f.r.e.d

It’s been a while.

Seems like i never have the energy to blog when i get home after a long day’s work. Really, when your corporate life revolves around writing, deadlines, one-story-a-day and two-story-ideas-a-week quotas, any ounce of free home time you have will be spent on anything EXCEPT writing.

LOL, ok maybe it’s just me.

The editorial folks had a voice workshop today, learning about how to pronounce tricky words and how proper breathing really is the secret to good voice/presentation.

[Coach]: There is no such thing as a bad voice…and i don’t mean singing.

Listen to the professionals. Read aloud. Record yourself if you have to.

Practice, practice, practice.

Suddenly i was transported back to five, maybe four, years ago. When i spent a regular last 10-15 minutes of my lunch break practising. Armed with some scripts printed out from channelnewsasia.com or any stories that caught my fancy, i would slip out the back door of my 10th-floor office, sit on the stairs, underline the words to emphasize, and then read aloud, over and over again.

You see, i wanted very much a career in broadcast journalism. Perhaps it was spurred by that ‘A’ in broadcast journ class (i was the news co-anchor in the final assignment!), or a particular friend always teasing me about reporting live from the front lines of war. Whatever it was, i told myself to work for it.

Talent, i didn’t quite have. I’m not someone whose command of spoken English is impeccable, i mispronounce a lot of words and quite often i stumble on my words. But there is quite a stark difference when i speak for the camera, and when i’m in casual conversations with friends.

Somewhere along the line (coupled with the lack of response to my applications), the practice dwindled, the passion withered.

Ahhh…the things you do when you’re young.

I’m cynical, i know, and i blame it on the emerging third decade.

Whatever respect i had left for SG’s main daily,  it vanished with the coverage of the recent Singapore Airshow.

But first, about the inaugural airshow that opened to the public on Saturday, Feb. 23. To say it was badly managed is like calling Moses Lim slim. Together with 3 friends, Ben and i were at White Sands at 9.30am. There was already a significant queue, which we thought might dissipate by the time we finished breakfast at MacDonald’s.

We got in line at 10am, and the queue by then had probably swelled to double, and looped around. It took a while to find the end of the queue, and because there was not enough crowd control personnel we even joked that the organiser should have made a sign that said “Queue begins here” which will be passed from the last person to the next who joins the line.

To cut the long story short, we took nearly 2.5 hrs to reach the entrance of the Airshow, and because the aerial display was starting, we gave up queuing and instead hung around the canal to catch the show. Later on it took another 30mins for our friends to get through the security check (Ben and i went through the VIP/exhibitor line). When we started to exit just before 4.30pm, we were shocked to find a huge bottleneck at the exit area to the point that the staff had to let people leave in batches.

(During the last Asian Aerospace, we went through more or less the same routine and it never bordered on ‘painful’.)

I shouldn’t complain, for some others had it worse. But of course, you only read the ‘horror stories’ if you picked up a copy of Tuesday’s Today (select Voices section and click on the page with the sketch of two men and a lady).

The official newspaper of Singapore Airshow 2008, on the other hand, deemed it fit to publish a few short letters damning the poor organisation of the event, peppered with a commendation at how the show did not disappoint and a suggestion or two on how to better manage the event. (I refuse to even link this post to its site - why grant them those extra page views?)

If i were a disgruntled Airshow visitor (and i was!), i would not have simply sent my letter to Today. I’d have let the official newspaper of the Singapore Airshow 2008 know how displeased i was. And judging by the degree of restlessness and frustration that was on the ground that day, i’d imagine there’ll be more letters of complaint than the mild ones that were published.

But i leave it to you to decide, which paper had more integrity this time round.

I’m at risk of having my blog turned into a complaint column.

Nonetheless, i ought to clarify that before i actually started this blog during carefree days in CT, i always thought that if i ever started a blog, it’d be to record the interesting conversations with cabbies.

Don’t ask me why, but somehow i end up meeting very chatty cab drivers who seem to have the most amazing stories. Lots of rides become an educational journey. Like the other day, when i learnt that bursaries differed depending on the community clubs or areas you live in - my friendly driver shared with me that the Holland/Ghim Moh area had the highest bursary awards. And while we were at it, did you know that bursaries are not just awarded to the needy families?

