Old fashion house renovation

Have been actively searching for our new house.

Been to several houses every weekend over the past 1.5 months.

Some houses are older but looks new.
Some houses are newer but looks old .
Should i buy a old house that is expensive but convenient?
Should i buy a newer house that is cheaper but less convenient?
Fortunately, we came to a conclusion.
Although i still think about it sometimes,
but being focus will give me lesser headache.

Wonder why people did the renovation they did?
Is it because it used to be the "in" thing?
Or did the owners really like it?
Or was it provided?

Renovation that i have seen and cannot understand:
1) Granite flooring (those with black dots with grey background)
2) Blue color kichen cabinets
3) old-fashion wood cabinets (i like wood furniture but somehow sometimes the wood that is used just makes the house looks 20 years old. Don't know whether it is the type of wood, the color of the wood or the design of the cabinet that makes it looks sooo old-fashion)
4) Vanity tops that looks 60s

Hopefully, our renovation will be able to carry over time and not look old fashion.
I want a modern, sleek, cosy, fun, relax, sexy, simple, romantic, peaceful, cheerful, yummy and easy to maintain house.

Confused? So am i. But that is another chapter after we get our new house. So let's think about it later.

I love noodles......

Today is a stressful day.
Angdo is back.
Volumes are super low and
it is suppose to be a fun day.

Inter-department conflict.
Today been hit the worst.
3 departments in total.
This does not make work productive.
Don't know why i feel frastrated.
Not paid to worry about the conflict,
My title does not put me in the advantage to resolve it,
then why somehow i am involved?

Feel tired and stress and angry.
Left work early.
Don't want to think about it.

Ate 2 bowls of my favorite Wanton noodles
1 bowl with chilli, 1 bowl without
Dipped the fried Wanton in Mayonnaise sauce
Covered in creamy white and ate it in 1 mouthful
Ahhhhhhhhh......Happiness....

Satisfaction

I love Wanton Noodles....

About Life

Stevie, Life is great at the moment.

Actually, every aspect seems perfect. Family, friends, love ......except my career which is not as fulfilling as i expect but everything else have made up for this tiny winy unsatisfied bit. Of course, i hope those around me are happier as well. Then we can all share and enjoy life together.

During team building this year, we did a small exercise and when was asked to state what we learnt during the exercise, the following was my thoughts. Maybe it has been in my mind for awhile. It is not only what the team building exercise reveals but somehow i feel my department is changing too fast and too much.

Do not be too overly focus at what you are doing and missed out on your ultimate goal and forget what is most important. When life is too hectic, just step back and re-focus and plan - Hui

Lov u lots and lots

LIFE

Life

Somehow, I have been very ‘emotional’ this weekend. Reflecting on the true meaning of the definition of “LIFE”.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.” – James Truslow Adams.

This Saturday was a usual short trip to Zhu Hai for the purpose of stocking up DVDs and a cheap massage session. While shopping, we had a friendly conversation with a shop assistant and we found out that she is earning RMB1500 per month with a monthly rental of RMB600. With that, effectively, she will only have RMB900 and with meals costing, on average, RMB20; how much can she save? What about transportation cost?

It’s not the poverty that clouts my senses, my emotions. It’s more the fact that is she going to work for the rest of her life away. Yes, there is poverty everywhere in the world. Even my colleagues don’t seem to understand what’s there to be emotional about. Indeed, true and that’s very true. The shop assistant mentioned that she moved out of the village to work in the city and has a better environment to work, to live.

“Life is all about choices. Never let anything to have the power to control your choice, lest a ‘poverty’ life is worse than poverty itself.” – Myself.

Reflecting on that, my mind started to wander off to all the choices that I have made recently. Choice – what is “choice”?

Life is indeed very strange. That very night, we went off to a colleague’s house to watch a movie “Gone Baby Gone”. At the end of the movie, Casey Affleck had to make a choice whether to report the missing baby to the authority and have the baby send back to her drug-addicted mother or be silent on the fact that the baby is better off with a retired local police commissioner who was involved in kidnapping her away from her mother. In the end, he made the former choice and the story-ended with her mum still very much can’t be bothered with her own daughter. Did Casey make a wrong choice?

In my opinion, no, he did not. There is never a wrong or right choice. It’s just a choice, period. To me, everyone has a right to their own choice. To somebody, it might be a right choice, to another person; it might be a wrong choice. The most important thing is that you, yourself, have the right to make that choice and, regardless, of the outcome; be responsible for the decision that you have made. The plot of the movie might changed too – the mother changed over a new leaf and is able to provide her daughter for a better future.

Since young, I always asked myself – why I don’t have ‘this’, why I don’t have ‘that’, why must I be one of the majority that stays at a HBD flat, why don’t I have a car to pick me to and fro from school. I realized that if you want something, you have to work hard for it. And later, I realized working hard is never enough, you have to work smart, and you have to be successful. Ever since, I have never let myself down in terms of studies or work. Naturally, work has become my priority, my motivation and my life.

Ever since the start of my career, there are 2 important persons in my life. In fact, I consider them both my mentors. Of course, both of them are very intellectual. And I consider one of them as a person who have given me the opportunity to be where I am today. And the other whom I consider as a person who have guided and influenced (directly and indirectly) me to be the person I am today.

I have always placed my career more importantly and in priority of my family and Hui. And without realizing it, the ‘distance’ seems to be stretched further and further away. I was 24/7 involved in my work – directly or indirectly. So much that everyone started to wonder and questioned me - how did I manage to find time with my family and Hui? The truth, is, I don’t. And my personal life started to fall apart and finally, I have made a choice to ‘get’ away – to focus on my career. It was a hard choice, a painful one.

