Thoughts… off the shower

Hey!  Guess what?!?!
I’m moving…  my blogging activities, that is…

Here is my new blog:  http://shower-area.blogspot.com/

Come lah… support me there lar… :o)

Seeya later, mate!

And so, life lumbers on…

Since my last post, I’ve :-
- secured & started a new job (Accountant with Woolworths Limited),
- done an "a la rally" car accident on a dirt track in the Yorke Peninsular,
- left Adelaide on a 4-week unpaid leave to have CNY in S’pore and M’sia,
- given hundreds of dollars in ang-paos,
- had more than 10 concerned relatives ask when baby is coming…

Deeply appreciating the value of having a laptop with wireless capabilities now…

From last Saturday till Monday, we had 3 consecutive nights of Monoploy!  And I believe, Nikos turned out tycoon on all occasions… ("why you little…").  That was fun.  Laine and I enjoy having people at our house, just to hang out and have fun.  I think I told Janssen that our house is the "Summer hang-out place"!  Hehehee…  So, people still in Adelaide over Summer, feel free to invite yourselves to our house to hang out!  We’ve got: Monopoly, Scrabble and PS2 to play, also not forgetting the garden that needs weeding, the windows that need wiping, and of course, the "Jonathan Edwards collection" that needs reading! 

Big "congratulations" to graduating OCFers/friends this week and next:
Nikos V. G. - B. Economics (Actuary)
Kuannie Wong - B.Com (Accounting)
Salah Chang - Grad Dip in Music Education (correct?)
Eng Poh - B. Engineering (mechanical?)
(Ah) Ben(g) Ho & Chokkie - B. Chemical Engineering
Janssen & Yew Choy - M.B.B.S.
Kenneth (K-Lo) - B. Engineering (triple E?)
Ti Li, Justin, Shermayne & Melissa - B. Psychology
And everyone else who I’ve missed here (sorry ah!)

And, a sad "goodbye & all the best" to:
Nikos V. G. - about 1 month left, mate… more monopoly & cricket?
Chokkie - have fun in Sydney/Melbourne (which one ar?)
Ti Li - have a nice flight this Sunday, and thanks for the gift!
Justin & Shermayne - take care you 2, may God bless your relationship!
I pray and hope you all will have a great career before you.  Since "friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them", if we don’t meet again, seeya at the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb"!

Lastly, welcome to future PRs of Aussieland (I shall not list), hope the process will be quick and smooth!

Such joy - counting the blessings of God (in the form of friends) in my life.

When I use to think that it is hard, it wasn’t…
Now when I thought that it will not be difficult, it starts getting so…

Yes, I’m in the process of changing jobs again (3rd time in my 3rd year out of uni).  And yes, this is my 2nd redundancy in this calendar year!

Funny how God ALWAYS use EVERY circumstance to test and refine.  I’ve told many that I’m not worried at being made redundant from my current job because I firmly believe and rests on the fact that God is working out His plan for me.  And the reason why I can rest in this is due to way God had led me from one job to another in the past 3 years.  You know how in the bible, the Israelites were continuously called to remember the goodness of God.  That lesson I learned, and applying that principle in my life has caused me not to be a "kan-cheong spider" (i.e. a panicky, worried person).

By God’s grace, I got my 1st job out of uni within 1 month of my graduation (just before the final amount of money my mum gave me ran out).  I was quite worried about what to do and where to look to get a job.  So, I basically sent my resume everywhere and anywhere!  A recruitment specialist called me up for an interview, I went, and she said she’ll call me back in 2 or 3 days.  That same afternoon, she called me to go for a 2nd interview.  3 days later, at the 2nd interview, I met the GM of the company which is recruiting, and he practically gave me the job then.  Of course, formalities of recuitment were followed and, bang, my 1st job!  Not that difficult… eh?

When I started looking around for a career move, I once again floated my resume to a few recruitment agencies.  After 3 months of half-hearted searching, I was asked in for a genuine opportunity.  The 1st interview was with a recruiter.  A few days after that, I met up with the CFO and senior accountant of Tower Trust.  2 days after that, bang, I was offered the job which I promptly accepted.  This job searching thing is easy… eh?

