The Story of a Boy and His Watch

It all began with a boy who wanted a watch that was both digital and analog. He wanted a casual one, he didn't care about the brand but he was quite particular about the design. It was looking for a needle in a haystack but he knew when he saw it, he would recognise it. And he did.

It was a Takane watch and it cost $50. It wasn't branded but he was so in love with it.

Unfortunately, good things don't last long. During his daily activities, the boy was careless. After brushing past a hand rail in the bus, he scratched it pretty bad. His heart hurt more than anything. More and more scratches surfaced over time. On his trip to Poland, the buckle broke. When he came back he went to get it fixed and very fortunately, the seller told him she managed to get spare parts despite the watch being no longer in production. He was thankful. He went on exchange to Taiwan not long later. Guess what? The strap broke. It was as if life itself didn't want him to keep track of time whenever he was overseas having fun. He came back and used whatever was left of the spare parts. The watch was whole again. Despite the many batteries which ran dead, the watch still operated with a change of batteries.

Yet only recently, for some reason the minutes hand on the watch went loose and it stopped. It was time for another repair. During the process, the boy witnessed how it was being taken apart and thoughts surfaced.

The watch was like the boy. He was unique in his own way, loved by his Father. Yet his many experiences during his daily life worn him out. Broke him down. Again and again his Father tried to put him together, to make him whole, to repair the damage. However, some damages cannot be repaired. Some of the experiences encountered cannot be undone. The boy would have to live with them. This his Father understood and He still loved the boy just like how the boy loved his watch.

The same can also be said with the boy's relationships with his friends. Some of the broken relationships can be repaired, some will never be the same. Only time can tell.

The boy would continue to grow and experience new things. His body would age just like how the watch would. What would happen to him in the future? Only God knows.

PS: I just realised that due to a change in widgets and stuff that some of the images on the blog cannot be seen and am in the process of restoring them.

Back to School

I have been pretty busy lately. This might be one post before I go on a break to deal with school. Busy with what huh? Well, I've been attending a few media events, trying to juggle them with school.
FYP is waving its daunting hand at me, daring me to take on the challenge and start working on it before it appears as huge tidal waves seeking to consume me.

I really don't want to have to give up any media events because of school, since they are so much more fun and there's the exposure.Yet the truth is a student's priority should be to study so... it's pretty obvious what's the right thing to do. I agree that not everyone's priority is their studies but so far, it's been mine and will remain mine. Trying very hard to do so at least. Readings are just agonizing.

In my free time I have been watching a couple of movies and variety shows. Let me introduce some of them.

If I have been bugging you about playing badminton, it's because I have been hooked to Cool Kiz on the Block, their badminton series. See, their shows do motivate people to play sports, not like ours, cui until cannot cui that I don't even switch on the TV. I have played badminton since young but have never undergone formal training. Watching some of the training the celebrities had motivated me to pick up the racket again BUT unfortunately Singapore's system of booking badminton facilities is so good, I can't get a court without booking 2 weeks in advance. Really a damper. Active SG my foot lah. Give free money, Singaporeans waste only. If only Singapore could come up with something similar. Not happening anytime soon I guess.

Besides that, I must say that this variety show is really good. It's original in the sense that it's not scripted, at least I don't think it is. Once again, I value originality a lot. If it's not original, the plot isn't much. Everything that happens look real, the teamwork, the emotions the players had and it really appeals to you. It's not your usual broadcasting. You can sense the players' eagerness and determination to win. I can only say that the production team were quite mean to them by pitting them against players who are much more experienced. 

 

 

I just watched God's Not Dead and it's just awesome! So much feelz. Even at the beginning I was having goosebumps. Would you risk your grades to defend God? When your future, your partner all hinged on that one decision? I found that if it was me, I would be struggling to write that. I would probably be thinking about dropping it and all but then again, somethings that happen, happen for a reason. That moment when all 80 students in his class stood up in support that God's not dead...it was just tear jerking. Touching moment. All his effort paid out.

