Jeffirean Stories
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Hello..
One week has passed...and what an eventful week it is!
Xmas
Nothing much except I cooked sphagetti on Xmas eve and worked on both Xmas and Boxing Day. This year I think Xmas was absolutely a thumbsdown event. Perhaps next year I will try to learn to profit from all the hectic spending..hahaha.
Disaster
On Sun afternoon while working, I heard from a passenger about the news showing a devastating earthquake... it was only until yesterday that I realised it wasn't any normal earthquake.. it was one that was real nearby and killed many people. Phew, luckily we didn't go for any trip this time round...but looking at the news reports, many victims and their families sure need plenty of help, so i hope all of us can chip in and the governments can work together to reduce the damage for future similar events..we cannot avoid natural disasters, but whatever we can do we should do. Hope everyone can stay strong and united through this period while we wish for a peaceful and better 2005!
Work
Work has ended today. I really enjoyed the job very much, and of course the flip sides I'm gonna tell you if you asked me. Nevertheless, no more standing and I look forward to my next job which I am in the midst of looking for one now. Given such a time table it's difficult to find a good job man..
School
I have yet to prepare anything for the new term! Even the fees also haven been paid yet..haha. Next term's time table is as follow so if u are planning to get me out, please rem it's something like below:
Mon - Creative Thinking 12-315pm + Business,Government and Society 330 - 645pm
Tue - Finance 12 - 315pm
Wed - Business Law 12 - 315pm
Thu - Management Accounting 315 - 645pm
Fri - Analytical Skills 145 - 315pm
That's all! Nice right? But I'm looking for a job and it's difficult with that 2 days dragging till 7pm....argh.
Jeffire
I've finally completed clearing the air with the 7seas! Now it's up to them to open their hearts to a new brotherhood with new impressions and new feelings! heh.
I'm still single and have yet to meet the girl who is worth my chasing..haha.
Er.. I managed one whole year without getting sick again! This is the 3rd year consecutively! Let's hope next yr will be the same too! Heeeeeeeeeee
Last of all, I'm still alive and kicking! I really like to chit chat with anyone so u can catch me on MSN or catch me alive at any place suitable for chatting lor...got probs tell me, got good news tell me, got win money lose money all tell me...haha.
But my luck with Singapore Pools hasn't improved! Let wait for the New Year whacking...:p
I want a hug! (a long long one from anyone cute)
Jeffire
Acknowledged my existence at
11:41 PM
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Let's continue.
So school ended with much relief that i managed to do some questions for the stats exam... aim was not to fail it.
Yet the job I had begun before sch ended. Had to endure some 8 hrs of lecture at Singapore Tourism Board...in all there were 60odd people selected and in the final end, 50 odd remained. The job scope originally was to hang around the transit area and identify the transit passengers and offer them some suggestions on how to spend their waiting time usefully. And we had to recommend those with more time to go out of the airport(which made sense, since airport stuff is really expensive) and those without that much time to either sleep it off at the resting areas or shop/eat around the transit area.
Till today, things have changed alot. This may get me into trouble with the government. But I still want to say it. Firstly setting a quota to clear off the excessive printed brochures is forcing us to reduce quality time with each passenger. In the end we are now merely people who give out high quality leaflets to as many people as possible. Secondly, I think many things could have been better planned in the beginning, such as the no of hours worked, more training and perhaps better talent spotting. Obviously the recruitment was not really perfect with a few black sheep among the so many hardworking colleagues of mine. Then I really think the so called 'goodie bags' we are giving away is only good for those who have yet to come to our island, and unfortunately, these people happen to be travellers who do not know English, and their travelling has only been made possible with budget airlines' price wars with the usual carriers, ie, they aren't really here to spend much money (but that's fine with me, only these people usually avoid us like the plague because in some other countries, people handing out stuff demand payment). I seriously felt a lot of the stuff done were not thought out properly. If given a chance I will like to highlight them properly in an orderly manner so that the next time the tourists will find it useful, and the tourist ambassadors will be able to really spend quality time advising the passengers.
