Finally... Another Post

Oops... It's been a while - many months to be exact since I last posted. Well... Let's just say that there has been a lot of changes in my life! I'll share more when the time is right.

I picked up baking and had successfully baked Chicago Cheese Cake. I also made Apple Strudel, which was quite a failure. The puff pastry was completely flat!

Anyway, sharing something very meaningful here.

Our Lord Protects!

How Time Flies

Wow! I must say, time really flies!

Firstly, I am grateful that I am settling into my new job really well. Thank God for really nice people around me. And thank God for blessing me and showing me favour. I don't think in my human capacity would I be able to be doing well in my second month! :)

Anyway, I just celebrated my birthday about a week ago. It was such a bash.

My birthday started with my brother throwing me a birthday celebration at Timbre - good food, good times and good alcohol. Then, my lovely friends at Friends of Children decided to surprise me at our meeting. It was so sweet of them. I shall add these photos soon.

The eve of my birthday was such an exciting one. My colleagues and I went to beerfest. But my beloved girls turned up at beerfest with a cake and a generous present. I was so shocked that it took me moments to realise who they were. After that, we were drinking ourselves silly. It was certainly fun-filled. As always, with them around... It's always fun.

The next day, sweet colleagues celebrated my birthday in the office and EG, Jeff and Jun gave me sweet presents - sweet surprise.

The finale came when I met Baby at Ricciotti and he told me after much suspense, witnessed by brother Ray and Dearie Suz at 1.30pm that he was taking me away - diving on White Manta! How awesome!!!

So, we went home and packed - with most of the things already prepared by him. We then headed to our 3D2N all wreck dive.

Ok, it wasn't really all wreck since the weather was really quite a wreck at Seven Skies Wreck. To begin with, our boat was rocking port-starboard constantly, with plates and cups sliding all around the tables and us, holding on to the sides. After that, the dive guides went down to try to tie ropes for us. But, the ropes snapped twice. After two failed attempts and about 1.5hr wait later, we decided to ditch the dive and moved on to more shelter dive sites - Pulau Darma and Pinnacle. We did three dives here in very calm water (under) including an evening dive. The highlights? VERY VERY VERY beautiful corals - soft, hard, fan... It's like a "stroll in a garden". Lovely!

We set off to Igara Wreck and reached there happy to know we were able to dive the wreck. The only thing was, the under current was pretty strong. It was - especially during our descent via the rope. It was such a tiring descent that I was panting really hard and completely conscious of my air usage. By the time we hit 30mins, baby was signalling to me that he was low on air at 50psi. But I didn't understand him at all. After three attempts, he decided to show me his gauge and insisted on ascension.

So, we did after some miscommunication underwater. And, we missed our safety stop as he was too buoyant. Nevertheless, we did our next dive - thank God we were all right. And the next Igara dive was so much better. It was calmer and we managed to see a lot. The wreck was huge! We swam through cracks, saw huge trevallies and etc. It was amazing.

Overall, I would say that the dive was good though challenging. I would love to dive Igara again! This time, with my own camera.

Some shots for viewing.

I like this

Once, there are 2 employees. A did all the work n B only KPKB all time, pointing flaws. The boss got so impressed with B 's ability to identify flaws n decide to give B the job instead n send A off. B was so used to express his views but so...on realized he had never did any real work b4 all this while. True enough, his voice is heard, but too bad for the boss, his words is louder than his action.

My Cry

I want our government to consider and implement green projects more seriously. The society of the world need to be active in saving the earth.

We need to save the earth. Need to save our environment.

Even if costs of housing are brought down or taxes reduced, if we cannot save our earth, it will perish. Even if they take away ERPs or reduce the prices, it will only aggravate the situation we are facing.

Those cost-savings may not even benefit our future generation. They may very well become dinosaurs of the next millenium when an overhaul occurs.

This, is one of my cries to the elected party.

Green. Green. Green.

How does it feel?

How does it feel I am 1.5 days away from bidding farewell to the company I work in for almost four years?

Relaxed, happy and excited. Savouring every enjoyable moment I can and leaving with the best last memories.

Would I be sad?

I would be of course! It's a silly question to ask. But, the intensity of this feeling is already diluted because I was so sad when I resigned, I almost cried. Right now, I am adapted to the idea of my departure. I am a little immuned to the fact that I am leaving.

This place has left me a lot of memories - mostly pleasant.

From the first time I joined and had such wonderful contributions to the company... to the take over and transitions... to having so many good friends at work... to wonderful work environment and bosses... to the parties we had... those drunk moments... those travels... those laughters... joy... sadness and farewells... Of course, those challenging moments... struggles... fears...

