Categories
Diary

Confusion … Frustration

These couple of days increasingly I have become more restless. I sense another transition in my life. As I was trying to articulate to my buddy AT, I seemed to have gained some clarity. I thought I was trying to wait for some memorable events to happen to my life. But in fact, I am waiting for some signs to prompt me for some action to “create” these memorable events.

I know it sounds complex but I am in this constant frustration, lost, and confusion trying to anticipate for something that I can’t even see nor feel. It is affecting my daily life. No kidding.

Strange huh?

PS. My new car reached the mileage of exactly 10,000 km when I reached home. Hmmm …

Categories
Songwriting

Diamond In The Deep Blue Ocean, Diamond In The Deep Blue Sky

I felt like writing a new song and so I did. I love the title of the song and I hope I have done the song justice. The lyrics of the song is as such …

Author’s note: Many don’t know how much they worth and always underestimate themselves. Look, You can be the diamond because you are just special … like diamond in the deep ocean, in the deep blue sky.

Diamond In The Deep Blue Ocean, Diamond In The Deep Blue Sky

Shine like a diamond in the deep blue ocean
You shine like a diamond in the deep blue sky
Thousands voices can’t be wrong
But do you know where you belong

Face of an angel with those innocent eyes
You walk the street with your head held high
You feel like drifting in your life
But think of what you really are

You shine like a diamond in the deep blue sky
Everybody love your smile
Do you oblige for the rest of your life?
Can you resist what’s destroying your life?

You shine like a diamond in the deep blue ocean
You should feel larger than life
Take away those tears in your eyes
Take away those scars start to live your life

You are a diamond in the deep blue ocean
You are a diamond in the deep blue sky
Don’t you forget who you really are
Don’t you forget what you can do with your life
You’re beautiful in every way
You are divine can’t be denied
You’re a diamond in my eyes
A star that shines wherever you go
Wherever you go, wherever you go
You are a star in my eyes

Copyright © 2006 by Wilfrid K. F. Wong. All Rights Reserved.

Categories
Other People's Lives

Wow … This Lady is Hardworking

7pm, my friend dropped me back in the office area after a tender presentation. I had my dinner and remembered that I need to buy some bathroom stuffs (thanks to the writings on my palm … literally). Picked up my stuffs and proceeded to counter. I greeted the shop assistance and not sure if she is sociable or I was extremely sociable today, this mid 40 years old lady told me that her work starts at 9 in the morning and finishes at about 9 at night. That is 12 hours everyday. And then, she told me that she is actually working on two jobs – a legal firm by day and at Guardians by night. That is pretty inspiring. And she looks so happy and told me that her night job is not so demanding as though she is enjoy it. That is the amazing part.

Categories
My Favorite Silly Me

Oh God, I Am So Late!

“Oh God, I am so late!” was the first statement that came to my mind when I finally digested what the digital numbers on my air-con remote control meant.
I wanted to sleep early. I really did. Then I chanced upon a video of “World of South Park Warcraft” at YouTube. World of Warcraft is properly one of the world’s most popular online game at present and I love South Park too. South Park has made an episode out of the new cult of online gamers and I knew that if I didn’t watch it last night, that video would have been banned by YouTube once the hit-rate of that video skyrocketed (due to copyright issue). The entire video was closed to 25 minutes and it was pure hilarious. Of course if you don’t play WoW at all, you probably won’t be able to make much sense out of it.

By the time I was in bed, I only had like 5 hours to sleep. Cynthia needed to get up at 4.45am to catch her 6am flight to KL. I have no idea why she spent so much time going through her wardrobe high and low. I must say by the time I tried to get back to sleep, the sky was starting to brighten up (read: 7am).

I needed to get up at 7.30am for the full day retreat at a military camp. When my alarm clock rang, I went straight back to sleep and had this very vivid dream of a retreat … but this time round, it was two buses full of people at some remote area. And what’s up with the girls wrapped in towels outside the hotel rooms?! (Oh well, that is another story.)

Anyway, in my dream, I “realised” that it was not the reality. The reality was that I needed to be at the military camp.

I sprang out of bed, starred at the time on my air-con remote control and it said 8:05am. I was like … hmmm … that was not too bad as the meeting started at 8.45am. And then I thought, hmmm I needed to meet my colleagues at the guard house at … OH MY GOD 8.15am! I still could not register the gravity of the situation. My mind was working backward. The camp is just 15 minutes drive from my house … I usually take about 45 minutes to get ready and … CRAP I AM LATE!

