Monday, December 31, 2012

A new year in Manila

Happy new year Chloe!

And yes this is the last present I got for myself. My friend's dog was eating his dinner and because I have nothing better to do, I went over to disturb him and that fella got angry and bite my hand! I swear at that moment I was so worried that he might just bite of my whole middle and fourth fingers! Chua sai max I tell you.

I tried to shake it off but that fella was so strong that he hold on to my fingers really tight! Ended up with a deep teeth marks and bruised third and swollen fourth fingers. I so glad I didn't cry but just laugh it off saying "no worries! My fingers are still intact!" Hahah! It's so damn bloody pain. I tell you.

Anyhow, it's 2013 in a few hours. All bad things shall be gone. Let this be a great BLOODY (yes bloody) beginning to welcome more fantastic news, happiness, love, joy and peace for me and the people around me.

Bring it on 2013! I'm so looking forward to you because I know it will be damn bloody awesome for me. (:

Friday, December 28, 2012

12 years later.

christmas eve was spent with people that i never hang out with since i left secondary school. it's amazing how we finally sat down together for a dinner 12 year later. (:

many things happened in 12 years and we are no longer the kid we used to be but adults with endless responsibilities. how much we all miss that carefree life we used to have when we are young. oh memories. again that's life, always moving forward but never backward. 5 years later and we will all be in our 30s. holyshit. o.l.d

we spent the whole morning chatting about many many things and i realised how different we are now.. our dreams, perspectives, ideas, priorities, many many more. yes people changed. sometimes for the worst sometimes for the better. (: but what bonded us together eventually was where we came from. and that's sembawang forever!


in the blink of an eye, 2012 is ending soon. i'm really looking forward to 2013 and really excited about all the upcoming plans. i'm going to be determined and positive enough to make everything happen. most importantly, i want to get into THAT course and that will be a very important step to my future goal and dream. goo goo gooo chloe! wish me luck and pray for me please.

post christmas dinner!

Dinner tonight was great. Catching up with my ex favourite fantastic Fujitsu's colleagues. I love how the whole night was filled with endless laughter talking about the most random stuffs and cracking jokes non stop. I laughed a lot. (: It's always nice to talk to them and i love to hear all their grandfather stories! Haha some of it are really thought provoking btw. I remembered hanging out with them when I'm 20? And they are always treating me like a kid even until now!!
It's sad how we didn't manage to catch up much after I left the company. ended up we only meet during wedding or funerals (which is my most hated place to meet). :( we are always saying how busy we are and conveniently used that as an excuse not to meet up. Stop doing that Chloe!

Monday, December 24, 2012

new resolution for 2013.

i always want to continue my masters but never take any action despite thinking about it over and over again. totally drag the idea of going back to school as the thought of writing all those never ending essay really turn me off. :( but everything changed when i saw this course and yes, i signed up for it immediately. after working in the disability sector for the past few years, i have fallen in love with them and always want to do more for them. this course will definitely help to improve my knowledge and skills.

thankful to boss for supporting my application and recommending me for this. :)


“LI ZiQi has in her 4 years with Bishan Home demonstrated a compassion, dedication and commitment to serve people with special needs and those in need. I am convinced that she has more to contribute to the sector and the course will definitely help her in this respect. “


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Pick a smile!

A smile a day keeps the doctor away. And remember to give a smile if you sees someone without it and "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."



Saturday, December 15, 2012

give thanks

i'm trying out a little project by scribbling every night on my little red note book, one thing that i'm thankful about for that day. so far so good, been very discipline in writing except yesterday because i came home around 3am and i was obviously too tired to think and reckon that sleep is more important since i still need to work the next day. heh! excuses i know but i'm trying. really tryinggg. damn.

let me be sane and ommm enough to be thankful and appreciate everything i have in life right now. and of course be thankful and appreciate everyone in my life too. my parents, friends and even strangers who i believe play a part in nurturing me to become who i am today.

it's not easy to always remind myself to be thankful and think positive but I WILL DEFINITELY TRY!! :D go go go!

HAHAH.

My reaction when my Friend's commented that they saw my big round face on the SG cares's website and thinks that I'm famous now which obviously i'm not. pardon me for always talking rubbish. Lol!!


Monday, December 10, 2012

:D :D :D

pleasant surprise when i received a sms asking me to check out SG Cares 's website today. (:

thank you everyone for all these encouraging comments. :')
5th November is International Volunteer Manager’s Day. Mr Dennis Lim, CEO of Bishan Home (For the Intellectually Disabled) writes to share about the unsung heroine in his organisation.

