♥ Live Life

First post of the year.

2011-01-10T21:41:00.002+08:00

Happy 2011! I hope your year has been good so far. I can say that mine is and I pray it'll stay this way.

As a starter for updates, I've officially started my attachment at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa in Dec 2010. It has been a month of theoretical and practical training for the re-opening of the hotel on the 18th Jan 2011. Everything is starting to become physically and mentally demanding. I'd be so tired to wake up everyday at 5am only to realise that I can be called to do OT at the very last minute. It'll be bad if I reject to help but I won't be able to get ample rest for the next day should I agree. I'm telling myself this will need some getting used to. We'll see..

Oh, just today, I received news that the article in which I was involved was published. My lecturers in school wanted me to be the 'poster-boy' and I gladly agreed.

Here's a peek (pic) of it. :)
Backtracking a little, I spent my last day of the year 2010 working at Siloso Beach Party. It was the first time and sure was a memorable way to end the year. To be honest, I was disappointed I couldn't be with E to usher in the new year together. But I'm just thankful that she's being understanding about my work and giving me the support I need to keep on going.

Thank you. :)
This year, I didn't come up with any resolutions because it's rather simple for me. I just want to do well for my attachment, study again (aces!) and then I'll be on my way to work on my career. Coming up with a list of resolutions doesn't seem to work well for me anymore. Perhaps this will be a process of learning how to be flexible in life.

There's so much to update and I think I've left out alot but heck. As an end to this post, I wanted to write a thanksgiving namelist for year 2010. However, I'll just leave it to the next one.

Till the next time!

lovely..

2010-12-11T15:39:00.002+08:00

The new duet I'm in love with ever since "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin in .

Disney never fails to come up with uber sweet melodies.

LOVE Language.

2010-11-27T23:54:00.001+08:00

Love Language..

Good night.

p.s: I miss YOU.

interview with Shangri-La.

2010-11-23T12:29:00.005+08:00

Just yesterday, I went for the interview at Traders Hotel for my internship at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa. As always, it's nerve-wrecking.. It's gonna be a 6months test for me in this industry. The moment I've been hoping and waiting for.

Prior to that, I was having second thoughts on going for internship. Some friends have been dissuading me. Whereas some friends have been encouraging me to take a go at it and go back to study after I've had enough 'fun'. It was my original intention to be 'thrown into the wild' and make it back in one piece. I stood firm with my decision.

Make it or break it. I'm excited at the thought of starting work but missing out public holidays and such, it kinda lowers a tad of my morale. Looking on the brighter side, isn't this what I wanted to experience all along? I've come a way to where I am now. I'm glad to say that I've aced all my modules including my Industrial Project. Seemed impossible at first but I eventually moved on to accomplish it. I've had the grace and favor from people around me and I know it's not by my strength alone but His.

The year is coming to an end. 2010 has been a fruitful year for me. Dreams are coming to pass. Greater things have yet to come, I believe. There are still unfulfilled goals though and I'll do a reflection on it soon.

People come and go. What's important is to move along without any regrets.

"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear for the future."

Good Charlotte - March On.

Later peeps. Harry Potter (Epic Part 1) tonight! ._.

Being a dad.

2010-11-18T07:13:00.000+08:00

Each passing day wears my patience thinner than before. You piss everyone off, including me who tried so hard to forgive and talk to you nicely.

I avoid words of anger and resentment but seems like all these do not work on you.

I hope all these will be put to an end soon. I want you out of my life.

Damn it.

Loss of drive..

2010-11-15T00:09:00.003+08:00

Impending internship. Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort.

I'm not as driven as compared to earlier part of the year. I need a refresh. If only it's just a push of the F5 button..

I'm gonna dive into the pool of hospitality news out there to find 'it' again..

Emo.

2010-10-22T23:03:00.003+08:00

Fragility of life. Being overwhelmed by the feelings running through my mind suddenly.

Past month plus, my brother's been in and out of hospital. After an episode of seizure early in the morning while sleeping beside me, he went through numerous blood tests, scans and doctor consultations. A tumor was detected in his brain and operation was advised. After a more in-depth study of the case, the specialists decided to do a review in 6months time with a MRI scan. Knowing that his life will never be the same as others, my heart is so burdened.

Since his heart op in 2008, he's been on medication to thin his blood. However due to this episode of seizure, he is now under another type of medicine that interacts with the one he's been taking for a year plus. Complications made it even more difficult for doctors to adjust his dosage of medication, and this is why he has to go for regular blood tests. Due to the effect of the blood-thinning drug in his body, his arms were full of bruises after each needle is being used to draw blood from his veins. They took forever to heal as his blood coagulation is alot weaker than normal people.

