Highlights..End Of May

In the last few weeks, yaling and karen both got their dream jobs..whereas mine (remember fullerton?) kind of dissolved when i woke up one morning. Oh yeah, they actually sent me a rejection letter as well, which is kind of cool..like maybe i should laminate it and frame it up..

addy: check this out..i got rejected by FULLERTON before leh! got cert somemore! stylo bo?

friend: wah..high class siah..eh their letterhead quite nice hor?

I know i sound bitter and jealous and i admit, yes i am..not so much towards yaling or karen but i ask myself why and how come people who sent resumes out just a few weeks can obtain jobs while here i am still unemployed and interviewless for more than two whole months. Maybe it's the distance learning, or maybe i have no honours (and/ or honour? but i SERVED my country for 6 years leh..bo honours meh?) or maybe it's just that they are in a more specialised field. Much like most things in my life at the moment i don't know, i have no answer and i wish i knew how to make things work..

But over the past few days, things are looking up a little..i've got a few phone calls (NOT i call them hor!) for potential jobs..now it's up to me to accomplish the next step - woo them over and kickstart my career!

And..to yaling and karen, i AM really really happy for you guys..i'm glad you understand my situation and have carried on encouraging me..hope you guys can live out your dreams in your dream jobs!

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The stock market has been atrocious over the past two weeks..my profit for this year (i shall not mention figures..but it ain't in hundreds!) accumulated over the past five months were wiped clean within two weeks..this is the worse period since i started nearly two years back..funny how it seemed so rosy before 6th of may and how it all crashed after that..

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I got my hair cut and coloured at jean yip today..thought they only did those body wellness and slimming stuff..something is wrong with their marketing strategy la. Anyway, i feel kind of cheated cuz i can hardly see the colour but at least the ugly highlights i had are gone..the hair cut and service was pretty normal though..

chio bo?
Guess the colour of my hair..
Hint: It's not black!

No, i AM serious!

The Da Vinci Code

Went to catch The Da Vinci Code today..i know it sounds pretty weird but i'm one of those (rare probably) few who have not read the book and probably won't bother to..just isn't my kind of story i suppose..but out of curiosity more than a real "need to", i went with ningy to see what the big fuss was about. Okay, so there were quite a lot of religious references, assumptions and theories..not sure if it's Ron Howard's direction or just the story itself, it's pretty obvious to me that most parts are just fiction meant to provoke the audience and nothing more malicious than that. Sure, there is that controversy over the role of Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail but even before Dan Brown's book, i'm pretty sure that there were other writings on this topic..Dan Brown probably commercialised the whole thing and brought it to a wider audience than previous writings..spurning a movie, a whole bunch of "decoder books" and even a playstation game in the process..but then, apparently his books are no stranger to such controversy..



Back to the movie then..though it clocked in at nearly 2.5hrs, i found it well paced and a pretty decent show..the plot was well planned out - the various riddles and puzzles were a nice touch and are probably what kept me interested besides the religious stuff..and i thought Audrey Tautou was quite outstanding as Sophie..the ending was a little of a let down though..such a typical hollywood ending (but wait..no french kissing scenes?!)..ning said that the storyline in the book was a little different..funny how it failed to inspire me to look for the book to read up..guess like i said, it's not really my kind of story. No complaints about the movie though, i quite enjoyed myself today :)

I'll Stand By You

Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'Cause I've seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

So if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I'm a lot like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong

(Chorus)
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you

And when...
When the night falls on you, baby
You're feeling all alone
You won't be on your own
(Chorus)

- The Pretenders

What's In A Name?

I have this knack of writing poems out of people's names..or so they say..can't actually remember who i started it with already but it kind of caught on..the trick is of course not to only make it sound nice enough but to make it sound real! I remember kenneth's was one about him finding a wife -lol-..kind of silly when i think about it now..anyway, here is one of my favourite from last time and another which i recently wrote..

J ovial was her middle name
I just thought she was insane
N ot that she was really crazy
G od made her that way maybe
X tra spice sprinkled on her life
I t made her popular amongst the guys
A twinkle in her eyes then a little wink
N it's always like that, they all fall for her grin

H er dreams were the loveliest
U nder the blanket she lived them out
I n them she was a fairytale princess
N ot any ordinary girl the boys could chase
I n them she was a writer and a poet
N her words were as beautiful as she was
G od blessed her with such dreams so she may live them someday

Copyright AD©. All Rights Reserved 2006.

I know they sound similar but frankly, which girl doesn't want to be loved right? There was a really unique one i wrote before, but as with lots of my other stuff, i lost it and i can't remember who it was for already..maybe i can write a more morbid one next time..any volunteers?

Question of the day:

"Did you obtain this (degree) through part-time studies and/or distant learning?"
- Found on the Singapore Tourism Board job application form

Ouch!

You Won't See Me Cry

you won't see me cry
you know i decided
that i'm gonna pull myself together
and find a way to fight it
even if i have to hide it
you won't see me cry
- Wilson Phillips

There Is Nothing

Have you ever have the feeling when something is just taken away from you? Fullerton is gone..while i didn't exactly have high expectations to get the job, at least there was always a hope, an optimism..but now that i know the result..nothing..

