Hope and Closure

Just a quick update, my first entry for 2010. I had a great week at the Lion City after Christmas. I even returned soon after during Chinese New Year.

Fate has reunited me with someone who was introduced to me in 2006. Wonder why I wasn't into him before. He's the best combination of the 2 worlds, a dreamer with a big dream who slaves to realise his dream. I feel honoured to be able to help him realise his wishes with the little that I could do.

I met him again when I returned during CNY, twice. The hours of sleep he went without just to meet me amazed me. We have been keeping in touch often since then, through email, FB, Twitter, sms, phone and whatever modern technology offers. I am taking my own sweet time this time. I am starting to realise that he is precious, just nice in many ways. Keeping this door wide open:D

Coincidentally, I was also reunited with someone else introduced to me on the same day as the one above by the same person. I was really into this guy then. He agreed to meet recently. I was quite shaken when he wanted to introduce his fiance, someone from foreign land that he had only known for 5 months. Their wedding will be held next weekend, just a small family and close friends' affair. It didn't really matter, he reminded me a lot of Mr Designer and I already knew the ending, though he wasn't as bad.

That's it. Soon, I may need to start a new blog, and keep it truly anonymous:)

Roar Again, and Again

Gosh! Have not updated my blog for 2.5 months, since I started my new job:)

I'm sure some would be wondering. Yeah, it started out well, very hectic and a lot of writing. But for the first time, I actually get a boss that I can get along well with. From day one, I observe her carefully, how she manages people especially. I think that is the only thing that puts her above me. In terms of expertise, we are quite at par. I have to say that managing subordinates in the private sector is not half as tough as in the government sector. I was really relieved not to be the head anymore though, to have nobody reporting to me.

She is soft spoken, but demanding in her own way. I was physically tired, but comfortable. There is an arrogant foreign colleague who gets on my nerve, but she is junior and powerless, so it's not a big deal. I thought she was the only unpleasant element. I stepped onto a senior person's toe on my third day at work. By that, I accidentally nailed down the key problem of the organisation. She was pissed off with me but there wasn't any long-term damaging effect. I was glad to stumble upon it early and not waste my time churning out the solutions to a problem that cannot be solved, because the people involved are reluctant and defensive for some reasons.

Deep down, I knew it was too easy. Never had it that easy before. After 6 months, I'll get a confirmation, no delay. I spoke too soon.

2 months later, there was a major change, politically-motivated, and a new department head came in. She changed the structure and put everybody at the same level, reporting directly to her. Pity my boss who had given her heart and soul to the company for years. Now, I have to prove myself. My job descriptions have the least change, as compared to the other members of the department. And to be fair, the new boss is still more tolerable than many bosses I've had in the past. Just that it angered me, because now I have to struggle just like everywhere else that I've been at during the last 10 years. No time out at all. I am exhausted.

The only consolation I get is that I get to learn some high-level politics by frequent interactions with a pro, yeah, this new boss is a master manipulator. I could see that already, after a month. And she has set her mind to tackle that specific problem that I had stumbled onto. She is more politically savvy, maybe she can do it. Anyway, I tell myself that I cannot get stuck in this post forever, though it pays well. There will come a time when I need to make a career advancement and head a department, or two, again. This is my chance to pick up a few tricks.

For now, I am going for a week-long unwinding vacation in the Lion City again. Yeah, city of memories, every time I go there, I'd be fighting a different demon. No exception this time. Merry Christmas and see you soon:)

Unknown Treasure

Hey, I'm back. Okay, let me fast forward a bit to Sunday and go straight to my trip to the most unlikely place, for a Malaysian that is. LOL!

I was out of ideas of where to head off to with my Adik, whom I meet like only once or twice a year. A bright straight-As Bio-Engineering student who is also a poet and a budding song writer, he makes an excellent company. He turned 20 this year. Usually, a big part of our whole-day date would include catching a theater, but this time there really was nothing on. It was between Christmas and New Year anyway. Okay, I wasn't in the mood for Sentosa, too loud and commercialised, I think. Furthermore, this is weird but somehow, I always find myself in search of nature appreciation outings whenever I'm in Singapore.

And then, I found out about the Hermit Trip to Pulau Ubin, for the first time it coincided with my visit. One would think that we Malaysians have more than enough islands, don't we? So, why go next door? For once, Singapore is tiny and well-organised. I don't have to plan in advance and I don't need a group to arrange tours. The way they 'preserve' things also amazes me. Ubin is sort of off-the-beaten track too. My Adik admitted that though he is a Singaporean, he had never been to the island and was damn curious. My Singaporean blogger friend hasn't either, so there you go.

So, we hailed the MRT to Bedok, then took a cab to Changi Ferry Terminal Point. The bump boat had to wait for 12 passengers before it would move. There were many people that day, so we hardly had to wait. We were lucky that it wasn't hot, cloudy though. Upon arriving, we found the man at the Information Counter clueless. The customers who saw the trip on the website had to inform him about it.

We had a quick lunch at a Chinese seafood restaurant. Our noodles were tasteless though. My Adik's handphone battery was running out, so he had to play the song he composed there and then. Titled Caroline, it was sung by his friend. It was a good song, nice voice too, easy on the ears. I was surprised that it was about getting out of a nightmare, and not about a woman/romance.







We took a van to Chek Jawa. It was either that or 50-minute of walking or cycling. There were few houses there, all on power generator. The paths were crooked and narrow, poor cyclists along the way had to stop and made way for us. At the Chef Jawa Information Counter, we were divided into 3 groups of around 12, mostly locals and expatriates, hardly any tourists. The 3 tour guides were volunteers from different professions. Cool, they usually make the best guides as they do it purely for passion.

The tour started with an unused well, there used to be a Malay village there up to like 10 years ago. Next was puffy leaves, used to stuff pillows in the old days. Then, we adjourned to the newly-built boardwalk, more than a year old. It looks wooden, but was made of a mixture of fiber glass and cement. The wood-like pattern repeats after a few rows of 'wood'. Prior to that, visitors had to find their own way in the jungle.

From then on, the view was just stunning. We passed by the mangroves, algae, beach and sea. The roots of the plants stuck upwards out of the mud to get oxygen. We came across mud skippers, crabs and mud lobsters. I took lots of photos. Several shots remind me of the image of the earth, floating in the galaxy (see below). We came upon a tower. At first I hesitated to climb up the 7-flight of stairs. Somehow, slowly, I found myself arriving on top, the view was amazing.

Unfortunately, 10 minutes before the tour ended, I looked down and realised that the sole of my right shoe came out. It was an old pair of sport shoes but still, I had to drag my feet from then on. Ideally, as soon as the tour concluded and just as we were walking back to the Information Counter, the sky started to pour. Others called for the vans. When our driver arrived and saw us, he asked us to squeeze into the front seat next to him. That was a good ride, full view ahead.

When we reached the jetty, he showed us the old-fashioned retail shops selling slippers, among other things. The shop lots reminded me of my hometown 20 years ago. They also had Durians and Coconut drink, hence we stopped and relaxed for a while. After that, it started to drizzle again. Passing by a stretch of faunas, I decided to snap some shots. Hey, flowers and leaves during a rain - it may be suitable for my book cover - 'Counting Raindrops'.