It seemed as though he had went through a 'war' and those were his 'battle scars'. Yes, he's been fighting all along. My mum and I are fighting alongside with him, with hopes that his blood can be stable so as to prevent those needles from entering his body again.

Just yesterday, he was admitted to the hospital again due to his blood. I'm upset. Looking at how he has to be injected with medicine at his abdominal area, and take oral medication too.

I want to continue on writing this entry, but I think it's better to stop before the whole sky of emo-ness falls upon me.

Later..

p.s: But God!

Be back soon..

2010-10-14T10:47:00.002+08:00

I'm standing at a crossroad..

Be back soon.

Loss of a loved one..

2010-08-02T04:29:00.002+08:00

Just this Thursday, I received news of the passing on of my 姨丈. I was on my way back with E from Bedok and I headed straight to my 大姨's place to meet my family. They were all gathered there and she just couldn't understand why her husband would travel such a distance from where they stayed and involved in such an accident.

The accident was reported on the news, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1072261/1/.html

She left her house on Thursday morning and my 姨丈 was still asking her if she needed an umbrella in case it rained. And by afternoon, he was gone. When my 大姨 returned from taking care of her grandchildren, she found a yellow colour Police Notice from the Traffic Police. Sensing that something went terribly wrong, she called her daughter and she eventually found out.

I saw my 姨丈 last Friday after going out with E. I will no longer hear his laughter anymore, no longer see him doing house chores when I visit his Choa Chu Kang home anymore.

Everyone knows life is fragile. The realisation did not come so strong until this happened. Everyone was devastated. However, knowing that my 姨丈 has gone on his way to meet God brought consolation.

I am seated nearby his casket, penning this entry now..

Looking at the John 11:25 that says "He who believes in Me shall live even if he dies"..

Knowing that he is now with the Lord, free from sickness, disease and the eventual deterioration of his mortal body is a joy in itself.

I pray for strength and courage to be with everyone who mourns his sudden departure from this world, especially for my 大姨.

See you in Heaven someday, 姨丈.

Happy Birthday!! :)

2010-07-05T23:22:00.010+08:00

What happened over the past weekend. Recap! :)

Last Friday (2nd July) was my marketing module's presentation and I felt really lousy after the whole thing. Arranged to meet E at Marina Square for Eclipse but due my presentation ending really later than expected, she waited for 3 hours and had no choice but to sell the tics before the show started. Sincere apologies love!

However, dinner at Cafe Cartel managed to cheer me up cos I was starving from the lack of food the whole day itself. E and I walked to the Helix and MBS then to Raffles Place from Marina Square. Always advisable to move around after a good meal right? The night scenery is really awesome even before everything is operational. Can't wait to see how it looks like when it's 100% up. Oops, but no pictures though. =\

While on the train back, the clock struck twelve and E was the first one to wish me 'Happy Hatchday'. And since we didn't manage to catch Eclipse earlier, we decided to watch it 12 hours later in the day at 12pm. :)

Tixxxxxxxxx. :)

I celebrated my birthday on the 3rd, starting with a hearty breakfast at Macs. E got me a sunflower and I was caught by total surprise. I've never received a flower from anyone before. This was the first time and I felt really really loved. :)

A sunny breakfast! :)

Sunny flower, take #1 __________ Sunny flower, take #2

Done with breakfast, we went for the movie but it was so-so only. Highlight being the clash of the Cullen family and the army of rogue vampires. There were some funny dialogues going on between the 2 male characters, wolf and vampire, in the tent when Bella was asleep too. Cracked everyone in the cinema up. For those curious, go watch.

E's dad drove and dropped me at Raffles Place after that cos they were on the way to catch the NDP rehearsal and I had to go Expo for church service. Dr. A.R Bernard was really awesome and he preached a sermon that tells of growth being a process. No matter what circumstances it may be, it's just a process and you'll ultimately be rewarded if you keep on going for your goal. It re-ignited my desire to do well for the remaining days of my student life until I get sent out to do my attachment. So blessed to hear him speak on my birthday and it was really personal.

