Combining passengers from 2 trains during peak hour was a real challenge and I guess the frustration of having to wait amidst a big crowd for a train that took forever to come, having to squeeze into a train which was quite full to begin with and having to deal with the constant stopping of the train, interrupted again and again by the PA announcement that "the train has been delayed due to a track fault" almost drove some people nuts. Even when the train moved, it was like moving 20km/h and in the background, I could hear this lady telling her son "they are just trying to drag for time... so slow!". Around me, you can see people taking out their handphones and calling their friends and family to inform that they will be delayed due to train delay. You can also hear sigh and verbal expression of frustration throughout the whole time...

I was also quite annoyed by the delay but was not overly panicky about it. This contrast really helped me see how sometime we are so caught up with our hectic lifestyle that we get so irritated so easily. Though a tiny bit frustrated, I also took the time to take a rest and "enjoy" the ride.

Xiao Ding Dong!
I was very xiao! yesterday and was laughing so loudly like nobody's business. Had been a long time since I last met this bunch of people and there was this humourous guy who kept making me laugh and laugh and laugh till I cried and perspired and couldn't stop... seriously. Have never laughed so hysterically for ages and I think some of my friends who have never seen me laugh like that before will be shocked and think whether I am a permanent resident of "Hougang Chalet". For instance, I was trying to reach for some fries with my fork and he went: "stop forking the fries" and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed non-stop...

Generally the reunion was a simple one... we gathered together, talked about old times and sang some songs. It was a bit quiet initially but when the songs sheets and the performance booklets for our performances in 1995 nd 1996 were brought out... everyone started talking and recalling things.

Celebrating Work Achievement
Today, I felt a bit lazy but nonetheless has finished working on the volunteer management last quarter report and submitted it to my boss. Within 2 months, I have referred out 600 over volunteers to our various centres, was in discussion with 5 new corporate volunteers about having their staff come in to join our volunteer team, completed the volunteer management budget for 2006, reviewed and proposed refinement to the volunteer management workflow, brainstormed volunteer management ideas, thought through the structure of the electronic volunteer management system, created forms and rather successfully completed my first volunteer management meeting. And all these while being blessed with both successes and lessons along the way... I have come a long way and should pray that I will be able to sustain the momentum.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

 

Symphony of Heels, Symphony of Lights

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Lunchtime Symphony of Heels
Found myelf back in Shenton Way today. Was there today to attend a meeting with a company which was keen to have their staff come on board to volunteer and just as I was waiting for my colleague to come, I was once again treated the the symphony of heels... the lunchtime crowd zooming past me with their heel clittering-clattering.

Life of a Fund-Raising Volunteer
There I was, quietly sitting by the parapet by the side and waiting and at the corner of my eye, i saw a teenager boy "struggling". With a file in his hand and a worried look, he was hoping to stop someone in their path so that he could talk to them. Over the span of the 20 minutes I was there, he must have been rejected by some 50 people; some just walking past him. This further made me realize what volunteers sometimes have to go through... Several a times, I had seen volunteers with tin cans in their hands and it seems like natural instinct to avoid them etc but guess it takes a lot of courage to be there and making that difference... And I should know how hard it is since I have done flag days before as a volunteer and seen how difficult it was. Maybe, being someone who has "been there, done that" and now an observer helps further reinforce this point. Indeed something important for me to take home for my work with volunteers.

Cheat Tics?
On one hand, I sympathized with him for what he was going through but on the other hand, I was wondering if he is selling on of those fund-raising tickets for some unheard of social service agencies. I had once been approached by them who claimed they are selling the tickets to help raise funds for needy students and they even showed me their police license. I am still having my doubts till this day and if these tickets are really fake, then I condemn the people who came out with this STUPID idea to cheat the public and the kind-hearted volunteers who thinks that they are helping for a good cause. If so, something needs to be done before people get further disillusioned with the social services in Singapore.