Despite the negatives, there have been some positives too. I made some nice friends over there, and I realised I have been too naive and insincere.....should have made the effort to remember names (like what our previous SA president did) and increased networking with people... i mean what is there to be scared of? But in reality we are scared of being rejected. I chose this job because I could learn how to approach strangers and also learn how to smile more....been plagued by this image that i'm always grouchy (even my doctor also says so!) hmm... have i changed for the better in the month?
anyway, despite the only short month we are working together, the guys are gathering for a beach outing cum steamboat dinner on New Year's Day. Interestingly, I was asked to go (oh... that's quite a surprise). Heh. Unfortunately since the brothers are going JB on 31st, I guess I will skip the beach and go for dinner..hmm... will it be a waste? i heard there are more girls going...haha.
okie.. one last thing to write.. nothing serious. yest went to kenneth's place for a short relief (yes, it's ktv!!) and heard that he's taking singing classes now. and he's really quite cool at singing now...much much better than before... i'm not technically as good as him now! oh well, i shall pursue my own way of training and yes.. i'm resuming singing training at home in case there is some opportunity to display my ridiculously weird voice..haha. i wish to sing more with kenneth! esp duets...i really like singing duets with people.. guy guy, guy girl, girl girl...anything also can (less F4, please). hahaha.
the missing piece is jinki. we should really find some time to sit on his swing and chat. that nite he flew back was the best nite i ever had in the term, a 2hrs chat on a swing...updating on each other's life and a little gossiping...seriously, the bros need to sit down to chat more... the bridges have been lengthened since army and now we are pursuing our dreams...
bridge it, guys.
can i fall in love soon? maybe not..
jeffire
Acknowledged my existence at
11:24 PM
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Hello!
Thanks for everybody's concern! Really appreciate it very much.
The term has been a rollercoaster ride... it began very well with the leadership camp, then a enjoyable orientation, but a fire at home evolved into a set back that left me reeling. Then, bad relationship management with the project groups damaged my thinking badly, most notably, the Leadership and Teambuilding group where work was not of utmost importance unless the deadlines were up. Either I was too lousy at communicating my ideas and ideals across, or simply, we were entirely from different worlds. Luckily I had other friends who were very supportive.
The term then escalated into a battle with the exams during the midterm, and of course more project work and CCA stuff, especially from Bizcom. We were in the midst of reshuffling the pack and getting a new image. Needless to say, we didn't manage to realise our visions still and I guess that takes years. Nobody believes in good offers people hand out to you. Likewise in the airport job I am doing, most tourists don't believe that we are there to give them advice and help to enjoy a nice stay in Singapore for free or at the lowest price. I am not paid to get their pockets empty, it's their own choice if they want it empty or not.
After the battles, the cleaning up was terrible. Project deadlines culminated into a series of mini battles with time and different project groups. Worse still, I still didn't manage to kick off the latecoming habit. What to do? When I came early, everyone else is late. When I am late, everyone else is late too, but not as late as me.
There were also plenty of naive people who thought that things were so direct and easy. It actually takes plenty of quality time to do good work, but because of poor target management (or poor followership), quality time was greatly reduced, but expectations remained. I felt disappointed.
Soon the great relief came when the exams arrived. We had 2 weeks to study. Oh I love the break from meeting people! Staying at home is much easier although the computer gave me plenty of problems by getting itself damaged or sick... managed to live through it.
One thing I realised is that most people in school don't think much for the others. Everyone is striving for grades, but nobody cares much about how others live. I wonder why people don't like to share their lives, does telling people the bad news in your life turn them off? Then they must be the fake friends Kenneth mentioned. Although I am not really a great speaker nor a good comforter/advisor/consoler, I really hope that my listening will help to relieve some of your pains. I cannot offer much, for I am poor and worthless. My greatest asset is time, and I am willing to offer my time.