Chloe joined Bishan Home in 2008 as a Social Worker and Volunteer Management Executive.

Over a period of three years, she expanded our pool of community, corporate and individual volunteers with her evident passion and enthusiasm for volunteer work. Last year, we were privileged to have close to 4, 000 volunteers helping us to organise our various programmes social activities, and outings to help enrich the lives of our residents and clients.

Her passion for volunteer work is also apparent in her personal life as she even took unpaid leave to volunteer with YMCA’s international volunteer effort in Chiang Mai for a month. She even stayed on for another two weeks to help villages rebuild roads and houses, and teach the children.

She also played an important part in expanding our work with MCYS’ community service order programme and as a result of her dedicated and compassionate work, Bishan Home was one of three organisations which was awarded Friends of MCYS (now MSF) Bronze Volunteer Award in 2011.

Chloe has since helped to raise increase awareness of the intellectually disabled, and showed how volunteering can bring joy, meaning and a sense of fulfillment.


“Chloe has done a tremendous job in volunteer management over at Bishan Home. She was still new to volunteer management when I knew her 4 years ago. It is her desire to want to improve herself that propelled her to who she is today. Her passion for working with volunteers has enabled her to improve her management of volunteers, and rally more volunteers to assist her clients whom she loves dearly.

Her bubbly personality, willingness to learn and never-say-die attitude have won her over with the volunteers. Indeed, Bishan Home is blessed to have someone like her taking care of the volunteers who in return, take great care of the clients she serves.”

Victor Poh
Assistant Manager in Community Service
YMCA of Singapore


“Chloe is one of the best Volunteer Manager I have ever worked with. I got to know her through volunteering in Y Dance, one of the community service programmes by YMCA. Chloe’s commitment and dedication to serve and care for her beneficiaries is impressive and inspiring. She never complains no matter how tough it may be because it is through the interaction with beneficiaries that she finds true joy, and having that pure intrinsic motivation is all that matters.

Besides taking care of her residents, she makes sure her volunteers are appreciated by inviting us to the Bishan Home anniversary dinner and taking the effort to make cards and personalized notes for us. All these little actions inspire me and Chloe is a role model I will emulate after.”            

Terence Khoo
Volunteer Leader    
YMCA of Singapore

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Rule 23

"living in the moment doesn't mean throwing away all your responsibilities and care; it doesn't mean taking off and being a total pleasure sealer; it doesn't mean sifting cross-legged and breathing deeply - although all and any of these things is fine if you want. It just means taking a moment or two every now and then to appreciate being alive and to aim to act like today matters and live life to the full, right here, right now."

"dreams are great, but reality is fine too."

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

impromptu trip to bangkok

1 month back i randomly ask chee if she is keen on going with me to bangkok or anywhere and im so happy that she agreed immediately! sometimes you just need one sibei on friend to make things happen! so started my mission of going around to search for cheap tickets. glad we managed to secure thai airway sales! wheee


hotel recommendation was bangkok city hotel and it's seriously one of the best budget hotel i ever stayed in. i only paid 20 plus per night each and the room was clean and nice with really comfortable bed. was a little bit far from platinum mall (15mins?) but it's definitely not an issue when you only pay that little for such a great place!

i know i just came back from my 2 months break and shouldnt be travelling anymore at least for this year but i.need.a.break. work is so crazy that i might just break down anytime. no joke. it seems that there are so many things happening everyday, things to follow up on and unsolvable issues. i remember spending the past few weeks talking non stop, listening to all kinds of issues and remaining as positive and chirpy as ever.. so much that i dont even feel like talking after work.

shopping in bangkok is awesome but of course things are getting more and more expensive compared to a few years back. the place is flooded with people everyday.

the most amazing part of this impromptu trip was me bumping into my secondary school mates there! SEMBAWANG FOREVER! holy. seriously what are the odds of bumping into your ex school mates in a foreign land when we dont even bump into each other in singapore? even until now i'm still really amazed by our encounter in bangkok. haha



oh btw, i bump into my primary school crush tooo!!! hahaha. but didnt manage to catch up with him much. the whole place was too dark and noisy. half the time i couldnt hear what he was saying. i bet he couldnt hear me too. lol!

