Have you watched the life transformers programs on every monday? Is a show where the TV hosts will help families in dire needs clean up their places. Usually the stories are very heartbreaking, showing many families living on the edge.
There is one thing though I am perplexed. It seems that many of the families did not receive much help. Is it because they are unaware of the various help schemes that are available to them or the schemes do not cover them? Is it because there are not enough volunteers or social workers reaching out to them to inform them of the various help schemes?
One thing for sure, there are many opportunities to help/volunteer in Singapore. I know many Singaporeans including me like to volunteer overseas as the needs are more obvious there. However there are also a community in Singapore that needs our help. Lets us do something. Want to at least make it a point to volunteer once a month despite all our busy schedules? Let me know, we can arrange and do something together maybe. I think volunteering in a group or making the commitment together can help us stay in the program longer. We can harness the power of a group and maybe contribute in a bigger way! :)
Oceans are also make from drops of water. Though we may be very small droplets, but we are still the the integral composition of the huge ocean.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New Year Shopping
Chinese New Year is just round the corner. My dining table is already full of New Year Goodies as my mum has the tradition of giving New Year Goodies to relatives and thus we also receive a lot in return.
One day when I got home, I was stunned when I saw 5 cartons of oranges at home. Given that each carton has about 38 oranges, are we turning to selling oranges?? :) In a matter of days, they had disappeared though as my mum gave them away to relatives.
Given that there will be many people coming to my house, I decided to go with my mum to buy Drinks and whatever else that needed to be bought in NTUC yesterday night. I knew that NTUC has a free delivery service for purchase of over $150 and was thinking of using that service since we don't have a car. My colleague also told me his family recently used it for their New Year Shopping. Thus I was very happy when I piled our shopping cart with goods. Imagine not needing to lug the heavy shopping bags back home and just wait for them to arrive at home! Wow cool! :)
Our cart was soon filled to the brim with goods. We were queuing up at the cashier when I noticed there seems no display of the free delivery service at that NTUC outlet compared to others. Alas, upon checking with the cashier, this outlet unlike other outlets does not have free delivery service! Imagine my shock! Why does this outlet not have free delivery service when others have???
There was no way we could carry all the goods back especially since there were lots of drinks and other heavy items. My mum and I then worked on putting all the things back except for the essentials like fresh food. And of course, I had a good scolding from my mum. It is so funny though, one moment we were piling our carts with things and the other moment we were putting them back. What a day! It is fortunate though we discovered it before we pay else I will not be writing my blog entry now as my arms will have been sored. ;>
Happy CNY! :)
One day when I got home, I was stunned when I saw 5 cartons of oranges at home. Given that each carton has about 38 oranges, are we turning to selling oranges?? :) In a matter of days, they had disappeared though as my mum gave them away to relatives.
Given that there will be many people coming to my house, I decided to go with my mum to buy Drinks and whatever else that needed to be bought in NTUC yesterday night. I knew that NTUC has a free delivery service for purchase of over $150 and was thinking of using that service since we don't have a car. My colleague also told me his family recently used it for their New Year Shopping. Thus I was very happy when I piled our shopping cart with goods. Imagine not needing to lug the heavy shopping bags back home and just wait for them to arrive at home! Wow cool! :)
Our cart was soon filled to the brim with goods. We were queuing up at the cashier when I noticed there seems no display of the free delivery service at that NTUC outlet compared to others. Alas, upon checking with the cashier, this outlet unlike other outlets does not have free delivery service! Imagine my shock! Why does this outlet not have free delivery service when others have???
There was no way we could carry all the goods back especially since there were lots of drinks and other heavy items. My mum and I then worked on putting all the things back except for the essentials like fresh food. And of course, I had a good scolding from my mum. It is so funny though, one moment we were piling our carts with things and the other moment we were putting them back. What a day! It is fortunate though we discovered it before we pay else I will not be writing my blog entry now as my arms will have been sored. ;>
Happy CNY! :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cruise Liners
Today I goes to Keppel Island for dinner with my friend. Is my third or fourth visit there. Like it there, because it is close to the sea and is not crowded even on friday night. Even though we both do not drive, it is quite accessible. Is about only a 10 minutes or less leisure stroll from the nearest bus stop.