At 8.45am, I appeared at the Mess, where the retreat was located, feeling breathless after four flights of stairs. Don’t ask how I made it but I did make it.

Categories
I See I Write

Hazy Hazy Day

When I left office on Friday evening, the air was hazy. I could even smell the burning ashes that came all the way from our neighboring country Indonesia. Over the weekends, the situation has worsen and the PSI (Pollutants Standard Index) has, at one time, hit 150. Anything beyond 100 is unhealthy so you can imagine.

Ever wonder where PSI comes from? It is actually a measurement of Sulphur Dioxide, PM10, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide, and Nitrogen Dioxide. I have no clue on what is what but PM10 is mainly contributed by the Indonesia fire from what I read.

Categories
Diary

One Raffles Quay

When I first took up the housing loan from ABN Amro, the branch was at a landmark location just opposite Stanchart Bank at the CBD area. Since then, ABN Amro has moved into one of the floors at that building opposite Golden Shoe car-park to recently I found out, One Raffles Quay (ORD). ORD is resided in the area that the government has earmarked as the new extension of the CBD. ORD is also where my new office will be come this December.

I entered ORD via a brand new underpass. The new building is pretty impressive. I have to exchange my IC for an electronic pass in order to get through the gates placed just outside the elevators. ABN Amro has a special counter just to help customers to change passes (which is sort of inconvenience if you were to ask me).

I chatted with some of the staffs from ABN Amro and I realised that they don’t really like the new building. I wonder why. Perhaps it is further away from the food outlets and the MRT station?

Categories
Diary My Favorite

Oh Dear … I Need to Come Up With a Warm-up Fast!

Towards the end of the first day’s Facilitation class, our trainer divided us into 4 groups and asked each group to prepare a warm-up / energizer for the next day. Our group rolled the highest score so we would go first and do the warm-up first thing in the next morning. When the day ended, the lady who rolled the dice for us got up and said to me, “I have got a tender to do now so …”. I was like … and then another lady got up and said, “I have never done energizer in my life before so …”. And I was like … Need not to say, my 3rd lady member also got up and said, “Well, you and I run retreats all the time but we always get help from our associates. So I have no clue on what to do.” All 3 ladies walked out on me and I was like, “Huh? I am supposed to do this?!”
On my way to my car, I thought about it briefly. During dinner, I forgot to think about it. I was supposed to research from the Internet but I did not bother with it. Before going to bed, I did not even want to think about it.

In the morning, I started to panic about it. When I started the car, I started to think about it. At the first junction, I turned to Cynthia and told her that, “Look love, I need some help.” I explained what I needed to do in less than 60 minute’s time and we were like … starring at the traffic just thinking … or the lack of it.

At the second junction, I suddenly screamed, “A quiz!”. “A what?!” Cynthia asked. “Do a quiz as warm-up!”. I was so excited that I asked if she has paper with her. No, she answered. I tried to search through my wallet (while driving) and before I found a nice piece of paper, Cynthia dug up 2 pieces of petrol receipts from nowhere. I passed her the pen and we went … blank.

“Hey, you read a lot of Life section right?!” I inquired (Life section is the entertainment section of a local newspaper).

She: “Err … ya but …”
Me: “Can’t you think of something?!”
She: “Err … no …”
Me: “…..”
She: “…..”

Well, it was actually quite a fun thing for us to do and I have even forgotten to monitor my speed when I went pass the speed camera. Anyway, we have come up with 15 cool questions in the category of current affairs, sport, entertainment, movies, and books for the groups and they were (see how many questions you can answer!) as follows.

  1. How many years of independence does Singapore have?
  2. Husband of Britney Spears?
  3. What nationality is tennis player Roger Foderer?
  4. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is written by?
  5. Name the 2nd and 4th runner-ups of World Cup 2006.
  6. Who is the main actress in the TV series Ghost Whisperer?
  7. Name the Singapore Idol judge who was previously a radio DJ.
  8. Name the President of Indonesia.
  9. Who is the female Malaysian singer who just got married?
  10. Name the 2 main actresses in The Devil Wears Prada.
  11. Dave Grohl is the vocalist of which band?
  12. Name the latest album from Justin Timberlake.
  13. Name the new baby boy of Britney Spears.
  14. JK Rowling is the author of which series?
  15. Name the Asia actress in Miami Vice.
  16. Who are the 2 finalists left in Singapore Idol.