so we met up for dinner! when was the last time we sat down for a dinner or was it never? turn out they stayed few streets away from us. hahaha. and our flight back was on the same day too. their flight was only half an hour later than us? LOL


this trip is seriously full of surprises and shock! on my first day, i thought i lost my departure card! i couldnt find it anywhere. im always hearing scary and shitty stories about losing your departure card and how you have to bribe your way through, etc. i read books about their scary environment in jail. :/ seriously all kinds of scenario was going through my head. LOL anyhow, glad i got it back in the end. the hotel staff took it without informing or returning it to me after they are done! seriously.

second day chee thought she lost all her money! HAHAHA.

and on our last day while preparing to leave our hotel for our flight back to singapore, we experienced tremor in our hotel room. chee was doing her make up and suddenly she noticed all the hangers shaking violently. i was squatting on the floor packing my luggage and suddenly i fall down too. lol drama like shit. glad it only last for a few mins? and yes we are still alive and back in singapore. hahaha. 

no doubt travelling is dangerous but addictive. i'm totally enjoying all my little adventures and encounters. 

there are so many countries i want to visit and the thought of going away again for a few months is still there. but i doubt my mum will ever allow that again. :(

Monday, October 29, 2012

a timely reminder

read this on facebook today and again it's true how people are always saying "you only learn how to live when you know you are dying." i'm sure many of us who read this can totally relate to it (maybe not in the medical part), how our society changed the way we think and make us to become who we are today. i just had this debate with mum earlier. 

"Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you're supposed to do. Those things happened to me. And I led this life thinking that these are going to bring me happiness. I hope that you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your own life."
 
from young we are always told that you need to earn a lot of money to be successful and happy. you need to study hard and strive to be a lawyer/ doctor!(no special reason why lawyer or doctor i guess at my time that's the most glamorous job? haha) and i briefly remember a conversation with my aunt few months back, one of her friend's daughter is intending to apply for nursing course but her mum forbid her to go for that as she thinks that it's a lowly paid job. seriously if everyone think the same way as her, than who is going to look after you when you are sick? and who are the one helping the doctor when they are doing their job? be it glamorous or unglamorous every job is important and plays a big part in the society. imagine if the cleaners are not there keeping our road clean, what kind of environment will we be living in? without them, can we still be a clean and green country?

i always feel that money is not everything but yes i agree we do need money to survive. anyway it's sad if your happiness level depends on how much money you have in your bank. i read this article about a 70yo man earning 2k per month, supporting his 5 grown up down syndrome kids and he said that he is financially stable. i seriously salute him. i'm sure many of us are finding it hard to survive on 2k even though we do not have any commitment like him. and i'm one of them. i guess at the end of the day is back to being contented with what you have.
 
a reminder to myself to educate my future children differently.....

a long but thought provoking transcript. read it.

Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who is a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer but selflessly
came to share with the D1 class his life experience on 19-Jan-2012.


Hi good morning to

all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse, so please bear with me. I thought I'll just introduce myself. My name is Richard, I'm a medical doctor. And I thought I'll just share some thoughts of my life. It's my pleasure to be invited by prof. Hopefully, it can get you thinking about how... as you pursue this.. embarking on your training to become dental surgeons, to think about other things as well.

Since young, I am a typical product of today's society. Relatively successful product that society requires.. From young, I came from a below average family. I was told by the media... and people around me that happiness is about success. And that success is about being wealthy. With this mind-set, I've always be extremely competitive, since I was young.

Not only do I need to go to the top school, I need to have success in all fields. Uniform groups, track, everything. I needed to get trophies, needed to be successful, I needed to have colours award, national colours award, everything. So I was highly competitive since young. I went on to medical school, graduated as a doctor. Some of you may know that within the medical faculty, ophthalmology is one of the most highly sought after specialities. So I went after that as well. I was given a traineeship in ophthalmology, I was also given a research scholarship by NUS to develop lasers to treat the eye.

So in the process, I was given 2 patents, one for the medical devices, and another for the lasers. And you know what, all this academic achievements did not bring me any wealth. So once I completed my bond with MOH, I decided that this is taking too long, the training in eye surgery is just taking too long. And there's lots of money to be made in the private sector. If you're aware, in the last few years, there is this rise in aesthetic medicine. Tons of money to be made there. So I decided, well, enough of staying in institution, it's time to leave. So I quit my training halfway and I went on to set up my aesthetic clinic... in town, together with a day surgery centre.