In school, I don't like to stick with the same people all the time. I don't have a good friend sitting beside me in my classes. I just pick the spot I like and usually it's the most corner seat nearest to the door. My answer to your 'why?' is that everyone else have their own cliques and aren't open to additions. I don't mind actually. It makes me look pathetic, but I am in actual fact a very pathetic person. So I shan't hide the fact.
Well, digressed abit, but before the exams came, I was already busy looking for a job. Getting good grades has never been on my priority at all, but surviving through college was. The irritating thing is that my family isn't here nor there. We are not as poor as the government deems, and nowhere as affluent as many others. I believe it's bad money management, and what can I do? I cannot tell my family not to use the aircon (I dun really like aircon anyway), I cannot tell my parents to cut on 4D, I cannot tell my brother to stop eating so much tidbits (I told him but he doesn't listen) and I cannot do without my broadband internet (which cost me $58 a mth) and of course not my handphone ($40+ on a bad month).
The solution is actually very obvious, if I can't cut expenditure I have to raise income. That means working. Even a good opportunity like network marketing I also cannot afford to do. So to work I have to cut time off for people and work. Many people who don't need to fear for the next meal don't understand and I am very sick of these people.
Contemplated quitting school in fact. It is actually something I don't need. However I fear that I will be despised if I quit school. It's all the fault of the Singaporean spirit. No degree=no good job=no good life. I beg to differ. I think there is much more to life than that.
I shall stop here for the moment for this is getting ridiculous and I have been writing incoherently. I cannot write properly.......lousy at the language. But who cares?
By the way, I am perfectly fine now, thanks to all the therapy I have undergone... plus some clearing up of air with Kenn, so I look forward to a better start to the coming new year. I am actually trying to hide some facts by writing so much rubbish so if you do dig up those facts, please keep them in your mind and dun make me repeat them again. Thanks.
I love you people.
Jeffire
Acknowledged my existence at
11:07 PM
Friday, December 17, 2004
......
I must have disappeared from the world for some days...blog not updated, offline on msn, email unread...blah blah. life sucks when a computer is down...it's worse when you are kinda shunned by the whole world...oh well..let it be.
rewinding the series of events...i can recall good and bad news. to be optimistic, let's talk about the good news.
Results. Okie, my results aren't anything worth being happy, but given the series of events over the term, i'm quite happy with it. GPA - 2.8, and it comes from Fin Acct (B+) Ldrship & Teambuilding (B), Intro Econs (B), Intro Stats (C), Comms (B-). I'm happy because I didn't put in much time studying for it and of course, I managed to climb back from fail to C for Stats is a miracle! Either I did okie for the final paper or the examiners 'give water'. Oh well, who cares. Term 1 is over and I look forward to getting one A soon for boosting morale. I think I want to gamble it on Finance the next term.
Parties. Kevin's and Stephanie's parties on 11 Dec were great! Met lotsa people, ate plenty of goodies. The mahjong session after Kev's celebration was pretty exciting. Very long never lose that much and made such a come back. Maybe 3 sided mahjong is like that. High risks, high odds and escalating excitment. Hope we can sit down for a four sided one soon. Oh well, happy birthday to all the dec people again! Heh. So many people to write birthday greetings too. luckily there is frienster to help. I hope kev likes his present of a polaroid camera(take pic cards that kind). haha.
LTB. Yeah! The final stage of LTB ended in a rush, but I think the old folks were pretty happy. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the closing part as I had to return the van to my father. The bad part of it was the stupid roads....I got lost on the way to Esplanade (and was late too) and the return trip was filled with red lights. I hate red lights! However, the smiles of the old folk were really very warming...hmm...in contrast, my teammates never smiled at me..
Games. My bro bought a playable WE8 disc recently and I could rekindle my gaming instincts. Of course I realised my team wasn't really good so I am in the midst of rebuilding it. But this is really the only game I can sit down to play hours with.
