Recent updates

Well as you guys can see, from my previous post about the passing of Connie and Brandy that I am now back working at the zoo. Well initially, it was my job during the hols as I awaited the reopening of school but now that school has reopened. It is my source of extra income. Just incase you were wondering, at present, I am working on mondays and wednesdays while I will be attending school on tuesdays, thursdays and fridays. The most tiring day I would say is on friday because not only is it the end of the week but also it is the day that I have 2 lectures back to back. So far things have been rather alright but i must admit that it is really very tiring, which brings me to my next point.

At the moment I am sick, down with a flu I suppose for I have yet to visit a doctor. It has been about 4 days since the first symptoms appeared. Initially it was uncontrollable sneezing. At first i thought it was my usual "not enough sleep" type of sneezing but the sneezing got so bad that i ended up with a sore throat. I still refused to believe that I was sick and thought that i'd be alright after a nights rest but the next day, things got worse. My eyes kept tearing and liquid just kept flowing out of my nose. Then came the onslaught of fever, headache and cough. By now, my nose had stopped running but it was now blocked, with a huge mass of mucus...eew! Haha. Because of this, I reported sick on wednesday and did not turn up for work. Subsequently on thursday and friday, which is today, I also skipped school. Sigh, probably this may be my body's way of telling me that it is over exhausted but it just isn't the time for me to crash, especially when my schedule is packed in such a way that falling sick and mising class would mean that I have quite alot to catch up on. The syllabus being much tougher and more theory based this year is also not helping me in any way. Sigh, I sure hope that I can still pull through and attain my 2nd upper class honours.

Purchased a couple of new items for myself recently. First up is a PSP which i decided to get after shunning from it for quite awhile. Guess I just felt that it was better for me to have a console to keep me company because at times it can get pretty boring when I am waiting and have nothing to do. Oh and did I mention that the first game which i have entitled "burnout legends" is a birthday present from Babe, thank you baby! Well, I also have her to thank for introducing the game to me which has gotten me hooked....not a good sign. More about my birthday later...Secondly, i've also gotten a macro lens adapter and a magnifying filter, terms used which are too complex for your understanding but just know that with them I can now take close up shots of objects. Well, they are also birthday presents, courtesy of my mother because they were the only things which I figured out I wanted. So yep, that caps my list of new additions.

Now onto my birthday. Just a couple of days ago on the 13th of oct was my birthday and on the day before which was the 12th, after church service,me, babe and our church friends went to the ZOO! Haha, I know that some of you may think that it is boring since thats the place that I am working at but hey! going there with a group of friends is definately a different experience! Well, initially, it was just an ordinary enjoyable day out at the zoo until the point when we were at primate's kingdom....halfway through the arapaima feeding, yasmin distracted me by getting me to go closer to the moat, pretending to ask me questions and all of a sudden, she called me to turn around and guess what, right behind me was babe and the rest, holding out a birthday cake and singing me a birthday song. Boy was I caught off uard and mind you, it was right smack in the middle of the arapaima feeding with other visitors around! Actually I already knew all along that babe was up to something because she had been rather suspicious in the days leading up to my birthday just that I had no clue as to exactly what she had planned. Well, I shan't go into the details as to how I got suspicious but I must hand it to babe and say a big THANK YOU to her for making the effort to plan everything. As simple as it was, it still meant the world to me because nothing beats being in the presence of loved ones and friends and to say the truth, no one has ever done something like this for me before. So yeap, babe, thanks for making everything happen and thanks for being the best girlfriend that anyone can ask for. I really appreciate everything that you have done me, both big and small, you rock! Haha

Now onto the topic about babe, did i tell you that she is a born again christian? Well she is! A couple of weeks ago, I finally convinced her to go to church with me and that was exactly what she did! She took the step of faith and joined me for service early one sunday morning and thereafter, she felt that the service was to her liking and from that day onwards, she has been attending sunday service with me so praise the lord! Haha! I am just glad that she is attending church together with me because nothing beats being able to go before the lord with your loved one and proclaiming that He is our saviour. Now then you may wonder, why is it that i am talking about attending church now especially when i've been away from it for so long....