After about 10 months at Tower Trust, they decided to move the head office to Sydney, and offered me a package to move there, which I declined.  So, I was made redundant.  I called up the guy who gave me my 1st job (who is also my referee) to alert him that I’m looking for a new job and be prepared for reference checks.  He asked me out for lunch to meet up, and offered me a job, working with him!  That’s that, bang, my 3rd job.  No need to job-hunt after a redundancy… yea!

Now, while looking for yet another job, I’ve probably been to 6 interviews, and some more to come.  I’ve come really close to securing a job with one of the biggest privately-owned company in the world, but they went for someone more experienced (which is quite understandable).  I always know that job-hunting is not easy, but I guess I will perhaps start really feeling it is the case soon… that’s if I don’t secure a job in 2 weeks…  But, this time round, I really have to settle myself in full reliance on the faithfulness of God.  Before, I can quite easily say so when things go quite well, but now, my heart must experience what my head knows… as what Ivy (Tan-Tan) would say - "double-click"!

So, here I go again…
Guess I can make a career out of changing jobs!  hahahaa…

Having regularly read online news of both Australia (www.news.com.au) and Singapore (www.channelnewsasia.com.sg), I found a very clear variance.  Those of us in Australia know that the planned execution by hanging of Mr Nguyen (an ethnic Vietnamese Australian who lives in Melbourne) is being protested or diplomatically-opposed for a few months now, and the press has been constantly reporting on this.  While I have hardly read any article of this issue in the Singapore news.

Mr Nguyen was arrested by Singapore authorities in 2002 for carrying 400g of Heroin, while in transit between Cambodia and Australia.  Mr Nguyen pleaded for leniency, citing that he had to become a "drug mule" to pay off his brother’s debts.  The verdict is that Mr Nguyen is guilty and is sentenced to death by hanging.  Note: Singapore criminal law carries the death penalty for some offences including drug trafficking (over certain amounts, eg. 15g for Heroin), murder, and treason.  Since the verdict, the Australian media has been reporting on this "gross human rights violation", citing that the death penalty is inhumane and belongs to the stone age etc..  I believe the legal representatives for Mr Nguyen went to the press and pleaded for intervention by the Australian government through diplomatic means.  The Howard government had since made appeals to the Singapore government and also to the President of Singapore.  Opinions in Australia has been split, with the majority disgusted with the death sentence.  As for me, I look at this from 2 fronts: political diplomacy and ethical response.

Political Diplomacy
This is not the first time that the government of another country has tried to intervene in judgments or penalties passed under the the Singapore Penal System.  I remember years ago, the Michael Fay saga.  Mr Fay was caught (with "beyond reasonable doubt" evidence) that he had been vandalising public properties in Singapore.  Singapore law metes caning as a punishment.  The US government (including Mr Clinton himself) pleaded to the Singapore government for leniency, citing that Mr Fay is just a bored teenager who had made a mistake and should not be caned (which will leave a semi-permanent mark, that could scar him).  The Singapore government did not succumb to that pressure, Mr Fay was caned, and the rest is history.  Now, the Australian government is trying to do what the US government failed to do, albeit this case deals with a human life (which is much more precious than a buttock).  Notwithstanding the issue of the "fairness" of sentencing a person to death, it bemuses me that another country’s government should interfere in Singapore’s penal system, and that only when something happens to one of their own.  I’ve yet to see other governments pleading on behalf of Singaporeans or Malaysians or Indonesians or Thais etc. who have been condemned to death under Singaporean law.  If you have a problem with the penal system, you either give a cross-the-board objection or just object in principle, not objecting only when it hurts you.  Also, how would you like the Singapore government hounding your back on issues that relates to your own backyard?  This is respect, I tell you, respect for the country’s sovereign right.  Btw, it is quite a well-known fact that Singapore law carries the death penalty for drug-trafficking.  A person who tries to traffick drugs through Singapore must surely know that he is putting his life on the edge.

