nothinG-to-do oNce agAin...

all thingZ come to an eNd, including my DPO job at the Dept. of Stats...but i juZ didn't expect it to be so sooN!!

me worKed for only 3 weekz and 1 dAy...(2 dAyz insteAd, cuZ i took one day leAve) and eArned lezz thAn 1k! God....but i bliVe it'z all fAted. ;)

"the survey has come to an end...and we hAve to cut down on the manpoweR needed...*blAh*" thiz waz quote from the 1-day notificAtion of job termination...reAlly, me didn't expect it to be so eArly! but me kindA ok with thAt, 1st thing the job iz dAmn boring; 2nd not only us...but the night shift peopLe hAve been swepT clean also...since it'z an overhAul, i hAve nothing to sAy to them.

but i gottA blAst them on the pArt when they offered thiz job as a vacAtion job. my summeR holidAy begun on 1st mAy, while the initial dAte of commencement was 4th mAy. theY postpoNed it to 9th mAy, then to the 24th mAy, and finAlly to the 6th of June!! a triple postponement - FINE, me beARed with thAt. but hAve they ever wondered why Uni students yeArn for a holiday job instead of opting to go for internshipZ? that is strictly bcuZ we wanna eArn our school fees and dAily expenses!! and witH thiz joB, sAd to say........after deduction of the lunch money and the investment in some G2000 executive weAr, all i've got is merely 400+! God......well i'll be dAmned!

appArently, thiz job iz totAlly unfit to be tAken up by students who truly wAnted to sAve up their school fees.

besides, a couple of my closer colleaguez actuAlly rejected several other job offers to tAke up thiz DPO jobbie..whAT a wAste yeA? yeAh!

whAT i meAnt by internship iz where students get to be attached to commercial compAnies for some hAnds-on experience on their future cAreerz....and for Bio-sc students like me, we would be attAched to reseArch institutes to assist reseArchers in their scientific discoveriez! didn't apply for sucH attachments bcuZ they only offer 500 or 600 buckz of incentive...and me,
sillily thinking thAt the DPO job will offer me alot more, refused to apply for an internship! now me know me totAlly sunK into a quicksAnd and i'M almost drowning......duH!

why iz the reAL world so cruel? after you'Ve doNe your pArt, they juZ dumP you out of their wAy in an amicAble wAy...*sigH*

thiZ iz life....and we gottA leArn how to live througH it....

...

tAking the employer'z poinT of view, yuP, it'z not in the wrong cuZ they reAlly accomplished their survey...and thAt'z the end of their project...oK, it doesn'T need so mAny temp stAffz anymore....so it'z correct to cut cost. BUT, i cAN't think of a sound reAson of touting thiz survey deadline to be august/septembeR?! ...and applied viA e-mAil directly to the Universities for temp staffz during their summer holidAY? isn't it cleAR thAt the dept. yeArned for some smArties for the temp job? isn't it eveN clearer thAt the apparent smArties will be led to think thAt they will be able to work through their holiday? but thingZ juZ ain't so!! *sigH*

and wheN asked upoN the choice of ppL to retrencH...they juZ said they did some internal assessment...hmM, i sensed how hArd they try to be friendly and aRe afrAid to hurt us....but i disbliVe thAt what the retrencHed bAtch do is substAndard...and mAybe the stone-deAd quiet office of their'z juZ cAn't stAnd lively gigglY chAtterz liKe us! hahAaa....mAybe me and my
working pAlz seem to be "plAying a fooL" too mucH...thougH we mAy seem like enjoying ourselves, but i assure thAt we are serious when doing the joB...juZ az serious az those who cAn sit there like a stone and dAre not eveN moVe much - duH!

furthermoRe, i think they wasted lotzA mAnpower.....they trAined my bAtch for 2 weeks and used us for only one week pluz - iz thAt weird or am i weird to think thAt it'z weird? liKe whAt i leArnt form huimiN - hello, got brAin???

...

i aM not sAd over the joB retrenchmenT...but me juZ sAd over the loss of my liVely pAlz...hahAa....

luKe, Shi Qi, Cindy, AdillAh, Huimin (wenT ACM with heR~), Huishi....tAke good cAre, and prAy thAt somedAy we will reAlly go mArina soutH to flY kite togetheR~~~ glAd thAT we actuAlly executed our first and lAst brinG-your-owN-luncH budget progrAmme...hahAaa...and the "indiAn" poker? so fuN!!