Well, all I can say is that God really does work in magical ways. As some of you probably know, I have been away from church for several months maybe more than a year already and there was this one day when I received a call from Yasmin who used to be my care group leader and she wanted to meet up with me. All along I would avoid meeting up with her, trying to put off the meeting through all sorts of excuses but this time round somehow I relented. So we met up and did quite abit of catching up and for no apparent reason, our conversation entered into the area of God...as we chatted, yasmin suddenly felt the urge to ask me to go to church of which the details I shall not go into but the bottom line is, it truly is amazing that God can turn an ordinary meet up session just to do some catching up into a chance to reach into my life and try to get me back to church once again.

Onto my relationship with babe, I have to admit that it has been filled with ups and downs. There have been plenty of joys and laughter but at the same time, I cannot discount the fact that there have also been times when we had our differences. Such issues can actually break out into major and heated squabbles to the extent that at times, we contemplated giving up. But thankfully we did not but yet pushed ahead. I guess all these are inevitable as we go along. It's through all these that we can get to know one another much more and it really takes a whole lot of giving and taking to keep a relationship going. I'm also thankful that now both of us have God in our lives so whenever we falter, we will both know that there is a higher authority who will never crumble but who would instead guide us through. So, heres to many more days, months and years to come with babe my dearest, whom i love so much=)

Lastly, just to touch on some of the activities that are coming up, tomorrow babe and I will be taking part in the canon photomarathon! It will be my seocond and babe's first. I'm really excited about it, not only regarding the competition itself but more importantly because I have babe joining in with me. It will be so fun going around with her, figuring out what pictures to take to best fit the themes we are given, OooOOoo, can't wait! Alco come december, if the situation permits, babe, me and my family as well as relatives would be going to bangkok! It's gonna be our first overseas trip together and athough it isn't one involving just the 2 of us, I'm sure we'll still enjoy ourselves nonetheless and like I said, as long as we remain together, going on a trip together just the 2 of us will be a matter of time.

So thats about all,an update of my life ever since my last entry if you have managed to read all the way till here and just a point to add, I have changed my fish tank, pictures will come along in the future.=)

Passing of two beloveds

In the short span of just the past 3 months, the crew at AFS(animal friends show) have witnessed the deaths of two of our beloved ex-show dogs namely Connie and Brandy. The following are their pictures and a short tribute to each of them..

Connie



Despite the fact that I have not been at AFS for a long period of time as compared to some of the others, I have nonetheless developed a bond with the animals over there. As I joined AFS rather late, both dogs were already taken off show due to their age but as you can see from the pictures, they still look so handsome/beautiful and have not lost any of their former glory at all. To me, Connie has always been that darling angel, watching over all of us. It's not any tom dick or harry that can get close to her and earn her trust but instead, she would be the one who would pick to allow to come near her. Thankfully for me, from the very day we met, we got acquainted immediately. I will always recall how she would tilt her head and trot on her hnd legs when she knew that it was feeding time. The sweet little girl whom i would address affectionately as Connie Girl. She would always respond to commands given to her and over time, all of us have come to the conclusion that she is the one dog who would protect those she loved with her life. Connie, thanks for all the joy you have brought us and for being the sweetest and most loving girl we have ever known.

Brandy


Although I am not as close to Brandy as i would have been to Connie, I can still recall the times when Brandy was still part of the animal friend's show, as our contact dog. Towards the end of the show, we would introduce Brandy as the pioneer of the show and allow kids to meet and greet him. This is when he would enter the show area from backstage by coming down a ramp. Despite his weak hind legs, he would always enter the show yard with grace and even when his legs did give way, he would make it a point to ensure that he lands gracefully so that the audience would assume that he merely wanted a rest. Despite his old age, Brandy never failed to capture the hearts of both the young and old, especially with his innocent,handsome look which you can clearly see in the picture. Although he is now no longer with us, that positive looking face of his complete with a smile will always be etched in our hearts and minds forever. Go in peace Brandy and know that the family that cared for you all these while will always remember you.

Clearing of spider webs...