You know the irony is that people do not make heroes out average GP (general practitioner), family physicians. They don't. They make heroes out of people who are rich and famous. People who are not happy to pay $20 to see a GP, the same person have no qualms paying ten thousand dollars for a liposuction, 15 thousand dollars for a breast augmentation, and so on and so forth. So it's a no brainer isn't? Why do you want to be a gp? Become an aesthetic physician. So instead of healing the sick and ill, I decided that I'll become a glorified beautician. So, business was good, very good. It started off with waiting of one week, then became 3weeks, then one month, then 2 months, then 3 months. I was overwhelmed; there were just too many patients. Vanities are fantastic business. I employed one doctor, the second doctor, the 3rd doctor, the 4th doctor. And within the 1st year, we're already raking in millions. Just the 1st year. But never is enough because I was so obsessed with it. I started to expand into Indonesia to get all the rich Indonesian tai-tais who wouldn't blink an eye to have a procedure done. So life was really good.

So what do I do with the spare cash. How do I spend my weekends? Typically, I'll have car club gatherings. I take out my track car, with spare cash I got myself a track car. We have car club gatherings. We'll go up to Sepang in Malaysia. We'll go for car racing. And it was my life. With other spare cash, what do i do? I get myself a Ferrari. At that time, the 458 wasn't out, it's just a spider convertible, 430. This is a friend of mine, a schoolmate who is a forex trader, a banker. So he got a red one, he was wanting all along a red one, I was getting the silver one.

So what do I do after getting a car? It's time to buy a house, to build our own bungalows. So we go around looking for a land to build our own bungalows, we went around hunting. So how do i live my life? Well, we all think we have to mix around with the rich and famous. This is one of the Miss Universe. So we hang around with the beautiful, rich and famous. This by the way is an internet founder. So this is how we spend our lives, with dining and all the restaurants and Michelin Chefs you know.

So I reach a point in life that I got everything for my life. I was at the pinnacle of my career and all. That's me one year ago in the gym and I thought I was like, having everything under control and reaching the pinnacle.

Well, I was wrong. I didn't have everything under control. About last year March, I started to develop backache in the middle of nowhere. I thought maybe it was all the heavy squats I was doing. So I went to SGH, saw my classmate to do an MRI, to make sure it's not a slipped disc or anything. And that evening, he called me up and said that we found bone marrow replacement in your spine. I said, sorry what does that mean? I mean I know what it means, but I couldn't accept that. I was like “Are you serious?” I was still running around going to the gym you know. But we had more scans the next day, PET scans - positrons emission scans, they found that actually I have stage 4 terminal lung cancer. I was like "Whoa where did that come from?” It has already spread to the brain, the spine, the liver and the adrenals. And you know one moment I was there, totally thinking that I have everything under control, thinking that I've reached the pinnacle of my life. But the next moment, I have just lost it.

This is a CT scan of the lungs itself. If you look at it, every single dot there is a tumour. We call this miliaries tumour. And in fact, I have tens of thousands of them in the lungs. So, I was told that even with chemotherapy, that I'll have about 3-4months at most. Did my life come crushing on, of course it did, who wouldn't? I went into depression, of course, severe depression and I thought I had everything.

See the irony is that all these things that I have, the success, the trophies, my cars, my house and all. I thought that brought me happiness. But i was feeling really down, having severe depression. Having all these thoughts of my possessions, they brought me no joy. The thought of... You know, I can hug my Ferrari to sleep, no... No, it is not going to happen. It brought not a single comfort during my last ten months. And I thought they were, but they were not true happiness. But it wasn't. What really brought me joy in the last ten months was interaction with people, my loved ones, friends, people who genuinely care about me, they laugh and cry with me, and they are able to identify the pain and suffering I was going through. That brought joy to me, happiness. None of the things I have, all the possessions, and I thought those were supposed to bring me happiness. But it didn't, because if it did, I would have felt happy think about it, when I was feeling most down..

You know the classical Chinese New Year that is coming up. In the past, what do I do? Well, I will usually drive my flashy car to do my rounds, visit my relatives, to show it off to my friends. And I thought that was joy, you know. I thought that was really joy. But do you really think that my relatives and friends, whom some of them have difficulty trying to make ends meet, that will truly share the joy with me? Seeing me driving my flashy car and showing off to them? No, no way. They won’t be sharing joy with me. They were having problems trying to make ends meet, taking public transport. In fact i think, what I have done is more like you know, making them envious, jealous of all I have. In fact, sometimes even hatred.

Those are what we call objects of envy. I have them, I show them off to them and I feel it can fill my own pride and ego. That didn't bring any joy to these people, to my friends and relatives, and I thought they were real joy.