So anyway, because i left my job and could no longer afford taxi rides (not that i actually paid for the rides out of my own pocket while i was still employed), this blog started without a taxi theme.

Now that i’m back - sometimes on the road - as a long-suffering (ie. suffer from working long hours) journo, guess it’s about time those taxi tales come along.

Stay tuned.

Saw this message proudly displayed at the One Newton site yesterday, as i passed by in a cab:

Fully Sold

Thanks be to God

Refreshing.

I don’t recall any developer willing to acknowledge God in commercial arrangements, so kudos to Lippo Group for publicly factoring in the Maker.

And apparently, One Newton is not the only development that the group has given thanks for.

Bringing religion into work will always invoke some negative comments. I googled (”one newton” “lippo group”) and found a blog post questioning why ‘fully sold’ required divine intervention. (I have three thoughts about this blogger: idiot, idiot, idiot.)

Now i’m just waiting to see what other businesses will follow in the good footsteps of Lippo.

I’ve always felt a special affinity for grandma.

It isn’t so much because i used to spend my school hols over at her place, nor that i’d inherited from her bunions (bones jutting out beside the big toes) through my mother.

I finally found out why on the third day of grandma’s wake.

It was 1942, during the World War II Japanese occupation.

The family had sought asylum in a bomb shelter, but a headcount check soon revealed that her fifth daughter, a newborn, had been left in the open. Grandpa being the practical man he was tried to dissuade her from heading out to dangerous ground, saying that they already had four children and that she shouldn’t risk her life. But grandma refused to heed his warning, and dashed out to bring her daughter to safety. (The exact spot where her daughter had been left was later one of the spots bombed.)

That gift of life was repaid some near-60 years later, when daughter #5 brought grandma to Christ and helped her receive the gift of eternal life.

And just how do i fit into the picture?

Daughter #5 is my mother.

This is my most sombre Christmas yet.

Before there was a chance to rejoice over the Saviour’s birth, i had to grapple with a death in the family.

Grandma passed away on Christmas eve, just a couple of hours shy of a cosy family dinner we had planned a day before. It didn’t exactly come as a shock, but it wasn’t particularly easy either as i’d thought she had shown signs of improvement - twitching of her left leg and batting of her right eye as mum sang her Chinese hymns that afternoon - after around 3 days of being in a state of constant sleep.

It was difficult, to say the least, to be joyful even though i was thoroughly convicted that grandma had departed for a much better place. I’d been struggling the past 2 weeks or so of her hospitalisation - part of me wanted her to go so bad because i couldn’t bear to see this fragile 95-year-old woman i love hooked up to all those tubes, while another part of me just wanted desperately to spend more time with her physical being.

One particular line in ODB’s 25 Dec edition struck/touched me: “Whatever your difficulties, they needn’t spoil Christmas, for nothing can spoil Christ!”

I ought to count my blessings, i admit. He granted me my wish a year ago for grandma to witness my church wedding. This time round, I asked God to let me be around when grandma went off. He didn’t let me see her take her last breath, but He made me the last grandchild to see her before she passed on, and the first to see her after she went to be with the Lord.

Most of all, i’m just thankful that she’s in her glorious mansion in Heaven, because that’s where she deserves to be.

I don’t know where to begin.

The past 3 weeks (has it been 3?!) has been a blur. Or should i say a life in fast-forward mode. Maybe a nightmare that lasted too long would be more apt.

I should have seen it coming, i suppose. Before i’d even started work, my supervisor already texted me to “ask for my opinion” about a work issue. And she’d requested for me to start work on Fri, after the Deepavali hol, instead of the Mon after.

But the first hint of real trouble came on my very first day of work, when i had to stay back an hour after knock-off time. Then it was that i had to buy food back instead of a leisurely hour-long lunch. Then it became working till about 10pm for 3 consecutive nights.

And all this happened during my first week of work.

I’m not proud of this, but i finally threw the letter after just 10 working days. It could have been 8, if not for the fact i held back due to an event i was managing. It bugged me very much that i’d be perceived as one who caved after 2 weeks of work. But it also bugged me that if i didn’t quit i wouldn’t be cutting my losses short.