On our way in, we chance upon a large cruise liner, Silversea making its way out. My friend even takes a few photos of it. She says she likes going on cruises.
Hmmm... my impression of cruise is only food:). I could remember my one and only cruise experience that took place many many years ago. As the cruise package was all inclusive of meals and the meals were served buffet style, we seemed to be eating and eating. I fell sick from the food and that impression stayed haha. :) Though I guess now there must be more activities onboard a cruise, but I probably give it a miss for a while more. ;>
On our way out from Keppel Island, we meet another big cruise liner making its way out of the harbour. This time, it is Star Virgo. Wow this liner has all its lights lighted up, thus it looks very splendid while it skirts across the water under the beautiful night sky. It seems though it has just disembark its passengers and the lonely lovely liner looks forlorn and endearing.
What a day to meet with 2 cruise liners! :)
On our way in, we chance upon a large cruise liner, Silversea making its way out. My friend even takes a few photos of it. She says she likes going on cruises.
Hmmm... my impression of cruise is only food:). I could remember my one and only cruise experience that took place many many years ago. As the cruise package was all inclusive of meals and the meals were served buffet style, we seemed to be eating and eating. I fell sick from the food and that impression stayed haha. :) Though I guess now there must be more activities onboard a cruise, but I probably give it a miss for a while more. ;>
On our way out from Keppel Island, we meet another big cruise liner making its way out of the harbour. This time, it is Star Virgo. Wow this liner has all its lights lighted up, thus it looks very splendid while it skirts across the water under the beautiful night sky. It seems though it has just disembark its passengers and the lonely lovely liner looks forlorn and endearing.
What a day to meet with 2 cruise liners! :)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Vacation
I have already been fortunate to be able to go on vacations in the past. But it just seems so long since I went for one. It has been more than a year now from my last trip. Have been dreaming indeed of going on travel. But just been too tied up recently to go anywhere.
Since I cannot physically go on the trips, will have to depend on my day dreams. :) In my daydream, I am going to
-- Taiwan and staying at those unique guesthouses along its coastline that I saw on TV programs. Cycling around the relatively rural area of the country
-- Central Asia, along the famous Karakoram Highway
-- North east India
-- Xinjiang in China, visiting the Kashgar bazaar
Since I cannot physically go on the trips, will have to depend on my day dreams. :) In my daydream, I am going to
-- Taiwan and staying at those unique guesthouses along its coastline that I saw on TV programs. Cycling around the relatively rural area of the country
-- Central Asia, along the famous Karakoram Highway
-- North east India
-- Xinjiang in China, visiting the Kashgar bazaar
Friday, January 15, 2010
Xmas gift trading house
This week all my colleagues have been very busy. Busy meeting up with buyers for the item they are selling on ebay. Hmm.. what are we selling??....
We are selling the xmas gift we have recently received from. Our company has a tradition of giving us a small electronic gadget every year. This year it is no difference, just that it is something we will normally do not use. Thus we decided to sell it so as not to waste it in the cupboard. Good for the planet too.
This time, one of my colleagues was quite ethuasiastic. He put it on ebay and managed to sell it. He then helped some of us including me to sell it. Literally all of us except our director sold the gift.
Office suddenly seemed like a bustling place this week as they passed the contacts of the potential buyers to whoever that still had the item unsold. Wow I am quite amazed at the power of ebay and the speed that the deals were done. It helped that most of us put the items up at very reasonable price, probably 70% of its actual retail price. It was fun and really its like a xmas gift trading house. :)
We are selling the xmas gift we have recently received from. Our company has a tradition of giving us a small electronic gadget every year. This year it is no difference, just that it is something we will normally do not use. Thus we decided to sell it so as not to waste it in the cupboard. Good for the planet too.
This time, one of my colleagues was quite ethuasiastic. He put it on ebay and managed to sell it. He then helped some of us including me to sell it. Literally all of us except our director sold the gift.