It reminded me of how fleeting life it. You may have a successful career and find yourself busy with work, having a very productive life and suddenly sickness strikes you. What then? It encourages me that doing the right thing for God is what counts, what matters. My time, my efforts are best spent doing what He wants for me. 

In line with this thought sometime back, I chanced upon my whatsapp status which I changed by accident to 'low battery'. The common status was 'available'. It just hit me to edit it to something slightly longer. 'Available when you need a listening ear'. Sometimes in life, you need just one close friend to listen to you, to hear you out and among that 1000 Facebook friends, you wonder who you feel most comfortable with and you ask who will listen to you. I may not be a good speaker but the least I can do is listen and I was prompted to make that change in status. We, Christians are not that different from the average person without God. The main difference is that we believe. Do you? 

Singaporeans, Let's Learn to be Thankful

What sparked this post?

It was about the new IPPT system implemented.

I saw this comment in reply to the changes made in the IPPT system. It said "So.... ippt have became something that everyone can pass..." Well, I should put out this disclaimer first, it was from a friend's friend whom I am not acquainted with and on checking, should be of at least poly education and age. Yet it doesn't make me feel any better. I still feel damn angry about it.
 
Apparently you have no idea how NSmen feel not being able to pass IPPT. If you have slugged it out on the track doing RT during your weekends or have to travel to that camp just for RT when you have a hectic school or work schedule, you will know how it feels. Fine, you can argue why wait till the last minute then do RT? There are people who train for it and still have difficulty passing, like SBJ and it is by no means their fault. It's the technique which they weren't taught.

                                    

everythingalsocomplain.com

Who doesn't want to pass IPPT in one attempt and forget about it for a year? Not everyone can do it though. This change in the IPPT system is meant to help them. They are the target audience. If you can't pass, you will probably agree with me that this is a blessing. It gives NSmen some hope that training will show results and that IPPT is passable (some NSmen have it engrained in their mindsets that IPPT is bao fail).

If you can pass IPPT in the past (means you have certain fitness), this new system shouldn't affect you much, in fact it makes it easier for you to get your gold. So why do I hear people from this group complaining? Only think about yourself, that you are affected is it?

If you aren't, good, I salute you. I know everyone doesn't like changes but changes like these are for the good of NSmen in general and I ask you to bear with it.

Sometimes Singaporeans have to learn to be thankful and think from the perspectives of others. So what if you can't get your gold and lose out on that little bit of reward when so many others have benefited from it? Can't you just see past that line of ME and MYSELF and see how it affects others?

Was IPPT meant to be exclusive? Everyone pass cannot ah? Everyone pass, got offend you is it? Gosh. I don't know what kids these days are thinking but no, not only you are entitled to passing and getting your gold. It's not like there is a limit to the number of gold rewards they are giving out.

memegenerator.net

Do refer to my article written with regards to the news of the new IPPT system here:
http://theinfluencermedia.com/2014/07/24/new-ippt-system-brings-relief/

While I am on the topic of how Singaporeans should learn to be thankful, let's also take a look at
http://theinfluencermedia.com/2014/07/20/5-major-facts-about-singapore-that-every-singaporean-should-understand/

My colleague wrote this article and there has been a lot of comments. Basically, people either agree with him that we ought to be thankful for how Singapore is overall but there are people who also criticse it. No, he is not pro-government. Do we need to be pro-government to be thankful for the country we reside in now? It's just weighing the pros and cons and how you want to compare it. If you compare with the best, of course Singapore may not be much but be fair in your comparison, don't take it out of context.

It is always easy to criticize things, policies, the government. Yet, we need to recognize the facts for what they are and see what they show or where they lead. It is a fact that undergraduates or graduates expect jobs with certain salaries. No, it is not wrong. After all, there has been investments made on us, through the form of education fees. We also expect internships to have a reasonable allowance even though the company may be reputable. Hello? We also need to feed ourselves and even our families right? All these facts show us there we have a certain mindset and I won't say it is wrong but there is a cause and effect relationship. The effect is that foreigners are willing to take these jobs with lower salaries.