...

neverthelezZ, the inteNded msg for thiZ blog iz: keeN employerz who soughT uNi students viA the Uni should be responsible enough to ensure thAT they cAn worK throughout their full holidAy...otherwiZe, indicAte something thAt stAtes the durAtion they will be emploYed...if theY plAn well enougH, they hAndle specificAlly their vAriable mAnpower requirement.

for a prestigious stAt boArd like my prev. employer, the wArning msG togetheR with it'z e-mAil theN should be:
"For anyone who would like to work for only about 1 montH as a civil servAnt, and for anyone who loves to dress nicely and executively as if you are 30+, and also if you hAve a cAlm thinkinG mind to worK at citY hAll - apply noW!!!"


nothinG-to-do agAin...,
illZ...

filliAl pietY

filliAl pietY


the pictuRe iz truly blurrY....tooK it at the ACM (Asian Civilisation Museum) on my vAtican trip...it wAz a separAte exhibit in the museuM...on some Chinese thingiez...

it'z abouT filliAl pietY:
父母在，
不远游，
游必有方。

it meAnz....as long as your pArentz are with you, you should neveR trAvel fAr, and if you should, your whereabouts should be knoWn.

thiZ remindz me of a cloZe pAl, who iz now studying in the stAtes. at leAst hiz pArentz know where he iz, and the rule as stAted above is followed...i hAve no ideA how he iz, but his return dAte seemz to be coded 8888 (which meAnz never returning wheN we code for absentee personnelz at the depT of stAtz).

he, who perpetuAlly clAimz he iz blessed....hmM.

mAy he be hAppy, alwAyz. ;)

the vAtican citY (ACM)

wenT to the Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM) with Huimin, a current colleague, who is sitting in my neighbouring cubicle! it was a Friday night....anyway, there's a fresH scAndal about us - Mr and Mrs Creamy~ judGed bazed on the creAmy colourZ that we both like to weAr....so duH right?!

bAck to the exhibition, it waz a displAy of artefActz from the vAtican city, which i think is the plAce where all Christians would want to go for at leAst once in their livez for pilgrimage - juZ like how all muslims would love to visit some plAce at somewhere (in mAlaysia or the middle eAst) at leAst once in their livez for pilgrimAge.

me, being a buddhisT, was juZ curious about artefActz....and all i remembeR was how beAutiful the pAintingz are...reAd the displAy boardz but didn't reAlly understand mucH cuZ me not a christiAn.....despiTe grAduating from a christiAn secondAry schooL which offerz compulsory bibLe knowledge clAsses...hahAa...

also, i remembeR a ring worn by the poPe of roMe...whicH iz soo soo sooo huGe!!!! a goldeN ring...whicH muZ be so heAvy....and the ring hole muZ be at leAst 2.5cm in diAmeter...woW, mAybe europeAnz hAve big bodY sizes...judging from the poPe costumes displAyed too!!! stAred at them in aWe.....

furthermoRe, now i know...thAt Good Friday iz to commemorAte the crucifixioN of Jesus, and eAster iz to celebrAte the resurrectioN of Jesus....alwAyz thoughT it wAz the other wAy round~ hahAaa....but to me, they are juZ HolidAyz to enjoy~

afteR the visiT....it wAz 9pM, and Huiin led the wAy to Chinatown for dinneR!! hAd pAstamania for luncH eArlier on and it wAz so filling thAt we still feel full, so we shAred cArrot cAke and tAng yuAn along the mei shI jie (good food streeT).

ah ah....before dinneR, and also before the museuM triP, we tooK a stroll along boAt quAy.....and the viewz were greAt!! tooK some picZ....and reALized thAT i will try my besT not to tAke picturez on the zooM function with my k700i...the pictuRe siZe iz so smAll!! the followinG are the onez whicH are biggeR~


clArke quAy eveninG


clArke quAy niTe

DPO, 3rd weeK = higH risk period!!

cAme with a bunch of 7 (including me)...which iz a good mix of NTU, NUS and SMU.

we have beeN grouped together...as in trained together as a bAtch, and assigned identicAl tAskz - all coders when we aRe supposed to do coding, all editorz when we aRe tAsked to do editing...

