Farewell 2011

So… It’s been almost 2 years since my last post. I’ve been busy since and haven’t had the urge to write anything until now. I’ve kept away, but I always knew that one day I would return to write in this blog again.

The past two years have seen me grow up to be a real adult – like, a lot. Post-school life has been much harder to deal with. In school, all I worried about was getting good grades – and being nice to people wasn’t part of the equation. Work life has been harsh these past years but I appreciate the lessons I have been taught. It isn’t easy to live in the real world, but what can I say? I’m a SURVIVOR.

Life has changed a lot for me. As some of you may know, my most beloved grandmother passed on two Sundays ago. She died very suddenly from a massive bleeding in her head (stroke). I never got to say goodbye, and this is something I regret not doing. I could have spent time with her beforehand but I was waiting till Christmas to do so. Sadly, my grandmother didn’t survive till then. Henceforth, my life will be very different because she is no longer in my life – and I am not sure I welcome the change.

15 years ago, I was deeply affected when my Grandfather passed away too. I was depressed in my pre-teen and most of my teen years because I just couldn’t get over his death. Till this day, I can easily shed tears just thinking about my Grandfather. With my Grandmother gone too, now I have more tears to shed and a bigger void left in my life.

But I’m a survivor and I will keep pushing through all the adversities that are in store for me.

As part of my life lessons, I have been taught to appreciate what I have too. With all the talk of voids, I should also mention the fulfilments I have in my life.

My parents, family members (including extended relations), friends (including colleagues who have become friends) – These were the people I once took for granted because I was so self-centred, but in time, I have grown to treasure them. I am thankful for the guidance, the consolations, the love… I am blessed because all of you have blessed me with these. I should also mention my fantastic job and my very understanding boss. God has been kind to me.

I’ve had the privilege of travelling to many parts of the world and breathing in the cultures, history and cuisine of many a country. Getting to know other parts of the world really opens up my eyes. And this is something I will continue to do – travel.

It’s almost 2012, so let us bid farewell to 2011. I look forward to a new beginning and a new agenda. Time may heal all wounds, but my beloved grandparents will always remain in my heart… forever.

May blessings be upon all of you in the new year. Let us soldier on.

Car idiots

My MRT idiots post drew many curious people to this blog. Hence, I have decided I will turn this into an Idiots series.

Now, I’m sure quite a number of you drive, and even as you accumulate your road confidence and experience, I have no doubt you still make silly mistakes or create silly stunts every once in a while, but I sure hope you’re not in one of those categories I have mentioned below. I myself do not drive, but have personally encountered a number of idiots on the road. Thus, with great pleasure, I present to you part 2 of the Idiots series – Car Idiots.

1) The L-Plate Illiterate
Now, unless you took your driving test overseas, you probably are aware what the L-plate stands for (even for those who don’t drive). But surprisingly, a number of drivers I’ve come across don’t seem to be able to understand what it means when someone drives a car displaying the L-plate. They are impatient with you, expecting you to be like any other driver on the road and get pissed when you don’t speed up (and I question why they tailgate the poor new driver), despite the L sign being displayed prominently. These illiterate drivers are either extremely blind, extremely dumb, or an extremely poor example of a driver.

2) The Honking Hornet
There are some of us who admit to being idiots, and there are some of us who try to be road bullies, and inadvertently prove how cowardly they really are by hiding behind their steering wheels (and horns). They are extremely impatient and unreasonable, and all they know is how to honk at others to get their way, even though sometimes they do not have the right of way.

3) The Flashing Fool
This category of car idiots is similar to the Honking Hornet. They are often impatient and rude, and tend to excessively flash their lights at their innocent victims – either to prove some kind of pointless ‘point’ or to cause intimidation. What they don’t realise is that by temporarily blinding another driver, he/she might cause an accident… hopefully killing the Flashing Fool.

4) The Parking Peabrain
Have you ever noticed what you thought was a free parking lot from afar while you were driving but when you moved closer, realised that the supposedly free lot is taken up by another car? Specifically ONE car taking up TWO lots? Well, my condolences to you - for you have just encountered the work of a Parking Peabrain. These poor parkers are either really bad at parking or are really inconsiderate jokers.

