Happy Chinese New Year to all :) Wish all good health, fortune, studies, and for us... an enjoyable 2 years in NS :D

Here are some photos taken during the first day of CNY at my house :)

Firstly... the food :)~



An 11 course dinner... Haha... I helped in the deep frying of food too :D


Then this is what happens at almost every home during CNY.... Gambling! :P haha...



HAha... other than the usual cards mahjong games played.... we also played dice :) Cool right :D

This is the overall situation at my home :)



My cam isn't wide enough to capture the whole of my house, there are still some people outside the photo watching tv :)

And lastly... my wall! haha....



Actually this wall is up at the beginning of the year already... but because I wanna keep it a secret till people come to see it during CNY, I didn't post the photo up here :P

It took me about 2 months to design... I wanted something that can exploit the feature of this wall which is the wide space. Because the wall is wide, it would be a pity to just use a normal design.... and not draw out the full potentialof the wall. But after searching for about 2 months... I can't find anything that is able to take advantage of the feature.... So.... I decided on this design. Although it haven't really reach the full potential, but there is still some exploitation of the space... :) It took my mom 3 days to paint it..... I was working, so didn't have a chance to help. It was really tedious. We had to hang strings across the wall to make the grids, then trace our the outline using pencil. After that roughly paint the background. Then scotch tape the outline and paint the squares. The taping part was the hardest.... Cos of all the curves, u need to slowly bend and fold the tape so that it looks smooth.... But all the hard work is worth it... The result is amazing :D haha...

K lar.. .that all for now... kind of tired... gonna catch some sleep... bye! :)

YAY!!!! I FIRED my BOSS!!!! lol... Have been waiting for this day since day 1 when I started working... Muahaha.... Dun have to go back to the f*ing place liao... :D:D:D Hehe....

Hmm... recently I find that I like shiny stuffs :P I like the color of silver :D I think it started when I bought my watch... I fell in love with the shiny silver finish... then after that I got my ring... which is also very shiny :D Now I'm after a silver handphone... lol.... There is this sudden liking for shiny and reflective stuffs :P

Then also... it seems that there's alot of things I wanna do... wanna buy...but have to put on hold cos of my NS... was looking at handphones at my shop.... Really have the urge to get them, even if I can only use for another month, I also shuang.... Cos army cannot bring camera phone mah... then now all the phone got camera... so I cannot use lor.... Haiz... then have to wait till after ns then get one... But I promised myself to get a expensive one after ns to make up for it... haha....
Other than handphone, was shopping around bugis after work. then also find some nice clothes.... but no point buying cos I wun get much chance to wear it... Other than that... now wanna find gf also cannot... haiz.... It really seems that my life gonna pause for a while during ns.... Hmm...

K lar.. thats all for now.... ANyway.... I just dyed my hair just now... lol... my first time :P But can't really tell lar, cos I choose a color near to black... dun want to look too ah beng... lol....

K lar... bye~

While thinking about the chinese new year on a boring morning at work. This thought suddenly came to my mind. Hey, I'm gonna be 19 this year. For simplicity, lets round it up to 20. Assuming that I would have become a senior citizen by the age of 60. Meaning, I would be old, having lots of white hair, wrinkled skins, no longer young anymore. Then, right now.... I'm already 1/3 of the way there. Just like that, 1/3 of the journey is done. And in another 2 more "just like that" then I would be old already! And then, in no time, my time would be up....

We all came to this world empty ended, and leave without carrying anything away... So.. yar... we slogged so hard the whole of our lifetime but end up with nothing.... I was watching Full metal alchemist the movie and there was this part about Alphosis ( a character in the movie) contracting some disease and dying soon. But he's still working hard to develop the rocket, often worsening his illness... The reason for it is that he wanted to leave a prove that he has lived this world before. He wanted a prove of his existence in this world.

