Saturday, December 29, 2007
A Close Shave and some reflections...
Whew! Had a close shave with the Law last night. Took a risk, or rather, a stupid one I must say. All because of wanting to chase the 135 and 154 buses at Paya Lebar Mrt Station. Can't understand why the 2 buses always come together?! the only 2 buses I can take to my house..Anw, I saw the 2 buses arrive at the mrt bus stop and started to give chase. knowing fully well I wouldn't be able to make it, I looked ahead to the next bus stop which wasn't very far away, just after the traffic light. So i thot why not? try to dash to the next bus stop since both buses were stuck at the traffic light. in order to get there, i needed to cross both sides of the road. Of course, one side would be 'Red man' light rite? HAHA. and can you imagine who was at the traffic light?
1 x traffic police on his motorbike.
YES. he was stuck at the traffic light together with the buses; the one which when i crossed was green man. HOWEVER, the other side of the road was RED!! and seeing that there wasn't a single car in sight on the road, i thot what the heck, and proceeded to dash across the road to the next bus stop.
Big Mistake.
Next thing I knew when I reached the bus stop, his motorbike was just right behind me, and he was glaring at me. Scared sia. haha. then he just told me - you don't dash across the road like that when it is RED man! thot he was going to fine me.. fortunately he decided to let me off and just rode away on his bike. haha feeling quite paiseh after that. luckily not too many ppl at that particular bus stop haha...
It was a good lesson learnt. After all it's really not worth it to risk your life, even if there is no traffic around.. guess i'd try to MINIMISE my jay-walking habits after today hahaha..
4 days off from work!!! yay!! not even the temptation of doing RD OT could tempt me into giving up 1 of my 4 days off! after all me and jiazheng, my fellow teammate at work, both agreed that such an opportunity probably comes around once in a yr, it being so hard to come by, shall cherish it and enjoy myself at home, slacking around or hanging out with frens if they're free i guess. shall see how the 4 days goes. i know today gotta attend church - St. Stephen's Feast Day; church tmr... maybe shall go for a swim one of these days. weather's been quite good lately. and haven't been exercising at all!! somemore my ankle is taking damn long to heal.. now it's still like.. 80% recovered only? haix. feeling a bit sad to see so many of the Green Team ppl leaving alr.. just as when i got to know all of them, now there's so many newbies around i dunno so many of them again. double haix. hope Bin doesn't forget to plan for the dim sum outing.. hahax.
had a long talk with Nick last nite online. really respect him, admire and appreciate what he has done for the youth group @ SS. and looking at our current choir group, especially after x'mas, i can't help but feel this great sense of pride in being part of the group, like what nick said, this group of talented people, many good solo-ists and good musicians, the right leaders, the cool equipments, the vision. It just felt so damn good after all the hard work put in to make this xmas smth special, and to receive all the praise and accolades from everyone around that we sang really well, we performed really well at house caroling, at midnite mass.. well some ppl said we sounded a little soft at midnite mass, my parents for example, but who wouldn't, after all that caroling?!
haha. and true enough, the hard work begins next year, planning and leading, training, organising workshops, maybe camps; of recruiting more ppl, keeping this current group of ppl intact as the main foundation to build on.. things which are meant to push the choir to greater heights. guess the most impt thing to do now is to work on instilling a sense of pride and ownership among the current group of ppl, such that they want to take responsibility and feel smth towards wanting to contribute to the choir success. and what better that to start from the section level upwards - the basses? haha.. i dunno but i never saw myself as a good leader. coz i'm nice by nature. haha! never liked being the bad person, having to scold others or being nasty to them. but i'm def gg to have to try to do smth starting with the basses, to have section fellowships and stuff like that. 2 areas to work on - improvements on music technicality & group direction, as pointed out by nick.
I've got lots to think abt. Headaches...
Posted by darylhjm87 at 11:59 AM
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Merry X'mas to all!!
Some happy memories for X'mas '07 with Jubilate...
Posted by darylhjm87 at 5:54 PM
Thursday, December 20, 2007
this week so far...
went a-caroling today!! haha the feeling of singing together in a group at ppl's houses for them to listen & enjoy to was really nice. to see the smiles on the audience faces, especially the kids; kaz's wonderful guitar playing, Auggy's drums and bells (haha!).. and at the same time, to enjoy singing in harmony or parts with each other.. it just gives this very great, X'massy chill feeling!! brrr.. =)gift exchange on Tues at work. my bdae by the way! no longer a teen alr. i'm 20 now!! haha i dunno why but i actually took alot of pride in the gift which i gave to Wan Ying. my own idea & spent quite a bit of time thinking abt the ideal gift to buy. & in many ways i think it was just the right gift. lots of thots went into buying the gift from Body Shop lor. i still think it's cool! haha & thanks too to Yong Kang who bought me a really nice green polo tee.. but like many of my colleagues, i think the shirt is a bit too bright. but it's ok really =P
also wanna say a big thanks to the peeps who called/smsed/msned/tagged (etc etc) to send their happy bdae wishes.. really appreciate & touched by the thots. even Marie, who wished me like... today?! 2 days late?! haha but it's okay really. in fact even if someone had wished me 10 days late it wouldn't matter. better late than never, & it's the thought that matters most.
not to mention that she owes me one now. HAHA! =D
Posted by darylhjm87 at 11:19 PM
Monday, December 17, 2007
The end of teenage life..
yup in less than an hrs time I'll cease to remain a teenager!! :(sad coz it feels like the best years of one's life have gone past me alr.. haha!