Something Different
Went to Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre for lunch and decided to try something special. But the lunchtime crowd there sometimes just turns you away from some stalls (even though those stalls with queue should be good). Don't really know how those who work in the CBD actually cope... lunchtime can be such a stressful time there, trying to find seat, queueing for food, struggling to bring your food back to the table and avoid treating someone elses' hair or clothes with your food. Eventually settled for Shark's meat Lor Mee... had seen it on TV before but have not had the chance to try it. Ordered a $3 bowl (with extra ingredients). Not bad but somehow not as fantastic as I would have thought.


My Shark Meat Lor Mee
with a Cuppa Cool Sugar Cane Drink

"I Do Not Wish to Talk to You"
The afternoon meeting went well and I was so glad to bring along a rep from the centre; I would not have been able to answer many of the questions about the centre if I would have gone alone. Somemore, with the cheerful disposition of my colleague it also did help lighten things up a bit.

What shocked me was when I arrived, the rep from the organization told me that they had initially wanted to work with the centre, not knowing that it is under the umbrella of my organization. Apparently, it seemed that they have recently had a bad experience with our organization. Throughout the meeting I felt that she didn't want to talk me and was, for the majority of the time, engaging in a conversation with my centre rep. In a way I felt horrible but then I kept telling myself: "you shouldn't be too bothered la, maybe she is talking to your centre rep most of the time because most of the questions can only be answered by him? Even if she was indeed angry with my organization, it is the organization that she is angry with and not me."

Anyway, some damage control was needed and both me and my rep had the opporutnity to find out what this bad experience was later in the meeting. One thing I am glad is that their rep was frank enough to share this with us. It turned out that it was a customer service problem with another centre and we both apologized for our organization.

This reminded me of the time I was scolded by a patient's family during the Chinese New Year period because of a doctors' fault. I remembered that my supervisor told me that the family is not keen who is at fault but sees the organization at fault, so being part of the organization we need to apologize. This lesson stayed with me and today, I encountered the same problem but this time, handled it with more peace in mind, reconciling that indeed it was a bad experience for their organization and we should apologize for it regardless whose fault it was.

Popcorn and Toys Galore!
Met my friend and his girlfriend again (the couple who I met yesterday) and we went to Orchard. Wanted to catch King Kong but in the end the tickets were sold out. Interestingly, we bought popcorn and sat in front of the big TV screen near the ticketing counters, watching movie trailers... We watched so many movies and ate so much popcorn that by the time it came for dinner, we were full with popcorn. :)

We eventually made our way to "Pepper Lunch" in Takashimaya to have our dinner (superfull!) and then went to this Christmas toy fair in Taka and shopped around. It felt like you were in Santa's workshop with so many toys around. Have been a long long time since I last walked around so many toys... had even wanted to buy a few :)

We then walked down the streets of Orchard, admiring the street lights (though not as spectacular nowadays) and visited the street-side "aerial photography" exhibition which showcased wonderful, colourful and nice aerial photography of different places on earth before settling down in Starbucks for a cuppa.

So much for a day...

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

 

And the Nominees for Supporting Role...

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Ask Your Neighbour!
Sometimes, we tend to take things for granted so much so we don't realize that they are there just near to us. I was going around trying to find a scanner to scan something to attach to email and eventually I went to my colleagues to ask them whether they have a scanner.

As one of my colleagues was thinking where I can get a scanner, the other colleague hollered "Ask your neighbour la!" I didn't quite get her at first but later realized that: "Oh yes! The colleague sitting beside me had a big scanner which she use for her work (her job is to scan things)" Duh! Hahaha, we all laughed about it and I blushingly went back to my office. So embarrassing!

You Need a Bib!
My friends have always joked that they will one day get me a bib for my birthday because I am always dirtying myself whenever I eat. Yes, I did it again today and was eating Kway Chup and you guess it... I have 4-5 droplets of oil on my shirt... way unprofessional... sigh...

Anyway, on my way back to office, bought some mochi ice-cream for my colleagues and fortunately I did not further dirty my already kway-chup stained shirt.