Well, let me just share another story with you. You know when I was about your age, I stayed in king Edward VII hall. I had this friend whom I thought was strange. Her name is Jennifer, we're still good friends. And as I walk along the path, she would, if she sees a snail, she would actually pick up the snail and put it along the grass patch. I was like why do you need to do that? Why dirty your hands? It’s just a snail. The truth is she could feel for the snail. The thought of being crushed to death is real to her, but to me it's just a snail. If you can't get out of the pathway of humans then you deserve to be crushed, it’s part of evolution isn't it? What an irony isn't it?

There I was being trained as a doctor, to be compassionate, to be able to empathise; but I couldn't. As a house officer, I graduated from medical school, posted to the oncology department at NUH. And, every day, every other day I witness death in the cancer department. When I see how they suffered, I see all the pain they went through. I see all the morphine they have to press every few minutes just to relieve their pain. I see them struggling with their oxygen breathing their last breath and all. But it was just a job. When I went to clinic every day, to the wards every day, take blood, give the medication but was the patient real to me? They weren't real to me. It was just a job, I do it, I get out of the ward, I can't wait to get home, I do my own stuff.

Was the pain, was the suffering the patients went through real? No. Of course I know all the medical terms to describe how they feel, all the suffering they went through. But in truth, I did not know how they feel, not until I became a patient. It is until now; I truly understand how they feel. And, if you ask me, would I have been a very different doctor if I were to re-live my life now, I can tell you yes I will. Because I truly understand how the patients feel now. And sometimes, you have to learn it the hard way.

Even as you start just your first year, and you embark this journey to become dental surgeons, let me just challenge you on two fronts.

Inevitably, all of you here will start to go into private practice. You will start to accumulate wealth. I can guarantee you. Just doing an implant can bring you thousands of dollars, it's fantastic money. And actually there is nothing wrong with being successful, with being rich or wealthy, absolutely nothing wrong. The only trouble is that a lot of us like myself couldn't handle it.

Why do I say that? Because when I start to accumulate, the more I have, the more I want. The more I wanted, the more obsessed I became. Like what I showed you earlier on, all I can was basically to get more possessions, to reach the pinnacle of what society did to us, of what society wants us to be. I became so obsessed that nothing else really mattered to me. Patients were just a source of income, and I tried to squeeze every single cent out of these patients.

A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves. That was what happened to me. Whether it is in the medical, the dental fraternity, I can tell you, right now in the private practice, sometimes we just advise patients on treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. And even though it is not necessary, we kind of advocate it. Even at this point, I know who are my friends and who genuinely cared for me and who are the ones who try to make money out of me by selling me "hope". We kind of lose our moral compass along the way. Because we just want to make money.

Worse, I can tell you, over the last few years, we bad mouth our fellow colleagues, our fellow competitors in the industry. We have no qualms about it. So if we can put them down to give ourselves an advantage, we do it. And that's what happening right now, medical, dental everywhere. My challenge to you is not to lose that moral compass. I learnt it the hard way, I hope you don't ever have to do it.

Secondly, a lot of us will start to get numb to our patients as we start to practise. Whether is it government hospitals, private practice, I can tell you when I was in the hospital, with stacks of patient folders, I can't wait to get rid of those folders as soon as possible; I can't wait to get patients out of my consultation room as soon as possible because there is just so many, and that's a reality. Because it becomes a job, a very routine job. And this is just part of it. Do I truly know how the patient feels back then? No, I don't. The fears and anxiety and all, do I truly understand what they are going through? I don't, not until when this happens to me and I think that is one of the biggest flaws in our system.

We’re being trained to be healthcare providers, professional, and all and yet we don't know how exactly they feel. I'm not asking you to get involved emotionally, I don't think that is professional but do we actually make a real effort to understand their pain and all? Most of us won’t, alright, I can assure you. So don't lose it, my challenge to you is to always be able to put yourself in your patient's shoes.

Because the pain, the anxiety, the fear are very real even though it's not real to you, it's real to them. So don't lose it and you know, right now I'm in the midst of my 5th cycle of my chemotherapy. I can tell you it’s a terrible feeling. Chemotherapy is one of those things that you don't wish even your enemies to go through because it's just suffering, lousy feeling, throwing out, you don't even know if you can retain your meals or not. Terrible feeling! And even with whatever little energy now I have, I try to reach out to other cancer patients because I truly understand what pain and suffering is like. But it's kind of little too late and too little.

You guys have a bright future ahead of you with all the resource and energy, so I’m going to challenge you to go beyond your immediate patients. To understand that there are people out there who are truly in pain, truly in hardship. Don’t get the idea that only poor people suffer. It is not true. A lot of these poor people do not have much in the first place, they are easily contented. for all you know they are happier than you and me but there are out there, people who are suffering mentally, physically, hardship, emotionally, financially and so on and so forth, and they are real. We choose to ignore them or we just don't want to know that they exist.