Everyday, or even.. every second, people come and leave this world. In this rapid transition through the mortal world. How many of us actually get recognised, remembered or appreciated? Right now at work, I'm watching people walking by and I wonder, how many of these people that I see would get have something to leave behind as prove of their existence? In another few years, they might just be one of the countless souls that grace this world. I see people running.... but why? Rushing for time? Because since we have such a short span in this world we should make good use of every minute? Because he's rushing to create evidence of existence within the short time? Perhaps its some other reason...

but anyway... thats all for now... I havent found a conculsion for it yet :) perhaps tmr :) Bye~

Yay... counting down... 4 more days to go! Haha... Finally I can leave the company... Recently quite a lot of things happened at work... but well... not in the mood to blog about it now.

K lar... bye... maybe next time lar :)

haiz... dun feel like complaining about work again... afterall everything would be over soon..... and I guess u all must also be bored from reading all the complains... haha.... So yar... shall share with u people something interesting that I've read. When I got back from work after my off day. I found this booklet in a shelve at my workplace. The title is "The road from man to Buddha" by The Venerable Yin Shun. I don't know how this book ended up there.... but because I was too bored and abit curious, I picked it up and read it. I'm not avocating Buddhism here... but here are some interesting things that I found in the book.

"Some may ask: What is the difference bewtween the thesistic and buddhist teachings? I say: Theistic teachings claim that the human plane of existence is inferior to the celestial plane, but buddhism claims that the human world is even better than the heavens. Now that you have acquired a human body, do not misuse it. You should respect your own body and try to develop fully the quality of man in you and strive upwards. "

The book goes on discussing why the human form is the best... and explained that celestial form also has its demerits.... Interesting hur?

It also listed the 3 supreme qualities of man.

1) Memories
2) Pure behaviour
3) Perserverance.

There is elaboration in the booklet on each of the qualities. But there's something really interesting about the first quality. Do you know that the word human (manusya) in the indian language orignially means memory? We humans are able to achieve so much development due to the fact that we are able to store information and built on it. Other beings has bad memory, therefore they are always back to the starting point when they have forgotten what they have achieve and how they achieved it.

Hmm... its kind of interesting to look at our existence from a different perspective. If I have a chance, I would also like to read about such stuffs from other religion as well :)

K lar... thats all for today... see ya~

After writing the previous entry complaining about my job.... I thought over it for a while and wondered, am I asking too much?

Yes, although a pay of $900 seems little. But I have to ask myself. Do I earn that much for the company? On the average, I only sell about 1.5 product each day. This means that I let the company earn a profit of about $30 per day... So considering there are 30 days in a month. My contribution to the company's profit would be $900. This is what they are paying me. That means on the days that I sell abit more... the company would only earn that little bit more only. And other than paying me, the company still has other expenses like the rental and the power fees. All in all... the company isn't making much money by employing me. So I'm also not in the position to ask for a higher pay. It may seem that I'm working very long hours, and the per hour wage rate is low..... but when we look at it from another perspective.... hey... I'm not underpaid....

Previously my thinking was... Since I'm paid so little. I'll just work as security guard and just make sure that nothing gets stolen. But come to think of it... if I don't contribute to the company. Then where is the company going to find the money to pay me, even as a security guard?

So now... I've changed my mindset. I'm still going to work, and contribute the amount that I'm supposed to. I won't be wanting a higher pay as I'm willing to accept that fact that I'm not contributing enough to ask for it.

But... I'm still going to quit... not because of the pay. But the environment there. I really feel uncomfortable... I don't fit in there. There is little common grounds that we share. The things that I do, they don't, and what they do, I don't. We live different lives.... Yes, I have no problem talking to them... but there always seems to be a gap between us. I never get close to being comfortable.

Other than the people there, the physical environment there is also very bad. You have no idea how much second hand smoke I inhale everyday. Everyone just take turns to come out and smoke. And other than the people from my shop. The people in the neighbouring shop also. Then the ventilation is also very bad, so the smoke lingers around my area for quite some time.... I really had enough of it.... I know its mean to say this but... Sometimes I really curse those smokers of dying of lung cancer, heart attack and all the other smoking related diseases soon. If they wanna die, so be it... I dun give a damn. But hey... please be considerate by smoking near non-smokers. You are actually also killing them with your second hand smoke. And I don't want to die from something that I've not done. THerefore, I strongly support the government decision to ban smoking at public places like bus interchanges, etc.... I'm looking forward for a smoke free society.