& with growing a year older comes more responsibilities - have to be more mature, more thoughtful, more understanding..
perhaps there's more to look forward to with getting older - more freedom, more fun to look forward to.....
NAHHH. still think it's more cool to stay young. hahaz.
was just thinking back on some of the bdaes moments experienced over the past 20yrs.. nice nice memories come back to mind.. wonder how's it going to be like tomorrow?? :)
oh yah, and to all you Liverpool fans out there... THAT's WHY WE'RE CHAMPIONS.
Posted by darylhjm87 at 11:06 PM
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Down with the cold. :( And a look back at last Sat..
wow. it's been a week since i last blogged, & quite a few days since i last touched my comp. just too lazy & tired after work to do anything online. finally get the chance to do so today - off day! =DBUT.. what a way to spend the off day - staying at home, trying to nurse myself to get better before going back to work tmr. all my plans of wanting to go out for some x'mas shopping & bargain hunting, gone down the drain. all thanks to this silly cold & cough that sprouted out of nowhere. it's giving me headaches when i cough. urghh. =(
wonder if i should take half a day off this Sat, to rest & make it for caroling prac 4-6..
Looking back on last Sat.. it was a really meaningful short session that we had at church among my choir friends. i had to rush down straight after work. but it was worthwhile just to be there for every single min of it. i have to admit: initally, i was skeptical about the whole issue of wanting to have a session. usually, i seldom feel anything strongly or get anything much out of sessions. i would always try very hard to dig deep down to feel smth, just like when i went to Shel's church & joined him for one of their prayer sessions, but, no offense Shel, in the end i usually get very little out of it. the hymns & stuff are great, the quietness to do some personal reflections.. but somehow the end product's the same - it just doesn't do much for me. i was actually dreading that this was just going to be another one of those sessions, no different. & i was also wondering: why is it that our choir always seem to be in some sort of crisis?
I couldn't have been more wrong abt my feelings. The session was a great time to quieten oneself down, to reflect on our lives, our involvement & commitment to the choir; to take a good look at our own priorities, & where does God fit into all this. The hymns that were sung provided the wonderful atmosphere to quieten our hearts & souls, to really have a clear mind to think & do some reflections. True, all of us in the choir have matured, in the midst of growing up; our priorities have differed as compared to previous years. some of us have studies to tend to, some have army commitments, & the rest, like me, have work, be it part-time or full-time. So much so that cracks in our bonding have appeared, our friendship not as strong as it should be; our feelings for each other, somewhat different, perhaps more bland as compared to the past. Add to the fact that half the choir left for Holy Spirit last year, leaving the other half to manage in St. Stephen; as well as ppl like Ernie & Jess leaving, the choir was, in my opinion, a 'lost' choir, with everyone heading in different directions & having different priorities. a choir that was united in mere presence, yet, also disunited in spirit & gradually pulling apart from each other. Without a shadow of a doubt, it has taken a toll on Andrea & Dawn, who have every right to feel jaded with our lack of commitments.
Things were thrashed out in the open, to quote Verena - 'everything laid bare on the table'. Any unhappiness, concerns, & personal feelings were voiced & shared among one another. There was agreements & disagreements. Tears were shed. Tissue papers passed around. Apologies were said & accepted. In the end, it just felt so good for everyone, with hugs being exchanged all round, especially for our leaders, Dawn & Andrea. Perhaps what Nick said best summed it up: Just because our priorities have changed, or maybe we have new friends, doesn't mean that we forget our old friends, that our feelings have to change.
It was the perfect way to start our preparation & build up to X'mas, caroling & all: by renewing our commitment to the choir & our friendship towards each other. For the first time this yr, I actually felt the X'mas chill!! As we carried on with our caroling practice after the session, I couldn't help but feel lucky & thankful to be among this special group of ppl. And to think that we actually thought an outing would bond all of us together! When in fact, a simple, quiet time together, was really all that we needed.