After some time, I started to feel frustrated. At work, I strived to be the best and wanted to be the best. However, in life, not everything goes your way. No matter how hard I tried, I was never rated the ‘best’. Why? I started to question myself. I don’t feel appreciated, despite the effort and sacrifices that I have made. As a person or even at work, I was very ‘outspoken’ and very determined to get what I want. When I don’t, or when things don’t go my way, I get very frustrated, so much so that I started to show my “displeased”. If someone is gotta be on the ‘top’, why can’t that person be me? My feelings, my emotions got the better of me – in a bad way.

At some point in time (why then? – don’t ask me, cos life is indeed a very strange ‘thing’), I started to reflect on my life and starting to think on some of the things that was said to me – by one of the mentor. He is a very ‘secretive’ person. A person whom I really have no idea what he is thinking and someone who I can’t seems to comprehend. This is unusual for me. Not that I have the ability to read a person mind. But I have a ‘thing’ about analyzing people and usually, I am right. That’s why I am very good with “mind games”.

Yes, you can be very good, you can be the best. But if everyone is good and everyone is the ‘best’ in one way or another. Who is going to ‘fill’ the bottom? Analyze this, everyone is good and everyone feels that he should be the one on the top – can that team, that company survive. Everyone has a part to play, someone has to take that role on the ‘top’, and someone has to take the ‘second level’ to make the team function well.

Why and what am I working so hard for? What is the initial motivating factor that prompt me to work hard and be successful? What do I really want in life?

With all the thoughts and starting to analyze that mentor, I started to realize and understand some of the things that he mentioned during casual conversations, some of the things that he does. I seems to be able to comprehend him more and more. Actually, he is a very simple person.

One of my colleagues mentioned a story about a person who loves to fish which I recalled that it's something similar to one of my comprehension during my school days.

A boy whose hobby is to fish and he lives in a village. To fulfil his dream of having the opportunity to fish in a big ocean, he started to slog his life away and be successful. And he did. At his old age, he bought a big boat and went off to the ocean to do fishing. What is strange is that after slogging his life away, it seems that he is still doing what he is doing initially - fishing.

Simple is good. What I need is to balance my life – a ‘skill’ and to be ‘disciplined’; to be able to achieve it. Anything that I have more, for what I have worked for is a ‘gift’.

I want my family to be proud of me.
I want to be able to provide for my family.
I want Hui to be happy and start a family with her which I so long for.
A COMPLETE FAMILY.

Gals Bonding

It has been awhile since i had friends sleeping over for the night. The last time was almost 1 to 2 years ago.

Last night the gals bunk over at my place and now i have 2 toothbrushes to safekeep just in case Jac and Raye is planning to sleep over again.

Yesterday was really tired but exciting. Viewed 9 houses in the afternoon and my whole body was just lethargic. Was planing to laze around the whole night to rejuvenate when i had a last min meeting with jac. Since jac will be sleeping over, of course the more the merrier. Called up raye to check her status. Finally, we convinced her to bunk over. Well, she have no choice, since her place is sooo "u lu" that both jac and i do not know how to find our way home. Maybe jac is pretending but no-sense-of-direction-me may end up circling the whole estate and still cannot find the expressway.

U whooo!!! My first drive without supervision.

Drove to crowded Orchard, to Pasir Ris and back home. The drive must be a torture to the gals. They were not allowed to talk, not allowed to hear any music and they can only give me direction on where to go next. Parking skill is also much better. At most 3 attempts and the car is in and straight. More practise and i think i can be on my own soon.

Finally reached my house at 3.30am and still the chatting continue after lights off. Despite sleeping so "early" in the morning, was waken up by early-bird raye at 9 plus. Since we were all still tired, both me and jac just continued with our sleep and finally raye settles down for another good 2 hours of sleep and after it is shopping therapy.

Hopefully we can still do this when we are well into out 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s............then it will be perfect.

Unappreciated

Yesterday was a terrible day.

Think i'm just being petty and over-reacted (that's me)

But no matter how i think it over and over again

I feel unappreciated

The comparison itself is an insult

The measurement is unfair

The evaluators are not qualified

I do not need people who work in finance sector and

cannot understand basic company announcement to judge me.

Need i say more.........

Thanks to the usual hangouts, last night ended with a calm and happiness mood.
The branded bag discussion, the relationship talks, the ghostly stories, the craps, the rubbish/comfort food, the company, just save the day.

What will i do if everyone leaves the company, who will b there to listen?

My dear Notebook

The worst think that can happen to my notebook is if it crashes and no matter how many times i try to switch it on, it just won't start.

My dear Notebook almost crash on me this morning.

It is only a few months since i first bought it and it just won't start.

There was a msg that says that it is updating and requested me not to shut down but it auto-shutdown and restart by itself and this goes on for several time. Each time it auto-shutdown and restart i just kept praying that maybe this time it will work. Finally, it drove me crazy with it repetitive startup that i just plugged out the electric plug and called the service centre.

Guess what? Maybe i shouldn't even be surprise. They requested me to call on Monday as the service centre operates only on weekdays and only during office hours. Great! Do i have to bring my notebook to the office on monday so that i can call them up and troubleshoot? Or do i take leave so that i can stay at home to call their service centre. This is making no sense and i am already in panick mode.

I cannot help it but the tears just keeps coming. Don't know why i called Stevie cos he is definitely not IT savvy at all. But i just want comfort. At last, maybe the notebook became smart or something. It prompted that there is some startup problems and requested if i would like to do auto-repair. Fantastic, at least i am getting some prompts. And after it auto-repairs itself, it work perfectly fine.