Ethical Response
NOw comes the more emotionally charged response.  Is the death penalty appropriate?  Has criminal law the right to terminate a person’s life?  When it comes to murder, I guess fewer people would object, perhaps due to the old adage of "a life for a life".  What about drug trafficking?  One Australian commented (on a current affairs show on national TV) that whoever trafficks drug is no less offensive that a murderer, because that person would have brought the drugs onto the streets and put the lives of many at risk!  Think about it, 400g of Heroin, that’s probably enough to supply "fixes" to more than a dozen addicts!  It’s all about our emotions, our view of life, our morals.  Interesting, this moral thing.  That a world, which is steering away from the existence of a God, should invoke the "moral" word.  If there is not God, where do you get your determination of morals? (hmm… this is material for another post).

An article carried on www.news.com.au cites an UN Human Rights expert saying that the (hanging) verdict is against international law, that the court of law had applied the law using a black-and-white approach, and had discounted extenuating factors (main article here).  Right, so that expert is telling us that a law that has been written to minimise "grey areas" has been interpreted wrongly, and should take into account "grey areas" (that it seeks to eliminate)?  Whatever reasons for drug trafficking does not dilute the fact that there was a pre-meditated intention to traffick.  I’m not saying Mr Nguyen must be hanged, and I hope that in this dark time, someone whould reach out to him with God, and he would response positively to God’s offer of forgiveness.  My issue is with the the media, the Nguyen defense team’s plea for the intervention of the Australian government, and the Australian government’s tied-hands in having to act (if not, voters would term the government as "heartless").

At the end of the day, this is another unfortunate thing that is happening in the world (please don’t read this statement as "blase-ness").  This is one human life about to be put to an end.  There are also other unfortunate things - terrorist acts and wars that put an end to many more lives.  Surely, this is a deteriorating world…

New links have been added:

(1)  Christ - our Life [blog] under the "Christian Links" section.  A new multi-author blog I started.  Hopefully will be used to generate meaningful Christian discussion/thoughts.  Present registered authors: Handy, Kuannie, Laine, Shelly-Jelly, William K.  If you’re interested to join, drop me a line!

(2)  More blogs of my friends.  Again, if you wanna be listed, do indicate.

Regarding posts, I will now begin to share Christian thoughts in the Christ - our Life [blog], while using this blog for personal/ current affairs/ finance thoughts.

William tagged me to do this *mutters*grumbles*… well, since I’m adopting the stance of a student for these few days (haiz, studying for my CPA exam on 2nd Nov), I shall do a student-y thing… hehehee, makes me feel young again…

7 things that scare me:
- spiders…
- …and other menacing-looking insects
- quiet darkness
- the thought that I am but a speck (physically) in creation, but thank God He should reach out to me…
- being put in a situation where I have to do something i don’t know how to…
- that I could have scared/disappointed people away from God’s Kingdom…
- being asked to fill out 7 things when I’ve only got (say) 5…

7 random facts about me:
- I’ve never been slim/thin, have always been fat since birth!
- I’ve worn spectacles since 7-8 years old
- I studied Chinese as my first language until "A" levels (but don’t ask me now…)
- I tried Taoism & Buddhism to solve the mystery of life (before Christ found me)
- I have acted in stage productions 4 times during secondary school and college
- I love 80s dance music (Singaporeans know that as Zouk-style "Mambo Jumbo")
- I’ve preached (I prefer to call it "gave a message") 3 times, all since I got married

7 things I hope to do before I die:
- see my children grow up to be men/women of God
- be a great influence to Christians for God
- preach at a huge evangelistic rally
- visit & watch a match at Old Trafford (the theatre of dreams)
- travel around the world!
- earns lots of money (with which I can bless people), this was my childhood ambition…
- get back perfect eye-sight (even though I know that’s not important, considering the "Resurrection Body" that I will receive)

7 things I can do:
- sneeze 10 times in a roll
- defend my faith (well enough) using apologetics… which in itself does not bring people to salvation
- restrain myself into not smiling/laughing (i.e. keep a poker face) when required
- play mahjong (the real one, not the matching tiles one)
- play Championship Manager through many seasons (using the same team) without getting bored!
- give a public speech/message without much preparation (shamelessness)
- jump up and click my heels together on my right and left!

7 people who should fill this out:
…I shall not sabo anyone… but if you really feel like doing it, I’ll tag Jamie Choo and Jadely Seetoh!