What do i mean? I think at this point in my life, i want to have a life outside of work. I’m not lazy, but i think there are better things to do than to slog it out in the office and feel shitty about going in to work in the mornings. I want quality, not quantity, in terms of work output. And even though i work in a team, i want autonomy and control over my work, not just be a puppet or runner.

There are more reasons to why i’ve chosen to leave, of course. Ask me about it if you’re interested… there are some things that are just inconvenient to blog about.

The ironic part of my short-lived employment is that i’m actually serving more than a month of notice, again at the request of my supervisor. (Haa, i’ve been told that i’m “very nice”.)

But it’s all good. Now, another new beginning to look forward to.

The weekend was eventful.

Saturday flew by, largely thanks to Faith, whose full month celebration drew the guests but still couldn’t keep her awake for longer than a couple of minutes =P

Sunday came and it was then we finally signed on the dotted line after nearly 2 months of contractor-hopping and price-haggling for the reno work on our own home. The whole process has been more drawn-out than we had anticipated, but the good news is that we’re still on track to shift in by year-end.

Monday turned out to be rather ‘happening’ too. I signed my unemployment away (finally, as Ben would like to put it) and will be <gasp> starting work* come Friday. (And of cos i promptly followed it up with the purchase of a new blouse and haircut.)

Actually, i’m not 100% positive that i’m ready to go back to a 9-to-6 routine, but i guess having a steady substantial income beats having the luxury of sleeping in or the ability to do errands during off-peak periods. Also, with all the renovation coming up it’s not going to be exactly the best time to start a new job, but we will learn to manage somehow!

New work, new home and new goals to work towards… the year ahead is a busy and exciting one for the Ongs.

*more details in future posts

It’s been a very blessed year.

OF course, i don’t quite mean the ‘no working’ part. Rather, it’s being placed into each other’s life and the ability to spend time together, building each other up.

Well, to mark the passing of the first year the long-awaited album is out. Bad news is, only the black & white version is ready.

I know… i’m working on it =P

Shanghai — a place you love and hate at the same time.

It’s difficult to name the good of this bustling city without having the bad escape from your mouth in the same breath. Or vice versa.

So, having survived 5 days of awesome food, outrageous driving, cigarette smoke and loud characters, here’s my top 10 Yays and Yucks (in no order of importance).

Yays
1. Awesome, though somewhat not as spicy as should be, Hunan cuisine at 滴水洞 (Dishuidong) — especially loved the spiced ribs!
2. Being able to get quality DVDs (a 正版 DVD costs 15RMB, ie. S$3).
3. Strolling through a crowd-free (which is nearly impossible) 豫園 (Yu Garden) and wolfing down 小龍包(steamed dumplings) at 南翔饅頭店 Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant.
4. Rejuvenating massages (about 65RMB for an hour of body massage)
5. Pudong Shangri-la Hotel — enough said.
6. 周庄 (Zhou Zhuang), the oldest water village in China, even though it’s super touristy
7. Tea, especially 阿婆茶
8. Neon lights at night — even apartment-looking buildings are neon-designed.
9. Wannenmei as host!
10. Temperature at this time of the year (low 20s)

Yucks
1. Spitting — it’s not that frequent, but it still is common enough.
2. Smoke inhalation — we realize a lot of people just light up and hardly puff!
3. Incessant in-your-face hawking of almost every product or service
4. Metro is unbelievably crowded during peak hours… you literally can stand there and be pushed along by the crowd. And you thought SG was bad.
5. The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel — you have to see it to know how bad it is.
6. The Dragonfly experience — being stuck in mid-air with a fly on Dragon Air (hence the name!)… it’s not Shanghai i know, but it was bound for there.
7. Several attractions or sites i wanted to visit were closed, eg. 和平飯店 (Peace Hotel) and the Hengshan-Moller Villa.
8. Problems accessing Wikipedia and sometimes Google pages
9. Crazy drivers who flick the high beam at will
10. Haze — only had a day of blue skies while there… guess we were considered lucky already!

All in all, it was a pretty bundtastic time. Not really a bad idea to work there for a couple years =P