Later that night, I had the sudden urge to catch a late night movie, Triple Tap. E joined me after telling her mum even though she had to wake up early for her own church service the next morning. Awww..... :))

And so! This was the highlight for Sunday!! After E's church service, she met me in town to do my belated birthday cake as promised. :) I had to attend Sofyan's and Zoe's wedding dinner and I really enjoyed myself in the afternoon. Delicious cake and it tastes so much sweeter with the effort put into coming up with the masterpiece. Pictures will be used to narrate the whole process to reduce the length of this post..

A picture paints a thousand words. Let the painting begin..

The blank canvas on which the artist will "paint" on..

Artist hard @ work. 100% focus level.

Working on the sides of the cake..

Left with the last section of vertical stripes!

Almost done, a few more finishing touches.

The Masterpiece!

The creator of the masterpiece! :)

The "devourer" of the masterpiece..

Devourer found accomplice to eat the cake, the Creator..

Reminds me of "Knife" said by Annoying Orange.. LOL!

Do I hear Annoying Orange's laughter nearby?

All smiles! :)

Okay, I just broke my longest blog entry again with this one.. Congratulate me please. HAHA!

Alright, time for bed and gotta start revising tomorrow for Friday's Marketing exam.

Later all!

Toodles~ ;)

p.s: 5th July 2010 marks a new starting for E and I. :)

4th A

2010-06-29T04:18:00.002+08:00

Fourth vowel. This time round, an A-..

2 more to go to complete my collection of distinctions. This module will be the toughest of all but I'll do my best...

Striving and believing!

Go go go, KC! :)

Caught in the middle..

2010-06-23T21:57:00.005+08:00

OUCH!

Friends that you know bad-mouthing each other and you're caught in the middle? Ever experienced that? Well, I've had my fair share of such incidences but I decided to pen down an entry regarding this..

People always say that there are 2 sides to a coin. And similarly, there are 2 sides of the stories that needs to be understood too. Is it so difficult for people to communicate properly? I don't see the need to go around telling another person about how bad the other party is. If you're unhappy with a person, will you be frank with him/her about it? I will. But I'll try to put it across subtly, without hurting the ego or feelings of the other person.

So please, if there's anyone that you may end up unhappy with in the future, be wise to act. There is no need to bad-mouth or go to the point of backstabbing the other party.

Psalms 34:13 (NKJV)

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.

Okay, enough of ranting.

Just this past Monday, our school had VIP visitors from Rasa Sentosa Resort, Singapore. The HR director visited a few weeks back and was interested to do a tie-up with my school, SD'H, to offer internships for students. And on Monday, the 3 directors of Rasa Sentosa Resort visited us. Namely the directors of Rooms, F&B and of course HR.

My lecturer told us about the internship proposal and it's really interesting! Firstly, if you're interning as a trainee there for 6 months, they will rotate your job scope around the different departments to gain the necessary experience. Thereafter, if your performance is awesome, you'll be shortlisted to continue interning as a Corporate Management Trainee. This simply means that your future career will within the Management after going through the structured training provided.

The thing that got me so excited is the fact that Rasa Sentosa Resort is reopening in early 2011 after complete makeover to their facilities. Most importantly, Rasa Sentosa Resort is part of Shangri-La!

Oh, the prestige!! :)

For more info, click here!

I watched Toy Story 3 yesterday! All thanks to E who always manage to spoil my plan to be a loner. It was well-worth the rush down to JP to watch before the crazy evening crowd comes flooding in. I saw loyalty being portrayed in the movie. Loyalty is just like loving or caring for someone. It doesn't suffice to say it a million times without showing it in actions. That is why..

People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

This week seems to be passing very fast again. Presentation + Report deadline is nearing.. Need creative wisdom to come up with an awesome presentation to secure my hopes of getting another A for this Marketing module. Really wanna finish up this module and be "delivered".

E, I'm so looking forward to 2nd July! :)

merciful righteousness..

2010-06-20T01:51:00.002+08:00

An important lesson I learnt today..

The beauty of merciful righteousness.

Being righteous doesn't mean that you have to punish or judge another person. We are all imperfect and want to be better. Being merciful is being righteous.

Are you?

worst nightmare.

2010-06-18T01:01:00.003+08:00

Woohoo, in a blink of an eye, it's Friday again! Which means my stress level is actually escalating with each passing second. This is my second last module and I can't wait to graduate and get thrown into the industry. Gonna be a helluva coaster ride! :)

Anyways, decided to drop by with a short entry to pen down something that happened while I took a nap. But before I go there, I'm quite surprised with myself that I managed to wake up for a good breakfast earlier this morning. A good start to a day begins with a sumptuous breakfast and boy, it was good. Had a 'pesky' company too. HAHA! :)

Okay, I shall just skip the boring details of school and go straight to the reason of why I decided to pen down this entry.