I don't agree with every choice or decision made by the government or like everything that Singapore is now but still, let's be thankful for what we have. Count our blessings. Do not take things for granted. If you don't know what we take for granted, look to other countries, their poverty, their education, their security, their jobs. Let's treasure all these that we do have and not regret when we lose them. The Singapore today may not be the same Singapore we know of a few hundred years down the road.

End of Internship!

So after a 10 week long internship, it's time to say farewell. It wasn't that easy to say goodbye, especially when your boss and colleagues don't talk to you only about work.

We spent time eating together, yes, where else but the same old hawker center at Changi Village, until we got sick of it and started changing hawker centers and even going to Loyang Point. That wasn't all. There was food tasting, at places like The Assembly Grounds, Concetto by Saveur, 26 Tapas Bar and we also attended events such as the launch of Lalin's Photo Gallery, not to mention, foot massage at Feet Haven and sailing onboard White Sails yacht. Some of those activities ended with beer, with long chats, not that I chatted a lot lah, if you know me.

Sometimes I don't know myself as well as I should. I don't talk a lot but apparently people say my emotions are written all over my face and sometimes they scream stress or emo. I don't know how well they interpret them but nonetheless I would like to say I am very thankful for the concern.

 

We worked long hours during events, busy socialising, taking photographs, updating social platforms, filming. It was all part of the job but it was more than just the job.

I ain't what you would call a fashionable person, barely got myself a few working attires and formal shoes. We guys from HSS don't really need them at school. So my really helpful colleagues accompanied me shopping. Despite my strong restraints not to buy anything, I did. Not a lot lah but still. People say you see colleagues on weekdays, see until sian. Well, they chose to see me on a weekend despite their busy schedules.

I was blessed with this great internship in more ways than one.

The location. I barely take 20mins to get there and back. Don't ask my colleagues how long they take. They will throw things at you. That's why I don't mind being early or the first one to be there.

The job. You don't exactly get to surf the internet and check Facebook as part of a job. Also, I get to attend food tasting, events, write about them and liaise with clients on behalf of the company. There is no greater satisfaction in getting a positive response. Every time an email comes in, I can imagine myself squealing with glee when it's a positive response.

I never imagined so much could happen from that moment of boredom when I decided to do something about it and not just sit there and let things happen. They say that when you share something and others are happy, you feel happy too. That can never be more true.

Besides the above, I get to meet bloggers from all walks of life and make friends with them. Which job pays you to make friends? Not socializing for the sake of networking but making friends. Being friendly to others for the benefits and opportunities they might someday give you is networking but making friends with just friendship in mind is another thing. When you make friends, you don't expect anything in return, in fact you might need to provide them help when times of needs arise but when you are in need your friends will help you. This is genuine friendship. That's what friends are for.

So thanks to my boss and my colleagues for making this a great learning experience for me and to all those who have offered me their friendship and shared a little more about themselves to quiet, anti-social me!
 
Keep in touch!

Pink or White? How about Red?

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about Pink Dot and its counter reaction; wearing white to represent pro-family. I don't usually write about such social issues but I have things to say about how people view this issue. I get really angry when people don't know how to use words, especially since I am a Linguistics major. People who do not agree with your view are not necessarily "traditional" or "wrong". You don't win an argument or convince someone by name calling. That just speaks poorly of you.

Before I start, I would like to say that I am an average young guy with a straight orientation and have been a second generation Christian all my life. Just so you know where I am coming from. I don't believe in taking everything the church says at full value. If you know me, you will know I don't agree with everything I am told at the pulpit. I don't give tides or offerings. I believe in giving them to the people who really need them and hardly any of the churches in Singapore really require the money to operate. If it's money you require to renovate and upgrade the church to a larger capacity, you don't really need that, at least not from me. I don't condemn churches or representatives of any church though. Who are we to judge them? If what they do is wrong, they will be held accountable by God.