Me? Inefficient?!
I really hate it when people hint that I am inefficient! I am one person who takes every task I do seriously and I will do it to the best of my ability... Similarly, for my previous job, I have handed over everything properly with proper documentation and everything filed in their respective files... I ensured that every aspect of my job is handed over and even developed workflows to document what I do. All these have been handed over.

However, today I received an email from my new director asking me things which I have already handed over... apparently some things have not been handed over properly to the director after I left. Fortunately, I was able to answer all his question over the phone and was even able to tell him where to find what he needs. I have put in my best to ensure a smooth transition and hate it when people make me look stupid and inefficient!

Playing a Supportive Role
Had wanted to provide some support to my friend who was terminated yesterday, so asked her and her boyfriend out for the evening for a simple gathering. Was glad to see her OK and guess that this would be a good break for her.

And we were so happy to find another good chill out place in Toa Payoh Central... I mean, with the HDB Hub, Toa Payoh now seems to be so overcrowded, it seems almost impossible to find a quiet place to chill out there. Anyway, we found this nice and surprisingly quiet cafe eatery, Arts Bristo, just above KFC. The food is cheap (no GST charged) and not bad. Most importantly, it is quiet and really chilly :)



Later in the night, received a call from another friend who was having problem with her boss being too overbearing. Somehow, she does not share the same vision with her boss and feels that her boss is being too fickle-minded, not having a clear direction of where he is going with the organization and keeps coming up with business ideas that was irrelevant to the original mission of the organization. As we continued to talk to one another, we both agreed that it is only fair that the boss know how she really feels about the ideas rather than keeping quiet about it, only to have it "explode" one day.

Providing Feedback
But I sincerely believe that whenever we give feedback, we need to first be genuine about why we are making that feedback and set the tone correct before giving the feedback. In this way, the other party will more or less understand the rationale and context for making the feedback and not misunderstand that we are attacking him/her as a person. And when we give the feedback, we should also be clear that we are addressing the issue and behaviour and not attacking the other party as a person.

Monday, December 12, 2005

 

Boss Not Happy

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I was one of the first to reach office today (usually one of the last few to reach office). Guess everyone has been so tired out at the department gathering yesterday so had problem waking up.

Boss Unhappy
Anyway, boss seems unhappy today. When I entered the office later that day, heard her saying something like "if it is like this, then I think I will not attend in future...". Heard that our boss has been rushing around from event to event and when she eventually reached the department gathering at about 10, we have gone home... think she must have been frustrated with all the rushing only to see no one around. Can see that everyone was rather affected by this and there was a bit of awkward silence...

Firefighting (Yet) Again
Think I am becoming a real firefighter... remember the situation I mentioned a few entries ago about a group of volunteers withdrawing from a fund-raising project to participate in my project? I though I have settled the issue but here it comes back to haunt me again. Apparently, the students withdrew but did not inform the affected persons-in-charge that they have withdrew (my fault too for not checking and ensuring that they informed them).

To recap, I re-channeled them back to the fund-raising project but this time to just one of my fellow coordinators rather than to many coordinators; it would be easier to coordinate this group of students with just 1 coordinator than with many coordinators which complicates matters. Now, this became something sensitive because the respective persons-in-charge may have felt that I or this fellow coordinator may have stolen the volunteers away. Sigh, another problem... just another day in the life of a Volunteer Coordinator... excited huh?

But, I still have to inform all the person-in-charge that the students pulled out and was typing a mass mail to all them to explain the situation. Am real glad that I did not send this mass mail out and consulted my boss... turns out that by sending the mass mail out... I would worsen the situation because everyone will start complaining considering the scale of this problem and how many people it affected. In the end, I sent individual emails to each person-in-charge to inform them about the withdrawal. Another important lesson learnt... emails have its pros and cons and when communicating sensitive issues... do not mass mail, rather try to use the phone if possible.

Can Microwave Meh?
Today, my department decided to lunch-in becasue we had so much curry left from yesterday's gathering. Just before lunch, we were like examining the tupperware in which the curry came in and wonder if it is microwaveable.