Ah, i'm sure all of you are aware that it has been a really long time since i've updated my blog so the following few entries shall give u an update of the events that have taken place ever since my last posting. Read on to find out more...enjoy=)

Take a moment to read and reflect upon it

This was taken from JJ's blog:

"On my wedding day, I carried my wife in my arms. The bridal car stopped in front of our one-room flat. My buddies insisted that I carry her out of the car in my arms. So I carried her into our home. She was then plump and shy. I was a strong and happy bridegroom.This was the scene of ten years ago.The following days were as simple as a cup of pure water: we had a kid,I went into business and tried to make more money. When the assets were steadily increasing, the affections between us seemed to ebb. She was a civil servant. Every morning we left home together and got home almost at the same time. Our kid was studying in a boarding school.Our marriage life seemed to be enviably happy. But the calm life was more likely to be affected by unpredictable changes.Dew came into my life.It was a sunny day. I stood on a spacious balcony. Dew hugged me from behind. My heart once again was immersed in her stream of love. This was the apartment I bought for her.Dew said, You are the kind of man who best draws girls eyeballs. Her words suddenly reminded me of my wife. When we just married, my wife aid, Men like you, once successful, will be very attractive to girls.Thinking of this, I became somewhat hesitant. I knew I had betrayed my wife. But I couldn t help doing so.I moved Dew's hand aside and said, You go to select some furniture,O.K.? I ve got something to do in the company. Obviously she was unhappy, because I had promised her to go and see with her. At the moment, the idea of divorce became clearer in my mind although it used to be something impossible to me.However, I found it rather difficult to tell my wife about it. No matter how mildly I mentioned it to her, she would be deeply hurt. Honestly,she was a good wife. Every evening she was busy preparing dinner. I was sitting together. Or, I was lounging before the computer, visualizing Dew’s body. This was the means of my entertainment.One day I said to her in a slight joking way, suppose we divorce, what will you do? She stared at me for a few seconds without a word.Apparently she believed that divorce was something too far away from her. I couldn t imagine how she would react once she got to know I was serious.When my wife went to my office, Dew had just stepped out. Almost all the staff looked at my wife with a sympathetic eye and tried to hide something while talking with her. She seemed to have got some hint. She gently smiled at my subordinates. But I read some hurt in her eyes.Once again, Dew said to me, He Ning, divorce her, O.K.? Then we live together. I nodded. I knew I could not hesitate any more.When my wife served the last dish, I held her hand. I ve got something to tell you, I said.She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.Suddenly I didn t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want to divorce. I raised a serious topic calmly.She didn t seem to be much annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? . I m serious. I avoided her question. This so-called answer turned her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man!At that night, we didn t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer, because my heart had gone to Dew.With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. I felt a pain in my heart.The woman who had been living ten years with me would become a stranger one day. But I could not take back what I had said.Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer.A late night, I came back home after entertaining my clients. I saw her writing something at the table. I fell asleep fast. When I woke up, I found she was still there. I turned over and was asleep again.She brought up her divorce conditions: she didn t want anything from me,but I was supposed to give her one months time before divorce, and in the month s time we must live as normal life as possible. Her reason was simple: our son would finish his summer vacation a month later and shedidn t want him to see our marriage was broken.She passed me the agreement she drafted, and then asked me, He Ning, do you still remember how I entered our bridal room on the wedding day?This question suddenly brought back all those wonderful memories to me.I nodded and said, I remember . You carried me in your arms , she continued, so, I have a requirement, that is, you carry me out in your arms on the day when we divorce. From now to the end of this month, you must carry me out from the bedroom to the door every morning.I accepted with a smile. I knew she missed those sweet days and wished to end her marriage with a romantic form.I told Dew(BITCH) about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she does, she has to face the result of divorce, she said scornfully. Her words more or less made me feel uncomfortable.My wife and I hadn t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. We even treated each other as a stranger. So when I carried her out for the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly, Let us start from today, don t tell our son. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for bus, I drove to office.On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on mychest. We were so close that I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn t looked at this intimate woman carefully for along time. I found she was not young any more. There were some finewrinkles on her face.On the third day, she whispered to me, The outside garden is being demolished. Be careful when you pass there.On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I seemed to feel that we were still an intimate couple and I was holding my sweetheart in my arms. The visualization of Dew became vaguer.On the fifth and sixth day, she kept reminding me something, such as,where she put the ironed shirts, I should be careful while cooking, etc.I nodded. The sense of intimacy was even stronger.I didn t tell Dew about this.I felt it was easier to carry her. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. I said to her, It seems not difficult to carry you now.She was picking her dresses. I was waiting to carry her out. She tried quite a few but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, All my dresses have grown fatter. I smiled. But I suddenly realized that it was because she was thinner that I could carry her more easily, not becauseI was stronger. I knew she had buried all the bitterness in her heart.Again, I felt a sense of pain. Subconsciously I reached out a hand to touch her head.Our son came in at the moment. Dad, it s time to carry mum out. He said.To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had been an essential part of his life. She gestured our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face because I was afraid I would change my mind at the last minute. I held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom,through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly, as if we came back to our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad.On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step.Our son had gone to school. She said, Actually I hope you will hold me in your arms until we are old.I held her tightly and said, Both you and I didn t notice that our lifewas lack of such intimacy.I jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my decision. I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door. I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I won t divorce. I'm serious.She looked at me, astonished. The she touched my forehead. You got no fever. She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I can only say sorry to you, I won t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn t value the details of life, not because we didn t love each other any more. Now I understand that since I carried her into the home, she gave birth to our child, I am supposed to hold her until I am old. So I have to say sorry to you.Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into cry. I walked downstairs and drove to the office.When I passed the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet for my wife which was her favorite. The salesgirl asked me to write the greeting words on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until we are old."