This place has imprinted a lot of wonderful memories. It has also seen me through my relationship and marriage. This is where I have grown up. It has made me stronger and better.

How could I not be sad?

I feel like I am bidding a really good relationship goodbye. If not because of better opportunity, personal development and desire to have my dream come true... I would hate to say "I think we don't complement each other. We have characters differences now."

I only wish that I will not cry (my tear ducts are very weak) on my last day tomorrow. So long. Farewell! I will bring along all these sweet, happy memories to my new challenge.

You will always have a place in my heart.

Letting go...

Disclaimer: This post reflects personal opinons and not a representation of the general audience. Any reference may not be supported by facts and could be purely assumptions. This is afterall my free space to express.
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No... I am not telling you who I am voting for. This shall be a tough decision. I am certainly not a blind follower and I have eyes and mind to see, and a heart to listen.

The parties for my constituency are presenting facts and great solutions for my country. But at the end of the day, I must remember, whoever I choose, the party will be responsible for my neighbourhood. Or of now, my parents' neighbourhood - I have not changed my address. And I need to think about what I would hope for this neighbourhood to be for the next 5 years. What can the party bring to the table for this neighbourhood?

I need to remember that the party may or may not have a strong hold in the parliament. And the big plans for the country do not equate to what they could do for my parents in the future. Yet, I am in favour some of the big plans.

My only hope is, whichever party selected, they would listen to the cries of the citizens and consider the proposals put across by the different parties and improve them. Or else, they may not have the next 5 years. They must know that the people want to be heard. They want actions to be taken. From the flood of thoughts, it is obvious that the nation is maturing.

Being educated, affluent and exposed, they know their rights and desires. I also hope that the elected party will not disappoint. They must remember, the people who elected them, are the people who will be responsible for their choice. If the results disappoint, they will learn. They will correct.

This should be the way people will grow. Democracy can lead to a mature society when people know what they do affect their lives and future. When they have a direct impact of their decision, they will learn and grow.

People cannot be spoon fed and hand held anymore. The higher authorities do not need to worry about us like children. They should keep faith and have confidence in the choice of the people. Afterall, the next election is in 5 years. What's suffering for 5 years if a mistake happens?

So what if at the end of the day, a mistake is made? People complain but they know what to do when the next election comes.

It is good to fail sometimes. To fall sometimes. To learn. This is life. This is experience.

The Power...

Disclaimer: This post reflects personal opinons and not a representation of the general audience. Any reference may not be supported by facts and could be purely assumptions. This is afterall my free space to express.
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Of the internet and social media for politics.

We have seen in GE 2011 that those who know how to use the social media reaching out to netizens, have high influences and discussability space.

Information spread like wildfire within a matter of a few hours (even minutes), reaching far and wide, even to citizens residing outside of the country. Their opinons are also heard from miles far away from home.

I have to say, I have never been personally very involved in the politics of our nation (maybe one point in time, at the age younger than Nicole Seah). Partly because our leading party has been doing a good job, keeping the country economically and politically stable. So, I can sleep at night and focus my energy on other matters in life. Because they keep the country safe, so I am not afraid of being shot at night. At least, these occurences are few and far.

My worries revolve around whether my children will become strawberries or maybe even grapes. This seems largely a society issue, less of the governmental issue. There are countries that are thriving and yet the society do not indulge in materialism. Yet their children grow up strong, independent, responsible and sensible. This is, another topic to discuss regarding the society, which is also at the heart of the Asian culture. I shall bring this to another post, one day.

I have also thought that our people are apathetic but yet are vocal about their thoughts (compliants). Yet throughout this election, we have seen comments, feedbacks, opinions and supports for the opposing parties dominating social media and the net. This proved that they aren't just a bunch of apathetic complian kings/queens as perceived. They want to be heard and actions to be taken. They don't want to be patronised anymore.

It has been melodramatic over the world wide web and iphone applicaiton and I watched, read and studied in amusement. It has been politically entertaining.

While the mainstream media tend to lean on one side of the news, (although trying to take a neutral standpoint), the social media and net provide an alternative, uncontrolled avenue for people to air their views and at the same time, a space to influence one another's perspectives.

I am awed not so much by the drama and some dirty tactics (politics is a dirty game anyway - not my cuppa), but by the rate and speed, and power of the net and the social media.

Who needs complete freedom of the media when the net is such an excellent alternative?

Freeing the media will probably make being a reporter more interesting than before. If that's the case, could I consider joining the media and fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a reporter? How does covering a story like the Watergate Scandal sound to the politicians who said we should free the media?

Salute the creation of the WWW and the social media.