Office suddenly seemed like a bustling place this week as they passed the contacts of the potential buyers to whoever that still had the item unsold. Wow I am quite amazed at the power of ebay and the speed that the deals were done. It helped that most of us put the items up at very reasonable price, probably 70% of its actual retail price. It was fun and really its like a xmas gift trading house. :)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Who are we?
Who are we? Are we identified only by our jobs or do we really have a personal identity? I hope we are more than our jobs.
I have a few friends who are looking for jobs at the moment. One of them is going through an especially tough patch. I can empathise with her as I have been through it a number of years back. Back then, I was jobless for about 4 to 5 months. In order not to let my mum worry, every morning I will go to the library etc just like work as usual. It was tough as I literally hang out in the library for hours until I finally told her some weeks later. It was tough financially as I still forked out all the usual bills and also continued to give my mum monthly allowance like usual. As the months go by, it also got tougher mentally as questions arise. I think the mental questioning are really harder to overcome.
I sent out many resumes then and about after the 3rd month, I started to have more interviews. On the 4th or 5th month, I was simultaneously offered 3 jobs and I am at that company I chosen then for more than 5 years now.
My friend has been trying very hard to find a job and I really really hope she find something she like soon. She is such a great and capable person! I know because I have worked on projects with her. She has also always been a very supportive friend to me and how I wish I can be of more help this time than being simply useless at the moment.
It is a surprise when she mentioned someone told her that her current life is meaningless without a job. This is surely a big statement. I disagree totally.
Are we really nothing more than our job? I think some of us tend to get lost in the jungle. Maybe we should look at our life and evaluate ourselves. I hope we are not held hostage by our job. Even if what we are doing is our lifelong passion and, we should still have an identity besides our job.
I know my friends will get out of their ordeals well! Life is a journey....it may be trying now. But do hang on there. The pot of gold is just around the corner. You can do it! :)
I have a few friends who are looking for jobs at the moment. One of them is going through an especially tough patch. I can empathise with her as I have been through it a number of years back. Back then, I was jobless for about 4 to 5 months. In order not to let my mum worry, every morning I will go to the library etc just like work as usual. It was tough as I literally hang out in the library for hours until I finally told her some weeks later. It was tough financially as I still forked out all the usual bills and also continued to give my mum monthly allowance like usual. As the months go by, it also got tougher mentally as questions arise. I think the mental questioning are really harder to overcome.
I sent out many resumes then and about after the 3rd month, I started to have more interviews. On the 4th or 5th month, I was simultaneously offered 3 jobs and I am at that company I chosen then for more than 5 years now.
My friend has been trying very hard to find a job and I really really hope she find something she like soon. She is such a great and capable person! I know because I have worked on projects with her. She has also always been a very supportive friend to me and how I wish I can be of more help this time than being simply useless at the moment.
It is a surprise when she mentioned someone told her that her current life is meaningless without a job. This is surely a big statement. I disagree totally.
Are we really nothing more than our job? I think some of us tend to get lost in the jungle. Maybe we should look at our life and evaluate ourselves. I hope we are not held hostage by our job. Even if what we are doing is our lifelong passion and, we should still have an identity besides our job.
I know my friends will get out of their ordeals well! Life is a journey....it may be trying now. But do hang on there. The pot of gold is just around the corner. You can do it! :)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
VCD
Over the weekend I rented 2 movies to watch. One is The Forbidden Kingdom and the other is Hua Mu Lan. Like the Hua Mu Lan better. It is a movie by Zhao Wei. The ending is no fairytale ending which I think is realistic. At times I feel movies have a tendency to end in the fairytale manner which is clique. In an imperfect world, perfect endings may not often happen in real life. Thus we should try to enjoy the process of living rather than being too bothered about the ending.
The main character in the movie is a thoughtful, courageous and filial lady. She is also intensively loyal to her people. She is willingly to die for her people so that the war can end. In the end, she sacrified her happiness so that there can be peace for her people. The camaraderie and loyalty showed by the soldiers in the movie is indeed touching.
The main character in the movie is a thoughtful, courageous and filial lady. She is also intensively loyal to her people. She is willingly to die for her people so that the war can end. In the end, she sacrified her happiness so that there can be peace for her people. The camaraderie and loyalty showed by the soldiers in the movie is indeed touching.
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