I teared after reading the story, it's simple but it conveys a strong message.
How often do we take others for granted? Especially the ones who are closest to us? They are not there for no reason, perhaps it's time we show a little more appreciation that they are in our lives.
Babe, i hope that i too can carry you until we are old=)

stressed and i'm missing you so badly...

It's been 3 days since babe left Singapore for Indonesia. She has gone there together with the rest of her family to visit her relatives over there. Ah, what can i say but that i miss her so much, hope she is alrite over there. Furthermore it's not helping now that i am back working at the zoo and the job there is so stressful. Theres so much politics, so many hypocrites, makes working life so sucky. Ahhhhhh! My head is gonna explode from memorising all the scripts real soon! It sucks even more when i can memorise a set of scripts but end up forgetting another set. Sigh, why did i choose to go back?!?! Tahan!!!! 16 more days to go before babe comes back=). At least by then, i'll have someone to tok to and there'll be someone to give me hugs and for me to give hugs to....awwwwwww..Haha

She's 21 already!

This post is dedicated specially to my dearest girlfriend......


HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY LADY!!!!!

woohoo! can vote already! can watch RA already! oops! Haha, but more importantly, it represents another phase of your life as you transition into adulthood(don't know which idiot started the 21 yrs = major milestone trend) so yep, i hope you're all ready to take on the new resposibilities and challenges that will be coming your way. I just wanna say that i am really glad and honoured to be able to be in your life at this point in time to see you move from girl to woman. Though your birthday may lack the pom and fanfare which others tend to have, i believe that it is more important to receive the best every single day rather than just splurge for one occasion just because everyone is doing it. I may not be able to give you a good and decent present, but all i have to offer is my love,care and concern and i do hope that i could be the better present for you instead. May you still have a great day ahead and enjoy the company of all those who truly care for you. Love you babe=)

Breaking news!

It may come as a suprise but I am going to go back to work at the ZOO!!! Haha! After taking a break for almost a year, i am returning back to the amphitheatre as an animal presenter/ token feeder. But this time round, i am hopeful that i would stay on for more than 2 yrs. At least until i complete my degree and find a new stable job.

I must say that i ended up going back to work at the zoo purely by fate. You see, today i had actually went to Tampines Mall for an interview at the aquarium there. I was hopeful of securing that job because of the amount of experience i had in the field and at the end of the interview, i was proven right when the boss told me to go home and consider if i wanted the job because if i wanted, i could start work tomorrow. But here is the drawback, to my dismay, i was informed by him during our conversation that the pay would be a meagre $4 and the working hours was a whopping 11hrs a day! After consulting my mum and babe, i came to the conclusion that despite the fact that i may be given the oppurtunity to help set up tanks for customers and potentially earn bonuses, the pay was far too low not forgetting the fact that i had to cover my meal and travelling expenses.

So i decided to let this job oppurtunity pass and decided to head home. But guess what? When i was at the interchange waiting for 72 to arrive, i happened to look at the queue i was in and there standing in line was my colleague from the zoo, Tines. So we boarded the bus , sat next to one another and started to talk. As usual, i would ask about how things were back at the department and he commented that it was bad and that they were desperately in need of manpower. He added that i should come back and work etc but i shall not dive into the details.