5) The Swerving Psycho
From my experience, most Swerving Psychos tend to be taxi drivers. Now, don’t get me wrong – I think that driving a taxi is a respectable occupation. However, since cabbies spend most of their time on the roads, many of them have become more daring than normal car drivers. They lose the ability to stay on one lane, especially when caught in a jam – they will speed and swerve to the left and to the right and the left and then right again – just so the vehicle keeps moving ahead. From a passenger’s point of view, I do appreciate that they want to keep the car moving, however, I do not appreciate the unnecessary speeding – at the cost of my life!

6) The Luxury-Car Lord
Do you drive a smaller car and find yourself being bullied by certain cars? Well, meet the Luxury-Car Lord (or Lady) – also known as the King (or Queen) of the Road. The reason he/she is road royalty boils down to the simple reason that he/she drives a luxury car, thus allowing him/her the perceived automatic right-of-way and permission to behave badly on the roads. He/she will cut into your lane, tailgate, flash their light, honk on their horns, and speed dangerously ie. a combination of all the other Car Idiots categories mentioned above. Drivers BEWARE!

This is the end of my Car Idiots post. Hope all you considerate drivers out there won’t have to encounter such idiots on the road! Till the next Idiots post… Cheryl signing off!

MRT idiots

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while but I’ve put it off time and time again due to laziness, and partly because I thought I could forgive these savages I’m going to write about. Honestly I have had enough of it all so I’m taking to this platform to shout out to all folks who take the MRT regularly.

I’ve taken the old rickety tube all over London and the creaky metro all over Paris. I’ve sat on long long rides all across England from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Victoria to London Euston. I’ve also had the privilege of riding on the Eurostar to Europe. I’ve sat on plenty of disgusting old trains, yet have never found this incessant need to complain about them.

Well, I take our local MRT to work every day and every time I get on to the train I fall into an unpleasant situation. I’ve hardly ever had an enjoyable experience on the MRT. Sure, some of you might argue that Singapore’s got one of the best train systems in the world and that I should appreciate it, but let me assure you that a comfortable train may not beget a comfortable ride. Why? Blame those dastardly discourteous demons who ride the train with me every morning.

There are six main species of MRT idiots that I’ve identified; perhaps you might recognise some of them too:

1) The Rusher
This person is probably the most common one you’ll find around. He/She is obnoxious, impatient and extremely kiasu. Your MRT experience will be marred by him/her before you even get onto the train. Before the MRT arrives, this person will block the entrance of the train door. The moment the doors open, this person rushes in and grabs a seat before anyone else can – regardless of whether or not there is a pregnant lady following on his/her heels. No, getting into the train and onto a seat is way more important than anything else, and not even the irritated stares will stop this person from doing so.

2) The Pusher
The Pusher is someone who will normally emerge in crowded MRT situations. When the train door opens, everyone will shuffle into the crowded train. But the Pusher, who is normally behind the entire crowd moving into the train, is so eager and determined to get into the train, that he/she pushes everyone in just so that he/she can ride THIS train – despite everyone having to pack into the train like a row of sardines in a can.

3) The Hair Flicker
This person is normally a lady. In rare situations, it can be a man with long hair. But from all my observations, the Hair Flicker has always been a lady. See, in a crowded MRT train, you’ll tend to find yourself standing very closely between people. People behind you and people in front of you. For the guys, you may think it’s your lucky day if you find a pretty lady with long hair in front of you (with her back to you of course). But be careful, she may be a Hair Flicker. When you’re standing so close behind her that you can smell the scent (or in some cases, stench) of her hair, be careful because you may suddenly get poked in the eye when she repeatedly flicks her hair behind her shoulder. Either that or you get a mop of hair swished into your face. Freaking annoying.

4) The Newspaper Reader
I don’t discriminate all newspaper readers, and I certainly have no issue with people who read on the train even if it’s crowded. But what I absolutely detest is people who have this warped idea that their stupid newspaper has more right to occupy a space in place of another human being. He/She doesn’t care how crowded the train gets and continues to read; some of them even spread their newspapers so wide that the person in front of or beside them has to crouch just so he/she can read. Sometimes, the Newspaper Reader even ‘borrows’ another person’s shoulder or back to lean the newspaper on!