Anyway.. I kind of have a feeling that someone from my company knows about this blog... I picked up a clue during a conversation with my a colleague. And its not impossible because I gave a link of my gallery to another collegue, on my gallery, there's a link here.... perhaps thats how he found his way here.... Oh well... if you are really here... hi.... I don't mind people knowing what I really feel about the company... Although I still smile and come to work everyday, thats only a mask the I'm wearing.... If you all also want to talk about work.... do feel free to approach me... I'll take down my mask and give you free consultation :) But be sure to do it fast before I'm not around anymore... haha.... K lar... duno if its true that they really found their way to my blog... but... nvm.... just in case they do :P

Hmm... tmr off day le... finally can rest again before I embark on 10 non-stop working day... all thanks to the company that cheated us of a off day lar.... Its gonna be a real test of perserverance and endurance during the 10 days.... But.... don't worry... I'll emerge stronger than ever :) Bye~

Had a damn unlucky day today... haiz... tmr then blog about it... not in the mood to do it now... see ya....

I'm back... yet again... to complain about work.... lol.... its not that I want to complain lar... the company is really bad.... They cheated me of a off day!

Chinese new year eve falls on a saturday. Its a day where family get together to have their reunion dinner. So companies usually either give a full day off, or at least half a day. For mine... ya... they gave us a full day off.... but that is being traded with our off day for the week! Which means, we are supposed to be able to get 2 days off the week, due to the celebration, one from our own weekly off day, and the other the chinese new year eve one. But now... our off day got eaten up! It really reflects very badly about how the company treat its staffs. I can forgive them for now giving us extra off days on other occasions like christmas and the new year... but... this is chinese new year leh... Don't we deserve a break for working on all the other public holidays the whole year round?

Haiz.... luckily I won't have to suffer in this company for anytime more than 11 days... yar.... just 11 more days to go before I quit my job.... So... who cares about what the company is doing... I'll just hang on there for 11 more days then bye~

Anyway... the 2nd lvl boss said that the company is not doing very well... Its expenditure is too high for the earning to keep up. So they might be reducing the shop size by renting out space to other people. So hmm... lets see how long this company can still hold lar...

Also... I found that someone is guarding against me.... Its the 1 and a1/2 mth guy... the one who earns $700... I find that he has been lying to me.... His pay is actually $800 and he still can get comission.... Then there are also some things even in our simple conversation that he lied to me.... Things that he told me weren't the same as what he told others. So... if that is the case, then I must also guard against him as well... Must not reveal too much information to him.... He's as scheming as his boss. No wonder they click. Birds of the same feather flock together.....

K lar... thats all for work.

I'm done reading the book "make your website work for you". One important thing that I learnt was to build a consistent brand... I never thought of it before I read the book. This book showed me the importance of creating a brand that will be recognised by the customer. So I'll think of how am I going to brand litbud :)

With that book done. I'm starting on the new book "free gift inside" Its a book on marketing... and hope I can learn something valuable from it as well.

Thats about all for today... bye :)

Have been doing a lot of reading recently... Thanks to my job.... its so boring that even reading seems fun.... So yar... let me share something that I read on the newspapers.

Its from the sunday times, Jan 8. The article is Confessions of a new senior citizen. There is these few paragraphs that I want to share.

"You have lived long enough to know loss, hurt, humiliation and betrayals. But you don't want to store them in your memory. It is just too much emotional clutter that can metastasise and grow toxic if you don't clear them out. You also tend to become ugly, with your unresolved range and hatreds.

Its better to remember those times that you had (inadvertantly) slighted others, or hurt them badly. You wish you could say sorry to them all. But, of course, you are being vain - you think that they still remember you, when more likely than not, they don't. THey have moved on with their lives."

The first paragraph. Do we all become ugly when we get old? Other than knowing all the bad things about life. We also know about love, care and concern. Why can't we become beautiful instead?

The second paragraph really sets me thinking, as I am one whom cares alot of what other people thinks of me. Yar... perhaps I'm like what the article suggests... I'm being vain... who remembers me? So... I'm trying very hard to change my mindset.... I don't want to think too much. I don't want to make life difficult for myself....