NOTE: "Coding" and "Editing" are technicAl terms which are different tAsks in our jobscoPe.

howeveR, we hAve juZ been switched bAck from editinG to coding...cuZ coding tAkez precedence...we juZ feel like the "residuAl grouP" which knowz how to do it all, and are being redeployed here and there whenever necessAry...

conclusion? the smArtest gottA be all-rounderz...wahaAahaa...*sell flower sAy flower smelL nice..*

okAi...but somehow i felt thAt now iz the risk period...where the survey iz neAring completion, and we may be asKed to leAve anytime...

but, all thingz may not be so bleAk...gottA stAy positiVe...cuZ the survey'z completion deAdline should be sometime in September...hmM, so i think i should be sAfe...^o^

to feel sAfer...i actuAlly applied for another job at a medicAl firm! hahAa...from the NTU careermAll...another vacatioN job recommendAtion...now me juZ thinkinG, if i reAlly get thiz new job offer, should i quit the current one (which kindA haz v. low security...)..ironicAlly, the building itself haz such higH securitY levelz...*sigH*

neverthelezZ, me juZ glAd that i did not invesT much in office executiVe weAr and i did not purchAze the concession! plAying safe'z the strAtegy!


illZ...

celesT chonG

beeN a weeK pluz since my preV. entry....gottA do a quicK one:


wAz watching some tV prog last night and I saw celesT as the guest stAr~!!

i recAll repeAting her songs liKe "fRee" or "wo bu hui fei" on my plAyer....and i knew she cut a new album recentlY too...anyway, she was on the shoW introducing her old tiMe neighbourhood AMK (Ang Mo Kio)!!

througH the show she was describing her growinG-up life....and i felt thAt she wasn't lying yA know, the shAring of 1 sweet with 3 of her sisterZ mAde me go - oH my!!!! didn't expect her to come from sucH a humble bAckground...humbleR thAn mine....buT, now i reAlize how down-to-eArth a person she iz!! ^o^

along the shoW....she dezcribed thAt last time....when her muM gAve her and her siblinGz 10 centz or 20 centz....they would run to the neighbourhood cAkeshop and buy thiz snAck cAlled "cAke shred"...which iz truly literAlly cAke shred - where they shred out the extrA stripped portion of the outer skirting of cAkez...theN they hAve consolidAte them into "cAke shredz"....kindA like remnAntz...but to celesT, it'z a delicAcy!!!

impressed by her humblenezZ....thinK i gottA dig out her songz and put them on repeAt somedAy~ ^O^

bAck to worK....DPO week 3~


illZ...

luncH in LJ...

wAz lunchinG lAst week with 3 workinG pAlz at the long joHn (LJ) outlet neAr peninsulA....

and it iz reAlly commendAble thAt biG orgAnisationz are employinG the mentAlly chAllenged peopLe....big orgAnisationz liKe stAt boardz...(like my depT), fAst food restAurantz....like mAc and LJ etc.

yuP, mAybe thAt'z a form of chArity, and mAking uze of any avAilable human resouRce thAt we hAve.....but, HEY!!! if you chooze to emploY them, MAKE SURE they are well tAken cAre of!!

there wAz a girL who wAz such a cAze, working at the LJ outlet i went. and she wAz so fiercely bullied - verbAlly....and ill-treAted. she wAz scolded openlY...criticised openlY....asKed to position herseLf az if she waZ a non-livinG item rAther thAn a livinG humAn beinG!!!!

i then told my 3 pAlz....thAt we aRe reAlly very fortunAte to juZ be normAl.....and they got whAT i meAnt and nodded in silence....*sigH* i pitY her and i juZ wisH thAt everyone should leArn to respect anyoNe in a society........*sigH*


anywAy...somethinG lighter and funnier iz an indiAn fAst food restAurant cAlled "Komala'z"....at the bAzement of peninsulA plAza....luncHed there with also 3 pAlz lAst week and guezz thAt was the funniest luncH of the week.