5) The Bag-Packer
No I don’t mean those people who travel the world with a large sack on their backs. This person I’m talking about is normally a local male who stuffs his back pack to the max, so much so that when he/she gets on the crowded train, the back pack occupies as much space as would a human person. The best part is that this person does not even think to take off the back pack and place it on the ground so that the person behind him can breathe freely and not have to feel forcefully pushed the whole time. At other times when the Back-Packer decides to push his way out of the packed train, some item from his bag tends to stick out and graze or cut one or a few persons at once.

6) The Fidgeter
The Fidgeter is a very rare specimen, and could sometimes be a hybrid of all of the above-mentioned species. This person likes to make uncomfortable situations all the more uncomfortable. Ever had a person standing behind you who kept moving around every few seconds, and despite already being resigned to feeling like a squashed bug you end up feeling like a squashed bug who keeps getting poked in different places?

Yeah, so these are the mainly the idiots I come across in my daily MRT rides. If you’re one of the people I’ve described above and have not realised it, you still have hope so please wake up your idea okay? If you’re one of the idiots I’ve mentioned but still insist you’re not being discourteous, I’m sorry to say you are hopeless and a bloody disgrace to your nation… You must be the one they keep complaining about in the newspapers.

For the rest of humankind who have been courteous people subjected to such torture, you have my utmost sympathy. Do share if you have had any experiences with other sorts of species of MRT idiots!

Christmas musings

This Christmas I have no idea why I keep procrastinating with finishing up the wrapping of my Christmas presents and writing my Christmas cards. I’m not exactly overly stressed up as I do not have a lot of crazy projects at work to handle for the moment. Somehow I’m not really excited with the presents bit this year. Maybe because I have to wrap SO MANY (including my mum’s)!

With Christmas coming up and all the festive activities and promotions taking place in the hotel, it is so easy to forget why I celebrate Christmas. Being in Marketing Communications, I’m being forced to place myself in the mindset that promotions are the best way to pull in more business, and the best time to feature promotions is during the festive season when everyone is in the celebratory mood. Basically, it boils down to money – and I’m the one who has to do the dirty work of pushing out these news to the public. Again, it’s all about the money – because I’m being paid to do so!

I’ve got to keep reminding myself of the real meaning of Christmas. It’s really not that difficult – in my job, there’s always tons of information that comes along with the festive season, but in real life, Christmas means just one word – “Jesus”. I was looking through quotes about Christmas (I have the cheesy habit of writing poems and quotes in my Christmas cards), and I came across this quirky little poem which made me laugh:

Roses are reddish
Violets are bluish
If it weren’t for Christmas
We’d all be Jewish

How true! If it weren’t for the birth of Christ, we’d be like them Jewish folks still wondering when Christ will come down to earth. I wonder how they share the Good News when they cannot proclaim that Jesus has already come and gone, when we are already awaiting His second coming. Sounds pretty strange to me. Anyway, isn’t it wonderful to know that out of all the religions, Jesus is the only God who actually came to earth to ‘touch base’ with His people? (Buddha doesn’t count ‘cos he isn’t a god – Eh, unless you are a Satanic worshipper then you might be pleased to know that the devil is in town, at least in the Supernatural TV series hehehe)

I’m really looking forward to Christmas this year and meeting up with loved ones (too bad Mr Loh will be returning to his hometown; I’ll miss him terribly). Can’t wait for the annual sleepover with my church mates and my mini party with my clique from work. There’s lots more to look forward to actually.  After all that’s been said and done, I must say I’m truly blessed to have a happy loving caring family, crazy friends who love me, colleagues who care, and my dream job – among other things. But the greatest blessing of all is to have received the unconditional love of God. (Actually, folks, we’ve all experienced a love that knows no boundaries – we just gotta wake up from our stupor and realise it!)

Be right back

Sitting in the quiet office facing the computers and  ‘fire-fighting’ everyday is driving me bonkers.