So do think about it alright, even as you go on to become professionals and dental surgeons and all. That you can reach out to these people who are in need. Whatever you do can make a large difference to them. I'm now at the receiving end so I know how it feels, someone who genuinely care for you, encourage and all. It makes a lot of difference to me. That’s what happens after treatment. I had a treatment recently, but I’ll leave this for another day. A lot of things happened along the way, that's why I am still able to talk to you today.

I'll just end of with this quote here, it's from this book called Tuesdays with Morris, and some of you may have read it. Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself off all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live. I know it sounds very morbid for this morning but it's the truth, this is what I’m going through.

Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you're supposed to do. Those things happened to me. And I led this life thinking that these are going to bring me happiness. I hope that you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your own life. Not according to what other people tell you to do, and you have to decide whether you want to serve yourself, whether you are going to make a difference in somebody else's life. Because true happiness doesn't come from serving yourself. I thought it was but it didn't turn out that way. With that I thank you, if you have any questions you have for me, please feel free. Thank you.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

another inspiration.

guestbook for my event last week and got to say, IM SO FREAKING PROUD OF MYSELF! SUPER CHIO RIGHT! HAHAH. did this one night before the event. glad to complete it in time. :D:D

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

i grew a beard!

didnt blog for a few weeks and i grew a beard.


no idea what i'm busy with. but there is always so much things to do, so many outstanding stuffs to clear. spent all my time preparing for upcoming anniversary and totally neglected all my case work. am really thankful to have this new colleague to help me with anniversary preparation. i nearly leave all liaison work to her and just guide her along as and when she need help. WOWOW. the feeling is sibei awesome when you share out your work. lol

spent all my time working on anniversary gifts and glad that i finally managed to complete preparing everything. decided to go for handmade gifts this year and get my residents to do out a heart for the volunteers. end product looks oooooooooooookkkaaaayyyy. it's handmade! it's the thoughts that count yo! HAHAHA and im praying very very sibei hard that the heart will stick to the paper forever and ever and everrrr.




next weekend 4 friends from thailand are coming over to stay with me. seriously no idea how to squeeze so many people into my already packed home. but still i cant wait to meet up with them. (: i miss chiangmai so so much. btw guess what? they coming to singapore on the day of my work's event! happy rushing chloe.

in another even happier newsssssssss, i booked a random bkk trip with chee!! 1 more month. :D i cant wait to do some intensive shopping. 

and in the meantime i shall CONTINUE TO WORK SMART and maybe HARD? 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

joy at work

they have the ability to take away all your worries/ troubles with their super bright and cherry smiles. and i always end up smiling stupidly to myself whenever i look through their photos. (:

coming to my fourth year and i'm starting to feel a bit wearily. not a good sign i know. but anyhow, i will still preserve on and give my very best. JIA YOU CHLOE.

Friday, September 14, 2012

crayon melt - rainbow

happened to chance upon this video while looking for ideas for anniversary gift and i decided to try it out! 


it pretty easy to do, you just need to stick the crayons with hot glue on to your canvas and let it melt using hair dryer.

took me an hour to complete this. actually you can finish it in half an hour? an hour for me because i was 'multi - tasking" while doing it.
end product!
and i attempted to create rainbows today using crayon! 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

6 months.

What will you do if someone tells you that you have six month left to live?

Another friend's father is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and the doctor told him straight to his face that he has 6 months left. Wow. How easy it is for the doctor to say it out without thinking how this news might affect the patient. It's definitely going to be a big blow for the parties involved.

"be kind to everyone you meet because they might be fighting a battle."

And sometimes it's sad that we need a stranger to tell us how much time we have left before we truly treasure our life and the people around us.

You know as you grow older, you realised that what's most important is not money but health and of course your family. No matter how rich you are, at the end of the day if your health fails you, that's it. And I start to wonder again why are we working so hard and ended up neglecting so many things/ people and ourself.

One of my client's mother told me today you can die but never fall sick in Singapore. And this is not the first time I'm hearing this, in fact I heard this twice within 2 weeks? The gov seriously need to do something about those costly medical bills....