Are you getting confused? Haha... well... the thoughts that I have can't really be expressed in words... or perhaps my language is not that powerful yet lar... Hehe... if you are confused than nvm lar :P I just find the article very interesting. So.. if you all haven't read the article and still have the papers with you. You might want to go read it. :) Its a pretty insightful article of how one feels when one grows old.

I also borrowed some books today to read at work as I'm getting sick of newspapers and there arn't any major events that is worth watching. I borrowed 3 books that are quite complementary to each other :)

First book. by Jeff cannon. Its a book about "how to convert your online content into profits." Muahaha... I figured out that I shouldn't be wasting time at work passing by the day. Since I got the opportunity to read, then I shall use it to build up my knowledge base for the future development of litbud :P So this first book will teach me how to build my website for the litbud and the contents to put into it. I'm planning to launch my litbud from the net lar. Cos its the least cost method.

So yar... with that I will need content for my website.... So here's the second book. by Gary Rosenzweig. With that I can create mini games that I hope will draw people into my site and help litbud spread awareness and gain popularity :D

The third book is by stephen brown. This is book about marketing :) It'll come in useful when I need to promote my site or perhaps in future, promote any other products :)

Hehe... so yar... I hope this helps if I really start to develop litbud. But in the event that the plan didn't work... it would be enough for me to kill time at work... haha... K lar... thats all for now... gonna sleep liao.... haiz... another day at work tmr... SIAN AR!!!!

I seem to be running a worker's lounge at work.... lol.... Almost everyone come out to my place to smoke and talk about work and the company. I also sort of become a rubbish bin for them to pour all unhappiness towards the company. And also because of that, I've gathered a lot of information about the company and they are unpleasant ones.

First thing. The staff turnover rate of the company is very very high. This company is notorious around the area for new comers coming in and going out fast. A quick survery around concluded that other than the 2 second lvl bosses around which have been in the company for the longest. The rest of the people are relatively new. The longest is about 2 months, some 1 month, and me, 1/2 month. There is an exception of another one who stayed for 6 years. But... all this is gonna change soon. The 2 person whom had stayed for 2 months is going to quit after this month. So their total time in the company is about 3 months. As for the 1 month person. I duno what's he thinking, aside from being paid only $700 a month... he still thinks of working for the company for another 20 years. As for me, I'm also gonna quit after this month, so my time there is also about 1.5 months. As for the 6 years guy, he's also gonna quit soon, but is waiting for his other job's confirmation. Once everything is set, he's off. So yar... From next month, there will be a new batch of newbies whom will join the company unknowing the bad things that are going inside. And once they now it after a few months there. I bet they will quit.... So yar... by then, another new batch of newbies will take over the places and start the cycle again.

For a company that has such frequent renewal of staffs, how far can it go? There won't be staffs that will be loyal to the company and to work hard to let the company earn money. If the company face a crisis, everyone would leave. No one would stay and help the company tide over the bad times.

Well... here's some of the reasons that I think is the cause of such situation. Firstly, the pay. Pay wise its really pathetic. Take my case, I'm like only paid $900 a month. And I have to work for such long hours. So, I said to myself. Since I'm paid like this, well... I dun have to work hard to sell the products. I'll just be a security guard down there and ensure that nothing gets stolen. I only serve customers when they approach me first or when the boss is watching. Everyday I just sell one item and then close my accounts. Because the pay I get is only enough for selling one item. Other than my problem. which is considered minor as I'm only a temporary job holder. Those permanent ones there is also complaining. One guy strive so hard to reach a quota of $18k so as to earn a big fat commission. But instead he is only given peanuts in commision. His effort has all gone to waste. Then the 6 years person told me that the company bonus at the end of the year is pathetic. So yar.... and imagine employing someone who holds a o lvl cert for only $700 a month... Working at mcdonals also earns u more pay with lesser effort.

Another thing is about the working hours. the daily 10-9 is reasonable as its in the retail business, but the off days are not. We only get 1 off day per week. And even when there's a public holiday, we don't get it. I can understand if we can't get a day off on the actual day itself. But why can't the company compensate by giving us an off day on other days? Like that we are missing out on lots of rest time. And we feel cheated of our off days.

The welfare of the workers is also not taken care of. Although lunch is provided every sunday, it isn't enough to make all of us happy. There is no cohesion within the company. Everyone just does their own things. We just work for the sake of working and getting our pay. Nobody cares about what happens to the company. Whether it is doing well or not.

So yar... I know who is standing on which side liao... and whats gonna happen next. I believe that the company will have serious shortage of manpower when the 3 of us quit next month. This means that other than the 2 second lvl bosses. There will only be 3 staffs left in the company.

Oh... by the way... here's the breakdown of the positions in the company.

On the top of the hierarchy is the Big Boss

Next would be the 2 second lvl boss, one manning the mobile phone area, the other the camera section

Further down would be the workers.
4 under the mobile section boss (But under the mobile section boss, 1 worker which is me, is taking charge of the booth outside.) , 2 under the camera section boss

There are other positions in the company. But for my workplace, the breakdown is only as above.

So yar... the 3 including me which are leaving at the end of this month is under the mobile section. With that there will be only 1 worker left under the mobile section. So I predict that the person left in the mobile section would be moved outside (because he's the most useless) , and 1 person in the camera section would be dispatched to the mobile section.

The reason why the most useless person is thrown outside is because the things sold outside are cheap. Unlike those inside, so if u mess up a business, the losses won't be great. SO yar.... in the meantime I'm the most useless there lar... But when I'm gone, I know who will take over my place... haha....

U know what... I just shattered a piece of glass shelf this morning... lol... It was an accident, but.. :P who cares... I'm not asked for compensation.... and... hehe... its pretty cool :P

K lar... gonna sleep now... Tmr one more day of work to go before I off again :) For now... gonna catch some sleep... bye~

I dread going to work everyday.... 10hrs of mental torture.... Its really terrible... Its as if I was thrown into an isolation cell everyday.... All alone... nothing to do... U can really go crazy from it.... To help ease my agony... I made a countdown device. I cut strips on papers... so everyday I would tear out one strip, and when the last strip is torn down... it would be over.... a total of 17 more strips to go.... I've also written some phrases behind the strips to motivate me to carry on... Its really very bad.... But... I'm gonna carry on for the sake of my LCD screen. Thats the thing that keeps me going everyday.... I can take the easy way out and quit now... but I won't have enough money to get my screen.... S0 no matter what... I'm gonna perservere till the end of the month.... I'm just hoping that I won't go crazy by then....

K lar.... anyway... there's some entertainment to look forward to.... Remember the anime series full metal alchemist that was so nice that I watch the last episode 3 times? If I'm not wrong, channel U is now showing it every sunday at around 4.... I haven't seen it but I heard about it from my sis.... So yar.... The torrent for the movie is finally out :D Muahaha! Its a continuation of the anime series.... And I'm in the process of downloading it.... Its really a very nice anime.... So if u people have the time, do catch it on channel U.... I bet you would be asking for the movie once the series has finished... haha....

Hmm... thats about all lar... still have to work tmr... sian.... bye~

Just came back from kranji sec after receiving my bursary.... My impression of the event.... "what a joke" ....

The whole thing lasted for less than 30mins.... We were told to start registering at 7.30 and registering would end at 8.30... I reached there about 7.45... walked around.... the whole place was a chaotic, I looked for the sign of the registering counter but I can't find any. After a while of wandering around... I finally got enlightened. There isn't a need to register. There were signs position at the side of the hall indicating a counter no. , so I looked for one that corresponds to the number I got on my letter. After I found my counter, I got enlightened again.... there is no sitting arrangement. That means that I won't be going up the stage to collect my bursary. We would be collecting it at our respective counter. With that... I stood at the side of the hall, not joining in the queue as there's no point queuing. THen yar... the guest of honor arrived around 8.... Gave a 2 minutes speech.... handed out school pocket money fund to some school and award some prestigious award to a few students, then left the stage. The MC then said, thats the end of the award ceremony, everyone please rise and turn to your left to collect your awards.... I was like laughing to myself... wad a joke.... the "ceremony" only lasted like 5 minutes??? After that... I went up to the second floor gallery to have a sit and watch the queue. There's no point joining the queue as its very long and my money won't run away... So why not relax, take a sit and wait for the crowd to disperse. When the queue is gone, I went down and collected my award.... then I went off already.... Took a look at my watch.... 8.30..... Woo.... thats supposed to be the time where registration ends and the ceremony starts.... but everything had ended.... While I was going out, there were still people coming in... those that waited until the last minute indicated on the letter. And... haha.... they must have a shock seeing that everything had ended.