At the base line of all that background I have given, I basically don't support any of the two sides by attending their events. I rather go red. The color of humans. We are the same. We want to love and be loved.

In some way I believe that the wear white movement is childish. It's like a rebuttal in an argument that doesn't even make sense. Why? It doesn't mean that everyone wearing white supports your argument. That's why they can do this; take any photo and say oh look they are supporting your cause.

Do we have to react when the people support the Pink Dot event and we don't?  Do we really need to? Do we always have to have a visible action in the public to show what we believe in? Or is it that you want to have the limelight?

Yet doesn't it tell you something? For different religions to take a same stand. Are you going to condemn Christianity and Islam? I hope not. There is a legit reason for their stand. One I probably didn't understand until I read more about it. Before I tell you more about it, let's proceed to look at the Pink Dot and what it fights for. Notice I say fight for because they are not given.

The Pink Dot fights for the freedom to love according to their Facebook website. Wait. Is that all? They did not complete the sentence. Freedom to love people of the same gender. See? There is a difference. It is not the freedom to love illegitimate children or abused children or (fill in the blank) but people of the same gender.

That's why this whole Pink Dot thing is so misleading. Everyone thinks that it is a cause worth fighting for because it represents freedom to love anyone you want and that should be right. Loving someone can't be wrong. Is it? What about incest? What about child abuse? What about someone who is already married? These are so many wrong instances of love. In my opinion, so is love for the same gender.

I won't quote from the Bible and compare to the traditional times where it is obviously wrong. Now is now and things have changed. However, some things in us, humans, will never change. The presence of our guilty conscience for one. Why do people feel that loving others of the same gender is wrong and should be hidden? Their guilty conscience tells them it is wrong. It is not just social norms that keep this 'love' hidden. They know innately that it shouldn't be.

Do you know what the Pink Dot looks like to me? It looks like a novelty. Something people who have nothing better to do go to. It's like an event people turn up for because they think its symbolic of something good and they get to be part of something. Something similar to that of the CPF saga where people turn up at Hong Lim Park. It's like they have no clue what their support will lead to.

Now for what I read and what's happening in other parts of the world. There are cases whereby people have to treat gays as couples and give them the due respect or risk being sued. Imagine you are the owner of a small motel and a gay couple wants a room and for the sake of your other customers, you decide not to and are fined for that. Do you want that to happen to you?

If you can't imagine that, imagine growing up with kids and your kids see guys making out. Is that a future you want for your kids? Do you want them to think it is ok and they can do that as well? Think again. It is not as simple as it is. If it was I am sure Christians won't be reacting this way. We are told to love and love unconditionally as our Lord loves us. The reason some of us are so against this is that it threatens the family. Do not take the traditional concept of a family forgranted.

We can't hate the action and love the doer at the same time? It's like we hate the act of smoking because we know it is harmful to our friends but it doesn't mean we hate our friends. Well, it is definitely not easy loving them. No one said we will be able to do it, since their action keeps us away from them. Yet we try to. The action might put us off but they are still our friends.

My thoughts and arguments aren't fool-proof. They are just my thoughts. Food for thought.

A year gone by

So it is that time of year again. My birthday. I don't treasure birthdays a lot, last I really did was on my 21st. When I think of my birthday, I think of the previous year and it was a really memorable one.

I spent my last birthday at Poland, Poznan. God gave me a birthday present that no one could have offered. My birthday coincided with a special festival, one which involved lighting lanterns and setting them off into the sky.

It looks marvelous right? Picture a sky full of lanterns. What was really significant was getting the lanterns up into the sky. It was the process. Our AIESEC group of exchange friends came from different countries, Croatia, Azerbaijan, The Phillipines, US and more. During this festival, all our differences were put aside as we cooperated with one goal, to successfully release our lanterns into the sky.