I’m so glad I finally get the chance to get out of the city and leave this life behind for a while. Don’t get me wrong; I love Singapore. But sometimes it takes a trip out of town to remind me to appreciate what I have.

Will be leaving tonight and will be back next week. Won’t have any access to the Internet, so if you need to get me, leave a message.

Cheers and have a great weekend, y’all.

The only constant

After all the hype about the movie 2012, I finally caught it last evening.

The only scene that made me feel sad was the one at St Peter’s Square where the masses were gathered with candles – and with the Pope leading prayers. I feel very strongly about my faith, and to see the icon of my faith destroyed like that did make me feel upset.

Overall, this film has taught me one thing: Everything (no matter how big or small, or how tiny or mighty) will eventually reveal itself to be temporary. God is the only constant in our lives.

So why only turn to Him in times of need? We should always keep him in the centre of our lives.

Grub-grabbers

I totally adore my friends in the hotel (except for you, Alex haha)… They always crack me up and make my working days feel better. Today I managed to coerce them to pose for me (except Elaine who was on the phone, awww). Don’t ask me why you keep seeing cookies – we’re all hung up on food.

Melissa and her cookie-eating habits.

Alexd (it’s not spelt wrongly – inside joke) the purple monkey.

Willy was on holiday so no photos of him. But he doesn’t take retarded photos anyway.

Hello truth

Hello Truth, I’ve been expecting you.

I’m glad I met you today. It’s been a while. I’ve been hoping you would come out and meet me. I didn’t think you’d visit me today, but nonetheless I’m glad you did. I was afraid you’d be too frightened to find me. Let’s make sure Lies doesn’t find me okay?

And don’t worry, you’re safe with me. I’ll protect you. You can count on it.

Baby don’t you break my heart slow

(The title has nothing to do with the post – I just happen to be listening to a song of the same title by Vonda Shepard and Emily Saliers)

Today didn’t seem like Friday at all. It didn’t feel like a normal day, yet there was nothing to look forward to; nothing I wanted to do in particular. I only remember being pissed off in the morning by the irritating security guard who wanted to check my bag.

Then in the late morning, my appraisal took place. We did it at Killiney, away from the office environment, away from possible straining ears. I’m really happy with my grade (76%) but at the same time I am extremely aware that I need improvement in certain areas. For example, I could work on my communication skills. I don’t find that I’m rude or anything, just that I could be less direct and more tactful.

Honestly I find it a challenge to be tactful. What is tact? I attempt to be polite and sincere, and since I hate beating around the bush in case of miscommunication I am straightforward with what I need to say. Somehow I’m still trying to understand how that is a bad thing. I really do not know how to coddle one with words and still sound sincere about it, especially if I don’t really mean what I say… It’s kind of hypocritical to me.

Anyway, before you continue reading the rest of this entry I think I should warn you that I’m really just gonna talk randomly. I’m just itching to write something so here I am. This is my happy place. Carrying on…

Working life seems to be a little better for me. I feel that I’ve found some potential great friends at work. It’s not just about being able to get along and work together – it all starts making sense to me when I realise these are people I can actually trust with information from my personal life, and not just because we get along so well together. Sometimes work can stress me out so bad and make life extra difficult, or whenever I feel down, I just have to turn to these friends who will crack some silly jokes and that will instantly make my day brighter

This clique I’m in at work – they’re all older than me. But it’s good for me… Not because they mollycoddle me or something (that’s quite the opposite actually – they do bully me quite a bit *sobs*), but because I feel like there’s more of this world to learn about. I’ve been a sheltered child and most of my friends are younger than I am. Not that the  ages makes any difference because it seems to me that no matter the age, the ability to be lame is still intact, haha.

Ahh… Life can be so good if we’d learn how to let ourselves be happy.

Genie in a bottle

I wish I had a genie in a bottle who can grant me three wishes. With these three wishes, my whole life can change for the better.

Give me lots of money so I can pay off my debts and not have to keep scringing. Plus I can give more to those who need money.

Give me and my loved ones good health and happiness in life.

Give me a generous heart and a loving soul.