Monday, September 10, 2012

another random update

back in sunny island for almost 2 weeks now and slowly getting back to my boring routine; work and more work. just like that 2 months gone, time flies in the scariest manner. i was quite shock to find that my favourite stall at the coffeeshop near my work place disappeared and they even renovated the whole place! whaat. it's only 2 months!

i'm not exactly home sick when i'm there, i guess partly because i gotten used to being and staying alone. it was fun just spending time with myself and hanging out with random strangers. i gotten more independent and am totally fine with going around anywhere by myself. in fact i actually prefer to travel around alone. can i start planning for another trip? maybe an even longer duration this time. i wish i dont have to worrrkkk and just travel around. :x trust me, it's good to be away sometimes especially when you have too many things going on in your life. but i got a little tired after my indonesia trip, i guess all those packing and unpacking has taken a toll on me.

my favourite comment when my friends/ colleagues/ relatives saw me after two months "eh you slim down ah?" hahaha! dearest weight please do not pile up again when im back to singapore.

and my most sian comment "you look darker!" i know i know. need to get rid of my ugly t-shirt and shorts tan, not forgetting those freckles on my faceeeeeee! introduce me good whitening products please! :(

work is piling up as usual, with my major event coming up next month. friends are asking me about my plan next and trust me i have absolutely no idea what i wanna do next. i thought that by going away i might be clearer about what i want but no it didnt turn out that way. dont rush me. give me more time to figure it out myself. (:


Friday, September 07, 2012

Monday, September 03, 2012

self made games

spent 1 week plus at a orphanage during my stay in nias and i noticed this one of their favourite game, using their legs to create huddles for their friends to jump over. sometimes they even used hands to make it more difficult. those kids are really good jumpers and they were really having fun and laughing non stop. 

they taught me that you dont need expensive toys to have fun and it's possible to have fun without any anything!

it starts me thinking why are we always working so hard, spending all our moneys on luxury items and yet we are never happy? 




Sunday, September 02, 2012

Count your blessings

A timely reminder while shopping today. I don't shop blindly, I learn and shop.

With all these negative news that I'm hearing everyday, I should seriously count my blessings. I hope and pray hard that things will get better for everyone who is having a hard time now.

"be strong now because things will get better. It might be storm now, but it doesn't rain forever."

Thursday, August 30, 2012

why so sudden?

that one message i always hate to receive, my loves one informing me that their family member passed away. :( received this message today from my gf and it was so sudden. i didnt see her for 2 months only and the next time i met up with her was at her dad's funeral.

the last time i met up with her families and relatives was during her wedding and the next time when i meet them again is at a funeral. life is that fragile.

her dad was suppose to be here on holiday plus a body checkup but who knows he couldnt make it back home. and they were so upset about his soul not being able to make his way home to manila. it's sad when you died in a foreign country. it's so sudden and everything happened less than a month. this is going to be especially hard for her mum who rely everything on her dad. her one and only companion is gone now. :( no one should go through such a heartbreaking thing. i dont know what i will do if it's me. hai.

and you know what? it's freaking true when they say "you can die but never fall sick in singapore." their medical bills are over 200k. can you freaking believe it? friend was sharing with me about how the hospital refused to release the body only until they pay the bills. wtf. 

i pray that they will be strong enough to go through this difficult period. please do not let anymore bad news happen to anyone.

today i am really thankful that my parents are still around and healthy. please continue to bless them with good health and happiness. i will promise to be a good daughter.

quick go tell everyone you love that you love them before it's too late because you wont know what is going to happen tomorrow. 

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Update

Don't worry, I'm still alive. (:
Wireless for 1 week and friends are asking if I'm ok. HAHAHA. The orphanage that I went to was up in the mountain.

Anyway, it's good to be away for awhile managed to read. Which is good because back in Singapore I always got distracted by my phone. One night I had one weird dreams of things happening in Singapore and started getting paranoid. Immediately made a call home, glad that everyone is safe and happy. The problem of being disconnected from the world, you start getting worried over everything.

Anyhow where am i now? After a 1 hour plane ride, 7 hour bus journey and 1.5 hour ferry ride, I'm finally here in lake toba. Beautiful place but journey here is looooong. Staying here for 2 nights before heading back.