Sports. The recent SMU table tennis IVP trial saw 5 new guys added to the team. The 2 Indians I have yet to see them play but hope I can beat them. The seniors are so good that we get trashed easily.. need to train more with the good players to up my standards. Nonetheless, due to the lack of talent, I was selected but most likely I won't be playing...hmm. I have been trying to get Dan to coach me (or practise with me) but he has been avoiding me like the plague.
This brings me to the bad news session.
Friends. I wonder why is it so hard to get people out for ktv, for meals or just simply chilling out. Man, nobody wants to hear me talk. Simply put, either everyone's stuck in their little circle, or everyone doesn't like me. Life sucks. What did I do to offend any of you? Just spit it out and I will apologise. If you want to avoid me, just say it and I will delete your contact, msn, email, phone no from my computer and handphone and brain. Alternatively, I can delete myself or you from this world, but that's another matter altogether.
Finances. I think I know why I din get an A for FA. I really can't plan my finances well enough. Luckily (or disastrously) it's Dec. I have a job on hand, and some accounts receivables, so hope it will tide me till Jan. Many people seem to forget that I live in a 3 rm flat and my family total income per capita is only about $500. It's either I dunno how to spend money or I'm really damn poor. that's all. damnit.
Life. One really shocking news was last wed Aloy messaged me about Gordon's mum. Argh...the first wake I've been to myself. It was a difficult moment. It was also difficult to open my mouth to say something to Gordon. I hope he is fine...Life is really full of surprises and shocking news...I hope we will all understand the meaning of treasure. I really treasure every person I like...friends, classmates, teammates, colleagues, family, brothers....they are all part of me. Without them, my life is just a blank piece of paper...
Soccer. Good news was Liverpool pulled through to the 2nd round of the Champs League. The bad news was that they lost 5pts in the league after that. Bah! Other teams I support, Monaco went through as well, and Deportivo is still churning out trash results as long as my idol Diego Tristan is still injured. Damn..
I have no more complaints for the time being. However I am still damn pissed off, frustrated, angry, depressed, irritated and soon to be on jef-fire mode. I pray for some cooling water to cool me off. If not soon some things will have to explode and I hope it's not your ego nor your pride.
Rolling Thunder
Jeffire
Acknowledged my existence at
9:37 PM
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Hello!
Dec has arrived and that means the beginning of a working month for me. 8 hours of standing is indeed very tiring! Add to that the late hours we were working till...midnight (and beyond). However the really fun thing is that we got to speak to people from all over the world! Mostly they were Australians and English speaking people, but you do get the occasional japanese or indian.. heh. Interesting huh. My teammates (we were split into teams of 4) are Aston, Eng Chiu and Xinhui. Nice people they are! Well, I guess I'm lucky to get these colleagues, especially they are people of different background..more things to learn from people.
The JB trip was really fun and wonderful. The shopping was great, for the girls, but not for the guys. Haha. Anyway I bought myself a new pair of slippers, they look cool but kinda too colourful or something. Think JK has a same pair.. think so. Then we went to many places to eat, but they were all of the 2nd class places (except the cafe), nonetheless we had lotsa nice food that we usually dun eat in Singapore! The best thing we discovered is the KTV in JB. It's called Red Box and you can find it at Pelangi Plaza level 5. It's cheap, stocked with lotsa songs (and new) and the service is great! They even have a buffet from 7pm - 10pm..heh. And you can try for a marathon, like pay 20 odd RM and sing 10 hours from 12 - 10pm (provided not too many people come cos they will have to arrange you out after 7pm) so if you want to go for one day of great food and singing do tell me!
These days I have been making some stupid mistakes like going to the wrong places, waking up late, saying the wrong things, so if you are offended, please forgive me! I'm not in my usual deep-thinking mode...
How do you like my new background? It's a photo I've taken long ago at Punggol beach.
Tiredz but still survivable
Jeffire
Acknowledged my existence at
11:19 AM