Footnote: The quiz went well. I think everyone was thoroughly entertained as we have lots of laughters. I immediately texted Cynthia, “The quiz was a blast, thank you”.

Categories
Experience Sharing

DIY – Silicon Gel

The contractors who reattached my cabinet that covers the rubbish outlet have done a lousy job. Crawling insects kept visiting my home. So I have decided to take matter into my own hands. My task was simply to remove the (transparent) silicon gel and reapply the more tasteful white silicon gel sealing up every possible gaps.

I have seen my dad done it zillion times back in Hong Kong (but never have done it myself). Knowing exactly what I needed, I visited a hardware store and bought the right tools (see below).

Just looking at those things, how much do you think it costs? Cynthia thought the “gun” was sold at S$20 and the gel itself is S$10. I thought likewise to be honest. When the boss told me that the “gun” cost S$3 (and the gel for S$3.80), my initial reaction was, “Huh? 30 dollars?”, and was about to pull out the ten dollar bills. He repeated, “3 dollars, 3 dollars!”.

After I got home, I gave my dad a call. Anyway, to share the experience with you, step one is of course to attach the gel into the “gun”.

Step 2 is to attach the nozzle and cut it diagonally.

Step 3 is to slow depress the trigger and you can see silicon gel starting to ooze out of the noozle. Steadily apply the gel to the gap.

Step 5 is to cover your nose … kidding … alright, the acidic smell could be overwhelming but the last step is important. I suggest you wrap your finger with a small piece of cling wrap and trace the gap steadily. Rub the excess gel off a paper kitchen towel.

Allow a full day for the silicon gel to harden and there you are! You can be the next DIY Expert!

Categories
Whacky Thoughts

Of Elephant and Duck

Day 1 of the Facilitation course at British Council, as icebreaker, the trainer asked us to think of an animal that best described ourselves and why (the activity was called “Animal Magic” by the way). So, some said dog, cat, lamb, hamster, cow, and some said lion, tiger, and eagle (I chose eagle because of the sense of freedom and the love for bird-eye views). And we were divided into two groups – the wild animals and the domesticated ones.

Then we were given the exercise of choosing an animal that best described our own company and some other questions such as the animal’s habitat, what this animal needs in order to survive and so on. Our group – the wild animal group – almost immediately associated our company to the most ancient animal on Earth (due to our company’s size and its legacy). We chose an elephant in the end and talked about how elephants left the footprints on all corners of Earth (well we did have some dispute with someone who think of himself as a lamb to start with and how the lamb ended up in the wild animal group was due to number imbalance).

The domesticated animal group, on the other hand, chose a duck to represent our company and talked about how ducks survive by keep peddling and feeding on small fish.

It did hit me at that moment through “Animal Magic”, perhaps how we see the world begins with how we see our own self.

Categories
Diary

So We Became Paul Twohill Fans?

Yesterday, in the middle of the day, Cynthia screamed, “Look, it’s snowing!”. I was playing computer game when suddenly I heard the howling of wind through the gaps of my door. The raindrops were so heavy that they did look like ice. Coupled with the strong wind, seeing the granularity of the rain swirled downwards was quite a scene. I took some pictures using my phone.

… and a close up …

Back to the main story. Cynthia and I traveled to Jurong (West of Singapore) to attend the birthday lunch of my Godmother. And over there, we have met the aunt of one of the Singapore Idol’s contestant Paul Twohill. This aunt of Paul is really a super-aunt-fan-club-leader and she passionately shared with us the details of Singapore Idol.

(Cynthia in red dress and Paul’s aunt in white jacket … she really does look a bit like Paul, ya?)

Anyway, talking about Singapore Idol, some friends of mine knew that I have got all the prediction of the results correct from Rahimah onwards (that is 6 correct guesses so far as I usually announce my guess on Wednesday). Between Hady and Jon, it is a hard choice and have to see the performance of the final. According to Paul’s aunt, Jon was handpicked by some of the judges (or organizers?) to participate the competition and Hady’s boss (a rich guy who own this big club) is going to pump in S$100,000 to buy the votes. Quite some kind of conspiracy theories.

Oh, Cynthia and I am invited to Paul Twohill’s private party in November (school holiday supposingly) and Paul will sing during the party. Well, it is as though over lunch, Cynthia and I became a new fan of Paul. Reality is that I did vote for Paul during the very first round while Cynthia did vote for him the episode before Paul was eliminated. That was all the “support” we gave.