And this is the last part of my little adventure. Time to adjust myself and get ready for work!! YES' :D

Saturday, August 18, 2012

bye chiangmai :'(

i'm seriously touch by everyone's love for me and coming down to send me off even though some of them live far away. :')



it's indeed one meaningful 40 days spent in chiangmai as i get to experience and do things that i never think i'm capable of doing and i get to meet people from all over the world.

i'm so so so glad that i choose to come to chiangmai for my volunteer trip and get to make friends with all these amazing people.


i came to chiangmai alone without knowing anyone. p'apple was the one who picked me up and yes she was there to send me off too. still remember how worried i was if she didnt turn up at the airport to pick me up. what is going to happen to me? haha. i'm definitely going to miss her and really thank her for taking good care of me during my stay in chiangmai, giving me a chance to experience many different things and always being so patient, nice and caring. i call her my chiangmai's mummy. 


just like that 40 days gone. it's true when they say that time flies when you are having fun.


i have no idea when i will be back to chiangmai again even though they are always telling me to go back. i really want toooo. but...

i met up with one fellow volunteers from US one day and boy her experience was totally different from mine. she stayed in a village area and no one there speaks english. she had a hard time communicating with them and trying to adapt to the culture. not only that she is the only volunteer there assigned to that village.


i'm really lucky to meet all these people who take good care of me and make me feel at home. and they are always bringing me out, making me laugh and most importantly they speaks english thus making things much more easier for me. 

and i do hope we will meet again some day, i will miss you for sure.

am now back in singapore but leaving again on this sunday for the second part of my adventure. cant wait but it's so tiring to pack and unpack. i wonder how those stewardess did it. went back to office today and boss dragged me in for one meeting the moment he sees me. holy shit. but YES I CAN. AND I WILL SURVIVEEEE.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Note to self

"don't rush into it when making any important decisions."

Dear self,

Please, please remember this reminder and not do anything silly that might cause you to regret for the rest of your life.

With love,
Chloe

(conclusion I get from the conversation tonight, which I think is very true and useful.)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

bungy jump in chiangmai, thailand

a leap of faith. 

i reckon you  need to do something crazy when you are young and healthy. so i went ahead to sign up for bungy jump. alone. yes. no one want to do it with me. it's 2000baht ($80) per jump and they find it expensive.
                                    
few weeks back, my thai's friend (Tong) was randomly sharing with me about him wanting to try bungy. my reaction at that time was HELL NO. THAT'S CRAZY. but no idea why one morning i just woke up with this thought in my mind that "hey, im going to do bungy jump. yes i'm going to jump." everyone was shock when i told them about it and nobody believe that i want to do it.

i told lms online about it and he say "you are even afraid of cliff diving and you sure you want to do this? go try other easier jump first. 50 metres is fucking high and enough to make you shit your pants. i remember seeing a person shit on his pants after jumping off." wtf. HAHAHA and he proceed to ask me any last words? damn. such encouraging friends.

quek "you dont even dare to sit the rollar coaster and you want to do bungy jump? siao ah?" 

thai friends "hopefully no earthquake!! i dont want to see news of you causing earthquake in chiangmai!" hahaha they are so cute sometimes. 

despite all the negative comments from my buddies, i went ahead to do it. no idea why am i so determinded this time round. i kinda brain wash myself everyday "just jump only. nothing to be afraid of."

 (taking my weight)
            
i'm seriously so proud or rather FUCKING proud of myself for doing this. i stopped playing extreme sports (not that i tried many) and suddenly one day i'm doing bungy jump? wtf.
(getting ready)
               
 
thinking back i really wonder where i got my courage from. holy shit.

(on my way up)
i remember grabbing on to the pole refusing to let go before jumping, saying wtf.omg.nonono non stop.
 
the instructor who stayed with me was trying all ways to convince me to let go of my hand. HAHAHA. and before i knew it, i was flying in the air! screamed non stop and when i cooled down, i open my eyes and started to check out the amazing view. gotta thank the instructor for helping me with the jump, i think he 'push' me down. me no balls to do it myself. LOL.
omg im so brave. im so brave. im so brave. biggest achievement unlock for this year.
totally shaking non stop. when i'm done, they were asking me to do it again. hell no. once is enough i think.

in case you are wondering, a pole was given to me, grab it and that's how i come down.
i told my parents about it and mum and dad's reaction were different. dad "why you waste your money to do this? you should use the money to buy more things and donate to the children there!" LOLOL. mum "wah, you not scare arh? and start to laugh at me." i love you twoooo seriously. and i cant wait to show them the pictures. one stranger took a video of me jumping, she showed me but too bad i dont have the file with me. :(
the guy that helped me for my little adventure.

it suddenly came to me that the first half of 2012 is seriously really amazing for me. i did things that i never think i will do. traveling alone, bungy jump, etc. and not forgetting meeting all these amazing people that somehow inspire me in one way or another. (:

i am thankful for everything and everyone that i have in my life now. 2012, please continue to be that amazing for me and everyone. (: