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Hey Little Mervin!

LittleMervin
Originally uploaded by woonhung.

' Isn't he cute? Little Mervin Chiang doing me a favor by posing for my school project, way back in Art School. I completely forgot about this pix until I dug up my past - a stack of good old fashion black & white film nicely kept in a thick file. I decided to keep the file. Too much good memories in there. '

- taken from WH

What sgblogconspiracy??

Stumbled up this thing while 'tunnelling' through some friend's friend friend's blog and found interesting articles about this whole blog hype in SG... All I can say is cannot-make-it ah!!

In case you live in lala land and have no idea what I was talking about... read this.

Suddenly I get messages telling me that so and so's got a blog, I have a family blog, school blog, dark side blog, light side blog, pet blog, f***ing blog chronicals... and what have you... Like hello... look at the links in the center of this page... archives from '02. I have also had a personal 'hidden' blog since maybe 2000. So now there are ah kongs and ah mahs... sheesh!...

Phone transmitted disease

I was talking to Gary tho other day and he lost his voice and was struggling to talk with me. Now I am loosing mine! Hmm...

And the funny thing is that I actually don't mind! I get to have the low and husky voice for a couple of days... heh

I am stressed

For all those out there that know me... surprise surprise! I AM stressed. It has manifested itself physically:

1. Loss of apetite
2. Constant gas in stomach
3. Light headedness from caffeine

Talk to me after next week... Maybe I'll reply... Who knows...

Housemate-less

shing has left brissy for good and back to the sunny, hot, humid singapore.

and so now, we are housemate-less for the next couple of months and then we have a tour group-cum-family group coming for holidays in september. and then gary is coming for studies in february next year for 5 long years.

even though we miss shing already, merv and i are looking forward to enjoy some time alone as a couple.

Job Satisfaction

I used to think that human resource management theories, especially needs theory and all those stuff about job satisfaction, are crap. I thought the need that work satisfies was the need to have money so that you can have a roof over your head, food in your stomach, blah blah blah. but after working for close to half a year in my current firm, I have proven myself wrong.

I have got no job satisfaction from this current job at all. I felt that I am treated like a freshie, like straight out from the university. But I have already got 3 over years of experience and was already a senior back in singapore. Suddenly, all those responsibilities that were given to me back home were stripped away from me and i have to start from the bottom, photocopying and other mandane and brainless stuff. to a certain extent, it is kinda humiliating. not that i care for the title, but at least, respect my intelligence and experience.

there is so much more that I can learn and want to learn from this firm but I am just not given the opportunity. there is no challenges and nothing exciting to stimulate my mind. i have not learnt anything at all or advanced in my experience. It is just so bloody frustrating. I don’t want to look back at my stay in this firm and conclude that I have been wasting my time 'learning' things that i have already learnt in singapore.

it doesn't mean that the 'satisfaction' that money brings is no longer important. i guess if you pay me big bucks to do mindless things, i will try to find satisfaction and meaningfulness in those things.

Dad

Cool as cucumber

lousy clients get on my nerves. they make my day lousier and make me sick of my job. i understand that there are days where things don't go right or go your way and not all clients are angels. but i can't help but feel lousy the whole day or on that particular job.

there is this manager that i have, she is always so cool. i often go to her, grumbling about the jobs and the clients, flustrated and frustrated. but she will always tell me in the nicest manner, it is ok, katherine. don't be let it get to you, i will handle them.

i need her cool. that is a virtue that i should learn.