OK… that’s enough, doing young people stuffs… ;-P

90% of thirty, nine x 3, 3 short of one-score, 7 past twenty…

Some ways of saying 27…  yes, finally, I’m 27 years old!  You don’t know how long the wait has been for me to reach this totally-insignificant milestone!  All of 27 years since I choked out that first baby cry in Kpg Kerbau Hospital (Singapore)…

Well, I’ve got three more years to get my life in order, before I hit the big 30.  Jesus started his ministry after he turned 30… maybe this is taking "becoming Christ-like" too literally and/or too extreme! 

There is so much for me to think about whenever I celebrate a birthday, as with many people.  But, interestingly, the thoughts this time round revolve not around the philosophical nor the theological, but it concerns celebratory matters.  I blame it on Mr Keasberry (who 2 weeks ago celebrated his quarter-century milestone - now, that’s significant!).  The reason being that he (or rather his gang) threw a blast of a party for him.  (Not that I’m jealous about it… *mutters*)  Anyways, my dearest wife decided that she wants to throw a party for me too!  WOW!!!  And so, we’re having one.  YEAH!!!  …but that causes to me recall: there has probably been only 2 occasions that I had proper birthday celebrations.

The first was when I was 12 years old - my mum prepared a feast and I had my classmates over.  That’s as much as I remembered.  2 photographs ensured I was reminded of that.

The second was for my 17th.  Kenneth, Jamie, Grace, Vivian, Jadely, Serena & Jeremy celebrated with me.  I remember we were at Centrepoint.  Someone suggested we bought food and then trek across to Fort Canning to "eat out".  At Fort Canning, they whipped out a birthday cake to surprise me!  That is a great memory.  Quite a number of photos (taken using a disposable Kodak camera) captured the memory of that night.

For many people, their 18th and/or 21st birthday celebrations are huge.  Not so for me.  My 18th was spent labouring for the "A" levels… hmm, maybe did celebrate, but I definitely can’t recall anything.  My 21st was more miserable.  I was alone in Adelaide (4 months after arriving), yet to make many friends.  None of the few knew when my birthday was, not even mentioning knowing I was turning 21.  And so, on that beautiful day, I walked to the nearby Foodland and bought myself a (cheapskate) "Black & Gold" branded Chocolate Bavarian cake.  That was it.  Quite poignant, I must say…

But now, as I turn 27, I find myself gearing up for (possibly) my biggest ever birthday celebration this weekend… and all organised by my darling wife.  See, told you married life is fantastic! 

I have been thinking… but they have just been reactionary, knee-jerk-like thoughts… not the in depth ones…

…thus, no posts for 5-6 days…

Once I clear my mind a bit, the thoughts will flow… till then, be patient! 

Laine called me "stable".  It sounded a bit funny at first, because that’s a term I associate with discharging a psychiatric patient.

This was what happened:
Once again, we were chatting, before falling asleep.  Can’t remember what we were talking about, but I said something like this: "…like when I read/hear news of a crime or a natural disaster, I will feel sad here (pointing to head), but no engagement here (points to heart).  Only when something is directly related to me, then it affects here (points to heart)."  I explained that I have intellectual reactions (agreeing or objecting, being pleased or feeling sad) to affairs that are not related to me, but only issues close to me will draw an emotionally-charged response.  As for my dear wife, she teared when reading news of the climbing death toll in the Pakistan-Kashmir earthquake.  Laine thought for a while about what I said, and declared "you are a stable person".

She explained that because I am stable, I do not get flustered by things around me.  I am calm, steady and analytical.  Guess that’s probably a good thing.  Laine added that my emotions on a heart-monitor-like chart would look something like "_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _" (and she accompanied that with a low-tone "eeeeeeeeeee" for added effect).  Then she corrected herself, and said it would be more like "- - - - - - - - -" (with a higher-pitch "eeeeeeeee"), because I’m quite hyper or energetic and talkative!  Haha… my wonderful wife…  Finally, she added: "you write this on your blog lar…"  …and so, I did!

Oh, by the way, she calls me a "funny, loving, stingy accountant" on her blog.  OK.  2 of 3 being good attributes is a good enough result.  Thanks…

At least, I was declared stable.