Back then I was wearing spectacles and you can see that everyone was helping each other out with their lanterns. Think about it. A very touching scene. All differences set aside for one goal.

This year, I spent my precious lunch time with a group of friends who have become very dear to me. Don't ask us how it became the three of us. Groups of 3 just happen too often, as least for me. The cold cut trio, the cold blooded triad, both 3s!

The really smart looking guy in the photo is Latin and he's so nice and gentlemanly that he puts so many other guys to shame, including me.The lady in the photo is Catrin. Someone agree with me that she doesn't need dieting. Not that it will happen anytime soon because she's always cafe hopping and eating good food, tee hee.

I had work on my birthday. Yes it was sian but hey, responsibilities come first. If you've been through NS, you will probably understand that when duty calls, whatever the day or occasion, you go.

I spent my time with these awesome people who were really motivated. They also fed my ego like it was cookie monster. Really special people who do not live by Facebook or Instagram.

After all these years going through internships, part time jobs, NS and what not, I learn that it's not so much the work you do but it's the people who work with you. A job can be sucky and all that which happens, yet if you have a group of positive, motivated friends to work alongside you, the experience can be very much different.

Oh, now to the main point of my post. To thank each and everyone who sent their greetings to me. I am truly blessed. I received greetings from Taiwan, Croatia, The Philippines, Denmark, Japan, Poland... To know that I am remembered by so many people when I am but an insignificant person makes me really thankful. It's not about me, it's about you and what you have done.

To all the friends who have helped me, offered me your friendship, I am grateful. I remember the challenging times, when you offered to find my apartment with me in a foreign place, in the rain.  When I knew not the words to express myself and you sought to explain it for me. When I fell sick and you came to me with comfort food. When you forgave the silly mistakes I made. When you taught me or cared for me. All these experiences build me up, to become the person I am today. Not perfect. Still learning, still improving. You contributed to who I am today and for that I am thankful.

That said, I will now pass off as forever 18 because someone said I look like I am 18. Wheeee!

Movie Review of Maleficent

Disney's latest movie is Maleficent! Her name is kinda difficult to spell and pronounce on a side note. Wonder why wasn't a simpler name given. Something more catchy.

Well, the plot is totally not what we expected. We, if you have grown up listening or reading the story of Sleeping Beauty. In the original, traditional tale, she was the villain and Sleeping Beauty was woken up by the prince's kiss. Here in this version, there is a twist. This time, unlike my previous movie reviews, I won't give spoilers. Feel free to read on and make guesses.

I was very intrigued by the progression of the character, from a young girl to who she is in the present, someone evil. Not only physically but also in terms of her emotions. It shows that even villains have emotions and they are not always evil at birth. Like reality, things happen to people and it is really how we react to these situations and obstacles that come our way.

The movie ended with a quote that Maleficent was both the hero and the villain. Something of importance to me. Our actions can make us good or bad to others. It's how we are perceived. We all make mistakes, guided by emotions we may do the worst things we regret. All it takes is that one moment for us to realise that we have done wrong and need forgiveness. That life changing moment.

Oh dear, how far have I rumbled on. Ok, on to some specifics. The visuals were good, there were a lot of other mystical creatures in the land of the Moss kingdom that were pretty stunning and Aurora interacted with them in those beautiful scenes. Some of the fight scenes kinda reminded me of the fights in Narnia. In case you thought you were watching a cartoon, nope, this isn't a cartoon. There's Angelina Jolie starring as Maleficent (my friend had no idea it was her, even after the end of the movie). She made an awesome female lead that was for sure. Nothing like a woman's wrath. She was really the best person for that role.

Once again, this Disney movie was different from other normal Disney movies, with only the happily ever after ending reminding us that it's from Disney. In this movie, the relationship they emphasized on was between mother and daughter. A very useless prince role was included, to basically be there and look nice in my opinion.  If only it was between a father and son, it would have been in line with Father's Day. That said, I would rate this 4.1/5, my highest so far, because originality is off the charts man. All of us love a good Disney movie.