i ordeRed thiz thing cAlled a bhuttAra *think spellinG iz liKe thAt* and it waz a huGe fried buN....which iz hollow....hahA....Aidillah took a pic of me with it but she hAsn't sent me yeT, will posT it up if i get it form her~ anywAy, luckilY i ordered thAt, the other 2 pAlz ordered some set meAl....with a yogurT rice?! which lookZ like porridge but not porridGe....hhahAaaa.....luKe didn't even compleTe hAlf of hiz meAl!! but he wAz friendlY enougH to sAy he'z kindA full....;P

lAter thAt dAy, we broughT the cupz of the restAurant bAck to the office....and tooK a grouP phoTo witH it! i wAz holding it like i waz advertisinG the restAurant.....wahhaAaa....but we decided if thAt pic waz used for advertisinG, the cAption would be "DON'T GO!!!" kekeKeke..........all right, if you hAppen to pAtronize it, order anything but the yogurT rice. ^O^


luncH time now!
illZ...

the "iLe" souNd...

"seemZ like we'Ve growN hoztiLe...
ouR wordZ are liKe missiLez...
we'Ve definiTely trAvelled a thousAnd shoppinG milez...
i juZ hope thAt our friendshiP won'T turN dull...."

remembeR the "not so friendlY after alL" entry? yuP....sent thiz sMs to him thAt night....think lAst week.....duH, frAnkly, i bliVe what i should do iz to plAn the next outing with him wAy bAck at the end of the holZ....hahAa. thAT should do it.

i aM fond of coming uP with "riddlez" thAt rhyMe....not poemz exActly....but wordz thAt rhyme. ^o^

embryoNic steM cellz...

wAz on buz 87 with zikziK 2 dAyz bAck....while she told me abouT the recenT court cAze of the undergrAd who threw her 5mtH old foetuz down the rubbisH chuTe!!

the locAl undergrAd underwent a DIY "still birtH"...or deAd birth at her 5th month of pregnAncy....and she wAz releAsed scot free with the verdict thAt a foetuZ iz NOT considered to be murdered becuZ it wAz only 5mthz old....

so the definition of a liVe birtH would be a foetuZ of at leAzt 7 mtHz old = premAture birtH.

therefoRe, the accused, by definitioN, iz not murdering a life, but considered to be throwing awAy trAsh! *think so lAh...plz correct me if wronG*

bAzed on thiz genuine cAze, i don'T see a point in hAving negAtive viewz when scientisT souRce for stem cellz from the extrA embryoz....which are to be dizcArded form the reproductiVe clinicz....

embryoniC stem cellz are pluripotent cellZ which cAn be fouNd in young embryoZ, and they have the potentiAl to develoP into whATever cell tyPe in a humAn body. strAngely, there hAve been persistenT ethicAl criticz agAinst the destroyAl of theze embryoZ to attAin stem cellz for reseArch. theze criticZ see the disassemblY of an embrYo az equivilant to murderinG a life - heY!!! then think about the 5mtH old foetuz....isn'T thAt an even "biggeR" life?

yeZ, an embrYo hAz the potentiAl to develoP into a bAby in about 9 mthz....but think upoN thiz, if the owneR hAz no intentioN of developing it, and eveN thought of dizcArding it, why not donAte it to the scientiSt for reseArch....which mAy leAd to a success in sAving mAnkind'z heAlth probz......get it? ; )

yuP, think thiz court cAze should be sufficienT to bAck up all stem cell reseArcherz....wAY to go! ^o^


prAy for reseArch succesS...
illZ...

on the skywAlk agAin...

me now typinG thiz entry on the romAntic skywAlk~

returNed to schooL to settLe something...and sAw my idol professoR - geeGee!!!! hAven't seeN her for montH+ liAo.......she iz simplY grAcefully beAutiful!!! she'z a very friendlY professoR who iz very pAtient in answerinG questionZ....^o^

guezZ i'll reAd bAby bluez tiL the bAttz go flAt, then will return hoMe to pAck thingz...reAlly messY.

don'T i hAve to work??? hahAaa....took leAve today for thiZ school thingIe. reAlized that it'z reAlly kindA boring in the office, wonder how theY are copinG? see...me eArn 56 buckZ less liAo.....

now kindA hungrY, speAking of luncH, the cheApest lunch i cAn find in city hAll iz thiZ "99" food courT at the bAck lAne of funAn centre.....the musliM stall sellz gorenG at 2.50 buckZ. ;P now bAck in school.....wonderinG if i should try out the new foodcourT at my school'z bAzement....muz be kindA ex one......see 1st.

and az for bAby bluez, guezz my consciousness fliez pAzz me....cuZ i'M in the 6th yeAr of the archiVe!!! thoughT i waZ ion the 5th thougH.

anywAy, gottA reAd somethinG biologicAl sooN....^O^


nexT up on stem cellz...
illZ.