Fullerton HR: I'm sorry to say that you have not been offered the job.

addy: it's ok -smiles-

HR: If we have any suitable positions, you'll be first to know.

addy: that's great! -broad smile-

(after putting down the phone...)

addy: ... ...

Now where do i go? Where do i begin when it doesn't even feel like a beginning? I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a pile of nearly 200 or more (i assume) resumes already sent and basically no responses (except the "sorry" ones), a previous crappy job hindering my progress, a distance learning cert discriminated against and a big bad bunch of NUS and NTU grads breathing down my neck! I'm so lost now (and as ning will say), it's so not funny..

There was something
There was nothing
Just a hope
Not really
There was something
Now, there is nothing

addy (09 may 2006)

Some things are written too soon..now it makes more sense..-sigh-

I Wrote Something

I wrote something
I wrote nothing
Nothing rhymes
Not really
I wrote something
But there is nothing

addy (05 may 2006)

Just something (no pun intended) that came into my head..

Pamdemonium

Went for Pamdemonium last nite with maurice, christine, yingmei and ym's friend (oops! addy forgot people's name again..but it's a chinese name mah..-sulks-)..and it was way cool! I've always admired the way pam oei carried her stage persona so it was interesting to see her being herself (self-declared rock chick!). Though it was mainly her singing with her "explosive" "can band" (with a few corny jokes thrown in for good measure), her energy levels were simply infectious and this got (most of) the crowd alive as well!

The best two parts of the show was when she went into this hilarious indian-accented spoken rendition of "I Will Survive" and "Superwoman"..and when the "can band" (because they anything also "can"..geddit?) all swopped places and the drummer (who is bald) put on a wig to do a mat-rock version of "Smoke On The Water"! The best punchline for me was also delivered during this song when the drummer said "i would like to dedicate this song to..myself and..i hope i like it"!! hahahaha..what the! For $27, this was way worth it! Rock on!

Credits: Picture is taken off Mr Brown's website because i cannot find it on either sistic or esplanade's websites :P

Mummy's (and Daddy's) (Big) Child

I don't usually pick up the newspapers these days. Sure, it seems rather thick (funnily?) recently but election issues don't really interest me..which apparently we're not supposed to blog about lest we use our supernaturally contagious blogging powers to unfairly influence the polling results..so anyway, while walking past the dining table on sunday (the newspapers are placed there, just in case you're wondering what the dining table had to do with anything), the following headline caught my attention:

"No Shame: They Work Yet Still Get Allowances From Parents"

Here are a few rather lovely quotes from the two page article (found on pages 14/15 in the main section of The Sunday Times)..

"Miss Lesley Tan, 24, admits that she could get by on her $2,000 salary as a pupil in a law firm, but says she would be forced to cut down on her shopping..Her parents pay the $340 monthly bill for their daughter parking her car at the Fullerton Hotel and have also funded some of her more extravagant shopping purchases, such as a $3,000 Chanel handbag and a pair of $600 Ferragamo shoes"

Lest you guys are having smug looks on your faces, shaking your heads and remarking "Girls and their shopping"..check out this cool dude!

"Armed with three supplementary credit cards from his mother, (public relations executive, Leonard Tan, 23) indulges his designer tastes at top boutiques like Hugo Boss and DKNY. His mother also covers his mobile phone bills, which can reach up to $600."

And now for the loveliest part..

"All this in spite of him earning $3,300 a month (!!!). "I make it a point to return a token sum to my mother, so she won't think I'm abusing my privileges and to also show that I'm responsible for my spending," he said."

Hey if anyone thinks that miss lesley is a bitch, at least she's an honest one acknowledging that she'd have to make drastic changes without her parents' subsidies..mr leonard tan on the other hand, is in denial mode and seems to have a problem with the english language and with morals in general..now, which part of the word responsible does he not understand? Even if he earns half of his current salary, splurging consistently on branded goods is not responsible..what more earning $3,300 a month and still having his mum pay for his phone bills! And to even regard returning "token sums" as responsible is irresponsible and immatured!

What i cannot understand is how the parents can encourage their children to pursue such material goods..i mean paying for their studies and maybe transportation is still acceptable but for Chanel, DKNY and phone bills even when they are working adults? While the government is concerned about singaporeans' general financial stability, this report brings about a new problem..how about those "kids" who are financially stable (but financially dependent) now? What will happen when they are left on their own and they have to feed their families? Cook their leather shoes and jackets for food? Drink their branded perfumes? Sell their branded stuff on eBay, yahoo or Cash Convertors claiming they have been worn by some local star?

I know this post reeks of jealousy and sour grapes but if you know me well enough, i've worked since my poly days and i've never asked a single cent from my parents to subsidise my phone and cable bills (yes i rejected even though they offered to!), my studies or even my cds! Even when i needed money, i'd get it from my brother so that i know i can return it back to him. In a way, i've been lucky to be where i am today and i can proudly say that i did it mostly on my own..and contrary to most common and conservative beliefs, mine is not down to hardwork..cuz frankly, i am probably one of the laziest people around! If you asked me, i'd say that it was all just determination (and a quite a bit of luck) - and it's more a determination to gain my independence and be answerable to myself rather than to prove anybody right or wrong..

As a parting shot, here's some food for thought..in the above mentioned report, ALL the spoilt brats featured are above 21..and 6th of may isn't that far away now is it?