It's because of this nightmare that I had while I took a nap. Someone really dear and close to me died in this nightmare. The person was my uncle. The one who saw me grow from the first day I was born. The one who stood by me and my family over past 20 years. He's such a fatherly figure to me.

So, I was crying like crazy in the dream. The last time I cried so hard was when my grandma passed away. So this feeling was friggin' real. I struggled to wake up from it but I couldn't. Trapped in the nightmare for heck of a 30mins! Finally, I awoke from the dream. I kept telling myself that it wasn't real. Made a call to make sure he's safe and sound. I felt so relieved after that but I was still in a state of "trauma". Friggin' stoned.

It dawned on me and it was a realisation that I love my family so so much and I can't even imagine living without them. I really pray that everyone will live a long healthy life. To end this entry, here's a pic of my beloved fatherly uncle and myself, taken when I was 1 year old.

Although you won't be reading this..

I love you, Uncle. :)

Good night world.

Lengthy updates..

2010-06-13T01:42:00.005+08:00

Been a week since I've blogged..

Stress level has gone down significantly. BUT, it's gonna be on the rise from Monday onwards. Start of the next module which is Marketing, friends who have cleared this module before told me to be very very motivated and aggressive in tackling the presentation and exam. And so, I pray to be mentally sound through this coming month. May the force be with me. :)

Anyways, past Tuesday's presentation wasn't quite what I expected. Disappointed but I kept telling myself that what's done is done, focusing on the final exam for Hotel Operations on Friday instead. Practicals, assessments, presentation and theory exam all done and it's all left to God. I pray that my hopes of getting scoring another A is not dashed. I'm still worried but what can worrying do? Just gonna look forward from now on.

SO! As a form of "celebration", I watched SATC2 with Eleanor, Arwin and his girlfriend, Nat, after exam on Friday. Not being a total fan of SATC, I did watch SATC1 and quite enjoyed it actually, which explains why I asked if they were interested in watching too. Interesting show, nonetheless. Dinner with the 3 of them at Pastamania was cool too. Was kinda worried that conversations might turn out awkward but it was cool. I guess all 4 of us did enjoy the evening out together. Perhaps more to come? We'll see.. :)

And I just realised, no friggin' pictures were taken at all through the evening. What the deuce?

Just this morning, I watched Prince of Persia at Jurong Point with Eleanor. That makes 2 movies in less than 24hours. The show was awesome. CG effects, plot, action scenes. That wasn't all though. I was kept occupied thinking of the word, Destiny. Big word, I'd say. But what did it mean to me? I think destiny consists of the past, present and of course the future. The past that has determined my present, and the present that will create my future. And this future holds my destiny. I can't wait to see what is God has in store for me.

^{1 Cor 2:9}However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"

That's about it. I should be off to bed now. Be back again soon, hopefully.

Good night.

p.s: entry ended at 2.27 am.

Thoughts..

2010-06-10T04:00:00.000+08:00

Immortal Beloved.

Food for thought..

2010-06-07T04:23:00.002+08:00

I've read this analogy before and I came across it awhile ago and thought I'll share it so it can be a reminder in the future for myself too, in case I forget.

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked ‘How heavy is this glass of water?’

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, ‘The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. That’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.’

As with the glass of water, you have to put it down your burdens for a while and rest before holding it again. When you’re refreshed, you can carry on.’

So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down! Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while.

I thought this a very good analogy. People get stressed about work, about relationships and honestly, many itty bitty petty things. Best to put them down(or give them to God if you believe in Him). Don’t pick everything up after you’ve rested. Maybe you’ll realise after putting it down, that it’s not worth carrying.

Revelation, anyone? :)

neglection..

2010-06-07T03:38:00.002+08:00

It's been a mentally draining week for me. Getting all stressed up about the Housekeeping practicals and assessment, upcoming presentation and the report submission. I can't help but feel that I didn't give my 100% to this module this time. Not to mention, final exam this coming week too. Argh!

Or perhaps this module's arrangement of lessons is really screwed up. There isn't a proper flow and everything's all over the place. Or perhaps, I should examine myself and stop finding excuses. Yea, it's rather easy to blame it on situations/circumstances in life but when will we ever look at ourselves as a start to solve a problem?

So I'm gonna remind myself for this coming week to stay motivated. Nobody will ask if I'm motivated and offer encouragement to me. Like a fire needs fuel to burn on, I gotta feed myself with 'fuel' to burn on and not burn out.