DPO - 5tH dAy

hahA...hAve alwayz thought of typing an entrY since dAy 1 of worK~ but - a thoughT iz literAlly still a thoughT, now it hAz redeeMed it'z actioN out of my imAgination world. ;P

all righT....gottA compleTe thiz entry in 7 minutez' time....when work commences officiAlly.

thiZ iz reAlly a v. stricT plAce - highly securiZed...., and everyone haz to weAr like they are over 30 yeArz old....mY!!! my pArty boy imAge iz forced to be converTed into a younG and executiVely dressed office employee workinG in the CBD~!!! feelz so funnY weAring long sleeVe and businezz pAntz.......

all the ideA of arguing thAt i aM not weAring jeAnz and t-shirT iz out of the qnZ....and juZ gottA stAy put in thiZ executiVe looK - to bleNd into the resT of the ppL and stAy low profiLe~ ^o^

oK~!!!! 0830am...stArt work, bloG when hAve chAnce agAin!


executiVely...
illZ...

not nothinG-to-do anymoRe...?

tomorroW'z 6th of juNe, and my DPO job commences!!

yuP, no more being a nothinG-to-do.........which meAnz gonnA be stuck in the office from 830 to 6 and theN returN home for dinner....and shAll be too tiRed to go out, leAving with a couple of tV showz then it'z dreAm time.

doeZ a working adult reAlly follow thAt? *sigH*

but not necessarilY!! gottA mAke it interesting.....besides working, i gottA pAck the houze *yeAh right, been tAlking about thiz for a montH!!!!*, then work on the resistAnce tubez i boughT from royAl sporting houZe.....also gottA do some reAding:

1. my biologicAl textbookZ....
2. librAry booK: on chek jawA
3. librAry booK: enjoyinG wine

now me completinG "the solitAire myztery"....whicH i bliVe iz at leAst my 3rd time reAding the book.....the only book i'Ve reAlly ever reAd!!!

prAy that the joB iz stAble and iz trulY DAILY, which the intervieweR clAimed.....

got joB v. hAppy liAo~

okAi, gottA worK with a smiLe~ ^O^

illZ...

a new concessioN?

juZ cAlled the city hAll office....and well, it'z confirMed thAt my DPO job will commence on Monday....coming mondAy - 060605!!!

but mAkez me wonder if i should purchAze another month of concessioN....whAt if the job commences only a few dAyz then rest for several weekz more? you knoW, bAsed on their styLe of postponement....me kindA demoTed their reliAbility....

if yeZ, then should it be be botH buz and trAin which costz 97 bucKz.....or only buz which i thinK iz 52 buckZ? sigH, i hAte decisionz.

thinK will tAke on the only buZ concessioN, at moz wAke up eArlier every dAy loH......buzez are sloweR, but they trAvel to all spotz in singApore!!!! reAlly all spots.....

now theY are left with 3 hourZ, 3 straight solid hourz to cAll *whicH i prAY not* to postpone the joB agAin. *prAy prAy......*

meAnwhile, i hAve tidied up my clothez....and chosen the office-eligible gArmentz....hahAa, no T-shirtz and jeAnz.....which leAvez me with 12 collAred shirtZ and 8 long pAntz....only 1 businezz pAntz and the rest are fAshion pAntz! not jeAnz whAt....think cAn argue using thiZ point. ^o^

kindA shocked to reAlize how much clothez i actuAlly hAve, and i should stop buying.....yeA, except for thoZe which i cAn weAr for zik'Z wedding bAnquet....and also for the next lunAr new yeAr.....and mAybe for....eRrrr, oK, shAll not expAnd my shoppinG lisT.


all right, bAck to some bAby bluez perhApz?
illZ...