Road Trip

we had been discussing about a road trip to coffs harbour for a while now. Finally, we made that a reality over the weekend. Shing had just finished his exams and it would be the last second weekend he has in brissy for a long time to come.

anyway, I made all the arrangments and did my research and patrick, shing, merv and I set out at 7 am on Saturday morning on our magna. (don't think the morris can even make it to gold coast.)

the first major stop was byron bay lighthouse. it was not the first, second, third time that all of us have been there, but it never fails to captivate us with the wonderness and beauty of nature. almost everyone agrees that so far, byron bay is the most beautiful place that we have visited in australia. i hope in the future i can find somewhere which is even more beautiful but right now, it is first on my list. There were many schools of dolphins near the lighthouse and it was the first time we saw so many so clearly. it was such a rare sight.

the next stop was in a small town called maclean. At the lookout, we can see the rivers and the cane fields and a balancing rock formation. Wonder if this is where the maclean toothpaste originate from?

along the north coast (which is also called the coffs coast), we passed the big banana. As usual, the tourist in us had to get down and take a picture of the big banana. well, it is actually more for the sake of shing. He wanted the picture to add to the 'BIG' pictures that he already had. like big pineapple....

by about 5pm we reached coffs harbour and our motel. It was boring at night as the place is almost like a ghost town. Where did all the people go?!!! But in the end, it is the company that matters. There was chips and beers and tv. Funnily, we watched documentary on human birth while having beer!! how weird!!

the next morning, the weather was freezing. we visited the jetty markets, which is like paddy's markets in sydney and had a wonderful aussie breakkie while freezing our butts off.

we walked along the breakwaters along the harbour, shivering and braving the strong winds to muttonbird island reserve. It was a steep climb but at the top, we were greeted by the 360 degrees view of the solitary islands off the coast and the mountains, the harbour and the coast. we even managed to see whales far away. it was awesome.

we left coffs harbour at about noon. We had to catch the last episode of 'everyone loves raymond' at 8 plus in the evening and the drive was about 5 plus hours straight. Along the way, we had lunch at the big prawn at ballina. Another 'BIG' to add to shing's collection.

it was a lovely weekend and we should do that more often but shing is leaving this Sunday for singapore and patrick might be going to canberra to work. Not many chances left.

anyway, I felt that the last epsiode of 'everyone loves raymond' was a let down.

What's the Logic?

what is the logic behind arranging to watch movies together and then go back to individual homes straight after the movie ends? i always tag watching movies as anti-social kind of entertainment event. everyone is looking at the same screen and no one is talking / discussing during the show. where is the element of socialising? maybe our physical bodies socialise with one another without the need to communicate verbally since we are all sitting at extremely close proximity.

i can understand if there is some form of socialising after watching the movies, like going to cafes and chatting. but what is the point of having to go all out and arrange a movie meeting for a few people when all we do is saying hi right outside the cinema, go in, sit down for 2 hours and say bye right after that? cannot understand.

Sick

have been very sick these few days with fever, flu/cold and nasty coughing. feel damn terrible with the massive headaches and a stuffed up head and a stuffy chest.

hope i can get well soon coz the busy season is just round the corner.

Be Still

had a quick chat with my good girlfriend, angela, last night. she was in sydney for about a week, sorting out some stuff in her life. i missed her very much and was comtemplating if I should fly down to sydney to meet her, but I didn't do so in the end.

anyhowz, she was sharing with me her thoughts and lessons learnt from this trip/break. her words summarised, ' i have learnt to be still and trust in His plans. not to always plan and do things and kan cheong but to learn to be quiet and listen and trust in Him. to find and follow that inner compass in my life.'

I yearn to be still, to be quiet and listen. To learn to trust in His plans and not upon my own understanding and my own analysis of the current and potential situation. Not to be swept in the whirlwinds of day to day routines and decision making, like a helpless leaf, tossed around by the wind. Not to be overwhelmed by the wishes and pressures set upon me (unknowingly) by people who love me. i yearn to be quiet and by able to hear my own breathing and not the countless voices in my head, reminding me of the things i need to get done in my life. i am a big ship without that tiny compass in the middle of the storm in the open sea, completely lost.

i need to be still.

what about you?

Winter

winter is officially here. everyone is talking about winter coats, winter soups, winter this, winter that...

and all these just because it just turns June 1st.

anywayz, the weather bureau man was making a report about the forecast for the next three month (i.e the winter months) and he said that it is expected to be a warmer winter than usual, with warmer winter days and warmer winter nights as well.

but that is funny, mervin and i feel that it is a colder winter than usual.