Basically, all i can say is that it is simply an act of God and fate. My exams had just ended last friday and today is the day that i went for my first interview. It's just meant to be. Well, everything happens for a reason and i have the full support of my family and most importantly babe so yep, it's back to memorising scripts! If you guys are going down to the zoo, let me know, i'll try to give u a personalised tour if i can but definately, the least i'd do is to say hi to you, welcome you and talk to you=).

Freedom!

Finally, the exams are over!!!! Woohoo!! No more late night studying, no more stress from being unable to complete all the syllabus no more sitting in the freezing expo hall !!! Well at least for the rest of this year. As i handed up my last paper today,i felt relieved that it is all over. I suppose that my papers are now in the hands of God and how i fair will all be determined by Him since i believe that some of my papers would rprobably be on their way to the university of london. I've already done my part by studying as hard as i could so it is up to Him to judge if i deserve the recognition for my effort. I really do hope that i can make it through to year two without a glitch but if things go otherwise, i guess i'll just have to accept them and work even harder. As for now, no point worrying about all these, lets wait for the results to come back then we'll start fretting...besides,at this moment, i've got more important issues to worry about and one of them is the fact that i have to find a job! Coolie worker for hire anyone? Everything also can do(including saikang). Haha!

Demoralised

Today was the POA exam paper and boy was it an utterly disappointing one. Yes i concede that i had not prepared enough for it but still that doesn't warrant the amount of dissappointment that i currently am experiencing. I mean, today's paper was such a far cry from the standard of the prelim paper! My gosh, we had 15mins of reading time and that was supposed to help but guess what, i literally din do anything during that period of time but ended up just staring blankly at the questions not knowing how to start. That really is a first i must say! Anyway, apart from POA, my next worry would be econs. Sigh, well, at least it is consoling to know that my maths and stats are still pretty alrite...last paper - PBF to go! Gotta work doubly hard to ace it!

Apart from studies, i've got several other updates to mention about. Firstly, i've signed up for the national runway cycling and skate 08' to be held on the 25th of may. It'll be the first time i am doing so and instead of taking up the 6km leisure route, i have opted for the 15km route instead! Haha, bet you must be thinking that i am over-estimating myself eh? But well, judging from the fact that i tend to cover long distances when i cycle, i suppose 15km won't be that bad. Afterall, i plan to take part in the endurance challenge which is the 45km route someday so why not take the first step and cover 1/3 the distance first? Haha. However, rite now, there seem to be some changes. Babe has signed up for the event as well but she has opted to skate and henceforth, she has put in the request for me to do so as well. Guess, most prob in a bid to encourage her to take up a healthy lifestyle, i would switch to skating...but 15km? ! Haha, it's gonna be a real challenge. At most give up halfway only=P

Onto my quest to be like vincent ng, die to the exams, i have suspended training for a week but it will resume tomorrow as the exams are drawing to a close. Giving a progress report thus far, it has been 6 full weeks. Slight difference in physical appearance in terms of a little more muscle in some areas but other than that, the difference is rather minimal. Weight now hovers around 60.5-61.5 kg depending on whether it is on an empty stomach or not. Still quite abit to go to hit my target but at least i can say i have crossed the 60kg mark!

Then there is the pilot thinggy, haha, it's about 3 weeks already since i went for the test but there hasn't been a single word from them. Looks like most prob it is a goner..haha.

Last but not least, i have to make some form of mention about babe. Well, at the moment, she is sick, with her runny nose and throat irritation. Then theres also the cuts and bruises on her legs due to her fall the other day while skating with me (poor thing). Well, i just hope she gets well real soon especially when her birthday is coming up on the 2nd and she will be leaving for indonesia on the 8th. Later sick sick cannot enjoy ah! Haha. Oh and did i mention that she is learning driving now? Well, at least she is now at the basic theory phase...someone is gonna be a driver too someday! Hopefully she can clear them all in one go then after she has gotten her license, i'd be able to ride in her car/ car driven by her...but not forgetting tons of extra insurance! Nah just joking..she'll be a fantastic driver ok! Just make sure she doesn't knock down the traffic police directing traffic can already=P.

So thats about all the updates for now, gonna find a job when the exam ends. Other than that, life is good. And also, i should be returning back to church real soon as well. Been a really bad boy...haha. Take care everyone!