Another thing that I wanted to mention... I saw some ugly singaporeans ta-pao (bringing home food) those meant for refreshment. I was like hello? Your son/ daughter is among the top 30% of the whole school... the cream of the crop.... u scared u will go hungry next time ar? If the top 30% can't provide a living for u.... who can? SO why go after such cheapo gains. And are you setting a good example for your child? Do you want your child to in future, go to business dinners and also pack some food home as well? What a disgrace....

So yar.... All in all.... the whole event was a joke.

Here's a pic I took with my crappy camera....

Finally.... off day tmr... haiz... my work sucks.... I'm like counting down to the day that I dun have to go back to that f* up company.... 18 days left..... I'm gonna just endure for another 18 days then I can get wad I want and quit my job.... Its really very sad that I have to work this way.... I'm wearing a mask everyday. No ones knows I'm gonna quit at the end of this month. Actually someone does, but he quit few days ago.... so now.... no one know that they will be just seeing me for another 18 more days before I'm gone. There were time when I was asked when I'm going to work until.... then I just put on my mask and say till the end of feb. When the boss ask me how well I'm coping.... I'll just put on my mask again and reply fine... and give him a fake smile.... So yar..... everyday I'm like going there.... faking that I'm enjoying the job... then go back home "yes... one more day down!" Its not that I dun want to be true to others... but they haven't gain my trust. There's someone who did.... and thats the one that quitted. He was my ally in the company. Everytime at the end of the day we would share information that we've gathered.... But now with my ally gone.... I haven't found someone whom share a common stand and whom I can trust. BUt who cares.... 18 days isn't that long... I'm sure I can survive on my own....

Anyway.... today was my pay day.... well.... nothing much about it.... it was peanuts.... but nvm.... At least there's some inflow into my personal economy. For the past weeks, especially after the A lvls.... I'm having a serious account deficit.... I spent a lot and my pocket money has ceased. There was no inflow of capital and I'm draining my reserves. But now... things are gonna change. I've got a high amount of inflow coming in the month of jan and early feb. Firstly would be my pay that I got today.... Next tmr I would be collecting my eagles and bursary... that would boost my inflow.... The final booster comes from my chinese new year red packet and my pay for this month which is due 5 days into feb. Other than inflow, there would also be outflow. I'm gonna get a 19 inch LCD monitor that I wanted for so long... and if my budget allows, I'm gonna get a harddisk and a TV tuner as well... SO all in all... my account would balance with a slight surplus.... After which I would be in army already.... So my accounts would be running surpluses for the coming 2 years.....

K lar... thats about all for now.... bye~

I was taking train to work as usual today and I passed by some schools having orientation.... Then I suddenly miss school so much.... When I look at all the people hanging around the school, the canteen and the classrooms... It brought back many memories of the times I spent in school.... Now.... working life is hard..... Or perhaps my job is tough.... How I wish to go back to school again, sit in classrooms and listening to lessons.... After which during break time, hang out with friends in the canteen and chat.... The environment is so robust and vibrant.... Now... everything seems so sian..... I'm just passing day by day for the sake of the money. I wanted to quit long time ago already... but I'm just hanging on till the end of this month so that I can collect enough money to get something..... After which I can quit the job and do something that I liked.

Oh well... shall grumble about work the next time round... getting pretty late... gonna catch some sleep... bye :)

Just saw something which I thought was disgusting.... oh well... can't say wad it is... but.... yucks....