There was this funny sight... one of my colleague was on the phone trying to find out if the tupperware was microwaveable and another was holding the curry-filled container just above her head, examining its bottom to see if it is safe to microwave... when I walked in and saw this, it looked as if my colleague was trying to pour the curry over the other colleague :) I tend took over the container and started to examine the bottom and this time, my boss came in, saw me holding the container over my colleague's head and also thought I was going to pour it over... hahaha...

Achievement
My briefcase was getting fatter by the day because of all the work files I printed out and some rough paper which I scribbled notes on... Managed to clear and file quite a lot of things and also placed quite a number of volunteers today... Love the feeling of having things in place...

Friend No Job
Just received news that my friend has been given a notice of termination from her job which was to take immediate effect. That's so unfeeling! Well, there had been a acquisition and in a bid to review workload, the company which bought over the company my friend was in started laying off staff, citing "redundancy" as a reason. Anyway, on one hand, I was happy for my friend because she seem to be having a tough time at her new workplace but also understands that she would of course be concerned about getting a new job. Will be keeping her in prayers...

Sunday, December 11, 2005

 

Day of Bonding

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Have been trying to plan a reunion for my xinyao group and a particular song keeps "ringing" in my head... a song which has been written by our xinyao seniors and performed by us.

回想起

回想起 那已不知何从的往事
仿佛令人感动的故事
琴声里 找到了被遗忘的过去
还有那写满你我的回忆

人生只不过是一首不知名的曲
其中充满了许多短暂的相遇
相聚的喜悦 感受在心底
别离的无奈 只能深深的叹息

Bonding with Cell Group Mate
Today, I got to know that a paticular cell group mate happens to have the same MBTI personality type as me. I don't really talk to him often because he seems to be a real extroverted person and always seems to know what to say and how to say it. He is a real funny person. But today, this friend of mine came to me to ask for some advice on his career and through the conversation, I found out that he has the same MBTI personality type as me and this knowledge is so powerful because we soon got talking to one another and was able to relate to each other and our experiences.

For the first time, I felt at ease talking to him and that I was connecting with someone. Anyway, got to use a little of my "counselling skills" which I have neglected for a long time.


Definition of Success
Today's sermon was on success. In short, it spoke of the need to not base our definition of success on the world's definition but by how much we possess and display the characteristics of God-likeness. Learnt a few new worship songs:

With All I am
By: Hillsong United

Into your hand
I commit again
With all I am
For you Lord

You hold my world
In the palm of your hand
And I'm yours forever

CHORUS
Jesus I believe in you
Jesus I belong to you
You're the reason that I live
The reason that I sing
With all I am

I'll walk with you
Wherever you go
Through tears and joy
I'll trust in you

And I will live
In all of your ways and
Your promises forever

CHORUS

I will worship I will worship you forever


CHORUS

My Hope
Words and Music by Darlene Zschech

You are righteous
You love justice
And those who honour you
Will see your face

I will arise and lift my eyes to see
Your majesty
Your holiness
And all I am will bless you

My hope is in the name of the lord
Where my help comes from
You're my strength, my song
My trust is in the name of the lord
I will sing your praise

How Great Is Our God
Chris Tomlin

VERSE(1):
The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty
Let all the rejoice, all the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at his voice, and trembles at his voice

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God, Sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great
Is our God

VERSE(2):
Age to age he stands and time is in His hands
Beginning and the End, Beginning and the End
The Godhead, Three in One
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb, Lion and the Lamb

CHORUS(1)

CHORUS(2):
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing how great
is our God

CHORUS(1)
You are faithful

Bonding with Colleagues
Had a department gathering at a colleague's house today and we had BBQ with so much food... fries, fried chicken drumlets, fried cereal prawns, bbq cereal prawns, otah, fishballs, satay, bbq chicken wings, mashmallows, hotdog, beehoon, apple salad, potato salad, mushroom kebabs, chin chow, curry etc. Was so full but I guess the most fun thing is getting the chance to meet everyone's family and children who are all so cute and innocent. But as usual, I am most of the time quiet.

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