On an ending note, crises or rough times can be a double-edged sword: it can either pull ppl even closer together or further apart. It really depends on how we go about dealing with it. =)
Posted by darylhjm87 at 3:28 PM
Long Time no blog
Posted by darylhjm87 at 10:55 AM
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
exhausted!!
phew!! after working for 7 straight days, finally I get some respite from work.. OFF DAY tmr!! yayz!! :)haha. dun quite know how to spend it yet.. guess quite a bit of it will be spent trying to have a good rest & 'recuperate' from work; some of my friends from Aussie have just popped in, maybe will spend the time with them in the afternoon at VivoCity; hopefully there's enough time to do a bit of exercising too, either swim or jog in the evening. haven't been exercising for a long time alr.. especially since my ankle is not exactly fully recovered yet. sianx. feeling so unfit!!
still waiting for a reply from Brian, one of my fellow colleagues. hope he's free on Sunday.. den can swap with him for my Friday off. otherwise will have to miss church this sunday & caroling practice too. dun think Dawn will be too happy with it.. me missing so many pracs. & it isn't exactly fair to those who attend all the practices. haix. & now's the best time to chiong RD OT! no chance to do so alr. double sianx. haha. :(
i was juz reflecting on my life @ my workplace today. Zhigang was complaining that I 'spoil market' with my call stats. haha! guess i better lower 'em.. nevertheless I'm happy that I'm truthful to what I actually said in my interview: I like helping ppl who might have potential difficulties with SH - the exact words I said 1 mth ago. & I'm glad that it's been that way, except for the nasty customers. it's safe to say I actually like the job quite a fair bit! especially the greenies arnd are also nice & interesting peeps. which helps coz it results in better work productivity for me, quality & quantity wise. hehx. :)
anw.. time for cust discussion!! today we take a look at this really childish customer (CC), who by the way is one yr older than me (based on her NRIC). we'll call her CC for short.
CC: Hallo? I want to know why my line is being cut ah!
Me: (after verf details) Orh ok ma'am currently ur line is cut due to an outstanding amt of 4mths due which is not cleared.
CC: Can you help me recon the line?
Me: Sorry ma'am but your line has alr been terminated, you have to clr all dues b4 we can recon the line for you.
CC: But I need the line!!!! *starts whining*
Me: Repeats above sentence
CC: But you don't understand I really need the line!!
Me: Ma'am, I'd love to help you recon the line, but the line is alr term, there's nth i can do, you have to clr the os due b4 i can help you.
CC: You cannot just cut my line like that!! I need the line!!
Me: Hold on ma'am I do a chk for you to see if anything can be done.
CC: ARGHHHHH!!! (screams fade into the background as I put her on hold)
After checking with my I/Cs, me alr knowing nth can be done for her but just to cfm..
Me: Hello ma'am.. I've done a chk for you, unfortunately nth can be done.
CC: Wa lao! I knew you all would say that, that ur manager dun approve & you come back to me telling me all that shit lor!! Ur SH service is f***ed up leh!! I really really really need the line!!
Me: Ma'am if you continue to use such language I will not serve you. in the first place, why did u make so much phone usage?
CC: I didn't!! It's becoz your CSC never update the address for me!! then now i recv 4 mths bill you ask me how to pay I only student leh! no money no money!!
Me: Ma'am but this is 4mths bill leh, yet you didn't do anything abt it till now? would it have made a diff if you recv the bill every mth & 4mths one shot? it's the same amt in the end rite? (thking cust didn't even bother to save up money in anticipation smth like that happens)
CC: Yes!! got diff!! now i cannot pay the $200 plus dollars at one go!!
Me: Sorry ma'am, there's really nth we can do at the moment.
CC: But it's so simple! I just neeed my line back!!
Me: Maybe you try gg to CSC, they might be able to help u since they are at fault for not changing ur add?
CC: No! I know. you want me to fall into ur trap & try to get me arrested at ur CSC rite!! so can solve all prob rite? I not going down!
Me: (tries to uds her situation) ok ma'am i try to do another chk for u since u said CSC didn't update ur billing add, maybe smth can be done for ur case, just hold on the line is it possible?
CC: *screams* POSSIBLEEEE!!!!!!
After putting her on hold to catch a breather & laugh abt her immaturity... conversation resumed with no further headway made, me insisting on my stand & she acting like a 9, maybe 8 yr old kid. finally ended with:
CC: i tell you you have no right to rebutt me!! now u listen to my f***ing instructions and listen clearly!!
Me: Ma'am i told you before if you use such abusive language I will not serve you. (using it as an excuse really to end the convo hopefully..)
den our CC does smth very interesting, unexpected, totally out of the BLUE.
CC: nei nei ni boo boo, nei nei ni boo boo, you cannot do anything to me!!
Me: Thank you for calling SH, I'm unable to serve you further, goodbye.
HAHA!! rmb writing in my E/D: cust became childish & made funny noises, unable to serve her further, hung up call. really can't imagine someone 20yrs old actually doing that on the phone!! OMG.