Gonna harvest another A for this module. I believe in the power of confession! :)

On a lighter note, I'm glad that this module is over in 1 week time. In my last post, I was saying that I wanna learn more about photography. Just this past Saturday, I managed to borrow Kenneth's spare DSLR to start experimenting when I get the time. He was steadfast in agreeing to lend me the camera and big thanks to you bro. I'm not sure if you'll be reading this post anytime soon but, thanks for the opportunity. I won't forget that 1 condition. :)

Debbie is back from Melbourne last week too. Time to hear some hyena-like laughter. Catch up soon once I'm more freed up?

Aight, I'll head back to do my report again.

That's all for now, folks. :)

wonder wonder.

2010-05-31T23:49:00.001+08:00

When Things Go Wrong
by Author Unknown
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It might be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Quit, not!

EOS and A+!

2010-05-26T01:31:00.008+08:00

I wanna be a shutterbug too. Been reading up much about photography and it's catching on.

So can I have a EOS 500D? :)

The EOS 500D!

Before I forget, I scored another A+ for the previous module. That's 2 A+ and 1 A. 3 more modules to go!

Time to go sleep. I'm stagnant on my presentation slides again and 9am lesson later.

Need to have my doubts cleared and it'll be smooth sailing, hopefully. :)

Good night. :)

Family Matters!

2010-05-17T01:01:00.006+08:00

Meaningful Sunday!

Took with me the courage to stand in front of an audience and appreciate my Mum and 大姨 during Family Matters luncheon on Sunday afternoon.

It wasn't just a song, but one that speaks to me on how to love my family in a more practical way.

I told myself.. It is not only on such occasion that we show love & appreciation. It should be a lifestyle, just like how our relationship is with the Father.

I am really really thankful. :)

WOW!

2010-05-14T02:51:00.001+08:00

A star has been born..

Oolala.

Gonna be on repeat for quite awhile, for sure. Enjoy. :)

I will praise.

2010-05-07T01:17:00.003+08:00

A song so close to me, 3 years ago..

Exam later, gonna get some sleep early tonight.

Be back again.. :)

Stumbling..

2010-05-05T17:47:00.004+08:00

Stumbling.. Haven't been in the best of shape for the past week. Be it my health or spiritually..

So many thoughts spiraling in my mind and yet, I can't put them in words. Same old problem is coming back at me now. Slowly slipping to something deeper, depression perhaps? No. I should pray.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (The Message)

6 "Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."

Father, stay with me.

Massive updates!

2010-04-23T00:30:00.006+08:00

Let's see let's see..

I don't even know where to start my updates from. Uhhh alright, my exciting Saturday last week. Through the night, there were alot of first times that happened.

1) First time stepping into ButterFac. We were there to support a classmate who was performing there for the night. The place was uber packed cos there's an anniversary event going on so that explains us leaving earlier than expected. ( no pics taken there sadly)

2) Chilling out at 2(!!) places for drinks. Both were Thai pubs with really unfamiliar music. First one was Icon, which is surprisingly okay. I mean, the music there weren't as crazy as what I was about to listen to next. Second on the list was Oasis. After the live band finished up their act, it went onto Techno/Trance! I was exposed to a 2hour torture and eventually got a headache. However, the company of the friends for the night was what mattered to me.

3) First time seeing a police raid a club too. My friend was telling me it was the 3rd consecutive day they raided the same place at 3am. They were saying that it has never happened before and it was the first. Lucky me got to see what it was all about. LOL!

4) Well, for those who know me, I'm not the kind of person to stay out till late and return home in the morning. But on Saturday night, I did and reached home at 7am on Sunday morning.

A memorable Saturday evening I'd say. Moving on.....

My dad had a fall while on his way to work last weekend. Nothing serious, thankfully. But I'm still worried cos he's been complaining of weakness/pain in his leg. But I'm praying and trusting God to work His miracle on my dad.

Mum's been really moody and to add on to it, my brother's failure of appeal to enter a Polytechnic may have made it worse. What happened? He overlooked the application date for polytechnic admission. He was supposed to apply for the course(s) that he had interest in before getting his final results upon graduation which he obviously did not. Now he's forced to wait till next academic year in order to be enrolled. Shucks.

Argh, it's almost 1am now and I'm still awake. Better not be insomnia..

Gonna end of this lengthy post with the songs currently on constant repeat in my iPhone.

Now, off to catch some sleep! Later! :)